To be globally competitive, we should all begin to use chopsticks…. (Yong Zhao)
Posted: April 7, 2012 Filed under: Change, Leadership, Teaching and Learning Leave a comment »
Yong Zhao, a professor at the University of Oregon, wasn’t serious when he tweeted the above statement with a link to a post on his blog. Yong Zhao’s blog post was a reaction to an article that pointed to a correlation between countries which had high PISA scores but few natural resources. However, it is interesting that 4 of the top 5 PISA countries (Shanghai – China, Korea, Finland, Hong Kong – China, Singapore) are Asian.
In reality, what is important is each country’s acknowledgement that “education matters.”
I recently watched a video on education reform in Shanghai, China.
While there are varying perceptions about teaching and learning in China and other Asian countries, it is the efforts towards educational change depicted in this video which I find interesting.
The video begins stating that over the last three decades in Shanghai special attention has been focused on education funding for young people and education policy. Throughout the journey of improving education, problems arose, but on each occasion, in response, new education policy was created to address each of those problems.
The video goes on to highlight an approach used to improve weak schools in Shanghai entitled “Empowered Administration.”
Empowered Administration includes:
- A stronger school or educational institution is contracted to strengthen a weaker school
- The strong school or institution provides administrative and pedagogical guidance
- Such institutions are generally composed of retired school principals and teachers
Empowered Administration includes four partners:
- the Shanghai municipal government
- the external partner (school or firm)
- the district education authority which finances the endeavour
- an external evaluation body to independently assess the results of the project
In Shanghai it was felt that the issues in the weaker schools included administration that did not know how to run modern schools, did not have strong theoretical foundations, and had, “not followed the changes in technology and modernization,” and, as a result, were behind current practices.
Their approach dispatched strong management teams to lower performing schools.
In one school depicted, a weakness identified was in teachers who came to class without a lesson plan and not having prepared much. As a result, one of the focuses became the need to improve the quality of the teaching staff. The teaching profession is described in the video as a, “conservative and insulated occupation,” acknowledging that it is difficult to change behaviours that have already been formed.
A mentor administrator shown in the video uses his “success education” philosophy, which he had used to turn around a previous school. His “success education” philosophy has three main points:
- All students are viewed as potential high achievers
- Developing student self-confidence is the key
- Intensive teacher mentorship is the strategy
In Shanghai there was recognition that change in approaches to teaching needed to be systematic and lasting. The system of sending in teachers to work one on one with other teachers would often result in immediate change; however, teachers would usually revert back to their former ways of teaching after a period of time.
As a part of providing ongoing support, non-governmental consulting firms were contracted to provide regular and on-going support directly to teachers, and included regular communication with school principals. These firms were usually staffed by retired administrators and teachers.
The Shanghai experience, I believe, offers some interesting considerations for the work we do in improving schools.
The focus on education funding and education policy, I believe, is important. I also believe that these two foci cannot be exclusive of each other. Increasing funding to continue doing what we’ve always done doesn’t make sense for educational improvement. Moreover, policy should focus and guide us in our efforts to organize and allocate resources (who should contribute to the design of educational policy is a whole different topic for a completely separate post).
However, in our system, accurately identifying the “weaker schools” is difficult, controversial, and gives rise to conflict diverting from the issues and solutions, just as does identifying weaker administrators or weaker teachers. The annual Fraser Institute rankings of schools in our province are a good example of a ranking system that probably divides the education community more than improves it. These types of rankings, especially based on limited criteria not widely acknowledged by the profession, have not helped improve our system, and after many years of controversy will not likely be embraced by educators in the near future.
Perhaps for our purposes the focus is not on weaknesses, which speaks to a deficit model, but rather opportunities to share and capitalize on the successful experiences of others towards continuous improvement. In our District we have, on a small-scale, approached that type of work through collegial conferencing projects, and to a lesser degree action research.
I notice some similarities between the Shanghai narrative and the framework in Michael Fullan’s, The Moral Imperative Realized. Fullan identifies the value and importance of administrators and educators working together as partners to link schools, help each other, and ultimately improve the whole system. Out of Fullan’s book I pulled out important aspects necessary for change which spoke to me at that time, including the importance of relationships [Post: Relationships, Relationships, Relationships], building capacity [Post: On Building Capacity], and recruiting and hiring teachers possessing strong foundations on which to build [Post: Don’t Wait for Superman].
I believe there is merit to supporting administrators and teachers with some sort of system of mentorship or collegial sharing. I don’t believe that teachers recently graduated from university training are ready to be classified as “master teachers” any more than newer administrators (Vice-Principals, Principals, and Board Office Administrators) have immediately developed all the skills necessary to address each responsibility resulting in immediate success. Becoming stronger teachers and stronger administrators comes with learning from experience and each other, mixed with some trial and error. I appreciate Fullan’s advocacy for the importance of encouraging, “risk taking, learning, and sharing of successful practices while intervening in a non-punitive manner.”
Districts use educators in a variety of capacities to support school-based educators, including positions such as helping teachers, mentors, consultants, department heads, district administrators, directors of instruction, etc. Each district will have its own model which they believe is the best fit to move the organization forward. However, attention also needs to be focused on ensuring that the model is efficient and truly addresses the needs of the district, schools, educators, and students, especially given a time of limited resources.
