The Swiss Army Knife - Why Districts Need to Thoughtfully Develop Learning Ecologies in the 1:1 World

The Swiss Army knife was the first guy gadget that I remember. My dad had one. In fact, I think most dads had one. I remember in the late 70's, my dad pulling it out and cutting a rope with it or pulling out a sliver from my had with its tweezers. It had so many useful tools. We tightened screws and opened bottles with it. There seemed always a need to have the knife around. I remember going in stores and looking through the glass cases in awe of the different Swiss Army knives. Over time, my dad purchased a different Swiss Army knife. This one was larger and had even more contraptions inside. It was the early Swiss Army knife version 1.8 or 2.2. I remember getting one for my Bar Mitzvah, but as a 13 year-old kid in the 80's you were never allowed carry a knife so it never became a habit for me and I had the ultimate useful gadget of my generation, the digital watch. It could do splits for me as I swam underwater. Some of my friends even had ones with calculators.

Growing up in the 80's, I never understood why school's loved textbooks. They were big, heavy, and often had too much in it. Becoming a teacher in the 90's, it dawned on me. The textbook was the Swiss Army knife for teachers. If you wanted to teach poetry, "BOOM!" there it was. Need a short story on the Civil War, "SHAZAM!" you had it. What's more, in the 90's textbook companies started getting smarter. Like the ever expanding Swiss Army knife, they added kits of manipulatives, leveled readers, and audio tapes for listening centers. Then the Internet happened and they added web links and evolved into carrying audio CD's. As a teacher, a textbook system was your gadget of gadgets, it had a resource when you had a need. It was a powerful tool that over time has perhaps even become just too much stuff.

So now 1:1 devices are our powerful tools. Whether you use Chromebooks or Netbooks you can welcome your students and teachers to a wonderful world of productivity. They can create documents, spreadsheets, and presentations. They can share their work and collaborate on projects together. One can search the Internet for resources and record their data on a spreadsheet. They can even annotate and take notes on the screen. For the same price one can also choose a tablet such as iPad Mini or a Nexus 7 v2 that can accomplish all the tasks of the laptop-like devices and add the value of mobility. One can have reminders that beep in the hallway, use the camera's to record a lab test and screencast a reflective dialogue on it later, have a personal reader for annotation, and keep a practical calendar.

These are all wonderful gadgets, but like me carrying around a Swiss Army Knife now they are a whole lot of tools without a defined purpose. If schools want to make these tools effective, they need to create a Learning Ecology to support the tool. Using self-created websites - whether shared internally via Google Docs or externally on the web, schools need to build a system for teachers and students to apply these tools in areas within and beyond the curriculum. We need to connect the curriculum objectives to possible learning targets, assessment rubrics, usable content resources and supplementary video supports. It is too much to ask students and teachers:"Hey, go learn about recycling. There is a lot of information on the Internet about recycling. Go find it, curate it. Select the important parts. Make a product. Share with us the product. Can we have that on Friday? Great!" Handing teachers and students digital devices is wonderful, but sending them out on walk-about for resources to make it useful is a recipe for disaster. Many districts are holding iPad seminars or Chromebook institutes to help teach teachers with ways to support classroom management and workflow with digital devices. These are wonderful and necessary. However, they are just the start. If we want to seriously integrate these into learning, Curriculum Departments need to openly connect and make available to the teachers, students, and parents clear resources that connect links between curriculum objectives, content, assessment, and digital tools. We must do more than say go look on Khan Academy. Rather we should directly link the items in Khan Academy to the learning we want to occur.

Students and teachers will always search for more ideas than we provide. Twitter and Pinterest seem to be endless sources of ideas, materials, and support for most of our instructional team. These tools are great supplements. As a district it is our obligation to provide core digital resources to make the system go. The starting blocks for our teachers to expand out from. Give them a plant and they will create a magnificent garden.

Original Ginsu Knife Comercial

Achievement Gaps, Raising the Bar, and Vertical Learning

The fire on the grill was burning low. The coals almost spent. The kids were roasting marshmallows. The process was arduously slow. Logan didn't have the patience for it to turn golden brown and popped it in his mouth after the marshmallow had warmed. She, on the other hand, counted slowly. The entering kindergartner stated digit after digit up to 30 before she flipped the marshmallow to the other side and methodically completed the process again. As she spoke, the native English speaker calmly stated the 30 digits in Hebrew.

