Reimagining Education

Hello, colleagues! Happy weekend!

Last Friday I was perusing Twitter, as I am wont to do, and I stumbled across an article from Singularity Hub. I had never heard of Singularity Hub before, so I went to their about page to learn more who they are. They wrote Since 2008, Singularity Hub has offered daily news coverage, feature articles, analysis, and insights on key breakthroughs and future trends in exponential technologies as well as highlighting how they’re being leveraged for social impact and utilized to tackle the world’s grand challenges. So... seems like something that's right up my alley! The article itself was focused on reimagining education in the exponential age. SH interviewed Rohan Roberts, the author of the book Cosmic Citizens and Moonshot Thinking: Education in an Age of Exponential Technologies.

Some highlights from the interview:

• Classifying the skills that machines should bring to the table and what humans should contribute to the partnership is key.
• Any curriculum worth its salt would focus not on content but on developing critical survival skills, such as leading by influence, agility and adaptability, initiative and entrepreneurship, effective communication, analyzing information, and curiosity and imagination.
• We’d need to focus on future fluencies that are based on problem solving, creativity, digital citizenship, media, and collaboration across networks.
• The days of the teacher as subject expert and fount of information are numbered. In addition to being cross-curricular specialists, teachers will need to be guides, counselors, mentors, and facilitators.
• If we acknowledge that human destiny is to become a multi-planetary species and that our future lies in the stars, then we’ve got to start training our students to have discussions about who we are, where we are headed, and what we want to be. 

I found the article interested as it entwined my philosophy of education with some futuristic science! It also got me thinking... what skills did I learn in school that I still use today? My answer is very little. I grew up while education was still very much listen, memorize, regurgitate, forget. There are bits and pieces that I still remember from school, but nothing of real value that I still use today. So what skills are we teaching students that they are going to use when they're 34? I'm hoping that the answer includes some of the bullet points above.

In my classroom, students:

• Choose different "occupations" each week: producer, director of photography, audio engineer, on-air talent, or editor. Students know what they need to do in these roles. This allows each student to lead, but also to follow. They have to communicate and collaborate together to ensure that a broadcast is developed every week. 
• Are all pre-production writers in that they have to plan and write the script and design the corresponding camera shots. Students must be creative to engage their viewers, but they must also critically think about how their video will appear to others.
• Are sometimes absent, so a group must be capable and take initiative when that other student is missing. They know they have to "pick up the slack" because they have an upcoming deadline that doesn't budge.
• Learn about local and world news. My advanced broadcasting students are designing two stories for the broadcast - the first is about a local narrative and the second is a feature outside of the United States. Students will have to research, check sources, analyze information, and conduct interviews. They have to be flexible especially when preparing to do a phone interview with a complete stranger. I am hoping by exposing them to local and world news that they will think about who they are as a student, a member of the community, and a US and global citizen. 
• Design a social commentary video. Students will pick a social topic important to them, provide commentary and information on the subject, and suggest solutions to solve these social issues. 

I've realized in my (short) time in education that I am no longer the only person/thing that knows anything or everything about a topic. Students today have access to the internet, their classmates, and their own brain. I don't know "everything" anymore, so I knew that it was time for me to take a step back and have students take ownership of their own learning. My job, as a classroom facilitator, is to provide structure and a safe environment while also providing students with resources that will help guide their knowledge.

My last thought on all of this is something that happened to me last weekend. My husband has been craving eggs benedict. I'm by no means a top chef, but I like to cook and work in the kitchen. So I went online, searched how to poach an egg, found a website tutorial from Alton Brown (who I know is a renowned chef), and learned how to poach an egg. I Snapchatted how everything went, and on my first go, I had one formed egg and one runny egg. Did it still taste delicious? Of course. And the next day, I tried it again, and I successfully poached two eggs for my avocado toast (#millennial). I realized that I learned how to do something new, with a facilitator, I tried and failed, but then I tried again. 

So think about this... what are you still learning today? What do you want your students to learn as well? How can you reimagine education? Thanks for reading :) I'll see you next week!

- Rachel

@historicalipad

My Teacherspayteachers website

Work that matters to you.

Hello, colleagues! This week I've been thinking about my job change (prompted by my yearly teacher evaluation) and how I love my new job. I enjoy this position because I feel like I'm making a difference! Making a difference fits in with my personality (which I blogged about already). It's important to me to feel like I'm making a difference because it means that my work is meaningful. I can see the impact that my class is having on my students, the rest of the students in the building, and on the staff members. So, in this post, I want to talk about HOW to create meaningful work! Why is it so important?

Step 1. Work. Continue to work. Go to work every day.
I am lucky that I enjoy my job. I don't love waking up early, and I don't love going in to work every day, but I like it more than I don't. I am also lucky that I have a job that excites me and is a little bit different every day. I'm also passionate about making people better, so I throw myself into my career to make my students better people. I care about education, and I care about how to educate people, so I am continually learning new ideas to use in my classroom.

