by Krissy.Venosdale | Oct 9, 2011 | Reflect
Three quotes that I couldn’t resist turning into posters. They are about going, even when nobody seems to be listening, agreeing, or understanding your motives. They are about knowing that change in education is too important to ignore or leave in someone else’s hands. They are about making the decision to leave excuses at the door. They are about seeing what we do have, appreciating it, and continuing to move forward. Every Monday morning, when the alarm goes off, we have a choice. We can go, “Ugh… here we go again.” Or, we can see it as an opportunity. Afterall, every Monday could be seen as just the beginning. This could be the week we start something big.
So, are you ready for Monday… or should I say… is Monday ready for you?
Download the posters from Flickr. Hope everyone is having a great weekend. 🙂
by Krissy.Venosdale | Oct 8, 2011 | Reflect
Energy. It’s more important than the books, crayons, and even the technology in the room. It’s about atmosphere. Every room has an energy. It doesn’t come from the building. It doesn’t come from the town. It doesn’t even come from the funding in the school budget. Energy starts with one person in the room…. the teacher.
Our smile says, “Not only am I glad you are here today, but I am THRILLED to be here, too.” Our passion is the difference between great learning and just ‘stuff to know.’ Our big questions encourage their deep thoughts. Our admitting when we ‘don’t know’ shows them it’s okay to be a learner. Our embrace of their differences emphasizes what being a team really means. Our ability to know when to ‘step back’ lets them drive their own learning. Our humor models a positive attitude, even during the biggest of challenges. Our support, even in failure, is part of their bridge to success. Our love of learning inspires them.
What energy are you bringing to your classroom each day?
by Krissy.Venosdale | Oct 1, 2011 | Reflect
Show this video to your students. Invite them to change the world. Before you say, there’s no time for that in school, check this out. Five minutes is all you need. How will your class decide to change the world?
by Krissy.Venosdale | Oct 1, 2011 | Reflect
Do we demand academic excellence in our classrooms or do we mistake “rigor” as “doing, doing, doing”? ‘Doing’ is not learning. Applying, justifying, defending, creating….THAT is learning. We cannot just “do page 29” or “work on questions 1-4.” We have to get kids thinking, investigating, exploring. I’m afraid the very jargon we use, like “rigor” and “critical thinking” has become so commonplace that it is also becoming misused. We cannot set up a series of hoops for kids to jump through to collect A’s and “get points.” Instead, we need to have real rigor. The kind of rigor where kids are thinking, collaborating, creating, and engaged.
Engagement won’t come from a person dictating from the front of the room “get busy” or “back to work.” It will instead come from proposing inspiring, open-ended questions that lead kids down roads you haven’t even considered. If a “standard” or “objective” in your classroom is “Newton’s 3rd Law of Motion” don’t make the mistake of asking kids to read about it, then take a quiz on it, and assume they’ve learned it. They haven’t. Memorized the definition? Maybe. Instead, provide them an opportunity to design an experiment. Opportunities like this? They not only learn the very definition of the 3rd Law of Motion, but they apply it. It’s embedded in their work. They are not learning it because you told them to. Likely, they won’t even be doing the experiment because you “said so.” The rigor? It will be present in their discussions, thoughts, and movements as they work on their design. That kind of “Academic Excellence” comes from opportunities to think, and that is exactly the kind of real rigor our schools need more of.
