Being Social: Tapping into the social student brain

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This is the second part of my 2 part blog post on the book Social: Why Our Brains Are Wired to Connect by Matthew D. Lieberman. I have been reading this book as part of a book study for a group called HDIL (How Do I Learn) which has been examining and helping teachers learn to apply the latest in brain research/science to education. I forgot to mention that in my earlier post. Working with the group of Health Educators, Instructional coaches, fellow teachers, and Neuroscience researchers  has been exciting and rewarding both on a personal and professional level. It has expanded my thoughts on improving how I educate our young learners and that is the focus on this post is how I feel we can improve schools to leverage the power of our social brains.

The research that the author presents and has done is pretty clear that humans are social creatures and our brains have developed to leverage being social to help us survive and grow. He has shown that our social nature can have both positive and negative affects on our brain and on us as well. When we act in a way that is socially acceptable or are given positive social attention from our peers there is activity in the parts of our brain that allow us to experience pleasure and dopamine release. When we act ina way that is not socially acceptable or are given negative social attention from our peers the converse is also true, we experience pain and those regions of the brain associated with feeling pain light up. That is as technical as I want to get as the importance is more on how to leverage the social brain to improve education an student learning.

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Students start out their educational career as one class and move through the early years as part of a class/tribe/family if you will. They get to know their teachers, and peers and learn their habits and quirks. Then in Middle school/Junior high we thrust them into a situation where they are in a new building, multiple classes, new school, many more peers, & HORMONES!

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All of this leads to a sense of no longer belonging when in actuality their brains are craving to just belong. We need to change the way we educate to better take advantage of this craving so we are not fighting it.

As we explore the future of schools and work to change them to meet the needs of the future; we need to accept the fact that just giving students knowledge to remember for later on is no longer acceptable. We need to look at how to teach students how to use that knowledge as well as how to interact with one another. As a CTE (Career and Technical Education) teacher I get to meet with industry professionals to learn more about what I can be doing to prep kids for the "real world" (as I like to call it). The number one thing they mention to me is to help kids develop "soft skills"; those skills like reading people, working together, showing up on time, etc. These are not skills we have necessarily focused in schools but should do more of as we move into the future. Some may say that isn't the job of education but it is all of our jobs. One these "soft skills" is self control.

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Self control is a skill that is important to have not only to help keep us safe but also to help us be more productive in our careers. I see kids in my class that I wish had more self control or patience. I have wondered why they don't have any and hope they get it later. However I now realize it is part of our job to help teach them self control what it looks like and how it works. Along with that we need to give them opportunities to practice using it and not fault them when they fall down or don't use it. I don't know what this looks like quite but I can see it coming into play during project work, and maybe as a part of grading. This leads to another thought we can as educators need to focus on which is helping kids belong.

Another way I feel we can help students belong is to look at ways to co-mingle the curriculum at the middle level. I am not saying need need to go to a more elementary model of 1 teacher who teaches all subjects but more of a co-teaching approach bringing teachers together (having teachers move from class to class rather than students). Where students are exposed to all subjects by multiple teachers in the same class. This I feel will help them see how knowledge is not a singular subject but is interwoven and social. Also it helps give the context of why they need to know this stuff in order to apply it.

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One of the things talked about in the education chapter is that we crave the"why" of knowledge not necessarily the what or how. I know I have seen and see the power of this in my class all the time. I teacher a number of elective classes from robotics to programming to engineering and most kids excel on concepts they struggle with in other classes. One example I am proud of and use all the time is teaching cross multiplication as a function of calculation turns. Our math department struggled with teaching this concept to students especially some of our Special education students. They wondered why I never struggled with it or why kids in my class "got it" I told them I put it into context. They needed to know ratios and cross multiplication to figure out the arc length (which couldn't be "measured" easily) to get their robot to turn a specific angle. Yes they did struggle with it for awhile but once they had the why they needed it OMG! they took off and had it down pat. We need to look for more opportunities to give students a chance to learn and apply the why they are learning things and we will be amazed at how much they will gain in the end.

Lastly I would like to talk about how students show those gains teachers favorite TESTING!

