Edcamp USA at the US Department of Education

Let me start out this post with an apology. I should have shared more in the past few months. There have been many blog worthy events and topics that have presented themselves. Unfortunately, there have been so many of those opportunities that I've been too busy to write about them. As time went on, I felt like I had so many blog posts to write that I was a bit overwhelmed to even start catching up. And, so I didn't write.

As someone who preaches to others the importance of telling the positive stories in education, I am sorry that I didn't share some of the incredible things I see teachers and students doing around me.  Here are a few brief descriptions with links to catch you up on some of them:

• Our 4th grade students have been collaborating with 6th grade students in India to put together an awareness campaign to stop child labor in Asia and Africa
• The South Elementary School students wrote a school-wide collaborative book and recorded it digitally.
• Our 2nd graders had an amazing virtual field trip to Colorado to learn about snakes
• South Elementary students have visited many national parks, including Agate Fossil Beds National Monument, Yellowstone National Park, and Biscayne National Park
• The 4th and 5th grade chorus had the opportunity to participate in a 3-continent cultural and musical exchange with students in South Carolina, Venezuela, and Kenya via Skype
• Our 4th grade students learned about weather from meteorologist Gian Villamil and NASA/NOAA scientist Bill Brown.
• South Elementary students have started a "Distance Teaching" project in which they will teach students in Kenya using math materials we have here in Pennsylvania through short videos.  In return, Kenyan students will be teaching us Swahili. I just received word last week that I have been approved for a grant that will allow me to travel to Nairobi at the end of next school year to put together a documentary showing the learning gains by both groups of students as teachers and learners using this pedagogical model.
• 6 other organizers and I ran a very successful edcamp in Northeastern Pennsylvania in which amazing conversations, great professional learning, and excellent networking took place among teachers in the region.

There are other amazing things going on at school, but that list gives you some idea of the things we've been doing. Because of those projects, Skype in the Classroom took notice of our school and asked me to represent them at a media event in New York City last week, and at the Social Innovation Summit, which is hosted by the United Nations. Being able to share stories of the amazing things our students and teachers are doing in front of thousands of the most innovative problem solvers and do-gooders from around the world in New York is definitely one of my career highlights so far.

Edcampers gather for a group picture after #EdcampUSA

So, that brings me to Friday.  The US Department of Education and the Edcamp Foundation collaborated to bring teachers from around the country and policy makers from the Department together in an unconference format to improve education for the first time. There was overwhelming demand among teachers to get a free ticket to the event, and I was fortunate enough to get selected in the lottery. I am also grateful that my district agreed to allow me to take a professional day to attend.

Anyone who follows this blog or knows me understands that I have not always agreed with policy decisions coming out of the Department of Education.  I can honestly say that I did not have high expectations that USDOEd would put much weight into the ideas that teachers shared at this event, and I was a bit worried that they would use it as a publicity event instead of an opportunity to really hear what teachers are saying.  Reflecting back on the day, I believe that the Department was very interested in hearing what we had to say.  I know that policy changes slowly.  I'm not expecting RttT to end tomorrow due to our discussions, but I think this was a positive step forward.  Welcoming teacher input and inviting teachers into the building to have discussions with policy makers was a positive.

I was pleasantly surprised at the feedback I heard from those in the Department. Emily Davis, a Teacher Ambassador Fellow at the Department is amazing.  She spent the day attending sessions, providing input, and taking notes to pass along to others in DOEd. We need teachers like her in higher policy positions.  I know she is looking forward to getting back in a classroom, but voices like hers are needed in rooms where education policy is being decided.

Right before lunch, Ruthanne Buck, a Senior Adviser to Secretary of Education Arne Duncan (who made a brief appearance in the morning) sat in on a session in which digital leadership was being discussed. She seemed very impressed with the quality of the ideas being discussed and debated.  I had the opportunity to talk with her over lunch about educator-led professional development like edcamps, the need for teacher voice to be heard by those in senior policy positions, and the need for our best teachers to have avenues into those top policy positions.  She was genuinely interested in finding ways to give teachers more influence, which was a pleasant surprise for me.

The discussions at this edcamp were excellent.  Unlike many of the other edcamps I have attended, the sessions were more geared toward bigger issues and action rather than classroom pedagogy and tools.  There's nothing wrong with the latter topics, but this venue called for deeper and larger thinking, and those in attendance definitely recognized that.  The first session I attended, entitled "We're here. Now What?" was a great discussion about taking action to improve education.  Another session on building digital leadership also talked about actions we can take to help develop leaders who will take risks, push back against poor policies, and share success stories.  Both of these sessions made me realize that I have been shirking my responsibility to blog about the good things happening in my small corner of the educational world. In addition to continuing to share the positive stories I encounter at speaking engagements, I committed to doing a better job of documenting those stories here on this blog.

