The last of my three articles for the NY Times Lesson Plans blog was posted yesterday. The deal was to write 3 or 4 pieces during September, and I managed to put three together, saying about as much as I have to say, for now at least, in that forum.
The second piece I wrote was about the value of community to the school environment. Nothing says Alaska like the people here, as most of the country may eventually figure out. Sooner, I hope, than later. I described a lesson opportunity that presented itself when our Alaska Native Ed program tutor brought a moose heart to school to show the kids.
Most of the comments were very positive, although there was some push-back on my assertion that community values are overlooked in our current accountability structures, and that community is an important dimension of any school. Someone said I was suggesting that “the demand for accountability is damaging to children,” which isn’t what I said. Alexander Russo said, “This NYT teacher blogger thinks accountability is overly “individualistic,” which also isn’t what I said. But he gets close enough to win a nod from me.
People want to make it seem like teachers oppose ALL accountability when we object to the current half-assed, test-based accountability system. My little story was about something that didn’t come out of any curriculum guide, or even a lesson plan, and was the product of what we call a “teachable moment.” If I had to plan on having a moose heart handy, I’d never teach that lesson. But that doesn’t mean I don’t know what to do with one when a moose heart suddenly appears. Every school community has it’s own potential to show the kids things that are unique to its area, that are worthwhile, and maybe even necessary for them to know. But this stuff isn’t standardized. Accountability structures, to be fair, need to be broadened to distribute responsibility and to reflect the values of local communities.
My third article was about how I use our class website to help the kids take a closer look at their experiences, and celebrate ordinary things as they learn to write for a live audience. The second commenter took issue with me for overlooking a grammatical error in a kid’s writing, and she called their work “boring and trivial.” This comment got the treatment it deserved from other commenters, which left me free to sit back and watch. The discussion devolved to more or less a rehash of the classic meaning vs. behavior question about what should be emphasized in school. This is a major problem, maybe THE major problem we have putting new technology to contructive work in public schools, after we get it there. The most striking thing to me was that my humble little classroom writing project was made to sound revolutionary in the face of the teacher-as-nitpicker model of writing instruction.
A lot of positive comments were left for the kids on their site. Some of them mentioned the Times article, so I put it up on the screen in the front of the classroom, and showed the kids what people out there in the world were saying about them – good and bad. I think they were amazed at how a bunch of adults who don’t even know them could waste so much energy arguing about what we’re doing in our classroom.
The best comment on the Lesson Plans blog, though, was posted just this evening. It’s from a person who grew up here, attended school here, and now works at Duke University Hospital. He wrote:
This article inspired both a longing to be collecting blueberries at the top of Murphy Dome, and the wish that a teacher had been able to use technology in this fashion when I was in elementary or middle school. I don’t know what I would have written about, but once the flow began I am sure the unlimited tablet at my fingertips would have been heavily used.
This emphasizes how connected we can be, if we make an effort. The kids wrote more this afternoon than they’ve written in any single hour so far this year.
3 Comments
“the teacher-as-nitpicker model of writing instruction” – I’m going to have to steal that line.
Loved the surprise ending. This week must have felt good
“Every school community has it’s own potential to show the kids things that are unique to its area, that are worthwhile, and maybe even necessary for them to know. But this stuff isn’t standardized.”
Thinking this may be one of the more profound reminders I’ve had all week. How often do we overlook what is vital in the name of standards? I’m thinking that isn’t what we intended to accomplish with standards, but it is indeed what often happens. Great points.
Hi Doug: I just want to start by commending you for the work you do with our young people. Blogging is a wonderful way to help children develop authentic self-expression, especially in the Information Age. I see you as a pioneer with transitioning our education system from the archaic Industrial Age practices, to new technologically enhanced best practices. It’s been a while since I last commented on your blog, so it is good to be back in your positive space. I must say that your energy is clear, and you are indeed a special gift to American children.
