Student Agency and Empowerment

This week’s article summary is Developing a Sense of Agency and it builds upon what I spoke about at  Wednesday’s faculty meeting. 

As part of our ongoing enhancement of our program and pedagogy (so critical to SAIS accreditation),  we need to continuously revisit how well we are balancing traditional and progressive elements of education to develop the following in our students:

• Foundational knowledge base: Proficiency in basic skills and exposure to wide base on general knowledge
• Solid character base: Strong emotional intelligence (agency and communion)
• Engagement, curiosity, and confidence towards continued learning: Comfort solving and creating by themselves and with other

The article below focuses on how one teacher had dealt with the practical question of whether kids should miss recess as a punishment for not completing school work. I have had many conversations with other teachers about this topic—some were adamant that no matter what, kids needed and deserved recess (the more progressive extreme) while others believed strongly that losing recess was an appropriate consequence for not completing school or homework (a more traditional extreme).

In this particular situation, the teacher found that balance of traditional and progressive through student agency and empowerment in real-life problem-based learning. 

The fair and practical solution developed (and owned by the students) had an extrinsic structure that provided accountability (a more traditional quality) while allowing for the development of intrinsic habits and choice (a more progressive quality). 

Clearly, not all solutions in school can find this 'sweet spot’ balance, yet that needs to remain our goal.

Joe

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An experienced teacher who was new to my school came to me with a dilemma. A parent of one of his students had voiced her very strong feeling that recess was a necessity for all students. This teacher, however, had used recess as leverage for his students completing their work: those who had, earned recess, while those hadn’t, used recess time to complete their assignments.

This practice had “worked” for him for many years, and he was having difficulty imagining how to manage his classroom without it. Although I believed that recess was a necessity and not something to be earned, I refrained from telling him what to do, because I respected his autonomy as a teacher for managing his classroom. I did, however, recommend an approach that had always “worked” for me: Share the problem with the students; work with them on understanding it and developing a solution to it. We discussed some ways to structure the discussion and he said he would give it try.

A week later he came to me with a smile on his face. His students had reached consensus on a solution to his dilemma: All students would get a certain amount of guaranteed recess time, but those who hadn’t finished their work would get 10 minutes less. He was amazed at how the students weighed the pros and cons of each solution and the manner in which they reached consensus on what to do. He also reported that they agreed to try this for two weeks and then meet again to evaluate how it worked.

As the school year progressed he reported that all his students consistently completed their work more than any other class he ever had. For the very few times a student didn’t complete the assigned work, there were no complaints or protests about missing the extra recess time. He also reported that he continued to share all classroom problems with his students and how he no longer felt that he had to control his class the way he had in previous years.

What he discovered and what he had allowed his students to experience was a sense of agency for designing their learning environment.

This result shouldn’t be a surprise; it only reveals something most teachers already know. Students love to help. Most problems are eagerly embraced.

Students’ desire to help and solve meaningful problems is too often an untapped resource hidden by the assumption that the teacher needs to always be in control of the classroom. 

When educators shift the paradigm from controlling to empowering, students experience the type of learning needed for success beyond school and throughout their lives; they will develop a strong sense of agency.

Although it is important for students to feel that they can meet their goals and solve their problems, agency extends the concept beyond individual needs to the world itself.

Students, who experience what it is like to change their classroom and their school, will be the people who will believe that world is not a given and will begin to change it for the better.

Conversely, education that is not guided by developing a sense of agency in students remains stuck in a perpetual tug of war where learning is dependent upon teaching and teaching is dependent upon controlling students.

Education, therefore, should be the process for instilling a sense of agency in every student and helping them gain the confidence for doing whatever it takes to improve their life, their community and ultimately the world.

Although this concept of student agency should radically change the vision and mission of education, it can begin to grow in every student in any classroom, without new programs or curricula. It can start with the simple act of a teacher turning to students and saying: “Here is a problem we are having and I need your help with it.”

Educators who ask instead of tell, invite instead of direct, involve instead of instruct, are really flipping the switch of teaching and learning toward agency. Students are waiting to be asked and given these opportunities even though they don’t know that they are.

Happiness in 15 Minutes A Day!

This week’s article summary is The Secret to Happiness Takes Only 15 Minutes Per Day. 

Although the article comes from Business Insider and is not technically about the classroom, its a-ha’s about happiness have obvious applications for schools.

I have always considered myself lucky to by nature a positive attitude toward life. I’ve also known many people who view their life,  job, relationships with others, etc. through a negative, deficit-obsessed lens.

