Trust, Respect and Relationships.

As teachers we are often stuck in our own bubble so when I was offered the chance to visit Kent Innovation High (KIH) this morning I jumped at the opportunity. KIH is a relatively young school, opened in 2011, and it has a unique project-based learning focus. Students spend the first part of their day there studying English, Math, Science and Social Studies in an interdisciplinary setting before returning to their home schools for a more traditional experience in electives and extra-curricular activities.

 Upon entering I was immediately struck by learning space envy. Classrooms are huge light and airy spaces with glass walls. Because of the interdisciplinary approach, each room can hold fifty students and two teachers and there are multiple big screens around the room. Hallways serve as collaborative learning spaces with couches, booths and tables fitted with screens the students can hook up their laptops to. My meeting room had four tables, each with their own big screen and it was a joy for me to be able to fully participate in the presentation without having to strain my old and tired eyes to see a screen at the front of the room.

After a quick introduction to the school by American Studies teacher Mike Kaechele we were divided into small groups and handed over to students for a tour. Each student confidently shook our hands and introduced themselves with full eye contact, and while that seems like a small thing, I knew by this first interaction that I was in a special place. My guides Megan and Katie immediately engaged us in conversation as we walked, telling us what the school was about, what each space was for and how classes were organized. They assuredly answered all of our questions and I thought they must have been hand-picked to impress visitors. As we went from room to room however, I began to think that any of the 400 students in the building could have conducted the tour just as well. In every classroom students greeted us naturally and informally and were happy to tell us what they were doing. I never felt like we were interrupting as there was a learning buzz and relaxed atmosphere in every room , with students and teachers engaged in independent, group and class activities.

My learning space envy grew as we visited classrooms with tall whiteboard walls, high café tables, stools, and couches alongside regular tables. In the third classroom we visited I realized that I hadn’t seen a teacher’s desk anywhere. Megan showed me where the teachers’ desks where-all located in one room alongside each other. Later in the day teacher Jeff Bush told me that he felt this alternative version of a teachers lounge was one of the most important factors in the success of the building. It facilitates deep and meaningful communication between the staff as well as encouraging collaboration and sharing. Another thing that was notably absent was lockers. Open cubbies could be found outside classrooms stuffed with coats, instruments and backpacks and when I asked Megan about that her response was: It’s all about trust here. We are a family.

This sentiment was repeated several times during the final portion of my visit when we sat with a panel of students. I was so impressed with how articulate these young men and women were as they shared their own learning journeys. Colin told us how he had repeated the same math class at his more traditional home school, despite knowing the content, because he struggled to turn in homework assignments. He reported that he is flourishing at KIH because of the positive mindset of his facilitators (teachers) and the fact that he doesn’t get homework. He gets told what he needs to do and he is trusted to do it when he chooses to do it. Other students enthused about the constant feedback they got from their facilitators because that meant they knew how to improve their assignments and work towards mastery , a stark contrast to their more traditional home schools, where they fail but aren’t quite sure why. And the feedback isn’t a one way street. Reese explained that students provide constant feedback to their facilitators so that they too can learn and grow.

All students were completely aware of the standards they were working towards and appreciated the variety of assessments methods used by their teachers such as oral tests, written responses and one to one interviews, made possible with two teachers in every classroom. While rigor was evident, the most striking aspect of this school was the significance placed upon relationships. When asked what was challenging about being a student at KIH Colin told us the first two weeks were challenging because you have to flip your mindset. You have to learn how to work with others, how to be responsible how to focus on learning about each other. Every single hour of every single day begins with students sharing good news, every student knows each others name and this simple five minute sharing allows them to get to know each other. Keeley shared this with us:

I’m in love with this school. The facilitators are alive and alert and love what they do. They raise us to be like a family, we are comfortable with each other, we trust each other, we value each other. They want to engage us, to learn about our home lives and what is happening with us. We strive to succeed, to be the best we can be, to be diverse and honest; and the facilitators want us to succeed too.

So much about this school was impressive: the physical space, the technology integration, the 1:1 laptop program, the level of student voice, the interdisciplinary approach, the ping pong table, and the project-based focus. But for me personally, what really makes it a special place is the omnipresent emphasis on trust, respect and relationships. I had the opportunity to chat briefly with some staff members over lunch, but I’m hoping that I get to spend more time learning from them at the NovaNow conference in February. If you get offered the chance to attend this event, jump at it!

Inspirational pin-board in student bathroom

Walking With Giants-Literally!

This weekend I was honored to walk with giants around Washington DC. The giants were thirty of my past and present students who were invited to present at the 2014 National Forum on Character Education.

