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I recently returned from Hunterdon Central’s Holocaust Overseas Study Tour. Our group of twenty students and four educators traveled to Czech Republic and Poland to visit Terezin, Lidice, the Warsaw Ghetto, Treblinka, Majdanek, and Auschwitz-Birkenau. It was a transformative experience for me as an educator, parent, and citizen.
I thought I would be prepared, at least intellectually, for what I would see on our trip. I grew up in a city with large Jewish and Polish populations. From my earliest years I heard the stories of neighbors and close family friends who had survived Nazi camps. Beginning in the first grade I was exposed to annual Holocaust education programs. As a social studies teacher I taught about the Holocaust for over a decade. Each camp is a visceral confrontation with the worst depravity known to humanity. All I can say is that you don’t really know the enormity of the Holocaust until you go and visit the sites.
I hope more educators launch programs like Central’s Holocaust Overseas Study Tour. Holocaust education is citizenship education. The benefits are not just historical knowledge of the Holocaust. It is an opportunity to reflect upon what it means to have rights as a citizen and a reminder that we must be eternally vigilant to protect human rights.
The inscription on the mausoleum at Majdanek in Lublin, Poland reads “let our fate be a warning to you.” The twenty students on the trip who come from a variety of religious and cultural backgrounds were in a word – inspiring. Their desire to study the Holocaust and return to present to their peers and the community about their experience is at the heart of everything we aspire to instill in students. Tonight, our students will share their experiences from our trip and bear witness at the Flemington Jewish Community Center.
Arne Duncan recently gave a speech at the American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting. In the speech he emphasized the importance of non-cognitive, or social and emotional skills stating, “We know . . . that the development of skills like grit, resilience, and self-regulation early in life are essential to success later in life.” He later continued,
Ultimately, a great education involves much more than teaching children simply to read, write, add, and subtract. It includes teaching them to think and write clearly, and to solve problems and work in teams. It includes teaching children to set goals, to persist in tasks, and to help them navigate the world.
Duncan’s words were not all that surprising considering his own U.S. Department of Education had just released a publication titled “Promoting Grit, Tenacity, and Perseverance—Critical Factors for Success in the 21st Century” a month earlier. Surprising or not, it is always good to hear that there is a push (with some real muscle behind it) for teaching these skills.
Duncan didn’t stop with simply promoting non-cognitive skill development, however. Instead, he went on to suggest,
. . . testing experts need to further expand the range of assessments in the years ahead by developing better, reliable, and valid assessments of children’s non-cognitive skills. This is the next frontier in assessment research—and it is hugely important to me.
I would love to see assessment experts work with schools and districts to develop more reliable, meaningful, and easy-to-administer assessments that help us understand whether we are teaching the non-cognitive skills that predict students’ success in college, careers, and life.
The whole idea of assessing non-cognitive skills is an interesting proposition in and of itself because it would require all teachers to actively teach these specific skills. It becomes even more interesting, however, when we realize that something must be done as a result of it. The reality is that just as with academic skills, an achievement gap will exist for non-cognitive skills. In fact, it’s already there. In Washington State the Washington Kindergarten Inventory of Developing Skills (WaKIDS) revealed that only 74% of students demonstrated the characteristics of entering kindergartners in the area of social and emotional development. Kindergarten readiness in the area of cognitive development (which includes problem solving) was only 71%. Furthermore, similar to academic skills, these so-called soft skills become more sophisticated as one gets older. For example, whereas the ability to work cooperatively might mean simply joining in a game of tag for a kindergartener, it could mean building consensus for a project idea for a middle schooler. Therefore, the gap that exists in kindergarten will only widen unless intensive interventions are done.
This begs the question: If a student has low academic skills and low non-cognitive skills, will one be given priority in terms of time and resources?
ASCD Leader to Leader (L2L) News is a monthly e-mail newsletter for ASCD constituent group leaders that builds capacity to better serve members, provides opportunities to promote and advocate for ASCD’s Whole Child Initiative, and engages groups through sharing and learning about best practices. To submit a news item for the L2L newsletter, send an e-mail to firstname.lastname@example.org.
Your To-Do List: Action Items for ASCD Leaders
Newest Policy Points Revisits A Nation at Risk
ASCD’s newest Policy Points (PDF) takes a closer look at A Nation at Risk, the 1983 report on the state of U.S. education that launched a spirited and ongoing debate about the quality of our public schools. This issue of Policy Points examines the specific recommendations of the report, the accuracy of its dire prediction about “a rising tide of mediocrity” undermining the nation’s well-being, and the evolving school reform debate the report kick-started three decades ago.
