Losing sight of the shore.....

When I first met my wife I was informed that her family operated a fishing charter service on Lake Erie. Needless to say it was love at first sight! After a couple of years I began helping in the summers working on the boats as a first-mate. My job consisted of prepping the boat, getting to know the customers, ensuring everyone had the proper bait, demonstrate the fishing technique of the day, and make sure the boat was cleaned and ready for the next trip. A few years later I decided to get my Captains License and now serve as relief Captain in the summers. It's a great way to help the family and there is nothing like being out on the open water. During my years as first-mate I was taught how to navigate home by looking at the shoreline. Yes, we had the fancy GPS but it was really much easier just look at the shore and head to Port. As I began running my own trips as Captain I would rely on this method. One particular trip stands out in my mind as I began running trips. I remember heading out and having a seasoned first-mate with me. The fishing was terrible close to shore and the customers were getting a little restless. My first-mate had some insider information on a school of fish about 14 miles out. On Lake Erie, that is a pretty good haul, especially in a boat that doesn't go that fast.

I knew at this point I had a decision to make. My first big go into the unknown or stay put, hoping the fish would start biting. A nervous twitch was in my stomach as I realized that the fish were so far out that I would not be able to see the shoreline. You see, the shore gives you a sense of peace. You can never feel lost when you’re in sight of it. Well, I decided to go for it and ended up having one of my best trips ever. I took a chance and left the comforts of my safety net to find the fish. The customers were happy and I was glad we avoided a mutiny. So, what does this have to do with teaching? To me this represents a challenge! Who doesn't like a good challenge? How could you step out of your comfort zone and take a chance in your classroom? As teachers we need to evaluate our day to day. Are we truly helping students by sticking to the same routines year-in-year out, relying on teaching styles that were used when we were in school?   Should we be helping our students realize that staying in your comfort zone is not always the most rewarding place to be? If you are willing to take a chance, let me offer you three challenges to get you started out of your comfort zone:

1. Become the facilitator of knowledge in your classroom. All too often, teachers are the authority figure with the "my way or the highway" mentality. Be the guide on the side and not the sage on the stage. Present your material in a way that sparks interest with your students and makes them ask questions. Blow something up! Talk about grabbing their attention. Students love to see things explode. Find some creative lesson that gets them on the edge of their seat and tie it into how it impacts their life.
2. Open the door for self-discovery. Quit handing out worksheets and quit delivering textbook power-points. BORING!  After you have found a creative way to present your material (Stormboard, Schoology, Padlet, whatever platform you choose), challenge them to create rather than regurgitate material back to you. We all know Bloom and even he says that creating is the single best way to show understanding. Have them create a blog with daily reflections of what they learned in class. Work in groups and create a commercial to sell a product. Don't hinder their creativity with a large list of what to do; rather be vague and allow them to ask questions. This dialog will be more beneficial than a list of instructions. You will be surprised how creative students can be when they feel encouraged to explore. 
3. Get uncomfortable and develop a PLN with colleagues or on Twitter. This year alone I have truly discovered the power of Twitter (@MrRileyjo). It's not just a social media website. It is a source of constant Professional Development. I always look for ideas from teachers that are experimenting with new technology or ways to implement Project Based Learning. Find or create a group with colleagues that will challenge the way you think and work with you to discover new methods. Quit doing things the way you always have and step out of your comfort zone. Checkout the chart below. It comes from John Maxwell's book Sometimes You Win, Sometimes You Learn.What zone are you in?

If you are doing something different please share. If you accept my challenge comment and let me know how it's going. I am always willing to offer suggestions and learn myself. Get away from the shore-line and see what you find outside your comfort zone.

B1!

Busted Pipes and Grades....

