I love being an educator because...

My previous post detailed how my decision to become an educator wasn't based on the typical reasons one would expect from a passionate educator. It was great to read Jennifer Houlett's #blogchallenge post about how she always wanted to be an educator. It's awesome to see this type of enthusiasm from the beginning.

Although I came into the profession for different reasons, as I have grown personally and professionally over the years, I've developed a strong sense of purpose about the work of creating the most dynamic, empowering, and life-changing environments possible for student learning. I have grown in my passion and in my commitment to help others be successful.

When a person develops a passion and purpose for his or her work, it no longer becomes work at all. Fellow #MOedchat moderator Ted Huff made this clear in his #blogchallenge post. It is truly a privilege to be an educator and have the opportunity to work alongside forward-thinking, difference-making people every single day.

So I love being an educator because...

• It's great to be in a profession that has a legacy of changed lives and building dreams.
• We get to take risks and try new things and teach our students to be lifelong learners.
• I get to share in all the successes and celebrations of our students and school.
• I am surrounded by rock stars everyday. I am constantly amazed at the talents and contributions of students, teachers, counselors, support staff, and our entire awesome community.
• Educators care about one another and care about kids!
• It's great to have a sense of community and feel like we are all pulling in the same direction.
• Our work has significance! We are part of something BIG, much larger than ourselves.
• We get to have FUN! When students and teachers are smiling, there is more learning.
• Teachers are super heroes!
• It's challenging work! We have to be problem-solvers and find success even in impossible situations.
• Parents entrust me with their most valuable asset, their kids.

As you think about why you love being an educator, I would encourage you to watch these videos. They inspired me to think about my purpose and why my life's work is important.




Two questions that can change your life from Daniel Pink on Vimeo.

Going into education for all the wrong reasons

Like many young people, I struggled with direction about my career path during college. As I finished the general education requirements and the pressure to choose a major was mounting, I was still uncertain of what I was supposed to do. Before it was over, I considered business, law school, and even the Marine Corps, but in the end I decided on education.

And although I have no regrets about that decision, I really went into education for the wrong reasons. You see I didn't really have a passion for making a difference in the lives of students (I know that sounds really selfish, but that's the truth). I wasn't passionate about teaching and didn't long to see young learners have that "aha moment." I wasn't even really that crazy about school when I did my first tour of duty as a student for 12+ years.

So why in the world did I choose education? Where else can you make that kind of money and have three months off in the summer? Just kidding obviously. However, I did have a distant relative make comments like that to me. He did not respect educators.

The actual reason I chose to be an educator was I loved basketball. That was my passion. And as much as I loved playing basketball, it just made sense for me to want to coach basketball. So I majored in English with a minor in History with the intent to find a teaching position where I could also coach.

To be clear, there were some other reasons for my decision. My parents both valued learning and loved me, and several family members had been successful teachers. My dad would talk about teachers who made an impact on his life and that always got my attention. And, I had some teachers who really made all the difference for me, that really helped set me on a better path. One of my coaches, who I wrote about in an earlier post, was especially inspiring.

But the main reason for my decision was I loved basketball. So maybe that's not the worst reason ever to become an educator (doing is for money, prestige, or fame are definitely worse reasons). But it's also not the best. The best reason to become an educator is because it's a calling, because you feel that it's your life purpose to make an impact on the lives of students and help them be successful. That's truly the only great reason to become a teacher, because you love students and love teaching.

Now my story doesn't end there. I followed my basketball dreams, and it was a good thing. I learned a lot. And as my career story continued to unfold I began to find a passion for teaching and for creating the best learning opportunities possible for students. There really is something to be said for doing something your very best and watching as your passion follows that commitment. Over time I became a passionate educator. And I still love basketball too.

What is critical thinking?

It seems we are constantly having conversations--and for good reason--about the importance of critical thinking and discussing ways to increase the critical thinking for our students. We all just seem to readily accept that we understand what we mean when we use the term, yet if you stop to think about how to define what critical thinking is, it's kind of hard to do. It's much easier to give examples of critical thinking skills. We understand what it means to infer, to compare, or to classify for example.

But let's try to identify what critical thinking is without going to exemplars. First, critical thinking is a mental act. We cannot just look at a product a student creates and determine if critical thinking occurred. Since there is a mental act underlying the product, we must ask questions of the student to learn the thinking behind what they have created or developed.

Another important aspect of critical thinking is revealed in the meaning of the word critical, indicating that it is a type of thinking, or a type of mental act, that is of high importance to knowing or understanding. There are lots of mental acts that are rote or automatic to the extent they can't be considered a critical thought. For instance, 2+2=4 or Jefferson City is the capital of Missouri. But critical thinking allows us to make judgments about the truth or reality of new knowledge against a convergence of knowing that is widely accepted as what is true or real.