For many years, the standard for completing kindergarten would be for a child to name, write, and identify objects up to 30. In the new Common Core State Standards, the students need to complete the process to 100. I'd feel pretty safe thinking the young marshmallow roaster could complete this task right now. I'll admit my evidence is anecdotal. Observations of a child's work in practice only completed to 30. But with some quick assessment it could easily be assessed whether she had completed this standard. 

In my second month on the job as Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction, I shared this informational video on the Common Core State Standards from the Common Core Website. In three short minutes it spoke of even steps grade by grade. It spoke of children throughout the country learning the same thing. Right now my family has children attending school in Washington, California, Georgia, Illinois, and the District of Columbia. The film is captivating, graphically appealing, and simple in its message. It feels positive. A message that hits home.

The film's message looks to eliminate differences in learning opportunities across the land. This message focuses on the delivery of instruction. It complements the message being distributed from the Department of Education regarding Achievement Gaps. The Department has a significant interest in reducing the gap in performance between different subgroups of our population. In this analysis, the Department would like schools and educators to eliminate the performance disparities between white, black, and hispanic performing children in their schools and districts, the disparities between socioeconomic groups, and between regular education, special education, and non-native English speakers. All of this measured by standardized tests. 

The marshmallow roaster counted to 30 in Hebrew. What will her journey be in school? If the school follows the Common Core, will she sit on the sidelines for a year, or two, or three as they work on those students with needs until the content and skills are that which she actually needs to learn. Do they promote her upon entrance? Thus, removing the benefit of 13 years of public education already because her parents helped her learn as she grew. I ponder this possibility and think of my oldest child. The young lad who entered Kindergarten doing reading and mathematics at the entering 3rd grade level. Sure he could have done most of the academics with the 8 year olds but emotionally and with his writing he needed to be with the 5 year olds. How much of his school experience should be one of sitting and waiting for everyone to catch up in order to lower the achievement gap, and how much should be him moving forward?

The authors of Common Core will note that they Raised the Bar. Our marshmallow roaster needs to count and identify numbers up to 100 where previous learners needed only to count to 30. She will naturally in the Common Core system have most of pre-Algebra in 7th grade and most of Algebra in 8th grade. She, like all American students from the redwood forest to the Gulf Stream waters, will have a more "rigorous" learning experience. They will be expected to learn more content and experience harder assessment questions. 

I look at the children around me and for some, Raising the Bar is not enough. It would be years before the education system catches up to those children. For others, Raising the Bar is too much. If they are expected to make equal gains and catch up the process will be overwhelming. And thus the failure of Common Core, the very foundation of common steps to eliminate Achievement Gaps and to Raise the Bar for everyone falters at the point of impact with the child learning.

Each day that our children go to school I hope they learn. I hope their teacher identifies their instructional level and helps them move forward. Whether it is my child attending school in the Chicago suburbs or his cousins in Seattle, Washington, neither of them should be held up waiting for the other. Instead of worrying about narrowing the Achievement Gap or Raising the Bar, we should be working to meet our clients where they are at and helping them move forward. We should look at education not as horizontal steps up a staircase but rather vertical rungs on a ladder, pre-kindergarten through post-doctorate. Encouraging each child to grab up onto the next rung. Don't worry if your brother, your cousin, or your friend is on a different rung, but rather to take that adventurous reach and grab the next rung. Learn the next step higher. Use each day to learn more. 

If we want the educational foundation of our society to improve, we need to focus on the growth of every student. Under the No Child Left Behind legislation, schools focused on moving at-risk students to becoming barely meeting expectations students. Over that decade we left a whole lot of meeting and exceeding expectation students behind. Yes, they were performing well. But could they have grown more? Could we have even higher performing students entering college had they not been systematically ignored by the legislation of No Child Left Behind and the regulations of the Department of Education? We need to focus on the growth of all students. If we honestly care about each child moving forward, progressing, challenging themselves. If we think in terms of vertical learning and provide that next step of challenge. They will grow faster and farther. It won't be about Raising the Bar, because some of our students will not reach the bar that year. It will not be about narrowing the Achievement Gap, because all groups are being pushed forward with energy, time, and focus. It will instead be about challenge, adventurous reaches, and climbing a vertical ladder to personal and societal success.

