An article in the Chicago Tribune caught my attention this week regarding “Fat P.E.”  At least that is what the kids at a suburban Illinois high school call it.  Basically, the students are ability grouped according to results obtained in fitness testing.  Those testing out at a high enough level are allowed to participate in team sports and other elective Physical Education classes.  Students whose current levels of fitness do not meet the minimum fitness standards go into a fitness class that emphasizes personal fitness and allows them to get better at the fitness components that they are lacking.  As they continue through the class, students can re-test and if their fitness levels get to the minimum standards, they can place out into another Physical Education class.

Obviously, you can get a visual of what happened.  As one student said, “It was like a division of the fat kids and the thin kids.”

Let’s take a look a little deeper than the visual.

First, I see both sides of the fence with ability grouping.  I have to say I am a fan in most areas, if it is done right.  You are never going to get students that are exactly on the same level.  There will still be opportunities to have peers “coach up” their classmates and differentiate learning.  However, the one aspect that this program has in its favor, and the one thing that many ability grouped classes don’t allow, is the chance to test out and move up a level.

I know it is not feasible to have a first grader change classrooms every few months because all of sudden the light bulb goes on and they progress through curriculum at a rapid pace.  However, why shouldn’t a student in upper elementary, middle, or high school be allowed to progress up or down a scale when their abilities show they have mastered the standards to a certain level?  Aren’t we holding back some of our students that could really achieve at a high level?  Over time, I have come to dismiss the argument against the “Bluebirds and Buzzards” classrooms.  Ask any student who the “Bluebirds” are in their class and they can tell you.  It is the same for the “Buzzards”.

Back to the “Fat P.E.” concept.  From a Physical Education standpoint, I love this idea, but of course despise the student’s name for it.  Don’t we all really need a certain amount of fitness in our lives?  Even in elementary school, it is sometimes difficult for students with lower fitness levels to keep up with their classmates learning skills, games, and activities.  I can differentiate the individual fitness activities for them, but it is really tough to make a game or activity “slow down” so they can reap the Physical Education benefits.  Middle school and high school students should be able to achieve and maintain a certain level of personal fitness in order to move ahead to team and lifetime sports instruction.  Not only will it enhance personal fitness levels, it will also let the students participate in the activities without their lack of fitness levels impacting learning.

We experimented with this approach at a middle school a few years ago.  One of the teachers in the department approached me with the idea.  Our administration agreed to experiment with the concept.  We utilized the students’ Fitnessgram scores from the early parts of the school year to make the placements in the nine week course.  The results were great.  Students in that course knew why they were in there.  The instructor led them through a variety of cardio, muscular strength/endurance, and flexibility sessions.  Additionally, students received instruction in nutrition.  They supported each other and encouraged their classmates to make better choices, be active, and eat a healthier diet.  At the end of the nine weeks, not only did their fitness levels improve, but many lost weight.  Obviously, some students were not happy to be placed in that class, however, many thanked the teacher at the end for improving their lives.

I don’t know if “Fat P.E.” will catch on, but I do think it is a concept worth investigating.  If we can get a better name and remove any stigmas associated with it, the fitness levels of our students may increase.  In turn, they should make better choices as adults and facilitate reversing the trend toward obesity.

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courtesy AP/CBS photos

Tributes for teachers during Teacher Appreciation Week are appreciated coming just as the school year comes to a close, when very tired teachers are looking back to see student progress over the past eight months. Many of the tributes are touching, and some are comical. Comedy was the intent of the The Late Show with David Letterman, when the producers invited ten (10)  Teach For America teachers to deliver Letterman’s Top Ten List. In introducing the selected ten teachers, Letterman prefaced the performance with his own tribute,

“My God! If there is a future, it is in the hands of our teachers doing thankless work day after day (APPLAUSE) …..and by the way thankless is the wrong word we should be grateful, eternally grateful, for the work these people do…”

After his heart-felt introduction, each of the ten Teach for American teachers stepped forward to deliver their entry on the list:

The Top 10 Reasons I Decided to Become a Teacher

• 10. I hope to live up to the teachers who inspired me. . .like Ms. What’s Her Name
• 9. It’s no fun saying the Pledge of Allegiance every day by myself.
• 8. Honestly, I didn’t pay much attention the first time through school.
• 7. Kids need to know the moon landing was faked. 
• 6. If I could make a difference in just one student’s life–well, that wouldn’t be a very good average. 
• 5. The glamour. 
• 4. You work long hours, but at least the pay is bad.
• 3. Hoping to teach in an all song-and-dance high school, like on “Glee.” 
• 2. In the summer, I can watch all you losers go to the office. 
• 1. I want to help kids talk good. 

