The Invisible Gorilla

Even though it is a complete contradiction of terms, you may have seen the “Invisible Gorilla.”  This less than two-minute video clip is part of a psychology experiment and includes three people dressed in white shirts and three people dressed in black.  They move rapidly around the floor, passing a basketball to each other randomly.  The audience is given the task of counting the number of passes completed by people in white shirts.

In the middle of all the moving and passing, a full grown man in a gorilla costume strolls into the middle of the action, pauses, thumps his chest, and moves off screen. 

The interesting part: Half of the people who watch the video are so caught up in the task of counting passes, they fail to notice the gorilla at all.  To be honest, I was one of those pass-counters.  To this day, I can’t believe I missed seeing a large primate walk across the screen for a full six seconds.  When I watch the clip again, the gorilla is so obvious that I’m embarrassed to admit I missed him the first time.

I’m sure there are many lessons to take from watching a video like this, but I was reminded during this past few weeks about the importance of interacting with students and parents using fresh eyes.  It is easy to come into interactions, especially difficult interactions, with preconceived notions.  When we do this, we may miss some things that are important, even some things as large as a chest-thumping gorilla.

We tend to see what we expect to see and hear what we expect to hear.  Maxwell Maltz, who has been around for quite a while but still has some interesting views, recently wrote, “There is no such thing as immaculate perception; what we see is what we thought before we looked.” 

The challenge for us is to stop the frenetic pace long enough to “see.”  In another irony, the first step to seeing with fresh eyes may be to listen.  Real listening can’t take place in a hurry.  We have to avoid relying on our preconceptions.  To paraphrase Maltz, we hear what we thought we would hear before we listened. 

This is a time of year when you are going to get phone calls and emails from parents, and students will stop by, often worried about things that in an ideal world would have been taken care of a long time ago.  If you have been teaching for a while, you likely have an enormous memory bank full of similar conversations that take place about this time of year.  This is a terribly busy time of year for everyone, and it is easy to mash the reality of now with the memory of past conversations.

I encourage you, however, to look with fresh eyes and listen with fresh ears.  While it is true the conversations are eerily and maybe even disturbingly similar to many you have had in the past, for the student or the parent, each conversation is brand new.  As much as these interactions may sound and look the same to us, we may miss something truly important, the equivalent of 100-pound gorilla walking across the screen, if we rely on preconceptions.

If you want to see the invisible gorilla, use this link:  The Invisible Gorilla

Bring it home strong, HSE.  Have a great week.

Phil

Shall We?

Words are interesting.  Sometimes they clarify; sometimes they confuse.  This is particularly true when it comes to legislation dealing with education.  Since the topic of this memo is the recent Common Core legislation, I shall attempt to make it as clear as possible—with emphasis on the word “shall.”

In the past few months, several bills were presented to address Common Core State Standards.  Senate Bill 193, which was going to put a “hard pause” on the CCSS, did not pass.  To add to the confusion about these standards, however, the state legislature did pass House Bill 1427, which has the dubious and contradictory distinction of being labeled both “pro- and anti-Common Core.” 

Anti-Common Core

According to Church, Church, Hittle, and Antrim, House Bill 1427 states that the Indiana Department of Education “may not continue to implement Common Core until it receives and considers two reports.” 

1.  A legislative study committee will submit the first report, which must compare existing Indiana standards with common core standards and consider best practice in developing and adopting the standards. The study is due November 1, 2013.
2. The Office of Management and Budget will submit a second report, which will concern the implementation costs to the state and the state’s school corporations to adopt common core standards

Pro-Common Core

After receiving these reports, however, the bill goes on to say:

“[IDOE] shall implement educational standards that use the common core standards as the base model for academic standards to the extent necessary to comply with federal standards to receive a flexibility waiver under 20 U.S.C 7861.   However, higher academic standards may be adopted that supplement or supplant the common core standards. . .”

The best we can tell at this time is that we are on a soft pause (as opposed to a hard pause) until two reports are received and considered, but we shall implement the Common Core State Standards in some form or other.

Don’t Be Shall Shocked

Regardless of the clamor, confusion, and verbiage, the course we have set as a school and as a district is a good one.  We have a four-year plan to update curriculum maps and scope and sequence documents.  We will continue to work on best practice instruction that includes a heavy emphasis on improving literacy and higher-order thinking skills in all content areas.  We will continue as a school and as individuals to learn and grow along with our students.  We will continue to build on our strengths.  

In other words, we will continue our journey.

Whichever direction the winds of change blow Indiana schools, this approach shall serve us—and our students—well.

