Endings and Beginnings

For several reasons, this is my last “From B106” memo.  For one thing, my office will soon have a number change and become F101F.  This palindrome has some intriguing possibilities, but of course, I will no longer be in the office, regardless of its number.

In fact, I’m not even sure if my new office has a number, and I am still trying to figure out exactly what my new duties will entail and whether or not a weekly memo will be part of the job description.  The unknown can certainly be a bit disconcerting.

It doesn’t seem that long ago that I experienced a similar feeling.  On August 19, 2012, I wrote my first email to you as a staff.  It was signed with my name followed by “the new guy in B106.”  This is screen shot of the first two paragraphs:

It’s hard to believe I wrote those words three years ago.  Time really does fly when you’re having fun.  It’s also hard to believe that I find myself in a similar situation now, wondering what will come and how to fit in and how to make a contribution.

I am confident that will sort itself out soon, but until then and as I said before, the unknown is disconcerting.  You may feel this as well as several new administrators will be added to our team.  While you and I are making transitions from the known to the unknown, I do want to stop for a moment and let you know just how much I have enjoyed working with you all.  You have taught me a great deal, and I have confidence that we are moving forward in the right direction as a school and as a district.

Thank you for all you have done for me.  Thank you for all you have done for my children who attended Hamilton Southeastern.  And thank you for all you have done and continue to do for all of our students.

A special thanks to Charlie, Kim, Tarek, Jim, Greg, Laura, Jagga, and Nancy for allowing me be part of an outstanding administrative team. And Matt, there are no words that can adequately express my gratitude to and admiration for you as an administrator, as a father, and as a person.  You provide the rock solid foundation and leadership that will continue to make Hamilton Southeastern High School a wonderful place for students and teachers.

Every ending is a new beginning.  As educators, we experience this regularly.  This year’s ending is a bit different for me, but I do look forward to continuing to work with you toward our common goals.

It’s a great day to be a Royal.

Phil

A few quotes on beginnings and endings:

• “If you want a happy ending, that depends, of course, on where you stop the story.”  --Orson Welles
•  “There are some things you can’t share without ending up liking each other.”  --J.K. Rowling
•  “Life’s a movie.  Write your own ending.  Keep believing; keep pretending.”  --Jim Henson
•  “The beginning is always today.”  --Mary Wollstonecraft

If you’re interested in a journey back in time, this is the link to the full memo I sent out in 2012.  Click here.

Extending Grace

I was talking to Jason Urban last week, and we were commiserating about the difficulty of May.  It is a month of testing, a month of stress, and a month of transitions for both students and staff.  Jason’s comment was this: “You think you might be ready, but I’m not sure you can ever fully prepare for May.”

Those are profound words of wisdom from the other side of Interstate 69.

You are likely feeling some of this stress as well.  You may feel stretched to the limit.  Some of your students are falling apart or checking out early.  You are thinking about how to end the year well, about summer schedules, about the stack of papers to grade, and about plans for next year.

I don’t have great answers to this vexing month, but I will offer two statements I repeat to myself to help get me through stressful times.  Stress is sometimes brought on by events, and stress is sometimes brought on by people.  I have a saying for each scenario.

They may or may not help, but it’s worth a try.  See what your day is like if you use these as a short mantra when times are tough and you are feeling overwhelmed by tasks and/or people.

I find myself repeating them often in May. 

Number One

We can do a lot, but we can’t do everything.  This statement is a good reminder and helps me put a bit of perspective back into my life.  Sometimes my goal is simply to make it through the day—or through the next hour or even through the next minute.  It is a way of extending myself a little grace.  I know I can’t solve every problem or make everyone happy, and that is okay.  I’ll keep plugging away in my own little corner of the word and do the best I can.

Number Two

This one comes from Anne McCaffery, the Irish writer, best known for the Dragonriders of Pern series.  A phrase she penned has stuck with me for years and helps me keep perspective when I am dealing with people I find difficult.  (Yes, I know you’re surprised to know that I sometimes have to deal with unpleasant situations.)

It is another profound statement, technically from our side of Interstate 69, but a few miles and an ocean to the east.

It is easy to jump to conclusions about motivations of others, especially when we have significant differences in perspective, philosophy, and/or world view.  McCaffery’s statement is a great reminder to me to listen carefully and respond thoughtfully when I’m in these situations.  Honestly, I don’t always succeed in following her advice, but at least I’m aware I should try.  And even that makes a difference.

