See you all when I see you all.

Photo Credit: Alec Courosa - EduPunk Version 1 on Flickr

(and not this Hiatus for all you edupunks out there)

Technorati Tags: And that’s the way it was … and that’s the way it is … and it’s always changing … and it is always the same.

TED talks have done a lot this year to push me as administrator. They’ve been informative, and thought provoking, and fun. I can’t count the times that a student has ducked in my office and during the course of our conversation I’ve said something like:

“Oh, you’ve got to check this video out”

and off we go to watch a TED talk. So off we go to watch a TED talk.

Check out the Empathy section (from about minutes 5 to 8):

Favorite Quotes

The scariest thing is that his IQ is 160. A certified genius. But there is zero correlation between IQ and emotional empathy..

How could you have done it? Didn’t you feel any pity for your victims? These were very intimate murders, he strangled his victims. And the strangler stated very matter-of-factly “Oh no. If I’d felt their distress I could not have done it. I had to turn that part of me off.”.

What’s this have to do with working with young people?

(and yes I did just make a connection between being a serial killer and working with kids)

We’re all bright. In a school sort of way. There’s nobody hanging out here in education that isn’t wielding at least one degree of one level or another.

How bright are we emotionally?

Do we feel our student’s distress?

Genuinely

If we do feel their distress how can we continue to make the decisions about young people that we are making? Teaching young people is very intimate. I ask again: how can we make the decisions that we are making and take the actions that we are taking if we haven’t turned that part of ourselves off?

There’s a laminated poster on a wall somewhere in my school that says:

Someday, maybe, there will exist a well-informed, well considered and yet fervent public conviction that the most deadly of all possible sins is the mutilation of a child’s spirit; for such mutilation undercuts the life principle of trust, without which every human act, may it feel ever so good and seem ever so right, is prone to perversion by destructive forms of conscientiousness.Erik Erikson

That should be our mission statement.

I’ve Kozol across my office staring me down saying:

Go buy the Americans Who Tell the Truth Book

If you grow up in the South Bronx today or in south-central Los Angeles or Pittsburgh or Philadelphia, you quickly come to understand that you have been set apart and that there’s no will in this society to bring you back into the mainstream. The kids have eyes and they can see, and they have ears and they can hear. Kids notice that no politicians talk about this. Nobody says we’re going to make them less separate and more equal. Nobody says that.Jonathan Kozol

The Bottom Line

It doesn’t matter how smart you are, or how many letters you have after your name, or what your technorati rank is. What matters, in this business and in life, is your emotional intelligence and never ever turning that part of yourself off.

Not even for a second.

Technorati Tags: TED talks, another one of the millions of reasons that IQ tests are meaningless, administration

Guess who’s featured on PrincipalsPage.com this week?

This guy.

Technorati Tags: shameless self promotion

During the next week I have the opportunity to make a few SlideCasts. Here’s the first in a series of three:

| View | Upload your own

I’m not in love with this presentation. I hate presenting about things that I don’t feel like I know inside and out. I don’t know this advisory thing as well as I wish I did, but I do know that the concept of it is something that would be great for building community at our school.

Also it was a bit embarrassing that my math skills fell apart (listen to the last five minutes), but that’s about par for the course. I thought to myself about one-hundred times, “I should have someone else eyeball this” and then I looked up and it was time for the presentation.

Before I left on Friday, I sent the SlideCast to my staff. Sunday evening as I write this it’s been viewed 100 times and downloaded 7:

I wish that Google presentations was as social.

Later this week: a presentation that I am giving for NACOL with Cory Plough and a presentation on social software that I’m giving to the teacher computer specialists for my encompassing school district. If either of those things are your thing, check it out.

Technorati Tags: advisory, administration, slidecast

Over on the Principal’s Page there’s a well written post on school cell phone policies.

In relation: here’s the letter that my encompassing school district gave to all of the principals to send home to their student’s parents:

Dear Parent,

With the breathtaking pace of technology comes unanticipated consequences that can negatively impact the learning environment. One such example of this is the potential inappropriate use of cell phones. Inappropriate cell phone use impacting instruction may include:

1. Cheating on tests/class work via text messaging and cameras;
2. Circulation of inappropriate photos taken in restrooms and locker rooms;
3. Video game distractions;
4. Ringing/text messaging distractions during instructional time;
5. Signaling for leaving class/ditching;
6. Loss of instructional time to address cell phone interruptions;
7. Time spent investigating thefts of cell phones rather than focusing on student instruction.

Of greater concern is the use of the cell phone to compromise your child’s safety. Nationwide, incidents of this nature include:

1. Setting up fights and fight locations;
2. Electronic threats/harassment;
3. Making drug deals;
4. Impeding emergency efforts through rumors and incorrect information;
5. Overloading phone systems severely limiting emergency communication.

