0 Many Ideas: Focus

I continue to write about focus as I move down this multiple-paths direction of teaching and learning today. Especially after a day like edcamp Boston when so many educators intersected with multiple perspectives, roles, and reach.

Essentially every educator has to find their voice, vision, and craft.  Then, in the best of circumstances, we come together with respect, care, truth, and willingness to collaborate, listen to each other, and collectively teach children well.

When it comes to this kind of collaboration, people bring many experiences, beliefs, strategies, and judgements to the table. Some come on too strong, and others never voice a thought or opinion. Some readily share, and others see that as over-communication, self promotion.  Some critique with ease, and other choose to not get involved.  Most fall somewhere along those continuums as they put forth their best effort to do the job well.

In many ways this transparent journey of developing craft and repertoire has been challenging, and often efforts have been met with dismay, ridicule, painful truths, and even greater challenges. Overall though the journey has been one of success since my craft is getting better and my ability to teach children well expanding. I've trusted the experts, taken risks, made mistakes (perhaps too many), and learned a lot. Now again, it is a time of detail, finesse, and care when it comes to optimizing the pace, approach, knowledge, and skill of the journey.  Onward.

0 Extraordinary Edcamp Boston 2013

In so many way edcamp Boston was extraordinary.

First, how often do a number of individuals volunteer countless hours in an effort to bring people together in conversation to better the work we do?  That's what happened at edcamp Boston. Dan Callahan, Karen Janowski, Laura D'Elia, Liz Davis, Steve Guditus and Tracy Sockalosky contributed significant time, talent, and experience to run the day with ease and excellence.

Then, many organizations and individuals contributed time, money, materials and space to make the event a success. We gathered at Microsoft in Cambridge. The space was well suited for approximately 400 educators representing all levels of education. Dan introduced the day with a clever Star Wars theme. After that the edcamp Boston team led us in an ice breaker. Next we started a day of multiple choices for discussion and share.

I found myself seeking answers about forward movement in education as I engaged in conversations related to gaming, coding, Minecraft, the new science standards, and learning design.  There were many valuable takeaways from the day.

Gaming is here to stay. As explained by Shawn Rubin, gaming and coding are apples and oranges. Jason Garzone further added that making games is a terrific inroad to coding. During that discussion I was led to the following resources for coding and gaming: Scratch, StarlogoTNG, Pixel Press Game, Gamemaker, Kodu, Gamestar Mechanic, hopscotch, Learning Games Network, civilization, codable, Hakitzu, APK generators, hackasaurus, playforceorg, Bootstrap (teaches algebra) and Minecraft.

Why gaming?  Gaming is engaging. Creating games develops systems thinking, an important skill for all learners in all disciplines.  Gaming is one way to learn skill, concept, and knowledge in both independent and collaborative ways.  Games like Minecraft and others build creativity and problem solving skills. Gaming and making games create paths to an interest and a desire to code, and coding provides students with an essential literacy for today's world.  Rubin supported the notion of a scope and sequence for coding in schools today. The Learning Games Network is one place where teachers and students can access professional development in this area.

Edcamp sharing made me think a lot about the tech tools in schools today as well as access to those tools. At the end of the day, I believe that schools should support multiple tools for student learning. Schools will need to purchase and welcome (BYOD) tools that respond to testing requirements since new tests will be taken online, hence those parameters need to be met.  Tools should also include tools that are mobile, able to serve as content creation resources, and app friendly. Systems for tech access in schools should be streamlined, efficient, and responsive to students' needs.  Systems that are too cumbersome or slow will not be responsive to today's quickly changing educational landscape and students' ready attitude and ability to learn. At my level, I believe the ideal would be for two classrooms to share a class set of laptops (macbooks since that's what we have) and a class set of iPads (with keyboards).  Then I believe that we should welcome Kindles, mobile phones, Galxies, and other devices that student use regularly at home to access apps, books, and other learning resources.

