ON THE WISDOM OF EMBRACING TESTS

I met my friend by accident-- her accident, that is. Her life came to a screeching halt with a catastrophic auto crash which leaves her in much pain and seemingly interminable therapy. More painful, I divined, was the loss of "her life"-- the valued work she does, attentions to her beloved family, and the carefree pace of life before. She has given me much to meditate upon regarding how I take things for granted... And it reminded me of this old Arabic story.

There was once a lover who had sighed for long years in separation from his beloved, and wasted in the fire of remoteness. From the rule of love, his heart was empty of patience, and his body weary of his spirit; he reckoned life without her as a mockery, and time consumed him away. How many a day he found no rest in longing for her; how many a night the pain of her kept him from sleep; his body was worn to a sigh, his heart’s wound had turned him to a cry of sorrow. He had given a thousand lives for one taste of the cup of her presence, but it availed him not. The doctors knew no cure for him, and companions avoided his company; yea, physicians have no medicine for one sick of love, unless the favor of the beloved one deliver him.

At last, the tree of his longing yielded the fruit of despair, and the fire of his hope fell to ashes. Then one night he could live no more, and he went out of his house and made for the marketplace. On a sudden, a watchman followed after him. He broke into a run, with the watchman following; then other watchmen came together, and barred every passage to the weary one. And the wretched one cried from his heart, and ran here and there, and moaned to himself: “Surely this watchman is Izrá’íl, my angel of death, following so fast upon me; or he is a tyrant of men, seeking to harm me.” His feet carried him on, the one bleeding with the arrow of love, and his heart lamented. Then he came to a garden wall, and with untold pain he scaled it, for it proved very high; and forgetting his life, he threw himself down to the garden.

And there he beheld his beloved with a lamp in her hand, searching for a ring she had lost. When the heart-surrendered lover looked on his ravishing love, he drew a great breath and raised up his hands in prayer, crying: “O God! Give Thou glory to the watchman, and riches and long life. For the watchman was Gabriel, guiding this poor one; or he was Isráfíl, bringing life to this wretched one!”

Indeed, his words were true, for he had found many a secret justice in this seeming tyranny of the watchman, and seen how many a mercy lay hid behind the veil. Out of wrath, the guard had led him who was athirst in love’s desert to the sea of his loved one, and lit up the dark night of absence with the light of reunion. He had driven one who was afar, into the garden of nearness, had guided an ailing soul to the heart’s physician.

Now if the lover could have looked ahead, he would have blessed the watchman at the start, and prayed on his behalf, and he would have seen that tyranny as justice; but since the end was veiled to him, he moaned and made his plaint in the beginning. Yet those who journey in the garden land of knowledge, because they see the end in the beginning, see peace in war and friendliness in anger.

  - Excerpt from The Seven Valleys and The Four Valleys, Baha’u’llah

TWITTER CAN MAKE YOU A GREAT TEACHER?

This post originally was my comment to a post by @georgecouros entitled: A Higher Chance of Becoming Great? The “Twitter” Factor (Read it here.)

Twitter is a transformative tool for teachers. Definitely!

Now, I don't know that I could ever assume the title, "Great” teacher... but I definitely know that I am "greater than" I was before Twitter!

Twitter has broken down the wall for me. Always a bit of an educational maverick in my school circles, I had constructed a wall to deflect criticism and disbelief I saw from other colleagues over my practice. Not that I was doing anything so great, just different. Whether it was giving students voice or choice, planting grasses on the playground to test scientific method, or sponsoring a lunch time "artist cafe", I just liked doing things which my students enjoyed. And so I became accustomed to expecting that I would be the one out on a limb... with my colleagues watching from the ground.

After 30 years, Twitter changed all that. It opened up doors to a host of teachers that looked a lot like me. (And many that didn't, and that was refreshing too...) All of a sudden I saw many teachers who were out on limbs-- climbing and bouncing and swinging. Twitter gave me access to like-minded teachers, a PLN (Personal Learning Network), to bounce ideas off of, to offer suggestions to support my practice, to listen to my edu-adventures.