To address these issues, the SCHOOL DISTRICT NAME REMOVED is reminding parents/guardians of the following guidelines:

• Phones must be turned off and remain off during the instructional day and passing periods in compliance with SCHOOL DISTRICT NAME AND POLICY NUMBER REMOVED. Phones left on vibrate/silent modes are subject to seizure.

• Cellular phones may only be used prior to the first bell, after the final bell, or during scheduled nutrition breaks or lunch periods.

• Cellular phones should be stored in a non-visible location (backpacks, purses, pockets).

• Phones confiscated in violation of these guidelines will only be returned to a parent/guardian during non-instructional hours.

• Cellular phones must remain off during a school evacuation, lockdown, or drill. During these situations tell your child NOT to try to contact you by cell phone until given the okay by school staff, thus allowing emergency communication channels to remain open. The Parent Link communication system has the capability of contacting parents/guardians in an emergency.

• As a condition of possessing a device on campus, the student agrees to a search of the device’s content if reasonable suspicion of violating the cell phone use policy exists.

Additionally, parents are asked to silence their cellular phones while at the school. This ensures both compliance with the above guidelines and serves to set a positive example for students.

Communication regarding your child’s safety will in no way be hindered through these guidelines. Please be reminded that each school has intercoms and loudspeakers and the majority of our classrooms have hardwired telephones. Additionally, administrators and safety personnel are prepared with two-way radios and cell phones.

We understand how families have come to rely upon cell phones and other electronic devices to maintain the lines of communication; however, we have an ethical and legal responsibility to ensure that technology is used in a way that won’t be harmful to others or create unsafe conditions in our schools, or undermine our educational purpose. We seek your support and hope that you will speak with your children so they too fully understand the importance of following these guidelines. Thank you.uber-progressive district cell phone policy

Among a million other thoughts that I have (i.e. thank goodness they’re going to get rid of the cell phones. By doing that, in one fell swoop, they are apparently going to do away with cheating, distractions, ditching, drug deals, and overwhelming the the cellular networks for which I’m sure Verizon thanks them) my primary focus is this:

I couldn’t be happier that you have this policy. I am going to do everything in my power to make sure that my charter school has the exact opposite policy because

1. I can’t imagine a single job that I want even one of my students to have where using their cell phone to it’s fullest potential isn’t a requirement, and
2. It will drive students, who realize that they are going to need these skills to survive, to my school.

It wouldn’t be appropriate to have a discussion about cellphones without plugging this video:

Because while SCHOOL DISTRICT NAME REMOVED wasn’t paying attention I was stealing your students. So, thanks. First person to make an lolcatz about this wins a prize.

and

Cell Phones as Classroom Learning Tools

While you’re mulling all of this over go read the best post I’ve read in a long, long, time over at Practical Theory, What I Want to Talk About and let me know if cell phones are a non-issue and that I’m, once again, paying attention to the wrong thing.

Technorati Tags: cell phones in schools, principal’s page, cell phone policy, Darren Draper, Pay Attention, K12 Online Conference, Chris Lehman, Practical Theory, how many tags can you have before it becomes its own blog post?

Yesterday I talked about something I learned from Howard Zinn that I use in the classroom, everyday. It’s not being neutral. Neutrality is the worst thing that you can do to a curriculum, but it’s also the easiest thing you can do. Being neutral is comfortable. Being neutral is nice. Being neutral is also as boring as this season’s episodes of The Simpsons.

How to be a non-neutral teacher?

Being a non-neutral teacher means that you’ve got to do a few things. First, you have to build trust with your kids. Lots and lots of trust. If you’re a neutral teacher it takes nothing to say “my opinion doesn’t matter” or “I don’t want to talk about that”. That’s easy. And it sucks. Second, you have to encourage dissent. If you’re non-neutral, and you’re going to express your opinions then you’re going to have to build an atmosphere were students can express theirs and that they know if their opinion is different from yours that it’s okay. That it’s safe. More than that. That it’s expected. Finally, bring yourself to your class. You know, that human part. That’s going to help a lot with that whole “not being neutral” thing.

Why be a non-neutral teacher?

Neutrality is a false pretense and your kids know this. You’re not neutral. You know you’re not neutral and acting like you don’t have an opinion will only lead to one thing, your students actually not having an opinion. If nothing else, I want my kids to walk away from my class knowing how they feel about whatever it is we discussed. I want them to know how I feel. I’m not doing this because I’m all touchy-feely and I care about that crap. I’m doing it because if you have an opinion about something you’re going to spend some time thinking about it and that’s what I’m really after. Getting my kids to think about what they believe about the world around them. I can’t imagine anyway to get students to do this with out modeling it.

My wife said that someone else said:

It’s not hatred that kills people, it’s indifference.Take That, Proper Citations

Thank you, Howard.

In Other News

Is there any way, any way at all, that this applies to being an administrator?

Technorati Tags: Howard Zinn, administration, neutrality

My office decoration project is almost complete:

There’s one last space that I need to fill. I knew right away who I wanted to occupy it. Howard, of course. No, not Stern you Bababooie-head; Zinn. So off I went to be one of the 2.7 million Google questions this month and looked for “Howard Zinn poster”.

