A Metaphor for Hope

I love to post photos of rainbows on social media. I’ve been fortunate to capture some unusual or especially vibrant ones on my walks around our neighborhood. Yesterday, I posted this photo while we were in the car. 

As I write this blog post, more than 410,000 Americans have died from Covid-19, and 24.7 million have been infected. This pandemic has drastically altered our lives, and though we all thought it would be over in a few months, that has not happened. 

But I have optimism and hope that things will change. The vaccine is now available, and though many of us are not able to get it yet, we appreciate that our essential workers and kupuna (elders) are the priority. In Hawaii, some of our educators and school staff have already been vaccinated, and others are waiting. Hopefully, this will mean that schools can begin to reopen safely.

This is a perfect time for schools as well as the public to reflect on and to realize that our educational system needs a reboot. We cannot keep relying on test scores and grade point averages to define success. We need to focus on our students - their strengths, their needs, their interests - and help them to pursue their passions. 

During this pandemic, my husband and I watched a lot of DIY (Do It Yourself) shows like “Restoration,” “Maine Cabin Masters,” and “Overhauling.” I am amazed at the knowledge, the skills, and the pride that is evident in the workers throughout these shows. They do outstanding work, problem-solve constantly, work together, and consult with experts, all while keeping within the budget. I wonder what they learned in school and what they learned on their own.

I am filled with hope. My caption for this photo was, “After the rain comes rainbows and then sunshine. I am looking forward to better days ahead.” Let’s all be filled with hope - for our nation, our state, our schools, and our children. They are our future.

An Incredible Experience!

I decided that I had to share an incredible experience I had this past week because I’m still so amazed that I got to witness it. 

On Monday of this week, I noticed a swarm of honeybees in our pikake (jasmine) bush in the front of our home. I knew about swarms, that these bees were starting a new colony and following a queen bee to a new home; there can be only one queen in a hive. I took the following video and shared it on social media. I got lots of advice as well as “wow” emojis. 

I had seen swarms before so I knew that the bees would leave when they found a new place to build their hive, but on Tuesday, I called the Hawaii Bee Hotline to ask some questions and to make sure we had nothing to worry about. He informed me that scout bees had already gone on ahead and would be returning to the swarm to lead them to their new home and that all of bees will leave within a few days between 3:00 and 5:00 p.m. 

On Wednesday morning, the swarm looked a little smaller, and at 3:05, I took our dog out and peeked at the swarm. It was still there, but there were a few bees flying around. I went into the house to get my phone so I could get a video, and what greeted me when I came out a minute later was unbelievable! I was lucky to get video of this moment.

This went on for about a minute, and then, the bees were gone. I was giddy with excitement, anxious to share this video with my social media community. 

The thing is that it was serendipitous. What if our dog didn’t have to go out at that time? What if I delayed going back out with my phone? What if I didn’t have it already set to video mode? I would have gone out and the swarm would have been gone. I would have missed it!

Of course, after watching this amazing experience, I had many more questions and did more research to find answers. My only regret was that I could not share it with my grandsons. I will share this blog with them and hope they will be as excited as I still am about witnessing this wonder of nature. 

Can It Get Any Worse?

I started a blog post yesterday. It was going to be a positive post, titled “Looking Back, Looking Forward,” and I planned to share a couple of beautiful photos of rainbows that I took since the start of the new year. I was filled with hope that 2021 would be a better year despite all the challenges we faced as a nation in the past year. 

As my husband and I were taking our daily walk yesterday morning, our son called to ask if we were watching the news. We hurried home and turned on the TV, and for the rest of the day, we watched in horror as protesters stormed the Capitol building as our elected Congressional representatives were meeting to certify the Presidential election.

I reflected back to the summer of 2019 when we took our grandsons who were then 9 and 12 years old, on a Revolutionary-Civil War tour. We visited museums, historical sites and national parks to experience, first-hand, the history of our country. We walked the Freedom Trail, visited museums, took a day trip to Gettysburg, and spent a day at the Capitol where they learned that Congress makes laws that should be good for the people of our country. The highlight was climbing the 300 stairs to the very top where we had a 360 degree view of the city. As we reflected at the end of the day, our discussion focused on why members of the Legislative and Executive branches of government were not working together. We could only hope that things would improve. Yesterday, our grandsons watched in sorrow and disbelief at the events that unfolded at the Capitol. 

How do we discuss this with our children? What can we say to them when they see this kind of destruction by adults? Is it okay to fan the flames of anger when we don’t get what we want and thereby, cause more damage? And should teachers be discussing these types of events in their classrooms? 