During the second session of the day I was involved in a conversation about the new science standards and science education led by Sean Musselman. Musselman felt that the standards were moving in the right direction.  Others involved in the conversation expressed a hope that the MCAS test in science would turn to a hands-on type of assessment of science thought, problem solving, knowledge, and skill.  During this session we discussed the science classroom including "take apart" and maker stations, choice time, 3-d printers, inquiry based learning, letting students struggle, and science equipment such as goggles, lab coats and exploration supplies. Many commented that the Magic of Reality book and app was a must-have resource for science teachers and students at all levels. We discussed thematic science study and noted resources such as the Einstein's Workshop, The Maker Faire in New York City, and Gary Stager's Constructing Modern Knowledge Summer Institute. This conversation led me to the idea that every school system should create and/or continue to develop science student/teacher teams to investigate, explore, foster, and implement state-of-the-art STEAM (science, tech, engineering, art and math) teaching.

After a delicious lunch of deli sandwiches and cookies, we started the afternoon sessions. My colleague, STEAM savvy educator, Susan Cherwinski, and I led a discussion on learning design.  We gathered on cozy chairs in the Microsoft reception area. During the discussion, the group of educators representing all levels as well as public and private education essentially created a collective list and description of essential learning design categories including essential questions, reflection, assessment, "more of them (students), less of us," blended learning (multiple tools, processes), design thinking/process, choice, differentiation of process and product, audience, relevance and meaning.  During this session I was also introduced to 30Hands, a terrific storytelling app which I plan to explore soon.

Hallway and lunch time conversations were just as informative and enlightening as the sessions. I spent a good amount of time with my Twitter colleague, Nancy Carroll, who I look to for great 4th grade ideas and teacher/student best practice. I spoke to Shawn Rubin about his start-up, metryx, a data tracking venue that I want to explore with regard to student data, RTI, and the new evaluations system. Hillary Ornberg introduced me to her student service start-up, Switchback Education Services, and I met Eric Esteves, Lesley College's Director of Learning Design and Instructional Support.

The Massachusetts Teachers Association (MTA) was also well represented. Paul Toner, President of the Massachusetts Teachers' Association, attended.  His latest letter in the MTA newspaper demonstrated his interest and support for moving education forward with technology and other student-friendly processes and strategies.  He affirmed edcamp Boston's energy and effort by saying that the NEA would love seeing all these energized teachers gathering to learn and develop their craft during a beautiful Saturday in May. Meg Secatore, Director of MTA's Professional Learning efforts also attended the event. Last summer Meg was one of the leaders who led the MTA's wonderful Summer Conference which hosted an unconference (an edcamp-like event) during the early-August gathering at Williams College.  The MTA will offer this event once again, and I highly recommend that educators take a look at the offerings and think about signing up to jump-start the new school year with ideas and innovation. Sarah Nathan from the MTA was also at the event. Sarah is leading the ED Talks event this summer, and looking for innovative educators to share their education practice, vision, and ideas. Information about the summer conference and the ED Talks can be found via this link.

Thanks to the edcamp foundation, edcamp events occur all over the world serving educators in their efforts to innovate, educate, and serve children well.  Yesterday's event was a kaleidescope of ideas, educators, and connections.  My only regret for the day was that I didn't have the time to attend all the wonderful offerings, and converse with all of the invested educators there.  Thanks edcamp Boston for a terrific day!

0 A Letter to Chancellor Ward

This letter went to Ward this morning.  Yesterday's Capital Times noted that a key issue here is a failure on the Administration's part to listen and communicate with campus the same way it does with business. I couldn't agree more.

May 3, 2013

Dear Chancellor Ward,

We are deeply troubled by your latest statement on Palermo’s Pizza, in which you conveyed a continued refusal to acknowledge the findings of the National Labor Relations Board and Worker Rights Consortium. UW-Madison has a history of upholding our Code of Conduct, which the university adopted for a reason.

You have repeatedly claimed to not have enough information to take action toward Palermo’s. This is despite the fact that last November, the National Labor Relations Board found Palermo’s in violation of numerous counts of violating federal labor law, including worker intimidation, physically blocking workers from going on strike, and illegally terminating 11 workers. Though the NLRB may have absolved Palermo’s of other charges, the threshold for warranting a contract cut is one violation. Additionally, on March 11, another unfair labor practice charge has been filed to the NLRB involving the firing of a worker for their union activity.

