A Small Spark Has Bigger Implications Internally

I'm an Indiana University basketball fan. (I also happen to love Butler and DePauw Basketball, but I will stick to IU for this post) I have been since I grew up watching the motion offense and man-to-man defense that was taught by Coach Bob Knight. I loved it. I loved watching Coach Knight's teams play.

Zooooommm.Fast forward to this year.

The Hoosiers haven't had the season that a lot of people think they should be having (or should have had). This post is not about my feelings toward the team, or more specifically, the Hoosiers' coach: Tom Crean.

There is a lot of chatter on social media regarding the lack of the ability to get into the NCAA tournament this year, the very subpar record during the conference season, the weak non-conference schedule, the lack of advancing beyond the first game of the B1G Tournament, (That's Big Ten Tournament for you non-sports fans.) the offense, or lack of it, the inability to take care of the basketball, the youth of the team, the leaving of a player before the conference season began, and the list goes on and on.

I think it's safe to say that there are a lot of detractors out there. A lot of it comes from being in the state of Indiana where there the fans have a huge basketball IQ. It also has to do that Indiana is probably a top 5, and most definitely top 10, basketball school in the country and is always going to be under a lot of scrutiny by fans if there are not wins and banners being hung. (Duke, North Carolina, Kansas, UCLA, Kentucky, Louisville, UConn, Syracuse, Michigan State being my top 10, in no particular order.)

With all the notoriety that Indiana receives, there is a significant amount directed toward the coach. The firestorm on social media from fans is centered around firing Tom Crean. I have seen the momentum on firing gain towards the end of the season. It was at it utmost high following the loss to Illinois in the conference tournament "play-in" games, as I call them.

The perspective I want to look at today is the players.' As all this chatter surrounds the program, how would you like to practice, or play a game, with all of it going on around you? I can't imagine being a player and having all this negativity surround the coach that you're supposed to be playing for. I know the old adage about not reading the press clippings and all of that. I also think today's informational world makes it really difficult to block all of that out and just focus on playing basketball. I wish all the chatter about firing coaches would just wait until the season is over. I can't imagine the pressure that the players are under to start off with, but to have your leader criticized publicly by a throng of fans and media personalities makes for an uncomfortable environment. I think the negativity would make the situation worse because the players would be hearing two different stories. The good. The bad. The first one would be to listen to your coach, to do what he asks, and to sacrifice for the team. The other side is all the "arm-chair point guards" who think they know what should happen to the program and who should coach the Hoosiers. These people have no clue to the inside workings of the organization/school and because they have a "voice" on social media think they have the right to share their opinion. Do these people who speak on social media understand the harm that negative thinking can do to a team? Do they see the implications of negative thinking that inherently damage the togetherness of the team while in the middle of their season? You know, that same team that they want to do well? The one they support game in, game out?

I think that the correct time to address any coaching changes, unless there is a situation that warrants firing midseason, is after the season is over. Changing leadership mid-season doesn't do anything positive for the coaches, players, program, school, parents of the players, or in my thinking, the fans, either. New leadership needs to be addressed after the season has came to an end. Their needs to be an assessment done by those people who are close to the program. Not Arm-Chair Joes. One thing I have particularly not liked is during the college football season when there is a firing between the end of the season and bowl season. Honestly, I think that is the most ridiculous thing a program can do. Think of the leadership implications that are involved to the minds of young men. If you do, you'll be thinking an awful long time.

I'm thankful that growing up my parents didn't ever let me quit something in the middle of it. They made me push through, press on, and give my all until something was over. Then, when something was finished, they would let me stop doing it if I didn't want to continue doing it the next season. They wouldn't let me quit in the middle of the season. If you sign up to do something, you commit to the entire thing until that thing is over.

Edit - See quitting a college here - http://journeyofaneducator.blogspot.com/2014/03/on-rules-is-less-more.html

So fans, please commit to the coach until the season is over. The implications of not doing this brings more harm upon your team than you think. That harm is internal and the worst kind of harm because you don't want a team to crumble from the inside because they you get selfish attitudes and everyone knows how selfish attitudes ruin teams.

