Spinning Plates

Are all educators overly optimistic schedulers? Is it part of teaching? Is it part of the make up of the person that becomes a good teacher?

We seem to schedule everything based on best case scenario.

How often are you planning a lesson and think “We’ll never get all this done…” but keep on planning away?

What about the times you don’t schedule any transition time? Any of these sound familiar?

• Recess ends 10:20 but class starts at 10:20, how does that work?
• Attendance just happens somehow with no down time?
• Dismissal at 2:15 and you are going to teach to that last second (productively)?
• Transition with teaching partner, classes swap seamlessly?

It’s not just teachers and planning, it’s institutional.

Instructional minutes, rarely related to actual classroom activities.  Or the “X” amount of minutes every two weeks? Yeah, that works.

It spills over into our personal lives as well. How many times have you had a meeting scheduled to end at 3:30 and another to start at 3:30 in a different place? Or school gets out at 2:30 but you will make that meeting at 2:45?

All this is fine and well most of the time. Well, some complaints from family about how you are always busy ~ whatever. But what happens when something goes awry? Usually the results are of epic proportion.

Kind of makes me think a butterfly could cause a hurricane if scheduled properly by a teacher.

We try to fit everything in, knowing the whole time we would need a ten hour day to make it work.

But still we try.

And usually pull it off.

Yeah, it’s been a while since I last posted. And who knows how long it will be before another but….

This is what’s been on my mind lately ~

I’m not sure teachers have to do cool stuff with technology. What I mean is if you are teacher with second graders and you are comfortable teaching them to use PowerPoint – that’s okay, I’ll take it! The kids have to start somewhere and if teaching them to use some basic software is what the teacher can do – Go for it! Just please, please, please, teach them to only use one  transition.

Now, is that what I want teachers to do? Not really. Would I like them to podcast and create digital portfolios and Skype with other classrooms? Of course! But even then, when do the kids get the basic skills? I wonder if in the push to get “21 century” skills into the classroom we are missing opportunities. If teachers got props for just getting the kids onto the machines would attitudes toward using technology change? Would they be more likely or willing to take it to the next level?

training wheels

What if tech timid teachers worked in the lower grades and their commitment was just to get the kids to learn password security and basics (like word processing)? I am not saying the “oh your finished early print it up” is the way to go, not at all. I still think teaching how to use technology should be explicitly taught not just busy work. Of course that’s another whole topic! But what if the lower elementary grades were a tech basic training? Just like learning the math facts or phonics. I know the kids could do it and would probably welcome it.

My thinking is that many teachers are intimidated and don’t teach ANYTHING where the students use computers other than running a program. When the students move up the grades later teachers have a HUGE curve to get the kids caught up and do the cool projects.

There is also all the UN-learning that needs to be done; log off EVERY time, only use YOUR password, don’t SHARE your password, etc.

Just some thoughts that have been bumping around in my head. With a little time I off it feels good to get them posted.

Images:

I had the privilege of co presenting a session last weekend at annual OC CUE TechFest with my good friend Chris Bell.
Aside from the great presentations, learning, and networking, the keynote really struck a cord with me.

Mike Lawrence got me fired up about trying the Student Media Festival this year, and Mary Anne McGuire was inspiring with her story of Rock Our World (looking into Walk our World as well, the kids can multi-task right?) was also motivating to get out and try something new, do something different and exciting.

But what is still rattling around in my head is one thing Mary Anne McGuire said….

“The teachers lounge is where ideas die.”

I know this was not the intention of the key note. And it sounds a lot worse in isolation, she was telling the story of how excited she was when she first started her project. How she hesitated to share it with her colleagues in the staff lounge because so often that is where great ideas die.

Against better judgment, she did share it with her fellow teachers and got the expected response. Our story has a happy ending because she did not let them discourage her, she continued on her own and has had great success for her and her students.

But I completely identified with her at this point of her story. Too often the lounge is a place where you don’t share your ideas because, as long as they are just your ideas, they are alive but when you share them out so often they die a painful, albeit quick, death.

