Wayne's World is a movie that always cracked me up. From the iconic scene of the characters lip-syncing Bohemian Rhapsody in the car to all the great one-liners it's certainly a movie that stands the test of time. The scene I posted above, while less memorable, got me thinking about the metaphor of going backstage and what it represents.
You see, everyone sees the show when they go to a concert. Some of us may sit a little closer than others but we all see and hear the same thing; and that thing is exactly what the artist wants us to hear. When you go backstage, however, the tale becomes different. You see things in their raw form, at their core, not something staged for a performance. So what's the tie in to education? Simple. Authentic learning. You learn so much more about your favorite musical artists backstage than you ever could at a show. That's why it's called a show and why shows like VH-1's behind the music (I know, I'm dating myself) Authentic learning is one of those buzz phrases that so many of us talk about, reflect on and try to implement into practice. It's a great idea, learning that reflects a real world application of what's being taught. The interesting thing though is that we often try to do this without being authentic ourselves. So, the question I ask is who has backstage passes to your life? If the answer is not your students, you're going struggle with authentic learning. You see, authentic learning has to come from an authentic source. If you're students don't view you as being authentic, they won't learn in authentic ways from you. Being authentic boils down really to evidence? What evidence do you have that supports you, the authentic person? For example, I tell kids all the time that I do what I do because I love and care about kids. What evidence do I have? I talk about my own kids and the epically awesome moments as well as those tough times where I struggled. I tell them about watching my son being taken straight to a NICU after he was born because he was not breathing regularly. I tell them about traveling halfway around the world to adopt a little girl I had never met. I tell them about how my son cracks me up when he says he wants a pet, and when I ask what kind he says "a yak!" I share my feelings, my struggles, the good and the bad. I'm authentic and I don't shy away from being that way. In other words, I give people a backstage pass to my life, I don't just put on a show. Looking for a way to strengthen and build relationships in your classroom or life as we begin a new year? Give kids a backstage pass into your life. You can do it and be age/content appropriate. I think you would be surprised that many kids have gone through similar circumstances to you. Once you conquer that you'll find new avenues for creating authentic learning experiences. You won't be disappointed.
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I was driving home the other day when I pulled up behind a nice Cadillac XTS. I like cars so this one definitely caught my eye. The other thing that caught my eye was the vanity license plate on the car. They read "2ND2NO1" (second to no one). While I'd like to think that license represents that persons struggle to overcome obstacles and make something from their life in less than ideal circumstances, I couldn't help but hope that was not how that person approached life.
I'm not going to advocate for self-deprecation here as that can be equally as unflattering. It's ok to acknowledge and accept praise for a job well done. What I will say is that seems a lot more likely to come your way if you approach many situations as being second to everyone. It's easy for me to say this as an educator because it's what we do. Our job is to make those around us better; to help them grow in ways they didn't know were possible. Anyone can do it though. You don't have to be an educator, work for a church, non-profit or the like, you just have to approach things with the benefit of others in mind. I hope that person is experiencing success beyond their wildest dreams. I hope they have an opportunity to be second to someone someday. It's a humbling experience to put others before yourself. In a world where we hear we've "got to get ours" I can honestly tell you that the best I've ever gotten came from being second to someone; putting them before myself. I made my own little vanity plate below. Maybe someday I will get one just like it to go on my car. #2ND2EVRY1 I've seen the picture below making the rounds on the internet. I don't have any complaints about it. They are legitimate issues in education. Many of them need to be discussed and ultimately, resolved. I bet as you read over them you will find yourself agreeing with almost all of them. The interesting thing would be putting together a list of the opposite: Things Teachers Did Sign-Up For. You see, despite all the negative, all that we have to overcome every single day, we still signed up for one thing: to make a difference in a child's life. Nothing listed above can take away the feeling that you get when a kid tells you "thank you" or how you've impacted their life. Nothing on the list can replace how you believed in a child when nobody else would.
We'll get all the things on the list above right someday. It might not be during our lifetime; history can point to countless examples of those who fought for a cause but didn't live to see it come to fruition. Is there any cause greater though than being here, now, laying the groundwork for what is to come? It's why we can't stop the fight, and the fight is putting our best foot forward every single day. It's why we must resist becoming the "get off my lawn" generation of educators. If we put our best out there for the world to see every day, people will take notice. It's this that will make people want to hear our story. And when they hear our story, the change will occur. I am certain that there were plenty of things that Ghandi, Martin Luther King, Abraham Lincoln and numerous others didn't sign up for. However, what they did sign up for is what allowed those things they didn't sign up for to crumble over time. I get asked a lot of times "what's the best instructional strategy?" or "what was your favorite instructional strategy?" This question makes me more uncomfortable than just about any other question I have been asked. Not because I don't know any good strategies, but because I may not know you and what you're trying to accomplish.
