Veterans' Day represents all of our military who sacrificed their time and potentially lives to represent our country. My grandfathers worked to free concentration camp victims in world war II. My father worked communication at a time when we were defending democracy in SE Asia. My brother helped defend a small country in the Persian Gulf from an aggressive neighbor.
We did all of these things because we believe that the right to have free elections, and exist in a country where all views (religious and personal) are taken into account is valuable.
Everyday in my work as an educator I try to discern what people are thinking, how much they know, where they got their resources. I pay attention to whether they are treating others with respect, I try to teach them critical skills like seeing issues from several points of view, collaborating and compromising to achieve goals.
I am a history teacher at heart, so I worry that people see the whole picture and understand how the government works, how different leaders affected history, how certain movements over time worked to achieve rights for women, all races religion and sexual preferences.
I am perplexed and upset every day by what I see happening in our country.
I have many friends of all kinds. I don't limit myself to only listening to people who agree with me.
I know educated intelligent adults who spent the last few weeks spewing hate and name calling. With all of the de-friending on social media, I worry people are retreating to their little boxes of like-minded individuals.
So if you are still reading this realize :
Presidents rarely keep their campaign promises : I know many of you are afraid that our Latino LGBTQ and women friends will be affected by walls, new laws, and supreme court reversals that will threaten our families and ways of life.
There are many more steps that have to happen before that is a threat.
Is it great that the same party now controls possibly all three branches of government... no, this is not ideal. But in just two years there is a midterm election that can change that.
So many of you think that by electing Donald Trump our country gave the green light to disrespect of disabled people, women, homosexuals, and immigrants.
NO . Each us has the power and responsibility every day to respect everyone around us.
We have a fair and free election system. My friends that voted for Donald Trump did so overwhelmingly because they believe that our country needed to shakeup Status Quo economically. Much remains to be seen about policies and practices that will or won't make changes.
I am upset that protests put my 20 year old daughter in danger in California this week. My initial reaction was to sarcastically "thank" DJT. My logic was : his hateful comments, caused a visceral response creating a vacuum of common sense and therefore a forum for protests and hate. Yes, that is all very ugly.
But I am thinking more about individual responsibility now to be true to each of our own values while working together in government systems. I am putting in perspective times in history where groups worked peacefully and productively to make sure that their values and messages got across .
( MLK comes to mind.)
I am listening to the plans for the first 100 days of Donald Trump's presidency and I am not hearing the threats to civil liberties some of my friends are very concerned about.
I see very few people being able to stand the optimistic middle ground that I am taking right now. I have felt accused by both sides of being a horrible person. My liberal friends are being accused of being "crybabies" as they express their concerns about the outcome, and my conservative friends have been labeled the devil incarnate for supporting Trumps views.
Please join me here in the middle where we try to respect the government system our forefathers set up knowing that we have a lot of different views in our country to manage . And try to respect each other every day. The whole " We " and " Them" thing is getting in the way here..... on many many different levels.
Friday, November 11, 2016
Tuesday, June 21, 2016
Not my Circus, not my Monkeys .. but SO MUCH LEARNED !
Tonight I had a unique experience to witness an intimate learning experience as a semi-outsider. I went to support my friend's daughter in her role as Student Liaison to her BOE in rural upstate NY. Her predominantly white school district voted at a June 7, 2016 BOE meeting to replace their "Indian" mascot with an "Eagle." To the credit of their teachers and the passion of the students, a human rights club and student council banded together to re-initiate the movement to replace the mascot due to the discriminatory nature of stereotyping Native Americans as cartoon-like aggressive characters.
But alas, despite the fact that the students thoroughly researched their case, and they knew the history of the movement (15 years prior a similar decision by the BOE was overturned after pushback and violence from the community), I think they underestimated the still existing strong emotions regarding the matter. The meeting tonight was designed for everyone who wanted to speak about the matter to have 3:00 minutes. Over 30 people were signed up to speak.
The learning the students demonstrated so eloquently tonight in quality research from legitimate sources, passionate persuasive writing , and articulate speaking was quite impressive. They recognized and honored human rights and cultural sensitivity. They had discussions, a call to action, a survey, a forum for dissenting views all as part of their process to make their case. And the BOE agreed, especially given their legal obligation to have non discriminatory practices.
Stating a strong passionate opinion to like-minded individuals is easy. Ask anyone who has de-friended all the political opinions on the other side of the Facebook isle. Many of these students will go on to strong liberal arts schools and have educational experiences that are far reaching in their creativity for problem solving and critical thinking. These will be wonderful learning experiences.
But they got one of the best ones they could tonight. The students gracefully and politely listened as adults that have come from 5 generations in that town gave their opinions about the "indian " mascot. It represented honor to them, integrity to who they were. Most genuinely did not believe they were being racist by invoking the mascot, but they were in fact remembering and honoring Native Americans. (Who they believed did not mind the name "Indians"). They spoke of relatives who had passed away who were "Indians" (athletes from this particular town, bonded by tradition) and how this move dishonors them. And the story was told of the 80s football state championship where the 18-0 snowy half time deficit was overcome by a rally that started with an Indian chant (I admit I cringed at that one) . I believe that listening to and tolerating views you do not share, is one of the best human skills in the 21st century.
Everything was going along predictably uncomfortably for everyone, until it took a sharp turn few were expecting. An older Native American woman got up to explain that her father had been forced to leave his home and go to a military school, and was disgraced by his American classmates. That her father taught her to not give up on who she was . But the cultural references to Native Americans were hers to make, not the white rural people who may have happened to live in an area once long ago populated by Native Americans ( which by the way, would be every where in America) . This woman was proud of the BOE that they were giving their students a symbol (Eagle) to be proud of and that it could represent joy and power and inclusiveness to the whole community without possibly alienating anyone. She was hard to argue with !
The "Save the Indians " crew, I will call them, changed the tune to "change is ok" , but the process was wrong, it should be a referendum of the whole town (like 15 years ago) , resignations were called for, accusations of political posturing flew around, but the very best idea was called for by some sensible people who were there to support the students and the BOE. They said that it was apparent that the entire community would benefit from cultural sensitivity and tolerance training. (couldn't we all ?!) Just maybe plan the vote for after the training !
I think about my daughter and her passionate writing about gun control laws and the political climate today where everyone has so much to say but doesn't appear to be hearing one another. I think about the many people who let tradition, and agreement with their elders as a bonding experience, get in the way of accepting new and progressive ideas that are inclusive of all humans. But I've seen change in my lifetime and I hope our children get to see much more.
Maybe the circus and the monkeys do belong to all of us jointly ?
But alas, despite the fact that the students thoroughly researched their case, and they knew the history of the movement (15 years prior a similar decision by the BOE was overturned after pushback and violence from the community), I think they underestimated the still existing strong emotions regarding the matter. The meeting tonight was designed for everyone who wanted to speak about the matter to have 3:00 minutes. Over 30 people were signed up to speak.
The learning the students demonstrated so eloquently tonight in quality research from legitimate sources, passionate persuasive writing , and articulate speaking was quite impressive. They recognized and honored human rights and cultural sensitivity. They had discussions, a call to action, a survey, a forum for dissenting views all as part of their process to make their case. And the BOE agreed, especially given their legal obligation to have non discriminatory practices.
Stating a strong passionate opinion to like-minded individuals is easy. Ask anyone who has de-friended all the political opinions on the other side of the Facebook isle. Many of these students will go on to strong liberal arts schools and have educational experiences that are far reaching in their creativity for problem solving and critical thinking. These will be wonderful learning experiences.
But they got one of the best ones they could tonight. The students gracefully and politely listened as adults that have come from 5 generations in that town gave their opinions about the "indian " mascot. It represented honor to them, integrity to who they were. Most genuinely did not believe they were being racist by invoking the mascot, but they were in fact remembering and honoring Native Americans. (Who they believed did not mind the name "Indians"). They spoke of relatives who had passed away who were "Indians" (athletes from this particular town, bonded by tradition) and how this move dishonors them. And the story was told of the 80s football state championship where the 18-0 snowy half time deficit was overcome by a rally that started with an Indian chant (I admit I cringed at that one) . I believe that listening to and tolerating views you do not share, is one of the best human skills in the 21st century.
Everything was going along predictably uncomfortably for everyone, until it took a sharp turn few were expecting. An older Native American woman got up to explain that her father had been forced to leave his home and go to a military school, and was disgraced by his American classmates. That her father taught her to not give up on who she was . But the cultural references to Native Americans were hers to make, not the white rural people who may have happened to live in an area once long ago populated by Native Americans ( which by the way, would be every where in America) . This woman was proud of the BOE that they were giving their students a symbol (Eagle) to be proud of and that it could represent joy and power and inclusiveness to the whole community without possibly alienating anyone. She was hard to argue with !
The "Save the Indians " crew, I will call them, changed the tune to "change is ok" , but the process was wrong, it should be a referendum of the whole town (like 15 years ago) , resignations were called for, accusations of political posturing flew around, but the very best idea was called for by some sensible people who were there to support the students and the BOE. They said that it was apparent that the entire community would benefit from cultural sensitivity and tolerance training. (couldn't we all ?!) Just maybe plan the vote for after the training !
I think about my daughter and her passionate writing about gun control laws and the political climate today where everyone has so much to say but doesn't appear to be hearing one another. I think about the many people who let tradition, and agreement with their elders as a bonding experience, get in the way of accepting new and progressive ideas that are inclusive of all humans. But I've seen change in my lifetime and I hope our children get to see much more.
