Overcome With Techno-Fear...

Just so you know...this is a bit of a rant....

There has always been fear of change in schools. Take the year 1929. The following quote appeared in The Rural American Teacher:

“Students today depend upon store bought ink. They don’t know how to make their own. When they run out of ink they will be unable to write words or ciphers until their next trip to the settlement. This is a sad commentary on modern education.”

We see it in our schools today. I experience it in my role as a technology trainer. Teachers often have a great deal of fear when we introduce a new piece of hardware or software into the classroom. Fear is a natural part of the growing process. I have no problem with my teachers being fearful of using new tools, as long as they are open minded to the learning and growing process. My problem is with teachers (parents, community members) is that many are fearful of technology because they either don't understand or because it is simply a different way of doing things. 

One of the biggest challenges I face with teachers is their fear of screwing something up in front of their students or appearing that they (the teacher) doesn't know everything. It is a battle I face everyday. And just when I think I am (and those of us that train teachers in general) think we are making headway and opening doors the loudest voice in the education debate tries to slam that door shut.

President Obama gave the commencement address at Howard University. Before I talk about his speech lets go back in time a bit and remember that this was the President (candidate, President-Elect) that could not go anywhere without a Blackberry. He remarked that he had to have it to conduct business, even quoting in January 2009 that "They're going to have to pry it out of my hands." 

Keeping that in mind, this same President said this just 2 days ago: 

“You’re coming of age in a 24/7 media environment that bombards us with all kinds of content and exposes us to all kinds of arguments, some of which don’t always rank all that high on the truth meter.

With iPods and iPads and Xboxes and PlayStations — none of which I know how to work — information becomes a distraction, a diversion, a form of entertainment, rather than a tool of empowerment, rather than the means of emancipation.” 

Hum...

Ok, Mr. President, lets talk have a little conversation about Education, Technology and Fear....

I think this is an example of the same fear my teachers have about technology in the classroom. He admits in the speech he has no idea how to use an Xbox or Playstation or iPod. That may be true (but come on, an iPod. He can't even figure out a shuffle? My grandmother has one and uses iTunes. Oh and plays Wii everyday). And I agree with the fact that he says "information becomes a distraction." We have to learn how to filter what is coming in via all our technology and learn what to spend time on and not. We as teacher trainers have to teach our teachers this and teachers have to teach our kids how to do this. But to dismiss iPods or iPads or gaming devices as simply  "a form of entertainment." is a major step backwards. 

This is the pervasive attitude we are fighting with some of our teachers. That these types of technologies don't have a place in learning. But again, I believe his statement, and the fear of others stems from what they do not understand. If he (The President) would take a step back from RTTT (Race To The Top) and the other flawed policies of teacher performance pay and slashing funds from the education budget he should take some time to visit some classrooms. Why not head down to Pender County, NC and talk to my friend Lucas Gillispie who has one of the most successful iPod Integration projects around. Not to mention his use of World of Warcraft with kids in the classroom. Or talk to my friend Ric Murry who is successfully using cell phones to teach his kids history and geography. There are so many other examples and I bet we all can think of something really awesome an educator doing something to make a change in the way they teach kids. 

So instead, Mr. President, of dismissing what you do not understand and calculating the fear we in education are trying to eradicate, take some time, travel the country. Go in to classroom and look at what teachers are doing with technology. You have an open invitation to my school anytime you want to come. And I am sure we can find you 100 others where you will see the future of this country learning in the same ways, with the same tools they will one day use as citizens and job holders in our country. 

In the same speech this same man said that "Education is the answer to a troubled democracy." If that is the case, Mr. President, lets leave education to Educators. I just can't trust it in the hands of politicians...

What Was She Thinking??

Please tell me that I am wrong in the way I think.


Let me give some background...


I am taking classes to be an administrator.


This week during one of my classes the discussion centered around accountability, mainly should test scores be used in evaluating teachers. Timely, considering the #edchat topic this week.


In North Carolina, teachers here get a report that tells them how effective they are as a teacher, based solely on test scores. This system looks at previous standardized tests that the student has taken and then attempts to predict how that student will do. In some cases it is pretty accurate. But often, it is not.


