Reflections – #rscon10
Posted by Jeremy M. on Wednesday, August 4, 2010 · 11 Comments
So I imagine I’m one of the last people to reflect on this past weekend’s 2010 Reform Symposium, or for all you tweeps, #rscon10. I tried to make it to as many sessions as possible, but I didn’t have an unlimited supply of caffeine that Shelly seemed to have. I made it to 10+, but I’m sure I missed enough to merit another weekend of visiting the archives and diving head first into authentic and insightful teacher-led professional development.
Before I get into the reflection portion of my post, I want to thank
Shelly Terrell,
Christopher Rogers,
Kelly Tenkely, and
Jason Bidell for organizing and moderating all that was the 2010 Reform Symposium. Although we can never repay them for the late nights and countless hours of organizing, I hope that my thanks, along with the thanks of the hundreds of educators that attended, is enough to show them how much we truly appreciate them and how grateful we are.
I really wish I could recall all the amazing things that I learned from the conference, but I figure I’m late on this post anyway, so I will share just a few thoughts that still remain in this
overcrowded and disheveled brain of mine.
What I learned from George
This isn’t the first time I’ve learned something from this guy. George Couros is the real deal. He puts out more blog posts than I can read in week, but somehow I’m always able to catch the one that seems to have been written for me. After living Identity Day through George’s tweets back in June and his blog post, I have been looking forward to a day when I got to hear about it first hand. That day came and this is what I was able to glean from that experience.
Relationships and Cracker Jacks
At Forest Green Elementary, relationships are central to everything they do. In my life, relationships are central to everything that I do, but not in my classroom. I whole-heartedly love my students, but I don’t feel that I’ve ever actually focused on relationships in a deliberate fashion. George includes the quote,
We cannot teach students if we do not know them well. – Hoffman and Leak
No, we can’t. We cannot look at a student as just another face. Each student has a story to tell, a life they live. We can learn so much more about the “whole” student if we just take the time to get to know them. As a part of that though,
you have to let students get to know you. No, not just the Mr. or Mrs. or Ms. that they assume lives at school, but the avid sports fan, the exercise nut, or amateur photographer that is in their class everyday, but never gets to meet the kids.
I believe it was Maya Angelou that said,
I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.
As I plan to focus more on relationships this school year, I’ll keep in mind the analogy that George made partway through his presentation–Like a box of Cracker Jacks, each child has a prize inside. How willing are we though, to take the time to find it? It’s not as easy as opening the box from the other end. Finding the prize will take time and sincere effort. A student needs to feel wanted and safe. A sense of trust and respect must exist as well before such prizes can be found. Once those connections are made, the prize is found, a student feels safe, learning can take place in a way far more enduring and meaningful than any best practice or tech tool could ever facilitate.
Who are the leaders?
To answer the question, we all are. I admire George’s approach at his school, one in which he approaches teachers with strength based learning and leadership–enabling teachers to find their strengths and become leaders in their own capacities.
I’m a classroom teacher, far from any administrative responsibilities, but I do feel like I’ve been allowed to be a leader in my school because of my own strengths and passions. Like George, my principal was a first-year principal. It’s tough work, particularly at our school, and I wouldn’t ever want to do it alone. My principal, Mike, realized that it was not about him being on top of some hierarchy, but simply being one voice in a team of many.
That said, I hope to bring that sense of “everyone is a leader” into my own classroom. While getting to know my students, and finding what prizes they can bring to my class, I hope to instill a sense of confidence in their strengths and provide them with opportunities to share those strengths in ways that contribute to other’s learning.
What I learned from Joe
Joe Bower is quickly becoming the center of a very important educational reform debate–Do grades hurt students? There are several sides of this debate that I have been reading and considering while I begin to form my own opinion and take a stand either way. In fact, I’ll have to explain more of my own thinking in some blog posts that I have in the works. Anyway, I appreciate Joe’s
efforts and his passion for what he believes in. It is hard to totally discount someone and their ideas when they have done their research and exude what they believe in nearly every facet of their life. Joe is one of these individuals.
A reaffirmation, of sorts
For the last two months I have been seriously considering changing the way that I assess and “score” students in my classroom. I have always had issues with the arbitrary letters and numbers we give students as an affirmation of their “intelligence” or the lack there of. Averages have always seemed as the most inadequate way to show a student’s progression towards mastery. As a new teacher I began “padding” student grades with “effort” grades and “participation” points. I didn’t feel their final average was a fair and meaningful reflection of the what really went on during that quarter.
