Jennifer Barnett’s Blog: Reflect to Redirect

Have you ever wondered what your favorite literary characters would reveal to you if you had dinner with them?  I’ve been imagining a nice little intimate dinner party (well, we’d probably have tacos or turkey and dressing) where some of my favorite characters would tell me things I need to know.  Here’s the gist of the dinner conversation.

Winston Smith – Sometimes no matter how hard you try to maintain your mental freedom, the world can break you.  Stay alert. 1984, George Orwell

Claire Fraser - When you give yourself to a person who loves you for who you are, you become more than you could have ever been alone.  Outlander Series, Diana Gabaldon

Jay Gatsby – Before you waste your life on a dream, be sure you don’t have anything real to live for.  The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald

Eddie - The size of your life depends on your vision of its reach.  When you realize how many people you’ve touched, you’ll understand that your life is large no matter the large or small tasks you managed while you lived.  The Five People You Meet in Heaven, Mitch Albom

Voldemort – Repent when you are given a chance.  And you are given lots of chances, but arrogance will keep you from recognizing when it’s your last one.  Harry Potter series, J.K. Rowling

Billy Pilgrim – Time is what you sense, not what you see.  Slaughterhouse Five, Kurt Vonnegut

Frank McCourt – Making sense of where you started in life determines how significant your path toward your death will be.  Angela’s Ashes, Frank McCourt

Linda Loman – Allow your loved ones their dreams and make yourself a part of them.  Being at odds with your loved ones creates a discord that cannot always be repaired.  The Death of a Salesman, Arthur Miller

My fantasy guest list would include many others.  But this is a nice little start.  Who would join you at dinner?  What would they say to you?  I can’t wait to eavesdrop on what’s being said at your table!

Hundreds of help sites exist for teachers trying to integrate technology into their practice and their students’ experiences. With a grateful heart to the many who have allowed me to lurk and learn, I am offering my help site to others. As with all learning experiences, it is a work in progress. I am trying to put together the things that have helped me as well as presentations I’ve put together that I wished someone had done for me.

Should you like to see my efforts, visit my wiki.

I chose the title for my blog with great sincerity. “Reflect to Redirect” wasn’t just a thing to say – it was a commitment I made to myself. Who knows why I haven’t been reflecting like I promised myself I would. It seems necessary to write to actually commit yourself to a particular reflection of life. Though I think about what is happening and what it might mean daily, my failure to write down these thoughts makes it challenging to develop any real understanding of those things that touch my life. So, with that said… what is happening and what does it mean?

For the last many months I have been learning to swim in deep waters. Challenges have always appealed to me, so inviting or accepting big projects and work hasn’t been so strange. The strange part of these new challenges has been deciding if I’m worthy of the work. It may sound a bit crazy, but people who are normally very self-confident wonder if they’ll be discovered for the terrified impostor they are. I remember thinking this way just after college. It’s such a terrible and wonderful experience. You want so much to prove yourself to others. Yet, you don’t realize that the person you most want to impress is yourself. This time around I realized that. And I’m so happy to say that I’m doing better than I did twenty years ago. I have focused on quietening those doubting voices with work. Anytime I thought I was unworthy of a particular task, I simply learned my way through it. Arming myself with knowledge has been critical for me to swim in these deep waters. I may not be the best or fastest swimmer, but I’m not sinking.

So, what challenges have I invited or accepted? Developing and implementing a 21st Century Learners initiative for my school system is one challenge I invited. With a group of unbelievable leaders, we are making great progress in Talladega County, Alabama. Our TCBOE21 wiki tells some of the story. We hope the rest of the story will be told online soon in the protocol developed for integrating 21st Century skills with content standards. It’s exciting work that continues to push me. Also, I accepted the challenge to write about the future of teaching. The Center for Teaching Quality has initiated this TeacherSolutions 2030 project. Twelve teachers from across the nation are collaborating on this book to be published in Spring 2010. Talk about digging deep! I swam all over the place searching for truths and perspectives about the teaching profession. While I am still working with this amazing group on our final product, I have great conviction that my voice needs to be heard. Furthermore, I accepted a challenge to support ten schools in the state of Alabama working to become 21st Century demonstration sites. The Alabama Best Practices Center initiated the spectacular professional development that impacted me. What a thrill I have had to support the work that is having such a tremendous impact in our state.

