One Man's Dream

It’s 1:00 am and my family and I are eager to get home after a fun filled week at Disney World. If a restful vacation is what you desire, Disney is not the trip for you. I’m pretty sure I need a vacation from my vacation. But, if your goal is to see your children (including the 43 year old big boy you’re married to) experience joy and happiness for six solid days, then sign up! I learned on this trip that Walt Disney opened Disneyland in 1955 to be a "play place for families" and that it is exactly what it is.

This is the fourth time my husband Scott and I have taken our children to see Mickey, a fact that I’m actually not proud of. It seems excessive to me given their ages. Over the course of our three prior trips, I thought we had seen everything Disney has to offer. It turns out I was wrong. Tucked back in the rear of Hollywood Studios is an attraction that we had never visited. It’s titled One Man’s Dream and it chronicles the life of Walt Disney. It’s pretty much a museum filled with artifacts from Disney’s professional life, followed by a 20-minute documentary. Sound boring? It was actually anything but! The artifacts displayed included a comic of the first character that Walt Disney ever created, Oswald the Rabbit (who by the way looks a lot like Mickey Mouse), as well as the desk where Disney sat when he created Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. (The little girl in me loved that!) In addition to these classic artifacts and stories shared, there were many examples of Disney’s failures and setbacks. That’s right, MANY examples.

While soaking in all of that history, I had to ask myself, why? Why focus so much on the things at which the great Walt Disney failed? After thinking about it, I came to the conclusion that in order to celebrate our successes, we must first recognize our failures. Now that’s a lesson we need to teach our children, both at home and at school! We are constantly telling our children/students that it is okay to take risks and to fail, but do we ever show them prime examples of how those failures can lead them to be better, inspire creative thinking, and build character? When our children have life successes, do we point out how prior failures contributed to those successes? If the answer is no, should we consider doing so?  Should we connect those dots for our children, or hope they all possess that natural drive and determination that Walt Disney seemed to have that allowed him to overcome his failures?

I hope that on this, their fourth trip to Disney World, my children walked out of the “happiest place on Earth” with more than a pair of mouse ears or a roller coaster fluttering tummy. I hope that they walked out with an appreciation for the creativity, perseverance, and grit that it took to create such a place. I also hope that when one day they take their own children to visit Mickey, they make this attraction a priority. That, my friends is this One Mom's Dream.

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Welcome the Butterflies, Welcome Change

Does anyone really like change? Change is one of those things that takes away that of which we are comfortable. Change pushes us to grow and morph into something other than what we were before. Even if the cause of the change is a negative one, it brings about a growth process that has the potential to make us better, happier, or at the very least more experienced. So why do so many people hate change? Are they scared of it? Is contentment really so satisfying to us as people that we will shy away from, or battle anything that changes our current situation?

This may be the only blog post that asks more questions than provides insight. I guess it's because I really don't understand the fear of change that seems to exist in all of us, myself included. Fear and anxiety are the emotions that seem to come first when change is introduced. This is the case when faced with change both personally and professionally. So how can we deal with it? My grandmother used to say, "If nothing ever changed there would be no butterflies". I thought she was so wise, but it turns out this really is a saying, not at all her own wisdom though the original author is unknown. When my grandmother would say this to me as child and as a teenager I would take it at face value. Caterpillars change into beautiful butterflies, so her message to me was change can be beautiful. Remembering this has always made situations of change a little easier for me to handle. Even when faced with the death of my beautiful grandmother many years ago. Her death marked a change huge change in my life, yet her own words helped me to find the beauty in her passing. 

Now I've reached a point in my life where I see opportunities for change a bit differently and this saying takes on a deeper meaning, something a bit more abstract. At age 39 when I call to mind the saying, "If nothing ever changed there would be no butterflies", I take to mean in my stomach. Change can be exciting. Change can challenge you and your belief system. Change can be a motivator. Change can lead you to a places you've never experienced and without it you never would. It can improve your situation, but even if it doesn't at least you can learn from it. Change can make you better. So as we face change whether in our workplace or in our personal lives, let's try to embrace the butterflies we feel in our stomachs and enjoy the excitement of the possibility of being better for it. Without change, those butterflies and all that they stand for wouldn't exist. 