Ideally, we should see ourselves continuously striving to improve the work we do in providing improved and superior learning situations focused on success for each student.
… we just need to ensure we have the correct framework and tools in which to do so.
It’s a good thing my kids already know how to use chopsticks. BYOC.
photo credit: sizima via photopin cc
Applying & Hiring
Posted: April 2, 2012 Filed under: HR Leave a comment »
Over the last few weeks I had an opportunity to meet some of the student teachers in our district. While there are still more I’d like to meet, this was a good start to the Spring application and hiring process.
The student teachers asked some great questions, and some of the posts I’ve read provide a variety of points to consider in response to those questions.
I previously posted some of my own thoughts about hiring [here], and, as I wrote, we continue to look for ways to improve our processes to attract and hire the best candidates possible.
We have been developing screening rubrics to help assess applications at each stage of the process, including university training, student teaching, and references. We also earlier began revamping our interview questions, again using rubrics to better assess each candidate.
We have recruited and hired some excellent teachers in the past; however, we continue to make adjustments. We have a number of administrators who we will include in screening and interviewing this Spring, and we hope our work will provide increased consistency in hiring.
Below are some posts, articles, and reports I’ve come across over the last while, which hopefully will assist applicants and interviewers as they prepare.
I also plan to update this post as I come across additional/new resources.
APPLICANTS
Emotions available upon request. by @l_hilt
Autonomy in Teacher Training? by @mrwejr
Dear Teacher Applicant by @johnnybevacqua
What do Principals Look for When they Hire? by @peterjory
Response: What Principals Look For In A Prospective Teacher by @larryferlazzo
Cover Letter Tips via Education Week
How to Write a Cover Letter That Employers Will Actually Read via @makeafuture
The Rules that Guide Great Teachers by @coolcatteacher
“What do you mean I can interact with your resume ?” – 21st CENTURY RESUMES by @mr_levy1
How To Redesign Your Resume For A Recruiter’s 6-Second Attention Span via @makeafuture
Your All-in-One Interview Prep Guide via The Daily Muse
Spring Clean Your Resume (in Less Than 2 Hours!) via The Daily Muse
Student Teaching via @peterjory
Teacher Vitae and Resume Suggestions by The EDU Edge
How Important is GPA in Getting a Teaching Job? by The EDU Edge
8 Top Resume Mistakes to Avoid via @makeafuture
Student Teaching Right Now? To Ask or Not to Ask Your Principal to do an Observation… That is the Question. by The EDU Edge
Top Strategies for Selecting References for a Teacher Interview by The EDU Edge
How Your Social Media Profile Could Make Or Break Your Next Job Opportunity via Forbes.com
Top 10 Ways to Make It Through The Initial Screening for a Teaching Position by The EDU Edge
RECRUITERS & INTERVIEWERS
Behind the Mask: How to Effectively Evaluate a Candidate Before Interviewing via @janetstewart
Are Teacher Preparation Programs Dangerously Irrelevant? guest post at Dangererously Irrelevant
What Do We Need Our Teachers To Be? by @l_hilt
Teacher Diversity in Canada: Leaky Pipelines, Bottlenecks, and Glass Ceilings via @makeafuture
Personalized Learning: A Human Resources Perspective on Hiring 21st Century Educators by @janetstewart
Treat job candidates well, or risk a backlash via @janetstewart
Possible Interview Questions for Teachers by @gcouros
Staffing: What It Is and Isn’t! via Education Week
6 Common Hiring Mistakes – And How You Can Avoid Them via @bchrma
Hiring Wisdom: Do Your Interview Questions Look For Positive Outcomes? via @bchrma
photo credit: Samuel Mann via photopin cc
Don’t Wait for Superman
Posted: February 23, 2012 Filed under: Change, HR, Leadership 2 Comments »
I just finished the last chapter, System Leaders, of The Moral Imperative Realized. Fullan begins the chapter with identifying three forms of “system leadership”:
school leaders who link to other schools
- school leaders who take positions that oversee/help other schools
- system leaders who lead and direct whole system reform
Fullan later uses Ontario, with reference to Finland, Singapore, etc, as an example of linking moral purpose and strategy to illustrate the importance of all leaders working together to focus on eight important and necessary components:
- A small number of ambitious goals
- A guiding coalition at the top
- High standards and expectations
- Investment in leadership and capacity building related to instruction
- Mobilizing data and effective practices as a strategy for improvement
- Intervention in a nonpunitive manner
- Being vigilant about distracters
- Being transparent, relentless, and increasingly challenging
It is important not to take each of these statements in isolation, but to further explore the meaning Fullan attributes to each of these components. In particular, for me, I find value in Fullan’s further expansion on the sixth component to, “encourage risk taking, learning, and sharing of successful practices while intervening in a nonpunitive manner.” This particular strategy, Fullan explains, is, “deliberately light on judgment.” This is linked to a question posed in a previous post about Chapter 3 [here], “are leaders allowed to make mistakes, learn from errors, and move forward having learned… or do leaders fear criticism and backlash from above?”
