Change Can = Growth

Change that is put upon me... stinks.

At this point in my life, I'm learning to embrace the challenge of change.

Since March 13, 2020, I feel as if I've lived with constant change. It's probably been much longer than that - isn't it true that "the only thing constant is change"??  (Heraclitus?) I just haven't been as aware of it.

Somewhere between February of 2021 and now I've learned that I need to breathe through changes put upon me. I need to slow down. I need to listen better. My life goes smoother when I actually apply this learning and DO the breathing, the slowing down, and the listening.

I fell off my bike on August 27 of this year.  My tooth was chipped (I got it fixed). My face was hurt (the sinus bone was fractured in four places, and the nerve attached is still affected). My hands were hurt (one is fine, the other is as good as it's going to get). My pride was hurt. My pride being hurt has changed to humility. I've learned a lot from that simple little fall.

When I look in the mirror and realize that my face looks normal, I'm surprised, and I'm reminded - again - that so many people hide (consciously or not) so much of what's happening or what's happened in their lives. We can't see all that people are going through. I wonder this about my students. What's behind their smiles? What are they going through that only they or their families know?

I've learned that I don't need to tell everyone about everything happening in my life. I've learned that it doesn't help me to complain about what hurts or what bothers me. I've learned that the latest fall (I've had a few that I've totally recovered from when I was younger) is part of the tapestry of my life. It's a jagged stitch that I can't fix. It's part of my story, should someone want to know it. It's helped me in ways, and I'm glad. 

It's helped me to slow down. Physically, I've been nervous about falling - anywhere - at any time. I fell on such an easy stretch on my bike - with no distractions - so I am now aware I can fall anywhere at any time. I'm much more conscious of where and how I walk. I don't jog anywhere anymore. I watch where - and how - I walk. I'm never on my phone while I'm walking. I hold rails when I'm on the stairs. I move over when there are too many people or it doesn't feel totally safe.

At first, I felt old doing these things. Being so cautious. I questioned whether I was "too cautious."

Now I know that it's okay. I'm 49 for one more month. I am getting older. I am realizing that it's okay to not go fast all the time. It's okay to take my time. It's actually beneficial for me to take my time. I'm not in any hurry to get older, nor am I in any hurry to hurt myself again, or hurt myself further.

This change in me has helped me realize I truly only need to do ONE thing at a time. 

I'm so thankful I can learn from my challenges. 

I wish this for my students. I wish this for my family and friends. I wish this for YOU.

And I hope I can continue to learn from challenges that come my way.

By the way... wear your helmet (I was and I do), and put on those biking gloves (next time).

Another New Learning Experience

Jury Duty... Seven days total.

I was so distraught the Wednesday I found out I might have to be on a jury starting that Friday and for what the judge said could be one week long. How the heck was I supposed to hear a woman's trauma surrounding an attempted rape and murder AND even think of making sub plans for what could be a different sub every day or even every class period? I had a huge headache and I was going to miss our first field trip in three years (my ONE DAY out of the classroom with my students this year) and I was crying on the L ride home. I thought the huge surprises that the pandemic had brought us were done. I thought that routine was back in my life. I was suddenly jolted out of any routine and thrust into the unknown.

Being able to go to school Thursday was such a blessing. I was able to talk to my students about the possibility of me missing our field trip the next day and then being out for what could be an entire week. More importantly to my own sanity, I was able to express my fear about not being able to do it all to my coworkers. My friend & co-planner said she'd take care of it. She said I didn't have to write sub plans for every day. She said she could decide the plans, print out the slides we'd use in class, and talk with the sub about how many minutes each activity should take. I found out I'd have one sub for the Monday through Thursday, and if needed, a different one for Friday. I even had that substitute's email address, as he'd subbed for me the day prior for jury selection. That Thursday was such a blessing to have - and my friend & co-planner's help was such a blessing the entire week. That Thursday, I had some of the best sleep I've had in ages, knowing that the work part of my life would be taken care of.

And I learned - I learned so much.

