Warner Update
Making a difference, one person at a time
January 28th, 2018
I think what started this chat was one individual that has ties to the secondary level. This educator was very frustrated that students were STILL being forced to read novels that have been assigned for the last 30+ years! It is safe to say best practices have evolved in the past three decades.
As I reflected about teaching and learning I thought, did I teach how I was taught? The answer was no. I will admit I had a few teachers that I attempted to emulate parts of what they did, but by-in-large I dreamed of making learning better for my students than it was for me.
To be vulnerable with all of you, I was a decent student, but I didn't really love school. When I was growing up school was a necessary evil. I did have some classes that I really enjoyed. However, for every class that I enjoyed I had two that I wished I could skip. I was a fairly compliant student. I guess you can say, I understood how to get by.
I share that in an effort to get people thinking about this - Teach the way you WISH you were taught. I hope you'll take a minute and read the post by Kerry. My favorite part is when she says, "Teaching should be the art of designing discovery, not scripting a droning delivery."
Last week I watched kids EXPERIENCE barter day. I saw students step out of their comfort zone and learn to ski. In both situations I witnessed impactful learning. I'm confident our students won't forget these experiences. I was really intrigued with Barter Day. One student caught my eye, he had roughly ten items to barter. Many students had more, however, this young man had high standards. At one point a fellow classmate approached him with several goodies. He asked to trade, the young man looked at the candy and said, no. I went over and said, "You run a tough bargain." He said, "I made these with precision, I'm not going to trade them for candy!" It was in that moment that I knew this experience was making a huge impact on our students. This was authentic learning. Students saw quality versus quantity and supply and demand. I was really pleased with the overall experience.
The big question is, check out the levels of engagement below. Where do you think your students are on this chart?
NEXT WEEK AT A GLANCE:
Tuesday, January 30th: Admin Meeting 9am
Wednesday, January 31st: Grades 3-5 assembly at 8:45am
Wednesday, January 31st: PLC afternoon (great opportunity to look at NWEA & Fountas and Pinnell data and collaborate as a grade level)
Thursday, February 1st: CP Federal Credit Union Day
Thursday, February 1st: Dan Luciani to Warner AM discussion on Standard Based Grading
Friday, February 2nd: Last day of current Maker Space Carts (switching on Monday)
Friday, February 2nd: Fun Night 3:30 - 6:30pm
Friday, February 2nd: National Anthem at WHS
* Round two of observations is in full swing
* If you are interested in a mid-year meeting please touch base with me
* All paraprofessionals will need to schedule mid-year meeting. Please see Jill in the office or email me directly.
* If you are interested in supporting our Move This World workshop please touch base with me this week. I'd like to share the agenda with all that are interested.
* Be on the lookout for a short survey about Digital Learning Day that is set for February 22nd.
See you all in the morning!