No Tears and No Fears: What I've Communicated to My Students and Families

As a Kansas teacher, I've been asking myself a LOT of questions since Tuesday afternoon when our state officially closed school buildings. After spending the rest of Tuesday trying with little success to pick my jaw up off of the floor, I awoke Wednesday determined to enter a more productive state of mind.  Having the luxury of a few more days on spring break, I began to wonder "What do I say?" and "How do I say it?" to my students and their families, because we are not done with this school year, no siree Bob. 

Surfing social media, there are a lot of other teachers in the same boat, acknowledging the need and their desire to reassure their students and families, but not knowing quite how. Those of us with our own children now at home have needed some reassurance too. When I stumbled across this gentle reminder, it helped to ground me, refocusing my attention to my purpose as both a parent and an educator:

Young children don't need any more scares, frights or worries, and it's not my place as my Super Stars' teacher to weigh them down with uncertainty.  Here's what I sent to them earlier today, no tears and no fears:

Hello again, Super Stars and Super Star Families!


Parents,

Though we are all still technically on "spring break," I thought I'd quickly check in to touch base and let you know that I am looking forward to our return to learning and sharing in whatever forms they may take for the remainder of the school year. This week I have been collecting digital/online resources for you and our Stars, exploring digital platforms such as SeeSaw, Google Classroom, Padlet, and Zoom, and have also toyed with the idea of creating a closed Facebook Group for our class use. When district administrators share the Kansas State Department of Education's plan for continuous learning with teachers, staff, and families, I will implement their directives in order to facilitate the creation of our new learning environment using the tools and resources that they recommend.


Super Stars,

Hello! I hope you don't mind that I am interrupting your vacation, but I just wanted to let you know that I have been thinking about you a lot this week! I have been cleaning, working on the yearbook, cuddling with my cats Buck and Tish-Tish, crocheting (my Wildly Important Goal or "WIG"), and creating Symbaloo webmixes like the ones that we use on our SMART Board for you to use at home. I've included some of our dance songs, some Cosmic Kids Yoga videos, reading and math tiles, and even cool videos and directed drawing lessons about BUGS! I'll email those to your parents when they're ready.

I haven't been dressing like a teacher this week, in fact, I've been pretty slouchy. I wore jammies on Monday and Tuesday, and leggings and a t-shirt yesterday and today. I've even been wearing silly pink shoes that don't match anything that I wear:

Have you had pajama days this week? We'll have to think of some fun clothing days for when we begin learning online.

I'm also going to spend this weekend trying to decide where I am going to set up my teaching space at home. I don't think I'll use the kitchen, because we still have to cook, bake and clean in there. As much as I'd like to use my back porch, it can get really windy and wet out there, and my allergies wouldn't like it very much. Maybe I'll use my craft room, even though it's full of yarn and my silly collections. While I set up my teaching space, you can help your family set up your learning space! Think about what will make you comfortable and what will be fun to use:

A table or desk and chair
A cushion for the chair if the seat is hard
A cozy spot for looking at books
Room on the floor for yoga and dance
A drawer, cubby or shelves for paper
A cup, container or pencil box/pouch for crayons, pencils, and a mini-sharpener
A wall or door to hang up your artwork, schedule, charts and other papers
A container for glue, scissors, glue sticks and tape (this container should probably be kept out of reach of little brothers and sisters)
A bag of twenty small items to use as counters for math (20 medium-sized lego pieces, 20 plastic spoons, or anything that isn't a choking hazard)
A tray, binder or folder for unfinished work so you can find it quickly
A quiet stuffed animal who can rest on your desk while you work or sit with you while you look at books and listen to stories
A basket or drawer for recyclable items such as small cardboard boxes, tubes, newspaper (these are great for crafts and engineering)
A basket or tub for plastic lids (off of milk cartons, laundry detergent, or other non-toxic items: wash and dry them before adding them to the tub) that can be used for crafts, games, counting, and building

Just as we always put away our center materials and toys and clean our mess in our classroom at school each day, we'll be making sure our learning spaces at home are also clean and ready for the next day's learning. This will be my first WIG for teaching at home, and you are welcome to use it for your learning spaces at home too.