1. I need to be taken out of my comfort zone every once in awhile. The pandemic teaching in 20-21 took me WAY out of my comfort zone for so long - oh so many unexpected changes! - that as soon as this new routine was threatened, I was so upset. I reacted poorly. I made it a much larger deal than it actually was. I spent too much time so stressed about it.
2. I need to ask for help when I'm struggling. My friend/co-planner was ready to help at a moment's notice. She seemed as if she WANTED to help. I needed it, and she provided it.
3. I am better with a "gradual release of responsibility" than with taking it all on at once. Hubby drove me to the CTA L station Wednesday and Friday, and I learned the L system of tickets and stops. Monday I was able to drive myself, and I learned about the parking payment system at the CTA station. Each day of the week, something different happened that was out of the ordinary, and each day I was able to figure it out. (One day the L I was on was "express," one day I didn't get a ticket when I came IN to park and the gate was wide open, one day I got on an L that didn't go as far as I needed, and on the last day, I almost missed my stop because the announcement was one stop late and I was so immersed in writing notes about what I wanted to say at deliberations.)
4. I love being told one direction at a time. It's easy to follow. I had to get to the Daley Center downtown Chicago by 9:15. I had to take off my jacket and belt and put those and my backpack through the metal detector. I had to be in room 1604 at 9:30. When I got there, I was told to sign in and fill out a lunch slip. When I was done with that, I was told to get my notebook and wait. When I was escorted to the court room, I was told to take my stuff with me. When I was in court, I was asked to sit down. Since the day of jury selection, I knew I would not be speaking, so all I was expected to do was listen and keep an open mind. At a break, I was asked to stand up and follow the deputy back to the other room. It was also suggested we use the washroom. I did - every time. No one knew how long each day - or each time in the courtroom - would be. No one knew how many days it would be. No one knew which two of us (we were 14 total) would be alternates. No one knew when lunch would come. We were only told what we needed to know, and it was easy to follow. At the end of the day, we were provided our $17.20 check (which I'm grateful covered the $7 of parking and $5 L ticket). I appreciated the simple directions.
5. We all need to get out of our own "boxes" at times. In the courtroom, I was immersed in the situation. I was listening to and looking at the same people every day (with a number of different witnesses thrown in). Everything revolved around the case. Outside the Daley Center, I was surrounded by unknowns. People everywhere. Each one has their own stories they bring to this life. Each one was heading somewhere, for some reason unknown to me. Each one was thinking different things, feeling different things, experiencing different things. In the buildings surrounding me, I was wondering how many people were in them and what they were doing at that moment. I am always amazed when I'm in a large group of people or drivers or passengers on public transportation at the countless - COUNTLESS - number of stories people have in their lives. It's humbling. It takes the focus off of me and any issues I may have. It puts my own tiny existence into perspective.
6. Bias can truly be hidden. At the selection of the jury, before the trial began, and again before deliberations started, the judge and the lawyers had us swear that bias or any preconceived notions of the witnesses would NOT factor into our decision as to who was at fault. I knew this. Obvious, right? I'm trying to practice this daily. I've been more aware of my biases since the summer of reflection in 2020, and I swore that I would not let bias factor into my decision. I believe it did, however, make me hear or not hear one crucial piece of evidence... There were eight of us that favored the defense when we started deliberating. Four of us were adamant at one point Thursday afternoon that one of the witnesses was caught lying. I was aghast, as was the juror next to me. We both said, "If I'd have heard that, I would've noted it - instead, I noted it was his word against the other witness!" Everyone left at 5pm Thursday, and we were in a deadlock on one of the four points we had to consider. I arrived home 90 min later, exhausted. Over the course of the evening, I thought of a book I'd read called Think Again by Adam Grant. I believe it was in that book where I read that we are wrong 50% of the time (when arguing about something). We all may think we're right, but obviously some of us are wrong. One tactic he suggested was to consider that I was totally wrong, and that the opposite was actually true. So... how could the other side believe they'd heard that evidence?? Maybe they heard something that was objected by the other side and we should not have let that into our brain. Maybe they saw something on the screen that had to be taken down because the other side had objected... If that was NOT true... how could I be wrong? Maybe I had let my bias of the counsel affect what I was hearing. I heard the witness answer "I do not recall," and I wrote down that it was his word against the first witness's word. Maybe I hadn't heard the next part because I was biased toward the defense even at jury selection. As I reflected, I realized that before I even knew anything about the witnesses or what this case was even about, I had thoughts in my head about the two lawyers themselves. The plaintiff's lawyer was a big, strong, pointing-at-people man. I saw him as a bully. I saw him as a money grubber. The defense's lawyer was a lanky, scrawny, mess-with-his-glasses man, and I saw him as the underdog. I stand up to bullies and I support underdogs. When holding up my right hand, I only thought of the witnesses, not the counsel. I didn't think that bias should come into play... it may have. It may have for me, and it may have for the other four that were adamant they heard that evidence.  When deliberating the next day, I asked everyone to write down their bias (even ever so slight) they had before we even heard any testimony. I didn't ask, but what if... what if we all were on the side we leaned toward in the slightest bit at the end of the trial, as well? I shared that the "bully" lawyer cemented my decision when he was pointing at us in his closing arguments and telling me how many millions of dollars I'd write down on the paper. I asked for hands to see who believed they heard the witness - in front of us - say (whatever I'm not going to go into details for here)... and at least six of us did. So, I changed my mind on the first point. Other jurors thanked me for sharing what I'd been thinking, and we moved on with discussions. I truly believe that my bias towards the lawyers hindered my listening skills in the court room. 