Our students today will be the leaders of tomorrow. They need opportunities to learn about and honestly discuss issues that impact them, not just today, but in their future. Teachers need to do more than assign chapters from textbooks and then test students on their recall in order to assign a grade. Students need to discuss current issues, and teachers need to be prepared to lead those discussions with their students. A concern is that teachers will tell students how to think, but that does not have to be the case. If there is a safe culture in the classroom, students will generate the questions and debate the issue respectfully. They will understand that it’s okay to agree to disagree because everyone’s opinions are influenced by their own personal experiences. 

Schools need to provide opportunities to discuss current issues if we want an informed citizenry. When students come to the classroom with questions about an event like what occurred yesterday, we cannot ignore them. This is a perfect opportunity to have respectful discussions, especially if there are differing opinions or if there are misconceptions about events. Teachers guide the discussions; they don’t tell students how or what to think. This blog  post provides some great advice for educators: How to talk to school children about the attack on Capitol Hill matters

This event was unprecedented in our history, and we hope it never happens again. This is why it is important for students to have opportunities to discuss and to share their feelings about events like these. School may be the best opportunity for them to do so. 

Time to Examine Our Beliefs about Education

These are challenging times as the Covid-19 pandemic continues to wreak havoc on our nation and our world. Yet we see those in essential positions continue their commitment as they work tirelessly during these challenging times. That is true of our educators; learning how to adapt during a pandemic was never a part of the college coursework to becoming a teacher. I applaud my fellow educators for continuing to be their best for their students. Yet, I feel the urgency to have meaningful discussions about our schools and our educational systems. There is so much about our schools that need to be changed, and this pandemic and its impact on education can be the impetus for discussions.

When I was a principal, I sometimes faced difficult decisions between toeing the line and listening to my gut feelings about what was best for our school, our students, and our teachers. I wanted our staff to think out-of-the-box and to be innovative. Yet, I knew that as the principal, I needed to be aware of the expectations of our schools and regulations that needed to be adhered to. How do we balance the two when they were sometimes not in sync?

Now that schools have had to change due to the pandemic and safety issues related to being back in school, the time is ripe to discuss how to make schools more relevant. As a principal, I would often think about different scenarios and ponder how we might change the way we’ve always done education:

• Those of us in education see first-hand the correlation between socioeconomic status and student achievement.  Societal factors have a huge impact on some of our most needy students, and expecting them to be able to focus on school when their basic needs are not met is unrealistic. We know that given time and a caring staff, schools can have a positive impact on disadvantaged students. We know that school can be the one constant in a child's life, the one safe place where family problems can be forgotten for a few hours. How do we address the socioeconomic gap and its impact on education so that ALL students have equal opportunities to be successful?
• We know that every student is different and when they begin school, they do not start at the same starting line; in fact, some students are far behind other students when they first enter kindergarten, but we expect them to be at the same place at the end of the year,  Think of it as a running race; can we reasonably expect someone to start half-a-lap behind and finish at the same time as others who started with a big lead? How should we be measuring progress in school?
• During this pandemic, teachers shared how much they learned and how they collaborated with colleagues to create classrooms where social-emotional learning was as important as academics. If we agree that positive relationships between students and with their teachers can make a difference, how can we use that knowledge to positively impact teaching and learning?
• Seat time and good grades are not necessarily an indication of learning. Too often, learning in school is merely memorizing and regurgitating information. Real learning means applying skills or facts to delve deeper, to make sense of information, and the application to new situations. It may mean that students get feedback then revise their work before submitting it for credit. How do we change our reporting system to tell the story of real learning that has lasting impact on a student?
• Too often, school is teacher-directed. It is the teacher in the classroom who determines what to teach, when to teach it, and what is the evidence of learning. Students are often passive learners as opposed to being passionate, self-directed learners whose curiosity about a subject drive their own learning. How can we ensure that our student learners have an opportunity to create their own learning that is meaningful and impactful to them?
• This pandemic provided evidence that face-to-face learning is not the only option for K-12 schools. Technology is an equalizer; students can learn just as well through blended and/or virtual learning; in fact, some students thrived in this environment. How will schools reconfigure how they provide teaching and learning now that options other than face-to-face, have shown to be successful?
• The public judges schools based on standardized test scores, and schools feel the pressure of ensuring that their students are prepared for this once-a-year high stakes testing. Teachers may be evaluated based on the scores of their students. Unfortunately, the reports that schools receive are rarely useful. Teachers have no way of examining their student responses to see what kinds of errors were made. While we understand that the public needs to know that our schools are educating our students to be contributing citizens of their community, is there a more reliable, less expensive, and less time-consuming way to rate our schools besides high-stakes testing?
• One of the frustrations I had as a principal was not having sufficient funding for our students to experience a well-rounded education that included music, physical education, visual arts, drama, STEM, etc. Our teachers needed support, too - dedicated mentors for new teachers, instructional coaches, technology coaches, etc. This pandemic showed the dedication of our teachers to plug away despite the challenges they faced. While we understand the fiscal challenges our states are facing, the question of funding for schools will not go away. If our children are our priority, shouldn’t our schools be adequately funded?