What teachers get at the beginning of the year is an effectiveness rating that looks at how their kids did last year compared to where the program thought they should be. Teachers can be in green which means they are highly effective, yellow which means they are neither effective or ineffective or red which is ineffective.


Now that NC has opted to play the money game with Washington and is applying to Race To The Top they have agreed that in the future these effectiveness ratings will be used as part of a teacher evaluation. There is even talk that the state is considering a pay structure that would include these scores. (Mind you that is just "water cooler" talk and nothing formal has been announced.)


Arming you with that...here is what happened today.


We were discussing the use of this system in the schools. I personally believe it is flawed and if anyone spends much time examining or investigating these numbers they are really wasting their time...but I digress...


We started talking about the way the system predicts how a student is going to do on the end-of-year standardized test. I used to get these numbers as a classroom teacher so I have a little background. These numbers far from predict how students will do. It may get it right some of the time but more often than not it is way, way off.


There was a teacher in my class, an experienced teacher, 17 years in, who said that those predictors where what she felt were the best way to know who to tutor in her class. Those predictors were the best thing she had to decide who to give extra attention to.


I just about fell out into the floor. I could not decide whether to laugh because I thought she was being serious or to cry because I felt so bad for her students.


You have got to be kidding me!


What happened to actually getting to know our students. Understanding them. Learning about their background. We have to see what is going on with them.


Are we really going to let a some scores dictate to us who needs help and who does not? Seriously!!! What happened to formative assessment? What happened to ongoing assessments. Nope, this teacher is going to get her little paper and let that decide, right or wrong, who gets extra help and who does not.


Am I wrong to just dismiss this system, which you can read more about here if you want. (My personal favorite line in the text on that page is; "EVAAS tools provide a precise measurement of student progress over time and a reliable diagnosis of opportunities for growth that help to identify which students are at risk for under-achievement.") Should tools like EVAAS be used to, maybe not be the sole source of information but used to aid in decision-making?


Maybe I am wrong...

Image from Creative Commons Image Search

Where Is The Passion...

I am concerned.

I am concerned for our profession.

I am concerned for our parents.

Most of all, I am concerned for our kids...

I had a long talk the other day with a very good friend of mine. She is a teacher. A very good teacher. She told me that this might be her last year of teaching. Keep in mind she has only been in the classroom for 6 years but more and more she is feeling the burnout. There is too much "extra" stuff to do that is taking the place of authentic teaching, and, more importantly, taking away from authentic learning. Mandated curriculums, pacing guides, testing, it was just becoming too much.

We chatted for a long time after that. And she kept saying over and over that the reason she became a teacher was to make a difference. Now, if you ask most teachers I would be willing to bet most would say the same thing. They liked kids and wanted to make a difference. But think about your schools. Think about your staff. Who do you know who has real passion anymore? Passion for what they do, what they teach, and, passion for kids?

My friend certainly has passion. She loves kids. She is usually the first to arrive at school and always has to get kicked out the building at night. She spends hours crafting lessons and experiences for her kids, some of which are just amazing. She analyzes where her kids are and where they need to be and what she needs to do to get them there.

She mentioned to me about some other teachers in her grade level. They, she says, are not in it because they have passion. Yes, at one time they might have liked kids and liked teaching but now it is just routine. These teachers don't work as hard as her. They come in right before the day begins and are usually gone before the buses leave the lot at the end of the day. And yet their kids seem to be the most proficient (according to the only thing that matters 'round these parts, state testing).

It frustrates her greatly. Because using the same measures, hers are not seen as proficient. (Yes, I know that is not the only measure, but we are talking real world here.) While she is providing a much more rich and authentic learning environment for her kids, it is not translating where it matters and she is beginning to question her ability and her passion.

Whoa...wait just a second...

If there is anyone who has passion it is her. But the problem is, our system keeps trying to push teachers like this out of the profession. National Standards, testing, accountability, all play a part in forcing more and more teachers like my friend out.

And why?

Because, these teachers are not likely to just nod their head and agree with everything. These are not the kinds of teachers to just stand idly by while some suit decides education policy. No, what the suits want are the teachers like the ones on my friend's grade level. The ones who teach to tests. The ones who don't see anything wrong with the system and will just do what they are told without question.