At the end of the day I accomplished another goal of mine for the visit.  As part of the grant I mentioned above, I would like to do some professional development for teachers in the Kibera Slum of Nairobi (more about that in a future post), and work with the Kenyan Education Ministry to put on a STEM summit in which teachers from Kenya have the opportunity to share their best practices with me, and I, as a PAEMST awardee, get to share some of the best practices I've seen in the US in return.  Emily was kind enough to take me upstairs in the Department to the International Affairs Office (I'm not sure if that's the official title) to make a connection who will help me coordinate those activities.

At the end of the day we were asked to commit to blogging about the day and committing to action going forward on the things we discussed.  Here are my committments:

• I commit to blogging more often about the good I see around me in education
• I commit to developing the potential leaders around me to be voices for student-centered, learning-focused educational policy through graduate course offerings, professional development opportunities, encouragement, support, and by sharing their success stories with the media.
• I commit to fostering the connections I have made at the Department of Education, United Nations, National Science Foundation, the corporate world, and non-profit organizations doing social good to promote positive changes in education policy here in the United States, and internationally.

PAEMST Recognition Trip - Pre-trip Report

I can't believe that the PAEMST Recognition trip to Washington, DC is finally here.  My wife and I have a flight down tomorrow (Friday) after school.  Even though it's only a 4.5 hour drive, I didn't want to deal with traffic or driving late if I could avoid it.  My goal is to document the experience both for myself and for future winners and finalists who are looking for information.  Because of how busy the schedule is, this probably won't be my most eloquent writing, but I want to make sure I get as much info packed into these posts as possible.  Here are a few randomly ordered pre-trip thoughts, tid-bits, facts, and whatnot.

I'm not quite packed yet.  Anyone who knows me and/or has read my Adventures of a Cheap Overplanner with Kids blog knows that I am a firm believer in the carry-on only rule.  That's just not going to happen here.  I feel like I am bringing insane amounts of clothing, but I can't seem to get around bringing two suits, possibly another sport jacket, multiple ties, and casual items for the days before the official PAEMST events get started on Sunday night. Plus, I want to get a 12 mile long-run in on Sunday morning because the Scranton Half Marathon is only a month away.  I've got an awesome route planned out, but that means I need to bring running clothes and shoes.

 

Planned Running Tour of DC

As for questions that future winners may have about what the National Science Foundation pays for:

• We could have flown, driven, or taken a train.  All travel expenses are paid for winners and their guests (for those driving they will pay mileage up to the cost of a flight).
• We get a Per Diem allowance for food, which is adjusted for the meals that are included in the itinerary. 
• Transportation costs like taxis to/from the airport are reimbursed.
• The hotel is paid for the nights of the events.  Other nights before or after the trip are your responsibility.

We are flying down two days early and staying at a Hilton Garden Inn near the White House before switching to the Omni Shoreham, where NSF is putting us for the recognition events.  Lori and I are planning on sightseeing on Saturday, visiting the Museum of American History, possibly taking a tour of the monuments on Saturday evening, and going to Georgia Brown's for the Jazz brunch on Sunday morning before making our way to the Omni.  My cousin and his wife, who live between DC and Baltimore may meet us for brunch, which would be nice.

I'm pretty excited about the trip - especially about meeting the other winners.  We've gotten to know each other a bit through a Facebook group that many of us joined, and they seems like amazing people and teachers.  I am so honored and blessed to be among this group.

In order for students in my school (and a few other classes I've invited) to learn along with my on this trip, I've set up a Celly account.  I created a cell on that site that will allow me to post updates and pictures in real time and will allow students and classes to text message me in a controlled, moderated forum.  I'm excited to share the trip with students.  Hopefully there will be some good interaction, and I can spark some learning.

Tomorrow is going to be a crazy day.  I still have a few cool projects to wrap up before I leave.  In the morning I'm helping our 2nd grade gifted students shoot a green screen video with scenes from Japan behind them while they read the Haiku they wrote.  I also have a few things to take care of for EdCamp NEPA.  I'd like to get the letters to local school districts inviting their teachers mailed before I leave.  My mother-in-law will be staying with our kids while we're gone and has generously offered to shorten the pants on the suit I just bought before we leave for the airport.  

Hopefully I'll be able to get a post up tomorrow, but I'm not optimistic. We leave Scranton at 6:55, have a short stopover in Philly, and land at Reagan National at 10:00.  By the time we get to the hotel, I'll likely be spent. 

Teacher Disengagement

We talk a lot about student engagement in schools.  Probably not as much as we should, but it's still a topic that comes up rather often.  "My freshman Algebra class looks at me with glazed eyes while they drool on their textbooks" is probably a sentence that's repeated in high school faculty rooms all over the country on a regular basis.

