State of the Village

This past Tuesday, President Obama had the main stage in national politics.  The State of the Union Address is always amazing to watch, regardless of your politics.  The standing and clapping (or lack of standing and clapping) is entertaining on its own right, and even the predictable and partisan responses after the speech are part of the spectacle.  The whole experience left me feeling part of something important, part of something special.

From Politifact

My wife ran across another way of looking at our place in nation, in our world, and even in Fishers, Indiana.  Last week, she sent the information below.  I found it to be thought-provoking.  In light of our President’s speech, you also may be interested in a “State of the Village” report:

If the world were a village of only 100 people, there would be:

• 60 Asians,
• 16 Africans, 
• 10 Europeans, 
• 8 people from Central and South America, Mexico, and the Caribbean, 
• 5 from the USA and Canada, and
• 1 person from Australia or New Zealand

Source: www.census.gov/population/international/data/idb/informationGateway.php

The people of the village would have considerable difficulty communicating:

• 17 people would speak a Chinese dialect (12 of them Mandarin) 
• 6 Spanish,
• 5 English,
• 4 people Hindi/Urdu, 
• 3 Arabic,
• 3 Portuguese, 
• This list accounts for less than half the villagers. The others speak (in descending order of frequency) Bengali, Russian, Japanese, Javanese, Lahnda, German, French, and over 7,000 other languages.

Source: www.enthnologue.com/statistics/size

In the village there would be:

• 32 Christians,
• 23 Moslems, 
• 15 Hindus, 
• 16 Nonreligious, Agnostics, or Atheists,
• 7 Buddhists, 
• 6 Folk or traditional religions
• 1 All other religions (including Judaism, Baha'i, Sikhism, Shintoism, 
• Taoism, Zoroastrianism, to mention just a few.)

Source: www.pewforum.org/2012/12/18/global-religious-landscape-exec/

In this 100-person community:

• 51 would live in cities. 
• 23 would live in substandard housing. 
• 74 adults (age 15+) would live in the village, and 16 of them would be illiterate. 
• 14 would suffer from malnutrition. 
• 11 would not have access to clean, safe drinking water. 
• 20 people would not have any electricity.
• Of the 80 that do have electricity, most would use it only for light at night. 
• In the village would be 56 radios, 22 televisions, 93 mobile phone subscriptions, and 9 computers (some villagers own more than one of each).
• 40 people would use the Internet. 
• 17 people would own an automobile (some of them more than one).
• 8 people would possess 83% of the entire village's wealth. 
• The poorest 70% of the people would receive only 3% of the income of the village. 

Sources: CIA World Factbook; 12 World Bank, World Development Indicators; UNICEF; International Energy Agency; International Telecommunications Databook 2103, Credit Suisse Global Wealth Databook; Oxfam International, “Working for the Few,” Oxfam Briefing Paper, January 20, 2014.

State of the School

This perspective provides enlightening food for thought about our place in the world.  It would be an interesting exercise to see what we would find if we completed a “State of the School” survey.  What would a village of 100 HSE students look like?  I wonder if we would be surprised by any of the findings.

Thanks for all you do for HSE, for our nation, and for our world.  It does, after all, take a village….

Phil

Several final thoughts from our Presidents on education:

• “Think about every problem, every challenge, we face.  The solution to each starts with education.”  –George H. W. Bush
• “And when it comes to developing the high standards we need, it’s time to stop working against our teachers and start working with them.  Teachers don’t go into education to get rich.  They don’t go into education because they don’t believe in children.  They want their children to succeed, but we’ve got to give them the tools.  Invest in early childhood education.  Invest in our teachers and our children will succeed.”  --Barak Obama
• “Knowledge—that is, education in its true sense—is our best protection against unreasoning prejudice and panic-making fear, whether engendered by special interests, illiberal minorities, or panic-stricken leaders.”  --Franklin D. Roosevelt
• “The future of our nation depends on providing our children with a complete education that includes music.”  --Gerald Ford
• “Leave the matter of religion to the family alter, the church, and the private school, supported entirely by private contributions.  Keep the church and state forever separate.”  --Ulysses S. Grant

The Soul of Society

“The quality of your self-talk dictates the quality of your life because whatever you feed yourself is the source of your growth.”  --Marvin Marshall

“I am a slow unlearner.  But I love my unteachers.”  --Ursula K. Le Guin

This past week, in different settings, I ran across these quotations from two very different authors.  The first is from Marvin Marshall, who writes a monthly newsletter about classroom management.  I've followed him for a long time and highly regard his book Discipline without Stress, Punishments, or Rewards.  Marshall informed both my teaching and my parenting.

