Remember a Time
Do you remember a time when learning was fun? Do you remember when school was a place for growing, learning and creating? Do you remember when there was a time for singing, coloring, playing and napping in school? Do you remember a time when you wanted to learn simply for learning's sake?
Don't Let School Get in the Way of Your Education believes there is still a place for learning that engages students in the process and helps them become innovative thinkers. We hope you find a wealth of helpful information here, and a bunch of silly, useless frivolity, as well. Occasionally, we will comment with outrage on some new politically motivated educational trend, but mostly, you will find activities designed to spark the imagination and leave students wishing for more.
We welcome your submissions and ideas. Help us create a space where wonder, creativity and problem-solving reign.
Don't Let School Get in the Way of Your Education believes there is still a place for learning that engages students in the process and helps them become innovative thinkers. We hope you find a wealth of helpful information here, and a bunch of silly, useless frivolity, as well. Occasionally, we will comment with outrage on some new politically motivated educational trend, but mostly, you will find activities designed to spark the imagination and leave students wishing for more.
We welcome your submissions and ideas. Help us create a space where wonder, creativity and problem-solving reign.
The Immeasurable
Sometimes I sit in these administrator trainings and I feel almost like I'm playing some
sort of pretend game. Yesterday as I was listening to the presenter, there were a few times I had to look down at my clothes and make sure I wasn't wearing an over-sized sparkly dress with my mom's high heels... All dressed up pretending to be a "big
girl". The presenter was really funny and engaging, so I enjoyed the two-day training on "Balanced Leadership".
I think I have written about balance before. It's that point you pass running from one extreme to the other. That is definitely how we view it in education anyway. But,
beyond the "Balanced" part, I was interested in the leadership aspect of things. Did you know they actually study things like leadership? This group called McRel did a
humongous study and sent out a 92-item questionnaire to thousands of principals in thousands of cities across the United States. Then someone put together an exceedingly boring Power Point with charts and graphs and numbers about everything they learned in the study. Thankfully, the presenter, Dr. David Lee, "balanced" the Power Point with lots of humor and some good ole fashioned common sense.
However, the thing that intrigued me the most about what Dr. David Lee talked about was not the facts and figures, it was the immeasurable. He talked about igniting a spark
in people and moving ideas from the head to the heart. And those ideas, for those who know me, are where I try to live. I look at the data and I find it interesting. Sometimes
I look at the data and find it troubling. And, sometimes I even look at the data and find it downright scary. I think I'm probably like most people. When I look at data that
can be perceived as overwhelmingly negative, I can feel hopeless to change. Then I remind myself, "Hey, you aren't hopeless! You can't be! Get yourself together." And
in that instant, my focus changes and I'm looking at the immeasurable. I'm riveted by the "head to heart" stuff. I'm utterly intrigued by the "blink theory" and the role intuition
plays in leadership.
Whenever I sit in those trainings with other administrators, I know I'm different. I know I am not looking at the situation from the same angle they are. That's even true
with Dave. He approaches a situation very differently with his military background and statistics degree. For the past 10 years, educators have tried to figure out a way to "bring up the numbers". We made crazy declarations like "Every child will be proficient or advanced in reading and math by the year 2014!" Well, actually, I think a politician said the stupid declaration in the first place, but I have heard educational speakers and superintendents talk about it with excitement and passion as if that were ever an achievable goal. I don't believe that 100% of the cashiers I have at Wal-Mart between now and 2012 will be proficient or advanced in their checking skills no matter what sort of training program Wal-Mart implements, so I was sure never going to buy into the fact that 100% of our students would be proficient or advanced by X date. Does that make me negative or just practical? I don't know.
The thing I do know is that numbers and statistics can sometimes be positively impacted when you apply the immeasurable. However, in education, we completely
discount the immeasurable. We try to improve education by applying a measurable solution to a measurable problem to garner a measurable outcome, so that we can create a Power Point with charts and graphs and lots of numbers and sit around in trainings learning about it. Well, other people have put together multiple Power Points to show that this doesn't work, so I won't bother with that. Instead, my idea has always been... Let's apply the immeasurable and then measure to see what happens. But, people in the administrator trainings always look at me with this look that says, "Poor dumb girl, she didn't understand the question."
