Kids Today ... are they Digital Citizens?

Given that it was a 3-day work work for me, my dealings with inappropriate Facebook and text messages were significantly more than normal.  Three in the three days.  Typically, I might have one or two a month, if that.  To boot, all of the incidents occurred during non-school hours, mostly at home or via cell messages.  Yet, these issues creep into the school day because kids are scared or upset and parents are worried about the behavior.

For the people that came forward this week about disturbing electronic communications (both children and parents), I salute them.  Sure, several educators this week spent a great deal of time addressing these issues and will continue to do so next week and beyond.  As educators, we know that a child's learning goes beyond "the 3 Rs". 

However, the best people to monitor and influence/guide our youth's behavior are our parents.  Parents should be having open discussions with their children about what they post online and how they use their cell phone.  Who are the texting?  What are they texting?  Do they send pictures via their phone to others and what are those pictures?  What are their posts on Facebook?  Sure, children of a certain age need to have some level of privacy, but that doesn't mean that everything they do on their phone or computer is private.  In fact, it is not.  What our youth sometimes fail to recognize is that what they do online could quickly become painfully public.

The incidents this week I believe are nothing more than behavior we would have seen without technology; they were just easier to accomplish via this media.  This is where my real worry lies.  In times past, it was more difficult to engage in these behaviors.  20 or 30 years ago, this difficulty would cause some kids to think twice about what they were doing.  Today, not so much.  Sadly, we see examples everyday of adults with the same transgressions. 

If you are a parent, learn how you can help your child to use technology wisely.  Common Sense Media has some great resources for this.  Encourage your child's school to educate our youth on Digital Citizenship (i.e. appropriate, safe, secure, responsible, literate behavior online or via cell technology).

A Taste of Motherhood ... from an Educator's Perspective

 [Names withheld to protect the innocent.]

Last Friday evening began my 4-day journey on a new learning experience for me:  taking care of my four nieces while their parents were out of town.  I observed and learned a lot, some of which I still cannot accurately put to words.  For the majority of you, this may not seem to merit a blog post.  For me, a person without children of her own (save pets) and someone who is used to just taking care of herself and attending to the needs of family members from time-to-time, I learned a great deal. 


In short, this is what I learned:  the role of a mother is not unlike the role of a teacher, except you have to also cook and clean A LOT.

Days prior to my journey,  I jokingly told people that I would be taking "vacation" time so that my brother and sister-in-law could take a vacation.  My brother was traveling to San Juan for business, so he thought it would be nice to extend the stay and surprise his wife with a trip to celebrate both her birthday and their anniversary which occur in May.

Here are the four days, as best I can remember them:

• The two youngest girls (K and 1st grade) would be spending the weekend at a neighbors, so Friday and Saturday nights were spent with the two eldest and one friend each.
• The eldest (7th grade) and her friend had a huge project for school to complete in a week.  I won't explain why this project was completely inane... it just was.
• The second eldest wanted to go over to another friend's house on Saturday.  I said yes, but I told her I needed her to give me all the contact info.  Before she left, I had only her friend's cell number.  It's my fault that I didn't have more than that at this point.  I trusted my niece to let me know.
• Saturday was another day at work on the inane project.  My eldest niece's friend spent the night again so they could work on it.
• Sunday, I got to play the "bad guy", three times.  First, telling the eldest niece that we weren't going to Subway for lunch when everyone else wasn't home yet.  Second, telling the eldest niece that she couldn't go to a movies that night because she still had work to finish on her project.  And third, telling the second eldest niece that she couldn't go to Keeneland on Sunday with her friend.... twice (and this is after two hours of trying to get in touch with her via text and cell phone calls).  Phew!!
• Also on Sunday, I furiously studied the notes my sis-in-law left for me.  We had lunches and snacks packed (except one... whoops).
• We also Skyped with Mom and Dad during this time because phone and text were out of the question.  For the most part this was a positive experience, but for one niece, it made her miss her parents more.  Hugs and rocking and reassuring that they would be home soon was the best I could do.
• Monday, the eldest had sports practice at night and looking ahead, she also has tryouts for next year today and tomorrow.  The project is due on Friday.  So, the eldest and her friend worked until 8:30 on Tuesday to complete their work.  They aren't done even at this hour.
• Tuesday was a complete disaster for me.  It started with one of the youngest asking me if her snack was in her backpack as I dropped them off at school.  I responded with, "Ummm, yes, it is."  At the same time, I'm not recalling doing that.  Since I had to return to take the eldest niece to school, I made a couple of snacks for the two youngest, dropped of the eldest, and then went into the elementary with the two snack bags.  I also made the mistake of laying down 20 minutes before I had to leave to pick up the elementary kids.  I fell asleep and thankfully woke up in time.
• I asked the eldest last night at about 9 pm, "Okay, so if you have another big project like this, what would you do differently?"  She gave two distinct answers and it has NOTHING to do with content of the project: 1) I would manage my time better, and 2) I would start earlier on the research needed for the project.
• When Mom and Dad returned last night, the eldest was still awake.  She promptly greeted her parents and at one point she said, "Aunt Kol is a good cook, just as good as you [Mom and Dad]."  If you know me, you know how funny that really is, but I'm glad I was able to pull it off.

