Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln is considered by many to be the greatest President in the history of the United States.  There is good reason for such thinking.  Lincoln “saved” the union through his efforts during the Civil War citing that “A house divided cannot stand.”  He endured military leaders who weren’t up to the task, threats on his own life, a cabinet that argued almost daily, the loss of one son to disease, much public opposition to the war itself and great loss of life. He wrote the Emancipation Proclamation “Four score and seven years ago…” that was the forerunner to the 13^th amendment which provided freedom to slaves. He had many famous quotes, but he was much more than words – he was a man of action.  He was the driving force behind the Homestead Act, which allowed poor people in the East to claim land in the West for a chance at a better life. He signed legislation that began agricultural and mechanical colleges (A&M) in each state. He established a network of national banks.  He started the first transcontinental railroad. His speech at Gettysburg is considered one of the greatest speeches of all time in which he calls on Americans to not simply remember those who lost their lives on that battlefield, but to carry on and finish the task.  The purpose was to save a nation.  He did that.  Of all of the famous Lincoln quotes, this one hits home – “At every step, we must be true to the main purpose.” (1859) He exemplified this through his actions.  We, as a nation, are forever in debt to him.

At every step, we must be true to the main purpose.  Just what is the main purpose of what we do in schools?  It is easy to cite things like getting the kids ready for the state test as the main purpose.  That would be the wrong answer.  Maybe you believe that the main purpose is to get kids ready for the next grade level.  Maybe you believe that the main purpose is to get high scores on the quarterly exams or the big summative assessments.  Maybe some think it is all about the ACT sequence or the attainment of high grades.  Maybe it’s all about mastering standards.  None of these are the main purpose!  These measures are all RESULTS of staying true to the main purpose.  Our main purpose, as educators, is to make a difference is the lives of kids every day.  Does that sound ridiculous? To some people, it is ridiculous in this “data point society” that so many embrace as the gospel truth without ever looking at the vast number of variables that need to be factored in.  Look at it this way – can you point to one single thing that makes the overall difference in why, in broad terms, we are a really good school.  Sure you want to teach well using the most effective techniques you can muster. You also want to use formative assessments to inform your instruction. You want to engage kids in their lessons and a hundred other things about the “science” of teaching.  Often, it is the affective side of this student/teacher relationship that causes the biggest change.  Are you a cheerleader for your students?  Do they know that you have their best interests in mind?  Do they know that you care?  Do you talk with them?  Did you ever ask them how things are going?  Did you ever get that shovel out and dig a little bit into what they are going through. Were you an encourager this week, last week, last semester, the whole year?  These things all go into this huge equation that many on the outside call “success.”  I know this – when I hang it up, I will not spend much time sticking my chest out about high state test scores.  Nope, I will be remembering those “silent victories” that caused great results in areas that may not be included in a newspaper article.  Most will never know about these, but I will.  Be true to the main purpose – making a difference in the life of every kid that comes your way.

Zero Miles to the Gallon

There are several ways to save money on gasoline costs.  First, consider walking.  There are no gasoline costs associated with that.  If you must drive, consider the following advice.  Lighten your load.  Remove some of those things that are stored in your trunk.  For every 250 extra pounds in your vehicle, you lose one mile per gallon.  Inflate your tires.  Don’t wait for a flat to check your tire pressure.  Underinflated tires cause more road friction, which causes more resistance, which causes your engine to work harder, which results in decreased gas mileage.  Clean you fuel system.  Running your engine causes deposits to be made in the form of carbon.  Without a good cleaning, your fuel system is like blocked arteries. Those aren’t fun, trust me.  Quit idling.  We’ve all been there – waiting for a long train to pass, bumper-to-bumper traffic, or sitting in the drive-thru.  If your engine is running at these times, then you are getting zero miles per gallon AND you are not going anywhere!  Good advice – except to those in an oil cartel.

