Sculpting a Life

One of the benefits of of following your heart is becoming better acquainted with who you are. This weekend, I followed my heart to Ft. Myers Beach to compete in an amateur sand sculpting competition. On Saturday, I awoke early, left my aging parents in slumber, chugged some coffee, and drove in my economy rental car to the nearest Lowes. There, I purchased a spade, a bucket, and plastic spatulas.  With tools in tow, I headed for the beach.

It was barely 8 am, the sun had risen, and the temperatures were already warm.   As I looked out at the expansive ocean, the remaining tension seeped from my body into the hard sand beneath my feet. 

Though the morning started with joy and phenomenal peace, anxiety quickly crept into my psyche as sand clumped with shells proved difficult to form and shape.  Saturday was practice day, I thought to myself.  What if I couldn't make the sand work...tomorrow was the competition, I would surely embarrass myself in front of all of the much more experienced and more talented sculptors. What if...? What if..? What if...? My mind raced with self-doubt.

One of the great aspects of aging is that anxiety gives way to self-assurance far more quickly than when I was younger. After several failed attempts with the sand, I decided to stop practicing, enjoy the day and hope for better sand, tomorrow, at the site of the competition.   

Sunday morning I was a bundle of nervous energy.  Having never entered a competition, I arrived early to ensure I had time to register and to take a look around. The master sculptors were hard at work, building magnificent, creative sand scenes.  Luckily, my sand area was much smaller and filled with a mere metric ton of sand that I would be moving and shaping. The solo masters are required to work with 10 tons of sand.  This physical element of the competition has led many sculptors to suggest that this medium is a sport, as well as, an art form. My muscles agree!

Today, as I fly home to Indiana. My attitude is brighter, more confident, and at peace.  This weekend, I challenged myself to follow a personal dream. Tomorrow, as I talk about and show pictures of my adventure to my students, I hope that in some small way I will inspire each of them to step inside their hearts and listen for the subtle guidance that will lead them to their dreams.

A Heart's Journey

Over the course of a lifetime dreams ebb and flow.  Some never become more than quiet murmurings.  Others take subtle root in our minds and hearts and germinate beneath the surface.

Twenty-five years have passed since my first experience sculpting sand.  This weekend, I will reconnect with this passion as I attempt to make sand and water resemble a manatee mother and her calf.

Risking to follow my heart's journey is more important than any class that I have taken or grade that I have received.  My hope is, that by following my own dream,  I will encourage each of my student's to look inward and then follow their own heart's journey.

Promoting a Compassionate Classroom

"If love connects us with others, personality must certainly be the mechanism through which love is perceived and understood." 

Julie Meyers, 2013

As an educator of seven different middle school students, misunderstandings between and among us occur with regularity.  The MBTI (Myers Briggs Personality Type) has documented 16 personality types. Each personality type has discrete preferences for interacting with and perceiving the world.   

In elementary, middle, and even high school, differences among people, are rarely approached from a scholarly perspective.  Most often, students are told that we are all different and that we need to learn to get along with others.  The behavior of "not getting along" is then redirected, referred, or disciplined.

As an educator, helping students to become cognizant of the variety of personality types in the world, may help to promote a more compassionate learning environment.  In the coming week, I will be informing my students about personality type.  They will  participate in an age-appropriate version of the MBTI.  Then, we will discuss how similarities and divergence among personality types affects communication, understanding, and learning.

To optimize student learning, my belief is, that the classroom environment needs to be infused with love, compassion, and understanding.  Raising student awareness regarding personality differences and learning styles is one step toward improving student performance.

Breaking Ground with Dory the Fish and Richard Fuller

“You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.” 

Richard Buckminster Fuller

Great thinkers challenge us to do great things.  

It is easy to complain about the the status quo.  Certainly, part of the process of change is to become aware that the current state is not the desired state.  Fuller's quote, above, resonated with me.  His words called me to focus my mind and my intent more on building solutions, and focus less on identifying problems.  

Solution-building, after all, is the real work of change.  

Over the next several weeks, I will be exploring how to use my classroom as a model for educational change.  As my plan develops, I will share it here, with you.  

In the meantime, I expect I will continue to follow the words of Dory the fish, from Finding Nemo...

..."Just keep swimming!"

The Elephant in the Room

When will we connect the dots?  Students and teachers continue to die as violence in our schools continues to escalate. What has changed?  What is different?  

The elephant in the room is technology.  With advances in technology has come increasing evidence that there are some among us who simply cannot handle this freedom.  One dead student is one too many.  One dead teacher is one too many.

