Soulful Sunday

Yesterday I was reading a book (Linchpin) by Seth Godin and had this ah ha moment.  It is a book about business and as I read - I realized I was reading about the state of education.  I just had to share it.  Listen to this (I will be replacing the word "business" with the word "education or teacher":

You want a cookie-cutter (education) that you can scale fast, without regard for finding, nurturing and retaining talent - it is the Rule of Ordinary People.  Here's the problem, which you've already guessed.  If you make your (education) possible to replicate, you are not going to be the one to replicate it.  Others will.  If you build an (education) filled with rules and procedures that are designed to allow you to hire cheap (teachers), you will have to produce an (education) without humanity or personalization or connection.  Which means that you will have to lower your quality.  Which leads to the race to the bottom.

Indispensable (teachers) are the race to the top.

Godin's point is that the whole focus in business has been to produce products as cheaply as possible.  In order to do that - you have to make employees easily replaceable.  You have all watched the fall out as thousands of jobs were outsourced to the lowest priced labor in the world.  The good news is that Godin is saying this model of business is dead.  There is a new way - the way of indispensable talent.

I assert that this old business model of the easily replaceable labor is what education is currently experiencing in its financial crisis.   Larger classrooms, fewer rights, no raises . . . . more accountability.

But I just love Godin's point of view.  It applies to education.  The race to the top can only be realized in the indispensable talent of teachers.

So my message to you today is simple.

You are indispensable.  

You are the source of all that works in our educational systems.

Thank you for teaching in this high pressure, high stakes environment.  Thank you for bringing your heart and soul in the face of unreasonable pressure.   You matter.   If we strip away all the assessments, the data, the evaluations - the truth rests quietly waiting for acknowledgement.   Education is a journey of the heart.  An exceptional education is born from passionate, inspired educators who commit themselves to the task of learning with their students.

You have a gift to give.

A deep stirring to make a difference.

You were born for this work.

We cannot allow the machine of education to deny us our task.

Reflective Teaching - Free Journal!

Click on reflection page to download.

I think if there is one thing that has made the most impact on my teaching - it would be my reflective practice.  At the end of the day I always take a moment to look at how the day went.  I do not linger on my answers.  Rather, I write down what immediately comes to mind.  It does not take long to quickly review your day.  (This is also a great tool to use with student teachers in your care.)  Here are some of the benefits of a reflective practice:

• your teaching becomes more like research - learning along side the children
• attention is given to those areas that might otherwise be overlooked
• the social and emotional climate of the classroom is addressed daily
• teaching becomes more responsive to the children's current learning needs
• you will develop an more observant eye in the classroom
  

Oh How I Love Magical Birthdays!

I just had to share with you the magical day I had.  Today is my birthday.   Woot!  I am not mentioning how old I am (do the math, my oldest child is 29 years old. . . yikes!)

I am used to little fanfare with a birthday so close to Christmas.  Hey, people are busy.  No biggie.

But sometimes, life goes a different way.   Today was one of those days - with lots of fanfare!  Here is a little glimpse into my birthday. . .

It's a birthday hug!  How did I get so lucky to be a teacher?

My celebration started in the morning.  I woke up to a house completely decorated with handmade signs everywhere and in every room.  My daughter, Abbey, went overboard and it was the BEST!

  The living room floor was covered in balloons!

She knows I adore Paris, France.  :)

My students made this adorable sign using their hand prints to make cupcakes with candles! 

The children "filled my bucket" with wonderful compliments!  They made me a DVD -- with interviews of the children talking about me.  Oh my word.  Precious beyond words.  (I need a kleenex. . .)

My husband dropped off a surprise latte. Oh yeah!

Aren't birthdays the best! 

Easy Teacher/ Volunteer Gift

This is one of my favorite gifts to make for a teacher or people in a group (like Sunday School, Book Club, etc).  When I began making these in 2005, the only good mug available was at Starbucks.   It is still one of the best quality mugs.  But you can find lovely mugs at Target and other stores as well.

HOW TO MAKE A SIGNATURE MUG
1. Remove the inner liner from the mug.
2. Trace liner on a piece of watercolor paper.
3. Brush water over traced area. Let water soak into paper for just a moment.
4. Brush layers of color.  I went subtle with a tad of purple at the bottom, a wash of blue and then a large area of yellow.  The watercolor paint I used has glitter in it as well.
5.  Let dry.  Cut out the new watercolor liner.
6. Put watercolor liner into mug.  Trace the bottom over hang and mark where the paper overlaps so you do not get signatures in that area (it would be hidden).
7.  Have the children (or group members) sign the mug in the area that will be visible.  (Use a sharpie pen.)
8.  Put the liner back in the mug and you are done!

