Teaching Wonders: Real-Life Teachers in 2014

Part 2 (continued from previous post)


So--

Is it possible to take "some boring, antiquated, real-life teacher" and make him/her into a human version of the Teaching Wonder in time to avoid extinction? What would the "right parts" consist of?  What would the investment be? What would the Assembly Instructions say?  What might you need to troubleshoot? What would the training manual say? 

What would be required beyond Patience and Optimism?

THE ANSWER-----------

Once a teacher has entered the profession, there is only one real way to keep from becoming antiquated and to avoid extinction.  It is through quality professional development.  But what is it?

I Googled "quality professional development for teachers".  Pages and pages of results were position papers/opinions of school boards, various states' departments of education, and many, many companies who have something to sell that will "fix" your teachers.  Try this Google search for yourself--who would YOU trust?  

I opened some of these documents and tried to discover who wrote them, what their agendas were, and how this related to profits (or not).  It was fairly easy to see the profits, but I had to exercise everything I know about my profession and close reading to determine agendas.  Even more challenging was to investigate "who" was behind each organization, company, and what "research" they were using to propel their cause.  (Sadly, the Supreme Court made that even more challenging this week with making it tougher for voters to access financial disclosures regarding the freebies our elected officials accept from lobbyists.)


So why did I bother?  

Because where and how we seek professional development matters.

I can remember a time when there was truly healthy competition among groups offering professional development for educators.  Options and ideas prevailed in a truly academic, scholarly environment.  In my state today, nearly everything has to have "approval" by our Dept. of Ed.  Recently, I noticed that in order for our Educational Service Centers to do a presentation, the DOE's logo must signify acceptance of each PowerPoint slide--logo that denotes the state's approval of that slide and that indicates that the slide can never be altered in any way.

Am I the only one that thinks this is a little like my "sci-fi" parody, TEACHING WONDERS (see yesterday's post)?

So what else is available?

The most sane offerings come from a local consortium called All Write!!!  This is a grassroots group of school corporations that pay a small membership fee to have access to the best educators in the world.  Through the All Write!!! Consortium, I have been able to participate in workshops with countless educational professionals and cutting edge thinkers, including:

• Ralph Fletcher
• Stephanie Harvey
• Donalyn Miller
• Barry Lane
• Christopher Lehman
• Penny Kittle
• Jim Burke
• Kelly Gallagher
• Carl Anderson
• Georgia Heard
• Cris Tovani
• Lester Laminack
• Tim Rasinski
• Dan Feigelson
• Sharon Taberski
• Debbie Diller
• Matt Glover
• Martha Horn
• Katie Wood Ray
• Karen Caine
• Kylene Beers and Robert Probst
• Jennifer Serravallo
• Debbie Miller
• Janet Angelillo
• Franki Sibberson
• Patrick Allen
• Katherine Bomer
• Laura Robb
• Jeff Anderson
• Ruth Ayres
• Aimee Buckner
• Max Brand
• Frank Serafini
• Peter Johnston
• Tanny McGregor
• Terry Thompson
• ...and more

And through wonderful publishers, such as Heinemann and Stenhouse, and professional organizations, such as the International Reading Assn., and the Nat'l Council of Teachers of English, I have been able to spend days with Lucy Calkins, Mary Ehrenworth, Nancie Atwell, Linda Reif, Ellin Keene, Harvey Daniels, Reba Wadsworth, Jennifer Allen, Char Forsten, Jim Grant, Pat Cunningham, Sylvia Ford, Carolyn Chapman, Anne Goudvis, Kristin Ziemke, Mary Lee Hahn, 

The days have turned into hours, hours to weeks, weeks to years of learning, listening, reading, studying/collaborating, and implementing best practices--both tried and true and cutting edge--but all from the the best we have in the field of education.  All of this adds up to the 10,000 hours that Malcolm Gladwell says we must accumulate in our field in order to achieve mastery.  

In addition to the time we invest, what we read and hear influences what we say and do--and what we say and do influences who we become.  So...

WHO we listen to matters.  

What separates real-life teachers from "Teaching Wonders" teachers?  What makes you irreplaceable?

Over the years, experienced teachers have asked, "Why is it that I can have so many years of teaching experience without really feeling like I am a 'master teacher'?"  I think that it goes back to Gladwell's 10,000 hours.  While practice counts, what are we practicing, exactly?  

• Are we constantly honing our craft?  
• Do we seek growth, intentionally planning for our own professional development?  
• Do we know what we want or need to do in order to grow?  
• Do we thrive on learning and growing professionally, being truly "all in" and willing to joyfully invest time, energy, and spirit?  
• Do we read professionally?  How often?  
• Do we thoughtfully collaborate?  With whom?  For what purpose?
• Do we attend workshops with only the best presenters who are doing the work and have first-hand experiences with the strategies that they are teaching?  Are we "fully present" when there?
• Are we reflecting?
• Are we implementing our new learnings as we go?

