Farewell Elie Wiesel: Champion of Humanity

In stark contrast to those who use hateful speech, show disrespect, and/or war on innocents, Elie Wiesel was a champion of humanity.

I do not feel worthy enough to write about him, but I don't want to miss an opportunity to tell the story of how he shifted my view of the world so dramatically. In the early 1980's, a Worcester, Massachusetts' Jewish-American philanthropist, Jacob Hiatt, donated money to my college, The College of the Holy Cross, for a library addition. I was asked to help out at the dedication event.

Prior to the event, I had read The Diary of Anne Frank which prompted me to read more books about Jewish life and the Holocaust. I would lay on my living room floor wondering why people let the Holocaust happen or why the Vietnam War was going on as I'd read the paper and see the death counts climb. I also had Jewish friends from Forest Grover Junior High School and was curious about their religion and celebrations. Yet, on this day when the library addition was dedicated, I wondered why a Catholic college would invite Elie Wiesel, a Jewish man to speak. Until that day I had never heard of Mr. Wiesel, the famous writer, professor, political activist, Holocaust survivor, and future Nobel Laureate.

On that day, standing at the side wall of the library, I watched the well-dressed and prominent invitees enter the beautiful library. I listened carefully as Father John E Brooks, SJ, the President of The College of the Holy Cross at that time, speak. I wanted to know why this Jewish man was invited to speak at my college so I listened carefully. His words touched my heart and made me think differently about the people of the world and, in particular, the Jewish people who bore the burden of such atrocity. I heard his message so clearly as he reminded us that we can never forget the horror that happened and we must keep the story alive so that it doesn't happen again.

Sadly, in the news, we hear stories of religious hatred, racial prejudice, and cultural killings and genocide still. There are many who work against this however, and seek a more peaceful, loving world. They heed Wiesel's words, "I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented."

It is with humility that I write this simple post, and it is with gratitude that I remember the opportunity I had to hear Elie Wiesel tell stories and share his wisdom so many years ago. To honor his life, I will put more energy into his call to be grateful, supportive, and reverent to all humans. This quote of his includes good words to lead my life:

"For me, every hour is grace. And I feel gratitude in my heart each time I can meet someone and look at his or her smile." - Elie Wiesel

So many in the world are thankful for Mr. Wiesel's life. He has helped us to see the promise and possibility life holds, and has given us the courage to speak up. Though he is gone, we can still look to his life and his words for strength, direction, and hope. I often feel that when good people die, love is everywhere, and that is how I feel today.

I'm Not Ready to Give Up On Public Schools--Are You?

Learn the Facts about why we should not lift the cap.

Public schools are the backbone of this wonderful country we live in. The fact that every child has the opportunity to an education no matter what his/her economic class, culture, religion, race, sexual orientation, or beliefs is amazing. If we develop public education well, we will continue to build a dynamic nation.

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In Massachusetts right now, there is lots of talk about lifting the cap on charter schools. One of the arguments in favor of this is that so many students are on waiting lists for charter schools. I empathize with parents who desire good school experiences for their children, and I know that some charter schools are doing a great job.

I also know that many charter schools and the charter school movement have a weak, and questionable foundation. I wonder about who is making the money on charter schools and can charter schools sustain or even begin with good work. Many charter schools underpay and underserve their employees creating lots of turnover and less depth. Other charter schools teach students in ways that do not develop the kinds of deep, holistic, and broad minded citizens we need to continue the strength of our good country. And, charter schools further widen the gap between the have's and have-nots since parents in the know or connected families know how to gain access to these schools while less supported students are often left out thus creating schools of privilege and schools without privilege.

For a long time I sat on the "picket fence" with regard to charter schools because I know that public schools haven't always lived up to their potential for a large variety of political, process, and systematic issues. Yet, if we give away our public schools to a few decision makers rather than relying on the decision making of all people who vote and serve on public boards, I believe we'll give away the promise that our public schools hold for our democracy.

Lehmann and Chase say it well in their book, Building School 2.0, ". . .the fundamental purpose of public school--physical spaces dedicated to and people committed to educating a nation--is a good one." "In an age when segmentation of society keeps people apart from those who think, look, and live differently from how they do, schools bring us together to learn from and with one another." "As a nation we can imagine many different models for school, but the fundamental idea that we build places where all children can come together to learn remains one of the best ideas we've ever had as a society. We shouldn't lose it. We just have to make sure our schools reflect the time in which we live."

Lehmann and Chase's book outlines what a good school does, and they put their words into action day after day as they teach and learn in the tremendous Science Leadership Academy, a public charter school, in Philadelphia.

