We have enjoyed a great
start to the school year in Needham!
Before students returned to classes earlier this month, I met with all
of our teachers, staff, and administrators to prepare for the new school year
ahead.
I urged them to not worry
about teaching. I encouraged them to
focus, instead, on learning. Following
are excerpts of my comments to the faculty and staff at our August 31st
meeting:
This year let’s keep our eye on how we are
learning and how our students are learning rather than worrying and fretting
about how we are teaching. Let’s
de-emphasize the teaching and highlight the learning. Let’s turn it around a bit.
In fact, let’s do two things: Let’s lean on one
another to share ideas, create plans, listen, observe, and problem solve. Use your colleagues—whether you are a
teacher, nurse, aide, or secretary—to learn and innovate together. We simply can’t afford to do it alone.
Let’s lean on our students to do the very same
thing. Let’s involve them in deep and
real ways to enrich and support the learning dynamic in the classroom. For example, I know this year our 7th
grade teachers will often be leaning on our 7th grade students to
assist them with iPad and technology questions.
What a great opportunity for teachers and students to learn together!
Sometimes we are afraid to learn because it
inevitably leads to a wrong answer, misjudgment, or mistake. I think it is
simply more comfortable to direct, administrate, and teach. It puts us in control, and we retain power
and confidence! Learning, however, leaves you vulnerable, questioning,
uncertain. Learning leaves us exposed.
That space between not knowing and deep understanding
is scary and uncomfortable; it’s a place
that creates stress, tension, and doubt.
It’s also a place that is exciting, promising, mysterious—and can be
great fun. Fortunately, we are in a District that will support our learning in
this space; we have the mindset, tools, and energy to take risks and try new things
or make new relationships. Our core
value of personal growth promotes learning readiness and the evolving
educator evaluation model supports this kind of learning.
Now if we are going to focus on learning—and with
thanks and apologies to Canadian education researcher Michael Fullan—I’ll
expect that we adopt some clear expectations around how we will learn together.
I want all administrators and teachers
to support their own learning during faculty meetings, collaboration and common
planning time by taking five actions I have borrowed from Fullan that I believe
will improve instruction and provide better results for all learners,
especially students:
1.
Discuss specific student needs (Who are my
students? Does a student require ELL
support? How can we assist them to
master new vocabulary? What is the family dynamic?)
2.
Use data that clarifies student needs (Review
grade level math data. Discuss the
results of common assessments or MCAS. Consider the use of attendance or
discipline reports to guide decision-making.)
3.
Pursue creative and demanding instructional
practices (Interdisciplinary learning, integrating the arts and wellness, “Thinking
like an Historian.” robust writing and presentation opportunities—the key here,
by the way, is high expectations!)
4.
Monitor, discuss, share, and celebrate learning
progress (Share and talk about your successes and failures! Are the interventions working? Visit a
colleague’s classroom to observe. Highlight
and celebrate the work of colleagues and students.)
5.
Repeat. (Do it all over again!)
In order to boost learning, this is how our lead
learners—teachers and administrators—should use the time the District has
provided.
Colleagues, in the coming days, scores of young
people will arrive in our classrooms and schools, and they will be both excited
and anxious to begin a new year. Let’s
commit that we will focus our work this year and always on their learning and
on our professional growth.
Let’s use our time, resources, and experiences to
lean on and support one another in collegial, collaborative, and joyful
learning—learning that will enrich our students’ lives and make this world a
better place.