Poor teaching strategies get zero miles per gallon academically speaking.  Throughout the school year, you have had opportunities to join sessions on high-yield teaching strategies.  If you have invested your time in learning some of these and are utilizing them in your classroom, then you have noticed the upswing in your LPG (Learning Per Gallon).  Dave has presented many good things for your toolkit.  I will not duplicate them here.  My point is this – if you want zero miles to the gallon in your teaching, then try the following= lecture day after day after day, lower your expectations, expect your students to fix themselves, keep your students in their seats the entire class period, never review previously learned material,  do not attempt to establish rapport with your students, do not break concepts up in digestible bites, answer more questions and ask fewer, never make your examples and assignments relevant to the needs of your students, never provide exemplars, never model proper behavior, never challenge your kids academically, assign independent work before guided instruction, always assign “busy work”, never check for student understanding, use RtI period as a “free” period, never use formative data to inform your instruction, never provide academic supports, never list or refer to the daily goal, never connect the daily goal with long-term goals, never have your students revise their learning, never engage your kids…use these and your academic vehicle will be perpetually in park and your kids will not be going anywhere.  Strive for increased LPG!

Do They See the Benefits?

Have you ever sat through a sales presentation?  If you answered in the negative, you are incorrect (see second paragraph).  I recall a sales presentation that I sat through.  The rep rambled on about all of the advantages to the product he was touting.  None of those “advantages” has any use in my life. I amused myself by wondering why the salesman never bothered to gauge his audience.  You see, the features of his product had no relevance as to my needs.  I just could not see the benefits.  If he could have shown me how those features would benefit my needs or my future, then I would have been much more apt to stay focused. Instead I was counting the carpet squares and ceiling tiles.  He missed using transition phrases like “…so that you can…” and “…in order for you to…” There was no personalization.  There was no personal relevance.  There was no connection to my life. Neither viewpoint, interests, nor future goals were brought into the presentation.  I could not see the value. I did not see the benefits.  Better communicators are better sellers. He lost out. By the way, there were 288 carpet squares and 76 ceiling tiles.

To a student, every class period is a sales presentation.  You were a student too, so you remember the sales.  Okay, read this carefully – not every concept that you teach, every text that you read, every story problem that you compute, every project that you require, and every fitness session that you prescribe is not necessarily and inherently heart- stirring to a student.  Just because you personally like to work out linear equations, enjoy sweating like Mike Tyson at a Spelling Bee with a good workout, can paint and draw like Rembrandt, can push nouns and verbs together like Hemingway, see the Periodic Table as a topic for a game night, or your heart rate increases when the History Channel has a special on the making of the Constitution, don’t expect your students to share in your excitement.  You have to be the one to set the table. You teach the subject you do partly because you love that subject.  The kids may or may not share that passion. Some kids end up loving the subject because they love the teacher – think that one through.  Thus, we have to set the table to engage them. First and foremost, YOU have to be excited about what you teaching!    Kids have to see the relevance and you have to be the one to provide it.  However, you will not know how to make it relevant unless you understand the needs of your students.  You can find that out by establishing a great relationship with them and here’s the kicker – actually talking with them!  They may never see the benefits if you don’t provide it for them.  Just another hat for the highly effective teacher = salesmanship.  Don’t lose out.  Besides, you don’t want anyone counting the carpet squares or ceiling tiles.

When Culmination Comes First

When I was coaching varsity Track & Field at Lake Central, we began training for the spring season right after Thanksgiving. We trained right through the snow and cold with a “Winter Warrior” mindset.  The workouts I planned began with the preparation for the week of the state meet in June that was six months away, followed by the workouts for the conference and tournament series in May, then April, March, and so forth. This was a true backward design approach (you may have heard me mention this 5-10,000 times as the teaching game plan.) It is important to plan with the culminating goal first in mind.  It is even more important to plan that you will be there, in this case, the state championships, when that day arrives.  That is the mindset issue.  If your athletes do not believe they will reach the goal, they never will; plain and simple.  You can’t just make it up as you go.  BUT, you CAN make adjustments along the way based on how the training is resulting in performance.  Sure, there were days when weather conditions may not have allowed us to conquer a training session like I had envisioned.  That is where Plan B or C or D were utilized..  We trained in some fairly miserable conditions.  Our practices were never cancelled.  Along the way to the ultimate long-term goal, short-term goals were also set to assess progress.  The data will show that this approach worked as we never failed to reach our goals in my tenure.  Along with reaching team goals, the vast majority reached their personal goals and 56 of them earned “All-State” status.  The backwards approach really works moving forward.

