Watching my son sprint today to his classroom at The Works Museum in Edina reminded me that just because it's "summer vacation" doesn't mean learning can't occur. So far this summer, Samuel has made himself into a warrior (complete with warrior paint on his forehead), researched dinosaurs on the internet, is learning to add and subtract, and is reading independently up a storm! Pretty hard books for an incoming kindergartner, with words I never knew he could figure out! Today at The Works, he made a battery-powered boat and a really cool and crazy car. He is figuring out circuits and power sources, and is trying to understand weather patterns. We went to Barnes and Noble, where he promptly told me he had to go straight to the science section, because "Mom, I love science!"
He is like the characters in his favorite show. (Yes, his favorite show is "Phineas and Ferb", and yes, he tries to make every day a great day [he has even said that to me before]. Personally, I like Phineas and Ferb, too. Any show that has a duck-billed platypus as a secret agent is okay in my book.) Samuel and I read every single day - we take turns... I read, he reads. He does some math every single day, and we catch ourselves doing math when not really doing math. Learning is happening all around, and I truly believe that environment of continual learning, even "on vacation", will only help him as he begins his formal schooling. School isn't just nine months a year, in a contained classroom in a certain building. If we do it right, our children will find that the world is one big, exciting, challenging and rewarding school.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Harriet Bishop Scores Even Higher!
Harriet Bishop students, parents, and staff have a lot for which to be proud. Recent preliminary MCA-II scores released by the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) indicate 87% of our students are proficient in math and 83% in reading, tops in the District 191, and higher than most other schools in the area. and But that’s not the whole story.
Math
Last year, Harriet Bishop switched our instructional model in mathematics. Students throughout the school were engaged in mathematics instruction at the same time. We pre-assessed our students before every math unit and flexibly grouped students based on their levels of readiness. This approach helped us to maximize our support staff and encouraged team teaching and collaboration amongst our staff. Harriet Bishop saw an overall proficiency increase of 4% in math. In addition, almost all of our measurable subgroups saw the same increase or better, with a whopping 27% increase in proficiency for our Free or Reduced Lunch Population (FRP) of students!
Reading
Harriet Bishop teachers have begun to implement the Schoolwide Enrichment Model in Reading framework (SEM-R). SEM-R teachers integrate strategies instruction with book hooks to create interest in books and boost motivation to read. They also use student independent reading time to meet individually with students to provide additional instruction in strategy use as well as higher-order questions to challenge and engage readers. This approach helped us encourage students to pursue challenging independent reading in texts they choose and improved reading fluency and comprehension. Harriet Bishop saw an overall proficiency increase of 1% in reading. In addition, almost all of our measurable subgroups saw the same increase or better, with an impressive 19% increase in proficiency for both our Hispanic and Black populations and an 18% increase in proficiency for our FRP students.
Instructional Changes, Research, and Becoming a Magnet School
To see an INCREASE in student achievement is remarkable in the first year of a major change. There is much research that suggests that when a major organization goes through a major change, as Harriet Bishop did in becoming a Gifted and Talented magnet school, a dip in productivity, such as student test scores, is likely. Changes disrupt equilibrium. People find themselves less confident in the new versus the established. New knowledge, skills, and instructional practices take time and often come with hiccups that need to be addressed and adjusted. It is for these reasons that we have always said it will take us three to five years to develop into a successful magnet and fully realize the educational effects of our changes. However, to see the effects of our instructional changes across all subgroups and disciplines after the first year is truly rewarding. Imagine the possibilities and the future!
Monday, May 17, 2010
Excellence. Tenacity. Passion. Ownership. Tomato. Tomahto.
Sometimes reading too much makes my head spin. Not in a bad way (mostly). But so many times it completely affirms everything I am as an educator, and then I get fired up.
