I Can't Go For That (No Can Do)

As teachers and students, there are a lot of things we're asked to do throughout the school day: pay attention, read this, hand in that, take this survey, scale that mountain of e-mail. We're asked to marginalize certain things in order to address others deemed "more important." Sometimes, we're even asked to compromise our core values and beliefs for the sake of "getting the job done."

I think it's important for us to uphold our values at any cost, but most importantly, to maintain that singular, uncompromising, unwavering viewpoint: our own "Golden Rule."

Continuing with our #ed584 grad class series of questions, I elected to blog about the concept of this rule and what that means to me. No, not necessarily "do unto others," but rather: "What is one, non-negotiable rule that all kids must follow in your class?"

I feel like mine is pretty simple, but quite profound when applied in the myriad of our educational contexts: "Be respectful."

I mean and expect this of myself, my kids and colleagues in everything we do, whether it's in or out of the classroom. Being respectful means showing respect to others when they're showing you how to do something, or sharing their views on a topic. I think students should respect themselves enough to give it their all when confronted with a difficult activity or concept, as often happens during my co-taught research classes. Being respectful means being a good digital citizen, practicing the ethical use of information, but also being respectful in your interactions with others online. To me, being resilient, actively participating in and contributing to learning process, honoring the views and work of others and building a culture of tolerance means being respectful.

Being nonconstructive, negative, opting out of learning, not trying your hardest to fight through adversity and disrespecting others? No, I can't go for that (no can do). 

What's the one non-negotiable rule in your classroom?

The Library Media Scientist

Recently, we were asked to create trailers for our classrooms which could be shown during open houses or with students on the first day of school. The constant struggle of working as a nomadic, gypsy librarian means I don't have a singular classroom or group of students with whom I can share my story with the world. However, I think this video captures what people should generally expect to find me doing with students in and out of the classroom.

I'm happy to share it with the 7 parents who come visit me during our 2-hour open houses as well :)

"What Would You Say...You Do Here?"

To know me, you must understand that I worked in the private sector for years before entering the teaching profession (community news desk jockey and writer for the Waterbury Republican-American). So, I find bits of humor, such as this Office Space (1999) classic, add levity to situations I encounter in education.

Now, for the tie-in. 

Continuing with my #ed584 grad class series of questions, I elected to blog about a mildly dubious one, often asked of myself and my media specialist colleagues when interacting with the general public: "What do you teach?"

At a basic level, I teach information literacy skills to high school students and provide professional development and support to my fellow faculty members. These teachings generally include anything from the research process and digital citizenship to the use of instructional technology (think web-based tools, apps, software and hardware). Some readers can probably identify and think to themselves, "Yes, I teach 'math,' 'English,' 'science,' 'social studies,' 'music,' or, if you're an elementary teacher, 'EVERYTHING!'" (Bless your hearts for that).

But it's not that simple, now is it?

There are always deeper, overarching, idealistic and sometimes grandiose (re: delusional) ideas of "what we teach" our students. At the end of the day, I hope I've taught my kids to be confident thinkers and doers. I try to teach them independence, problem-solving, resilience, integrity, civics, respect and responsibility. I guess that's too tough to wrap our heads around and tie up in a package to present as "what we teach," though.

How about you; what do you teach? 

Effective Instructional Models

Teaching with web-based tools and information is certainly nothing new. In fact, the article which served as the inspiration of this post, Effective Instructional Models: Internet Workshop, Internet Project, Internet Inquiry and Webquests, feels pretty dated.

I mean, sure, it's got some great dinosaur resources (pun intended) for elementary and middle school students to conduct online research. However, it does point a finger squarely at one instructional skill set which is near and dear to my media specialist heart, and one which I feel is being is grossly neglected in many mainstream classrooms: information literacy.

Some of the models suggested in this article include guided web experiences to take students through evaluating online sources (ICYouSee Guide to Critical Thinking), cross-referencing information found online with credible sources (shout-out to one of my ed tech favs, Kathy Shrock, for this one!) and a delightful resource called the Museum of Hoaxes to test our kids' critical thinking and information evaluation skills. These skills are an important part of mastering essential information literacy.