Most of my PLN is far flung, from the US to Australia to the Philippines. But to my surprise, I found some of my own district staff on Twitter too! We have occasional Meet-ups especially to teach and encourage each other and show fellow staff members how to use Twitter. 

Another regular outcome of Twitter use is the Edcamp experience, a wonderfully democratic "unconference" where attendees set the agenda and learn what they like. Edcamps are rife with learning and instructional possibilities that leave me twittering for days! And, of course, the personal connections made are the best. 

Although I have been active only a year, with Twitter I have learned more and made more professional progress than with my previous decade of school PD! 

And none of this is lost on my students. I love to hear them rev up: "Oh, oh... Mr. Voigt is on his Twitter account. What are we gonna be doing now?"

REGGIO EMILIA FOR THE PUBLIC SCHOOL

The Reggio Emilia Model of education hails from northern Italy and evolved from the response of one devoted teacher, Loris Malaguzzi, to the devastation of post WWII and the need to rebuild the City of Reggio Emelia and attend to the education of its children. In its origins, one might imagine the impulse that shaped it—the valuing of the community, the collaborative ethic, the organic adoption of topics to study, the importance of the arts and children’s creations, and the documentation of children’s work among them.

The Piazza or shared area in the Reggio school

The Reggio program is unique in that it is largely determined by the interaction and collaboration of the students and their teacher. As might be imagined, this organic process allows children to have a voice about what they learn, but also requires the teacher to guide the process and integrate the various subjects and desired standards as the study evolves. The Reggio classroom most often has two teachers who collaborate and share the responsibility… although many schools employ a dedicated paraprofessional as a “copilot”.

“The Reggio approach uses social constructivism along with symbolic languages to support and sustain learning,” says a 2015 article on the subject. (1) “It pays exceptional attention to the learning process” and seeks to follow these key principles:

·         The image of the child: All children have preparedness, potential, curiosity

·         Children’s relationships and interactions within a system

·         The role of parents: Parents are an essential component of the program—a competent and active part of their children’s learning experience

·         The role of space: amiable schools

·         Teachers and children as partners in learning

·         Not a pre-set curriculum but a process of inviting and sustaining learning

·         The power of documentation

·         The many languages of children

·         Projects: Projects provide narrative and structure to the children's and teacher's learning experiences (1)

The Reggio Atelier or art studio

Although the majority of Reggio Emilia schools are preschool and primary schools, there are a score of K-5 and K-8 programs across the country. Some of these are private schools and others are affiliated with public schools. Since Reggio follows no prescribed curriculum, special provisions must be made to guarantee its proper functioning and to ensure that its principals and mission are clearly enunciated to all stakeholders.

One of the striking distinctions of Reggio Emilia is the importance of art as one of the child’s “languages” of expression. Reggio schools generally feature an Art Studio, called an Atelierista, in which children spend far more time since much of the outcome of student work is in the form of projects and constructions in various media. Although the Reggio school may not have a significant investment in texts or programmatic materials, it will have need for more resources in this area with a dedicated art teacher and a multitude of supplies for the studio.

Another distinction of the formal Reggio school is the presence of two heads of school. One is the principal who runs the day-to-day operations and performs the more normal administrative duties. The other is the “pedagogista”, a role which is responsible for the spirit of learning in the school both among the students and the teachers. In some ways similar to the instructional coach, the pedagogista is responsible for meeting with teachers and helping them reflect upon all sorts of educational issues and problems. The pedagogista’s task is to support teachers in their daily work with children and their relationship with families. In consultation with teachers, they play an active role in the formulation of long-term explorations in classroom projects.

