KARE Givers

If this was the only reason to blog...

graingered@gmail.com (Sean Grainger) — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 17:38:35 PST

flickr image via tibchris

I'd still do it. Let me explain the reason.

I noticed a recent trackback on Connected Principals, another blog I contribute to occasionally. The post it pointed to was called "Norm!" The blog's author is Anthony Purcell, a first year teacher who evidently uses reflection as a tool to inform his practice and help him become a better teacher.

At his blog, Educationally Minded, Anthony made reference to a piece I wrote called We need schools where everybody knows your name. I read his post and was humbled that my thoughts had impacted him enough that he decided to share his reflective response. I have never met Anthony, and he has never met me, but we had a virtual meeting of the minds; a philosophical rendezvous in cyber space. We shared thoughts as teacher colleagues that transcended our professional perspective and entered into our personal feelings about things. We need to do more of this as professionals; get to know each other on personal levels... learn more about what we represent as human beings who care for others.

Blogging has provided me an opportunity to connect with those I perhaps never would have known at all. I've shared with them; they've shared with me. We have encouraged each other to think and question. We have created circles around our thoughts and invited each other inside.

If this was the only reason to blog, I'd still do it.

Edu-conomy of scale... Learning Circle University

graingered@gmail.com (Sean Grainger) — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 17:10:40 PST

flickr CC image via nicolasnova

I'm beginning to understand crowd-sourcing in a new context. As the concept of learning circles evolves, I'm seeing the definition of crowd in crowd-source evolve alongside it. Learning circles are the crowds we encounter and choose to place ourselves within for the purpose of learning.

To me, crowd-sourcing in the traditional sense generally taps really broad sources... social media being a most obvious contemporary example. Learning circles are derivatives of crowd-sourcing that focus more intently on a specific purpose, or set of purposes related to learning. The people that find themselves connected within learning circles are often strangely attracted to each other through the necessary process of chaos in authentic learning, but once found by each other, their relationship takes on a nemetic dynamic.

My Twitter pal, Dibyendu De (@TheDesignKata) describes nemetics as a language that "simultaneously serves as a discovery or exploration tool, understanding tool and a design tool to solve complex, difficult or 'wicked' problems to create new futures." I don't know if I could divine a better or more authentic definition of the language of learning. Learning circles form initially when people notice something they need or want to reconcile through learning. The deeper they focus on that learning; the more they think about it and explore its quantum, related elements, the likelier they are to encounter other strange attractors that draw them into a learning circle they will share.

This is happening now. Joe Brewer talks about open collaboration as a neo-economy of scale. Learning circles are open collaboration edu-conomies of scale. Daniel Durrant (@ddrrnt) passed on this bit of brilliance from MIT today. In the article, author Kevin Carey introduces MITx; a new project from the renowned post-secondary institution that will revolutionize how we view learning as a currency...

MITx is the next big step in the open-educational-resources movement that MIT helped start in 2001, when it began putting its course lecture notes, videos, and exams online, where anyone in the world could use them at no cost. The project exceeded all expectations—more than 100 million unique visitors have accessed the courses so far... Meanwhile, the university experimented with using online tools to help improve the learning experience for its own students in Cambridge, Mass. Now MIT has decided to put the two together—free content and sophisticated online pedagogy—and add a third, crucial ingredient: credentials. Beginning this spring, students will be able to take free, online courses offered through the MITx initiative. If they prove they've learned the material, MITx will, for a small fee, give them a credential certifying as much.

MITx is the alpha learning circle. It seems obvious that the currency of a fine institution of learning would be learning itself, but MITx is creating a new, long-time coming form of that currency in radically accessible learning legitimized by a formal accreditation. MITx is what I believe all other measures of the next generation of post-secondary education will be compared to. In sharing the impeccable learning that takes place at MIT through MITx, the renowned institution is absolutely paving the way forward within higher education. It is, as Kevin Carey describes, "the act of a truly educational institution, in the finest sense of the word." MITx is a project that exemplifies the concept of Learning Circle University.

I'm thinking that higher education leaders around the world intent on being at the most forward edge will be wise to stay abreast of MITx, the project. The game is changing, and in the interest of institutional preservation, the faculties they lead will be smart to get in the new game as fast as they can.

Culture and Inquiry Learning

graingered@gmail.com (Sean Grainger) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 21:49:44 PST

Using the Wikipedia article on Inquiry Learning (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inquiry-based_learning) as a reference point will make it easier to explain why I believe that cultural diversity is a pivotal element in a truly inquiry-based learning environment. To displace cultural diversity from the inquiry mix in my mind would be to sabotage the process altogether.

From Wikipedia to describe the core of inquiry as a concept…
Characteristics of inquiry-learning
-Inquiry learning emphasizes constructivist ideas of learning. Knowledge is built in a step-wise fashion.
-Learning proceeds best in group situations.
-The teacher does not begin with a statement, but with a question. Posing questions for students to solve is a more effective method of instruction in many areas. This allows the students to search for information and learn on their own with the teacher’s guidance.
-The topic, problem to be studied, and methods used to answer this problem are determined by the student and not the teacher (this is an example of the 3rd level of the Herron Scale)

My point of view weaving culture (the thing each of us has been constructing since the minute we were born) and inquiry acknowledges the above points.

Culture is both a representation of us as individuals and as members of the groups we belong to that largely determine our biases and tendencies as learners; specifically how we “inquire” about anything we intend to learn, explore, experience… our learning (formal inquiry learning included) is undeniably influenced by our cultural bias and perspective… it sets us on the path of undetermined principles (what we will inquire about) as influenced by our predetermined principles... what we will know, understand and be able to do is affected by what we already believe we know, understand and can do from our own cultural perspective.

The challenge (as it has often been contextualized) to address the inherent cultural diversity in schools can be re-framed as a brilliant opportunity to inquire from our personal perspectives, but perhaps more importantly from the perspectives of others. We can effectually “inquire” about how others “inquire;" a complex, analytical and empathetic function that would allow us a glimpse of what others see, believe, feel, do, learn etc. from their cultural learning perspective. For learning to proceed best in groups, we have to understand the groups we choose to belong to, or that we are placed within.

Posing questions for students, but more importantly, asking them to formulate their own questions, to me is all about engagement. A peaceful, understanding and culturally interdependent society depends on our willingness to engage each other, learn from each other and do everything we can to understand each other’s perspective. If we add the word “learning” before the word “perspective” at the end of the last sentence, I think contextualizing inquiry learning as prominently influenced by the diverse cultural nature of individuals and groups becomes clearer.

I think the topic, problem to be studied, and methods used to inquire about them are ultimately determined by the student and not the teacher… no matter what the teacher thinks, this is always what happens (I call this “inside learning.”) How teachers view each student’s inside learning (the process we all go through when we internalize and make personal meaning of what we want to learn or are being asked or forced to learn,) and how much it conforms to what they think we should be learning is what teachers call assessment, I think.

If educators could understand that diverse perspectives toward the world (essentially culture,) are represented within every learner, and then embrace this reality as a learning asset each possesses, I think the effort to tap student’s inside learning would become second nature and the natural inquiry process that we are born with would then be omnipresent in the formal education system.

I am, therefore I think.

graingered@gmail.com (Sean Grainger) — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 22:00:26 PST

Original art posted at Deviant Art by ~pslv3r

So 2012 is upon us. 2011 was good for me, but I’m hard on myself… looking back, I probably accomplished more than I think. My tendency is to look at what I’ve done, and realize first what more I could have done, or how much better I could have done it. I am critical; not so much of others or other things, but really toward myself and my goals, projects, jobs or whatever. As I reflect on the things I got done last year, I’m starting to think it really doesn’t matter what I accomplished last year; what matters is what I’m going to do this year.

This year I’m not setting any goals or resolutions because at the end of the year I’m going to look back again and feel like I could have done more. This year I’m going to look forward and make a deliberate effort to simply keep doing what I do, every day, to the best of my ability… and I’m going to be happy with that. I have so many projects and collaborations on the go… more than enough to keep me busy, and I may find more, but that’s OK because I’m going to look at all of them in the same way. I’m going to be less focused on achieving the goal, and so much more focused on enjoying the goal.

This year, instead of looking at progress as a means to successful ends, I’m framing it as a process to extend, refine and strengthen learning. I’m going to view progress as a fractal representation of different sorts of knowledge and skill attainment. There is always room to improve. I’m going to accept (embrace, really) that I will always be learning, and that there will always be something to learn.

I’m going to do this by focusing on four words: Respect; Understanding; Relationships and Responsibility. These are the words that form a circle around me; a learning circle. They represent my hope as a learner. I am, therefore I think.

A what?

graingered@gmail.com (Sean Grainger) — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 16:41:00 PST

I am a phenomenological post-modernist.

A what? Who am I to be using such big words? Well, I am a phenomenological post-modernist... let me explain.

I am a person; myself. My perspective is the sum total of my experiences. Others are people; themselves. Together we all have experiences as we interact with each other and the world around us... the phenomena we are exposed to and that affect us. We are all in the world... the lenses I look through are shaped by this very complex and dynamic reality... this is my phenomenological perspective.

My postmodern perspective always sees a better way. I view the world subjectively, (perhaps we all do,) and see truth as the most logical and righteous construct to me at any given time... but times change, and so do constructs- there is always a better way... this is my postmodern perspective.

I understand that I am unarguably affected by my experiences; phenomena I've encountered altering the lenses I look through. I have dealt with adversity. I am a resilient person. Many times I have had support helping me see the intermediary position... the one that helped to dilute my polarized view. I know that the truth usually tends toward the middle.

