“Remember when …”

In a recent National Public Radio (NPR) essay I listened with interest to the challenges of defining what is a television.  Is a computer a television? Is your tablet?  Is your phone?

I listened with interest especially as the discussion turned to something very familiar with my childhood – sitting as a family and watching a single television.  Wow!  Was it that long ago?

Then I reflected further on the expansion of television sets (remember when we called them a “set”) or better put “screens” in our home.  Roof top antennas, rabbit ears, cable and satellite are to varying degrees a part of our television experience – okay, for some of us.  Now we have wireless and Internet.  The whole situation is troubling, right?

With the advent of handheld devices “viewing” shifted from a communal to an individual experience akin to modes of transportation – have you ever thought about the radical shifts in transportation?  Consider we moved from individual modes like walking or riding a horse to the forerunners of mass transit – wagons, buses, trains, and airplanes.   There are even books, manuals, and now Internet blogs on etiquette, manners, and the like for traveling with “strangers”.  This isn’t new by the way.  The shift from individual and family travel to traveling in mass with strangers generated all sorts of publications in the 18^th and 19^th century respectively.

In our home though we may be sitting in one room, the number of devices streaming personal choices to each individual is very real.  Some may argue that at least the family is in one place.  Some may argue that individual choice, preference of programming trumps discussing, debating, and deciding collectively what will be watched.

Yes, we truly have a dilemma.

Not sure what the answer is or what the question is for that matter other than technology has created “different” with respect to “viewing”.  Hmm … come to think of it – this has serious implications for teaching and learning.

  Technology has called into question the “one size fits all” approach to both instruction and learning.  In as much as the K-12 model is challenged by the authentic, effective and efficient integration of new learning models, tools and etc., higher education is really scrambling.  The traditional “brick and mortar” delivery model – students physically attending a class taught by a physically present professor is under unprecedented challenges as a generation of learners naturally and without reservation birthed and raised in a digital world have little hesitation or apology gravitating to different.

The K-12 world is possibly slightly ahead of higher education.  The “flipped”, “blended”, eText, TechBooks, virtual learning, and etc. already exist and are only limited by cost – the cost of connectivity, device, and training.  In many respects the “size of the shoe is dictating the growth of the foot”.  Sadly, it really does come down to money. 

Really?

Well, no! 

It comes down to vision, commitment, conviction, and courage.  These are based on an understanding and therefore behaviors that embrace in many ways what we have experienced with television.  There are times where communal watching enhances the experience, creates common bonds, and builds community and other times when individual viewing is “best”. 

In those rare times that our family is in the same room experiencing a movie together, a news cast, an agreed upon sitcom, or sporting event we have more than physical proximity in common.  There is a common reference point to discuss, debate from a diversity of perspective.  Funny thing, as our children mature so do their opinions, arguments, and positions.

The implications of these shifts in television viewing have significant import and utility for K-12 classrooms as well as higher education.

Our challenge is seeing possibilities.  Seeing different.

We must consider that communal learning has its place just as small group and individual learning.  The vehicle for facilitating learning is enhanced by technology. 

Yet, it will require (as I believe will always require) a gifted educator to guide, coach, inspire, instill, and assess the application of learning.

And ...

The Anson County Schools fact of the week.  Did you know …

In 2007-2008, our 6^th grade Reading proficiency was 41% as measured by the End of Grade Assessment. 

In 2011-2012 it was 71% Reading, a 30% increase!

“New sometimes, isn’t!”

Visiting a classroom – a kindergarten classroom this week I was simply in awe of a master educator as she patiently, gracefully, and with much purpose facilitated a powerful lesson in mathematics.

If you could have seen the students – engaged, motivated, excited, and curious – The students on cue gave thumbs up when in agreement with a response and thumbs down when a response was incorrect.  The gifted, veteran teacher navigated each student through new learning, discovery, as well as validation and reinforcement of previous learning.  The ultimate “tell” of this master teacher was when she, without even hesitating, turned her back to the students.  These were kindergartners.  The outcome?  Without skipping a beat the students remained focused and engaged in the learning activity.  Pretty impressive!

Later that morning, the principal and eventually the teacher and me spontaneously engaged in a conversation about the lesson.  What I was struck by was the “comprehensiveness” of the lesson.  The lesson contained differentiation, remediation, enrichment, higher order, critical thinking, association, deduction, induction and imagination to name just a few of the skill and knowledge sets students utilized.

