What you learn about yourself on your journey as an educator

This semester, I found out more about what I want to do in the future of my educational career than any semester previous. While observing Mrs. O'Donnell at the Burncoat Middle School, I found myself getting bored just sitting and watching, so I started to get involved by helping some of the students- particularly, the Spanish-speaking students in one of the classes that ELL students were in. I found myself drawn to the task because I am a native Spanish speaker. It made me really excited that I was able to help in such a specific way, and I even encouraged a shy ELL student to share her answer aloud in the class. Hooray for small victories! This is when I began taking interest in teaching English as a second language, and continued to pursue helping with the students in any way that I could. I even began asking to observe the smaller ELL class, and found myself surprised at how much more outgoing the kids were in the smaller classroom compared to when they were placed in the class with the rest of the native English speaking students. It was amazing to see their personalities truly come out, and how excited they were too learn. As an English major, I always thought I would eventually be teaching a normal English class to middle schoolers, but to my surprise, my opinion has changed. Next semester I am taking an ELL teaching course, and I cannot wait to continue to help these students!

Books

As a book lover, it always amazes me how few students (and adults) have ever read a book cover to cover. I was observing a class this afternoon, and a number of the students there admitted they they had not read a book in its entirety since before 6th grade. At Goodrich Academy, that problem is partially resolved by the fact that all work is done in school, including reading. But, it is weird that so few people actually do read books completely. Your thoughts?

On the side of trying to help address this, here are some books I would highly recommend that I have recently completed (add your own):

The Martian by Andy Weir  (way better than the movie)
The Girl From Venice by Martin Cruz Smith (I love his Arkaday Renko novels, but his stand-alone novels are even better).
The Wrong Side of Goodbye by Michael Connelly (You sort of have to read the whole Harry Bosch series to get into them)
Coffin Road by Peter May (May is an excellent crime/suspense writer whose best work is set in the northern islands of Scotland)

Fitchburg MS Humanities Position

The McKay Arts Academy in the Fitchburg Public Schools is looking for a Middle School Humanities teacher. This is a really good school and is closely associated with Fitchburg State.
It is on School Spring.

Framingham Math Job

Hi all,

Framingham High School has an immediate Math opening. If you or someone you know is looking for a high school math position, please let Abigail Henry (HC '16). Abby is currently in her first year teaching Math at FHS after completing the TEP last year.

Abby can be reached at: ashenr16@g.holycross.edu OR ahenry@framingham.k12.ma.us

Please spread the word!

Alumni in Education Committees

I hope that many of you received the email from the Alumni Office regarding the need for committees with the Alumni in Education  Affinity group. If you did not, here is the text of the message sent by the office, Kelly Healey and me.

Since the formation of the Alumni in Education Affinity Network in February, we have grown to nearly 200 members, and our affiliated LinkedIn group boasts more than 400 members. We have held virtual meetings, our very first on-site event, and launched a blog with many entries, a group of writers, and the opportunity for everyone to comment and create a dialogue about important issues.

In an effort to meet the needs, interests, and hopes of members, we are excited to announce the formation of committees within our Alumni in Education Affinity Network:

•In-Person Events (discussions, panels, speakers, social events)
•Online Engagement (webinars, blogs, Linkedin)
•Teacher Education Program Outreach
•Membership (recruitment and dissemination of information)

These committees are critical to the success of this group, and we need your help. Ray and I would like to take this opportunity to gauge your interest in being a part of these committees.  If you are interested in exploring a role in a committee (leadership or otherwise), please click here >>. 

If you have any questions or suggestions, please let us know. As always, thank you for your involvement, and we hope to see you soon!

So far, we have a few responses and volunteers to help run some of what we are trying to do, but we could use more help. Please think about whether or not you can give some time to helping make the affinity group work well and work in w ays that you would like to go with it.

Thanks.

Springfield Job Openings

Hi all,

Just heard about these openings!

The Springfield Public Schools has a number of immediate openings in the following areas:

ELEMENTARY, MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL--ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE, SPECIAL EDUCATION, MATH, ENGLISH, INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNOLOGY, LIBRARY SCIENCE, PHYSICS, HIGH SCHOOL VOCATIONAL TEACHERS AND AUTISM SPECIALIST

Please visit the website at springfieldpublicschools.com to view postings and to apply. 

Homework

There seems to be an eternal back and forth about homework in education. As a teacher, I thought it necessary. As an administrator, I have had my doubts. As a parent, I can see how sometimes it is excessive.

At my current school, Goodrich Academy, we have no homework. As a public, alternative high school part of our job is to make sure that we do not duplicate the reasons why students struggle in more traditional settings. So many of our students have never done homework, and they find that they cannot succeed in their regular schools because of this. This means that my staff has to work hard to get the teaching and learning done in class without a lot of wasted time. Not a bad philosophy, but I bet they often wish they could throw an occasional homework assignment the students' way.

On the other end, I see my children come home with homework every day. Most of the time it seems measured and reasonable. However, every once in a while they might have 30+ problems in math or 30+ vocabulary words to look up and use. I kind of do not get that because I really do not think that 30 questions of any kind done quickly will have better results than 10 questions done well.

I also wonder, sometimes, how much of the work done at home is in place of learning that should be done in the classroom. I can see doing math problems that further what was actually taught and learned in class. I can see finishing a writing assignment that was started and checked on by the teacher in class. I can see the need to get important reading done so that the ELA, Science or Social Studies class is not a reading only class. But, I have concerns about how homework is assigned and assessed.