The Reggio classroom environment

A third important element of the Reggio Model is the role of the classroom environment. Ideal learning spaces “are generally filled with indoor plants and vines, and awash with natural light. Classrooms open to a center piazza (large gathering area), kitchens are open to view, and access to the surrounding community is assured through wall-size windows, courtyards, and doors to the outside in each classroom. Entries capture the attention of both children and adults through the use of mirrors (on the walls, floors, and ceilings), photographs, and children's work accompanied by transcriptions of their discussions. These same features characterize classroom interiors, where displays of project work are interspersed with arrays of found objects and classroom materials. In each case, the environment informs and engages the viewer.” (2)

The Opal School is located at Portland Children's Museum

Because of Reggio Emilia’s emphasis on organic choice for topic study as well as its

expectation for long-term projects with visible outcomes, the Reggio program seems in a better position to coexist with other currently popular models such as Project Based Learning and STEM (or STEAM) type programs. As a matter of interest, the Reggio school can also benefit by an organic relationship with local community institutions such as a museum, nature center, gallery, or the like. Several Reggio schools around the US are directly affiliated with a local organization to provide educational stimulation for students and enliven wider community collaboration. (3)

There may not seem to be a significant expenditure needed in the Reggio school for published materials or supplies since the program evolves its own curriculum. And although teacher training is available, many schools ascribe to a more organic “on the job” training. This, however, assumes that the selected teacher understands well the Reggio model and has an affinity for the role which he/she will play. What does appear crucial is the presence of a trained pedagogista, a staff leader who can exemplify the Reggio spirit, coach teachers on their observations of children’s learning needs, and inform the dialogue over the nature and outcome of the projects being spun out over the year. In addition to the investment required for the pedagogista, there will be ample need for artistic and “construction” materials (some of which may be “upcycled materials” donated by families) and for equipment and media necessary to document the learning projects which children produce.

Included among the Resources below, see also articles pertaining to the Grand Rapids Child Discovery Center (5, 6) as well as an older, but very informative CNN video introduction to Reggio Emilia, its origins and American interest in the Model. (7)

RESOURCES

1. Reinterpreting the Reggio Emilia Approach in the USA: An Approach for All Children

Community Playthings, Accessed March 23, 2015

http://www.communityplaythings.com/resources/articles/2009/reinterpreting-the-reggio-emilia-approach-in-the-usa-an-approach-for-all-children

2. Reggio Emilia approach

Wikipedia, Accessed March 23, 2015

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reggio_Emilia_approach

3. Investing in Early Childhood” Research Project: A Conversation with Claudia Giudici

Quarterly Periodical of the North American Reggio Emilia Alliance, PP 2-5,

Accessed March 23, 2015

http://static1.squarespace.com/static/512340b7e4b0b5151b78916d/t/52494123e4b0bae68e5cb366/1380532515869/NAREA+Innovations+Summer.pdf

4. Investing in Early Childhood” Research Project: A Conversation with Claudia Giudici

Quarterly Periodical of the North American Reggio Emilia Alliance, P 8

Accessed March 23, 2015

http://static1.squarespace.com/static/512340b7e4b0b5151b78916d/t/52494123e4b0bae68e5cb366/1380532515869/NAREA+Innovations+Summer.pdf

5. GRPS' only charter school changing leadership but firmly rooted in Reggio Emilia philosophy

Mlive.com, Accessed March 23, 2015

http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2014/06/grps_only_charter_school_chang.html

6. What is the Reggio Emilia Approach?

Child Discovery Center Website (Grand Rapids, Michigan), Accessed March 23, 2015

http://childdiscoverycenter.org/non-traditional-classroom/what-is-the-reggio-emilia-approach/

7. CNN News Report on Reggio Emilia Italy Early Childhood Schools in the US

CNN & Time News (Older, but excellent history & overview), accessed March 23, 2015

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=XVv5ZL9nlgs

MONTESSORI FOR THE PUBLIC SCHOOL

Montessori is the single largest education system in the private sector. With its adoption into public schools over the past decade its prominence has only risen and its viability as a productive model is virtually undisputed.