The teacher commented “this used to take all year to accomplish what these students experienced in 15 minutes”. 

Talk about expectations, high expectations. 

I commented to the principal that my concerns about whether or not our staff can or will adjust to new standards lessons every day.  What I observed was a very conscientious educator doing what we know conscientious educators do, adjust, adapt, and apply. 

In part what has been lost with all the hype of new standards is that what is new sometimes isn’t. 

The veteran teacher I observed is doing what she learned so many years ago – adjust, adapt, and apply. 

Yes, the new standards are fewer and are designed to be more integrated, deeper, and dependent upon prior learning embedding the application of technology as well as other identified 21^st century skills.  The ability to adjust, adapt, and apply reveal the skills, knowledge and experience of making sense, making connections, making learning relevant and making learning fun. 

This is what I witnessed. 

This is what we need. 

Moreover, this is what our learners – each learner needs to be successful.

Adjust, adapt and apply requires courage, confidence and competence.  It also requires collaboration, feedback and a sense of humility. 

Conscientious educators know that the “best laid plans of mice and men” don’t always work the way they were designed. 

Every day our educators test hypotheses regarding teaching and learning.  They employ “best” or “effective” practice with the best hopes, intentions and design for each learner acquiring and demonstrating their learning to the highest standard.  When the results fall short of expected and desired outcomes, conscientious educators adjust, adapt, and apply changes, modifications to instruction.

And so it is with the new standards – fidelity of implementation if contingent upon our ability to adjust, adapt and apply.

As stated, the new standards are different.  Yet, different should not, must not be construed as something new.  In fact, many of our educators were trained in a different era of teacher preparation – an era that prepared them to adjust, adapt and apply with grace, ease, and effect. 

Our effort to build capacity through our human capital development initiative is in part focused on building in staff the ability to adjust, adapt, and apply not only instruction but the alignment of standards, curriculum, and instructional resources with formative and summative assessment data to achieve the results we desire and expect.

We must embrace the new standards.  We need not be intimidated or led to believe that we cannot successfully teach each learner to these standards. 

We can and we will if we adjust, adapt, and apply what we already know or can easily learn about effective instruction – even if the effective instructional practice isn’t new.  

“The problem with education is THE problem”

Where to begin, is the question. 

The past ten days presented several opportunities to share the work of dedicated educators to create and sustain the transformative work of teaching resulting in unprecedented student performance improvement and growth.  

When I contextualize the challenges, circumstances, and conditions of a rural, economically disadvantaged county school system that our staff, students, parents, and community strive daily to overcome, the results are even more impressive.  This is as it should be. 

In meeting with Lilesville Elementary staff this week, you could sense the commitment, dedication, optimism, focus, and professionalism of a staff that is deeply dedicated to the proposition that each learner can and will be successful when each staff is successful in the work, the effort, the collaboration, and the support of one another.  Lilesville is well on their way to a “breakthrough” year!

Focusing on what they (the staff) have within their control is a powerful first step.  Their principal,

Ms. Phillips has facilitated an exciting, energetic, and contagious mindset of pursuing excellence.  Excellence not fixated on fixing problems but in creating possibilities, endless possibilities for each learner.

Creating possibilities is more or less absent from national, state, or local conversations about education.  There is far too many complaints, criticism, and calls for “reform”.  There are so many voices that no wonder there is confusion.   The result of the collective noise is more conflict, more unrest, more uncertainty, more distrust, and more lost opportunity to meet the needs of each learner – the loss of pursuing excellence.

As I have stated before, reform has nothing to do with continuous improvement it is all about correcting.  So much so, that the problem with education is the problem.

What needs to shift is the collective focus from problems to what has, can, and will be the result of pursuing excellence in the work of teaching and learning – passion, ownership, investment, creativity, innovation, imagination, and invention. 

We will see, experience, and hear things that were only dreamed or envisioned by the few. Though some may be amazed, those that pursue excellence will be pleasantly pleased but never fully satisfied or content with what has, can, and will be because their curiosity fueled by possibilities provides endless motivation to explore, discover, and create.

The problem is the problem is exacerbated by competing agendas from polar opposite ideological positions.  Neither is right and neither is wrong.  In the vise of these extremes are our students.  They are learners only limited by adults who argue, debate, demand, and legislate from not what is good, right, or true about pursuing excellence in teaching and learning but rather from a position that actually works against the very thing we most desperately need – an educated citizenry.

