Prompt+5

Home Prompt 5 Question to Cogitate.... Connie Beson-Steger Bay City Central High School Dr. White highlighted in his presentation that we have a teaching problem, not teacher problem. He stated that, "In Effective Schools, teaching practice is not regarded as a matter of individul teachers' taste and preference but a matter for serious inquiry and discussion and common expectations. He also spoke of the need for teacher to intentionally and deliberately discuss teaching practices and methodology in order for all students to experience academic success. He believes that teachers should be "noisy, nosy, and travel in packs." I agreed wholeheartedly with Dr. White and enjoy visiting colleagues when time allows. However, he also claims that for effective schools, everyone is in everyone's business." My question is this...How do I help foster a collaborative culturesand discuss effective instruction with my colleagues who don't share and/or support this viewpoint and are happy to keep their door shut both literally and figuratively?

My response: Sunlight is the best disinfectant- quote from the Academy-cannot remember the source though sorry! Visiting master teachers, watching great teachers at work, role modeling excellent teaching pedagogies, and keeping my door wide open is one way to ensure that others will feel welcome to stop in. Talking about what works/doesn't work often is another non-threatening strategy that open the door to more collaborative efforts and including this (building a collaborative culture) in our school improvement team agenda is another. I am very curious to hear other suggestions from my colleagues in the class! Thanks so much! Conni I think you’re on the right track. Visit master teachers, talk with colleagues, and keep your door open. What about hosting lunch talks with colleagues? I once worked with a teacher who started lunch talks once a month. They were strictly voluntary and included a collaborative meal. We chose topics of discussion each month and created a shared meal such as salad, tacos, etc… The relationships created during these monthly lunch talks opened doors literally and figuratively. By building relationships over a shared meal, we became comfortable with each other. This broke down barriers and created opportunities for us to share. Teaching really is a team sport. I agree with Dr. White.
 * __Response to Connie from Penny Church (pennykchurch@charter.net)__**

Another suggestion is to put yourself out there and share. This year, the first grade team I work on decided to add each other to our weekly parent newsletter email list. This allowed us to know what was happening in each other’s classrooms. We also gave each other permission to use content from each other’s newsletters in our own parent communication. It soon got around the parent population that first grade was truly a TEAM. By sharing, we helped each other be the best teachers that we could be.

__//THANKS PENNY! You have offered some excellent advice that is both feasible and practical! I like the lunch talks idea immensely! There is something unique about breaking bread together! Sharing meals is great way to initiate conversation! Thanks!//__ __//Connie//__

//**Response to Connie from Margaret Doan**// Connie- I agree with you too about visiting other teachers. I don't even think they need to be "master" teachers. Every teacher has their own way of interacting with students and coming up with ideas that you wouldn't have thought about. When I first started teaching, for some reason, all of my prep time was on Monday afternoon. I had a big enough chunk that I could actually use that time and go observe another teacher across town! I learned so much from her by just watching twice a month! Of course, she was very comfortable in her own teaching and invited me in without hesitation. However, to give you an answer, I almost think that is something that could be looked at school wide (elementary at least). I am seriously considering asking my principal to schedule some of my prep time in large enough chunks that I can observe other teachers. Not only would I like to see other second grade teachers in action, but I want to see what they do in first grade and third grade. That way I can know what my kids are going to be like coming up and whether or not I am preparing them for third grade expectations. I suggest that you take the idea of "chunks of prep time" and observations to your first staff meeting of the year! I really enjoyed your “sunlight is the best disinfectant” solution. It reminded me of Sir Kenneth Robinson sharing that creativity is putting one’s imagination to work, and imagination is the most amazing gift of being human because it is the seed of empathy. My colleagues respond favorably to empathy when I attach it to my offer of collaboration. Another possible solution is to heed the suggestion of Dr. White by focusing on ‘how’ to teach during collaboration rather than spending too much time discussing ‘what’ to teach and ‘when’. He even suggested that we might consider collaborating with our colleagues via social media (i.e. Facebook). I have become a proponent of data teams as a result of Dr. White’s demonstration of them. They offer a formal structure to address the challenge that you identified: “to help foster a collaborative culture and to discuss effective instruction with our colleagues who may not share and/or support this viewpoint and are happy to keep their door shut both literally and figuratively”.
 * Response to Connie from Michelle Scott ( **meshell27@chartermi.net **) **
 * I wouldn’t describe my colleagues at the elementary school at which I teach third grade as being “noisy, nosy, and traveling in packs”, but we do have an “open” culture. Building leadership plays a key role in our commitment to collaboration as our principal provides each teacher with a formal half-day to visit other classrooms in my building for “internal benchmarking”. Some in our building resist collaboration. Dr. White acknowledged that this is often a challenge when he shared that “o **ne can find smart people but it’s harder to find people who can work with other people”.