Throughout May on www.wholechildeducation.org: The New Poverty
In today’s global economic state, many families and children face reduced circumstances. These “poor kids” don’t fit the traditional stereotypes—two-thirds live in families in which at least one adult works and the percentage of poor students in many rural districts equals that in inner-city districts. In the United States, the economic downturn has dramatically changed the landscape, and districts that were previously vibrant are now dealing with unemployment, underemployment, and more transient families.
Join us as we share what new—and old—solutions we are using to support learning and ensure that each child, whatever her circumstances, is healthy, safe, engaged, supported, and challenged.
Download the Whole Child Podcast for a discussion on the current economic downturn; its result that many families and children face reduced circumstances; and implications for schools, many of which have seen drastic changes in the populations they serve and their communities. Guests include Deborah Wortham, superintendent of the School District of the City of York, Pa., and former assistant superintendent for high schools and director of professional development for Baltimore City (Md.) Public Schools; Felicia DeHaney, president and CEO of the National Black Child Development Institute; William Parrett, director of the Center for School Improvement and Policy Studies and professor of education at Boise State University; and Kathleen Budge, coordinator of the Leadership Development Program and associate professor in the Curriculum, Instruction, and Foundational Studies Department at Boise State University. Parrett and Budge are also coauthors of the 2012 ASCD book Turning High-Poverty Schools into High-Performing Schools.
ASCD Leader Voices
Arkansas Governor Signs Whole Child Legislation
Arkansas Governor Michael Beebe signed a new bill into law that promotes a whole child approach to educating the state’s children. The legislation (PDF) establishes a Whole Child Whole Community recognition program and aims to measure the comprehensive well-being of children and how well stakeholders are meeting their needs according to the five whole child tenets and their indicators as identified by ASCD.
The recognition program will acknowledge and highlight the work of Arkansas educators, parents, community members, and policymakers who support the whole child. The legislation also indicates that one purpose of the recognition program is to help spur systemic collaboration and coordination within and beyond schoolhouse doors and to promote a shift from narrowly defined student achievement and traditional education reform to broader, more comprehensive efforts that recognize the crucial out-of-school factors that influence teaching and learning. A diverse state working group will work over the course of a year to recommend a framework and process for recognizing exemplary whole child and whole community successes.
Congratulations to Arkansas ASCD, which played a crucial role in supporting the bill’s development and introduction!
Rhode Island Passes Whole Child Resolution
The Rhode Island General Assembly passed a joint resolution (PDF) supporting a whole child approach to education that ensures each child is healthy, safe, engaged, supported, and challenged.
The resolution affirms that to educate Rhode Island’s children effectively, the state must pay attention to factors within and beyond its school buildings as well as integrate efforts among schools, families, and communities. In addition, the resolution expresses the assembly’s intent to model whole child concepts in its own work and to join with other stakeholders who support the whole child.
Congratulations to Rhode Island ASCD(RIASCD), which worked hard to have this joint resolution introduced into the Rhode Island legislature!
To help the state fulfill its commitment to whole child education, ASCD and RIASCD offered some initial steps (PDF)—organized by the five whole child tenets—for educators, parents and community members, and policymakers to take. RIASCD also highlighted some of ASCD’s free resources to help the state put its whole child vision into action.
South Carolina ASCD Featured in ASCD Inservice Blog Series
Weasked some of our affiliate leaders to tell us how the implementation of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) has been going in their home states.In the seventh post of the series, South Carolina ASCD leader Josh Patterson writes about the challenges and successes that South Carolina has had with CCSS implementation.
The Effective Principal
What we see through our research, reading, and conversations with principals and school staff is that to see what an effective principal is, don’t look at the person; look at the effects of her leadership on student achievement, school culture and climate, teacher effectiveness and satisfaction, and community relationships. As the wearers of many hats, principals are crucial to implementing meaningful and lasting school change. Read more on the Whole Child Blog.
In April, we looked at what qualities principals in today’s (and tomorrow’s) schools need to fulfill their roles as visionary, instructional, influential, and learning leaders. Listen to the Whole Child Podcast with guests Donna Snyder, manager of Whole Child Programs at ASCD; Kevin Enerson, principal of Le Sueur-Henderson High School in Minnesota (an ASCD Whole Child Network school); and Jessica Bohn, an ASCD Emerging Leader and principal of Gibsonville Elementary School in North Carolina.