The big words I use to describe my perspective are real to me. I think about them a lot. People give me a hard time about using big words, but I have earned the right to use them.

Who and what are you?

Excellence pursued...

graingered@gmail.com (Sean Grainger) — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 18:31:05 PST

"I believe in the pursuit of excellence; we can ask for nothing

more than the individual’s greatest effort."

flickr CC image via DarrelBirkett

Excellence pursued is excellence.

I believe that excellence in a finite state is not excellence. Once we believe there is no further direction toward an improved state, we have become less than excellent.

adjective Mathematics .

of or pertaining to an asymptote.

(of a function) approaching a given value as an expression containing a variable tends to infinity.

(of two functions) so defined that their ratio approachesunity as the independent variable approaches a limit orinfinity.

(of a formula) becoming increasingly exact as a variable approaches a limit, usually infinity.

coming into consideration as a variable approaches a limit,usually infinity: asymptotic property; asymptotic behavior.

asymptotic. (n.d.). Dictionary.com Unabridged. Retrieved December 12, 2011, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/asymptotic

Excellence is an asymptotic concept. An athlete may be rewarded a gold medal for excellence, and then in the next race get dethroned as the gold medal score is beaten in the next race... once we think we've achieved excellence, we cease to be excellent.

In the special education environment I used to teach within, the benchmark for "excellence" was 80% of a goal achieved. Goals marked at 80% achieved would be replaced with a new goal. I always wondered what happened to pursuing the other 20%... and then I started to wonder if 100% was even good enough to be considered excellent. What if we simply stated that we will pursue measurable improvements to all goals, (whatever they may be,) understanding that they will never be mastered, but perhaps that the degree of focus on particular goals will change according to individual circumstances? This to me would be the unending pursuit of excellence.

Can we really every ask for anything more than the individual's greatest effort?

Learning for Living at LCU...

graingered@gmail.com (Sean Grainger) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 21:52:15 PST

flickr CC image via fdecomite

Question: What will Learning Circle University look like in the real world?

Answer: It's quite simple really. Learning Circle University (LCU) is a conceptual model of learning built on a platform that supports a learning purpose. It's a circle of support enabling the learners inside it to thrive.

We can do much to surround ourselves within learning circles, but there are certainly circumstances that can hinder individual efforts to do this. Sometimes we need a little help to achieve our learning goals, or perhaps even to realize the purpose behind them. We can put ourselves in motion toward a better place, but sometimes we need a little nudge; someone to hold our hand. Either way the platform of the circle remains the same. Never before in history has there been a more optimal time to draw circles of support around those who need to know, want to know or both... anywhere, anytime and anybody learning.
We have the capacity right now to create circles of learning anywhere, anytime and for anybody. There are infinite real-time, authentic opportunities for purposeful learning designed to make things better... to make the world a better place for people. It's obvious that infinite learning opportunities create infinite teaching opportunities, (I think learning through teaching is one of the most powerful ways to learn, actually.) LCU is designed to make the lines between learning and teaching a little less black and white; to provide circles supporting teaching and learning so that participants are doing both at the same time.

In the contemporary technological world, it's becoming increasingly easy to do this in a global context just like we would in a local context. For example, what if we were to connect pre-service, in-training medical personnel with lay medical service providers in refugee camps?

I have been fortunate to meet people from around the world who have lived in refugee camps. The Central Alberta Refugee Effort (CARE) offers a mock refugee camp program to teach people about what it's like to live and work in these camps in different parts of the world. The first time I participated in the program, I was surprised to learn how sophisticated the society of a refugee camp actually is, and the larger the camp, the more complex. Kids attend classes at the camps, medical services are provided, and people look out for those that have been separated from their families, especially the children. A local economy evolves as camps grow, and trade occurs between residents with food often becoming the pseudo-currency.

I learned from a Sudanese man who was a teacher in a very large camp that non-government agencies providing aid at the camps search for residents who have skills that can be shared to make camp life more bearable. They receive a small amount of extra money that is usually used to supplement the inadequate food and basic supply rations provided. The other thing he told me that I wasn't aware of was how digitally connected residents of the camps are; or at least how much they try to be... it's their life-line to the outside world. So refugee camp residents have skills; they have needs and connections to the outside world are entirely viable... this is a global learning circle possibility in the making.

What if pre-service medical personnel were to design ways that they can support those providing medical care inside the camps, and then utilize digital connections to deliver their support? As the in-training students are learning about how to provide medical services within their requisite programs, they could be sharing their evolving knowledge with those in the camps who are actually providing medical services in real time on the ground, but perhaps without the most current knowledge about how to do it well and efficiently... win-win-win in the sense that residents of the camps would be receiving better, more informed care; medical personnel inside the camps would be expanding their skills in real-time and in-training pre-service medical services students would be learning in the most authentic way possible- by teaching and sharing their knowledge with others in a context and for a purpose. The final piece of the puzzle would fit right into place if the post-secondary institutions these students belonged to were to recognize their project-based, purposeful and humanitarian effort to learn differently while practically applying growing skills and knowledge for accreditation toward their diploma or degree.

The shrinking world is throwing more curve balls at us every day. Increasingly complex social, emotional and cognitive challenges confront us in an ironic world where surging technology has made every corner of the globe accessible to us, whether in person, or through a cyber-connection. At the same time, our exposure to each other's social, emotional and cognitive realities has never been more prominent; our collective and increasingly inter-connected world’s are growing. As the perceived distance between us is reduced, we are now presented with glorious opportunities to harvest consciousness and be more attuned to each other's needs and the creative purpose behind collaborating to meet them and solve problems together.

Learning circles can help all of us navigate these exciting and ironic times... we just have to start drawing them. Which institution of higher education will be the first to encourage students to design their own actionable projects intended to simply make the world a better place? A system where these projects could be proposed as courses for credit, and then approved based on how well they justify the particular area of study each student is focusing on wouldn't be that hard to create, would it?

EduKARE taking shape...

graingered@gmail.com (Sean Grainger) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 21:52:42 PST

flickr CC image via Enokson

The most exciting announcement I've heard for a while took place today in my city. Through the collaborative efforts of the City of Red Deer, Red Deer Public Schools and Red Deer Public Libraries, a new library was born today. This library will be different though.

This library will serve as a public and a school library, and it will be located at a new school to be opened in September 2014. This is a concept for library services that I have been thinking about, and writing about for some time. From the archives...

"As schools are renovated, redesigned or built new, physical EduKARE elements could be built into them. Community halls, recreational facilities, health clinics, libraries, satellite police stations, social service agency offices... these could be built in to the new building reducing cost of maintaining multiple facilities. Shared costs between agencies and school boards in providing these collaborative service spaces would save money. Thinking way outside the box, why couldn't senior citizen facilities share the same buildings as well? Sugatra Mitra is connecting senior citizens with the time and so much more to offer our youth in a global context; why not bring his "granny cloud" concept to every school? If we can connect significant others to kids in a global context, surely we can make the connection locally within our schools."

I am very fortunate to live in a community that supports initiatives like this one, and to work for a school district that sees the value in partnership and shared vision. From Mayor Morris Flewelling...

“This is a great opportunity for partnership in our community... the library will be a great resource for students, and provide a gathering space for the community to use and to enjoy the programs offered by the public library board.”

Our school board chair, Lawrence Lee, also expressed his excitement...

“Literacy is a top priority for Red Deer Public Schools as it really is at the heart of education,” Lee said. “Working in partnership with the library and The City will be a tremendous benefit to all the students in our new school.”

And Dean Frey, Director of Red Deer Public Library added...

“We are very excited about this project and partnering with the school board and The City,” said Dean Frey, We want to continue to grow library service in the city and offer great programs for residents.”

Bridging school and community services is a giant step toward creating learning circles that target authentic, collaborative and creative learning opportunities for everyone. When we place learning at the center of any community initiative, everybody wins.

Great work. This is a positive move toward a more healthy, secure and resilient community. Can't wait to be at the new library on opening day!

Learning for Living...

graingered@gmail.com (Sean Grainger) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 21:53:20 PST

flickr CC image via scratanut

Learning for living... Find something you love to do, then find a way to make money doing it"

Life long learning is a phrase being used a lot lately. Educators everywhere are working hard to support life-long learning. They are responding to the perceived need in contemporary society for kids to become life-long learners in preparation for the twenty-first century... but what is a life-long learner, and furthermore, what is twenty-first century learning?

I am wondering if the impact of both these terms is becoming neutralized by a lack of clarity and context. How we frame learning is key if we intend to create substance around these terms, and then once we have a clear grasp of learning, we can begin to contextualize a platform of support that sustains it over a lifetime that for the vast majority of us, will not extend beyond the 21st Century making life-long learning, and 21st Century learning, somewhat synonymous.

The learning stages we experience over our lifespan can be fractalized into any number of divisions... by school years, chronological age, daily... even minute by minute. I am of the opinion that preparing "learners" (every single one of us from the moment we are conceived) to be "life-long learners" is akin to teaching water how to flow. We are, therefore we learn. Supporting the natural tendency to learn is a whole different story. We can, and should be thinking seriously about how we support learning that reflects our innate desire to learn; to navigate the world we live in.

“School environments should be designed to enhance the development of student brains – and student brains are about movement, not motionless stagnation.” — Robert Sylwester

More than any other biological species, it appears that humans are born to learn. We learn in so many different, and natural contexts. We are in constant motion; traveling in simultaneous physical, psychological, emotional and cognitive realms. Robert Sylwester characterizes this need to be in motion ...