Response to Margaret Doan from Kelly McArdle Great idea! I really agree with you, and think that your idea of checking out the first and third grade classrooms will be very valuable. I, too, have been fortunate enough to be able to observe other teachers and found it to be invaluable.

Response to Kelly McArdle from Connie Beson-Steger (Bay City Central High School) Kelly- What a great theme that you highlighted from Sir Ken! I have always believed that building relationships with my students is the key to successful teaching and academic success as well! We hear a great deal about rigor, relevance, and relationships but I opine that relationships are the primary core on which to build relevance and incorporate rigor. Students today are more happy to sit in a classroom and address a fellow student as "that kid over there in the hoodie" without ever asking a name or introducing themselves to their class. In my classroom, our first quiz is on names and random facts/information that our classmates have shared with us. Many of my students don't understand the importance of getting to know you activities until half way through the class but when we partner up, group share, or mix it up, they acually use each other's names and this really creates a safe and positive classroom environments. As well, part of Great Expectations requires that students stand, address the teacher and one another by name, and speak in complete sentences. In the real world, we address and learn colleagues names and shake hands when we greet people. I model this daily in my classroom (including teaching proper handshake form!)and allow all students the opportunity to practice these life skills daily. Thanks for sharing Kelly! __ Discussion Prompt #5 __ I do agree with Robinson, and since attending the GLBLSA, I have found myself revisiting this idea quite often. In order to personalize education, I believe that forming relationships with our students is at the core of this issue. This will be my fourth year in the same assignment—teaching Western Hemisphere and Language Arts to 6th graders. In the past, I have always started out the year with several getting-to-know you activities, but I will admit to doing so on more of a surface level, and doing them very quickly as I was in a rush to get to the curriculum. In the past week, I have contacted my teaching partners and we have set up a time to meet to address the need for us to rewrite these activities to allow us the opportunity to get to know our students better, and to work out a new pacing guide which will allow us more time to devote to these activities. I think we need to step back and concentrate on the individuals first and the curriculum second.
 * // Question: //**// Sir Ken Robinson said that education today is not personal, and that we, as educators, cannot afford not to personalize it. Do you agree, and if so, what steps are you going to take in your classroom to begin this process? //

Prompt 5:

Come up with 1 question of your choice to ask your peers. This is a critical thinking question, not a yes/no question. Answer your own question, and then invite your peers to also respond. Answer in a min. of 1 paragraph. If another student asks a question before July 8th, then please respond to their question in a min. of 1 paragraph. If another student doesn't respond, then please build on your answer and write a second paragraph. This is to encourage online dialogue!





Matt Starling Prompt 6 Come up with 1 question of your choice to ask your peers. This is a critical thinking question, not a yes/no question. Answer your own question, and then invite your peers to also respond. Answer in a min. of 1 paragraph. If another student asks a question before July 8th, then please respond to their question in a min. of 1 paragraph. If another student doesn't respond, then please build on your answer and write a second paragraph. This is to encourage online dialogue!

Question: Dr. Michael White blames part of the problem of failing students on the fact teachers too often justify a student’s failure and try to eliminate it? Do you agree with this statement? Is this true is your classroom? How can you change this?

Dr. Michael White’s discussion of this topic provokes great self-reflection. I have never openly said or thought that this kids going to fail and its okay because… I believe it is much more subtle than that. Too often kids fail and although we work to give the students in the end we usually can justify it by citing environmental problems the kid faces. I know I have done this in my classroom. In the coming school year when dealing with failing students I am going attempt to come up with more alternative assignments. This will help eliminate failure and goes along with Sir Ken’s “individualized” education philosophy. Now saying I will do this in July is easier than implementation in September but that is a stated goal for the year.

