Thanks Sandra Boynton for writing great books for kids!
Thanks Sandra Boynton for writing great books for kids!
0 Comments
Alrighty, I was going to try to fit this thought into a tweet, but there is just too much to it. I'm watching the NASSP 2012 hashtag stream and chatting it up with my boss while she represents Texas and TASSP (I'm a little jealous, yes) and I imagine what it looks like. Hundreds (maybe less depending on the type of session) of adult learners their faces buried in some sort of technological device (phone, tablet, laptop ,etc.) and pretty close to every one highly engaged in the material that is being presented. You can see it, too. I know you can. It is BYOT/BYOD at it's finest!!
But, as we return to our campuses, we fight with our students in getting them to use their technology to enhance their learning versus enhancing their social networks. What is the difference between these two settings? Choice? Definitely; Relevance? oh yeah; intrinsic motivations? yes; maturity? maybe?? (HA); Independent learners? not any more than a ms/hs student. These are tough engagement questions we tackle with our teachers on a daily basis as we plan instruction for our students. And there are many things that keep us tied up or in the box: time (that's one you've heard, I'm sure),state/federal guidelines, an established curriculum (from a many times retweeted quote from the day), community expectations and probably others. Maybe what we need to focus on the things that we ask teacher to do after a PD session or that all those lovely people at NASSP, with their faces buried in their device of choice, fully engaged in their learning: what is the small piece we can go out, use and apply in our daily. Phil Schlechty would tell us that there is an ebb and flow to engagement. There are many of those small steps that we put in place to keep students and their devices in the strategic and authentic engagement areas. Thank goodness for Twitter and the PLN for bringing the learning to my living room!! Blessings B What a better day to get grounded for me than World Read Aloud Day!! A very exciting day for a guy with an elementary school heart serving at the middle school level. I spent a good portion of my day making the rounds to classrooms providing a brief poetry break. Such a cool opportunity to get into the classroom and read to kids, no matter the age and seeing eyes light up and watch the oft indifferent learner middle schooler sit so still you'd think they were sleeping, but you can feel the eyes and the interest focus in on the words as the spring from the speak. So good!
In addition to my own read aloud visits, I made sure to catch my staff in action as well documenting experiences in addition to enjoying the literature shared. Caught our drama teacher sharing a very serious introduction to a novel, math teachers challenging kids to engage in and fight the Math Curse, Aggies sharing their love and passion for their school and tradition, board members displaying their own love for reading, instructional coaches enjoying the moments back in the classroom and list goes on! It brings me back to my own love and appreciation for reading that didn't develop until I learned how to teach it right! So much value in helping students develop a healthy love and respect for literature and immersing them in a wealth of different kinds of books. In so many ways it sets them up for success. Positive models of fluency reading, models of how good readers think about what they read, exposure to different authors and genres, building vocabulary, development of grammar, models of quality writing, opportunities to connect to content, and on and on and on. I cut my teeth as a teacher on Fountas & Pinnell (got to eat lunch with Irene Fountas. One of many highlights of my professional learning!), Lucy Calkins, Debbie Miller as well as others and put their research and experiences into practice in my classroom then strove to lead to teachers in the same endeavor! It is was what most motivated me as I made my transition to administration and enjoy most about my job! When I find myself losing touch with that, a visit to a classroom with a book and purpose brings me right back to focus! |