The planning, regulation, and prediction of movements are the principal reasons for a brain. Plants are as biologically successful as animals, but they don’t have a brain. An organism that’s not going anywhere of its own volition doesn’t need a brain. It doesn’t even need to know where it is. What’s the point? Being an immobile plant does have its advantages however. Plants don’t have to get up every day and go to work because they’re already there.

On the other hand, if an organism has legs, wings, or fins, it needs a sensory system that will inform it about here and there, a make-up-its-mind system to determine whether here is better than there or there is better than here, and a motor system to get it to there if that’s the better choice – as it is, alas, when we have to go to work.

Yes we do. Each of us is responsible for our livelihood, and for supporting those who depend on us for support and care. Acquiring the skills necessary to fulfill this responsibility is a challenge for all of us.

In my youth, my mom used to tell me that the secret to achieving career happiness is to find something you love to do, and then find a way to make money doing it; pretty good advice, that. We're all on a journey to discover our passions... to me this is a good way to contextualize life-long learning- the process of finding our passions, and then pursuing them in the effort to become viable, self-sufficient members of society.

I think Sylwesters' rationalization for the existence of the human brain supports this context. Our brain enables us to create a purpose for navigating the world in search of a better "place" (aka job, relationship, education, place to live, social/emotional wellness, physical health etc.) for ourselves, and those we care for who depend on us. This movement, in my view, can also be called learning; the conduit that makes life interesting and rewarding... and that allows us to pursue success as we navigate our personal learning journeys.

Acquiring knowledge, skills and attitudes that allow us to be in positive motion toward better places is the purpose of learning in the 21st Century.

Zen and the art of early engagement...

graingered@gmail.com (Sean Grainger) — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 22:05:37 PST

flickr CC image via woodleywonderworks

If your mind is empty, it is always ready for anything;

it is open to everything. In the beginner's mind there are

many possibilities, in the expert's mind there are few.

Shunryu Suzuki-Roshi

I have been thinking about the way we introduce learning to kids at the beginning of the kindergarten to grade twelve spectrum. We are taught as preservice teachers to think of early learning kids as "tabula rasa," or blank slates. This is interesting considering that we are also taught during our preservice training that kids have learned an almost unbelievable amount in the first five years of life. We certainly don't seem to honor the widely accepted notion that kids have likely learned more before entering school than they will collectively for the rest of their lives. From the NYU Child Study Center...

During this time the brain undergoes its most dramatic growth, and children rapidly develop the cognitive capacity that enables them to become intellectually curious and creative thinkers.

It appears clear to me that we are very privileged as professionals to have such adept and capable subjects to work with right off the bat. Even if we accept that kids are born as blank slates... tabula rasa, I believe by the time they enter school, kids are chock full of knowledge, skills and attitudes enabling them to learn any number of things... each child is indeed tabula abundans; an abundant slate. Their "beginner minds" are primed and ready to learn. So how do we run with this and make it work for them?

It is interesting to think what may occur if we were to flip the pyramid. Currently in the conventional wisdom we define the entire set of learning goals for early learners. We start at the tip of an inverted pyramid learning the very basics of reading, writing and math, and then the triangle widens as we grow older, culminating in high school where kids are sometimes overwhelmed by course-load choices they aren't really prepared to make. We set a predetermined curriculum and timeline for skill and knowledge acquisition. Students don't really have much to say about the process at all until they get to middle school. What if we were to engage kids earlier in writing their own learning stories? We could do this with a small shift providing much more choice and variety in the lower grades allowing students to refine their learning paths as they get older and better at making decisions about their own learning.

I envision a corps of specialized teachers that would travel from school to school sharing their specific skills and knowledge that support student choice in the early grades. They would collaborate with homeroom teachers to provide vibrant learning opportunities in the arts, athletics and vocational areas. Their support could be synergized with curriculum to enhance already-being-taught content, or it could stand alone as a supplemental element. Imagine the joy students would feel while studying history and creating art that reflected that historical context. Could homeroom teachers do this themselves? Of course some could, however, they may not be able to support learning through choice in specific other ways. We all have teaching strengths in particular areas, but very few teachers, if any are completely comfortable in all areas. Short of adopting a high school system where all teachers are specialists, resource teachers to assist in the elementary school classroom where specialist strengths would have so much positive benefit has tons of potential.

I happened to attend a kindergarten to ninth grade school as a child. Our school had an outdoor courtyard built into the middle of the building. I remember one project involving the designing and carving of a full scale totem pole to stand in that courtyard. Because we were a K - 9 school, the entire school had opportunity to contribute to the project, and the middle school art and industrial arts instructors had the background to lead and support learning. They were specialists that, because we were a K - 9 school, had opportunity to share their talents and abilities with kids younger than they would normally work with. It was brilliant.

Creating opportunities for specialist resource teachers to support the evolving learning stories of early learners in school; giving kids more choice in the early grades regarding how they want to display learning... why wouldn't this work?

Synthesizing energy...

graingered@gmail.com (Sean Grainger) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 21:54:03 PST

flickr CC image via NASA Goddard Photo and Video

Some years ago I had the fortunate opportunity to participate in a three day (over three months,) leadership series with Dr. Leroy Sloan. During one of those days Leroy shared a venn diagram with three circles. In the middle of the circle on the left was the word job. In the circle on the opposite end was the word career. In the middle circle was the word life. Dr. Sloan used the diagram to make the following point...

In the measured contexts of our everyday lives, we know a lot about what people do in their daily jobs (the things they have to do), perhaps a little about their career aspirations (the things they want to do), and not very much at all about their lives away from work- the elements that make them who they are... their families, histories, passions, hobbies, fears, joys etc. There is something inherently defeating about this if we intend to work collaboratively and cooperatively from informed and synergistic perspectives.

I really like the word synergy, often described as the sum being greater that its parts. It's synthesized energy. There is lots of room for more synergy in teaching and learning. Teachers often teach in relative isolation. They have their homeroom class space where most of their daily time is spent with students teaching in relative seclusion, whether as a generalist in elementary school, or a subject specific teacher in middle and high school. This is the job part of what they do. Occasionally teachers choose to leave the classroom to participate in professional development they feel will advance their skills and knowledge. This is the career part of what they do. Who they are; their stories that support what they do as teachers and why, are the elements that make them unique and effective (or not) in their personal teaching contexts. This is the life part of what they do. Energy is spent in all three circles. Becoming more synergistic and collaborative in practice would allow teachers to break away from the relative isolation they sometimes feel. For this to happen, we need to be more authentic as educators by personally and collectively reflecting on our philosophies of teaching and learning, and the life perspectives that shape them, and we have to listen more carefully to the perspectives of those we serve.

I had another great opportunity to do both of these things today with about two hundred or so other Albertans. Alberta Education is on the cusp of introducing new legislation within the province that will govern how teaching and learning occurs. The re-worked Alberta School Act was presented in draft today at a forum called Our Children, Our Future: Getting it Right. I feel very lucky to have been invited to participate in this process, and extremely lucky to live in a place where government cares about what people think, and in particular, what people need from their education system. A broad cross-section of Alberta citizens was represented in the full-day process: students of all ages; parents; community members at large; teachers; administrators; school board members; government officials and others, all present to voice their perspective on what education should look, sound and feel like as our province moves forward in the process of addressing the teaching and learning needs of its citizens.

Dialog was created around four imperatives: creating caring, respectful and safe schools; making learning relevant for all students; keeping students engaged in learning through excellent teaching and setting students up for success in life. The conversation at my table was brilliant. As I listened, learned and shared my perspective today, my thoughts went into overdrive and things I've been meaning to reflect about rushed to the top of my mind... I became excited as I thought about the wide range of topics I will be blogging about over the next while. I felt rejuvenated by the respectful and purposeful collaborative process, and it reminded me once again how powerful and meaningful synthesized energy can be.

Learning Circles.

graingered@gmail.com (Sean Grainger) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 21:54:36 PST

flickr CC image via IDEAleemade

I'm fond of circles. To me circles represent learning that is non-linear, organic and never ending; not the type I typically experienced as an undergraduate student in the Faculty of Education I attended. A linear path was more or less set out for me in pre-service teacher training, (but there were some bright spots,) and I did what was asked of me. More recently I have become involved in less linear learning paths, but only in the last few weeks have I contextualized them as learning circles. All the way through my K-12 education, and at three post-secondary institutions since then, I always knew when I was immersed in an authentic, organic learning environment, I just didn't know what to call it. It was about the spirit of my involvement in learning, and the spirit of those around me. Collectively we created learning environments that were comfortable and non-threatening, strength-based and multi-faceted. A bright-spot example of what I would have called a learning circle at the time if I had thought about it in that context was my experience in a class taught by Dr. David Wangler.

Dr.Wangler insisted that his students did two things... we had to read, we had to write and we were guided to do both using the best resources available at the time. My undergrad years pre-date widespread use of modern technology in the classroom, so that meant we actually had to read books; lots of them, and then we had to write about what we read. Years ahead of his time in the realm of creating an authentic learning environment, Dr. Wangler set up his class so the students were the drivers of their own learning paths. At the beginning of the term he asked us to sign a contract stating the mark we intended to get at the end of the term. Each requisite grade corresponded to a set of "readings," five picked by him and the rest varied in quantity according to the mark we intended to receive (for a seven out of nine, I had to read 18 "books," each the equivalent of 200 pages.)