 

The second line comes from Ursula K. Le Guin, the award winning author and philosopher.  For many years I enjoyed reading her outstanding and thought-provoking science fiction and fantasy novels.  More recently, I have come to appreciate her philosophical insights as well.

I see a connection between these two quotes that I think may be important for those of us giving our professional hearts and souls in the service of public education.

Self-Talk and Unteaching

There is no question that statements, when repeated often and with authority, are soon accepted as fact, whether they are true or not.  For example, when you and I hear time after time about all the faults and problems in public education, we are in danger of believing many of the myths ourselves.  These negative words can become the self-talk that Marshall speaks of if we follow conventional wisdom and repeat the misconceptions as truths.

To avoid debilitating self-talk, we are in desperate need of unteachers, people who point out fallacies, inaccuracies, and misconceptions.  As far as I can tell, Le Guin, in a commencement address to Bryn Mawr College, coined this term.  She spoke of being a slow unlearner, but also of the great value of her unteachers.  She was speaking specifically about the hard work of unlearning many of the common misconceptions that were instilled in her as a youth about a woman’s role in society, but we can draw similarities to the current misconceptions about public education.

We don’t need to look far from home for examples of common misconceptions about public education.  This week our state legislature is in the news.  Representatives and our governor are putting forth proposals about school funding, new testing requirements, and expansion of vouchers.  These bills will have a direct impact on us at HSE.  Furthermore, and perhaps more damaging, the rhetoric accompanying these bills is often disparaging about the efforts and results of public education.  In this political climate, seldom is credit given where credit is due for all of the good work and successes of public schools.

From the Indianapolis Star this week...

Like Le Guin, I am convinced that we need unteachers to speak truth about the common misconceptions surrounding public education.  Perhaps more to the point, we may need to be the unteachers to others about what is really going on in in public education across the state, in all HSE schools, in Hamilton Southeastern High School, and in our classrooms.

We must be the voice that speaks of the good and noble and essential aspects of public education, especially in the current political environment.

My Unteachers

In that spirit, this week I participated in a short intellectual exercise.  I made a list of those people who have served as unteachers to me in all walks of my life.  When I finished my list, I found that it was fairly extensive and included great authors I have never met and a handful who I have been able to meet, albeit briefly.  It also included co-workers who have mentored me, great teachers and administrators, family and friends, and even one person whom I married!

One quality all of the people on this list have in common is that they challenged me—and continue to challenge me—to think critically and continue to grow and improve.  Unlearning is not an easy task.  In fact, it is disconcerting to find that some truths I hold are not truths at all.  But these unteachers have been essential to my growth as a person and as an educator.

I found this exercise worth doing for two reasons.  First, I was able to identify some of the sources of my self-talk and make sure I was feeding myself a high quality diet.  Secondly, I prepared myself mentally and emotionally to address misconceptions I hear about public education, to point out the inaccuracies and fallacies often repeated as fact, or at the very least to add a counterbalance to the discussion.

Make Your List

I encourage you to try this exercise, even if it is just in your head.  We are in for some tough days ahead in public education, and there is no better time to fortify ourselves for the events on the political horizon.  We must speak up for what we believe.  Our reality is that we cannot expect others to do so for us.  We must be the ones to address fallacies when we hear them, we must feed ourselves high quality self-talk about the importance of the work we do, and we must become unlearners of faulty conventional wisdom when necessary. 

Perhaps most importantly, we must become unteachers whenever we can.  Public education continues to be the great equalizer, and it needs our support now more than ever.  

I hope your week is a good one, HSE.  Keep up the good work of teaching and unteaching, of learning and unlearning.  Regardless of the negative rhetoric in our political discourse, it is a great day to be in education and a great day to be Royal.