Step 2. As you work, what makes you excited?
I was also lucky in that, after six years of teaching, I was asked to be on a 1:1 iPad team. I threw myself into digital education and how it can be useful. I got excited about using technology in the classroom.

Step 3. Start to focus on what makes you excited. Focus on that excitement and research to learn more.
I decided that I wanted to become THE iPad teacher. I wanted to be 100% paperless, and 100% focused on the device. I wanted to become the teacher that everyone came to for advice on using tools seamlessly in the classroom.

Step 4. Dig into your excitement and pull out those pieces. Get specific. Find the meaning.
I realized, especially over the last two years, that using technology wasn't always the answer. Figuring this out shook me to the core. But I realized that I cared more about educating children than just using a device in class. So I focused on excellent strategies to use in the classroom, with technology or without. I focused on being a fabulous teacher that uses technology a lot.

Step 5. If your excitement wanes, try something new in your life. Get excited about it.
After five years of being on a 1:1 team, I was burning out. I was working TOO hard because of my passion for education. Sometimes it's hard to be a "black sheep" and an innovator. I paved a singletrack trail, seemingly by myself, and didn't have a support system. I knew I had to take a step back and be passionate about other things. I regularly went to yoga, I bought a new camera for my photography, I read more books more often (and not about education).

Step 6. If your excitement continues to wane, go back to your work. Then repeat steps 1-6.
Then I had the opportunity to move to a new position - one that is concrete and provides real-world skills for students and also allows me to share my passion for education with my colleagues.

I would like to think that every teacher wants to make a difference and wants their work to be meaningful. I also would like to believe that teachers want their students also to be creating significant work. I've talked in the past about student voice and choice. It's become an integral part of my educational philosophy. Giving the students an opportunity in how to speak their voice provides meaning to your class for your students. Realize that you can use these same six steps with your students!

Allow students to work on open-ended topics and/or essential questions in your class. Have them do lots of work in class. Keep them busy, but don't focus them too much on one thing. Start picking their brain - what do they find interesting or exciting? Have them dive deeper into those ideas. Would you rather have a student memorize dates or make connections to someone who escaped from slavery? Would you rather have a student know all grammatical rules or write a creative story that has a well-written character and descriptive language? As their interest wanes, and they feel that they've covered the topic, move on to another unit and repeat the steps.

For students to grow (as students) and become young adults, we don't want them to worry about whether or not they got an A. We want them to create good work and be prepared for the future. Students have to produce in order to be creative. Students have to work to see what is solid work. In order for students to grow, they have to find their passions. Give students some autonomy, make their work complex, and help them find connections between your content AND who they were in the past, who they are now, and who they want to be.
Autonomy (freedom from external control or influence; independence). Give students some flexibility (e.g., student voice and choice). That doesn't mean that students to get to do whatever they want, but they should have opportunities to make decisions. Let students pitch you different options. Let students redefine your rubric. Let students invest in content that is useful to them. Let students build relationships with each other and build trust with you.
Complexity (the state or quality of being intricate or complicated). Make your students think. Give them hard questions that make them wrestle mentally with themselves and others. Force your students to think "outside the box" and present outside the box. Give students time to dedicate themselves to these tasks and support them. Make your students stretch, in your class, to be the best citizen possible when they leave at the end of the year. Set ambitious goals and help them map a process to achieve them. Don't let your students sit idly by.
Make connections (a relationship in which a person, thing, or idea is linked or associated with something else). Don't let your class only be about content, objectives, and standards. They are necessary, but they're not enough. We don't live our daily lives through content, goals, and standards. We crave connections and meaning. Make your classroom a place for making bonds, whether it's to a historical figure, a data point, another person in the room, to the school, or to themselves. Let your classroom be a tangible place for the students, so they walk away with some appreciation for life.

There are a lot of ideas in this post, but in the end, we want students to come to class, to care, and to create. Hopefully, something sits with you, and you make a change for Monday. Thanks for reading! I'll see you next week :)

- Rachel

@historicalipad

My Teacherspayteachers website

This is what Democracy looks like!

Good morning colleagues! It is a BEA-utiful Saturday morning in Colorado Springs! It is already 63 degrees out, so I'm just itching to go for a walk or hike. It's surprising that I even wanted to get out of bed after a very long day yesterday! But to tell the whole story, I have to go back to last Friday, April 20th.

I'd gone out to eat with friends as we were celebrating someone's birthday. While sitting at BJ's, eating a gluten-free pizookie and watching the Cubs just utterly destroy the Rockies, a friend received a text message - her district will be closed on April 27th for the Colorado educator rally. Recently I've been quite politically active, but this bit of news just flew over my head. I'm embarrassed that I didn't know about this rally as things are happening in the Colorado Legislature that will AFFECT ME as an educator. So as my friend fills us in on the march, and another friend and I look at each other and say, "You in? I'm in."

