How does war relate to education?

Summer Reading

Summer is a glorious time to read those bestsellers that piqued our interest during the year, but that we never got around to reading. This summer after reading TransAtlantic (Colum McCann), All the Light We Cannot See (Anthony Doerr), and Norwegian by Night (Derek B. Miller), it dawned on me that a theme was starting to emerge. And when I started reading A God in Ruins (Kate Atkinson), it was there again: all of the characters in these books were striving to make sense of war and its legacy.

When I shared this observation with my husband, Barry, and mentioned I might want to blog about it, he said, “What does war have to do with education?” That question stopped me in my tracks. It struck me that it had everything to do with education, yet I could not immediately say how and why. The connection did appear tenuous. The culture of schools, curriculum, and educational practices reflect the beliefs, values, history, and culture of a society at large…whether it be antebellum America, 20^th century Europe, Nazi Germany, Northern Ireland, Korea, Vietnam, or the Balkans. Can education even make a dent in changing a culture?

Colum McCann’s novel begins with Jack Alcock and Arthur Brown’s harrowing transatlantic flight from Newfoundland to Clifden, Ireland in 1919. They fly their WWI Vimy for a variety of reasons, but the one that intrigued me the most was this one: they wanted to “knock the war out of the plane.” And this led me to see yet another another theme: in each novel, after each war as the survivors cobble their lives together, they hope that their suffering will end suffering for others. Don’t we all remember that WWI was supposed to be the war to end all wars?

Yet, the cycle continues. Is war inevitable? After reading Norwegian by Night, I was fascinated by Derek B. Miller’s bio and went a-Googling (is that a word?). He is the director of The Policy Lab and a senior fellow with the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research. In an interview on Book Bites, Miller was asked this question: “Can we ever get over wars and more important should we?” Miller’s clear-eyed and honest response was

I do believe conflicts are endemic to social interaction and conflicts continue to occur. I also think that there is much progress to be made in better managing and resolving conflicts. I feel confident in saying that states have not invested in building the tools necessary to engage the world’s plurality of cultural systems in ways that are informed by our differences. I believe real progress towards more peaceful co-existence will be the reward for relevant efforts in this regard. Just consider the expertise, budgets, systems, and scholarship that have gone into winning war. And now compare that to what we’ve invested to avert, manage, or recover from war.

So, my answer to Barry’s question is that even though educators cannot stop the cycle of warfare, we can help our students learn how to manage and resolve conflicts.  Maybe we can even craft and tell exciting and engaging stories about how strong and smart men and women have resolved conflicts and avoided war.

One of the stories in McCann’s novel is about George Mitchell (yes, Maine’s George Mitchell) and how he brokered the peace in Ireland. McCann writes about Mitchell:

It is as if, in a myth, he has visited an empty grain silo. In the beginning he stood at the bottom in the resounding dark. Several figures gathered at the very top of the silo. They peered down, shared their eyes, began to drop their pieces of grain upon him: words. A small rain at first. Full of vanity and history and rancor. Clattering in the emptiness. He stood and let it sound metallic around him, until it began to pour, and the grain took on a different sound, and he had to reach up and keep knocking the words aside just to get a little space to breathe. Dust and chaff in the air all around him. From their very own fields. They were pouring down their winnowed bitterness, and in his silence he just kept thrashing, spluttering, pushing the words away. A refusal to drown. What nobody noticed, not even himself, was that the grain kept rising with it, and the sounds grew different, word upon word, falling around him, building beneath him. And now—at the top of the silo—he has clawed himself up and dusted himself off and he stands there equal with the pourers who are astounded by the language that lies below them. They glance at each other. Three ways down from the silo. They can fall into the grain and drown, they can jump off the edge and abandon it, or they can learn to sow it very slowly at their feet.

Words. Yes, educators use words. As we start a new school year, I hope that we will continue to use those words to help our students learn how to resolve conflicts and make the world a better place for themselves, their children, and for generations to come.

Is Sharing Optional for Educators?

Sharing Online Resources

Sometimes I tell my students, and even my grandsons, that I’m an education geek. Yes, they do roll their eyes. After all, they are adolescents, and I am talking about school in the middle of summer vacation in Maine! Regardless of their reactions, I really love to stay connected with other educators. I get excited about new ideas, research, and practices and am eager to share them. 

When I think about what to post on this blog, I often have to stop and check myself. Too often, I mistakenly think I should be sharing something totally new, creative, and innovative. Then I am reminded of Picasso’s quote: “Good artists, copy. Great artists, steal.” Even Picasso recognized, as do all good teachers, that we all “steal” ideas from each other.  "Steal" may be a harsh word to use...perhaps "share" would be more accurate.

After I watched Dean Shareski’s “Moral Imperative” YouTube video about sharing resources online, my thoughts were validated. I felt redeemed. He states that, in today’s technological world, sharing online is no longer an option…it is an “ethical responsibility.” Shareski explains why this statement from Ewan Mcintosh resonates with him: “Sharing, and sharing online specifically, is not in addition to the work of an educator. It is the work.”   

Do you agree with Shareski and Mcintosh? How do you share online resources with others? How does your school? Your district?

