Homework or No Homework; Good Question

Over the past several weeks a topic has been prevalent through many levels of conversation. At school, home, work, news outlets, Twitter, Linkedin, Facebook and professional development. Many parents, professionals, educators, and legislators have been struggling with the concept of homework.
What should be done, and how?

For many years it was common place for children to come home from school, and with a parent's help, sit at the kitchen table or go to a desk in their room and complete multiple assignments to be turned in the next day to multiple teachers. Days were simpler thirty years ago; Dad worked outside the home, Mom was at home as a homemaker, school day ended, work day ended, people ate together, there were fewer distractions, three channels on the television, no cell phones or computers, children could sit for longer periods of time focused on objectives, play outside was done when homework was finished, and most children played until parents called them in. Life has changed! Family has changed. The world has changed. Education has changed with it. Social evolution or de-evolution has brought about the need to adapt to changing social pressures or be left as obsolete; ask the 3.5 floppy disc!

The answer is really quite simple. Homework must have a true purpose, it must be concise and review concepts covered. Projects that are assigned need to be given ample time for completion. Many children will not have adults to guide them at home.  Homework cannot be busy work or mundane. If you asked one essential question for students to ponder,  you may get more interest than if you give a worksheet covering the same material!

Bartmas Blurb #37

“Change”

People fear change, they avoid it; they even get rid of it when it is in their pocket or purse! There are different definitions of change, but the one that affects us most in education is the change of approaches towards education. Human beings love habit. People love comfort. We all tend toward the status quo. Change is inevitable, so why do we fear or resist it so much? Change is HARD!

I have a friend and a colleague that placed all of his change in the console in his car. He would keep it there until it was full, and then scoop it out and take it the bank to cash in. This would almost always equal ninety dollars! Change can pay off! If we all look back at when we grew the most, it was probably because a change forced us to. In education we see the same fear or resistance to change. As we are entering the digital transformation of education we are facing change.  Many educators, administrators and classroom teachers, fear the openness of the new frontier. The change we are part of is exciting to some…but fearsome to others. Our ability to now have information at our fingertips has changed the paradigm of learning. We are no longer the presenters of all knowledge that is important! Teachers and administrators must get comfortable being directors of digital learning, while incorporating other methods that will engage students while in the classrooms.

The transformation of how information is disseminated has changed where and how I get my information. I no longer trudge through professional journals or books. I scan my Twitter feed, and LinkedIn groups to see what others are finding, and writing. I then peruse the ones that garner attention, and pass information on to my colleagues. The teachers in our building are sometimes inundated with multiple articles a night! Technology is not the silver bullet to education! If there is a silver bullet in education, it would be adaption to change! We need to be eclectic in our approach, accept change at what it is; if it improves the student’s experience, use it. If it doesn’t, cast it aside and move on. Students today do not need us telling them in lectures how the colonies were started, the parts of a cell, how to write a narrative, or simple geometry. They can access that information with a few clicks. The more important aspect of education will be, how do they apply the information to make it transformational?

Don’t fear change; embrace it!

Eclectic Education

BartmasBlurb#36

“Eclectic Education”

What is, “eclectic education?” In today’s world of education there are all kinds of catch phrases, and new ideas. Many educators that have been teaching for twenty plus years can tell you that many of these new practices are just old ideas that have been repackaged, reworded, or reworked. The pendulum continues to swing in education. We once again are data directed, but there is a concerted effort to continue to do this along with college and career readiness and problem solving. How can we stop the pendulum?

I may have coined a new word, but I am sure there is educational theory and theorists that word say, “been there, done that.”  How can we in this new age of technology education adapt all the theories into one massive warehouse of knowledge that connects teacher-student-parent-learning. With all the variables that are involved in the vested parties, there WILL NOT be one technique or theory that fits all of them at the same time. In this newly coined phrase, “eclectic education,” we will take what works for each student-teacher-parent and adapt all of the pieces into a plan of differentiation that create a backflow of curiosity within the child. You may liken it to how many decorate their homes. Many have a main style, but mingled in are hints of other tastes or design elements. Some even are so differentiated in their home design that there is no discernable style, but to call it eclectic!