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I know there are numerous thoughts and feelings about testing from high stakes to quizzes. I have my own personal thoughts which I won't get into other than to say we need to rethink how we empower kids to share their knowledge and understanding. I am a PBL (project based learning) teacher and there by most of my "tests" are projects rooted in real life applications. However I recognize that at times there has be be a test given for various reasons. I know the stress of giving tests from having administered several tests over my career, both kids and teacher stress. I wonder though if we made one simple change if it might alleviate some of that stress. That one change is to let kids talk during the test. I know this goes against all the "rules" and "norms" of testing but why? When asked that question I am told so they don't cheat. I accepted that answer early in my career but as I got more into reading books on PBL education, talking to employers, and stressing out while giving tests I rethought that reason. If we are social creatures we need to communicate in some way shape or form. To ask us to be silent for any great length of time goes against our nature. Also where in our jobs, other than teaching, do we need to "test" to get paid? Yes I know we need to test to get various certificates/qualifications for a job but not once we get the job. We get paid by doing our job and being productive. Often times we have to work with others to get the job done. So why not start teaching that during school. Why can't we allow students to talk while testing? I know most will say but how will students show what they know. Well they will show it by the questions they ask others and the explanations they give to others. Also sharing of info is part of what is needed in the workforce; know when and what info to share. Also if we train them to share info correctly (not just giving the answer) they cheating won't be an issue.

These are my thoughts on how to apply the concepts and ideas posed in the book. I welcome your thoughts and ideas as well as encourage you to read the book.

As always Go Forth & Do Great Things!

Being social: Increasing productivity

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As I wrap up my reading of the book Social: Why Our Brains Are Wired to Connect by Matthew D. Lieberman. I want to write 2 posts in relation to work in schools and how we can help students and teachers tap into our social nature. The first of these 2 posts focuses on the work environment especially in schools. 

I was struck by how in this country we equate job satisfaction with more income as pointed out in the book. I myself am guilty of this way of thinking. However after reading the chapter entitled "The business of social brains" I am inclined to rethink this a bit. We hear phrases like "Money is the route of all evil." or "The best things in life are free" or many others. It turns out these phrases are to a certain extent true as pointed out by numerous studies on economics and job satisfaction and on productivity in the work place. My goal here is not to talk about all these studies an what they show but to focus on my thoughts on how to improve productivity in schools through social endeavors. 

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In the book they cite research that shows as income increases the feeling of social well being stays the same. They also cite research that shows the most effective ways to increase productivity is not to give out more money (it actually decreases it in some cases) but to bring in a social aspect. Help your employees make a real life connection to the work they are doing. As an example they talked about the job of students calling Alumni for donations. What they found was when they brought in a student who was or did benefit directly through Alumni provided scholarships the callers were more productive and motivated to work their callers for money and actually brought in more donations. 

In teaching we get to see this day and and day out with our students. However I believe we can do better. I believe it would be helpful to be able to see how our work impacts families and communities. Some of us get to see that but I think we could do better by attending community events and working with our community leaders to see what events/meetings/ etc. we can attend as teachers. Also I know that we as teachers are feeling overworked and underpaid and don't feel we can sit on another committee or meeting beyond our contract. However there is meaning in accepting that request to sit on a volunteer committee. I have served on a few committee's for my children's school district. While I don't work in the district it has reminded me of the importance of doing so as well as the intrinsic reward/value by doing so. I am not a overly outgoing person and prefer to the the social butterfly on the wall watching others have good time. However the more I have started to include myself I am able to take more satisfaction from the work I do and share the knowledge I have. I think we as teachers and administrators need to focus both on giving teachers opportunities to sit on community boards as well as support that interaction. Also it is important for admin to provide those opportunities and encourage teachers to take advantage of those opportunities not out of requirement but out of helping to fulfill that social need. 

Lastly as schools we need to look at ways of making the work we do during the school day more social. Whether that be time to work together on a cross-curricular project, time to talk with colleagues about what ever comes to mind, time for students to talk while working (possibly more on this in a later post 😃), and time to "break bread" together. The last one is the hardest for me as for reasons I stated above. However, I think the past emphasis on high stakes testing forced us back into silo teaching based on subject areas. You would see math, science, and language arts teachers huddle together in teams to talk about their practice which was OK for their curriculum but not for the overall child. Children need to see how curriculum is social in that it all works together to make one successful.What I am thinking/proposing is taking a page out of the elementary playbook but instead of having 1 teacher teach all subjects you have 4 teachers teach all subjects together in a team teaching concept. I know this may have been or is being tried and I welcome your thoughts/comments on how it is going/working.