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As Many Hours As Beyonce

I'm not even a little embarrassed to admit that this is one of my favorite sayings.  I read this message every day, as part of the screen saver collection on my computer. I selected it for workout motivation; a reminder that it is in my control to set time aside in my schedule to workout. I will also admit that I have been told more than once by other women that they hate this saying. They then ask how I dare to compare myself and the way I spend my time to that of a woman who can afford to hire help not only with her fitness routine, but with her work commitments and parenting responsibilities as well. I guess I don't look at it that literally or personally. This saying motivates me to manage my time and make things happen. Whatever it takes, right? 

Folks in education know that this is the time of year when teachers struggle. This stretch between winter break until spring break is long and stressful. This is the time of year when it all comes to a head with standardized tests around the corner, missed instructional time due to weather, student behavior issues, and the dreaded winter blues.  It also seems that this is the time of year when teachers feel that they are challenged to stretch themselves professionally, to step up their game with instruction. With the school year half over, it's crunch time. Teachers are told they should now have a clear understanding of the needs of their students and what it will take to grow them. Additionally, in my district, teachers have the added pressure of creating lengthy eLearning bundles for snow make-up purposes. We embrace this practice in an effort to cover critical material prior to state mandated high stakes testing windows, but recognize it as one that places many of our teachers out of their instructional comfort zone. It is a lot and teachers are feeling the pressure. Over the past few weeks, as I've visited buildings to support our tech integration and eLearning charge,  I have heard so many teachers say, "I just don't have the time to do all of this".  As much as I try to simplify the process for them and provide ideas for time saving measures, the truth is I get it. My task list has grown out of control as well and while I work to chip away at it, it seems to continue to grow. It's one thing to work all of the time to stay ahead, but quite another to work all of the time and still feel behind. That's when the stress sets in. So what's the answer? I wish I had it. Boy would it make this blog post more popular if I did! I can share a bit of information that I recently read that has helped me prioritize my work when I feel it is getting out of control. In his book The 360 Degree Leader, John Maxwell shares the following formula for work prioritization. 

80% of the time-Work Where You Are Strongest 

15% of the time-Work Where You Are Learning

5% of the time-Work in Other Necessary Areas

Obviously this is going to look different for everyone as we all have different strengths, things we need to learn, and work responsibilities. Perhaps that is where the real issue lies. As teachers, we constantly compare ourselves to other teachers even though each of us is uniquely different. For us to try to follow the same time structure as the person teaching next door creates a type of stress that is difficult to overcome. Why do we do this to ourselves? It's as ridiculous as me trying to share the same time and priority structure as Beyonce. So, I go back to the little saying I posted above.  I do, in fact, have as many hours a day as Beyonce. While she and I probably spend our days very differently and our task lists look nothing alike, I know that we both have responsibilities and goals that we are working toward. (Note: Being able to wear a bodysuit and 6 inch stilettos in public is not on my goal list, but I truly appreciate the fact that it is on hers. ;) I recognize that it is up to me to make many things happen in my 24 hours, with or without the help of others. I recognize that I cannot even prioritize my work the same as someone else who does my same job. I also recognize that prioritizing my work is critical, not only in an effort to accomplish what I need to, but to do so with as little stress as possible. I encourage each of our YCS teachers and others reading this post to use the formula above to manage your work priorities. Who knows, maybe that is what Beyonce has done to be so dang fabulous! 