In addition to the NLRB decision, the Worker Rights Consortium, after an investigation of the Palermo’s plant, determined the company to be in violation of our university Code of Conduct, which establishes a higher standard of labor practices than the NLRB. To be clear, the Worker Rights Consortium performs their inspections contingent upon international labor law, and not the National Labor Relations Act.

We would like to remind you that the Worker Rights Consortium, on February 5th, 2013 recommended: “The WRC concluded that the company must take two key steps to comply with university codes of conduct. First, Palermo must promptly reinstate the striking employees it terminated or permanently replaced employees, with full back pay.” Palermo’s has made no effort to remedy neither the charges of the NLRB, nor the Worker Rights Consortium.

While you claim to be ‘deeply engaged on this issue,’ and to ‘have discussed this issue repeatedly with students, faculty, staff, and campus governance,’ you seem to have a misconstrued impression of what discussion actually entails. Members of the Student Labor Action Coalition first approached you on this issue in a letter on September 24, 2012. In the over seven months that have passed since then, we have consistently written to update you on the situation, with no response from your office.

On Monday, April 29th, students sat-in in your office because for over 200 days you have brazenly ignored our attempts to engage in a conversation on this issue, but even then, you chose to arrest these students, rather than engage in a dialogue with them. This was also your response in 1999 and 2000, when students raised the issue of worker rights, and now you have successfully cemented your legacy at UW-Madison as an anti-worker, anti-student Chancellor. Despite your overly severe reaction to the students who occupied the anteroom to your office on Monday, we will continue to defend the moral compass of the UW-Madison from your efforts to tarnish it.

Sincerely,

UWMAD@Palermo’s Coalition

0 Confidence, Courage, and Transparency

Transparency takes confidence and courage.

It is easier to keep thoughts to yourself, or quietly share with like-minded colleagues. It takes confidence and courage to speak up. When you speak up you put yourself out there, you can expect both support and criticism. Transparency requires that you're ready to take the good and the bad--confident that you are able to own and correct error and mistakes as well as strengthen good work and grow.

Transparency, however, also demands respect.  Transparency without respect does not move organizations forward, instead that kind of transparency serves to tangle the path ahead.  Respect means that you take care with your thought and communication essentially putting yourself in the shoes of others as you comment, challenge, or seek understanding.

Respectful, focused transparency, debate, and discussion have the potential to move school systems to more efficient, student-centered practice.  Our clear conversations and discussions help us to work together to determine the best ways to teach the children in our schools and classrooms.  If we take the time up front to honestly analyze problems, set goals, create schedules, implement efforts, assess, and revise regularly, we will reap the rewards of student success and happiness.

How can school culture foster respectful transparency?

First, schools can promote communication and collaboration protocols and norms at the team, system, and school levels.  I was one that scoffed at the norm setting process during our initial PLCs, but now I understand the necessity of this practice at all levels of an organization.

Next, truthful discourse should be encouraged and debate should not be denied.  We will not always agree, but we can collaborate on practice, and assess to determine optimal learning paths, decisions, and efforts.

After that, collective vision and goal setting should be a regular, perhaps yearly, effort of a team, school, or system, and throughout the year the goals should be revisited in efficient ways to assess progress, cheer each other on, and revise if necessary. When goals and vision are not inclusive or set by the team, investment wanes.  Instead, when goals and vision are collective, investment grows.

Finally, a students-first attitude and emphasis should pervade all that we do in the school community and that should be at the center of our transparent discussions and efforts.  A desire for student growth and happiness is one thread that connects all staff in a school organization.

It takes courage and confidence to be transparent in your thoughts, actions, and assessments, and it also takes respect, empathy, and care.  Transparency like this will move our schools and systems ahead when it comes to teaching children well.

0 The Day Before the Tests: Reflection

Today's the last day before our last MCAS tests for the year--it's the last chance to review and prep for yearly assessments.  Tests, at best, serve as formative assessments of the collective group's and individual student's general knowledge of multiple standards. I see the tests as one indicator of student learning, and years of giving these tests show me that the way students score generally line with with their ease at taking in, analyzing, and presenting information related to the standards.