Here are some of my general ideas:

1. Reading is appropriate for homework as long as it is meaningful, and of reasonable length.
2. Math and science problems should be furthering what was done in class and only enough to reinforce. A big concern I have is when a student does something the wrong way 30 times. How long will it take to undo that?
3. If it is important enough to do for homework, it should be important enough for a teacher to assess in some way. This could mean a short quiz on the reading. It could mean a class discussion where everyone must participate. It could mean correcting the work the students did. It is frustrating for me to see teachers walk around a classroom, glance at homework and then assign a check, check plus or check minus to work that a student was supposed to spend 45 minutes on. Why should the student care enough to do the work well if the teacher does not assess it well? What is the message that this sends about homework?
4. Homework should not be a significant part of a student's grade. A student who is intelligent enough to pay attention in class, do well in all assessments, and be a contributor to the class should not be doomed by the fact that they do not do homework assignments. They should be accountable, yes, but a good grade should not be contingent upon this. From what I have seen, it is often the case that homework becomes a matter of compliance for  a teacher and they are upset when a student sees no value in it. Learning is not about compliance. It is about learning.
5. Homework should never be given for the sake of giving homework. If an assignment furthers the learning done in class, then it is fine. If it is busy work, then it is a waste of everyone's time.
6. Homework should rarely be given on a weekend and never over a vacation. We all value our time off. As educators we need to recognize that students appreciate it when we also value their time off. Sure, we will be correcting work over weekends and vacations (because we plan it that way so we do have time), but that does not mean we have to make our students "suffer" as well. Sometimes, there is a need to get a major paper done. Sometimes we want students to stay current in what was taught just before the vacation. However, be sure that this is the case.
7. Unless it is research or project based, a student should never be expected to learn something the first time as part of their homework.

Your thoughts? A younger me would definitely disagreed with this.

Why I Refuse to "Teach For America"

I’ve always felt strongly that teaching is my calling. As I embark upon my final year here on the Hill, I feel overwhelmed by the multitude of possibilities that await me upon my graduation in May. Rewind to my first year at Holy Cross, I was (and am) a student who was very passionate about becoming involved the field of Education and excited to leave my mark. Teaching, for me, has always been the end goal. Teaching is not a stepping stone into the “real world,” nor is it something I’m willing to “try out” for a number of years after graduating only to later throw away. That’s why, when my eager peers are excited to inform me that they’re applying to Teach for America, I will always have a hard time smiling and biting my tongue.

Founded in 1990, Teach for America guarantees recent graduates an opportunity to do just that: briefly encounter the teaching profession within the context of a high need institution only to leave it behind two years later. A nonprofit organization which seeks to “enlist, develop, and mobilize as many as possible of our nation’s most promising future leaders to grow and strengthen the movement for educational equity and excellence,” TFA undermines the value of an intensive undergraduate Teacher Education Program. Teach for America’s “intensive summer training program” takes participants through the very basics of what it means to be a teacher. Although it is undeniable that the diverse nature of the corps itself, which is constituted by graduates holding degrees in a myriad of disciplines, may very well bring new perspectives to schools that are in need of resources, I refuse to believe that we are doing the schools in which we place them much justice.

The fact that these highly undertrained “teachers” are being placed in extraordinarily high need schools that desperately need experienced veteran educators is a travesty. Daniel Katz, Director of Secondary Education and Secondary Special Education Teacher Preparation at Seton Hall University, articulates that, because his students “all intend to stay classroom teachers,” pursuing an opportunity with TFA upon receiving their undergraduate degree is a waste. “This isn’t something they suddenly decided to do,” Katz continues. “This isn’t a means for them to ‘give back’ on their way to something else. This is a career they have been thinking about since they were much younger and to which they have dedicated their entire time in college to entering.”

If our ultimate goal is to benefit our students and provide them with a quality education, why, then, would we place individuals with little to absolutely no experience who are often simply looking for something to do after college graduation in schools that are desperate for resources? This denigrates our profession and leaves our students in need of teachers who are inspired to commit their lives to teaching. I myself am one of those individuals. Teaching, for me, has always been the end goal. Teaching is not, by any means, a step along way; it is profession to which I will dedicate the rest my life and remain passionate about so long as I live.

Immediate Middle School Spanish & French Long Term Sub Position - Grafton Middle

Hi all,

I just learned of an immediate opening for a Spanish and French long term sub position at Grafton Middle School. There is an emphasis on the need for French because some of the other teachers can cover the Spanish sections.

If you know of anyone who might be interested, the contact info is:

Emily Loughlin (Spanish Teacher @ Grafton Middle) - loughline@grafton.k12.ma.us
Roseanne Kurposka (Principal @ Grafton Middle) - kurposkar@grafton.k12.ma.us

And the job posting can be found at:

https://www.schoolspring.com/job.cfm?jid=2717138

Let me know if you have any questions (mcashman@holycross.edu). Spread the word!

MB

What can we take out of this election that will be valuable to our students?

Cassandra Kobelski commented over the weekend on a recent post about one of the debates. I think she makes some really good points, and you should read her comment.

Anyway, I think we can make some valuable points with students that a lot of what this election has turned out to be is because of the fact that discourse in this country tends to be very limited. Students are not exposed to a lot of different views in k-12 or in college settings. There is a fear in k-12 of being accused of promoting any particular viewpoint. And, colleges do tend to ask speakers to come in who represent views they already have. Often, when colleges invite speakers with different views, there are protests until the speaker's invitation in revoked. This is all wrong.