Also this month on the Whole Child Podcast, we talked with educators from Oregon’s Milwaukie High School (winner of the 2013 Vision in Action: The ASCD Whole Child Award) about how they meet student and staff needs, taking challenges and turning them into opportunities for all. Guests include principal Mark Pinder, assistant principal for curriculum Michael Ralls, assistant principal for student management Tim Taylor, dean of students Donnie Siel, and teacher leader David Adams.
Have you signed up to receive the Whole Child Newsletter? Read the latest newsletter and visit the archive for more strategies, resources, and tools you can use to help ensure that each child is healthy, safe, engaged, supported, and challenged.
Something to Talk About
Killeen Independent School District Deepens Professional Development Partnership with ASCD—Killeen Independent School District (ISD)—whose more than 6,100 staff members serve approximately 42,000 students—is deepening its relationship with ASCD to meet its professional development goals. Read the full press release.
ASCD Publishes Leadership Guide on Transforming Any Teacher into a Master—ASCD is pleased to announce the release of Never Underestimate Your Teachers: Instructional Leadership for Excellence in Every Classroom by best-selling education author, renowned educator, and professional development expert Robyn R. Jackson.
Never Underestimate Your Teachers offers school leaders a new model for understanding great teaching as a combination of skill and will, and it's the first book of its kind to support leaders as they facilitate teacher growth in both areas through differentiated leadership. Jackson shows readers how to design and deliver targeted professional development to help each teacher realize his or her potential and achieve great results for the benefit of every student. Read the full press release.
New ASCD Common Core Academy Supports School Leadership Teams Across the United States—ASCD is bringing its inaugural ASCD Common Core Leadership Team Academy to Chicago August 5–8, 2013. This intensive four-day professional leadership experience offers groups of administrators, teacher leaders, and nonprofit and higher education partners an accelerated plan for putting the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) into routine practice. Read the full press release.
ASCD Summer Reading List Identifies 10 Books That Can Transform Teaching and Learning—In the spirit of promoting year-round professional development, ASCD has assembled a diverse list of books essential to educators who seek to improve their practice over the summer months. These books—organized by how they help educators transform teaching and learning—offer readers the opportunity to dive deep into the hottest topics in education, including using data to focus improvement, project-based learning, child development, and neurodiversity. All books are currently available in paperback and e-book formats. Read the full press release.
Arkansas Governor Beebe Signs Education Reform Law Supporting the Whole Child—Arkansas Governor Michael Beebe has signed a new bill into law that promotes a well-rounded whole child approach to educating the state’s children.“An Act to Establish the Whole Child– Whole Community Recognition Program; and for Other Purposes” (Senate Bill 1051[PDF]) outlines a plan for the Arkansas education system that ensures Arkansas students receive a whole child education. Read the full press release.
New ASCD Staff Expand Association’s Ability to Design, Deliver, and Evaluate Professional Development Resources—ASCD welcomes three new staff members to the association’s Program Development Work Group. Dr. Andrea Muse has accepted the position of director of research and program evaluation, Jen Thompson will serve as director of program management and process improvement, and Elizabeth Thurman has joined ASCD as director of customer engagement and product support. The additions of Muse, Thompson, and Thurman expand ASCD’s capability to design, deliver, and evaluate the crucial professional development resources today’s educators need to learn, teach, and lead. Read the full press release.
It’s Teacher Appreciation Week this week and I’d like to take the time to share some memories of teachers who have impacted me over the years.
We’ve all heard Herbert Hoover’s most famous quote, “Children are our most valuable natural resource.” I agree wholeheartedly and would like to add that teachers are second only to those children as one of our most valuable natural resources.
The teacher is the common denominator, the roots of all successes. Teachers lay the foundations that students need to do whatever is in their reach, in their dreams, in their wildest imaginations. Teachers take seeds and help them grow. Teachers give their students wings to help them fly. Teachers unleash the power of the brain to do impossible and never thought of things.
It’s very difficult to quantify and qualify every little nuance of what makes an effective teacher. Sure, we can check off this or that, or look for evidence that suggests that they do effective work or better some or all of the time. What’s harder to measure, though, are the little details that are beyond the role of just teacher but that matter more than just delivery of content. I’m talking about caring. I’m talking about a deep interest in the lives of their children. I’m talking about taking on multiple roles such as parent, friend, confidant, playmate, role model, tour guide, nurse, coach, psychologist, clean up crew, chef, and constant imagineer.