I spend two weeks before the tests reviewing all that we learned throughout the year in multiple ways. We shore up areas that can be quickly strengthened. Then we'll end this final day with fun and play--a way to relax before students do their best work next week.

The debate continues to test or not to test. I continue to believe that streamlined tests provide a general indicator of student, school, and system success in discrete areas.  The tests provide teachers at the elementary level with a common, essential skill and standard set to embed into worthy, engaging learning design.  I believe the money and time spent on standardized tests like this should be streamlined, and the tests should be seen for what they are--one indicator to assess a school, system, or state. I am cautious about using test scores to rate a teacher since there are so many factors involved in a student's overall progress and growth, so many factors beyond one teacher's reach. Yet, like teachers everywhere, I do my best to give students a strong foundation for test success.

Thinking of tests as one indicator, and streamlining the time and dollars spent on tests, should open up resources for more engaging, multi-modal, student-centered teaching and learning including multiple tools and resources to empower students.  This area of school life should send a direct message that teaching and learning is not equal to standardized tests, but instead teaching and learning is a life-long endeavor that brings life strength, promise, and potential.

It is the day before the tests.  My colleagues and I have worked to give students every advantage to do their best. Now I'm ready to move onto our project/problem base learning chapter of the year with greater strength and enthusiasm. In many ways the year is a combination of a quilt and weave.  There are many discrete units, teaching points and goals, and then there is the way these dimensions intersect to create a vibrant, student-centered learning environment. That's the teaching/learning puzzle--the one that teachers enjoy working on day in and day out to teach children well.

0 AERA Today, and AERA Tomorrow

The annual meetings of the American Educational Research Association just wrapped up, an enormous event attended by something like 15,000 scholars from across the world. It was, as always, overwhelming.  This time, however, in a mainly positive way thanks to the efforts of the incredibly attentive and creative Kris Renn.

Since Kris worked so hard to make the 2013 AERA far better than AERAs of the past, I want to honor that by noting some of the best changes, and proposing some additional innovations for the future.

The Latest & Greatest of AERA:

1. Free Wifi everywhere. This year, for the first time, in every space of the conference we were able to get online and participate in Twitter chats, send each other papers in real time, and convey follow-up thanks immediately. This was no easy feat, since the conference was spread across multiple hotels rather than a single convention center.  The Wifi was easy to find, easy to access, and much much appreciated.

2. Twitter. Wow, they really took this seriously. There was a very active @AERA2013 Conference tweeter (very nice grad student), multiple hashtags, handles on the name tags, and active encouragement to engage even before the conference began.  The back channel discussions were the highlight of the conference, especially during Arne Duncan's talk.

3. Doing more for the community. The most difficult part of this meeting was the sharp contrast between the theme "Education and Poverty" and our daily actions of inhabiting expensive spaces and places while people begged on the street outside.  To its credit, the organizers created opportunities for charitable giving and volunteering in San Francisco, and canceled the annual reception.

4. Trying new formats. This will be the AERA where I learned about and performed an "Ignite" talk, and heard music played before sessions for the first time. There were many new things attempted, and from what I heard they mainly worked out.

5. The app. A big congrats on making it possible to do without the paper program!

Looking to the Future:

1. Give back with our greatest skill-- expertise. Unfortunately, while clearly well-intentioned, this year's efforts to do more for the community also reminded us that charity can be a form of violence.  It was also not very effective, and somewhat embarrassing-- the donations to GLIDE lagged far behind what was anticipated, making us look stingy.  Instead, I think a future conference could capitalize on the opportunity created by so many education scholars concentrated in one place over a week's time by pairing local community organizations, schools, politicians and business leaders who often actively seek the insights and assistance of AERA members with those members who will be at the annual meeting. For example, the conference leaders could assemble a set of practitioners who'd like to have a 2-hour session on a given topic, and then using a list of AERA volunteers who indicated their available time and areas of knowledge, match them up.  You can send the scholars out into the conference's local community to share what they know, learn from those practitioners and policymakers, and thus share the wealth.  Even better, embed a mentoring program in this, pairing a more seasoned public intellectual with a more junior one, and provide time for them to debrief afterwards on the experience.