This very funny video (click here) was posted on the Teach for America website, listing participating teachers as members of the Class of ’13. Teach for America is a not for profit organization established in 1990 under a proposal by Wendy Kopp. The original objective is explained on their website:

We recruit a diverse group of leaders with a record of achievement who work to expand educational opportunity, starting by teaching for two years in a low-income community.

Teach for America sent 500 teachers to low-income schools in its first year. To date, over 33,000 have completed the program, however, Teach for America has come under some criticism for the “temporary” nature of the assignments. Two years of teaching is not enough, argued Dave Greene in an editorial featured in the New York Times (4/30/13), “Invitation to a Dialogue: The Art of Teaching”:

Corps members should intern for a year under the supervision of a talented mentor teacher, then teach for at least four years, not two. That may discourage some. Good. We want career teachers. A “temp” work force does not improve education or erase the achievement gap. Rather it helps to create havoc in schools desperately trying to gain stability, a key factor in any school’s success.

Green explained that he has served in the past as a mentor to Teach for America corps members, and that he has seen their “tears, anxieties, heartaches, successes and achievements.” He claims, however, that the preparation for these teachers now includes “simple, formulaic scripts” instead of letting these teachers be “creative, independent, spontaneous, practical and rule-bending.” He noted:

Scripts and rules and models strictly followed cannot replace what the best teachers have: practical wisdom. In our anti-teacher world and scripted teaching climate perpetuated by corporate reformers, what room is there for the teachers we want for our kids?

Green cautioned that the today’s Teach for America has “morphed into more of a leadership institute”, with too little classroom experience to inform the members as they move quickly from the classroom into higher levels in education administration and in educational reform.

Letterman’s producers must be applauded for focusing attention on teachers during Teacher Appreciation Week, but in the future, they might consider a different group to represent teachers. Perhaps they could recruit seasoned veteran teachers who made this career choice, or if new teachers are what they want, they might look to spotlight new teachers who do not have the benefits of training and continuing support from Teach for America. Or, they might look to recruit the teacher described below in a letter published in the NYTimes written by Derl Clausen, a high school student, in a response to Greene’s editorial:

He walks in five minutes late to first period, half-shaven, cup of coffee in hand. He walks over to the white board, his stage, puts his coffee down, and looks into the eyes of every student. He’s not given the best students, and so his standardized test scores are average. Instead, they leave with something more; they leave inspired.

He tells them about life: the challenges, the problems, the reason he’s half-shaven. He turns “Romeo and Juliet” into a lesson on love, algebra into a philosophy discussion, and science into an art appreciation class. Vocabulary, equations and historical dates will enter and leave children’s memories, but the inspiration, motivation and wisdom that he gives them will remain throughout their lives.

It’s that teacher who is worth the five-minute wait, the smell of coffee — and if anyone questions his half-shaven beard, he’ll learn a whole lot more about life.

Clausen’s describes a teacher who goes “off script”, a teacher that fits Greene’s observation that, “Often it is the least orthodox teacher who most engages and excites students.” Clausen’s portrait could be a choice worth of a Top Ten List, or maybe even a guest appearance. Clausen and the half-shaved teacher as guests on The Late Show with David Letterman for Teacher Appreciation Week 2014? Not a satirical list, but one real teacher-student relationship as part of a Teacher Appreciation Week “Top Ten”.

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This summer, try to work on these 5 areas, and next year will be the year your professional life blooms into something fresh and invigorating!

• Plan Ahead.  All teachers spend time planning, but this summer, think about your entire year next year.  Backwards plan from the end of the coming school year so that you have calendars made out with at least the units you will need.  Your school should release next year’s calendar so you can even plan around breaks, conferences and other scheduling issues.  Planning ahead will also give you room to up your game to new skill levels.

For instance, knowing all your plans allows you to start thinking about flipping your classroom – preparing ahead for digital pre-work and classroom hands-on time.   Flipping your classroom – even partially – will engage new technology, important content, and student choice into a brand new form of teaching for you.  Just this change will enhance your expertise, give you opportunities to be a leader with your colleagues, and open doors for you to teach beyond your own classroom.

