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. 

Your Role Model

Who was the person whose example led you into education? Why?
People really would like to know. 

Teaching Overseas

One of the generally overlooked areas in the field of education is that of international education. There is a large network of international schools all over the globe. Some are very small and little known while others are very large and prestigious. There are jobs in these schools ranging from teaching to administration to coaching to nursing/athletic training to athletic directing to recruiting. Most of you would find that a lot of what you do here in the states is available for you to do overseas.

In 1995, I was at a crossroads in my career, where I knew I wanted something a bit different from what I was doing, but I wanted to keep teaching. I saw an ad about teaching overseas, contacted the company, Search Associates, and began a dialogue with the company president. He helped me apply to three schools where there might be a fit, and I moved on those applications. I applied to schools in Hanoi (Vietnam), Sofia (Bulgaria) and Quito (Ecuador). I heard back from Sofia first, but we could not work out some logistical issues. I am still waiting to hear from Hanoi. And, Academia Cotopaxi in Quito acted quickly, interviewed me by phone on a Tuesday, called my school on the Wednesday and offered me a position that same day.

Now, there are a number of job fairs for international schools, and that is the best way to get into the network. That is actually the way we went when we moved on from Ecuador to the Philippines. One can also get addresses email addresses, and websites and apply that way on one's own. That is more difficult, but I did hear from schools which I contacted that way.

International schools are generally at least loosely associated with US embassies because they take a lot of embassy children as students. Most international schools have English as the language of instruction. In most cases, about half the students are from the host country. Then there are children from all over the world whose parents work at embassies and international corporations. The mix of nationalities, cultures and ideas is very exciting.

International schools also tend to have very high standards for performance and behavior. The parents of these students want a great education for their children. They are paying a lot for that education (or their employers are). They are expecting that their children will go to very good colleges in the US or somewhere.

The faculty of these schools are also diverse. One can expect half of the faculty to be native to that country. Then, depending on the nature of the school, there are teachers from everywhere. American international schools will load up on American teachers. British international schools will load up on Brits. However, there are a lot of Canadians, Germans, and Australians at these schools with teachers from everywhere else as well. Headmasters and principals will almost always be ex-pats. This helps in a few ways. One, labor laws in some countries would entrench a native of that country in a job for life after just a short time. Second, the schools try to reflect their identity with their leadership, so an international school will have an international administration. Finally, most administrators in these schools will serve one or two three year contracts before moving on so that there are always fresh ideas coming in.

In both Ecuador and the Philippines, my schools followed the International Baccalaureate Programme. This is the most common program overseas, and it is very good. A growing number of US schools follow this program, but it is pricey and will often get dropped when budgets are tight because there is a constant per pupil cost. IB is comparable to AP, but IB offers a diploma facet that AP does not currently have. It is a good program to teach in, and it looks good on a resume.

There are many pros and cons to working at an international school:

Pros:

• exposure to many cultures and ways of viewing the world
• a great opportunity to travel
• working in IB is great professional development
• the students are all very good learners and are open and curious
• teachers work with two year contracts and can then either move on to other schools or sign a series of one year contracts
• administrators work with three-five year contracts with the opportunity to sign after that
• lots of flexibility
• a break from traditional bell schedules
• it is always a good idea to get new perspectives
• educators are viewed with a lot of respect

Cons:

• we witnessed, first hand, a coup in Ecuador
• in third world countries there are third world problems like pollution, power outages, possible food shortages, fewer options in stores, discrimination
• one has to be away from extended family for usually at least nine months at a time
• in other first world countries expenses can be very high
• there are usually big differences from what we are used to in terms of personal space and hygiene
• customs and manners are very different, and one has to be aware of these differences in order to stay out of trouble
• US children who live primarily overseas tend to have a problem with their identity as Americans

I recommend to all educators that you really think about the possibility of working overseas. Teaching in Ecuador and the Philippines was an experience that affected me positively in so many ways that I cannot even begin to list them all. I am pretty sure that we will look at going back overseas once our children are in college or graduated from college.

FYI:Vacation

I will be on vacation in Ecuador from July 20-August 4. This is a return for my wife,  Martha, and I to Quito for the first time in 20 years. We met in Quito in 1995 when we were both teaching at Academia Cotopaxi. We are excited to show our children the country where we met and where we have so many great memories.