Maybe the circus and the monkeys do belong to all of us jointly ?
Saturday, November 7, 2015
November already ?
I mentioned that this year started off rough for me, but I cannot believe we are approaching the end of the first marking period ! I have gotten into a nice routine with my grade 6 students and it is very heart warming to see some of the grade 7 and 8 students I have for extension periods getting excited about their social justice projects.
I designed a collaborative TV news segment project to start the year in grade 6 . We were all quite excited to hear about the discovery of Homo Naledi, a hominid and early ancestor to humans. The students had a lot of fun with art, acting, and collaboration. And I think they understand what scientists know about the development of early man... at least they now understand that humans and dinosaurs did not exist at the same time . "Damn you" Flintstones...
Parent conferences occurred earlier this month. That always solves so many mysteries. Apples don't usually fall too far from trees. And trust me, my district has plenty of very strong important established trees, with a lot of pressure for those apples to live up to. But, in the same classroom I have students who are hurting because they don't have all the same advantages. It always makes you realize that you do have to take each case completely separately.
Next up, I am trying to expand my differentiation options. We study ancient river valley civilizations in MP 2 ; Mesopotamia, Egypt, India, China... To go along with all my normal teaching strategies I am going to have students choose a "lens" in which to view, compare and contrast these civilizations as we learn about them. They can choose from builder, performer and artist. We are going to have a showcase at the end. The builders are going to get to choose from Minecraft or 3d materials, Performers can show everyday life in these civilizations through skits, dance or song, and the artists can recreate sculpture, painting, drawing, computer presentation or any combination of these.
My hope is to make the classroom a place of excitement, discovery and joy. If I am going to spend all day with 11/12 year olds, I want them busy enough that they are not plotting how they are going to overthrow and torture me !
I did a college fair last week as an F&M alumni. I watched totally clueless juniors and seniors try to get information about this very big decision they face. I thought of my own college age kids and the angst I had as an 17 year old trying to make that decision. I then thought back to my college experience that ended in a totally different direction than it started (I had absolutely no intention of becoming a teacher) As it turns out I can't imagine investing my life in any other field . But I'm also very glad I formed that journey at F&M, which I most certainly would not have chosen had I known the ending. Some of my best lifelong friends came from my college experience.
So I hope everyone enjoys their journeys and all the wonderful, or sometimes bittersweet twists and turns life provides for us. Remember, if you try to keep joy around you, it is so much more bearable.
Fondly
Holly
I designed a collaborative TV news segment project to start the year in grade 6 . We were all quite excited to hear about the discovery of Homo Naledi, a hominid and early ancestor to humans. The students had a lot of fun with art, acting, and collaboration. And I think they understand what scientists know about the development of early man... at least they now understand that humans and dinosaurs did not exist at the same time . "Damn you" Flintstones...
Parent conferences occurred earlier this month. That always solves so many mysteries. Apples don't usually fall too far from trees. And trust me, my district has plenty of very strong important established trees, with a lot of pressure for those apples to live up to. But, in the same classroom I have students who are hurting because they don't have all the same advantages. It always makes you realize that you do have to take each case completely separately.
Next up, I am trying to expand my differentiation options. We study ancient river valley civilizations in MP 2 ; Mesopotamia, Egypt, India, China... To go along with all my normal teaching strategies I am going to have students choose a "lens" in which to view, compare and contrast these civilizations as we learn about them. They can choose from builder, performer and artist. We are going to have a showcase at the end. The builders are going to get to choose from Minecraft or 3d materials, Performers can show everyday life in these civilizations through skits, dance or song, and the artists can recreate sculpture, painting, drawing, computer presentation or any combination of these.
My hope is to make the classroom a place of excitement, discovery and joy. If I am going to spend all day with 11/12 year olds, I want them busy enough that they are not plotting how they are going to overthrow and torture me !
I did a college fair last week as an F&M alumni. I watched totally clueless juniors and seniors try to get information about this very big decision they face. I thought of my own college age kids and the angst I had as an 17 year old trying to make that decision. I then thought back to my college experience that ended in a totally different direction than it started (I had absolutely no intention of becoming a teacher) As it turns out I can't imagine investing my life in any other field . But I'm also very glad I formed that journey at F&M, which I most certainly would not have chosen had I known the ending. Some of my best lifelong friends came from my college experience.
So I hope everyone enjoys their journeys and all the wonderful, or sometimes bittersweet twists and turns life provides for us. Remember, if you try to keep joy around you, it is so much more bearable.
Fondly
Holly
Wednesday, September 23, 2015
2015-2016
Sorry for the delay on this first post. My world was shaken by the loss of my mother, Linda, DeCinque, on September 3rd. She had been ill for a long time, but nothing really prepares you for the death of someone you have known every moment of your life. Both my parents have now passed away, and as the oldest of four siblings I am feeling mighty officially the role of an adult.
The best solution for this feeling, is of course to spend your days in a middle school, surrounded by adolescents. It keeps you young and gives you perspective of a whole life ahead. I am blessed with amazing friends and family to help me through these times. And I am starting to feel caught up and back in the swing of things. My mother was a wonderful role model of strength and patience which are the skills I need to survive for now.
This year I am teaching all of the grade 6 Social Studies (ancient civilizations) in our building. I used to teach grade 5 and 6 . I also have several different weekly sections of a social justice extension class with 7th and 8th graders, so it promises to be a very interesting and engaging year.
Conveniently, scientists in South Africa excitingly announced a new find indicating another species of early man. This happens to be my exact curriculum and it has been exciting to design a unit project around this news. Students are in groups being asked to construct a 5-7 minute news program that communicates the facts and questions revolving around this story.
I'll keep you posted and post a link to some sample products if possible, I am still exploring our new policies regarding technology in our district. I have also been exploring different programs that allow you to intersperse questions into a video for student viewing.
Along with that, I have launched remind.com, which I am hoping to use to improve communication to parents regarding assignments and announcements from school. As always, the administrative search continues for a good match of my skills and abilities in the next phase of my career ( all leads appreciated ) .
Welcome to a new year,
Fondly
Holly Foley
The best solution for this feeling, is of course to spend your days in a middle school, surrounded by adolescents. It keeps you young and gives you perspective of a whole life ahead. I am blessed with amazing friends and family to help me through these times. And I am starting to feel caught up and back in the swing of things. My mother was a wonderful role model of strength and patience which are the skills I need to survive for now.
This year I am teaching all of the grade 6 Social Studies (ancient civilizations) in our building. I used to teach grade 5 and 6 . I also have several different weekly sections of a social justice extension class with 7th and 8th graders, so it promises to be a very interesting and engaging year.
Conveniently, scientists in South Africa excitingly announced a new find indicating another species of early man. This happens to be my exact curriculum and it has been exciting to design a unit project around this news. Students are in groups being asked to construct a 5-7 minute news program that communicates the facts and questions revolving around this story.
I'll keep you posted and post a link to some sample products if possible, I am still exploring our new policies regarding technology in our district. I have also been exploring different programs that allow you to intersperse questions into a video for student viewing.
Along with that, I have launched remind.com, which I am hoping to use to improve communication to parents regarding assignments and announcements from school. As always, the administrative search continues for a good match of my skills and abilities in the next phase of my career ( all leads appreciated ) .
Welcome to a new year,
Fondly
Holly Foley
Sunday, June 28, 2015
One Last Heart-Warming Story from 2014- 2015
One of the final activities of the school year is "Relay for Life" (walking to raise money and awareness for cancer patients) .
As you may have recalled from earlier posts, one of my classes got very passionate about the water situation in developing countries. We were in touch with CharityWater.org which provided some fabulous educational resources, but with all of our fundraising initiatives already in place, we didn't fit raising money for them in.
But just to honor their awareness the grade 6 class developed an "extra credit challenge" to "Relay for Life." We labeled (five) 5 gallon buckets with this message ... "Kids in developing countries have to carry water for their families many miles each day . Can you do it ? "
We put the filled buckets out during the Relay.
I introduced the challenge by saying "We want to see if these buckets can make it around the field once . You can carry for a bit and put it down and hopefully someone else will come along and pick it up. "
Those buckets didn't touch the ground once during 90 minutes.
There was no incentive, or prize. Kids who normally wouldn't even think of drinking tap water out of their faucet without filtering it, were willing to carry big buckets of dirty water around a field on a 90 degree day !
It was beautiful to see who rose to the challenge... it wasn't only the predictable "good students" or traditionally "do gooder" helpful kids. It was all different types of students; Ones that were normally quiet, ones that wrestle with behavior or learning problems . So many different combinations of pairs or triplets , different grade levels genders. A small grade 5 girl was trying to carry one and two bigger grade 6 boys came along to help. One student dressed in long sweatpants carried it by himself around the field twice !
I hope it will resonate with them as an empathetic experience. I know it showed me and everyone who witnessed it, the amazing character of our middle school students, and made my heart sing before leaving for the summer.
I know it isn't anything compared to the real struggles that some students around the world have, but it is reassuring to know that kids can care and understand. I will try to get those (now) grade 7 students organized to set up a fundraiser and maybe all the students who participated will also help donate.
I hope each of us finds small ways this summer to try to understand how others live.