Michael Lamoureux, the technology integrator in MSAD #15 where I work, sent me the article, “Distracted by Tech? Address the Problem, Not the Symptom”.  Written by Lydia Leimbach, the tech integrator at Hall Dale High School in RSU #2, it was included in the June 2014 edition of Electronic Educator. She asserts that when students install proxies, hide websites, or download non-educational apps, it is another manifestation of the age-old problem of students being distracted and disengaged from learning. She writes: “Distraction, procrastination, defiance—they are all symptoms of the same problem. Disengagement. It’s our job as teachers to figure out WHY. It’s not about ‘who’s fault’ it is. It’s about finding solutions. Forward motion in the goal.”

Leimbach lists a variety of suggestions about how to limit distractions and hold students accountable. Check them here.  Do they make sense to you? What works for you in your classroom?

Here’s to sharing!

Social Media: A Complicated Challenge

Another school year has come to an end. We did it!!  What has been one of your biggest challenges? 

As I reflect on the year, one of mine has been dealing with students who have access to social media via their cell phones, iPads, and laptops. Do you have similar concerns? How are you and your school colleagues making sense of this?

As an assistant principal at Gray-New Gloucester High School in Gray, Maine, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard: “Why can’t we just block all of those social media apps?” “Students should not have cell phones in school. If they need to use the phone, they can use the one in the Main Office.” “Students have little to no attention span today. They are just too distracted by Facebook, SnapChat, Instant Messenger, Flickr, games, and all that other stuff.” Sometimes, after listening to their concerns, I can only respond by saying, “Well, it’s complicated.”

Back in February, I heard about danah boyd’s book, It’s Complicated: The Social Lives of Networked Teens. First, it helped me calm down a bit and see the world through the lens of our high school students who, like us, are trying to make sense of a wired world.

Download here

Boyd’s book is filled with solid research and intriguing stories about the teens that she interviewed. One key takeaway for me was the concept of “context collapse.” She says, “Like adults, teenagers are figuring out how to present themselves in different contexts.” Think about how we have our different contexts: our school email, our home email, Facebook, Pinterest, and different websites and apps that reflect our uniqueness. Boyd reminds us that what is different today is that all of this is so public, and that messages can be misunderstood and misinterpreted so quickly. This we do know...that the consequences can be serious, damaging, and occasionally, even dangerous for our students.

We need to teach our students how to stay safe online and how to develop clear boundaries. Is there more we can do? Keeping Kids Safe is one organization in Maine that can help. Check out these sites for more ideas: Digital Resources Roundup, Internet Safety Rules of the Road, Prevent Cyber-Bullying, and Guide to Social Media. Ways to use social media effectively are summarized here: Social Media in Schools. 

Yes, we need clear policies, procedures, and guidelines. Yet, I also believe that we need to respect and validate our students’ experiences...their need for privacy, their need for clarity and boundaries, their curiosity, and their need to engage in meaningful dialogue with caring and thoughtful adults who are willing to help them learn how to navigate through their complicated world.

So, what do you think? What are you and your schools doing to address these issues? 

Cosmos is Coming....Cosmos is Coming!

Neil deGrasse Tyson hosts Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey starting Sunday, March 9th 

What triggers your curiosity to learn more? Over this long and messy February Break as I was checking Facebook posts, I found this quote by Neil deGrasse Tyson:

I am driven by two main philosophies: know more today about the world than I knew yesterday and lessen the suffering of others. You'd be surprised how far that gets you.

Not only did this resonate with me, but it prompted me to google Neil deGrasse Tyson....which, of course, led to additional clicks along the way. I had read in Parade magazine (there I go again, honey, check post of 8/13/13) about his new Fox/National Geographic show and was intrigued then. But, when I saw the trailer, I was hooked! I cannot wait for Sunday, March 9th to see the first episode. Click here to see the trailer: Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey. Goosebumps, anyone? 

As I continued my Google research, I found more links, which triggered more curiosity about science, religion, our fragile ego systems, poetry, physics, and yes, even politics. One link caught my eye. Entitled "The Greatest Sermon Ever," how could I resist? My father was a Lutheran minister in Baltimore, and I had heard my share of inspiring sermons as a child. Yet, this one I had to check out: Sermon on Cosmic Perspective. Sorry, Dad! This one really got to me. 

We often talk about literacy because it will raise achievement scores, but what about science literacy? There's certainly a push to expand the study of math and science. STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) programs are the rage in education now. Yet, it seems like the primary motivation is that it will strengthen our economy, which is fine, but does it miss the mark? Will economics inspire our young people to learn more, remain curious, become better people, feel connected to others, and improve our world? What do you think? 

Here's another Tyson quote:

Ignorance is a virus. Once it starts spreading, it can only be cured by reason. 

For the sake of humanity, we must be that cure. 

Moonshot Thinking

Have you heard of Moonshot Thinking?

As I was reading other blogs, I was intrigued by this "moonshot thinking" idea and checked it out on YouTube. You can view it by clicking here:  Moonshot Thinking. It was inspiring to hear JFK's voice again as he talked about going to the moon...not because it was easy but because it was hard and no one knew how to do it...yet!

