Humbled by Bammy nomination

When I recently visited bammyawards.org to vote for some of my favorite PLN stars I was very surprised to see that I had been nominated in the secondary school principal category, alongside some amazing educational leaders like Aaron Becker , Dwight Carter, Jimmy Casas, and Jason Markley. Although I have been an avid tech principal for years--we were doing 1:1 with Palm Pilots ten years ago--until recently, I hadn't established a strong presence on Twitter other than through our school handle, @LiberatorsNOW. Sure, I published an occasional tweet, but I wasn't fully leveraging the power of Twitter.

But that's all changed thanks to the strength of growing my PLN. I have learned so much from the interactions and relationships I've cultivated. It's truly caused me to become a more reflective,  dynamic, and forward thinking leader. In fact, I'm 100% convinced of the potential for learning and growth through the networking that is possible with Twitter. In particular, I have enjoyed connecting through several Twitter chats including #moedchat, #iaedchat, #colchat, #sblchat, #christianeducatorschat, and more.

So while I am honored by the Bammy nomination, any contributions I've made to "the conversation" are a result of others who've I learned from. I've shared content or synthesized content and learned so much. I look forward to learning even more and connecting with other leading minds from all parts of the world.

https://twitter.com/davidgeurin

https://twitter.com/LiberatorsNOW

https://www.facebook.com/bolivarhighschool



Dave Geurin

If it ain't broke, don't fix it

I recently was in a meeting where persons keenly interested in education were discussing some of their ideas. I won't go into great detail about the context of the meeting, but some topics related to innovation in the classroom came into the conversation. One of the individuals, who by the way is highly educated, made comments that challenged some of the innovations being promoted in education. In more eloquent words than this, the individual clearly communicated, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." The speaker then went on to explain that his "traditional" education served him quite well, and if it was good enough for him, it would certainly serve his own children quite well.

Anyone who has served in education for any length of time has heard comments like the ones I've shared, often from parents or other stakeholders responding to something new or different the school might be trying. I want to to examine some of the underlying assumptions of this line of thinking. First of all, there is one way I can find immediate common ground with this idea. I don't believe education is broken, at least not from what I am able to see daily in my school and schools in my area. I think there are many dedicated educators doing wonderful work. But that's where my agreement ends.

From http://www.languagemonitor.com/category/no-of-words/

Even though schools are not the failures often portrayed in the media, and even though we have amazing teachers doing amazing work, we must continue to change. In fact, I would argue we need to accelerate change. Our world is changing faster than ever before. Just one example--14.7 new words are added to the English language every day. Our language is a reflection of the world changing around us. The graph shown reveals just how much our language has changed in the past 60 years or so.

But even in the face of incredible evidence that everything around us is changing, we still have many who resist change. Unfortunately, teachers, principals, and other educators are sometimes among the change resistant. I think that's often due to the fact they feel change is something that has been done to them, that they have not been included as a voice in the change process. Too much of what teachers have been asked to change has been pushed upon them without an opportunity to be truly innovative and forward thinking in a way that promotes ownership of the new practices.

So I came across this photo on Twitter, and it made me very curious about who said it.



The quote is from Rear Admiral Grace Hopper. She was an early computer scientist and according to my reading should probably be recognized as much in the field of computer science as Bill Gates or Steve Jobs. I must admit I'd never heard of her. But my reading has revealed she was an extraordinary thinker and innovator.

Since we know as educators we are preparing students for today and for the future, we must not get caught in status quo thinking. Instead we must adapt, innovate, and change to meet the needs of students. Admiral Hopper has inspired me to continue to lead change in my school and when necessary to break with tradition and comfort. To help others find the courage and inspiration to try new ideas, I must give them the support and freedom to make it happen. There are many reasons why change is difficult and not every change will be successful. But we must press on and examine everything we do to make sure it is best meeting the needs of students.

CBS did a piece on Admiral Hopper. I would encourage you to watch it.