The journey began last Thursday as we piled on to the bus at 5:30am. I was expecting a few moans and groans about the early take off, but was only met with eager and enthusiastic comments as we loaded suitcases, pillows, blankets and jewelry making equipment. The ten hour travel time flew by as we watched movies, chatted and played games and I was amazed since I’ve been on much shorter bus rides with students that seemed to last for eons!

Our first stop was the Air Force Memorial which seemed so fitting as the purpose is to show pride in our past and faith in our future. The monument itself soars 270 feet high and I was so moved to be there in the presence of students who have learned how to soar themselves. Etched on granite walls are the three core values of the Air Force.: Integrity first, Service before self, and Excellence in all we do. I read aloud the following quote on the wall: The future is always decided by those who put their imagination to work, who challenge the unknown, and who are not afraid to risk failure.An eighth grade student standing next to me said, “That’s us Mrs. Roberts isn’t it?” That was the first of many teary moments I had in the presence of these giants over the next few days.

 Walking into the conference hotel at 7am on Saturday morning heading a group of thirty children caused quite a stir. As people stopped and stared at us I saw my students shoulders go back and their chins go up. They realized for the first time the true significance of their presence there and they immediately adopted a demeanor that they maintained throughout the remainder of the trip. They were proud to be invited, to share their incredible story, promote their project and to represent their school, which they did impeccably. They set up their booth with no adult direction or assistance and began to engage passing adults and making jewelry to sell. As each team rotated through their booth shift I was amazed at how well they articulated their passion and commitment.

I hope this Halloween stands out in their memories as much as it will stand out in mine. Dressed in their costumes we embarked on a nighttime tour of the war memorials and the Lincoln memorial and they managed to remain respectful, deferential and deeply interested in what the tour guide was telling us. So many of them during that tour thanked me for the opportunity and told me how glad they were that they gave up their usual trick or treating routine to be there.

The next day, despite being tired they were outstanding during their presentation. They so eloquently demonstrated to other teachers what is possible when teachers get out of the way and let students explore their passions and curiosities and allow them to fail forward. Feedback from attendees included:

"Empower and trust the students! Fail Forward! Outstanding, Meaningful, and all around Inspiring!"

"Each of you did a great job presenting. I'm inspired to listen to my students and step back to follow their lead."

"I want to make our service learning more meaningful. You guys are awesome!"

The students' own reflections included:

"In Washington I learned that our project is not only raising money for Chilipula, but showing the world that no project is too big for kids." Vivian, 6th grader.
 
" I learned what can happen when a group comes together for a good cause. I learned that sometimes kids can do things that adults can't, and we should all step up to that." Helen, 7th grader.

"If you give students a voice through a meaningful project they will each become a leader in their own way." Jake, 6th grader.

I can honestly say I have never been prouder as an educator! Despite the fact that this group consisted of 3-8 graders, some of whom had never really met before, they bonded together in their dedication to Project Cope. For me personally, it was a joy to bring together past and present students and be able to see how much they have learned and grown. Their true character was reflected in the way they interacted with each other and the attendees of the conference. There were too many examples of kindness, perseverance, integrity, honesty and responsibility for me to mention but I will treasure every one.

This trip would not have been possible without the support of the BCS PTSA and the Birmingham Education Foundation (BEF). Their financial support made it possible for all our students to participate in this incredible learning experience. When character.org asked for our students to present at the national forum they never imagined we would bring 30!

A special thanks to the parents and staff members who chaperoned this trip. The logistics involved in navigating a group of 30 middle schoolers through a two day national conference was overwhelming but their willingness to do whatever it takes and ability to support one another is what makes BCS such a great place to be.

I would be remiss if I didn’t thank Tamra Nast our school counselor who worked tirelessly with Cindy Balicki to make this opportunity a reality for our students. Principal Mark Morawski thank you for supporting the trip and Linda Stone , and Mat Brown thank you for joining us and being amazing colleagues that I am lucky to work with every day.

The theme of the conference was inspiring greatness. These giants, these students, inspire me every day. Who inspires you? More importantly, how do you inspire others?

Walking With Giants

Several weeks ago I posted this on Facebook:

As the first hectic week of school comes to a close I am reminded once again that I am so fortunate to walk with giants every day. Not giants in stature, but giants in terms of the size of their hearts, the strength of their spirit, and the depths of their understanding and humanity. I'm humbled by both students and colleagues, who uplift and inspire me beyond words. Look for the giants that surround you-they are often disguised by humility.

It occurred to me that I should share their stories as they are key characters in my own story. This is the first of a series of posts about the giants in my life. I hope they inspire you as they have inspired me.