What Gladwell doesn't address is what it takes to sustain mastery, knowing that mastery today will surely look different tomorrow.  AND THAT MATTERS.

Teachers in our area are fortunate to live and work in a place that has access to our consortium for professional learning (see above).  The opportunities exist to learn together professionally vs. having "training done to teachers" by people who are not living the work.

But living in a place that has ready access to world-class master educators is different from choosing to attend their workshops and participate in job-embedded professional development.  Existing with those who are vested is different from being fully invested for yourself.  

Surely, building and sustaining mastery of teaching requires consistently and intentionally choosing to grow, seeking the appropriate professional development (including book studies, collaborations, workshops, and implementing with a coach).  

In particular, thoughtfully implementing new learning--putting it into reflective action in the classroom NOW--is what sets teachers apart in their growth, learning, specialization, and expertise.  

We have the freedom to choose... to participate... to actively engage... to exist authentically...to see our learning as intrinsically valuable and necessary. Peter Block (1993) says, "If we cannot say no, then saying yes has no meaning."  When do you accept professional development?  When do you seek it?  From whom?  Do you see yourself as being finished?

I think the sense of urgency in growing and learning professionally has to exist among all teachers.  When administrators and others "in charge" worry that we have become passive about our learning, that is when "training is done to teachers."  

Parker Palmer (THE COURAGE TO TEACH, 1998) says, "Authority is granted to people who are perceived as authoring their own words, their own actions, their own lives, rather than playing a scripted role at great remove from their own hearts.  When teachers depend on the coercive powers of law or technique, they have no authority at all."  (p. 33)  

That might be when we inadvertently become boring and antiquated... replaceable by a "Teaching Wonder".

So how do teachers "author their own words/actions/lives"?  How can a district assist in honoring each teacher's voice?  

In 1989's THE SEVEN HABITS OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE PEOPLE, Stephen Covey says, "The more deeply you understand other people, the more you appreciate them, the more reverent you will feel about them.  To touch the soul of another human being is to walk on sacred ground."  (p. 258)  This is the work of an instructional coach.

Jim Knight, president of the Instructional Coaching Group at the University of Kansas, discusses coaching as a partnership in his book, UNMISTAKABLE IMPACT (2011).  Knight reminds us that when teachers work in a partnership with the coach, "...we respect our partners' professionalism and provide them with enough information so that they can make their own decisions.  Partners don't do the thinking for partners.  Rather, they empower their partners to do the thinking.  Reflection stands at the heart of the partnership approach, but it is only possible when people have the freedom to accept or reject what they are learning as they see fit."  (For more on this topic, see my post, "One-Minute Wisdom".)

To be reflective, to enjoy your teaching work, and to build competence in tackling new challenges, three steps are required (Knight, p. 37):

• We must look back at what we might have done differently--what worked and didn't and why.
• We must look at, considering what we are doing while in the act, monitoring our work as it is in progress, making adjustments, differentiating every moment of the day.
• We must look ahead, thinking about how to use an idea, practice, or plan in the future, thinking about what we can do to ensure success.  This is where we can be creative in making an idea our own by reshaping, adapting, or reconstructing it to fit our style of teaching and (of course) our current students' needs.

It is our accumulated knowledge that helps us assume autonomy in this complex process of building and sustaining 'mastery' in teaching.  

Though we have the freedom to opt out of many professional development experiences (such as reading professional books, thoughtfully collaborating with colleagues, partnering with our instructional coach, participating in workshops with the best in the profession, etc.), we do so at our own peril. 

Without being invested in our own professional development, our knowledge does not accumulate with our experience--we might think we have autonomy since we have opted out, but in actuality, we have sacrificed it.  

When we opt out of professional development, we opt in to losing our teaching voices, being handed scripts to follow with fidelity, and quick-fix prescriptions for teaching written by people who do not know us or our students... all of which stand to destruct education as we know it.

True autonomy for our professional growth occurs when we intentionally and willingly learn, implement, and reflect.  

To gain (or regain) control of our own professional development, Jim Knight (2011) says that we need to exercise the following principles:

• Equality
• Choice
• Voice
• Reflection
• Dialogue
• Praxis
• Reciprocity

Equality means that professional learning occurs with teachers and isn't "training" done TO teachers.

Choice means that teachers have choice regarding what and how they learn.  (Notice that opting out of learning is not part of this equation.)

Voice means that teachers are empowered and respected as they learn.