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this brings me to my final thought, the importance of communication. I think this is the essence of being social. We often times feel that social media is bane of our existence and ruining our ability to be social. I have found myself totally agreeing this statement until I read this book. I still have my reservations but when you see how we are wired to be social and also put social media in the context of being a tool, it opens up some possibilities. For example 5 years ago I would never have thought of using a tool like email to communicate with my students. It was a barrier that I felt shouldn't be crossed. Along with that I wouldn't imagine being a "friend" on Facebook with my students or tweet with them no matter how much they begged me (again barriers). However now I use email and google classroom (what I call social media for the classroom) to communicate with my students and dare I say it is working out for the positive. With proper instruction on how to both use the tool and respect boundaries social media can be and is a powerful educational tool. 

As always thanks for reading and commenting and remember:

Go Forth and Do Great Things!  

 

Master becomes the Student: Preventing Cabin Fever with Arduino

Living in the Northwest is a unique experience when it comes to weather. We are one of the few places in the US that actually has 4 seasons (summer, fall, winter, spring). The nice thing about this is that for the most part our weather tends to be pretty mild compared to other parts of the country. However when we do get extremes in weather it sometimes throws us for a loop. Take this past week for example. We started out with some fun winter weather that either closed or delayed school for pretty much the entire week. Then when things were getting back to normal we got

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and we got tons of it, anywhere from 2" to 15"+ with more expected on the way. For me just 1 to 2 days stranded at the house drives me nuts looking for things to do and not go crazy. I do the traditional parental things like play in the snow, shovel the driveway, cook, let wife work, etc. I know as a good teacher I could grade papers, plan lessons, read all those PD books I bought for days like this, or get caught up on the all the email I get. But after one does all that what is there to do? Well I decided that I would take on the role of a student and do some good old fashioned book learning (or get back to learning). 

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A year ago as part of my question to do near earth satellites with my after school tech club I took up reading about and learning Arduino.

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I walked away over the spring/early summer because of both honey do projects but also because I was getting frustrated with reading and understanding electrical wiring diagrams. OMG! for a psychology major/history minor they are nothing like Venn diagrams & Brain maps. As a middle school technology teacher I also had limited knowledge on electrical engineering. Mostly limited to wiring up a Lego Mindstorm's motors and sensors. That being said being snowed in forced me to look for something to do inside and was warm and productive. I fired up my ol' desktop and dusted off (achoo!) the book on Arduino projects I bought and jumped back into the program and wiring. Argh I hate electrical diagrams but I decided to try doing what I am teaching my students about now, "The Engineering Process!"

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So I identified the problem: couldn't get wiring of sensor to work;

I then researched and brainstormed solutions: looked up on the net the sensor I had and wiring diagrams

I picked some solutions: I wired up a few of the solutions I found and tested them till I got one that worked.

I then put the wiring together with the wiring diagram for the program from the book and what do you know it finally worked. 

 

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The cool thing about this is not that I got my project to work, although I am pretty excited, I now have a real life story to share with my students and also show them that I do practice what I preach. 

Snow day; online option?

It is has been awhile but with FLL competitions and end of semester it has been a busy winter. However I now have time to write and post more.

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Today is a snow day for my district and my kids district. This is a day that kids and some teachers dream of, no school for a day. However for some it is a bitter sweet day as we know that it will mean we will have to make the day up later on in the year. For some that isn't a big deal but for others it can be as you may have scheduled vacations on those days. I often wondered what if there was an option to not have to make those days up and still meet the learning requirements?

It wasn't until this year that I may have found an option. Over the past 2 years we have been working on our new school building. This has been an exciting challenge as we will be working in our main building as they tear down and build parts of our new building. One of the challenges we will have is to serve lunch in our main building while teaching. We have had many creative solutions posed and that we are working on but one that was suggested as a way out of the box option is online classes. Some of my colleagues scoffed at the idea, yes I was the one who proposed it. Some outright said it wasn't an option because not everyone had access and other typical excuses when it comes to tech use. However there were some who thought it was worth at least some discussion and thought. It turns out there are some schools back east that offer this option. Instead of closing down for the day due to snow they have teachers submit lessons online for students to do on the "day off". Yes there are access issues for those that don't have internet but lets try looking past that. There will always be barriers to learning no matter how we choose to deliver instruction. Good teachers know how to blow past those barriers or turn them into spring boards to learning.

I wonder if what your thoughts are on this topic. Would this work here in the Northwest? I will your thoughts.