Dr. Wangler didn't stop there. He also allowed us to choose movies for book credit (I watched Sophie's Choice, Apocalypse Now and A Clockwork Orange) that supported our self-directed learning paths, as long as they could somehow be associated with our thoughts relating to the five thematic philosophies he chose for us stemming from Skinner (behaviorism), Kazantzakis (existentialism), Dewey (democracy), Freud (psychoanalytical theory), and Socrates (absolutism). As I think about it, he even gave us one book's worth of credit for getting together as a group of classmates to reflect on what we were talking about in class, (sometimes these Friday afternoon sessions at Angelo's Pizza would end at about 1:00 AM.) Some of the books I read during that semester endure as deeply influential and personally meaningful... Painted Bird, by Jerzy Kosinsky as an example.

When Dr. Wangler introduced each of the five philosophies at intervals throughout the semester, he would actually come to class dressed as the character representing that philosophy, and then play that role all day long... even in the cafeteria and common spaces in the faculty. He would remain in character all day, answering questions from the perspective of each philosophical icon. I can say sincerely that I had lunch one day in a cafeteria with Sigmund Freud. It was brilliant. I worked harder during that course than any before, or since. I contracted for a seven, but I wish it had been for a 9.

Dr Wangler used to play classical music in the background of his lectures, just the right volume so that it soothed us. He acted out the part of famous teachers and philosophers, and he told us repeatedly that we would never be able to know what his own personal perspective was... he was a zen master devil's advocate; he poked and prodded and kept us guessing all semester long. We sat in a semi cricle. He epitomized the sentiment that learning is as much, or perhaps more so, an attitude as it is a skill. He told us we would work hard because we wanted to, and we did. He was available and willing to guide us any time we happened to make an appointment, or if we were willing to show up at his daily half-court basketball game in the main gym. He supported us in all the right ways. We wrote no tests and no essays; only reflections that he read and commented on, only providing a mark during the course if a student insisted on receiving one (I don't know anyone who did.) In Dr. Wangler's class, I knew I was involved in a learning circle. Oh, what Dr. Wangler could do if he were still teaching, to make effective use of the best technology related instructional tools available today.

The classroom we used three times per week to learn from Dr. Wangler, and each other, was nothing if it wasn't one of the worst examples of 60's era institutional grey in every aspect. The pysical space was a boring, monotone, unstimulating, bare-walled square room with the blinds constantly blocking the sun from the south-facing windows. Our outstanding learning environment was not the result of innovative physical design; no feng shui going on there whatsoever. Our awesome learning environment derived from the brilliance of our teacher, and the attitudes of those who totally bought in to the content of the class because they were allowed the privilege of making it their own. Everyone's opinions were respected. Nobody remained silent. We were engaged in a learning circle.

Chapter 17- Multicultural to Intercultural

graingered@gmail.com (Sean Grainger) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 21:55:12 PST

A new book is on the horizon. Innovative Voices in Education- Engaging Diverse Communities, is described by leading urban sociologist and Peter L. Agnew Professor of Education at New York University, Pedro Norguera as "clear and compelling… an invaluable resource." Given that Norguera's scholarship and research focuses on the ways in which schools are influenced by social and economic conditions in the urban environment, his endoresment of this book is humbling and important.

I wrote the closing chapter for Innovative Voices... Multicultural to Intercultural: Developing
Interdependent Learners. By design, the other sixteen chapters were written by a wonderfully diverse array of people from all over the place. All of this came together through the tireless efforts of Eileen Kugler, executive editor of the book. I am grateful to have contributed to such an interesting and thought-provoking process. Here is the summary of my chapter...

Kids from every corner of the globe attend Canadian schools; simply acknowledging this multiculturalism isn't good enough anymore. This educator asserts the need to move beyond a reciprocal appreciation of our differences toward an intercultural perspective that maximizes the social, emotional and academic potential of every student. We do this by fostering and teaching intercultural competence... the ability to effectively communicate with and learn from people of other cultures. This author introduces the Hope Wheel; an action oriented learning tool designed to support the development of respect, understanding, relationships and responsibility as students become interdependent travellers on the journey toward socio-cultural and academic competence. To help prepare our children for the realities of their future, and to function more productively within the realities of the present, educators must embrace the diversity of our world and do everything they can to help kids connect with and learn from each other.

The stories that resonate throughout this book illuminate the imperative for schools to embrace the diversity that is omnipresent in society. They are a call-out to everyone who works in a school to leverage the diversity schools represent as perhaps the most critical asset the education system possesses moving forward into the challenges of the future. I am including the opening to the story of chapter seventeen hoping that you will be encouraged to pick up a copy to hear the rest of it...

When I started teaching seventeen years ago, little did I know that my first job would have so much influence on my perspective toward culture, and in particular the concept of cultural diversity. I took a position teaching first and second grade at Tall Cree, an Indian reservation in the far north of Alberta, Canada. The community I taught at was remote; three hours of gravel roads after the pavement ended. I lived in a teacherage beside the school in the community that had no services, just houses, a school, a church and a Band Administration Office. I and four other teachers were the only non-Aboriginal people living in the community of about two hundred residents.

In Canada we are proud of the multicultural mosaic of people that make up the population of our vast country. I grew up learning and understanding that multiculturalism was a good thing. I was used to living among people representing cultures from around the globe, so why was I so anxious about living and teaching on this Indian reservation in my home province? I chalked it up to nerves surrounding my first teaching job, but deep down I knew it was more than that. Despite growing up immersed in a multicultural society, and near many Aboriginal communities, I was crazy nervous about actually living and interacting with these people whom I really knew nothing about at all.

I was about to realize that multiculturalism was not the positive conduit I thought it to be toward an understanding and culturally interdependent society. I was about to realize that a peaceful, understanding and culturally interdependent society depends on our willingness to engage each other, learn from each other and do everything we can to understand each other’s perspective.

Innovative Voices is now available for preorder at Amazon, Chapters/Indigo, from the website and soon for purchase off the shelves at major bookstores everywhere.

Stories...

graingered@gmail.com (Sean Grainger) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 21:55:38 PST

flickr CC image via Magenta Rose

Stories aren't a "communication tool." Stories just are... we use communication tools to tell them.

Stories are powerful, no doubt... perhaps more powerful than any other element of learning. How they are told makes lots of difference. When we tell stories that are personal, true, emotional and purposeful, they take on meaning that moves people. Whether these stories are told though words, pictures, writing, sculpture, photographs, paintings whatever... the tool serves to represents the story, but the story is there regardless whether someone chooses to tell it or not.

Perhaps most importantly, we must also always remember that people receive stories on their own terms, from their own perspective. How people will react to story is intangible to the teller. If a story is a "tool," it has to have a purpose (and they all do) but the intent of the teller is not always reflected in the reaction of the receiver... stories as tools in this context become much more complicated. Consider stories that move people toward actions or reactions that the teller never intended... in these cases the "tool" doesn't perform the function it was intended for.

Hammers hit nails, but they also bend them.

Stories as tools... how about stories as just stories and the vessels we choose to tell them as the tools we use to shape and form them? How people relate to the way we shape and form stories is entirely up to them.

Learning Circle University...

graingered@gmail.com (Sean Grainger) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 21:56:17 PST

So my friend Michael Josefowicz (@ToughLoveforX) proclaimed a week or so ago, "let's start a university!" Sounded a little crazy, but hey, I'm game for anything when it comes to collective intelligence around the improvement of teaching and learning. So here's how the story goes so far...

Michael and I speak often, almost daily, with just about anyone who shares our interest and passion for teaching and learning. We have connected with a growing cohort of similarly impassioned individuals and organizations around the world as our personal learning network by leveraging the varied social media outlets we each utilize. The last while, much of our conversation has revolved around the optimization of learning... specifically, what kinds of environments seem to promote learning. I think the key to learning is engagement. How to engage learners is possibly the largest challenge for any teacher. Each individual student possesses a unique and complex learning story that needs to be discovered; no small task. To create an authentic culture of learning that seeks to clarify and expose students' stories, teachers have to know these stories.
The culture of any learning environment is created in a prominent way through the feelings of those immersed within it. Learning is as much, or perhaps more so, an attitude as it is a skill. When we are impacted emotionally, the attitudes we develop can represent deep engagement, or in the case of negative emotions, deep disengagement. Teachers who are disengaged likely will not encourage much positive engagement in their students. There are disengaged teachers among us who probably aren't even aware of the potential impact they may be causing. Michael and I have hypothesized that perhaps these teachers haven't had enough opportunity to be deeply engaged as learners themselves. If teachers were able to follow their passions through self-directed and deeply engaged professional development, they would be living the type of experiences they intend for their students. For this to happen teacher's professional development opportunties need to be supported in the right ways. Enter Learning Circle University (LCU).

Learning circles draw people in; people who crave authentic learning, learning that has meaning for them personally. The mission of Learning Circle University would simply state...

To draw global circles of learning support around all who want to know more.

Michael and I share a belief that education is the lynchpin to an emotionally, socially and morally just society. Teachers are the backbone of the education system, and society needs them to be heavily engaged in the process of producing emotionally, socially and morally just kids. Knowing this, one would think that teachers in training would be immersed in a developmental approach that provides ample opportunity to feel engaged; connected to the process as a result of meaningful learning experiences. Although there were certain teachers I had in my pre-service training who very definitely facilitated these experiences, they were the exception to the rule. More typically I attended classes with a couple hundred other disengaged learners trying to memorize the details of all the important pedagogical theorists. I went through dozens of highlighters in my undergraduate coursework. It wasn't until I began my practicum experiences that I felt viscerally connected to the teaching process.