I will post as I can from Ecuador, and a few of the other blog authors have assured me that they will finally plunge in and write a few posts themselves. I know I could use the help from them on a regular basis. Remember, YOU are also invited to become a blog author and post on your own regarding topics of import to you. This is everyone's blog. I just facilitate.

See the next post for thoughts about teaching overseas.

Another Interesting Quote

Wagner and Dintersmith's, Most Likely to Succeed, is a treasure trove of important ideas. I may not agree with all of the ideas I have read in the book, but I know that I need to consider them. This is a quote from early in Chapter 4 that I do agree with and believe we really need to have conversation about:

"In an ideal world, schools would be riveted on preparing our kids for life, helping them learn and develop essential skills and character traits. Assessments would reinforce the goal of helping students master what matters most. College admissions would have thoughtful criteria aligned with kids' long-term interests.  And, we'd periodically review historic practices, keep those of enduring merit, drop what's obsolete and innovate.

But when it comes to education, we don't live in an ideal world. Instead, the forces that determine what gets taught in our k-12 schools are largely:

•  What's been done historically
• High Stakes tests
• College admissions"

I understand very well the need to prepare students for college and college acceptance. I do understand that testing is a part of the process now (though I do believe that if we do our jobs well, then any standardized test should be easy and an affirmation of what we are doing instead of a focus).

My axe to grind comes with what has been done historically. Throughout my career, I have bumped my head against the, "that's the way we have always done things," justification of weak practice. I had to fight to bring in AP Calculus in two schools because they had always done Honors Calculus, so they saw no need to change things. It was a struggle to bring in Stats and AP Stats because we had never had them before. I had to fight with a social studies chair to ensure that honors and college prep students got the same text. I had to work against tests that used scantron sheets because I believed that a test that is designed to be easy to correct is probably not really assessing, just testing. The lists goes on.

What are some "The way things have always been done," sacred cows do you/have you face(d)?
What to do about them?

An Interesting Quote

This is from Wagner and Dintersmith's, Most Likely To Succeed.

"Our focus shouldn't be to give all kids equal access to the same bad education experience. We need to reinvent education and give all kids a fighting chance in life." (page 61 of 296)

I believe there are at least pockets of excellence in every school. In some schools, that pocket is extremely large. However, are those pockets equally accessible to all the students who attend those schools, or are they there just for certain tracks, or just for the students fortunate enough to have that particular course/teacher? The quote makes us examine whether or not the programming we offer is as good as it can and should be for all students. If not, we should examine our programming before we insist that everyone gets it.

First, we need to really think about what ALL students should know and be able to do before they graduate from elementary/middle school/high school/college. Then we have to decide the best way for them to learn those things and demonstrate their understand of and competency with. Then, we can start designing programs.

When we get to the high school competencies/skills, we have to know that there is a fork in the road here where some students will go to work, some to training, some to two year programs, some to four year programs. There should be a lot of commonalities for each of these, but there will also be certain elements particular to each track that a student chooses. What should all of these high school graduates have in common? How is a person going from high school to a training program going to be different from a person going to a four year college?

Should high school be "one size fits all" like it tends to be now? How can we look at the tech school approach and learn from that?

What do you think?

Is there a quote from this book that has caught your eye? I have a bunch. 

Experiential Learning

I am preparing to do the August 13 Tough Mudder in Louden, NH. This will be my fourth one, all after the age of fifty. Those on my team have vowed to TM until we can't. We shall see how long that will be. I have at least enough in me to get to the age of sixty.

I mention this because of the things I love about TM. There is, of course, the physical challenge involved. More importantly, there is a lot of problem solving involved. We have to persevere and endure. We have to work well together to get everyone past each obstacle. We have a win-win focus that includes everyone on the course and our commitment to helping anyone else who needs it. We have to plan what we do carefully and thoroughly. We need to communicate what we are doing and what we need every step of the way. Sounds a lot like 21st century skills, doesn't it?

My favorite stuff to do with students involves experiential learning. I love taking students to ropes courses and watching them grow individually and as a group. I am indebted to the Massachusetts National Guard for all the times they have had my students on Camp Edwards to use their Leadership Reaction Course. I relish every opportunity I can take to set up Amazing Race courses at schools for students and teachers where they can race around a campus, working together, solving, overcoming, memorizing, and performing. The single best experience I had as a teacher was doing the Harbor Conservation Corps over two summers with students from Cathedral. Why? Because all of these activities are ways for students to learn via real experiences and put their classroom learning into play.

