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 . . .” 

Giving Thanks 2020

When I was a principal, I used Thanksgiving as an opportunity to share my gratitude to our school community. The last time I wrote a Giving Thanks blog post was in 2018, and although this has been a challenging year for most of us because of Covid-19, I realize how lucky I am to be able to celebrate Thanksgiving. That is not the case for the almost 260,000 people in our country who have passed away from Covid-19. 

I am grateful for my family: my husband, Randy, our sons Justin and Jordan, and our grandsons Jace and Jayden. Randy is my best friend, and we still enjoy each other’s company after almost 44 years of marriage. We were unable to travel this year, but fortunately, we can call and text Justin, Jace, and Jayden to keep in touch. Our grandsons are growing up way too quickly, but they don’t mind talking and texting with us. For that, I am grateful; I can’t wait to see them again and give them a big hug. After leaving the Air Force almost two years ago, Jordan is staying with us while he  finishes up his university coursework. We are grateful that he is home where we know he is safe, and he is our go-to person when we are experiencing problems with technology. 

I am grateful for my mom and my siblings. Mom is 93 years old, and we all chip in to make sure she is okay. She still lives by herself but enjoys our company, and  we are fortunate that Mom is healthy and independent. 

I am grateful for good health that allows Randy and me to walk around the community almost every day and to golf a couple times a week. We enjoy each other’s company, the competition, and the fresh air.

I am grateful that people in our community follow the science and wear masks and social distance. Because we are in the at-risk age group, we plan our trips to the store carefully and we notice that everyone seems to be following the mandates. It is nice to know that we live in a respectful community where people care about each other. 

I am grateful for all the medical professionals who work tirelessly to care for the sick including those with Covid-19. They are true heroes. I certainly hope the vaccine is available soon so the number of patients goes down and that the nurses and doctors can get the rest they deserve.

I am grateful that our children have teachers who care about them and are willing to learn new strategies to engage their students via distance learning. I retired as a school principal, and I cannot imagine how challenging this year has been for our educators. Let’s hope they can take what they have learned to improve education in the future.

I am grateful to live in a nation where we have the right to vote and to elect our leaders. I am hopeful that we can resolve the deep division in our country and work together to make our world a better place for our children. 

What are you thankful for this Thanksgiving?

Do-Overs - An Important Learning Opportunity

 I’ve seen educators on social media discussing about grades during a pandemic. They are questioning whether teachers should allow open-book exams, whether students should be allowed a do-over if they were not satisfied with their initial grade on a project or assignment, and whether teachers should extend deadlines during this difficult time in our schools. These are valid questions that deserve to be discussed even if we weren’t in a pandemic. 

I think we need to ask ourselves some questions. How are these assignments helping to prepare students not just for that class, but for life? Do students have only one opportunity to get it “right”? What happens if students did not understand the content or the instructions? How do we help them, or how do we help them to improve? What kind of feedback do we provide and what will students learn if they are allowed to re-do an assignment? What would be the purpose for giving students a do-over? Is this just about a grade, or is it about the learning? I’m sure there are many more questions if we have that discussion.

My opinion about grades changed over time. When I was a student, grades were important to me, and I learned to play the game so I could receive decent grades. As a teacher, I realized that students rarely saw beyond the grade they received when their assignments or tests were returned to them. I saw that feedback from their peers or from their teacher was more valuable than a grade. The best evidence of students’ learning was when they were able to re-do an assignment and improve on their first opportunity, taking the feedback into consideration. It was gratifying to see the students’ pride; they knew that their effort at producing quality work was what they were striving for. 

As a principal, one of my assignments was conducting formal teacher observations. Although it was time-consuming to go through the entire process, these observations allowed me to have important conversations with our teachers. Sometimes, those who were going through this process for the first time struggled, and I knew from my informal classroom visits that they were much better teachers than what they showed me during that formal observation.  After our post-observation conference where the questions were designed for self-reflection, it was evident that the teacher had not fully understood the process. I offered these teachers an opportunity for a do-over. This one was their practice; the next one would count towards their evaluation. Every single teacher who was afforded this opportunity did much better the second time around, and they were grateful to have had a do-over. 

Sometimes we get so obsessed with grading students that we forget our purpose as educators. We are there to help students learn, to find what they’re passionate about, to build on knowledge they already have, to make a difference in their lives, and to help them build the skills they will need to become contributing members of their community. It is about students discovering themselves, about what works for them as they navigate this place called school. It is preparing them to be self-sufficient, self-directed adults who know how to ask for help if they don’t understand what is being asked of them. 

I realize that do-overs were an important part of my growing and developing, not just as an educator, but as a person with different interests and experiences. Anything we want to do well takes practice and feedback so we can improve. In life, the more we practice, the more confident we feel and hopefully, the better we will be. The same goes for our students; if we want them to learn from their mistakes and to become self-directed learners and quality producers, perhaps we should be giving them opportunities to show their improvement. I think do-overs in school are an important component of learning and builds resiliency in students to be the best they can be. 

Late Bloomers

This morning, I saw this perfect blossom hiding between the leaves on our pikake plant. It’s a late bloomer; our pikake were flourishing during the month of July, and it’s now November. It brought back memories of one of my favorite children’s books, Leo, the Late Bloomer, about a tiger cub who struggles to do the things his friends can do like read, write, and draw. His dad worries about Leo, but his mom is reassuring, saying that Leo is a late bloomer. As it turns out, she was right, and the tiger cub catches up with his friends. 

In today’s educational system, we often push students before they’re ready, and that can do more harm than good. We know that students enter kindergarten with such a range of readiness experiences. While some have never been to preschool and need to adapt to the structure of school, others have been exposed to quality learning experiences from an early age and are ready for the academic and social-emotional expectations for kindergarten students. 

As a nation, we have moved towards standards-based education which details what students need to know, understand, and be able to do, broken down by grade level. Schools track students from beginning of the year to the end, and teachers give grades to gauge progress via quarterly and end-of-the-year report cards. Students who start off the year lacking the kindergarten readiness skills are still expected to achieve grade level expectations by the end of the year. Unfortunately, students who start off with a deficit in readiness skills are often our students from disadvantaged backgrounds who may be later identified as struggling learners. They may lack the language skills or the vocabulary to be successful and they are already behind when they first enter kindergarten. We cannot give up on these students. 

There are many late bloomers in our schools, those who may need a little extra time and encouragement to be the confident learners we want them to be. These students may struggle in the beginning, but once they gain the skills to be successful, they can eventually catch up with those who got an earlier head start . Some of these students have strengths in areas such as art, athletics, music, or leadership. Knowing a child and his/her interests, strengths, and challenges can make a difference. Teaching to the child’s interests and readiness level can lead to motivation, confidence, and success. It’s what we should want for every student. 

Just as our late-blooming pikake flower is gifting us with its beauty and fragrance, our late-bloomer students can gift us as well. Let’s give them the opportunity and meaningful experiences that will help them to be productive citizens who are successful in life. Ultimately, that should be our goal for every student.