Week of September 12, 2011

Teaching 9/11

For those of us that watched in horror the events that unfolded ten years ago, remembering the victims and tragedy of 9/11 brings back strong emotions.  But what about teaching remembrance?  How do help students understand the implications of such an historically important topic?

Most of our students were young when the event happened and had little connection with world events.  Today students are having the chance to relive history in a meaningful way.  Students in history class are looking at iconic images from September 11, 2001.  The link for the photos can be found here.  Their task is to write a caption for the photo, explain their emotion, and state why the photo is significant to historians.  As I sat in class, I was proud of the discussion and reflection of our students.  The anger emotion was evident.  However, it is important to remember the needless loss of life.  Our hope is to teach future generations about incidents in the world and learning how to be tolerant of each other's differences.

From the Desk of Mr. Wear- Week of Sept. 6, 2011

A New Journey

"Everything I ever needed to know I learned in Kindergarten."

Remember that quote.  I can't help but think about that as I start a new journey in my career.

Moving from the halls of elementary to the halls of high school can be quite a change.  As an elementary principal, I couldn't walk down the halls or into a classroom without getting a high five, fist bump, or the occasional hug.  And while the high fives and fist bumps may continue at high school (to stay out of trouble) I plan to avoid the hugs.

Today, I am with the team at Solon CSD learning about the concepts of Professional Learning Communities.  The amount of information can be overwhelming at times (so is the thought of moving from an elementary setting to the high school setting).  However, I keep coming back to the same questions.

What are non-negotiable beliefs in K-12 schools?  What practices, regardless of the level, are best practice?  What common traits can Kindergarten teachers and Biology teachers share.  Below are my non-negotiable practices.

1. Collaboration is a must.  No longer can we in education allow "independent contractors" to work in our buildings.

2. The PLC structure is not something you "do".  It is who you are and what you believe in as a staff that drives your work.

3. WHAT MATTERS MOST must be prioritized in regards to students learning objectives.  Research shows that we would need to keep kids in a system that spans from K-22 instead of K-12 if we are to teach everything.

4. Assessment should be frequent and drive instructional decisions in the classroom.

5. Any school that claims its purpose is to help all students learn at high level then fails to create a system of interventions is preparing kids to fail.

To create a systematic process that ensures every child receives the additional time and support needed to learn at high levels is our goal.  Otherwise you have a lottery where kids succeed based on the "luck" of getting a good teacher.  

What are other non-negotiable K-12 school practices?

Creating Second Order Change

Was your education good enough for you when you went through school?

To some, the answer is yes. Unfortunately, that model is not good enough for our students today. Changing the model is second-order change for most in education (and society) except for a few courageous leaders.

McREL, located in Denver Colorado, rolled out Balanced Leadership in our education agency about 5 years ago. The premise of their meta-analysis was that school leaders had 21 responsibilities that could be correlated with gains in student achievement. Furthermore, there are 6 district level responsibilities that are at the core of the superintendency. The idea of second order change comes from the premise that the magnitude of change at this level is much greater than first order change.

Are we attempting second order change in our schools? My answer would be "no". Check out the Committe of Ten and tell me how much things have changed since 1892. Looks pretty much like a current 2010 high school schedule.

According to our professor, the University of Northern Iowa is the only program preparing superintendents that is using the McREL research and Balanced Leadership responsibilities. Our challenge as new leaders is to create a "sense of urgency" in our schools. To push our profession to change.

Not just minor change, but a magnitude of change that will propel our children into a dedicated culture of 21st century learning.