Reflection means that we think about instruction by looking back, looking at, and looking ahead.

Dialogue is authentically integrated in learning.

Praxis means that teachers apply their learning into real-life practice AS THEY ARE LEARNING.

Reciprocity means that we should expect to get as much as we give.

All of these naturally occur in a partnership with the instructional coach.  A mark of an invested, "all in", authentic professional is his/her willingness to partner with the coach, interacting as equals, to impact professional learning.

This is how we avoid extinction.  This is how we are better than the world of the automated "Teaching Wonder".

What action will you take?

Ordering the Perfect Teacher: A Sci-Fi How-To by "Teaching Wonders, Inc."-- A Parody

I'm reading and contemplating this rather bizarre "catalog," that focuses on building your own perfect bird, part by part, in a world (2031) where birds have become extinct.  To quote p. 4 in the text:

 "To build the proper way, you'll need more than Patience and Optimism.  You'll also need the RIGHT PARTS."

In these days of standardized "accountability," I have been thinking about why our teaching species are endangered, many disappearing, while others have already gone, and whether we should worry.  By 2031, will a company have created a catalog for building your own teacher?

Consider this YouTube "trailer" for Aviary Wonders, Inc.



Now, let's reword this for teachers:

"Teachers of the past faced many dangers:  norm-referenced test scores, school grades, budget cuts, pay freezes, skyrocketing insurance costs, decreases in benefits... the list goes on and on.

But now, it's 2031...

Here is the classroom--where are teachers?  They're now extinct...

But don't worry!

Now you can have your very own teacher in any style you want with 'Teaching Wonders'. 

And you don't have to settle for some boring, antiquated, real-life teacher!  Choose from hundreds of possible combinations of your favorite kinds of Teaching Wonders... 

Each Teaching Wonder Teacher comes complete with all of the Assembly Instructions and a manual that shows you how to train your teacher to get good test scores while providing you with entertainment and a passion for learning.  All this can be yours... with Teaching Wonders.

Who needs real teachers when Teaching Wonders can provide you with everything you need?"


So why do you need a Teaching Wonder?

Imagine the thrill of purchasing the teacher that is available at your beck and call, delivering the perfect script with just the right words, ideal tone of voice, willingness to repeat directions up to 300 times all while displaying an impeccable, lifelike smile and remarkably human LED eyes (choice of color available)!  The plastic skin (color choices available) is guaranteed not to tarnish or wrinkle from years of worry or thinking pesky beliefs or best practices.

Patented engineered movable parts will allow your Teaching Wonder to point to worksheets, hold a pencil or ruler, or even type on your electronic devices.  Your Teaching Wonder arrives dressed in a professional-looking school uniform of up to two of your favorite colors--but WAIT!  You can use our convenient, online catalog to purchase other stylish outfits from our Teaching Wonders clothing line (on size fits all Teaching Wonders).  or your Teaching Wonder, dressing it up for special occasions, making it more like a family member than an employee.  Picture how envious your friends will be!

Best of all, your little ones will appreciate the convenience having time built in to their day, so that they can play video games, watch TV, text their friends for social fun, and explore other mind-stretching interests--all while safely knowing that your user-friendly Teaching Wonder is always available when your student is ready to learn.  Imagine how this will free up your time--and your child's--so that education no longer needs to be of concern!  Parent-teacher conferences and "Back to School" nights will be an inconvenience of the past.  All you have to do is build your own Teaching Wonder, like your favorite teacher that lives in your memory (or imagination).

Students will now have more time for true passions while parents may rest assured that their dear ones will become consummate test-takers, producing the highest scores ever known to man, which is surefire proof of authentic learning and college/career readiness.  Teaching Wonders teachers are handcrafted by "artisans" from your favorite textbook/testing company; take pride in being able to tell your friends that your Teaching Wonder is the best, most high-quality teacher on the market.

Your Teaching Wonder is an "agent of change" programmed to automatically notify parents via convenient texts or emails with updates regarding daily testing practice.  It's a dream solution to all of your worries!  Purchasing optional updates will allow your Teaching Wonder to provide research-based spreadsheets of other data about your child, including quantifying of trips to the restroom, attempts to contact friends, calls to 911 or Nancy Grace, DCS, and more!  You can even purchase an update that will allow your Teaching Wonder to track and report the quantity and types of contact it makes with you on a handy printout, PDF, or Google Doc.  The program will conveniently track this data on the Teaching Wonder's performance rubric so that you don't have to!

We are proud to announce that starting this fall, parents will be able to pay an annual fee to include a built-in "spy cam" in the eyes of your Teaching Wonder. Imagine the possibilities! It will seem like you are there, sharing in your child's education, even when you have to go to work, the store, or enjoy a night out!  Think of the savings--no more babysitters or daycare!  You and your child will be amazed and delighted.