Video game technology has advanced to the point that young and old alike can experience the impact of killing another human being, from a first person perspective.  The impact is repeated, violent, and so realistic that it creates a vivid, almost real killing experience.

Young minds, that are not full-developed, either cognitively or socially-emotionally, are saturated in this realistic violent gaming world for hours that stretch in to years. Haven't enough people died?  How many more Colleen Ritzer's and Reggie Landsbury's must there be?

From Dream to Reality: A Professional Development Exercise

It is 5:17 am on Tuesday morning.  I am on vacation.  I can't sleep. Why?  Because I am now worrying about the amateur sand sculpting competition that I am participating in on November 22nd.  Grrrrrrrrrrr!  

Dreams are much MORE fun when they are simply dreams. As a risk-taker, my first obstacle is always myself. Once I commit myself, and start to take steps toward my dream, fear kicks in.  Fear of looking silly.  Fear of being judged. Fear of failure. With 55 years of experience you would think I would be at ease with risk-taking. The truth is, the more important something is to me, the more I sweat it. 

In the end, I know that I won't allow myself to be paralyzed by my fear.  I know that once I design the sculpture, practice in clay or some other medium, and show up on the sand, my love for this hobby will kick in.  I will begin to relax and sink in to that place inside of me where hand, heart, and creative spirit meet.  

Risk-taking connects me more deeply to myself and in turn, to all people. It tears away at my walls and reminds me of my humanness.  It puts me squarely in the role of learner.  As a teacher, I can't imagine a more powerful exercise.  

Finding Passion in School? Really?!?

Yesterday's post was all about me.  My artistic pursuits.  My connection to sand and soul when immersed in this art form.  Except that it wasn't all about me.  It was about each of us.  It was about our children, their lives, and their educational experiences.

When exploring my passion, I begin to see the world through an entirely different lens.  There is no negativity, no limits.  I begin to rely more on my gut and less on facts and reason.  Surely, all of us need a blend of both.  

In the world of schools, students never encounter a course called, "Finding my Passion".  We leave that exploration to the family and in many cases, to chance.  But, wouldn't the world be a better place, if we helped students to consciously find and cultivate their passions? 

Analysis, data, and evidence dominate the teaching and learning culture.  Of course, all of these skills are important and need to be developed.  But, couldn't we also give 10% of the school day to a curriculum that helps students to explore the activities that excite and delight them?

Thank You, Sensei

I have not lived purposefully.  Instead, my life has been a patchwork of connected experiences. Truthfully, I have never had the confidence to make and carry out a long-term plan. Instead, I have made short-term, often reactive decisions.

Decisions like, "WOW! Now there is a REAL HOTTIE!"  Or, "YES! I wanna go to the beach!"  Or, "Definitely, I want to go back to school!"  

That was a bit of levity.

Over the past couple of years, I have had the opportunity to get to know someone who has a very different approach to her life.  She is purposeful.  She is decisive. She eliminates obstacles and keeps her focus squarely on her family and work goals.

Needless to say, she has my deep admiration.  

My relationship with this 34 year old woman, coupled with aging, has caused me to reflect on my approach to my life.  At 55, my attitude has shifted from, there is plenty of time to do what I want, to, I need to make the MOST of the time I have left.  

In my 30's, I discovered a passion and a talent for sand-sculpting.  Like many sand artists, this interest emerged via beach vacation.  After several sculpting vacations, I discovered that this passion took me to places within myself that I simply could not evoke in any other way. I connect with an indescribable peace and humility.  I become keenly aware that as transient is the art, so are all things. 

What I have recognized, is that I have undervalued my skills, and my passions.  I have chosen to take the safe route and have not risked to gain the rewards that come from facing who I am and committing to my personal desires and goals.

Today, that is changing...today, I am making a public commitment to myself to pursue this dream...wherever it takes me.  

And today, I bow to my unwitting Sensei. Thank you for the lesson.  You will always have my deepest, most heartfelt gratitude.  You know who you are.

"Teach Your Children Well"

"78 percent of respondents in a recent international Monster.com poll reported experiencing the so-called "Sunday Night Blues." And a whopping 47 percent said they get it "really bad." In the U.S., that number jumps to 59 percent."

Reported by: Huffington Post, The Third Metric

If you stop and think about the number of people who are suffering on Sunday night...59%...it is really startling.  The article, that reported the results of this poll, goes on to give advice on how people can cope with their weekly bout with the blues.  What the article doesn't address, in any real deep sense, is why people have the blues.  

