Friday, December 18, 2009

Oh, That Socrates

One day in ancient Greece, an acquaintance met the great philosopher Socrates (did they know he was great then?  Just wondering...) and said, "Socrates, do you know what I just heard about your friend?" 
"Hold on a minute," Socrates replied.  "Before telling me anything, I'd like you to pass a little test.  It's called the Triple Filter Test."
"Triple Filter?"
"That's right," Socrates continued.  "Before you talk to me about my friend, it might be a good idea to take a moment and filter what you're going to say.  The first filter is Truth.  Have you made ABSOLUTELY sure that what you are about to tell me is true?"
"No," the man said, "actually I just heard about it and..."
"All right," said Socrates.  "So, you don't REALLY know it's true or not.  Now let's try the second filter, the filter of Goodness.  Is what you are about to tell me something good?"
"No, on the contrary..."
"So," Socrates continued," you want to tell me something bad about him, but you're not certain it's true.  You may still pass the test, though, because there's one filter left:  the filter of Usefulness (okay, let's stop here for a second- one can pass a test with a 33%?  hmmm.).  Is what you want to tell me about my friend going to be useful to me?"
"No, not really."
"Well," concluded Socrates, "if what you want to tell me is neither true nor good nor even useful, why tell it to me at all?"
Great story.  Good moral.  Cool guy.
But why include it in my blog?  Because we have a midyear survey that was just created, for all families at Harriet Bishop - both attendance area families and magnet families (which I put under one big umbrella of "family").  This survey is to help us continue to create the best program that we can, given the fact that this program has been operational for four and a half months.  One of the questions included in the survey is about communication our families have had regarding many things, like academic programs, instructional strategies, etc., and it's an important question.  Not everything we see or hear or read is true (case in point...news...internet...reality shows...photographs of Twiggy), and we need to think of this Triple Filter test when talking about or discussing something as important as education.  We want our families' feedback.  It's SO important to us!  But more importantly, we want Harriet Bishop's programming to speak for itself in the success that students experience.  We want our students to grow, to learn from and with each other, to become informed, successful, vital citizens.
I heard on the news this morning something dreadful:  the famous sign over the gate at Auschwitz - the one that said "Arbeit Macht Frei" ("work will set you free") has been stolen.  STOLEN!  Although the sign itself was a lie, the fact that is is now missing, possibly never to return, could stir up doubt in future years as to the existence of it in the first place!  Once someone says something, doubt can creep in - and eventually one can create an entirely new history.  I'd rather have - and I fully encourage - people experience Harriet Bishop first hand, and speak of it through that experience.  If you have a chance, visit your child(ren)'s classroom.  Listen to a band rehearsal.  Walk through the halls - I'll walk them with you!  Watch the TV crew create "The Buzz".  And fill out our survey.  Pass the third filter of the Triple Filter Test - make the information you have useful!

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Beautiful Music

I experienced something yesterday that I have never experienced before.  Ever.  I stood in a gym, with 650 students sitting on the floor, and four professional orchestra musicians playing Haydn and Beethoven in a string quartet for all to listen.  Seriously, it nearly brought tears to my eyes.  I'm pretty sure the students didn't realize the impact of this experience.  I'm not even sure some of the adults realized the significance of this experience.  Maybe it's because I am a very musical person.  I recall begging my parents incessantly to get a piano (I didn't realize what a huge purchase that would be for a one-income, five-person family.  I was four.).  They got me the quintessential Schroeder piano - it was cream-colored plastic, with two or three octaves of keys on it and a little songbook with color-coded music notes.  I learned to read music with my Schroeder piano...and quickly outgrew it.  Finally, my parents acquiesced, and I got my piano when I was seven. 
I still play. 
I fell in love with Mozart and Beethoven; got REALLY frustrated with Bach (seriously, HOW can one person be expected to play so much so quickly?!), and felt Schumann's and Chopin's pain through their music.  I identified with Tschaikovsky, and learned the music to Humperdink's "Hansel and Gretel" - the same concert that our strings students are attending this Thursday.  So when I stood there in our gym yesterday, watching the children watch the musicians, well, it was one of the best experiences I have ever had as an educator.

