The Principal and the Kid

     I spent the other night shooting baskets with my son in the pouring rain. I don't push my son to ever practice extra, but I will anytime he says let's work on something. He will often get philosophical on me as we spend time together and ask big questions whether that is about sports in his future, or life in general. I love those conversations and cherish them. Last night, as I picked up Teach Like a Pirate and began reading through it again for about the 100th time, I realized that I am not the expert on student engagement. Dave Burgess is well qualified but the real expert was sitting next to me working on making himself in NBA 2K21 so he could play with "'Bron and Brow". What better way to learn about student engagement than from the lens of an 11-year old middle school boy!! So I asked him, "Cale, what engages you at school?" 

"It has to matter to me and I have to learn something new. I like when I get to pick the topic."-Cale Miller (or any student)

    Think of the simplicity of this statement...but the power in it. Teach me something new and something that matters to me. That is all it is. Sheniger (2015) wrote about the importance of student engagement and being relevant. When you can tap into the passion of students, whether that be in the topic that is covered or in the options students have for presenting their learning; you create that purpose for learning. When you can connect passion with purpose, you have a slam dunk lesson/activity. Imagine a school or classroom where every student is connected with a purpose. What would discipline look like? What would student engagement look like? What would the authentic learning experience look like? That is my Utopia of schools...and Cale's too.

Reference

Sheninger, E. (2015). Uncommon learning: Creating schools that work for kids.

    Corwin.

"We Don't Have Time for That"

    As I wrap up my latest blog post, I find myself reflecting on my writing, my thoughts on education, and life in general. First, I am passionate about education and I believe the key to successfully raising the achievement gap is by increasing student engagement.  Second, I believe that we increase student engagement by increasing opportunities for authentic personal learning experiences (Murray, 2019). If we can't connect the "why" of an activity with a purpose for our students, they are checking out. 

    Third, I believe that we have to do a better job of loving our kids (Fullan, 2008). Our toughest kids often have the biggest walls to tear down. They will cut you to the core as a defense mechanism, yet we have to see through this. We have to be more empathetic and work to build their trust and hopefully earn their love and respect along the way. Unfortunately, we still have a society that sees some of our kids as "expendable". As a public educator, I still believe I can reach every kid. I can't walk in their shoes always and to say that I understand everything that every child has gone through because that would be disingenuous. However, I can try to build relationships and break down their defenses and try to understand what makes them click, and figure out a way to engage them. That is often the toughest work. 

My point is, if you begin to read my blog, you will see a theme or may seem some repeated thoughts; however, this is my passion and my "why". This is what drives me. Thanks for reading.

"We don't have time for that"...how many have heard that before? I get it. Really though, when you hear this excuse or roadblock to something new, it really is code for "I don't want to change what I am doing". That is really what no time means. Whether you are a superintendent, a principal, a central office administrator, a teacher, I want to push back a little (maybe a lot) and ask, "Do you have the time not to change?"

    Let's start with my 11-year old son who is upstairs right now playing Fortnite with a bunch of his buddies. He is connecting with friends from his old school 3 hours away and with new friends here. When not on Fortnite, he is on Youtube watching sports videos, videos of 4-wheelers, and so on. Before you condone me for the screen time, etc..., COVID has changed how he interacts with kids. Rather than having them over, it is all virtual. At the same time, he has found that if he has questions, he can typcially find a "how to" video on Youtube. So that is my point. We can't continue to run our schools like knowledge factories. Our kids don't need it. They can find anything they need on Google. What we need to teach them is how to find it and how to determine if the information is credible. Rather than a lesson on fossil fuels where we list them and read out of a book about fossil fuels, why can't we challenge our students?  Pick a side whether pro-fossil fuels or pro-"green" energy and set parameters for a presentation...Think of a lesson like this:

"What is the future of our energy usage in the United States?" 

    In groups of 5, select three types of energy sources and research the benefits of each type of energy, one energy source must be renewable or considered "green". Find three credible sources to develop a presentation where you develop a sales pitch for the local county commissioners where you have a proposal to build a new facility to produce the energy source of your choice. In your presentation, compare your energy source of choice to at least two other energy sources and convince the commissioners to choose your energy source as the best option for their community.