So, what does all of this mean? I think it means I can do what I really want to do. Now, that’s not so supergrand to someone else, but it means a great deal to me. The peaceful, easy feeling the Eagles sang about applies here for me. I love that I look ahead at bigger, grander things and feel empowered. I have been blessed beyond measure with opportunities and gifts. I want so much to leave the world better. There is so much I can’t solve or do, but it is so wonderful to know that I can do what I can do.

I may take a break from writing from time to time. I just don’t need to take a break from doing whatever I can do to make my little part of the world better. I don’t have to be Michael Phelps to show I can swim in the deep water.

I love politics. I’ve always loved politics. It’s like wrestling – in suits. To watch or play this sport, one must be deeply informed and totally cracked. This game is so complicated and heart wrenching that learning it might cause you to question everything about who you are and what you believe. This election cycle was fun for me. But it wasn’t fun like a circus is fun. It was a different kind of fun. I have been collecting facts and information for a story I hope to tell my grandkids in twenty years. The fun I’m having now is guessing how this story will turn out.
The Campaign
There are so many things about political campaigns that capture my attention. I love the “issue-oriented” commercials that secretly move a voter toward a ridiculous attitude about something they can’t name. I love how supporters create handmade campaign signs that say what they really want to say because the party they love and support won’t say it for them. I love the goofy red and blue maps and the amazing math all Americans have to do to predict the outcome. (This reminds me of trying to do enough advanced math in college to figure out what I needed on a final exam to clinch an “A” in a course.) I even love the biased analysis presented by journalists who have convinced themselves that they are fair, independent, and dedicated to Cronkite’s principles. I found myself glued to the left-winged elitist news programs before comparing everything they said to O’Reilly and his sly friends. I was fascinated, mesmerized, dazzled, and thrilled. And, believe it or not, I couldn’t get my fill.
The Win
Election Day arrived before I could digest the campaign meal. My candidate won. I think everyone in America knew my candidate would win. Even though 61% of the people nearest to me didn’t choose my candidate, I think they did understand the significance of this inevitable win. It was a long time coming. My candidate has talked about this a lot. Every speech, debate, commercial, and interview given by my candidate is evidence of his belief of what has taken a long time to come to America. And I agree. It’s not about race, gender, party, or ideology. It’s not about war, peace, Wall Street, or Main Street. It’s not about today’s crisis or tomorrow’s headlines. It’s about trust. My candidate wants to believe in America again, so he sacrificed a cushy life to help recreate a government that could be worthy of trust. And over half of our country wants to see him do just that.
Now What?
It’s alright that so many aren’t so sure about this skinny kid with a funny name right now. Their mistrust of our government runs deeper than mine. To bring a unifying trust of our government back to our electorate, a leader must recognize and respect the mistrust these individuals have of you and the many dishonest government leaders before you. And he must govern with sensitivity to their fears, frustrations, and concerns. I used to think that our nation needed a modern JFK or rough riding progressive. History is so full of cool stories that bring proud smiles to our faces as we recall the mountains we’ve climbed and the challenges we’ve overcome. But a modern JFK or a rough rider won’t help us satisfy our need to like ourselves as a nation again. A “larger than life” leader can help us fall in love with ourselves again, but that is not what we need. Infatuation is very short-lived. We need to truly like who we are as a nation. By learning to trust our government and believe that public servants are faithfully attending to our needs, Americans might start to believe in our pledge. We might think good thoughts when the word politician is mentioned. We might even forget if a state is supposed to be blue or red. So, what was so great about the presidential election of 2008? Someone diagnosed the real problem in America. We are a divided nation because we mistrust our government. And we’ve been trust-busting for a long time. Rebuilding a trust that was broken by others might cause a new president pause. But this man understands the challenge. So, can one president restore the trust of a nation? No. But the next five to ten presidents can. It will be “Change We Can Believe In” when this president performs his duty as an honest broker on America’s behalf AND the next five presidents follow his lead and do the same. I actually think it can happen. Honesty is not a lost art. I see it everywhere I go. There is no reason why it can’t become our expectation and standard. I actually think these stories will be the coolest ones yet. Make no mistake, there is an epic battle brewing within us all in America. Will we be forced to love a nation that we loathe? Or can this loveable phoenix rise from its ashes as nation revered, responsive, and honest, once again? I hope this story will be a tale that will bring a proud smile to my face when I tell it to my grandkids in twenty years.