"I will clean my learning space at the end of school activities every day."


We will brainstorm strategies together for how we will accomplish this goal, okie dokie, artichoke-y?


*****


Finally (for now), here's a sweet poem that I found earlier this morning about this new adventure we're sharing together:

(Poem found here)

Enjoy the rest of your spring break, and feel free to let your Star check back in with me as needed,


Mrs. Sommerville


*****

Adopt and adapt my parent and student message if you'd like as you begin this transition. Like me, you won't have all the answers, and you certainly won't have thought of every single question to ask about how we'll navigate what will become the new normal of teaching and learning.  But...

Your students would love to hear from you...

...their parents will appreciate your positivity and suggestions, and...

... you'll feel better, too. 

Summer Reading Suggestion

Many teachers choose to participate in a book study (or several) during their summers "off."  I've come across some wonderful titles that have caught my eye, but would also encourage colleagues to read through each and every Brown Center Report on American Education, first published in 2000.

The Brown Center Report each year analyzes the state of American education using the latest measures of student learning, uncovers and explains important trends in achievement test scores, and identifies and evaluates promising educational reforms. 

These reports were written "...to report on the direction of achievement in U.S. public schools, that is, to determine whether it's going up, down, or sideways; to figure out whether any change that is detected is big, small, or insignificant; to dig under the numbers and uncover the policies and practices influencing the direction of student achievement; and, finally, to figure out whether the public is getting the full story on student learning. Americans spend $350 billion each year on elementary and secondary education. They deserve an accurate, non-partisan, no-holds-barred, data-driven account of what they're getting for their money."  (Director: Tom Loveless)

New-to-service teachers can catch up on the recent history (and the reasons behind it) of public education, which may enlighten them as to why their veteran colleagues either keep their noses to the grindstone (often wearing blinders) or appear rabidly up-in-arms over "every little thing."  Veteran teachers may appreciate the clarifications as well as the acknowledgement of many of the realities of education that we know to be true, but oh yes... it's likely you'll still be up-in-arms.

Start with the 2000 report.  It helpfully describes the NAEP, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (there are two versions, both generating different results), which is referenced in all of the reports.  Each volume of the report covers multiple years, for instance Volume 1 is covered in the reports for 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004.  Volume 2 begins with 2006, and ends with the 2010 issue.  Volume 3 begins with 2012, and is summarized by Tom Loveless thus:



The Brown Center Reports analyze and summarize test scores, trends, policies and teaching practices in public education, and encourage the reader to avoid knee-jerk reactions to their findings as "correlations do not prove causality."  The reports identify biases, and acknowledge when there isn't enough data to draw accurate conclusions.  The reports never express a battle cry nor do they try to sell the reader a product.

This is big-picture data, and the reports explain how it is manipulated, misrepresented, and often misunderstood by the decision-makers who steer policy.  Teachers often suspect the blind are leading the blind, but administrators, teachers and parents might want to rethink willingly closing their eyes.  "Knowledge is power."  Imagine what the right knowledge could be.

The link at the beginning of this post will take you to the Brookings site where all of the reports can be found.  Each report can be downloaded (pdf), linked to the right of each year's summary.  The reports are over twenty pages long each, but they are written in layman's terms.  Educators and parents shouldn't have to work hard to understand them.

If they do, we're already in big trouble. 

TED Talk: How to Escape Education's Death Valley

One of my favorite speakers, Sir Ken Robinson:

Communication, Not Rhetoric

I appreciate the efficient communication of information... communication, not rhetoric...especially when it comes to education. I'm a teacher. It makes sense.



If you feel the same way, perhaps you'll venture around BlogLand to read and think about the following:

~ Jim Horn, Schools Matter, in Why Doesn't This Feel Liberating, quotes Art Costa (professor from CalState) regarding the end result of No Child Left Behind:

"What was once educationally significant, but difficult to measure, has been replaced by what is insignificant and easy to measure. So now we test how well we have taught what we do not value."