Is one’s attitude toward life (think of the cliché of viewing a glass either half full or half empty) simply a roll of genetic dice?  Or can happiness and a positive attitude be learned and practiced, and, if so, what might schools do to support those who don’t more naturally view things through a positive and optimistic perspective?

The article below believes happiness can be developed through practice, intentional thoughts of altruism, and by taking fifteen minutes per day to literally “think happy thoughts.” 

See if you can find daily the fifteen minutes recommended below—and maybe even have your kids spend a few minutes a day (15 just seems too long for kids) training the brain to be positive.

Who knows, maybe one of you will someday supplant Matthieu Richard as the ‘happiest person on the world!"

Joe

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Who is the happiest man in the world? Matthieu Ricard, 69, is a Tibetan Buddhist monk who has been called "the world's happiest man."

That's because he participated in a 12-year brain study on meditation and compassion. Sensors were attached to his head and the resulting brain scan “showed that when meditating on compassion, Ricard’s brain produces a level of gamma waves – those linked to consciousness, attention, learning and memory –never reported before in the neuroscience. The scans also showed excessive activity in his brain’s left prefrontal cortex compared to its right counterpart, allowing him an abnormally large capacity for happiness and a reduced propensity towards negativity."

Here's Ricard’s advice for how to be happy.

Stop thinking 'me, me, me.'

To Ricard, the answer comes down to altruism. The reason is because thinking about yourself, and how to make things better for yourself all the time, is exhausting, stressful, and ultimately leads to unhappiness. “It's quite miserable, because you instrumentalize the whole world as a threat, or as a potential sort of interest to yourself."

If you want to be happy, Ricard says, you should strive to be "benevolent," which will not only make you feel better, but it will also make others like you better. 

"If your mind is filled with benevolence, this is a very healthy state of mind that is conducive to flourishing. So you are in a much better mental state and your body will be healthier.”

Sounds great in theory, but how does a person actually become altruistic and benevolent and not let selfish thoughts creep in?

Start training your mind like you'd train to run a marathon

Ricard believes everyone has the ability to have a lighter mind because there's a potential for goodness in every human being (unless you're, say, a serial killer, and there's something actually chemically abnormal going on with your brain).

But, like a marathon runner who needs to train before running 26.2 miles, people who want to be happier need to train their minds. Ricard's preferred way of training is meditation.

"With mental training, we can always bring our level of happiness to a different level. It's like running. Through training I might not become an Olympic champion, but there is a huge difference between training and not training. Why shouldn’t that apply to the mind as well? Benevolence, attention, emotional balance, and resilience are skills that can be trained, and if you put them all together, happiness is the result.

How does one train his/her mind to be happier?

Just spend 15 continuous minutes a day thinking happy thoughts.

Typically when we experience feelings of happiness and love, it's fleeting and then something else happens, and we move on to the next thought. Ricard says, concentrate on not letting your mind get distracted and keep focused on the positive emotions for the next stretch of time. And if you do that training every day, even just a few weeks later you can feel positive mental results. 

And if you practice that for 50 years like Ricard has, you can become a happiness pro too.

Formative Assessment

This week’s article summary is  Misconceptions About Formative Assessment

As a teacher I made every every mistake a teacher could with respect to assessment: I graded homework, I gave surprise quizzes on previous night’s homework, I graded classroom participation.

In my naiveté, I thought by  grading almost everything that occurred in class, I was accurately ‘quantifying’ a student’s performance, growth, and understanding. 

When it came time for progress reports and quarter or semester grades, I had a ton of data, but I obviously missed the bigger point of my job: how was I helping kids to learn and fostering in them continued engagement in and excitement of learning and school.

Last week’s article summary was advice from Grant Wiggins who was a proponent of ensuring assessment focuses on both achievement (more objective) and progress (more subjective). He liked to use ‘running’ as an example. I may be a slow runner (from an objective standpoint) but over time I might improve the time it takes me to run a mile (from my personal, subjective standpoint). 

One of our focus areas for our SAIS accreditation Self-Study is ‘how are we empowering kids in their learning.' Providing ample opportunities for formative assessment is essential to helping kids learn to be more reflective and evaluative of their learning—to assess where they are, what they know and don’t, and what strategies they will employ to reach their goal (both in terms of achievement and progress). 

Back when I was more of a data collector, I wasn’t empowering my student, even though I thought I was. 

Take note of the example at the end of the article about high school English class where the teacher is giving voice and power and decision-making to her students. 

Joe

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Here are three common misconceptions about formative assessment.

That annual standardized tests improve teaching and learning (only formative assessments have the potential to do that).