Next, critical thinking is not limited to a content area or learning discipline. Critical thinking can be generalized across all disciplines. This characteristic is one of the reasons critical thinking is so important to our students. Whereas content specific knowledge is requisite to understanding a subject, critical thinking can help us to understand all subjects.

And finally, critical thinking can be developed through practice and through quality instruction. Some educators seem to believe, if not outwardly expressed, that students' abilities to think critically are just a part of intelligence that is fixed. Clearly, this is not the case. As we have learned from Carol Dweck, critical thinking and intelligence can be developed through practice and hard work.

Center for Critical Thinking (1996c). Three definitions of critical thinking [On-line]. Available HTTP: http://www.criticalthinking.org/University/univlibrary/library.nclk

Why AP courses aren't superior to dual credit

I just filled out another survey for a magazine creating a national "Best High Schools" list. This one
was for Newsweek, but every year we also see the same type of thing from U.S. News. I'm not sure why I take time out of my day to even complete the survey given the fact that they are using the information for profit, and I don't have faith in the metrics they use to determine the best schools.

The measure that is the most frustrating, and one these magazines use heavily to determine the best schools, is the participation rate and completion rate on Advanced Placement courses. We don't offer any AP courses at Bolivar High School, but we do offer 19 dual credit courses in partnership with Southwest Baptist University and Missouri State University, and it's not uncommon for our students to graduate from high school with 30 plus college hours complete.

It's not that I'm against AP courses in general. No doubt these courses are rigorous and help prepare students for college, but so does our dual credit program. Our teachers are qualified to teach college level coursework, and overall the dual credit route better meets the needs of our students. Instead of one test (AP exam) to determine if a student has successfully completed the advanced program, our students are able to earn the college credit each semester without everything riding on one exam.

Moreover, we've found the dual credit classes are generally better accepted for college credit at universities than AP courses. For our students, it just makes sense to for them to want to take dual credit courses over AP.

As we think about what's next for our dual credit program, we would like to add additional courses and perhaps the ability for students to complete an associate's degree while in high school. That would require approximately 60 hours of college credit during the high school years. While the goal would be for these students to continue their studies beyond the associate's degree, it would provide a target for students wanting to demonstrate academic acceleration through high school.

We would also like to greatly expand the opportunities for under-resourced students to take dual credit courses at a reduced cost or for free. We are considering the creation of a dual credit "Bright Futures" scholarship fund that could be used to help students with potential who might not have the current financial means to take dual credit courses.

What Apollo 13 can teach us about project-based, collaborative learning

Educators with an eye on helping students succeed in the future recognize that collaboration, communication, creativity, and critical thinking/problem solving are the skills of the future. I learned about the 4 C's of 21st Century Learning at p21.org. (http://www.p21.org/storage/documents/4csposter.pdf).

But I would suggest that these skills aren't newly important. People have been using these skills to solve some of the most pressing problems of humankind throughout history. In 1970, the Apollo 13 mission suffered a catastrophic failure when an oxygen tank exploded. It left the crew to endure incredible hardships because of limited power, heat loss, and a critical need to repair the carbon dioxide removal system. Back on the ground, NASA was scrambling to support the mission and ensure the crew returned safely to Earth. This video clip exemplifies how the NASA team used "project-based" skills to begin the problem solving.

 

As I think about the types of problems that will fully engage and empower students, instead of asking questions that have predetermined right answers, why not ask questions and present scenarios that could have multiple right answers and require student creativity and critical thinking.

If I was preparing students to successfully bring Apollo 13 back safely, what would my students need to know? If teachers can design projects, or cooperative learning experience that replicate some or all of these characteristics, student learning will be empowering and of lasting value.

1. Sense of purpose--team members are working towards a common goal that has significant meaning beyond the self-interests of the team members.

2. Shared goals--the team is striving to achieve specific goals.

3. Interdependence--team members rely on each other for the success of the entire team. Everyone recognizes the contributions of each member are valuable for team success.

4. Risk of failure--success is not guaranteed and the team recognizes that it's best ideas are required to succeed.

5. No box thinking--it's required to think "outside the box." We can't rely on patterns or models of what's been done before. We need to think of new possibilities even in the face of seemingly impossible circumstances.

6. Extensive discussion--everyone provides input, even introverts, to make sure that all possible solutions are considered.

I think one of the best ways to facilitate this type of teamwork and problem-solving in the classroom is to have students working on real problems in your school, community, or broader context. There are plenty of compelling problems in our world that would bring instant relevance to the learning experience. Students want to solve real problems.

In the end, thanks to a brilliant team effort from those on the ground and in orbit, the crew of Apollo 13 was successful in rigging a carbon dioxide removal system created with items aboard the spacecraft. As a result, we know this story had a happy ending and the astronauts returned safely to Earth.

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