I received two terrible pieces of advice during my student teaching and first years in the classroom that I've found are very common. They may be the two most prominent pieces of advice given in Teacher Education Programs. Once I was distanced from both of these schools of thought, my ability to teach and conduct a class improved considerably. Avoid both of the following:
1a. Be Yourself- Terrible advice. Be the most noble, inspirational, principled, organized, strong minded, confident, and creative version of yourself you can concoct. Eventually, your real self will catch up to your teacher self, but do not simply be yourself. A young new teacher being them self will probably come off as unsure, a little overwhelmed, and doubting their career move, and an older new teacher will probably come off as unsure, a little overwhelmed, and doubting their career move, but in a completely different way. Identify your audience, determine what it will take to hook them, and get yourself there. Stand tall, act like you own the place, and nobody will doubt you. Being yourself is not advisable.
1b. Find What Works and Stick With It- More terrible advice. Complacency leads to mediocrity, and you don't want to get boring. Find what works, make it better, and then find other things that work too. You want an arsenal of effective strategies an methods at your disposal. Always have a new project going. Whether its tech integration, or picking out your weakest area of the content and making it your strongest, a great teacher is always working on making something better. It's the only way to stay fresh and current.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Utilizing Social Media
Why aren’t districts vigorously promoting active use of online resources for Professional Development? Although school ended over a week ago my learning and pd has not slowed. Thanks to my social media and networking feeds I found ways to realize visions for next year, and received valuable feedback on a class presentation. Thanks to my Twitter feed I was acquainted with mrthread.com for student chats, set up a customized edmodo site for my AP class, and favorited articles on research tips for students in the fall.
I had fantastic discussion with educators from around the country on topics ranging from cross curricular instruction to using data to create professional development plans that led to better performance in my graduate class. I’m excited this week to start a book club via Twitter and look forward to sharing my thoughts. In the first two weeks of vacation I’ve had more PD than in all other summers combined, and it hasn’t cost me or my district a penny. No room in the budget for PD? No problem…
I had fantastic discussion with educators from around the country on topics ranging from cross curricular instruction to using data to create professional development plans that led to better performance in my graduate class. I’m excited this week to start a book club via Twitter and look forward to sharing my thoughts. In the first two weeks of vacation I’ve had more PD than in all other summers combined, and it hasn’t cost me or my district a penny. No room in the budget for PD? No problem…
Jump Onboard
School is in a constant battle with countless other mediums over the attention of our students. In order for us to win we need to be in all of those competing outlets. We need to be in their smartphone! We need to be in their Twitter feed, Facebook wall, RSS, tumble roll, etc or else school will see its relevance in the lives of the students shrink each year. Learning can be a year round thing with modern communication and its time schools jump on board. Let’s embrace some of the outlets we’ve been pushing away.
Classical Innovation
Reblogged from my Tumblr, "Leading to Learn."
Traditional focus doesn't have to be boring or archaic. In reading Mike Schmoker's, Focus, I cannot help but to come to the conclusion that he is not calling for a rejection of modern technology and its integration in our schools, but rather the commitment to use of these technologies to foster the necessary characteristics of good teaching and good citizenry that have stood for over 2,000 years. The fact that the mediums are more flashy doesn't change the fact that people with superior reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills are far more equipped to be successful and active citizens than those without. While much has been made of Focus equating to a shunning of much of the modern technology that exists in classrooms, I do not think it has to be one or the other. Our most effective use of 21st century technology happens when its used to strengthen our instruction of the four pillars of language mastery that Schmoker insists we must focus on. For reading skills, we can use Livebinder, Diigo, Dropbox, Colornote, etc to enhance and organize the bookmarking and notetaking process for students. We can use Google Docs, Blogging, MrThread, and other online chat forums to allow students to articulate themselves exclusively in writing during class with immediate feedback from peers and the instructor. We have Flip cameras and Voice Thread to allow students to self assess their own speaking and presenting skills, and Skype presents incredible opportunities for students to academically and professionally interact with other students in sister classes. Teachers can use textthemob and Twitter to enhance that critical interaction between student and teacher good classes have had since the days of Socrates. Focusing on literacy the way Schmoker suggests does not mean abandoning the integration of technology in the classroom. It means using it in the best possible way to achieve our objectives.