So keep fighting the good fight, HSE—even through the difficult month of May.  Remember that all of us, students, teachers, and administrators are experiencing both the joy and the stress of this month.

Use these phrases if you get a chance, and see if you can extend grace to yourself and extend it to others. 

May your week be a good one.   (The bad pun doesn’t make it any less sincere.)

Phil

Bonus phase from Stuart Smalley on Saturday Night Live:

It’s hard to believe he went on to become the junior senator from Minnesota!

Self-Directed Learners

Deeper Learning is the process of preparing and empowering students to master essential academic content, think critically and solve complex problems, work collaboratively, and be self-directed learners.

—Martinez and McGrath

Spring break ended a mere three weeks ago, but seems longer ago somehow.  During that time, my alarm didn’t go off, but I tended to wake up early anyway.  That is fine with me because it allowed me the opportunity to brew some strong coffee and sit and read the paper cover-to-cover, something I almost never get to do.

Spring Break Breakfast with Amelie

While we were in Florida, my granddaughter, another early-riser, would sometimes join me for breakfast and provide commentary on a wide variety of topics—few of which were covered by the Miami Herald.  Once we had finished, she often pulled out her books (or iPad), and I would take the chance to dive into my reading as well.

I have lots of reasons to love spring break, but near the top of my list is having time read.  Earlier I wrote a bit about one of the books I read over spring break, Deeper Learning, by Monica Martinez and Dennis McGrath.  The authors made extensive visits to eight public schools that are “transforming education in the 21^st Century” and drew some conclusions about best practice in our current era.

Certainly, most of the schools the authors studied are different than Hamilton Southeastern, but they are all public schools, and I think we can learn from these eight schools blazing the trail for us.  In fact, the authors state that the majority of today’s schools don’t reflect the tremendous changes and new demands that characterize the society in which we live.  Schools can no longer be what Sir Ken Robinson calls a “knowledge delivery system.”  Instead, the authors contend, we should look to innovative schools who are preparing students from a full range of backgrounds to reach their full potential and become prepared to handle the demands of the twenty-first century.

Self-Directed Learners

A critical objective for students to become more responsible for their own education, something that teachers and principals at the eight Deeper Learning schools make possible through embracing six core strategies:

• Establish cohesive, collaborative learning communities that sharply differ from the top-down national norm;
• Empower and encourage students to become more self-directed, creative, and cooperative by getting them out of their chairs and more directly involved in their own education;
• Make curricula more engaging, memorable, and meaningful by integrating subjects and establishing relevance to real-world concerns;
• Reach outside classroom walls to extend the idea and purpose of learning beyond school, forming partnerships with businesses, organizations, research institutions, and colleges and universities;
• Inspire students by endeavoring to understand their talents and interests, customizing learning whenever possible to discover the motivational “hook” for each young person; and
• Incorporate technology purposefully to enhance, rather than simply automate, learning.

 This is, of course, exactly where we are heading as a school and a district.  You will find references in this book to inquiry-based learning, Understanding by Design, authentic learning, performance tasks, and more.  In short, this is a book about HSE21.

Our school is different and our journey is different than any of the eight schools included in this study, but I think you will find that much of what they do and the ways they approach education can be thoughtfully adapted to us in Fishers, Indiana.

It takes me a while to digest a book, but I’m excited by this one and think it might be a touchstone experience in my learning process.  If you are looking for a good summer read, I invite you to dive into Deeper Learning.

Phil

The Magic

“Before meeting you, I let PowerPoints and textbooks do my thinking for me.”

—HSHS student at the Top 25 Banquet, 2015

Last Sunday I attended the Hamilton Southeastern High School Top 25 Banquet.  The honored guests are a pretty incredible group of students.  Some would say they are our “best and brightest,” and that is a good descriptor.  I would argue, however, that they are also among our hardest working students. 

They seem to buy in to the Growth Mindset philosophy.  Certainly, they have some natural gifts, but this group of students has worked incredibly hard to develop their skills and knowledge, and they have taken full advantage of the multiple opportunities afforded them at HSHS.  At the banquet, Nancy introduces each student by telling a bit about their extra- and co-curricular activities and accomplishments.  The lists for these students are so lengthy, that I sometimes wondered how they found time to breathe—but that is a topic for a different missive.

