We are pushing our children...but towards what?

I saw this documentary earlier this year about the dark side of the achievement culture. It made me stop and think. We are pushing our children more and more in today's society, but what are we pushing them toward? Personal achievement? Personal success? A "me-centered" individual? How does that jive with the equality and community we are trying to create in our classrooms?   It's worth watching. It's working thinking about. It's worth being the change. 

"Featuring the heartbreaking stories of young people across the country who have been pushed to the brink, educators who are burned out and worried that students aren’t developing the skills they need, and parents who are trying to do what’s best for their kids, Race to Nowhere points to the silent epidemic in our schools: cheating has become commonplace, students have become disengaged, stress-related illness, depression and burnout are rampant, and young people arrive at college and the workplace unprepared and uninspired.

Race to Nowhere is a call to mobilize families, educators, and policy makers to challenge current assumptions on how to best prepare the youth of America to become healthy, bright, contributing and leading citizens.

In a grassroots sensation already feeding a groundswell for change, hundreds of theaters, schools and organizations nationwide are hosting community screenings during a six month campaign to screen the film nationwide. Tens of thousands of people are coming together, using the film as the centerpiece for raising awareness, radically changing the national dialogue on education and galvanizing change." 

See the film. Be the change. 


This  blog post is also related to the topic. What students want the nation to know about education. 

Equal Access?

I've been thinking lately. Scary, I know. But I've been thinking about technology and equality. Why is it that some schools have little or no technology, while others are using the latest gadgets and have closets full of technology related items they aren't even using. If technology is a tool that can be used to "level the playing field," then why don't more schools have access to technology? And will this desire for equality and learning, in turn, create a larger gap between the "cans" and "cannots"? Those that can  purchase, use, and learn technology will purchase, learn, and benefit from technology. While those that cannot purchase, and therefore use or learn from technology won't be able to. And won't that widen the gap? 
And this ins't just with individuals. What about schools that can purchase iPads for their students to use or other digital readers? How does a school that is still using overhead projectors even keep up with what other schools are learning from technology. 
While the reality is that some schools and individuals have the means to purchase and benefit from technologies, that doesn't mean other schools aren't providing their students with a quality education. Yes, technology can enhance and enrich what students are learning, but just because they don't have an iPad doesn't mean they aren't getting a quality education. I believe technology should be built into the current curriculum content, not the content built into the technology. 

Wonderful and Wacky!

What's your attitude about teaching and technology? Should you use it? Why or why not? How do we keep kids safe online and when using technology? Don't children already spend enough time in front of a screen? Why should we use it in the classroom too? Books and pencils, that's what we need, right? 

When it works, technology is wonderful! However, when it doesn't, I can go wacky! In our classroom, technology will be used to support teaching and learning. The guiding question in deciding if and when technology should be used is “Will it enhance and enrich the content and interactions with the content?” For example, sometimes students use flashcards as a tool to memorize facts or other pieces of information. Will using technology enhance and enrich the content and interactions with the content? Maybe, but not necessarily. For the student with the writing disability, it might be beneficial for him or her to be able to create electronic flashcards instead of actually writing them out by hand. For another student though, the act of physically writing out the flashcards will allow the student to interact with the content on a basic level of knowledge. Technology can be used to support teaching as well. In a science lesson, perhaps the school does not have access to the funds or materials for a dissection experiment. But the teacher knows that there are videos available and online demonstrations. In this case, yes, technology would enhance the content and allow students to have an interaction with the content that they may not have otherwise.

Technology will be used in our classroom to increase and expedite parent communication, as well as provide opportunities for differentiation among the students. Connecting with parents makes a huge impact on student success and technology can be used to increase and facilitate communication. Teachers can send emails or post blogs and newsletters about what is happening in the classroom. They can post photos of events to an online photo gallery or classroom website. This allows teachers to not only tell what happens in the classroom, but to show it as well. Technology will be used for differentiation of instruction as well.  According to Price and Nelson, “Differentiated instruction is another approach or philosophy of teaching with the goal that all students will learn. This type of instruction begins with the assumption that students in a class will vary in their readiness for a particular learning task, and in their personal interests and preferences.” Differentiation can occur in three areas: content, process, and product.  The readiness of the internet allows students to choose topics of interest and research them quicker and more thoroughly than some text books. This is differentiation of content; what is taught. Programs such as Microsoft office allow students to work from their skill level to an improved skill level. This is differentiation of process. Finally, various technologies including websites, blogs, SmartBoards, etc. allow students to create different products to showcase what they have learned.

With all of the technologies present, there are concerns as well. Are children getting too much “screen time” – activities where they are in front of a screen, like a TV, computer, iPad, video game, etc. How do we know that children are going to be safe when online? What happens if something breaks? In the classroom there will be safeguards to ensure children’s safety. There will be limitations on what websites children can use. There will be rules and guidelines in place on how long and when children are allowed to use computers and other technologies. There will be programs in place to help children understand how to properly use the technologies so it doesn’t get broken. As a teacher, I will reflect on the process and practices that we use to be sure students are getting the well-rounded education  that they all deserve.

Finally, why is this all important? We are living in a technology age. Children who want to succeed will need to be able to have the skills necessary to manage the technologies that are being used. This doesn’t mean they have to use them, but they should have the skills to be able to do so. Depending on how success is defined, some say to be successful you have to be the best.  Some define success as being the one who puts others first. Technology can do both. It can help raise students to the top, but it can also “level the playing field” by creating opportunities for all students to learn. Personally, I think using technology is necessary and because it is always changing, it is always providing opportunities for new teaching and learning. After all, isn’t that our goal? To be teachers and learners? 