Traditional focus doesn't have to be boring or archaic. In reading Mike Schmoker's, Focus, I cannot help but to come to the conclusion that he is not calling for a rejection of modern technology and its integration in our schools, but rather the commitment to use of these technologies to foster the necessary characteristics of good teaching and good citizenry that have stood for over 2,000 years. The fact that the mediums are more flashy doesn't change the fact that people with superior reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills are far more equipped to be successful and active citizens than those without. While much has been made of Focus equating to a shunning of much of the modern technology that exists in classrooms, I do not think it has to be one or the other. Our most effective use of 21st century technology happens when its used to strengthen our instruction of the four pillars of language mastery that Schmoker insists we must focus on. For reading skills, we can use Livebinder, Diigo, Dropbox, Colornote, etc to enhance and organize the bookmarking and notetaking process for students. We can use Google Docs, Blogging, MrThread, and other online chat forums to allow students to articulate themselves exclusively in writing during class with immediate feedback from peers and the instructor. We have Flip cameras and Voice Thread to allow students to self assess their own speaking and presenting skills, and Skype presents incredible opportunities for students to academically and professionally interact with other students in sister classes. Teachers can use textthemob and Twitter to enhance that critical interaction between student and teacher good classes have had since the days of Socrates. Focusing on literacy the way Schmoker suggests does not mean abandoning the integration of technology in the classroom. It means using it in the best possible way to achieve our objectives.
Aspiring Educational Leader Reading List
Reposted from my Tumblr blog...
I have found these books particularly helpful in my preparation to shift my role as an educator from classroom teacher to administrator. Myself an aspiring secondary instructional leader who has yet to serve in the role, these works make me feel ready to thrive in that new position when the time comes. I recommend these reads to any teacher thinking of moving into any kind of leadership position within the school community, and offer a brief note on each.
I have found these books particularly helpful in my preparation to shift my role as an educator from classroom teacher to administrator. Myself an aspiring secondary instructional leader who has yet to serve in the role, these works make me feel ready to thrive in that new position when the time comes. I recommend these reads to any teacher thinking of moving into any kind of leadership position within the school community, and offer a brief note on each.
Harvey Alvy & Pam Robbins, Learning From Lincoln, 2010-As an inexperienced president, Lincoln relied on two things: His values/judgment & the team around him. New leaders in any position can benefit from the lesson from Lincoln.
Alan M. Blankstein, Failure is Not an Option, 2004- If Bank of America is too big to fail, why aren't schools? Why is that not our mentality?
ed. Heidi Hayes Jacobs, Curriculum 21, 2010- Great collection of essays on where education is heading. I particularly liked, "A Classroom as Wide as the World."
Thomas Hoerr, The Art of School Leadership, 2005- Examines types of leadership styles, and is filled with teacher anecdotes about what they look for in a leader.
Robert Marzano, Timothy Waters, & Brian McNulty, School Leadership that Works, 2005- Great stuff as always from Marzano. The title says it all.
William J. Reese, America’s Public Schools, 2005- Provides a general history of pubic schools in the United States from the early republic to No Child Left Behind. I found the chapter about LBJ's Great Society very interesting, which spawned a different research project specifically about the ed reforms of the 1960s.
Jon Saphier, How to Make Supervision & Evaluation Really Work, 1993- A real useful and growth centered way to learn about teacher evaluations and supervision. Even if I do not become an administrator this upcoming year, the material in this book made me a better classroom teacher as well. It allowed me to see my own teaching from the perspective of an evaluator.
Mike Schmoker, Focus, 2011- Even with all of the new technologies and fads out there, the four pillars of language remain the ability to read, write, speak, and listen effectively. Schmoker reminds us that as leaders its important to avoid jumping on every new trend until we first identify how it will improve literacy.
Marilyn Tallerico, Supporting & Sustaining Teachers’ Professional Development, 2005- Great stuff on adult learning theory in here. Transitioning from classroom to administration also means a shift in who we are primarily working with. Adults are different than children, obviously, which means a need for a different way of working.
Tony Wagner, The Global Achievement Gap, 2008- Discusses similar issues as Curriculum 21, but still a great and very quick read.
Anne Wescott Dodd & Jean L. Konzal, How Communities Build Stronger Schools, 2002-Community relations are paramount to the success of practically all public enterprises, and schools are certainly no exception. Many anecdotes provide clear lessons in both good and bad PR from various schools in this book.
Todd Whitaker, Leading School Change, 2010- Whitaker is a fantastic resource for all educators, and I recommend any of his books. He offers practical solutions to some of the most basic interpersonal problems that occur in schools and plague leadership posts. I enjoyed this book thoroughly.
Todd Whitaker, What Great Principals Do Differently, 2003- The title says it all. See above.
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