There needs to be honest and open discussion of all views so that students can make up their own minds about issues, based on knowledge rather than mere opinion. This is difficult and requires a lot of planning on the part of a teacher/professor, but it sure would be worth it to have discussions based on the merits of any viewpoint rather than avoiding those conversations. This is also true with many of the ballot initiatives out there. I am no fan of legalizing marijuana or bringing in more charter schools, but I have researched both sides of each argument in preparing myself to vote. Are we doing enough of this in classrooms? Are we really looking at the real concerns of all sides in the presidential election and considering what each side really does want and why? If we do not, we cannot hope to heal this country afterward.

A real thought for me is that the whole process has gone a bit haywire. We have too many career politicians who are tied to their parties over the constituents. Something is wrong with that. Why do we have term limits for executives in government but not legislators? Are career legislators a good thing or a bad thing in a democracy? That would be a real interesting topic in a classroom. 

If You Could Make a School

Yesterday, we hosted a visiting team from a district that is in the process of reorganizing itself. Now the reasons for this are not great, as the district is in state receivership and has to do this in order to be allowed to continue to function. However, the people we met with yesterday have the opportunity to totally re-imagine what secondary education will look like in their city. They have three schools to work with: a high school, a technical high school, and an alternative high school. The redesign includes all three.

What would you do if you had the chance to redesign a district with that many schools? What would the end design look like? How different would you make the whole thing than business as usual?

Oh, you also have access to a community college and a four year college as well as local business and industry.

So scary yet so exciting at the same time. 

Some Post Debate Thoughts

Watching the debate last night, my mind would drift during the particularly awkward parts. During one of my mental excursions, I began to really wonder just how well students in America are taught to present an idea and defend it with facts and logic. Do we really do enough of that? How do students know when they are doing a good job of it? How do we ensure that students are able to debate for themselves and also be able to see the fallacies in someone else's case?

Watching the debate, I also began to wonder why it is that we hold politicians to views they held ten and twenty years ago. I am definitely a different person now than I was ten and twenty years ago. My views have changed (I hope for the better). Why can't a candidate make the case that at one point they believed something and have since evolved to another viewpoint without being called a flip-flopper? Both Trump and Clinton would have been way better served to admit a change in stance than to deny a previous stance. What does it tell society when people are unwilling to admit a shift if perspective?

I certainly was glad that my 11th and 8th grade children were interested in the debate last night. My daughter was also required by both her English and Social Studies teachers to post some of her reactions on forums that they had set up. I thought that this was great. Now, most of the students in my daughter's classes have similar backgrounds and political leanings, but the ideas were out there and public which is a good thing. Is there any national forum out there for students to post reactions and civilly debate for themselves how this election is going? How many breakfast tables across the nation do you suppose were talking about the debate this morning? I hope a lot.

While I would have welcomed the third party candidates to the debate last night so that the public could be aware of other possibilities, their presence would have radically changed the dynamics of last night's debate. I am not sure the new dynamics would have been better. I liked the stark contrasts I saw and some of the sub-surface emotion that was clear. Johnson and Stein would have diminished that. However their presence may have gotten the debate to a clearer focus on issues and policies. Less exciting, but more important in the long run. 

Some Pictures from Homecoming

Take Aways fro Homecoming Event

If you were there, please fill-in what you took away.

1. There is a huge need for better mentorship programs in education. While mentoring is the law and a good idea, most districts plan their own programs. Some programs are superb. But, others programs are haphazard, indifferent and do not help a new teacher very much. This needs to change and have a better overall structure to ensure quality throughout a state. Some textbook companies should also investigate the idea of creating a text for these programs.

2. Teacher prep programs really do need to help students learn soft skills like: classroom management, how to handle angry parents, how to conference, how to ask for help, and how to plan routes to professional licensure. None of this should be a course, so how do we do it?

3. Educators need a time to meet with other educators, no matter what field they are in. We all benefited from the diversity of the group on Saturday.

4. The February program will probably be in the evening and more social in nature. More to come there.

What did I miss?

If you were not there, what can we do to get you there in February?

Immediate Job (Consulting) Opp in Boston

Hey all,
A great consulting company that I have worked for/with is looking for a consultant to do ELL PD for HS teachers in Boston. This PD will focus on helping teachers instruct ELL students in test taking strategies and reading strategies, with a focus on aligning with the WIDA Access language.
Looks like it will be about once a month for approx. 2 hours.

Let me know if interested and/or you would recommend someone!
P.S. They typically pay really well :-)

Questions Regarding How We Do Education

Every once in a while, a bunch of questions jump into my brain regarding US education. Here are some of the ones which popped in this weekend. See if any of you are willing to take a stab at answering them.

1. Why do most American high schools insist on a four year plan? Shouldn't there be a three, four and five year plan for students? What might these plans look like? (This stems from conversations I have had of late with students who want to come to my school because of all the electives they are taking as seniors. Most students get to senior year, and they need to take an English, perhaps a math, perhaps a science, and that is all. The rest of their schedules are filled with electives they do not need and do not want. Why couldn't they have met these requirements in 11th grade? In other cases, I meet with students who are well behind in credits because their school days were overwhelming, and so now they feel like failures because the pace was wrong for them)

2. Why is it that most high school students will finish high school without ever having taken a tech type course in high school? Especially in Massachusetts, tech schools have a monopoly on tech courses, and less that 20% of Massachusetts students have access to a tech school. I know I would have benefited from some course that would have made me better at: electricity, plumbing, woodworking, automotive or something else.

