Tinkerings

Over the years, I’ve learned a few lessons on work ethic from people who have led me.  I’ve been running these lessons over and over in my head through the last few days, so naturally they have found their way to this blog post.  They have been unrelentingly playing in my mind like one of those ear worm songs that just won’t go away.  I’m hoping by writing them down i can allow my mind to think about other things soon.

Do Something Even If Its Wrong. This is a lesson I learned in high school from my grandfather.  He was a retired contractor and was working to help my dad, uncle, and me build our house in Arkansas.  I knew nothing about building, and occasionally he would find me standing around looking lost.  I cannot tell you how many times I heard, “Tim, do something even if its wrong, but don’t let me catch you just standing around.”  This has been, perhaps, the most defining piece of information that has guided my own work ethic.  In most cases, it has caused me to excel in the workplace.  Other times it has gotten me into trouble.  But I have always tried to let it guide me.  And I try to instill this thought into the heads of my students as well.

Sometimes You Get A Plaque. Years ago a State Youth Director with the Church of God told me the story of a secretary in his state office.  She had been there for years.  She thought she ran the office, and she would not be retrained.  At a state campmeeting they gave her a plaque and retired her with their thanks for her years of service.  That story, although perhaps apocryphal, has stuck with me through the years.  Without a good work ethic, sometimes people just need a plaque.

Never Stop Just Because You Hit A Wall. I learned this lesson from my dad.  We moved to Arkansas when I was about to begin my junior year in high school.  He had an idea to use injection molding machines to make replacement gaskets for a piece of equipment he used when he was in the wire and cable industry.  We worked together at night using someone else’s equipment.  The problem was he couldn’t sell it.  He was out of work and living on his savings.  He went to a local company and found something different he could make for them based on his knowledge from his prior employment.  That idea took off quickly, and soon we were making a profit and living comfortably.  As I worked with him over nearly 8 years, I saw him break down walls over and over again.  Nothing stopped him.  Today, I have become known as the guy who can “get ‘r done” (to quote a modern philosopher).  I owe that to him.

Your Work Is Your Reputation. Again, my dad taught me this.  In our family owned business, nothing went out the door without him approving it, or approving the person who approved it.  Every box of color additives, every sheet of pressed rubber for shoe soles, every shrink wrapped pallet was a reflection of my dad’s character and reputation.  It wasn’t just the outer appearance, but the fact that everything was done with quality, even down to the way we placed pallets on the trucks.  Today, I would stack my work up against anyone.  Like Will Sonnett used to say, “No brag.  Just fact.”

Think Broad, Not Narrow. I was raised in a conservative Pentecostal denomination.  During my younger years I was inundated with sermons that tried to narrow my focus as to who is accepted in the Body of Christ and who isn’t.  Easy litmus tests were used: clothing, smoking, drinking, attending movie theaters, etc.  Later, when I finished Lee University and later moved to Scotland and England, I realized it was better to view the world as broad rather than narrow.  My time at RAF Mildenhall serving as both the Protestant and Catholic Parish Christian Education Coordinator was hugely beneficial for me to realize that we simply do not all have to agree to be right.  While I still often believe that my ideas are better than most everyone else’s (OK, that’s a tongue-in-cheek statement for those that can’t see the smile on my face as I type), my ideas don’t have to be the ones implemented.  But once a plan is in place, all the other work ethic details listed above come into play.

There are other great lessons I’ve learned about work ethic over the years.  These are just a few that have been burrowing a hole in my head the last few days.  What kinds of work ethic details do you deal with in your life?

Over the summer I was privileged to attend the Discovery Educator Network’s Leadership Council Symposium at Bentley University in Waltham, MA.  Some of you may remember the short video a few of us produced to highlight the exercise routine of the week….walking 287 stair steps from our dorm to our meeting hall.

One of the highlights of the week was working with Dr. Lodge McCammon of the Friday Institute.  Lodge (as he is affectionately called by all his groupies) is a genius when it comes to using media in the classroom.  He has a wonderful self-effacing sense of humor that turns his apparent geekiness into the King of Cool.

During the half-day we spent with Lodge, he introduced us to the ease with which teachers and students alike can create “paper slide” videos for instruction.  In fact, rather than demonstrate the technique or lecture about it, Lodge made a paper slide video to show us how easy paper slide videos are to make.

As a result, I have decided that the starters for our 6th grade classes in our computer labs will be done this way.  The first six weeks I am creating all of the starter videos, but my goal is to students create them for the last part of the semester.  We will follow the paper slide format Monday through Thursday and then let them type their favorite or best starter into Word as part of Friday’s assignment.