My little lessons this past week - such as knowing which cars will be less stinky on the L and how to get around downtown easily - were numerous. It was my larger lessons, however, that made the week totally worth it. I feel proud that I didn't try to get out of jury duty, and I feel as if we made a good decision in the end. I feel that maybe, in this one case, justice was served, and I'm proud I was a part of it.

One of my views every day from the 16th floor of the Daley Center

First Week of Hybrid - Observations

I've had one week of hybrid at our middle school. Our hybrid situation goes like this: On Mondays, everyone but the teachers are remote. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, we have students with the last name starting with A-K, and the rest of the alphabet is home. On Wednesdays and Fridays, it's the other way around. We've had more parents share that their child will be remote just this week, and many students stay home with symptoms of COVID, just in case. So, really, I never know who's going to show up in front of me. Attendance takes longer than it did just on Zoom. Here are some other examples of how my days are changed.

• When I mask up and walk into the school building, I consider it a wonder that so many educators are still showing up to work. At the school building... With children coming in and out of their rooms up to ten times a day...While many parents of those children are still safely working from home...
• I can get to the office to check my mail and up to the classroom without touching anything (even though the entire building is (I hope) sprayed down each night. I use my sleeve or lanyard to open doors that pull outward.
• I get to class and take down the shields students use at lunchtime. The students in the room 10th (last) period put them up so the custodians can spray them down at the end of the day.
• I set up the laptop, plug in the external camera, the cord for the projector, and keep the laptop charged. Zoom takes a toll on that battery. I unplug the speaker/microphone we were provided, and turn it on, then turn on the bluetooth so the laptop and speaker connect. (I should really do something about all the messy dangling cords, but no one has complained, and I truly won't make the time unless someone does.)
• Students come to school with their masks on, backpacks on, their water bottles and their lunches. 
• I'm at the door taking student temperatures (how close we get then!) before they come in for homeroom. I start the Zoom for that period once they're in their seats.
• Remote students for the day are still coming into Zoom a few minutes after the bell. Since I can't get used to showing one thing on the screen behind me and another in front of me, I've just decided to share my screen. This means that sometimes it's all our Zoomers for the day, or it's our slides plus a couple of Zoomers on the side (and hopefully it's never my email). I try to make sure my in-class students can see our at-home students often. 
• I switch cameras often, so students at home feel as if they're more involved in the class - my face-time camera (which shows my masked face) or my external camera (which faces the class).
• I've learned that the speaker that was provided works better on its side. Meaning - we can't really hear anyone from Zoom if it's sitting up like it should. I use the music stand I brought from home to keep the speaker on its side (it's round, and I can't think of any other way to turn it on its side), so we can all hear our at-home class.
• I have to remember to turn off the speaker and plug in my earbuds when having 1:1 conversations with the kids at home.
• We've ditched the idea of using the microphone part of the microphone/speaker combo that was provided, as it only covers up to ten feet, and we are all at least six feet apart, so...
• When having a discussion (we tried for the first time on Friday) with everyone, I have now taped an "X" on the carpet where students in class can stand and share with the kids in class and the kids at home can still hear and see the speaker. I then change the view on Zoom to "speaker," so the person sharing at home is projected large on our screen.
• We take mask breaks. We'll either jog or run for a few minutes, stand around, or play a short game. Sometimes my at-home students stay on Zoom, and sometimes it's near the end of a period, so I let them go when my at-school students head outside. I pray for at least "okay enough" weather each day. I, too, relish mask breaks.
• Students get to the classroom one minute after the first bell rings. I haven't even had a chance to spray all the tables as they're using hand sanitizer and grabbing a paper towel to wipe off their table.
• I feel as if I have six classes now instead of three, as the dynamics are very different. I'd guess teachers who have six different classes now feel they have twelve.
• Most students stay in their (plastic blue) seats. (All our comfy furniture has been relocated.) When it gets near time to go, students begin to congregate.
• I keep hearing myself repeat, "Six feet," "Mask up," and "Don't touch your face." I repeat directions to grab a paper towel to wipe down desks and to use hand sanitizer.
• Three times during this one week a desk has fallen to the floor. Students aren't used to them having their wheels locked in one space (on a velcro dot on the floor to ensure they're six feet apart).
• I've backed up significantly when a student gets too close outside. One even came into my "teaching area," and my eyes must've bugged out so much that she backed up immediately.
• I can talk to students about what's on their sweatshirt or about their cool masks.
• I have one child who has a mask that keeps slipping under her nose. I find myself holding my breath.
• On Wednesdays and Fridays, students eat lunch in my room behind shields. With our homeroom. Quietly. When it's nice enough out, they will be able to eat outside. It was raining half of our week.
• I've been eating in the art room - four of us can be in there eating with plenty of space between us. We clean the area before and after we use it.
• I have my plan period with my remote teacher partner/friend in the hallway. 
• Bus duty is fast - there is no need for students to linger, and there are no lockers to go to.
• I haven't been around so many people since March 13th. When I leave the school building, I feel like retching. The feeling goes away shortly after I take off my scrubs and wash up and get my hug.