~ Doug Noon, Borderland, What We Measure. Doug's a scary-smart teacher (the perfect reason to like him) who knows just the right quote to include from Robert F. Kennedy:

And this is one of the great tasks of leadership for us, as individuals and citizens this year. But even if we act to erase material poverty, there is another greater task, it is to confront the poverty of satisfaction - purpose and dignity - that afflicts us all. Too much and for too long, we seemed to have surrendered personal excellence and community values in the mere accumulation of material things. Our Gross National Product, now, is over $800 billion dollars a year, but that Gross National Product - if we judge the United States of America by that - that Gross National Product counts air pollution and cigarette advertising, and ambulances to clear our highways of carnage. It counts special locks for our doors and the jails for the people who break them. It counts the destruction of the redwood and the loss of our natural wonder in chaotic sprawl. It counts napalm and counts nuclear warheads and armored cars for the police to fight the riots in our cities. It counts Whitman’s rifle and Speck’s knife, and the television programs which glorify violence in order to sell toys to our children. Yet the gross national product does not allow for the health of our children, the quality of their education or the joy of their play. It does not include the beauty of our poetry or the strength of our marriages, the intelligence of our public debate or the integrity of our public officials. It measures neither our wit nor our courage, neither our wisdom nor our learning, neither our compassion nor our devotion to our country, it measures everything in short, except that which makes life worthwhile. And it can tell us everything about America except why we are proud that we are Americans.

~ Figures don't lie, but liars sure can figure. Read more about Campbell's Law, the phenomenon that, as far as students and testing are concerned, explains how "scores always rise when you put high stakes on a particular test, whether or not students actually know more." (emphasis mine) Jim Horn, Schools Matter, Remember the Achievement Gap?

*****

Happy Inauguration Day America, Mr. President.

They Answered My Question

I've become addicted to watching TED Talks lately. I've been addicted to reading Mamacita's thoughts for over a year now.

Sir Ken Robinson answers a question, a pondering I had quite a while back, about whether or not public education today (with the drill and kill for state assessments) was squashing or killing students' creativity. Mamacita addresses the same topic, in her blunt and brilliant way.

In his presentation (which is humorous and charming), Sir Ken reminds the audience that educators of young children should "educate their whole being." Intelligence is "diverse, dynamic, and distinct," and "creativity is as important as literacy."

The clip is twenty minutes long- sit back, listen, think.



By the way, Mamacita (Scheiss Weekly) has moved- I'll update my blogroll this weekend, but you can now find her here.

Thank you Sir Ken, thank you Mamacita.

Still Learning

I've never been the type of person who gets the "big picture" about everything. In fact, most of my close friends and confidantes will describe me (kindly) as a late bloomer. Narrow vision, not much spiraled schema starting from my own little world reaching out to the grander view of it all. My naïvité, lack of exposure, and lack of awareness that there are many things out there about which I should become more knowledgeable got me into some hot water as a college student, a young newlywed, a new mother. As a friend and a teacher as well. Thankfully I had caring, tolerant if not patient, forgiving family, friends and colleagues around me who were terrific resources as role models, sounding boards, guides, and shoulders to cry on. I even managed to learn lessons from those less-than-ideal situations and people I encountered. Better late than never, I learned that effort, focus, and endurance were required to live life peacefully and enjoyably with fewer surprises coming out of left field. Timing was everything as it turns out, since I ended up falling in love with a military man.

Moving every year or two as a military dependent has helped to expand my view by effectively throwing me into the deep end of our country's pool, forcing me to sink or swim, though sinking is never really an option. Before we explore, it's been important to me to quickly set up house, set up home. Home-base is our safety zone with its routines, chore lists, established family time, even predictable decor. Our traveling foundation is what enables us to feel like we've got a safe starting-off point as we navigate the new posts, towns and states in which we get to live. We navigate cultural situations and exchanges, educational experiences, and observe and are affected by local political ills and issues. It's been difficult to invest a lot of time learning all of the history about each new post and locale when we know we're leaving again in a year. Instead, we find treasures, places we like to go, bits of the local flavor we'd like to pack and take with us, and try to build new friendships.