You know that moment when confidence takes over and you feel you can do anything… and then it all comes crashing down on you. It typically happens right in the middle of a project or after a few small victories. You have conditioned yourself to succeed and then someone or something pops your balloon. I've lived that out over the last couple days. My wife and I came up with a "Honey Do" list of items that needed my attention around the house. I successfully completed about 2 days worth of work on the list and was feeling pretty confident about my accomplishments.  I decided to tackle the leaky spigot outside right before dark. You see, it's supposed to get cold again, frigid actually, thank you Arctic Vortex. So, I knew I could get it fixed in minutes allowing us not to worry about freezing pipes.  As soon as I turned the wrench I heard a pop and was instantly sprayed with water on the back of my head. The line running to the spigot snapped inside an elbow in our basement. I spent the next 3.5 hours in a whirlwind trying to fix the busted pipe including three trips to the hardware store and at least 20 confused looks from the employees as I explained the problem. Back home, water was steadily leaking out so I had to enlist my 6 yr. old son to bucket patrol because I couldn't find the main shut-off valve to the house. I even became desperate and gave an emergency call to the local plumber (who has still not returned my call). Luckily my neighbor came over and found the main shut-off (literally right in front of me the whole time) and offered and easy solution that only cost me and extra trip to the hardware store and .71 cents in cpvc. The day was saved but my handyman ego took a hit—however, I learned something new and gained a better understanding about house plumbing.

I tell you this story because I failed. I got an "F" in plumbing repairs but I accepted my failure as a learning moment. Next time.....hire a plumber :) You see, to me, this is how grading should be and how learning works best. Grading is a touchy subject for some and you may completely disagree with my philosophy, but hear me out and take some time to share your ideas in the comments.

I was the teacher that graded everything and it all counted. Not one point went unnoticed and if you didn't turn something in, you got a zero. If you turned it in late, I deducted points because you were terrible at your job.....being a student. If you didn't put your name on the paper, I took points off! Let's face it, you knew the deadline and I couldn’t bend, because as the teacher, I have policies on a syllabus that dictate my very being! Now, fast forward to the new, more informed me. I have had numerous conversations over the last couple of weeks that have really challenged my traditional grading procedures and have pushed me to consider how I pursue grades in the future. Maybe you think there is nothing wrong with our grading system but I would challenge you to consider the following points:

1.     We are setting kids up for failure and in today's society failure is not accepted. Well, unless you believe as I do—that failure is perfectly OK. We tell students that on a scale of 0-100%, 0-59% is failing while the only way to pass is to score in the top 41%. I don't know about you but the fact that the "F" grade carries a majority of the load seems unfair. Why don't we take the 5 grades and divide them evenly across the scale? Each grade would then carry 20% of the load. Is that fair? Why don't we scrap grading all together? That in itself is whole other conversation I will save for later.

2.     Punishing kids for late work or effort should not affect their grade on an assignment or overall course grade. Nor should attendance be taken into account when grading. We can't control what is occurring outside of school and we shouldn't allow those factors to flow into our grading policies. Assessment and attendance/effort are separate entities. As teachers shouldn't we be more concerned about why the work is late and why kids are missing class? Think of this scenario: a high school student is living out of his car and making it to class daily. He can only access a computer while at school and has trouble completing assignments by the deadlines. But when he completes the assignments he demonstrates a high level of understanding of the material. As a teacher, should we impact his grades by enforcing our syllabus policy? If you get a moment checkout the book A Repair Kit for Grading by Ken O'Connor. He argues that in reality people constantly negotiate deadlines. If you have built or bought a home you know how true this is. Ken shares 15 fixes for broken grades and truly challenges you to restructure the process. 

3.     Current mindset says that at the High School level we are preparing students for College and at the College level we are preparing them for the real world. So, in the real world we all get graded on a Letter Grade Scale, right? I teach both High School and College courses and as a teaching professional I never get a letter grade during my evaluations. As a matter of fact I get graded through an evaluation system that is based off a series of benchmarks. My administrator works with and mentors me along the way so that I am reflecting and improving on my skills as the year progresses. Even in the workforce most are evaluated over a year long period and may have quarterly reviews that reflect on their performance overall. Sir Ken Robinson has a great RSA video on changing the way we view our education system:

So, how do we fix this? Like the busted pipe, you have to try first! You will mess up....you will get frustrated! But you must take the first step. Start in your individual classroom and challenge the system we have all been a part of. Change is hard but living in the uncomfortable can be rewarding as you reach breakthroughs. Get buy-in from your students, parents, colleagues, and administrators. Share with others your success but more importantly what you've learned when things fell apart. Look into a standards based grading system that allows you to measure student knowledge on the subject rather than whether or not they can complete assignments. Click this link for a great read on SBG. I have merely touched the surface in my new way thinking on grades and it is my hope to incorporate this into the remainder of the year. Who knows, next year I may not grade at all and just focus on teaching my students the art of failure, reflection and modification!

B1,

John