The students seem to be doing fine in this environment. 

I keep hearing that we need to "care for the students."

We also need to take care of the teachers - who truly want to care for the students (or we would be gone by now). Nobody but fellow educators that are actually trying to connect with - and teach! - students hour after hour know what we're going through. I hope readers here have found ways that are helping you cope. Since our students will most likely have the option of "remote" all year, it looks like this will be the routine until our numbers soar enough (um... 6,000 more cases yesterday, IL?) to go back to being fully remote.

10-Minute Teacher Podcast

I spent some time with Vicki Davis this month... we ended up talking about change...
Ten minutes? Sure, you've got time to listen!




Here is @CoolCatTeacher's podcast page.
Here is our first meet-up back in 2013.

Feed One

Looking back through my posts on the Building Learning Communities conference, I notice a theme. It seems as if every year I've gone (2012, 2015, 2016, 2017, and now 2018), educators and administrators and keynoters are talking about CHANGE. Here are all my reflections on the BLC conference, if you want to take a gander.

Last year's last day keynote speaker, Dr. Robert Evans, told us that humans resist change, especially if this change was not their idea.  He also said resistance to change is normal and necessary. I read his book, The Human Side of School Change, and wrote three more posts reflecting on what he said. Myriad factors come into play when people have to deal with change, and his book helped me become a better listener to those who resist changes in education.

This year, my own keynote message was to stop asking why others won't change, and empower yourself. Take the risks, live up to the title of "educator," and do what you believe is right and good for students. Share these ideas with others, and explain your reasons WHY. Keep sharing - through social media, blogging, websites, presentations... keep the conversations going.

My Brief Keynote for BLC18

When Ted Dintersmith took the same stage the next day, he said that it's easier to start a new school than to change one that's already established. He added that we should embrace the pockets of change and grow by one teacher at a time. Leave other teachers alone - administration can try to make them change, but they'll just close their doors and keep doing what they've always done. Wasted effort on our part. Let's put the effort into celebrating those who are doing what is better for kids. Oh, and try not to say "best practice," because what is "best" today won't necessarily be "best" tomorrow. We can practice "better practices" with students. 😉

I go over and over with my husband Bob about what each session is about, and the things I've learned and want to take home and hold dear to my heart and head.