Phil

In case you are interested, this is my list, in no particular order, of my much loved unteachers.  There are others, including many of you reading this entry.  These people taught and untaught me.  They give me hope and help me find my voice on a wide variety of topics.

Jonathan Kozol	Carol Dweck	John Shelby Spong
Jim Kirkton	Thomas Guskey	Steve Barone
Phillip Schelechty	Carl Weaver	Kylene Beers
Marvin Marshall	Grant Wiggins	Keith Graber Miller
Lucy Calkins	Jane Allen	Ruby Payne
Alfie Kohn	Bea McGarvey	Robert Marzano
Sheila Yoder	Thomas Sergiovanni	HSE Admin Team
Karen Armstrong	Jim Burke	Ann Graber Miller
My birth family and siblings	A Houseful of Lederach Kids	Lisa Lederach

Engaged in HSE21

About a month before winter break, I wrote to you about the teacher who shadowed a sophomore and a senior for two full days of sitting on the “other side of the desk.”  She shared what she had learned and how the experience changed her as a teacher.  I heard back from quite a few of you after that entry.  Something about this teacher’s experience resonated with many of you.  Most of you agreed with her conclusions, but many of you commented that changing student attitudes is tough work. 

One consistent response from you and your peers went something like this: “Sadly, students seem to want the monotony.  It is difficult to get them excited, and they actually seem to prefer the ‘sit and get’ approach to education.”

From Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman, creators of "Zits."

I get it! The reality is that it is easier for most students to sit and listen, to take notes and answer multiple choice quiz questions.  It is easier (and maybe feels more efficient) for the teacher to do most of the work, most of the heavy lifting, most of the thinking in class.  On the other hand, none of us believe this approach is the way we should do school.  So what should we do?

I Don't Have Answers

But I have ideas of where to look for answers.   Simply naming this phenomenon is a good first step, and one great source of rock solid information about engaging students in their own learning is Phillip Schlechty.  I first met Schlecthy in his office in Louisville.  He is a slow-talking, extremely warm man, who has a whip-sharp mind, and he has spent his adult life focusing on what motivates students to learn at high levels.

He argues that in all of your classes, you will have students moving somewhat fluidly between five different levels of engagement: Rebellion, Retreatism, Ritual Compliance, Strategic Compliance, and Engagement. 

Students in Rebellion disrupt the learning process.  They have diverted attention and low commitment.  Students in Retreatism simply tune you out.  They have no attention and no commitment.  Ritual Compliance is marked by students going through the motions to avoid negative consequences and results in superficial learning.  They have low attention and low commitment.  Strategic Compliance is identified by students asking, “What do I need to do in order to earn an A?”  (Or D—depending on the student)  They have high attention and low commitment. 

Engagement is harder to define, but you know it when you see it.  You feel it in the classroom, and it results in deep comprehension.  Engaged students associate the classroom activity with personal meaning, and they persist in learning, even in the face of difficulty.  They have high attention and high commitment.

Below is an illustration of what typical classes might look like, depending on the engagement levels of the students.  Green represents engagement.  Work your way clockwise through the other levels down to blue rebellion.  It’s an interesting way to think about your classroom.

From Scoop.it Collection curated by Deanna Dahsad

The goal is to keep as many of the students at the engagement level as much of the time as possible.  Schlechty is clear that the expectation is not for full engagement every minute of every period of every day.  That is an impossible target to hit.  And let’s be honest, a well-managed classroom is hard enough to obtain on some days and much better than the pathological option!  However, the higher the level of engagement and more often students are at this level, says Schlechty, the greater the chance that students will learn at high levels. 

You might notice the similarity in language between Understanding by Design and Phil Schlechty’s work.  There is a natural connection.  Wiggins and McTighe say teaching is all about “transfer.”  This is what Schlechty says engagement provides.  Without engagement, there is no transfer.  Schlechty uses language that is almost word-for-word references to authentic performance tasks, student choice, collaboration, and inquiry learning.

One other place you may have seen similar language to Schlechty and UbD is in the HSE21 Best Practice Model.  Take a look at this diagram again.  It was first developed three years ago, and it is the direction we have been going ever since.

