"Spark" Your Students This Year

I saw this TEDxTC post on Pender Makin's blog, "Views from the Fringe of Public Education." Pender is the Director of the REAL School in RSU #14 and the Maine Principal of the Year.

In his "Sparks: How Youth Thrive" presentation,  Peter Benson, the CEO of Search Institute, inspires us to think about how we can "light the fires" of creativity and resiliency in our students by asking the simple question: "What gives you joy and energy?" Not only do we need to find that spark in each of our students, but we also need to nourish those sparks during their short time with us.

As you know, we can and do make a tremendous difference in the lives of our students.

Hope your school year is filled with energy and joy!

Innovation Goes Mainstream

Do you still check Parade magazine every Sunday? Sometimes my husband teases me that Parade is the first part of the Sunday newspaper that I read. Even though we get the online version of the paper during the week, there's still something about flipping through that thick newspaper each Sunday!

This past Sunday I was delighted to see such a clear educational focus...one that incorporates both innovative ideas and traditional programs, such as recess, art, music, wood shop, and cooking. Michael Brick's article, "Building a Better School Day" emphasizes the importance of educating students to be not only "great test takers but great learners." Here are the seven inspiring ideas that Brick advocates:

1. Begin the day "over easy" with breakfast.
2. Emphasize learning, not testing.
3. Teach 21st-century skills.
4. "Flip" the class work.
5. Say "yes" to recess.
6. Get creative.
7. Go longer--and better.

Education is no longer the exclusive domain of teachers, administrators, and school boards. If Parade magazine informs its readers about "flipped" classrooms, multidisciplinary learning, and project-based learning, we need to be ready to lead the way. What do you think?

Can Storytelling Engage Students...and their Communities?

This past year a group of principals in southern Maine read and discussed Suzie Boss's book, Bringing Innovation to School: Empowering Students to Thrive in a Changing World. This effort was organized by the Maine Principals' Association and the Great Schools Partnership.

Imagine my surprise when I saw this article by Suzie Boss about the power of storytelling on the Edutopia website. Her "Why Teachers Need to Be Great Storytellers" article grabbed my attention when she wrote about "what makes learning 'electric'" for students...and "how you and your students can harness storytelling to frame productive conversations about teaching and learning in your community."

I have not checked out the Sam Chaltain book, Faces of Learning: 50 Powerful Stories of Defining Momemts in Education that she recommends, but I plan to do that soon. I wonder what would happen if communities hosted "story slams" as a way for "parents, teachers, and other community members to share memories from their own personal learning journeys."

What I loved about the Boss article was a quote from a New Tech graduate. She said, "Your students graduate not just prepared, but inspired to chase their own whys." Wow!

BTW, if you haven't looked at the Edutopia website, it is chock full of inspiring articles about project-based learning (Maine is highlighted), technology integration, social and emotional learning, assessment, and integrated studies.