Your personalized Teaching Wonder has been proven to protect Americans from experiencing the flaws of faulty intellectual thinking that might result in their developing defective beliefs.  Instead, discover the comfort you and your family will take in believing that politicians and other leaders, textbook publishers/testing companies, and billionaires are trusted change agents with only the best intentions.  Your family will love the peace of mind!

Best of all, your tax dollars will support a portion of the initial start-up fee (excluding the cost of the Teaching Wonder), making this an affordable alternative to public education.  For each year that you renew your membership in the exclusive Teaching Wonders Organization, you will earn the use of additional tax dollars for virtually free or inexpensive updates for your Teaching Wonder, including unlimited access to online test prep materials.   Your child will anxiously anticipate the hours of learning fun, and you will love the results!

Troubleshooting:
Your Teaching Wonder is virtually foolproof; if within 90 days you are not fully satisfied, you could be eligible for free software updates (see requirements below) if your Teaching Wonder begins to:

• independently form thoughts that deviate from programming 
• ask questions that cannot be answered by choosing A, B, C, or D
• require work that is complex but which may not intentionally increase your test scores
• fail to follow the copyrighted Teaching Wonders script with fidelity
• perform any other corrupt teaching practice that endangers a perfect educational testing experience  

Though your Teaching Wonder has been programmed to only read the script, studies have shown that more advanced Teaching Wonders are sometimes impacted by students' questions, stories about their lives, or their human faces/eyes/emotions. Your Teaching Wonder contains a sophisticated computer chip to recognize feelings, moods, and key words in students' stories and will direct all non-academic/non-tested thoughts, questions, and feelings to the human parent.  

If that chip becomes defective, your Teaching Wonder might begin to experiment with developing a personality or other disconcerting social habits, such as expressing opinions or believing that it has real thoughts or attempting independent communication with the outside world.  IF that happens, remember that your Teaching Wonder is not the responsibility of your lawmaker or any laws/policies!  You may opt to return your Teaching Wonder and use the prorated tax dollars toward enrolling your student in a nearby charter school that employs only the most effective Teaching Wonders with the best research-based scripts for increasing the value of our nation's human capital--your child.  

If you choose, instead, to rehabilitate your defective Teaching Wonder, you may digitally send your Teaching Wonder's year of manufacture along with an evaluative rubric of imperfections and evidence of decreased test scores to us; upon approval, your Teaching Wonder may become eligible for special downloaded updates that occur over a period of time (conveniently excluding weekends, holidays, and up to 30 days of your family's vacation/activities time per year).  If, at the end of that time, you are not fully satisfied, you may exchange your Teaching Wonder for an more recent model that is guaranteed to be cost-effective (though not necessarily deemed more effective as a teacher). Extra costs (beyond tax dollars) will apply.  

We believe that the quality of your Teaching Wonder can be improved by investing in regular updates to its software; you won't even have to think  about.  Just check your catalog for choice updates and purchase them as soon as they become available. Remember, all Teaching Wonders are manufactured equally, but some will fulfill their potential and require updates more often than others.  All Teaching Wonders require annual updates to maximize and validate yearly student growth from each testing cycle.  Tax credits are available to ease the burden for those making more than $300,000 per year.

Therefore, in order to ensure that motivation and performance of your Teaching Wonder consistently aligns with goals for higher achievement scores to positively impact our nation's economy, simply use your copyrighted TW Adaptor (purchased separately) to connect your Teaching Wonder to the nearest computer and allow 10 minutes for each update to sync. This educational investment in your worker will significantly improve its productivity in your home or classroom.   We are pleased to announce that this syncing process will soon include updates that allow Teaching Wonders' teachers to digitally interact with each other, creating healthy competition within the Teaching Wonder labor force, thus increasing the value of your Teaching Wonder.  Indeed, this will ensure that your human student is prepared for college or a career.  


WARNING:  If your Teaching Wonder at any time begins to question its working conditions, affordable benefits, or fair salary increases, you must destroy it immediately. We are sure that you will agree that this is economically sound for the Teaching Wonder labor market and the most palatable way to ensure maximum organizational benefits. 

As you can see, building the perfect teacher with Teaching Wonders is as easy as framing a photocopy of a masterpiece... and twice the fun.

Or is it?



Coming up...

Is it possible to take "some boring, antiquated, real-life teacher" and make him/her into a human version of the Teaching Wonder in time to avoid extinction? What would the "right parts" consist of?  What would the investment be? What would the Assembly Instructions say?  What might you need to troubleshoot? What would the training manual say? 

What would be required beyond Patience and Optimism?