One of my pet peeves in education is when we, as educators, go out and want to instantly latch on with the latest shiny object because we've seen it work for someone else. Don't get me wrong, that's a great way to find an inspiration, a curiosity or a spark to start the journey. It's not a good reason to sell out wholeheartedly and commit yourself to that thing, system, protocol or anything else. Going back to my initial point, the question makes me uncomfortable because I need to get to know you and what you are about as an educator. The best strategies are the ones that work for you. Guess what? Just because they work for you doesn't mean that they will work for someone else and just because they work for someone else doesn't mean they will work for you. You have to ask yourself questions like what am I comfortable with? What are things you know you just can't manage within your classroom? Does it require a specific knowledge? Are you willing to commit to it long-term? In my opinion, one of the best things you can do is continue to seek out those new strategies. Attend training, seminars, conferences and the like. When you do, be honest with yourself about what this strategy is going to entail in your classroom. If you leave the training thinking "that's not for me" then that is awesome. Somehow we've been engrained to think that if we attend the training that we should walk away from it all systems go and begin implementation immediately. It shouldn't be that way. If a strategy won't work for you it's not a bad strategy, it's just not the one for you. If we invoke a comparison to the Frayer Model, one of my personal favorites, then strategies that don't work for us can fill in our non-example box; and if you know anything about Frayer Models, the non-example can be the hardest one to fill in. As you go through your learning and growth as an educator, remember strategies that don't work for you are a step in your process of growing as an educator. As Thomas Edison once said about his journey toward inventing the light bulb: "I didn't fail 1,000 times. The light bulb was an invention with 1,000 steps." I was participating in the #tlap (Teach Like a Pirate) chat on Twitter last night and I came across the following tweet from @The_Groffice: "Modeling a 'glass half-full' approach to problem solving changes mindsets. Yes, there are challenges, but we overcome them positively facing challenges as opportunities." It's a great point and a point that got me thinking, which is why I love Twitter chats as a form of professional learning, they really make you think.
She got me thinking that if we use the metaphor of the glass, and we view challenges as opportunities, then life truly has free refills. Think about a problem, obstacle or anything you've overcome in life. Do you remember the feeling you felt when you reached that pinnacle of success? It's euphoric. It's that feeling of being able to do anything no matter what gets in your way. That's life giving you a refill. Your glass is no longer half empty or half full. It's full and in many cases it's overflowing. In some ways the best part is that more challenges will come. While that may seem like a dreary outlook to some, think about it. Overcoming challenges is what leads to the free refill. We need challenges in order to get the refills. As the world around us tells us more and more that Adversity and challenge should be responded to with anxiety anger and conflict it is more important than ever that we remember to meet these challenges head-on with our very best. It is equally important that we teach our students to do the same. After all, who does not like a free refill? “Would you want to be a student in your own class?” I’ve seen this question quite a few times. It’s a good one for sure and if you answer it honestly you can elicit some great reflection on how to improve your practice. What I’ve never seen is the follow-up question I am going to ask right now: “Would someone want to grow up to be you?”
I’m not talking about growing up to be a teacher, many will do that of their own accord or answering some other calling in their life. That would be growing up to work in the same profession as you. I’m referring to BEING you. What would your students describe your demeanor to be? How do they see you treat others? Are you easily drawn offsides or provoked into a reaction? Has anyone ever seen the lighter side of you; the one that tells jokes and realizes that just because you’re an educator you know a thing or two about enjoying life? What actions do you demonstrate that show you really are trying to make the world a better place? Do you ever act like something is beneath you? If we’re going to say things like “every kid deserves a champion” and we want all students to “enjoy thriving, productive lives in a future they create” shouldn’t kids be inspired by more than just our curriculum? Our practice should not be all that defines us. If it is, we aren’t educating the whole child. I never was a big Twitter guy. In fact, until about 2 years ago I didn’t even have a Twitter handle. I didn’t even know what a Twitter handle was. I’m still far from an expert but I’m learning quite a bit about it. One of the biggest things that Twitter is teaching me is the power of leveraging your professional network. Twitter may be the most powerful professional learning I have had in quite awhile. It doesn’t fit any of the molds of a traditional professional learning by any stretch of the imagination, which is what I think I like about it so much. The best thing for me so far in the “Twitterverse” has been the Twitter chats I’ve partaken in. It’s amazing how many great ideas people have out there. From the Twitter chats, not only have my ideas been growing, my thought process is being stretched as well. The questions that get asked in these Twitter chats are not only thought-provoking, they’re sometimes really difficult to answer within 140 characters. I used to vehemently oppose the 140 character limit on Twitter. I thought it limited writing and killed deep thinking. I’m learning that is anything but the case. I’m learning how to be direct in my messaging while still providing insight and clarity. I could go on and on about why I’m loving my new adventure in my virtual PLN network but that’s only half the puzzle. Someone I’ve added in my PLN from one of these Twitter chats said it better than I can. Thank you @teresagross625. Yes, it’s time that we recognize these things as more than window dressing. They’re professional learning at its finest. Embedded with choice, novelty, variety, and tons of critical thinking these things are an innovative, 21st century way of growing educators. The chats I’ve been participating in include my own school districts chat, #LISDchat, the #IMMOOC chat based around George Couros’ Innovator's Mindset book and principles and #satchat.
