September 29, 2011 · 11:49 am

Turning 40 “Love”

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The most important lesson I’ve learned was best said in the above quote, “Love is the only rational act.”  At first it seems like a basic feel good quote, but it is deeper than that. Love is the only RATIONAL act. Love has a strong image link to the heart and emotions, but Morrie connected it to our head and thinking.  Put simply Love produces positive results, it works. It makes sense as a founding principal for our lives.

My kids respond to Love better than to me yelling.  The waitress who is having a rough day responds better to an understanding comment from me.  A smile trumps a frown in the classroom.  I feel energized when I am involved in activities I love. Love works.

Living out this idea is not easy with the everyday stress we experience.  But I’ve noticed that a negative reaction may solve a problem right then, but causes more issues later.  While living out Love takes patience and even at times makes the current issue tough to get through, the long-term benefits are positive. It takes real strength, an intentional spirit, and an open heart, but living out the idea of Love makes all the difference. It is the rational thing to do that leads to an emotional filled life.

Bonus, because I love music I made a small playlist of songs that reveal an aspect of this idea. Enjoy.

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September 26, 2011 · 3:51 pm

Collaboration

collaboration |kəˌlabəˈrā sh ən|
noun
1 the action of working with someone to produce or create something

As a distance learning teacher I have had classes from different schools collaborate during a class period.  I’ve used a number of different tools, Scribblar, Today’s Meet, and others. This semester I took an opportunity to see how well students could collaborate, not just across geographical barriers, but also across time barriers.

I teach ESU 10’s TECHS course. I have four class periods for the online sections. Using digital music downloading as a support issue, I divided the whole class into two groups.  Group one’s stance was that digital music should be free.  Group two’s stance was that there should be a price for music.  Side note: whether good or bad, sometimes I throw the students in the deep end to see if they can swim.  The guidelines were simple, as a group you need to produce a Google doc and Google presentation concerning your side of the issue.  Each group had a Scribblar white board to do work on, a Google doc, and presentation that I hosted for them.  They had a total of 5 days to work on it (including the weekend).  Below are the presentations.

Some observations:

1. Group work.  Just like a regular classroom, some students did more work than others (8 out 49 students reported that they barely worked on the document or presentation).  Just like a regular classroom, I had to refocus the groups at times. The interesting point was that working this way was seen as a positive and a negative.  Some quotes from the students.

“We could chat to other people in your group and talk about the assignment.”

“Well, it was hard for everyone in the groups to get on the right page. They were kind of all over the place, but in the end we did good.”

2. Quality: I feel for the open-ended way that I handled the assignment the students did a solid job.  I understand that the class is in a unique situation, a teacher they see only on the TV.  My first year teaching only from the TV, combined with my somewhat nontraditional way of teaching, probably made the students frustrated.  A student response, “It really didn’t have anything to do with what I thought this class was about.”

3. The Power of Technology.  From a student, “It’s cool how we could all work together as a group and share our ideas and opinions with each other.”  During class I would be having discussions with the students on the whiteboard (they talk more to me in text form then verbally). I remember one discussion that centered around the cost of a song verses the cost of a bottle of pop.  When on task, the students did a great job researching and holding interesting discussions with each other and me during the class period.  But there is always the negative side of this type of communication, “While working on the website with other schools it was hard to add info because so many people tried adding something to it at once.”  And the personal differences; a response from one student to the question about what negative aspect of the assignment they noticed, “the fighting.”

Final thoughts: As in any classroom, some students jumped into the assignment, others complained, some worked through the frustration, others just gave up.  The funny thing about the assignment was how much it felt just like a regular classroom.  I had the same frustrations as a teacher.  Student apathy, “why do we have to do this” attitude, and honestly, in this case, the technology only seemed to enhance the negative for me.  But I think showing how technology can connect us to opportunities to collaborate was worth the time.  When we truly connect who knows what we can create…

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September 21, 2011 · 11:10 am

Turning 40 “The Past”

“Today is the moment when your past and future meet.”

I have been struggling with how to articulate this idea with out writing some deep philosophy book.  Simply stated, what I’ve learned is that our past is important, but we don’t handle its power well.

On the extreme edges we either ignore it or let it cripple us.  Somewhere in the middle is where we can use it to improve today and build for tomorrow.  Our past affects us, even if we don’t always recognize it.

The crazy part is it doesn’t matter if the past was 10 years or 10 minutes ago.  Over the years I’ve seen how the past affects my students.  I’ve seen how the drama of the last class took 10 minutes for them to get focused, to the way a movie we watched in class brought back the pain of the loss of a parent.