A student’s daily experience in school and at home should be one of different experiences and discoveries. Teachers that are the most successful in their classrooms and with children are the ones that offer many different experiences and exposures to knowledge throughout the day. There are activities that are project-based, technology-focused, text-centered, stations, mini-lessons, games, etc. These classrooms have students that are engaged and are a hub or hive of activity and learning noise. An eclectic classroom would have minimal worksheets and busy work. An eclectic teacher should be data directed, but not be data driven. An eclectic teacher should be aware of the standards, but not tied only to them. Data and standards have so confined us that teachers are no longer comfortable varying from them. The standards in our plan are the basic strands of knowledge that are expected for mastery by a specific grade level. Our goals for our students should be much more vast than the bits and pieces of standards that have been placed in our states’ guidelines.

In our school we are approaching the end of the first nine-week grading period. Our state opted out of the common core standards and created their own college and career readiness standards. The amazing point is that even though the verbiage has changed, the majority of what we are expecting at the base level out of students has not. Teachers that are mapping their out their weeks are finding that they have a little more flexibility to guide their instruction in logical sequence of skills instead of an awkward flow that existed previously. Even though they may not match the quarterly assessments that we take perfectly this first year, our teachers are finding that by the end of the year all of the requirements will be fulfilled and their students will be ready for the state standardized test. Our teachers may be taking different routes, but they will reach their destination!

BartmasBlurb#35

EdCamp: Fire side with educators

As an educator of twenty-eight years I have had many bad experiences with professional developments and a few positives ones. The ones that were most enticing and usable were ones that I had a direct buy-in to utilize in my classroom. The ones that bothered me were ones in which I was being sold some new silver bullet that would solve all my classroom needs at the low, low cost of…you name the price! Others that were negative in experience were ones that the state or local school entity was telling me I needed to use. Teachers are professionals, and need to be able to take ownership in changing the face of education. They are on the forefront of the problem solving that takes place in the classroom, and affects students directly. EdCamp is a game changer in this edupreneurial movement. We in the Madison County EdCamp have decided to capitalize both the E and the C in edcamp to denote the importance of both words. If you Google or Bing edcamp you will see it written multiple ways.

When you say the word EdCamp it brings to mind summer camp or camping. Some of the best conversations you have or will have, happen around a campfire. You stoke up the fire, grab the lawn chairs, and start having conversation that people take turns in leading. You communicate with other people, build relationships, and exchange viewpoints on varying topics. Teachers need a place to be able to do this, and EdCamp presents a platform to be able to collaborate as like-minded professionals. Presenters to teachers will tell you, if the teachers are not engaged, they will start their own edcamp at their table!

EdCamp is a free-flowing unconference professional development that is FREE to the participants. It is a platform where the participants drive the agenda that is carried throughout the day. Professionals, the educators, teach or lead the sessions to other professionals. There is no grade level limit or classification. If an educator feels that they have a great idea that will help other teachers in their classrooms they share it. Likewise other professionals may want to learn from others, and this free-flow agenda gives them the flexibility to choose from the camp’s menu or playbook. There are normally four breakout sessions in a day with multiple offerings for each session. Technology is now being utilized more and more, so that teachers can keep track of other sessions via Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and other social and meeting sites. The morning starts with finalizing an agenda, getting the sessions set, and then heading to the first two breakout sessions. Lunch is usually brought in to the participants, following lunch there are two sessions, and a closing wrap up meeting complete with door prizes.

How is this free to educators? EdCamp relies on the investment of corporate and local donors. If you have the opportunity to invest in EdCampMadisonCounty, think about where your money will ultimately end up paying dividends. Our society talks all the time about how education is so important. If we invest in our professional teachers being able to collaborate, build their professional learning community, and problem solve it will have nothing but positive outcomes in our local schools. Please think about investing in our Madison County students by investing in our Madison County Teachers. You can find EdCamp Madison County by connecting with us at one of these sites.

Website: http://edcampmadisonco.com

Facebook: http://facebook.com/edcampmadisonco

Twitter: http://twitter.com/edcampmadisonco #educatorstrong

BartmasBlurb#34

 

“Should I eat that?”

 

 

Choice = Consequence:

We all make choices every single minute of our day.  My food choices are a simple choice challenge that I face every day. As like many people, carbs are a drawing card to my appetite, Even as I work out and make the choice to stay fit, my appetite is drawn to those stinking carbohydrates! Mt. Dew is a weakness as a beverage, but at least it has orange juice in it. From the time we wake up to the time we go to bed we are faced with choices. Some choices become positive habits and others…like my Mt. Dew can become negative ones. Working out is another facet of our lives many struggle with. It is easy not to take time to exercise, but in the long run that choice is counter productive to a healthy and happy life. Students are faced with these choices also; how can we as educators help them make healthier choices?