The issue that seems to affect us most no matter where we travel with our little corner of the universe is education. I'm a teacher and we have school-aged children. My big-picture-schema has indeed, been spiraling. Being the late bloomer, I have observations, not solutions. More questions than answers. This will probably bother educational and social activists, but hey, we are where we are.

In regard to public education:

*There are poor families and students in every state to which we've moved, the "haves and have nots." No matter how wholesome, how diverse, or how religious a community claims to be, there is always some version of "them versus us" affecting behaviors and decision-making.

*Every neighborhood, each street, each church, school, school board, and each town council have their own view and focus of what's important, what should be taken care of and how, and those diverse views rarely produce anything other than debate. Unproductive debates turn people off, are felt to be a waste of time. And not every group has a voice at the table with which they can advocate for themselves and their children.

*In the emotionally shell-shocked environments of many places in this country, people are DONE. Done going to meetings. Done reading the paper. Done finding out more info, seeking out multiple viewpoints to find their own balance. They accept what is mandated to them and are paddling like mad just to keep afloat. Why question? Push on, and try to make it through.

*Those parents who aren't done are eager for reassurement. Many are distracted by the bells and whistles of ribbons, seals, medals, banners, and accolades schools vye for each year to show that they are quality places of learning.

*Parents wonder if their childrens' teachers are partners in education, or the enemy, deserving of immediate criticism, complaints and badmouthing. Many of them suspect the latter, even when just starting out sending children to kindergarten. Here in the bordertown, articles or newsblips about principals who are clueless that teachers aren't using provided textbooks, school board trustees taking bribes, and teachers crossing the VERY OBVIOUS line between personal and professional interactions with students help to fuel this fear. Issues are found and reported in every state, at every grade.

*Parents (and teachers) fear for their children and students. Teachers and administrators fear for their jobs. School board members fear for their seats (in more ways than one). Those people who do question, who do ask, who do seek out answers by digging if necessary, fear what will happen when (IF) the masses figure out that this:


is really just this:


Nothing like being immersed in exhaustive fear and distraction- hmmm....almost like it was planned. In the ebb and flow of things, I'm wondering when, IF, we'll ever truly come to consensus about the tide. In February, we'll find out where home-base will be moved to next. Something tells me that while we'll experience new flavors and events in cultural diversity, societal "diversity" will reflect many, if not all of the characteristics mentioned above. More questions, more wonderings, more learning to come in the months ahead.

Ancora imparo.

Mirrors in the Privatization Revolution

I had to sit and have an additional cup of coffee, eat breakfast, get dressed, and clean my entire house before I could determine whether or not it was prudent for me to comment on Doug's powerful blog, "Between Scylla and Charybdis". Prudent because I'm a military spouse, living on a military post, supportive of my family, my husband, and appreciative of all the sacrifices he has made to not only do his job, but to do it long enough to be able to provide for us when he retires. Read Doug's post first before reading on.

The privatization issue has evolved so much, so quickly (it seems), so recently. And yes, it permeates everything. Which makes discussions in our household tense events. I'm a teacher. He's a soldier. We regularly cancel eachothers' votes out in each election. We do not debate whether we should be in certain countries or not. But because of our jobs, because of our observations, we are effective mirrors to one another. We understand why we each feel the way we do, and we agree to disagree at those junctions where we're faced with the choice of escalating into an argument or going to bed, grateful we're able to do so together while our friends and family endure their deployments. Either I'm not diplomatic enough, or I'm just too exhausted thanks to spousal shell shock and extended adrenal overload due to being married to the military (with a deployment to Iraq recently completed) and being a teacher that I purposely try to steer clear of any topic or discussion that may become heated and unproductive. Living in perpetual fight-or-flight mode is unhealthy for everyone, and we've all been doing it for far too long now. I can only offer here the viewpoint of a military wife with no answers or suggestions for improvement... the wife of a soldier who has actually deployed (and yes, that matters). The viewpoint of a person who has been a teacher LONGER than she's been a military wife.

