Tag Archives: teachers

A day of learning

Today is the first Professional Development Day of the school year. It is an opportunity for educators to pause and reflect on their own learning journey.

When I started my career, I got to work at a school where 14 of the 30 teachers were teaching for their first year, another 2 had only a partial year under their belt, and still 2 more were in their second year of teaching. We were both struggling and thriving as we muddled through our early years of teaching. We had a handful of teachers that, with just a few tears under their belt, we brilliant and very supportive. We had a leader who encouraged us to focus on students and gave us opportunities to lead. But more than anything, we had each other.

Our school based pro-d days were so special. One of my favourites was the October retreat we would go on. It was always themed and we would arrive at the retreat all dressed up the night before our day of learning. We were grouped into sitcom characters from tv shows, we were dressed for the 80’s, we we rock stars. The night would be filled with activities and games that made us feel like kids.

Then the next day we would come together and co-run the day’s events, filled with ideas to engage our minds and the minds of our students when we went back to school.

Those early experiences helped me realize that people need to be part of their own learning journey. Learning is most enriching when participants help create the journey. When we realize who owns the learning, that’s when learning really happens.

The teachers you remember, remember you

It’s a simple formula: Get to know your students and they remember you. They might remember one awesome lesson you did, but in more examples than not, it’s not only about the things they learned but the relationships you’ve developed.

Many high schools are opening with less face time with students and/or shorter semesters. There will be an appetite for teachers to ‘get to business’ and to ‘cover the curriculum’. But the start of the year is a great time to ‘get to know your students’ and to work with them to ‘uncover the curriculum’.

Spend time connecting with students. Let them spend time exploring and discovering what they must learn. Do this and not only you, but also the things you have taught, will be remembered.

Sharing appreciation for their teacher

My wife, Ann, teaches a grade 4/5 class in our community. Yesterday at 4pm, while she was still working from home, a parade of cars started honking their horns. About 20 cars, driven by the parents of her students, slowly drove by with Ann’s students waving and holding signs.

I was given some advanced notice that this was happening and was home to make sure Ann went outside when the horns started. I shared some video live on Twitter:


But the quality of the video was quite poor. Luckily my kids and I captured more video and shared some on Facebook.

This was a wonderful gesture that brought tears to all of our eyes (my kids too). I actually had to tell Ann to pull herself together after they passed by because I knew they were turning around and driving by again. This allowed Ann to really enjoy the moment and thank the families as they drove by, since she was overwhelmingly surprised during the first drive-by.

Remote learning has been really challenging for students and parents, and it has also been challenging for our teachers. This gesture was heartwarming and so special. This was a moment our whole whole family will remember and cherish.

– – – – –

Thanks to all the teachers out there who are giving their best, and caring for their students, as they face the challenge of teaching from a distance. I’ve seen some wonderful ways that teachers have gone above and beyond to connect with their students at this time, and they deserve to be recognized for doing such an amazing job during these challenging circumstance. Thank you teachers, principals, and support staff!

Unprecedented time for collaboration

It’s a phrase I’ve both heard, (and felt), for decades: “If only I had more time!”

Well this is the time! With educators working from home, and with some autonomy over their schedule, the idea of having something like a common prep time, daily or weekly, with colleagues has never been easier!

The idea of doing something cross-curricular has also been opened up.

The idea of extending the learning beyond the school walls has taken on a whole new meaning.

This is still the early stages for many, and trying to figure out ‘remote learning’ while take some time. But that time will go much easier with collaboration. And as you figure out a schedule, now is the time to figure out when it’s best to collaborate with peers and mentors. As things settle a bit, this could be the time that teachers have always hoped for, and seldom got… time to collaborate, learn, and dare to try new things that was never time for previously.

Beyond Good ~ Seth’s Blog: Moving beyond teachers and bosses

We train kids to deal with teachers in a certain way: Find out what they want, and do that, just barely, because there are other things to work on. Figure out how to say back exactly what they want to hear, with the least amount of effort, and you are a ‘good student.’

We train employees to deal with bosses in a certain way: Find out what they want, and do that, just barely, because there are other things to do. Figure out how to do exactly what they want, with the least amount of effort, and the last risk of failure and you are a ‘good worker.’

via sethgodin.typepad.com

Good enough is not good enough!

So many things about the structure of our schools today promote this… promote the next generation of worker bees who drone on and do ‘what needs to be done’ instead of ‘what’s possible’.

How do we UN-standardize our schools?

It starts with the smallest of points…
“A paragraph ‘needs’ to have 5 sentences.”
… Which produces a class full of mediocre 5 sentence paragraphs.

To the biggest of points…
“I can’t“
… Whether this is a response from a teacher or a student.

As Seth says at the end of his post: “The opportunity of our age is to get out of this boss as teacher as taskmaster as limiter mindset…”

What are our students capable of if we foster their creativity and get tests and curriculum and scheduled blocks and ‘busywork due the next day’ out of the way?

How do we move beyond educators as taskmasters?

Good enough is not good enough!

elearnspace › It’s New! It’s New! › George Siemens

It is my main critique with the emotional-feel-good message of Ken Robinson’s focus on creativity. First, we need to get over the view that our generation is astonishingly unique. Hasn’t every generation faced new technologies to solve problems not foreseen? The present moment arrogance that invades much of school reform thinking is frustrating. And, I might as well add, the pendulum-thinking mindset that is evident in Robinson’s view is damaging in the long term. If a view of educational reform is defined by the current reality that it is reacting against, rather than a holistic model of what it will produce in the future, then we’re playing a game of short-term gains, planting in our revolution the seeds for the next revolution that will push back against gains that we make now.

… Developing capacity for complexity. Complexity is the DNA of society. Whenever multiple agents interact, outcomes are uncertain. Failure to account for complexity in organizational design, teacher preparation, and business planning is a short path to frustration. Yes, it would be nice if the world was complicated – like a puzzle where every piece has a right place. But it’s not. It’s complex – like a weather system where changes in one aspect of the system cascades and influences the entire system, often in unpredictable ways. Unfortunately, complexity is not built into the educational system. We seek “general right answers” rather than “contextual right answers”.

via elearnspace.org

The pendulum-thinking issue has been on my mind, but I have not been able to express it as well as George does here. It reminds me of the dichotomized digital native vs digital immigrant issue which can also be counter-productive.

I also wonder how many ‘rules’ and ‘expectations’ are created because of present moment arrogance? Are filters our equivalent of book burnings? Are our subject blocks created by a parochial curriculum? Are typing skills equivalent to quill pen skills of the past? How is our arrogance counter-revolutionary?

In the second section, I love the puzzle vs weather system metaphor! Using a metaphor exemplifies contextual complexity!