Teacherscribe's Teaching Thoughts
Augusts Edition 2020
If distance learning taught me anything . . .
It's this. I made the mistake of just doing what I do in class, which is pretty heavily influenced with technology and independent learning anyway, with distance learning. I could have made it so much more. If I have to do it again, I'll be so much better.
And I would apply this to all of education too. If we come back to school and just do business as usual, we are missing a golden opportunity to grow and improve.
A little scary
How we deal with this is going to be a major undertaking. Ultimately, that is the real issue that I think will make or break the year for us.
We are, after all, in this together
The World is a Fine Place and Worth Fighting For
What if we all did something like this? Instead of rioting, looting, waving guns on the capital, denying COVID 19, wasting time in debates on social media? We could do more things like this.
I love the presenter's response - "What happened to you does not reflect us as a community. We don't stand for that. When you said, 'I guess that's how the world is' [in reference to the racism he faced], that broke our hearts because it can't be that way and we won't let it. We came out to show you that those people don't speak for the rest of us."
Wow. Wow. Wow. This is what we need to see more of.
Book of the Week - Jefferson's Children by Leon Botstein
Botstein is a champion for education, but he doesn't give it a free pass. This is his call for improving education at all levels. In addition, he explores why education often is bashed by everyone, parents, former students, and politicians. He also doesn't let any of those off easy either.
He breaks his book down into five chapters -
1. The Paradoxical Politics of Nostalgia - Botstein argues that nostalgia is foolish. The past is never as great as we remember it, nor is the future as bad as we imagine it to be.
Here is a great quote ". . . we express our sense of doom [about the present and future] by invoking the image of a vanished but glorious past: a time before most of us had freedom to the extent that we enjoy today, when freedom was less prevalent and the use of arbitrary authority and power more common. We allege that the world in those bygone days was far more cultured and refined that it is today. A less democratic, fair, and free society seemed to have had a more stable system of values and maintained a greater premium of excellence."
2. Language and Hope - here the author argues that due to the fact that the majority of our population is aging and becoming more conservative with age, there is going to be a natural leaning toward pessimism and nostalgia. Botstein also argues that since the population is growing older, they tend not to be around children more. It's impossible not to be hopeful if you don't have access to children and their hopes, ambitions, and wonders.
3. Replacing the American High School - Now this was amazing. Botsein calls to structure our core curriculum much differently than it has been for past generations. Botsein's main point for this is that kids today have grown up more, experienced more, and done more by 15 than many others did by the age of 25 just two generations ago. Then we should overhaul grades 6-10 and allow grades 11 and 12 greater flexibility for internships and classes based on their maturity levels.
Aslo, Botstein (who graduated from high school at 16 and became the youngest university president ever at the age of 23) isn't a huge fan of grouping students simply by age. As a world-class conductor (in addition to the preside of Bard College), he knows first hand that talent isn't distributed just by age. So how can we hope to cluster kids together in classes or grades just by age?
4. Helping Children Learn - here Botstein puts a lot of blame on parents. How can parents dare say to an elementary school student, "work hard in school. It will all be worth it one day 15-20 years from now" when they don't see their parents or other adults practice that same long-term commitment and focus? How many marriages last 25 years? How many of their own parents even have a job related to their college degree? How often do they see their own parents going to a museum, watching an intelligent film, or even reading for enjoyment? Please.
And this same criticism is leveled at teachers and other adult mentors too.
5. The American College - now Botstein might be a bit biased here, but he does make a great point - out of all of our educational institutions, American colleges are still the best in the world. Just look at how many foreign students come to American universities to earn their degrees!
In this section, Botstein explores the old traditions of colleges and whether their uniformity is a good thing.
And don't even get Botsein going on college athletics: "The investment in and image of excellence and superiority should be reserved for teaching and research, not the playing field."
He also explores the moral obligations of colleges as well as the college major and what type of curriculum colleges need to have in an ever changing world.
If anyone is interested in doing a book club this fall on Jefferson's Children, let me know. I think the conversations and learning would be rich for all.