That formative assessment is an event (it’s actually a day-to-day process to give students and teachers a stream of information for next steps in learning)

That assessment results often discourage students (Good formative assessment keeps students believing that success is within reach if they keep trying).

Ideally, formative assessments do three things: (a) clarify the learning target for students; (b) tell them where they are with respect to the target; and (c) provide insights on how they can close the gap. “Do you see where the locus of control resides? It’s with the student.”

Should formative assessments be graded? Students’ progress should be monitored and shared with them, using clear performance criteria and student-friendly feedback. Sometimes formative assessments provide more-accurate information on students’ skills, knowledge, and understanding than formal assessments.

I caution against grading day-to-day checks for understanding: My admonition is that while learning is going on and we’re diagnosing and providing good feedback, the grade book remains closed.

Here is an example from a high-school English teacher working with her students to establish criteria for a term paper they’d just been assigned. First, she gave students a copy of an exemplary term paper, had them identify what made it so effective, and had them synthesize the characteristics. Then she passed out a poorly written paper and went through a similar exercise. “OK,” she said, “let’s talk about the differences between these two papers. What was it about the good paper that differentiates it from the bad paper?” This discussion, and small-group work that followed, produced a consolidated range of quality on several essential criteria they should be aiming toward in their own papers – their own rubric!

Grant Wiggins: Three Lessons for Teachers

This week’s article summary is Three Lessons for Teachers from Grant Wiggins.

As most of you know Grant Wiggins was a proponent of ‘backwards’ curriculum design: start with the end first (what you want the students to learn, know, and to be able to apply) and then design lessons, activities, assignments, and assessments (both formative and summative). 

The article below provides three quick and succinct reminders for all teachers, not only about curriculum development but also about the importance of specific--not generic--feedback and of never forgetting what it’s like to be a student who is not following what’s going on in the classroom.

Especially as we have just returned from Holiday Break, his reminders below are great checks for us as we and our students rev up for the the second semester!

Joe

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Always keep the end in mind: When teachers plan curriculum, assessments, and learning experiences “backwards,” their goals will be more clearly defined, their assessments more appropriate, their lessons more tightly aligned, and their teaching more purposeful. This goes well beyond coverage. Rote learning of discrete facts and skills will simply not equip students to apply their learning to novel situations. The idea is to plan backwards from worthy goals – the transferable concepts, principles, processes, and questions that enable students to apply their learning in meaningful and authentic ways. Framing Big Ideas and Essential Questions will lead students to understand the content at a deep level.

Feedback is key to successful learning and performance: Grades and exhortations (“Try harder!”) aren’t very helpful. Truly effective feedback: is timely; describes specific strengths and weaknesses; uses student-friendly language; gives students opportunities for self-adjustment. The outcome: students know exactly what’s on target and what needs to be fixed. Teachers should constantly seek feedback on their work – from students (exit tickets and questionnaires); from colleagues (reviewing unit plans and assessments); from formative assessments (“tasting the soup” as it’s made); and by analyzing student work (like coaches viewing game films) and adjusting classroom strategies.

Remember what it’s like to be a learner: Experts frequently find it difficult to have empathy for the novice, even when they try. That’s why teaching is hard, especially for the expert in the field who is a novice teacher. Expressed positively, we must strive unendingly to be empathetic to the learner’s conceptual struggles if we are to succeed. Teaching isn’t telling; understandings must be constructed – earned – in the mind of the learner.  One of the most powerful ways to gain empathy for students is to shadow a class for a day and reflect on the experience.

What Makes a Good Teacher

As we head off for a well-deserved holiday break, the article summary below is from What Makes a Good Teacher? (no hyperlink available).

We can all compile a unique list of important teacher characteristics, yet the ones below (including a fundamental aim of education) resonated for me as especially important.

One of my personality habits/traits/quirks is continuous introspection (I would never be alone on a desert island), and the list below helps focus my reflection on the type of teacher I am and where I can better.

Amidst the hectic chaos of the holidays, try to find some time for yourself  to reflect on the following:

• How is your year going?
• How are your students progressing—collectively and individually?
• How are you finding that balance between knowledge acquisition and student empowerment?
• How are balancing the 'magic blend' of challenge and nurture in your classroom?
• How well are you are working with your colleagues?
• How well are you are communicating with your students’ parents?
• To what extent are you demonstrating the teacher qualities below?

I could add many other questions—but the real key is taking some time to reflect on what you're doing and, if needed, make some mid-year adjustments.

I’m not a New Year’s Resolution type of person (I’m more in into making long-term habitual changes in my life and profession), yet any change emanates from within. 