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Guest Speaker

Over Christmas break, I bought a book: Teach Like A Pirate by Dave Burgess and at @burgessdave . This book has changed how I look at educating students and student engagement. It has re-energized me. It has shaped how I look at presenting my lesson to my students. You should buy it and read it. You will be transformed. I guarantee it.

One of the things I picked up from the book is to have guest speakers come into your classroom. Profound, right? Well, this book talks about using yourself as the guest speaker. I created a hook (read the book for awesome hooks) for the lesson by posting an Instagram picture of a Viking helmet with the caption, "You better make sure you're in class tomorrow for this."

We're also talking a little bit about the Vikings so it worked. I borrowed the helmet from a friend and colleague...follow him here. Kids were intrigued. In the morning the next day, I told them we were having a guest speaker. I left it at that. I got asked about 25 times or more throughout the day when the guest speaker was going to be here. I told them, "Soon." I still had their attention and anticipation. 

The previous interactive notebook social studies lesson involved reading from the text book, answering some questions about the reading (right side), and then having the students write an introduction speech that would introduce Charlemagne to a large group of people (left side). Essentially, the students were writing all about Charlemagne and his accomplishments to introduce him to the people prior to him giving the speech. They were learning and then applying their learning instantly, which is what I love about the interactive notebooks. I then asked the students that wanted to share their intros to come up and read them. I let them use the class microphone. About 5 of them wanted to share. They were each about 2 paragraphs. After the last one went, I put on a tiara that I had in my closet. (I forgot to go to Burger King in the morning to get a manly crown). I stood on a chair because Charlemagne was said to stand very tall. I changed the sound of my voice a little and started off with thanking them for having me come and speak to them about my life. I was the guest speaker as Charlemagne.

I did some research the night before that went a little deeper than our textbook and then gave an interactive speech to them. Some of them just started smiling. Others laughed because they've noticed me getting more out of my shell in class, others were excited, and of course, some were skeptical, as well. They asked me questions and I answered in a way that I thought Charlemagne would answer the questions. Most, if not all of the students, were totally engaged. They asked me questions about the time period. They asked what I would do if the conquered lands wouldn't convert to Christianity. They asked me what area was the easiest to defeat. They asked me lots of questions. I told them how the Pope and I were incredibly tight-knit. It was incredibly inspiring because I could see them craving more. I thanked them for coming when I was done. Then, the students clapped. After I gave their assignment for the day, some were still talking about it. I asked some of the quieter ones what they thought of the guest speaker. They both said it was funny, fun, and that they liked it. 

I think I'll keep the lesson for next year and pull out the guest speaker again sometime. I like learning funny. 

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Ways to Love Your Passengers

This is an excerpt from Jon Gordon's book, The Energy Bus. It is a definite recommended read. 

This is one of the 5 Ways to Love Your Passengers - 

2. Listen to Them - One of the most important factors that determines a high management approval rating is whether the manager listens to the employee.  Does the manager hear what the employee has to say? Does the manager listen to the ideas and needs of the employee? Your employees and customers just want to be heard, so listen to them and hear them.  We're not talking about some active listening class technique, either.  We're talking about really sitting down and listening with your heart and caring about what they have to say.  Empathy is the key.  When employees feel seen and heard, there is a moistening in the eyes.  Yes researchers estimate that in more than 95 percent of daily interactions there is no moistening in the eyes, according to High Energy Living, by Robert K. Cooper (New American Library, 2002). For instance when you ask someone how they are doing, an easy way to show you are listening is to actually wait for the answer and make eye contact. 

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Some Homework Thoughts

    

Over the past three years I have thought deeply about homework and the meaning behind it. I have come to some conclusions. 

Each year, I have assigned less than the previous years. The main reason is that I got tired of "policing" it daily. It just gets old. I have found that the ones that don't do it more often than not are the ones who don't have much support at home and probably aren't going to do it regardless. The others that don't seem to do it are the ones who are the incredibly talented ones who already understand the material and it becomes monotonous so they don't see the value of it. So for the majority of my students they do it and get it done.