At ASCD's 2013 Annual Conference, guest speaker Maya Angelou referred to teachers as “rainbows in her clouds.” Even when there may be storms brewing, there’s always a light. Ms. Angelou shared some of her rainbows, and I’d like to share some of mine here:
I remember specific details about being in first grade. Playing with the hermit crabs, washing my hair in the sink on picture day, and going into the private book nook to turn myself into the Incredible Hulk so that I could get all of my work done. Jill Roach, my first grade teacher took it all in stride, and still somehow managed to teach me to love reading. We used basal readers from a mid-70’s series with titles such as Galaxies, Secrets, and Tapestry. I was a voracious reader and Mrs. Roach gave me as much text as I was willing to consume. Later, as a resource teacher, she taught me how to program a Texas Instruments computer and the perseverance and tenacity it took to turn three solid weeks of work into a color-changing, pixelated dancing man called Mr. Bojangles.
This love of reading was supported throughout Elementary school and in 6th grade, Ron Seabolt introduced me to The Trumpet of the Swan. He used to read to us every day after lunch and I remember this book specifically. I’ve read it dozens of times since then. Later, when I started teaching myself, I read this exact book to my own 6th graders who were in as much awe as I was, so many years ago. There was something so caring in Mr. Seabolt’s reading to us; something so kind and inviting. Reading to a child is the most wonderful thing in the world. It is a gift to all involved, both the reader and the listener. When I read to others and especially when I re-read The Trumpet of the Swan, I still think about Mr. Seabolt, perched on his bar stool, reading with careful pronunciation and multiple voices. It’s one of my favorite school memories.
In 1986, I was in Mr. Robert Shinn’s 9th grade history class watching, with my classmates, the launch of the Space Shuttle Challenger. We had been taking copious notes earlier and were relieved to get a little break to watch history unfold live. Mr. Shinn was a teacher’s teacher. He knew his content extremely well and his charge was to prepare us both for meeting the requirements of his class as well as being prepared for the world we would all be graduating into. His class was consistently rigorous and I was well prepared for everything that came after his class. When the space shuttle exploded in front of us, and we quickly realized that all aboard had died, Mr. Shinn turned quickly from his teacher role and into a parent. He walked to the television and turned it off. When he turned around, his eyes were red and he spoke softly, “That was the bravest thing I’ve ever had the honor to witness. This is a horrible tragedy for our country but it’s all going to be okay. We will all be okay.” While I’m paraphrasing, I was both comforted and haunted by his words. We sat in silence for awhile and he later added, “there was a teacher on board that shuttle. Her name was Christa McAuliffe. Don’t forget her name.” I haven’t.
Jim Rodgers and Bess Oxendine were my High School English teachers. I had each of them for two alternating years. These were the two smartest people I had ever met and were each on different ends of a continuum of eccentricity that I haven’t seen since and doubt I will ever see again. Mr. Rodgers was straight-laced and cultured and referred to us all as “scholars” where Mrs. Oxendine was kooky and humorous and had a very “campfire / kumbaya” approach to teaching. In each of their classes I came to love Shakespeare, Dr. Seuss, Eudora Welty, C.S. Lewis, Chaucer, William Faulkner, and Barbra Streisand. Well, maybe not so much love with Streisand, but definitely a firm like. I can still recite, from memory, the introduction to The Canterbury Tales and in my Southern accent it still sounds as tainted as ever. I remember specific moments in their classes where I felt smart and I remember enough details from that time that it still resonates and impacts my current professional practice. When my wife is irked that I make connections in popular culture or answer correctly all of the literary categories on “Jeopardy!” I remind her that it is because of Mr. Rodgers and Mrs. Oxendine. They are the reasons why I have a Master’s in English today.
Speaking of that English Master’s...one of my professors at Buffalo State College, Dr. Susan Leist, who I still keep in contact with, was definitely a bright spot in my higher education. Our relationship began with me seeing her only as a “Comma Nazi” and trying to avoid her ire at all costs. It turns out she was excellent at her craft. She asked good questions. She didn’t tell me “what” to do or even “why” I should do it, she simply offered opposing arguments and different perspectives. Through conversation, she helped me learn to think of both product, audience, and impact--skills that are essential in the 21st century. Her conversations and voice have morphed over the years into what I call my “Leist Filter” through which I look at every single thing I write; looking for alternative ways to say something important and absolutely making sure that every comma is needed or at least has a plausible reason for being in the neighborhood. I probably still overuse that particular punctuation mark but like good seasoning I believe you should pepper your work with as many opportunities to pause and reflect while both reading and writing. I know now that is a stylistic decision, and as an artist, it is within my creative boundaries to permit such behaviors.
I am where I am today because of the fabulous teachers I’ve had. They have been models and mentors who showed me divergent paths and taught me to be diligent and perseverent. They taught me to think and they gave me choices. They gave me roots and wings.