Like most expectant moms, I put a lot of thought into naming my two boys. Names are very important labels, offering insight and credibility to a child if carefully chosen. And, in my line of thinking, the name is important because my child’s name would be something I would say every day for the rest of my life. So, I really need to like it. Luckily, I like saying Jackson and John David. And even if I tire of the names, I shouldn’t mind saying them since they are two pretty cool kids.

When I first heard the word wiki I laughed. It rhymes with icky, sticky, picky, tricky, and Vicky (my sister). I laugh when I say most of those words. And wiki is the silliest of the group. When I learned more about wikis by creating one and exploring on my own, I was still laughing. I wasn’t laughing at the word, now I was laughing at how much fun this would be. I was raising an adopted Wiki! I didn’t name him or really give birth to him, but Wiki was mine and if he was going to grow up, I had to feed him, clothe him, and make him do his homework. God knows if I was passing out names, I would choose anything but Wiki.

Since I take parenting seriously, I decided to help Wiki adjust to life as a school teacher’s child. Of course, I filled him full of important information. And if his little brain couldn’t hold all of the lessons I had for him, I made a note for him of where to find it. I taught him to make friends easily and initiate conversations with his new friends. We spent lots of late nights looking around the world for the most stylish clothes and popular possessions. (It’s important for kids to feel like they fit in. They need to know that others think they are cool. Wiki’s friends think he is pretty cool.) Somehow, Wiki and I have successfully made it through adolescence. He was completely unorganized, lacked focus and direction, and seemed to be in a permanent state of rebellion. Miraculously, he has grown into a fairly mature young man. Don’t get me wrong, Wiki looks like a strapping young lad on the outside, but has lots of growing up left to do!

Wiki is growing up so fast and has changed so much since I adopted him. He’s so popular with his friends that I’m seeing some changes in him. He doesn’t stick so close to mom anymore; he wants to go out on his own. Wiki is always bugging me to get him the most flashy videos, the newest music, and the coolest gadgets (he calls them widgets…kids!) He tells me that his friends have actually started expecting him to have the best stuff. I guess Wiki doesn’t want to disappoint his friends. And I don’t want to see Wiki fail to realize his potential. Just like with Jackson and John David, I am willing to make some sacrifices to make sure Wiki is raised with plenty of attention, genuine affection, and thoughtful guidance.

This parenting adventure has been such an unexpected pleasure. It’s a real rush that my husband and I are parents to two great kids and that I’m a single parent to a precious adopted child. I have a serious desire to raise my actual children with a desire to impact this world. I hope I am raising my virtual child with the same hopes. When I agreed to adopt Wiki I didn’t think I could get used to his name. Since he’s a pretty cool kid, it turns out that I don’t mind saying his name every day at all!

Visit my adopted child at FHS Wolves Den

My six-year old son has made it perfectly clear to me that he thinks being small is a drag. When we discussed this catastrophic situation I discovered that John David’s biggest concern is really what his friends might think about him. According to my little fellow, car seats, plastic mattress pads, and water wings are a dead giveaway to the smallness of a person. I can identify with his heartache. No one likes for his friends to laugh at his smallness.

John David’s struggles have prompted me to think about why being big is desired by so many. Isn’t this the great American goal? Big portfolios, bigger salaries, the biggest toys, the most myspace friends, the most prestigious awards, the most hits, the greatest influence. Being small has never really captured the imagination of most Americans. Bigger is better. And the biggest must be the best.