Dr. Lee posed a question, "If money were no object and you could buy anything you wanted to improve student achievement what would you buy?" So, the people in my
little group started discussing it, and before I could remember that I was wearing my mom's sparkly gown and over-sized shoes I said, "I would hire more art teachers and
implement more art programs at the elementary level." And, then my administrative partners gave me that sad look that tried to tell me that I misunderstood the question.
"How can we improve student achievement?" So, rather than jump on my soap box because I sometimes feel a little insecure all dressed up in the meeting speaking up
in front of every person whose ideas are vastly different than mine, I dropped it. And, we talked about ELL, and reading programs and math interventions and all the same
boring crap that isn't working right now.
Dr. Lee talked about motivating change. How do you do it? You ignite a passion in a person's soul and involve the emotions. You don't take a kid who struggles to read
and stick him on a boring computer program for 30 minutes every day and then give him test after test to prove time after time just how deficit he is. But, Christy, the
data shows that works! Come on. I'm looking at real kids and the ones I see have not gone rocketing up to grade level with this approach. They aren't two grade levels behind in reading, acting out with behavioral issues in class and then viola! "I have been tortured with remedial program after remedial program and now I am up to grade level. In fact, I am planning my next world changing robotics design to present in an upcoming conference." It. is. not. happening. And, I get so outdone with continuing to do something that is seriously broken for our children. The other thing that approach does is dishonors our children, who they are and who God created them to be.
So, people look at me and say, "Well, what is the answer?" Um. Balance? That's what this workshop is about right? I'm not saying do away with remediation. I'm a tried and true special education teacher, after all. What I'm saying is, "Let's invest in programs that spark the imagination. Let's add in components to ignite the brain in a new way. Let's add art, drama, yoga, building projects, creative writing..." Let's invest in things that are sort of immeasurable and measure the results they have on the overall child. Two things may be accomplished: 1. The child will be honored and valued and perhaps find something in which they can excel. Success breeds more success. 2. Test scores will rise because children will be challenged to think, problem solve and perform in new and different ways. Oh, I get it. I don't need a lecture about funding and accountability, blah, blah, blah.
Here's what I know. We are so focused on deficit areas, we haven't built in time for other things. And, I know for sure what you focus on, you get more of. If you view things constantly from a negative lens or only look for what's wrong, that is what you will continue to see.
Thus, my challenge to each of my friends in education. Try something different. Teach the curriculum, but add in a different element of immeasurable. Give it a little something
extra. Let the low functioning kid paint his spelling words. Let the kid that struggles in math sing his multiplication facts. Let the child who cannot write act out his sentence
before he writes it down. Will it work? Well, I must admit, I don't have any data to support it. But, my anecdotal evidence, and the opinion in my heart is that it will.
Children must have opportunities to be successful at something. Heck, everyone must have opportunities to be successful at something. Crushing a spirit day after day does not produce positive results. Building up people, honoring them, expecting excellence in a multitude of areas... Well, somehow I just know it is the right thing to do. Namaste'.
sort of pretend game. Yesterday as I was listening to the presenter, there were a few times I had to look down at my clothes and make sure I wasn't wearing an over-sized sparkly dress with my mom's high heels... All dressed up pretending to be a "big
girl". The presenter was really funny and engaging, so I enjoyed the two-day training on "Balanced Leadership".
I think I have written about balance before. It's that point you pass running from one extreme to the other. That is definitely how we view it in education anyway. But,
beyond the "Balanced" part, I was interested in the leadership aspect of things. Did you know they actually study things like leadership? This group called McRel did a
humongous study and sent out a 92-item questionnaire to thousands of principals in thousands of cities across the United States. Then someone put together an exceedingly boring Power Point with charts and graphs and numbers about everything they learned in the study. Thankfully, the presenter, Dr. David Lee, "balanced" the Power Point with lots of humor and some good ole fashioned common sense.
However, the thing that intrigued me the most about what Dr. David Lee talked about was not the facts and figures, it was the immeasurable. He talked about igniting a spark
in people and moving ideas from the head to the heart. And those ideas, for those who know me, are where I try to live. I look at the data and I find it interesting. Sometimes
I look at the data and find it troubling. And, sometimes I even look at the data and find it downright scary. I think I'm probably like most people. When I look at data that
can be perceived as overwhelmingly negative, I can feel hopeless to change. Then I remind myself, "Hey, you aren't hopeless! You can't be! Get yourself together." And
in that instant, my focus changes and I'm looking at the immeasurable. I'm riveted by the "head to heart" stuff. I'm utterly intrigued by the "blink theory" and the role intuition
plays in leadership.