I wouldn't say that I assign homework to just assign homework, but what I do require them to do is finish what we didn't get finished in class. Which for some could be a lot. Others might have finished in class. Everyone works at different paces and I respect that. The other things that I require are typically self-selected projects that take a while to do. Our book projects, which they get to choose their books, are done outside of school, except they can work on them during RTI two days a week if they are not in a RTI group. We also have added the many research papers this year and a lot of the writing has been done outside of school. If I do assign something to be completed at home, it is usually (probably always) something that has already been taught and is just practice work. Yes, practice is good.  

What I want to see is students engaged with their home life as well. Many play sports and have a lot of practices/games. Many don't have support at home. Many have horrible home lives. Many, especially in my class this year, have parents or elderly family members living with them that are in need of medical attention daily. I have three with someone in their immediate family battling cancer. 

I've also found that most students "do stuff" after they leave school. Yes, some play video games, but the "real gamers" also interact with other players all over the US and beyond. One of my students has her own YouTube channel that she posts videos to. One is champion barrel racer who completes all over the US. One shows cattle and tends to them daily. One has a dad who leads hunting expeditions for weeks at a time in Canada. I left school today and saw four guys playing hoops together. I have one student who is planning on building and racing a dirt track car soon. One of my student's fathers is preparing to run for a county judge position. She is learning all about marketing and politics. There is real, authentic learning going on outside of the walls of school. I don't want to crush that with some work that just needs to get done to prove that they are doing things. 

I tend to think of homework as either reflections (I gave all my students blogs this year to write about anything they wanted) or possibly prep for the next day's lesson. I have seen this concept grow over the past year as social media and flipped classrooms have been gaining momentum in the classrooms. I don't like assigning things just to assign things. 

Grading HW-Like I said earlier, most of the homework is practice or large projects. I'm not going to be grading much of the practice, except to check for understanding. I will be grading the larger projects that are typically on self-selected topics. 

I think there is a place for homework. It just needs to be done in a way that is beneficial to the student, the teacher, the family, and time. 

John Spencer sums up how I pretty much feel here 

The following is what a committee at my school is working on currently and my thoughts on them. 

• Establish Student Expectations
• To finish homework in the time allotted by the teacher
• One day late is acceptable if a legitimate reason is given by the student prior to the assignment being turned in. Students need to know the difference between a reason and an excuse. 
• Establish Teacher Expectations
• Practice HW - to be done on skills they are practicing or have formally learned
• Policy for late HW
• Project HW - More self-selected
• Establish Parent Expectations to be communicated home
• Policy go home that is signed and sent back
• On class sites, etc.
• Establish Grade Value
• I like the current HW value in 6th grade. 70% Tests to 30% Classwork/HW but it could almost 100% tests since the rest could be practice. 
• Homework that is practice is practice. I tend to not "grade" but to check for understanding
• Grade value for projects would still need to be valued appropriated as tests/assessments

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End of (Hypothetical) Quarter One Reflection, Passion Projects, Parent-Teacher Conferences, Some new Techy stuff.

We have semesters at our school, but if we had quarters, this would be the end of quarter one. It's been a while since I have blogged about school, so I thought I would sit down on fall break and hash out some reflections.

Let's start out with how my year is going so far. I am enjoying this year more than last year. My homeroom students have this "just-chillin"

mantra about them which I love. They work hard. They get their things done. They typically do it quietly without bothering others. Most importantly, I love how they embrace my weird humor. I find myself thanking them for their attitude, workmanship, cooperation, and like-ability in general.

My other class is the exact same, but with one glaring difference: They are noisy talkers. I love to have my students communicate with each other. Shoot, must things they do are with a partner or group. I have a two-heads-are-better-than-one mantra. But they are really struggling with an appropriate noise level when there are 31 of them in there. So I've been working on my management.

One of the biggest differences is that I have a new female partner-teacher. My former partner and I had been together for two years and were both guys. I wasn't too excited about the principal breaking us up after I heard about it at the end of the last year, since he is one of my best friends. It was out of my control so I guess I just got over it quickly. My new partner thinks I'm the weirdest person ever, but at the same time we really like working together. Every time our kids switch classes we have a great laugh-a-thon in the hallway.

All in all, I am loving this year. My personal attitude is high. I love coming to school each day. It's fun.

Going from this year to last year ...