Trace the liner on the watercolor paper.

 Put on a wash of water for wet-on-wet watercolor.

Brush layers of watercolor.  I like to add texture with pressing on plastic wrap or sprinkling salt.

Katie, my intern, using her signature mug we gave her!

For My Sister

This weekend I received word that Huntingtons disease is taking my sister's life sooner than I could have imagined.  We are praying we have 6 months with her.  My life has taken a huge shift.  I will travel to see her every chance I have.  Time is like a pocket of gold.

Today I heard this amazing, inspiring 29 year old singer Justin Hines. This young man with crippling condition has an amazing spirit for living life fully.  His disability does not limit what is possible in his life.  I am amazed by his remarkable heart for making the most of his gifts and talents.  His spirit for making a difference inspires me to be an instrument of greater good.

Here is a song he wrote that moves me so deeply.  Say what you will - my sister will always be my dearest friend.  Love you my sweet sister.

Art Center & the Benefits of the Arts

I saw this for the first time in a preschool in San Francisco.  It was an arts integrated preschool and was so filled with creative opportunities for young children.  They had an art center that held a variety of materials for making art. It a free choice center in my classroom.

Things I have put in the buckets:

• foam stickers
• fancy scissors with decorative edges
• tracers
• rubbing plates
• pages from old books
• pages from old calendars
• beads
• paper tiles and squares
• construction paper scraps
• copy paper
• markers
• old photos
• old slides
• pine cones, sticks and other nature items
• the possibilities are endless!

Here is a great little bit about some of the many benefits of including the arts in education. 

About the Benefits of Arts Education for Children
Benefits of Arts EducationSource: Americans for the Arts, 2002

• Stimulates and develops the imagination and critical thinking, and refines cognitive and creative skills.
• Has a tremendous impact on the developmental growth of every child and has proven to help level the "learning field" across socio-economic boundaries.
• Strengthens problem-solving and critical-thinking skills, adding to overall academic achievement and school success.
• Develops a sense of craftsmanship, quality task performance, and goal-setting skills needed to succeed in the classroom and beyond.
• Teaches children life skills such as developing an informed perception; articulating a vision; learning to solve problems and make decisions; building self-confidence and self-discipline; developing the ability to imagine what might be; and accepting responsibility to complete tasks from start to finish.
• Nurtures important values, including team-building skills; respecting alternative viewpoints; and appreciating and being aware of different cultures and traditions.

Furthermore, according to the Americans for the Arts, children who are involed in the arts for at least three hours/three days a week for at least one full year are:

• 4 times more likely to be recognized for academic achievement
• 3 times more likely to be elected to class office within their schools
• 4 times more likely to participate in a math and science fair
• 3 times more likely to win an award for school attendance
• 4 times more likely to win an award for writing an essay or poem

For more information check out this web site:  Americans For the Arts
 

Matt Damon on Save Our Schools

This is from a hand held camera but worth watching.  We are in crisis as a nation in our educational system. 

Bring on the Learning Revolution!

Sir Ken asserts we need a revolution.  This is an outstanding discourse on the current state of affairs in American education!  I must warn you it is 17 minutes long but worth the watch.  Sir Ken brings up several key points about our cultural dispositions that must be confronted.

• One point that I feel is critical to reconsider is the idea all children should be educated and encouraged to go to college.  This idea is insanity.  Do we really want to create a cultural mindset where farming, mechanics and other non-degree jobs are "not enough"?  There must be a respect and honor for a diversity of talents and abilities in society.   
• Another key point is that our education system is modeled after the fast food industry (where everything is standardized) and is starving our souls.  Sadly, this is only getting worse despite the fact our national scores are not getting better.  Why do we think that making intelligence is like manufacturing car parts? 
• Finally, I love, love, love how he feels that what is needed is the creation of environments where learning can flourish.  Yes.  And this cannot be standardized by the very nature of flourishing. 

This is a must watch.  Lets cause a revolution. . .

A Great Way to Spend the Day

Today I am off to Oklahoma City to the State Department of Education to serve as a judge for the State Teacher of the Year selection committee.  Today we will choose the final 6 candidates from the State's pool of district winners.

This is my second invitation to serve on this committee.  It is such a great way to spend the day to view the portfolios of teachers.  It is a day of peering into the incredible world of what some of our best educators do in their schools.  Last time I walked away from the day completely inspired by the amazing people in my field.

Yesterday I was watching Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution.  Jamie asked a man one of the most critical questions anyone should ask of themselves - "What is it that has you get out of bed in the morning?"   Reading what has other educators get out of bed in the morning is simply one of the best ways I can imagine spending my day.