So, is this bad? Is it simply a collective American fault, a bad seed planted in the proverbial evil garden causing us to chase the wind? Maybe. And maybe not. Maybe being big is the point of it all and the undiscovered purpose for unfulfilled dreamers. Growing is as natural as desiring, indulging, and seeking to make ourselves laugh. Somehow John David knew being big would bring greater rewards. Who wouldn’t want the reward now. I agree with him. Why wait?

Now, what about other kinds of growth? Few adults seek growth with the passion of a child. And most of us clearly understand the rewards of personal growth. Teachers acknowledge the necessity of professional development, but lack passion for it. We are quick to point out the obstacles to our growth. When others encourage our development by designing opportunities for us we complain. They ask too much. They don’t challenge me enough. They, they, they. We rarely take responsibility for our own growth and create our own opportunities and situations. We just sit back and expect others to “grow” us, like we are a plant being watered with air.

And then there are others who love to grow. I love these folks. I call them Jolly Green Giants. They are always trying on pants every place they go. And most of the time the pants they find are Jiminy Cricket’s. But they keep searching for big pants to wear. Big pants. That’s what I want to wear and I want them to fit. So while John David works his way out of a car seat and water wings, I’ll work my way out of Jiminy Cricket’s breeches and into some suited for a giant.

Normally I am saddened when someone for whom I care passes away. As I mark time, I’m noticing exponential growth of my sad list. My brother, aunts, uncles, grandparents, and even friends have made their way to my list. But this weekend I began a new list. I’ll call it my “wow, what a life” list.

My uncle George spent 90 years joyfully searching for people to whom he could delegate a task. He found me along the way as well as hundreds more. George had a mysterious gift for telling folks what they were going to do. And, as far as I know, everybody did it. That’s pretty cool, but not the best part. Speaking at his memorial, his son-in-law mentioned how George was known for asking others to take on responsibility for this or that. Probably every one of the several hundred people present could raise their hand if asked if George had ever asked for a favor. But the next question his son-in-law asked was the best thing I’ve heard in a long time. He paused, then asked, “When George asked for your help, did he ever ask you to do something for him personally?” That was a “wow” moment. Of course, the answer was no. He never asked for himself.

George’s mission was to make the world aware that Childersburg is the best place in the universe. The superior status of his hometown was not up for debate. You learned this the way he did – by working for it. He did all the things great citizen leaders do – he saw a need and met it. Whether it was launching a chamber of commerce, rebuilding and refurbishing historical sites, or establishing commissions and societies to promote the town’s interests, George made it happen. But, he’d be the first to tell you that he did not do it alone. He was 90 years old when he died. Most likely Uncle George wasn’t up on the 21st Century skills we are so busy promoting these days in education. We fill our computer screens with words like collaboration, cooperation, sharing, teamwork, flexibility, innovation, and problem-solving. We focus on these so-called 21st Century skills because we think they are the keys to our future. Aren’t we silly? Those actions have been around a very long time. Examples are all around us if we are willing to open our eyes.

Some day I want to be on someone’s “wow, what a life” list. I have to be willing to be like George. In the end no one minds your passion, eagerness, and urgency in working to make the world better. When you make the sacrifices, keep the long hours, and do yeoman’s labor day in and day out, you’ll be remembered by countless smiling faces. Hopefully, I will have asked each one of them to do something to make our world better.

Cheerleaders are an essential part of American society. We don’t really want to admit that, but it is true.

Lots of folks like to poke fun at their boundless energy and upbeat demeanor. For years, cheerleader skits have turned mundane episodes of Saturday Night Live into instant classics. Our society seems to collectively nod in agreement that cheerleaders are too peppy, positive, and pretty. We seem to be happy with the notion that the leaders of all the cheer are empty headed creatures with little substance, contributing nothing of value to our more mature and important existence. We might say, cheerleadering is for eight year old girls in need of exercise and a boost of self-esteem.

Take the cheerleader out of our society. What is left? (I know I’d miss the TV show about the Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders.) Who will make you treats on the day of your biggest challenge? Who will tell you “Good Luck” with a giant handmade sign? Who will tell all your friends to support you? Who will be there for you when you aren’t sure you want to be there yourself? When you are losing, who will say, “That’s alright, that’s ok, we’re gonna win it anyway!”? Who exists because you exist? Whose entire purpose is to give you support and encouragement? Who will celebrate your successes and as well as help you bear the burden of your shortcomings? And who would do this knowing that others fail to appreciate them? Well, I’m guessing you know.