It is with deep appreciation and sincere gratitude that I say, simply, “Thank you.”
Thank you to my teachers and thank you to ALL teachers. You have the most unbelievable charge, especially in this day and age. Know that you are having an impact on your students both in learning and in their lives. Know that bureaucracies and politics and their related ilk are tidal. They ebb and flow with the times. Teachers are constants. Teachers always do what must be done. Teachers are heroes.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
On April 15 and 16, 2013 I visited the Philippines and did two talks on multiple intelligences. The first talk on April 15th was for 1500 pediatricians as part of a dinner symposium sponsored by Wyeth/Nutrition at the CMX Convention Center in Manila, coinciding with the annual conference of the Philippine Pediatric Society.
I focused on how multiple intelligences can be used to stimulate cognitive growth in infancy, enrich play experiences for toddlers, and enhance the environment of developmental preschools. I was surprised to learn that 80% of pediatricians in the Philippines are women. In the United States, the figure is more like 57% (and this has grown considerably over the past few decades when pediatricians were largely male). It makes a lot of sense to have more women pediatricians, because women are generally more nurturing than men, and young children can benefit from this more empathetic relationship.
After my presentation, there were talks by pediatricians, and as a surprise event, one of the Philippines’ most celebrated popular singers, Gary Velenciano, entertained the guests with his high-powered performance (he is known in the Philippines as Mr. Pure Energy!). He also had his daughter and one of his two sons perform with him in some very moving ensemble work. All in all, it was a great evening!
On April 16, I was involved in a press launch of a new Wyeth/Nutrition product, Progress Pre-School Gold, a powdered milk drink supplement, at a hotel in the financial district of Manila. Wyeth has tied the product to multiple intelligences. I researched the company and was glad to see that they promote breastfeeding in infants, so I entered into this relationship with a clear conscience. I was not asked to endorse the product, simply to serve an expert in the field of multiple intelligences. The event was attended by 50 members of the media, including television, newspapers, bloggers, and other online services.
I contributed to the event with a twenty-minute talk on multiple intelligences, a conversation with a celebrity mom, Dawn Zueleta, who is a well-known and highly regarded actress in the Philippines, and several individual interviews with television and print media.
My trip to the Philippines has been wonderful (I also lectured here last September). The people are so friendly and helpful, and the weather has been relatively pleasant (although I’m told that this is very warm for this time of year!). I’ve been reading the novel Nolo Me Tangere (Touch Me Not) by Jose Rizal, who is the Philippines’ national hero. He was an intellectual who traveled around Europe, held humanistic ideals, and ultimately was executed by the colonial Spaniards for his strong nationalist beliefs.
The Philippines is a vibrant society, with many cultural influences including those from the Malay peninsula, Spain, China, Islam, and the United States. The American influence on the Philippine educational system in the early part of the nineteenth century made it so that virtually all educated individuals in the Philippines speak English. I had a wonderful experience here, and I look forward to coming back to the Philippines in the coming years!
Thanks for a fantastic 2013 ASCD Annual Conference in Chicago, Illinois!
Your To-Do List: Action Items for ASCD Leaders
Register for the Whole Child Virtual Conference: May 6–10, 2013
Join ASCD for its third annual Whole Child Virtual Conference. This free online event offers thought leadership discussions; presentations from leading authors and experts; and an exploration of the steps outstanding schools, communities, and individual countries take as they move along the continuum of a whole child approach—from implementation to sustainability to culture. No matter where you are on this continuum, you’ll find lessons you can learn and questions you can ask to improve and grow your schools.
This year the conference will include 24 sessions over 7 days between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. eastern time, with sessions on May 2 and 3 specifically for Australasian and European audiences. This year’s conference speakers include authors and experts Thomas Armstrong, Michael Fullan, Andy Hargreaves, Eric Jensen, Wendy Ostroff, William Parrett and Kathleen M. Budge, Pasi Sahlberg, and Yong Zhao.
Sessions will also feature presentations from ASCD Emerging Leaders, ASCD’s Outstanding Young Educators Award winner, the recipient of Vision in Action: The ASCD Whole Child Award, and members of ASCD’s Whole Child Network of Schools.
Registration is now open. Go to www.ascd.org/wcvirtualconference to sign up.
ASCD Nominations Committee Applications Open in May
ASCD is seeking ASCD leaders who are interested in serving on the 2013–14 ASCD Nominations Committee. More information—the committee’s charge, qualifications for service, and time commitment—will be available starting May 1 on www.ascd.org. ASCD will be accepting applications May 1–31. We invite ASCD leaders to consider their interest in this opportunity over the next few weeks before the application becomes available.