Growth matters. Personal development matters. I have sent two very different children to school, one a below grade level reader, one a ridiculous 4 grades above grade level reader. Born two calendar days apart in different years, they were at the same developmental age when they entered public school as 5-year olds. If their teachers got them to grow at the same rate, 1 year and 2 months per school year, when they entered middle school in 6th grade, the low reader would have caught up to "grade level" by the end of 4th grade and enter 3 months ahead of grade level going into middle school whereas the above grade level student would enter middle school 5 years and 3 months ahead of grade level. Both children equally pushed, equally challenged. Over time even the lowest surpasses the Raised Bar. The Achievement Gap remains but through the power and focus on vertical learning, school can be a challenging place where all children learn more.

I'll be honest, I am not invested in closing the Achievement Gap. I am not invested in Raising the Bar. I am invested in the families and children I work with. This past week, I have had the honor and privilege to work with 40 students as they learn programming code. The children are between 8 and 13. Each has different skills. Each has a different knowledge base. Some have significant background in mathematics and grammar. They know what a semicolon is. They understand what variables are and what functions do. However, age doesn't seem to be a barrier in the class. Background knowledge is only a minor barrier. We give children a learning framework but encourage them to advance at their own levels. We give space of choice and exploration. They help each other solve problems, analyzing each others code, discovering their mistakes. They push forward, create unique programs, dazzle us with how quickly they can progress. It is truly a vertical learning environment, one in which children are taking adventurous reaches to move themselves and their friends forward.

The fire burns down and the children head towards bed. We remember that they are still young, none older than seven. We marvel at the unique way each of them approaches their life and their world. We hope that when we share them with their teachers, their principals, and their schools that those leaders will embrace them the way we do and encourage each of them to make that next adventurous reach up the vertical ladder each day.

Armageddon Speech

With a Single Step

I was no different than anyone else. Freshly graduated from one of the best colleges in the state, co-winner of the senior award for education. I had the energy and gusto of both Laverne and Shirley in their television opener. I entered the world feeling I could do anything, I knew so much, and nothing could stop me. Thank goodness, the feeling passed. It took time, but slowly I began to realize not how much I knew but rather how much I didn't know. And when this new feeling resonated I had a choice. I could double down on my ego and demonstrate that I knew more or check my ego at the door and began to learn from others. As a teacher, an educational leader, a parent, and a person, I have seen people take both choices. Those who double down on their egos become powerful. They are vocal leaders in schools, communities, and friendship groups. Their voices are heard frequently and loudly in staff meetings declaring how the world should be. They often have large opinions and react to change slowly and defiantly. Since these individuals have figured it all out they are quick to share their wealth of knowledge with the world.

The journey of realizing how much one doesn't know is risky. Three or four times a year I have the opportunity to facilitate a Boot Camp for New Dads. In these sessions 8-15 gentleman come together preparing for that "new bundle of joy" to enter their world. Some have been uncles, raised kids before, or even the babysitter for their younger siblings. Most walk in having only held a baby once or twice in their lives. They come looking to find ideas, support, advice, and companions on the quest to raise a healthy child and to be a loving husband. Each gentleman leaves a little more informed, a little more confident, and a powerful connection with gentleman everywhere trying to make a difference. It is in this they realize they have taken a powerful step in their personal journey of fatherhood.

I received an email from a teacher just the other day. The teacher explained that the individual was applying for two different positions. The email was reassuring in the fact that the individual loved their job, but also began to see opportunities to try new things, grow and begin a journey a new. Powerful. Scary. A willing risk to begin a new step in a journey of both self-discovery and opportunities to help other learn and grow. Some will question this teacher's integrity. Double down on what they think a loyal teacher should be. Others will understand that for this individual to grow they must be a pioneer and explore new horizons.