3. Why does high stakes testing try to assess both minimal competency and academic excellence in the same test? Isn't that a little unfair to those who score at the lower end? Instead of showing what they can do, they are forced to try to answer many questions they cannot even access?

4. Why is the first budget cut always to non-academic courses? Yes, everyone needs to take Geometry. But, in terms of a student's total quality of life during their school years and beyond, how much of the Geometry will they remember, no matter how small the class size, versus how much of their band, art or drama class, no matter how large the class size? Are we educating the whole child or not?

5. At what point does this country take a hard look at school starting times and really make decisions about starting times based on real research?
The same question for length of school year, homework, and final exams.

Anxiety

As principal of Goodrich Academy I am tasked with the intake interviews for all prospective students. In effect, I have to screen for students whose needs we cannot meet and also get an idea of the learning needs of the students we accept. Except in rare cases we take most students who apply.

What I notice more and more is the sheer number of students who want to come to my smaller, more placid school because of their anxiety. It is troubling that so many young people are unable to function in school because of how nervous they get (about crowds, about reading aloud, about math, about failure). And, the anxiety has taken over their ability to succeed.

I get it that I am from one of the "just get dressed  and go to school" generations, so the numbers from when I was in school are very skewed. But, it seems that anxiety is a growing concern rather than a consistent one in education. For example, most schools can calculate the percentage of bullies they will probably have to deal with in a given year. They can take a pretty close guess at the number of fights, drug issues, drop outs and medical leaves they will have. IEP  and 504 numbers tend to stay the same over time. Retention rates are steady. But, anxiety has momentum.

I am enormously gratified that students, parents, and counselors have taken anxiety seriously and worked to address it. I have seen the results of people trying to repress things, and they can be disastrous. But, where is it all coming from? Why is anxiety so common today?

What I do know is that whatever it is we do here, it works. Students come in their first day tense and generally leave smiling. We have small classes and responsive teachers. We give students an appropriate course load, tailored to that individual. We remove a lot of the areas of high school drama (no cafeteria, very small hallways). We work to give students control over their own education and the direction it follows. I think as students can gain control over their education, a lot of their anxiety is abated. Having regular conversations about how they are doing helps as well. In a school with 170 students, this is all possible.

Why is the anxiety out there?
What are ways to help students through it?

Alumni in Education Homecoming Event

Hey, this is just a reminder that you can register for the Alumni in Education Homecoming Event on September 24. All you have to do is go to the following link and find the affinity events and then register. It is easy AND fun. Do it so you do not forget.

For this event, we will be focusing on three things:

1. There will be a lot of smaller groups discussions around some of the topics that have been raised on recent webinars and informal conversations. After the smaller discussions, groups will report out to the larger group.

2. There will be time for networking with others who have similar jobs: k-12 teachers, administrators, higher education professionals, and professionals in industries like publishing, testing, marketing and tech. We all know that we do not get enough time for real sharing with people who have similar jobs but do not work with us.

3. We will be welcoming and getting to know members of the current Teacher Education Program at HC. They will be full participants. We hope we can give them an idea of who we are, what we do, and how we might be able to help or even mentor them.

This is a lot on our plate for two hours, but it can be a great start to great things for the Alumni in Education group. No panels, not much being talked to. Just the chance for a lot of dedicated people to share. 

Also, we have a sponsor for the refreshments, so it would be great to have an early and full sign up for the event. Please use the link below to get yourselves registered. I hope to see many of you there. 

http://www.holycross.edu/homecoming

Changes

Who is making a significant change in their job description or their job location this fall (or recently)?
Tell us what that change is and how you are looking forward to it.

Some Random Thoughts

Hey.

Still waiting for people to respond to some of the questions I have put out there this week. Come on. What are you waiting for? Then I can weigh in as well.

Had an administrators retreat this week in my district and new teacher orientation today. Looks like the school year will happen in Fitchburg this year, starting September 1. Kind of excited because empty schools over the summer can be depressing.

I am working with a sub-group of administrators in my district to see how we can better meet student needs. AT my school we do SEL really well, but I am anxious to raise the bar further academically. My district also has invested a lot of money in some on line platforms for this year, I hope to help my teachers leverage those.

Here is a question for teachers 9-12, if you could get one piece of ongoing PD this year, what would it be in?

My kids love back to school shopping for binders, pens, highlighters and the like. Not so into clothes shopping for school, but having that new folder seems to be exciting to them, even in 11th and 8th grades.

Even if there are user fees, extracurricular activities (sports, art, drama, debate, etc) are some of the best values in education. So much better and more convenient that the alternatives. Why would any city or town allow its schools to drop such programming?

I am interested in what kind of debate will come out of the charter school vote this November in Massachusetts.

Speaking of, John Oliver's piece on charter schools is amusing and a bit disturbing. I think it paints charter schools with too broad a brush, however.

Looking forward to Holy Cross Move-In Day tomorrow. We'll see how I feel about it on Sunday.

Coffee should be the Official Drink of Educators. (sorry tea drinkers)

If you can make it, please sign up for and attend the Homecoming Networking event for Alumni in Education on September 24.

