Seizing Leadership [1]

The day begins at the New Bedford High School Leadership Academy.  As a student, I go to my locker, see some friends, and then go to my homeroom.  My teacher greets me and asks me about the weekend.   We talk briefly but then the bell rings.  All of the other students take a seat.  It’s my turn to read an inspirational passage in homeroom.  Truth be told, I had asked my English teacher to help me come up with some ideas and since I am a military history buff, he pointed me in the direction of Abraham Lincoln.  I set up my piece by talking briefly about the Civil War and how Lincoln forced the country to look anew at the world.  I only had a few minutes to speak, so I had to make it brief. 

“The dogmas of the quiet past, are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise — with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew, and act anew. We must disenthrall ourselves, and then we shall save our country.Fellow-citizens, we cannot escape history. We of this Congress and this administration, will be remembered in spite of ourselves. No personal significance, or insignificance, can spare one or another of us. The fiery trial through which we pass, will light us down, in honor or dishonor, to the latest generation.”

I didn’t have to read off the day’s announcements because everyone in the Leadership Academy signs up for the school’s email messages and gets their information on events and issues that way.   We took a minute or two to recognize students in the homeroom for good deeds done over the weekend and then the bell rang for our first class.  Tofay was an ‘initiative’ day, which means all students had to show initiative in their learning for the day.  Each day had a value for an instructional theme.  First class – Algebra.  Before we had thematic academies, I wondered how some would apply to all of the different subjects.  Now I know. 

In Algebra, we all work towards standards.  We take pre-tests and determine who are some of the strongest students on the content.  Those students then become teacher-assistants, helping the rest of the class and working closely with the teacher for advanced problems.  Today, I need lots of help – and I get it.  Our lesson focuses on using exponential equations to predict population expansion in order to better meet the needs of a community.  The teacher gave us a way to solve the problem from an old textbook and then told us to invent new methods to make learning more effective and efficient. 

In Physics, we are have gone over common laws concerning motion but our task is to challenge them.  We have to demonstrate how we can ask good questions about what we know and it brings up a really interesting conversation about scientific truth and relativism.  

In Hisory, it is a networking day.  On days like this. we focus our work on collaboration, which means that each student has to share ideas with ten other students on the topic.  Today’s topic was labor leaders.  We had to work in groups to solve a labor dispute.  Different students had roles to play, but or task was to think of options not considered then by the parties involved.  We had to read directly from the primary sources to do so. 

[to be continued]

Losing History

My department chair recently announced at our monthly meeting that the Bridgewater-Raynham school system is going to eliminate its history department at their high school.  According to a recent news story, they are going to lose 66 teaching positions in their system, and possibly Social Studies and History teachers at the middle school level.  The only solid inference that can be made here is that the MCAS requirement was rescinded for history as a graduation requirement for students by 2011.  This decision was made because of budget cuts in the state DESE.  So, if we are a state with education driven by the MCAS, and the MCAS doesn’t measure history as a graduation requirement, then history teachers are expendable.  What is the value of learning history?  Well, all other teachers in Bridgewater-Raynham will be teaching the subject, so I supposed it will be covered.  What’s the meaning for New Bedford?  I guess we won’t know if we don’t learn our history.

Going South – Part 2

Going South – Part 1

Who knew my cell phone was this smart?  Jess and I are on our annual April vacation trip.  Previous ones include Bethel ME, St. John in the Virgin Islands, and Lake Placid NY, but none of them included ‘Ensign Gates’ (the name of our Verizon Navigator function on my cell phone.  “Turn right now”.  “Destination in 10.9 miles”.  Awesome!   Jess and pups and I have had some interesting adventures so far – from finding Ahmish licorice to being scared out of an Econolodge by some really bad heeby-jeeby.  We’ve hiked in the Shenedoah and are now in a Best Western in Roanoke, VA.  Dogs have enjoyed the car ride and fun so far.   Jess and I have been doing history crossword puzzles, listening to podcasts, reading ‘The Devil in the White City’ by Eric Larson aloud, and playing with our navigator, whom we have named Ensign Gates – while driving.  We laughed our a**’s off at the interview questions and answers of the Miss USA pageant earlier tonight.  Unbelieveable.  All is good.