Early in the book, Fullan references the movie Waiting for “Superman”, and in this chapter he emphasizes that there is no Superman coming, and that we need to be doing the work ourselves. He reminds us that “creating dramatically better leadership and working conditions with associated capacity building prior to and during one’s career” is imperative.
Fullan states that Finland, Singapore, South Korea, and, in some cases, Canada, have, “figured out that the quality of the teacher force and moral purpose realized are one and the same.” Fullan references a report (McKinsey & Company, 2010) examining the teaching profession in the United States compared to Finland, South Korea, and Singapore. In these three countries the teaching force is made up of the “30+ group” (100% of teachers in these countries are made up of the top 30% of university graduates plus “suitability to teach”). The research used in this report suggests that in the U.S. 23% of teachers come from the highest university ranks, and only, “9% of the top-third of college graduates” intended to enter the teaching profession.
Fullan acknowledges that improving pay and financial incentives is necessary, but is not the only solution to achieving the desired results. Fullan continues to include the following factors which the remaining 91% identified that they value in a job:
- Quality of co-workers
- Prestige
- Challenging work environment
- High quality training
These are also some of the qualities the 91% found lacking in the teaching profession, and some of the factors Fullan indicates are necessary to fully realize the moral imperative.
@L_Hilt [here], @PeterJory [here], and @johnnybevacqua [here] recently posted their thoughts on interviewing and hiring. I also recently read a brief article entitled Behind the Mask: How to Effectively Evaluate a Candidate Before Interviewing which offers some great reminders when screening applications.
In this last year, the “other duties as assigned” as per my administrative contract has included hiring teachers to the District’s Teacher-on-Call list. This is one of the responsibilities I do find interesting. However, recruitment, selection, and hiring is not a perfect science. We continue to adjust our practices in our efforts to increase the reliability of our decisions.
Our process for considering applicants currently includes several stages, with further screening before contemplating a move through to each stage. There are so many factors to consider at each point in the process. However, I believe that above all, the candidates considered must have demonstrated excellent qualities in all areas of the classroom, including instruction, assessment, and connections with students. We also look for the personal and personable qualities the applicant brings to the job. We further consider what the applicant brings and can contribute to the school and community.
We sometimes get feedback that these are “just” Teacher-on-Call positions, some of these applicants ”might” improve over time, and as a result some of our concerns should not be a big deal. However, it is ultimately important to remember that shaping employees is more difficult once they’re in, so it is important to ensure that applicants considered and hired have strong foundations on which to build.
Recently, a guest blogger on Dangerously Irrelevant [here] and @mrwejr [here] commented on teacher education programs. However, it was a panel discussion at a symposium last month, which included @janetstewart, that especially extended my thinking further.
One of the questions posed to the panel included a query as to what needs to be done to raise the teaching profession. Separate from comments regarding our present workforce, some of the points which stood out for me included the notion that we shouldn’t be assuming that universities and teacher education programs will inspire students to meet our needs and thus provide the quality applicants we require.
We do however, I believe, need to, in conjunction with Post-Secondary, continue to encourage our best teachers to take on university students for their student-teaching placements, and provide the mentorship and guidance necessary to further strengthen our teaching ranks.
The panel affirmed that recruitment, selection, and hiring practices have not changed much despite changing times. However, it was pointed out that if we’re not entirely getting the people we want, we need to ensure that we target the right people.
The panel challenged us to consider the value and importance of attracting, encouraging, and inspiring the brightest high school students to the profession. I’ve always enjoyed observing the students I’ve known over the years who found their passions early in life – the students who put their energies into pursuing their dreams of becoming doctors, lawyers, musicians, artists, athletes, mechanics, chefs, etc. What a system we could have if we mobilized a large number of youth early, passionate about pursuing the goal of becoming teachers. Imagine the energy, enthusiasm, and excitement as an increased number of our students approach and enter their post-secondary lives with the passion to be teachers already instilled.
In order to begin approaching this goal, one of the significant pieces which needs to be in place, in part, is to ensure that we have engaging and innovative role models in the classroom who will help grow this cause.
Ultimately, we need to inspire and attract the best to the profession - whatever we determine constitutes the “best.” Improving the system is hard work. It takes time, and it takes persistence. However, what a missed opportunity if we don’t make every effort to put the strategies in place to do so.
Update: links to other blogs for those “Applying & Hiring” here.
photo credit: Xurble via photopin cc
On Building Capacity
Posted: February 12, 2012 Filed under: Change, Leadership Leave a comment »
I previously posted thoughts on the importance of relationships after reading Chapter 1 of Fullan’s The Moral Imperative Realized (here).
In Chapter 3, School and District Symbiosis, Fullan emphasizes the importance of not only school leadership but district leadership as well, as the whole district needs to work together on realizing the moral imperative. In this chapter he provides examples of experiences in the Sanger Unified School District, Fort Bend Independent School District, Ottawa Catholic District School Board, and the York Region District School Board. Fullan explains that there are similarities in the experiences in each of these districts, including focus, “on a small number of goals and corresponding powerful strategies that they employ in concert.” It was not books on management or research studies that guided them, but practice, learning from experience, and learning from others.