Self-Care

Photo taken at Ten Thousand Waves Spa, 10/29/10

It has been a difficult week.  My daughter, a teacher herself, has had an unusual onset of numbness on the left side of her body.  She is undergoing testing and we are confident we will find the cause.  But it reminded me of how important self care is as a teacher.  As an educator, she has been under pressure with pending changes, classroom demands. . . the usual these days.     I asked her if she was feeling stressed because I know stress has shown its mark on me in the past.  She said yes.

When I find myself in a worrisome place - this time about my daughter - I do not function as I normally do.  My response time, my ability to process conversations, the desire to blog - everything is affected.   What to write on my blog?  I pondered yesterday and drew a blank.

Ten Thousand Waves Spa, Santa Fe, New Mexico

Today I woke up and it was there.  Self care.   I need it, my daughter needs it - I think homeschool moms need it, public school teachers need it - we all need it!  So today I am sharing a few things from my Waldorf training which addressed self-care very powerfully.   These work wonders:

•  Walk daily and preferably in the morning before teaching for 20 minutes.  This clears your thoughts and revitalizes your energy.  It also provides a space for intuitive thinking to arise.  TIP:  Be observant of nature as you walk.  Notice the sounds, movements, and other details of nature.  When I first starting doing this in my city neighborhood I was shocked by the volume of urban wildlife.  I even spotted a fox.   In the middle of the city.   Amazing.  

• Get as much sleep as possible before midnight.  The prime sleeping time is the hours before midnight.  If you are feeling exhausted by the end of your school day - look to see how much sleep you get before midnight.  Aim for two full hours.  It will take three successive nights of this kind of sleep to restore strength.  (I am a night owl so I am working on this one!)

• Practice ruckschau daily.  This is an evening practice that is very effective in reducing stress.  Before you fall asleep each night, go backwards through your day, and remember all the significant activities (and without judgment!).  Move backwards beginning with going to bed and ending with what you did when you woke up that day.   This clears the mind of stress and worry.  It also opens up the intuitive and helps you to let go of the day.

• Take a detox/de-stressing bath once a week:
• Cleansing Bath - to detox and clear negative moods
• 1 cup Epsom salts
• 1/2 cup baking soda
• 2 tablespoons of ground ginger
• Mix together and add to bath water.  Soak in tub for 30 minutes and then rinse.

• Etheric Bath - to rebuild and revitalize
• Beat one organic egg into a cup of organic whole milk
• Pour into a drawn bath.
• Stir with your hand making lumeise (figure 8) seven times.
• Cut one lemon under running bath water and squeeze into water.
• Soak in tub for 15 to 20 minutes.  Rinse.

Simple Awe

Today while observing a two year old exploring a church nursery - I couldn't help but notice her simple awe in everything she encountered.  There was this overflowing joy in just meeting the next thing to explore.  I quickly grabbed my camera and began capturing the gestures of joy she made.

 

I wondered as I witnessed this delight in life - how do we loose that freshness?  I see this wonderment in the kindergarten.   I don't often see it in faculty meetings or the teacher lunchroom!  I am reminded of a Lao Tzu saying "From wonder into wonder existence opens."   This pretty much sums up the young child.  

Observing young children, one thing always stands out to me.  There is this quality of the heart - children take on life authentically and with their whole heart.  I can't help but wonder - is simple awe a function of the heart?   As an educator, a mother, a friend, a wife - I want to free the heart into a state of simple awe.   Maybe there is something to learn from a two year old. . .

The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched.  They must be felt within the heart.   --- Helen Keller 

“One test of the correctness of educational procedure is the happiness of the child.”

--Maria Montessori

Race to Nowhere

Tonight I finally had the opportunity to view the movie "Race to Nowhere."  It really brought home the truth I know as a teacher.  The truth is simple.   I teach to create the love of learning for another human being.  This love will alter the way life turns out for the children I teach.   Worksheets, assessments, standards, and benchmarks - these are not the heart of the matter.  

This is a movie well worth seeing.  It raises many questions of the current practices in American Education such as AP courses, homework, and the idea that all children should be schooled for college (an idea that really bothers me about No Child Left Behind).   It is dangerous to set up an entire generation for the idea that all people can find their career path in a college education.  Several students addressed this on the film saying that going to a community college had felt like they had failed.  One size does not fit all.  Again, I am always brought back to the question, why do I teach?  For what purpose?  These are questions we must ask as a nation.  Why do we teach our children?

 " A mind is not a vessel that needs filling, but wood that needs igniting." —Plutarch

The Arts are Brain Smart!