We need to do more in schools to get students to apply as many skills and as much learning as possible in what they are doing. Ropes courses, real student leadership training and involvement, real voices in the life of the school, simulations, plays, exchanges.

What  a student learns in Algebra II or English 10 is very  important and the bread and butter of education. However, I have no real recollection of much of what I did in either of these classes. But, I remember much of my drama productions, my swim team seasons and my part time jobs vividly. A goal we should have is to give each student at least one of those vivid memories from every class and every activity they do.  Then they will carry their learning with them.

What are some of the activities/learning events you do with your students to add meaning for them? Share so that we can all do better.  I would be happy to share with anyone some of the Amazing Races I have set up for students and adults. I would be happy to discuss the vital importance of leadership development for all high school students.

Getting back to Tough Mudder. Try one. You will understand. Maybe I will see you in August.

Coming Up

We are planning a couple of events.

First, we are looking at a webinar on Zoom the week of August 15. Part of that is a "get to know each other". Part is to do some discussion. Finally, we want to plan the second event and want a LOT of input and help.(Details will be coming by email VERY soon).

The second event will be a live meeting at Fall Homecoming on September 24 in Hogan 320. This would be to Network, do some discussion in smaller groups to share out, and, hopefully, to meet with some of the current TEP students at HC.

Please be part of this. We want to have meetings (both on line and live) that you want to be part of. What will it take to get you there? What will fire your interest? What can we do to have you participate and take on some things yourself? Tell us, and we will try to do it. 

A Little Trip to The Land of Make Believe

You are the new superintendent of a new school district in your state. Congratulations.

You have been given permission by the school board to take a traditional k-12 program and make any five changes to it you would like to make. What are those changes?

For me:

1. The school day:

2. Periods:

3. Pathways:

4. Project and Standards Based Learning

5. Inclusion of Fine Arts (Music, Drama, Studio Art, Digital Art) at each level, every day:

I have thoughts on each of these which I will share in comments, but I would love to see what others think first.

Text Books

I have been reading a lot about text books in education. As primarily an English teacher, I avoided text books as much as possible and used novels, short fiction and non-fiction, poetry and drama that were stand alone. This way, I could teach annotation and be sure that students did not have to carry clunky books around with them.

When I taught History, I used text books in the classroom because they were a warehouse of facts, but, again, I wanted students reading primary material on their own. I always found that having students take texts home and take notes on material that was already highlighted for them was silly. I get angry when my son has to read in a text book and then fill in the blanks of a worksheet on the material. He never even has to glance at a map, picture or chart in his texts. That makes me kind of angry. Why waste the purchase of an elaborately constructed text if the students never have to do more than read the narrative?

I also understand that Math and Science tend to lean hard on texts, but, too often, I see the name of a unit to be "Chapter 11" rather than the topic or standard being addressed.

What is the proper place for text books in education? Why do you use them? Why don't you use them? What is the best way to use them?

Definition of Success

I just took a Survey Monkey poll on the changing perception of what success is in America. This was partially pushed on Facebook by HC, so why not?

It makes me think. If we are re-examining what it means to be successful today in the US, shouldn't we also be looking at what it means to be a successful educator?

I used to think that my main goal was to prepare students for the same high quality, liberal arts education I received at HC. To that end, I wanted my students to write and speak well, solve problems, work together, push themselves and have high expectations. I still want that for my students, but their success with those skills has nothing to do with where they go to college or if they go to college. Their success is, in part, a measure of how well they choose what they do next, how well they do once there, and how prepared they are at the end of that experience for what comes next after that.

I have told students all the time that if the most important thing they got out of a course was a grade, then that course had failed them. If they could receive their diploma without ever having to push themselves to achieve more, then their diploma was less meaningful. If they moved on to the next stage of their lives and were woefully unprepared, then the system had failed. If they came to the end of their life and regarded high school as the best four years of their lives, then they had blown it.

My success as an educator is tied into how students do next. They might love my school, love my class and remember all the great things they read and wrote about. However, if they do not have the transferable skills that go with all the thinking and learning I want them to do, then a lot of time has been wasted. They might dread coming into my room because I make their brains explode, and I hold them to higher standards than they hold for themselves. But, if they think that they understand excellence, and know how to reach it for themselves, I am ok with waiting for them to come back years later to say I was right.

What do you think?