Fullan goes on to identify “two big forces for change” – “mutual allegiance” and “collaborative competition.” In this concept, educators, and importantly school leaders, work as partners across districts for improvement of all schools and ultimately the system.
Among the points that Fullan draws our attention to in the experiences of each of these districts, my thoughts continue to be drawn to the importance of district leaders, school leaders, and, in particular, capacity building.
District leadership and school leadership working in concert towards common goals is so important, and, in my mind, capacity building is crucial in any change and improvement venture. Presumably, each educator appointed to a leadership position has something in their experience, skillset, or character that successfully saw them selected and appointed – most importantly, the ability to serve as instructional/educational leaders. However, no individual is fully equipped, at the beginning of a new position, to address every issue that comes along with the job without error. Each leader likely has a strong foundation on which to build further skills needed to be successful, and thus the importance of capacity building cannot be ignored.
Fullan states, “success is created by a process that builds capacity and ownership through cumulative learning and commitment.” Therefore, a sink or swim mentality does not ultimately improve a system, nor does a focus on a select group of leaders while ignoring others. Reprimanding is also probably not a good strategy when something goes awry. So, among the questions I would consider are:
- What are the skills needed in the leaders to effect change/improve the system?
- What/where are the gaps?
- How are the gaps identified in each situation?
- Who identifies the gaps?
- What are the strategies needed to best improve and build the capacity of each leader?
- Are leaders allowed to make mistakes, learn from errors, and move forward having learned… or do leaders fear criticism and backlash from above?
I also think about the composition of administrative teams. Each person brings a different skillset and experience to the table. The importance of assembling teams in which the strengths and personalities of all members complement each other cannot be underestimated. There is value in a collaborative and consultative approach in assembling teams. Who better to contribute to assembling great teams, but building leaders themselves?
…and what a great way to begin the process of building capacity.
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Relationships, Relationships, Relationships
Posted: February 5, 2012 Filed under: Change, Leadership Leave a comment »
I’ve been reading Michael Fullan’s, The Moral Imperative Realized.
Fullan states in the Preface that, “the moral imperative focuses on raising the bar and closing the gap in student learning and achievement for all children regardless of background.” He later explains that the success of principals and the success of the district are “closely intertwined,” and that, “the success of peers among peers is crucial.”
In the first chapter, Fullan outlines the six basics needed to make the moral imperative a strategy:
- Make a personal commitment
- Build relationships
- Focus on implementation
- Develop the collaborative
- Connect to the outside
- Be relentless (and divert distracters)
“Build Relationships” speaks to me. I have always believed that a leader’s greatest influence comes more from relationships than position. However, what I often witness and experience suggests that not all agree, especially when subject to the airs some carry with position. Position does not make a person suddenly superior or smarter. That person just has power and sometimes a higher salary.
Some of the statements from this section of Fullan’s book that stand out include:
“…emotional intelligence is building a relationship with someone you don’t like, and who doesn’t like you.”
“If you are to have any chance of progressing, you have to have enough empathy for their situation so that you can relate to them.”
“…you will need to build relationships with diverse people.”
“…if you want to challenge someone to do better, you’d better build a relationship first.”
“It is impressive because you understand their perspective even if it is not yours.”
Fullan references Yarrow (2009), in State of Mind: America’s Teaching Corps, who found that teachers in the US at the time could be categorized into 3 groups:
Disheartened (40%)
Idealists (23%)
Contented (37%)
Fullan contends that the principal must relate to all three groups. In order to accomplish results, the essence of the mindset for the moral imperative includes:
- Leaders facing terrible situations will have to lead with respect. Put differently, they will have to convey respect before people have earned it.
- Leaders need to do everything possible to create conditions that make people lovable (mainly by creating circumstances that favor success).
- And then leaders must deal firmly with what’s left over.
I believe that this applies to all leaders in education – senior administrators, district staff, school administrators, teachers, support staff, students, and parents. I wonder how often some leaders skip to #3, without considering #1 and #2, as if everyone are the “left overs.”
Far too often we encounter the sense of superiority or disdain one group, or individual, has for another, whether it be senior administrators and district staff towards school administrators, school administrators towards teaching or support staff, teachers towards support staff or students, parents towards school administration or staff, leaders in one school towards the leaders in another, experienced teachers towards younger teachers, union towards employer, etc. Sometimes feelings and behaviours are overt. Sometimes there are attempts to keep them in check, but often still come out in body language or tone of voice.
We need to move beyond any airs of superiority we may have, and focus on improving relationships. Yes, the design of our educational organizations is hierarchical, but we each must continue to grow our relationships in working together to ultimately improve the work we do with students.
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2011 Blogs and Posts
Posted: December 31, 2011 Filed under: PLN Leave a comment »
Being fairly new to Twitter and following blogs (approx. 9 months), I have not yet built my PLN to the extent that I envisioned. However, there are a number of blogs and posts which have extended and challenged my thinking regarding a variety of issues, and provided irreplaceable professional development. I have a great appreciation for those who continue to put their thoughts out on a regular basis.
I have not created a “Best of…” or “Top 10…” list, as everything I have read has had an impact in one way or another.
Below is a sampling of a few blogs and posts which I have had the good fortune to come across, and have left some kind of mark on my thinking and, as a result, how I operate.