So in the context of pre-service teacher training, consider the possibilities if coursework blended less lecture hall with more world. Any element of formal teacher training can be more efficiently delivered through the use of contemporary technology. Twitter cohorts, Google Plus, blogs, Skype etc. allow us to collaborate with our colleagues in focused, distributed and very inexpensive ways making it so easy to get a handle on the fundamentals of teaching and learning theory. While these efforts are being made in all the appropriate distributed ways, individual students, or cohorts of students, (connected in person or by the power of technology,) could design action research projects that put them in a teaching role and address local community needs... pre-service teachers learning to teach by teaching while at the same time satisfying a need within their own communities.

No need for a full-service campus, expensive facilities and most importantly, massive tuition costs to support the maintenance of these things. I recently had a conversation with a colleague from the Faculty of Education at the local college. I mentioned the LCU concept to him and we spoke about credentials. We agreed that by streamlining prospective teachers' formal instruction, preservice teachers would have more time to dive deeper and more innovatively into sharpening their pedagogical skillsets as applied to on the ground projects. Resources to support these projects would differ depending on the characteristics of the project and how creative participants were in designing each one. They would have to adapt, innovate, find a way to get to yes, or at least maybe. They'd have to reflect, refine and evaluate as each project evolved... critical skills that truly engaged learners exemplify. Students would be assessed on the degree to which skills, attitudes and knowledge proliferated and matured over the course of each project effort. The experience beginning teachers would gain, (planning projects that benefit their local communities, working collaboratively, carrying out the plans, evaluating the plans etc.,) would be invaluable for them and the people they were serving with their efforts.

Some examples:

Applying a SOUNS project in a community where kids do not, and may not ever, read if some form of intervention is not applied
Building a school in a third world country, then teaching the local population based on their needs and interests
Facilitate collaborative partnerships with other helping professionals (social workers, nurses, counselors etc.) who operate within the local community schools
Design and implement an educational resource (website, game, video, book etc.,) that would then be used to teach
Identifying local educational needs and creating programming that synergizes schools/libraries/museums/community facilities/outdoor spaces and social services to collaboratively address these needs
Working proactively with families of pre-school aged children to help prepare them (both the families and the kids) for school (habits, attitudes, skills, literacy etc.)
Synchronizing community and school library services to streamline and increase access to good books for community kids and their families

I would love to see some of these initiatives happen in my community. All the pieces are in place... pre-service teachers longing for authentic, engaging learning experiences; kids and families looking for services and schools wanting to improve their service delivery to the community. I would love to initiate a conversation putting the ball in motion to align the LCU concept, and most importantly, the learning circle philosophy, in the interest of creating a partnership and a conduit for innovative program delivery.

Working with an established institution that would offer the programming possibilities necessary to set up and support the LCU philosphy would be a giant step toward legitimizing the idea. Reaching out through a faculty extension program that could be administered and managed online would be the next step to globalizing the idea. Imagine a global cohort of pre-service teachers working collaboratively on local projects, but supporting each other through the magic of social and trans-media connection. Costs would be minimal (likely far cheaper than providing the traditional teacher-training delivery model,) because the projects would surround ideas, not programs... just pre-service teachers around the world creating opportunities for themselves to expose innovative and supportive ideas on the ground in the service of educating the community.

Why wouldn't this work?

Professional Development?

graingered@gmail.com (Sean Grainger) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 21:56:40 PST

flickr CC image via mikecogh

I've been grappling with the concept of professional development. Teachers tend to refer to any workshop, seminar or in-service as professional development, but I'm not sure about this.

Undoubtedly there are many valuable and purposeful workshops, seminars and in-services for teachers across many teaching and learning contexts. Teachers can be trained to do a number of specific things quite efficiently and adequately that enhance their skills as a teacher, but I don't call that professional development. I call it professional training. When we train as professionals, we learn how to do something, not why we do it, what philosophical rationale is behind it or what makes it a pedagogically sound practice. We learn new strategies so we can do our job. There is usefulness in all of this. There are loads of valuable predetermined teaching tools and resources that come with an already established set of instructions; sort of a paint-by-numbers situation. When we learn how to use these we aren't really developing anything, however. To develop as professionals means to engage in a quite different process.

Teachers are experts on learning. It would seem reasonable then, that teachers should be exemplary learners themselves. In order to teach kids how to learn effectively, it makes sense to me that teachers should know how to learn effectively so they can model the attitudes and habits that effective learners need to possess. Here is where I draw the distinction between professional training and professional development. Professional development to me is synonymous with professional learning; learning as a complex and rigorous process that is very different from simply being told how to do something.

No matter how good we think we are, or how much we think we know, reality dictates that there is always something more we can learn. Learning is, to me, an asymptotic process meaning no matter how close we think we are to skill and knowledge saturation, there is always some element we can refine, if only in the most specific and finely detailed ways. There has to be an authenticity to learning; a reason to engage personally in the process. If we think we already know everything we need to know, we cannot extend our learning any further; we would see no purpose in the process. We wouldn't see the need to develop any further. We can't develop as professional learners if we don't have a personal purpose and rationale for improving.

I have done a decent amount of speaking as a professional development consultant and workshop facilitator over the last few years, and nearly every time I run up against two scenarios that I believe are indicative of a lack of understanding of the difference between professional training and professional development, and perhaps more alarmingly, a lack of personal investment in the process of professional learning.

The first is more common than the second. When I book the sessions I do, it's inevitable that I will get a request for use it on Monday strategies that participants can take to their classrooms and put them into useful service as soon as possible. I really worry about this request if in fact what I'm doing is providing professional development. If what I have to say to people in a three hour workshop, or even a full day workshop, makes them comfortable enough to completely change whatever they were already going to do on Monday, what does that say about the efficacy of what they were going to do on Monday? I routinely tell participants that whatever I share with them is intended only to plant a seed so they can go on from that point and further develop their understanding of the topic we're covering. There are many who are not satisfied with this framing. They are looking for the proverbial professional development loot bag. I never have one for them.

The second scenario doesn't usually emerge until after I have collected the evaluations participants are routinely asked to provide following the professional development event. I will read something like, "compelling content, but nothing I didn't already know." This one really bothers me, not because it might be true, but because in no case have I ever perceived this sort of comment coming from anyone who was actively engaged in the workshop, having shared their knowledge in the interest of advancing the collective intelligence of the participant group. It's easy to tell because the pearls of wisdom I would hope a knowledgeable participant would share wouldn't have been shared during the event. I have, as a participant myself, at times felt that I chose the wrong workshop or seminar. When I feel this way I know I am closed to any potential train of thought that would lead me down a new path of inquiry, reflection or discovery. I have to remind myself to keep an open mind and try to see things from a different perspective; to shake up my paradigms so to speak. If I am successful at re-framing my participation in this manner, I will learn something new, (and have every time.)

Traditional forms of professional development and professional training are taking a hit as of late. Advancing technology and the PD platforms that utilize them, (Twitter, blogs, podcasts, unconferences, webcasts, virtual meetings, collaborative web spaces etc.) are undoubtedly great ways to provide professional development and training across any number of teaching and learning contexts. I am an advocate for these methods, but I want to also say that old school style sitting in a room with a group of engaged people interested in authentic dialog and reflection about a shared professional development or training issue can be a very positive and worthwhile experience... just don't in the case of a professional development event ask for the "use it on Monday" panacea strategy, and if you know more than the person coordinating the event, share it willingly and humbly so everyone will benefit.

Interculturalism- Engaging Diverse Communities

graingered@gmail.com (Sean Grainger) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 21:56:56 PST

I am so excited to know that Innovative Voices in Education- Engaging Diverse Communities will be in print very soon. To be sure, contributing to this book as an author has been one of the most thought provoking projects I have ever collaborated on, and I am exceedingly impressed by the depth and value of its messages. Seventeen authors from all over the place wrote each of the book's seventeen chapters; each from their own unique and insightful perspectives.

Eileen Kugler, our executive editor, is from Washington, DC. Eileen is an internationally recognized advocate of the unique benefits that diversity brings schools, communities and workplaces. Eileen’s award-winning first book, Debunking the Middle-Class Myth: Why diverse schools are good for all kids, inspires honest dialogue and sincere reflection among all who read it.

As a follow-up to Debunking the Middle Class Myth...this book's journey from the beginning is a story unto itself. Eileen searched carefully to find authors that would represent the very diversity that our book symbolizes; the collective intelligence process at its best. I met Eileen via Twitter while chatting with the #ecosys folks one Sunday evening late last summer. She sent me a direct message following the chat inviting me to visit her website, which I did and followed with a return invitation to check out KARE Givers, which Eileen did. A couple of days later she gave me a call and the next thing I knew I was writing a chapter for her new book! Wow... as I think about it again I feel so fortunate to have had this opportunity.

The final chapter of the book, Multicultural to Intercultural: Developing Interdependent Learners, is my contribution. Here's a snapshot from the book's new website...

Kids from every corner of the globe attend Canadian schools; simply acknowledging this multiculturalism isn't good enough anymore. This educator asserts the need to move beyond a reciprocal appreciation of our differences toward an intercultural perspective that maximizes the social, emotional and academic potential of every student. We do this by fostering and teaching intercultural competence... the ability to effectively communicate with and learn from people of other cultures. This author introduces the Hope Wheel; an action oriented learning tool designed to support the development of respect, understanding, relationships and responsibility as students become interdependent travellers on the journey toward socio-cultural and academic competence. To help prepare our children for the realities of their future, and to function more productively within the realities of the present, educators must embrace the diversity of our world and do everything they can to help kids connect with and learn from each other.