My point is that there is no one answer to changing a classroom culture of compliance to a culture of engagement, but the best educational researchers I know are supporting our current work.  If you want to design lessons that bump up student engagement, a great place to start looking for answers is in the HSE21 Best Practice Model.

We are engaged in the right work and on the right path, HSE.

Phil

Welcome Back and Other Words You May Not Be Ready to Hear

Elbert Hubbard, an American writer and philosopher, wrote almost a hundred years ago, “No man needs a vacation so much as the man who has just had one.”  If you overlook the sexist language, I think Elbert had it just about right!  Ready or not, here we go, so welcome back, HSE.

I also want to remind you of the intent of these emails.

My hope is that you find “From B106” informative, helpful, or entertaining.  In these emails, I try to clarify school or district initiatives, provide resources you might find helpful, or ask questions I hope we can answer together as a school.  This semester, I want to focus on the transition we are experiencing to BYOD next fall, try to keep you informed about the new standards and high stakes tests, and explore how current educational research might be able to improve student learning at Hamilton Southeastern High School. 

If you are feeling swamped with email and work, please hit the delete button.  I in no way want to add to your work load.

Let me state it clearly: These are not required reading.  

Again, welcome back.  My hope is that this is a great semester of learning and growth for all HSE Royals, whether they be students or staff.

Phil

A few more quotes from Elbert Hubbard that might be helpful on a cold day in January:

• The best preparation for good work tomorrow is to do good work today.
• The love we give away is the only love we keep.
• Be pleasant until ten o’clock in the morning and the rest of the day will take care of itself.
• Do not take life too seriously.  You will never get out of it alive. 

Decembers Past, Authentic Assessment, and Relaxation

In December of 1978, I finished the last final exam for the first semester of my senior year of college, jumped into my older model Mercury Capri, and headed south on a sixteen-hour trip out of Northern Indiana to my hometown in Central Kansas for the holidays.  Soon after all of our family celebrations and reunions, but well before the beginning of second semester, I made a life-changing decision.

As a result of the decision made on that December evening 36 years ago, I went to the only phone in our house and made a call.  At that time, the phone was firmly attached to the wall.  The one update was that my dad had replaced the short cord with one that stretched to fifteen feet.  (Phone 2.0!) For privacy, I walked across the hall into the spare room and closed the door, so I could call Lisa Herr back in Northern Indiana.  

1970 Mercury Capri

To be honest, I wasn’t honest.  I told her a little white lie and said I was going up to Hesston High School with some friends to watch the basketball game.  Instead of watching the HHS Swathers play, I loaded up the Capri, popped The Eagles Greatest Hits into the cassette player, and headed northeast out of town.

I cut cross country on dirt roads through the empty wheat fields outside of Hesston, picked up U.S. 50 to Emporia, reached Kansas City a few hours later, and headed due east toward St. Louis on Interstate 70.  In the middle of the night, I drove an almost empty highway past the brightly lit St. Louis Arch, took 465 around Indianapolis before the winter dawn, and reached Lisa’s house in Waterford by mid-morning.  I completed the trip that typically took 16-hours in considerably less time.

Later that same day, I asked a truly authentic assessment question.  After some confusion about whether or not I was serious, Lisa said, “Yes.” 

As a direct result of that decision, that drive, that question, and that answer, in these next two weeks, Lisa and I will have all nine of our children at home at one time or another over the break.  In addition, the older three will bring along their significant others.  And of course, one grandchild will arrive with the Nashville delegation.  She is certain to entertain and be entertained by her aunts, uncles, grammy, and grampy.

I intentionally left out quite a few details of this story—including the speeding ticket I picked up in Strong City, Kansas; how my future sister-in-law helped me surprise my future wife; and how the first words from Lisa when she heard “the question” weren’t quite what I expected. But those are other stories for other times.

I tell you this particular story partly because it is one I think about often around the end of December and partly because it might encourage you to remember events from your own Decembers gone by.  Mostly, however, I tell you this story because it is decidedly NOT about school, and that is important as well at this time of year.