 Let’s hope we can finally work to improve our systems so that all students, no matter where they live, can have access to a quality education. 

Let’s Listen to Teacher Voices

Recently, some teachers shared on Twitter that they are still reluctant and uncomfortable about speaking up in meetings for fear of being called a troublemaker. Those words surprised and saddened me because these are teacher leaders who are respected and publicly acknowledged for their voices and their views. I could understand how they felt, though.

I know that as a teacher, I was not someone who spoke up in faculty meetings. If I had a question or a comment, I contemplated whether I should raise my hand. Often, as I looked around, I saw faces that told me the teachers were anxious to be out of there; they had other things to do, and if I asked a question or made a comment, it might mean another ten minutes or so before the meeting ended. So more often than not, I stayed silent. 

I realized, though, that if I had a question, my colleagues might have a similar question. Yet we were reluctant to speak up. We encourage our students to speak up if they have questions or concerns, but as teachers, we are often hesitant to do so ourselves. We are more likely to be honest in smaller venues, or as is often the case, in the parking lot after the meeting is over.

When I became a principal, I knew that I wanted teachers to feel comfortable about asking questions or sharing their thoughts. Here are some strategies I used to get them to feel comfortable:

• Build relationships first; know your teachers so you can have casual conversations with them. They will feel more comfortable telling you what they really think of an idea or a proposal if they know you will understand their point of view. Our teachers knew that there were decisions we could not change, but sometimes, their concerns helped us to make revisions that would make implementation smoother.
• Give teachers opportunities to meet and work with others who are not in their department or grade level. This is especially important with large faculties. We tried to start our meetings with an icebreaker or team building activity where teachers were able to talk story or work with someone they normally didn’t interact with. Starting out a meeting with a fun activity put people in a better mood after a sometimes-hectic day. 
• We gave our staff an opportunity to share their viewpoints in small groups. We often started by having them discuss the same or similar questions before reconvening in the large group. There are many different ways to share ideas that are generated; we don’t have to take up time to have each group share out. Perhaps a spokesperson can share one big idea or concern they had. We could have groups write down ideas or responses to questions on Post-its which are then sorted into similar ideas. We could collect the group notes, summarize, and share with everyone. Or we could use a shared Google document where everyone who recorded their ideas had access to. We can hear from more voices via small groups. 
• Often when we go to workshops, meetings, or conferences, we are asked for feedback, but how honest are we? Do we add comments so the presenters could reflect on how they might improve their presentation? Or are we just checking off ratings that really don’t provide much information about how the audience truly felt? Whenever I asked teachers for feedback, I added a space for them to write their name and I asked open-ended questions. This was an opportunity for them to share any concerns or questions they had. If I wanted more feedback about their comment, they knew that I could have a conversation with them. The result was that our teachers were honest with their responses. I think they realized that we truly wanted to hear from them, and we took those questions and opinions into consideration when a final decision was made. 

As a principal, I wanted our staff to feel comfortable when discussing issues, especially those that could be controversial. I remember when we proposed going for accreditation at a time when it was not required for elementary schools in Hawaii. We knew it would take a lot of time and commitment, but after much sometimes-heated discussion, we decided to go for it. Everyone was visibly  proud  when we received a 6-year accreditation term. This would not have been possible without everyone’s buy-in and active participation, and even those who had been reluctant at first were visibly proud that they contributed to the  process. 

Much has been written recently about listening to student voices. We need to make time to listen to teacher voices as well. 

Self-Reflection and Goal-Setting

 I remember the first time I sat in on a student-led conference. Our youngest son was in the fifth grade, and it was conference week. We received a letter from the teacher informing us that students would be leading their conference. The big day came; our son was a bit nervous when he began, but his voice grew stronger as he shared several pieces of work that he was proud of. They were assignments he had worked on in class. One was for the book they were reading, and it was a diary with illustrations and entries from the main character’s point of view; another was a math problem-solving assignment where he had to show his work and explain his thinking, and the third was an art project. He also shared a couple of assignments where he felt he could have improved his effort, and he shared what his goals were for the remainder of the year. In subsequent quarters, our son’s report card included a self-assessment with new evidences of learning as well as his reflections on how he was doing on his goals. I was so impressed, and when I became a principal, I hoped we could include students in their own conferences. Several teachers decided to try it out with great success, and after hearing from these teachers, student-led conferences became part of the culture at our school.