The ability to expose children to the arts at a young age is priceless.  To give them real-life artists, in person performing, is amazingly priceless.  I listened to two of the musicians yesterday tell the students that they started playing violin when they were four years old.  Four.  (So how wonderful is it for our district and our school that we are able to provide instruments and instruction to second graders?!)  That alone shows students that they can do anything they put their minds to, and to follow their dreams and their passions.  These are lessons that are not found in a book, or on a worksheet.  They are lessons of the heart, of drive and motivation, of example.  It is one generation giving to another generation not only the gift of music (which to me is an invaluable gift) but of imagination and the future.  The arts provide that for us - the arts not only provide opportunities for critical thinking, analysis and evaluation on life, but provide beauty and calm.  To have 650 students in a gym sharing this type of experience...well, even for a wordy girl like me, I can't find the words to describe the experience. 
At least for me, it was impactful, and made me profoundly hopeful for the future. 
I thank the Minnesota Orchestra for providing those four musicians yesterday.  I look forward to another time with them.

Monday, November 9, 2009

What a Week!

What a week at Harriet Bishop!
  • Strings lessons started today. It is amazing to see kiddos walking through the hallways with violins and violas in hand, or basses or cellos on their backs!
  • Our Artist in Residence, Leo Lara, will start on Wednesday. Check out our newsletter to find out more about this amazing musician!
  • Wednesday is also Veterans' Day, when students will learn about the sacrifice and valor of veterans and current servicemen and servicewomen.
  • On Thursday, M.A. Rosko, from Fox 9, will be doing live shots at Harriet Bishop as our students will participate in the WSSA Stack Up event.
  • Our 5th and 6th graders of the Willow Community are giving their time and making a difference at Ebenezer Care Center through service projects.
  • Students buildingwide are participating in a food drive for local food shelves from now through November 18th.
  • Mr. Risteau and some very creative students recently finished making their stop motion animated movie shorts.
  • Speaking of some creative and capable students, did you know that Harriet Bishop's Spelling Bee was filmed and broadcast throughout our building, complete with graphics and text? No bid deal you say... Mr. Risteau was absent that day. It was done ENTIRELY BY STUDENTS!!!
What a week! What wonderful opportunities for students! What a terrific group of professionals who work here! What a fantastic group of students!

Thursday, November 5, 2009

The Achilles Heel of Change

Achilles was one of the principal players in the Trojan War, and star of Homer's Illiad.  He was handsome, strong, cool, a real legend.  I guess one can equate him nowadays with, oh, Derek Jeter (the World Series is on my mind) or a stud football player.  However, Achilles had a bit of a problem.  He was invulnerable except for his heel (seriously, his heel?  Where do people come up with these ideas?!).  And, of course, he was killed by an arrow shot...yes... in his heel.  Bad luck for po' Achilles.
I was reading today about identification of gifted and talented students.  Always a juicy subject.  I like the work of Joe Renzulli (well, that would be Dr. Joseph Renzulli to me, since I've never met him... but I did meet his wife, the esteemed Dr. Sally Reis of gifted education fame), and I in particular like the three conceptual rings of giftedness (above-average ability, task commitment, and creativity).  That model makes giftedness more personal, less of a numbers game.  I was reading an article that was written by Dr. Renzulli, and in it he referred to the Achilles Heel of Change.  Being a language arts teacher, I loved the metaphor, and it inspired me to write about change as it pertains to Harriet Bishop.  He writes, "Even the modest changes in the status quo inevitably raise concerns and questions on the parts of practitioners who might be affected by the proposed changes."  Harriet Bishop is experiencing changes in the status quo, and many are affected by the changes.  That has been duly noted, and extensively considered.  But what has changed, really?
We have an increased number of identified gifted students in our school.  They have not necessarily been identified as "gifted" across the board - meaning that they may be gifted in one area.  But they certainly are needing challenge in their daily school lives.
We are working hard to flexibly cluster our students based on many things, and that means a shake-up of how some things were done in the past.  Pre-assessments, figuring out grades between teachers, the list goes on and on.  What the list provides, however, is a better, fuller way to meet the needs of ALL students.
We have two new programs in our school - strings and Spanish.  Scheduling of time and space has been a dance.
We have a mission statement that takes into account the needs of all learners - all of them.
These are all changes to Harriet Bishop - ones that we can't take at face value, and ones that we must serve fully.
Renzulli then writes, "The Achilles Heel of change is not guidelines, but apathy."  (Isn't that awesome?  I think so!)  If we believe in the change that we have instituted, then we must mobilize.  We must become the change we want to see (Thanks, Ghandhi!).  Apathy isn't part of the equation.  It just isn't.  We have work to do - all of us...the entire Harriet Bishop community - staff, students, families, the community.  We can question the changes, because that makes us reflective of the process.  We can voice concern - AND celebrate the successes, because that forces us to take a broad look at exactly what is going on.  But we must be committed members of the team.  There are wonderful things going on here at Harriet Bishop.  There always have been wonderful things going on at Harriet Bishop. 
Let's look at Achilles again.  The reason he was vulnerable in his heel was because when he was little, his mother Thetis tried to make him immortal by dipping him into the River Styx ("come sail away, come sail away, come and sail away with me!").  Well, she got most of him - all but his heel.  Trying to completely protect didn't work, and that was ultimately Achilles' downfall.  Every single thing, every single person, has an Achilles heel.  Knowing what it is, is the best way to protect against it.  We can celebrate all that Harriet Bishop has been historically, and celebrate the new things that Harriet Bishop has embraced, knowing that they are good for all learners. This is GOOD change.