Smile! You're on Camera!

More and more often video cameras are being used to record events, happenings, and actions. But do video cameras have a place in the classroom? 


I absolutely think that video cameras can have a place in the classroom. With appropriate permission from parents and school administration, they can be a helpful and useful learning tool. 


One key way that video cameras can be used is for reflection. Often we don't recognize actions that are taking place or how our mannerisms are affecting others around us. If we can go back and watch these mannerism and actions we can reflect on what happened, speculate on why it happened, and what we can do to prevent it from happening again. This can be helpful for both the teacher in his or her teaching, but also for students with challenging behavior. I have had an experience where I watched my teaching replayed and it was amazing the things that I saw that I didn't recognize before. 


Students can also be recorded performing or interacting in the classroom. Having recently done a Readers Theatre in one of my classes, it would have been fun to record them, post the video online and then share it with parents. It would have made a great reflection tool also for the students in what to improve on for next time we do a Readers Theatre. Some of the students wanted to speak louder, while others wanted to make more eye contact. Recording them would allow them to see improvement from one Theatre to the next. 


It would also be fun to interview and record students at the beginning of the year and then ask them the same questions at the end of the year to see how they have changed. This would show them their own change and growth and be somewhat entertaining as well! I can only image a student saying "That's what I said at the beginning of the year? I don't remember that!" 


They could also be used to create a visual newsletter. Instead of sending home a paper copy of the newsletter, students could use video cameras to create a news report and then a link to its location online could be sent home to parents. Students could be involved in the creation of the newsletter this way. 


You can also use video cameras in the classroom to show how to do something and lead students in a step by step activity. This could be something simple like how to write a friendly letter or complex like how to dissect a fish. 


Video recording can play a huge role in the teaching and learning cycle as it helps us reflect on our teaching, students learning, and what can be improved. I intend to use video cameras in my classroom someday. 

Catch up? Ketchup?

I realized I've been slacking on this whole blog thingy... so here's a run down of recent events. On the wife front, I am so blessed by my husband! My car broke down on the side of the freeway this week on my way to a midterm exam. My husband came, let me take his car to school while he waited for the tow truck to take it to the mechanic. I was so beside myself through the whole experience and I am so thankful for his quick decision making and willingness to serve me! What an awesome man God has blessed me with! 


I am so proud of my 3rd graders this week! We did a readers theatre in Reading and they did awesome! The kids only had a few opportunities to practice their lines but they did awesome! I was also really proud of the audience members who were attentive and quiet! They gave awesome feedback and were respectful of the performers too! What a great group we have! 


Last night was a really enjoyable evening too! Hosted a girls night with wine and cheese! So much fun having drinks, chatting, and playing games too! So many girls were able to come. What a wonderful night! 

Communicating Using Technology and Newsletters

Parent communication and involvement is a HUGE help in the classroom. My belief is that most parents DO want to be engaged in their child's education journey. However, they either don't know how to be engaged or they have extenuating circumstances that keep them from being able to do so. A newsletter can help in both of these situations.

A newsletter is a tool that can be used to communicate what they students are doing, have done or are going to be doing in the classroom. They can also include information for parents to come help in the classroom or information that will help the parents know how to engage with their student at home about the material they are learning at school. A digital newsletter can save a lot of headache for the habitually irresponsible child. It can just be emailed to the parents to avoid the black hole that is the book bag. A digital communication can also provide a quick turn-around time with information. Instead of waiting to send home a newsletter, hope that it gets there, wait for parents to see it, and the communicate back, which could take more than a day, an email or other electronic newsletter is delivered in normal circumstances, instantly and can be replied to instantly.

There could be real benefit in teaching children how to create a newsletter also and about the elements of graphic design. One benefit that comes to mind is having each child create a newsletter that showcases what they individually learned that week, which could then be copied back to back with the teacher's classroom newsletter. This would be a way for them to showcase what they know and keep them engaged in what they are learning. It would also help them to have something to dialogue with their parents about that is more personal and meaningful than what the teacher may offer.

When our students know how to make newsletters, they are able to create them  for the class instead of something that you create for the class. It would provide a way for them to take leadership in and ownership of the classroom. If all the students know how to make a newsletter, they could take turns working in small groups to create the classroom newsletter.

Teaching students how to make newsletters could also provide them with a way to present information for other classes. They could take the information learned in science and create a newsletter with it.

Having a collection of newsletters would also provide a snapshot of what each week of that grade was like. This is something that could be helpful for the reflective parent who likes to archive each school year. It could also be helpful for the me as a teacher to see what I am teaching this year compared to last year.

Overall, I think newsletters, whether formal paper printed format or contemporary electronic format, are a valuable and necessary tool that teachers can use to connect with parents and caregivers of the children in their classroom.

The Long and short of it...

So the long and short of it goes like this... when you ask your extremely handsome and extremely tech-savvy husband if you should do something computer related, make sure you tell him what you did first. Or else you will spend entirely too long trying to figure out how to recover the document you just accidentally said you didn't want to save...oops. :/

Test Joke

Q:  How do you catch a rare rabbit? 
A: Unique up on it!