The Bandwagon

The first rule of blogging is to have a focus, to have a theme. You have to stick to your theme. Also, I read somewhere that a blog cannot become a glorified journal. The author cautioned against personal reference in blogs. He also cautioned against transparency. I can't help myself, though, this week I have to talk about what I'm thankful for.

Before you exit your browser, hear me out - this article is completely relevant to our profession; I didn't forget my mission. I'm grateful for my teachers. I want to talk about what made them great and why they were so effective. Perhaps you will find a place for these traits in your own classroom? I know I have tried everyday to give to my students what these great people gave to me.

John Hattie of the University of Auckland  published a study listing teaching strategies by effectiveness. My good friend and colleague, Bobby Thompson, shared the results of that study with our staff during a faculty training. There were several things that teachers did that Dr. Hattie found effective. The most effective practices, though, were Self-reported grades, Piagetian programs, and Providing formative evaluation. Teacher-Student relationships were also included in the top tier practices 

I would offer that the reason relationships are not the number one strategy is because we are so different and have such different personalities. Together, though, a faculty can compose a team that, if well constructed, has the tools to reach every student. I may connect with some students. My colleagues may connect with others. As long as we are looking introspectively at ourselves, and keeping our eyes on the students, we can pair up mentors in the building that can assist kids.

I have none of their permission to tell these stories, and most of these teachers - although flattered - would probably choose to remain anonymous, content in knowing that they marked my life for the better. Those of you who went to school with me, though - you know who I'm talking about. Those of you who do not know me, I'll bet you had teachers and stories like this too. Our teachers prepared us for the future and it is because of them that many of us can be thankful for success today. 

Drama Teacher - She was a red-headed ball of fire in her 50's. I was a freshman walking down the hall one day. We passed and she stopped and said, "Foley!" I turned and looked at her. "Why the hell aren't you in my theater class?" The reason was because I had muddled up a part in the 7th grade play so badly that I swore never to take the stage as an actor again. I took another English class to avoid her class. I explained that to her. "Bologna!" she said. "You will report to the orchestra pit in the auditorium at 7:00pm tonight with your instrument, do you understand?" I tried to explain to her that I would need to check with my parents first. "I've already spoke with your mother." she said, "You will be in the pit at 7:00pm this evening. Am I clear?" And that was it. I played for every show, fall and spring, for my entire high school career. That teacher included me. She made a way for me to participate. 

Choir Director - He wasn't the greatest conductor technically, I know that now. He was a tenor himself and a darn good one, but waving his arms (and playing the piano) were not his forte. Yet, there was something about him. He understood that if we could touch the music, if we could experience it for ourselves, it would do the work. He also understood that his job was to create experiences for us. He made sure we had events, trips, and other things to do that helped us understand how music fit our society and culture. He must've seen something in me, because by my junior year he was letting me conduct. When he was sick, it was my class to lead. When he was there he made sure to coach me. He's the reason I direct choir today. He wasn't a friend, he was more than that: a mentor. He trusted us to do the work and wasn't afraid to let us try it. More importantly, though - he inspired me. 

Psychology Teacher - A cabana button up shirt and scrubby khakis everyday. I don't think a single teacher put more into my mind than he did. I had him for one semester and in that semester I learned more about life than I could've imagined. At the time I had no clue how profoundly he had touched me, but looking back I use more of the data I learned in his class on a daily basis, than any other teacher. At first I thought he didn't like me. He made it a point to give me a hard time. I'm not sure why? Looking back, though, it was the fact that he challenged me that made his class so successful. He pushed me to consider everything that was moral, ethical, and good. He was our own personal Socrates.   

The list goes on and is too great to tell here...

Economics: Treated everyone with respect. 

Chemistry: Blew our minds (among other things like windows and white phosphorus) He taught everything by example. Working through examples with us until we knew how to do it. 

English 10: Refused to settle for less than our best. 

Algebra II/Trigonometry: Believed in me, even when I didn't believe in myself. 

Algebra I: Was positive even though he was dying of cancer. 

... each teacher giving me some encouragement. They worked together, perhaps without knowing. They created a space in the world for me. They created a space for my class. They paved the way.