This week I have parent conferences and I have been preparing for these meetings.  As kindergarteners going into first grade - every family wants to know how is their child doing; is their child ready?   I prepare a whole child snapshot to communicate where their child is at in cognitive development, social/emotional development, creative development and physical development.

I was reminded this week as I looked at the cognitive development piece how much the arts work deeply to build critical brain processing capacities in children!  It is so powerful I am astonished more has not been written on it.  I am dumbfounded that school systems have not discovered the growth it can give those children who have delays.  The arts can raise achievement on levels that really matter for the life of a child.

During the year, I have collected different pieces of art and it provides me with such valuable information of how well this child is processing at very specific levels.  As I work with children on reading and writing - I can always go back to the arts and see how it reveals any processing issues and give me clues to providing what is missing in a child's development.   How incredible is that?  Art in and of itself - is an assessment tool.

Here's a quickie look at what I see and what I have come to understand through my studies - Reading,writing and arithmetic require several foundational skills for success-

• Discrimination - auditory, visual and haptic
• Memory - auditory, visual, short term, long term, rote, and sequential

The arts build these so beautifully!  Just look at this fast picture of cognitive processing that is required in these simple activities:

Guided Drawing:  

1. Requires auditory perception - to interpret what is heard and follow the directions.
2. Requires auditory memory - to take information presented orally and process that information.
3. Requires visual memory - to actively retain visual information presented and process that image.
4. Requires visual discrimination - to discriminate shapes and instructions visually in terms of foreground, background, form, size, and position in space.
5. Requires sequential memory - to follow oral and visual instructions in order of presentation

Creating a multi-step Art Project: (such as Habitats, constructions, collages, etc)

1. Requires receptive memory - to actively retain physical features of project and associated relationships
2. Requires sequential memory - to recall and process instructions in order of presentation
3. Requires short term memory - to recall teacher guidelines
4. Requires visual discrimination - to relate to the field of construction, objects, and their positions.
5. Requires auditory memory - to process effectively the instructions presented orally
6. Requires auditory perception - to interpret and follow oral instructions

Oral Storytelling and Acting Out Fairy Tales:

1. Requires auditory discrimination - to hear and identify words spoken
2. Requires auditory perception - to recognize and interpret what is being spoken for meaning
3. Requires auditory memory - to take in words spoken orally and process it for meaning and recall what was heard  
4. Requires sequential memory - to recall, in order, the events in the story
5. Requires long term memory - to retrieve the story and recall it effectively

Another amazing fact!  The integration of the arts provides what children need at an individualized level.  When you guide children in a drawing - each child's work is reflective of where they are at on the developmental spectrum.  The children who lag in fine motor and visual discrimination skills need guided drawing as a pre-cusor to reading and writing.  Guided drawing trains the eyes and hands.  There is no need to form special pull out groups - all levels get addressed by the very nature of the activity and its deeper ability to pull out individual creative expression!

I will write more about my thoughts and ideas about what art processes I bring regularly and why I bring them.  I have had three interns in my classroom this year and the gift of that has been the reflection of what I do and why.  I know why but I don't always explain it on the deeper levels.  It is so exciting to have eager ears in your classroom.

Have a wonderful week!

Sally

Sipping Education

“Education is the kindling of a flame, not the filling of a vessel”

Socrates 

 

 

Recently a friend of mine told me she had roasted her own coffee.  Immediately, I was going to try it myself.  As an avid and committed coffee drinker, I love the process of making coffee.  Oh by how I love the smells that waff through the house when I grind the beans - can a cup of coffee exist without it?  I can’t wait to roast my own beans - to smell the roast!

It is the mindful process that makes my morning cup of joe so magical.  Likewise, it is the mindful process of learning that gives education it’s power.  Currently, we are in a culture of teaching to the test.  Schools scurry to meet minimum measures and to avoid being put on the at risk lists.  Each year, NCLB raises the bar and the pressure to teach to the test increases.  The process of learning is going out the door as we welcome the latest and newest methods of skill and drill.

I can’t help but think of how it feels when I buy a cup of coffee at a fast food restuarant.  It is insulting to my tongue.  I can’t bear to consume another sip.  The disregard for what it takes to produce a vibrant cup of coffee is evident in the end product.  

We are in a period of time that we are disregarding what it takes to produce educated well rounded human beings.  We are disregarding why we teach in the first place.  We are in crisis. 

I love tea as well.  Yesterday I made a tangerine green tea.  I purchased organic tangerines and hand pressed the juices.  I stirred and mixed my special blend in french glass bottles.  Just looking at the end results makes me feel more alive.  The taste of the tea is vibrant.