During our discussion about all this, he asked, "Is this whole thing pointless?"

"This whole thing" - referring to trying to get other teachers to reflect on their teaching and try something new, such as letting the students own more of the learning.

No. It's not pointless.

Trying to get other teachers to reflect on what they're doing, join in with what you're trying, and help bring students more to the center of all we do... is challenging for sure. But if you share ideas with just one... and just one teacher latches on and tries it and it changes his or her teaching, consider all the students you've affected. Mother Teresa said, "If you can't feed a hundred people, feed just one." I wouldn't say "just" one - because one can lead to another and another and the ideas can grow exponentially. (A few of the ideas I shared at BLC.)

I tweaked my keynote the evening prior, because I had to add this quote I'd heard from Darren Kuropatwa at his session - "The job of any leader is to make more leaders."

So take the lead. Share your ideas - through social media, blogging, websites, presentations... Share your reasons WHY. And feed ONE teacher. One at a time. Keep those conversations going!

Outside our house in the spring of 2017...

Change - Part 3 - Leading Innovation

Ever since Dr. Evan's Keynote in July at BLC in Boston, I've been working my way through his book. I've written about Part 2 - Reluctant Faculty, and now it's time to wrap up the book with the rest of my notes here. Consider most of the bullet points right out of the book - I don't want to alter Dr. Evans' message.

The Authentic Leader
   In the chapter prior, Dr. Evans makes the point that leaders are guided by purpose and followership. These two form the heart of transformational leadership. Chapter nine then goes into explaining what goes into being an authentic leader... Here are my notes (in many instances quoted directly from the text):

• Transformation begins with trust. (Once damaged, it's "nearly impossible to repair.")
• Leaders need to "begin thinking of what will inspired trust among their constituents."
• "We admire leaders who are honest, fair, competent, and forward-thinking."
• Innovation..."needs more than trust - it needs confidence." Leaders "must inspire ... confidence along with trust."
• The key to both confidence and trust is authenticity.
• Most of us seek a "combination of genuineness and effectiveness" in a leader. "It makes him authentic, a credible resource who inspires trust and confidence, someone worth following into the uncertainties of change."
• "Integrity is a fundamental consistency between one's values, goals, and actions." Followers are looking for values, goals and actions to be congruent.
• Honesty and fairness play a large role.
• Leaders "typically hold the same standards for their school as for themselves." These "provide the larger purpose that gives work direction and meaning," and their followers may be motivated by the same commitments.
• Transformational leaders have ethics, vision, and belief in others.
• "Authenticity also demands savvy, a practical, problem-solving wisdom that enables leaders to make things happen." They should have "common sense and empathic sensitivity, courage and assertiveness, and resilience."
• Educators "will rarely follow leaders unless they seem to 'know their stuff' - ...the realities of school life."
• To "be effective, leaders must demonstrate and foster [hardiness]."
• "Authentic leaders build their practice outward from their core commitments rather than inward from a management text."
• Although not all leaders "have what it takes," uncovering their potential "is the key to becoming authentic."
• Leaders should ask themselves, "What do you stand for?" and then "Where does it come from?" Its origin is "almost always personal - deeply personal." This helps recruit followers, as we can learn the reasons WHY leaders want innovation. Almost all of us have the same values or the same desires for education. We can get on board when leaders share what they stand for and WHY.
• "Principals who were successful change agents all fulfilled four key roles (resource provider, instructional resource, communicator, visible presence)..."
• Leaders are aware of their strengths (and should share them!), and also of their faults.
• Leaders need to know what they want.
• Those above principals of schools need to provide time to hash out questions of values and goals when initiatives are coming from the top. Principals need to believe in them, as well, or nothing will change, as staff will see right through them if they're indifferent or opposed to the ideas.
• A leader "must not just advocate but exemplify the change before asking staff to do so."
• Risk-taking "has always been - and remains - rare in schools." Principals have a dilemma when "they are given more responsibility than authority, and their success requires maintaining positive connections not just with their superiors but also with their staff." We can NOT ask them to lead projects they do not fully grasp or endorse. It just won't fly.
• If teachers want reform, they need to "realize the importance of bringing the principal along early..." This was so important for me, and I would not know where my teaching would be now if I didn't go ask for administrative support first.