To Start The Year

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It is almost that time of year where kids and teachers look forward to the start of the year with nervous excitement. Sales have started on back to school supplies and supply lists are being formed and filled. For me it is a special time of year as a parent and a teacher. I get to revel in all the excitement

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of not only my kids but also my colleagues & students as they head back to school. As a parent I want to make sure that my kids are prepared and ready to go for the first day. However, I have been thinking that so much is put in to the first day if not the first week that sometimes there is a let down the 2nd or 3rd week as we settle in to routine. Also I have noticed that as we get into the routine we sometimes forget about all the things we said we were going to do and try out in this new year. I know for me that happens almost every year. If it isn't forgetting to do something new or engaging it is abandoning it early on because it appears to not be working out or isn't going as I had it planned in my head. This year I hope to be different and power through the beginning of the year slump and keep the momentum going. To help with that I want to tell you about some ideas I am going to try out this year as well as some apps/websites that you might find helpful. So lets get started!!!!

Getting to know you students 

As we come back to school a lot of us like to do get to know you projects like all about me speeches, slide decks, collages, etc. This is a great way to get to know your students and what their interests are. In this digital day and age it would be great to spice up the get to know me project by having kids do a Flipgrid. For those who don't' know what a flip grid is or have been wondering how to use it here are some great ideas. Flipgrid (recently purchased by Microsoft is a simple social video recording site that allows users to create a topic/gird and then have others post a simple video on that topic. All that is needed is a computer/laptop, phone, or device with a camera and Internet connection. There is some background setup to do on the teachers part (setting up grid, sharing access code, etc.) which is pretty self explanatory. One thing to be careful is that kids need to be 13+ to create an account or have parent permission. These are usually short videos that can be done in class or as homework. What I like about this project is that if you are like me and find some names difficult to pronounce, you have the kids saying their names as an introduction and you have a recording of them pronouncing it correctly. For those kids who are shy or don't want to be recorded (for various reasons) you can do a more traditional project. 

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More traditional projects are the all about meet speech, poster, slide deck, etc. One thing to be careful of in this digital day and age is not to abuse fair use. I have heard at various conferences and training that what we as educators enjoy as fair use is not what it used to be. In the past teachers and students could clip pictures, songs, etc. from the Internet and use them in presentations without citation and claim fair use. Those days are gone. You will notice when I use pictures in my blog I include the website where I found the pictures. I also use an advance setting in my search engine that lets me search for pictures that are labeled as "free to share and use". This is something we want to encourage students and colleagues to do as good digital citizens. To help with this is a website called Tineye. Tineye is a website that lets you upload a picture or URL then do a reverse look up to see where that image is or has be used online. It searches the actual picture and not the title or file name. This is a good way to see who might own the image so you can contact them to see if the image is available for use. When in doubt I tell me students to contact the website they found the image and ask for permission. This also something to keep in mind as we have kids do reports or presentations. We ask them to cite their sources. It is important that if they included digital images, videos, recording, etc. that they don't own themselves they need to get permission. 

Along with getting permission and citing sources something that teachers and students need to be aware of is their districts policy on digital work and who owns it. There are more and more cases of teachers writing curriculum, lessons, projects, books, etc.and finding out that they don't actually own the rights to the work. What they have found is that since they did the work during regular work hours and/or on district owned equipment (even outside of regular work hours and/or at home) that the district owns the rights to the work. One way around this is to keep work separate from personal endeavors. Do your writing or development on your own time and on your own computer. Although it is important to check your contract to see what your district policy is on work you create. 

Time Management

As teachers we have many skills we want/have to teach kids. I know that one thing I struggle with personally and see kids struggle with is Time Management. Students seem to think they have all the time in the world before an assignment is due and if they have a device connected to the Internet in from of them (cell phone, laptop, computer, etc.) the opportunity for distraction is even greater. There are a few apps I have learned about that help with this. Although before I get into this I want to talk about a tool I have kids use for project/time management, a Gantt Chart

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. A Gantt chart is a simple chart that one can create using an spreadsheet application although I use a preset up  excel template. In a nutshell kids type in the parts of the project that need to be done assign a duration (weeks or days) and then track how far along they are on the project (usually as a percent). they can also include a predicted start and end time. The chart gives them a graphical representation of how long the project will take and an actual representation of where they are at. I use this as part of the 20% time projects I have kids do and it helps them meet those due dates. 