I was surprised at how easy it was to do.  Although we are teaching math skills to 6th graders, our starters are all language arts driven.  As a result, we are asking students to write at least one paragraph at the beginning of class each day.  The first week of videos don’t fully follow our instructions from Lodge, but I’m working up to that.

Typically, his paper slide videos introduce a concept, demonstrate the concept in some form, and then ask a guiding question for the students to work on in order to demonstrate understanding.  My first few videos end more with guiding “instructions” rather than questions.  As the kids get used to doing this form of starter, we will change the construct slightly in order to be more open ended for them.

Here is the video we are using today as we get this process started.

We have had a full week of professional development so far in Bradley County, and the rest of the week is looking very similar.  A lot has been put before us.  But so far, the teachers at our school really haven’t spent any time there.  Today is our first full day on campus.  And a full day it will be.

We have a trainer coming to work with our teachers on Promethean software.  This is really important training for us.  We just installed an Interactive White Board in every classroom last year.  Teachers spent the year just sort of playing around and trying to get comfortable with it in their classroom.  Now it is time to crank it up a notch and begin to use it the way it was intended: interactively with students.

I worked with nearly 200 teachers this week myself going over the basics of DE Streaming and how it can be integrated into other sites like Wordle, Voicethread, Glogster, and more.  We touched on editable clips and the possibility of using green screen or recording a new narrative to replace the original.  I discovered at least 30 teachers that had never created a log-in.  Some of those are new to the system, of course.  Others work in our system, but had not been told they were able to use the program.  I think we changed that perception.  And many teachers want even more training later.

For me, today will be spent getting the rest of my 150 computers set up, re-imaged, replaced if necessary, and dusted.  I am expecting a great day of exercise climbing over tables, crawling under them, and engaging my core as I lean way over them to get the backs of computers.

We will top off the day with 6th grade orientation this evening from 5:30 to 7:30.

All in all this has been really good week.  Naturally, not every professional development session hit a home run.  But the effort put forth by our district team was monumental.  This was a first for our schools.  And, at the end of the day, I think the week has been hugely successful.

Let’s hope our first week with kids goes as well starting on Monday…

Teachers get a bum rap in a lot of ways.  Low pay.  Blamed for all low performance results on standardized tests.  Caught between parents and students.  The list is long.  But, we do get summers off.  Believe me, that’s huge.

But there’s one other way teachers get a bum rap.  We get to make two sets of resolutions each year: One on January 1st and another sometime in August or September depending on what state in which one teaches.

Of course, not wanting to be an underachiever, I also set myself up for resolutions at the end of the last school year.

Like all good resolutions, we mean well.  We honestly intent to do things differently.  Sometimes we even succeed.  Other times we learn to tweak the resolutions so they are easy to complete.  Like this one from last New Year’s for me:

I will begin the process of losing 40 pounds.

And I did.  Several times.  In fact, I’m beginning that process again next week.  (Hey, we’re teachers.  We’re smart).

Here are just a few of the resolutions I’ve set for myself this school year.

1. Delegate more of my work among my team members.  I am one of those people that like to do my work and the work of thirteen other people.  It is time to give it up.
2. Learn all of my students’ names in the first three weeks of school.  I am horrible with names.  I think the only way I learned mine was from my mom writing it on the inside labels of my clothes when I went to church camp.
3. Find a working phone number for every student before the semester is over.  I’m giving myself a little more time here, but those of you who don’t teach would be surprised at the number of kids who don’t know a phone number for their parents.  Or a street address for their house.  Or what a pencil looks like.
4. Only grade what matters.  No more extra credit for bringing hand sanitizer.  Or getting a form signed.  Or staying awake in class.  (You can’t make this stuff up).
5. Refuse to allow a single student to leave my class without learning the things I intended for them to learn.

OK, I really only wrote all those to get to that last one.  It is this dogged determination to see kids learn that keeps us coming back to the classroom every year.

I will let the teachers, admins, school board members, and other members of PLN that read this blog hold me accountable to these resolutions.  Feel free to ask anytime how I’m doing.  If my answer starts with, “Ummmmm….” just shake your head and walk away.  Ask again on a good day.

What resolutions have you made this year?

I received a round of interview questions recently with regard to an assistant principal opening in another district.  While most of the questions were pretty straightforward with regard to my opinions about the role of APs, discipline, management style, and such, the first question was extremely interesting.  It was much more philosophical (the kinds of questions I love to grapple with for days, weeks, or even years….don’t get me started on Walter Brueggemann’s Israel’s Praise again).