Education reform must start with literacy, particularly writing. Without commendable writing skills, children are doomed to a life of poverty. Writing is essential for obtaining a good paying job, and for promotions. Employers are complaining about the poor writing skills of recent college graduates, which I believe the Information Age is to blame. The Information Age has its pros and cons, but I feel at this moment text messaging, commenting on Myspace and other social networking, as well as e-mailing are lowering the standards for written communications.
Even informal writing should be gramatically correct. Kids do not see the connection between classroom writing and these informal methods. Every year, more and more words are left out of the dictionaries and thesaurus, and they have become foreign to students. Children are lacking passion because they do not realize the power that lies between their ears. If they knew they had a brilliant mind, and didn’t fear the nit-picking teacher holding the red pen, then children would be able to move to the next level of success.
I understand that science and mathematics is important in the Information Age; however, writing is twice as important. What bothers me is the lack of writing skills in teachers, even English teachers. Why do school systems push writing out of the curriculum rather than making it the center of instruction? When children write about a topic, it requires higher-order thinking skills and research skills as well. Students need to learn how to synthesize information– one of the recommendations of Thomas L. Friedman in his bestselling book, The World is Flat. I believe that American’s role in this shift during this Digitial Age is the ability to write and speak commendably. Over the years I have provided PD for my writing program, Choices i Control, and have noticed a disturbing trend. When I started out training teachers on how to incorporate my writing method in the classroom, I assumed that most teachers knew how to write. I begin requesting writing samples from teachers, and requiring them to use my templates to construct their own 5-paragraph essays. When asking volunteers to think of a creative way to write one sentence, just one sentence, there was dead silence. Teachers were embarrassed to share their writing with the rest of the group. I saw the colossal errors present in 85% of their writing, and knew that it would be a challenge implementing my program if I didn’t start providing teachers with a refresher course in writing.
I am trying to gain support for a new initiative called Teachernology. Here is a description of what I plan to do: Teachernology™ is a live remote professional development program for educators, which provides intensive training on incorporating technology use in the classroom and writing across the curriculum. Teacher + Knowledge + Technology equals a powerful combination for closing the Achievement Gap and bridging the Digital Divide. Writing is in a state of emergency in American school systems, and is a major contributing factor to unemployment and poor business writing skills among Americans in all industries and fields. The Information Age is here, yet American schools continuously employ outdated 40+ year-old teaching tactics and socially irrelevant curriculums from the Industrial Age. American children are falling behind, lacking the basic writing skills necessary for authentic self-expression and higher-order thinking. Teachernology™ uses the highly successful i Control Writing Method™ to enhance the writing skills of teachers and students, and provides practice and sharing with interactive webzines. Teachernology™ for Educators is an interactive webzine for teachers and district administrators written by Teachernology™ participants of the remote professional development program. Teachers expand their own writing skills by publishing articles, which focus on best practices for technology use in the classroom and high impact writing instruction across the curriculum.
Teachernology™ for Kids is a webzine for elementary aged children written and designed by the students of Teachernology™ participants. Children write high-interest articles while sharing ideas and diverse viewpoints, expressing their voices creatively. Teachernology™ for Teens is a webzine and social networking site for teenagers written and managed by middle school and high school students of Teachernology™ participants. Teenagers practice their writing and verbal communications skills through written, audio, and video blogging, discussion boards, live chat rooms, instant messaging and weekly writing competitions. Teens learn formal and informal writing techniques necessary for digital communication.
The Teachernology™ Awards Program provides students and teacher participants with rewards and incentives of both intrinsic and extrinsic value. Both teacher participants and students build online portfolios of their writings, showcasing their successes to the world, and serving as inspiration for writers and their audiences. Doug, I would love your feedback, since this is your expertise. I am also looking at both Obama and McCain’s plans for education, and I see nada about increasing or improving writing instruction. I published a video blog about it here: My Video Blog Look forward to getting your feedback. Peace Rachel Kenyata Armour AKA Kenyata Truth
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