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Gifts from a Letter

I came across an article today from SENG (Supporting the Emotional Needs of the Gifted).  It's called "September Secret", and I'm putting the link to the article with this entry because it really is something everyone should read.  But it got me thinking about all of our students, and the gifts and challenges each one of them brings to the classroom.
In this "letter", a young student writes to his teacher (I'm using "he" collectively here - I don't know what gender the writer was) at the beginning of the year about what he already knows coming into the classroom; how he has an Aunt Martha who told him the story of the aliens with seven fingers who did math in base seven; how he gets conflicted in class, because he doesn't know if he should raise his hand or not raise his hand - that he doesn't know what everyone expects of him; that his learning must be in base two because it only has two fingers - either "on" or "off".  The letter is a beautifully written example of the myriad thoughts going through the minds of our children every day in our classrooms. 
We don't have enough hours in the day - as teachers or as parents - to react to and provide for every single need of every single child every single day.  So we have to pick and choose.  We do so as parents: whether it's about the use of TV or Nintendo; where to live, what activities to join, the amount and kind of vegetables to serve (and in increasing numbers - the type of food we are able to buy to serve).  Schools are no different...well, actually they are, because each classroom is headed by one person who has to make those choices for 24+ children.  The easiest thing to do is to find all the similarities of the students, because then we have less choices to make.  But once children are seen a collective entity, rather than individuals, we lose sight of the shore.  It doesn't get easier.  When children are seen as the same, we end up making more work for ourselves, because there WILL be some children who are not learning.  And every student in school has the right to learn.
The child who writes this "letter" talks about being "autopedantic".  This is the type of student who, left to his own devices, will continue to learn.  How lucky for him.  Not every gifted child is like that.  Neither is every non-gifted child - but we don't expect them to be.  We have to make sure that even with our limited time, we are making choices that will result in equitable learning for all.  For all.  Gifted children deserve the same educational expectations we have for regular education children, and special compensation that we have for special education children.  Sometimes I wish we could get rid of the term gifted.  Seems that sometimes that term often comes with its own disdainful emphasis placed on it, as though when we say it there should be an extra sigh.  "He's a *sigh*gifted student, you know. *sigh*"
Well, when you read the letter written to a teacher - at least when I read the letter written to the teacher - the sigh disappeared and I saw a face of a real child who just wants to learn.  That's a gift in and of itself.  I encourage you to follow the link and read the letter.
http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/september_secret.htm

Monday, October 26, 2009

Saturday can be SUPER!