So much of this relates to teachers and students! And so much of this relates to when I'm speaking in  front of a group, as well. What is the message I'm conveying? Why should my audience trust me? Look back at these, substituting "teacher" for "leader." See how you can use these ideas, even if you're not part of administration.

Clarity and Focus
    In chapter ten, Dr. Evans shares more about what leaders need to do in order to be able to share their vision and have followers. The number one thing is for the leader to be the model he or she wants staff to be. Leaders should lead by example.

• Authentic leaders know what they want, and they pursue it.
• Again, go with hearts and bellies - 1) a shared vision is crucial to innovation, and 2) the roots of vision are deeply personal.
• A vision's main function is to inspire people and to concentrate their efforts. You can do this if you appeal to people's emotions and they buy in with their hearts and their bellies.
• Formal vision work is time-intensive.
• We can't simply designate a small core of teachers to draft a vision. We must have buy-in from all staff, or there won't be a commitment to goals. (Hence the time commitment!) Collaborative vision building is a longer and slower approach that requires persuasion, negotiation, compromise, and patience.
• It would help to have a motto! A good motto is short enough to be remembered, and direct without being so literal that it limits the imagination. A motto can keep staff grounded and it can help us figure out what can stay and what can most likely go.
• Clarity in a vision helps foster trust, foster commitment, and garner attention. The WHY, what, and how should be clear. The ultimate goal of clarity is a shared, community-wide consensus about values and goals.
• Focus in a vision means the leaders decide what few things are important. These are then pursued with a vigor and skill.
• Few people can accomplish more than one significant change at a time. Focus means pursuing one major change at a time per person and per work group.
• If a vision has multiple dimensions, individuals must not be expected to master all of them at once.
• Three ways leaders can push for focus - 1) accentuate the positive  2) ask "What can we quit doing so we can do what we need to do?"  3) stretch out time lines of individual items.
• When leaders can explain change in clear, focused terms and connect innovation to long-standing values that matter to constituents, they help staff link the new with the old and bear the uncertainties and losses of change.
• Leaders must reach out and create a more informed public. They must help people understand the true strengths and real needs of the schools.
• When staff believe a leader will stay put to see an innovation through, confidence and energy are enhanced. (When there is often turn-over in superintendents and principals, staff do not put much trust in the fact that this "newest" plan will be around in a few years.)

Participation - Without Paralysis
    Most of this chapter centers around the leader.

• The prospect of a committed, empowered, collegial community served by an enlightened leader is exciting. It is, however, an IDEAL, and beyond the capacity of most schools.
• Organizations that draw on the knowledge of their staff make more informed choices and enjoy higher levels of productivity and morale.
• People are much more likely to invest themselves in something they help shape.
• Ideally, teachers who are empowered to help make decisions will structure their classrooms to empower students, as well. (Later, Dr. Evans says this appears to be a fallacy, largely due to the demands on the teachers executing change.)
• Why Dr. Evans says it's really an ideal... 
• Teachers' relations with one another are mostly marked by congeniality (being pleasant) but not collegiality (serious professional interaction). The entrenched norms that prevail among teachers remain those of autonomy and privacy.
• Shared governance and collaboration always mean more work - and more complex work, and more work with other adults rather than students. They require higher levels of sophisticated adult interaction. (And many teachers prefer to work with children than with adults!)
• The teaching career is an idiosyncratic craft - in many respects, a teacher is an "independent artisan..."
• Schools observe strong traditions of conflict avoidance. Teachers rarely engage in the open expression and negotiation of conflict with colleagues and leaders.
• Binary leadership seems to be optimal...
• Powerful principals that have conviction and confidence lead with help. Ideas can move both up and down in the organization. Organizations need leaders, not bosses. Since change requires unfreezing and disconfirmation, the challenging of deep assumptions and the raising of appropriate guilt and anxiety, it demands someone with the power to get and keep people's attention.
• Authentic leaders expect to play a primary role in shaping change, and they see empowerment as a later outcome, not a starting condition.
• Authentic leaders decide who needs to be involved and when - they are consistently clear with staff about who is making which decisions and how.
• Authentic leaders have open-door policies - teachers are starved for this kind of support, attention, and acknowledgement.
• Authentic leaders ask for feedback, checking in from time to time, even if it means bad news. Squelching opposition only drives it underground and delays the chance to resolve it. Asking for feedback offers opportunities to empower staff, reduce resistance, reinforce collegiality, and can build momentum for change. If nothing else, it helps staff ventilate feelings and fears and clarify misperceptions. Everyone involved needs to hear and be heard - and the leader needs to model this.