Thanks for posting and Happy New Year!
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Blogs
Ed Praxis – Philosophy in Action
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Posts
She met the learning outcomes…but she doesn’t deserve to pass.
Student Commitment Depends on Teacher Committment
So You Want to Be A Principal?
Technology Does Not Equal 21st Century Learning
Watching the Red Flags…..Dropout Prevention
The Principal’s Office – Getting Kids Out of Trouble
Preparing Students for the Future … Not the Past
How Micromanagement can take a Leader’s Eye off the Ball
Have High Expectations? Provide High Support.
Homework Why’s and Homework-Wise
The Social Media Journey
Posted: December 11, 2011 Filed under: PLN, Technology Leave a comment »
__________________________
UPDATED: Added a new list of NVSD Educators on Twitter
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The journey with social media for educators seems to be easy for some and difficult for others. The use of Twitter, blogs, etc. can be powerful tools for professional growth, connecting us with others and initiating and continuing dialogue farther reaching than ever before.
Some educators newer to our profession have grown up with technology, and the experiences and understanding developed can be applied to newer tools. For others, technology is now far different from our early experiences. I referenced some of the “technology” of my childhood in an earlier post.
As an educator, technology has been in my tool box, and I have used what’s required when required. However, technology was not my world. I have a Facebook account which I don’t use, and still don’t quite understand. For years, I had heard about celebrities and athletes using Twitter to publicize where they were, what they were doing, and even what they were eating. For me, at the time, there was little attraction or value.
After ignoring it for years, I started experimenting with Twitter last Spring. At that time, my purpose was to receive up-to-date information on some issues that were relevant to my work. As my role changed and I became connected to other responsibilities, I had the opportunity to see how Twitter could be used for accessing other information, particularly for professional development. My eyes were opened while attending the DL Spring Conference, featuring a keynote by @gcouros and @courosa. Twitter for me is still not as interactive as it is for others, and as what I had hoped, but what I’m currently getting out of it for professional development has been irreplaceable.
During the summer, I started reading the blogs of other educators, and quickly began to visit their sites frequently. I then learned more about RSS and RSS readers, which made following blogs so much easier.
I started experimenting with creating and using blogs to better understand how they could be used in the classroom with students. My thought at the time was that I couldn’t encourage and support teachers’ use of blogs with their students if I didn’t understand them myself. I created this blog as an experiment and have used it infrequently to process, refine, and articulate my own thoughts. Using a blog, I’ve found, is not too difficult, but writing publicly much harder. I also created a professional development blog for the staff in my building to share. Our building Professional Development blog is still in its early stages and not yet well used, but my hope was, and still is, that it will become an interactive site which will include the contributions of many, not just those within the building.
In our District there are a number of educators using social media in a variety of ways. Many of our schools have blogs, Twitter accounts, and Facebook accounts to share news and current events. Many teachers use blogs to share class news and to remind students and parents of homework and assignments, and some have students blogging as part of the writing process. Some schools are now experimenting with Edmodo, which is apparently Facebook-like. Some educators are regular users of Twitter, and some have their own blogs to share and reflect. One of my favourites has been @campbellwells, who uses Twitter and blogs regularly. The enthusiasm for his day-to-day work comes out in every tweet and post. As technology use in the district begins to move towards being better encouraged and supported it will be interesting to witness the journeys of staff and students.
Below are links to some educators in our District who use Twitter followed by a District account. Also below are links to blogs of educators in our district. I suspect there are many more, and over time I hope to add to this list.
TWITTER:
NEW: NVSD Educators on Twitter
BLOGS:
(image shared by maxw on flickr cc)
What was my technology is not theirs….
Posted: November 4, 2011 Filed under: Leadership, Teaching and Learning, Technology Leave a comment »
A couple of weeks ago I had an opportunity to join the staff in my building for presentations and discussion about the use of technology in classes. It was a great morning, and well-organized by the Professional Development Committee. The next day I attended an administrators’ professional development session on Michael Fullan’s, “Choosing the wrong drivers for whole system reform,” another great session organized by colleagues. These two sessions were prior to the Ministry of Education’s unveiling of the framework for the new Education Plan, which includes the mandate to, “encourage smart use of technology in schools.”
As a student, my technology was far different from what is available to our students in schools today.
Some of the technology of my childhood included:
The opaque projector – a large device, not easily moved around unless on some kind of wheeled cart, used by teachers to project the pages of books on the wall or screen.
The film strip projector was often used in classes, and the “advent” of technology saw the addition of sound through the use of a record player. The audio would include a beep to signal the student responsible for the “technology” to advance to the next frame.
Handouts were created using a Gestetner machine.
Blackboards were black. Telephones were just telephones. “Dialing” a telephone number actually involved dialing.
Despite what my daughter says, I’m not that old. Technology has progressed in a relatively short time. I began to reflect on these changes even more when I returned to my former junior high school as Principal a couple of years ago. The physical plant was much the same as it was when I left 30 years earlier. However, the Typing Room full of rows of manual typewriters had become a regular classroom. The Gestetner was long gone. Unfortunately, it seemed like very little else had changed.