Sincerely,
Holly Foley
As you may have recalled from earlier posts, one of my classes got very passionate about the water situation in developing countries. We were in touch with CharityWater.org which provided some fabulous educational resources, but with all of our fundraising initiatives already in place, we didn't fit raising money for them in.
But just to honor their awareness the grade 6 class developed an "extra credit challenge" to "Relay for Life." We labeled (five) 5 gallon buckets with this message ... "Kids in developing countries have to carry water for their families many miles each day . Can you do it ? "
We put the filled buckets out during the Relay.
I introduced the challenge by saying "We want to see if these buckets can make it around the field once . You can carry for a bit and put it down and hopefully someone else will come along and pick it up. "
Those buckets didn't touch the ground once during 90 minutes.
There was no incentive, or prize. Kids who normally wouldn't even think of drinking tap water out of their faucet without filtering it, were willing to carry big buckets of dirty water around a field on a 90 degree day !
It was beautiful to see who rose to the challenge... it wasn't only the predictable "good students" or traditionally "do gooder" helpful kids. It was all different types of students; Ones that were normally quiet, ones that wrestle with behavior or learning problems . So many different combinations of pairs or triplets , different grade levels genders. A small grade 5 girl was trying to carry one and two bigger grade 6 boys came along to help. One student dressed in long sweatpants carried it by himself around the field twice !
I hope it will resonate with them as an empathetic experience. I know it showed me and everyone who witnessed it, the amazing character of our middle school students, and made my heart sing before leaving for the summer.
I know it isn't anything compared to the real struggles that some students around the world have, but it is reassuring to know that kids can care and understand. I will try to get those (now) grade 7 students organized to set up a fundraiser and maybe all the students who participated will also help donate.
I hope each of us finds small ways this summer to try to understand how others live.
Sincerely,
Holly Foley
Saturday, June 20, 2015
Closing doors- opening windows ?
The end of school year is always a precarious time. Everyone is exhausted from diving to the finish line. You feel that that you have created such a strong bond with the students you've spent every day with for months and months. You reflect back on the learning and growing and really are so impressed with the miraculous journeys.
On a personal level, I am at a hugely precarious juncture, as I am being considered for the job of my dreams right now. I will probably know the fate of that situation early next week. I know I'd have so much heart, soul, experience and learning to share with this new community of learners. I've provided the committee with every shred of evidence I can think of, to convince them to take a chance on someone who has not yet been a principal. All I can do is wait and pray at this point.
In the meantime, in class this week I have a few touching stories to remind myself that if this door closes:
1. The room I am left in in, is an incredible place and I am very lucky to even be there.
2. The lessons I teach every day about grit and tenacity won't let me give up, and I know I will have a friend or colleague ( and probably several) who will always be there for me to help me through tough times and help me look for the next window.
Story number 1 - I do end of year reflections. I ask students about the topics they feel they have become the strongest experts on, the ways they've grown as a learner and person, the policies, projects and resources in my classroom that I should "keep" or "ditch" . Again this year I am overwhelmed by the variety of experts, the amazing learning, the honest and helpful feedback from my students. I love when I anonymously read aloud the "keep" and "ditches" and get powerful arguments from students who want to defend, what someone else wants to ditch . And the several responses of "don't change a thing, this class is perfect and I've loved coming here every day" don't hurt either.
Story number 2 - One class of my six (a grade 6 class), due to scheduling conflicts, is ahead of the others and completed all the reflection activities, so I gave them a choice of free time or finishing up a movie they watched one day last week. Only one student voted to continue the movie. Students split themselves up into small groups to play card games, talk or draw; a few read or draw alone comfortably). I use these times to monitor and observe friendships and note what students do when they aren't programmed or scheduled or told what to do (like the other 99.9% of their lives) .
That one child who has been struggling on and off socially throughout the year was visibly unhappy when everyone split off and he didn't have anyone approach him about joining an activity. (He really would have preferred to finish the movie, he doesn't want to read or draw alone) After giving him a few minutes, I called him over and said
Me - "you know if you just ask "Can I join ?, any group would let you "
Him - " no I really can't do that"
Me-" Do you want me to go with you ?"
Him - "No, can I just go to the nurse, my neck hurts"
Me - I realize that if I switch the activity to the movie and ask groups not to talk, it will be obvious and may reverberate in resentment from some students. I also can't assist putting him in a group against his will because that will embarrass him. Sometimes I can make eye contact with a student and get them to realize what is going on, but no one is really paying attention to us. So I say I have a few errands I needed him to run if he wasn't busy and his neck is ok . He is reluctant, but a little grateful for the exit strategy.
Then in swoops a superhero student (and not one I would have predicted) who is watching my interchange from with ### from across the room . He says "Hey Mrs. Foley, you know I really really want to watch the movie too. Maybe we can put it on and sit close to the front of the room and the people talking softly won't bother us. " I want to hug this child . Great idea ! A few others joined him and ### was rescued and supported by these peers.
I know my peers will rescue and support me from any disappointments too.
I know we have all had a great year of learning and growing and we all have many adventures ahead. I will be fine continuing in the middle school classroom if that is the outcome and if I do get the position I am desiring any blog fans will be inundated with my new adventures and experiences.
Have a great summer !
Fondly
Holly
On a personal level, I am at a hugely precarious juncture, as I am being considered for the job of my dreams right now. I will probably know the fate of that situation early next week. I know I'd have so much heart, soul, experience and learning to share with this new community of learners. I've provided the committee with every shred of evidence I can think of, to convince them to take a chance on someone who has not yet been a principal. All I can do is wait and pray at this point.
In the meantime, in class this week I have a few touching stories to remind myself that if this door closes:
1. The room I am left in in, is an incredible place and I am very lucky to even be there.
2. The lessons I teach every day about grit and tenacity won't let me give up, and I know I will have a friend or colleague ( and probably several) who will always be there for me to help me through tough times and help me look for the next window.
Story number 1 - I do end of year reflections. I ask students about the topics they feel they have become the strongest experts on, the ways they've grown as a learner and person, the policies, projects and resources in my classroom that I should "keep" or "ditch" . Again this year I am overwhelmed by the variety of experts, the amazing learning, the honest and helpful feedback from my students. I love when I anonymously read aloud the "keep" and "ditches" and get powerful arguments from students who want to defend, what someone else wants to ditch . And the several responses of "don't change a thing, this class is perfect and I've loved coming here every day" don't hurt either.
Story number 2 - One class of my six (a grade 6 class), due to scheduling conflicts, is ahead of the others and completed all the reflection activities, so I gave them a choice of free time or finishing up a movie they watched one day last week. Only one student voted to continue the movie. Students split themselves up into small groups to play card games, talk or draw; a few read or draw alone comfortably). I use these times to monitor and observe friendships and note what students do when they aren't programmed or scheduled or told what to do (like the other 99.9% of their lives) .
That one child who has been struggling on and off socially throughout the year was visibly unhappy when everyone split off and he didn't have anyone approach him about joining an activity. (He really would have preferred to finish the movie, he doesn't want to read or draw alone) After giving him a few minutes, I called him over and said
Me - "you know if you just ask "Can I join ?, any group would let you "
Him - " no I really can't do that"
Me-" Do you want me to go with you ?"
Him - "No, can I just go to the nurse, my neck hurts"
Me - I realize that if I switch the activity to the movie and ask groups not to talk, it will be obvious and may reverberate in resentment from some students. I also can't assist putting him in a group against his will because that will embarrass him. Sometimes I can make eye contact with a student and get them to realize what is going on, but no one is really paying attention to us. So I say I have a few errands I needed him to run if he wasn't busy and his neck is ok . He is reluctant, but a little grateful for the exit strategy.
Then in swoops a superhero student (and not one I would have predicted) who is watching my interchange from with ### from across the room . He says "Hey Mrs. Foley, you know I really really want to watch the movie too. Maybe we can put it on and sit close to the front of the room and the people talking softly won't bother us. " I want to hug this child . Great idea ! A few others joined him and ### was rescued and supported by these peers.
I know my peers will rescue and support me from any disappointments too.
I know we have all had a great year of learning and growing and we all have many adventures ahead. I will be fine continuing in the middle school classroom if that is the outcome and if I do get the position I am desiring any blog fans will be inundated with my new adventures and experiences.
Have a great summer !
Fondly
Holly
Sunday, May 3, 2015
In the Home Stretch of 2014-2015
My intention was to use this blog to highlight the "AHA" moments of teaching. It was highjacked for a bit by PARCC ( like all of education seemed to be), but let's try to put the drama in perspective. It is over. The end of year PARCC was much less of an imposition and now we wait to see if the results are meaningful.
In the meantime lots of cool things are going on in room 304!
Grade 5 students are now firmly entrenched in our school culture. This time of year students raise money for Pennies for Patients program to fund Leukemia and Lymphoma research. The grade 5 kids have come up with so many new and original fundraising ideas while their homerooms compete to extract as much money as possible from each other; a three on three soccer tournament, a dunk tank, sponsoring Elsa and Anna characters to come to the elementary school building, along with all the traditional raffles, bake sales etc. They raise a lot of money for a good cause, but also get to practice a lot of leadership, planning and collaboration skills.
In SS class we continue to pick units out of our textbook and then to supplement the reading with projects and activities to get deeper meaning and connections. Interestingly, this book splits Southwest Asia (Middle East) into two different chapters ; Ch 18 : Arabian Peninsula and Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan, which we studied earlier in the year, and Ch17 ; Eastern Mediterranean (Turkey, Israel, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon).