The Plot that is not a Plot

For almost two months I have had a secret, double identity – not actually hopping from rooftop to rooftop but plotting for the best possible future for New Bedford High School students.  The plot which is not a plot is not actually secret, but it is destructive.  I, and my fellow conspirators, are planning on blowing up (metaphorically) the high school and replacing it with something mostly, but not completely, different.  Thematic academies.  Teacher-driven schools.  Empowered and engaged students.  A truly effective alternative academy.  Technology, technology, technology.  An end to pointless battles over meaningless garments that shroud the upper extremeties of the body.  Personalized instruction.  Site-based professional learning.  Lesson study and common planning time.  21st century teaching strategies that don’t base the beginning and end of all lessons with MCAS.  All of this and hallways that have colorful murals and meaningful student-created messages (my fellow plotters don’t know about this one yet) is coming to a large public education facility (grades 9-12)  very soon*.   ['Soon' is a relative term as defined by various sources.]

We Shall Remain

On PBS last night, American Experience broadcast a history of Native American relations with Americans and Europeans.  It’s called We Shall Remain in honor of Tecumseh and other Native American leaders and tribes whose story is the heart of America’s story.  It is about pain and hope, love and betrayal, faith and ambition.  Monday nights at 9PM and 10:30PM.  Check it out.

Did You Know 2.0

A colleague at school referred me to this 8 minute video.  It reminds me of the Miniature World Project at http://www.miniature-earth.com/me_english.htm.  Check it out.  Deep and evolving, our world is. (Yoda-speak)

Piloting the Schools

Well, for the last three days I have been able to learn a lot about pilot schools.  Basically, in the Boston Public School system, pilot schools are small learning schools (450 or less students) that operate with greater autonomy and greater accountability.  The schools are teacher-driven and support personalized instruction.  The schools are freed from all mandates from the district (but not the state) and freed from all work conditions from the union.  Schools then get to create new curriculum, have more control over staffing, budgeting and scheduling and have distributive leadership demonstrated by their governing boards and leadership teams.  They then have to negotiate individual work contracts that are approved by the unions called work elective agreements.  All of the schools are small.  Some of the schools are thematically based.  All of the schools have instruction driven by a common vision.  Many of the schools are using the AVID (Advancement via Individualized Determination) program, which helps students organize notes, write and read more effectively, keep portfoilios and more.  Overall, I was impressed by the respect shown by the students and returned by the faculty.  Many of the schools have 70-80% African American and Hispanic populations as well as 75% or more free/reduced lunch.  They are not perfect schools.  Some have powerful headmasters whose presence shapes decisions more than teachers.  Some have all teachers dual certified in SPED and a content area.   Some have all laptops and wireless technology.  Some have college acceptance as a graduation requirement.  Some have a focus specifically on reading, writing and inquiry based instruction.  The group that facilitates the pilot model, the Center for Collaborative Education, has an interesting model that they promote.  It’s produced schools based on results (AYP,  MCAS, etc.) and kids and teachers who are excited to be in school.  This may or may not be supported by our superintendent or union, but we have to move in this direction.  Pieces or whole, these ideas work.  We must recognize that we have great teachers who have to be supported.  We have wonderful students who love to learn.  We have inspiring stories and proud moments.  We have a school that we want to improve.  It’s our time.  We have to seize it.

Elijah’s Chair

One of my homeroom students passed away due to complications in surgery Thursday morning, March 19th, 2009.  He is Elijah.  Because of my grief, I can’t seem to think of him as gone yet.  Elijah comes in every morning and sits in the same chair, in front of the 2nd computer from the door.  He asks me if I can enter the password so that he can browse the internet.  Sometimes he finds an interesting story or picture and calls me over to take a look, but most of the time, he is looking at wrestling websites.  Elijah often comes to visit me during his lunch period.  He wears his ROTC uniform and holds his head high with pride, presenting himself with a perfect blend of honor and duty.  When fundraising, Elijah asks me if I would like to buy some cookies or a pie.  His gentle persuasiveness always convinces me.  I turned around on Friday morning and had to remind myself that he was not there.  Elijah has a profound influence on my life.  He continues to remind me about the profound simplicity of kindness.  His presence is warm and reassuring.  His chair will never be empty.

A Long Time, A Short Time

Time is relative.  We see seconds move across clocks that are both analog and digital and think that moments are passing in one direction in our lives – away from us.  It’s been a while since I last posted and many things have happened since, but mostly in the time between moments.  This is where I think the experience of reality is sensed most of all – not in the events and actions, but in the moments of being, not doing.  It’s just convenient for us to see it the other way around.  This week, those moments seized me.