2. Teach people to tweet in advance.  The medium was widely available but many people I met expressed frustration because they don't know how to tweet.  How about providing a short video and set of instructions, featuring the AERA "stars" that people can review in advance and begin to practice before the conference?

3. Encourage dissent and provide more space for it.  There were some frustrating moments in this conference around the Reclaim AERA protests at the president's speech and Duncan's speech.  I will never forget the cutting remarks I overheard in hallways from so-called "progressive" colleagues about the "inappropriateness" of public protest, the "disrespect" displayed, and a sense that this was led by an "extremist minority."   We are scholars and therefore by definition we disagree. Protest is a necessary and wonderful form of expression.  Major speakers should be required to respond to a panel of people who both agree and disagree with them.  Follow-up sessions after speakers like Duncan would be helpful to provide legitimate spaces for people to talk out issues.  Put up a twitter feed behind speakers so that the audience's questions-- beyond the 3-4 who get to speak-- can be voiced.  But most of all, we must disabuse ourselves of the idea that vehement and public disagreement is "inappropriate" and "disrespectful."  We ought to be speaking truth to power more often, not less.   President Tierney did the best he could this year, and it was a good start, but I'd like to see this message more clearly promoted and dissent anticipated in advance.

4. Engage the local community further.  Creating structural change is difficult and charity won't cut it. In addition to my first suggestion, I also propose that AERA provide conference registration waivers to local community leaders, enabling their full participation in our meetings. The money used for champagne toasts could easily be redirected to that purpose.


It was a very solid meeting, and I look forward to more. I hope this suggestions are useful for future organizers (but no, do not even think about looking in my direction)!

0 Successful Student Service Delivery

Students today receive multiple services in school. Services range from special education services, physical/occupational therapy, adaptive physical education, math/reading boost/coaching, guidance, speech, and more.

When done well, these services make school more engaging and profitable to students by allowing children to access learning with greater strength and joy. Also, due to the wonderful assessments and tools we have today, we are able to target and meet students' program goals with greater specificity, assessment, and result.

The challenge with all these services and potential is coordination and communication. This coordination and communication can be a complex task, one that can result in lost potential without guiding protocols and commitment. Shared protocols can help to guide service delivery in successful ways. Here are some protocols schools might consider.

• Classroom and special educators related to specific service delivery(s) are expected to meet prior to the start of the service delivery year to discuss meeting times, service delivery focus, curriculum, assessment, and communication.
• Communication protocols will be established at the start of the school year including email expectations, meeting plans/schedules, parent communication, and assessment/reporting responsibility.
• Service delivery schedules will be created before the start of school each year.
• New student files will be evaluated before the school year starts by a designated educator, and if new students require services, those services will be planned prior to the start of school. 
• Service delivery, like classroom schedules, will begin on day one of the school year or as close to the first day of school as possible. 
• Service delivery goals, times, and days will be created with care and communicated well including a short list of student learning goals. 
• When possible, changes in the service delivery schedule or classroom events will be communicated with lead time so all involved will have time to shift plans and prepare materials.
• Service delivery goals will be short-listed and simplified so that all educators working with that child/children will have a clear understanding of the child's learning priorities.
• Service delivery is expected to be timely as often as possible.
• Educators will be expected to work together with a focus on a successful, learning program for each child receiving services. 

It can be difficult for educators to keep track of service delivery times, goals, and results.  This confusion can lead to less-than-optimal service delivery-classroom coordination and communication.  Hence I recommend that classroom teachers organize their class service delivery schedule and goals with a chart like the one below.  That chart can be placed in a clear sheet and located in an easy to reference position in the classroom.

Schools today are better than in the past thanks to the many laws and structures that have brought important services to schools. When I was young many of these services did not exist in schools, and I saw the damaging effects a lack of services had on students who needed those services. The best way to optimize these services is to make the time up front to create schedules and protocols that lead the services with a focus on teaching children well.