Long before Carol Dweck defined the growth mind-set thinking in her popular book, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, human beings have been exploring, creating, innovating, seeking challenges, designing, taking risks, failing, recovering, and viewing their life's work from a different perspective. Just think about Steve Jobs and how his growth mind-set transformed the way we access, store, and organize knowledge--and, not the least of which was the way he altered the way we communicate by reinventing the mobile phone.

I love thinking outside of the box and am committed to encouraging educators and students to do the same. Yet, my practical nature reminds me that we landed on the moon not because the knowledge wasn't there, but because scientists, engineers, and innovators needed a vision, a motivation, and a renewed focus.

So, how does this relate to education? As teachers and administrators head back to school for just a brief three weeks before we have another holiday break, what might inspire us and empower us to make a difference in the lives of our students?

Let me suggest that you check out what's happening in Manor, Texas. Edutopia selected Manor New Technology High School as a School That Works because it has successfully implemented Project-Based Learning (PBL) into its school culture, curriculum, and assessment practices. When you watch its Project-Based Learning: Start to Finish video and read its Step-by-Step Guide, you may conclude that many of these ideas and strategies have been circulating for quite some time: standards, rubrics, peer feedback, entry events, relationships before rigor and relevance, posing a moral dilemma, and multi-media student presentations.

Yo-Yo Ma had this to say about innovation: But an innovation, to grow organically from within, has to be based on an intact tradition, and so our idea is to bring together musicians who represent all these traditions, in workshops, festivals, and concerts, to see how we can connect with each other in music.

We walked on the moon because there was a collective vision and a focus on using knowledge creatively. Can we do the same in our classrooms and schools? Food for thought.

Will Slow and Steady Win the Race?

Are you a speed reader? Do you rush through books and articles? Do you pride yourself on how many pages you can read in an hour, or how many books you can read in a month?

You are not alone! As I read Thomas Newkirk's most recent book, The Art of Slow Reading, it became clear to me that we are doing a disservice both to ourselves and our students with our relentless drive to improve the quantity...and not the quality of reading. In an earlier post, I praised the benefits of close reading, but Newkirk takes this idea a giant step forward with his advocacy of slow reading.

In Chapter 1, Newkirk proudly confesses that he is a slow reader. He defines slow reading as: the relationship we have with what we read, with the quality of attention that we bring to our reading, and with the investment we are willing to make. It is based on the belief that good writing is never consumed (page 2). 

Newkirk recommends that we adopt these Six Time-Honored Practices for Engagement. They are:

1.  Performing: Attending to the texts as dramatic.
2.  Memorizing: Learning "by heart."
3.  Centering: Assigning significance to a part of a text.
4.  Problem finding: Interrupting the flow of reading to note a problem or confusion, and adopting strategies to deal with the problem.
5.  Reading like a writer: Attending to the decisions a writer makes.
6.  Elaborating: Developing the capacity to comment and expand upon texts.

These practices are not new...are they? Do you remember memorizing poems and passages from great literary works, and then performing them in front of your junior high class? I certainly do. At the time, we may have dreaded those moments, yet I bet we remember those words and the meaning of those words much more than what we read silently. If you pick up Newkirk's book, I promise you that you will be intrigued with his critique of the rise of silent reading in Chapter 3.

So, even if the Race to the Top motivates us to improve our instructional practices, let's not forget to ask ourselves this question: Can fluency and literacy be a race? Newkirk gently reminds us that "fluency can never be a race. Faster is not always better" (page 18).

I, too, have a confession. I bought this book last Saturday and actually thought that I would fly through it over the weekend and would be ready to write a blog post about it on Monday. Well, I'm only up to page 68...and guess what? I am savoring every minute of it!

Close Reading as a Habit of Mind

One strategy teachers can use to prepare their students for the increased rigor of the Common Core State Standards is close reading. Close reading was mentioned in the last blog post as an effective literacy strategy that helps students to focus, to think critically, and to make sense of the written word.

Close reading, according to Dr. Douglas Fisher, is "careful and purposeful reading. It's a careful and purposeful rereading of a text. It's an encounter with the text where students really focus on what the author had to say, what the author's purpose was, what the words mean, and what the structure of the text tells us."

Watch Doug Fisher explain the rationale of close reading in this short video clip.

In his iteachircoachiblog post, Court Allam explains five close reading strategies in more detail. He also provides a sample of student work. Have you tried these strategies? Do they work? Do they enable students to "own" their learning?

1.  Number the paragraphs.
2.  Chunk the text.
3.  Underline and circle...with a purpose.
4.  Left margin: What is the author saying?
5.  Right margin: Dig deeper into the text.

Another excellent resource is Kylene Beers and Robert Probst's book, Notice and Note: Strategies for Close Reading. You can watch them on this YouTube clip, if that's easier.

For me, the most compelling reason to integrate close reading strategies is the realization that we live in such a disjointed, frenetic, fast-paced, and sometimes mindless world. Perhaps we all need to slow down, ponder, reflect, and truly understand what we and others are thinking and feeling. Maybe close reading can become a habit of mind for all of us.