Other tools to help them are some online apps/chrome extensions. One that helps with goal setting and tacking is called Win the Day. It is a chrome extension that allows you to set goals and then track how you are doing on those goals as well as online time to help you stay focused. Another extension is called Forest. This is a cute extension that helps with keeping kids and you off line on your phone or other device. If enabled this app it tracks your time off the Internet by planting and growing a "tree". The tree will die if you spend too much time online. The more time you focus the more trees you grow thus creating a forest. The cool thing is that the Forest app is connected with the organization Trees for the future  and works to plan real trees based on app use. 

One last extension that I will share is called onetab. This is an extension for the chrome browser that takes all the tabs you have open and puts them into one tab as hyperlinks. This is a helpful tool if you are like me and are guilty of having tons of tabs open throughout the day of sites and things you want to share kids. Where it's power really lies though is in sharing multiple sites with kids. You can create a onetab page with all the links kids might need for a project or assignment and then share just that one tab with them rather than trying to create a page with all the links.  

I would love you hear about your projects, apps, etc. you use at the beginning of the year and how you plan to keep the momentum of the summer going throughout the whole school year.

As always go forth and do great things.

Managing it all

Over the past 16+ years I have worked in a computer lab and as a technology building leader at both my middle school and at the district office. As I started out teaching in a a computer lab my biggest fear was how do I manage 30+ kids on computers. I stressed to make sure they were:

• working on what they should be
• not going to websites they shouldn't 
• not playing games
• not installing files or programs they shouldn't

it was a huge stress and I never felt I was doing enough. As I moved forward with my career I learned many management strategies and tools to help with managing the lab. This past year our district went 1:1

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with Chromebooks. There were tons of questions and fears that I got, but by far one of the biggest was around how to manage these devices and kids. Which is the topic of this blog.

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First off I will warn you there is not silver bullet when it comes to managing 1:1 and/or a classroom full of computers. The closest I can find is rely on your best management practises. I have tried many different tools &/or strategies and found as with any good management strategy it has to be your own. In this post I am going to talk generically about strategies and tools as I don't want to endorse one over another. If you have questions regarding recommendations feel free to email me with what you are considering I will offer my opinion via email. My hope is to give you some tips and tricks as well as spark some conversation by others.

I am serious when I say find something that fits your style and personality. If you do you will have more success and less stress. That being said my style is more of being what I have heard as Lead Learner or as a Project Manager (although personally I like to call it lazy teacher 😁). In my classroom I focus on making sure kids know:

1. what they are to be doing
2. when the work is due
3. how to get help if needed
4. finding resources need to complete what they are doing

If all 4 of these are met I have few to no issues with kids working. It was hard to get to this point but once I let go of the list I mentioned earlier I was a much happier teacher and kids were much happier. That being said here are my thoughts on some tools and strategies that I use to support the above.

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Knowing  what they are doing

This is possibly the biggest thing I struggle with. You have to make sure you and your students are on the same page as to what needs to be done. If students don't know what to do then they will fill their time with work they want to do, and it won't be what you want them to be doing. This ranges from playing games, searching for pictures, work for other classes, to simply sitting reading a book. They will find a way to keep themselves busy. To help with this I use google classroom and skyward to send out assignment details and resources. I start each class with what I call an opening routine, basically a list of instructions to start the class and our class agenda for the day. I also give students the first 5 minutes (although I am thinking of reducing that this year) to get materials out and get started on the entry task. During that time I don't bother them and ask they don't bother me as I am doing my opening routine as well that helps me get ready for instruction.

Speaking of instruction it is important that you give clear instructions on what they are to do. This is something I continually work on as I often find that what I think of as clear instructions can and are interpreted differently. It is important that you get to know your kids and their needs and their personalities for this one. I am talking more than just knowing the IEP's/504's in your room and who your ELL kids are as well. You need to know who prefers to read and who prefers to watch videos, who likes to work in teams and who likes to work independently, you also need to know who your creative kids are that like to do things their own way and who are the list followers. Every kids will look at your instructions and see them differently. You need to be prepared to be flexible and open minded so you are able to handle the curve ball that comes when you least expect it.

What I have found works best is to give clear instructions on what you want and then invite conversation. I often times don't show examples of what I want because I want to encourage kids to find their own solution and not just do what someone else did. If they do that on their own that is fine but I want it to be their choice. Those who do need an example I will work with them to find it on their own if they are showing signs of being stressed. 