“A rising tide raises all boats” and so it is with education pursuing excellence.  The quality of teaching and learning therefore is not measured solely by test scores or easily manipulated metrics.  In pursuing excellence quality is in part the journey, the experience and in part the application of acquired skills and knowledge.  These are clearly dependent upon factors that can only be measured by each individual – their interests, their likes, dislikes, their pursuits, their happiness, their contributions, their commitments, and etc.

The pursuit of excellence isn’t devoid of benchmarks or milestones albeit assessments, assignments, or tests.  The pursuit of excellence is not without standards or measures either.  What differentiates the pursuit of excellence and the pursuit of “other” is the role the individual learner and individual teacher bring to the proposition – Everything!

The pursuit of excellence is “all in”; mind, body, soul, and spirit. 

Isn’t that what we want education to be? 

Hats off to Lilesville for pursuing excellence for each learner!

Here is your Anson County School’s fact of the week.

In 2007-2008, 32% of our Biology students scored a 3 or 4 on the End of Course Test.

In 2011-2012, 70% scored a 3 or 4 on the End of Course Test.

“How Did You Do, We Do?”

How did you do last week?

Did you complain? Use negative "speak"? 

Did you share the graduation data with at least nine people?

Knowing that breaking habits is not easy.  It is hard!  We slip easily into old patterns of behavior, speech, and of course thinking.  So, don't be too hard on yourself if you did in fact complain about your work, use negative language about the work, and fail to share the graduation data.

Yet, I want to remind us as well as encourage us to stay the course.

Therefore, here is a new fact to share.  In 2007-2008, we had zero (0) laptops assigned to students for their personal use in day-to-day learning.  This year we assigned over 1330 laptops to students.  We plan to expand that number each year until we have all secondary students beginning in 7th grade in either laptops or other mobile devices.  We will add mobile devices into our elementary schools this November.

Number of Laptops for student use in 2008, zero (0); 

The number of laptops for student use in 2012, 1300 

Please join me in sharing this exciting expansion of digital tools for our learners.

In a like manner, we had to intentionally increase capacity of our instructional staff in the use of these devices to leverage instructional integration of technology as well as learning. 

We have learned having the devices has not and will not instantly result in improved teaching and learning.  The investment in our staff has and will continue to be critical in authentic and effective implementation of devices and digital tools.

This brings to mind the need to share how our human capital development (HCD) initiative is designed to create capacity in both foundational skills universal to all staff in digital integration and personalizing learning for staff to meet their individual needs, individual learning preferences, and individual interests.

The plan with one of our strategic partners, Discovery Education, is (this year) to work with our staff in a very personal, individual way to increase competency, confidence, and capacity with both Discovery tools as well as other digital tools to authentically integrate and implement into daily instructional planning and practice.

What should amount to eight to nine sessions, our teachers will continue to expand their instructional repertoire based on their application of tools, evidence of instructional and learning improvement, and teacher perception of utility and effect.

Additionally, our Learning Development Center (LDC) schools (AHS, AMS, MES, and WES) will receive additional support through their LDC coordinator in interactive whiteboard systems, iPad, laptop, digital tools integration, and more.

All schools will be supported in Total Instructional Alignment work as we continue to increase our efforts with Thinkgate, new standards, and probably the most critical area – unit and lesson plan development, resource alignment, and effective assessment management.

Our Human Capital Development initiative will, however, only be as successful as we choose it to be.  That is, we are providing access, opportunity, and personal, professional incentives to learn and grow. 

The choice to learn, grow and apply new skills, knowledge, and experiences is controlled completely by you – each individual.  Imagine what our organization would look like, sound like and feel like if each of us chose to learn, to grow?

The choice to learn and grow is akin to choosing to share our success.  More often or not, we don’t share success just as we are reluctant to step outside what we know or what we can do. 

Risk, fear, failure, rejection, conflict, or accusations of self-serving, arrogant, egotistical, or worse are just a few of the feelings, emotions, or states of mind we experience when we contemplate a “different” or “new” act or behavior.

I heard many years ago from a former superintendent, “it is a feeling – get over it!”  And so it is with sharing, learning and growing, we must suspend our “feelings” and act.

We must learn!

We must grow!

We must share!

Therefore, I ask again that you share with at least nine people nine different ways the success fact of the week.  And …

Stop complaining and shift to positive speak.