On the district web site, there is information regarding Super Saturday in District 191.  This is an opportunity for children to explore more a topic of interest.  The topics vary greatly - from cake decorating to building rockets!  (Maybe someone can decorate a cake to look like a rocket...) 
I think that this opportunity for kids is wonderful, and should at least be explored by every family.  The cost is pretty low ($6.00 for a one-hour class), and the experience is priceless.  There is a lot to choose from, and what I like the most about Super Saturday (besides it being on a Saturday, not after school when kids and parents are more tired!) is that it's a one or two-hour commitment...not a six-week commitment to something that the child may or may not end up loving.  It's dabbling in something, it can be the opportunity to extend current learning, or give a child an opportunity to spend an hour doing something he or she LOVES to do.  It's a win-win situation any way you look at it.  For those of you who haven't seen the information yet, Super Saturday will be on November 7th, and the following is the link to register:
https://ssl.dwebsite.com/secure2/ce_isd191/php/public.php?action=listCategories&programId=2043
Just copy and paste that into your browser.  Hope you have a SUPER Saturday! 

Thursday, October 22, 2009

As I Walk Through the Building...

A little over two weeks ago, Dr. Randy Clegg (our Superintendent), Sandi Novak (our Assistant Superintendent), and I walked through our building to check out all that was happening. They were positively thrilled by time they left. You see, they had witnessed first hand the terrific differentiation going on in the building, especially in the multi-age geometry unit going on in the River Birch Community.

A week later, as I moved throughout the building during conferences, rooms were filled with parents and teachers centered on children. That seemingly routine event is a metaphor for how education professionals live their lives. All they do centers on the children. I marveled at the involvement of the parents, the maturity of the students, and the dedication of the staff. Everyone is excited about what's happening at Harriet Bishop!

Yesterday, 90 brand new, beautiful stringed instruments were delivered to our building (compliments of a MDE grant!). Next week, excited 2nd through 6th graders will come to be sized for these instruments. This is an unbelievably exciting opportunity available to ALL Harriet Bishop students. WOW!!

Today I watched Mrs. Perry lead our after school chess club. Even after tirelessly providing music instruction all day, she had tons of extra energy for our students (they had plenty left for her too)! Forty feet away, Mr. Risteau was using our new video cameras (part of our TV Studio) leading students in a movie-making endeavour using legos. The level of detail, concentration, and patience exhibited by both teacher and student was phenomenal!

As I walk through the building a see high quality, challenging instruction for all of our students. I see happy students, parents, and staff members. I see opportunities for all of our students. I hope you like what you're seeing as well.

As always, stop by, call, or email to let me know how it's going for you.

Your principal,

Rob Nelson

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Marriage

The goal in marriage is not to think alike, but to think together. - Robert C. Dodds

???Huh???  "Marriage" as a title on an educational blog about a gifted and talented magnet school?
Well, um, actually, yes.  What we're doing here at HB is kind of like a marriage.  Think about it:  take two established entities, with established routines and established habits and mindsets, and put them together under one roof to co-exist peacefully.  Isn't that like marriage? 
Okay, let's look at the creation of Harriet Bishop Gifted and Talented Elementary School a different way.  I'll start with a small story.  I am not from Minnesota (although my high school colors were purple and gold, that's as far as it goes...), and I moved here from Chicago in 1993.  I was very excited about coming to the Minneapolis area; and as I had a kindergarten daughter and heard such great things about Minnesota schools, it was just a boon for me.  I came up a couple of times to look for a house, and found the people to be friendly and jovial.  Cool!  How much better could it be??? (This was like the dating period between Minnesota and me.)
Then I moved here, and found the real meaning of Minnesota Nice.  It does exist.  People ARE nice; they ARE friendly, until you move into their space.  Then a shift happens.  It's not that they are MEAN or horrible at all, don't get me wrong.  It's just that they become more wary, more reserved, and it takes a long time for you to become established in their space.  People have established friends, family, routines, etc., and it is hard for an outsider.  Ask most any outsider.  (Or two people who have just gotten married:  one who makes the bed in the morning and one who does not.  It's not that I'm speaking from experience here...)
Harriet Bishop is feeling these growing pains, no matter the way anyone looks at it.  I was recently speaking with a parent whose children have gone or are going through Harriet Bishop, and the conversation was both encouraging and helpful.  Some of the things we are doing at Harriet Bishop are new - and one thing every person must remember is that what we are doing is benefiting EVERY SINGLE STUDENT in school.  However, some of the things we are doing at Harriet Bishop have been done before, when the building first opened.  (I remember that time, too; having opened a new building the same year, teaching staff at one new building were keenly aware of the growing pains of other teaching staff at other new buildings!)  So for some, this IS new, and for others, some of what we're doing is reminiscent of good things done in the past.  The parent with whom I was talking was very positive about the steps we've taken, and knows that this is a process.
Our magnet has been open six weeks.  Solid research states that magnet schools (and charter schools, and private schools, the list goes on) need 3-5 years (yes, YEARS) to become fully established.  Most marriages look different in the first month than they do in the fifth year... as the partners learn about each other and find a way to establish NEW routines, NEW habits, and NEW mindsets - as a team.  I look forward to the successful marriage of ALL of the families at Harriet Bishop Gifted and Talented Elementary School.   After all, as with any successful marriage, the children are the ultimate benefactors.

