Who dares to teach must never cease to learn. ~John Cotton Dana

In Roger von Oech’s post today, Creative Think: Flex Your Risk Muscle he tosses out a topic that I have been thinking about a lot lately.  “Bull’s-eye every time? If so, you’re standing too close to the target. If you’re not failing every now and again, it’s a sign you’re not doing anything very innovative. Everyone has a “risk muscle.” You keep it in shape by trying new things. If you don’t, it atrophies and you’re no longer able to take chances.” 

When we went in for a conference with my second-grade son’s teacher, she showed us his reading report for the quarter.  He had scored all points possible on almost every test.  She then said that she would rather see a few more 60s and 70s, because then she would know he was challenging himself with the kinds of books he was reading.  At that point, I became an even bigger fan of a teacher I already liked. 

I have said many times this year that I think GPA is the enemy of the gifted student.  They don’t risk taking the “hard” classes because it might lower their class rank, which in turn would hurt their scholarship chances.  I’m sure this isn’t the case everywhere, but I’m also sure it is fairly common in many schools.  It is the same reason that I am tempted to choose easier music for my choir, even though they won’t learn as much from it–it will sound better for a performance with less work for all involved.  The trouble is…this is cheating everyone. 

At a couple of different gifted workshops, presenters have mentioned the following adage: Steal their struggle and you steal their self-esteem. Our students will experience greater pride in their work if they know they have done work, instead of having a good performance handed to them on the “easy platter”.

I hope as I learn more about working with gifted students (and music students) that I don’t let my “risk muscles” atrophy, or allow my students’ to either.  Thanks, Roger for another great Whack!

ASCD Blog: McTighe on Making Assessments Meaningful makes a point that by the very nature of our profession as educators, we are ( or should be) interested in assessment, as an indicator of learning taking place in our classrooms.  His indicators of meaningful assessments are the same as we have been talking about in various high school professional development sessions, either locally, or those provided by our area education agency.  They include:

  Making assessments meaningful should also include pre-assessing, to determine the current skill level before beginning a new concept.  Why make students sit through material they already know and can easily master, when so much other material is available?  The clear learning targets would show what they need to work toward at each new level, and make differentiation that much easier. Giving advanced students extra work that is not directed toward specific learning targets is not serving their needs as a learner.

The comments so far on this blog article indicate that at least some teachers feel too much emphasis is placed on assessment already.  I don’t think McTighe is necessarily talking about formal, pencil and paper, standardized assessments.  I think he is talking about the questions we ask to check for understanding and the observations we are already making on a daily basis.  We just need to document this data a little better so that our next assessment will be measuring growth, rather than stagnation.

I just finished reading a book called The On-Time, On-Target Manager. It was sub-titled “How a ‘Last Minute Manager’ Conquered Procrastination”. I knew when I read the sub-title that this book was for me, and besides, it was co-written by one of my favorite self-help authors, Ken Blanchard. When I was trying to decide what I wanted to be when I grew up, after seven years teaching in Missouri and a year as a stay-at-home Mom, I stumbled upon The One Minute Manager and have been a fan ever since. For a while, I read anything I could get my hands on by this guy. His style of teaching a lesson through telling a story makes important ideas not only easy to read, but fun and memorable too. I followed the first book with Leadership and the One Minute Manager and was glad to find a book written in a similar style, co-authored by Blanchard’s co-author, Spencer Johnson, (The One Minute Teacher) when I decided teaching was truly what I wanted to do after all. This summer I read Gung Ho! and my library bag currently holds The Heart of a Leader.

Wow! This was not supposed to be a post for the One Minute Fan Club, but I’m easily side-tracked, unfortunately. I think this is part of why I appear to be such a procrastinator in the first place. But then again, that may be where the “confabulation” part comes in. As I was pondering a title for this post, I ran across this word and immediately thought “That’s it!” The definition:

The tips about priorities involve how to “triage” the four categories of activities we are faced with every day:

1. The things we want to do and have to do.
2. The things we have to do but don’t want to do.
3. The things we want to do but don’t have to do.
4. The things we don’t want to do and don’t have to do.

Propriety is about rights:

• Do the right thing.
• Do it for the right reason.
• Do it with the right people.
• Do it at the right time.
• Do it in the right order.
• Do it with intensity.
• Do it for the right results.

Commitment is summed up with the phrase “Ya’ gotta’ wanna’,” or What do you want to do? and Why do you want to do it?

I guess a big reason people procrastinate is confusing being busy with being productive. We fill up our time with loads of little, unimportant things, while neglecting the really necessary things we should be working on. For me, this maybe goes back to being somewhat of a perfectionist as well. If I can’t do something the exact way I want it done, I just usually don’t do it.