Oh sure, the obvious answer is that work is not as fun as play. Work involves stress. Work involves...well work. I am going to take a "Gladwellian" stab at illuminating the "why" of this conundrum.  

People don't choose professions based on what they love to do. People choose professions for economic reasons.  

After a few years in the workforce, Americans realize that they are unsatisfied with what they are doing. All the while, their family has developed an appetite for expensive toys, homes, and all of the accouterments of the American lifestyle.  From this cycle of mega-materialism, the Sunday Night Blues are born.  

There is another way, of course.  It takes guts to get there. It takes a willingness to make changes and sacrifices.  In the end, however, your children will thank you and respect you, and there is a good chance that they will escape the Sunday Blues.

Miley Hits a Nerve

 In the past, newspapers, magazines, and television were the conveyors of information to the public. Agencies created restrictions that ensured that the content, provided by these mediums, was ready for prime time.  Professionals created the information and released it to the general public at a specific time of day.

The speed at which innovative technology has become available in the marketplace has out-paced our ability to regulate the delivery and timing of information.  Today, information is available anytime and anywhere. At the extremes the content can be both edifying and down right bizarre.

As a parent, this is a terrifying shift.  Through the eyes of an innocent child, information provided by the scholar and the kook are of equal value.  Frankly, the kook would likely be perceived as more entertaining and a lot easier to understand.

The recent Miley Cyrus fiasco points directly to this shift.  Television is now "old technology".  It represents the past and more traditional standards for information.  The fact that Miley "twerked"using this medium, sent shock waves through the audience, who were unprepared for a prime time display of soft-porn delivered by a Mouseketeer.

A Tarnished Dream

Fact 1:  Eighty percent  (80%) of Americans own seven percent (7%) of the wealth in the United States.

Fact 2:  That means, 10% of Americans own 93% of America's wealth. 

 reported by Ezra Klein, Washington Post

What does the distribution of wealth, in this country, have to do with education?  In the past, education led to increased wages, opportunity, and success. Today, our children see a hazy future, in an uncertain world, filled with inequity. There is a strong and undeniable connection between our economy and education. 

1. The future.  Sure, children love to play. But, children also pay attention to the adult world.  They pay attention to the economic frustrations and challenges that their families face.  If a child's family struggles, the child knows.


2. Inequity.  If a parent slings burgers for a living, chances are good that their children will find an occupation at a similar economic level.  Conversely, if a parent has economic position and power, their child will have a much greater chance of garnering economic opportunities.  Our children know inequity exists.


3. The world.   Children know that some children are poor and some children are hungry. Children also know that some children live in nice homes, wear nice things, and go to nice places.  Our children know the world.

Education should be a tool for mobility.  If children work hard, they should see a future that is bright and filled with opportunity.  In the past this was actually true.  Today, however, our children know that their economic station is etched at birth. Schools cannot make the American Dream be true. Americans must make the American Dream be true.  Make no mistake, our children see us for exactly who we are.

Assessing What Matters

We do not expect the blind student to see, the deaf student to hear, or the physically disabled student to to run.  Why, then, do we require students with reading disabilities to read?  Isn't the true objective, the student's ability to digest and make sense of the material?

In this millennium,  there are many ways for the disabled reader to demonstrate his or her mastery of challenging concepts and text. Technological advancements make the delivery of auditory text instead of (or in addition to) written text a viable solution. Does the mechanism through which students' access content supersede the students ability to master the standard or learning objective in question?

Reading disabilities have yet to be acknowledged and treated in the same manner as any other human disability.  Though measures should always be taken to strengthen reading, when testing, students should be allowed to hear and read the subject matter.  This is not providing an unfair advantage, it is simply leveling the playing field and actually measuring student performance.

Educational Assessment: Is It Really that Hard?

Standardized assessments are not the work of evil-doers.  Though from ground-zero (the classroom) it can feel that way. The problem with standardized assessments is that they are standardized.  The intent behind standardization is to create a method of assessment that is objective. This sort of approach works well when testing tire safety, or performing other types of quality control tasks.  It does not work well with people.

Note to education policy and assessment specialists, people are not the same. 

Standardized assessments are cold and unfriendly.  Tires don't care, but people do.  Standardized assessments do not measure thinking, except in a very limited sense.  But, let's not throw the baby out with the bath water.  Let's not ditch assessments all together...at least, not yet.

Note to education policy and assessment specialists, trust teachers.

What would an assessment look like that accounted for differences in students and that trusted teachers to administer the assessment accurately and carefully?