When I was wrapping up my student teaching at Butler University I was having a quiet conversation with one of my professors over coffee. I said, "Sir, what if I screw up? What if I get it wrong? What if I teach my students something incorrectly? What then?" He smiled and said, "Son, I'm going to tell you a little secret about education: Students are going to learn because of you, and in spite of you. Either way, they're going to learn. Your job is to make it easy for them to learn, put the knowledge out there for them to grab hold of, but the rest of it... that's on them." 

The New Tech Network has a motto. It's, "Trust, Respect, Responsibility." That's not a bad place to take a school culture. Fostering that in students takes strong teachers, though. Teachers that are willing to take risks, to teach beyond the walls of the classroom and beyond the time of the school day. Teachers that include every student, and find ways to challenge them.

It was interesting to me to find that in the top echelon of effect strategies, was Teacher-Student relationship. I know that works... 

I'm a product.    

Balance

Science. Technology. Engineering. Math... + Arts?

Why? How do the arts fit into this equation? How do we teach it? What difference does it make? 

I took a group of students to Chicago last year. One of our stops was the Art Institute of Chicago. While we were there, a curious exhibit of the Baroque masters was on display. I was standing with two of our chaperones, both fathers in their mid to late 40's, looking at sketch drawings. The large composite of them were nudes. One of the men stated, "I guess they didn't have clothes in those days?" My first reaction was rather comical, but then it became sad... 

Here is a man. A smart man. A good businessman. Worldy, but naive. Intelligent, but ignorant. 

I explained to them both that in order for an artist to be a master, they must be able to draw a human nude. The reason is because there is so much detail in the human body. Light hits the curves of our body in different ways. The curves themselves are difficult to draw. The shading is difficult. The folds of the skin can be a nightmare. The human body is a conglomeration of varying shapes, colors, and sizes. To create one in a seated position, or standing position, or... any position takes complete mastery of artistic skill even in a sketch. The man said, "I never thought about that." I think that's just it; the things that we don't think about. What have I never thought about? 

I certainly don't fault that man and I'm not judging him either. He didn't know because he had never been exposed to art. Who failed him? Did his school fail him? Did his teachers fail him? Did he fail himself? Was he exposed to it, and he just missed the boat? What happened? 

Some might say the arts are not important. Who cares that this man didn't know? What difference does it make - he's still a successful businessman with two wonderful kids and a beautiful wife. His life is in no way inhibited by his artistic ignorance. That statement is fair. It is important to note that his life is not horribly affected by not knowing this data. I can concede that point. But I'd like to make another statement: 

What is missing from this man's life? What is it that he does not possess? An appreciation for the skills of artists. An exposure to beauty. An exposure to thought. A vacation to the deep recesses of mind where the questions can be asked that explore exactly who we are and what we are doing here on earth. What is our mission? How will we fit into society? What societies do we belong to? What is our culture? What does that say about us? Where are we going? What is our genesis? It's certainly not a plot point on a graph. Started at A, ended at B. 

The world is not void of color, sound, texture, rhythm, harmony. There are artistic elements that give life to the graph. Look at a piece of music. It's a chart of sounds. A plotting of pitches. It means nothing, until someone that has the capability to create music gets ahold of it. When they touch it, it comes to life. When they embrace it, it lives and breathes. It speaks. 

Don't miss the point - I'm not detracting from the power of mathematics or science. Those are important disciplines, this is common knowledge. What I'm trying to say is that when you couple them with art - the outcome is exponential for both disciplines and the learner. 

Creation Science. That sounds crazy, but we are curing diseases with it. Gene manipulation is looking to blow the lid off of cancer studies. Not horribly long ago a group of gamers solved a puzzle that scientists had been working on for decades in a matter of hours. (You can check that article out here.) How did they do it? With spatial reasoning skills obtained through art. 

My problem with math in school wasn't the teachers. Lord knows they did everything they could to help me. My issue was that I never understood what it meant. Why did I need to find x? What did x represent? Why did that matter? I suppose in many ways I was like the man in my illustration. I couldn't see it. I hadn't thought about it. There are teachers in STEAM schools that are using art to help students define not only a rationale for the math, but a logical sequence for their art - even when that art is aleatoric. That's something I can wrap my head around. It has meaning. 

And that's what the arts do... Give meaning to life. 

     

Finding Order in a Project.

Recently I was honored to tag along with some colleagues and friends to a seminar at a nearby school. This particular school is coming "on line" with project based learning, and our job was to facilitate conversations that would help them in their training. During one such conversation the question was posed (and I'm paraphrasing), "How do you keep a project together?" I want to address that question in this week's post...

