by Krissy.Venosdale | Aug 30, 2012 | Reflect
Today we learned about Newton’s Laws. It wasn’t about definitions or vocabulary. It wasn’t about sections or chapters. It wasn’t even about a quiz. It was about playing with materials, exploring what we thought might work, discussing it with each other, and making it happen. Then it was about research. It ended with students drawing a diagram of the egg drop experiment and labeling the diagram with Newton’s laws. Their understanding of Newton’s laws went far deeper than a paragraph in a textbook. When I asked them to apply the Laws to rocketry, they got it. They understood. Not because I had told them anything, but because I had gotten out of their way.
Sometimes they need you to step in and ask that powerful question that’s going to pry open a part of their mind that needs support. Other times, they just need you to know when to step aside and let them go. Teaching is not about what we tell them. It’s about how we support them as learners. Even when that means moving aside.
by Krissy.Venosdale | Aug 30, 2012 | Reflect
A mid-day total from our 2008 election.
Last night on Twitter, I asked if anyone was interested in collaborating on a school-wide mock election event. I’ve already heard YES from about ten people! Now, four years ago, my fourth graders and my sixth graders planned and held a mock election at our school. They researched elections, set up a polling place, created voter registration cards and even held a time for kids to register! During the election that day, we had several teams of students handling the event:
1.) Polling Place: Kids showed other students where to vote, kept pencils ready, guarded the ballot box, and checked the voter registration list to be sure they were registered.
2.) Data: Kids emptied the ballots a few times a day, counting ‘preliminary’ results. They created bar graphs of the current stats and we posted them online to share with the school.
3.) News: Kids interviewed the voters, made reports of the current stats on the race, and made a broadcast at the end of the day.
It was a great day and the kids learned a lot about how an election process works since they handled the planning and the managing of the event.
Now, four years later, enter Twitter.
What if we have a Google Doc listing the school and state and your school updates data throughout the day?
What if we collaborate on Twitter using a hashtag like #mockelection12 to get our kids discussing what they are learning in our schools?
What if we show our students that every vote does count?
What if our kids see that election results may vary from place to place and that is how voting and a democracy really works?
Same project as we did four year ago. Only deeper understanding. Bigger message about voting. All powered by the connections through technology.
Would you like to collaborate? Any gradelevel, any size school, it doesn’t matter! Here’s a Google Doc to sign up. We are having our school election and we’d love to share our data with you! My students have set a goal to have ALL 50 states represented so we can use the electoral college numbers to determine election results. Thanks for your help!
by Krissy.Venosdale | Aug 28, 2012 | Reflect
It’s easy to get caught up in the day to day. The details. The little things. The stuff that doesn’t matter. Today I read a post by Diane Ravitch, Neil Armstrong Thanked His Teacher, and was struck by the words, “They will remember you.” I can remember so many vivid details about teachers I have had. I don’t just remember their classrooms, I remember who they are as people.
They will remember you. Your words. Your actions. Your accomplishments. Your struggles. Your conversations. Your passions. Your crazy hair after a windy day on the playground. Your favorite sweater. Your favorite snack. Your time together.
Even when they grow up and get ready to walk on the moon.
They will remember you.
by Krissy.Venosdale | Aug 28, 2012 | Reflect
Many months ago, I sent out a small request. I asked for people to send me photos of what their PLN means to them. The photos came in. They speak for themselves. Twitter? It’s a place to learn, grow, and so much more. Don’t believe me? Listen to them…..
by Krissy.Venosdale | Aug 26, 2012 | Reflect
What if we see the “standardized testing monster” that is upon us all as a chance to really focus on what’s important to teach, to know that our kids are NOT numbers, and to get back to the heart of teaching?
What if we see that science is being pushed aside in our schools as a chance to integrate science into reading and math, make it part of the school day, instead of a 30 minute add on?
What if we see the lack of budgets we are faced with in education as the chance to get creative with what we have, a chance to reach out to some organizations we can connect with, a chance to try DonorsChoose, and find another way to fund our projects?
What if we see that person who disagrees with everything we say as a reason to look at multiple perspectives and learning something new?
What if we see that problem a student has as our chance to reach out and really get to know them, on a different level?
What if we see that when our to-do list gets way too full, it’s a chance for us to learn to collaborate with others and really learn how to embrace the idea of working as a team?
What if we see the chance to write something, like this, that doesn’t even completely make sense in our heads, as a chance to push ourselves to learn more?
What if we do things that scare us?
It’s not always just “one more thing to do” on our lists… sometimes, it can become something more. I’m not saying it will make the obstacles easier, but sometimes those obstacles are just waiting to become opportunities.