When my husband first deployed, there weren't enough soldiers to do the job assigned. For military police action, you need military police officers. Not military band members, not military lawyers, not military cooks, just as it's better to have me as an Early Childhood Specialist in the ECE or primary grades in school- I'm afraid I don't think I'd be a very effective teacher in high school. Military police were spread thin (anyone try to drive on post in the last six years or so? See those "rent-a-cops" at the gates instead of "real" MP"? Yep, those jobs were contracted out so MP soldiers could be deployed.) and the first group of private security companies were at that time mostly made up of retired/veteran soldiers, police officers, etc. People with experience. Kind of sounds like our retired teachers returning to schools to sub, doesn't it? This private security was put into places where MP either didn't exist, or couldn't be because there weren't enough active duty, fully trained military police officers in our Armed Forces. It was an acceptable situation to many soldiers because they "knew these guys," trusted their experience and backgrounds, just as we as teachers know which retired colleagues to request when the sub list is waved in our faces.

Yes, the pay of these private security staff members has been and still is a slap in the face to soldiers and their military families who face the same risks day in and day out, many living at or below poverty level. Yes, teachers aren't compensated nearly enough. It kills me to know that if I were just paid at a babysitter's rate, the year I had thirty-four students in my class I would have made a HIGH six-figure income. In the beginning, families were comforted by the fact that the staffing WAS made up of "qualified" veterans, people who knew and understood their spouses' missions and responsibilities, those who had "done their time" (another thing many in the teaching field look up to), and could do the jobs that would enable soldiers to do what they needed to do more effectively. Stress and danger were experienced not only by soldiers but also by the security staff. High turnover occurred, lives were lost, those most qualified retired, but most if not all of them knew they were subject to the military code of justice, and did all they could to not put their "brothers and sisters" in harm's way. (I know, I know, "military justice" is its own debate, and I'm NOT getting into it.)

As my husband puts it, "qualified and highly trained MP take a long time to grow." It's the same with teachers. And what has happened in education? Here in Texas many districts hire new teachers who worked in another field, took part in a quickie teacher certification program, and now less than a year later, are having fun forcing the TAKS down students' throats with no clue about the dis-service they're truly providing year 'round. Funny, the districts' scores still aren't improving. Nor are the tests being thrown out after careful scrutiny and review. Apparently with this revolution, those in power want public education to excel at being ineffective. And too many people in our nation are allowing it.

Who has replaced the MP and the qualified security staff of time-not-so-long-ago? Soldiers from other career fields who have had to take "quickie" soldier training to operate as MP. Can you see a clarinet player from the military band doing the job as effectively as a twenty-year-veteran of paratrooping MP service can? What other replacements have we had? Mercenaries, and many of them "wanna be" mercenaries, made up of young hotheads, or those soldiers kicked out of the military for conduct unbecoming a soldier or officer. And they get the big paycheck while not feeling too terribly inclined to follow a code of conduct as representatives of this country. As partners to our soldiers. As professional and frankly, personal, KIN.

Oh yes, my husband and I mirror eachother in so many ways. And there's one thing we agree on: this privatization revolution isn't working, it isn't helping. And no one is stopping it. Yes, we're between a rock and a hard place.

Great Education Podcast Meme

Alice tagged me for a "Great Education Podcast" meme! Taking this year "off" from teaching means I get to be in charge of my own professional development and educational explorations, so feel free to follow the links, turn up your volume, and listen in to what *this* kindergarten teacher has been enjoying lately!


*Phyllis Ferguson's podcast, Download "Stop the Pendulum, I Want to Get Off" discusses how fear impacts children and teachers in the classroom and advocates for teachers to have "pervasive caring" towards their students.


*Dr. Bryna Siegal is interviewed in "Helping Children with Autism Learn", a topic close to my heart not only as a teacher but as a step-mother to an autistic child.