The Pink Tower

Conceived by Dr. Maria Montessori, the first woman physician in Italy, the Montessori Method was born in the mid-1800s out of Dr. Montessori’s scientific observations of children as she looked for what optimized learning. Her initial work was not intended to create a system of education, but instead focused narrowly on the problem of children who were being rejected by the educational establishment in Rome-- children, she found, who were not able to learn by sitting in rows and listening to teacher lectures. In order to meet their needs she directed her efforts toward finding engaging materials which embodied important concepts and principals in their very design, which could give children the experience necessary for later learning and higher level conceptual development. In doing so, she was one of the first advocates of “learning by doing”.(1)

The Montessori environment is a storehouse of learning materials

To walk into a Montessori classroom is to visit an ideal environment for active learning. Montessori environments feature hundreds of beautiful materials and activities from which, along with lessons from the teacher, students may choose. Montessori actually elevated the classroom environment by designating it “the silent teacher.” She further reinforced its primacy by defining the teacher’s role as that of the “guide” in the environment. Montessori teachers introduce children to each of the materials, whether individually or in small groups, by carefully designed lessons to explain and demonstrate the material’s function and use.

Here are a few of the important principles of the Montessori Method:
· The “prepared environment” is the ultimate teacher

· The teacher is the child’s “guide” through the environment
· The Montessori materials embody important concepts and higher thinking skills
· The child has an “absorbent mind” which will soak in the nature of the surrounding environment
· That “sensitive periods” occur during which the child will be optimally disposed and ready for new learnings
· The child is free to choose his/her own work
· The child is allowed longer periods of uninterrupted time to work
· The teacher-guide observes the child’s progress and redirects or intervenes when necessary
· Materials are designed to be self-reinforcing, self-correcting, and self-confirming

The Montessori teacher observes, offers guidance

In contrast to public education, Montessori education has a unified philosophy of the nature and purpose of life which guides its system. Maria Montessori envisioned the child as a spiritual being, capable of advancing in qualities of character and intellectual capacity and whose ultimate role was that of an enlightened world citizen. Although the Method is often utilized for its ability to impart higher intellectual skills, Maria Montessori’s goal was to assist the child with the optimum development of his/her entire person. In more recent years, public schools have rushed to incorporate the Montessori model into their districts. Some have created structures to guarantee its performance in the traditional way that Montessori envisioned; others have adopted a more “blended model”, mixing elements of Montessori with practices deemed important to the local school. In the Notes below is listed an article which details “Ten Steps to Montessori Implementation in Public Schools”.(2)

Montessori student carefully replacing the number rods after use

The Montessori Method requires significant investment in both teacher training and in classroom materials. Teachers must be accepting of the Method and willing to undergo a comprehensive training to learn the value of the Montessori materials, how to arrange the prepared environment, and what role the teacher plays in it. Montessori teacher training is available in many locations around the US and the world. However there are a few Montessori institutes in Michigan and Ohio which offer this training.

Although seen as a comprehensive system with a highly defined list of materials and well-developed lessons, Montessori is open to new ideas consonant with its spirit. Over the past decades there has been much research done both on the Model itself as well as on its ability to impart learning and develop children’s capacities. A short list of Resources follows below.(3, 4, 5)

RESOURCES
1. Introduction to Montessori Education
North American Montessori Teachers Association, accessed March 22, 2015
http://www.montessori-namta.org/About-Montessori

2. Ten Steps to Montessori Implementation in Public Schools
North American Montessori Teachers Association, accessed March 22, 2015
http://www.montessori-namta.org/Montessori-Implementation

3. NAMTA Research
North American Montessori Teachers Association, accessed March 22, 2015
http://www.montessori-namta.org/Research-Downloads

4. Research on Montessori: Published Studies
Montessori Society AMI UK, accessed March 26, 2015
http://www.montessorisociety.org.uk/montessori/research

5. Montessori Builds Innovators
By Andrew McAfee in Harvard Business Review, published July 25, 2011
https://hbr.org/2011/07/montessori-builds-innovators/

Knocking Down the Walls: Releasing Teacher Creativity to Build School Innovation

With all the ideas being shared about adopting this model or that brand of education, I had to stop and think: What was it that we really wanted out of our schools? The Big Picture, it seemed to me, was about fostering innovation among teachers so that our schools would develop their own novel character, about advancing some creative approach that would enliven the school and galvanize the community supporting it, about delivering cutting edge, 21^st Century teaching and learning. And then I remembered my own school 30 years ago… where we had this really special program.

