"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.