Thank all of you for your work and effort at Trinity thus far this year—and have a wonderful and fulfilling holiday season!

Joe

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There are two ways that ineffective teachers can harm students: putting them off a subject and undermining their confidence and self-belief.

Good teachers do exactly the opposite of these things, and, as a result inspire, guide, and give their students a broader sense of life’s possibilities--the desire to know more, understand more, achieve greater insight.

Here are several qualities that the best teachers possess:

Enthusiasm – students often catch this in their classrooms

Charisma – teachers can be pied pipers for their subject

A capacity to clarify and make sense – this quality illuminates any subject

Humor – it lightens the hard work students need to do

Kindness – a teacher’s power is enhanced when there’s a human connection

A genuine interest in students’ progress – this involves constantly checking for understanding and responding accordingly

Good teachers have these qualities in varying proportions, and the net effect is that students begin to teach themselves.

And that, paradoxical as it may seem, is the best outcome of good teaching-- independence of endeavor and soon therefore of mind should be one of the fundamental aims of education.

Some novice teachers worry that if they show humor, kindness, and interest, they’ll come across as weak. But there’s no inconsistency in being both kind and firm, humorous although not prepared to tolerate messing about, and interested without being partial. It is a matter of operational tact and good timing.

Good teachers are those who remember being a student. They hear themselves as their students hear them. They know which aspects of their subject might present a difficulty, which require to be grasped before which, and what their best students will be keen to know, and why. Students’ questions and doubts compel one to think and rethink, often prompting one to see things that had not been noticed before. For this reason it is never boring to teach the same subject repeatedly. 

Pledge of Allegiance

This week’s article summary is an interesting history lesson.  

The Weird History of the Pledge of Allegiance illustrates that traditions we might assume always were actually morphed over time, often due to changing societal beliefs, norms, and mores.

Until I read the article below, I didn’t know much of history of the Pledge—why and when it came to be and why and when its recitation was accompanied by putting your right hand over your heart. I would have guessed the Pledge came to be sometime before, during, or soon after the Revolutionary War. Boy, was I wrong!

But, there was one aspect of the Pledge I knew even as a little boy: that the phrase ‘under God’ was added to the Pledge in 1954. 

Why did I know this? Because my mom used to regale me with why and when it was added. As you will see in the article below, it was added by the federal government during the Eisenhower administration amidst the growing reality of the Red Scare and the Cold War.

My mom was in 10th grade in 1954, and she remembers being told at some point in the school year that the Pledge of Allegiance beginning each school day would now include the phrase ‘under God.’ 

Like a lot of sophomores then (and now), my mom had a rebellious streak. Rather than go along with the new practice, she and some of her homeroom friends (co-conspirators?) would typically remain silent or significantly lower their voice as the teacher recited ‘under God’ as part of the Pledge.

I really don’t think my mom was exerting her right to freedom of religion or protesting the importance for separation of church and state—she was just being an annoying teenager. 

As a kid I loved hearing my mom tell me this story—which, I’m sure she's embellished over time for effect. I don’t think she had any ulterior motive or message for me, I .e, be an individualist, yet I remember thinking that my mom was pretty cool for going against the norm. (Hey, I grew up in the 60s where protest was the norm.)

To this day, if we’re at an event where the Pledge is recited, she doesn’t say ‘under God’ during the Pledge—and I always smile at her. Still a rebel (well, maybe a quasi-one) at 77!

Anyway, read the article below and think about other traditions and perhaps even Google how they came to be and how they might have changed over time.

Joe

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I walked into the one-room schoolhouse just as the schoolmaster was leading the children in the Pledge of Allegiance:

I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands — one nation, indivisible — with liberty and justice for all.

Wait. What?

Along with my family, I’m visiting a reconstructed 1840s schoolhouse on the outskirts of Chicago in which volunteers recreate a typical morning of instruction. In here, the year is 1893, Grover Cleveland is President, and the Pledge of Allegiance is barely a year old — and, you’ve likely deduced, quite different from the one most Americans speak today. In fact, what you’ll also notice as you read further is that the Pledge — like virtually all writing and art — reflects more about America (as well as its fears) at certain moments in history than a stable, verbal vow of duty to one’s country and schoolroom.