One of the things that strikes me as I consider changes in technology is that, as a student, little of the technology at school was available to me at home. Nor would it have better engaged me in my learning if it had been. We did have a record player at home, but to listen to the monotone narrations on records used in classes would have done little to motivate, extend, or personalize my learning.
We now have an opportunity to use technology to engage students in their learning in a variety of new ways. However, technology in itself is just a tool.
(Update: Technology as a “tool” may not be the best characterization. It is not intended to minimize or understate the power and role of technology, but to underscore the importance of understanding teaching and learning, which technology can be used to enhance, facilitate, and even transform. Read Technology is More than a Tool by @gcouros.)
Fullan recognizes the potential of technology as a driver for change in education. However, he rightfully emphasizes that technology cannot be the lead driver. Instead, he asserts that the impetuous for change must be led by the following, which, “work directly on changing the culture”:
1. The learning-instruction-assessment nexus
2. Social capital to build the profession
3. Pedagogy matches technology
4. Systemic synergy
Fullan also identifies the following as drivers which should not be used to lead change:
1. accountability: using test results, and teacher appraisal, to reward or punish teachers and school vs. capacity building
2. individual teacher and leadership quality: promoting individual vs. group solutions
3. technology: investing in and assuming that the wonders of the digital world will carry the day vs. instruction
4. fragmented strategies vs. integrated or systemic strategies
Fullan indicates that these are not always wrong as system drivers, but their role is misplaced if used to lead reform.
Fullan makes several additional points to ponder about technology in education:
• technology has been winning the race over pedagogy
• technology gets better and better while instruction doesn’t
• the essential idea is to get the right learning embedded in the technology
• without pedagogy in the driver’s seat there is growing evidence that technology is better at driving us to distraction
• teachers need to get grounded in instruction, so they can figure out with students how best to engage technology
• there is no evidence that technology is a particularly good entry point for whole system reform, but it will be a dramatic accelerator if we can put instruction, and skilled motivated teachers and students in the lead.
• once this instructional-digital powerhouse gets under way, students will motivate teachers as much as the other way around
For me, technology definitely has a role in shaping the potential of what we can do with students in our classrooms (@tomwhitby suggests the starting points here), and I enjoy exploring the possibilities with staff and students. We do, however, need to ensure that teaching and learning continues to be about teaching and learning.
Mosaic, Melting Pot, Tolerance…. Which is it?
Posted: September 9, 2011 Filed under: Leadership, Multicultural Education Leave a comment »
When I read articles about the UCLA student who uploaded to YouTube her rant about Asians in the Library following the Tsunami in Japan I began to reflect on the stories over the years that have affected my own views regarding issues of race in schools.
Some have written that the central issue of the incident was about free speech, while others have delivered cautions about use of the internet. However, for me this points more towards attitudes about race and the place visible minority students hold in our school communities.
While some will discount this incident as an isolated event, for me it draws other connections.
Beverly Tatum in Can We Talk about Race? explains that “identity is shaped by the social context in which we learn about ourselves over time.” I believe that holds true and as a result I wonder about the students with whom we work who are from culturally different backgrounds.
When someone is asked to describe themselves, they might respond, “I am tall,” “I am skinny,” “I am pretty,” “I am smart,” “I am shy,” or “I am good at Math.” If asked how they know that, the response might often be, “that’s what people tell me.”
There was a Chinese boy in primary school whose classmates told him that their parents said he should go back to where he came from. Other students would throw rocks at him as he walked home after school.
In intermediate classes students would imitate the Chinese language and reference Asians using derogatory names that they thought were hilarious.
There was also a class at the neighbouring Junior High in which a Social Studies teacher taught a lesson to a class, which included one student who was from a visibly different ethnic background, about the difference between the Cultural Mosaic and the Cultural Melting Pot. The lesson also explained why we have a superior way of looking at the cultural make-up of our country. Another teacher in the same school scolded the student because he couldn’t understand why as a Chinese student he didn’t do better in Math and Science.
These were just a few of my personal school experiences.
I was born here. My parents were also born here.
On TV Asians were represented by Kato, Hop Sing, and Kwai Chang Cain on Kung Fu. I don’t believe David Carradine was Chinese.
While in University the acronym used for the school was often expanded to the “University of a Billion Chinese.”
Fast forward to 1990…. in a school that was culturally diverse. Some students were excited to have a teacher who was visibly from a different cultural background…. At the same time, the city was reacting to increased immigration from Asia and the uproar in the media about Asian youth gangs. I don’t recall references, if any, to Asian youth who were good or references to Caucasian youth involved in illegal acts.
A few years later, in another school, the Caucasian ESL teacher lectured staff, students, and parents about the Chinese culture while at the same time justifying her expertise and knowledge about the culture because of her “years” of experience teaching students from Hong Kong, China, and Taiwan. Throughout her explanations she would butcher the language as she interspersed key Chinese words.
Moving forward again to 2001, a family from Japan was receiving a tour of a school, as the parents were considering sending their daughter abroad to study and experience our culture. As they walked through the halls students made comments about the visitors’ appearance and accents.