Teaching Thoughts
Summer Edition 2020 for the week of August 3-7
Teaching Thought #5
This article breaks my heart. I sure hope that we can avoid this type of debacle: "I'm sorry, but it's a fantasy."
I am so sorry that this superintendent lost a teacher to COVID. This should remind us all just how serious this illness is. The cases are low in our county. Is that due to our sparse population and that we were quick to quarantine? If so, what will happen when 700 students come back to school?
Yes, the majority of people recover and we have lost students to cancer, car accidents, and other tragic events, but many of those were either acts of god or unavoidable. COVID is still avoidable. I pray that we put in place the right protocols and procedures to keep students and teachers and staff safe.
Teaching Thought #6 - The Pandemic Population
Tim Elmore has dubbed this group of high school students "The Pandemic Population." And it makes sense. Think of the changes they have seen over the past six months. These students went from business as usual to having everything come to a grinding halt with the lock down and distance learning. I know it was also traumatic for the younger students too, but elementary and middle school students can at least hope that things will get back to 'normal' by the time they enter high school. But for the students who were in grades 9-12 when the pandemic hit, everything changed.
We are foolish if we don't think that is going to impact them.
Interestingly enough, Elmore compares and contrasts this generation of students with the students who came out of another shocking and volatile time: the Great Depression.
Elmore has an article that focuses on three tools to bring out the best in this group of students. Just think about how you can address these thing in your classes as we move forward this year
Here are the three tools -
1. Limit their exposure. Elmore makes a good point in drawing a contrast between this generation and the young people who endured the Great Depression. The kids who came of age in the 1930s didn't have access to social media and 24/7 news.
What if coming to your classroom is a refuge for students? I saw on Facebook a parent from a different town have an image stating "F**k This Mask and the C****suckers That Require It" as their profile picture. You can't tell me that a child listening to that parents' take on re-opening schools and having to wear a mask won't relish getting away from all that and actually being around their friends and learning something in your class? Why agitate them (or their parents - there is no winning that battle) by discussing COVID 19 in your class?
2. Be a kind and loving leader. When Elmore studied the Great Depression kids, he found that many of them talked about an adult in their lives who cared and loved them.
Let your classroom be the bright spot in a student's day. Elmore even found that if a child has one caring adult in their lives, it can reverse some of the PTSD effects they may be having. And remember, what is the largest population in our country currently suffering from PTSD? Children. Let that sink in.
3. Have high beliefs and expectations for them. Elmore found that the students who came out of the Great Depression knew that resiliency was expected of them. And they delivered.
What do we expect out of the students coming back to our classrooms? But - as Elmore points out - expectations aren't enough. Students need to know you believe in them. If you just hold them to high expectations without believing in them, you come across as harsh. And if you believe in them but don't hold them to high expectations, you across as hollow.
This generation of students is going to require high expectations to make up for all the ground that was lost via our initial attempt at distance learning as well as an incredible belief in them, for their confidence in almost everything has to have been shaken to the very core.
Teaching Thought #7 - Lessons from Bootcamp, Part 1
One of the best things I've learned all summer was from Tate Sorvig and his Crossfit Great North Bootcamp that I'm currently a part of. M-W-F we meet in the Hartz Park at 5:15 for a grueling bootcamp. We begin with a warm up run through the park with squats, burpees, push ups, and some light calisthenics. After some words of encouragement and instructions from Tate (he taught us how to walk properly - who knew most of us were doing it wrong? - and how to actually run - again, who knew there was actually a right way to run?), we begin a 'short' workout (between 8-10 minutes or so).
This is where my first lesson from bootcamp comes in: Chase the pain.
What? Yep. Chase the pain. Hear me out a minute on this one.
Yesterday we had to spring 20 yards uphill. Once the first person reached the top of the hill, everyone - regardless of where you were on the your run up the hill - had to stop, drop, and do 5 burpees. After that we all hard to head back down the hill. Oh yeah, we had to do all of that in 60 seconds. Once we got back down, we were able to rest for however many seconds were left in of our 60 seconds. Once those 60 were up, Tate had us drop and do as many push ups as we could in 30 seconds. Once that was over, we did it all over again.