*The ceremonial and offical re-starts to the 2006 Iditarod Sled Dog Race, a sporting event that fascinates my "Lower 48" colleagues and their students: Download 2006 Iditarod Start


*I'm a fan of the "Science on the Wild Side" podcasts, but not of the overly-long intro song. I can be forgiving since the host added a "Salute to Moose!"


*And finally, Mrs. Bradley's Kindergarten Class singing their ABC Song (my toddler dances along as he listens and watches)! Download ABC Song



****TAG! YOU'RE IT!****

Jenny and Doug, whenever you have the time and/or feel like posting blurbs and adding links to podcasts about education that you find inspiring, uplifting, or mind-blowing!

"T" is for Tools, "T" is for Technology

Larry Felazzo's post at "In Practice" does a good job of reassuring me that experiential, cultural and behavioral diversities exist everywhere, and that standardizing the use of technology is probably an impossible task. It's one that finds me torn between several ideologies when dealing with the responsibility of preparing my kindergarten students for their future school and learning adventures.

My students come to my classroom with vastly different prior schema. Some are used to all sorts of learning tools, Leap Pad, computers, cameras, dvr/dvd machines, mp3 players, calculators, etc., some have only seen PC's and are surprised to find Macs as a learning center in my room, and still others don't have a computer in their home, much less a dvd player.




While kindergarten tends to be left out of the heavy debates regarding curriculum on inservice days, I'm still responsible for getting all of my students groomed for the first grade. When one first grade teacher is having students author short stories and use educational resources online while the other teacher merely sees computer use as a reward (and gives out "reward time" very sparingly) most of what I've tried to do gets undone before my students ever make it to the second or third grades. With each successive grade, the use of technology in education grows exponentially. Finding teachers themselves all falling within very disparate comfort levels when it comes to the technology that may be available to them and their students, I often find myself trying to anticipate other teachers' shortcomings when setting up learning centers/experiences for five and six year olds. "If **I** can give them the exposure, maybe my students won't be impacted too terribly while they tread water in the next grade." It's a horrible thought.


My classroom is for exposure, exposure, exposure, and exploration/development, exploration/development, exploration/development. So no matter the prior schema, all students can start where they need to, and go where their interests lead them. They receive gentle prodding when necessary by me, but are usually motivated to explore with their friends. I still use the overhead projector, modeling use of math tiles, coins, base ten blocks, Judy clocks, etc., but also give my students overhead transparency sheets for their artwork, so when bulletin board space doesn't allow, we can put temporary displays up and the kids feel like they are in an art gallery, their masterpieces filling the walls, larger than life!



My students use calculators, headphones and dvd players, my iMacs, and printers. Microscopes, hand lenses, thermometers, microwaves, and a tabletop laminator are used by students with extra supervision. Cash registers and "dead" phones in dramatic play, hammers and screwdrivers for creative and LOUD constructions, and musical instruments round out centers filled with paints/puzzles/puppets/ and clay in my room. There aren't many first grade classrooms that carry over learning centers like these.

I understand that the older children get, the more their "exposure" occurs thanks to being able to speak and read. And I've met some teachers who believe "Why experience it when you can read about it?" With all of the curriculum that needs to be covered and tested each year, teachers need to find ways to show students concepts in a timely manner. But when students find topics of interest and don't have the time and resources to continue to explore, learn about and experience them because teachers are reluctant to stretch their own horizons, how can we feel we are truly doing our jobs? I personally don't feel the need to be "up" on every new trend or fashion that comes out of our human expression, but I do believe that students should know HOW and WHERE to safely explore their interests, utilizing all resources available, and technology is at the heart of them.

I've realized that technology isn't a passing fad or trend, but an essential element to how we live, learn and share. If we want our diverse students to communicate, demonstrate knowledge, explore concepts and curiosities, and navigate the world as safely as possible, then we as teachers must diversify our knowledge base enough to offer our students the tools they may or may not want, choose, or be required to use, be they overhead projectors, dvd players, computers, or whatever technological innovation is waiting around the next corner.

GETTING those tools of course, is another matter.