So I am worried. I am worried that all the teachers out there who have the passion, who have the drive and desire to do great things for kids, who are doing great things for kids. What are we doing, as administrators, superintendents, elected officials, parents, students, community members to make sure we have teachers with passion teaching our kids and not just teachers who have nothing better to do?

Stand Up And Be Heard...

It all started this morning with some questions posed by one of the educators I admire most, Bill Ferriter (@plugusin).

To which I replied

To which he replied

There are two things going on in this conversation. The first point Bill raises about "Essential Standards" is one that we need to be questioning. Here in North Carolina it seems as if our curriculum change about every 3-5 years. When I was teaching Science we had radical changes among all the grade levels twice in no less than 5 years. The same was true for math and other areas as well. These are the standards our state feels that our kids need to know. But the point Bill raises is very, very valid. If these are Essential, why are they changing? Should they not be the same year after year after year? Curriculum can change. They have to in order to keep up with changes in history, science, technology, etc. The problem in many states and in this country as a whole is that we have blurred the lines between curriculum and essential standards.

The other point Bill raises is the one that bothers me the most. It is never our job to make any one listen. We can't. Just like we can't make teachers use tech in the classroom we can't make the "powers that be" listen. But, we have to care when they don't get it right. We have a duty to our profession and to our students to hold administrators, Superintendents, School Boards, and law makers accountable for the actions and decisions they make regarding our classrooms. We do our students a great disservice the moment we quit shouting. We have to go to board meetings and stand up and speak. We have to write and call law makers and let them know how we feel, give them first hand examples of how their decisions are impacting kids. Perhaps they will listen then. Or maybe they will listen to the voice in the voting booth. Either way, we have to continue to make our voice heard. And more importantly everyone, needs to hear the voices of our kids. After all, thats what it's all about...

Change? Darn Right We Need Some Change!

There are some things in life we can count on. The changing of the leaves. The changing of the seasons. The changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. Most of these changes are welcomed and expected. Yet when it comes to education and the business of educating children one thing is for sure, change is absent. We, as a society, have become comfortable with the status quo. But there is a movement brewing.

On #edchat last night the topic was "Is a Shift needed in education? If so, who is responsible? Teachers? Parents? Administrators? If a Shift isn't needed, what is right with education that we don't need to change." Needless to say I did not encounter one person who said that things in education were going down the right road. I did encounter several who said they see goodness out there, but the over all state of education was headed down the path.

Here is what a few people had to say:

• A shift in our culture is already happening. We need to adapt our education model and our own instructional practices to help our students acquire the critical thinking skills that they need compete globally and embrace life long learning. - A District Level Administrator
• I think we need to shift what we think the traditional classroom roll should be. We need to tear down the walls and really develop global knowledge learners. Technology is helping, but we still have a ways to go. I think business will ultimately drive the change. Money always does. When business starts wanting more global citizens able to work with technology, education will catch up. -An Instructional Technologist
• A shift is definitely needed but how to accomplish it is the big question. We have to enlist support from parents and educate school boards and administrators for the need to get the most of our students and prepare them for the real world. We must re-establish three tracks. College is not the answer for all students. Let's get back to Academic - Commercial and Vocational tracks. -An Educator
• It takes a village to raise a child, but our villages are crumbling, our families are disconnecting, our schools are suffocating, and communities are suffering. Each part must do their best on a common goal, but we can't even agree on the goal. Education in America needs to be brought up to speed like any other entity we rely on, i.e. AIG or GM. Why don't we infuse the ed system with such drastic amounts of money and see where educators lead education? Progressive and opinionated educators are what's right with education today. -A Teacher
• A shift is definitely needed. We can't keep teaching the way we have done for the last 50 years. It only really worked for the top half anyway. However, no shift will be successful unless everyone, teachers, administrators, parents, community, and students, bands together to make lasting changes occur. -A District Level Administrator

You can read more of what participants had to say here and read the archive here.

Here are some changes I would like to see and advice for stakeholders...

Change 1-Stop Allowing People Far Removed From The Classroom To Make Decisions That Impact The Classroom-Arne Duncan, Fat Cats In DC, And State Lawmakers: It seems ironic to me that you can sit in your comfy chairs and elegant offices and tell me and my colleagues that you know what is best for education and for the children of this country. Frankly, the only people I want, as a teacher and a parent, telling me anything about education are those that have experience. And I don't mean they went to school so they are experts. I mean they are directly involved in education. Why don't you do what we teach our kids to do. Ask for help! If you don't know, don't go in front of some camera somewhere and claim to know. Admit you don't know. Then call me or anyone of my colleagues up to DC or to the state legislature and we will do what we do best, educate you. Tell you what we think is needed. After all, we are with the kids everyday.