Choice.  A one size fits all assessment model doesn't work.  Period.  Assessments must vary in flavor. A new assessment model could allow collaboration between the parent/guardian, student and teacher  to determine which assessment method would provide the best possible measurable outcome for the student.

Method.  Teachers are experts at rubrics.  Sample rubrics could be developed as they have been for some state-mandated teacher evaluation programs.  The work product or output of the assessment would vary, however, the objectives to be measured would remain the same. How hard is that?

Current state-mandated assessment models are not student-centered.  They focus on the ease of implementation for the state.  They focus on control not trust.  If we are to fix the education system we must fix the way we assess our students.  We must focus on building a new choice-based assessment methodology that allows all learners to communicate what they know and what they know how to do.

A Childs Place

Yesterday, at soccer practice, I listened to a 9 year old boy recite his resume....his grades, his position in his class, his test scores, etc.  He paused and waited intently after each accomplishment to hear my response. Instead of lauding praise on this young lad, I asked him, "How do you feel about your (grades/class rank/test scores)?"  He looked at me with a confused expression and responded, "My Mom is happy, she wants me to get into a good college!"

This morning, a thunderstorm awakened me and I felt the desire to huddle deeper into the bed covers. With the window open, the smell of dampness caressed my nose. The slaps of thunder and flashes of lightening made rooting in cotton sheets and down even more desirable.

As I scurried about the house, kissed my family as they slept, and drove in the rain to work, I wondered if the 9 year old soccer player, I had spoken to yesterday, enjoyed the thunderstorm as much as I had.  Or, I wondered, was his mind already focused on his next important task?

"What Kind of Human am I?"

"What kind of human am I?" Turner asked.

Uhhhhh...quick, quick...right answer....uhhhhh, "A boy?" I responded with an upward lilt to my voice.

 "No.  I mean, am I a Native American!?" he stated with emphasis.  Driving down the road,  this is when I stop craning my neck to get a good look at my 9 year old son.

My son will break hearts one day.  He will break my heart!!! He is a beautiful blond-haired, fair-skinned, lanky young boy.  So, with a giggle and smile quickly squelched, I peer at him with mustered seriousness, in the rearview mirror, and respond, "Uh no, you are not a Native American...you are a German, Irish, Englishman."

"Oh", he says, as if this is now settled.

There is absolutely NOTHING more refreshing than a conversation with a child.

In Pursuit of Dreams

Recently, as I traipsed through the catacombs of my heart I discovered my dreams. In the small recesses of this essential organ, and alone, my dreams laid in slumber.  Upon meeting my dreams, again, something like disgust travelled from my heart to my throat and emerged as grief.

When our students enter our schools and our classrooms, in essence, we begin the process of subverting their dreams.  We relegate them to chairs and desks, and deny them their natural impulse to explore.

At first, many children resist their parents and teachers.  "I don't WANT to go to school!"  is a common cry. In the end, most will submit to "the process".  What else is there?

Our country emerged from exploration, from risk-taking, and from innovation.  Today, our children turn to video games, not our schools, to mimic the pursuits experienced by our early ancestors.

Our education system has not failed our children.  We have failed our children. We have allowed their cries for change exhibited by drug use, suicide, and other forms of escapism to drown in the cacophonous sound of the machine we have built. The machine we call America the Beautiful.

The Applause

At the end of class, yesterday, the most amazing thing happened. My students applauded.  I can't tell you how absolutely flattered I felt, and humbled.  In my teaching practice, my goal is always to find ways to connect with students as they discover or uncover "knowledge".

My class is comprised of 5 students. My students, for whatever reasons, have demonstrated that they cannot participate, politely, in most other classrooms.  Thus, I have the pleasure of dedicating my day to their education.  I am their teacher.

On Fridays, we vary our routine to include different ways of reinforcing what has been learned Monday through Thursday of each week.  This can include educational gaming, experiments, and other student-selected curricular choices.  In many instances we are either engaged around a small table or on the floor.  Doesn't sound very studious, does it?

Yesterday, a Friday, students were at there desks.  I  decided to go "spelunking" during social studies (most people call it using the socratic questioning method).  Spelunking can be a rather tricky process. The goal must be very well thought out and the questions must help lead students to make connections, generalize concepts, or express novel ideas about the topic in question (pun intended).

As a teacher, there is nothing more rewarding than watching students think, become excited to share their thoughts, and then smile when they construct their own knowledge.  Yesterday, that is what happened.  The round of applause that I received from my students was kind and affirming.  The real gift, however, was watching each student uncover their love of learning.