I have tried various online management systems as well as having monitors facing me. What I found found is that as I give better instructions the need for these tools/strategies goes down. I will be honest kids hate the online management tools. They hate them because they feel their trust is eroded because the teacher will post the classes screens on the big screen for all to see. I see this as a sure fire way to lose respect and trust with your kids. I have also been told that teachers tend to use it as a crutch. One of the most telling comments I got from students is when a former one told me that I took control of their computers too much. At first I was taken aback but then then I did some informal data analysis and found that I was controlling their computers more than I was letting them work. That being said there are times when online management systems needed and helpful but don't rely on them as a crutch or your sole strategy.

Knowing when work is due

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As a CTE  (career and Technical Education) teacher I am big on due dates/deadlines. I have heard from many an industry person that employees struggle with getting work done on time. I see this with my students as well. Especially with middle school kids there is this thought that if I am not done I shouldn't turn anything in until it is complete which often times leads to it not getting turned in at all. However I am now starting to see the other extreme with kids & parents requesting/requiring more time. In my class due dates or only negotiable if your are sick, absent, or have it built into a plan (IEP/504). That being said every kid in my class has the right to go back and improve their score to the highest score they are eligible for. Along with knowing the due date I am finding that kids also need a plan as to how they are going to reach that due date. This is not simply writing the due date down in an agenda or online calendar. It is actually putting together a plan of what they need to do/accomplish to get the project/assignment done by the due date. I learned this from doing my 20% time project last year. I had kids do a Gantt project planner chart in excel. The kids that filled these out regularly finished their work ahead of schedule and more completely than those who didn't. I will be looking at incorporating something like this over this next year for work that isn't part of 20% time projects. I will be honest students don't like/struggle with this at the beginning but it is a life skill and eventually they see the benefit.

Knowing how to get help if/when needed & finding resources

http://nancynwilson.com/get-help-now/

I have seen many tricks when it comes to this. There is the tried and true raising your hand, using cups, 3 before me, 'I need help" wall, and an on and on. What I find works in this instance is what method works best for you. I have adopted the "I need help wall". This is a space a wall I have painted with whiteboard paint that kids can write on. One they love writing on the wall and two it helps the stay working. I have found that when the hand or cup goes up all work stops. Also I let kids know that I am not the only one who can help kids on the wall. This helps those kids who are ahead a way to practice their learning and grow a sense of community. Also I have found that sometimes kids at explain things better than me. I also use the 3 before me which includes the use of the internet. Often times the questions I get are on how to use a tool or website or app. I know I may be labeled a bad teacher for saying this but I hate those questions. I hate them because often times the answer can be found by doing a simple search like "How do I create a numbered list in word?". I will make kids search for those or use my new favorite website, http://lmgtfy.com/. I want to teach kids how to learn not teach them how to use a tool. Once I gave up teaching kids how to use tools on the computer my stress level went way down and the student's empowerment went way up. It is a hard shift to make though as I did like to have control over my class and I hate seeing kids get frustrated.

Along with finding help I also find that when kids know where resources are they management of the classroom goes much easier. If things are hard to find kids will either give up or revert to asking you. This is not necessarily a bad thing but does take time away for you managing/helping other kids. One thing I am going to do this next year is to build or have kids build a map of where things are at in the classroom as well as create a resource document of where they can find things on the web. 

Other

One last bit of management advice I will give is the importance of having a plan for down time. This was another one I struggled with for awhile. I was militant in not wanting games being played in my class. However after reading some books and sites on game theory in education I have revised my thinking. Games can be an instructional tool as well as a good stress reducer. That being said I don't let kids play games when they are done with their work all the time. I try to build in time when kids who are done can play games during the semester but I also have other tasks for them to do before they event think about game playing. In my class if you are done with or reached a point where you can't move one until someone else is done you have 4 options:

1. Work for another class
2. 20% time project
3. Read a book
4. Leadership points

Students can select from this list when they are done. I am famous for my saying "if you have time to play games you have time to work". This often times is all I need to say to get them back on track. However sometimes it takes a bit more of a push.

Anyways I would like to hear your thoughts and ideas. What works for you and your class? What are your questions and what fears do you have.

As always go forth and do great things!