Whenever I sit in those trainings with other administrators, I know I'm different. I know I am not looking at the situation from the same angle they are. That's even true
with Dave. He approaches a situation very differently with his military background and statistics degree. For the past 10 years, educators have tried to figure out a way to "bring up the numbers". We made crazy declarations like "Every child will be proficient or advanced in reading and math by the year 2014!" Well, actually, I think a politician said the stupid declaration in the first place, but I have heard educational speakers and superintendents talk about it with excitement and passion as if that were ever an achievable goal. I don't believe that 100% of the cashiers I have at Wal-Mart between now and 2012 will be proficient or advanced in their checking skills no matter what sort of training program Wal-Mart implements, so I was sure never going to buy into the fact that 100% of our students would be proficient or advanced by X date. Does that make me negative or just practical? I don't know.
The thing I do know is that numbers and statistics can sometimes be positively impacted when you apply the immeasurable. However, in education, we completely
discount the immeasurable. We try to improve education by applying a measurable solution to a measurable problem to garner a measurable outcome, so that we can create a Power Point with charts and graphs and lots of numbers and sit around in trainings learning about it. Well, other people have put together multiple Power Points to show that this doesn't work, so I won't bother with that. Instead, my idea has always been... Let's apply the immeasurable and then measure to see what happens. But, people in the administrator trainings always look at me with this look that says, "Poor dumb girl, she didn't understand the question."
Dr. Lee posed a question, "If money were no object and you could buy anything you wanted to improve student achievement what would you buy?" So, the people in my
little group started discussing it, and before I could remember that I was wearing my mom's sparkly gown and over-sized shoes I said, "I would hire more art teachers and
implement more art programs at the elementary level." And, then my administrative partners gave me that sad look that tried to tell me that I misunderstood the question.
"How can we improve student achievement?" So, rather than jump on my soap box because I sometimes feel a little insecure all dressed up in the meeting speaking up
in front of every person whose ideas are vastly different than mine, I dropped it. And, we talked about ELL, and reading programs and math interventions and all the same
boring crap that isn't working right now.
Dr. Lee talked about motivating change. How do you do it? You ignite a passion in a person's soul and involve the emotions. You don't take a kid who struggles to read
and stick him on a boring computer program for 30 minutes every day and then give him test after test to prove time after time just how deficit he is. But, Christy, the
data shows that works! Come on. I'm looking at real kids and the ones I see have not gone rocketing up to grade level with this approach. They aren't two grade levels behind in reading, acting out with behavioral issues in class and then viola! "I have been tortured with remedial program after remedial program and now I am up to grade level. In fact, I am planning my next world changing robotics design to present in an upcoming conference." It. is. not. happening. And, I get so outdone with continuing to do something that is seriously broken for our children. The other thing that approach does is dishonors our children, who they are and who God created them to be.
So, people look at me and say, "Well, what is the answer?" Um. Balance? That's what this workshop is about right? I'm not saying do away with remediation. I'm a tried and true special education teacher, after all. What I'm saying is, "Let's invest in programs that spark the imagination. Let's add in components to ignite the brain in a new way. Let's add art, drama, yoga, building projects, creative writing..." Let's invest in things that are sort of immeasurable and measure the results they have on the overall child. Two things may be accomplished: 1. The child will be honored and valued and perhaps find something in which they can excel. Success breeds more success. 2. Test scores will rise because children will be challenged to think, problem solve and perform in new and different ways. Oh, I get it. I don't need a lecture about funding and accountability, blah, blah, blah.
Here's what I know. We are so focused on deficit areas, we haven't built in time for other things. And, I know for sure what you focus on, you get more of. If you view things constantly from a negative lens or only look for what's wrong, that is what you will continue to see.
Thus, my challenge to each of my friends in education. Try something different. Teach the curriculum, but add in a different element of immeasurable. Give it a little something
extra. Let the low functioning kid paint his spelling words. Let the kid that struggles in math sing his multiplication facts. Let the child who cannot write act out his sentence
before he writes it down. Will it work? Well, I must admit, I don't have any data to support it. But, my anecdotal evidence, and the opinion in my heart is that it will.
Children must have opportunities to be successful at something. Heck, everyone must have opportunities to be successful at something. Crushing a spirit day after day does not produce positive results. Building up people, honoring them, expecting excellence in a multitude of areas... Well, somehow I just know it is the right thing to do. Namaste'.