I say we need more cheerleaders and not just the teenage kind. Be certain that you understand the difference between cheerleaders and PR people. We don’t need any more PR people. A good PR person is a magician, making what might be nothing seem like everything. We need cheerleaders. We need the kind of people that are all about other people, not the kind that are about promoting themselves. Families need to cheer for each other more. Those within our government need to cheer for each other more. Nations need to cheer for one another. And teachers need to lift one another with encouragement and support and lay down the complaints and burdensome venting traditionally spilled at the daily lunch table.

We all need to borrow the language of the cheerleader. When we change what we say to one another, we might could change the effect we have on those around us. It’s like our economy. We know that hanging on to money is bad for everyone. We all need to spend to keep the entire group financially strong. We need to spread some cheer in the same manner.

Being willing to mimic the cheerleader’s concept of existing for the betterment of another person is a noble endeavor. Now, how could our society be so dense in our opinions about cheerleading? They are a valuable source of inspiration, encouragement, and hope. Cheering isn’t just for eight year old girls or peppy, positive, and pretty high school teens. Receiving cheer is an essential need of the people in our nation. Our nation’s cheerleaders need some help to get the job done. The good news is you don’t have to tryout to get a spot on this team.

Do you remember the short-lived high energy drink, Jolt? I think today’s modern version of Jolt is a Coke product called Vault. I don’t drink it, but I see it everywhere. It’s funny how many folks need a product like Jolt or Vault to get them in gear. Like many busy teachers, I’m not ready for my day without a little caffeine. But a Jolt or Vault might be more than I’m ready for early in the morning. I usually try to ease into my day, slowly working toward an even, manageable pace. The pace abruptly yet pleasantly changed on October 25th for lots of Alabama teachers.

Yesterday the Alabama Best Practices Center held its first face to face meeting of the year for the schools involved in its 21st Century Learners project. Five people from twenty Alabama schools convened in Alabaster to prepare for a year of professional technological growth in the third year of the program. I don’t remember being served a Jolt or Vault cola, but somehow an energy source was poured into me and many of the other teachers present. This energy could be found everywhere. You could feel it in the messages each educator left to another on our networking site, Ning. You could hear the energy in the noisy conversations. You can see the energy on the abpc wiki, in the emails to each other, and in today’s conversations in the halls among the teachers who attended. And it hasn’t even been 24 hours since it ended.

The day was loaded full of instruction for meaningful uses of technology in our classrooms. All of this can be seen by the world at the abpc wiki. The leaders of the project, Cathy Gassenhieimer and Sheryl Nussbaum Beach, can be counted on to thoroughly plan a meaningful experience for teachers. This kind of attention to detail provides the motivation to engage the message and transfer to practice. Today, the transferring began.

But what made the F2F (Face to Face) launch such a great jolt into this professional learning year was how the group felt about the project. It is our mission to prepare our students for this century. We no longer need to teach kids how to work on the railroad, we must teach them how to adapt and work on things we haven’t yet conceived. Not only does everyone believe in this mission, 21st Century Learner teams refused to make excuses for failing to carry out that mission. It’s exciting to be a part such a trailblazing group of educators.

I am looking forward to so many things during this next year. Deeper connections to other “mission-minded” educators is somewhere near the top of my list. Sharing, talking, and blogging will be great fun in 2007-08. I’m even feeling pretty good about failing when I try something that doesn’t work. Basically, it’s a year to take risks, reflect, and learn from taking risks. And none of us have to do that alone. A supportive structure for learning is not easy to create. But this has been accomplished over the last couple of years by the hard work of lots of teachers and their leaders at the ABPC.

Jolt and Vault promote themselves as energy in a bottle. Trying to bottle and sell what is happening in Alabama might really be worth a venture capitalist’s efforts. Our 21st Century Learners project doesn’t have an official energy drink as its corporate sponsor. Now that I think about it, maybe it should!