I was reading some work of Alan Sitomer, a three-time teacher of the year in California. He's interesting to listen to, has some great ideas for novels and poetry, is an author himself, and he, too, gets fired up. He teaches high school; but I've got to be honest with you here - teaching teens isn't that unlike teaching young children. Eighth graders are kindergartners with hormones; I've always said that and believe it to this day. But Alan had some tips for teaching teens, and they're good. However, I would like to extend these "tips" to younger children, and I would also like to extend these "tips" to adults. I am concentrating today on four "tips": be tenacious, be passionate, take ownership and seek excellence.
I talked with a parent today who was relating a story of an older child's time in high school. She talked of her son with an English teacher. The English teacher was teaching about commas and semi-colons with quotation marks (now, my ears perked up, because anyone who has had me knows that the semi-colon is by far my favorite piece of punctuation). The teacher could not tell exactly when to use semi-colons and when to use commas with the quotation marks. Can I repeat that: The HONORS English teacher could not tell exactly when to use semi-colons and when to use commas with the quotation marks. Instead, a quick explanation of "it's personal choice" and "writing has become much more relaxed today" was offered up to the student.
How can we expect excellence of students and schools when we don't expect it of ourselves? I know my expectations are over the top at times. I know that about myself, and frankly, I'm mostly okay with it - because if I accept mediocrity, well, where will that get me? Or us? Being passionate isn't bad. Frankly, it can get a person pretty far - better results, obstacles overcome, going an extra mile. In other words, tenacity. Not bad pay-out - and look - those three "tips" are inter-related. hmmm.
Well, let's talk about tenacity for a second. Alan Sitomer included a quote from Calvin Coolidge, which I will also include here (political views aside... can anyone tell me Calvin Coolidge's lasting legacy? Pretty good human rights record, better than most during that era...):
Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not: The world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan "Press on" has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.
Well, he's got it right. I know tons of "smart" people who do nothing with their talent; I have had many, many students who aren't the most naturally talented but work hard and achieve great things. And I also know many students who had great talent but no one helped them cultivate that talent because it seemed as though they "had more" than others. Persistence - on all parts - is what will be the universal solvent. If we expect our students to be tenacious (which I do), we have to expect tenacity of ourselves (which I do).
Which leads me to ownership. If we are passionate about something, we take clear ownership of it. We are tenacious in its success. Failure is not an option (ask the Apollo 13 dudes). And if we really are taking ownership, we expect excellence of all - including ourselves. Again, would a parent actually WANT mediocre effort from a teacher? From a principal? From a doctor or an attorney? Doubtful. In turn, I expect students to be vested in their education. I also expect parents to be vested in education. I can teach students the difference in using commas and semi-colons (sorry, teacher, but it's not "personal choice". Clear communication in this century is never "personal choice". It's a requirement for success.) to practically anyone; anyone who wants to learn it, for sure. Effort. Commitment. Ownership. It's the idea that school, and life, really does have a purpose, and it's up to us to TRY. Take ownership over behavior and actions, and good things happen: there is more tenacity, more excellence, and more passion for success.
Full circle. I guess those four words really are intertwined after all.
I was reading some work of Alan Sitomer, a three-time teacher of the year in California. He's interesting to listen to, has some great ideas for novels and poetry, is an author himself, and he, too, gets fired up. He teaches high school; but I've got to be honest with you here - teaching teens isn't that unlike teaching young children. Eighth graders are kindergartners with hormones; I've always said that and believe it to this day. But Alan had some tips for teaching teens, and they're good. However, I would like to extend these "tips" to younger children, and I would also like to extend these "tips" to adults. I am concentrating today on four "tips": be tenacious, be passionate, take ownership and seek excellence.
I talked with a parent today who was relating a story of an older child's time in high school. She talked of her son with an English teacher. The English teacher was teaching about commas and semi-colons with quotation marks (now, my ears perked up, because anyone who has had me knows that the semi-colon is by far my favorite piece of punctuation). The teacher could not tell exactly when to use semi-colons and when to use commas with the quotation marks. Can I repeat that: The HONORS English teacher could not tell exactly when to use semi-colons and when to use commas with the quotation marks. Instead, a quick explanation of "it's personal choice" and "writing has become much more relaxed today" was offered up to the student.