Each day I watch my mother-in-law change and grow. She has raised to bright young women. She helped thousands of inner-city children learn and grow. She worked each day to make a difference. Nearly sixty days ago she lost her best friend, her mother. It was both a moment that one knew would come someday yet we all were in disbelief when it came. In sixty days, my mother-in-law has been both resolute in the idea that she can handle this challenge and move forward and taken a back in how to handle it. Each day she takes a step into the unknown trying new things to help improve her life, her families life, and handle her grief with sincerity. Like the self-discovering teacher she discovers what Rabbi Hillel the Elder identified long ago:

Im ein ani li mi li

U-ch’she-ani l’atsmi ma ahi

V’im lo achshav eimatai

Eimatai

If I am not for myself

Who will be for me

But if I am for myself alone

What am I

And if not now

When? When?

The idea that we need to advocate for ourselves yet advocate for others. If we don't change now, when will we change. The adventures of the new dad, the teacher, and my mother-in-law are all the same. Each is beginning a scary journey into the unknown that will change their paradigm forever. They go as willing participants, not with the ego and energy of the new graduate but with the humility and nervousness of adults with conscious hopes and dreams of a better life. They are strangers entering a strange land beginning with a single step into the unknown. We can make dreams come true, but only by taking the chance and going on the risky adventures together.

Like A Girl

My Grandpa Avery and Grandma Fritzi were unusual people. They were visionaries in a time when most people were only looking towards the next day. In the 30's and 40's they raised three amazing daughters, creating opportunities for these young women that were unheard of at the time. My mom, was the youngest of the three was brought up on the south side of Chicago. In the 50's she was competing across the country in swimming against girls from all over. In the time before Title IX, my grandparents ensured that their daughter would have every opportunity to do the same things that boys could do. They sent her to medical school and she became one of the first women obstetrician's in our county. As we grew up she shared stories with us of cruel, hostile, and egotistical barriers that were put before her and how she fought her way around them. My mom surrounded us with smart and intelligent women. Scientists, doctors, engineers, and moms to "vaccinate" us against believing that people could have limitations based on their gender, ethnicity, race, or religion.

In the community I work in we are proud to share many opportunities focused on building girls excitement to enter new professions. Through Argonne National Laboratory we have experiences for young women to become encouraged to enter science. We have clubs that have formed to help young women enter adolescence successfully. When these activities are distributed, we frequently receive feedback about why do we offer these activities to only girls. It's unfortunate, but so easily we forget that there is a real problem for our society in how we create a life for our daughters in comparison to our sons. The differences are so subtle and so society embedded that we miss them. These differences are so important that as parents and educators it is our duty to actively change them. A great example of this comes from the creator of Goldiblox:

Goldiblox Kickstarter Video

Recently Yahoo!, Facebook, and Google released their employee diversity data. The results are devastating. It is clear that technology companies have become the new boys clubs. This has an impact on the tools available in our world and how we interact with our world. We need to remove barriers for our daughters, our nieces, our students, and our athletes. If we do not act, in the longterm we will hurt our entire society. Thankfully, some activities are beginning to pop up. In the world of technology and engineering, Goldiblox- engineering toys made for girls, Appcamp4girls aimed to create the next generation of programmers and developers, and Google's Made With Code initiative to invest $50 million in programs to encourage girls to enter programing. 

These activities are a start, but the real change needs to be in every household, every classroom, and every school. We need to remove ceilings each and every day. In the 90's I had the opportunity to teach Chemistry and coach swimming for middle school and high school boys and girls. My students have grown, found careers, and now are raising families on their own. Frequently I look over at Facebook and I become so proud of the people they have become. When I think back, I remember Carley and Sam willingly wanting to jump in as middle schoolers and swim exhibition against the high school guys. I remember feisty Emily who you always wanted in the relay because she was not afraid of anything. Anne Marie, Katy, Jessica, and Bridget who worked hard to learn the most difficult concepts, help others, and yet were collaboratively competitive in everything they did. Lyndsay, Megan and Lisa who fought through injuries and were at practices during both boys' and girls' seasons at 5:30am and doing their homework until 10 or 11 at night. These young women and so many more have grown to become chemists, engineers, actuarial scientists, marine biologists, teachers, and parents. When we remove ceilings and create possibilities our children achieve. This is why Always' new campaign to change how we treat young girls is so important. So that this next generation, that of my nieces, my students, and my students' children have open opportunities to grow into who they want to be and change our world for the better.