The first nine weeks of the 2007 school year ended this week. It amazes me how significant this is for students and teachers. It is equally amazing how little we do with the significant information this ending provides. I’d like to figure out how we can change that.

First, the end of the first nine weeks brings forth an official report of student progress. Grades predict all sorts of things about our student’s performance on tasks yet to be performed. We know this, thus we have continued the practice of assigning grades for the last ten thousand years. But how do we use this data? Do all teachers use the grade reports in the same way? Are they provided time and support for analyzing the data? Who is responsible for coordinating the data when students have more than one teacher? Is there a system in place for using data? The answers to these questions are a bit scary. If schools received a report card on the ways we use the report card to better serve students, I’m afraid we’d fail.

Next, the end of the first nine weeks represents something different for new teachers. Nine weeks is just enough time to begin making a determination of your satisfaction with a school, its system, or with the professional in general. Yet, there is plenty of time left in the school year for a new teacher’s deep concerns to be address so that his or her disenchantment with a school, a system, or the profession might be lessened. Who addresses this? When do these conversations take place? What steps are taken to assure a teacher that his or her concerns and opinions are being taken seriously? How often does a very talented teacher leave a school or the profession because he or she felt isolated, overburdened, and unsupported? We know what needs to happen. Why are we unable to provide teachers with ALL they need?

Moreover, the end of the first nine weeks is a perfect time to take a school’s temperature. We know that a school with a cooperative, positive climate experiences success. But eduators are notorius for waiting for the summer to work toward changing the school climate. We love to “work” on the climate by hosting a back to school party, planning a fun summer workshop, or creating team building activities for our teachers just before school starts in the fall. Do we do any of these things during the school year? When would we? Who would plan them? Does anyone believe that school climate is more important than all the fifty things on our do to list?

One answer to all of these questions is actually very simple. The person for all of these jobs is not the principal. We do not need to create another position to handle these tasks. The person is already in the building and doing much of what I have already mentioned. A small group of teacher leaders in every school in America can do all of this.

The other answer to these questions may not be so simple. These teachers must be compensated. Yes, they deserve to be “paid” more than the other teachers, because they are doing more than other teachers. In some schools they are already doing much of the “nine week school-assessment” for free. They would do even more if compensated. And many would do it for something other than money. Creative administrators understand that they do not have to do all the work. They set things up to encourage the right people to do the what they are best at doing. Providing an ocassional duty-free lunch or an extra biweekly planning period might be all it would take. Basically, the “no excuse for not trying something” attitude will yeild results.

The end of the nine weeks is filled with opportunities for students and teachers. We must reflect using systematic methods to determine what has taken place during this important beginning of school. We must empower teacher leaders to address the concerns revealed to us from our first nine weeks report.

Above all, we must not make excuses for why we have once again failed to properly use the data we have collected.

Click here for picture of FHS team at Microsoft’s Innovative Teacher Forum

Where to begin?

Participating in Microsoft’s Innovative Teacher’s Forum in late September continues to cause me severe pain. My enlarged brain is now so full, I’m sure it will blow any time now. Trying to figure out how to organize my many thoughts is almost as painful as trying to make space for all the new stuff I have in there now.

Some of the greatest lessons in life are the simple and unexpected discoveries we make about ourselves. I went to Seattle hoping for the best, but secretly worried that I had little to offer others. Being wrong never felt so good. It was a wonderful experience realizing that I need to speak up, take more action, push harder for the changes I know need to take place. So, one of the best things I got from the Innovative Teachers Forum was realization that I am a truly innovative teacher.

Collaboration. I like that word. It’s a great word. It brings lots of positive things to mind and makes me feel sort of like I used to feel when I travelled the world with Up With People almost 20 years ago – hopeful, global, neighborly. It takes a village to …… well, you get the idea.
But I understand it differently now. It’s less about the process (which brings back that loving feeling), it’s actually about the product. Everyone gets something from collaboration. The networking concept is not new to me. Collaboration is not new either. But talking to strangers about common interests and goals is new to me. And I’m sold on its effectiveness. I can’t wait to make this a common daily practice.