Have a great week, HSE.

Phil

A few confusing quotes:

•  I know you believe you understand what you think I said, but I’m not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant.  --Robert McCloskey
•  I’m not confused.  I’m just well-mixed –Robert Frost
• If confusion is the first step to knowledge, I must be a genius.  –Larry Leissner  

From Duh To Head Slap

My wife was telling me recently about one of those Duh Moments she experienced while figuring out the schedule for Cumberland Road Elementary School for next year.  Duh Moments are times when something, in retrospect, seems so simple and so clear, but it stays just out of the reach of understanding for a long time.  It is when you know you should know but you just don’t know.  Did you have to read that line twice to understand it?  If so, you just experienced a much less frustrating cousin of the Duh Moment.

For Lisa, after multiple attempts at arranging rooms and teachers using the whiteboard and sticky notes, a single word in the conversation turned on a light bulb.  It was the right word at the right time.  The Duh Moment was replaced by the Head Slap of Understanding.  Sticky notes lined up neatly on the whiteboard, blood pressure dropped, and all was good for the CRES Roadrunners.

Persistence in May

We have all experienced this phenomenon.  (Unfortunately, I can testify that these moments don’t get fewer as we age.)  Students, especially in May, seem prone to Duh as well.  My guess is that you have experienced this in your classroom as recently as this past week.  Concepts that seem simple for some students simply aren’t for others. 

Overcoming Student Duh can feel frustrating for teachers—no question about it.  It may take repeating or rephrasing or a whole different approach altogether in order to turn Duh into Head Slap.  In the classroom, this is called Responsive Teaching.  It is taking students where they are and sticking with them until they succeed.

Maybe This Time

The entire introduction above is background information and a way of encouraging you to be persistent right now, especially with those chronic underperformers.  Undoubtedly, you have been monitoring student progress all semester and are growing frustrated with some students.  It is highly likely that you have some (many?) students who are underperforming.  We have four weeks left of school.  There is still time for many of these students to improve performance levels and learning.  Even if you have been knocking your head against the wall, the attempt you make now may be the one that brings the Head Slap.  It may be the right word at the right place at the right time.

During this week, as you are working with students individually or as they are coming into your room or leaving it, give it one more shot.  Find a private moment and encourage those borderline or underperforming students.  Let them know that you are available to help and that it is not too late to make a change. 

At Hamilton Southeastern, we don’t give up on kids.  We may not “get” them all at once, but we do get them one at a time.  For each one we do reach, it makes all the difference in the world.

Have a great week, HSE.

Phil

Raise Your Glass and Put It Down

Read through to the end of this entry, and you will see how all the sections fit together—I promise.

The Survey:

Survey results that fit into the Interesting-But-Not Surprising Category:

More than half of the teachers questioned in the MetLife Survey of the American Teacher said they felt under “great stress” several days a week.

This is not news to most of us.  We understand the results of the significant educational reforms, including new academic standards and new teacher evaluation systems.  Michael Cohen, the president of Achieve, an education nonprofit group, says of the survey results, “What struck me most is they [teachers] are operating in an environment of public discourse that is often focused on blame.”  Ouch! 

The Research:

From a February 2013 Time Magazine Interview with neuroscientist Bruce McEwen:

Stress systems were put there to help the body adapt and survive.  They have a good side and a bad side…. Good stress is rising to a challenge, feeling exhilarated when your body and brain are working properly to help you do so….  Toxic stress is where bad things happen, perhaps because you don’t have the inner or external resources needed to cope and perhaps because you have had early life adversity, which makes you vulnerable to adverse outcomes.

The Story:

The following is a story bouncing around on the Internet.  I was unable to trace its origin:

A young lady confidently walked around the room with a raised glass of water while explaining stress-management to an audience. Everyone knew she was going to ask the ultimate question: "Half empty or half full?"

She fooled them all. "How heavy is this glass of water?" she inquired with a smile.

Answers ranged from 8 oz. to 20 oz.

She replied, "The absolute weight doesn't matter. It depends on how long I hold it. If I hold it for a minute, that's not a problem. If I hold it for an hour, I'll have an ache in my right arm. If I hold it for a day, you'll have to call an ambulance.

"In each case it's the same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes."

She continued, "That's the way it is with stress. If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, as the burden becomes increasingly heavy, we won't be able to carry on.

"As with the glass of water, you have to put it down for a while and rest before holding it again. When we're refreshed, we can carry on with the burden--holding stress longer and better each time."

