What Is School For? #SAVMP

Week 14 – What is school for? #SAVMP

Week 14’s assignment for SAVMP was -- blog about some of the things that you do with your staff to help understand where they are at, and how to move them forward.

Seth Godin’s “Stop Stealing Dreams” Ted Talk is one that I hear people refer to quite frequently. I actually added it to my Favorites on my YouTube Channel, and it is #36 in my Favorites playlist. This week’s SAVMP posting suggested showing it to our faculty and having serious conversations about …What is school for?

Godin makes some provocative statements in his Talk. For example, he says things like: “…this factory we call school…textbooks make students hate school, and…..there is zero value in memorizing anything.”

The last part of the video is where Seth shares his 8 answers to the question, “What is school for?”

1. Homework during the day, lectures at night.
“Flipping the classroom” (Khan Academy) where students watch lectures at night and come to school to work out problems during the day with their teachers {coaches}.
2. Open book, open note all the time.
“There is zero value memorizing anything ever again. Anything that is worth memorizing is worth looking up.”
3. Access any course, anywhere, anytime in the world when you want to take it.
4. Precise focused education instead of mass batched stuff.
Seth really elaborates on this answer by adding:

• No more multiple choice exams: According to Seth Godin these were made because they are easier to score, and he explains how the Number Two pencil became such a prominent part of education.
• Measure experience, instead of test scores: “Experience is what we really care about.”
• Cooperation instead of isolation: Seth Godin remarks that when we finish school we go out in the world to collaborate with others so we should value collaboration and NOT isolation.

5. Teachers will transform into coach(es).
6. Lifelong learning with work happening earlier in life.
7. Death of the “famous college”. 
8. Teach students to create something interesting and ask if you need help.

He further elaborates about how our industrial model is broken by sharing some MYTHS:

1. Great performance in school leads to happiness and success. If that’s not true, we should stop telling ourselves it is.
2. Great parents have kids who produce great performance in school. If that’s not true we should stop telling ourselves it is.

Mr. Godin states…”We don’t teach students to connect the dots, but rather to collect dots and memorize facts." He also declares that passion and insight are reality, while grades are an illusion. He returns to the question “what is school for?” and if we don’t know, then we should have a conversation about it.

This provocative video reminded me of some videos I have shared with the faculty along the same lines:

For this #SAVMP BLOG assignment, I would also like to share an upcoming video I will be sharing with our faculty to help understand where they are at with student assessment and how we will move forward:

 Godby High School Tracking Student Data: Marzano The Art & Science of Teaching

Also, special thanks to the following BLOG for an awesome summary of Seth's Super 8 -- 

http://academiclifeinem.com/seth-godins-ted-talk-on-stop-stealing-dreams/

In the Beginning...

It's 4ish in the morning, and I just finished reading Education Rethink's Blog, Advice for New Bloggers. I keep running into articles about Blogging as an Educational Leader, and until now I have been hesitant to do so. You see, up until early this winter, I have been an assistant principal. I was comfortable following my principal, as she led us down the halls of our school. I was just following along as one of the members of the line. But, thanks to the encouragement of a close and very wise friend, I anxiously decided to MOVE TO THE FRONT OF THE LINE.

I am the new principal of a small elementary school in our city. With this new role, my struggle is probably very minor to some; however, I am struggling with being the one everyone is watching. When I was following my principal, I could often move up to second place in the line. I could even back off (rarely) and move to the end of the line. But now, when I would like to move back into the almost anonymity of the line, I turn to see everyone following me. Everyone's eyes are watching me for guidance, for vision, for support, and for direction. 

I need to get comfortable in this new skin, and I believe that one of the ways to do so is to embrace this place I now occupy. I have read article after article about how leaders should Blog, and I am giving it a try.

I have learned as I begin to transition into this position, that in elementary school, being the Line Leader is a pretty cool thing. I am learning to appreciate its coolness. Before I was always the one working in the background like good software. I was the one who made my boss look amazing. I don't necessarily want to look amazing, but I sincerely want to do a great job for the students, parents, and teachers of my school. I have a lot to learn, as I move to the front of the line.