Monday, October 19, 2009

Just What Kind of a School Do We Think We Are???!

Children, and for the purposes of this blog gifted children, come in many different shapes, sizes, with many different issues and needs.  And it is for that reason that our school is not a one-size-fits-all gifted school.  Way back a million years ago (okay, I'm exaggerating, it was a year ago, but we've been busy!), a design team echoed the wishes of community and teachers alike:  do NOT make Harriet Bishop a school-within-a-school for gifted students.  We had a charge - to become a gifted magnet, but keep the attendance area families intact.  That was no easy task - and that meant that we really, really, really needed to take a look at best research in gifted education and put together a school that would benefit all students.
Harriet Bishop's mission is to create critical thinkers, and twenty-first century citizens.  We have designed a school which embraces the practices of gifted education for every one of its students (because gifted education has been and continues to be best practices education for all!).  Through purposeful and flexible clustering (both words are extremely important here!), and proactive and carefully considered differentiation, we are designing education for our students which takes into account the students' needs and interests, and takes all students to their next level of learning. 
Gifted students cannot be left to their own devices when it comes to learning.  Yes, some gifted students are very independent in their learning, but that doesn't mean that they should EVER be left to do the learning on their own while we put our time into others' learning.  Those students deserve the same opportunity to grow and stretch and learn as any other student, regardless of ability level, motivation level, talent level...any level.  Harriet Bishop has not ignored that; as a matter of fact, that exact point is at the forefront of our development as a school.  We believe that students need, crave, and eventually flourish given opportunity and challenge - and we are dedicated to bring those challenges to our students. 
So what kind of school do we think we are?  We are a school of widely varying students - and we'd be saying that even if we were a school-within-a-school or a school with only gifted students in it.  We're dedicated to recognizing that variation and building upon it. 

Friday, October 9, 2009

Conferences

Next week, October 12, 13, and 14 are conferences.  I thought I'd share an educator view of conferences. 
I love 'em.  Especially fall conferences, because those are goal-setting conferences, and what better use of conference time than to set goals for students?  Conferences gave me a chance to sit down face-to-face with parents and families - to put a face with a name or a voice, to listen to what their eyes were saying.  That was so important to experience, as a teacher.  My students were my kids for a year, and I was excited about the opportunity to partner with their families in their education.  I was never comfortable focusing on grades.  I truly only wanted to focus on growth.  That's what conferences are really all about.  I hope everyone has enjoyable, productive conferences next week!

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Our school is COOL!

All right, I know I just posted a blog, but I just have to comment about something.  Do you know how COOL it is to see an entire multi-grade community doing geometry?  Yes, yes, it is loud.  Kids scattered all over the place.  And the brain energy absolutely permeates the air - the kids working together, learning and learning and learning.  Fast-foward to another community, where fifth and sixth graders are rotating through teachers who have planned a mini-unit on poetry, each teacher teaching one of four important strategies in poetry over two days.  Kids are learning from both fifth and sixth grade teachers.  Then, of course, there is our SEM-R classrooms in both fourth and fifth grade, where students are reading their choice of book at their instructional level - and learning to love reading again...or maybe for the first time!  They're engaged in books.  (sigh...how wonderful...)
We are a community of learners, and these two examples are evidence of the type of community we embrace here at Harriet Bishop G/T!  In the words of Flounder from Animal House, "This is GREAT!"