    Look at the possibilities from this project for integration of language arts, math, STEM, environmental, etc... The list could go on and on. On top of that, you are giving students a voice and choice. They have to collaborate with their peers which brings in another set of soft skills. You have presentations being developed that are a component of 21st Century Literacy Skills. Plus, I just did my "plans" for probably a week at least. I don't have a stack of quizzes to take home to grade or a stack of worksheets to grade. I just took on the role of facilitator, the role of a coach to help students with suggestions without giving them the answers.

    If you were to give a pre and post-assessment of their knowledge and application of this knowledge to make develop the reasons for their selection, I believe students would outperform the students that read about fossil fuels in a textbook and answered questions, and took quizzes. Especially if you were to bring out the same subject the next semester and check for retention. As Murray (2019) suggests in his book, we have to create learning experiences that impact a lifetime.

    We have to find ways to engage our kids who are experiencing a much different childhood than we did. Our kids are exposed to technology like never before whether we like it or not. Their futures are going to involve technology that may not even have been created yet; however, many of our schools and classrooms still look like 1990 (or 1980). Too often, educators spend too much energy on reasons why we can't do something. Leaders will make grand announcements of reasons why they can't do something. A roadblock is only a roadblock or an obstacle if you choose not to go over it or around it. We have to stop hanging on to the traditional school setting and rethink how we teach, how we engage, and how we are preparing our kids for a future of unknowns.  

Thanks again for taking the time to read my ramblings. Follow me on twitter @PrincipalCMill if you want to connect.

References

Fullan, M. (2008). Six secrets of change:What the best leaders do to help their

    organizations thrive and survive. Jossey-Bass.

Murray, T. (2019). Personal and authentic: Designing learning experiences that 

    impact a lifetime. IMPress.

Innovation and Engagement Ends with Worksheets

     First, I have to give a shout out to Mr. Adam Welcome. I have so many drafts of blog posts not published because I sit around looking for the profound proclamation to share and put on the old interweb (Yes, I watch GasMonkey). Rather than being perfect, I am going to use this blog to share my thoughts, my beliefs, and every once in a while I may tell a fishing story or two or share my thoughts on a microbrew or two. More importantly, though, I am going to challenge the status quo of what people think school should look like. So welcome to the new version of #STATUSQUODISRUPTOR.

    Second, if you are looking for test prep ideas for your school, go ahead and unfollow me because that stuff has no interest to me. If you are afraid of rocking the boat or want to maintain status quo, then please unfollow me. If you have to ask, "Yeah, but will I have to change the way I teach?" you might want to unfollow me too. However, if you want to blow the doors off the idea of what traditional school looks like and create a school or classroom that every kid will run to, then stick around and let's connect. I don't have all the answers but I believe we can all connect and find the answers for our school, our classrooms, and our communities together. I'm not perfect and never will be. I'm a messy big dreamer who still believes in public education and that we can be the change this world needs. I do believe that we can get it right and leave no child behind. So buckle up and put on your big boy pants or big girl pants (that sounds so wrong) and let's all go on a journey together. Our kids need all of us to be #STATUSQUODISRUPTORS

    I think my thoughts on education began to develop in middle school. I was that kid that you either loved having in class because I was engaged in the class or you probably didn't want to see me on your class list the following year if I was not engaged. Because if I was not engaged in the class, I was going to try and engage the rest of the class in whatever I wanted while you were trying to teach the lesson you had scripted out before we did the worksheet or answered the questions at the end of the section. I was not a terrible kid but I was a kid who figured out how to play school for the most part. I tracked my grades and typically came out like gangbusters and started each quarter with an A or a B...then I spent the last half of the quarter or semester keeping track of the minimum amount of work I had to do to keep that A or B. Now, for the classes I was engaged in, I was different. Classes like Mr. Easterday's American History or Mr. Brown's Reading class, or Mr. Nieswinder's (Nice Winder) Government class. Of all my teachers though, Mr. Roy Kelly was when I decided to be an educator and teach kids. I never thought of teaching a subject, but I knew I wanted to teach kids (and maybe take over for Coach K if I could coach). 

