Teach Wisely, Teach Well

This article was first posted at Dangerously Irrelevant on September 21, 2010

The Current Landscape

These are challenging times in the current landscape of learning and teaching. The standards movement is pressing upon us and students and teachers are being measured in the narrowest of ways. I know that any and every measurement can tell me something about a child and I fear that focusing on any one measurement can be dangerous. The biggest mistake we can make is to be single-minded. Concentrating on a standardized score or focusing on only the standards that we are required to teach will not allow us the opportunity to create a variety of rich, interactive, collaborative and thoughtful experiences that enrich learning and teaching.

In the worst situations, it’s not the data that is problematic but how the data is interpreted, generalized, and misused to make educational decisions. I think that all measurements can be helpful in creating a clear and precise profile of a learner. I tend to lean toward more authentic measurements and what they tell me about students. However, every piece of data is a piece of the puzzle. What the results can do is help to clarify the most effective instruction and be responsive to each student’s needs. Some knowledge and skills are easily measured. Some are not. When it comes right down to it, a good teacher knows her students well and teaches in response to what she knows about the individual child.

I worry that we look at standards the way we narrow a Google map search on. We can narrow in on the smallest of detail. But knowing the big picture is also important. We can consider standards, measurements and data and completely lose sight of the bigger picture. Each educational measure we put in place is a part of the whole and we must not forget that. What does a standard or a test score tell us about a student’s persistence or level of self-efficacy? How can we support students by giving them the skills they need for more critical thinking, inquiry and thoughtful pursuits.

What Next?

Whether or not we agree with standards and accountability, it is an immense part of the learning landscape. So we need to help others understand its place in the big picture.

The most important question we can ask when we are presented with any kind of measurement of progress is to ask “What next?” How will we formulate learning experiences that will move each child forward. What will we focus on? What are the strengths of the child and how can we teach from those strengths instead of looking at the deficits?

Causations for low and even high performance are being generalized. Some educators are guessing why students perform the way they do and linking to practices that may not have a positive impact on student learning. In some cases, we are instituting programs and practices that detour us from focusing on 21^st century skills. If anything the standards and data-driven accountability fuel the need to speak out, to do what is right for kids, to broaden our perspective on what counts as learning.

Remember

· Stay the course and make decisions based on what’s right for kids

· Embrace 21^st century learning

· Use measurement results to teach from a child’s strengths

· Be political. Let your thoughts be heard.

While it’s the most challenging time in education, it is also the most exciting. We are increasing the potential for our students to be active and participatory learners. We are encouraging them to build a learning community both locally and globally that will help them reach success. We cannot abandon our efforts to give our students what they will need to help them be successful in learning and life.

Karen Szymusiak is principal of Glacier Ridge Elementary in Dublin, Ohio. She can be found online at twitter.com/karenszymusiak. Karen has coauthored Beyond Leveled Books, Still Learning to Read, and Day to Day Assessment in the Reading Workshop. Her favorite moments are those spent with children. She says, "If we really listen to children, they tell us all there is to know about teaching wisely and well."

Local - National - Global

Each year our students have a Celebration of Giving rather than the traditional holiday party that is typical on the day before winter break. When we opened the school three years ago we decided that we wanted our students to understand the notion of giving instead of focusing on a holiday wish list or thinking about what gifts they were going to receive.

Each December our students do chores for family and friends to earn money to donate to a charity. We ask parents to help out by taking pictures of their children doing the chores. They send the pictures in so we can make a slide show for our Celebration of Giving Assembly held on the last day before winter break. The assembly reminds us all that together we can do great things and that there are many reasons we help others who are less fortunate.

Our Student Leadership Team is in charge of choosing the charity each year. This year I am so impressed with their thinking. They have decided that instead of giving to one charity they want to choose a local, a national, and a global charity that needs our help. They are doing some research and will soon make a decision about the three organizations that we will support.

I am first impressed each year by the many ways our students open their hearts to give to others. This year I am so proud to be working with a group of children who understand the small as well as the big picture. They understand the importance of helping our local charity. But I am even more proud that they have chosen to consider a global charity.

These are the things that cannot be measured on any test. These are the things that make us hopeful that our students can impact their world - close to home and far away.

Twitter Treasure

Portwiture is an interesting program that grabs photography from Flickr that matches the content of your most recent Twitter updates. You can view the photographs on a grid or in a slideshow.