Lack of teacher engagement is something that's discussed far less frequently, but it's a huge problem.  Disengaged teachers probably don't create amazing learning environments.  Disengaged teachers probably don't inspire students to be engaged.  Disengaged teachers may or may not be drooling on their teachers' manuals.

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons/Flickr - Jayegirl99

Last night I had a tough time falling asleep.  Sometimes this happens due to stress.  Other times it happens because the New York Giants played a night game and found a new, creative way to lose in the last few minutes.  Last night it happened because I was really fired up about all the great things that are happening in school.  Kindergarten kids are sharing their learning on individual and class blogs.  First graders are using Blabberize to share what they've learned about different animals.  Second graders are blogging about different types of communities.  Third and fourth graders are Skyping kids in other states to learn about geography.  Our fifth graders are building room-sized models of plant and animal cells.  The grad class of teachers I'm working with is excited to radically change pedagogy to be more student-centered. 

Despite my lack of sleep, I couldn't wait to get into school this morning to do more of this stuff with kids.  I'm engaged and passionate about what I'm doing, and this lead me to a few thoughts:

1. Sometimes when teachers say "I'm exhausted", they really don't mean "I'm exhausted."  They may think they are exhausted, and I'm sure they're tired.  But, what they really mean is, "I'm not excited about what I'm doing right now."  When you are engaged and passionate about what you are doing, you often ignore tiredness.  Eventually we all need rest, but when we're in that zone of passion, doing the amazing supersedes the need for rest.
2. Too many times disengaged teachers will be resentful of others who are passionate.  That teacher who stays at school until 6 getting incredible stuff ready for the next day, that teacher who won't shut up about the stuff they learned in a Twitter chat the night before, and that annoying guy who routinely gives up his weekends to go to something called an EdCamp are not trying to show you up.  They aren't trying to gain brownie points with the principal.  They are just lucky enough to be engaged.  Try asking what has them so excited.  You may just find something that flips your switch from turned-off to turned-on.  And, tell them that there are many brands of decaf on the market that are just as tasty as the real thing. (If you recognized that as a Real Genius reference, you get bonus points.)
3. Nobody went into the teaching profession to be the best deliverer of test-prep.  If you are disengaged, and that's what your job has become, there's probably a correlation.  So stop doing that.  I understand that moving away from this is much harder in some places.  This testing culture is responsible for a great many disengaged teachers.  So, do what you can.  Step outside your comfort zone and do one thing a day that bucks the system.  Take one action that reminds you of why you chose to be a teachers.  That one act of civil disobedience may just be the thing in your day that reminds you why being a teacher is the best job in the world.  It also may be the one thing in the day that stops your students from drooling on their textbooks. 

Seeing Reform Past Our Own Noses

It's been about two weeks since I wrote my last post.  It's not because I haven't had ideas.  On the contrary, I've had about five topics I wanted to write about in the past couple of weeks and couldn't find the time.

Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I was hoping that I'd be writing a post today summing up my experiences at EdCamp Philly.  I was really excited to go to my first edcamp, and had it on my calendar since the day they announced the date.  Unfortunately, the fan belt in my car broke about 20 miles north of Allentown on the way down.  Instead of collaboratively learning about assessment practices and pedagogy, I learned that to make sure when Toyota says they checked your belts and hoses that they really mean it, and that the Chestnuthill Diner in a town called Saylorsburg, PA serves a really good breakfast for an amazingly cheap price.  You can't beat eggs, homefries, corned beef hash, coffee and toast for less than 6 bucks.

What I do want to write about is how we sometimes stumble to see educational reform globally.  I've noticed in many education conversations I've had recently in person and on social media sites that we each tend to see educational reform through the lens of our own experiences when we were in school.  I guess this is natural, and I'm sure that I'm guilty of it at times.  But, it's also dangerous if we are trying to build an educational system that meets the needs of all students.  

Because changing the system based on what would have worked for you or me is only a move forward if it doesn't infringe upon someone else's opportunity to be successful.  The problem is not that the system wasn't designed to do what would have been good for you or me.  The problem is that the system didn't allow for teachers to meet the needs of every child, including you and me.   

Standardizing education, whether it's through nationalized curriculum, standardized testing, coming up with standards for "college and career readiness", or any other means eliminates our ability to customize education for all students.  No matter what we change those "standards" to, there will always be kids whose needs aren't met by them.  Most people aren't "standard." Until we allow for and encourage customization, there will always be a pretty significant population who leave our schools with a legitimate complaint that the system didn't work for them.

And it's not acceptable to deny a percentage of students the opportunity to learn because their talents don't match what is easily measured.

On a separate note, this is the 100th post since I started the blog a little over a year ago.  Thank you to all who read, comment, debate, and share.  I hope that you've had as much fun and gotten as much out of reading as I have from writing.