Maxwell, John C. The 360 Degree Leder. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, Inc. 2005, 2011. Print

You Have As Many Hours In The Day As Beyonce. Digital Image. Web <http://www.crazyredpen.com/2013/11/monday-inspiration.html>

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Connect the Dots

Do you remember Connect the Dots; those fun little puzzles comprised of a series of numbered dots that when connected in order, revealed a picture? Connect the Dot books were a big thing in the era that I grew up in. In the days before handheld electronic games, car DVD players and Netflix, Connect the Dots and activities like them were all there was to do on long car rides and in doctor waiting rooms. I spent hours connecting dots to reveal everything from animals to buildings. With the help of the Connect the Dots folks, anyone could be an artist. 

I find myself playing Connect the Dots still today, each and every time I plan a PD session for my teachers. I share a concept or tech tool with them, then guide them to "connect the dots", to understand how what we've discussed impacts instruction and learning. Obviously teaching the tech is the easy part. It's making the connection to the learning process that can be more work to accomplish. Demonstrating how to make something work is very cut and dry, but leading participants to understand the impact of what is being demonstrated requires a variety of examples, as well as explanation, and evidence. It requires context, specifically context in terms of teaching and learning. That's where it gets difficult. You see, a classroom where the teacher really has embraced teaching the 21st Century learner and the integration of digital tools will look differently than one that has not. It has to! In these classrooms, both the teacher and the students are working differently than they have in the past. They are working interdependently to collaborate, produce, and share. There is no need for these types of activities when students are listening to sit and get lectures or completing low-level worksheets. The context for providing instruction to students is different, making it harder for some teachers to connect the dots. 

If there is one thing that I've learned by working in my integration specialist position for the past year and a half, it's that teachers tend to be a literal people. Most are very willing to take the tools that are presented to them during our PD sessions and put them to use in classroom, based on examples they were provided. However fewer teachers are able to generalize what they've learned and apply it to a variety of situations to have a greater impact on instruction. It comes back to context, and for those of us who provide professional development, it is our job to provide that context for our teachers. The lack of context is not the fault of the teachers. After all, many of the things that we are sharing had not been part of the educational world until now. We have to help teachers connect the dots. As a young child I could easily connect numbered dots to form an image of a dog. I had seen dogs before, and their simple form required no more than 20 points. It was more difficult however, to complete a Connect the Dots of an image like the Eiffel Tower. I had no context for its intricate design, and the amount of numbers it required to me to connect was a big job for a five year old. It is no different for teachers. They don't just need training on how to use tech tools, but they need shown how to integrate these tools into the context of instruction. In my opinion, the best way to accomplish this is to put the teachers in the role of a learner, using what I've shared. Doing this illustrates the effectiveness of the concept or tech tool they've been presented. It helps them "connect the dots". I've asked my teachers to participate in flipped PD, chats, self-paced online PD, and more, all in an effort to help them see the new possibilities for instruction.  By learning in the format that we want them to teach, they have context, and they seem to appreciate it! The trick is to make this process as simple as creating a dog, yet as impressive as creating the Eiffel Tower. 

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We're Down With HOC, Yeah You Know Me

December is a busy month, everyone thinks so. To ask teachers to try something new, something out of their comfort zone during this busy time is a border-line crazy thing for a person in my position to do. So, when I went into Pleasant View Elementary, my K-2 building, the first week of December, and asked them to entertain the idea of participating in the world-wide Hour of Code, I was a little worried about what their response would be.  I know teachers are busy covering all of the standards they have been required to cover prior to the semester break.  I know teachers are busy planning special holiday projects and events in celebration of this wonderful time of year. I know teachers are busy trying to get their own homes and families ready to celebrate the holiday. Yet, knowing all of these things, I asked them to learn to code and execute activities for the Hour of Code for which our district would participate.

As we all know, coding isn't exactly at the top of K-2 teachers' priority list. These are youngest students; still learning to walk in a line and recall sight words. So, when I began my Hour of Code PD session, I prefaced it with information about how the language of code is a literacy all children need to know. I shared that it may be the most important second language today's students can learn. I shared how as a nation, we are unable to fill jobs in the STEM areas with our own people, so we seek out employees from other countries to do so. In typical Pleasant View fashion, the teachers participated in exploring the coding apps. Some were genuinely excited to take on something like this, while others were a bit more hesitant.  I heard a couple of teachers say, "My mind doesn't work this way." but all agreed to participate in the scheduled Hour of Code for their building.