The question asked for my ideas regarding the purpose of a public school education in the life of a middle school student.  After writing my answer, I posed that question on my Facebook wall and asked my friends to give me their ideas.  Their responses were somewhat close to my own in some ways.

Here is what I wrote:

Middle school is the most interesting part of education.  Our school is grades 6 to 8, and it is really more three schools than just one.  Students change so much in each year, so middle school has to take on several roles as well.

First, middle school is a time of exploration.  Middle school students are exploring relationships, extra-curricular interests, academic strengths, boundaries put in place by anyone in authority, and a lot about themselves.  Middle school should be a place where the exploration has meaning.  Students learn how to act in society, how to be kind and giving (sometimes they learn this by experiencing the opposite), how to organize, study, and a host of other lessons aimed at making them more productive students and citizens.

Second, middle school is a time of preparation.  The changes from self-contained classrooms to changing teachers every period, from cubbies to lockers, from no dress code to some form of dress code, and more, help students create a slow, deliberate readiness to life in high school and beyond.  Middle school is a place that helps foster this readiness for life.

Third, middle school is a time of decision-making.  Students begin to decide who they are in the world.  They also decide if they like school or not or if they are good at it or not.  Some research indicates many decide in middle school whether or not to even stay in school.  As such, middle school takes on an even greater role in engaging students in academics (learning in general), exploring career choices (discovering what they like and what they are good at), socialization (how to treat others as well as deciding how they want to be treated), and aiding in the formulation of a beneficial world view (citizenship, family, friends, etc).

I would love for you to leave me some comments as to your own thoughts.  What did I get wrong?  What did I leave out?  Or better yet, what did I get right?

I read this blog from Cool Cat Teacher with great interest this morning.  She makes valid points about both the upside and the downside to using an e-reader in school.  I suggest you take a look at (but wait until you’re done here please).

Personally, I think the Kindle is a step in the right direction, but will ultimately turn out to be an expensive step that can be avoided.  I understand why the Kindle would sound so good today.  Amazon just announced that for the first time ever e-books outsold hardcover books on their website.

While there will always be a demand for books, there won’t always be a demand for $100 textbooks that wear out or become obsolete faster than districts can cycle back around to get more.  In fact, with Amazon’s newer lower pricing, the Kindle is not cheaper than most textbooks.

Imagine what it would mean for a student to have all of his or her books in one, small, lightweight, easy to carry e-book reader.  The savings in chiropractic care alone should make parents do the dance of joy!

For me, I’m skipping over the Kindle and other e-book readers for a shot at using an iPad or a future, as-yet-unseen competitor that allows kids to do so much more.

Simply putting text in an electronic format is not the answer.  Putting text, images, videos, games, assessments, word processing, spreadsheets, picture and video editing tools, and more into the hands of kids is the answer.  At least for now.  Who knows what it will look like in 5 years.  Or 10. (View a video of how the iPad works here)

What is the drawback to the iPad in education?  Cost.  And Apple does not have a history of lowering costs just to get into the education market.  Why should they?  People are falling all over themselves to get an iPad, an iPhone 4, a Mac Pro, an iPod, and any other device Steve Jobs and company can think up.

What are your thoughts about the future of textbooks?

In an answer to the age-old problem of “Which came first, the chicken or the egg,” I read this week that scientists have finally decided the chicken had to come first.  The chicken creates some type of protein necessary for the egg shell to harden.  So, they concluded, the egg would not have had this protein without first being inside the chicken.  Wow.  Thanks for that.

A larger question, for me at least, emerged this week at our DEN LC Symposium.  I was leading a group discussion on the power and pitfalls of allowing students the unique privilege of using their cell phones in class.  Our group was sharing best practice ideas of how cell phones could be used to create podcasts, produce videos, snap pictures for assignments, respond to questions using text, view video tutorials hosted at iTunes and much more.  It was a great discussion.

Then one of our many STAR educators hit me upside the head with the reality stick.  Lisa Parisi said something to the effect that it sounded like we had discovered this great tool and we were trying to find creative ways to use it.  Instead, she continued, we should be looking at curriculum and standards and developing lesson plans and only then deciding which piece of technology (if any) would best help us and the students in the learning process.

That was a light-bulb-over-the-head moment for me.

This article from the Washington Post helps demonstrate her point.  It discusses the boom in sales for Interactive Whiteboards such as SMART and Promethean.  Our school just purchased a Promethean board and short throw projectors for every classroom.  The article talks of teachers who are using the product with minimal results.