• Update that Resume!  Teachers often neglect their resumes.  The nature of the profession is such that most teachers land a job, and then stay comfortably within that school for years.  There is often no need to keep an updated resume …until the last few years, when an education career became much more unpredictable.  Even if you feel secure in your job, spend some time updating your resume.  If you start expanding your professional life, you will find new uses for it and new items to add to it.  Don’t forget to list your various skill sets and levels of expertise.  Include professional development you have done or taught yourself.  Consider how you may have added to your education since the last time you updated the resume.  All of these things prepare you as a professional to have a context for your career

• Network!  Most teachers are by now at least engaging with social networking through Facebook.  But now is the time to start using social networking to your professional advantage:

• Take some time this summer to start or update your LinkedIn profile.  Beef it up with a list of your skills and your accomplishments.  Find connections and link up with other professionals, even those who might not necessarily be in education.  You never know where your connections may lead you!  You will also benefit greatly should you have the unfortunate experience of losing your position.  Connections already in place will make a huge difference for your continued work in the field.

• If you are not already on Twitter – join up!  There are vibrant education discussions take place on a daily basis on Twitter.  Conversations and connections with educators around the country will not only give you fresh ideas, but you will be able to share your own expertise!  Start with following writers and news leaders that will give you new information.  A great hashtag to follow is #edchat, where educators of all varieties gather to share ideas.

Other networks are out there as well – take some time this summer to build your online professional life.  From now on, it will be as important as your brick-and-mortar professional self – maybe even more so.  It is time to step up your online presence and give your professionalism a digital boost!

• Join Up!  If you are not already a member of at least two professional organizations, now is the time to join.  Most schools and districts don’t spend a lot of time exposing their teachers to professional organizations.  In fact, most of the time, teachers remain very isolated from other educators in their field except those in their own districts.  Professional organizations give you fresh materials, expose you to new writings in content and pedagogy, and connect you to a broader world of education.  Start with broader associations, like the ASCD, and then look for the professional organizations in your own content area.  The annual fee will be well worth your time when you get the opportunity to attend conferences, receive new materials, and connect with experts in the field.  Being a member of a professional organization will enhance your professional life in numerous ways, and will give you more opportunities to be the best educator you can be.

• Attend and Present!  Speaking of conferences…. This summer, make it your goal to attend at least one professional conference next year.  If you haven’t done this in a while, prepare this summer by looking into upcoming conferences and finding out if your district has a policy to support you financially to attend.  Even if it doesn’t, think about ways you can attend anyway: by finding one in your area so you don’t have to travel far, or going in with other educators.

If you already regularly attend conferences, now is the time to up your game!  This summer make it your goal to submit at least one proposal to speak at a conference.  Conferences are always soliciting for presenters that can add to the diversity of voices on their platform.  Conquer your fears and share your expertise with your colleagues and others!  Another way to do this is to lead a professional development among your peers in your own learning community.  Begin to teach others in your field, and you will become an even better teacher.

It’s time for you to expand your sphere of influence, and to take ownership of your professional life.   Use this summer to rest and rejuvenate.  But also make it the summer you begin to extend your own career possibilities and start thinking outside the classroom!

The post 5 Ways to Use this Summer Break to Elevate your Professional Life! appeared first on The Educator's Room.

Many of my articles revolve around teachers and students, and I fear that I am redundant at times.  But then I have to remember that I am writing about school experiences that include teachers and students; among whom there is never a dull moment. One thing I am sure about when it comes to being redundant is that teachers feel as though they constantly repeat themselves, and the students often feel the same way. Most times, teachers have to repeat themselves because the young children of tomorrow do not listen to us. Many of us teachers do mean well when we try to explain to the young people that what they do now will affect them in the future. If I could go back in time, there are so many things that I would do differently. However, as a Christian, I believe that God has ordered my steps, and in Christ there is no such thing as coincidences or untimely decisions; rather there are appointments. That belief fuels my philosophy that while we have choices in our lives, the choices we make are the ones we’re destined to make. It is like the situation that came up in the Matrix Reloaded.

At the climactic moment of the movie, the lead character, Neo, reached the Architect – creator of the matrix – and he had a decision to make: either save Zion (the last remaining city of humans) or save Trinity, the love of his life (I apologize for the Matrix reference for those of you that never saw any of the movies). The Architect said to Neo that he had a choice to make but that they both knew what decision it would be – to save Trinity. The insinuation was that Zion would be lost because of Neo’s “selfish” decision to risk the lives of many for the life of one, rather than do the inverse. Neo’s choice ultimately did not cost Zion: he eventually saved Zion, but it cost him his life. In the same way, our students make decisions, that may be selfish, that don’t necessarily prevent them from the opportunity to accomplish something, but it may cost them more. Had Neo saved Zion initially, he may have lost Trinity, but he would have been able to enjoy a liberated Zion. Instead, although he saved Zion, both he and Trinity died in the process.