Change 2- Change Starts from the Top Down-State Administrators, School Boards, District Officials And Principals: It is all to easy to get into a position of power and be influenced by the outside. For those of you charged with overseeing education at the local and state level, its really time for some personal reflection. (I honestly wonder how some can look at themselves in the mirror each morning.) It is time to sit down and truly look at the direction education is taking, and perhaps it's time to stand up and tell those "policymakers" we aren't going to take it any more. Yep, you were right, I am going to mention testing. Testing isn't bad. (WHAT! Did he just say that??) Yes, testing is not bad. Most educators agree that some level of testing is needed. However, the problem is that you place too much emphasis on the testing. (Because the Fat Cats in DC say its important.) We need your support to Shift the emphasis from testing to authentic assessments. Students want to produce, they want to make something that demonstrates their learning. I was talking to an Administrator yesterday who was so excited to hear about a 3rd grade class that was embarking on a year-long project to create their own math textbook. There was integration at all levels including math, language arts, science, history and technology. And yet I said we still are going to test these kids. That project is exactly what is needed. Demonstration of knowledge rather than testing the ability of kids to color little circles. So, you, as Education Leaders need to wake up! Demand change from policy makers. But also demand change of your teachers and provide an environment for that change.

Change 3- Change Starts From The Bottom Up- Teachers: I bet you thought you were off the hook with Change 2. To be honest, I hope the real change starts with you. You are in the trenches. You are with the kids day in and day out and see what changes are need. So make them! If you can do something simple to make education better do it. If you can't, make some noise to those that do. Talk to administrators. Go to School Board meetings. Call your legislators. We need to get over this fear that if we raise a fuss we will be fired. There is nothing wrong with wanting what is best for your kids. Its time we all take a stand and say we are going down the wrong road and its time to turn this bus around. Otherwise we will be so far down the road, we won't be able to turn back. All of this is only going to work if 2 things happen. Administrators have to foster an environment of change. (Don't worry, I talked to them about that already. But the question is, do they get it?) More importantly, we have to get away from what is easy in education. It is easy to do the same thing day in and day out, over and over, boring, boring, boring. We have to be dynamic. We have to provide authentic learning experiences for our kids and that starts right there, in your classroom. Be open to and wiling to change.

Change 4- Hey Society, We Need You! Parents and Members of the Community: I don't mean more parental and community involvement, although I do. Yes, parents should go to school more often and get to know the teachers and the culture of the school. The community should take a more active role in the school by offering support whenever it is needed, either by volunteering or service projects. The Change that Society needs to make is to turn up the volume. We can complain and complain and complain. But until we unite and go to the people and places we are complaining about, we can't make things happen. So, go out, start a movement, talk to officials, write letters, make phone calls, and vote with your feet. Take a stand against the status quo. Remember, these kids will be taking care of you one day. Wouldn't you want what is best for them?

So I guess that is my Change Manifesto, for what its worth. These are just my ideas for Change. What are yours? How, if you were in charge, would you change education? Or would you just leave things the same? I welcome your comments.

Photo from Google CC Search. View the original here.

Just Call Them Skills

Cross Posted Over At The Digital Learning Envrionments Blog.

Flash back to 1998, the year I graduated from from a small high school in coastal North Carolina. I can remember my senior year like it was yesterday. Everyone of my teachers was was using these new terms, "21st Century Learners," and "21st Century Skills." At the time I paid little attention to what it meant or was all about. I can remember a particular English Teacher who used one of those terms in just about every sentence to us. "I have to provide you '21st Century Skills' or else you won't be prepared for college or the 'real world." Being a Senior, close to graduation, I didn't really want to know or even care about, what she was talking about; I just wanted out!

Moving forward to college I would hear those two terms every now and then from my professors in my liberal arts classes, before I started by degree classes. However, then I got in to my degree; Middle Grades Education. Everything we did; lesson plans, research project, lecture, everything had to relate back demonstrating how we were integrating those "21st Century Skills." We were constantly judged on how well we did or lack there off. It was drilled into our heads, so much so, I began to think if we were on the right track.