Reality Slam -

My kids from last year did not test well on the ISTEP+ test. Why?  I'm not sure. I felt comfortable going into the test. I felt comfortable with what had been predicted. We had a LOT of internet/testing glitches from the testing company. Just google search ISTEP and Indiana DOE and you'll find a plethora of wonderful (sarcasm) stories. So anyway, I guess it is what it is and I can't change anything so I guess I must press on.

Which leads me into....

Parent-Teacher Conferences -

Every year, I have this hate, then love relationship with P/T conferences. The two weeks before hand I always get this sort of imaginary cloud over myself because of all the scheduling and rescheduling and the taking of my own personal family time. Then, I have the conferences. I don't do anything really special. I show them all their data (this will come into play later) and then we basically go over their own student self-evaluation and then just chat about things the student does well, things they need to work on and some strategies for attaining their goal. Nothing fancy, but I usually walk away feeling really well about them. I get to meet their parents/guardians, they tell me more in-depth about who they really are and it's truly enlightening to me. Anyway, I truly enjoyed talking to all my parents. Some of them, I get challenged by to do better. Some, I get patted on the back. Some, give me great information. Some, show me how tough life is for their sons/daughters and how school might not be the biggest concern for them at the moment because there are health concerns in their family at home. I think it's a matter of perspective.

Anyway, from the last paragraph, I mentioned that data was going to come into play. Well, here goes. During one of the conferences I had this exchange with a parent. (this isn't word for word, but it's somewhat of what I remember.)

Me: Here's Johnny's ISTEP scores from last year. (I go over them. He didn't do so well)
Mom: So what does this mean?
Me: Basically, in a simple manner, it means that he is not at what the state determines as 5th grade level in reading, math, or SS. Our goal is for Johnny to pass those tests at the end of this year although he'll be taking Science instead of SS.
Mom: So, even though he didn't pass the year before, he'll need to pass this year?
Me: That's the plan.
Mom: Why is it such a big deal?
Me: Our goal is for every student to be at grade level when they leave 6th grade.
Mom: Doesn't his score affect some of your things as well?
Me: Well, in all honestly, and the reality of it is, that it's a big deal to me because your son's performance on it affects my future evaluations and pay.
Mom: So my son has power over your pay.
Me: Yes. I have a class goal that I must attain and another goal that must be met as well. His score also plays into every other teacher's goal in the building because we get a building score as well.
Mom: And based off of this test is what a lot of funding and money from the state comes?
Me: Correct.
Mom: So, basically, everything is hanging on this ONE test for the principals, teachers, and everyone here?
Me: You got it.
Mom: So, there isn't much else that really matters in the long run and my kids are basically learning to take a test?
Me: (I shake my head in a way to acknowledge that her statement is correct.)
Mom: So, most of your teaching is geared toward passing ISTEP?
Me: I do my best to teach students in a way that is beneficial to them and so they get a more well-rounded, holistic education that doesn't center on the test, but the reality of it is that...
Mom: (cuts in) You would be dumb not to specifically teach to the test because so much is riding on it.
Me: (I shake my head in a way to acknowledge that her statement is correct.) Like I said earlier, my aim is to not teach to the test, but for my students to learn to love learning, not to necessarily learn to take a test.
Mom: Maybe I should look into homeschooling them.

We got off the subject of the testing after that and we talked about how she can now receive my class text messages through Remind101.

Parents aren't as dumb as the DoE thinks they are.

Moving on before I get a temper -

Passion Projects aka Genius Hour. 

It was developed based off of the Google Company's 20% time. It's a time they give their employees to work on new projects, whatever they want, as long as they are benefiting the company.

Layman's terms = a chance to investigate/research anything you deem worthy. You then must share your learning in one way or another.

http://www.geniushour.com/ is one of the best informational sites. Especially the video on the homepage and the hourlong taped one from a conference.
http://geniushour.wikispaces.com/ is the catch-all wiki for all things geniushour. Very informational.

#geniushour on twitter will lead to a bunch of links.

I'm doing the high-ability RTI group this year and wanted to try it out with them. Where I think they are going to learn more is on the reflection piece that I'm going to tie into it eventually.