I have been guilty of not seeing my students fully. Wondering why they just did that?  Or frustrated with their work ethic.  I am guilty of not considering their past and how it might play a role in their behavior.  To use my English teacher vocabulary, we all are round dynamic characters in this life.  We all have a past, we all have dreams and goals we want to achieve. And today is the moment when our past and future meet. If we are aware of this I think we can tackle issues with a clearer objective.  If we can help our students see that, maybe we can help them build a better future.

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September 13, 2011 · 10:07 am

Where I am Today (Turning 40 post)

As I count down to my fortieth birthday, I feel like I need to write the expected “What I’ve Learned” blog post.   So, over the next three weeks I will share a series of things I’ve discovered in my first forty years of life.  But first, I’m going to start with where I am right now.

As I write this I am working from home, actually I’m at the Blue Moon having a Cinnamon Roll Latte.  I am in my third month with a new job.  To be honest, I am still adjusting.  Not just to the new job, but to what I left behind to take this opportunity.  My family is strong, and in fact doing well because of my new job.

I am a few pounds over weight, got an app to help me stay motivated with that.  I thought that sometime I would actually feel like an adult, but I don’t.  I sing in the hallways at work, tell bad jokes, and release a Woohoo! in every conversation I have.  I feel insecure, doubt barrages me all the time.  I miss my friends.  And I feel like a failure with all the goals I haven’t achieved.

Sometimes my family breaks my heart with the most beautiful moments. The way my girls say “I love you, daddy.”  Watching my son shine on stage.  The beauty of my wife’s smile.

I don’t know why, but approaching this birthday has been a challenge.  I think I have more questions then answers, but I hope to share with you a few insights over the next couple of weeks. Next Turning 40 post, “Why the past matters.”

 

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August 26, 2011 · 2:55 pm

Motivation

mo·ti·va·tion [moh-tuh-vey-shuhn] noun

  1. the act or an instance of motivating,  or providing with a reason to act in a certain way (dictionary.com)

During a conversation with a colleague, the idea of motivation in the classroom came about.  This discussion coincides with some ideas I have been thinking about regarding how we reach our students.  So, I am going to try to express a complicated web of ideas with the center being motivation.

As a teacher I have been frustrated.  I have stood in front of my room looking out on my students’ faces talking to myself, “How do they not see how great this book, or poem, or lesson, is?”  Sometimes, as teachers, we take for granted that everyone knows how powerful learning is.  But if we look at popular culture, it will remind you that they don’t.

Idea one: The Mountain

Let’s use a metaphor for a second. If we view education as a mountain, we understand that to see the spectacular view from the top we must climb.  And that climb is hard at times.  Even an expert mountain climber (or a well educated person) needs a hand to get to the top.

Image by Pete Linforth from Pixabay

Sometimes we need to remember that our students haven’t made this climb before.  Sometimes we have to reach out to them and show them the way to the mountaintop.  The view is incredible; they just don’t know it yet.

Idea Two: Practice

What if the classroom was more like practice?  Take a second to think back to what practice was like for you. How many times did the whistle blow?  How many times did coach go off on some kind of motivational rant?  Sometimes coach got on your case, other times a “nice job” was all it took to keep you going.  You were pushed, you were challenged, sometimes you were down right dog-tired yet felt great.

What does a typical classroom look, sound, feel like?  I understand the difference in the environments, but why can’t we match the energy of practice to a classroom?  The techniques and tools are different, but not what motivates a person.  In an interview on Focus on the Family for his book, coach Joe Gibbs stated that a good coach finds what works with his athletes to motivate them, be it a challenge or a simple comment like “good job.”

Everybody needs motivation; I found it as a coach when we successfully performed on the field.  As a teacher I found it in the light-bulb moment.  We all need motivation, a helping hand.  Not because we don’t know of the importance of our jobs, but because sometimes the climb is just hard.  And we forget what the view is.

Courtesy of Flickr user rbbaird

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August 15, 2011 · 6:44 pm

Change / Fate (A Turning 40 Post)

“Closer to the Edge” 30 Seconds to Mars
Can you imagine a time when the truth ran free?
The birth of a song, the death of a dream
Closer to the edge

This never ending story
Paid for with pride and fate
We all fall short of glory
Lost in ourselves

No, I’m not saying I’m sorry
One day maybe we’ll meet again
No, I’m not saying I’m sorry
One day maybe we’ll meet again

My students will not be surprised at my analysis of this song and its connection to life.  This song has been my summer song, not only because me and my second son dance to it in the kitchen, but it just hits a vibe with my life.  The line about the birth of a song but connected with a death of a dream reveals the cost of change.  Changes in our life hold both constructive and destructive powers.