Soon enough, January will roll around, and we will be busy and stressed once again.  We do have an exciting and challenging semester ahead, but for now, you deserve a break.  You have done great work this first semester.  I think especially of the important investment of time and energy from the ROAR Champions, all the new courses that you are putting in place for next year, all the experimentation with high-probability instructional practices, and the many new performance tasks and authentic assessments that are in regular use.

I hope this winter break that you find time to remember good events from this past semester and from previous years, that you create great memories with friends and family, and that you can forget, for at least a little while, all about school.

Please ease up on the Stress Button and hit the Relax Button as often as you can.  Thanks for all you do for your students and for the school, but for now, enjoy your time away.

Phil

Powerful Questions, Meaningful Artifacts, and a Caring Environment--Part I

We are closing in on the half-way point to the school year.  Next semester our focus will shift to preparing for the major changes coming our way in the fall of 2015.  The freshmen will return home after a three-year absence, our College and Career Academy philosophy goes live throughout the building, and all students will walk through the school doors with their laptops/tablets in hand—and with the expectation of using them during the school day.

I want to use the last two entries of 2014 to emphasize two points about all of these changes coming down the pike: First, we are not the only school experiencing these shifts; therefore, we can and should learn from those who have traveled this road successfully before us.  Second, we have built a rock solid foundation at HSE on which to build structures and capacity to handle these coming changes.

Science Leadership Academy: One Trailblazer

What would a school look like that is founded on the following concept?

Students will ask powerful questions and create meaningful artifacts of their learning in a caring environment.

Chris Lehmann, the principal of Science Leadership Academy, was hired by The School District of Philadelphia in 2005 to answer this question.  He started an inquiry-driven, project-based high school and formed a partnership with The Franklin Institute, Philadelphia’s science and technology museum.  The school’s progress and student learning has exceeded expectations and was recently documented in a book Authentic Learning in the Digital Age: Engaging Students through Inquiry. 

Certainly, Hamilton Southeastern is a different kind of school than Science Leadership Academy, but read again the words in bold above.  These are terms we have been talking about for years.  And see if Lehmann’s words below resonate with discussions you have had at HSHS as well:

The ideas that asking good questions, caring about the people around us, and building structures that make it easier for people to succeed have grounded us in all the conversations we have at SLA, and, more often than not, those core concepts provide the framework that allows us to answer new questions and challenges we face.

We are not the exception to the rule. Without a doubt, all schools face questions and challenges.  At the heart of what we do is learning, and the process of learning, by definition, results in something new: new thoughts, new skills, new ways of knowing and understanding the world.  Change is inherent in our profession, but that doesn’t make it easy.

The authors of Authentic Learning document their experiences and share strategies they have used to overcome obstacles and challenges.  It is nice to know that other very successful schools struggle at times but have found ways to persevere. 

  

Core Values

One way SLA answers new questions and takes on new challenges is by using the filter of their core values to make decisions.  We haven’t talked often in terms of core values at HSE, but I love this concept and think it could be helpful to us.  SLA calls their core values the “anchors for teaching and learning,” and they use their core values to help guide decision-making, both small and large.  The Five Core Values of SLA are listed below.  If you read nothing else in this entry, please take time to look closely at these core values:

• Inquiry—Authentic learning can happen only when there is a legitimate desire to gain knowledge or skills. Students need to be able to ask their own questions (with varying degrees of guidance) in order to engage with their education.
• Research—In a world where our access to information is becoming limitless, what matters is no longer how much you already know, but how well you can find what you need to know. Students need to learn how to both collect and interpret their own data, as well as identify and assess outside sources for quality and credibility.
• Collaboration—Whether in person or electronically, collaboration has become a cornerstone of the work life of adults, yet students are typically expected to produce and prove their knowledge in isolation. Working together not only supports students in their pursuit of personal achievement, it also helps them develop interpersonal skills that are essential for their future professional lives.
• Presentation—This skill is often pigeonholed as the "front of the room" presentation that students loathe. Presentation is actually a skill that students use constantly, both in the classroom and, increasingly, online. Bad presentation skills can be damaging to both their professional and personal reputations, so knowing how to present themselves and their work appropriately and effectively is essential. (Note: I want to explore this topic next semester.)
• Reflection—How do we improve ourselves? Curriculum is often written as a race to the finish line, without any time or space for students to consider what they could do differently or better. Reflection provides a necessary pause between presenting a finished work and beginning a new line of inquiry and helps ensure that students (and teachers) improve with each cycle of learning.