Moment of the Week

One of the good things that my school district provides students is SAT prep for our high school sophomores and juniors. Our district pays the Princeton Review to come to our school to teach the SAT prep classes and administer 5 diagnostic test so that student can track progress and mark their improvement; of course all of this is so they can do well on SAT. Many of the students work hard and take these diagnostic tests seriously and some do not. I was doing lunch duty this week and one of my students showed me her scores and she was upset that some of her scores went down. I tried to encourage her and she responded in a positive way by being negative regarding a few of her classmates, if that makes sense. She told me that a number of students had low scores: 200 level scores in various sections of the SAT. I didn’t believe it until I saw it for myself.

I was absolutely disappointed in those students. A number of those very students are in my U.S. History class in the mornings, so on Thursday, I decided that I would address the class on the issue and I did so; you could hear a pin drop as I was talking. I essentially told them that if any of them had an “I don’t care attitude,” they really ought to discard that way of thinking. I asked them to look at their parents and families; specifically their mistakes, and their frustration and displeasure towards them for how they (the students) pay for the mistakes of their parents and families in the struggles they face from day to day… I told them that if they didn’t start caring soon, they would be in serious danger of repeating the cycles of poverty and devastation in their lives moving forward and in the lives of their future children. I hope the message wasn’t a redundant one.

Lesson of the Week

I am guilty of having that very attitude at times; the “I don’t care” mindset where I’ll just do what I think is best and deal with the consequences later. I had that attitude in high school until something went off in my brain and I decided it was time to get serious. I suppose that has to happen for all individuals. Yet when you grow up in a messed up situation, your environment can depress you into giving up and no longer caring because it is thought that no one cares for you. The same can be said true for growing up in even the best of circumstances. You can know that folks care about you, but it feels as though they care more about who you become rather than who you really are. Not caring may feel good at the moment but it could be very detrimental. Whether you are a student or a teacher, having that attitude does nothing for your progression. If no one else believes in you or motivates you, you must believe in and motivate yourself. Your survival depends on it. That is not a redundant message, it is a necessary one.

The post The Necessity of Redundancy about our Students (Charter School Diaries #19) appeared first on The Educator's Room.

1 – What are 2-3 of the big educational issues in your state?

The two largest issues in Pennsylvania’s education continue to be the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) and the pension crisis.

The former has caused quite a calamity as our common assessment, and should be replaced by the new Keystone Exam in rolling fashion. Students will have to pass multiple Keystones in each subject area to graduate.

The pension crisis is the top issue right now for not just education, but the state. During the 90’s and 2000’s, Govs. Tom Ridge and Ed Rendell contributed nearly nothing to our growing retirement plan (that’s very effectively run), thinking it would satisfy itself with its own growth market. When the economy tanked in 2007-08, so did our pension program, since it had been unfunded by the government for the past 6 years or so, depending on whom one talks to. Current Gov. Tom Corbett’s proposals are very high-risk, high-reward for him politically, and currently he’s fighting an upward battle.

2 – How do your elected officials view education?

Overall, our state values education. Depending on your poll, we’re either 5^th or 6^th in educational achievement in the nation. Our governor’s first job was as a teacher (albeit for 1 year) and our state union overwhelmingly voted for the sitting Republican (52% of PSEA ballots cast were in his favor), but he’s fallen out of favor since with the pension issue, 14,000 Pennsylvania teachers losing their jobs, and his attempt to shore up $1 billion in funding for education by selling off the state’s liquor stores on similar empty promises that were made with gambling about 8 years ago.

3 – How would you view the public’s view of your state’s education?

Very high and positive in the suburbs, very low and negative in the cities. Reading, Philadelphia, Harrisburg, York, Chester, Duquesne, and some less populated rural schools are in serious achievement and financial struggles. Harrisburg and York teachers were actually required to vote on 20% and 40% reductions in pay this week.

4 – What would teachers say about your state’s education?

Teachers are very proud of Pennsylvania’s history and future. However, there are many question marks going forward for young Pennsylvania teachers, as though we have one of the greatest output of teachers in the Northeast, there currently are many teachers fighting to find a job.