We watch CNN student news. Many days they report on the activities of ISIS in the Middle East.
GREAT QUESTION posed by a student. " If ISIS thinks that Syria and Iraq should be one country (theirs) ... How come our textbook doesn't even say they are in the same region ? Umm.. book is 15 years old?, We westerners know less than we think we do about the real ethnic divides of the Middle East ? But that is clearly critical thinking and questioning at its best... And we are now in the process of doing comparing and contrasting work of Iraq and Syria.
And here is another ISIS connection gem from my grade 6 students :
We studied the Roman Empire for many weeks. Students did a project comparing the Roman Empire to the Modern World . They picked a thesis (it is the same, they are different) and supported their thesis with details from the cultures in topics of entertainment, military, government, religion, social structure, famous leaders, and art/architecture. They did a great job and we spent some time talking about how this great Roman Empire became so vast it was difficult to manage and that barbarians were able to topple it in the 5th century.
ANOTHER GREAT QUESTION : If we proved Roman Empire is so much like the USA, do you think that ISIS is like the barbarians and they plan to topple us ?
Sooooo.... more time spent with a very motivated question about ISIS and their goals. Rest easy, we found out that ISIS is very localized and organized and really only wants to control their own little corner of the Middle East.
I get my own little "world issue think tank" for a few more weeks with this extraordinary group of students. Then, as ever, I am optimistic that maybe this is the year I will become a full time school administrator... A few opportunities are in the mix right now. We shall see.
Wednesday, April 1, 2015
PARCC phase one done
We have completed the March testing window. I am in a middle school of about 450 students grades 5-8. We took one grade level a week, mostly in computer lab settings. I was a proctor each session so I witnessed a total of about 120 general education students take the recent PARCC testing. Here are my first hand observations :
1. It was SIGNIFICANTLY easier to administer than NJ ASK paper testing. The accountability for students to log in and out of their own testing material removes the responsibility from school districts. Our technology person is a superhero so we did have a smooth technology set up with few bumps in the road.
2. The technology wasn't perfect but was easily fixable with no unsolvable problems.
3. The timing was extremely generous. The majority of the students finished in about half of the testing time they were allotted.
4. The content seemed manageable. As per PARCC security testing procedures I wasn't permitted to view actual test questions, but judging from the body language of the majority of students and the comments made in the hallways the material was appropriately challenging.
5. Most students did take it . There were 0 optouts in grade 5 , a couple in grade 6 , a few more in grade 7 and about 10 out of approx 100 in grade 8.
6. Most students did take it seriously. There were a few students who clearly rushed, put any answer and had no intention of this test measuring their actual skills. It was a pattern in a few families. Clearly conversations were had at home by parents that said... do not take the test seriously.
7. This is a mystery to me. Never as a parent would I advise my child to approach something new and /or potentially difficult with a rebellious or defeatest attitude.
YES, a good chunk of instructional time was used for this. YES our resources were disrupted for administration. YES we have to do it again in May and I do wonder about the value and validity.
BUT I am very hopeful that the results will be meaningful and useful to us ( when they finally get approved) for programming, placement and remediation purposes. As a content area teacher would I be eager to be judged on students performance ?... not exactly, but I can live with a small piece of my evaluation being my students GROWTH, not their achievement , because that really depends on the students you are dealt.
Online testing is here to stay for sure. Hopefully the data we gathered can be analyzed to be useful. I witnessed 0 children harmed during the testing process. Just wanted to share my observations.
As always, hoping for the best,
Holly
1. It was SIGNIFICANTLY easier to administer than NJ ASK paper testing. The accountability for students to log in and out of their own testing material removes the responsibility from school districts. Our technology person is a superhero so we did have a smooth technology set up with few bumps in the road.
2. The technology wasn't perfect but was easily fixable with no unsolvable problems.
3. The timing was extremely generous. The majority of the students finished in about half of the testing time they were allotted.
4. The content seemed manageable. As per PARCC security testing procedures I wasn't permitted to view actual test questions, but judging from the body language of the majority of students and the comments made in the hallways the material was appropriately challenging.
5. Most students did take it . There were 0 optouts in grade 5 , a couple in grade 6 , a few more in grade 7 and about 10 out of approx 100 in grade 8.
6. Most students did take it seriously. There were a few students who clearly rushed, put any answer and had no intention of this test measuring their actual skills. It was a pattern in a few families. Clearly conversations were had at home by parents that said... do not take the test seriously.
7. This is a mystery to me. Never as a parent would I advise my child to approach something new and /or potentially difficult with a rebellious or defeatest attitude.
YES, a good chunk of instructional time was used for this. YES our resources were disrupted for administration. YES we have to do it again in May and I do wonder about the value and validity.
BUT I am very hopeful that the results will be meaningful and useful to us ( when they finally get approved) for programming, placement and remediation purposes. As a content area teacher would I be eager to be judged on students performance ?... not exactly, but I can live with a small piece of my evaluation being my students GROWTH, not their achievement , because that really depends on the students you are dealt.
Online testing is here to stay for sure. Hopefully the data we gathered can be analyzed to be useful. I witnessed 0 children harmed during the testing process. Just wanted to share my observations.
As always, hoping for the best,
Holly
Monday, February 23, 2015
This is a test, this is ONLY a test
Dear PARCC Protestors and Panickers
I promise you, your 8-18 year old has spent many more hours
on frustrating and pointless video games than they will on this test.
They will not be harmed in the taking of the test in any
way. If you would have seen the NJASK intimidating booklets you would see this is merciful.
Will the results be valid and useful ? We will never know if everyone REFUSES to
take it RIGHT ?
WHY ARE WE DOING THIS ?
The education world has known this was coming for 5 years
(even though social media has only erupted within the last few weeks. ) Schools
have planned and purchased technology that they probably would not have
prioritized if they didn’t have this deadline. (chalk one up for a good thing)
It is the 21st Century almost everything is
managed on computers. Student assessment should be also.
We were forced to re-examine the way we delivered and
assessed education when colleges and workplaces complained that students were
entering college unprepared and couldn’t problem solve and think for themselves.
We adopted the Common Core standards. It is NOT a subversive
national curriculum.
Please explore them if you haven’t http://www.corestandards.org/
I am sure as a parent it was much more comforting to have a
familiar looking math worksheet with one answer and one way to approach the
problem. But unfortunately mastering that, doesn’t help you when life doesn’t
present its math problems on an organized sheet for you.
And while straight memorization was predictable and
impressive, computer data bases have
made that skill obsolete and now you actually have to know how to justify with
evidence of any answers you do provide.
HOW WILL THESE RESULTS BE USED
Just like all results they will be a part of how schools
make decisions on resources . And on the larger scale how the state decides to
which schools they should give more attention ($) . There is legislation pending right now that
will postpone use of results. This is wise.
Teachers are assessed on a 4 point scale . 4 is excellent
(perfect almost) and 1 is awful. Just
statistically everyone will receive a 2 or a 3 when you average student
results. That is a small part of picture . Observations and other goal setting
are other ways to factor in what will mostly be 2 and 3 . Just like a grade
point average in high school and college… almost everyone will fall between a
2.0 and 3.5 …. If you have below a 2.0 for a few years in a row there are
sanctions. There is no great prize in most districts for higher scores.
Sadly I see many of my perfection oriented peers, inciting
parents on this issue.
I published a Keep Calm and Carry On post a few months ago. Just
thought I would revisit the issue as the panic seems to be rising…. Really KEEP
CALM AND CARRY ON…..
Saturday, January 24, 2015
Travel Projects and World Awareness
I wrestle a lot with how honest to be with 11 and 12 year olds about the world. I believe they should be aware of current events in a sensitive way that they can understand. I LOVE cnn.com/studentnews for providing that resource to my students in a fantastic 10 minute daily broadcast on the internet.
The travel projects I have designed talk about hotels, restaurants, plane flights, sights to see. But I haven't stressed hunger, literacy, crime in these cities with this project. I try not over politicize issues and I try to meet students where they are with their understanding.
An event that happened last week is very special . CNN featured a piece on a teenage girl from a rural part of Haiti that needs to walk half an hour each way twice a day to obtain fresh water for her family from a creek. She carries the water in a five gallon bucket on her head and complains of head and neck pain.
Students were so sympathetic and moved by her plight. We had a great discussion and they generated many possible helpful solutions. We discussed that clearly plumbing infrastructure would be ideal. Students wanted to buy and ship cases of water but we discussed short term and long term solutions.
They went home and each designed simple fixes that could at least help the teenager transport her water more easily. They are very excited about their inventions. (backpacks and various carts) I decided to compile the ideas into a short video and appeal to some corporations that might choose to sponsor our students with funds that could get them some materials to create and ship their ideas.
It is nice that the ideas organically sprung from the students and they are using critical thinking skills to solve a world problem. If you know of any organizations that may be interested in helping my students meet their goals of helping others, please let me know Hollyfoley23@gmail.com.
Feeling Hopeful about the upcoming generation of kind souls ~
Holly
The travel projects I have designed talk about hotels, restaurants, plane flights, sights to see. But I haven't stressed hunger, literacy, crime in these cities with this project. I try not over politicize issues and I try to meet students where they are with their understanding.