Future jobs; training required

https://www.newbedfordguide.com/hot-jobs-list-15/2014/08/20

On a recent episode of TWIT (This Week in Tech) the host and guest were talking about jobs and what types of jobs Amazon Go store uses technology to charge you for what you take and also how automated cars will take away driving jobs, and how AI will lead to computers that program themselves. This has been a discussion that has happened on this show many times and I have seen play out in the news recently as well. What was interesting to me was when they started talking about training needed.
were needed for future careers. They context of the discussion was in regards to technology taking over jobs such as grocery clerks, drivers, warehouse stocking, etc. They were advising a kid in the audience on what kind of training/schooling and jobs he should look for as he gets older. Their discussed how the

What I found interesting is the type of training/schooling the host and guests recommended. They talked about programming and computer science degrees but shot each other down based on AI taking over programming, automation taking over driving, & eventually settled on skilled trade type jobs of monitoring and maintaining automated devices and code. As well as skilled creative jobs that require out of the box type thinking that humans do better than machines. It was funny to see them fumble for words or a description of what kinds of training this was. I wish I had watched it live so I could post the description into the chat room as I found myself screaming it at the recording. 😝 I wanted so badly to say they were talking about CTE (Career & Technical Education).

http://vcs-k12.wikispaces.com/CTE

You might notice in my posts on social media and on hear that I get fired up and passionate about this topic. After working as a CTE teacher in robotics and programming as well as in PLTW (Project Lead The Way) Flight & Space class I find that the focus on the college part of college and career readiness is a bit too much. I am a passionate supporter of CTE classes as a pathway for kids into a career as well as college, because lets face it there are some kids whom college is not and option.

Back in my day in middle and high school we had shop class as well as home Ec

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:A_Home_Economics_class_receiving_instructions_on_cooking._Ottawa,_Ontario,_1959.jpg

. In middle school we learned about general topics like sewing & cooking and wood & metal working as well as plaster work. We made things like aprons, omelettes, pies, checker boards, plaster & metal casts, etc. We learned things like the importance of safety, especially when pouring molten metal & operating power tools, and the importance of accurate measurement, as well as taking your time to plan things out and reading instructions. In high school we had some of the same things but more focused like adult living, small gas engines, drafting, consumer math, etc. What I found is that where I struggled in an academics setting in these shop or Voc ed classes I excelled. I had to take algebra 2 times and did poorly in geometry. I struggled with reading and writing and math, it would take me several attempts at homework and extra credit to simply get a passing grade since I struggled on the the tests. It wasn't until many years later I found out that the reason I excelled in the Voc Ed classes on some of the same problems and algorithms and work I was doing in academic classes as in the Voc Ed classes were put in context.

I now try to keep this in mind with my teaching but I also try to keep it in mind when I talk with colleagues and other teachers and online. It is important as we move forward with change in education we don't forget about those kids like me who need that context when teaching a skill or subject. It is helpful if we teach reading to put it into context of reading for pleasure but also reading for career. Same for writing, math, science, etc. Simply teaching someone to write an expository paragraph on a topic that relates to kids lives is not enough. Having them write up an explanation of a recent event in a school news paper is better as they see the reason for the writing. Having them write a copy of the morning announcements regarding the daily happenings is better so they see their work published. Teaching kids math like fractions and equations just so they learn them for a test is not enough. That info needs to be embedded in design rooms, programming robots, building towers. Things they can apply or can see themselves doing in a real world context. This is what college and more importantly career ready means. 

http://harringtonlc.org/riverroad/student-resources/college-and-career-websites/

Lastly I want to say that we need to be careful when we plan work and design course and help our kids pick out classes that we are not doing so though the rose colored eyes of everyone needs to go to college to be successful. For some of us that isn't true and for some of us college is not in the cards. I was amazed when I started teaching CTE classes and meeting with industry partners and was told the following story. A professor as a local tech school shared that he had trouble keeping girls in his robotics classes. Our group asked why this was the case, wondering if girls were not going into the program or losing interest or what. His answer shocked me and others. The answer was that they were being hired out of his class by employer's to complete their training on the job for on average $70,000/year.  Think about that for a minute. A young girl 19+ years old being hired out of a 2 year trade school and making $70,000 to start. That is better than I did with a masters degree and teaching certificate. There are good paying jobs out there that don't need a 4+ year degree to get.

What I will end with is that we need to make sure we are designing school/education that allows kids to make their own choice about the future. Whether that be college or career.
I would love to hear your thoughts regarding this topics so feel free to post your comments below.f

As always go forth and do great things.