We did that five times.
So what does 'Chase the pain' mean? Well, Tate states it far more eloquently than I can, but for me it means to 'lean in to the dip' (which is something I teach to my College Comp I classes). That simply means that when you're working hard on something (whether it's to get back down the hill so you can get a 30 second rest or to crank out another 4 pushups in 10 seconds or if it's trying to get a 10 page paper written ahead of time or to figure out how to change the spark plug in your lawn mower), there is going to be pain. There is going to be frustration. There is going to be misery. A lot of misery. But the quickest (and most effective) way to pull yourself out of the dip is to work harder. Or, as Tate says, "chase the pain."
This trains us mentally to focus and work extra hard. The more we teach our minds to do this, the more our bodies will follow suit.
Tate always tells us to chase the pain by focusing on the next rep. The next breath. The next moment. Don't think too far head. Instead of thinking, "I have to run up that hill three more times? That means 15 more burpees and another 90 seconds of pushups . . .," focus just on the next moment. Do that enough and you'll make it up the hill three more times, knock out 15 more burpees, and endure the 90 seconds of push ups.
I think that is a lesson all of us in that. For teachers, don't think about an entire three weeks of a unit. Focus on creating engaging and meaningful moments structured around your learning targets for your students. Do enough of those, and you'll knock that unit out (of the park). For students, don't focus on the entire syllabus and all the readings, assignments, and papers. Instead, focus on mastering the material from your first class the first time it's presented. Keep doing that, and you'll be accomplishing more than 99% of your peers (not to mention setting yourself up for success down the road in whatever field you enter). For parents, don't focus on 'how am I going to keep my kids busy all summer." Instead, focus on the next afternoon at the pool, the next trip to the park, or today' game. Do that, and you'll be giving your kids (and yourself) the most amazing summer ever.
Teaching Thought #8 - Lessons from Bootcamp, Part 2
Since Tate is married to my niece Ashley, I knew he had an infectious personality, but I wasn't prepared for his passion until I experienced it as part of the bootcamp.
I always tell my students, "Passion! Baby, passion! If you aren't going to do it with passion, why bother?" Well, Tate lives that every moment of our bootcamps. In fact, I just told Kristie, "I hope I have the same contagious passion in class - every day - that Tate has for exercising with us."
On my very first day of bootcamp, I stepped out of my car when I saw Tate pull up. Before I could say a word, he said, "Goooodddd morning! It's going to be a greaaat day!"
Instantly, I was at ease and comfortable. Best of all, I knew I was in excellent hands, for there is just something about being around people who really love what they do.
Be honest here - Can your students say that about how you approach your classes every day?
Well, it's impossible to be 'on' every day, you say. Really? Kristie did 15 sessions of the first bootcamp, and I've been through 3 sessions now. We both agree. Tate has never had an off day. I know it can be done.
And if you struggle with passion, recall what Dave Burgess advised in Teach Like a Pirate, there are three types of passion one can have when teaching. If you're any kind of teacher at all, you should be able to rely on one of those passions to ignite you for one of your lessons. For the record, the three types of passions Burgess offers are content passion, personal passion, and professional passion.
Here is how they work. In terms of content passion, I love short stories (especially macabre short stories). So when we read "The Lottery," "The Yellow Wallpaper," or "Young Goodman Brown," I don't need any motivation. I'm walking on air all day. But there is content I'm not so high on, like Shakespeare or grammar. When this happens, I can rely on one of the other two passions to carry me.
If I have to teach Shakespeare, say King Lear (I used to teach this in British Lit) or Julius Caesar (English 10) or Romeo and Juliet (English 9r), I can use my personal passion for films to help me through this. I can survive teaching Shakespeare by researching film versions of those plays or at least drawing connections to popular movies that the kids are familiar with to help them understanding Shakespeare's themes.