No matter what age of student we work with, teaching them to make good choices is paramount on helping them grow into productive members of our society.  From helping a pre-kindergartner make the choice to actually use the toilet, to a high school senior being a responsible digital citizen we have to coach our students in decision-making. I remember the days when teachers would say to me, “Use common sense!” The problem with that statement is exactly what Ben Franklin said, “Common sense is not so common.” I had no clue what I was supposed to do as far as common sense. I did not even have a starting reference point.  

We need to continually use mini-lessons to reinforce good choice making processes.  Everyday we have students making choices.  They weigh the risk and reward, or they are impulsive and do not even think about how their actions will affect themselves or others. Starting the year focused on good choices being an expectation for the school year is a great place to start. Students can create multi-media presentations on choice making. Basketball Jones, a great presenter on choices, uses a quote throughout his assemblies, “Good choice, bad Choice; my choice.”  Teaching and coaching students that they are responsible for their choices will help everyone have a better year!

You Can't Handle the Truth

BartmasBlurb#33

“You want the truth; you can’t handle the Truth!”

Freedom equals Responsibility

We are surrounded daily with whether or not we are going to take personal responsibility for ourselves. Throughout our early childhood and into adolescence we struggle with individuality and independence. One of the reasons I loved teaching sixth grade was the opportunity to mold young minds into self-guided missiles of learning and responsibility. Seeing young people make the decision to become positive leaders is one of the most rewarding experiences any adult can experience!

How do you teach a young person that with freedom comes great responsibility? You must give them incremental levels of responsibility! With the advent of technology we are asking students to take on immense responsibility with the care of and use of digital devices to become good digital citizens. How can we expect them to be responsible if we are not teaching them? One of the observations I have made in being involved with education is how our teaching of discipline changes from the lower elementary levels up through the intermediate grades. In fourth grade many teachers slowly get away from teaching students expectations and responsibilities. For some it is, “just,” expected that their classes behave. We must continue to teach the risk and reward associated with students taking on greater responsibility.  Just as we differentiate our subject areas, we must also teach discipline in differentiated instruction. Many of the students that we see today have little or no self-discipline being taught to them in the home. Many students truly do not even understand what freedom means. Freedom without self-discipline is anarchy. As we teach even older children the concepts of freedom we must interweave the concept of responsibility into the mix-there is a equal ratio of responsibility that must be present. When Russia slowly became more democratic in its form of government the adults in that vast country struggled with the whole concept of freedom.

In the lower elementary we give students responsibility by giving them tasks to perform in the class or for the class; anything from being the student that plugs in the chargers to the child who runs notes to the office. These are tasks that use freedom to teach responsibility. We use these to teach them the importance they have to the society of the class and school by doing jobs well. We teach positive regard for others. The majority of discipline issues I deal with in the day correspond with people saying negative things to others, or treating people in negative ways. It takes A LOT of self-discipline to tame your tongue. Look at the ancient wisdom about how dangerous the mouth is; “Loose lips sink ships,” “Sharper than a two sided sword.”

We must show students that the freedom of speech does not give us the right to just be mean to each other. It is not wrong to disagree, but we must teach opposition of viewpoints with respect. In the area of physical respect many students just simply cannot handle being close to another child…they can’t keep their hands to themselves. Most physical contact starts with either retaliating to words spoken or wanting attention. Some students just express themselves physically by bumping into each other or punching someone ion the arm. Boys do not hug a lot…they hit! We need to continually coach students on how to use their freedom with responsibility. In the secondary level we can use literature and government to teach the importance of using freedom responsibly. The book, Watership Down, Does an excellent job in using analogy to teach the responsibility of being free. Ayn Rand’s books can be used to coach responsibility in government classes along with the writings of our founding fathers.

If we can get our classes disciplined at the beginning of the year and revisit our discipline throughout the year, we will cut down on major disruptions and poor choices by our students. Freedom takes a lot of responsibility, if we continue to teach about it and model it, our school community will become a better place to be, and to be from.