A Free Hand

Of course, when I first signed on in East Jefferson in 1978, things were a bit different. I was shown a list of student learning objectives and asked how I was going to meet them. There were several “canned programs” available in each subject. I could choose from among them… or make up my own. I was given a free hand to design the curriculum I thought best for my students. I learned that in East Jefferson teachers were trusted to design the best program for their students. Because they were busy generating ideas to be used in their classrooms, teachers talked more about what they were doing. They wanted to know what others were doing, what colleagues thought of their ideas, or how they might work together, and what resources the principal or special area staff might offer.

I recall one particular year in which our teaching and learning just “blew up” at our school. It all began during an informal lunch conversation when I mentioned that I was planning a vacation trip to visit Florida with my young children to swim with dolphins… Another teacher shared that she had been snorkeling a couple months earlier in the Bahamas. It didn’t take long and others were attracted to the topic. Without much effort the idea of designing an “Under-sea Adventure” took shape and discussion began in earnest. My fellow staff members were enamored with the idea and its possibilities for a multitude of expressions across the school. It was suggested we talk about it at our next staff meeting.

But the idea was too attractive. The word spread and teachers began claiming “territory” in the Under-sea Adventure. I, for one, loved the idea since it would fit right in the ecology plans I had for science. The teacher next door wanted to focus on the Great Barrier Reef. The teacher down the hall had all kinds of sea-related reading material and was just about to launch into Jules Verne’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. That set another teacher off about distance and measurement for her math class as well as volume. The art teacher was elated because 3D paper machete animals were on her agenda.

Before long, you could not walk down a hallway in the school without holding your breath—each transformed into an underwater aqua-sphere. Ceilings and walls were covered with blue and green craft paper, strewn with darker seaweeds and glinting with sprinkles of silver and gold glitter. Brain and stag corals were sketched along one side with hundreds of intricately drawn clown fish and angel fish, larger parrot fish crunching the corals below. The opposite wall showed an old, sunken ship with cargo strewn about, one chest with a rusted name plate: Robinson Crusoe. Above our heads swam every kind of sea creature from Yellow tuna to Bottle-nose Dolphin, from Octopus to Manta Ray. All were fashioned of paper machete and realistically rendered, suspended by fishing line and swaying gently with the tide. The underwater realm was completed by a soundtrack emanating from behind the shipwreck—the low, echoing sounds of whales, the clicks of dolphins, enclosed in the wider, distant sounds of flowing tides and hissing bubbles…

Learning Outcomes

Students were invited to “Beach Day” one week, “Pirate Day” the next. Countless classroom stories were written about sea-related adventures, undersea ecosystems, and life cycles of various sea creatures. Assemblies were sponsored and sea-related reports were delivered. Older students visited younger classrooms to read their original reports on sea phenomenon. Younger students acted out the “schooling” habits of alewives as they darted in unison about the playground. A traveling zoo brought their own tanks filled with sea cucumbers, sea slugs, horseshoe crabs… even sharks and rays! Many classroom newsletters were written describing student learning and fun. Parents came to see what was going on and itinerant teachers would visit to tell stories of who, at other schools, was saying what and which were copying our ideas.

This undersea theme kept us going most of that year. Subsequent years saw other themes: the Countries of the World, Outer Space… We had found something that worked well for us and for the students, had the freedom to plan and carry it off, and the good sense to make the most of it for the learning we needed to impart and for building our community spirit.

This authentic collaboration not only set the tone for learning in our building, but it excited participation among the entire community. Students were entranced by the environment they had created and parents were proud to talk about the school-wide arts integration and all the making that was going on.

In modern terms our adventure would have been dubbed by many labels: project based learning, authentic involvement, interdisciplinary learning, STEM or STEAM, and would have been recognized as a model of multi-aged collaboration. The project was sustained by the passion of the teachers and the interest of the students. The work transported us to another place and evoked deep learning for all involved.