Grace Hopper: She taught computers to talk

Using Twitter to support schoolwide essential questions

Years ago when I was learning about backwards design from the work of Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe, I was teaching high school English and began to apply the concept of big ideas and essential questions to my lessons and unit designs. Like most teachers, it was not uncommon for my students to struggle to connect to some aspects of the course content. So I was searching for ways to help students make connections and find relevance. Most importantly, I wanted better answers to the ever present question, though not always outwardly spoken, "Why are we learning this? Why is this important?" I wanted to answer that question in a meaningful way that did not include the typical reasons: "You'll need this for the next course" or "You'll need this for college."

So that's where big ideas and essential questions help address reasons for learning that get at meaningful experiences beyond making a living or getting into college. Essential questions help students make connections to enduring concerns that are universal to all persons. This type of learning appeals to the natural curiosity of every learner and invites exploration rather than check-box learning. McTighe and Wiggins (1999) explain, "At the heart of uncoverage, then, is the deliberate interrogation of the content to be learned, as opposed to just the teaching and learning of material."

So while the value of essential questions has been well established in the classroom, an idea-generating article in Principal Leadership describes the use of essential questions that extend beyond a specific course and are schoolwide essential questions. Each year the school develops possible questions and asks students to vote on them. After the questions are selected, it's determined what sequence the questions will be used--one question each quarter. 

I love the idea of schoolwide essential questions to encourage deeper thinking and interdisciplinary connections. I also think Twitter could play a useful role in continuing these discussions in a way that invites all students and teachers to converse in back-channel chats that allow students who may not even be in the same classes to share ideas across all grade levels and courses. I think the potential for intellectual dialogue is fantastic! 

Twitter / DavidGeurin: We would do well as educators ...  

Characteristics of Essential Questions

·         Essential questions are worthy of inquiry, calling for higher-order thinking – analysis, inference, evaluation, and prediction.

·         They are thought-provoking and intellectually engaging, sparking discussion and debate, giving students the tools and a forum to wrestle with important ideas.

·         They are open-ended – that is, there isn’t a single, final, correct answer.

·         They require support and justification, not just the answer.

·         They produce a humbling acceptance that some matters are never truly settled, but at the same time a desire to think about such questions.

·         They point toward important, transferable ideas within and across disciplines.

·         They raise additional questions, spark further inquiry, and need to be revisited over time.

Our school is considering schoolwide essential questions for next year. We believe the questions will connect ideas across all content areas and provide opportunities for literacy development and critical thinking. I like Mortimer J Adler's Six Great Ideas as another starting point for writing good questions. Essential questions will flow from the really big ideas, and these are the biggies. Three ideas we judge by--equality, justice, and liberty; and three ideas we live by--truth, goodness, and beauty. The best essential questions will relate to these six great ideas. The following are some possible essential questions.

·         What sustains us?

·         If we can, should we?

·         Does age matter?

·         How do people approach their health?

·         What is race, and does it matter?

·         Can you buy your way to happiness?

·         Who am I? Why do I matter?

·         What is beauty and/or what is beautiful?

·         Does gender matter?

·         Who are your heroes and role models?

·         What’s worth fighting or even dying for?

·         What will you, or won’t you, do for love?

·         What is normal, anyway?

·         How does your world influence you?

·         Is there a limit to tolerance?

·         What makes you “you”?

·         Which is worse, failing or never trying?

·         You exist, but do you live?

·         If you could have a superpower, what would it be and why?

·         Are humans naturally good or evil?

·         Is freedom ever free?

·         Do looks matter?

By connecting what students learn to bold and grand ideas such as these, we encourage deeper meaning and connect learning to the most important questions in the universe.

“Using Schoolwide Essential Questions to Drive Learning” by Nancy Frey, Douglas Fisher, and Heather Anderson in Principal Leadership, February 2014 (Vol. 14, #6, p. 52-55), www.nassp.org;