I am committed to delivering an education that is vibrant and full bodied.  There is a process and a developmentally appropriate sequence to the education of the young child.  Let us not produce the “fast-food” kind of education.  The real power of education is in the process not in the end results - for if a child “gets” the process of learning - the whole world is theirs.  Anything is possible in life.  

Who is it that teaches?

Today I read this passage from Parker Palmer's book, "Courage to Teach."  It nails what I have been thinking about and I wanted to share it:

The question we most commonly ask is the "what" question - what subjects shall we teach? When the  conversation goes a bit deeper, we ask the "how" question - what methods and techniques are required to teach well?  Occasionally, when it goes deeper still, we ask the "why" question - for what purposes and to what ends do we teach? 

But seldom, if ever, do we ask the "who" question- who is the self that teaches?  How does the quality of my selfhood form - or deform - the way I  relate to my students, my subject, my colleagues, my world?

I think it is important as parents, educators, and really, participants of this dance we call life - to ask who is the self that is dancing?  I know that when I have been up against a challenge with a student or my own children - my first step is to distinguish what barriers stand in the way of me understanding that human being before me.  There is that automatic response I initially bring that is colored by my own experiences, opinions, and ideas of what is the "truth."  These things alter my ability to understand what is really, in truth, the issue.  

An example:  there was a boy in my class one year who refused to come to group time.  He would tell me or my colleague - "No, I don't have to!" and march into a hiding place.  At first glance, I thought he was being stubborn and rebellious.  As a young girl, I was taught that you did what the teacher told you to do - NO questions!  I was raised to believe to tell a person of authority "no" was disrespectful.  As I stood there with this young boy, I put aside my belief and just watched.  He went to his cubby and hid behind his coat.  I followed my instincts and did not interfere - I gave him time to be in that alone space.   He did not move.  I noticed he did not like whole group times.  He would only come out of hiding when it was time for centers.  

I wondered what was missing for him?  Daily, he seemed to need a hiding hole.  A week passed and he would regularly hide.  I kept giving up my need to control him and "make" him "respect" the "rules."  I would tell him, "When you are ready, I would love to have you join us."  I think it was the 6th day of this behavior when the breakthrough happen.  He came up to me, tears falling, and said, "My dad died in a car accident."   My jaw dropped!  We were into the third week of school and no one had told me!  In fact, the family was in deep crisis and were too paralyzed to discuss it!  His father had been killed just two months earlier and his mother was expecting a baby any day.  In that moment, I was so grateful that I had not taken the actions that were my first impulse. 

When I understand the "self" I bring to the party, so to speak, I have greater access to seeing what the other person is really saying in their speaking or behavior.   To ask the question "who is the self that teaches?"  gives me the opportunity to take off the tinted glasses of my own version of reality and actually be fully present, in the now, with another human being.   

It is a gift we can give - to be fully present to each other and to our children.  I wonder, is this the true curriculum? 

Why Educate?

To be capable of wonder is to be fully human.

  - Carlina Rinaldi

Photo taken by my dad - Arlen Fowler in Utah.

Today I drove from Tulsa to Dallas and had a good five hours to think.  Lately, my thoughts swirl around our educational system and such things as the movies "Waiting for Superman" and "Racing to Nowhere" that point to the troubles we face.  And as I thought about it, I kept coming back to the question, "Why do we educate our children?"  Really.  What is our aim? 

I looked in the dictionary to find the root of educate.  According to Webster's "to educate" means "out to lead."  Makes sense!  When I educate, I am leading the student.  Where am I leading them?   Where are you leading your students?

I remembered my own education, specifically, high school.  I would cram for tests, memorizing the content, take the test, pass, and quickly forget the material.  It was all short term memory.  Clearly, teaching is more than the content of the curriculum.  Webster's defined teaching as "to show how to do something."  As an educator, I am committed to delivering more than the memory work.  Teaching a child to read does not mean you have taught a child to think, to wonder, or to be amazed by learning new things.

I have a sticky note posted in the front of my lesson plan book that says, "A good education gives you goosebumps."  It reminds me to not forget to add a little wonder and curiosity in the plan.  In my world, assessing, dibeling, and benchmarking kindergarteners is not producing goosebumps.  

In her book, Bringing Learning to Life, Louise Boyd Caldwell, says this about the schools in Reggio Emilia and people's responses when they visited - "most adults feel awestruck, speechless, often moved to tears. . . (they) immediately sense the extraordinary meaning and beauty of everyday life in a school for the youngest citizens."  

Where am I leading my students?  Maybe to be awestruck and speechless by the extraordinary beauty of everyday life.   Not a bad place to start.