Many people forget the lines “I shall be telling this with a sigh / Somewhere ages and ages hence:” from Robert Frost’s poem, “The Road Not Taken”. The rest of the poem deals with choosing the path less traveled, but these lines are ambiguous about the true benefit of that choice.

As my fortieth birthday approaches, I look back at all the roads I traveled.  And the ones I didn’t.  I have to wonder how I got here, did I make the right choices?  Was there truly any other paths to follow?   The question of Fate has no easy answer, I love when we cover the book The Natural and dissect the theme of fate presented in the story.  I try to let the students work with their own views of this complex idea.  Because I can not answer them, I can only live closer to the edge where the choices are to be made, knowing that each choice will open one door and close another.

As the video asks, Are you ready? I say bring on the next 40 years…

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August 10, 2011 · 1:37 pm

Adjustments to Freedom

Student Life

Student Life

A part of change is adjustments, and in my new position I am finding the biggest adjustment comes from the freedom I have in my position.  The two biggest factors of that freedom are time and working.

Spending the last 12 years in high school, time is segmented out for you.  The calendar is set, the bells ring every 48 minutes, planning period is the same everyday.  Life in school is a tightly run routine.

The second day on the job I wanted to go to the Casey’s up the block for a pop.  I stopped at our secretary’s desk to ask if it was OK.  She was nice about the situation, but I saw in her eyes that “I can’t believe this” look just after I asked the question.

Also that week, the staff was gathered together for lunch.  Guess who was done first?  Yep, me. Finished in less than six minutes.

The freedom of my time affects the second aspect; my work.  I am responsible for producing my product.  If I have an idea, I’m responsible for it.  One example is an idea for an online only workshop covering 2.0 tools for teachers.  My boss likes the idea.  So it is up to me to produce it.  Yes, there are some guidelines and standards to meet, but if I want my idea to be a reality I am responsible for it.  Powerful way to work.

Powerful way to learn? Yes, I think so.

The first aspect of time is crucial to the second aspect of learning.  Every teacher has had the situation when the class is just clicking.  The energy is high, students are engaged, as a teacher you are flying.  No one notices, or cares, about the time… then the bell rings.  You try to finish the point you were on, kids are trying to listen and grab their book bags at the same time.  You can see the bell has intruded on them too.

There is no easy answer for the time constraints in school, without some radical change.  But, I think it is an aspect of school reform that needs real attention.  In my discussions with students, one area that time has the greatest negative impact is the industrial and art classes.  In one conversation with a student who was taking a welding class, he expressed his frustration with only getting 10 minutes of real welding done in a typical class session.  There is attendance and class issues first, then prep work, and then having enough time for cleanup.

Which brings us to what students produce.  The freedom to work on things they love, or to stay with a concept until that light bulb goes off.  Some of my best teaching has happened as I walked with students to their next class (so they wouldn’t be tardy) talking with them until the idea clicked.  That is a teacher’s gold medal: that look when a student’s eyes get big, the corner of their mouth moves into a smile, and I swear, the room becomes bright.

What would school look like with more freedom?

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August 3, 2011 · 11:25 am

Perfect Day

So, I had a weird thought…. A perfect day…

As many of you know, the above clip comes from the movie version of Tuesdays with Morrie. I used this movie / book in my psychology class and asked the students what their perfect day would be.  The students’ days may have been a little crazy, but like Morrie, they all involved family and friends.

But my crazy idea is why can’t every day be perfect?  Now, I’m not living in la-la-land, I do have a two-year-old in my house so we move from happy to tantrum faster then it took to type this sentence .  My life is still in a huge transition phase, and I know that this life can be hard…

But I have a crazy idea… I have family, I have friends, and I have this day. Perfect.

What will make this day perfect for you?

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July 29, 2011 · 8:44 am

Cruise Control

My new commute is mostly on the interstate, and like everyone I set the cruise control and drive.

But is setting the cruise really driving?  It seems like it is more of an attitude that we have set our speed and we are not going to change.  No matter what.

I am sure you have experienced that car that sits just inside your blind spot, no matter what you do with the cruise control.

Or the car that is set a half a MPH faster than the truck it is passing.

