Blogush

Like I said in my last post, I am a bit crabby.  And since I have declared spring positive blogging season, I have a couple more to get out of my system before the buds appear on the trees.

Let me tread on sacred ground for a moment. 

Teachers are not supposed to “bash” teachers.  We are not supposed to blame them for the problems in schools.  At least that’s what I read two other teachers write last week.

Why not?

Are we that powerless? 

Am I supposed to just believe that everyone else is responsible for the conditions except the teachers?  If they are not responsible for the conditions then can they at least be bashed for not trying to change them? 

You can’t convince me that what my kid’s do isn’t my responsibility, good or bad. 

At some point shouldn’t we take ownership of something besides just the good stuff?

If my students were complaining about some problem I would tell them to get off their butts and do something about it.  Right now we are in a unit in which the kids are working out their own Essential Questions.  They have developed some interesting questions like “How can one person make a difference?  And “It only takes one to lead.”  The content of the unit lead most of them to develop questions that revolve around the theme of “One person can make a difference.” 

Do we lack a leader?  Do we lack someone with the right pizzazz and charisma that we can all rally behind on the way to an educational revolution?

What’s that saying about “If you are not part of the solution you are part of the problem.”  Is there a middle ground that me/you/we hide in?  Tell ourselves that we are not behaving like the problem people, the kids are doing fine in my class, but yet we don’t try to solve the problem outside of our four walls. So we feel good that we are solving a problem in one classroom, but still get to gripe about the problems outside of our walls. 

I hide there.  I hide right in the middle of that saying.  I feel like I am pushing the boundaries in a middle school social studies class–we are our own sovereign state practicing a policy of isolationism.  We do open our arms to those seeking educational asylum, but do not offer any foreign aid. 

Every teacher operates with roadblocks to being successful.  One cannot blame failure on those roadblocks.  It is their responsibility to overcome them.  Figure out ways to succeed despite being told they can’t.  Persevere when they are facing overwhelming odds, and continuing to believe their course is just and right, even when given the label educational heretic.

I am responsible for what happens in my classroom, and is that overwhelming feeling of responsibility that will be the topic of my next post…

I have been cranky lately. This is a cranky post. My last one. I am officially making spring “positive blogging season.” Which I guess means I still have until March 21^st to be cranky. So please bear with me…

What must we change to in order to improve schools? How many times have you heard a question like that in the last year?

I think that the question automatically skews the answer. If you start off by using the word change, you start processing a problem in terms of fixing what is already present. You take the current system and processes and make them better.

I think it is a question that is nearly impossible for teachers to answer. How can someone who has spent their entire life in the system be able to bring true innovation and change to schools since all they have ever experienced or lived in have been schools? It is kind of like having car companies trying to change and improve cars. They have made them safer, sleeker, more efficient, and lighter, but essentially they are still combustion engines on four wheels.

Just by having the word “schools” in the question sets us up for failure. That word forces us to keep in place certain processes and features and build around them. So how about if we get rid of the word school. We can’t make the question “How would we improve teaching?” That would force us to center our solutions around having teachers. We can’t insert the word “students.” That just brings us right back to teachers and schools.

Right now schools try to do everything. We teach skills, facts, values, parenting skills, drug prevention, fire safety, provide medical care, provide lunches, and you know the list can go on and on. Schools are the Wal-Mart’s of knowledge. While you can get anything you want at Wal-Mart, nothing is really the best quality. Even when they sell something that is identical to a quality product, there are different components in the inside that allows them to sell it just a bit cheaper. Buy a pair of sneakers at Wal-Mart and it will be worn out in a couple of years and you will have to come back and buy a new pair. Learn fractions in 3^rd grade and in a couple of years you will forget it and have to be re-taught them again in 5^th grade. Buy some eggs at Wal-Mart and they might look like the same on the outside as the eggs from the farmer done the road who let’s his chickens roam outside, but the taste, texture, and nutritional value sure are not the same. A high school can give diplomas to all of its qualified students, but all qualifying means is that you passed memorized some facts, and passed some tests. Kids are graduating with hollow insides void of wisdom, virtue, and love. Their brains have little “nutritional value.”

As a part time organic farmer, I often get questions from people asking how they can buy better food, what stores they should shop in, or simply what can they change with their food to improve their health? I don’t respond with names or types. I tell them to grow their own. That’s the starting place. If you can’t do that then what kind of food can you acquire that is closest to growing your own. I think we can start with the same analogy when we try to answer the question, “What must we change to in order to improve schools?”