Time deserves respect. I need to change my attitude about time. For some reason I have been working really hard to “beat” it as if it were an opposing team, the plague, or the Crimson Tide football team. I can’t remember ever trying to work with it as if it were my trusted friend. If I’ve learned anything over the last couple of amazing weeks about time it’s this: I’d like more time in my day than everyone else has and I can have it. Yes, I can have more time for what I really want to do. I have just given myself permission to take what I need. If it means a little less sleep, cutting corners on other things, or removing some things altogether, I can do that. I hear so many teachers tell me that they don’t have time for this or for that. Actually what they are really saying is, “I don’t care enough about this or that to do it.” It’s simple. We do whatever we really want to do. I really want to dig, learn, collaborate, grow, explore, and use all I learn to become a better teacher. So, that’s what I am going to do. I am so excited that MY spare time is actually going to be MINE!

The last couple of weeks have been full of new opportunities for me as well. I may soon be writing for the Teacher Leader Network. There is just no better way to find your voice than to exercise your hands. Thinking on the most pressing issues facing teachers and other educators is a challenge I’m excited to accept. Moreover, I’m beginning an amazing journey in the study of engaging instruction. Working with gifted professionals from the Alabama Best Practices Center in Montgomery, I am thrilled help plan special training for teachers AND students in designing and implementing engaging 21st century curriculum. There are many other interesting projects on the horizon for me in Talladega County as well. These opportunities offer me the professional validation I need to spur me toward all that awaits me on the horizon.

Before setting out to win favor with the seletion committee for Microsoft’s Innovative Teachers Forum in Redmond, Washington, I knew it would take a lot of work. I never dreamed that after returning from the forum that I’d want to work ten times harder to win favor with myself. Now that’s the kind of professional experience I’d like to bottle and give to every teacher on the planet.

The “K12 Online Conference” is for teachers, administrators and educators around the world interested in the use of Web 2.0 tools in classrooms and professional practice! The 2007 conference is scheduled to be held over two weeks, October 15-19 and October 22-26 of 2007, and will include a preconference keynote during the week of October 8. The conference theme is “Playing with Boundaries.”

Years ago an eye doctor told me I was near-sighted. After wearing the eyewear he prescribed, I had to agree. If I want to know what’s going on ten yards away, I better wear them. I’m not sure why this has bothered me all these years. I don’t like being labeled with a “vision” problem. Last night, while grading my junior English class’ essays online, I realized that I have the kind of vision that really matters.
High school juniors are a unique breed. They are full of eagerness for their future. They are also full of questions, complaints, worries, conflict, and obsessions. All of this gives me so much to work with. I love to help them iron out a path for themselves. These youngsters are like my own children. I want them to achieve more they they dream. I want to plant ideas in their heads about their capabilities that even they can’t see. I want to show them that the questions, complaints, worries, conflict and obsessions serve great purposes in life and help us find our way. I want these high school juniors to see what I see. They are truly unique individuals with special gifts designed to make our world better.
21st Century teachers are a unique breed. They are full of eagerness for their student’s futures. They work hard to provide them with the skill base necessary to compete in our global environment. They realize the importance of students mastering new technologies and creating purposeful work products. A 21st Century teacher understands why today’s students need opportunities for collaboration, investigation, and analysis. They are truly unique individuals with special gifts designed to make our world better.
Mix high school juniors with a 21st Century teacher and you might just have something amazing. It’s not enough to care for your students. It’s not enough to push them toward their potential. We must have a destination in mind for them. I know where my students must go. I’m working on doing the best job I can to get them there. And who knows? One day I might get a new diagnosis and learn I’m not near-sighted after all.

Today in English class I listened to the teacher. Even though the teacher was me, I heard her say, “It’s not about the product right now, it’s about the process.” We were writing essays focusing on personal conflict – with all of the fun of analyzing and picking apart the dramatic issues of today’s teens. But that “process” comment seemed to become glued inside my head all day long.