Zinn has had a large impact on me as a social studies teacher and as a person. I found him just before I went into my teaching program. He wasn’t on any of my class lists, but I did happen on to him while working on a research project. As I was sifting through piles of academia one of his books kept coming up. No, it wasn’t A People’s History of the United States, it was a book about the SNCC, SNCC: The New Abolitionists.

Now, if you can, think back to the year 1997. Amazon had launched in 1995, but resale books wasn’t their market. At that time Zinn’s SNCC book had been out of print for a while and I needed to find a book resaler who would go find it for me. There was a small book store in Reno that did such things. It took them about three weeks to find the book and $45 dollars later I had a beat-up paperback copy. This lead to much more reading of Zinn, including the auto-biography which has been a guiding light for me. (not to mention the subsequent attempts to read Chomsky. Yeah. Might as well try my hand a Russian Literature)

Anyhow, Zinn taught me about multiple points of view, and not being neutral as a teacher, and speaking up for those that are not able to speak up for themselves. All of these things have guided my personal and professional choices which leads to why I needed a poster of him in my newly decorated office.

The search landed me on American’s Who Tell the Truth website. There’s nothing more satisfying than doing a Google search and finding just what your looking for. Especially when that something is something that you want to buy. I saw the portrait of Zinn and knew right away that was the one that I wanted. I headed over to the shop to see what was there, saw the poster link (my heart jumped a little), and then realized that Zinn was not one of the available as a print. Crap! What’s a guy to do. Well, I took a shot and emailed the artist, and that for me is where things get interesting.

I sent Robert Shetterly an email early in the morning (it’s the only time that my building is empty and can go pursue these kinds of things). By mid-afternoon Mr. Shetterly had sent me back and email letting me know that we could work something out and that if I were willing he would send me a link to high-res versions of his art work. And this is why the internet rocks.

In about week I’m going to have framed portraits of Howard Zinn as well as Emma Goldman, Cezar Chavez, and Jonathan Kozol.

Question

Who goes on your wall?

Technorati Tags: howard zinn, americans who tell the truth, office decorations that make your office decorations cry in shame

This year, as my first school year as an administrator is wrapping up, I wanted to take a moment to thank the principals out there that are blogging, along with my building principal, who have helped me grow this year.

Kelly Hobbes - Educational Discourse

Chris Lehmann - Practical Theory

Dave Sherman - The Principal and Interest

All the folks at Leader Talk (tip-o-the-hat to Scott McLeod for putting that together)

and just yesterday I stumbled on a blog that made me smile the whole time I was there:

The Principals Page - written by an anonymous principal. He explains it this way:

I can’t list my real name because of the embarrassment and shame it would bring to my family and school district- actually, I just don’t want to be made fun of when I am in publicThe Principal

Wish I would have thought of that. I’ve been reading you for one day and learned something already.

It’s important to me that you know that your writing has helped shape a young administrator that’s still trying to figure out which end is up and has a long, long, way to go. Thank you all, for the guidance you provided, most likely with out your knowledge.

Technorati Tags: Blogging Principals, administration, leadership

Mark Prensky recently wrote an article for ASCD that talked about ten principles for principals. I’m still spending some time processing these principles, but there are two that I am going to go after, right now:

1. Make it your business to eliminate boredom from your school—make 100 percent engagement the goal. Poll students as to which of their teachers and classes are engaging and which are boring and why. Investigate and take action.
2. Talk with 2–4 students each day for at least one-half hour about their learning. If you feel you can’t spare that time to engage with kids, you may need to rethink your priorities.

Even if my old man did give me the business about my last post, I believe that #1 is the best way to change scores, and more importantly learning, across the board and that #2 is the best way to get there.

Technorati Tags: administration, school 2.0, school reform, teaching

The local bastion of journalism here in Las Vegas that is is the Review Journal ran this piece late last week:

91% + 87% + 88% = FAILED: New math tests overwhelm large percentage of Clark County high school students

Here’s the winning part:

Apparently students will do just as well on the test if they never came to class. In fact, I would argue that students may do better if they never came to class.

Mathematics instruction is a special issue. I don’t think that there’s an area of instruction that’s more top-down down, more direct instructed, and more abstract than what’s going on in the math classrooms (other than, perhaps, foreign language).

Here’s the general pedagogy that I’ve seen:

1. Watch the teacher talk and do some demonstrations
2. Read a section of the book
3. Do the even number questions from the back of the book I hear that some of the more progressive math teachers assign the odd numbers, but I have yet to see that
4. finish the questions at home and watch parents scratch head as they try to help
5. turn work in
6. as per the directions on the back of the bottle, repeat

Is there any reason to not try something, anything, else?

On the upside we are reaching 9% of our students.

Technorati Tags: mathematics instruction, pedagogy, school 2.0