How about when you see that you will be able to pass the car and truck ahead of you, so you move into the left lane, and just as you get to the car… it jumps into the left lane making you slow down (and yea, it is the car that is a half MPH faster than the truck).

But is this cruise control attitude just a reflection of what we do with our lives?  The cruise control comes in many different forms in life.  Work, school, same nightly routine.  Cruise control is a great function for the car and life. At times. I have become angry when I drive just using cruise control (“just pass the truck, the cruise goes back down automatically,” I’ve mumbled on the road). But, I’ve noticed I feel the same when I am living by cruise control.  When something happens that makes me step on the brake, or change lanes; a sick child, me ruining dinner (homemade French fries are not easy to make), or any number of things that are just apart of life. A part of driving.

The road I drive to work stays the same, but I will never have the same driving experience, ever.  The cars and trucks change, road construction, a new CD to listen to, any number of things make each day different.  At times I can just cruise.  At times life runs smoothly.  But we must be ready to drive. A car is designed for that, just as life is designed to be lived.  Enjoy the drive today.

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July 13, 2011 · 2:25 pm

Frustrated?

What does golf, starting a new lawn, having five children, and learning have in common? Frustration.

My life right now is filled with all kinds of different frustrations:

I have five children, the youngest only months away from being two… (If you are a parent that is all I need to say)

We are trying to get a yard started for our new home. Our dirt is clay based, we don’t have underground sprinklers, and we are on our second attempt of seeding. Every 30 minutes you can hear me say, “Be back, got to change the water.”

This month I started my new position and there are so many things that are different that I get overwhelmed with the changes.

Then there is golf…

Yesterday was my day to play golf in the morning. Almost every Tuesday and Wednesday I play nine holes in the morning. This week I was especially excited to get a round in because I had a good practice session last Saturday. I thought I had my swing for my irons figured out. I played the back nine and started well for me, a 5 on the par 4 tenth hole. As any golfer knows without reason things got worse.

A quick side note, I take one of my older boys with me when I play. They like to get a Gatorade and tend the flag for me. But when frustration hits, they remind me to watch my outbursts. Which was a challenge Tuesday morning.

Hole 14 par 5… I score an 8 (never once in the fairway).

Hole 15 par 4… I score a 7 (Water ball)

Hole 16 par 4 … I score an 8 (Walk off the green feeling so frustrated that I would love to throw a club)

So, I walk to the 17th hole frustrated…
Frustration is a powerful emotion. But part of its power is an illusion. When we get flooded with frustration it feels so wide and deep. It seems to filter into every aspect of that moment. Thinking, feeling, we can even feel that fate is against us. It feels like we are treading water in the middle of the ocean. But if we would put our feet down, we would see that frustration isn’t deep, that is its illusion. We can go deeper than the frustration. When we do, then we truly learn.

My son is watching me as I pull out a 5-iron for this hole. I wonder what I look like through his eyes. Does it look like I am drowning?

As a teacher and a coach I see students fight against frustration. I see them splashing around trying to find the beach. To get away from frustration. There are the excuses of not knowing what to do. Or the quiet giving up. Each student has their own way of dealing with frustration. But if we can get them to put their feet down, or even better to dive down through the frustration, the outcome will be powerful. More powerful than frustration, any frustration they will encounter in school or life.

My son stands quietly next to my golf bag. I mentally try to put my feet down, concentrating on what I worked on during practice. I swing. Not perfect, the ball starts at the flag, but then hooks. The ball lands about 20 feet from the green on an up-slope. I have to get the chip up in the air but soft because the green rolls away. I continue to think about the chip instead of the frustration, to set my feet down. My chip comes up nicely off the grass, soft and high. The frustration starts to drain away. I do two-putt for a bogey. But I am happy with that hole.

The last hole is a par 5. My son starts to talk again as we walk to the next tee box. He can feel that my frustration is fading, but it is nagging at me as I think about my drive. I haven’t hit a good drive all day, but I mentally set my feet down, trying to get past the negative voice trying to scratch at my mental state.

I slow down my swing, focus on the fundamentals, and send the ball straight down the center. Not long, about 200 yards. Second shot lands just off the right side of the fairway, but a solid hit. My third shot lands just in front of the green. I chip and two-putt. Bogey, yes. But I walk of the course feeling that I played those last two holes like I can.

Everybody feels frustrated, in all kinds of situations, but we can learn and improve when that frustration hits. It is a powerful emotion, but part of the power is an illusion. Frustration is not that deep; just below it is the opportunity to improve.

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