The Bellamy Pledge (1892): In 1892, Francis Bellamy, a minister, pens the Pledge of Allegiance as part of a national patriotic school program, which would coincide with the opening of the Columbian Exposition in Chicago. The creation of the Pledge also reflected two widespread anxieties among native-born Americans at the time: the fear of new immigrants (especially in the Northeast) and the complacency of post-Civil War Americans oblivious to the dangers facing the country. Bellamy’s new Pledge, then, would serve two purposes: to rekindle the patriotism and heroic duty of the Civil War years, and to Americanize foreigners. In addition to the words of the Pledge, Bellamy devised a salute: At the words to my Flag, the right hand is extended gracefully, palm upward, toward the Flag, and remains in this gesture till the end of the affirmation; whereupon all hands immediately drop to the side.

Clarity for Immigrants (1923–24): In 1923, the pronoun my was dropped from the Pledge of Allegiance, and the words the Flag of the United States of America were added. The American Legion and the Daughters of the American Revolution made this change so that immigrant children — who could theoretically be pledging their native land (rather than the U.S.) as they spoke — would be clear as to which flag they were saluting. The next year heralded further refinement of the pledge--adding the words of America:

I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands — one nation, indivisible — with liberty and justice for all.

Let’s Rethink That Salute (1930s):  By the mid-1930s, Americans had begun to notice eerie similarities between the Bellamy salute and the “Heil Hitler” salute in Germany. Then, with the onset of WWII some women’s clubs, parent and teacher organizations, the Red Cross, and the Boys and Girls Scouts, for example, more vocally expressed their concerns about the parallels.  With the growing concerns about American citizens being mistaken for Nazi sympathizers, the Bellamy salute was officially done away with in December of 1942. Congress passed an amended Flag Code decreeing the Pledge of Allegiance “should be rendered by standing at attention facing the flag with the right hand over the heart.”

Under God (1954): The Pledge of Allegiance underwent yet another change in 1954. Responding to the threat of Soviet Communism, President Eisenhower encouraged Congress to add the words under God to the pledge. This would “reaffirm the transcendence of religious faith in America’s heritage and future” and “strengthen those spiritual weapons which forever will be our country’s most powerful resource in peace and war.” Congress’s 1954 amendment would create the Pledge of Allegiance most Americans say today: 

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Parenting Habits to Break

This week’s article summary is 5 Bad Parenting Habits to Break. 

There is nothing overly surprising or earth shattering about the advice below, yet the simple recommendations are challenging to break for any parent. 

As I've written about this year, parenting today is tougher than it was a generation ago because today’s societal norms emphasize more instant gratification, climate-controlled satisfaction, and perpetual happiness for children. It’s more difficult for parents to say no in an age that has lost sight of what ‘no’ means. 

Parents’ goals for their children today (as articulated by Madeline Levine) remain the same as in previous generations: develop a clear sense of self, i.e., independence; exhibit success through a strong work ethic of persistence and resilience; and develop friendships, i.e., learn to work with others. These three qualities then help support  young adults who see the significance to and belonging in their lives. 

As outlined in Parenting for Character, parenting requires the delicate balance of demandingness (setting high expectations for behavior and requiring kids live up to them) and responsiveness (providing support as kids strive to reach high standards and express love).

Awareness of the 'bad habits' below is one way parents can help children develop that sense of self and belonging. 

Joe

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Following are 5 bad parenting habits that the parents should break now.

Buying them everything they ask for: Buying your kids everything they want is really a bad habit that you need to break now. You love your children and you want them to be happy as much as possible. So you shower them with a slew of gifts but this is actually not good at all. Your kids won’t learn the value of money, which is very hard to earn during this difficult time. If your children want something really badly, it should be better for you to let them earn it by themselves. You can suggest they do some jobs around your house to earn the pocket money to purchase it.

Screaming, yelling and nagging: Parents have to face stresses of life every day and that usually makes them deal with high emotional situations by screaming and yelling. In addition, they often want things to be done to their liking and thus they put that pressure onto their kids. Your children learn by seeing and watching. Try to talk calmly and stop nagging your children in all situations so that your kids will react to conflict situations in the same way.

Having unrealistic expectations: A lot of parents feel their kids’ success is a reflection on them. They have high expectations for their children. This can harm the kids because it can batter their confidence. Your kids can also end up with symptoms of stress.

Ignoring: Apart from pushing your kids too hard and buying them everything they want, ignoring is another bad parenting habit to avoid and stop. This can make your children feel unworthy and damage their self-confidence. So try to spend enough time with them and give them the attention and love that they deserve. It can help in building a strong foundation for a lasting relationship.

Being over-protective: As a parent, you want the best for your children and can do everything to keep them safe. However, if you constantly protect them, it may hinder their growth. So every once in a while, you should let them make a mistake so that they can learn from it and be strong.