ASCD Leaders in Action: News from the ASCD Leader Community
ASCD Student Chapters Help Chicago’s Hungry During ASCD Annual Conference
On March 15, 46 ASCD Student Chapter members volunteered to make a difference in the fight against hunger in Chicago. Working together the Friday morning before ASCD’s Annual Conference, the students packaged more than 15,000 pounds of food to help feed the nearly 678,000 people who rely on emergency and supplemental food from the Greater Chicago Food Depository. Thank you and congratulations to our ASCD Student Chapter volunteers! Read the full Conference Daily article.
ASCD Forum Session at ASCD Annual Conference Gives Educators a Voice on Teacher and Principal Effectiveness
On March 17, ASCD Past President Debra Hill facilitated a discussion of the ASCD Forum topic “how do we define and measure teacher and principal effectiveness?” Ten ASCD leaders stepped forward to help lead the discussion:
· Jason Flom, ASCD Emerging Leader
· Ben Shuldiner, Position Advisory Committee Member
· Amy Vanden Boogart, ASCD Emerging Leader
· Jeffrey Lofthus, Alaska ASCD Executive Director
· Daina Lieberman, ASCD Emerging Leader
· Mamzelle Adolphine, Professional Interest Community Facilitator
· Laurie McCullough, Virginia ASCD Executive Director
· Alice Wells, Arizona ASCD Executive Director
· Matthew Cotton, ASCD Emerging Leader
· Torian White, ASCD Emerging Leader
Session attendees stepped up to the front of the room to share their thoughts and also posted tweets to the #ASCDForum hashtag. Many thanks to the ASCD leaders who participated to make this session a success!
Congratulations to ASCD Affiliate Recognition Award Winners
Please join ASCD in congratulating the ASCD Affiliate Recognition Award Recipients:
Two affiliates were recognized for the 2013 Overall Excellence Award: Iowa ASCD, for its increased focus on integrating technology into professional learning opportunities and their influence and advocacy work with ASCD, and New Hampshire ASCD, for its work to increase membership and provide increased professional learning opportunities, such as Common Core workshops.
In addition, New Jersey ASCD received the Area Excellence Award for Programs, Products, and Services for their leadership in their state as a trusted source for professional learning. Texas ASCD received an Exceptional Progress Award in Influence and Policy, and Alberta ASCD, Ohio ASCD, and Vermont ASCD were all recipients of the Exceptional Progress Award in Programs, Products, and Services.
Welcome to the “Educating Beyond Disabilities” Professional Interest Community
Please join ASCD in welcoming our newest Professional Interest Community, facilitated by 2011 ASCD Emerging Leader Christina Yuknis. Please join her group on ASCD EDge.
Tennessee ASCD Featured in ASCD Inservice Blog Series
Weasked some of our affiliate leaders to tell us how the implementation of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) has been going in their home states. In the sixth post of the series, Tennessee ASCD President-Elect John Combs writes about the challenges and successes that Tennessee has had with CCSS implementation.
Meet ASCD President Becky Berg
Becky J. Berg is from a family of educators. "My dad was a school board president; my mom was a career educator; and my sister, my grandmother, and my great-grandfather were educators," she says. Despite the genetic pull, Berg wasn't completely convinced she would follow in the family's footsteps until her experience as a summer camp counselor while she was in college. It was then that she realized how much she loved working with kids. Read the full Conference Daily article.
Congratulations to the 2013 Outstanding Young Educator Award Winners!
ASCD salutes a new generation’s passion for education excellence through this year’s selection of two Outstanding Young Educator Award winners: Joshua Garcia, deputy superintendent of Tacoma Public Schools (Wash.), and Parkville High School (Parkville, Md.) teacher Ryan Twentey. Twentey teaches art, photography, and interactive media production and also serves as the school’s technology liaison. Read the full Conference Daily article.
Interactive ASCD 2012 Annual Report Features ASCD Leaders
Check out the ASCD 2012 Annual Report, entitled “Creating Solutions: The ASCD Revolution in Motion.” This interactive report features videos footage of ASCD leaders, including ASCD Emerging Leader Steven Anderson, Florida ASCD President Alina Davis, Alabama ASCD Executive Director Jane Cobia, ASCD Board Member Harriet Arnold, and Connecticut ASCD President David Cormier.
Throughout April at wholechildeducation.org: Principal Leadership
Principals are the key players in developing the climate, culture, and processes in their schools. They are critical to implementing meaningful and lasting school change and in the ongoing school-improvement process. Principals who have a clear vision; inspire and engage others in embracing change for improvement; drive, facilitate, and monitor the teaching and learning process; and foster a cohesive culture of learning are the collaborative leaders our schools need to fully commit to ensuring each student—and school staff member—is healthy, safe, engaged, supported, and challenged.