Students as young as preschool were able to sit in on a conference and share some of their work with their parents. In the process, they were able to work on their communication skills, something which many of those preschoolers had difficulty with. Our teachers had flexibility on how they used the time allocated for conference week. Some chose to schedule twenty-minute blocks of time for each student and his/her family. Others had several families come in for a longer time period, and the teacher rotated to each group while students shared their portfolio of work with their parents. Other teachers scheduled two families for 40-minute blocks; students were able to “walk the room” for half the time with their parents, sharing the different activities in each area while the teacher sat with the other family and guided the student as he/she shared their work and reflections with their parents. Walking around during these conferences was a proud moment for me as a principal. Parents were beaming with pride, some with tears in their eyes. We realized how empowering these conferences were for their children. These student-led conferences showed us that it is the learner who is most important in school, and it is the learner whose voice needs to be heard.

Report card grades or a student’s score on a standardized test don’t necessarily tell us about what the child has learned or what the child is interested in. Reflections, sharing self-selected work, and goal-setting ensures that the student, the parent, and the teacher are invested in helping the child make progress towards their goals. We want our students to be self-directed learners and to set goals for themselves, and to know that the teacher and the parent are there to support them. That three-way partnership goes a long way to ensuring success for the student. 

Make Time for Writing

 As I look back at all my past blog points, I realized that I had not shared my thoughts about writing even though I believe it is one of the best ways for students to take their thinking to a higher level. I observed younger students who were eager to write and share their stories with others. Then somewhere in their educational journey, students lost their interest to write. I think it happened at around third grade when the focus became high stakes testing and students were taught to follow certain steps to respond to writing prompts. I saw so many student samples that looked and sounded similar. They started the same way by turning the question posed into their introductory and concluding statements. “Do you think dogs make better pets than cats? Why?” became “I think dogs make better pets than cats because first . . .” Then they proceeded to name three reasons and concluded with “That’s why dogs make better pets than cats.” It worked for standardized tests but not as a way to measure creative writing. 

When I started blogging, I realized how challenging it was to actually write and publish something for anyone to read. Yet our youngest students never felt that way. They were proud to share and to have others comment or even to offer suggestions for improvement. They were able to revise and to write a final copy that was a marked improvement over their first draft. They were thrilled when the teacher chose to post their writing on the walls for others to see. I think back to my school days, and I don’t think I ever shared my writing with anyone other than the teacher.

I was newly-retired when I wrote my book, Leading with Aloha: From the Pineapple Fields to the Principal’s Office, I realized how challenging writing is. After many hours, drafts, edits, suggestions from others, and lots of soul-searching about whether this was something I really wanted, I persevered, and I’m glad I did. I wish I could share that experience with my students today. 

As I worked on a webpage to promote and advertise my book, I shared some of my thoughts about teaching writing. 

About Teaching Writing

• If children can think, they can say what they’re thinking. If they can say it, they can write it. Their ‘writing’ may be scribbles, but encourage them to tell you what they wrote. Write it down and read it back to them. This is the first connection children make between thinking, saying, writing, and reading.
• Just as we realize the importance of reading in our instruction, we need to understand the importance of writing. 
• Make time for children to write. There is no need to provide a prompt. Young kids have so many creative ideas of their own.
• Not all students will be at the same developmental writing stage. Start where they’re at and build on their skills. Point out to students how they’re improving. Help them set goals to improve their writing.
• Writing is hard work for children. Build children’s stamina for writing by gradually lengthening the time allocated for writing. Make sure students are writing during this time. 
• Encourage students to add to their stories and praise their effort.
• Even students as young as kindergarten can help with peer editing. Model how to ask questions for clarification. Ensure that students have opportunities to revise or edit their writing.
• Introduce students to different kinds of writing: fiction, non-fiction, poetry, plays, letters. There are so many ways to express what we’ve learned as well as our thoughts and feelings.
• All students can self-edit when coached through the process. Instead of telling students what they need to improve, ask open-ended questions so students can reflect and make revisions that work for them. 
• Share and celebrate student writing with an authentic audience, if possible. Students will have more pride in doing their best writing when they know it will be shared with more than just their teacher or classmates.

One of the initiatives we were working on at our school before I retired was creating and using a  continuum for narrative writing with our students. We hoped to use this tool so our students would be able to self-assess where they are, how they could edit and improve on what they wrote,  and how they could set goals or next steps. With the pandemic and the need for teachers to learn new skills and strategies via virtual learning, I think the writing continuum initiative has probably been put on the back burner for now. Hopefully, though, teachers have seen this pandemic as an opportunity for students to document their feelings and experiences during this challenging time. Whether they do it through writing or some other means, we need to provide time for our students to share their thoughts and ideas. Maybe one day, they will be able to look back and reflect on how the pandemic impacted their lives and they can share these experiences with their grandchildren. “The year was 2020 . . .”