This is what I made to introduce it to them using Powtoon. Pretty nifty little app/program. http://youtu.be/OheBphZ0QOk

This is an animoto video I made of them working the other day. 100% engaged and they are in charge of everything on their own. They decided their topic and the way they are going to research it and then present it. http://youtu.be/wVFnVg4pjoA

I did a quick feedback survey yesterday (on paper, and I wish I did a Google Form). There is nothing that the students don't like. What they like most is the ability to investigate whatever interests them and isn't teacher picked. They are honest with their feedback with me. Some of the depth of their research and thinking is truly unbelievable and so thoughtful. Their discussions about things are "real" learning not some cookie cutter "ISTEPy" type regurgitation.  It made me feel like I was in the board room of some high rise building in NY while the students were hashing out what would make a good topic to investigate. I can't believe how well this has gone over. I love having the students take control of their learning. What I noticed was the hardest for them was the fact that they got to investigate anything they wanted. It was like they had this freedom, but didn't know what to do with it because they had never had anything like it before. Some of them were at a loss because it wasn't teacher-driven where teachers tell them things are either right or wrong. They have really made it their own and I can't wait to see their final products that they just share with the class. They will finish up by reflecting on their learning and how they can make it better the second time and applying their learning to the state standards (you know because cool learning has to have standards and all or it's not real learning. hehe)

New Techy Stuff I've Used This Year

Animoto - slideshows that rock. Example I made http://youtu.be/wVFnVg4pjoA
Powtoon - Mini-animated videos. Example I made http://youtu.be/OheBphZ0QOk
Remind101 - Safe Texting service I use to send out news and homework recaps nightly.
Phoster - Phoster - you can make nice modern posters. See my last couple of posts for examples.
Instagram - My class one. I have begun using Instagram to communicate with students after school. I'll put up a song that I play with my guitar. A quick video. Something funny. I think it helps to bridge that gap between those students who don't see teachers as people, but only as teachers who don't leave the building. (I have a futon in my room and some have asked if I stay the night sometimes. Yeesh! Right?) Young middle school kids haven't gotten to facebook/twitter yet and this is their social media.
Twitter - My class one. I post homework to this daily through remind101. I also link up my instagram to it as well. Because most of my students don't have a twitter yet, it doesn't get much action.

Things I need to improve - 

Reading conferences with my kids. I said this was going to be one of my main goals and I'm not doing well with it yet. Time to step it up.
Differentiating some of my things for my high ability kiddos. They need more challenging things that makes them think over just more work.

That's it. Would love some thoughts, please.

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Pride: We as One

I retweeted a tweet yesterday and got a question back.

@PastorMark @dropstepdunk how would this perspective on pride influence what we do in schools? #edchat
— Alan Stange (@stangea) August 29, 2013

I didn't think I could answer it in 140 characters, so I decided to blog about it.

When I collectively look at the youth of today, at least in my area, I see the brightest, smartest, most creative, most technologically advanced youth of all time. But through all of this, I also see so much self-indulgence. I see kids wearing the Nike and Under Armour shirts with sayings that basically say, "Bow Down and Worship Me. I Am the Best Thing This World has Ever Seen."

Some self-pride is good. It's needed. It builds confidence. Strengthens individuals. But. (you knew there was going to be a but.) Too much confidence leads to a feeling of awesomeness in which you can never do anything wrong. This includes things as simple as tripping and falling and as elaborate as failing out of a university. What I fear in all of this is the very moment when these students do make a mistake. If you see yourself as superhuman and then that moment happens when you find out that your flesh bleeds just like the rest of us, it's going to be a hard fall. When those mistakes happen, are the kids of today going to be able to get up and try again, or are they going to sulk in their own self-pity because the world owes them something because they are "all that?" Do they understand that mistakes are a part of life? That building something worthwhile takes time, commitment , and sacrifice?

Back to the original question that Alan asked- How to fight self-pride and independence in schools because @PastorMark said that Satan's primary motive is pride. I agree that Satan's number one goal is for us to think of ourselves as best, while shrinking Jesus to less and less. That's true in schools and out of schools. In offices. In factories. Everywhere. Satan wants us to put ourselves as high as we can. I had a conversation with a girl in one of my classes about Instagram. She said that her main goal was to have as many followers as possible. I didn't get the chance to ask her why. I'll put that on my to-do list. I'm interested in hearing her answer.

