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It has been over a year since my last blog post/podcast. My plan was to post more as way of helping other teachers through pandemic teaching as well as helping myself destress from the same. Unfortunately the demands of teaching online to start and then move to hybrid in person teaching as well as trying to maintain a balance between online and in-person took up a good portion of my time. That being said I am happy to report it is now summer where I am and I am looking forward to hopefully getting back on a somewhat regular schedule.
I started reading a book entitled "What School Could Be" by Ted Dintersmith. It was a parting gift by our principal to staff along with a Rocky Road Candy bar. It was his way of saying thanks for all the hard work we have done over the Rocky Road of Pandemic Teaching and giving us something to look forward to for next year. I know that I jokingly said as he gave us the gift "Is it another book?" referring to the book we all got from our school district earlier. For some getting a book to read over the summer my seem like a backhanded compliment for a job well done in teaching. Isn't that what teachers do through out the year is read? We read emails, we read essays, we read tests, we read novels, and on and on. I know I look to summer as wanting to get away from reading or to focus on a good Steven King novel. (By the way I just finished Mr. Mercedes and I recommend it if you are looking for a thriller detective novel. Ok back to my post). Now don't get me wrong like most teachers I do use my summer to do trainings and continue to sharpen/hone my teaching skills but one must have balance. After finishing the aforementioned novel I decided to pick up the Dintersmith book. I had some conversation with one other staff member familiar with his work and he spoke highly of the Author. I will admit I was a bit skeptical but once I started I had a hard time putting it down until a passage that prompted me to write/record this post.
The passage the got me to put the book down and get me back on my blog/podcast is where Dintersmith is in the second chapter where he is talking about a high school in Minot North Dakota. In the passage the teacher talks about applying the concept of Genius hour in his class. The teacher talks about what happened when he told his students about getting a class period to focus on their (student's) interests. "...[A]fter informing them they [would have] one hour a week to work on whatever they're interested in, half the students did a Google search for 'What should I be interested in?'..." This hit me hard as a teacher and I hope it hits you hard as well. For me it hits home because it describes what I see in my Engineering, robotics, and after school club almost daily, kids are loosing their ability to be and think creatively. Often times when I do a presentation I am asked "Is this going to be on the test?" or with a project/assignment kids will ask "What do I need to do to get an A?" Kids love my first response "I don't give tests". Often times as soon as they hear that they stop taking notes but then soon learn that they need to go back and get the info as I don't repeat my presentations (except in video form that they can watch on their own). My response to the second one is more complicated. In my projects/assignments I try to structure them like a contract for an engineering project. I give kids the big picture of why we are doing the project, I then given them the procedure that they can follow, I then given them the specs or must haves for the project, then I lay out the points each spec is worth. With all my projects I focus on specific skills or concepts (standards if you will) students need to have an understanding of in order to give them feedback. Often times I get the question "What do you want us to do?" or "Is this good enough?" or "Does this look good?". They hate it when I refer them back to the project description or just give them feedback on the skills I see them working on. Most of the kids work past their frustration but some don't. Some just want me to tell them what to do to get the grade. Some do give up and say "I didn't teach them anything." The later are the ones that I try to support but ultimately break my teaching heart and hopefully it breaks yours.
I am buoyed by this book so far in that the focus, so far, is on moving education reform in a way to sparks creativity. As kids we are naturally creative but in school we teach it out of them. How do we do this? By teaching to the test. All too often I hear teachers talk about how they have to prep kids for the state test. They can't do anything fun because of the state tests. They have no time for projects till after the state tests are done. When I tell them that the fun projects they do (like or math departments "Life Project" or our social studies "Culture & Washington State History Fairs" will help prep them for the test better than anything; I am told that kids have to learn the skills first or that the test doesn't assess application. These things go against tons of education research that says when kids are given the opportunity to apply knowledge and skill in real world applications they understand and retain those concepts better. Add on having them teach knowledge &/or skills to others you have hit the learning motherload.
To wrap up this post I give those who read/listen a charge. I ask that you do one or more of the following over the summer to help engage your students next year:
1. Read the book "What School Could Be" by Ted Dintersmith
2. Redesign an assessment you give to be a real life project that assesses the same skills/knowledge
3. Have a conversation with colleagues about how you can create interdisciplinary projects that encourage/empower kids to be creative
4. Look at attending professional learning on project based learning
5. Comment on this blog or podcast about what you are already doing to encourage your kids to be creative.
I can't wait to hear about how your work on the above task go. As always "Go Forth & Do Great Things!"
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