The Point:

Teaching is a stressful profession these days.  It has been and will likely continue to be so in the foreseeable future.  Some stress is good, maybe even healthy.  Over time, the stress we face can wear us down.

When the glass gets too heavy, find a way to put it down for a bit.  Laugh with friends, hug a child, walk in the sun, read a good book, or cook a great meal.  In school, buy a plant from the FFA, go to a concert or sporting event, joke with a student or peer, or shake hands with every student coming through your door.

Bruce McEwen, the neuroscientist referenced above, says it is our perception that makes all the difference: “It’s where you perceive yourself that matters.  The brain is the key because it perceives and decides what is stressful in the traditional sense of the word and regulates behavior and physiology.”  When we find a way to let it all go for a bit and focus on what is really important in life and at school, it will inevitably change our perception. 

Raise your glass in a toast to this thought:

We have great students and a great staff, all working towards a common goal.   

It just might help relieve some of your stress.

Have a great week.

Phil

Restorative Discipline

For those of you who missed it, last Saturday was prom night at the Indiana Roof Ballroom in downtown Indianapolis.  Designed to look like the town center of a quaint European village, the IRB circular wooden dance floor has been host to presidents, celebrities, and musicians.  John F. Kennedy, Audrey Hepburn, Bing Crosby, and Margret Thatcher have all walked the floorboards on which our students danced.  Below is a picture that came up when I searched “JFK at the Indiana Roof Ballroom.”

Admittedly, our students danced a bit differently than when JFK and Jackie were cutting the rug.  (I can’t help but wonder what John F., Audrey, or Bing would have to say if they could have watched our kids last Saturday!)

While it is true that I have supervised a few too many proms to get really excited anymore, it was easy to see last Saturday that this is not the case for our students.  The 2013 Prom was a great success, largely because of all of the work and planning from Gaye, Aaron, and Bill.  Long after the adults forget the details, that evening will be remembered by many of those students in attendance.

Beside the dessert table—which by the way was phenomenal—the most interesting part of the night for me was watching the students arrive in all of their finery. I especially enjoyed the interaction between our deans and some of the “frequent fliers” to their offices.  These students would come off the elevator, look around tentatively, see Rita and Laura, and come over for hugs all around.  Of course, Rita and Laura would rave at how fine the students looked.  And no question about it, they did look good—both the kids and the deans.

On a night like this, the conflict and tough talks that took place in the disciplinary process are forgotten.  Students see and are seen in a new light, one that reflects their strengths, their gifts, and their potential.  This certainly does not mean that once the gowns are packed away and the tuxes are returned to the rental store there won’t be any other behavior issues.  The next round of the discipline dance is likely to continue. 

On prom night, however, I was witness to the power of restoration in the discipline process.  Those moments at the beginning of prom showed what discipline can and should be.  Discipline should about changing behaviors but also about teaching, about relationships, and about finding a way to help students move forward.  It should include intentional acts of welcoming students back into the school community.

In the classroom, you have similar opportunities.  Anytime you work with kids, you will have tough times and serious issues that take lots of time and energy, but there are also times to restore relationships, to celebrate growth, and to see the results of teaching your students a better way.  The disciplinary cycle should end with an intentional effort to restore the relationship and welcome the student back into the classroom community.

This relationship-driven approach to discipline, like the prom, can be a truly special and memorable event for our students.  You may not get the haute couture and cuisine of the prom, but effective restorative classroom discipline makes beautiful music—and changes lives.

Continue to build those positive relationships and continue to teach students the right steps to take in the dance of life, HSE.

Have a great week.

Phil

A few quotes about dancing:

And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music.  –Friedrich Nietzche

I always tell my kids if you lay down, people will step over you.  But if you keep scrambling, if you keep going, someone will always, always give you a hand.  Always.  But you gotta keep dancing, you gotta keep moving your feet.  –Morgan Freeman

We learn by practice.  Whether it means to learn to dance by practicing dancing or to learn to live by practicing living, the principles are the same.  –Martha Graham

Somebody just gave me a shower radio.  Thanks a lot.  Do you really want music in the shower?  I guess there is no better place to dance than a slick surface next to a glass door.  –Jerry Seinfeld

Grinding Gears

My dad taught me how to drive stick shift in a beat up 1965 Flat-Front Ford Econoline pickup we borrowed from Hesston College, where he was a professor.  The pickup, as opposed to the one pictured below, was maroon (school colors) and had the “three on the tree” manual transmission.  During the learning process, I put that poor Econoline through plenty of gear grinding, stalling, and jerk-starts.  Eventually, with a great deal of patience and lots of instruction from my dad, I figured it out.  Since that broiling summer day in Kansas, every other stick shift thrown my way has been much easier to deal with.  That’s the way shifting—and learning—works.