On our designated Hour of Code day, I spent my time visiting classrooms to see activities that I had planned come to life. All of the teachers worked with their children on these activities, doing exactly what I asked them to do during pour PD session the week before. During my observations, I found they all put their own style in the lessons, and some even added wonderful extras. They owned it! When I asked for feedback about the Hour of Code, the teachers were excited! All shared that they felt students learning to code was a good thing. They shared that the problem solving skills that students practiced while participating in coding activities were invaluable. But greater than that, all shared that this experience was FUN. Coding, fun? Thats right, at a time in education when teachers often feel the fun has been taken out of school, BAM! There it is. THEY WERE DOWN WITH HOC!!! During a time of year when many K-2 students spend the last days before break making Christmas gifts for their parents, singing Christmas carols, and stuffing themselves with gingerbread cookies, our PVE students are spending time coding. What's more, their teachers were asking for this type of instruction to continue in our classrooms beyond the Hour of Code event. That request may be the best "professional" gift I receive this holiday season. I am exited to continue to help teachers keep coding going with the little ones (and with our bigger kids as well), not to mention learning to advance my own coding skills. Boy, do I need some work in this area! I am excited to assist Stefanie with continuing with coding in our media centers as well. Want to see how Yorktown Community School students are exploring the world of code? Check out the Twitter feeds that are linked to this blog, as well as #ycsEDU.

 

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It Sounds Like the Hunger Games, Mom

I learn things every day by being the mother of two middle school boys. The most recent thing they have introduced me to have been the Hunger Games movies. Up until a few weeks ago, I had not seen any of the three movies. But, when my husband and I agreed to a marathon catch-up session on the first two so that we could go to the theatre to see the third with our boys, we instantly became hooked.  These are not the types of movies that I am typically drawn to, as I'm more of a comedy kind of girl. Watching dysfunctional society such as Panem can be a bit unsettling, reminding us not to take for granted the country we live in.  Perhaps that is why I was so surprised when my son, after overhearing my husband and I discuss the events of the last week's Indiana State Board of Education meeting made the statement, "It sounds like the Hunger Games, Mom." At first consideration I thought that my son had lost his mind. We were discussing a meeting that took place in Indianapolis, Indiana, not some fictional movie set.  There was no killing or no battle to feed the people back home. How was our discussion of this meeting reminding a middle school boy of the Hunger Games? 

After hearing his explanation, it was obvious that he first made this connection based on the vocabulary I was using. He heard words like "district" and "capitol", words that were used throughout the Hunger Games movies. This triggered my son, a child that knows nothing about our educational system, to make this analogy.  He explained that Dr. McCormick and I were like the tributes in the movie. We traveled to the capitol to represent our district. From our discussion he inferred that we were at risk of losing our ability to provide the citizens of our district with something we feel they need: eLearning opportunities. As a result, the children of our district were not going to get fed information when they really need it. Deep stuff for a middle school kid, huh? He went on to say that he bets even the kids in the Hunger Games can participate in eLearning days, since the movies take place "not in the old days". Ouch! 

As a mom, I was impressed that a child would come up with this. As an educator, I was saddened. Even a middle school student can see that there is something wrong with a system that is fighting over proper learning environments for students, rather than letting them be made by the people who know the students best, namely their teachers and administrators. Even a middle school student recognizes that districts should be trusted to decide if they are capable of providing this type of learning for their students. District leaders know and acknowledge our limits. We have to, as we work within them every day, whether folks in the capitol are choosing to pay attention or not. After all, it is the districts that are ultimately accountable for making sure the students learn, and that learning is evident on the standardized tests that they are required to take on predetermined dates. An eLearning option is the best way for Yorktown schools to provide this to our students, if circumstances arise that do not allow us to be in school all of the days we are supposed to prior to these test dates. 