An event that happened last week is very special . CNN featured a piece on a teenage girl from a rural part of Haiti that needs to walk half an hour each way twice a day to obtain fresh water for her family from a creek. She carries the water in a five gallon bucket on her head and complains of head and neck pain.
Students were so sympathetic and moved by her plight. We had a great discussion and they generated many possible helpful solutions. We discussed that clearly plumbing infrastructure would be ideal. Students wanted to buy and ship cases of water but we discussed short term and long term solutions.
They went home and each designed simple fixes that could at least help the teenager transport her water more easily. They are very excited about their inventions. (backpacks and various carts) I decided to compile the ideas into a short video and appeal to some corporations that might choose to sponsor our students with funds that could get them some materials to create and ship their ideas.
It is nice that the ideas organically sprung from the students and they are using critical thinking skills to solve a world problem. If you know of any organizations that may be interested in helping my students meet their goals of helping others, please let me know Hollyfoley23@gmail.com.
Feeling Hopeful about the upcoming generation of kind souls ~
Holly
Thursday, January 1, 2015
Welcome 2015
I am very pleased, proud and busy because I have so many exciting projects happening in 2015. First, for my classroom I am designing a travel project so students can get practice using the internet to gather information about foreign cities. I am spending this break creating instructional videos to model good searching skills and to provide a "flipped classroom" scenario, where students can access this information on their own, at their own pace, to get support and practice with these skills.
Also, The first week back in January I am teaching a course on 21st Century Assessment Skills, for NVCC. I have had a lot of fun trying to organize challenging and meaningful materials to support my fellow Northern Valley peers as we explore this popular topic. My materials for both the travel project and the assessment class should be posted on my school website by the end of break if anyone has any interest or use for these :) Click here for access to my webpage
Speaking of "popular topics", I am also presenting on a panel that F&M is sponsoring that will address the issue of "The Common Core State Standards". The other panelists are very distinguished professors and authors on the topic. I look forward to getting the opportunity for discourse with them and the audience (see F&M website New Jersey Alumni Events for details!)
As I get ready for these upcoming events , I am also in full court reflection and reassessment mode to update my resume, references and letters which I send out to schools in my never ending search for an administrative job. I did get close a few more times this fall. But alas, nothing yet. This January marks two full years of pursuing this. I am not used to this much rejection, as most of the goals of my life up until now were met with success pretty quickly. I do know other administrators who say it took them 5 years to break into administration. If I've not grown in any other way in 2014, I have definitely been mastering persistence.
But I have grown when I stop to think about it. I have an exciting new marriage, a new home, kids settled in college, good health and happiness in my extended family, students who are having high quality experiences, peers at work who I am realizing I will truly miss when I do actually leave, amazing lifelong friends who I keep track of on Facebook and my own health and gratitude for all these blessings.
I think a big secret to happiness is not to overlook what you have, even as you reach for the next steps of your goals. Here is to a happy and healthy 2015 for all.
Fondly,
Holly
Also, The first week back in January I am teaching a course on 21st Century Assessment Skills, for NVCC. I have had a lot of fun trying to organize challenging and meaningful materials to support my fellow Northern Valley peers as we explore this popular topic. My materials for both the travel project and the assessment class should be posted on my school website by the end of break if anyone has any interest or use for these :) Click here for access to my webpage
Speaking of "popular topics", I am also presenting on a panel that F&M is sponsoring that will address the issue of "The Common Core State Standards". The other panelists are very distinguished professors and authors on the topic. I look forward to getting the opportunity for discourse with them and the audience (see F&M website New Jersey Alumni Events for details!)
As I get ready for these upcoming events , I am also in full court reflection and reassessment mode to update my resume, references and letters which I send out to schools in my never ending search for an administrative job. I did get close a few more times this fall. But alas, nothing yet. This January marks two full years of pursuing this. I am not used to this much rejection, as most of the goals of my life up until now were met with success pretty quickly. I do know other administrators who say it took them 5 years to break into administration. If I've not grown in any other way in 2014, I have definitely been mastering persistence.
But I have grown when I stop to think about it. I have an exciting new marriage, a new home, kids settled in college, good health and happiness in my extended family, students who are having high quality experiences, peers at work who I am realizing I will truly miss when I do actually leave, amazing lifelong friends who I keep track of on Facebook and my own health and gratitude for all these blessings.
I think a big secret to happiness is not to overlook what you have, even as you reach for the next steps of your goals. Here is to a happy and healthy 2015 for all.
Fondly,
Holly
Sunday, November 23, 2014
Seven Wonders of the World
I am immersed in projects. Because my students are technically too young to have gmail accounts, the nice easy idea of using google drive slides can only work with students who happen to already have permission from parents. I do have a few of those, but otherwise I have a kitchen table littered with USB drives of all shapes and sizes. I have spent most of the weekend viewing, saving and organizing those.
Each grade 5 student has created a slideshow presentation depicting answers to critical questions about a "wonder of the world" (who what when where why how) and they also analyzed and compared information about the country of its location. These are actually very interesting and well done.
The most fun will be seeing the 3D models the students submit next week. I know from my own experience in 5th grade the topics you remember most are those you engage in first hand. Perhaps I have mentioned my oak tag pop up Patrick Henry and my Mayan temple made out of sugar cubes ?
Grade 6 students are working on mastering information about one of the River Valley civilizations. (they are in 4 small groups, chosen by me, in each class covering one of the 4 major civilizations) after they demonstrate mastery about vocab and concepts I will making the brave move to allow them to request their own groups for a project which will ask each team to compare all 4 civilizations. I'll report back about how that goes.
I was in a fascinating meeting recently where a parent was voicing concerns about their student of average intelligence being expected to "think and analyze based on this new common core stuff", when this professional knows several adults who aren't even able to do this. Isn't that the point of reform ?.... we realized that we allowed a generation of adults to memorize and regurgitate their way through school and are surprised that they now are unable to critically think.
I know it is painful especially for students who hit reform movements in the middle of their education but I am so hopeful that students coming through K-12 from the beginning this way will be used to being asked to think.
Thankful this week, that my family and friends have good health and fortune. Wishing all my blog readers a fabulous holiday.
~Holly
Each grade 5 student has created a slideshow presentation depicting answers to critical questions about a "wonder of the world" (who what when where why how) and they also analyzed and compared information about the country of its location. These are actually very interesting and well done.
The most fun will be seeing the 3D models the students submit next week. I know from my own experience in 5th grade the topics you remember most are those you engage in first hand. Perhaps I have mentioned my oak tag pop up Patrick Henry and my Mayan temple made out of sugar cubes ?
Grade 6 students are working on mastering information about one of the River Valley civilizations. (they are in 4 small groups, chosen by me, in each class covering one of the 4 major civilizations) after they demonstrate mastery about vocab and concepts I will making the brave move to allow them to request their own groups for a project which will ask each team to compare all 4 civilizations. I'll report back about how that goes.
I was in a fascinating meeting recently where a parent was voicing concerns about their student of average intelligence being expected to "think and analyze based on this new common core stuff", when this professional knows several adults who aren't even able to do this. Isn't that the point of reform ?.... we realized that we allowed a generation of adults to memorize and regurgitate their way through school and are surprised that they now are unable to critically think.
I know it is painful especially for students who hit reform movements in the middle of their education but I am so hopeful that students coming through K-12 from the beginning this way will be used to being asked to think.
Thankful this week, that my family and friends have good health and fortune. Wishing all my blog readers a fabulous holiday.
~Holly
Saturday, October 18, 2014
Two funny stories from the classroom...
I am trying my best to really enjoy my students this year. It has been very engaging and busy in my classroom ( and my life) so forgive the long lapse in posts.
Here are two funny things that happened this week.
Grade 6 students were working on a skit assessment. Given 8 vocabulary words from the prehistory unit.. things like Paleolithic Era, hunter- gatherer, tools, distribute, hominids... etc.. groups of students were asked to create a short skit to demonstrate what scientists guess life might have been like in that time. The " narrator" of the group will tell the story since language skills were limited for these early humans.
Now this activity gives me a chance to see students work together and organize a task. It lets me hear their conversations about the vocabulary and how they are using it. It also provides an outlet for those who like the "the spotlight" and this job especially with grunting and hunting is appealing to 11 year old boys.
But as you can imagine it is possible for beginning of the year sixth graders to struggle with this task.
During a particularly long scene where the "buffalo" complete with a taped sign saying "buffalo" was wondering around the front of the classroom, and some hominids were using tools (crushed paper to represent rocks and pencils with erasers taped at ends as spears) to hunt their prey, and the buffalo was experiencing a particularly long slow death. I THOUGHT in my head really loudly "This is painful" ... but judging from the two "gatherers" who were plucking " berries " that had been taped to the whiteboard... I had actually said this OUT LOUD.
The girls giggled as I said " oh my gosh, did I say that out loud ?" and they said .. we think it is painful too!. Just a side note the following two groups' skits were actually excellent and just maybe we all understood how tough it was for early man.
The next incident was during my grade 5 students reading of a Time for Kids feature. The story was about an 11 year old girl from Mexico City and her typical day. In the article the girl stated " Because we sometimes run late, my mom was doing my hair while I ate my breakfast" . I had asked students to comment, question or make connections and a 5th grade boy brought that up as an interesting part of the article. Since I figured he may not have much experience with mom "doing his hair" I wanted to make sure he didn't think she was getting it washed or anything. so I said .
"What do you think that sentence means ?"