The post The State of Education: Pennsylvania, PSSA and Pension appeared first on The Educator's Room.

This is our time to consider what went well and what didn’t, a time to ask what strategies we wished we had used more often and to make our plans on how we can be sure that we incorporate them in the future. This is when we think about what our students’ weaknesses were and how we will address those weaknesses next year. This is the time to think what direction we would like to take our own professional development this summer.

This year I was pleased with the use of interactive notebooks. My students tell me that this was a good way for them to stay focused on content and that incorporating three-dimensional graphic organizers helped them to organize their thoughts. When we were reviewing content for the state test, notebooks were referred to often.

Next year, I want to require my students to include more written reflection about their learning. It was too easy this year to give in to the feeling of begin rushed and I didn’t take the time to have students do this. I feel that I missed the chance to help them to deepen their understanding and to make learning connections.

I still haven’t really had the chance to dig into the books I purchased at the National Science Teacher Association Conference in April, and I want to make sure I find time to that this summer. Discrepant events are such a great way to ignite student interest and the Brain-Powered Science books by Thomas O’Brien are going to be a great resource. Another idea I want to learn more about comes from a tech listserve I belong to that discussed the 20% Project. As I currently understand it, I would allow my students 20% of their class time to be focused on researching those science topics about which they are most passionate.

This idea intrigues me. I want to learn more about it and have already made my online book order for Drive by Daniel Pink, a book that looks at the forces that actually motivate people. I think I’ll be adding Punished by Rewards by Alfie Kohn, a book that examines how we motivate students and the unintended consequences of rewards and praise in the class room.

As I was already planning to require my students to participate in the Seimens We Can Change the World Challenge or the Dupont Challenge this next year, I think the 20% Project idea will dovetail nicely. Both of these contests allow students to determine the focus of their project. I love it when things come together!

So what went well for you? What wasn’t successful and why do you think that happened? Can you fix it or do you need to let it go? What’s caught your attention this year that you haven’t had the time to follow-up on yet? Are you going to work on deepening your content understanding this summer or is it going to be about sharpening your teaching strategies?

As we transition into summer, we need to remember that teaching is always a dynamic endeavor of balancing short-term needs against long-term goals. Even as we focus on the needs of our still here-and-now students, it is important to consider what we as teachers need to do to prepare for the students yet-to-come. So in these last few days, find the time to think about what you’ve done this year as you consider what you would like to accomplish next year.

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School bus (noun) – (1) A bus that transports students from home to school, school to home, or to school-sponsored events; (2) a typically yellow-colored vehicle designed to deliver students on their school-related travels; (3) a place under which teachers can throw one another.

I’m often amazed at how often teachers commit to definition 3. Why? There are many fantastic teachers who excel at building self-esteem in students, making positive impacts in the community, and standing behind a quality administrator and his/her vision. Yet instead of building up the perceived lackluster and/or lightning rod teacher across the hallway, we instead throw our colleague under the bus.

That’s not to say all or even a majority of teachers so willingly backstab one another. However, in a profession that teaches students how to think, learn, and interact with one another, one teacher who commits such blatant disregard for others in their profession is one too many.

 Maybe this is a recent phenomenon for education. The anti-teacher sentiment has grown by leaps and bounds over the past decade. With budget cuts and the loss of teaching jobs – an estimated 350,000 over the last 4 years (20,000 of them in my home state of Pennsylvania), teachers have felt like they are being pitted against one another for jobs. Those remaining jobs go through a tumult and turbulent trial of seniority, performance, or politics. With the growing emphasis of testing and now some teacher evaluations being put in place across the states, that Teacher vs. Teacher mentality is growing.

 And maybe this sentiment is not recent. As a 7^th year teacher, I’m not privy to the history of the feelings festering in the faculty room, but more experienced colleagues of mine have said that though this type of teacher-bashing has always existed, it has steadily increased.

Maybe the disregard isn’t solely in education, either. Americans, as a whole, have been fiercely independent and dog-eat-dog throughout our history. Most recently, economic recession (or depression?) has caused many firms and their employees to behave in a similar combative manner. Americans have always been filled with fight, but, more recently, American workers are often looking to downplay the contributions of any member of our society, from our dinner server to our Senator in Washington D.C.