So as I was listening to
Joe’s session at the Reform Symposium, I began to feel a sense of surety and a reaffirmation, of sorts.
And I think this is when it clicked,
Students should experience success and failure not as reward and punishment but as information. — Jerome Bruner
It really is about the students
The whole idea of
“abolishing” grades is not to relinquish student responsibility and give up teacher control–it’s about promoting communication and giving students a more active role in their learning and monitoring their own progress.
An interesting point that Joe made, that was new to me but not to many in attendance, was allowing students to ask questions on their assignments, projects and assessments. Opening their learning up to questions provides teachers with a larger window to see into where students are and where they are heading. I think that often we assume what students understand by the amount of correct or incorrect answers on a worksheet or test. There are far too many factors to what a particular test actually means to get any real, meaningful data from it. Hence, the need for student/teacher communication. When “grading” becomes a collaborative evaluation of one’s progress towards mastery, a more realistic understanding of where a student is, and what they are actually “getting”, can be gained and shared in a more meaningful manner than our traditional report cards ever have.
In short, I think that I could have summed up my experience during the 2010 Reform Symposium as,
It is about the students.
It is about learning.
It is about making lasting change.
But for those who know me, I’m not a man of few words.
I like this post – how you have focussed on the human aspects and not the technology, and how you have reflected on the words of those presentators but, more than that, how YOU have learned from them. Thank you for sharing.
Clive
Thanks Clive. As I get more into the EdTech “scene” the more I am realizing that it really isn’t about the technology that much. It is definitely an effective tool, but the relationships and experiences are far more important. I’m glad that I was able to convey what I was feeling in this post. Thank you for your comment.
Bravo!!!! Thank you for your heartwarming and genuine reflection. Not only did you capture the essence of the reform symposium, but you revealed even more through your personal lens. At this start of the school year, it is such a marvelous time. We renew the joy and the hope and the dreams of our profession. I too hope I do a better job of building relationships and engaging others deeply in their own personal learning reflections. Best wishes to you for a super school year!!!
Thank you Diane for your kind word and wishes. I wish you the same as the new school year approaches.
I always tend to have huge aspirations for the new school year and I always fall short. I feel this year though, because of the types of changes I want to accomplish, I can actually see it all through fruition. It is indeed an exciting time.
Well done, sir. I love the student centered focus you shared. I am watching Joe Bower’s presentation right now and will be watching George Couros later this afternoon. I also stuck that Maya Angelou quote in my collection.
Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Justin. I’ve learned a lot this summer. I hope this is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg and I’m able to continue making students and student learning the focus of my classroom and my school. Sounds silly saying that, but I feel education has moved away from a student centered approach. Common sense isn’t always so common.
This is a most fabulous reflection on the learning and teaching we do everyday. You were able to capture and express what so many of us were feeling as we took part in what I consider to be an opportunity of a lifetime!
I want to start by saying how much you inspire me to grow, learn, and be a better teacher every day. Your passion for life and zest for learning make you the kind of role model we as parents consider essential in our children’s lives. Your writing marvels me… makes me want to stretch and grow and start a new school year with passion and professionalism.
Please continue to guide, connect, and grow with me as a learner. I consider you an essential member of my professioanl learning network and know that we will continue to collaborate and share many times this school year.
Keep on blogging sir!
Well Jana, let me start by saying, wow. Thank you so much for your extremely kind words. Your comments really made my day. I am so glad that you can find such utility in my writing. It truly has become an outlet for me.
Honestly, I just do my best. I am grateful that I am in the position that I am, being able to work with kids and hopefully make a positive lasting impact in their lives.
I still have a ways to go, but I’m glad that I can learn and grow from people like you.
Jeremy,
First, thanks for your kind words. It means a lot to me, not because of what you said, but because of the person I know who said it. One of the things that I look for in hiring new teachers is someone who continuously wants to grow and get better. You are so passionate about growing and learning as an educator, and you can tell that this is something that will continue on with you career. Your enthusiasm for life and laughter are contagious.
Ultimately, you show you want to be your best for your students. This is something that every teacher should have and you do in spades.
Thanks so much for your kind words. I learn so much from you as well and I appreciate the way you put your heart into things.
Life is about growth. I’m not seeking perfection, but merely improvement. As educators, the learning process is something that we should be able to teach merely through example. I strive each day to be better than the last. Self reflection is a powerful tool. It’s not so much about learning a “lesson”, but the lesson learned.
Thank GC. I appreciate who you are and what you do for others.