Within my chapter I share personal stories, and stories from those I have been so blessed to work with and learn from in education... my colleagues, students, their parents, elders and members of the communities I served; every one of these people with their own unique and valuable cultural perspective. We wear our culture on our sleeves; it is what defines who we are as individuals, and as members of a group. As I state in the book,

The circumstances that surround every single conversation about culture are a sum total of the perceptions of those participating. If we are to peacefully and hopefully engage each other, we have to try to understand and empathize with each other’s cultural perceptions. Twisting our cultural lens a bit focuses awareness of how self-identity is influenced by our perception of others, the world and everything within it. Culture is what we believe.

Indeed, culture is what we believe. Our perceptions about culture are so important to consider if we are to peacefully exist within an intercultural world. I truly believe that this book is a beacon for any who is challenged by the complexity of culture, and I'm not the only one who thinks so. This review is from Dr. Pedro Noguera, Professor of Education, New York University,

For educators and parents who seek to find ways to create safe and supportive educational environments where all children can be successful, Innovative Voices in Education is a must read. Eileen Kugler provides her readers with insights that will be helpful in addressing some of the complex and controversial issues that confront schools today as they respond to an increasingly diverse student body. The advice and lessons skillfully shared by the contributors are based on solid research and practical experience, and go well beyond the type of superficial do's and don'ts that characterize too many of the sensitivity trainings offered in schools today. Clear and compelling, this book is an invaluable resource.

Culture is more than who we are, our skin colour, where we come from or our ethnic or religious values; it’s the summation of all the elements of our lives that influence our thoughts, ideas, values and passions. The kind of school I want all kids to attend is one where thoughts, ideas, values and passions are nurtured and shared toward increased understanding of others. When we are exposed to the thoughts, ideas, values and passions of others, our eyes are opened to learning possibilities we may never had considered otherwise.

The thoughts, ideas, values and passions expressed within this book are open doorways to learning possibilities for anyone who has considered the realm of culture. Helping write this book was like hovering closer to a campfire on a cool evening, and my fellow contributors were the companions sharing that fire. I am honored and humbled to have been included in the process. I have been pulled deeper into the circles of culture and diversity, and I believe Innovative Voices in Education: Engaging Diverse Communities will be a valuable reference for anyone seeking to learn more about cultural diversity in schools; our largest asset moving forward toward continued positive education reform. Click here to pre-order your copy today.

Fear and Opportunity- turning the table on bullies

graingered@gmail.com (Sean Grainger) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 21:57:17 PST

CC flickr photo via Alyssasezello :: aka pixel8design

Fear and opportunity... we generally place a negative or defeating connotation on the word "fear." What if fear were a useful element. Perhaps it can be.

A recent conversation between fellow Nemeticists, Daniel Durrant (@ddrrnt), Michael Josefowicz (@ToughLoveForX) and I, led us to question the presence and value of fear in a complex adaptive system that is a school. Fear is rampant in education: fear of failure; fear of consequence; fear of authority; fear of bullying... fear in every case manifested as anxiety and stress. But what of a potential lack of fear... would this be a better state? Let's glare at the issue of bullying for sake of argument. Daniel made a profound statement worth analyzing...

"bullies prepare us for a world that will hurt us, but we want to prepare bullies for a world that will love them."

I know there is no shortage of people who will say this is an unfair and imbalanced trade-off, but I disagree. Every element of a complex adaptive system is engaged in the system in one way or another- that's what makes the system complex... but it's the manner in which these elements (let's just say people) adapt that ultimately determines the sustainability of the system. Fear is a biological condition with a purpose- when exposed to it we make a choice to fight or flee. Either way, the choice we make will determine the quantum direction our action will send us. Both decisions put us in motion. Robert Sylwester describes the reflexive and reflective properties of this process as related as in they're both triggered by fear... fear of imminent threat to survival, and fear of what is unknown, but not an imminent threat. In both contexts it's up to individuals to react as appropriately as possible to mitigate the fear.
Back to Daniel's statement, in the case of bullies who aim to invoke fear in others via their actions, the target of the bullies' behavior has to decide how he will react. Of course there are situations when the victim will have to react reflexively to preserve his own personal safety, and I would think it to be appropriate that bystanders would react reflexively as well in defense of the intended victim. I have to wonder though, is there a context for intended victims to fight back reflectively... I think there is.

A very caring, resourceful and creative bunch of people collaborated on this poster in September. It mirrors Daniel's sentiment about a world that will love bullies understanding that the vast majority of them were first victims themselves.

As I wrote in the original post that sparked the creation of this poster, perhaps reflecting on the pain and hardship that so many bullies share with us in so many aspects of life would provide a glimpse into the story behind the bully's story; the one we need to know if we are to help them deal with their pain so they can stop inflicting it on others. To move toward a more peaceful and accepting society, we have to make the unknown known. We have to enact the reflective properties of our fear to mitigate any escalation of the bully's behavior. We have to try to understand where that behavior is coming from in the first place.

To do otherwise in a complex adaptive system would simply be to accept the complexity of it without any effort to adapt. Pliability is key. Rigid barriers of emotion and cognition will not work if peace is the goal.

Our dive into self organized learning...

graingered@gmail.com (Sean Grainger) — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 22:29:58 PDT

After learning about Sugata Mitra's Hole in the Wall experiment, I started thinking about how the context of Self-Organized Learning Environments would help my students. Last March we created a SOLE in our fifth grade math class. Watch this TED Talk by Mitra...

My colleague Joel and I both teach fifth grade this year, but last year Joel was a substitute teacher and spent some time in my classroom teaching math in our SOLE. This year he contacted me with questions about implementing a SOLE in his new math class at a different school, and now the ball is rolling for both of us in an action research project we're sharing between our classes.

The nemetic process began for us by noticing a few things about kids in our math classes. We saw many similar challenges between them. To start we noticed that roughly 65% of our students would have little trouble achieving an acceptable standard in grade five math. What we mulled together though is could these kids do more than acceptable? We think they can.

Next we noticed that about 15% of each class appeared very competent as math learners capable of high achievement. We asked ourselves how to define high achievement and agreed that perhaps we can't really define that. We asked what if there was no limit to how much any child can learn, and that perhaps in our traditional math classes we were placing a false ceiling above these kids. We resolved to do more for them by letting them go.

We then realized that the remaining 20% of our students appeared to struggle with the math content we were teaching in a traditional way. We noticed that they typically fell behind the pace of instruction, and that they appeared anxious and confused much of the time during class. We also noticed that despite their challenges learning math, they were also in most cases the least likely to ask us for help, or work willingly with their parents at home on any extra study activities to reinforce what they were missing.

Joel and I mulled these observations and decided to apply a SOLE philosophy to our respective math classes, and then collaborate in reflection about how to fine tune our process. Joel shared this with his students last week, and I thought it was a great summary of our process...

Self-Organized Learning
Expectations:
1. Work in groups constructively and cooperatively
2. Talk (30 cm voices)
3. Ask questions if you do not know.
4. Help other students who need it.
5. Finish assignment, check and correct answers.
6. 3 choices when done
a. Help other students having trouble (most important)
b. Continue on to next lesson
c. Ten Marks Math (if we have computers and if you’ve earned it).

I added a step to #5 "...and then show your finished work to Mr. Grainger," but for the most part I am operating under the same SOLE process in my class, so now we get busy.

I already have three students who have done a great job self-assessing previously held knowledge and skills which have enabled them to move ahead of the instructional pace I have established. They have, after not quite two units of instruction, been able to challenge themselves and work ahead. They have also been very responsible about picking choice A under step 6 of our SOLE process, and have been routinely learning through teaching their peers about math they have mastered in relative degrees. They are engaging in math in ways they haven't before.

We're also noticing that the kids who typically struggle are appearing less anxious in class as a result of the increase in access points for help. The classroom is a bit louder as a result of all these math conversations going on, but I'm totally fine with that... I like Joel's "30 cm voices." Joel and I are now more free to roam the class and provide guidance where necessary. We teach to the whole class with direct instruction one lesson at a time as our syllabus requires to get through the curriculum for grade five.

The biggest change we're noticing though is in the level of engagement of students in both classes, especially the 65% group. Each for different reasons (all good) and in slightly different ways for each individual, our students are more engaged in the kind of math I like... math that makes us wonder, lets us be wrong on the road to being right and that becomes more than what most students seem to think math is... just work. We watched this awesome video at the beginning of the year to reinforce a different perspective toward math...

Indeed as Galileo said, "mathematics is the language with which God has written the universe." We're going to keep harping that message for our students so math may become wonderous. After all, we can't get away from it anyway; it's everywhere. It would be great to hear from others who are experimenting with self-organized learning in their classrooms.

Badges to help tell our stories...

graingered@gmail.com (Sean Grainger) — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 15:35:39 PDT

flickr photo via PinkMoose

I didn't spend much time involved with scouting as a child, but I do remember those badges. I still have some of my handy work from a long time ago... a birdhouse I built for my construction badge; a sardine can first-aid kit I put together for my survival badge and a velvet-covered piece of plywood with my beautiful string art creation nailed and strung to it for my creative art badge. Why have I kept these items for all these years? I think it's because they remind me of a simpler time when people noticed the effort I put into these things, and took the time to engage and acknowledge me with a badge.