On Friday morning I opened an email with the following attachment:

This is the culmination of months of collaboration between one of my students and Grant Anderson and his mother, Julie Anderson. Grant and his mom came to visit my school last year as part of a disability workshop. Grant shared with my students the story of how he suffered a traumatic brain injury several years earlier in a car accident. Two hundred and twenty students sat enthralled as he shared images and movies of his grueling recovery process. His message was clear: work hard, persevere, and remain positive. One of Grant’s passions is music and before long he had all of us singing along to one of his own compositions. He touched every single person in the room that day, but he especially inspired one student in particular.

She had written lyrics for a song about our school partnership with Project Cope, a non-profit organization working to eliminate poverty in rural Zambia in a single generation. Having no composition experience, the song and melody was trapped inside her head, but in Grant she recognized an opportunity. We asked Grant and his mom if they could help and over the next few months they visited school several times to work on the song with my student. Seeing the product of their efforts on Friday reduced me to tears. 

I am humbled and honored to know people like Grant and his mom, giving so generously of their time not only to support a good cause, but to help a little girl realize a dream. They truly are giants, teaching both myself and my students much more than any written curriculum could.  If you are looking for a guest speaker to inspire your students I cannot recommend Grant highly enough. Click on the image below to learn more about Grant’s story, as he was deservedly recognized as someone who makes a difference on The Heart of Detroit. Who are the giants who make a difference in the lives of you and your students?

Digital Citizenship

As technology becomes ubiquitous in many classrooms, teachers are utilizing their tools to inspire students to become engaged learners and responsible, inspiring citizens. Having access to resources from around the globe, our students can connect, communicate and collaborate with peers, experts and leaders from across the globe. These are indeed exciting times for educators, but with these new opportunities comes the added responsibility of teaching our students about digital citizenship.

As soon as students log in in to the internet, open an email account, download an application, they have become digital citizens and we shouldn't assume that our digital natives have all the necessary skills and knowledge about how to behave online. In order to get the best out of the internet we need to teach our students how to become secure ethical users, capable of making appropriate decisions that empower them to make a positive contribution. Fortunately, there is a growing collection of resources available to guide us.

The Digital Citizen website provides students, parents and teachers with a variety of excellent games, videos and activities to promote online safety. An infographic on the Educational Technology and Mobile Learning site would stimulate a great discussion with students about the components of digital citizenship. For more videos and articles to help kids make the most of social media visit Common Sense Media. Teacher favorites include Brainpop, Edudemic, TeachThought and Edutopia. But I believe the best resources can be found in our own classrooms.

Kids will make mistakes; it’s a fact. No educator ever wants to hear the words, “The Secret Service would like to interview you right now.” I have. Being a resident alien I immediately assumed I had unwittingly committed some awful crime against the state and quaked in my boots as I headed for my interrogation…I mean…interview. Instead, it was in regard to one of my students who had made a poor choice online. As mistakes go, it was truly a doozy. It could have been dealt with surreptitiously, it could have been swept quietly under the carpet but it provided too much of a powerful learning opportunity. By sharing the mistakes they have made with their peers, and the lessons they have subsequently learned, students become the ultimate teachers of digital citizenship.

As educators, students and parents we are all exploring unfamiliar territory. We have new collective responsibilities as we experience the excitement of being a part of a global online community. Teaching digital citizenship is critical. Take the time to talk to your students about their online activities, explore the many resources available to you, and most importantly embrace mistakes and turn them into significant teachable moments.

Auras in the Classroom

My students have been creating a game to address some areas of school culture that give them cause for concern. Code Cobra challenges students to become top agents by completing missions that are designed to help students develop a greater understanding and appreciation for each other, the environment and education.

I am really impressed with the level of commitment shown by my core team of designers and I’m really excited about their product. Always their own greatest critics they wanted a bit more pizazz for their game, something that would get other students really excited. That’s when we discovered Aurasma, which overlays video onto any image. My students have plans to take photos all over the building then hide missions in them using the Aurasma application. This will add a whole new level of mystery to the game and hopefully ensure a higher level of engagement from the wider school population. 

But I am discovering that this app has so many more possibilities. In science class my students made their own body system books with third and fourth graders as their target audience. In the event that some students may struggle with the reading or the language, we used Aurasma to overlay them with movies explaining how each of the body systems work.

The display boards in my classroom can now spring to life as students can add commentaries to their own work, I can add directions or explanations to enhance informational displays and we can engage a wider audience by adding auras to hallway pin boards and exhibits. I am planning to utilize this app at different centers in my classroom for group work. I can overlay any page or worksheet with specific instructions, making the students more independent and enabling me to work more closely with individuals or teams.

