The Ed Narrative blog is intended as a series of written reflections on education. New blog entries post on Mondays at 8:00am EST. To subscribe, click the RSS link below.
CRT is not a boxed program, or a couple strategies to streamline a unit, it is harder to teach it. And, as most people are aware, we are living in a time in which some of the socio-economic and racial biases in this country have been opened up and are raw to the touch. Teaching this approach would have been a difficult process even without the current moment exacerbating things, but here we are and we must take the situation as it is, and not (unfortunately) as we’d prefer it to be.
Read MoreThe new school year always brings excitement and anticipation, especially for new teachers. It also brings Dr. Dan Mulligan. He’s able to encapsulate the bulk of best practice into a rapid-fire review, and do so in a way that holds your attention. This time however, I heard him say something I’d never heard from him before. He said, “Don’t steal the thinking,”
Read MoreJust returned from a trip with the fam. This post talks a little bit about how the trip went.
Read MoreA light read this time around. Some thoughts on the summer, and heading back to work.
Read MoreAfter my conversation with Chris Shedd at Burley Middle School in Charlottesville, VA, I realized I knew very little about Google Expeditions. This came up during the course of our conversation. I’d heard about it, but didn’t know much more than it was a VR experience for students. Well, it turned out that Chris and his students had worked on developing an Expedition for Mulberry Row at Jefferson’s Monticello…
Read MoreI was once told at a PD session that the ADHD brain is the brain of the future. At the time I found it unsettling to consider this possibility. I still do. The way I understood the speaker’s delivery was that this was no bad thing, but rather a sort of evolutionary step toward living in an information and distraction saturated culture. All non-ADHD folk would calcify in tar pits while the fittest carried on with the business of survival.
Read MoreVirginia is a "Right to Work" Commonwealth, and has been since the Taft-Hartley act in 1947. Anyhow, the main thing that is at play in Virginia is the lack of compulsory organizational dues, which now because of the recent SCOTUS decision, is the case for all public employees. Perhaps it’s time to put our heads together across state lines…
Read MoreMuch of STEM work in public schools is intended to give students a leg up on their college career. Robotics clubs, Computer Science/Coding, AP Chem, Bio, Physics, all of these are great for a college application. And, while efforts to bring young women into the fold of the male-dominated STEM world are admirable, how many girls are encouraged to become electricians, mechanics, or plumbers? There is just as much entrepreneurial opportunity in those fields, and I would argue (cautiously) that there may be more…
Read MoreIf there is progress in a teacher's work as a result of an approach like this, it builds the teacher's capacity, and it creates trust in the work the coach and the teacher are doing together, so that there may be even deeper dives into difficult work in the future as the teacher embarks on their own improvement.
Read MoreIt was just too easy to shunt the PLC appointment aside to clear a slot for a teacher meeting. Teachers are, and should be our primary concern as coaches so it's understandable that we would do this. However, the issue was that we were reading books on issues of importance to our practice without discussing the implications or practices of each book. I decided to step back from things, and think asynchronously.
Read MoreWhat is the purpose for reading a Canonical book as a class? Is it to know the story? Many of the reading guides I've seen tend to focus on plot. Is it to open a discussion on a topic embedded in the story? That is a different kind of reading. Is it to make the students into better readers? Not every student arrives to a book prepared to read it. Those are only a few questions in regard to how people view ELA novel work.
Read MoreElena Aguilar’s book is intended to accompany a year-long process, and the work begins (ideally) in June. So, I'll be releasing this episode June 15th. I look at these podcasts as an opportunity to have a long-form discussion over an idea, a chance to dive deeper. Providing a synopsis, or an overview of a book or concept is helpful when it comes to determining whether you want to buy, or read it, but my preference is to approach these podcasts from the perspective that people have read the book, or are reading the book, and they want to fine-tune their understanding.
Read MoreAnd when it comes to how the Santa Fe High School community is choosing to deal with this on the national/international stage, it most definitely strikes a different tone than what we may normally expect when something like this happens. I would be surprised to see the Parkland survivors and the Santa Fe survivors collaborating on any major advocacy work. Then again, I could be wrong.
Read MoreWhen one considers the place to start with learning, the teacher's clarity around learning targets and how to achieve them is the first step. If a teacher can be clear in expectations to students, then what's left is orchestrating the strategies that will yield the highest growth for students.
Read MoreI'm not sure what to do with truth anymore. Is it more about rightness? If the truth is going to destroy someone or something, is it always important to make it known? Or, are there some truths we must keep quiet out of self interest? If that is the case is this honest practice? Perhaps truth is merely a weapon to wield, as are lies.
Read MoreWhat is it we are looking at when considering the purpose of schooling? Numbers tend to get the lion's share of attention when we're talking graduation rates, money a graduate makes, number of college acceptances, test scores, and so on. This is a system by which people are made valuable to the economy. It seems a cold purpose to me, but when the metrics are quantitative and focused on school survival, how else can a system proceed?
Read MorePerhaps a light topic for this week, but I saw the O Captain my Captain scene in a gif, and decided to consider some things I hadn’t before. So I watched Dead Poets Society again, and found a different experience this time.
Read MoreThis post (guest-written by Bob Garrity) is intended to provide additional information and resources on the topic of restorative practices as discussed in our April 16th podcast. There is also contact information for Bob available on this post.
Read MoreTruth has been a subject for debate for a very, very long time. And what I am wondering is if the currency of truth is rapidly being debased to a point that its value as a concept is dubious. A paradox indeed. Truth is brutal. Truth is liberating. Truth can be malicious. It is a shield, a foundation, and a locus of control. It is a commodity in society upon which notions of justice can proceed.
Read MoreNow, instead of doing the college-life-cram, I take care of the little stuff as it comes, plan appointments as best I can so they are unobtrusive, and try to take care of myself. That way when I do get moments of relaxation, I'm actually able to rejuvenate myself, rather than play 52 Pickup with my life....
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