On the surface I feel kind of silly admitting that these badges I received mean something to me, but they do. My Twitter tribe and I have been taking a deeper dive into the badge concept as of late. The conversation has me re-thinking the process of badging. Typically badges are awarded to display some degree of competence or effort in a particular domain, but in an educational context I see a slightly different purpose for badging in schools.

I maintain that students need to be engaged in writing their own learning stories. What if badges were used to highlight interesting and engaging elements of each of our learning stories? Further to this, what if badges could be awarded by any member of the school family who notices something interesting and engaging about another's learning story? Administrators, teachers, para-professionals, parents, community members and the students themselves... all of these people could be badge givers- all they would have to do is notice something about another; a specific talent (realized or not by the person possessing it,) a exemplary act; a feat of kindness... anything that allows us to say "good on ya!" to members of the school family that we notice and want to engage by complementing them with a badge.

Consider the possibilities that may emerge within this culture of badging... talents would be noticed with intent by badge givers and realized by the badge recipient. Every member of the school family would become a "badge scout," constantly on the look-out for others in the school nemisphere worth noticing... we'd all be displaying our relative skills and aptitudes, sharing them with each other and growing our self-esteem in the process, but most of all as we collect our badges we'd be chronicling our learning journeys in a unique and interesting way.

Think of those bumper stickers folks place on their vehicles displaying that they've been to new and exciting places. I am fascinated to notice the places people have gone on their vacation travels as I follow them down the road. The badges we receive in school would be like those bumper stickers... visual snapshots of the places we've been on our learning journey that nobody can take away from us. Our badges would tell the story of our learning purpose and experience. They would become acknowledgments of our learning efforts, not rewards for making them. Students could use them to help tell their learning stories when others see their collections and ask questions about why they received them. I'v decided to introduce a badge project in my class this week.

Here's what I'm thinking. I already have a well-established developmental model within my class that I call the Hope Wheel. Everyone in my class is on the Hope Wheel path. It centers around the concept of hope as an action word, and includes four elemental domains: respect in the east; understanding in the south; relationships in the west and responsibility in the north. I'm going to explain to my students how a badge can be earned for having explored these domains to the point where competency is visible and lessons have been learned. This will be my introduction.

After this introduction I'm going to suggest to my students that they can acknowledge each other too by creating a badge for anything they deem to be worth noticing along the learning paths they travel with their classmates. They will use art class to design their badges, and I'll scan and print them on sticker paper so they can be peeled off and applied to a badge plate, (just a piece of paper they will adorn in a personalized way,) that will be displayed on the wall in class. My guess is that displaying these plates will create many opportunities for my students to talk about where they've been on their learning journeys with anyone who shows interest.

I'm excited to see how this project will evolve, especially as a result of the students taking control of the process.

Living in the world of possibilities- becoming powerful beyond measure.

graingered@gmail.com (Sean Grainger) — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 08:35:23 PDT

I've been looking for inspiration as a new school year begins. Every year my school district holds its annual kick-off event, and this year along with about a thousand other people, I had the tremendous fortune of listening to the story of Ben McConnell.

Ben spoke about the power every teacher possesses to positively affect the lives of their students, and he knows of what he speaks. Ben has dealt with a litany of health issues that have made his life so much more challenging than most, but he hasn't complained. The journey he has taken, and the attitude he possesses are nothing short of remarkable. Ben provides a humbling example of resilience and strength; primary elements that inclusive teaching and learning environments should be designed to nurture. Ben described teachers who found ways to access his unique motivation to be involved in school beyond measure.

As a completely blind person, when he showed up to become a member of the school crosswalk patrol, it would be understandable that his participation would be unwelcome, but one teacher found a way to help include Ben. That teacher set up Ben as the "phone organizer" to ensure that patrollers knew when they were supposed to be on duty, who was sick and needed a replacement or whatever. That teacher who went outside the box to enable Ben's participation in the crosswalk patrol was able to because she knew Ben, and she knew Ben didn't see limitations; only possibilities... such a vital element of inclusion in a strengths-based school. The act of becoming useful and involved in an effort to make the school crosswalks a safer element helped grow Ben's resilience and esteem. He had a purpose, and he shared it with a group who benefited from his contribution. He became powerful beyond measure as part of the crosswalk patrol group, just like he has in so many other elements of his life. Ben faces his fear.

I was riveted to everything Ben said during his presentation, but he made a statement that resonated with me more than anything else.. he said every student has a story. His advice to teachers is to learn that story just like so many had learned his. This is a message I have been projecting for a long time, and one that I have written about allot. Every student, (and we're all students enrolled in the infinitely large school of life,) lives inside the perspective that only he or she possesses. Our perspective is like our fingerprint; unique to the exclusion of all others. In order to help shape and steer our student's perspectives toward meaningful and positive involvement in life, we have to know what lens they are looking though to begin with, and be accepting of their personal lines of sight; their reality tunnels. These are their worlds that we have to notice, think deeply about and engage in to the best of our ability so we can help kids weave their stories purposely and productively with each other's and ours.

As a person who has benefited profoundly from his exposure to caring and accepting teachers throughout his life, Ben is proof that "normal" is just a setting on the dryer. He provides an undeniable testimonial advocating for inclusive educational environments that MUST include exposure to caring and accepting teachers... and I would add significant others who work in schools: teacher's assistants; para-professionals; volunteers; wrap-a-round service providers etc. We are those people.

Let us not miss an opportunity to be powerful beyond measure by providing opportunities for all kids to be powerful beyond measure.

If it is to be, it's up to we...

graingered@gmail.com (Sean Grainger) — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 20:53:46 PST

flickr photo via fdecomite

As I seek clarity and inspiration for another new school year, a recent conversation with my fellow nemeticists has once again got me thinking. As teacher's work hard to prepare for the new year, and their levels of anticipation reach a fever pitch this September, it's vitally important to stay grounded and focused on our fundamental purpose. But to do this we have to know what our fundamental purpose is. I believe that, more than anything else, teachers are in the story-writing business. The world we all share is one big story written by history. When teachers teach, whether it be good, bad or indifferent, they become part of this story.

As we run about busily making plans, preparing learning materials, attending meetings and becoming acquainted with new colleagues and families, it's so useful to remember that everyone involved in our schools arrives with a story that contains many, many chapters already written. Students, their family members, our colleagues, administrators, paraprofessionals and teachers themselves all possess their own stories... it's the fractal narrative that each one of us brings to the education table; our personal history. When we weave these narratives, they begin to evolve into a giant, interactive, interesting and engaging story with millions of subplots.

How ironic it is then, that so many of us will feel quite alone as this new school year begins. A new year brings change, and change can make us anxious and stressed, unable to escape from the islands of uncertainty that so many of us feel. But that's the point; we share these feelings. We are not alone. We are living the human condition together and our collective story is a sum total of each one of our individual stories... every chapter that's written. If we can understand and embrace the fact that our stories bind us together, albeit as experienced from each of our unique perspectives, perhaps we can let go of some of the isolation we feel and begin this school year as a mission to hear each other's stories. Doing so will help us see that we are truthfully not alone. We are connected within our networks of learning in ways we don't even realize, and the more we become aware of each other, the more we become aware of our connectedness; how our learning stories are interwoven. We have never been alone in truth, only in perception.

Sharing the stories we have already written opens our eyes to each other and creates opportunities to collaborate on the chapters that have yet to be written this school year... the learning that will take place; the friends we will make; the challenges we will overcome... the tales that will evolve into evidence-based hope that we're on the right track. We shouldn't be writing these stories alone. As we weave our narrative webs together, we emerge ever-closer to the dreams we all possess; the chapters we help each other write.

Perhaps Michael (@ToughLoveforX) said it best today. We were talking about ethical frameworks in education, and particularly about who is responsible for ensuring things are done righteously and responsibly. I have always believed that so much can be gained from people taking personal responsibility for the directions they move. In college I used to write the phrase "if it is to be, it's up to me" inside the cover of each of my notebooks to remind myself of this belief, and to motivate me to keep striving to work harder and be better. In education, the fractal efforts of each single teacher across the system amounts to one massive movement forward toward positive education improvement if every one of us agrees to take this stance. Michael put a spin on the phrase changing it to "if it is to be, it's up to we." Brilliant.

Teachers have to be what they want education to be. We have to talk to each other about improving education, and we have to support each other's efforts in doing that. We have to do this. So much can be accomplished through this collaborative, focused and unified effort. The time some of us spend pointing fingers and complaining about negative influences "beyond our control" would be so much better spent doing good within each of our classrooms, getting results and sharing them as broadly and unapologetically as we can.

We are here in education together; it's happening now. Every class we teach is a new opportunity to embrace now. We need to talk collectively about what we want in education; where we want it to go and what it should be. If it is to be, it's up to we.

Humans Being...

graingered@gmail.com (Sean Grainger) — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 22:44:53 PDT

The path this post travels may seem a little random... that's OK. It's a reflection of how my mind has been working over the last few days as snapshots of insight entered my nemisphere, and what may have seemed unrelated at first, all of a sudden became related.

If you were old enough in the 1960's to be aware of the 60's, you probably know who Barry McGuire is, and even if you don't, if you listen to music at all, you probably have heard this song...

I wasn't old enough to get the 60's, but I am old enough now to reflect on what was going on back then, and music like this helps me do that. I was listening to The Roy Green Show yesterday while driving around, and Barry McGuire was one of his guests. I added him to my list of people I would most want to sit down and have coffee with... a very interesting guy. As he was telling some of his stories he mentioned that a spiritual awakening saved his life back in the day. It was interesting to hear him explain that he was glad to have had Eve of Destruction as his only #1 single because another one would have killed him. The zeitgeist of # 1 singles during that tumultuous time was deadly I guess.