After all, if our students' first instinct is to Google or Wikipedia (both verbs, IMO) something, we'd better be sure we've got them thinking twice about the credibility, reliability and usefulness of that source's ability to address their information needs.

This is not a loaded question, but when working independently of literacy coaches, media specialists and other support staff specializing in information literacy, how are you addressing these skills in your classroom? To make it more concrete, how are you addressing the skills in an instructional model of information literacy, such as Big6?

Whooo aaare you? Who, who? Who, who?

Recently, my #ed584 grad class was posed a series of questions to blog about. Every couple of weeks, I'll pick one to blog about, then throw it out there for others to think about for themselves. Maybe you'll even feel compelled to share your ideas, too.

This week, I chose the question: "Who are you? (kids will be who you are, not who you want them to be)"

This is the type of question I love to hate and hate to love. You know why? It makes you uncomfortable. It makes you take a look at yourself, an honest look. Inevitably, you take into account the idea of what you have of yourself, but also, how you feel yourself being perceived by others. Sometimes, not just perceived, but maybe even judged by others *screeeeam!* Ultimately, this question provides us with an opportunity we rarely get to do and often times, never as our kids to do: reflect.

As a teacher, I know I tend to be quirky, funny in a nerdy way, and probably overwhelming. I sometimes talk to fast, make jokes that are way over kids heads or things that may be too corny, or delivered too quickly for anyone in the room to actually find funny. I think I do this because I always feel rushed. Rushed by the clock, the students' expectations, the teacher's expectations, whom I'm supposedly co-teaching with, and rushed by my internal mechanism to teach the skill or content as quickly as possible to get outta the way and let the kids start working.

However, I know I'm dedicated, professional and compassionate. I never belittle students or deliberately intimidate anyone. When I'm on the clock, I work from buzzer to buzzer, offering support to anyone for anything that I might encounter. I know that I genuinely want to do a good job and always seek ways to improve things.

So tell me: who are you? (Who, who? Who, who?)

"The C's of Change;" Then and Now

Professional literature in education has always fascinated me. It's the only type of reading that leaves me simultaneously energized and hopeful while also being incredibly jaded and confused, and sometimes, even afraid.

After reading a post by the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) "The C's of Change: An Extended Interview with Member of the New Literacies Research Lab," I was struck by the responses and first questions posed within the article: "What are the main differences between 20th century and 21st century education?"

Having received my K-12, undergraduate and graduate education between the years of 1989-2016 (yes, I realize this makes me seem "ancient" to some and "a young whippersnapper" to others), I realize I'm in a unique position to answer this question from personal experience. I can honestly say that the end of my high school career and much of my undergraduate experience was old hat: direct transmission of information from teacher to student, assigned readings with canned questions to answer, and memorization of facts and concepts to complete written exams, only to be forgotten after the next course had begun. Working in a high school now, I see many of these same practices continue, and I genuinely start to worry about the educational experience and skills we're preparing our kids with.

As the article summarizes the changes in types and uses of technology in education, particularly the impact of the internet and digital storyteling tools in building literacy skills in our students, it also points to some sad realizations about technology in education. Perhaps the most sobering response came from University of Connecticut professor, Dr. Donald J. Leu:

"It is an unfortunate fact that there are only minimal differences in classrooms today, compared to classrooms of the previous century. Students continue to be asked to master basic, factual knowledge in the classroom and then are assessed on this knowledge. This, despite the fact that a number of profound differences between the two centuries should have redefined the nature of classroom learning: localization vs. globalization; labor as capital vs. intelligence as capital; information as knowledge to be mastered vs. information as a tool with which to develop new knowledge; and, most importantly, the Internet and other information and communication technologies (ICTs)." (2009)

The question this sparked for me and my fellow educators is that if we've been tasked with changing education from 20th century to 21st century, what changes do we need to start making right away to ensure a successful transition for our students into their new world?

Read (And Blog) Courageously!