Back to School

So with a new school year just around the corner, we are all, no matter the level of teaching or administering, or no matter what type of support we give, all wondering how to do this coming year better. Here are some of my thoughts:

1. Better enrichment opportunities for my students. Each Friday, we have built in time to have speakers some in to present on job skills careers, financial literacy, nutrition, cooking, college programs, etc. My goal this year is to broaden our offerings so that students look forward to most Fridays as a hugely integral part of what they do here.

If you have something you can offer high school students who are looking at their futures coming at them fast, please contact me, and I will book you.

2. Better curriculum maps for my teachers. The better planned the academic program, the better the whole experience will be for the students.

3. Make pathways work. We are piloting a program with the Mount Wachusett Community College Advanced Manufacturing Program this year to provide career pathways for students. When we make this work, it will serve to inform our pathways next year in hospitality, business, biotechnology, health and communications.

4. Build stronger relationships with students.

What do you plan to do better or differently this year?

Questions from the Webinars

First, thanks to those who participated in the Webinars yesterday. Good to meet some of you. Even better to get a sense of where people are in education. Lots of you are not in k-12 settings, and I think that current HC students need to know about your backgrounds and what your journeys have been like. Try to be there to share on September 24.

Still waiting for responses to yesterday's question of the day. I want to see at leas one response before I give my own.

A couple more questions were generated yesterday, and I want to put them out there:

1. How do we work to give students 24/7 access to education without abdicating our responsibility as educators to teach and assess learning?

2. How are teacher prep programs addressing the changes that are happening as a result of Khan Academies and other on-line learning sites?

3. Why doesn't k-12 education interact better with higher ed?

4. Are we teaching prospective teachers enough about the "soft skills" teachers need? What are these essential skills? How do we make sure that these are taught?

5. How can we best help people network within their own interests (k-12, higher ed, industry, non-profits, etc)?

6. How do we get everyone to embrace data more, especially when it informs us of what we need to do better?

Interesting article about taking a sabbatical from teaching

Diary of a Techy Teacher: Why I’m Taking a One-Year Sabbatical with BetterLesson

Question of the Day,August 17

I will probably post on this tomorrow, but it sure would be great to get some responses.

You can do one thing in your school/district/company this year that is completely different. Cost is not a limitation, what is it that you would do to improve learning?

Tough Mudder

In case you were worried, I survived my Tough Mudder up in NH this weekend. Somehow Saturday turned out to be the mild and pleasant day stuck between a bunch of oppressive ones. Had some leg cramps, but that just makes the experience that much more fun when you are climbing a rope to get over a wall.

What was great was seeing all the elements of a tremendous learning environment on display all day. We had a steady stream of obstacles thrown at us. Each of the obstacles required some thinking, some coordinating of responsibilities, collaboration, sacrifice, some overcoming of fear and doubt, and the necessity of making sure that everyone succeeded, even people not in our group. In fact, a bunch of the obstacles require that many groups work together to help everyone succeed. We helped others face their fears. We shared each other's personal successes.  We encouraged everyone else we could on the course. When I have done team building and leadership development with students at challenge courses and National Guard camps, I have worked to have these same results.

I believe that everyone came out of the Tough Mudder a bit better inside than when they came. I have some interesting bruises and sore areas, but I loved every second of the experience (except when I got cramps in both hamstrings at the same time). How do we strive to make learning experiences for students that rich and valuable when we teach them English, Math and Science?

The Importance of Challenge

Tomorrow, I will be participating in my fourth, annual Tough Mudder. I will be slogging through mud, climbing, running, jumping, swinging, and probably falling all over Loudon, NH in an effort to get me and my team mates to the finish line. This is all while I am rapidly approaching my 55th birthday. So, why am I doing this?

Tough Mudder has become my excuse for trying to stay fit. It has become a way for me to challenge myself to keep trying new things and even do some things that might be risky for me. I need challenges in my life, as does everyone.

This is something we need to really be conscious of as educators. Students do not need grades. They really do not need worksheets or easy to do and correct assignments. They need challenges. They should be going into classes every day wondering what will happen in those classes rather than knowing what the routines will be in each. We grow best when we face a variety of challenges, physically, mentally and spiritually. So, I ask each time I go in to a class to observe how well the teacher is challenging their students and how well the teacher is addressing/pulling back the least engaged student in the class.

By challenge, I do not mean making things hard on students or making their brains explode. By challenge I mean getting them engaged and really thinking about what they are learning so that they do learn. Making things hard often does little more than turn more students off. I would like to think that students worked extremely hard for me, but they did so because they were engaged and willing to push themselves.

I think we also need to challenge students in more ways than just academics. Do we have enough opportunities for students in our schools to engage in problem solving activities, collaborative projects, and fast paced thinking? Something I love to do on occasion is to create an Amazing Race for students and faculty who want to participate. They create teams, choose colors and make a team name. Then, on the day of the race, they have to work with their teams to "go around the world/country" and get through the obstacles I have created for them. These may include such things as memorizing a song,  doing a Bollywood dance, creating a sky scraper with balloons and tape, eating a cupcake with no hands, bouncing around a track with beach balls between their legs, solving Sudoku puzzles, or doing a Muscle Beach pose off. Through these events, students find that fitness matters, intelligence matters, but creativity, positive energy and team work matter more. Most of the time, the students and teachers who do these activities end up more involved in school and in class.

What are the challenges that are important to you? Do they energize you or drag you down?  