Amanda, who is one of my students, started a meme last week that she hopes will sweep through the blogosphere.  She writes in her post:

I know mostly everyone has heard “well what things do you want to do before you die”. There’s books that say 100 things to see before you die or 50 things to do before you die. But I’m wondering right now if you had to pick 10 things to do before you die what would they be and do you have reasons why?

I think is is more interesting that the “7 Things you don’t know about me” meme because it shows a little bit about about who we want to be rather than who we have been.  I have been finally tagged by Herky and so here is my list:

10 Things I want to do before I die (In no particular order)

1. Climb K-2 I Love to climb mountains.  I have done a bunch 12,000 ft and higher, but would love to climb a mountain that is not only tall, but one with a great history.
2. Volunteer more at Old Sturbridge VIllage I simply love role dressing up in my 19th Century farmer clothes and going up to OSV.  I think it is a great place and way to introduce people to history
   
3. Buy a quad to help with farm work.  I am getting old.  I need help!
4. Commute each day to school on my bike–or better yet this one. I was able to commute for about two years and it is so relaxing plus I get in great shape.  Hopefully once my daughters are old enough to let themselves into the house after school I will go back to biking.  Or if I get that bike I would be able to beat their bus home and start earlier!
   
5. Become famous in education for something…not sure what…a book, podcast, hmmmm  I admit it, I do want 15 minutes of fame, maybe more.  Since my dream of becoming a rock star is probably over, I would say this is the next best thing.
6. Grow all the food I eat during an entire year.  We come pretty close each year to growing all of our own meat.  I would love to also do all of our own produce.
7. Retire from teaching as early as possible…which is connected to…
8. …Become a college professor in a Department of Education.  I love working with in-service teachers.  I am committed to creating an army of virtuous PBL student centered teachers!
9. Buy my wife a hot tub.  She deserves one.  Someday I hope we can fit it into the budget.
10. Hike the entire Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine.  This is what I want to start doing the day after I retire.  I love being outside.  I love doing back country off trail stuff, but there is something so relaxing about just going in a straight line following a trail.

Honestly, I have spent a quite a bit of time reflecting on my list.  For some reason it really surprised me.  I won’t include my self-psychoanalysis here…

I am going to change the rules a bit.  Amanda originally tagged 10 people.  Howabout if we change the rule to at least five! Please tag your blog with 10tdb4id so we can keep track. I tag the following bloggers:

Taylor

Charisse

Daniel

Meg Griffen

Nicole Hill

And here is a an extra challenge for you.  Tag at least one person that you have never had any correspondence with and who’s blog you have never visited.  Someone outside of your normal PLN.  After searching around I found a blog written by Dana Huff.  She includes many posts that reflect back on her week.  Dana, hello, nice to meet you I’m Paul, can you reflect forward for me and tell me “10 Things that you would like to do before you die.”

Teaching, like any truly human activity, emerges from one’s inwardness, for better or worse.  As I teach, I project the condition of my soul onto my students, my subject, and our way of being together.  The entanglements I experience in the classroom are often no more or less than the convolutions of my inner life.  Viewed from this angle, teaching holds a mirror to the soul.  If I am willing to look into the mirror, and not run from what I see, I have a chance to gain self-knowledge–and knowing myself is as crucial to good teaching as knowing my students and my subject.

from The Courage to Teach: A Guide for Reflection and Renewal

My wife bought me a shirt yesterday.  I rejected it.  I told her it made me look like an old man.  She said I was an old man. Grumpf humpft urhhah!  Come on, if I was an old man could I have had a deep life changing discussions like this with my kids today during our lav/locker break?

Me-Mary can you please take a few steps back away from Jane

Mary-Why do I have to be the one to move away, why can’t she step back?!

Me-Because if Mary moved back she would walk into the wall.

Mary-Well then why can’t she step forward.

Me- Because then she would step on your feet.

Mary-Why do I have to always be the one to move?

Me-Because you are the one who always argues with her everyday.

Mary-I never argue with her

Me-You are right, I am actually in a fantasy world right now.  In my world you argue everyday. I know it is not reality, but those of us currently living in my fantasy would appreciate it if you could please step back.  And since it is my fantasy world I will have a dragon appear if you do not.

Student 1-Could I have a castle in our fantasy world!

Student 2-I want a draw bridge

Student 3-There has to be a fair maiden

Me-Can I have a really shiny sword?

Student 4-As long as there are alligators in the moat

Me-Fine, just as long as they don’t eat my goose that lays the golden eggs.

And so the story ends.  Mary at some point moved away , saving the villagers from the dragon. Everyone lived happily ever, forgetting that there was even a disagreement in the Kingdom.  Tomorrow maybe someone will call someone a name and I’ll get to be a pirate.