My sis-in-law, or the sister I never had, is a remarkable person.  She is a stay-at-home mom.  With four girls (K, 1, 5, 7th grades), two dogs, and a husband, she has her plate full, and yet does it all with grace and intelligence.  My brother is (almost) equally as impressive. <smirk>.  The two of them have developed a mutual responsibility for their kids. 

It takes a village,
Aunt Kol

Everything Old is New Again

I'm guessing that a pretty good group of my colleagues from my area in the state will be gathering Friday to discuss the policies and procedures we should have in place for the eRate rule that will go into effect next year that specifically states,

Students shall be provided instruction about appropriate online behavior, including interacting with other individuals on social networking sites and in chat rooms and cyberbullying awareness and response.

My guess is that we will be log-jammed on how specific we need to be, how we need to document that we are meeting this requirement and how we are reviewing our success at this endeavor.  My hope is that we will come to a consensus in the fact that these teachings are nothing new.  They just wear new clothes.

In our state (and in the nation) we have used the term "digital citizenship" as an all-encompassing term to address online behavior as opposed to the, well, non-online.  There are many elements to this term: safety, rights and responsibilities, health, legal concerns, digital literacy... the list goes on.

Yet, it is nothing new.  Perhaps the newest part of it is that our teachers aren't comfortable teaching these lessons.  I'd like us to think a little outside the box so that we can help our teachers connect the old with the new.  Some connections are a little more obvious than others, such as bullying.  However, some still elude us.  For instance:

• If we are teaching children to write an opinion or a persuasive piece, which years ago might be viewed by the community members that read the local newspaper, what would be different today if their opinion were posted on their blog for all to read? (And all to respond?)
• If we are teaching children to protect their reputation, what does that mean in the online world?  Does it matter?
• If we are teaching children that it is not okay to steal, are we also teaching them that it is not okay to copy music, movies and software under current law (depending on the license)?

What does being a good digital citizen mean to you?  How does the "new" make our views different from the "old"?

There Are No Easy Answers

And the sooner we accept that fact, the sooner we will collectively devise a way to move us forward, whether it be a slow road or not.

This is a commentary on Ed Reform.. stick with me... I'll get there.

I have been a professional in education for almost two decades (shy a couple of years).  Four of those were in the classroom, with the last being a transition year in my current position, CIO/DTC.  For 13 years, I've overseen the operations of technology in our district.  From the start, I have also pushed for more training for teachers and more use of technology by students.  It's been a delicate balance, because education is a complex beast.

Yet, today, we still have folks that have not learned the most basic understanding of a computer.  We still have folks that have to search their Bing or Google bar for Youtube, rather than simply typing youtube.com in the address bar.  Many times their venture yields results that they click on first, only to bring up a false virus warning that they willing click.  For the techies out there, you are thinking "job security".

For me, I find this very sad.   Just as I find it very sad that so many politicians and other policy-makers think they know what is best for education.  Just as I find it very sad that popular media is promoting strategies that they have no business promoting.  Why can't America trust it's education professionals to make solid decisions for its country?