In the sidebar, where I’ve shared a bit about myself, I tell how I start things, but don’t finish. Part of my current confabulation is that I am a procrastinating perfectionist. I’m determined to get my priorities in line, somehow though, and will address my progress in future posts.

Some of the material for this post is from Blanchard, Ken et.al. The on-Time, on-Target Manager. New York: William Morrow, 2004.

This is the article I wrote for the school website about our new advisory program. I am trying to get the word out to the community about the benefits of advisory, so they won’t just hear complaints. We have some students, substitutes, and yes, even a few teachers, who wish advisories would just disappear, so the “talk around town”, if any, may not be as positive as I’d like. Friday, when I spoke to a class about the reasons for the program, I was told that “everyone I’ve talked to says the same thing. All anyone does in advisory is sit around and do nothing, except maybe complain about advisory. Even the teachers make fun of it.” Sometimes it is hard to keep working toward a goal, or even keep believing in it when so few share the same vision.

High School Adds Building Wide Advisory Program
Building Relationships for Building Success

The mission of the Riverside Community School District is to prepare students to meet the challenges of the future as responsible citizens in a global society. That is a lofty goal when the careers of the future haven’t even been dreamed of today. With more and more jobs being outsourced to other countries, and the needs of businesses everywhere changing practically daily, it becomes even more important for our schools to help students succeed in as many ways as possible.Several recent research studies have pointed out that students are more likely to succeed when they feel connected to school. One of the ways more and more high schools are attempting to make this connection is by implementing building-wide advisory programs. In an advisory program, students spend time each week with the same advisor and group of students throughout high school. Learning and career plans are made and students are able to take an active role in choices related to their learning experiences.

Riverside High School has joined this reform effort so our students can also have greater chances of success. Fifteen minute advisory periods meet daily, in groups ranging from eight to fourteen students, and cover topics in the areas of relationships, citizenship, academic success and career/future success. The idea is to personalize the learning atmosphere to help ALL students have the greatest chance to fulfill their learning needs.

Along with greater chances of academic success, research also shows that students are less likely to engage in drug use, violence, and early sexual activity when they attend schools with caring teachers. Likewise, similar research has shown that students not engaged in school are more at risk of disruptive behavior, absenteeism and dropping out of school.

The goal of the Riverside High School advisory program is to provide each student an adult advocate to help him/her personalize the educational experience while working toward the school’s mission. The advisor will be a parent and student’s first stop in problem-solving as our high school moves toward helping all students reach for success.

Yesterday, I read a blog post by Christian Long about why people blog and what sacrifices they may make for blogging to be such a significant part of their lives. I guess I fit into his last group:

Some are still figuring where they stand in the aforementioned mix. They have a blog. Sometimes they actually use it. Or they are still wondering if this blogging-business needs to take up precious time otherwise spent with their families and friends and hammocks. They might be in your audience, in your faculty room, or reading your blog right now. They may be looking for Google Juice by linking to you so that you’ll link to them, if they’re clever (he smiles).

I have a blog. I have had one for a few years. I documented some personal ramblings and saved some pictures on another “blogger” page. I was using it as a kind of “therapy” for that mystical experience of figuring out who I am and what I want to be when I grow up. I wasn’t really sure I wanted anyone else to read it, yet I really did want someone else to read it and respond…maybe. But was I up for criticism of my writing?

Now, through a few serendipitous clicks of the mouse, I have discovered a fountain of “Google Juice” inspiration. I am totally guilty as charged of linking to someone, hoping they’ll link back to me, creating a network of “experts” that I can learn from. In my mind, anyway, this may be the antidote for feelings of isolation during the school year.

I had a recent discussion with someone not in education about blogging, and why anyone would want to do it. He said he was a private person, to which I responded “Don’t you ever want to share ideas with someone?” His answer, of course, was that he would much rather do that face to face with someone he knows. I can understand that, but I have identified a particular character flaw in myself. I can’t get past a need for affirmation–someone, anyone, saying “YES! Exactly!” or “I think you’re on the right track” or even “You might want to rethink that one.” I have a limited number of people in my school that I feel I can turn to without being tiresome.

Perhaps, even if I am tiresome here in my own little blogworld, someone I don’t have to face on a day to day basis might have an easier time telling me to stop whining. I think I can be more open to criticism in writing because I have more time to reflect on it before responding. Whatever the case, because of this whole “new world” that has opened up on my screen, I am almost looking forward to getting back to school, collaborating with colleagues, and helping to create the kind of school I envision.