What qualities do principals in today’s (and tomorrow’s) schools need to fulfill their roles as visionary, instructional, influential, and learning leaders?
There are two episodes of the Whole Child Podcast in April for you to download and share. The first episode, “Leveling and Raising the Playing Field,” features school staff from Oregon’s Milwaukie High School, winner of the 2013 Vision in Action: The ASCD Whole Child Award, and is available now. On April 11, the second episode will be available. It will focus on principal leadership and include guests Kevin Enerson, principal of Whole Child Network school Le Sueur-Henderson High School in Minnesota, and Jessica Bohn, ASCD Emerging Leader and principal of Gibsonville Elementary School in North Carolina.
The Best-Case Scenario
As we review and reinforce our schools’ safety measures, we aren’t planning for the worst-case scenario that might happen; we are working to make sure the best-case scenario—where schools are learning environments that are physically, socially, and emotionally safe for students and adults—is an everyday occurrence that does happen. Read more on the Whole Child Blog.
In February and March, we looked at what we, as educators, believe is crucial to making our schools safe—not just physically safe, but also safe places to teach and learn. Listen to the Whole Child Podcast with guests Joseph Bergant II, superintendent of Chardon Schools in Ohio; Howard Adelman, professor of psychology at UCLA and codirector of the School Mental Health Project and the Center for Mental Health in Schools (a whole child partner); and Jonathan Cohen, adjunct professor in psychology and education at Teachers College, Columbia University, and president and cofounder of whole child partner National School Climate Center.
Have you signed up to receive the Whole Child Newsletter? Read the latest newsletter and visit the archive for more strategies, resources, and tools you can use to help ensure that each child is healthy, safe, engaged, supported, and challenged.
Something to Talk About
In last week’s (March 27, 2013) edition of Education Week, a story reported on New York state’s plan to purchase the design of customized curricula to reflect the Common Core standards. A graphic reported that the total cost of P-12 curriculum materials in (only) English/Language Arts and Mathematics is equal to:
...more than $28 million! For only two content areas!! Although I realize that it’s not an entirely scientific or completely accurate calculation, I extrapolated this figure to the 45 states that have adopted the Common Core Standards, and I came up with the following nation-wide expenditure:
...one and one-quarter BILLION dollars!!! What happens to this dollar figure when the remaining subject areas are added over the next few years? Seriously?? What about all of the required professional development for teachers that must go on related to the implementation of the Common Core Standards, as well as to the assessments?? And, what about the cost associated with the development of the new assessments?? WOW—mind-boggling, isn’t it?!
I have to be honest—I don’t get this . . . at all. I have always been a huge, devoted supporter of public education. But, we’ve had standards before; we’ve had standardized assessments of the mastery of those standards for years. How will a “national curriculum” and “national assessments” result in improved learning and academic achievement??? For example, are we really going to be teaching math and math content differently than we ever have before? And, are the assessments going to be markedly different? If not, we seem to be wasting a lot of money. If so, maybe it will be a good thing, but with no supporting evidence or data at this point, this is an extremely risky investment, to say the least.
We seem to be throwing a lot of money at the problem, in the hopes that these new standards and assessments will “stick.” What if they don’t? There hasn’t been much (any?) of a “trial” period to see just how effective they might be. Isn’t this important—even critical— enough that we have some idea of how effective it could potentially be, before spending such exorbitant amounts of money on it?? Our kids’ lives and futures are at stake. Imagine if a similar process was followed for a new drug, whose potential effectiveness had not been demonstrated—there would be a national outcry against it.
For the broader educational community—across this country—that has become so data-driven in its approach to decision making and to teacher/administrator evaluation, why are we implementing something that has not been field-tested and for which we have no data about its potential effectiveness? I have to admit—I find this frightening.
Doesn’t seem to be a very “data-driven approach” . . . at all!
Engaging in your own professional development through an action research approach—perhaps, even extending it to an entire building or district—can provide these data as sort of a pilot test. Doing so does not cost a lot of money up front, but can provide information on how potentially effective a program or educational approach can be, and can do so prior to large-scale implementation. I’ve written a lot about this idea, and have spoken about it at several professional conferences. You’ll find links to two of these below.
The first is a video of my 2008 Presidential Address at the annual meeting of the Mid-Western Educational Research Association. The title of the talk is “A Systematic Approach to Transforming the Art of Teaching into the Science of Teaching: Developing a D-DIDM Mindset.”