How can we expect excellence of students and schools when we don't expect it of ourselves? I know my expectations are over the top at times. I know that about myself, and frankly, I'm mostly okay with it - because if I accept mediocrity, well, where will that get me? Or us? Being passionate isn't bad. Frankly, it can get a person pretty far - better results, obstacles overcome, going an extra mile. In other words, tenacity. Not bad pay-out - and look - those three "tips" are inter-related. hmmm.
Well, let's talk about tenacity for a second. Alan Sitomer included a quote from Calvin Coolidge, which I will also include here (political views aside... can anyone tell me Calvin Coolidge's lasting legacy? Pretty good human rights record, better than most during that era...):
Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not: The world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan "Press on" has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.
Well, he's got it right. I know tons of "smart" people who do nothing with their talent; I have had many, many students who aren't the most naturally talented but work hard and achieve great things. And I also know many students who had great talent but no one helped them cultivate that talent because it seemed as though they "had more" than others. Persistence - on all parts - is what will be the universal solvent. If we expect our students to be tenacious (which I do), we have to expect tenacity of ourselves (which I do).
Which leads me to ownership. If we are passionate about something, we take clear ownership of it. We are tenacious in its success. Failure is not an option (ask the Apollo 13 dudes). And if we really are taking ownership, we expect excellence of all - including ourselves. Again, would a parent actually WANT mediocre effort from a teacher? From a principal? From a doctor or an attorney? Doubtful. In turn, I expect students to be vested in their education. I also expect parents to be vested in education. I can teach students the difference in using commas and semi-colons (sorry, teacher, but it's not "personal choice". Clear communication in this century is never "personal choice". It's a requirement for success.) to practically anyone; anyone who wants to learn it, for sure. Effort. Commitment. Ownership. It's the idea that school, and life, really does have a purpose, and it's up to us to TRY. Take ownership over behavior and actions, and good things happen: there is more tenacity, more excellence, and more passion for success.
Full circle. I guess those four words really are intertwined after all.
Monday, April 19, 2010
I Wish I Were A Butterfly. Or a Cheetah.
There is a lot written out there about butterflies. Lots of nice, sweet, fluffy stuff about butterflies. I watched the insect episode of "Life" where monarch butterflies were highlighted. They travel thousands of miles to hibernate, and never make it back to where they were born - but their offspring do. That's not such a fluffy tidbit of information, and that's my point. At one time, every butterfly was a caterpillar - often times doing serious damage to crops and plants in order to become that flitting creature that seems not to have a care.
Our children are caterpillars. Okay, I'm not saying that they're damage-causing creatures, but they are relatively misunderstood, as caterpillars sometimes are. I'm also saying that their life's journey is not done - that they won't stay the same creature, really, even, as they are as children - that they will grow and morph, as caterpillars do... given the right set of circumstances. As Richard Buckminster Fuller once wrote, "There's nothing in a caterpillar that tells you it's going to be a butterfly." Yet, that's an educator's job - his or her responsibility, really - to find that butterfly in each caterpillar, and prepare that child for the metamorphosis that will eventually take place, given the right circumstances and the chance to morph. In our emphasis on MCA scores, other standardized testing, and curriculum, curriculum, curriculum (always the right curriculum, as in "What curriculum do you teach?"), we sometimes miss the forest 'fore the trees. Our students, our children, have emotional needs, challenges from within and without that sometimes get the best of them, despite the smile and perceived attitude that nothing really is wrong. In other words, are our children "performing" for someone else, or becoming true to themselves in preparation for their own adult life?