Thank you to families!

We've been getting some really wonderful feedback from our families since Harriet Bishop opened its doors as a gifted and talented magnet school.  There's something to be said about a kindergartener who comes home and is excited to do and show what was learned in school that day.  I even heard from a family whose son has become much more engaged in school now that he has more individualized instruction.  Now, these situations should not be reserved for the "gifted" student; rather, these experiences, I hope, are being felt by many families of many students.  I appreciate all the information and questions I've been receiving from parents - like our students, we staff need to be informed on what is working and what needs to be tweaked.  Conferences are coming up, and this will be a perfect time to sit down with Harriet Bishop staff and discuss the next step in your child's/children's education! 

Friday, September 25, 2009

What is the Goal of Education, really?

Math, reading, writing, social studies, science, art, music, physical education, Spanish, technology...the curricular list of "subjects" in our school.  But what is the goal of education?  I look at Harriet Bishop Gifted and Talented Elementary School's mission statement:
Harriet Bishop Gifted and Talented Elementary School's mission is to provide a rigorous curriculum within a flexible environment for a diverse population of student, to develop the gifts and talents of each child.
Children flourish in an environment that allows them to become self-directed learners and socially responsible citizens. By engaging in various learning experiences that promote cognitive, emotional, physical, social and artistic growth, students will develop an identity and a global awareness.
Our students will learn to capitalize on their potential through learning experiences, choices and collaboration with peers. We foster and recognize critical thinking and accomplishment, and expect excellence.

(I really like that mission statement.  Thank you, design team!)  I see where the curricular list of "subjects" fits in... they are the various learning experiences that promote cognitive, emotional, physical, social and artistic growth.  They are vital to the other part of our mission statement:  that students will develop an identity and a global awareness, and in doing so, will become self-directed learners and socially responsible citizens.  As a teacher, it has always been my mission to get my kids not to need me anymore.  Any of the readers of this blog who have had me or have children who have had me know that I say that all the time.  My goal as a teacher is to get my kids not to need me anymore.  But how do I do that when I teach curriculum?  I teach critical thinking, first and foremost.  And I teach inquiry.  Asking "why" is one of the best things we can do as people.  If I teach students to be questioners, and I teach them to think critically and problem solve (both academically and socially), then they become self-directed learners.  Is it important to learn how to add?  Absolutely.  It's the basis for all other math!  But it's just as important to teach our children how being able to add influences our life.  What good IS math in my life?  What does it do for me?
I remember Algebra I in eighth grade.  Mr. Thomas.  (I got detention once for passing a note in class.)  I just had the hardest time learning Algebra in Mr. Thomas' class.  I just didn't get it - and furthermore, I didn't see ONE link to my life, unless Algebra could make my brother disappear.  I couldn't care LESS what x equalled. 
So as I got older, I distanced myself from math (well, I loved geometry and did well in it, but that was because I thought of myself as a detective, figuring out mysteries), and then stopped taking it altogether.  I wish I hadn't.  But I did.  However, when I became an adult, I started to see how Algebra I actually connected to my life.  For instance, I once had to figure out how much carpet to buy for my living room, and ended up using Algebra to do so.  Even BETTER, I could use Algebra when cooking (still do).  I wish I had that life connection when I was younger.  The curriculum is a vital avenue, but the biggest picture has to be saved for how the curriculum connects to and enhances our lives.  How can we help kids become passionate and critical readers?  How can we help our students become passionate and critical thinkers? 
Some of the things we are doing at Harriet Bishop this year are new for students, families, teachers, staff.  It's a change, and change is hard.  But it's a change worth investing into - and sustainable change means that we need to reorient our priorities sometimes, which is often uncomfortable.  But we are doing at Harriet Bishop what we have asked our teachers to do when planning units and lessons:  begin with the end in mind - and in this case, the end is productive, happy, successful, intelligent, forward-thinking people.