I’ve found that this doesn’t just occur generically, either. There has been a situation or two where I’ve asked myself about my own professional priorities. My behavior has, in hindsight, been somewhat deplorable and embarrassing. I slowly became self-aware as to how I was quick to both judge and dismiss other teachers’ problems and plights instead of jumping in and offering my help. I was disappointed in myself at how my actions towards my colleagues were the complete antithesis to my actions towards the students that I care about.

With them in mind, it mathematically makes sense to help our colleagues so they can help other students. The average elementary teacher will impact approximately 25 students for 35 years, which amounts to nearly 1,000 students’ worth of influence in a lifetime. The average secondary teacher will impact nearly 5,000 students in a lifetime. If each of those incredible teachers helps a colleague or two in a similar manner, teachers would double – if not triple – the impact and imprint of our dutiful lesson plans, leadership, and lifelong learning.

There are many problems in education – many of which we cannot fix. However a careful poll of 20% of my union colleagues revealed the greatest issues that we face include a decreasing morale and a lack of recognition. This is one thing that a tectonic shift in teachers’ attitudes can revolutionize.

So the next time that school bus parks in front of your classroom window, look out and think about how you define its purpose. Do you look at the bus and think about how you can chuck the colleague across the hall who you share constant conflict? Or, instead, do you see it as a vehicle of learning?

The post Throwing Each Other Under the Bus – Where has Mutual Teacher Support Gone? appeared first on The Educator's Room.

I had no clue that this week was teacher appreciation week. As a matter of fact, I thought Tuesday was the only day for teacher appreciation. My wife actually informed me that it was an entire week. I had no idea. Either way, I was glad to hear that there was actually a week to appreciate teachers; however I think that it is safe to say that few teachers were appreciated this week, and every day… I mean the good teachers.

A few thoughts on the appreciation of teachers… America is a society of factions; it always has been and always will be. We love calling ourselves a “melting pot,” but we’re more like a mixed bag. The reality is that we are recognizable by our categorizations. Working class folks are big on unions. Teachers are big on unions. Unions protect both the innocent and the guilty from injustices levied by the powers that be. Regardless of the recent extraordinary attacks on teachers by the public and politicians, there is some truth in their claims that teachers are failing students… some teachers. The fact of the matter is that there are Benpoor teachers and unions, as well as tenure, protect these piss poor teachers in addition to protecting the good ones and if we could rid the world of bad teachers, public education in America may be better. But my message to the public and politicians is that there are bad apples in all walks of life. There are bad politicians, but I certainly do not see them rushing to rid themselves of their colleagues or of the perks of being a politician. No one is calling for the heads of those on Wall Street who screwed many Americans out of millions – politicians would have you believe that teachers are stealing money from the people… yet few of them take aim at the real crooks on Wall Street for stealing the money of the people and many American are too narrow minded to use their own brains to reach their own conclusions and they choose to believe what some politician or pundit says.

That was just a blanket statement. All politicians aren’t like that, but if we could start all over, I wouldn’t mind. Yet that is not using sound judgment; to get rid of all politicians would prevent the good politicians from working on behalf of their constituents. The same is true with teachers; to get rid of all of them would be reckless. So rather than focus on the piss poor teachers all of the time, celebrate the good teachers that you know. A colleague of mine tried to do that this week with an email. He embellished a little, but it was done in good faith; in an attempt to boost teacher morale. One of my teacher colleagues didn’t seem to think so.

Moment of the Week

I spoke with my colleague who is the director of our guidance office and he told me that he was going to send out a nice email and provide the teachers with bagels, coffee and donuts – mind you none of the principals did that in his building. In his email, he mentioned a number of teachers for their exceptional work and he left out others. One teacher that was not mentioned in my colleague’s email letter to the faculty took exception to the letter. It just so happens that the director of guidance cc’ed me on his response to that teacher, so I know what my teacher colleague said to the director and he said, “If you cannot mention all teachers, then you shouldn’t mention any.” Like I said, the director of guidance responded accordingly and my teacher colleague followed up in kind saying, “Not really worth arguing about. I just felt the letter was extremely self serving and in the end, ends up hurting more teachers then it helps. The feedback I’m getting from the teachers (in our building) is that the letter was not well received and many teachers felt it to be shameless. Sorry.”