During that time the City was experiencing a rapid increase in immigration… this time from the Middle East. In the eyes of many there was suddenly a problem with violent youth from those countries. Again, no references to the good students who had just arrived or Caucasian youth involved in similar negative activities.
Around 2002 at a retirement party for a senior administrator, part of the “fun” included an improv group that had been hired to re-enact some of the memorable events he had experienced over the years. One of the tales was about a round of golf in which the Asians on the course behind him continuously landed their golf balls around the members of his four-some. The retelling of the event included the mimicking of their language and cultural references which had the room rolling with laughter. There was even more hilarity when his physical response towards one of the Asian golfers was depicted.
In schools some teachers have experienced frustration that some of their students from Italy, Mexico, Iran, or Asian countries persist in speaking their native languages instead of English, but little is said about the challenges these students must be experiencing being new to the community and country.
Last year, a teacher in a secondary school asked that no more students from Brazil be admitted.
There are endless characterizations about First Nations students and their parents, yet the behaviours of Caucasian students are seldom attributed to ethnicity.
I also think about the various conversations I’ve had over the years with students from a variety of cultural backgrounds, as a teacher, counselor, and administrator, about their personal struggles fitting in and the incidents they faced in their day-to-day lives.
Perhaps we sometimes minimize cultural differences and the impact they have on our students or fail to give these issues more attention if we seldom hear about them or don’t understand their effect. Perhaps these situations touch me deeper having had similar experiences. However, when discussions with colleagues regarding the issues faced by students from other cultural backgrounds receive a variety of responses, including surprise, denial of their existence in our community, or blame directed towards the students or their parents, I can’t help but feel disappointed and saddened for our students who are confronted with such challenges on a regular basis or even just on occasion.
So, when complaints arise about students using their home language in classrooms and halls, or that all the First Nations, Korean, Chinese, Iranian, or Brazilian students stick together and don’t socialize with other students, often the first thing that comes to mind is…
“Why wouldn’t they?”
This is not to say that I feel all students from other ethnic backgrounds face difficulties associated with race. Nor do I believe every student issue is due to cultural difference. However, like the variety of issues we deal with as administrators, educators, and community members it is important to look at and challenge our own beliefs and to consider the experiences of our students through a variety of lenses.
To take the approach that we “treat all students the same” or “do things the way we’ve always done” doesn’t address or resolve the issues. It just perpetuates, reinforces, or increases the pre-existing challenges that are often systemic, and perhaps continues to marginalize some students.
With racial issues it is valuable, I believe, to consider sense of identity when dealing with students from different cultural backgrounds, whether they are International students, immigrants, or local born.
Not all individuals from a specific culture are the same, and we need to continue to avoid making generalizations based on race.
Sue and Sue in Counselling the Culturally Different put forth that there are 5 stages which help understand different attitudes and behaviours. The five stages of this model are Conformity, Dissonance, Resistance and Immersion, Introspection, and Integrative Awareness.
While designed specifically for use by counsellors, this understanding can be valuable in the work we do as educators. It further defines the differences we may find among some of the young people with whom we work and it extends our concept of identity issues which may have an impact on them.
Personally, I find myself continuously moving through the various stages depending on the environment or the issue with which I am faced.
So, what can be done in our work with students from a variety of ethnicities?
I often hear people speak about the need to be racially tolerant. However, for me “tolerance” refers to something one has to put up with. I’m not sure that is the message I want to advance.
Tatum refers to the “ABC’s of creating inclusive learning environments”:
A – Affirming identity
B – Building community
C – Cultivating leadership
In developing a sense of identity (A) students need to see themselves reflected in their environment, the curriculum, their classmates, and the adults who work with them. Who do they identify with, and who are their role models? It can be difficult for students who have been historically marginalized in our culture to see themselves positively in school without those connections.
A community (B) must be created in which each person feels a sense of belonging and purpose that unites everyone. It is easier for students to be willing and able to engage with others when their own needs are being addressed.
Leadership (C) comes from all parts of the community in preparing students to interact effectively with people from backgrounds different from their own. While developing the ability to think critically and communicate effectively is essential in education, the ability to interact with others from different backgrounds is also important.
I often think about the work we do with our students from cultural backgrounds that are different from the way our schools are organized, and I continue to challenge myself to look for ways to help them feel more connected and better prepared for life outside of school. I also hope that as my own children, who are currently innocent about the differences of race, grow-up, other educators will continue to do the same.
Image Source: shared by Carol VanHook on Flickr (cc)
Cashing in on Opportunity = Responsibility
Posted: August 26, 2011 Filed under: International Education, Multicultural Education Leave a comment »
In preparing for the beginning of each school year my attention always turned to considering students new to the school, in particular new International students.
As school districts continue to look for ways to generate revenue in the face of under-funding, International Education programs in many areas continue to grow.
However, in our efforts to attract students from abroad to pay for the experiences our education system and communities offer, what kind of services and support should we then provide in return?
Having been involved in International Education in one way or another for over 20 years, I was surprised at what I found earlier in my career.
I recall being at schools in which International students were seen as an inconvenience and treated as such. Yet, taking on International students provided extra staffing and additional financial resources directly to those schools.