Monday morning rolls around, and I put in for a personal day on April 27th. I'm even lucky enough that my preferred sub picks up the job quickly! A colleague comes into my classroom to ask if I'm going to the rally on Friday and I smile and say yes. After that conversation, word about the rally spreads among the teachers in my school, and the "situation" begins to escalate. We get an e-mail later in the day asking for teachers to let admin know if they will be gone on Friday. I, of course, told admin that I will be gone and that I have a sub already lined up. The response I received back was not that nice, but I know also stemmed from frustration. It was evident that teachers were talking and were putting in for subs, and not all of the sub positions were getting picked up.

Then, on Tuesday, we get an e-mail from our superintendent. It was not well received. In fact, in an act of situational irony, the e-mail had the exact opposite effect and teachers started taking the day off in droves. It was all that anyone could talk about, and the teachers that I spoke to were irate. Luckily, the next day, the superintendent decided to change the school day to a professional development day for teachers. Across all schools, it would have been "all hands on deck." I heard that there would be classes held in the auditoriums and gyms because there weren't enough teachers, counselors, or administration left to cover. It would have been a waste of a day if there was school.

So yesterday morning my husband and I were able to sleep in (so luxurious!), run some errands, then pick up a friend to drive to Denver. We took the light rail from the south edge to downtown, then walked along 16th Street Mall to Civic Center Park. It was powerful to be on the train and see more and more teachers in red pile on. As we walked along 16th Street, there were teachers in red everywhere!

 The march, from Civic Center Park to the Capitol Hill, started at 1:00 pm. The march was short (too short) but was powerful. We shut down a busy street, but as we marched, many people in cars honked in support! We were near the front, so we ended up on the hill. As we looked back, people kept streaming towards the hill. It was pretty exciting! But around 1:30/1:45, the police reopened the busy street and cut the group of teachers in two. At 2:00, when the rally began, it was evident that the sound system was not up to par for the number of teachers in attendance. It was hard to hear. I found out later that Governor Hickenlooper spoke, but I have no idea when he spoke. I looked back down the hill after 10-15 minutes, and teachers started leaving. It was disappointing that the rally turned out that way, but it was still a powerful experience. As people left, we did move our way forward. We were near the front for the last 20 or so minutes, so we heard some great speakers, saw some hilarious signs, and chanted, clapped, and yelled with the remaining educators!

So why did I march and rally yesterday?

• Colorado schools are currently underfunded by $822 million and $2,700 below the national average in per pupil funding. Right now, Colorado's economy is #1 in the nation. Why is there such a disparity?
• Initiative 93: Great Schools Thriving Communities is a bill that will raise $1.6 billion annually in support of public education, while 92% of taxpayers will not see an increase in their taxes.
• SB 18-200's legislative intent is to improve PERA’s (our pension fund) funded status and lower its overall risk. It will phase-in a 3% increase from the current 8 percent to 11 percent of pay, starting in July 2018. As currently written, the bill would change the retirement eligibility age for all members who are age 46 or younger (i.e., me) as of January 1, 2020, by adding one year to full-service retirement eligibility for every four years less than age 46, not to exceed 65 years of age. At 34 years old, I would have to add three more years to my full-service retirement eligibility. 

Fascinating chart from @axios shows how inflation-adjusted public teacher salaries have gone down in the great majority of states. pic.twitter.com/h1vF8Q9I77

— Nicholas Kristof (@NickKristof) April 3, 2018

Right now, my husband and I are okay. We are living a comfortable life and have enough left over each month to put into savings and retirement (outside of PERA). BUT, the reason that we live a comfortable life is because of two things. 1) We were lucky enough to "win" a house through a HUD program called Good Neighbor Next Door. We were one of the last people to get a house, through this program, in Colorado Springs. We have a low mortgage rate and much more house than we could ever fill. We have been able to improve the property over the last seven years, and now, because of the housing boom along the Front Range, we will be able to walk away with a large amount of money when we sell. But we can't sell because we wouldn't be able to buy another house in town. The market is so hot that houses are selling, sight unseen, in less than 72 hours. We are really, REALLY lucky that we own a house. 2) We've made the conscious decision to not have children. We would be struggling if we did have children. 

Even though we lead this comfortable life, it could easily change by not having our salaries grow each year with the massive rise in the cost of living. It could easily change by our rise in rates for health coverage. It could easily change by having to contribute more to PERA each year, but have a chance that it will run out by the time I retire. 

As I saw on many signs yesterday, you can't put students first if you put teachers last. Thanks for reading... I'll see you next week :)

- Rachel

@historicalipad

My Teacherspayteachers website