I'll boldly say that I'm not a "union" person, but only because how it was presented to me as a young teacher.  Today, I believe that a collective voice of intellectual people that fight for a noble cause should have a say, much like the professional organizations of our current teaching profession.

I'm boldly saying that mainstream media has had a detrimental effect on education in our country.  The push for more choice, charters, and the like have done nothing but demean the profession of countless Americans deserving of high praise.

Contrary to what most folks think, teachers CAN do.  They do not choose their profession because they want summers off (even if that is a motivator, they quickly learn, this is not true).  Teachers in America choose their profession because they love learning and they want to help our youth learn.  Teachers in America know that our future lies with our youth and they want to do what they can to make our future stronger.

Only the bravest of us would choose to be a teacher in today's climate.  It's time we ALL support our teachers and the larger purpose they serve.

Brown Paper Packages Tied Up With Strings

These are a few of my favorite things (my professors said)...

1. Why memorize when you can look it up in a book somewhere?
2. In 100 years, it won't matter.
3. The Dean told me to not teach so much.

These each have their own unique and profound implications. And each have helped to shape my professional thinking today.

Learning in the Holler

I had an impromptu hike with my two youngest nieces and my mom tonight.  They were tired, as it was the first weekday of their Spring Break, but they both braved a short walk like troopers.

As we started to explore parts of the holler (or hollar or hollow) around us, we came across a small bit of land that had been worn away by water over the years.  Any adult could easily jump this minuscule crevasse, but we stopped to wonder how the tire and the bit of metal had been deposited here.  There were no ready answers from my nieces.  I pointed out the direction that the water was flowing (a very small stream) and G-ma pointed out that when we have a lot of rain that the small stream turns into a large stream.  With those prompts, the consensus was that, "they must have come from up there."

We crossed the crevasse, and walked up a bit further to find a large blue plastic bucket that had not made it past the fence that has kept out the neighbors livestock from our property.  I asked why that bucket had not traveled further.  Many other questions followed, but the important part of this story is that I told my nieces that there is no right or wrong answer to that question.  G-ma noticed that the gap in the fence was indeed big enough for the bucket, but it had not traveled forward.  We hiked on.

We ended at an old dilapidated house, one that is a pile of metal roofing and wood sides/flooring that have collapsed on itself over time.  When I was a kid, it still stood and my brother, I and our friends bravely entered it.

As we stood there, looking at the heap, the oldest of the two nieces said, "I think I might know where that metal we saw came from."  She went on to explain how a bit of the metal roof of this house could have blown over to where we had crossed.  I told her, "that is good thinking." (Even though it was highly unlikely due to the apparent ages of the metals.)

I don't know if my saying "there are no right or wrong answers" had any bearing on her coming to that conclusion, maybe it was a happy coincidence (after all, all of my nieces are brilliant people); however, the experience tonight gives me more fuel for saying that we need more real thinking in education.

Instill a desire in our youth to really think, regardless of right or wrong.  When you tell a child they are wrong, does that lead to true learning?

Taking Risks

[I'm taking a break from my current reading to reflect on my blog experience thus far.]

I started this blog as a learning experience.  I have a lot of opinions and, I suppose for someone with opinions, I have a lot to say.  Yet, I am also a rational, thinking being that enjoys intellectual debate and conversation.  I am a person that listens to others, doing my best to wade through rheotric and make intellectual decisions based on evidence.

I took a risk at creating this blog.  I'm a very private person.  The thought that my views will be contrary to others is uncomforable to me.  However, I also recognize that thoughtful conversation about controversial subjects can lead to greater learning.

Thanks to the Blogger stats, I know that a few people are reading my posts.  I know it is not limited to the US.  I question why folks aren't brave enough to respond. 

I know I'm not a muse; I'm not an inspiring writer, but surely, someone out there has something to say.  I know I'm one in a million people to say the same thing.

Maybe, just maybe, we can collectively say something that will change our world.

Why the Finnish Model of Education Will Not Work in the US (part two)

This is my second post on why I think the Finnish model of education will not be accepted by the United States.  You can read my first post here.