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Pull-out? Differentiation? Push-in? Whole class? Schoolwide math? What is all of this and how does it affect my child?
These are great questions. I had a conversation recently about the types of information we are collecting as teachers about the students in class. The concerns were valid, the questions were poignant, and the confusion was genuine. So I thought I'd dedicate this blog entry to information and assessment.
No matter the student, a test score is a test score. It is one piece of information. It doesn't matter if the child is identified as gifted, is a special education student, or both, or neither. A test score is one indicator of ability or potential, one indicator of achievement or aptitude. It's something, but it's one thing. To base an entire year's education off of one test score would be unethical and unprofessional.
We are acquiring multiple pieces of information on our students - from pre-assessments in specific units of math, to oral reading fluency, to interest surveys to find strengths. We want input from parents, and would like to get their viewpoints on how their child "does school". Can a child be brilliant in algebraic concepts but struggle in reading comprehension? Absolutely. Does the struggle in reading comprehension diminish the talent in algebraic concepts? No - to the extent the child can understand the question being asked of him. Can a child be absolutely brilliant in all core curicular areas and not do any work whatsoever in school? Yes. And teachers need to have this information so they can adequately plan for both the academic and affective needs of the students in their classrooms. Can a child have a fabulous vocabulary and NOT be identified "gifted"? Yes. Is it a good thing that the teacher understands that the child has an advanced vocabulary? Yes! That particular child may need materials that have more advanced vocabulary, and it would be wise to know (as a teacher) that this child picks up new vocabulary words quickly.
The parent questionnaire sent home last week to HB families was designed for teachers to get more information than can be seen on a homework assignment or on a standardized test. But the questionnaire goes beyond "academic giftedness", and I sincerely hope that all who read through the questionnaire can understand that. Questions about creativity and imaginative play brings out strengths in the creative and artistic endeavors that children will be exposed to in school. Questions about frustration with written tasks help teachers understand more why some students don't show what they can really do when writing. Questions about concern for others or things "being fair" show empathy. Questions about perfectionism help us as educators better understand motivation and how it relates to actual products created by ALL students. These questions are not meant to cull certain students or to put students into groups. They are sincere questions meant to better understand the whole child - for it is only then that we can truly reach them where they are.

Monday, September 21, 2009

We are in week Three of Harriet Bishop Gifted and Talented Elementary School! We have been learning so much about our students, and we continue to do so. Students have been assessed using the ORF (Oral Reading Fluency Assessment), and math pre-assessments that our teachers created this summer, to determine our first set of flexible grouping. I so appreciate all of this pre-assessment. Yes, it takes time. To read through an entire class set of math pre-assessments takes a lot of time on the part of the teacher, but it is time very well spent, as the student is the benefactor of the effort. Now we are in the throes of MAP testing (Measure of Academic Progress) in both math and reading, and CogAT testing (Cognitive Abilities Testing) for third and fifth grade. The MAP tests are designed to show achievement in two core academic areas - math and reading - and the CogATs are designed to show cognitive ability in three areas: verbal, quantitative, and non-verbal (general academic intellectual, including problem-solving and reasoning). This sounds like a lot (which, frankly, it is!), but gives us such a valuable picture when creating and implementing the right educational program for each child.
My little story of the day is about a little boy who talked with his parents about how happy he is at Harriet Bishop this year. Last year he had a bit of a struggle in his school, but because of the way our school is structured this year, he has articulated how comfortable he is with his same-age peers and how excited he is to be in his class (with a SmartBoard!). This is why we are building this program - and stumbling at times, but continuing the journey - it is because of our students and their success.

Friday, September 18, 2009

Last night Harriet Bishop Gifted and Talented Elementary welcomed the families of all its students to Back-To-School Night. It was really wonderful to see so many families in our classrooms, listening to the possibilities for their children. I'm excited for this year. The best news of all came this morning when a teacher shared with me something one of her students told his mother after the first day of school:
"Mom, it's great - I'm not the only weird smart one in my class anymore." This child already feels welcomed and accepted. What could be better???