He drily proclaimed.... "It means, she is definitely getting hair in her food and that is disgusting."
These are just a few tid bits from this week. A few weeks back I had to also regretfully redirect a student from listing " Chris Christie" as a "dictator" when we were trying to brainstorm government leadership examples and categories. However I may feel personally about his treatment of New Jersey teachers, he probably doesn't belong on the same list as Adolf Hitler and Saddam Hussein!
So, new administrators in our district, and no movement professionally for me on the horizon means I get to keep plugging away and exploring with new strategies. My new commute is a bit insane but so far so good . More posts sooner than later I hope !
Here are two funny things that happened this week.
Grade 6 students were working on a skit assessment. Given 8 vocabulary words from the prehistory unit.. things like Paleolithic Era, hunter- gatherer, tools, distribute, hominids... etc.. groups of students were asked to create a short skit to demonstrate what scientists guess life might have been like in that time. The " narrator" of the group will tell the story since language skills were limited for these early humans.
Now this activity gives me a chance to see students work together and organize a task. It lets me hear their conversations about the vocabulary and how they are using it. It also provides an outlet for those who like the "the spotlight" and this job especially with grunting and hunting is appealing to 11 year old boys.
But as you can imagine it is possible for beginning of the year sixth graders to struggle with this task.
During a particularly long scene where the "buffalo" complete with a taped sign saying "buffalo" was wondering around the front of the classroom, and some hominids were using tools (crushed paper to represent rocks and pencils with erasers taped at ends as spears) to hunt their prey, and the buffalo was experiencing a particularly long slow death. I THOUGHT in my head really loudly "This is painful" ... but judging from the two "gatherers" who were plucking " berries " that had been taped to the whiteboard... I had actually said this OUT LOUD.
The girls giggled as I said " oh my gosh, did I say that out loud ?" and they said .. we think it is painful too!. Just a side note the following two groups' skits were actually excellent and just maybe we all understood how tough it was for early man.
The next incident was during my grade 5 students reading of a Time for Kids feature. The story was about an 11 year old girl from Mexico City and her typical day. In the article the girl stated " Because we sometimes run late, my mom was doing my hair while I ate my breakfast" . I had asked students to comment, question or make connections and a 5th grade boy brought that up as an interesting part of the article. Since I figured he may not have much experience with mom "doing his hair" I wanted to make sure he didn't think she was getting it washed or anything. so I said .
"What do you think that sentence means ?"
He drily proclaimed.... "It means, she is definitely getting hair in her food and that is disgusting."
These are just a few tid bits from this week. A few weeks back I had to also regretfully redirect a student from listing " Chris Christie" as a "dictator" when we were trying to brainstorm government leadership examples and categories. However I may feel personally about his treatment of New Jersey teachers, he probably doesn't belong on the same list as Adolf Hitler and Saddam Hussein!
So, new administrators in our district, and no movement professionally for me on the horizon means I get to keep plugging away and exploring with new strategies. My new commute is a bit insane but so far so good . More posts sooner than later I hope !
Sunday, September 7, 2014
How life's challenges are a lot like Candy Crush...
On this Sunday morning as I am faced with a mountain of lesson planning I am distracting myself a bit with Candy Crush. It strikes me that there are a lot of reasons that life's challenges resemble this game.
1. Every day starts out with pretty, colorful "objects" and it is only after you get into it that it gets difficult. Although, some people look at it and it seems insurmountable (but eventually everyone gets through it)
2. Every day has different challenges.. sometimes you have to "clear the jelly" and sometimes you have to "bring down the fruit" sometimes you are timed, and you always have a different amount of chances.
3. It always takes at least one play through a level to figure out exactly what was important at the outset.
4. Sometimes you get through three levels in one day.. other times you spend weeks at the same level.
5. Part of it is luck, (which pieces fall into your board) and part of it is skill (how you arrange those pieces)
6. Some of your friends are way ahead of you, some way behind.
7. Everyone has different strategies and priorities.
8. You do have "lifelines" available to you.
9. If you get really stuck you either need friends or money.
10. The only way you lose the game is if you give up!
Games are good; for learning, for life, and they are great metaphors for the real challenges we face.
1. Every day starts out with pretty, colorful "objects" and it is only after you get into it that it gets difficult. Although, some people look at it and it seems insurmountable (but eventually everyone gets through it)
2. Every day has different challenges.. sometimes you have to "clear the jelly" and sometimes you have to "bring down the fruit" sometimes you are timed, and you always have a different amount of chances.
3. It always takes at least one play through a level to figure out exactly what was important at the outset.
4. Sometimes you get through three levels in one day.. other times you spend weeks at the same level.
5. Part of it is luck, (which pieces fall into your board) and part of it is skill (how you arrange those pieces)
6. Some of your friends are way ahead of you, some way behind.
7. Everyone has different strategies and priorities.
8. You do have "lifelines" available to you.
9. If you get really stuck you either need friends or money.
10. The only way you lose the game is if you give up!
Games are good; for learning, for life, and they are great metaphors for the real challenges we face.
Saturday, August 30, 2014
2014-1015 begins!
When we last left off, our exasperated protagonist (me) was a finalist for a supervisor job, and since then for a few more principal jobs. Ultimately the timing/situation has not been right on any of these opportunities. So.....September 2014 will find me in front of 120+ more students as a 5/6 SS teacher for another school year.
I have been learning a lot of exciting technology over the summer and thinking more and more about how I can give these students opportunities to explore and critically think. I have many exciting projects planned and hope to enjoy this year as much as I have all my other years.
This summer was a busy one, adjusting to my newly married life, selling a home of 20+ years and moving to a city more than an hour away from my school. My two children are settled in their colleges (and I owe Bed Bath and Beyond MORE than my first paycheck).
We have a new superintendent in Old Tappan, Danielle DaGaiu. All evidence leads us to believe we will have an excellent year under her leadership. A cornerstone of Old Tappan school culture, Dennis Rossi announced his retirement. We will be getting a new principal too. While I wish that could be me, I don't think those stars will line up either. Dennis will be greatly missed as he has been a passionate advocate for kids and teachers for many years.
I have been communicating with our new technology leader, and I hope to have great access for my students to technology. I am also excited about finding ways to motivate families to get digitally involved with our work from home. I abandoned blogging with students several years ago when board policy dictated that every post be moderated before being posted . That just killed the whole immediacy concept and made it a daunting task for me.... but I have some ideas about how to get feedback to and from students with some different kinds of learning systems. It may take me a while to put it into place, but I will be sure to share results.
I am so privileged to get the opportunity to influence another set of students in a positive way to enjoy studying people and places now and in ancient times. I'll try to post more frequently and summarize my strategies as I experiment with them. Also don't forget you can follow me on twitter (@HollyProcida) to see what I am reading and reviewing.
Have a great school year !
Holly
Wednesday, June 11, 2014
Signing off for 2013-2014 School Year
So, as I write this, I am a finalist AGAIN (for the 13th time) for an administrative position I would love to have. The number 13 has to be lucky for someone right ? I'll know more next week.
Is it unlucky to presume I may not be (only) a teacher in September ?, (because I will ALWAYS be a teacher at heart. ) Perhaps it is bad luck, and I do comprehend the "everything happens for a reason argument." But certainly the decision is out of my hands at this point.
So back to the classroom. It is June. It is hot, and rushed, and chopped up with a million distracting activities. But it is so fun!
My fifth grade students each got a random country to find some basic info on. Straightforward, pretty boring activity to start with, but then I asked them to "Show and Tell" something cool about the country they picked. So we have some cool and interesting presentations. I learn even more when each student goes home to work on an "interactive assignment" with the notes they took from their classmates presentations. The United Arab Emirates project was fascinating with all the facts about the man made island and the incredible Burj Khalifa. Of course the encyclopedia websites will list Indonesia's major export as copper, and construction equipment. But, a graph of how many sneakers are made there compared to other countries is a lot more appealing to a ten year old... why... labor costs... etc. good stuff. And the student that bought the Baguettes from France (technically Panera Bread) and had a cool powerpoint with photos from top of Eiffel Tower, found himself pretty well respected that day.
And for my sixth grade classes it is the annual Middle Ages Festival. Partners get a chunk of content, become the experts, teach to the class, assign and check in homework (Some of the best homework participation comes when you have to show your peers your work!) The lessons include skits, power points, games and simulations... since they have witnessed those strategies all year long.
They need to devise a "carnival game" that communicates content. We have all sorts of fun games based on knights, lords, vassals, clergy, serfs, an Italian Renaissance art contest, there are large motor games like kick ball (Popes vs. Kings) , an obstacle course trying to get through the challenges of the Spanish Inquisition and the Black Plague. In short they are excited to be making flyers, painting banners, and getting all their supplies ready for a (hopefully sunny) afternoon next week.
The best part is the formative quiz I gave to both grades. Grade 5 :Tell me three interesting facts about the countries we learned about, make a comparison statement between two countries, if you could live in one place besides USA tell where and why... Grade 6 :Tell me about a person in the middle ages, a place in the middle ages and a concept or idea from the middle ages, Make a comparison between modern times and Middle Ages. If you could live then or now, tell where and why. The richness and variety of their answers was very gratifying .
Do my students know the Core SS content they should ?... yes. Do they enjoy the topic of learning about different people and places over time ? Most do, and that makes me very proud and happy to be a teacher.