If those two passion aren' there, then I can always rely on my professional passion, say for technology or teaching writing. While I'm not a huge fan of grammar (it's neither a content or personal passion), I do love great writing. And having a sound grasp of grammar is vital to students writing effectively, so I can teach the heck out of grammar because I know it will allow my students to craft better narratives.
Bring that passion. If Tate can be living the dream at 5:00 AM in Hartz Park, barefoot, in t-shirt and shorts and swatting at mosquitoes as he relishes doing burpees and is gleeful while doing squats, is it really that hard to get fired up for our students?
Teaching Thought #5 - Lessons from Bootcamp, Part 3
My third take away from bootcamp is the power of positivity. Tate, of course, is Mr. Positive, but he somehow has created a bootcamp culture where the 8 of us - who range from beginners to experts and from teenagers to middle aged - care and encourage each other.
If this can be accomplished in the pitch black of Hartz Park at 5:15 AM, how can't it be accomplished at 8:20 in school?
Tate has mastered the power of supporting someone while also pushing them to work harder than they have ever before. And it all comes back to his positive nature.
We don't 'have' to work out. We 'get' to work out. When I watch him do a burpee with relish and joy on his face, I think "there is no place he would rather be right now."
And maybe there is, you know like at home with his wife and family, but he has to be here with us in the park (you know, it is his profession after all), so why not make the most of it?
The best way to do that is with positivity.
How can you shower your kids with positivity and support? Kenzie's first grade teacher, Frannie Twistol (not Tunseth) did this before school even started! She sent home a "Welcome to First Grade" letter replete with a QR code that we scanned so that Kenzie didn't just read the letter but she could hear Frannie reading it to her. Then on the Open House night, Frannie gave Kenzie a goodie bag with instructions "Open the night before school starts." It contained a bag of popcorn and a sandwich bag full of confetti.
Kenzie knew she was loved and supported. She knew she was going to be in a positive classroom where he teacher loved teaching.
Sure enough, she did make the popcorn the night before her first day of first grade. Then she went outside and threw the confetti in the air to celebrate. She was so excited that her young brother, Cash, wished he was in first grade!
Talk about being positive!
What ways can you go above and beyond to be the positive force in the lives of your students?
PS - Frannie is now an elementary school principal at Griggs County Central. She is going be an even greater principal than she was a teacher!
Why I Teach
The more we exchanged ideas and podcasts, it dawned on us to get a group of achievers/professional development junkies together for a 'podcast club.'
So how it works is this - we will select a podcast that is related to education. Then we have one week to listen to it and take notes. Then we get together at a local establishment, usually the River Walk, and discuss our takes on it and how it relates to us as teachers, and, most importantly, how it makes us better.
This has been some of the best professional development I've ever had.
Podcast of the Week - Focus 3 Podcast: Be the Best Version of You
Of course we do. Our children deserve it. Our wives or husbands deserve it. Certainly our students and colleagues do it.
The more I thought about this, the more I realized that the people I admire most are people who are insanely driven to excel. In other words, they are driven to become the best versions of themselves.
Video of the week - Leon Botstein
Thoughts from Twitter
Of course, it was NCLB and the intense focus on high stakes testing that was the death knell for a lot of content being taught in the younger grades. In its place? A lot reading for main ideas and finding supporting details.
The fact that reading scores have not risen over the past two decades should be more than enough evidence that such a skills based approach doesn't work. Content - and love for subjects and personal passions - along with skill based instruction need to be the way forward.
Give this a try in your classroom . . .
I do this with every one of my classes during the first week of school. I simply share with them a template asking for them to list 111 things about themselves.
I share one of my own with them. I tell students they can be as open as they want to in what they share or as limited. But what I have found is that listing 111 random things about yourself isn't as easy at it might sound.
Inevitably, students end up revealing some key things that not only help me to know them better but also help me tie assignments and materials to them.
