When Ambition Trumps Mission

Ambition is not a bad thing--there's nothing wrong with the desire to get ahead and do the best you can, but when ambition trumps mission in service work such as education, politics, medicine and social work, problems arise.

All those who work with the public have to continually check and recheck their efforts to make sure that they are pointed in the right direction--optimal service to those they serve.

Ambition and mission can work in tandem.  For example, a medical researcher may work passionately to solve a problem related to disease to best effect a cure, or a teacher might work rigorously to understand cognitive strategies that better students' ability to access knowledge, concept and skill.  Both teacher and researcher are ambitious in their pursuit, but mission lies at the center of their efforts.  They both may gain expertise, recognition and possibly monetary gain for their passionate work, but that recognition derives from embracing and achieving the mission.

Sadly, there are some in all service fields that seem to travel only the ambition path--making choices based on getting ahead rather than doing what's right for those they serve--their work is marked by questionable decisions, lack of transparency and surface effect rather than substance.

There are probably few on the far ends of the ambition/mission scale with the rest of us scattered on points throughout the continuum, hopefully points closer to the mission end of our work than the ambition end. Letting ambition trump mission hinders organizational success, stunts potential, and in the end, delays and/or denies optimal service.  On the other hand, when mission drives an organization and individuals' ambition fuels purposeful action then it's a win-win for those that serve and those that are served.

Where do you stand on the ambition/mission scale?  What's important when it comes to keeping a focus on mission while also maximizing the energy and drive that ambition brings?  What is the role of transparency in this discussion?  How is communication and information perceived? And, what role does this discussion play with regard to collaboration?  I welcome your thoughts, ideas and discussion.

2011 Global Education Challenge?

How do you face a challenge?  I tend to jump right in. After a summer of reflection, research and rest, I read about the 2011 Global Education Conference.  I knew it was time that I engaged my students with projects that foster greater global awareness.  I wanted to learn more so I created and submitted a presentation proposal.  

I could have simply attended the conference, but I knew that engaging with the event in a deeper way would propel my learning with greater attention and motivation.  Creating and submitting the proposal was the first learning event.  For years, I have been improving the unit, What's My Culture?, to build students' respect and awareness of their own cultures and other's cultures.  I honed the unit, wrote the proposal and moved into the teaching year with an eye on my email waiting for response.

From time to time, I visited the conference website to read the latest submissions and news updates.  I continued to develop and teach the unit while reflecting on its merits.  Then I heard the good (and scary) news: my proposal was accepted.  That led me to the next layer of learning--presenting online to a global audience.  I have never done that before.  I did have the chance to engage in a great online discussion led by Jo Hart once, and that gave me some exposure to Blackboard Collaborate and global learning, but essentially this is a brand new learning endeavor for me.  It's both exciting and daunting at the same time.

Luckily the 2011 Global Education team led by Steve Hargadon and Lucy Gray offer tremendous support. The frequent detailed emails, links and online training have supported my launch well.  The one-hour online training led by Steve Hargadon was specific and tailored to presenters' and moderators' needs.  The tech specialists at my school helped me as well. They responded with needed equipment (headset), technical advice and the offer to help when needed. Furthermore, my PLN quickly responded to numerous question-tweets regarding presentation content, voice, and organization.  Anne Mirtschin from Australia wrote and shared a post outlining the steps to a successful presentation.  Sham Sensei from Singapore tweeted important presentation tips. Rita Oates from ePals offered to lend her support and collaboration for the project, and many other faithful educators tweeted encouraging messages and links.  

I also shared this endeavor with my students.  We watched the conference trailer and discussed what global connectivity is.  They lent me their support and thoughts last Friday with poster creation and blogging:

• "Yes I think its good to learn about other people's cultures because then you know what not to say that might be offensive to their culture."

• "I think it is important to learn about your culture and others because if you don't learn about culture, you won't understand your culture or other's culture. I think we should learn about culture by sharing about different cultures. I like having ePals because I think it's cool to work with people online."

• "I think it is important to learn about our culture and other cultures because when you grow up, you will have to work with people all over the world. I think kids should learn about other cultures by making culture flags and reading about it. I like having Minnesota and London partners so we can work with them and see different cultures."

On Monday morning, I plan to watch one of the the keynote speakers, Alan November.  I've invited colleagues to share this event with me.  I'm offering coffee and bagels as an added incentive.  I'm hoping a few will take me up on this rare chance to learn with educators throughout the world.