Take the metaphor of a cheetah. What do we think of first when we think of a cheetah? (I for one think of the cool markings under their eyes, like the journey of tears... but I digress.) When we think of a cheetah, we think of speed. What they can do. It's awesome to watch. It's flashy. But its impressive speed can only be achieved under certain circumstances, and some of those circumstances come from within the cheetah itself. It has to be healthy and rested. It must have enough room, and it must have fast prey. It has to be an adult in order to run at top speed (juvenile cheetahs don't run as fast.) Will it run 65-70 miles per hour if it was chasing a slower animal? Maybe, if it wanted to impress... what, National Geographic cameras, or nearby zebra, or a cute girl cheetah... but most likely, it wouldn't run that fast if the prey wasn't as fast. But is it still a cheetah without the flash? Is a caterpillar still a butterfly without the flash?
Can we continue to remember that our children, our students, are still people without the test scores? I think so - I think we NEED to remember that, in order to serve all our students they way they thirst to be served. Get to know me, they scream inside. Get to know who I am as a person, not just what I can do in school. And they are right. Our students are more than what they show on the outside. They may not be showing you much about their insides at all, and that can be a scary thought, frankly, because all of their decisions affect their whole life, even though they are still juveniles. If we look only for the flash, the do, the performance, we will miss who they really, really are - and can become. We must be prepared to see it all - the whole person - the journey of tears, the caterpillar in each one.
Where have those butterflies and flowers all gone
That science may have staked the future on?
He seems to say the reason why so much
Should come to nothing must be fairly faced.
- Robert Frost, "Pod of the Milkweed"
Our children are caterpillars. Okay, I'm not saying that they're damage-causing creatures, but they are relatively misunderstood, as caterpillars sometimes are. I'm also saying that their life's journey is not done - that they won't stay the same creature, really, even, as they are as children - that they will grow and morph, as caterpillars do... given the right set of circumstances. As Richard Buckminster Fuller once wrote, "There's nothing in a caterpillar that tells you it's going to be a butterfly." Yet, that's an educator's job - his or her responsibility, really - to find that butterfly in each caterpillar, and prepare that child for the metamorphosis that will eventually take place, given the right circumstances and the chance to morph. In our emphasis on MCA scores, other standardized testing, and curriculum, curriculum, curriculum (always the right curriculum, as in "What curriculum do you teach?"), we sometimes miss the forest 'fore the trees. Our students, our children, have emotional needs, challenges from within and without that sometimes get the best of them, despite the smile and perceived attitude that nothing really is wrong. In other words, are our children "performing" for someone else, or becoming true to themselves in preparation for their own adult life?
Take the metaphor of a cheetah. What do we think of first when we think of a cheetah? (I for one think of the cool markings under their eyes, like the journey of tears... but I digress.) When we think of a cheetah, we think of speed. What they can do. It's awesome to watch. It's flashy. But its impressive speed can only be achieved under certain circumstances, and some of those circumstances come from within the cheetah itself. It has to be healthy and rested. It must have enough room, and it must have fast prey. It has to be an adult in order to run at top speed (juvenile cheetahs don't run as fast.) Will it run 65-70 miles per hour if it was chasing a slower animal? Maybe, if it wanted to impress... what, National Geographic cameras, or nearby zebra, or a cute girl cheetah... but most likely, it wouldn't run that fast if the prey wasn't as fast. But is it still a cheetah without the flash? Is a caterpillar still a butterfly without the flash?
Can we continue to remember that our children, our students, are still people without the test scores? I think so - I think we NEED to remember that, in order to serve all our students they way they thirst to be served. Get to know me, they scream inside. Get to know who I am as a person, not just what I can do in school. And they are right. Our students are more than what they show on the outside. They may not be showing you much about their insides at all, and that can be a scary thought, frankly, because all of their decisions affect their whole life, even though they are still juveniles. If we look only for the flash, the do, the performance, we will miss who they really, really are - and can become. We must be prepared to see it all - the whole person - the journey of tears, the caterpillar in each one.
Where have those butterflies and flowers all gone
That science may have staked the future on?
He seems to say the reason why so much
Should come to nothing must be fairly faced.
- Robert Frost, "Pod of the Milkweed"
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