He spoke very eloquently of his personal spiritual awakening that brought him out of the destructive lifestyle he was embroiled in. He mentioned the movie Hidalgo; essentially a movie about a cowboy and the completely trusting relationship he had with his horse. In reference to the movie, he explained a take on the term "human being" that's going to stick with me for sure. If you've seen the movie, you may agree with Barry's interpretation that the horse was representative of animal, and the cowboy of spirit; the spirit is riding the animal... a vessel. He iterated that "human" as in animal, and "being" as in spiritual, can explain allot about how we behave and interact. We are spiritual animals. To describe the social, emotional and psychological mess people may find themselves in, he proclaimed that many simply live in the animal realm for too long. Wow. My mind raced toward thoughts, once again of balance.

We appear to favor dichotomous interpretations of things. Art vs. Science... Body vs. Spirit... Left Brain vs. Right Brain; I think this is damaging our collective ability to move forward as human beings in balance with ourselves, each other and the world.

Jason Silva talks about a sense of revelation... the idea that we are all receivers...

You are a RCVR from jason silva on Vimeo.

Again I think of balance... balance between giving and receiving information, love, support, ideas, care; anything that puts us out there as individual human beings immersed in the vast collection of interconnected human beings on earth. I am a receiver, but I am also a giver... socially, emotionally, professionally and cognitively. I strive to maintain the balance.

Jerry Michalsky talks about divergent disciplines existing on a spherical model as opposed to a linear model. He postulates that we have lost our ability to think of disciplines as synergistic... perhaps the natural state of divergent disciplines that are in balance.

I have written loads about balance. I think about it all the time. I am beginning to see that the perceived chaos that emerges when we combine dichotomous disciplines could be the exact opposite... a natural order of divergent domains that, when viewed over time in a context of balance, become the most orderly and complementary elements. Like the Three Winged Bird Margaret Wheatley describes in her book, Leadership and the New Science, out of chaos, order evolves. The phenomena of the Three Winged Bird is explained in this brief paper by Shelley Rosen. In chaos we are blind to any indication of order. Unstable mathematical systems move randomly in computer models, but over time display a converging shape or pattern referred to as the chaotic strange attractor. Perhaps these strange attractors are manifestations of the balance that eludes us when our perspective sees only conflicting elements. Perhaps we need to view our differences as necessary elements of balanced order... the natural order.

Looking toward nature for examples of this seemingly impossible balance reveals a beauty that is almost unbelievable.

Perhaps even the unbelievable needs to be balanced by the believable... the clarity that comes from believing. Seemingly opposing ideas and disciplines need each other to justify their existence. Everything has an opposite. The place that these opposites collide is where the best ideas emerge, and where our deepest understanding evolves. Accepting the chaos of this disorder is the natural order. This is what hope is all about.

Engaging Classrooms II

graingered@gmail.com (Sean Grainger) — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 01:00:33 PDT

Rule of Engagement #2: Listen to students... if you want them to listen to you. Engaging groups of learners teach each other.

flickr photo via denise carbonell

Some time ago I wrote a post called Engaging Classrooms Manage Themselves. At the time I committed to more on the topic. In a Twitter dialog at #speakchat last week I was reminded of my commitment hence this second installment. By the way, if you're a teacher and you haven't visited #speakchat, it's a fantastic weekly chat to pick up creative tips from others who predominantly speak to audiences of adults; a challenging adventure. (If you've provided professional development for other teachers you know how difficult it can be speaking engagingly to adults.)

As the #speakchat exchange centered around speaking in engaging ways, I began thinking that the quickest way to lose an audience is to focus the conversation on one speaker... I have yet to participate in a successful dialog, with one or many, where participants remain engaged without the opportunity to contribute. Then Todd Whitaker tweeted this point...

ToddWhitaker Todd

If the audience is not engaged then you probably have the wrong speaker!

Based on my belief that successful communication must be multilateral, I agreed with Todd and responded with (abbreviations expanded)...

@graingered Sean Grainger

@ToddWhitaker Totally agree... speakers do that by appreciating audience's input/valuing their knowledge and respecting their experience.

There is nothing worse than an arrogant speaker who approaches dialog as if he was the only one who had anything worthwhile to say. I have attended these lectures before and it is not fun, or engaging. Speakers who suffer from Humility Deficit Disorder have a hard time engaging their audience.

On the other hand, speakers who look to their audience as a group of people with knowledge and expertise that will enhance the conversation more often than not grab the lion's share of their attention. Truly skilled speakers are those who understand they just might come up against an audience member someday who can make them look pretty silly as they project an arrogant tone like "I am the one who knows here, so sit back, listen and learn from me as I blow you mind with my vast knowledge and expertise." That quiet person who knows more and has done more than the speaker will occasionally feel compelled to speak up, and at that point, the sage on the stage is out there, vulnerable and searching for his next move. That's a tight bind to stick-handle out of. Humble pie anyone?

So why not view your audience as an asset as opposed to a liability? W nothy view it as a resource of knowledge and experience instead of just a receiver of your knowledge and experience?

The best way to speak engagingly is to temper how much you speak... let the audience in on the show.

The Alternatives...

graingered@gmail.com (Sean Grainger) — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 18:10:00 PST

flickr photo via David Blaine

The first thirteen years of my teaching career were spent teaching in what are commonly referred to as alternative school environments. I worked for six years in First Nations schools in northern Alberta, and then within the Red Deer Public School District's Alternative School Programs. I learned more than I could imagine about life and learning during every one of those years. I formed a phenomenological perspective that allowed me to see students in a different light, and apply supports that extended beyond teaching. The reality was these kids needed to come to terms with the other stuff in their lives before any learning was going to occur in the traditional school sense.Helping our students come to terms with the other stuff was the essence of the alternative approach to teaching that my colleagues and I practiced. We affectionately referred to ourselves as the "Alternatives."

A former colleague, Kevin Hanrahan explained the alternative philosophy rather eloquently one day before giving all of us a wing-nut to string on our key-chains as a lasting reminder of who we were. He said being alternative is like a wing-nut. A regular nut locks into place and doesn't move; it's rigid and permanent. A wing-nut on the other hand, is designed to easily be moved; adjusted according to the tension required for any particular job. I still have that wing-nut on my key-chain. That's the alternative way.

I came across an excellent example of alternative philosophy at Larry Cuban's blog, Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice. In his post, Narrow Thinking About Health and Schools, Larry introduced me to Dr. Jack Geiger. In 1965 Dr. Geiger prescribed food for hungry kids in the Mississippi Delta understanding that hunger trumps the desire to gain knowledge. He also founded one of the first federally funded community health centers in the United States. Clearly a man who understood that social determinants play an overwhelming role in whether kids learn successfully or not. He got it. He was alternative.

In this excellent post by Liz Dwyer at the GOOD EDUCATION blog, she mentions Sir Ken Robinson's belief that,

change begins at the classroom level. Every teacher has the ability to take the time to build relationships with students, make her classroom an engaging environment, and connect students with real world opportunities in local creative industries and higher education.

This is so close to the entire point that education reform does not need to cost billions; it does not require a silver bullet resource or teaching strategy de jour and it certainly does not require copious amounts of expensive, traditional professional development to ensure we're all on the same page. As Liz Dwyer so honestly and simply states, what ed reform really needs is for Alternative Education to go mainstream. Simply brilliant, and brilliantly simple.

Back in the day when I was teaching with the Alternatives, we used to get asked to explain our strategies and processes during various seminars and workshops. Humble group of educators that we were, we really weren't interested in talking about what we did, but we were very interested in providing opportunities for our students to explain how they benefited from how we did it. I wish I would have filmed even one of those sessions. Our students were honest, and they were real. They took the opportunity to tell the audience what they could do if ever they came across a student like themselves. It wasn't complicated. They told their audience of teachers to listen to their students, especially the ones that were giving them a hard time. They told their audience of teachers that really hurting kids with few or no supports anywhere else who have been let down by so many adults in their lives often give their teachers a really hard time because they want to know which ones can take it. It's a test; a test to find out which ones will still be there for them tomorrow, like a loving family member would be no matter what bad thing had happened. They're looking for the Alternatives.

Our students, every single one of them having been removed from their previous mainstream school environments, told brutally real and visceral stories of how they felt in those mainstream environments, and more importantly how things had changed for them since becoming "alternative." Within minutes, and during every single session we did, tears were flowing among the audience of teachers, some who had taught our kids prior to their alternative placements. Our kids told their stories, and we listened to them, and that was all it really took to get from here to there with them... they simply needed someone to truly listen to them without bias; without judgement and without advice. Their learning paths were theirs alone. It wasn't for us to steer them in any particular direction. Our job was to hold their hands as they traveled their chosen paths. When they took a wrong turn we held their hands even tighter. When they took a right turn, we let go just a little. Over time for so many, we let go completely, but we always made sure they knew we were there for them if they needed us, and we made sure to also lend our support to those teachers who would hold our students hands after they left us.

So there it is. The simplest form of education reform is the authentic caring that comes from a teacher who knows how massive her impact can be within the realm of one classroom, in one school, in one community; a teacher who gets it. A sphere of positive influence grows through simple acts of caring, unconditional support and acceptance from teachers who know this. Kids have this remarkable ability to flesh out which teachers know this.

If you want to be ready when a student chooses you for the test, why don't you try being one of the Alternatives?