"Once you stop learning, you start dying." - Albert Einstein
The best take away from the Introduction was that change is an opportunity to do something amazing. We all know that opening this school was something very different for GISD. It's a chance to allow students to show what they can do, not just what we've told them to know. If we don't truly change the way we do things, George Couros says that school will continue to look the same as it did when we attended, only in a digital form. He went on to say that many schools have the latest and greatest technology but are still using them to do the same things they did before. My question, everyone has a smart board. Are we utilizing its full capacity or using it as a digital chalkboard?
Another, great point he made is that Kids walk into schools full of wonder and questions, yet we often ask them to hold their questions for later, so we can "get through" the curriculum. Have we forgotten to spark a curiosity that empowers students to learn on their own?
We forget that if students leave school less curious than when they started, we have failed them.
WOW! I don't know about you, but that statement was so powerful to me. Are your students leaving curious more days than not? Are you leaving curious about the world around us and how we can bring that to life for our students? That is where we will be different. It's not ONLY about the pacing guides. That's what they are GUIDES.... how can you cover the necessary material and bring real world into the classrooms. Becoming innovators is a challenge for EVERYONE in our organization. All hands on deck as Couros states.
We want to create a school community where kids are inspired to be better people because of their experiences at KGJ. We (students, staff, administrator) should be creating an experience where students are knocking down the doors to get in.
Watch this short video about entitled BE MORE DOG (embedded code below). Think of how this applies to teaching --- and it does! What is one way you can be more dog and less cat this week? Please comment by Friday, September 22nd.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=futQVPRCOOY
What's going on this week at KGJ:
Monday: We will have cheeseburgers for lunch with chips and desserts. We also have tea! :) It's also jeans day for a fabulous LION WIN at Friday night's game. After school, we will start constructing our board for the Power of 10 presentation if you are available.
Tuesday: Dr. Liggins Bday. We will record a message at our Monday Morning Meeting and send to him today. Regular PLCs going on. After school, we will continue working on Power of 10 presentation if you are available.
Wednesday: T-TESS goals are due today. For Iteam Meeting - Bea, Gina, and Karen will meet with Rebekah Jacobson on vertical writing. The rest of the group will work on tearing into the Science STAAR and how K-4 supports the success of our students. Also, Helen Williams will be there for the first part of the meeting to talk about the dedication and get your input as well. We will work on presentation as needed if you are available after Iteam meeting.
Thursday: PLCs as usual. Lesson plans for the week of Oct 2-6 due before you go nite nite. I will be at a principal's meeting from 1-3. Crystal, could you go out at 3:05 to start taking car names if I am not back? We will start initial conversations for students you feel need interventions this afternoon. I will have a schedule prior to this day, so you will know when to attend. If we haven't finished our presentation, we need to do so!! Will update...
Friday: Picture day. We will tell parents that students can wear whatever for that day. It's a lot of trouble trying to change clothes and I really don't want all of our kids in spirit shirts for school pics. :)
Power of 10 presentation at 1 p.m.
And....another week down!
Have a great week and BE MORE DOG!
SK loves Rockets
How ironic I just downloaded the same book yesterday and I can't wait to read it! I agree that education is long overdue for some change and that true innovation will never happen without it! It is a shift in mindset that we all have to have in order for innovation to grow in our students. It must begin with us, we must be more dog. However, let us not overlook a good cat nap! The green in me needs more time to ponder how I will be more dog this week, how I will inspire, create curiosity, and grow questions. What I do know is that it starts with me and my own willingness change!!
ReplyDeleteIt is going to be an AWESOME week!
Well your post could not be more timely, since my college team, the MS State University Bulldogs, relished in their 37-7 victory over the LSU Tigers this past Saturday. They have not defeated LSU on their own territory since 1984, which just so happens to be the fall that my husband and I met while we were students at MSU! (Can you tell I LOVE being a Bulldog!) That being said, the conversation with my class today concerning this video was very interesting and a bit divided. (The cat loving students did not like the adjectives of lazy and aloof being used for their adored feline friends.) But we all agreed that dogs seem to have more energy and are passionate about whatever it is that they want to sink their teeth into. As a MSU bulldog, being a dog to me means tenacity, courage, and the fight for the goal. Even when the odds are against us (i.e. interactive board shutting down right in the middle of a Kahoot review), we don't give up. Where there is a will, there is a way! When one tactic doesn't work, we have a backup plan and can transition quickly to that plan. I'll end with a cheer I've been chanting since I was 12 years old - Go Dawgs!!! Have a great week, everyone!
ReplyDeleteBe More Dog? ARF!and Carpe Diem. I may be a little too DOG. I threw markers at kids with Ms. Boothe in the room as we learned r-controlled vowels. I'm so sorry Principal Kluttz! In my defense, the kiddos didn't know what 'hurl' meant,(except for the vomit meaning).
ReplyDeleteI have Innovator's Mindset on my book shelf if anyone would like to borrow it. George Couros is my #1 favorite leader in education. He has a blog you can subscribe to and is very active on twitter with great discussions I like to take part in.