Creating Partnerships

Yesterday, I spent a few hours with the Industrial Readiness Training program at Mount Wachusett Community College's Devens Campus. At Goodrich Academy, we have what they need (18+ year old students who want to look at career pathways). They have what we need: possible career pathways for our students. The job is for us to pull everything together and create a program that will work for all of us in such a way that we can create more pathways with other programs. This is the start of a partnership that can actually help everyone involved. We are also throwing in there a growing relationship with the Chamber of Commerce so that they can help us establish internships and work study opportunities in the areas we are piloting. I think this is essential.

I have been to so many conferences where higher education or employers speak to the fact that high school students are coming to them unprepared for the expectations that they will have on those graduates. A lot gets said at these conferences, but little is really solved because there needs to be direct conversation between the parties.

Yesterday, I started the meeting with MWCC with the question, "if I want my students to succeed in this program, what knowledge and skills do they need coming in?" The reps from MWCC were surprised and pleased that I actually wanted to know this, but they quickly came up with a short list of essentials. Then, I was able to share with them what I hoped my students would get from their program, and they were able to check those boxes. Next week, when I meet with the Chamber of Commerce, I will ask some of the same things.

We all want our students to come out of high school or college fully prepared for what comes next. we know that partnerships will help them do so. What I am finding as very important is that this becomes a valuable moment to share with partners who we have and how we can work together to meet their needs. I want a great experience for my students, but I also want to know for sure that the students I send out to the world are ready for that world. These partnerships will help.

What partnerships are occurring that you know about? How do they work? How could they work better?

Parent Involvement

Grappling with notions of parent involvement

I am contributing to this blog to share some thoughts on parent involvement and reasons to develop a meaningful parent involvement program as well as to seek your experiences with successful parent involvement programs.  The impetus for writing this emerges from conversations with middle school administrators who received negative feedback from a recent district-wide parent survey.

I bring to this topic my own beliefs that the relationships parents have with their children affects the students' school experience.  In addition, the feelings that parents have towards education and the school and the kind of role that parents play in the educational process also impact students’ school performance.  From my perspective as an educator and one who wants my students to achieve school success, it is essential that I involve parents.

I have been researching parent involvement and have learned quite a bit on what I thought was a simple formula:  just get parents involved, make regular positive connections with parents, show parents that you care about their student!  Yet, after reading Hoover-Dempsey’s research, I realized that parents become involved for many reasons.  I contend that if we know, understand and address these reasons, we will be more likely to create and maintain a successful parent involvement program. 

Some parents believe that it is their role and duty as a parent to be involved in their student’s educational experience; others hold the belief that their involvement positively affects their student’s school success.   There are parents that only get involved when they are invited to an activity by the school and if they perceive the school as a welcoming place.  Often it takes a special invitation by a teacher or a heartfelt request by their own student to have some parents attend events.  It is also important to consider that there are parents who have time and resources which allow for involvement. I also see that some parents deem themselves qualified with specific content skills to actively support their student.

These reasons for and types of involvement are all very different.  I wonder if we, as educators, are considering this diversity of parent perspective when we develop initiatives for increasing parent involvement. 

Here are some questions that I ask myself and the group of colleagues working together with me on this goal:

•     what do we define as meaningful parent involvement?
•       how do we intentionally embark on a program to get the kind of involvement that we want?
•       do we need to adjust our approach to parent involvement as the family structure has changed?

More specifically, I am also posing these guiding questions:

• if we know that there are parents who think they can help their child succeed, what are we doing to increase their efficacy so that they maintain or increase their commitment?
• what do we do to create a school which is welcoming to parents?

There are many more questions that I want answered in order to launch an effective parent involvement program.  I am looking forward to reading your responses and learning from them.  I have included the source below if you are interested reading more research on parent involvement.

Eileen Melody

Hoover‐Dempsey, K., Walker, J., Sandler, H., Whetsel, D., Green, C., Wilkins, A., & Closson, K. (2005). Why Do Parents Become Involved? Research Findings and Implications. The Elementary School Journal, 106(2), 105-130. doi:1. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/499194 doi:1

Webinar

Hey.

There is still time to register for the Alumni in Education Webinar next week. Please go to the following link for details>

http://www.alumni.holycross.edu/s/1380/15/indexnonav.aspx?sid=1380&gid=1&pgid=3013&content_id=3546

This will be a great chance for us to talk live and start to really network.  Also, since we are planning a live event in September, you can have a voice in what tat will look like. There will be two times for the Webinar: 10 and 7. It is on August 17.

We have 20 people attending as of right now, so we have room for a few more. Sign up while there is still time.

Participate.

My Children in a Foreign Country 2

Another thing that occurred to us this trip was to ask the kids to put together the albums for the trip. Of great interest to me has been the fact that they focus the albums on the people they are interacting with and the offbeat things they saw and got pictures of. Sure, we have pictures of the major ´laces we visited, but they are mainly the backdrop for the pictures of themselves and the relatives we were with on a particular day.  They also include a lot of pictures of locals we met.

Also, when we have asked over the course of this vacation what they have liked most, invariably they have spoken of moments rather than the things they saw. They liked it when we all ate somewhere or when I said something that was informative, funny or out of frustration. They liked it when their mother tried on certain hats at the market.

What I think I have learned is that it is important to see as much as possible on a trip, but it is even more important to share a trip with others. to eat local foods, to make cultural connections and to leave teenagers time to really get a sense of something on their own.