Here is my Portwiture.

Talking Him Off the Ledge

The beginning of the school year can be daunting for our youngest students in Kindergarten. Today I was called down to a kindergarten class because a child was not cooperating and being pretty disagreeable. I could tell that he was highly frustrated and impulsive. My goal was to calm him down and figure out just what led to his state of mind. His class was on their way outdoors to observe a tree. I asked him if he would stay inside to calm down a little and talk with me. He parked himself under a table and seemed to prepare for a battle.

In the first few minutes of our conversation, we just weren't connecting. He was still too frustrated to be logical or cooperative, but slowly he began to talk with me. I made it apparent that I was very interested in what he had to say. In a few minutes, he got the idea that I wasn't there to make his day more miserable but that I was genuinely trying to understand him. We spent the next 15 minutes talking - he stayed under the table as I sat near trying to make eye contact.

Some moments in education are magical. In just a few minutes, I found out what was making him so unhappy and learned about what he liked. But more importantly, we connected. The class returned from observing a tree outside and went out for a bit of recess. I watched him and two other boys play soccer. When the children came inside, they spread out with books for a few moments of independent reading. He chose a book about bugs that we both found pretty interesting. We looked through it together, and I invited him to come to my office to read with me sometime.

In those last few minutes together, I could have imagined it, but I think he nearly reached for my hand. In our time together, I learned some things about him and he learned some things about me. We can build on the friendship we began today. I am looking forward to more opportunities to spend time with this child. He has some challenges but he is a most interesting child. In small ways I hope I can help him find his place in our school.

So Much Potential

Our school's vision ends with the phrase "encourage the unlimited potential of the whole child."

It's a lofty goal in these times of grades, competition, testing, accountability, and an outdated school structure that impedes authentic learning rather than encourages inquiry, collaboration, discovery and a meaningful and thoughtful pursuit of new learning.

I continue to have a steadfast belief in our school's vision. But there are days when it is tough to sustain the vision and to rely on my beliefs about learning and teaching. I believe in the possibilities. I believe in the unlimited potential of every child. I believe in a caring and nurturing learning environment. I support the work of teachers who bring out the best in our children. I appreciate their dedication and commitment. I believe in the power of relationships.

Today I watched again the presentation by Benjamin Zander titled "The Art of Possibility" because it renews my belief in the possible.


Watch the video when your belief in the potential of every child is shaken by the rumblings from the conditions that seem out of your control. I intend to encourage my staff to watch the video and reflect on its connection to their own learning and teaching.

And I am wondering what it would be like to share the video with children and listen to their responses. I hope to do that this coming week and will post my reflections.

3 Days Into the School Year

We finished our third day of school today. It's amazing how quickly we settle into our routines. How do we re-establish those routines but guard against the complacency of doing things the way we have always done them? How can we start the year with a new set of lenses through which to view our learning community? Can we get in the habit of asking "Why?" so we know our decisions are
meaningful and purposeful?

Today I was strolling around the cafeteria helping students open the juice boxes, milk cartons, and string cheese wrappers when a second grader stopped me as I walked by. He said, "My name is Jaden. I'm new here and who are you?" I love the way he felt comfortable enough to strike up this conversation. I told him my name and that I was the principal. I knew he had transfered from another school in our district and told him that his principal had told me he was coming to our school. We had a brief conversation, and I moved on. I won't forget Jaden's name tomorrow or the next. We have made a connection. My challenge is to make those connections with all the children at our school.

Tomorrow will be the end of our first week of school. We are settling in and making our new friends feel welcome. The hope of the new school year is ahead of us.

Leadership Day 2009

Today, June 12, Scott McLeod from Dangerously Irrelevant is holding a blogging Leadership Day. I am really anxious to read what others post.

My thoughts on this Leadership Day ...

For me, it is the power of conversations about learning and teaching and the potential of technology that will move people toward new ways of thinking.


It's having clear expectations that we will enable our students to pursue learning in new ways and that we will give them the privilege and the responsibility to enrich their learning with new technologies.

It's encouraging teachers to discover what new technologies have to offer and to begin a conversation about thoughtful and purposeful technology integration in the classroom.

As a leader, it is about knowing what you stand for. It's about holding onto what you believe about learning and teaching. It certainly isn't simply about technology. For me, it is about the unlimited potential of our children and their future.