I am techno-toddler trying to grow up too fast. My serious efforts to use technology in my classroom began under a year ago. Yet, I want so much to be a grown-up blogger, podcaster, wiki wizard, and web tool handyman. I find so many inspiring examples of teachers doing all sorts of amazing things that I figure I should be among them. That passionate urge to be the “best in show” settled deep within me such a long time ago. But that urge to be patient with myself never took root in me. So, I find myself more frustrated than anything – just like my students writing essays about conflict.

So, I must take my own words to heart. The process of discovery and understanding takes time. It is essential that I grow through techno-adolescence and beyond at a slow, reflective pace. With a clearer perspective of tech methods, I can better serve my students and other teachers. The process of becoming “best in show” is much more important than the final product presented in the show itself.

Sometimes the teacher actually says something worth remembering.

A few days ago I was searching for some additional resources to help teachers at my school develop their wikis. My principal has decided that all teachers in our K-12 school should have a wiki for their class. We have done some basic training on creating wikis last year and will be working toward the principal’s goal this school year. But, just as in the classroom, some wonderfully eager educators are ready to jump in. They just need someone to push them. So, I guess I’m the pusher.

Even though I created a wiki last year on how to create a wiki, I thought I’d look around and see if anyone had one better than mine. As I expected, most were better than mine. I found lots of different things that will help the teachers at my school and I added the links and descriptions to my wikihelp page. But what I found in the process made my day!

A wonderful little wiki called walthamhigh on wikispaces caught my eye. It is an attractive, easy to follow help page for teachers at a school, evidently Waltham High School. I read the author’s list of reasons for creating wikis, directions on how to go about it, and the list of resources for helping teachers along the way. Then, I saw it. She listed my class wiki as an example of a good class wiki! WOW! How cool that the same author that I was busy admiring, admired me!

This web 2.0 thing never ceases to amaze me. We tell our students that people are always watching us, always judging our work. “Always, do your best. You never know who might notice.” I wonder if we teachers realize the power of our words. Many of us who have jumped at the opportunity to use web tools in the classroom must be mindful of our example. Our unconvinced colleagues are constantly evaluating our methods, messages, and effectiveness. We can’t be sloppy. Since this happened, I have been busy cleaning up the messy spots I hope my admirer missed. We all know that you never get a second chance to make a first impression.

This time, I was lucky enough to stumble upon someone who noticed something good about my work. Next time, who knows?
http://walthamhigh.wikispaces.com/

For years I have struggled to teach my students required vocabulary.  In history, I have always had to spend loads of time teaching, talking, and tackling terms.  This doesn’t leave much time to guide students toward critical analysis of the important concepts being covered.  Deeper discussions are sacrificed for basic review of simple content.  

Enter the new digital age.  Quizlet is a vocabulary learning web tool created by a kid.  When a high school student struggled learning animal names in french, he created a web program to solve his problem.  I am so glad he struggled.  Now my students don’t have to.

Quizlet is free, easy, and user friendly.  To get the most out of quizlet, a teacher should create a group and require students to join their group.  When the teacher or a student creates a set of terms, they share them with the entire group.  Then everyone can easily find them for practice.  Quizlet boasts games, flashcards, term lists, and quizzes among many other fantastic features of this web service. 

Quizlet works.  Try it for yourself and watch our digital natives (our students) soar with this simple program.  They will immediately see its usefulness and begin to apply it to other classes.  Who knows?  Maybe learning vocabulary will become the most fun part of any lesson!

Click on the link at the right.  (Web Tool – Vocabulary) 

Some people recall their college speech course with the same enthusiasm as their recent root canal. But try to remember, if not too painful, one of the most important points the instructor made concerning your audience. It went something like, “know them.” Teachers pride themselves on knowing their audience. We like knowing their family, siblings, hobbies, test scores, lunch number, and future goals. It makes us think we know them. Unfortunately, it’s not enough to know these things. We need to know so much more.

Students are not the same kinds of learners that teachers once were. Their world is drastically different from what we knew as students. And that changes so much about teaching. It changes techniques, tools, methods, and even content, to an extent. But, the most important thing that must change is our attitude. If we hang on to our learning styles of decades past, our audience will see our teaching as a less that classic black -n- white show with nothing that seems to interest or apply to a student of the modern world.

What do today’s audiences demand from us? How can we deliver?