Always' Like a Girl

These Kids Today

My children are busy little guys. During the year they have soccer, band, Sunday School, Hebrew School, occasional homework from school, and occasional homework from their parents. They have their iPads, loving to play Minecraft, text & Facetime their friends, and watch endless hours of Lets Play videos. Occasionally I hear from parents, that these kids today are always glued to their devices. Apparently, I am not the only one as @Macalope from Macworld hears it too. In his frequent lash out at poor Apple coverage by the media, he takes down Amanda Sheehan rant about her children not being able to put down the device. Like @Macalope, I believe in a more balanced parenting strategy than Ms. Sheehan. It seems that as a society, we have lost perspective of what it means to be a child. Somehow as we grow to adulthood, we start to see our children as little machines needing more rigorous learning in order to survive this tough nasty world. Well, lets look our growing up and try to remember that somehow we turned out ok.

Anorak author, "Yeoman Lowbrow" starts us out with 8 Reasons Children of the 1970's Should All Be Dead. While the article is clearly a parody of life, seven of the eight things I did as a child with the sole exception that I wore a seatbelt regularly. The only reason I did that was that my parents wouldn't drive the car unless we buckled up. Many of my friends didn't. Parents kindly note that they used to ride their bicycles all through the neighborhoods and play outside. Well, let's not forget, in the 1980's Gary Larsen brought us this gem while commenting on society:

What we don't want to admit is that our kids are normal kids. They have their interests, they like to communicate with their friends, and they don't always think that what their parent wants them to do is what they want to do. The reality is that our constant access to knowledge is helping our children become smarter. In order to get our children to score lower, new lines are drawn frequently. It's called renorming. In the pre-Google era, it was noted that IQ scores rose 5 to 25 points per generation. Imagine what happens now with children constantly seeking information and knowledge. Lets think about how our learning has changed and assessment has changed. Providing a realistic perspective can difficult, but by simply looking at the difference between Illinois Goal Assessment Program questions from the 1990's and those on the PARCC assessment today can help. Either, our kids are smarter or we are more spiteful adults by making them take this assessment. Or, really, both are possibilities. 

The reality is the children will grow up fine. It's ok if they play with their devices. It's ok if they run around outside. Really, what we want is balance. Through that, they will grow, and hopefully be as successful in life as they dream to be.

People Will Come

Field of Dreams 2

A Tale of Three Colleagues

This past month I have heard from two people on the same team. One teammate is searching for ways to expand her horizons while the other is looking for clarity regarding what is required. In this dilemma, there are no winners, only losers. It's June and already I can foresee a year of frustration and agony. Like so many situations, there are those who look to learn, grow, develop, evolve, take risks, and expand in there lives. There are others who look to come in, do a professional job, make a difference in their professional lives, and then at the end of the day leave their professional life and spend time in their personal life. And then there are those who want clearly defined expectations and want to do that and only that. These are the minimalists. They want the rigidly identified role and then use that rigid definition to hold back their growth and the growth of others because those that are growing are making us look bad.

In every organization we have these three individuals, the "grow"er, the "do"er, and the minimalist. When we have more "grow"ers, there is a positive vibe to the organization. There is an energy, warmth, and level of trust that results. Celebration and encouragement are found throughout the building as people notice the amazing things that happen, can taste the success, and want more of it. Organizations filled with "grow"ers are vibrant places. When we have more "do"ers, there is a distinct warmth in the organization. One hears laughter in the hall as employees enjoy their time in the organization. Clients feel cared for as the doer is focused on the client when present in the workplace. "Do"ers create an atmosphere of polished completion. While they are not as adventurous as the "grow"er they often complete tasks that the "grow"er may have moved on from. Organizations that have a strong blend of "do"ers and "grow"ers move mountains and achieve great things.