0 The Resource Costs of UW-Madison Diversity Programs: A Response

This morning, Emeritus Professor of Economics Lee Hansen released a WISCAPE paper about the "resource costs of minority and disadvantaged student programs at UW-Madison" and in about an hour he will host a brownbag on the topic in the Wisconsin Idea Room at the School of Education.  I am on a flight to LA and thus will miss it; therefore I offer my perspective here.

I have a wide range of experience that I can bring to bear on these issues, having analyzed the reports of UW-Madison and UW System myself for nearly a decade, chaired the Undergraduate Recruitment, Admissions and Financial Aid shared governance committee for many years, and engaged in numerous analyses of the costs and benefits of higher education programs throughout the nation. I also know Lee, both personally and professionally.  As I offer these thoughts, I want to note the sincere belief that he seeks to improve the ways in which we serve minority and disadvantaged students in this country, and does not seek to exclude them from opportunities.  However, on the most effective and appropriate  mechanisms through which this should be achieved, he and I disagree sharply.

There are 5 things you should keep in mind in reading his report.

1. It is imperative that more faculty at UW-Madison and UW System get involved in analyzing the practices of our institution.  We are key shareholders, the most important and long-standing actors, the educators, and we are smart, critical, and essential.  We should support Lee's demands that we be provided with data to facilitate a closer look at how resources are used.  There is abundant evidence that they are not being used well.

2. The debate over the public and private benefits of higher education is far from resolved. Lee has staked out one side of that debate for many decades; in fact he led the charge nationally in the late 1960s, along with Milton Friedman, for a move to the private financing of higher education-- with financial aid distributed in the form of vouchers to facilitate choice.  We have Lee to thank, in part, for today's system in which students and families bear 2/3rds or more of the costs of attendance, while government picks up an ever smaller fraction.  His beliefs in this regard are reflected in the questions he raises about whom the benefits of diversity programming accrue to-- who should pay, he thinks, depends on who benefits. And, he thinks, educational benefits can and should be evaluated in this way too.  I sharply disagree-- education is a citizen's right, it is (unfortunately) America's only real effort to ensure equality of opportunity for a decent life-- and as such it should be publicly supported.  It has been a political choice to devote little time and resources toward documenting the public benefits of higher education, instead allowing the focus of labor economists like Lee to hammer on the private benefits over and over again.

3. The type of cost-benefit analysis undertaken in the paper gives the aura of science when in fact it is art.  Like all social scientists, Lee is relying on numerous assumptions about what should and shouldn't count when accounting for all of the costs. He is including ingredients in his model that obviously the accountants at UW-Madison and UW System left out-- on both side those are choices, but there is no clear right or wrong here.   Thus, it is merely political rhetoric on Lee's part to claim that UW has failed to be transparent in its accounting-- the Legislature itself failed in clearly specifying its expectations.

4. The timing of this report release and brown bag reeks of political motives as well, coming just weeks or even days before the pending Supreme Court ruling on Fisher vs Texas, in the midst of UW's diversity planning, and right after UW System was taken to task for another accounting "snafu."

5. The report repeatedly cherry picks evidence on the benefits and costs of diversity, ignoring entirely the recent paper issued by other UW-Madison economists, Bobbi Wolfe and Jason Fletcher, on the consequences of racial diversity.

All that said, I do think Lee is providing one important service: asking us to take a hard look at our activities beyond admissions.  As Doug Massey has written, affirmative action programs come in three flavors-- the good, the bad, and the ugly.  The best ones generate compositional diversity and leverage that diversity to improve the learning environment for everyone.  The bad ones do the former and not the latter. The ugly ones don't succeed at either.

We are currently in the ugly category at Madison.  We bring students to campus and throw resources at them but fail to give leaders in this area sufficient stature and power to effect real change.  We have segregated classrooms and living spaces, and we tokenize our racial-ethnics.

Since this report is now in the public eye, I make the following recommendations:

1. UW-Madison and UW System should take seriously the contention that faculty, staff, and students deserve greater access and involvement in how resources are spent. I think that a cabinet of social scientists advisors should supplement the UC, and that incoming Chancellor Blank should convene this group. This group should have methodological, disciplinary, and substantive heterogeneity and expertise.