At the state and national level, the debate about Common Core State Standards continues.  It leaves us in a bit of quandary.  Preparing for the unknown is a little tricky, but not preparing could be even more problematic.

While acknowledging the uncertainty, we should continue to look at what is coming down the pike, and we would do well to be able to speak somewhat knowledgeably to parents, family, and friends about CCSS.  One way to get a handle on what soon may be our new reality is to look at the differences between the Common Core literacy standards and our current standards.  According to the Indiana Department of Education, when we move to Common Core State Standards, we will be in for four “Major Shifts.”

Shift 1: Emphasizing Informational Texts

Shift 2: Literacy Standards for All Content Areas

Shift 3: Text Complexity

Shift 4: The Special Place of Argument

Shifts 1 and 2 have lots of overlap.  In secondary schools, the expectation is that all teachers are literacy teachers.  This means that all of us will continue to be reading, writing, and thinking teachers.  The literacy standards will be taught primarily using informational texts.  For high school students, up to 70% of their reading should be in informational texts.  Of course, some reading of informational texts takes place in the English classroom, but the lion’s share of reading informational texts will take place in the other content areas.  With CCSS, in all content areas, students will be doing much more “reading and writing to learn.”

Shift 3 is about text complexity, which refers to having opportunities for students to read challenging texts.  If you haven’t already, soon you will hear a great deal about “close reading.”  Close reading is careful and purposeful reading—more accurately, it is re-reading.  With each return passage into the text, the students uncover deeper layers of meaning about the content, the author’s purpose, or how the structure contributes to meaning.  You will have students spend extended time with important texts, and close reading will likely impact your in-class questioning as well.  When you ask questions, students will justify answers with evidence from the text, which is a nice segue to the fourth shift.

Shift 4 is about argument.  Creating and defending arguments is a crucial component of the CCSS.  Even at the elementary level, the CCSS call for students to make and justify arguments, either written or oral. This culminates in high school with students routinely developing, defending, and analyzing complex arguments in all content areas. 

Interestingly enough, both the Teacher Effectiveness and Development System (TEDS) and our own school-wide goals fit well with the direction the Common Core is taking us.  This does not mean that the shifts will be easy or that we won’t grind some gears as we learn to drive this truck.  We are, however, definitely moving in the right direction to meet the challenges presented by the Common Core.

Sometime soon you will probably be asked what the Common Core is all about.  When you are asked these questions, describing the four major shifts may be helpful. 

Hop on in, HSE.  Give it some gas, pop the clutch, and keep on truckin’.  Have a great week.

Phil

PS: Speaking of trucking and for no particular reason, do those of you from my era remember this picture?

Spring Into Action

Welcome back from Spring Break.

If you haven't done so already, now is a very good time to count the days until the end of school.  You might do this in anticipation of summer break, but more importantly, it should be done to help with planning.

We are at the point where full class periods with your students are becoming a limited commodity.  By the time some students miss for AP tests, ECAs, field trips, assemblies, or final exams, depending on which students you teach, you may have fewer days than you think.

You have an incredibly difficult balancing act ahead of you.  My guess is most of you have lots you would love to teach, but you will have to limit what you cover because of time constraints.  You are the content-area experts.  I have no intention of telling you where to make cuts, but I would offer a few guidelines that may help when you find yourself crunched for time. 

We must be more about student learning than teaching.  In other words, it doesn’t matter what we teach if students don’t learn it.  (Think of the “I taught my dog to whistle” cartoon.) Wiggins and McTighe in Understanding by Design, point out that "teaching by mentioning it" is perhaps the least helpful approach to instruction.  In the coming month and a half, many of you will have to fight the temptation to "cover" material without giving opportunity for students to develop "enduring understanding." 

In the long run, less width and more depth is the way to go if you want students to remember the material and be able to apply the learning any time after June.

Secondly, if you, like most teachers at this time of year, have to make tough curricular decisions, make sure to make the main thing the main thing.  Focus on the learning that is truly important, engage your students in the learning at a deep level, and take solace in the knowledge that learning a few things well will have more lasting impact than "covering" many things in ways that will soon be lost.

Spring has sprung, and summer is knocking on the door.  The task of planning how best to use the remaining weeks is not an easy one, but that has not stopped educators before.  Working with kids has never been for the faint of heart. 

Spring forward, HSE.  Make the most of the April and May.

Phil