Last week, I had a chance to catch up with Andrea Hernandez. As we began debriefing the Skype session I participated in with her students a while back and what has happened since, I found myself connecting to her professional experiences in ways that I didn’t expect. Her honesty and her willingness to reveal the challenges that she faces in her work impressed me more than she probably realized in that moment, and all of…
When I first became a professional development provider, much of what I was capable of doing was limited to speaking engagements, short-term projects, and workshops. I worked on a team that served over 25 different school districts, each comprised of multiple buildings. I was one of two literacy specialists in my department. Resources were tight. Time was tighter. I knew I had a lot to learn, and I knew that if I were ever going…
Earlier this week, I shared a photo of a reflective journal that one of our Studio writers designed last summer. Although we don’t see each other as often as I’d like to, whenever we come together as a group, I try to provide them ample time and prompts that inspire reflection. I find that asking them to revisit their responses enables them to define their needs and set goals with greater ease. I’ve used parts…
Some of the conversations that I have with young writers are inspired by the work of Christopher Johns, whose framework for reflective practice enables them to identify their needs, advocate for themselves, and use what they’ve come to understand to be of service to others. Sounds heavy, but it really isn’t. Consider this: Inspiring those you know to do the same can happen when you invite them to think about, discuss, and craft responses to…
Today’s post is the fourth in a quick series relating what I’m learning through my work with the WNY Young Writers’ Studio, how this is informing my perspectives about change in the field of education, and where my efforts might be best placed as someone who hopes to inspire it. My discoveries are taking me down a path that wasn’t necessarily intended: toward kids, their needs, and the potential to help them advocate for themselves…
This week, I’ve been telling some of the stories that are emerging from my work with the WNY Young Writers’ Studio. Specifically, I’m telling stories that suggest that children might be the best force for change within the field of education because in my experience, teachers tend to listen when kids make respectful requests of them. I’m also finding that empowering kids to advocate for themselves in this way begins with reflection, so I’ve spent…
Yesterday, I shared some preliminary findings from my work within the WNY Young Writers’ Studio, what I’ve learned, and how this is beginning to influence my next steps. I’m compelled by the idea of helping young people identify their needs (particularly as writers) and develop strategies and approaches that enable them to meet them. I’ve spent the last three years watching what can happen when kids take themselves, their work, and the dilemmas they…
“Some of my former students came back to see me this year,” she said. “They graduated a couple of years ago. When they were here, they really struggled, but they wanted to do well, and they listened to me when I told them I could help them. I helped them read. I helped them write. I gave them strategies that got them through the tests. When they complained, I promised it would be worth it.…
“…simply treating formative assessment as a series of more frequent mini-assessments misses the point about its value to learning – a value that is rooted in theory and research. At a time of unprecedented opportunity, it is regrettable that roles of the teacher and the student in enabling learning are not at the center of current thinking about formative assessment within the proposed next-generation assessment systems. This may well result in a lost opportunity to…
One of my friends retired recently, and while we were out celebrating her new future, she got to thinking about the number of kids she taught during her thirty year career. Her estimated total hovered somewhere around 3500, and I wouldn’t be surprised if she still remembered every student’s name, where they went on to work or learn or play later in life, and what their favorite books were. She was this kind of teacher,…