But I still really really hope to start blogging as an administrator very soon and sharing great things not just from MY CLASSROOM , but from a whole school !
Happy Summer... I'll be updating soon and using my new married name Holly Foley for my new blog whenever that new opportunity for a new position comes along, hopefully sooner than later :)
Sincerely
Holly
Is it unlucky to presume I may not be (only) a teacher in September ?, (because I will ALWAYS be a teacher at heart. ) Perhaps it is bad luck, and I do comprehend the "everything happens for a reason argument." But certainly the decision is out of my hands at this point.
So back to the classroom. It is June. It is hot, and rushed, and chopped up with a million distracting activities. But it is so fun!
My fifth grade students each got a random country to find some basic info on. Straightforward, pretty boring activity to start with, but then I asked them to "Show and Tell" something cool about the country they picked. So we have some cool and interesting presentations. I learn even more when each student goes home to work on an "interactive assignment" with the notes they took from their classmates presentations. The United Arab Emirates project was fascinating with all the facts about the man made island and the incredible Burj Khalifa. Of course the encyclopedia websites will list Indonesia's major export as copper, and construction equipment. But, a graph of how many sneakers are made there compared to other countries is a lot more appealing to a ten year old... why... labor costs... etc. good stuff. And the student that bought the Baguettes from France (technically Panera Bread) and had a cool powerpoint with photos from top of Eiffel Tower, found himself pretty well respected that day.
And for my sixth grade classes it is the annual Middle Ages Festival. Partners get a chunk of content, become the experts, teach to the class, assign and check in homework (Some of the best homework participation comes when you have to show your peers your work!) The lessons include skits, power points, games and simulations... since they have witnessed those strategies all year long.
They need to devise a "carnival game" that communicates content. We have all sorts of fun games based on knights, lords, vassals, clergy, serfs, an Italian Renaissance art contest, there are large motor games like kick ball (Popes vs. Kings) , an obstacle course trying to get through the challenges of the Spanish Inquisition and the Black Plague. In short they are excited to be making flyers, painting banners, and getting all their supplies ready for a (hopefully sunny) afternoon next week.
The best part is the formative quiz I gave to both grades. Grade 5 :Tell me three interesting facts about the countries we learned about, make a comparison statement between two countries, if you could live in one place besides USA tell where and why... Grade 6 :Tell me about a person in the middle ages, a place in the middle ages and a concept or idea from the middle ages, Make a comparison between modern times and Middle Ages. If you could live then or now, tell where and why. The richness and variety of their answers was very gratifying .
Do my students know the Core SS content they should ?... yes. Do they enjoy the topic of learning about different people and places over time ? Most do, and that makes me very proud and happy to be a teacher.
But I still really really hope to start blogging as an administrator very soon and sharing great things not just from MY CLASSROOM , but from a whole school !
Happy Summer... I'll be updating soon and using my new married name Holly Foley for my new blog whenever that new opportunity for a new position comes along, hopefully sooner than later :)
Sincerely
Holly
Sunday, April 20, 2014
Common Core ... Keep Calm and Carry On
One of the biggest challenges to education is overcoming popular opinion from people who are not fully educated about education, but insist on weighing in. You rarely find this in health, law or automotive repair but education is one field that everyone feels qualified to judge.
The latest example of this is people who are very misguided about exactly what the Common Core is, and how educators are using it.
It is normal to fight change but it is especially dangerous to do so in education when change takes so very long to achieve in the first place.
So several years ago it was decided that having a "Common Language" and set of standards across our country for our students would be a good idea on the way to improving education for all. Educators were involved in the process of setting up these standards and before anyone can comment I believe it is imperative to read these specific expectations.
READ THEM HERE
They make sense. They ask students to back themselves up with thought process and proof rather than stressing memorization. They are not a subversive national curriculum (Glenn Beck) It doesn't mean you have to know less, you also have to know WHY. There are not specifically correct answers in those cases, so it can be frustrating for people. But helping students learn how to think deeper and more critically is not something that it is a good idea to stop doing. Students need it now more than ever, as the 21st century unfolds careers that don't even exist today.
And most of us have yet to see the National Assessments that will be used to assess how students are meeting the benchmarks. But these tests PARCC and Smarter Balance have been field testing and making sure they are fair.
Is it fair to hold teachers accountable for their students performance ? Does this put too much pressure on students and teachers? Not if it is done correctly. Parents over emphasizing the testing by boycotting it doesn't help make it a valuable useful part of education.
NJACHIEVE laws use comparison of student growth. It is not a direct score based on performance. There is actually an advantage to teaching lower level students who have more room for growth. And you are judged by an average of all of your students on a scale between 1 (low) and 4 (high) . There is no way mathematically you are likely to get below a 2.5 and the evaluations that get flagged for improvements are below a 2.0 . Teachers have to have non existent growth by a majority of students AND get poor evaluations from your observers to get put on warning for dismissal of tenure. I know unions want to protect their paying members. I don't think it is wrong to expect teachers to do their jobs. You don't have to be perfect, just effective.
Once we get the facts straight and get rid of the pressure, the new standards and assessments actually provide a great way for teachers and administrators everywhere to say. Where are our students now?, where would we like them to be ? and how are we going to get them there...
Part of the problem is naming the new movement... anything that you have identified as a new and different concept gets met instantly with disapproval. Anyone remember the "Whole Language" fights of the early 90s .
As a personal story I started last year with specific "Common Core" initiatives in Social Studies classes. I gave students specific Math and Language Arts tasks to see how they are meeting the benchmarks and how I could help them then learn more about these concepts as they relate to Social Studies . The tasks are not easy or obvious, but after they are presented we broke them down gave lots of examples and had them keep trying. Some students were frustrated at being asked to do something they had not already been taught. (I wasn't grading these, just keeping track of effort as classwork)
I got complaints from parents.. why are they doing math in Social studies ? What is this "Common Core" (I made the mistake of using the name) I don't know... area, perimeter, graphs, charts, all useful no ?
So this year I stopped calling it Common Core but kept doing it.... no complaints, and they are getting much better at thinking critically all the time.
My suggestion is maybe we should keep asking students to think, maybe parents who haven't been trained as educators could be a little more trusting of those of us that have. Maybe we should abandon the name too. Some recent criticisms actually implied that we are making the goals "Common" and lower for students. If you actually read the standards they are anything but low.
I do understand states that are on the lower end nationally panicking and pulling out of testing. But Northeast States and especially New Jersey should not be afraid at all of these new initiatives. We should Keep Calm and Carry On !
The latest example of this is people who are very misguided about exactly what the Common Core is, and how educators are using it.
It is normal to fight change but it is especially dangerous to do so in education when change takes so very long to achieve in the first place.
So several years ago it was decided that having a "Common Language" and set of standards across our country for our students would be a good idea on the way to improving education for all. Educators were involved in the process of setting up these standards and before anyone can comment I believe it is imperative to read these specific expectations.
READ THEM HERE
They make sense. They ask students to back themselves up with thought process and proof rather than stressing memorization. They are not a subversive national curriculum (Glenn Beck) It doesn't mean you have to know less, you also have to know WHY. There are not specifically correct answers in those cases, so it can be frustrating for people. But helping students learn how to think deeper and more critically is not something that it is a good idea to stop doing. Students need it now more than ever, as the 21st century unfolds careers that don't even exist today.
And most of us have yet to see the National Assessments that will be used to assess how students are meeting the benchmarks. But these tests PARCC and Smarter Balance have been field testing and making sure they are fair.
Is it fair to hold teachers accountable for their students performance ? Does this put too much pressure on students and teachers? Not if it is done correctly. Parents over emphasizing the testing by boycotting it doesn't help make it a valuable useful part of education.
NJACHIEVE laws use comparison of student growth. It is not a direct score based on performance. There is actually an advantage to teaching lower level students who have more room for growth. And you are judged by an average of all of your students on a scale between 1 (low) and 4 (high) . There is no way mathematically you are likely to get below a 2.5 and the evaluations that get flagged for improvements are below a 2.0 . Teachers have to have non existent growth by a majority of students AND get poor evaluations from your observers to get put on warning for dismissal of tenure. I know unions want to protect their paying members. I don't think it is wrong to expect teachers to do their jobs. You don't have to be perfect, just effective.
Once we get the facts straight and get rid of the pressure, the new standards and assessments actually provide a great way for teachers and administrators everywhere to say. Where are our students now?, where would we like them to be ? and how are we going to get them there...
Part of the problem is naming the new movement... anything that you have identified as a new and different concept gets met instantly with disapproval. Anyone remember the "Whole Language" fights of the early 90s .
As a personal story I started last year with specific "Common Core" initiatives in Social Studies classes. I gave students specific Math and Language Arts tasks to see how they are meeting the benchmarks and how I could help them then learn more about these concepts as they relate to Social Studies . The tasks are not easy or obvious, but after they are presented we broke them down gave lots of examples and had them keep trying. Some students were frustrated at being asked to do something they had not already been taught. (I wasn't grading these, just keeping track of effort as classwork)
I got complaints from parents.. why are they doing math in Social studies ? What is this "Common Core" (I made the mistake of using the name) I don't know... area, perimeter, graphs, charts, all useful no ?
So this year I stopped calling it Common Core but kept doing it.... no complaints, and they are getting much better at thinking critically all the time.