Lesson of the Week

It has been a tough year for the teachers in our district. Our larger high school is the most problematic school and at the beginning of the year the school lost its principal – someone who I thought was not a good match for the school to begin with but I digress. The teachers in that school have received little to no support, all of the teachers in our district have received poor quality professional development, for half the year our district has been telling us to teach to the test and the administrators are either overworked, incapable of doing their jobs or they are reassigned if they do their jobs well. Our teachers have been through it. We’ve got a lot of young inexperienced teachers who are frustrated with teaching and also many grizzled veterans who just want to make it out alive each day. In the problematic high school in our district, the administrators did little to nothing to recognize teacher appreciation. The director of guidance was compelled to appreciate the teachers because he understood the tough year the teachers had and he also knew that it was messed up that no administrator stepped up to recognize them. Could he have not written a letter that recognized certain teachers and either said everyone or no one, of course he could have. Could my teacher colleague, and other teachers, not have taken it personal that their names weren’t mentioned in a district-wide email, most certainly.

There are a lot of ways in which teachers are disrespected in society – teachers are indeed under attack. But we cannot be so engaged in defending ourselves, that we cannot distinguish live bullets from blanks. Sometimes, it’s okay to give folks the benefit of the doubt; everything isn’t an attack and while people must be mindful of the ways messages can be perceived, we must also be careful to distinguish how messages sound and the intention behind the message.

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Digital Yearbook

Have students brainstorm a list of the topics, projects, units and activities that you have done throughout the year in class.  It is helpful to organize these by month.  If your students keep a daily agenda or you have a classroom blog or calendar those are good reminders and helpful guides.  Next, select one or two items from the list and write paragraphs telling them.  This is a good time to remind students about word choice and sentence fluency. When the paragraphs are completed, have students type these into PowerPoint.  You can have each student create their own version or you can compile them into a class project. Add classroom photos from the year.  These can be pulled from your blog or added from your classroom resource.  Finally, email these to families so students have a digital yearbook of their classroom experiences.  These are also great for last day presentations.

Future Self

Talk about the topics and big ideas you covered during the year.  Have students think about what they want to do when they grow up.  Challenge them to think of something you learned this year that sparks a career interest.  Next, have students to brainstorm a list of possibilities and then select one career from the list they think they may want to do when they grow up. Ask students to answer these questions about their future career:

1. What can you do this summer that is related to your career?
2. What tools will you use in your career?
3. What schooling will you need for your career?
4. Who do you know that has this career now?
5. What did you learn this year that will help you with this career?

Use a cube template or cut 4X4 squares of construction paper for students to tape together.  Each student will need 6 squares to organize into a cube net.  On each square write or draw pictures to answer the questions from above leaving one square for their name and career choice.  Tape or glue these together when they are complete.  If you have an old empty frame, have each student write their future career on a strip of paper.  Tape it to the edge of the frame and take a picture of each student holding the frame so their face appears in the middle.

Playground Math

This one is open-ended.  Take chalk outside and have students work math problems on the cement or playground.  Practice math facts and create number lines.  Place decimals, fractions, and whole numbers along the lines.  Give them anything they can do inside on a piece of notebook paper–just do it outside!

Relay Race

Think about tasks or steps you can break down.  Take students outside and divide them into groups.  Set a whiteboard and maker station for each group.  Give the group a challenge.  They must complete all of the work on the board one member at a time.  For example, provide a multiple step story problem for each group to read together.  The first person must run down and complete the first part of the problem.  They then return and another member runs down to complete the second part.  They continue until they have an answer and label.  For language, give students a topic and they must write a group story or poem.  The first person runs down and write the first sentence or line.  The second person runs down to complete the second and so on.  Teaching science, give them a diagram challenge.  Each player must draw or label part of a diagram.  Anything that can be broken into steps or parts can be used for a relay race.

The end of the year is always a delicate balance between having fun, reflecting on the year, and keeping things under control while continuing to learn.  Next week we will have our last week of school.  I plan to keep my kids busy thinking and learning with these activities.  What are you going to do?

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courtesy ASCD

I was lucky enough to go through my MAT training (about 10 years ago) with a program that used Wiggins & McTighe’s Understanding by Design as the model for planning.  Now their new release, Essential Questions: Opening Doors to Student Understanding, takes educators one step further into truly authentic teaching for understanding.

The comprehensive backwards planning model in Understanding by Design taught me how to engage my students with essential questions, and to turn my classroom into a place of inquiry and a search for understanding.  In the ten years since I initially learned how to do this, my planning skills have continued to build upon the ideas I learned from McTighe and Wiggins.  Essential Questions, however, is a fresh burst of inquiry energy: it provides even deeper examination of what an essential question truly is; it gives practical and straightforward applications, and it discusses how to establish a truly inquiry-based classroom (no matter the age of your students).