The minimalist searches out clearly defined lines. They look to contain their work in a box and consistently seek the leaders attention to define that box. The minimalist spends great energy to provide support for their position. They seek any data they can find, mostly anecdotal and personal perception, to explain why one would not need to do more than this. The minimalist is there to complete their task and move on into more important facets of their lives. To the minimalist, participation in the organization is a requirement not a choice. Minimalists sap energy from the organization and the leader. The minimalist is so dependent on the leaders definition and so frequently looks to draw lines that a minimalist can drain the leaders vision and effectiveness. When an organization is filled with minimalists and "do"ers the organization lacks energy. The "do"ers seek to get the task done while the minimalists consistently redefine the work as less and less. The product regresses and the clients suffer. While there are brief moments of laughter, the celebrations are more related to individuals life events than the work and products of the organization. Individuals caught in this type of organization often can't identify that there are other more successful ways to work and live.

The challenge arises when you pair a "grow"er and a minimalist. It's war and everyone gets frustrated. If a "grow"er joins a team in which the minimalist has power, the minimalist whens the team dynamic and the "grow"er works independently until they leave the organization. If the minimalist joins a team in which the "grow"er has power, they have to work for their life. Since the minimalist rarely wants to leave an organization, they seek other supports for their position, other workers or the leader. If those groups don't advocate for their position, the minimalist grumpily will work to the minimal higher standard in order to not stand out. In situations when the "grow"er and the minimalist enter with equal power, it is the role of the leader to break this deadlock. Through coaching and support, the leader can shift power to the "grow"er and promote effectiveness in the organization. Only through developing effective combinations, embracing "grow"ers and "do"ers and minimizing the impacts of the minimalist, can organizations create dare to be great situations for their clients, their workers, and their leaders.

Lloyd Dobler Explains

Leaders Making a Difference

Taking the Step

Firsts... The first time babysitting a child, the first time teaching a class, the first time speaking to an audience. Things we have seen others do 1000 times. When we walk up and take our shot, we expect ourselves to be perfect. We have an image of how it is supposed to go. We try it, we do it, and with a couple of bumps or bruises we are successful. Then we do it again and again until we have a pattern of success. Show up, meet the parents, the child, do a couple of activities, feed the child, watch a show, put the child to bed, clean up, watch a show until the parents get home, a successful babysitting adventure. Same thing happens with teaching, come in, identify the learning target, access some background knowledge, model the concept, have the kids practice the concept, assess, call it a day. For most its formulaic. A process that becomes routine. One in which individuals identify that "I am a good teacher/babysitter."

For some of us, there is more. It starts small. We look at the world and see something different. We asks a question to someone else. We ask a question to ourselves. We ask what if? 

• What if I didn't go to school today?

• What if we didn't stay in the house as we are babysitting?

• What if I went skiing down the mountain?

Together we learn we can make a difference. As individuals we often fail. But when we find others willing to try a new dance, we discover new possibilities. It is through this powerful partnered journey we begin to do what was previously seen as impossible and make it possible. The journey must have support. For some of us this is easy to find. There is an instructional coach there to hold our hand. Listen to our questions and frustrations. Cheer for us when we succeed. For others we search to find that partner. For those with partners or without, there is support. In the age of the digital network there are opportunities to catch and share the energy even if it is not with us each day. Twitter has become the place in education where risk-takers find risk-takers and discover brand new worlds. Free professional development is popping up everywhere in education. Teachers and administrators helping each other through Edcamps, Playdates, and Downers Grove's SAMRi Teacher Camp. This summer, thanks to a dedicated group of risk-taking teachers, Downers Grove District 58 will be hosting it's 5th free professional development and 3rd led by this group. On July 16th, teachers and administrators from all over will come share what they are trying and explore with others ideas to do next. The SAMRi Teacher Camp will be putting it's schedule out next week. It's free. It's fun. It's where one can find that partner to help support them on a journey to new horizons.

It starts ugly. It looks awkward. Others stare at us. They get mad for breaking the traditions. They are upset that we are making them look bad. "Now every parent will want that." "What if the principal expects this from all of us?" "We need to be on the same page." The stone-tossers push us back towards the lowest common denominator. 

We take the risk. We try something new. Alone we step into a much bigger world. It's a scary place. All of a sudden we have the children playing capture the flag in the backyard as we babysit. We ask the children doing 5 math problems in which they screencast their answers instead of completing 1-31 the odds. Instead of reading this week's story we read poetry. The world become's brighter. Others become nervous. For some of us, this is the end of the story. For others, we discover a partner, friend, colleague, or coach to help support us in the journey.

How to Start a Movement