The two tributes from Yorktown had to leave last week's ISBOE meeting and head back to our district before I was able to speak about the system we have for providing eLearning opportunities for students kindergarten through 12th grade, and how our teachers and students create and access digital content CONSISTENTLY both in class and at home. The two tributes from Yorktown had to leave last week's ISBOE meeting and head back to our district before Dr. McCormick could share the greater impact eLearning has on our district other than on snow make-up days, and how there is much at stake if we lose the ability to provide these services in a digital format. Rather, the two tributes from Yorktown listened to the proceedings on the ride home. Sickened by the fact that so many teachers, administrators and parents weren't even aware of the dysfunction of the system they entrust to make decisions on behalf of what is best for Indiana students. Instead, those involved seemed to be dealing one another Nightlock berries, as President Snow did to Seneca Cane. You Hunger Games fans understand what that means.  

So now we wait on those who are making decisions from the capitol, just like the members of the districts in the movie. We wait to see if we will be allowed to run our district educational system based on what is the best for our learners and our community. We wait to see if those of us who have be recognized at the national level for being Future Ready districts, are allowed to develop and execute innovative practice. We hope that our students do not continue to equate the educational system that is responsible for preparing them for the future to a movie about a dysfunctional society.  

While we wait, we sing...

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"PDG" PD

Thanksgiving is over, and it's back to the daily grind. It's the busiest time of year, when all educators try to cram as much as we can into the three weeks leading up to Christmas. For me, it is attempting to fit all of the PD sessions in that I need to in a short month. The part of my job that I enjoy the most is providing professional development for our YCS teachers. I guess I enjoy it because I get to put aside the paper work assignments that try to monopolize my time, and be a teacher again. Sure, the players in the game have changed. Instead of planning activities for folks in the kindergarten crowd, I now tailor my lessons to those who are a little more advanced in years. The most interesting thing about the shift in my instruction is, it really isn't different at all.  As a primary teacher, I had the privilege of exposing my young students to the ways of school. The content was NEW to them, the procedures were NEW to them, and the possibilities for learning were NEW to them. The professional development that I provide for my teachers is no different. I am introducing them to the NEW ways of school; NEW tools, NEW techniques, NEW expectations. Things have changed, and we are no longer teaching in the same format we did just a few years ago. I do my best to keep in mind that all of this "NEW" can be overwhelming to my audience. Teachers have experienced so much change and uncertainly in recent years. It is my hope that when my teachers come into a session with me, they forget the stress of all the "NEW" that is being introduced, and focus more on the fun of broadening their understanding and skill set.

As a teacher you often wonder if your students learn from and enjoy your lessons, as much as you had hoped. You anxiously await feedback that will reassure you that you are doing a good job, or even help you to do a better job with the next session. Every great once in a while a teacher gives you a little something that you hold onto for those times you need reassurance the most. My all time favorite feedback on a session came from one of our teachers who is less than enthusiastic about having to attend regular sessions with me. "Hey, Holly", he said. "That was pretty damn good." Those words were music to my ears, and ones that I remember with a smile each time I think about it. These words, all be them a bit gruff, let me know that this teacher, a teacher that doesn't typically buy in, appreciated what I was sharing. In these words I heard, that this teacher's time with me was well spent; he benefitted. As teachers, that is what we all want to know. Are our learners satisfied with their learning experience? Are our learners walking away from us with the ability to apply what they have learned? And perhaps most important of all, are our learners walking away from us with the desire to take what they have learned to the next level? This is the true test that our instruction and method for sharing has been effective.

So as I am planning my PD sessions for December,  I'm referring back to my time in the classroom, and remembering how those kindergarten learners were in the same situation as my teachers. Both crowds like to be engaged (especially this time of year). Both crowds like to walk away from our time together eager to have the tools and skills to apply what they have learned. And something they never let me forget. Both crowds like a little candy sprinkled on the table to nibble on when they are learning. That, my friends makes for "pretty damn good" PD. I'll let you know how December sessions go!

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