2.  Most Americans really don't understand the true meaning of equity in education.

Finland's current success is attributed in part to the decision decades ago to provide equity in education nationwide.  I'm not trying to plug the book, "Finnish Lessons", but you should really buy it to gain the historical understanding from a true Finn, and not just one that is a couple generations removed from it.

Once upon a time, when education in Finland was mostly centered around major cities and when education was largely privatized, when the economy worldwide was suffering, Finland made a major shift to provide education to all and to make it public.  I think if you ask any Finn today, they would say that education is a right that is as important to them as our life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

In Finland, every child has the right to free public education from preschool age through college.  Read that again.  College (or a technical post-secondary school) is free.  In contrast, the US has restrictions on who can enroll their child in public preschool education and there is no such thing as a free post-secondary education unless you are lucky enough to get a scholarship.

What strikes me most from my reading is that Finland is addressing the basic survival needs of children, because without these, how can a child really learn?  Schools provide up to three meals a day to the children that need it and everyone is eligible.  There are physical, mental and emotional health services available to any child that needs it.  And this is all public and is done with less money per pupil than the US. (I'm taking a hard "gulp" while saying this, but Finland also does not nationally test kids which costs us a bunch of money.  I'm willing to bet they also don't do a bunch of other things that we pour money into.)  Finnish teachers also spend less time instructing our youth as us.  Finnish students spend less time in studies (both in and out of school) than us.

Another interesting point is that the variation on (what I would guess is mean scores) on the PISA test given to 15-year-olds among many nations between individual schools in Finland is extremely low, the lowest in the world.  This suggests that every school in Finland is preparing their kids equally well.

So, why won't the equity idea fly in the US?  I'd really like to say what I want right now, but this would irritate both republicans and democrats, so I will leave you to ponder this question and the questions that follow:

• Why can't our nation provide our youth with the developmental experiences and learning they will need to be successful adults?
• Do we all agree that the future of our country lies in the hands and hearts and brains of our youth? 
• Does every young person deserve the same opportunities to better themselves and their community/world, no matter where they live and what resources their family (or community) can provide them?

Kippis!! (Cheers!)

Why the Finnish Model of Education Will Not Work in the US (part one)

I'm not yet halfway through "Finnish Lessons" by Pasi Sahlberg, but there are so many points that resonate with me as an educator and unfortunately those exact lessons will not be accepted by most Americans.

Given in no particular order, here are my observations:

1. Americans embrace competition to a fault.

We love cheering on our favorite sports teams, some more emphatically than others.  Corporations are constantly devising new ways to stay ahead of their peers.  Parents scoff when every child is provided a trophy in the youth soccer league.  Our culture tells us that someone has to be Number One and everyone else is ranked accordingly.

Interestingly enough, for the day-to-day practices of education, research has shown that certain types of competition does nothing to improve learning and may even be detrimental. (* I have no sources to cite at this moment, but they are out there; feel free to post supporting evidence on this.)  Grades or gold stars are an external motivator that does not lead to a long-term desire to learn.  I learned this lesson my freshman year in college when a friend of mine bluntly questioned why I had to ask everyone what they received on the recent test.  It was then that I learned I didn't need to try to be better than everyone else; I needed to learn to the best of my ability and try to improve my own skills.

I hope that at least some of you reading are nodding your head, in an I-agree-with-this-notion-of-learning way.  If you are not, ask yourself how you define learning.

IF we can all agree that true learning for students is achieved best by intrinsic motivators, and not extrinsic, then why are we as a country so adamant that competition at the professional-level in teaching is the answer?  If giving rewards or punishing students does not lead to excellent learning, then why do we think that it will work for the teaching profession or the ranking of schools?

Competition is a deeply-rooted cultural mindset in our country.  Education needs more collaboration and cooperation, which is difficult for people that are not intimately involved in education to understand.  Even educators find this hard to do, when external pressures are measuring them with the promise of either being labeled as "low-performing" or they might be revealing their secrets that make them better than the rest.  This is exactly the environment we have cultivated and who does it really hurt???

More observations to come: teacher preparation, respect for the profession, equity...

Part 2 - Equity