School-of-Thought

To what extent do schools limit creativity?  Anyone involved with education should watch this and then take a minute to reflect.  Thanks to Lisa N. at Education Innovation for sharing this.

I came across this thoughtful reflection from Carolyn Foote, a librarian from Texas. Carolyn writies about an article in the Economist “about how people now are much more nomadic in thier use of spaces” due to things like “Wi-fi, mobility, and portability.”   This allows people the increased ability “to connect whenever they go in nooks and crannies” and other indoor and outdoor spaces.

The discussion from Carolyn’s perspective of a librarian is how the design of librarry and school spaces can facilitate learning and take advantage of the “nomadic” use of space.

The concept is fascinating to think about from the perspective of a school board member — because part of our duties of course include the construction of school buildings.

Perhaps equally important as the design of new space is how current space is used. At this week’s school board meeting we heard from teachers and administrators involved with development of the new alternative education plan for the middle school and high school. A component of the plan is to create warm and unique learning environments in each building.

Due to our 1:1 laptop program we already have wireless internet set up — students can connect via laptop anywhere in the high school. It will be interesting to see what these new alternative ed spaces will end up looking like.  I’m imagining it’s going to be different than the traditional desks-in-a-straight-row type classroom.

From Education Week’s Motivation Matter’s comes this story by Kevin Bushweller and Katie Ash:

80 Acts of Kindness

High fives for Watertown educator Casey Feininger and his high school electronic publishing class for producing an amazing video for teacher recruitment.

During last summer’s school board retreat session, teacher recruitment and retention was identified as one of the district’s priority goals. As a result, Superintendent Hanson started the wheels in motion to develop a student production showcasing our school district and community. And believe me, this is no ordinary high school production! Be prepared to be impressed.

The video provides information about our the Watertown School District, some of our programs, including our six year 1:1 laptop initiative, details about the community, athletic programs, fine art programs, and employee benefits.

Here is the link: Watertown Teacher Recruitment Video. Turn up the video, click on the links, and like I said, be prepared to be impressed!

Teachers, when you walk into a new class for the first time, how do you know what your students will need, and how do you know the best way to reach them?  I assume you’ve has sufficient prep time to gather materials and learn something about the students you’ll be working with — but to borrow the title of a recent book, what allows you as a teacher to go from “Good to Great?”

I’ve done a little mental exercise.  I’ve sat back, closed my eyes, and brought to mind the three best teachers I ever had.  I tried to remember what they were like — how they looked, talked and acted, what their classrooms were like, and how they made me feel as thier student.

I’ve also reflected on a few statements I’ve read (paraphrased):

• Great teachers are people who have some sort of connective capacity, who connect themselves to their students, their students to each other, and everyone to the subject being studied.
• Great teaching, like any true genuine human activity, emerges from one’s inward passions.

What I’ve come to believe is that going from good to great often has less to do with one’s knowledge than one’s attitude.  And I often recall the words of past high school principal Randy McCune: “kids don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care.”

So again, my question — in your experience, what makes a teacher go from good to great?

And, what suggestions might you have for policy makers to help in the development of really great teachers? 

I just listened to an excellent recording about poverty. The podcast is by Michael Butts, the principal at Watertown High School. It’s from the book If She Only Knew Me, by Jeff Gray and Heather Thomas. It only takes a minute and is well worth the listen.