International students were not considered in planning and assigning staffing or building timetables. International students were given the leftover classes after the “regular” students were programmed, and often International students were withdrawn from full classes if a local student wanted to transfer in. Little tolerance was shown for students who could not express themselves well in English, and personal-emotional support barely existed.
A Principal I worked with had the opportunity to participate on a marketing trip. For years, colleagues had been “rewarded” with these trips, and they would return with tales of sight-seeing, late night socializing, and all the joys of travelling abroad… but little about the work involved.
However, he returned with a much different mindset.
While meeting with agents and, in particular, parents, he realized that parents of International students were not much different from us in regards to their concerns for the well-being of their children. The parents he met were exploring incredible educational and cultural opportunities knowing that they would have to place the care of their children in the hands of complete strangers.
He returned with a new-found appreciation for the weight of the responsibility we hold in taking on International students.
At student assemblies and in conversations he began emphasizing the need to be welcoming and supportive of International students. He began making that extra effort to engage them in conversations in the halls and classrooms. He described International students as being among the bravest students we will ever meet, for they had left their families and friends, their communities, the cultures they know, and the comforts of their own homes to travel abroad for new experiences.
Our own travels during holidays differ so much from the experiences of our International students. When we vacation we know that we are visiting for a short time. We know we will soon return to family, friends, and the lifestyles to which we are accustomed. We know as tourists there is often ample support when travelling to new countries. We often have the maturity, independence, and interpersonal skills to manage the challenges of being in new places.
The International students with whom we work come to us for a variety of reasons. For many of them, they are leaving family and friends for an extended period of time to live with strangers. They must use a language that is not their mother-tongue in an education system much different to what they are accustomed. For many, they do not know when they will have a chance to return home.
These students are participating in incredible opportunities, but with numerous challenges.
When our own students travel abroad for cultural exchanges and language immersion programs with only the language skills developed in the courses we provide, what kind of support and experiences do we want for them?
What would be our expectations if we had the means to provide similar opportunities for our own children?
Are the experiences and support we provide International students commensurate with the expectations we would have for our own students and children when travelling abroad?
And here is where the challenge lies:
The need to reconcile the marketing/entrepreneurial side of the “business” with the education and support for the students we have invited to join us. At the very least, the assurance that we are providing value for the dollar.
We have so much to offer, and in return there is so much we can learn about the cultures from which our International students come. This can’t just be about the dollar, but perhaps an opportunity to learn from each other in a reciprocal relationship in which there is value both ways.
The work we do as educators is not easy and has many challenges. I can only begin to imagine the challenges our International students face in leaving so much behind to travel around the world for the incredible experiences they’ve been promised.
A Future Post: Missed Opportunities All Around?
Image Source: shared by Hellobo on Flickr (CC)
What got our students there? – Part 2
Posted: August 3, 2011 Filed under: Teaching and Learning Leave a comment »
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The other night I came across an article entitled “Why Alternative Education Needs to Go Mainstream.”
The article recaps comments by Sir Ken Robinson regarding dropout prevention.
The article appealed to me in that it helped connect some of my thoughts regarding the questions I posed in a previous blog post.
Some of the points highlighted in the article include:
If what we now call “alternative education” methods became mainstream… we wouldn’t be discussing the dropout rate.”
“For any student, the classroom they sit in is the education system and that’s what they’re dropping out of.”
…the kids who get into quality alternative programs fall in love with learning because they’re getting an individualized experience—and the support they need to address particular life challenges….
…change begins at the classroom level.
Every teacher has the ability to take the time to build relationships with students, make her classroom an engaging environment, and connect students with “real world opportunities in local creative industries and higher education.”
School-wide solutions… depend on having a school principal with a strong vision and a willingness to ditch current school customs.
…we shouldn’t expect to reform the entire system in one or two years. Instead, a ten-year plan that’s well thought-out and truly student-centered is what’s needed to change the alternative into the mainstream.
Being new to blogging and Twitter, I didn’t cast my previous posts out widely, but I am still interested in the thoughts of others regarding these issues.
Thanks Sir Ken!
Now… to develop a plan….
We are not cookie-cutter kids.
Posted: June 29, 2011 Filed under: Teaching and Learning Leave a comment »
In my first post ever I attempted to pull together my thoughts about continuing to look at doing things differently to keep students in schools as opposed to removing them.
It was not intended to be critical of mainstream schools, nor was it intended to discourage the move of students to alternate programs. I’ve had the privilege of seeing teachers do incredible work in their classrooms in regular schools, just as I am more than aware of some of the success stories in alternate programs.
I recently had the honour of attending a graduation ceremony in one of our alternate programs. It was a great opportunity to see students I’ve known in the past celebrate a significant achievement in their lives.
I was particularly impressed with the message of our Valedictorian. I wish I had been able to write down everything she said, but a few points resonated with me as I sat and listened:
- we chose to come here
- we had the courage to leave a system that wasn’t working for us
- this is not a cookie-cutter school, and we are not cookie-cutter kids
- the staff are not just here to teach us, they’re here for us
- don’t live down to expectations
- do something extraordinary
As I reflect on her message I can’t help but wonder about the things we can do in our schools so that each of our students are able to express similar sentiments.
If we’re in a cookie-cutter school, perhaps it doesn’t need to be.
