A collection of relevant education articles

Here's a collection of links on a range of topics I've sent to faculty for perusing over winter break.

Kindergarten friendships for boys:

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-11-30/parenting/30458390_1_friendships-kindergarten-quality

Kindergarten case for play in schools:

http://www.allianceforchildhood.org/sites/allianceforchildhood.org/files/file/kindergarten_report.pdf

K-2 using blocks to teach:

http://www.nytimes.com/schoolbook/2011/12/04/how-to-use-blocks-to-teach/

K-5 literacy and fitness combined:

http://whatworks.wholechildeducation.org/blog/using-fitness-literacy-lessons-focused-on-the-whole-child/

K-8 project-based learning:

http://calgaryscienceschool.blogspot.com/2011/11/introduction-to-inquiry-based-learning.html

K-8 parent/school communication:

http://www.edweek.org/tm/articles/2011/12/07/fp_mixon.html?tkn=PYCCsaHFwXZvOymZzNP1zB3nNrNRK%2FEwwpk%2B&cmp=clp-sb-ascd

K-8 YouTube for schools:

http://www.ubergizmo.com/2011/12/youtube-for-schools/

2-8 SmartBoard tools for math:

http://www.theteachersguide.com/InteractiveSitesMathSmartBoard.htm

4-8 interdisciplinary student publishing contest:

http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/12/02/student-contest-celebrate-2011-by-writing-raps-about-the-years-news/

4-8 chewing gum and test-taking:

http://www.educationnation.com/index.cfm?objectid=BEC0241E-24D6-11E1-A9BF000C296BA163&aka=0

6-8 project-based learning and citizenship:

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/PBL-digital-citizens-andrew-marcinek

What are schools for anyway?

I really like this opinion piece by Gary Gutting, which points out that first and foremost, the point of college is "to nourish a world of intellectual culture."  The same is true of elementary and secondary schools; the development of skills and accumulation of knowledge are mechanisms that allow students to engage in that world of intellectual culture. They are means to an end, and not an end in-and-of themselves, though too often anxiety about progress trumps attention to development by parents and educators alike. This is especially true when thinking about the arms race that grips high school students attempting to navigate the unbelievably competitive college application process, and the trickle-down impact this has on middle school, elementary school, and even Kindergartens, many of which have become entirely too academic for their students' development.


I also appreciate Gary's perspective on the role of interest and motivation in the classroom:


"Teaching is not a matter of (as we too often say) “making a subject (poetry, physics, philosophy) interesting” to students but of students coming to see how such subjects are intrinsically interesting.  It is more a matter of students moving beyond their interests than of teachers fitting their subjects to interests that students already have.   Good teaching does not make a course’s subject more interesting; it gives the students more interests — and so makes them more interesting."

Curriculum planning is super fun!

In my role as Elementary Division Head, one of my absolute favorite responsibilities and activities is discussing curriculum with faculty. I miss that part of being a teacher - the excitement and thrill of thinking about what I want students to understand (not just "know" or "be able to do") - and being able to engage with teachers as they go through that process not only scratches that itch; it both helps me get a better sense of how they are intentionally designing curriculum, and gives me an opportunity to engage in some coaching with them around this essential teacher task.

Today I had the pleasure of having two such meetings, focusing around the ideas from Project Zero's Teaching for Understanding unit design framework. First, I met with Mike from the Cerrito Creek classroom. Our conversation began by looking at the TfU framework together, moved to reflecting on the recently-completed science unit he taught on oceans, focused on the development of understanding goals (the essential ideas about which we want students to develop understanding) as the key driver in curriculum development, and then looked forward at his upcoming plans to sharpen the connection between what is being taught, and the goals that underlie the curriculum. It was a powerful experience in which we were able to discuss subtle nuances of the TfU approach, and Mike's sense of his own curriculum planning approach.

The second meeting was with Amy and Danette from the Sweet Briar Creek classroom. I had passed the Teaching for Understanding framework on to Amy last week, and she and Danette had already begun brainstorming possible Understanding Goals for their upcoming Ancient Egypt unit. Through conversation, we revised and consolidated those goals into the following list: 1) how the citizens of the age met their fundamental needs (building on their recently completed study of the fundamental needs of humans, a classic Montessori lesson), 2) how different classes of people experienced life differently, and 3) the connection between water and early agrarian human civilizations. From there we discussed possible performances of understanding - what kids will do to develop and show their understanding - including the plans for a culminating Ancient Egypt Festival performance, complete with food, writing, dancing, drama, and other representations that will show kids' understanding of what life was like in that culture.

Similar meetings are scheduled for January with the rest of the elementary classrooms!

Last week's all-school assembly

Last week we held a great assembly. I began with a quick warm-up movement activity. Then Strawberry Creek made a presentation about their recent overnight trip to Fort Ross. The students were dressed in costume and organized in groups (hunters, militia, cooks, etc). This was followed by a performance of the song Valerie by the middle school band, featuring two singers in harmony and a three-piece horn section. The assembly concluded with two students from Laurel Creek explaining the penny drive that class is undertaking. For more pictures, please follow this link to Kathleen Schwallie's album.

Don't forget that this Wednesday is our Winter Holiday Concert, from 6-8 pm, at the Northbrae Community Church.