The second one below is a video of my 2011 Keynote Address at the annual meeting of the Eastern Educational Research Association. The title of the talk is “Transformational Innovation in Education: Empowerment as a First Step.”
Here’s the proverbial bottom line for me—
We have to find ways to improve education in this country, not just ways to spend money in the hope that maybe we can improve education.
The latter is simply not good enough.
Have you ever had the chance to meet your favorite celebrity? To shake his or her hand and even have a casual chat over lunch? I have. . . well, sort of.
I recently attended the ASCD Annual Conference in Chicago. This was a tremendous weekend, filled with fun and learning opportunities. As an ASCD author and presenter, I spent time with luminaries at the education publishing and professional development giant, including the publisher, editors, department heads, publicists and other authors. These people are solid professionals and smart educators. I presented on results-only learning, signed copies of my book, Role Reversal, and I even participated in a videotaped interview for the ASCD website. All of these were thrilling experiences.
The most amazing part of the weekend, though, was meeting people I interact with often on Twitter, people I hadn't met in person until the conference. I have communicated on Twitter and via email with some of my favorite authors and thought leaders -- people like Daniel Pink, Alfie Kohn and Donalyn Miller. Meeting any of these remarkable individuals would be thrilling, for sure, but I felt no less awed, when I met some key educators I follow on Twitter.
At the ASCD author press luncheon, which I was honored to be part of as a new book writer, I sat down with @TomWhitby, Steven Anderson (@web20classroom), Josh Stumpenhorst (@stumpteacher), @KristenSwanson and @PaulaWhite, among others. These people may not be as recognizable as Pink or Kohn, but they are clebrities in education to me, and meeting them in person was sort of like talking to movie stars.
They may not be seen walking the red carpet at the Oscars -- though some might mistake Swanson for Kate Beckinsale and Stumpenhorst for Brad Pitt -- but these intelligent teachers, bloggers and speakers are true celebrities in their field.
So, when you get the chance to meet the fantastic educators you follow on Twitter, enjoy the experience, and be careful not to be starstruck.
Cross posted at Resultsonlylearning.com
When I first became a teacher in Ontario, Canada, we were evaluated once a year by a Superintendent of Education who flew in from Toronto to evaluate teacher performance against expectations contained in a small grey book. We were made aware of the date and time of their visit and were expected to teach a lesson upon their arrival. We coached our students to look engaged in the lesson and folklore has it that some teachers even told their students to raise their right hand if they knew the answer and their left if they didn't. Hence, all appeared to be engaged. The Superintendent also evaluated the "climate" of the classroom. In those days, this was reduced to checking the thermostat, the consistency of the level of the blinds and the general tidiness of the room. This evaluation obviously had no impact on teacher development or student learning.
How things have changed! Ontario now has a comprehensive teacher evaluation system which is an integral part of a continuum of professional learning that supports effective teaching. The goals of the Teacher Performance Appraisal (TPA) System are to:
Teachers and principals are partners in the process which focuses on the continuous improvement of teaching practices. The process is different for beginning and experienced teachers as well as for those experiencing difficulty and those with a strong record of performance. In consultation wtih principals, teachers create an Annual Learning Plan that focuses on areas in which they can continuously improve. As a principal, I guided my teachers to set routine, creative, problem solving and personal growth goals. They would then develop action plans for each goal and I would be engaged in ongoing support and follow up discussions.
The vision of the TPA System is that every teacher in publicly funded education reaches his or her potential. When this is achieved, our students will also reach their potential. WIthout a focus on continuous improvement relative to comprehensive quality standards, our schools will be stuck at meeting minimal standards on standardized tests and will not begin to address important issues such as personalization through learning styles and brain research; creating safe and caring cultures, climates and communities; reducing bullying; and simply making a difference.
School districts currently spend approximately 10% of their budget on staff development and evaluation. This is a lot of money. Too much of it is spent far removed from the relationships in the classroom and the school. Teacher evaluation systems too often get out of hand. A recent on-line discussion group asked the question of whether we should bring in outside experts to "do" teacher evaluations in order to free up some of the principal's time for more important things. This would be a huge step backwards. There is nothing more important for a princpal to do than develop his or her staff to meet their full potential. Only then will our students be getting the personalized, supportive education they need.
We need elegant teacher evaluation systems that focus on what is important in promoting meaningful student learning and development as human beings. This is what matters. This is priceless!
President's Reception honoring Dr. Debra Hill on Mar 17, 2013 at Chicago Hilton Ballroom.