What the questioner was inquiring was- How do you keep the students focused on the driving question? How do you keep yourself focused on the project outcomes? How do you form a unit? How do you form the unit so that the learning has a scope and a sequence... a direction? My answer was not intended to be snarky, although I think the questioner took it that way: How do you keep your class "together" in a traditional classroom? Just like college professor's, my co-teacher Mrs. Papin-Thomas and I use a unifying text.

Think back to your college days... You had the stuffy prof. with the bad clothes and worse hair. Maybe you had the le sheik prof. with the stylish mustachio and cool glasses? Regardless of their appearance, they all had a text. The formula was simple: You read the text. They (and sometimes you too) discussed the text in class. Then you wrote a paper on the text. Then, at the end of the "unit", you filled a blue book on the text. Everything was centered on a text. Sometimes a prof. used several texts.

I had the luxury, and I mean that sincerely, of participating in a class with Dr. James Watt at Butler University. Dr. Watt held a English/Humanities course entitled, "13 Ways to Look at a Blackboard." There were several books that we read and discussed all centered around the idea of a Christ figure; a savior. The class was quite interesting, and I often reflect back on my brief time with Dr. Watt - who looked an awful lot like Panama Jack. I still have those books. They sit on the bookshelf in my own classroom and I refer students to them from time to time when I'm looking for solid short stories or way to make analogy.

It was Dr. Watt's connection of all of the texts that made the class interesting. I couldn't see the way that they connected until the end of the course. I knew there was a connection. It was obvious that he had a designed outcome, but I couldn't see it. Then he revealed it and my classmates and I felt silly for not having seen it sooner. In a way, you want to build your projects like that. You want your students to have a firm direction and understanding of the standards they are learning, but not where the project is leading until it nears the end.

If you're not as brilliant as Dr. Watt and don't feel confident scoping a start to finish project that ties up in the end, there are two options. The first option is to withhold the rubric until 2/3's of the way through the project. The students will be working, but they won't be sure exactly what they will be graded on until you unveil it. A second option to do this is to throw a "twist" in the project - change it up midway through. For example, during our Myth project, students build a wiki space for a myth that they have studied. They understand that once they build the wiki they are to use it to create a live re-telling of the story. What they don't know is that once they build the wiki, we put them in a lottery and they end up with someone else's myth. The story they start with is not the story they end with. They have to rely only on the data that the other students put together for them. (We have safety nets in place for the students that get stuck with wikis that are incomplete, of course, so that their grades do not suffer due to other students failure.)  

Whichever strategy that you use, you're still going to need a guide to help the kids find their way. A north star of sorts that sums up what you're wanting to do. This is where the unifying text comes into play. For our "Nosce te Ipsum" ("Know Thyself") project, our students read Anthem, by Ayn Rand. The "Death" project revolves around the texts for the Mozart Requiem, the Brahm's Requiem, and the work of Dr. Mark Roth which can be found on-line. For the "Film Festival" students get ideas from the This I Believe project which is linked here. We have several anthologies for our "Myth" project, as well as Homer's classics. For the "Love" project we look at articles in magazines, newspapers, and on-line publications. Also, we look into parts (not all) of Plato's Symposium. For both the "Poetry Slam" and the "Music Video" project we allow students to create their own poetry, but they look at several examples from myriad poets.

A unifying text gives direction to ideas, a focus point, a reflection point, and a place to create analogies. A text can keep everyone on the same page or you can hand out separate texts and get everyone going in different directions. Synthesis can be achieved when you ask students to amend a text, abridge a text, or create their own texts. In years past, Sarah and I have taught Shakespeare's Julius Caesar and asked students to modernize the text. Why would we do this? We check reading comprehension. You can't change it unless you understand it. My favorite rendition is when Brutus tells Cassius, "Soft. We'll have no words here." in the final act. The best modernization of that line: "Shut up. We'll talk about this later."

As a final point, every educator knows that the  greatest way to help people learn is to get them to READ. It was a little old lady named Martha Gulde that introduced me to a book called "Jurassic Park" in the 8th grade. It had nothing to do with our English class, but Martha knew that if I would just read books I'd be okay. I've never really looked back after that.

Until next time.