If a student loves Iron Man, then you can be assured that I'm going to chirp them about how awesome Captain America is. As stupid as this may seem, it builds relationships. If a student writes about their passion for the Vikes, you can be assured that I'm going to remind them about how I love the Packers.
Again, these things may seem trivial, but they aren't at all. I did the 111 Things About You assignment with my English 9 remedial reading class, and it worked wonders. In fact, last summer Kristie and I took the kids to the fair. She noted how I had about a dozen students come up to me to see how I was doing and to fill me in on what they had been up to during the summer. When I thought about this, I realized that all of those kids were from my English 9R class. I told Kristie that I put those kids through the ringer with all the books we read and all the work we did. I thought they hated me, but we had built a relationship, which, at least partially, resulted from me getting to know them via their 111 things, and now it was paying off as they stopped to visit with me at the fair.
I've used the list to avoid readings. If a student writes about having anxiety, I will warn them about some of the macabre stories we read. If a student writes about losing a loved one, I will warn them that many of our stories tackle the theme of death.
I've used the list to bond with students. If a student mentions losing a loved one to cancer, I talk to them about how I lost my parents to lung cancer. If a student mentions not being good at anything, I will try to pick them up and remind them that they already have more talent and opportunities than I did when I was their age.
If you're looking for a way to get to know your students and - like me - you hate those get-to-know-you-games that are often played on the first day of class, give the 111 things about you a try.
Bonus content of the week -
I know the list is for 'small business owners,' but I've always maintained that teachers are just like business owners and students are our customers!
Chief Inspiration Officer of Room 205
I am married to the most amazing person in the world, Kristie. It was love at first sight. At least for me. And it still is.
We have four wonderful children, Casey, Koko, Kenzie, and Cash. And now we have been blessed with five grandchildren!
I also happen to have the greatest job in the world: teaching English to high school students.
I am in my 23rd year of teaching at Lincoln High School. I graduated from Lafayette High School in Red Lake Falls in 1992. I decided to enter the field of education because of two amazing teachers, Mr. Mueller, my fourth and sixth grade elementary school teacher and assistant baseball coach, and Mrs. Christianson, my 9th grade English teacher.
I attended Northland Community College, and had my life changed by the amazing Dr. Diane Drake. Then I transferred to Bemidji State University in 1995. There I had amazing professors who further inspired me to teach English (Dr. Helen Bonner, Dr. Mark Christensen, Susan Hauser, and Gerry Schnabel). I graduated with my BS in English Education in 1997.
I student taught with the wonderful Lisa Semanko and then began teaching full-time at LHS in 1998.
I took a year's leave of absence in 2001-02 to return to BSU for my MA in English. There I had the privilege to teach and work closely with my greatest mentor, Dr. Mark Christensen. I earned my MA in English in 2006 and was honored with "Thesis of the Year" for my creative non-fiction, braided, multi-genre memoir, "Meeting Myrtle: A Biography."
In 2013, thanks to my dear friend and mentor, Dr. Jodi Holen, I was offered an adjunct teaching position fall semester at the University of North Dakota. Tuesday nights I teach Intro to Education: Teaching and Learning 250 from 5-8. Those three hours fly by in about ten minutes.
Then in 2016 I was blessed to win a WEM award (thanks to a nomination from a former student (and now an elementary school teacher), Ciera Mooney).
In 2017 I became part of the #pineconepd podcast club along with Brian Loe, Jeff Mumm, Kelsey Johnson, Kelly Weets, Josh Watne, Tevia Strand, Megan Vigen, Mariah Hruby, Laura Brickson, Loren Leake, Katie Hahn, Melora Burgee, and new members all the time. This has been one of the best forms of PD I've ever been a part of. They make me a better teacher every time we meet. Please think about joining us in the summer at the Pine Cone Pub from 6:30 - until we've solved all the world's problems. For that evening anyway.
Thanks to the inspiration of Shane Zutz (our former principal) I devised this as a way to distribute my Teaching Thoughts and add more content to, hopefully, help out and inspire others.
Email: kurt.reynolds@myprowler.org
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