    When I look back, each one of those classes was engaging in it's own way. Some of it was theatrical, some of it was the content, a lot of it was the relationship, but most of all it was the total experience. Mr. E dripped American Revolution from his pores. Mr. Brown had us doing things that were unheard of in the 1980s. We made videos and skits, even made a commercial as part of our persuasive writing. I can still remember my "Slam Jam Leaper Workboots" training infomercial. Then Mr. N just really engaged me because you never knew what he was going to do. When I had Mr. Kelly, he was actually my 7th-grade basketball coach, but he probably had heard about me in the teacher's lounge I am sure. He connected with me and before I knew it, he had me spending parts of my days back at the elementary tutoring kids. He connected me with a purpose. He all of a sudden gave me a reason for school besides getting to play basketball or see my friends. And for that, I am forever grateful. Thanks, Mr. Kelly.

    My point is, we have to change the way we are teaching and we have to do it now. Just tonight, Eric Sheninger tweeted the following:

    We have to create learning experiences that connect students with a purpose or a reason for learning. Rather than focusing on the standards, the textbooks, the worksheets, and all the other "stuff" we buy to fill the time of the day, let's find out what drives our kids. What is their passion? In cases of kids like me, let's use it against them and hook them into learning and caring about learning. I can guarantee there is not a kid in our schools that is sitting at home right now and telling his Mom, Dad, or whoever, "I can't wait to get back to school to do my stack of worksheets or I hope I get to answer more questions at the end of the chapter." We have to engage our kids and facilitate learning and make it an experience. We have to empower our kids to dream. Allow their dreams to become the content and we have to weave the standards into the learning experiences that engage them. 

    I get it though...many are driven by the almighty high stakes assessments that we take at the end of the year and we teach out of fear of not covering a standard. Alright then, identify your priority standards and chunk them out but focus on the content and engagement first, then dive into the standards. Problem or Project Based Learning is a great way to engage students in authentic learning while giving them a voice and choice. Problem Based Learning (PBL) is messy and scary. You have no defined assignment, just criteria that evolve. PBL is not just about STEM either. A PBL can be on anything. Think of our current state of our country and the issues you could cover or topics/content you could cover and engage students. The political divide alone could lead to a passionate group of students sharing their beliefs. Climate change, oil and gas vs clean energy, social-emotional needs of students, and the list could go on and on with topics that you cannot find in textbooks but are things our students are living every day. My point is though, we have to rethink how we are teaching our students. We have to get out of the role of being the keeper of knowledge and being the "almighty knower" and become a facilitator of learning. It is uncomfortable, but we have to do something to reengage the students we are losing.

So here is my challenge to you as a teacher or administrator:

Teachers:

First, find out what issues your students are passionate about through some type of survey. Look for common themes that might allow you to develop some groups. Second, pose a problem to your students. While posing the problem to your students, embed the standards into the criteria or the tasks they need to complete as part of their presentation or proposal of a solution (I know I am simplifying but PBL is a whole other blog post). Here is probably the challenging part...LET GO. Give your kids time by eliminating worksheets or anything that can be eliminated. 

Principals:

Say Yes. Give your teachers permission to fail, empower them to create engaging lessons. Support them to take risks. Work with your teachers to begin rethinking how you engage students at your school. Here is a place to start...ask your teachers this question: What is your passion and if you could use your passion to teach kids, what would that class look like? Then, make it happen. Last year, pre-COVID, a teacher developed a course called "Whitetail Deer Education" and was going to study the patterns of Whitetail Deer. The content or subject matter was going to be Whitetail Deer, but the skills learned was going to be Google tools. Lastly, principals, forget about the autopsy reports, I mean state tests. Besides, if your state is like Ohio, we get the results back five weeks after school is out and there is nothing we can do about those results except begin to prepare for the following year. Focus on student engagement and a learning experience and I believe the test scores will be just fine. Now...I am not saying throw out Literacy and Math, especially early literacy, but we can do better with student engagement. We have to.

If you are unsure of a need to change, reflect on this question (from Dave Burgess): If kids did not have to come to your class but had a choice, would they choose your class? If kids did not have to come to your school, would they choose your school?  

So here it is, my first post of the new #STATUSQUODISRUPTOR. Thanks again, Adam for the encouragement. If you have a comment, want to connect or you think I'm crazy and need to keep tabs on me, give me a follow on the old bluebird @PrincipalCMill.