I love Ecuador, for any and all of its faults, it is an amazing place with awesome people. But, while I admired the improvements to the roads and infrastructure, my daughter asked why so much had been invested in Quito while the rest of the country was often stuck in the past and how that was unfair. My son noticed the huge interest people had in conversation about the US elections. This interest has made him more interested in them. They both noticed that there is too much emphasis on the Spanish and less on the indigenous history, so we found as much as we could about the native peoples and all learned a lot.

Given the same places, I have a much greater sense of Ecuador now than I did 20 years ago because my children allowed me to see through their eyes, and I did not force my own views or a tour´s views on them. For this, I am grateful.  Now we have to get their cousins up to Boston to finish this mini exchange.

My Children in a Foreign Country

So, we are winding down our trip to Ecuador. We come back Wednesday into Thursday. A few more sights and a little more extended family. Here are some of the things I have learned from observing my children (15 and 13).

Context is important with everything we see. We have been good about sharing what we know about each place we go. She has a Lonely Planet Guide. We also have visited most places with my wife's cousins, who live down here, and they have added perspective. But, yesterday, we visited Mount Cotopaxi, which is a phenomenal active volcano with a perfect cone and a snow covered top. It had recently erupted, so we could not do any climbing, but it was breathtaking. She had the background on that, so she was fine. Then, we went to the Quilotoa Crater which is a lagoon in a dormant volcano. Clara came away angry that we had traveled all that way to see it because she did not know anything about it. When we came back to the apartment, I looked up info about it, and she then was able to appreciate what she saw. Click.

Finding a partner for kids is great. We are very lucky that there ar cousins the same age as my kids. They have gone to many places with us, and they have given great perspective to my children. Both the cousins speak English, and they push my children to speak more and more Spanish. When we go places together, the kids are a bit separate and bonding. You do not get this on a tour.

It is important for young people to try the "platos tipicos" of the country they are in. We have been to dinner at a few houses, where the food has all been Ecuadorian. When we have gone to restaurants, the food has also been Ecuadorian. My son really has enjoyed most of what he has eaten. My daughter tries things and likes most but not all. Why in doubt, she can always have bread or ham and cheese. However, we have not been to American places. Again, their cousins push them to try things and will also predict what they will like and dislike.

No tours. We have found out everything we can about most places we have been. Then, we move at our pace. When family is with us, they give us perspective. When we are alone, we figure it out. This way, we also have had to ask for help from Ecuadorians, and we have benefitted from that. This way, we can also change itinerary to match how the kids feel each day. My son currently wants no  more museums. Got it.

We are staying in an apartment. We have to go to the grocery store or the bakery for food. We have to prepare meals for ourselves. We need to learn the area. It would be better for my children if they were hosted by their cousins, but the logistics did not work because of traffic and distance, but we would make it work next time. Then the kids could all bond really well.

More later...

I just don't want to do this anymore... So, what else is there??

One of my hopes for our Alumni in Education Group is to expand the awareness of all potential careers and opportunities in the field of Education. Although you may be doing what you love and happy where you are… Some of you may not be- or may simply want to know more about what exists within our field.

I will start by asking your forgiveness for all of the “Me”s, “My”s, and “I”s… But the best way to explain myself is by sharing my journey with you.  

I used to think, “What can I do in this field?” and I envisioned only a few options: Teacher, Administrator, Guidance Counselor, and maybe Superintendent.

After spending 10 years in the classroom, for countless reasons, I was ready for a change- a different challenge. I transitioned to K-12 District ESL Specialist - then Dean of Students - then, a colleague said, “Hey, that consulting company that has been coming in to do our Data PD/Trainings is hiring. You should apply.”

With an obvious fear of “changing lanes” and (deep gasp) losing my tenure – I applied. This is the moment I truly believe my life changed. All of a sudden, I saw the enormously expansive world of possibility in our field of education.  

Since departing from my district and breaking away from the bell to bell life, I spent a few years working for a company as a “Senior Education Consultant”- playing the roles of:  Data Analysis Coach, Literacy Coach, ELL Expert Validator, Literacy Design Collaborative Coach, ELD Digital Curriculum Writer, Professional Development Designer, etc. etc.

In January, I was hired as “Freelance ELA Consultant to American Curriculum Schools in the MENA Region”.  I first thought: What? There are schools outside of the U.S. who utilize our curriculum? Wait- I can take my experience outside of my country… and I don’t have to leave my home?

And thoughts like this have pretty much come up with every job search and/or opportunity that I have come across! 

And now, since mid-May actually, I am a K12 Partnership Manager for Meteor Learning, where I – among countless other things- am working on spreading an awareness of Merrimack College’s online M.Ed. and Graduate Teacher Education Programs.  Are you interested in learning more about this? Let’s connect!!! It’s my job J

I’ve mostly just shared my titles. To get into the depth of what I did, learned, saw,  and am doing, learning, and seeing – it would require chapters upon chapters.

In short, I no longer feel stifled and know that as my learning and passions develop- there is a position out there that offers me what I am looking for.  If I’m bored, uninspired, or identify that something just isn’t the right fit… I don’t have to wait until a job fair to pick from a few slots-- and I can make a change outside of the months of August/September.  I HAVE OPTIONS!!

So… What do you love? What are your greatest skills? What are you most interested in?

• Curriculum writing? There’s a position for that. 
• Developing Induction and Mentoring Program requirements, activities, events, etc.? There’s a position for that.
• Writing differentiated lesson plans? There’s a position for that.
• Researching and sharing information on social-emotional learning? There’s a position for that.
• Coming up with ideas to save money? There’s a position for that.
• Developing formative assessment strategies for classroom implementation? There’s a position for that.
• Advising people on technology? There’s a position for that.