Matt- I must admit that in the past I have found myself saying things like "Well, that student will probably never read up to reading level because their parents never read to them." or "Well, they don't know math facts because....." It is always something at home that I had blamed. However, in the elementary schools, we have recently bought/adopted a program called Instructional Consultation Team (ICT). This is a program that forces teachers to have a different mindset. It basically says "You can't control what happens at home, so get over it and quit using it as an excuse." Since I have started thinking about that, it has really changed the way I think about kids who need more help so that they don't fail. I do think that teachers are guilty of blaming things that they can't control. I am not sure how to change that besides coaching the teachers to change with mindset like I did. Obviously things are a little different in elementary than in high school in terms of failing......
 * Response to Matt Starling from Margaret Doan:**

Response to Matt Starling from Jennifer Brown, Bullock Creek Counselor
jennifer.brown@bcreek.k12.mi.us I too admit that I have often blamed the lack of parenting or family support for student's issues. I have also blamed the system for continually passing on a student that fails. This is such a difficult topic because it is our nature to want to find the cause of problem. I like your approach to look for alternative assignments for students that struggle. I hope you (and the students) find success. Penny Church pennkchurch@charter.net

Prompt 6: Come up with 1 question of your choice to ask your peers. This is a critical thinking question, not a yes/no question. Answer your own question, and then invite your peers to also respond. Answer in a min. of 1 paragraph. If another student asks a question before July 8th, then please respond to their question in a min. of 1 paragraph. If another student doesn't respond, then please build on your answer and write a second paragraph. This is to encourage online dialogue!

Rome wasn’t built in a day. Changing our current educational system cannot happen overnight. **What is the first step you’ll take toward making a change by implementing technology in our current system?**

Budget cuts are a reality in teaching today. I would love to have a class set of iPads ([|iPads in the Classroom: A Success Story]). This, however, is just not a reality. I attended the 2012 Empowering Innovation MACUL Conference earlier this year ([|MACUL Home]). Two sessions had a great impact on me. One session highlighted two 1-to-1 iPad classrooms in Ludington, MI ([|Look I'm Learning Home]). I’ve already spoken to my principal who will allow me a collaborative planning day next year to observe the iPad classrooms in Ludington. Although I don’t foresee my district purchasing iPads, I can certainly use what I observe on a smaller scale in my classroom. As our building’s Building Technology Instructional Leader (BTIL), I was able to purchase one iPad for my classroom. That’s a start. The second session that left me inspired was Kevin Honeycutt ([|Kevin Honeycutt]). Kevin is charismatic, inspirational, and innovative. Attending one of Kevin’s sessions will inspire you to do more with less. He suggested the need for educators and parents to embrace technology as kids have. He says, “Our kids will spend the rest of their lives in the future. Are we getting them ready?” Kevin even offered suggestions for implementing technology in our classrooms without actually employing technology. This fall I plan to implement Twitter in my first grade classroom. Shocking, isn’t it? What level-headed educator would allow first graders to use Twitter? The plan is to use a wall in my classroom, laminated sentence strips, and Velcro to create a classroom Twitter dialog [|Our Twitter door | Flickr - Photo Sharing!]. Students will be able to practice internet etiquette while communicating with classmates. I know it’s a long way from placing an iPad in every child’s hands or allowing students to use social media as a way of communicating in school, but it’s a step.

Response to Penny Church from Kelly McArdle Penny...If you can think of a way my 6th graders could help...let me know. We would be happy to take a field trip!

Connie Beson-Steger Reply to Penny Church besonc@bcschools.net WOW! Penny you have insprired me as well! I read your post and am trying to integrate more technology into my classroom as well. I am going to try flipped instruction, text message reminders, QAR code scavenger hunts, prezi sessions, and am already using Moodle as a blackboard space for online collaboration. However, seeing as you teach first grade, I am realizing how important it is to teach my own first graders about other forms of technology than simply gaming and texting. Good Luck this year in your twitter endeavor- it sounds like great fun! Penny- can I ask where you teach? Thanks! Connie

**Reply to Penny from Dave Schwartz (schwartzd@e-hps.net)** Penny, I like! It's amazing how in today's society we are always trying to out think the room or develop buzzwords or even remove ourselves from what has been successful. I believe we always need to look for new creative ways to educate. However, we need to be careful of not always trying to re-invent the wheel. I also like the idea of teamwork in your paragraph.

__** Jill Bartholomew **__ __** Prompt #6 (Come up with a question to ask your peers) **__ //***I'm not sure this is in the right place. At the top of this page, this is the correct prompt. But when I pull up "Credit 3" on the sidebar, it is listed as prompt #6, not #5.**//*

//Kay Serra said, “We are not strong enough to raise poor, ethnic minority or disabled students to a higher level due to forces outside the school tugging them downward. And then these teachers start settling for good enough work. Such teachers make a mistake of the heart, thus lowering standards.” Do you agree with this statement? Does this happen in your classroom?//

I do agree with this statement, only to some degree, in the sense that I’m sure it does happen, but not by all teachers. And when it does happen, I do not believe that it is done in an attempt to harm, but rather with the best of intentions and coming from a good place. I feel that we, as teachers and by nature, are encouraging individuals who see the best in all and want to foster the potential of all. So, we want our students to experience success, in the hopes that when they do, that will reinforce their drive to work hard and hopefully ignite that fire inside of them. But we must do so in a way that standards/expectations are not compromised.