This was not an effort of “special teachers” by any means. It was a just a collaborative venture of teachers who felt free to listen to each other and play off the ideas and suggestions of their peers. It was self-reinforcing and cumulative. The more it developed, the more possibilities we saw for drawing out educational experiences. And the more the students learned.

My bias is that this phenomenon is not unique to those teachers at that time. I believe that every teacher has this latent capacity… if only by the nature of who we are. We entered the profession because we had something to say. Teachers have talent, and they enjoy the adventure of leading learning.

The question then is why it not happening at this time? Why are East Jefferson schools not morphing into centers of art and creativity, science and tech, or art and drama depending upon the individuals and talents of the staff in our schools? Why are our schools so crystalline in their structure and offerings? So uniform?

The Curriculum

For one, specified programmatic content has supplanted the individual teacher’s creativity. Nowadays it seems that in every subject matter there is intense pressure to deliver content. Those schools that adopt particular programs by which to deliver, usually expect teachers to obey a delivery schedule. That leaves the teacher most concerned about doling out certain information at certain times… and not concerned about relevance to any larger picture. The focus becomes: “Did you hear what I said?” not “What does this mean to you?” Student interest flags, motivation drops, and learning suffers for many.

Evaluation

Over the last decade, as the teacher evaluation process has become more politicized, teachers have become more anxious. If staying “on message” is the perceived attribute of an effective teacher, then that becomes the standard. After all, a teacher receiving repeated “ineffective” ratings realizes lower status and certain dismissal over time. It is obvious then why most teachers would defer to the Master Pacing Schedule over striking out on one’s own, no matter how creative or effective the innovative effort might be.

High Stakes Testing

Although there is much controversy over Value Added Modeling (VAM) for evaluating teachers, legislators the country over have seized on this as a method of having impact on the educational system. VAM is the theory that states that the performance of students on standardized tests is directly attributable to the teacher’s effort with those students. That students must be tested yearly and those test scores will then be factored into the teacher’s evaluation.

Although everyone will agree that teachers have influence, there is much to suggest that it is very limited and that no one teacher can perform miracles with students who face poverty, poor nutrition, and family insecurity. Nevertheless, VAM is here for the time being. And with it teachers have even more reason to toe the line on programs that teach to the test or profess to be effective in preparing for it.

Knocking Down the Walls

I do not mean to say that we don’t have teachers exercising their passion and creativity in their classroom performance. Nor that all teachers are cowering behind their Teacher Manuals in fear, delivering prepared lines on the appointed day. Below the veneer of compliance and a genuine desire to serve the system, every teacher still hears that distant drum, some more than others, calling them to follow their instinct, to knock down the walls that limit them, and to encounter students where they live— to meet their needs, interests and passions.

I believe, even in this modern age, the impediments to teacher autonomy and creative collaboration can be removed—and still maintain order in the system. But it will take the village to do it, to make sure that all stakeholders have a voice and believe in the change. With high standards in mind, teachers can design their own programs to meet the unique needs of their students and work in collaboration with the district to be sure standards are met. Evaluation can be recast to be more positively presumptive, more collaborative and trusting, so teachers do not have to be guarded, can try out new ideas, really focus on their talents, and explore better ways to meet the needs of students. Even high stakes testing can be put in its place, first by knowing the standards are being addressed by the teachers in the classroom curriculum, next by monitoring with authentic formative assessments devised by teachers, and by making reasonable preparations to help students feel comfortable with the format and tone of tests they encounter.

If we can knock down these walls, establish trust among staff and our school leaders, and encourage creative collaboration within and without the schools, there is no doubt in my mind that the result would be the growth and budding of the unique talents and abilities of our diverse staff… and subsequently the flowering response of the students under their care. We would see more authentic manifestations of teacher-to-teacher collaboration and more innovative student learning outcomes. If given the freedom, we would see our schools developing their own unique “personalities” under the banner of East Jefferson Public Schools.