So, how do we combat that? We create independence with boundaries with help from mentors, more than likely adults, who shape lives.  I say adults because adults have a "big picture perspective." Their views encompass more. Mentors who know that life has ups. More importantly, that life has downs. Everything isn't honky-dory every fleeting moment of every day.  Mentors that show the youth how to get up from that hardship. To press on.  That hard work is still virtuous. That going on a reality show, winning, and making a million bucks is not hardly, even remotely, likely. At all. That humility is what drives relationships. Leaders need to create cultures of collaboration while celebrating the strengths of individuals and showing and modeling how those individual strengths propel ALL of us along. That no matter what, we are all connected. That WE is more important than Me. WE need to share our lives with others so that we hold each other up. Be a servant leader. Serve others. Be humble. Model all of these things. Turn selfish into selfless. We as One. 

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Noise Level Codes

I've really gotten into Phoster for some reason. I got it when it was free, though. Here's some Noise Level Codes. This is the new set. I had a typo in the first set and I didn't like the yellow.

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Classroom Posters

I used the app Phoster to create some posters for my room. I think it was easy to use and the posters are modern looking. Some school posters just look corny to me. Maybe it's my design background.

For my futon/couch area:

For my reading nook area:

iPad rules:

For my tech job person at the end of the day:

My "Can you throw this into the trash can rule sheet." :

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Are We Teaching Life?

So, I read this article today. http://www.theindychannel.com/news/local-news/lifeline-law-there-to-save-underage-drinkers-when-theyre-in-trouble. In short, a college freshman at IU, fell down some stairs at a party. She was seriously hurt. No one called for help for at least 6 hours. She passed away. No one knows yet whether alcohol played a part in her death. There was alcohol at the party. Some blamed the "failure to notify" on being scared of the punishment for underage drinking.

Please don't misunderstand where I'm going with this. I feel horrible for this girl, her family, her friends, and everyone involved. It's just that this news story's focus is on the Lifeline Law. The Lifeline law is this:

The Lifeline Law provides immunity for the crimes of public intoxication, minor possession, minor consumption, and minor transportation alcohol to persons who reveal themselves to law enforcement while seeking medical assistance for a person suffering from an alcohol-related health emergency.

I think the law is good and let's people help others, but obviously the law was developed because there were emergencies that people weren't reporting. What's sad is that they had to create a law to offer immunity. To me this is teaching that it's ok to underage drink and party because if anything happens, we can call for help and nothing will happen to us. It seems like stories like this are becoming all too common. Are our youth not leaving home and going off to college with a learned responsibility-ness to understand what is beneficial and what is not? Are we doing our jobs to help educate students about the dangers of underage drinking? Forget underage drinking. Let's replace that last sentence with destructive decisions. Are we doing our jobs to help educate students about the dangers of destructive decisions? Are we doing enough to educate about unselfishness, accountability, responsibility, and humility instead of selfishness, independence with zero consequences, arrogance, and self-importance? Are we hammering home the don'ts, but not educating about the dos?

I've always been taught that nothing good happens after 11:00pm.

Please think about your actions. Please do that thinking before the action. I attended a basketball coaching conference a long time ago and Coach Don Meyer was the speaker. He hands these cards out to his players so that they can carry them in their wallets. Maybe you could carry one as well.

STOP & THINK
1. IS THIS A RISK I CAN AFFORD TO TAKE?
2. HOW WILL THIS AFFECT MY FUTURE?
3. HOW WILL THIS AFFECT MY FAMILY?
4. HOW WILL THIS AFFECT MY TEAMMATES AND COACHES?

A great presentation by Coach Meyer is here as well -
http://www.coachmeyer.com/Information/Handouts/Coach%20Meyer%20Powerpoint.pdf

I met Coach Meyer and we chatted about his book and life. He signed my copy. 

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SS Interactive Notebooks on Culture

I plan on blogging about our Interactive Notebooks this year. Our first chapter will be in culture. We started with reading a handout on the 5 elements of culture. Then, we created mind maps of the five elements and added some personal "swag" to them.

Here's some samples.

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