It's not too late to get involved in the 2011 Global Education Conference and further your global education efforts: volunteer (training provided) and/or attend one or more of the sessions.  I also welcome your attendance and insights during my presentation, What's Your Culture?, Monday, November 14th, 10 pm EST.  You can follow the conference highlights on Twitter via #globaled11.

Stay tuned for my conference afterthoughts next week, and as always, I welcome your comments, questions and debate.  The 2011 Global Education Conference is one reason why it's an exciting time to be an educator today.

Better Book Groups

I've always struggled with book group management--so many books, so many students.  It's been difficult for me to make the time, set the routines and keep the depth and breadth of each book in mind as I quickly rotate from one group to the other.

Now, with the onset of RTI and enhanced PLCs in my school system, I'm finding that book groups are more manageable, steady and rewarding for the students and me. What changed?

1. We have more staff dedicated to reading instruction.  
2. There is time set aside for just reading instruction.  
3. We discuss our strategies in our enhanced PLCs which provides a good place to trouble shoot and share ideas.
4. I read the daily five which is a teacher-friendly book for setting up readers' workshop.  
5. I'm using Google docs to chart book discussions which means we don't lose our notes and we have a great document to refer to both at the start of the discussion and throughout the meeting.  Google provides efficient image search and dictionary tools that further understanding too.
6. Students were assessed in a number of quick ways providing teachers with helpful baselines with which to create groups and plan instruction.
7. There is not a "one size fits all" instructional approach which is allowing each educator to find their own voice and practice when it comes to reading instruction. (I want to read the highly acclaimed book, The Book Whisperer, to further my growth)

Is it perfect?  No.  There's still a lot of areas that require development including: 

1. Finding the time to keep up with all the reading on top of the other curriculum work I have to do as I'm a fourth grade teacher that covers all subjects.
2. Fostering students' motivation and follow-through with book assignments--most are doing it, but I have a few more to inspire.

What I like best about this process is that it grows students' reading fluency, comprehension and skill, and our shared discussions result in new learning for all.  For example, yesterday while discussing The Graveyard Book, a young boy said, "I feel bad for Bod," which led to a great discussion that ended with looking at the symbolic use of imagery to depict Bod's feelings of despair at that point in the book.  A rich discussion for fourth graders.

Great teachers have been using literature for all time to impart the wisdom and questions of the ages as well as to develop students' love of reading.  While we rightly prompt students and families to include reading in their home study, we can't deny that the shared reading experiences at school deepen understanding, motivation and depth related to reading.

The Urgency Bell Curve

What's your sense of urgency related to student success?  How does your sense of urgency affect lesson planning, student response and classroom instruction? During a summer RTI conference, Dr. Austin Buffum discussed student success with respect to educators' sense of urgency.

I believe there's an urgency bell curve. Not enough urgency leads to passivity (teaching as a job, not profession), and too much urgency deters motivation and confidence.  A just right sense of urgency propels optimal prep, response and instruction.

What does a just right sense of urgency look like? Urgency that supports student learning has these attributes:

• Knowing the child well.
• Thoughtful, communicated goals.
• A step-by-step approach to prioritizing and reaching goals.
• Regular response.
• Advocacy
• A team approach to meeting students' needs.
• Constant care and a time to celebrate students' gains.
• A never ending focus on the goals with respect to the whole child--a child does not become a skill-set.

What's your sense of urgency?  Do educators in your environment share a similar sense of urgency?  Do you prioritize goals as a team and determine the urgency related to each goal?  What are your patterns and systems of response to goals that are deemed most urgent?  

Formative Test Lens

Formative tests provide an important lens to student learning and teaching.  A formative test imparts the following information:

• Specifically what a student grasps and what he/she struggles with.
• The little things: correct copying, lining up numbers, careful print, following directions.
• What teaching works--if most or all miss it, that's an instructional issue.
• Who needs reteaching related to one test, most tests.
• Students who need alternate teaching strategies and possibly new seating.
• The classwork/homework learning connection: do test scores match up with classwork and homework scores/performance.
• Information that informs follow-up teaching strategies.
• A quick way to report student performance to family members.

Correcting a set of formative tests may take one-two hours.  It's a time consuming task, but a task that positively affects student learning.