After graduation I went to work in middle school teaching science. You would think by 2003 that word would have spread far and wide that we needed to be integrating these "21st Century Skills" into our teaching and we could really move on to the business at hand; educating our students. Sadly, I spent countless, wasted hours in workshops reviewing teaching methods, suggested lesson plans and watching unnecessary model lessons. What was bizarre to me was that every time we had one of these "workshops" the presenter had a different idea as to what exactly "21st Century Skills" actually were. I got the impression that there was no agreed upon list of skills.

Here we are in 2009 and we are still talking about and worried about "21st Century Skills." I hate to break it to some, but we are 9 years in to the 21st Century. The conversation has yet to move past the term "21st Century." It is upon us. At this point, these are just the skills students need to have. Its not about being "globally competitive" or "prepared for jobs that don't exist yet," its about the way these kids want to be and deserve to be taught.

In the U.S. the majority of these "21st Century" students are being taught with 18th Century methods. Students come in to the room, they sit down, do a worksheet and go home. They never had the opportunity to create something, or produce something or demonstrate their knowledge is any form other than a standardized test. The problem is, when they go home they get on their computer to "Facebook" a friend, while downloading music to their iPod and catching up on their favorite television show on Hulu all at the same time exploring new spots in Second Life.These are digital kids that, when they go to most of the schools in the U.S. are taught in non-digital ways.

So here is what I suggest. Lets drop the "21st Century" and just focus on skills. Using that term makes it sound like what we are doing is cutting edge, new and different. To be honest. there shouldn't be anything cutting edge with what we are doing in education. When a district gives all its students laptops they should be seen as behind the times and not "leading the charge to '21st Century Skills'". When a teacher uses social media in their classroom it should be seen as "it's about time." Rather than keep talking about what skills we are talking about we need to embrace the tools and applications that students are using outside of school and bring them into our classrooms. There isn't anything "21st Century" about that. Its just what we need to be doing!

The face of education is changing. It is time we as educators and a society change because it's about this kids anyway...isn't it?

Summer Series-Who Is Responsible....

At some point we have to hold people responsible for being self-learners. In many other jobs, you keep up on own or get fired. (via @mcleod)

This quote came from a leader in edtech, Scott McLeod, on Twitter a few days ago. (You might have seen his work on the Shift Happens video series.) I have been thinking about that quote for a while now. Why is it in education, some teachers get a "pass" when it comes to Professional Development when in other professions they would be tossed to the curb?

I will give you an example. I use to be a science teacher at a fairly large middle school. Our staff was diverse with a good mix of fresh, new teachers and teachers with several years of experience. There was one teacher who had been around for almost 30 years. She taught social studies, a subject that one would think you would need to stay fresh and up on current methods and events. Not this teacher. She refused to take textbook adoptions or attend required professional development because she would have to change her lesson plans from her first year of teaching. While she attempted to integrate current events, students still read about history from books almost 30 years old.

You would think the school or district would not allow this to happen but they did! Why? She was a very powerful member of the local teachers organization and very active at the state level. The school and district were afraid of what she might possibly do if they stepped in. So in this case, instead of caring about the education of the students in her class, administration cared about public image and staying on the good side of this group.

Now, this is an extreme case but it is an example of what I am thinking about. Teachers all over refuse to take part in professional development for whatever reason. I see it every day in what I do. Teachers don't want to learn about technology because they are afraid they won't know or they don't have time to integrate the tools in their class for whatever reason.

I don't believe in forcing teachers into professional development. I only want participants in what I teach who want to be there, who want to embrace technology and see a value in it. But shouldn't teachers exemplify what it means to be a life-long learner? Our kids, starting in Pre-School come to us surrounded by technology. It is what they do all day with computers, cell phones, gaming, Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, Second Life, and more, yet in some classrooms and schools they walk in each day and are told to put your cell phone away, no Facebook, games are bad, and instead they "learn" with pencils, papers and books that are out of date the moment they are printed.

So what do you think? Should we have "required" professional development? Should teachers take responsibility for their own learning and growth? What happens if they don't? What would you do to the teacher in my example? Start a conversation...I would love to hear your thoughts!