McTighe and Wiggins jump right in with a break down of what an essential question truly is… and isn’t.  The three elements of “essential” have meaning when it comes to planning: its “important” or “timeless” qualities; its “elemental” or “foundational” nature; and how it is vital for personal understanding.  Framing a question for inquiry must balance these ides of “essential” so that understanding arises out of true critical thinking. In this first section, teachers can read detailed descriptions of the kinds of questions that are essential and those that are not.  Plentiful with examples, the authors show how a true essential question is meant to create a long-standing point of inquiry for students to return to as they work towards understanding.

The reader is not left wondering about the purpose of using essential questions; the authors spend an entire chapter discussing the why of this design.  If you are an educator seeking ways to not only encourage critical and metacognitive thinking for your students, but also to provide a platform on which they take the lead in their own learning, using essential questions as a framework for teaching is the key.   The additional benefits are numerous: using inquiry-based questions allows for more intra- and interdisciplinary connections, supports meaningful differentiation and provides a way to model metacognition.  In these days of rote testing preparation, igniting your units with essential questions can turn that test preparation into a dynamic process for your students.

But how, exactly, do I design an essential question that works? you ask.  Never fear: the how is provided in detailed examples and suggestions for teachers of all levels and subjects.  This section reenergized me.  I recently began writing curriculum for online learning, and one thing remains clear: the underlying question is what lays the foundation for how an independent learner will gain true understanding, just as it does in a classroom.  Breaking down the parts of the “overarching question,” and then learning how to build from that to “topical essential questions” gives the reader a way to visualize how to scaffold lessons with complimentary lines of inquiry.

The authors go on to provide detailed and helpful modeling on how to use the questions you have designed.  I encourage you as you read, to lay out your unit plans and begin to redesign them with essential questions as you learn how to more carefully do this.  Once you do, you will see the application of those questions come alive as the authors explain in a variety of examples how the questions can become a dynamic part of your teaching habits.  Providing your students with the experience of more than one answer, of no “one right” answer, and of learning by asking more questions will invigorate classroom discussion and student work.

An essential question can be the very key to creating a deeper dialogue between the students as they grapple for understanding of the topic.  I have already written about how to create a Socratic Discussion in the classroom, but this is only one example of how this method of design can juice up the “hands-on” atmosphere of inquiry for students.  Too often the use of text gets molded into simple guiding questions where students only pull out the facts necessary to respond to questions.  Using text as the basis for an essential question and then engaging in a Socratic model brings students to the next level, where they must create understanding with each other through wrestling with the question.

The authors provide for almost every scenario and concern a teacher might have – they offer examples of how to create and use essential questions in all subject areas and in challenging situations.  Even in courses where factual material is the core of the content, like mathematics or world languages, the authors provide a way to use essential questions for strategy, rather than skill.

There are all kinds of influences distracting students from engaging in deeper understanding.  But, as the authors note, the culture of our classrooms can outweigh the pressures from outside.  As students engage in dynamic inquiry, their desire to learn will be reflected in your classroom environment, but you have to create that environment by establishing explicit patterns and behaviors:

“Here is our maxim about establishing a culture for productive inquiry: walk the talk.  If you want thinking and inquiry, you have to ensure that they are required, not optional, vis-à-vis activities, assignments, and assessments.  Merely posing questions…will do little to advance the goal and culture of inquiry.  Furthermore, because we are wise to presume that students believe that school learning is simply content acquisition and testing, it will be critical to establish explicit time for inquiry into vital questions.”  (p. 85)

Packed with straightforward explanations, instructions, examples and rubrics, Essential Questions will help you level up your game and re-energize your planning.  It would be a great summer read as you begin to consider a fresh approach for next year.  If you’re switching up to a flipped or blended classroom, the guidance in this book will help you design truly meaningful lessons within the technology you’ll be using.  McTighe and Wiggins have once again given teachers a higher goal to reach for, and teachers now have a second, more in-depth model from which to design their inquiry-based classrooms.

Disclaimer: This book was provided to The Educator’s Room free of charge by the publisher.  However, neither The Educator’s Room nor the reviewer received any compensation for this review.  The opinions contained in this review are those of the reviewer alone and were written free of any obligation or agreement with the publisher.  If you have any questions regarding book reviews, see our full disclaimer or contact the Book Review Editor.

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