PD
Ahead in the Cloud
It’s not about a product … it’s about an approach. The ideal professional development, even for specific training on a particular piece of hardware or software, expands the conversation to consider the culture of the school itself. In professional development that goes beyond the tradtional expectations, teachers do more than implement a new tool; they grow their interactions with their students, their peers and the world itself. Creating this situation like this can be challenging; the offering must provide...
Paragraph Six - Pelicans
I’m asking myself two questions in this last blog of the school year. How many students are celebrating the ideas that have inspired them throughout the year, along with the skills they’ve developed? Conversely, how many are feeling the sting or the exhilaration (or, worse, the indifference) of their standardized test scores?
I suspect the latter number is far higher. John Dewey, who I mentioned in an earlier post for his concern about...
Paragraph Six - On Buying Hyenas and the Limits of Perfection
I meant to break away from the topic of freewriting this week, but I came across a new one that I can’t ignore.
I was facilitating a Curriculum Design Team workshop for the New York City Department of Education District 25 and 28 Magnet School Program. We always open our workshops with a freewrite. After the two minute silent writing session, teachers were sharing their ...
Paragraph Six - Let Us Now Continue to Praise Freewriting
Last week I was politely interrupted by my word monitor Gina while giving evidence for the benefits of freewriting. I promised to move beyond the dry research to hear the more liquid anecdotes this week. And so I will deliver.
First a spanking fresh one, from a workshop last week. I had planned a session to introduce the International Baccalaureate’s Primary Years Programme to the staff of PS 201 in Queens. My task was to promote questioning, inquiry, connections – all hallmarks of the...
Elmore in the Bronx
“The best indicator of how strong a new teacher will be in 5 years is determined by what the other teachers in the building” said Dr. Elmore, when stressing how important professionalism, consistency and collaboration are to school culture and quality teachers. On May 20th, over 60 principals and assistant principals gathered at Manhattan College to see Richard Elmore speak on school improvement and his...
Paragraph Six - Seeing and Believing
In a fit of pique a couple of blog posts ago I wrote my suggestion that DaVinci’s exhortation to “Develop your senses, especially learn how to see” be extended to read, “learn how to see the students.” Wouldn’t you know that the words had hardly been written before someone picked up that thread and wove it into a...
Paragraph Six - The Golden Thread to the Teenage Brain
Here is the story of the wolf boy, who I will call TS for the purposes of this blog, continued from last week:
Having resolved that he wanted to go to college, earn money, buy a house on Long Island and work with wolves, he needed an action plan. His goals were shimmering in the far distance like a desert mirage. He needed to work on something short term, something smarter. (We all know about “SMART” goals, don’t we? Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Timely.) So I conjured up from the magic lantern of my computer a...
Through the Classroom Door: An Inside Look at Differentiation
Outstanding, Creative, Beneficial, Informative, Motivating, Recommendable, Inspirational, Awesome, Wonderful, Insightful, Useful, Excellent, Helpful, and Educational were just a few words to describe last week’s AUSSIE workshop Through the Classroom Door: An Inside Look at Differentiation.