A couple of days ago he posted an intriguing thought on whether we teach compliance or empowerment? Here are some questions that compliant learners are asking. You know, like, how many pages is this supposed to be? and Did I do this right? What do I have to do for an A? When really they should be asking, How can I make this better? and Did I accurately communicate my ideas? and, Is there another way to solve this problem?...
He also has me thinking about intrinsic and extrinsic motivators. Hmmmm.
Anyway. I am a huge fan and enjoy George's professional community of passionate, innovative leaders in schools.
@gcouros
p.s. Dave and Shelley Burgess are really good.
p.p.s I'm tweeting with them as we speak. Best pd questions and conversations, hands down!@burgessdave
Teach Like a PIRATE #tlap
I loved watching this video with my students and hearing their thoughts.I guess none of mine were cat lovers like Sondra's, they didn't bring up anything about the cat being portrayed in a negative light. I feel like my class thought of it differently from what others have said. They had lots of ideas on the meaning, but two that they all agreed with. They thought we should be more out of the box with our ideas and the way we approach things, as well as not be pinned in as a certain thing. We had the discussion that even if we were a cat and had those tendencies we could still do things that a dog does and surprise people with our versatility.
ReplyDeleteWe have to continue to have innovative ideas to encourage our students to be great creators,inventors and think outside the box. We must encourage out students to have a desire and love for learning and exploring.
ReplyDeleteThis week has been challenging for me. The gold in me freaked out over trying to get all my testing finished without losing my teach time. But the more I stressed over it the more I realized that I had no control over it and was able to think about in a more blue state of mind. I have to admit that approaching it that way was a lot easier. Dogs are so very blue beingslol! I want to be mor blue/dog and I believe that I will be able to accomplish that goal working with this awesome group of people!
ReplyDeleteWhat a week! Officially my toughest week so far. I definitely feel like I didn't teach a darn thing! It happens I guess:/ None the less, I am trying to teach myself to change things more often and give them more opportunities. In my head our school is different in SO many ways, yet I wonder if someone walked in my classroom if they would actually feel that. I want to be more dog and take more chances! Although the precious honeymoon stage is over, I am loving watching the kids interests start to peek. It's pretty obvious that they'd rather be completeing a stem challege or up and moving to teach their classmate fact families than sitting and listening to me explain something. I'm still working on that;) maybe I need to borrow your book Bea!
ReplyDeleteAnd that is what you are teaching--- we are shifting from being the "traditional teacher" to more of a facilitator. You've got this sister!!
DeleteFrom Vickie---Sooooo...I agree with the quote "Once you stop learning, you start dying." That goes along with "You're never too old to learn something new", not "You can't teach an old dog new tricks" because you can and I'm living evidence of that! 😊 It drives me crazy when teachers won't try something new simply because "they've always done it this way and it works for them". I also LOVED the quote "If they leave school less curious than when they started, we've failed them." OUCH!!!!! That stepped on my toes a little bit so I'm definitely going to BE MORE DOG in that area! I have to confess, however, that so far I've just been trying to stay afloat and not drown. I haven't really looked any differen... but I want to...and I will! WOOF! WOOF!
ReplyDeleteFrom Crystal ---We are all too familiar with the fact that students are always full of questions and they aren't always relevant to the lesson being taught at the moment!
ReplyDeleteThat being said, I have always loved the random teachable moment that doesn't necessarily go with the topic of the lesson. ( within reason)
It's little moments like that that stick in my memories sometimes more than a planned lesson! I love that we have the chance to go beyond lesson plans and teach our kids that match all their questions an embrace the fact that they can have such inquisitive minds!
Who let the Dogs... er... ummm... I mean Cats out!!! Had to start with that. The video I thought was Great! I’ve seen it before I believe we should do that at times. It’s nice every now and then to lay around like a cat and relax, but in the words of one of my favorite movies Shawshank Redemption “Get busy living, or get busy dying.” My kiddos… being Kinder, didn’t really get it that much, they just liked the cat running round and playing, then we sat back and talked about it and they finally understood a little of what it meant. For me personally, I do just like Red said I get out and do as much as I can while I can. Live each day to it’s fullest because you never know when you may live your last tomorrow. Continue to push yourself to be a better you and encourage other to better themselves!!! Woof Woof!!!!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great week! Yes, I felt like the dog chasing his tail at times but all great. Yes, we are off and running. My students are like the dogs too. They want more and more. The more I dish out the more they are grabbing a hold of. So we will continue to be the big dog on campus! We are not pussy footing around. We are getting it done!
ReplyDeleteThis week I felt like a dog running on a treadmill! Goodness, what a crazy fast week! My kids are dogs daily. I feed them every second, yet they are still hungry for more. Sometimes, it's hard to get them quiet in the hallway because they are sill asking questions!!! That's how I always want it to be. It leaves me with the task of continually trying ti place more and more rigor into my lessons to keep them motivated to "be dogs!" I must admit though, at night I go home and curl up like a kitty cat and sleep!
ReplyDelete