To get a better idea of how Aurasma works I invite you to open an account and follow me at pr05bps. Hover over the image below and you should be able to enjoy a movie of my students sharing their favorite inspirational Dr. Seuss quotes.

How would you add auras to your classroom?

A Basketball Full of Character

Teaching in a school of third thru eight graders, we rarely have presenters who can catch the attention of every age group. Yesterday we were lucky enough to have a guest speaker who held all 660 students and every member of staff in the palm of one hand while spinning a basketball in the other!

I have never seen Jim Basketball Jones present before so I was a little unsure of what to expect but what a treat. As nearly 700 people streamed into the gym from every possible direction, far from being intimidated Jim immediately took command, organizing the seating the way he wanted and teaching us about his audience expectations .He asked for us to be patient listeners, responding carefully and thoughtfully to his words and to bring forth our best efforts to participate with purpose. The ground rules established, he began to juggle and spin several basketballs and I can honestly say my jaw dropped! His skills were mesmerizing and our students were enthralled as he pulled up volunteers to spin basketballs on their fingers, their faces, on top of pens they were holding…it was a joy to behold. But this was not just an amazing spectacle, it was an hour loaded with character education.

In between tricks and stunts Jim told stories, evocative stories about children and adults he had encountered in the past who had taught him much about life and how to live it. His first tale was about a teacher at a previous presentation who had volunteered to take a shot at the hoop in the hopes of winning a basketball. She wanted to win so that she could be remembered at the school, but the consequence for missing was to do ten push-ups. When she did in fact miss, and it was obvious she was unable to complete the consequence, he asked for the other teachers to volunteer in her place. When nobody offered, the hand of a kindergartener popped up and a little boy gladly offered to take her place because he wanted to be there for his teacher, just as she was always there for him. The little boy had cerebral palsy and to everybody’s amazement the child completed the task. From that point on he was always known as “Champ” by his peers and teachers.

One tale after another conveyed moving messages about kindness, perseverance, honesty and integrity. It was thrilling to see the entire audience turn to their neighbor and declare that they were each important, that they mattered, that nothing would stand in the way of their goals. Even a game of Simple Simon provided an opportunity to demonstrate key concepts such as leadership, striving for excellence and supporting and helping each other. Jim’s concluding tale about his personal struggle with learning disabilities and eventual success left much for us to ponder and there were several misty eyes in the room.

This was a fantastic assembly for our whole school to enjoy upon our return from mid-winter break. For me, it was a compelling reminder of the power of a story well told. As a child, teachers asked Jim why he spent so much time and effort learning how to spin basketballs as it served no real purpose. His response: because it makes me happy. Maybe the most effective way to teach character education is to simply support and encourage our students to pursue their passions with courage, determination, and dedication.

Epic Fail

My daughter and I are learning to cook together. My mother’s most essential cooking utensil was a can opener so it’s an area in which I am lacking key skills, but my daughter has a creative streak with food so we are trying to figure it out together.

We trawl through online recipes, choose one that seems most appealing and challenging, shop for it and do our best to follow the instructions.  Many of our cooking adventures result in epic fails but we enjoy the process of experimenting, tweaking, adjusting and ultimately learning. Failure holds no fear for us, indeed it spurs us on to do better, and it occurs to me that I need to fail epically more often in the classroom .

My students brainstorming skills are improving. They are at the point in the year where they have established trusting relationships, and they more familiar with the routine of trying to generate 100 ideas in ten minutes with no holds barred. It is moving from ideas to action that seems to pose the greatest problem. As soon as they begin to consider their ideas they can generate just as many, if not more reasons why their ideas won’t work. They reach an impasse quickly and will tend to descend into a dulled state of defeat and inaction. Rather than attempting a challenging solution and learning from their mistakes they prefer to choose not to try at all.

The question is, how do I help my students attempt to solve a problem with the same fearless enthusiasm that my daughter attempts a new recipe? I need to make my classroom more like my kitchen; a fun place for messy experimentation, a safe place to make mistakes and a place to celebrate success. I can make a start by modeling failure more often.

Instead of being just a coach and guide I am going to try and become more of an active participant. When I ask students to solve challenging math problems I am going to attempt solve some myself. When I ask them to build something, I will build too. When I ask them to play a game, I will play too. Being an active participant will enable me to demonstrate what it looks like to take risks, to dive in, evaluate, consider alternatives, rethink and try again. It will also provide opportunities for open and purposeful conversation about failure, about redefining success and about character traits like grit, determination and perseverance.

As educators we constantly hear that it’s not about the tool, (the iPad, the interactive whiteboard…the can opener) it’s what you do with it. Well my new learning tool is going to be failure, maybe my plan will fail fantastically, but the process will be epic.