To answer the second question, no, it does not happen in my own classroom. However, for some teachers, what can happen is there may be an adjustment made to a grade in the case that there are accommodations (for students with special needs) in place to do so. This is not typical in my own classroom. The standards by which students are measured, the GLCEs (Grade Level Content Expectations) are the same for all students, those with and without disabilities. That said, I do not pad their grade because they have a disability, nor lower the bar in any way. As I often tell my students, “I don’t give you grades, you earn them.” They need to be ready for the real world and there are not a set of lesser expectations out there, so why should we prepare them in such a setting that would be extinct once they graduate. There is no special education Walmart…so why prepare them as if there were?

__** Jill Bartholomew **__ __** Building upon my own answer... **__

I feel that we need not lower standards to make our students successful…rather build relationships with them to support their success. I believe that we do need to personalize education and make deeper connections with our students. This quote says it best…”Kids don’t care what you think unless they think that you care.” In my own classroom, I make a conscious effort to learn about my students, their homelives, their living situations, and their families. Once they realize that I do care about them, they work much harder for me. They recognize that I care enough about them to ask about their lives and make adjustments accordingly to support them where they are at. Without that connection, they just feel like another students, merely a number. However, with that connection…the possibilities are endless. It is my own personal belief that if we are to foster success in our students that it needs to start with a strong foundation on a personal level.


 * By: Dave Schwartz**
 * E-mail: Schwartzd@e-hps.net**
 * Prompt #5**

If you were to contribute to a session on leadership for 2013, how would your abstract read?

The title of my abstract would read, “A Base Philosophy of the Everyday Elements of Education.” This particular title represents that educators and parents working together hold the responsibility of the overall development of young people. Together we need to teach young people how to be responsible, how to be leaders, how to be polite and most importantly, in my opinion, how to deal with adversity. Adversity builds strength. Adversity also has its own rewards. We need to teach with the highest moral principles in mind. Understand that the best lesions for young people are the examples set by the adults around them. We live in a day and age of selfishness and what is in it for me. This needs to change. We need to think in terms of the team concept. Be the best you can on a daily basis whether times are tough or things couldn’t be better. Work to be the same productive person each and every day while living by the concepts of blaming no one, expecting nothing, but doing something.

//**Come up with 1 question of your choice to ask your peers. This is a critical thinking question, not a yes/no question. Answer your own question, and then invite your peers to also respond. Answer in a min. of 1 paragraph.**//
 * By: Brian Campbell**
 * Email:** asccampbell@bacschools.org
 * Prompt #5:**

Question: It was repeatedly clear throughout the GLBSLA that well-trained teachers are the answers and solutions to the challenges we face as educational leaders. So, how do you answer the following questions regarding interviewing and hiring teachers for your building? What are your priorities? Do they every change or reshuffle? Why or why not?

My Answer: I have several priorities, some of them are unique to my being the principal at a Catholic school, and one that is both small and unique (6-12), however, I suspect most of my priorities are no different from those of any principal or hiring committee. If I was to describe it in a sentence it would be something like this: “I’m looking for a professional educator who has a passion for connecting with and teaching adolescents, a strong faith, a willingness to take on extra responsibilities, and a demonstrated history of being unstoppably effective. My hire must possess strong content knowledge, but an even stronger knowledge of pedagogy. Solid core and character values must be the center of his or her educational philosophy.” If I was to rank them it may look something like this. These priorities change constantly. It depends on several factors: the subject area, the grade level, the current make-up of the staff, climate/culture of the school, and the needs of the students. For me, the first three priorities do not move around. Those are constant.
 * //1. Character: (Integrity, Faith and Values)//
 * //2. Collegial Personality/Collaborator//
 * //3. Passion and Self-efficacy//
 * //4. Creative and Relevant Lessons//
 * //5. Academic Rigor//
 * //6. Expert Communicator//
 * //7. Self-starter/Problem Solver//
 * //8. Classroom Management//
 * //9. Willing to take on “extra responsibilities”//
 * //10. Energy//
 * //11. Experience//