When the students come forward to receive their award, each one brings with him or her a teacher to honor as well.  The teachers receive a plaque which is engraved with a short essay written to them by the student, which is then read. These essays are always fascinating.  Most of the students thank their teachers for the positive influence they have provided, some tell inside jokes, but many of the students make statements that are nothing short of profound.  I offer as evidence the quote that started this memo.  It came in the first student speech of the night.

Take a moment to read it again:  

This is the goal we have for all of our students:
To be independent thinkers.

I was so taken with this line that I jotted it down on my program, and that got me started.  I kept finding others as the evening progressed.  I ended with the following list.  Remember these are statements made by our Top 25 about teachers who have been significant in their lives:

• “You taught me more than just academics.”
• “You taught me that learning is a journey.”
• “You taught me skills that transcend content.”
• “You make me believe that I can overcome all obstacles.”
• “You have taught me how to be curious.”
• “Thank you for making me laugh—and laugh at myself.   Thank you for teaching me so much more than English.”
• “In your class, I was always learning joyfully.”
• “The lessons you have taught me in both English and in life will last well beyond high school.”
• “You balance self-learning and instruction.”

It is worth noting that for these students content is important, but what set the teacher apart is not content.  It is the intangibles—laughter, support, curiosity, and life skills.  These are things that transfer outside of the school building.

Check it for yourself.  Who is your most memorable and influential teacher?  My guess is that the teacher who first comes to mind had depth of knowledge and was passionate about the content.  More importantly, however, I would guess this teacher taught lessons that transferred in many ways beyond the classroom walls.  As we have often said at HSE, rock solid teaching is about more than content knowledge.

I’ll end with one of my favorite student lines from last Sunday: “Thanks for the magic.”  Make it happen this week, HSE.

Phil

Creativity Myths

Sir Ken Robinson has been on the forefront of school change initiatives.  He is a prolific writer, has numerous popular YouTube videos, and his TEDTalk has had over 32,000,000 views.  He argues that the current school model was developed 100s of years ago for the needs of a very different world than the one in which we live today.  He says that if your great, great grandparents visited us today, the only thing they might recognize in society is the typical classroom.

I love the clock, the Wizard of Oz painting, and the "Smart Board."

That is a bit of a stretch, but it might hit closer to home than we want.  His most recent publication is called Creative Schools.  At the risk of writing about a book I haven’t read, I want to share parts of shorter article on the same topic (and I’ll add his book to my summer reading list).

Robinson on creativity:

It’s sometimes said that creativity cannot be defined.  I think it can.  Here’s my definition: Creativity is the process of having original ideas that have value.

In schools, creativity is essential for both students and teachers.  Robinson says there are obstacles that get in our way of bringing creativity into schools.  He calls them “myths.” These myths keep us from teaching and including creativity in all aspects of school: It is a myth that only a few special people are creative.  It is a myth that creativity is about the arts only.  It is a myth that creativity cannot be taught.  It is a myth that creativity is about uninhibited expression.

Sir Ken Robinson

Creativity is not about having wild ideas and letting imagination run wild.  Rather, says Robinson, creativity is about fresh thinking.  It involves refining, testing, focusing, and making critical judgments about the work in process.  In his words:

Creativity is not the opposite of discipline and control.  On the contrary, creativity in any field may involve deep factual knowledge and high levels of practical skill.  Cultivating creativity is one of the most interesting challenges for any teacher.  It involves understanding the real dynamics of creative work.

Read that again, and then consider that Robinson advocates incorporating the creative process from the very beginning of learning.  Students don’t need mastery before the creative work can begin.  In fact, focusing on skills and content in isolation may actually disengage the learner.

The real driver of creativity is the appetite for discovery and a passion for the work itself.  When students are motivated to learn, they naturally acquire the skills they need to get the work done.  Their mastery of them grows as their creative ambitions expand.

Does this sound familiar?  It should.  Robinson’s approach places creativity at the intersection of best practice engagement strategies.  Creativity is part and parcel of a rock solid UbD performance task.  Creativity is at the heart of inquiry learning.  Creativity is built into Genius Hour or any student-centered learning activity.  Creativity is essential in the design process.

In other words, creativity is another name for our HSE21 initiative.  And this, HSE, puts us firmly in the camp of Creative Schools about which Robinson writes.  Now that’s an original idea of incredible value.

I hope your week is full of joy, full of good work, and full of creativity.

Phil

Want more from Robinson?  Click this link to his TedTalk.