Perhaps the best part about them is the flexibility they offer as well as giving you one of the greatest accountability systems you can have: you tweeted it and now it is out there for the world to see. It’s also been exposing me to the massive world of educators blogs where great ideas runneth over. Take it from someone who was vehemently against doing anything with Twitter. When used with purpose, like everything else, it’s an awesome tool that can truly spark your thinking, open you to a world of ideas, and allow you to grow your PLN. I’ve been reading the article pictured below (hat-tip to George Couros for tweeting it out) and it’s really been causing me to reflect quite a bit. When you read the headline, as an educator, you can’t help but feel indicted. After all, you pour your blood, sweat, and tears into your profession day in and day out in the name of helping young people maximize their own potential. The headline is slightly misleading though. It’s not an indictment of those in the profession, it’s a piece that really challenges the notions of what school should be and a little bit of an indictment on how the system is implemented. I would encourage any and everyone to read this article, I’ve linked to it HERE!! It’s a challenging read. The first point that really jumped out at me, though not first in the article, is the idea that school is an “unsuitable learning environment for many careers.” Unsuitable is a little too harsh for my tastes but I understand the idea. When I first read that subtitle I instantly had flashbacks to my own middle school years. I remember taking a class on typing.
I remember being told that typing was a skill that would make or break a grown-ups professional life during my lifetime. The fastest, most accurate typer would win the day. I’ve never forgotten the moment I was told that. I reflect on it often as I currently sit here and orally dictate everything to my computer for this blog post. The whole reason that typing story stuck with me is that I was being taught a skill of the world right now with the reason why being at least 5-10 years off in my future. This is one area that schools and educators must get away from. We have to stop answering the “why do I have to learn this” question with answers like such as “so you can grow up to be successful” Educators don’t need to turn into Nostradamus. It’s not about predicting the future at all. It is about designing learning experiences that generate the same number of questions as answers. To tell someone that they need to learn something so that they can become productive down the road based on the world of today will stagnate progress, limit creativity, and keep us stuck right where we are. Remember, we don’t even know how the world we are preparing them for will even look. The article advocates apprenticeships as a model for replacing traditional college. I think there is great merit here too for K-12 educators too, particularly with regard to lesson design. One of the questions I had for myself after reading was “how can we design learning experiences with an apprentice-like format?” When you consider the characteristics of an apprenticeship, you can see the value and power in this type of learning. It also makes us really think about things like can you read critically outside of traditional literary works? Could a skill like coding be considered critical writing or even the equivalent of learning a foreign language? The other point that really stood out to me was “grades distort our perception of reality.” The opening sentence of you can get straight A’s in school but nobody gets straight A’s in life seems highly erroneous to me. First of all, every school I am aware of calculates grades based on the system of averages. “Major” grades typically carry a little more weight than “daily” grades but overall it’s a system of averages. You can do very well on the vast majority of grades, fail one and still easily make an “A” on a report card. Several other erroneous arguments follow including citing how many times Colonel Sanders got his famous chicken recipe turned down and the number of businesses a successful entrepreneur has had fail. If anything, this is not an argument as to how school trains us to fail in life, but rather a great justification for how schools of the 21st century continually ask students to come in and make corrections or improvements to work that didn’t quite make it the first time around. Schools certainly don’t train us to fail. That would be counterintuitive. I don’t know any educator that got into this industry due to their love of failure. Do schools need to improve? Yes, everyone in every industry does or they will become obsolete. While sitting at church my pastor said something that I found highly profound. “The teachings of Jesus” he said “are not meant to educate us, they’re meant to transform us.” I think it’s a powerful perspective.. It not only made me think about my personal life but my professional life as well. Are we trying to educate students or giving them opportunities to experience genuine transformation?
In my school district, our vision statement is “All of our students enjoy thriving, productive lives in a future they create.” If we are truly going to achieve that we have to stop trying to educate kids with what we want them to know. While our learning has to be rooted in the prescribed standards it doesn’t have to begin and end there. We have to give students learning experiences that will allow for a genuine transformation and understanding. |
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January 2020
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