My suggestion is maybe we should keep asking students to think, maybe parents who haven't been trained as educators could be a little more trusting of those of us that have. Maybe we should abandon the name too. Some recent criticisms actually implied that we are making the goals "Common" and lower for students. If you actually read the standards they are anything but low.
I do understand states that are on the lower end nationally panicking and pulling out of testing. But Northeast States and especially New Jersey should not be afraid at all of these new initiatives. We should Keep Calm and Carry On !
Thursday, March 13, 2014
Risky Curriculum
As a Social Studies teacher with the responsibility of covering World Geography for 10/11 year olds, it is difficult to make choices that are relevant, exciting, but safe and appropriate.
I will admit that choosing to study Ukraine this month was risky.
But we had finished a unit on Russia and the students understood the basics of the Soviet Union. There was the concept that the Independent States formed at the breakup have many issues to contend with even 30 years later.
And how much more relevant to make that point than the recent news!
As this unit develops, literally I have to modify curriculum every day, the kids have made connections to .. other protests and civil wars, government systems (Crimea giving its citizens the right to express allegiance to Russia), military deployment, language and culture regions determining support, the importance of warm weather ports (why is Crimea so important to Russia?) How can and should the United States become involved ?
Last week a student asked.... If Vladimir Putin says he won't use force on Ukrainians, why would he send people with guns ?.... hmmm... yes this seems shady.
I love that my students are having relevant conversations about current events at home with their families and sharing that in school with us. We use a student news source (CNNstudentnews) that does a fabulous job of making the news kid friendly.
I must admit that along with my normal prayers that the world stays safe and peaceful, I have been praying extra hard that this region can work through these conflicts without a major act of war.
So far it has provided many discussions about people, places, resources, geography, culture, use of force, and historical connections.
I hope to make students aware that they have a responsibility as world citizens to stay in touch with what happens in our ever shrinking world. Picking my next unit now.... any suggestions ??
I will admit that choosing to study Ukraine this month was risky.
But we had finished a unit on Russia and the students understood the basics of the Soviet Union. There was the concept that the Independent States formed at the breakup have many issues to contend with even 30 years later.
And how much more relevant to make that point than the recent news!
As this unit develops, literally I have to modify curriculum every day, the kids have made connections to .. other protests and civil wars, government systems (Crimea giving its citizens the right to express allegiance to Russia), military deployment, language and culture regions determining support, the importance of warm weather ports (why is Crimea so important to Russia?) How can and should the United States become involved ?
Last week a student asked.... If Vladimir Putin says he won't use force on Ukrainians, why would he send people with guns ?.... hmmm... yes this seems shady.
I love that my students are having relevant conversations about current events at home with their families and sharing that in school with us. We use a student news source (CNNstudentnews) that does a fabulous job of making the news kid friendly.
I must admit that along with my normal prayers that the world stays safe and peaceful, I have been praying extra hard that this region can work through these conflicts without a major act of war.
So far it has provided many discussions about people, places, resources, geography, culture, use of force, and historical connections.
I hope to make students aware that they have a responsibility as world citizens to stay in touch with what happens in our ever shrinking world. Picking my next unit now.... any suggestions ??
Thursday, February 13, 2014
Lessons from Sochi
I took a risk with developing a project based on the Winter Olympics. Right before the Olympics there was so much bad press about Gay Rights, Animal Abuse and other political firestorms. Fifth graders really aren't ready to discuss those issues with full understanding. But I went ahead and designed it and I couldn't be happier.
Each set of 3 or 4 students worked on a "country project" I assigned each group one of the last 6 top winning countries from 2010. As a group they had to produce a puppet of the country's leader (you have to see the most awesome Vladimir Putin sock puppet!), a homemade freestanding flag, A poster which included; a medal tracker to engage with during the olympics, a map, a chart or graph reflecting culture (race or religion) . Their predictions (and justifications) of the top three sports and a list and of the top 10 athletes from that country. Each day we do a "medal ceremony" and update the posters.
They also had a partner from a different group. Their responsibility was to prepare a "news desk" report. They were to explain the sport fully, using video and diagrams. They have to be prepared with latest updates of stories from their sport, and predictions of what they think will happen.
And finally they each got an individual athlete to "follow" and portray. (not from their assigned country or assigned sport) They have a one page report due at the end of the month, but in the meantime they have to be prepared to be interviewed at the news desk.
Each day I pick two sports to focus on.. The interviewers do their "report" and then call on individual athletes to "interview them" These interviews have been fantastic. I have heard things like "I have a disabled brother and I was so happy when he helped me celebrate my repeat gold medal." or I expected to win at the snowboard half pipe and didn't, but I've won so many other competitions and there is always next time." One girl said " I had a tough childhood and I really don't want to discuss my father, but my mother has been my biggest fan and helped me so much." We have heard about devastating injuries and triumphant comebacks. They know when and how they started their sports, what their hometowns are like, and just how much time, sacrifice and effort these pursuits take.
I have three classes doing the project so the hallways are filled with... "Hey who are you ? How did you do ? How is your country doing? You are my teammate! Did you see that race ? run? event?
There have been so many wonderful human interest stories and they have gained a lot of perspective about the world. They are listening, speaking, researching, predicting, and interacting.. pretty hard "CORE" stuff.
I love the Olympics!
Each set of 3 or 4 students worked on a "country project" I assigned each group one of the last 6 top winning countries from 2010. As a group they had to produce a puppet of the country's leader (you have to see the most awesome Vladimir Putin sock puppet!), a homemade freestanding flag, A poster which included; a medal tracker to engage with during the olympics, a map, a chart or graph reflecting culture (race or religion) . Their predictions (and justifications) of the top three sports and a list and of the top 10 athletes from that country. Each day we do a "medal ceremony" and update the posters.
They also had a partner from a different group. Their responsibility was to prepare a "news desk" report. They were to explain the sport fully, using video and diagrams. They have to be prepared with latest updates of stories from their sport, and predictions of what they think will happen.
And finally they each got an individual athlete to "follow" and portray. (not from their assigned country or assigned sport) They have a one page report due at the end of the month, but in the meantime they have to be prepared to be interviewed at the news desk.
Each day I pick two sports to focus on.. The interviewers do their "report" and then call on individual athletes to "interview them" These interviews have been fantastic. I have heard things like "I have a disabled brother and I was so happy when he helped me celebrate my repeat gold medal." or I expected to win at the snowboard half pipe and didn't, but I've won so many other competitions and there is always next time." One girl said " I had a tough childhood and I really don't want to discuss my father, but my mother has been my biggest fan and helped me so much." We have heard about devastating injuries and triumphant comebacks. They know when and how they started their sports, what their hometowns are like, and just how much time, sacrifice and effort these pursuits take.
I have three classes doing the project so the hallways are filled with... "Hey who are you ? How did you do ? How is your country doing? You are my teammate! Did you see that race ? run? event?
There have been so many wonderful human interest stories and they have gained a lot of perspective about the world. They are listening, speaking, researching, predicting, and interacting.. pretty hard "CORE" stuff.
I love the Olympics!
Wednesday, January 22, 2014
2014 is here
This is bound to be one of the most exciting years for me personally. I am selling my home of 20 years, getting remarried, sending my little one of to college, finding a perfect new challenging position. I am thrilled with all of the exciting changes and new challenges I will face.
But heartbreakingly, a devastating story happened in our community this week. A freshman at Univ of Penn, who was friendly with my kids, took her own life. She was smart, beautiful, athletic and even was getting help for her stress.
It has made me remember and re- evaluate the life lessons I have acquired about SUCCESS. It is so easy to get caught up in numbers, averages, sports records, salary, awards on a shelf.
It is easy for educators to think that SGOs SGPs and teacher evaluation ratings are the measure of success. When in fact, productive citizens who can think, problem solve, and empathize is our true goal.
I listened to Carol Dweck from Stanford speak about Growth Mindset this week. Her studies show that if we can teach students to understand that people and situations are not fixed the results are impressive. Suddenly people don't think a bully will always be a bully, and a victim will always be a victim. They can understand that a student has the ability to change their academic profile. Teachers can learn that they can grow and change as teachers.
It is sort of the core truth to all learning.
I hope to grow so much in 2014. I hope to teach my students their potential for growth personally and academically and I wish Madison had gotten an opportunity to understand that her situation would grow and change.
I hope each of you has a productive and growth filled 2014.
Sincerely
Holly
But heartbreakingly, a devastating story happened in our community this week. A freshman at Univ of Penn, who was friendly with my kids, took her own life. She was smart, beautiful, athletic and even was getting help for her stress.
It has made me remember and re- evaluate the life lessons I have acquired about SUCCESS. It is so easy to get caught up in numbers, averages, sports records, salary, awards on a shelf.
It is easy for educators to think that SGOs SGPs and teacher evaluation ratings are the measure of success. When in fact, productive citizens who can think, problem solve, and empathize is our true goal.
I listened to Carol Dweck from Stanford speak about Growth Mindset this week. Her studies show that if we can teach students to understand that people and situations are not fixed the results are impressive. Suddenly people don't think a bully will always be a bully, and a victim will always be a victim. They can understand that a student has the ability to change their academic profile. Teachers can learn that they can grow and change as teachers.
It is sort of the core truth to all learning.
I hope to grow so much in 2014. I hope to teach my students their potential for growth personally and academically and I wish Madison had gotten an opportunity to understand that her situation would grow and change.
I hope each of you has a productive and growth filled 2014.
Sincerely
Holly
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