Creating goals has to be meshed with a plan of action.  If you don’t know how you are going to get there, well, you never will.  As you establish long-term goals for your classes, you need to understand what goes into the achievement of reaching that goal.  Along the way toward reaching that culminating goal, a series of assessments is vital. The assessments should tell you if the kids are on “track” and should be used to inform your instruction.  Utilize RtI period and Resource period to intervene.  These are the daily goals that I see in every classroom that I visit…  BUT, if those daily goals do not come with some sort of measurement/assessment, then that goal is nothing more than words written in dry erase marker.  Know that the long-term goals will require a large investment of time with intentional, prescriptive, deliberate, and diagnostic teaching. because if not, the goal will never be reached.  That investment is to be shared by the teacher, students, and parents…BUT understand that does not mean that that the investment will be shared in equal 33.33% shares.  In a perfect word sure, BUT…this is not a perfect world and never will be.  It takes a reality assessment to determine whether or not you are on track.  That also dictates that you have to accept the real possibility that you may have to go back a few steps before you can move forward.  It will be great when we reach our school goal this year.  Won’t it be great when your team reaches its goal and even better when individual students reach theirs?  The backwards approach really works moving forward.

Changes

Rock legend David Bowie passed away this week after an 18 month battle with cancer.  He broke into the limelight in 1969 with his Ziggy Stardust album and had many hits during his career. One of his biggest hits came in 1971 with  Changes. This song is about the changes that many make in their formative years and then later, as a grown-up, they make fun of the changes kids make when they try to invent or reinvent themselves even though they did the same thing themselves. The ultimate in the “pot calling the kettle black” mindset.  Change doesn’t happen at A Time; it happens Over Time.  It’s like sowing grass seed over a vacant space. You won’t be walking on a beautiful carpet of green in a day or two.  It takes time.  The shore line doesn’t erode in a day even though it is constantly occurring little by little. It takes time.  Communities grow from a vacant space to roads, stores, homes, and other buildings. It takes time.  The city of Chicago wasn’t always a sea of skyscrapers. It took time.  People don’t change their persona in a few hours; it takes time.  Change takes time. 

Like a tulip bulb planted in the fall only to be one of the first to bloom in the spring, students take time as well.  What does that mean to us?  It means that, while our expectations should remain high, our reality meter must be employed.  As you progress through the year, it will become vividly apparent that some kids progress faster academically than others.  That’s okay because we shouldn’t expect them to be the same…or do we?  The “whole class” instruction method must be coupled with small group and even one on one instruction.  Just because a student doesn’t get it on day one of a presentation of new material, don’t lose heart.  The task for you is not to let that small fissure grow into a huge skill or conceptual gap.  That is where the beauty of our schedule comes in.  Our RtI period is one of the best things that we created here.  It gives us a chance, an opportunity, to capture kids DURING the school day for remediation that is current and on the spot.  It also gives us that same opportunity to accelerate those kids who not only “get” what you are teaching, they are ready to take it much farther.  We have to be honest enough and courageous enough to move them forward.  I have said and written many times to make the most of every  opportunity.  That’s all these days are folks – opportunities.  You need to choose what you are going to do with them.  Be that catalyst that causes change for your students over time.