So as we approach a vote about lifting the cap, I say that we should not lift the cap and continue to work at building the strongest public school system in the nation--a public school system that mirrors the great values of our nation, a nation built on the direction towards "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" for all citizens.

Spend the money and time that would be spent on new charters on the public schools we have. Continue to make positive change including the following:

• Make sure that every school in Massachusetts is a students-first school that empowers the learning team including students, families, educators, administrators, and community members to work together to serve every child well.
• Empower educators in the classroom to lead and teach well by giving them the resources, time, and structure they need to do the job. 
• Continue to utilize the excellent standards in the Massachusetts Educator Evaluation System as a backbone and foundation of good teaching and learning.
• Invest in schools' infrastructure and resources so that every school in Massachusetts is inviting, welcoming, and an environment of updated learning and teaching.
• Look at how every dollar is spent and make sure that almost all of the money is directed toward student service and development. Time-on-task with students matters and most of the money should be spent on students' direct care and education. Though we do need optimal leadership and research and development as well.
• Continue to grow and develop the schools and utilize the great resources, organizations, intellect, and expertise that's everywhere in our state to develop our schools.

Massachusetts has had tremendous education leadership throughout my 30 years as an educator. I am amazed at what our Department of Elementary and Secondary Education does. I'm similarly proud to be a member of the Massachusetts Teachers Association (MTA) and the National Education Organization (NEA). States with strong teachers' unions have the best schools and that's because teachers have the support to speak up and do their work well rather than cower and fear advocacy for the most vulnerable students. The single most important reason why I am a union member is because my union protects my freedom to speak up about what I believe students need to learn well. Further, I am the recipient of countless supports via private industry including the recent Gates Education grant awarded to a team of public school educators to run an ECET2 in Massachusetts to foster a conversation about how we can better teach our most underserved students.

There is no one way to educate all students, but if we give our public schools away to private industry, we will give away the wonderful foundation our nation is built upon, a foundation that supports all people and believes that everyone has the potential to succeed and live a good life. (science is proving that true these days too). 

Please take the time this summer at the beach or by the pool, during a walk or at a picnic, to talk about this important vote coming up. Urge your family members to vote to support public schools rather than let our tax dollars be spent by private industry and organizations. We can bring the good ideas from private groups and organizations into our public schools--this is possible, but if we give them away, we'll have little to work with in the years ahead and this is a scary proposition--one that has potential to weaken the dynamic country we live in.

Khan Academy: Equity

I'm a big fan of Khan Academy. I believe that Khan Academy provides awesome access to learning for educators and students alike. I use Khan Academy to brush up on concepts and learn about new ways to think about or teach knowledge, concept, and skill.

A friend of mine uses Khan Academy every year to motivate, inspire, and educate her city students. Their math scores are tops. Another education colleague has noticed the amazing growth of her students, particularly students who have different languages at home and have immigrated to this country. I'm hoping that these colleagues will present their Khan Academy approach at our ECET2-MA2016 since the way they use Khan in the classroom provides wonderful access to learning, and that access serves to build equity, independent learning skills, and success.

Some don't embrace Khan Academy because they mistakenly view it as a narrow path to teaching and learning. I view Khan Academy as an incredible resource or a guide at the side. It's a tool to use in a multi-dimensional teaching/learning environment. Of course you don't want students glued to a computer day after day doing Khan Academy, but you can show students how they might use this rich resource to build skill, knowledge, and mastery. When studying for the Massachusetts K-6 Mathematics MTEL teaching test, I used Khan Academy to review all concepts--it was an efficient, successful resource.

I've also encouraged my sons in high school and college to use Khan Academy when a concept is confusing or they have to study for a test such as the SATs. I must say they're reluctant to sign on because of the independent nature of the study. That's why Khan Academy can't stand alone, and it's integral to develop wonderful learning experiences that are both collaborative and independent as well as learning experiences that are holistic, multi-dimensional, relevant, meaningful, and student-based.

However, with all this in mind, showing students how to use powerful, well-supported, and researched tools like Khan Academy provides those students with the tools they need to get ahead. My friend who has been so successful using Khan Academy with her students also noted that one of her former students, an immigrant from Ghana, is on his way to Yale University next year. I can't help to think that my friend's use of Khan Academy and/or similar equitable strategies and resources, played a part in this boy's success.

Do you make use of the tremendous learning resources available via Khan Academy? And, if you do, how have you used the resources in ways that support terrific, holistic teaching/learning endeavor. As I watch the ed-tech world grow, there are wonderful tools that keep getting better like Khan Academy, and there are many tools that have short lives. It's important to hitch our teaching/learning wagons to tools, resources, research, attitudes, organizations, experts, and experiences that matter, and it's just as important to work with students, families, and other educators to continually assess how, why, and what we use in order to teach as well as we can.