Even though we do not formally name and keep our core values at the forefront, these from SLA are not far off from what we value most.  An interesting question: What would our school look like if we held similar values as SLA and used them regularly to assist our decision-making?  You have thousands and thousands of decisions to make as a teacher.  How would your decisions be impacted if you kept these core values in front of you as you choose daily objectives, lesson strategies, performance tasks, and assessments?

Part II Next Week: The Right Road

 That is plenty to contemplate for now.  Next week I want to examine SLA’s Framework for Technology and make the point that we have been, and continue to be, on the right path to move our school and our students forward.  That is certainly a core value we can all support.

I hope your week is outstanding, HSE.  Enjoy the end of semester, even with all of the business.  Enjoy the anticipation of the holiday break.  Enjoy knowing that you are making a difference in the lives of your students.

Phil

Closing thoughts on values from interesting people….

•  “Effectiveness without values is a tool without a purpose.”  --Edward de Bono
• “Your beliefs become your thoughts.  Your thoughts become your words.  Your words become your actions.  Your actions become your habits.  You habits become your values.  Your values become your destiny.”  --Mahatma Gandhi
• “Set your expectations high; find men and women whose integrity and values you respect; get their agreement on a course of action; and give them your ultimate trust.”  --John F. Akers

The Other Half of the UbD Team

I often reference Grant Wiggins in these posts, but today I want to pass on a really good resource from Grant’s partner, Jay McTighe.  He is an educator, a consultant, and co-author of the Understanding by Design books.  His educational consulting business can be found at Jay McTighe and Associates.

From Jay McTighe and Associates

If you take the time to click on the link above, you can read a bit about Jay McTighe, but the really good stuff is found under “Resources.”  In fact, McTighe and Associates has compiled and maintains a listing of free resources to support teachers designing UbD unit plans.  Click here for the link to his Resource Page.

Once you are on the Resource page, hit the picture of the globe, and you will see:

• A 31-page annotated list of UbD Websites, including exemplary state, district, and regional service agency websites;
• An “Essential Question Website,” which provides help and examples of solid essential questions in career education, English/Language Arts, Library/Media Science, Social Studies, Visual and Performing Arts, Technology, Theater/Dance, and World Languages;
• A 5-page annotated list of UbD Websites supporting the creation of Performance Tasks and their assessment;
• “UbD Websites for Science,” “UbD Websites for Social Studies,” and “UbD Websites for World Languages”; and
• “Resources for Mathematics Tasks” and “Social Studies Resources for Tasks,” which include lots of information and examples of performance tasks and assessments.

While you are on the Resource page, play around with other links as well.  The “Download” link gives you access to a wide variety of UbD design tools and templates.  The “Video” and “Articles” links take you directly to information on a wide variety of UbD topics. 

If you are working on creating UbD units, it is well worth your time exploring help from the other half of the Wiggins/McTighe team.  You get the information and examples of quality Understanding by Design units from one of the co-creators of UbD.  It is reliable. It is comprehensive.  It is free—and at HSE, we like free.

Have a great week!

Phil

Remember this is the week for End of Course Assessments.  The biggest days of testing are Tuesday and Wednesday.  Please do all you can to encourage both the students taking the tests and the teachers giving them.

A few closing thoughts about tests…

• In school, you’re taught a lesson and then given a test.  In life, you’re given a test that teaches a lesson.  –Tom Bodett (He’ll leave the light on….)
• At the end of life, you will never regret not having passed one more test, not winning one more verdict, or not closing one more deal.  You will regret time not spent with a husband, a friend, a child, or a parent.  –Barbara Bush
• If my future were determined just by my performance on a standardized test, I wouldn’t be here.  I guarantee that.  –Michelle Obama
• Here is the test to find whether your mission on Earth is finished: If you’re alive, it isn’t.  –Richard Bach