DISCLAIMER: To be fair, those teachers frustrated with the lack of gains using an IWB seem to be those that are just using them as a glorified way to lecture; a new PowerPoint if you will.  Reading the article you will find few who are actually engaging students with the boards.  But I think Lisa’s point is still valid: design the lesson first and choose the technology second.

Teachers are under pressure now to “use those boards” every day in their classes.  This seems reasonable.  After all, schools just spent tens of thousands of dollars purchasing them, installing them, and training teachers to use them.  But what if it isn’t the best tool for the job?  What if you don’t need technology at all?

I teach in a computer lab.  My kids get hands-on computer experience nearly everyday.  Yet, even in that environment there are days when our kids won’t touch a computer.  We want them in circles talking.  We want them manipulating things together on a table top.  Could I put them in a chat room for the discussion?  Sure!  Will I? Well….it depends.

If the goal of the lesson is to get kids to work collaboratively to discuss a particular aspect of a story, or design a math lesson for their peers, or talk about their summer vacation, then no, they don’t need a computer for that.  If, however, the goal is to demonstrate for them the power of collaboration in a Web 2.0 environment where they learn how to discuss these things together at home outside of class, then yes, a chat room or a Google Doc would be perfect.

We are pushed so hard to earn the title of a 21st Century Classroom.  But whether we like it or not, this is the 21st Century.  Every classroom is now a 21st Century Classroom with or without technology.

So. back to my question.

I have to change my paradigm a bit.  The lesson has to come first.  It contains the “protein” that solidifies the reason to use the technology.  Not just any old technology.  The right technology.  Sometimes that’s a computer. Sometimes a phone. Sometimes an iPod. Sometimes an IWB.  And sometimes it is something just as revolutionary in its day: a pencil, a crayon, or a foldable.

I think I was in shock last night as the school board listened to Christy Critchfield read a recommended policy change for the students of Bradley County Schools regarding the use of cell phones and other personal electronic devices.  So much so, in fact, that I think I may have missed part of the policy actually says.  I have asked for a copy to post here for discussion.

The previous policy (6.312 here) stated that students MAY have cell phones on campus, but they must be turned off and put away.  Other devices like iPods, mp3 players, and CD players were prohibited from being on campus at all.  Cameras of any kind were also forbidden.

Last night, as the policy was read, my mind started reeling at the educational possibilities that were suddenly opening up as the policy change now states (as I understand it at this time) that students MAY use cell phones and other personal electronic devices (namely iPod Touches) for educational purposes as directed by their teacher.  Inappropriate or unauthorized use of these devices will still mean they are confiscated and returned at a later time.  How long is being worked out by the principals across the district in an effort to make the policy uniform from school to school.

Of course, this change has little impact on my classes.  After all, I teach in a computer lab.  The kinds of things kids can do educationally on their cell phones can more easily be done on the computer sitting in front of them.  And yet, it does offer me the opportunity to help train students in responsible use of these devices.

When I posted this vote on FB last night, immediately my “techie” friends started “liking” the post and congratulating the system.  My “not-so-techie” friends were afraid the school board had opened a Pandora’s box that could unleash all kinds of havoc on our classrooms.

How can this help the classroom?  Oh yes, I hear some asking that question already.  Let me list for you just a few:

• Students with smart phones (and there are plenty) can learn to use the web to do research at home when they do not have a PC or other Internet connection available.
• Teacher lessons and videos can be uploaded to iTunes for students to use for study materials.  (Teachers, did you know that the TN Education Office has an iTunes page with professional development opportunities available to you now?)
• Discovery Education has just introduced an iPhone app for Geography that sells for $4.99.  While I am all about free apps, DE is a for-profit company and the app, I’m told, is totally awesome.  Other educational apps are available.  iPhone apps are not all about bumping, beer guzzling, and announcing your every move on 4Square.
• Students can participate in real-time polls throughout a lesson in order to demonstrate that they are paying attention and getting the material.  It operates much like voting for their favorite American Idol.  We will have to teach teachers how to do it, but we can get some kids to do that.
• Teachers can now establish Twitter accounts for classrooms where the tweets are used for study and review or discussion of novels and more.