(Insert what you love)  -- THERE’S A POSITION FOR THAT!

So… Thanks for letting me share my journey. It’s one that I am proud of and excited to continue. My hope in doing so though, is that you are inspired to share your story -  ask/tell each other what is out there – put out there what you “wish” you could do or have in your good ol’ J-O-B - and… if it’s your time – I hope you are inspired to take a risk and change educational lanes.

I'm genuinely excited about the possibilities with our Alumni in Education Group and hope you are as well!!

Can’t wait to hear from you!

-Kelly Healey '01

#AncientTech: How We Are Using Technology in the Latin Classroom

Thanks so much to Ray and Kelly for setting up this blog, and allowing us all the opportunity to guest post! I’ve really enjoyed reading and am excited to share a bit about my work in education while Ray is traveling.

A quick introduction - I am the Latin Teacher & Technology Coach at The Park School in Brookline, Massachusetts. I was a classics major at Holy Cross, and I love that I can share wisdom from the likes of Prof. Ziobro and Nagy with my students everyday. My role on the technology team is new, and it is exciting to blend our study of ancient classics with modern tech. My favorite days cover five millenia - from the Trojan War to the iPad.

As I engage in professional development this summer, I’ve been thinking a lot about how and why teachers use technology in the classroom. Our middle school is lucky to have a 1:1 program, using Chromebooks and the Google apps suite. The number and variations of tech tools available is endless. So how do we decide which ones to use? And how do we implement them effectively?

To answer these questions, I regularly turn to the SAMR model for technology integration:

It helps frame my thinking around what tools would make sense in the lesson, and how I can best utilize the technology to promote student understanding. I am confident that, on a regular basis, our Latin classes are substituting and augmenting activities with google docs and an online textbook. However, I also want to offer opportunities where technology can modify and redefine the student experience.

This past year, I looked at our 7th grade yearlong project on Ancient Roman architecture through the SAMR lens. We spend the fall term examining how buildings and architectural elements convey stories and provide a glimpse into the classical world. To prep for the spring, I looked at the unit and asked, “How could technology allow for the creation of new tasks, previously inconceivable?” Ultimately, we turned to MinecraftEdu as a way to experience the building process and look closer at the buildings. Students digitally reconstructed a building and periodically asked, “What are we learning about the magnitude of, and resources required by these buildings? How do the form and function of the building interact? Why is their existence significant?” The students loved using their favorite game in the classroom, and I loved watching them develop a deeper understanding of architecture.

Here is a tour of one student's final project:

I would love to know: How are you using technology in your classroom? What tools do you use to modify and redefine the student experience? Please post in the comments below!

The Importance of Travel

As I get ready to fly out tomorrow for Ecuador with my family, I see how excited my children are about going somewhere new. I am reminded just how important travel is for everyone, but especially young people.

While we intend on visiting most of the important sites in Ecuador (the Old City, Mitad del Mundo, the cloud forest in Mindo, the rain forest, Otavalo, Mount Cotopaxi and Mount Pichincha), of equal importance will the the fact that we will be immersed in the culture because of the fact that my wife has many relatives there, and we have many friends still living there. My children will have to use their Spanish. They will have to eat a lot of typical cuisine. They will have to learn and navigate local customs. They will not merely be on a bus from place to place, staying in hotels and eating gringo food.

My children have traveled with us all over the US. They have also been to Canada and Honduras. My daughter also was part of an exchange with a school in the Netherlands in 2015 that I had arranged with my last school. She benefited greatly from that experience of going to the Netherlands, staying with a host family, attending classes there and visiting the country. In fact, this exchange has been one of her highlights as a high school student.

I think there is a place for the typical EF Tour in American high schools. Students get to see so many things that they have read about or seen pictures of.

However, if you are an educator, and you have the chance to set up an exchange program with a school from another country, you should leap at the chance. The model I used with the JP Thijsse School in Castricum, the Netherlands was an ideal for me. In the fall, we hosted 20+ Dutch students at our school. (We had matched them in the spring, had them Skyping and SnapChatting with each other all summer.) They made presentations in our school about the Dutch history in America. They went to classes and practices and games with our students. We had team building games, pot luck suppers and field trips with them. They bonded. They came away with a terrific sense of what an American high schooler is like. Then, they planned for hosting us. When we went, our students presented on stereotypes, They went to classes and practices. They rode bikes and trains to school They went on fantastic field trips (Van Gogh Museum and Anne Frank House for example). They ate Dutch food and learn Dutch phrases. And, they made long term friends. Way better than a whole lot of pictures and bland hotel foods. Plus, they saved a LOT of money by being hosted.

Think about something like this for your own schools and districts for these reasons.

• Students learn way more about a culture
• Parents are actually part of the process
• All students in your school benefit even if they do not host.
• It is cost effective
• Students connect with other students
• Host families watch over the students very carefully
• These are programs that can endure
• When the program is with a school from a country that speaks a language from your school's programs, the students can actually practice their language skills
• The adults make connections as well
• We promote time abroad in college, but time abroad earlier is also extremely valuable, especially when it is for a controlled week or so like these programs are
• This is all fairly easy to set up and manage

I am hoping my friend, Rene Wellen, has some thoughts he can share about exchange programs. He is the coordinator from the Thijsse School, and I am very curious what the Dutch perspective is about all this.