So what are the choices?

Don’t go to the lounge? That leaves you working in isolation and probably the rest of the staff thinking how anti social you are.

Go it alone and just don’t tell anybody about your ideas? This is what I have been trying to do for a while and it is not the most rewarding way to go, a teacher needs to share success and failures.

Share with only a few teachers that you can trust? Unfortunately, this leads to an “us against them” attitude all too often.

How do you keep your dreams and ideas alive and healthy?

Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dougcoulter/3873606804/sizes/m/

No matter which side of the health care debate you are on, the town hall meetings have been interesting to say the least. What I have noticed more than anything is the apparent inability of our “leaders” to deal with us common folk. Seriously, in some of the meetings our representatives have been astonished that people will not bow down to them. Or listen to them and pay them respect~ just because they are congressmen, and it has come as a surprise to many.

Arlen Specter faces fury

I think this is so interesting because I can see connections to our educational system. There are many teachers/admins/district personnel /superintendents out there in the same position as our congressmen. While they have undoubtedly heard about the how flat the world is and how web 2.0 has empowered people they are thinking it doesn’t apply to their circumstance. Each cozy in their own little bubble.

Hope are we going to react when we have students coming in like the people at the town hall meetings? Knowing that they do not have to come to our classroom when they could go to a virtual classroom. When parents have all the information they could want and start using it to vet schools and admins? What about when parent groups start going to the district or superintendent asking (or demanding) for more options for learning?

I think what is happening at these town hall meetings is coming to a multi purpose room near you! People are not settling for “leave it to us, we know what’s best for you” leadership anymore and education needs to realize this. This is not an attack on anyone (particularly my own district) just some observations.

As summer is winding down educators are going back to school and that means “back to school workshops” for most of us. Recently I sat through a two day session to to learn how to use some new technology in our district.

Yeah, sat through is what I meant to say.

We literally sat…for hours…not touching the new technology we are supposed to start using in a few weeks.

Not talking about how we could use it in our classrooms.

Not putting together ideas to see what the interface was like.

Not making mistakes.

Not getting stuck.

Not helping each other.

Sitting. Watching (some times). Listening (once in a while).

At this point let me say a few things….

The presenters were very well intentioned and most of the crowd didn’t expect anything different from the presentation. Also, the presenters (I am pretty sure) were never trained to present, they are teachers and we asked to do the training. Last and definitely not least, I know I am guilty of “death by powerpoint” and I am not always the dynamic presenter that I want to be.

But I am working on it.

A few things my mentor taught me…

1. There is a huge difference between Androgogy and pedagogy. The whole clapping your hands thing works to adults attention if you have a room of Kindergarten teachers, otherwise don’t try it. Remember – Those are adults (grown-ups) and they need to be treated that way.

2. Everyone learns at their own pace and in their own way. If somebody in your presentation isn’t hanging on your every word it’s probably ok. Let them play, process, work things out. If they are bored give them premission to “unbored” themselves but remind them to check in once in a while. Value and respect their time, they might already “get it”.

3. Almost everyone needs time to actually work/play/mess around with whatever it is you are trying to teach them. You can’t just stand there and show them, let your people participate! I think this goes back to something from the Game of School. Many teachers were successful in a school where they sat in neat rows and “learned” by having someone in the front of the room give them information. While this works somewhat, is it the BEST way to do things?

4. Finally, and this goes back to #1, don’t read your slides to me. We are grown-ups remember, tell me what’s NOT on the slide. Related note: If you say,”OK, this is important” it tells your audience that all the other stuff wasn’t important so they are wondering why you were wasting their time. Just give us the important stuff.

I really don’t mean this to be negative, but do want to bring attention to boring presentations. I honestly think most presenters are doing the best can and as well as they know how to. And I am not a professional presenter by any means. I was lucky to meet someone who taught me a few of these ideas and I want to pass them on.