2.  A discussion of costs and benefits should be undertaken for all sorts of programs on campus, including Athletics, Greek Life, faculty professional development etc.  Minority programming is not our only expense, nor our most expensive.

3. This report should not be merely ignored or dismissed as nonsense by Administration.  Use the opportunity to have a conversation about diversity and how we can do better in utilizing it to enhance our educational experiences.  Also leverage this chance to have a discussion about public and private goods.  A report I will make to the Faculty Senate on Monday about the characteristics of incoming students, developed by CURAFA, should help move that conversation forward.


I wish you all well at today's brownbag, and look forward to hearing about the discussion.

0 Streamline Supports

I am in favor of streamlined supports. When supports are streamlined those supports create paths to successful practice. When supports are not organized and streamlined, those supports create nets rather than paths, nets that confound successful practice.

Streamline supports have the following attributes:

• Regular communication that revisits what's happened, discusses current practice, and highlights future endeavor with dates, questions and topics.
• Regular schedules.
• Goals, vision, a plan, and assessments.
• A collaborative, service mindset, and action identifying who the support is servicing and how.
• Transparent action, effort.
• Time-on-task, most time spent in support.
• Meetings up front to discuss the support parameters, schedule and focus.  Follow-up meetings for revision, growth, and enrichment.
• Lead time for scheduling.
• Respect and inclusion of those that the support serves.

In a sense, an educator is a support service. We support our learners. In what ways can we streamline our efforts so we create paths to learning, rather than nets that prevent growth.  The following attributes can strengthen the support we provide.

• Regular, predictable routines.
• Regular communication similar to a weekly newsletter.
• An organized atmosphere.
• An open mind to learner's needs and questions.
• Positivity.
• Students first.
• Trouble shooting and problem solving with students and families to create a student-centered, responsive practice.
• Engaging effort and practice. 

How are your supports streamlined?  In what ways do your supports create nets rather than paths to optimal learning?  How can you engage in positive conversation with those you work with in order to streamline supports and make those supports more effective?  

0 Truth in Teaching is Sometimes a Lonely Path

Sometimes sharing truthful observations and thoughts create a lonely path.

Sometimes asking questions related to those observations and thoughts turns people off. Often playing the game or turning a blind eye is preferred.

To move against the expected culture, structure, and organization creates disruption, frustration, and perhaps even anger at times.

And sometimes one is punished for truth and care.

Teachers are on the front line with little time left for conversation or collaboration. Mostly it is the teacher and many children together learning, creating, and moving forward.

If a teacher has a big idea or thought, it is usually a long, complicated journey to fruition--a sometimes lonely journey with little support.

Many still see the teacher as the factory worker, the front line, the "do-it" person, not the thinking, decision making, collaborative member of the team. Many don't equate professional with teacher.

This is one aspect of my profession that I don't like, and one reason why I would caution my children toward a career in teaching.  It is difficult to see promise and potential, but have little voice or decision making power.

Some will argue that teachers do have voice, and if they use their voice well and right, then change will happen. Using voice "well and right" differs from organization to organization as culture differs from school system to school system.

I've tried many paths in the past few years.  Some small paths have succeeded in small ways.  Other paths have reached a dead end.  Like many educators, I've worked over time (double time in many cases) most days to do what's expected, and then on my own time built new ideas, craft, learning and effort to move my practice forward.  I've done that so I can meet the current expectations while also doing what I know is good and right for children as education evolves. That, as you know, takes a toll on one's family life--a toll that in some cases may be too big a price to pay to do work you believe in.  Yet, as many know, substantial, positive change and work demands sacrifice.

Once I rest up after the latest closed path, I'll seek new and better ways to collaborate, share, learn and move forward. I'm not giving up, but I must say I am discouraged.

In the end, I will continue to serve children as well as I can. I will continue to work with children's needs, passions and interests in mind.  I will look for ways to grow with strength. This weekend's edcamp will be an energizing retreat--one that will spur my future research and work.

Teaching can be a lonely path--all teachers who dream big know that.