I could go on and on, but I don’t mean to minimize the down side here either.  Here are just a few that I have already considered in the past 12 hours or so:

• The Internet capacity on smartphones comes without filters.  Facebook, YouTube, and other sites presently blocked by the state of TN are now fair game in the classroom.  For those teachers who feel filters are the greatest thing since sliced bread, using cellphones in class for educational purposes might put you at some amount of discomfort.  But hey, that’s why its called teaching.
• Greater vigilance will be required of teachers now than before.  Before this policy, a student with a cell phone out was automatically busted.  Now, teachers will need to monitor usage to make sure students are really on task.  Much like making sure those notes they are writing are the ones they should study and not the ones being passed to a girlfriend or boyfriend.
• Teachers need to be trained on the policy and how to use it without abuse.  If guidelines are put in place for students, every teacher must respect those guidelines and enforce them to make believers out of students.  You can’t have one teacher saying, “Johnny, your phone is only for answering this questions and then you put it back on your desk,” and another teacher saying, “Johnny, if you want to send out a couple of text messages while you have your phone out, its ok.”  That’s just like family where little Johnny plays mommy against daddy to get what little Johnny wants.

These are just a few thoughts I have.  Do I believe every teacher is going to start creating lessons that require the use of a cell phone in class?  No.  Most classrooms won’t look any different than any other, except now perhaps teachers will ask students to lay their cell phones on their desks in plain view while class is going on.  That in itself would stop a lot of the inappropriate use students do now when they text from under the desk.

Until I see the new policy, I am not sure what it does for the use of cameras on campus.  Like other uses of phones, cameras and video cameras can be a positive educational experience or a teacher’s worst nightmare.

In the meantime, what do you think of the new policy and its possibilities?  Are you in favor or against the policy?  What other educational benefits have you seen or done with cell phones in the classroom?  Please leave your comments below.

Once again, we will Cover-It-Live at the regularly scheduled school board meeting today, July 8, at 5:30 PM.

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Tonight’s agenda:

1. Call to Order
2. Invocation
3. Pledge to the Flag
4. Approval of Consent Agenda
5. Director of Schools Report
6. Update on Construction Projects
7. Ratification of Executive Approval for Set-Up of Portable at GOAL Academy
8. Policy Review – Policy 6.312 – Use of Personal Communication and Electronic Devices
9. Ethics Policy Revision
10. Ethics Committee Report
11. Bus Route for Park View Elementary (new school)
12. Adjournment

When I was finally able to board the first plan of 4 on my way to and from Denver for ISTE 2010, I was immediately struck by the differences between the majority of us and the select few in the boarding line.  You know what I’m talking about.  You sit there in the airport longer than some, much longer than most, and yet when they make that call for First Class and Zone 1 passengers, the ones that have been there the least get up to board.

It was the same in security.  There is a shorter line for those with a better status than the average traveler.

I sat there in this little podunk airport in Chattanooga (beautiful, but small) and attempted to analyze my feelings as I watched the chosen few marching onto the plane.  They even had their own side of the line to enter through the exact same door as everyone else.  They weren’t really any different than me.  I could rationalize that in my head pretty easily.  And yet, for some reason, I thought I glimpsed a look of smugness on their faces as they sought diligently to ignore all other passengers save for their own kind.

Immediately, I wondered what the majority of students at my school feel when they walk past those kids that are in the “advanced” classes.  Those thoughts stayed with  me as I boarded the plane and walked through the midst of First Class and Zone 1 passengers like so much cattle through a shoot leading to slaughter.  Those already seated would not look at the rest of us.  We were like flies buzzing around their world.  Necessary, but annoying.  I’m sure that was all in my head, but it was there nonetheless.

When we elevate one group of students to “advanced” status, by default we are telling all the rest they don’t quite measure up.

No one knows the simple truth of that statement more than me.

When I moved to Wynne, AR, at the beginning of my 11th grade year, the local high school was divided into three groups of students: H (advanced), M (middle), and K (low).  Each of these groups had classes together, and they were never mixed in an academic setting.  As a new student, I was placed in the M section by default in the 11th grade.  I had two cousins in the H group, so I never saw them at school.  In fact, there were about 25 to 30 students in the H group, and they had pretty much been together since kindergarten.  I wasn’t really a part of that group.

In my senior year I was promoted to the H group.  My teachers felt I needed to be challenged more.  However, most of the kids in the H group didn’t really accept me into the inner sanctum.  And the kids I knew in the M group thought I was now better than them in some way and stopped talking to me.  It was a very lonely year.

All those feelings came rushing back to me as I boarded that plane for ISTE.  I knew I should be past it all.  I’m 51 years old for goodness sakes.  Painful high school memories shouldn’t haunt me now.  But they do.

And they will for the students we have today as well, unless we find a way to make all students feel welcome, valued, and equal.  That is the lesson for teachers, administrators, and parents.  And the airlines as well.