Alignment matters. Defining the standards we expect students to meet, making them accessible to the kids we serve, and assessing and supporting progress toward them–this matters. Much. I’m not merely referring to state standards, either. I’m referring to the standards that our best practitioners–the experts in our field–have defined for us, based on decades of research. I’m referring to our personal standards and the ones that our school communities hold dear. I’m referring to the…
This post is the third in my organizational story writing series. In the first post, I defined the form and shared ten reasons why organizational story writing matters. Then, I introduced a current client, Jackie James Creedon, in my second post. Here, I included the interest survey that I ask most clients to complete ahead of our work as well as the approach and tools that I use when conducting my initial listening session. These first meetings…
Jackie James Creedon shares a map of future soil testing sites in western New York State. Jackie James Creedon is the founder of Citizens Science Community Resources, an organization that is committed to promoting science-based activism and empowering grass-roots environmental justice and health campaigns. In 2014, Jackie received an award from the Environmental Protection Agency for her courageous efforts to lead an investigation in our community that took down Tonawanda Coke, a local factory…
I’ve spent a good portion of this year helping teachers unpack and design some pretty powerful writing experiences around this particular standard. I’ll admit that it’s my favorite. Sure, research and information writing teach us about the world, and stories help us learn how to live in it. Poets accomplish both of those things and more, but this is the standard that challenges young people to distinguish fact from fallacy and evidence from high emotion. This is…
Last night, I was asked to speak at the Cheektowaga Board of Education meeting about the work I’m beginning to lead there with the Common Core. This is something I’m asked to do fairly often when I lead any kind of an initiative in schools. Reporters are often present. This morning, I received an incredibly hostile voicemail message from someone who read this morning’s Buffalo News article and took exception its positive tone and particularly,…
I agree: too much is going wrong. We do need to speak up. We do need to act in ways that will restore sanity. Something worth reflecting on though: what power do we, as New York State educators, have to design quality curricula, protect quality instruction, and assess in ways that engage, inspire, and nurture children? I think we have a lot of power here. I think we need to quit giving it away. I…
Earlier this month: I shared a bit about where I’ve landed in terms of my own learning and work over the last few years. I spoke about my experiences as a facilitator of change and my interest in helping young people assume greater role in leading it. I suggested that an important part of such an effort involves empowering children to advocate for themselves, and I identified reflection as an entry point. And then I…
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…
When I was a freshman in college, I was fortunate enough to have several professors who didn’t wait until the end of the semester to engage me in a conversation about what I was learning and how their efforts were helping or hindering that process. The fact that my teachers cared enough about my learning to ask me such questions inspired me to begin taking myself seriously as a student for the first time in…
Reflective Journaling Enables Learners to Assess Their Needs As a teacher, when I began my own search for self-advocacy protocols, strategies, and processes, my efforts led me to countless books, articles, and experts whose focus was largely on the field of special education and on what parents and teachers could do to help classified learners speak to their needs and protect their rights. I know that this is important work, and in fact, as I’ve…