Christmas Songs

The top 10 Christmas songs of all time are, according to no one in particular, in descending order:  Sleigh Ride, It’s Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas, The Little Drummer Boy, The First Noel, A Holly Jolly Christmas, White Christmas, O Holy Night, It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year, Do You Hear What I Hear?, and The Christmas Song.  What?  No Silent Night? No Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer?  How about The Twelve Days of Christmas?  Go ahead – sing a few bars of that for a minute –“ On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me a partridge in a pear tree”…Did you ever think just how expensive buying/renting all of the items mentioned  in the 12 days would be?  Didn’t think so.  I did.  The cost of the partridge, a pear tree, two turtledoves, three French hens, four calling birds, five golden rings, six geese on the nest, seven swans, eight maids milking something, nine ladies dancing (hopefully appropriately), ten lords, eleven pipers, and twelve drummers is, in today’s dollars approximately $116,000!!!!!!!  Heck, the three hens alone are just under $200!  The song really isn’t about the cost.  It’s about the lengths that one person will go to bring joy to someone else.  It’s not about the money; it’s about the effort.  It’s not about the gift, it’s about the giver. 

There are, in my view, a lot of similarities between this theme and education in general.  Think about how classroom equipment has changed over your career.  Okay, maybe that’s not fair for younger teachers.  But for those of us who started with a blackboard and a box of chalk, the evolution is astounding.  We can buy all of the nifty tools that are so commonplace today in classrooms around the country.  We can have all of the computers, smart boards, visual presenters, personal electronic devices, the latest app, and 32 different dry erase markers but none of them mean a thing if the students don’t have the teachers.  It’s not about what is given, it is about the giver – the teacher.  Kids want that outstanding personal relationship with their teachers.  They want to know that they matter to their teacher more than they want the latest craze…seriously. The human element cannot be overstated.  It takes a wonderful person to truly be an effective teacher.  A huge part of that is being the teacher that enjoys their students and the students enjoy them.  That doesn’t mean that you cannot challenge them.  What is does mean is the lengths that you go to for each of your students to bring them a great joy – your very best.  Merry Christmas.

Perceptions and Reality

Physical appearance has a lot to do with how we perceive others.  If people wear glasses, we determine that they have a problem with their vision.  If a person has rings on each finger, then they must be wealthy, have won ten championships, or are channeling Sammy Davis, Jr.  If their clothes are shabby, then he or she must be poor.  If they are a Cleveland Browns fan, then they obviously are insane (guilty as charged). If they walk with a limp, there must be an anatomical problem or they have an injury.  If they are always smiling, they must be incredibly happy or have gas.  If they have their hair colored in shades that are not on the color wheel, then they must be a whack job.  If they have body piercing in places that are outside of the norm, then they must be “one of those” kind, whatever the heck that means.  Don’t let the outward appearance fool you.  My God, did you get a good look at Einstein’s hair?  Or Stephen Hawkings inability to walk?  Or Dennis Rodman’s multiple piercing…okay, maybe not a good example.  Don’t be fooled by outward appearance.  It’s what is inside that counts. It’s not about the wrapping paper; it’s about the gift inside.

We have all had kids walk through our classroom doors that we think we have all figured out by the time they reach their seat.  The kid with the hair dyed blue and a purple streak must be a freak.  Geez Louise, couldn’t he use complementary colors at least? The kid with the holes in his jeans must be on free or reduced lunch. Never mind that stores sell this style at ridiculously high prices. Oh, and the kid dressed “to the nines” must live in a mansion and have servants, three Beamers, and a country club membership.  How do you know that any of these notions are reality?  Short answer – you don’t.  Not until you get to know them.  Do you want to know a secret?  The kids had pre-conceived notions about you too.  They heard about you before they stepped one foot in your classroom. They may have siblings that had you as their teacher. Perhaps your reputation preceded you.  They sized you up on the first day of school. They saw what you wore, how your combed your hair and made a determination about you.  They did. They thought they had you totally figured out before the end of that first class period.  Ridiculous, isn’t it.  But true.  It wasn’t until they got to know you that they saw the real you.  It wasn’t until you worked hard to develop a positive relationship with them that they saw the gift that could receive from you.  Keep on giving that gift.  This doesn’t mean that we are changing the professional dress code.  It means that the gifts need to be opened.  Being this close to Christmas, the time has come.

The Browns play against the San Francisco 49er’s this weekend on the shores of Lake Erie.  This game is the unofficial “Draft Bowl” since both teams are in the cellar…way down in the cellar…