Mission moments Newsletter #2

Just for you, dear readers, a special treat - Mission Moments Newsletter #2.

Penny Drive in Laurel Creek

Passing on a letter from the Laurel Creek classroom:

Dear Friends,

When researching local organizations that help local families this holiday season, we came upon a news article from Oakley, Ca. An organization named Friends of Oakley have been collecting toys and food all year for their holiday donations. Their storage room, in a local school, was robbed and completely emptied of over 4,000 dollars worth of clothing, warm blankets, toys, and food. Click here to read the article. We read the news report to the children of Laurel Creek, who immediately and unanimously declared that they wanted to support the Friends of Oakley group.

We ask for your support to help a local organization in need of all the help they can get before their deadline on Dec 15th. Please bring in your extra pennies and deposit them in the jars that can be found in nearly every classroom or in the large water jugs in Kate Klaire's office. We are working out a plan with a local Bank of the West branch, who has agreed to help us convert the coins into a check to send to the Friends of Oakley group.

Thank you for your generous spirit as we support our students in their service learning this holiday season.

With appreciation,

Laurel Creek Students and Teachers

The Sub of Last Resort

I like to call myself The Sub of Last Resort because I'll likely wind up working in every elementary and middle school classroom over the course of the year when we're unable to get subs in time. Today, because of a last minute snafu that kept Rebecca at home, I was lucky enough to get to return to my roots and teach 7th and 8th grade Humanities. I had about 20 minutes to prepare a lesson, so I combined something familiar with something new: a close reading and conversation about The Unicorn in the Garden by James Thurber, with a character development activity.

After reading the story, I asked the group if they liked the Wife character. They answered with a resounding no, citing her cruel looks, language, and many actions towards her husband (such as her conniving attempt to have him committed to a mental institution), not to mention her disbelief in the existence of the mythical Unicorn. Then I asked if they liked the Husband character, which elicited a more complicated response: while they liked that he tried -- twice -- to share the Unicorn with his wife, he lied to police and ultimately chose to undermine her. This was followed by conversations about the evocative and powerful language in the story (the Unicorn browsing and cropping, the man's high heart on a shining morning, etc), and the ways in which the story mimics a fairy tale (once up on a time, happily ever after, sleeping woman, mythical creature, etc). And then I gave them a brief background on Thurber, and the unfortunate issue of misogyny in his writings.

This was followed by a character construction activity. First came basic facts: age, name, gender, location. Second came issues of the heart: desires, fears, and secrets. Third came important details about the character's life. After working as a whole class to generate a character, I asked students to create their own characters, using this template. 7th grade students were required to set their locations as Ancient Greece, since that's what they have been studying lately in Humanities class. And, as the 8th grade class was 70 minutes compared to the 50 minute lengths of the 7th grade, I actually began that class with a reading and discussion of another Thurber story -- The Secret Life of Walter Mitty -- that is slightly longer, and parallel to the other story in several ways, including the two main characters of a husband protagonist and a wife antagonist.

Rebecca will be out again tomorrow, so I've created a lesson for the students to write from, and in, the perspective of the characters they have created - performances of understanding that are grounded in critical thinking, creative thinking and discipline understanding. There are four options:

1. Write a very short story in which your character is the protagonist. By short, I mean no longer than one typed page in length. The story should somehow involve one of his/her DESIRES or FEARS.

2. Write a letter from your character to someone else – a friend, a relative, a teacher, a classmate, or even a famous person (fan letter) in which s/he discusses one of his/her DESIRES or FEARS. Pay special attention to the language that your character uses – try to make it realistic to who that person is.

3. Sometimes people make sense of their experiences through poetry. Write a poem about one of the DESIRES or FEARS from your character’s perspective. Again, pay special attention to the language that your character uses – try to make it realistic to who that person is.

4. Imagine that your character has been threatened with having his/her SECRET revealed to the world. In response, s/he has KIDNAPPED someone involved in this plot. Write the ransom note that your character uses to try to prevent the secret from being told.

Friday Reading

Here's a collection of articles and videos that I've thought note-worthy in the last few weeks. See if you can guess which ones made laugh, cry, or angry!

Parenting

California Watch: perceptions of kids and digital media

MindShift: can everyone be smart at everything?

Teacher pay

Yahoo! News: merit pay in New Jersey

Wisonson state journal: shifting teacher evaluations

Miami Herald: teacher evaluations are complex

Teaching practices

Southeast Missourian: No-zeros policy

Health and Wellness

WCTV: fighting obesity

On Wall Street: Duncan advocates for financial literacy

Educational policy

Columbus Dispatch: Grouping students

Sacramento Bee: California moves cut-off date for kindergarten

Huffington Post: West Virginia anti-bullying policy

New York Times: Assessing middle schools based on high school readiness

Sacramento Bee: Grim state budget forecast

Learning from Failure

Leadership

N2Grwoth: Leadership and curiosity

CBS News: 10 strategies that kill companies and careers

The Guardian: Balancing work and life

Smartblog: Listen more, talk less

Smartblog: Improve team communication

Gymnasium for Brain

I just came across Gymnasium for Brain, which seems like a good site for parents and kids alike. There are lots of interesting puzzles, logic games, and activities to try. It's always important to exercise the new neurons our brains are creating every day!