What do you think?

Starting the Year with an Enriched Global Cardboard Challenge

Last week's Wayland STEAM Institute prompted me to use the design process to enrich the Global Cardboard Challenge project. Led by conversation during my Global Cardboard Challenge presentation and learning via the keynote speaker, Rob Stephenson, and wonderful break-out sessions, I decided to add the following elements to the project:

• a more thoughtful introductory phase that will set the stage for a year of engaging math/science teaching/learning, teamwork, and teaching all students. In the past, while most students embraced the project, some were reluctant, and I hope that this more deliberate introduction will invite all students into the learning.
• an introduction to math/science practices and cross-cutting science concepts
• a movement from individual creation to group work.
• engaging, hands-on home study practice and creativity activities.
• initial teamwork exercises to help students think about what it means to work as a team.
• more deliberate introduction to the materials available and other materials we may need.
• a chance to design, re-design, and re-purpose prior to the arcade project.
• a more explicit and organized introduction/review of our school's service learning efforts.

A design process including elements like those noted above leads the
way my teaching team and I design learning with and for students. 

In students' fifth grade Memory Books, many remarked about how much they enjoyed The Global Cardboard Challenge. It's an engaging and purposeful way to start the teaching/learning year with zest and engagement.

If you're thinking of starting your year in a similar way, I offer the presentation below as a guide. Also, if you have ideas to add, please share. 

Deeper Learning/Teaching: Strategic Collaborative Process

Meaningful, student-friendly learning design matters when it comes to teaching well.

At the ECET2Natl in San Diego I participated in the "Colleague Circles" approach to problem solving. Also this week when I presented at The Wayland Institutes, I used a similar colleague circle approach in my presentations. Rather than act as "sage on the stage," I enlisted the ideas of the intimate presentation group to grow learning and teaching related to Learning Design, The Team in Steam, The Global Cardboard Challenge, and Digital Story. The short discussions we had were just what I have been craving which is the opportunity to discuss my work with skilled, invested, creative educators.

As I thought more about this today, I realized that this may be the next step in professional learning. We may need to create more opportunities for educators to work in colleague circles around meaningful questions and content to deepen what and how we teach in order to reach children with depth and breadth.

Too often our professional learning events are disjointed, impersonal, and fleeting, however, creating a colleague circle approach that lasts over time and is devoted to important targets could truly develop what we do for children in positive, growth producing ways. Our Professional Learning Community (PLC) approach in our school system has fostered this kind of team with grade-level teams, and these colleague circles could similarly foster this kind of positive collegiality with regard to curriculum and specific learning challenges shared by teachers across schools, grades, departments, and districts.

If I were to initiate this, I would do the following:

• Determine areas of study and teaching that educators want to or need to develop with depth.
• Create groups based on interest, question, and need.
• Plan that groups meet at the start of the effort, mid-term, and at the end in a formal ways such as a half-day meeting during school time in great spaces/places for learning.
• Give the educators a comprehensive learning design structure to follow. I've created a website that shares a structure that takes into account a lot of research and a holistic lens on learning design.  Though the process is a bit intense, it's a worthy process with regard to teaching well with breadth and depth.
• Create an online social media site and website for project share, questions, and updates in-between meetings.
• At the final meeting, use the success criteria developed at the start to assess efforts and progress.

This kind of work would serve to elevate educators and the work they do. If the groups were created well and the topics meaningful, the investment and development would soar.

I believe colleague circles like this could work well within systems and I also believe that circles like this would have merit with diverse, intersecting systems too. This process would help to develop the depth needed in education today since we are in an age where information is virtually limitless, but time is limited. It is also a time when how we teach matters a lot with regard to our students' current and future ability to solve problems, contribute to communities, and live good lives. We need each other to do the work well, and to work with each other well we need time, strategic process, and targeted, meaningful focus. 

I have been hungry for greater depth with regard to teaching and learning. The kind of conversations that started this week at The Wayland Institutes and the conversations I've been able to have at rich professional learning events like Educon, edcamps, TLI, and ECET2 are starting points, but now, to reach depth, we need more intimate, dedicated colleague circles that identify meaningful problems of practice and work with strategic process to meet the potential those problems have for elevating and deepening the work we can do with sensitivity to our teaching/learning students, communities, and context.

I've worked for a number of lesson share start-ups that diminished due to little interest. I know that the interest was not there due to the superficial nature of the share rather than the potential that strong teams, deep design, and valuable impact have.  

Please let me know what you have to add in this regard. I am beginning to think about this potential with greater time and care.