Recognition: Reversing the Golden Rule
    We wouldn't go days or weeks, never months or years, without recognizing our students and their accomplishments, would we? Why do we do so without recognizing coworkers, educators, or administrators?? If we want any change - especially tough innovation - to work, we've got to recognize and acknowledge all involved. And OFTEN.

• The single best low-cost, high-leverage way to improve performance, morale, and the climate for change is to dramatically increase the levels of meaningful recognition for - and among - educators. This includes praise or positive feedback, but also validation.
• The more profound and far-reaching an innovation and the more pressure, anxiety, and uncertainty in involves, the greater the need for recognition. When demand rises, support must rise proportionately or else stress will.
• Teachers are starved for the tiniest scraps of validation - letters or visits from students, comments from parents and administrators.
• Across America, we are turning to educators who feel chronically overpressured and underthanked and are asking them to change, to do more and to do it differently and better - quickly.
• Dr. Evans makes the point that recognition should not have extrinsic rewards.
• Though it is sad that teachers' work lives should leave them pathetically grateful for fragments of praise and validation, it creates an opportunity and points a very direct path for leaders: almost any kind of recognition will represent an improvement.
• Leaders should apply recognition whenever possible - accept errors as trying, even seeing it as part of the cost of research and development. This is especially important when setbacks occur during innovation. With your recognition, be specific so followers know you're sincere.
• If leaders cannot, with sincerity, recognize teachers, at the least they should hear them out. They should acknowledge that they heard concerns and they take them seriously, even if nothing (right now) can be done.
• Dr. Evans wrote almost three pages about the conundrum of teachers not wanting to be singled out for recognition, or becoming upset when someone else in singled out, but not them. He offered direct advice as to how this resistance can - and should - be resolved if innovation is to have a chance.
• Leaders and teachers should also nurture lateral recognition.
• It doesn't just go top-down. Teachers should also be recognizing administrators. If this is difficult, then leaders should arrange more occasions when they can gather as peers and share feedback, praise, and acknowledgement.

Confrontation: Avoiding Avoidance
    Authentic leaders must not avoid resisters. Dr. Evans shares the behaviors of what he calls "cyrogenics" - those unwilling to accomplish change, and seem to not care. They don't even try. He then shares insight on why school leaders often avoid potentially serious conflict - and he makes a ton of sense. I feel sorry for principals who really don't have leverage when they want something done. In corporate America, cyrogenics are fired. When protected by a union, there are only three choices that remain - forcible transfer, seduction (cultivating and converting), and "voodoo death," none of which are good options. However, "unprincipled resisters who actively oppose change can and must be vigorously challenged" if the leader truly believes in the change. Then teachers who are on board and know (and believe in) the reasons needed for change need to step up to resisters, as well. What saddens me is that there is no hope for these "deadwood" cyrogenics. They won't change, even when they are challenged. They might, however, stop affecting others negatively.
     Dr. Evans also talks about the challenges the "unfreezables" bring to leaders. These are educators who talk the talk, but don't walk the walk. They think what they're doing is innovative, and yet it is not what was asked of them. This is a different difficulty to confront, as when teachers believe they are doing all they should and someone tells them they're not, it's likely to cause them genuine distress and serious loss of face. It may make them sad or angry, and hence defensive, even when negative feedback is delivered thoughtfully. This is another reason leaders avoid confrontation.
     There is so much involved in this short chapter, and it makes me feel so sad for leaders who truly believe in change, but run up against others who cannot, or will not, open their minds to the possibilities the future can hold.
     Side note: In my original post about Dr. Evans' keynote in Boston, I quoted him as saying, "The characteristics (nurturing, sacrifice, kindness, etc.) that make us good with kids don't help us work well with ADULTS." Some of my PLN on Twitter didn't agree with this, so I've tried to find the words that help support his ideas. He first says in this chapter that "From a school perspective, the competitive corporate ethos can seem cruelly hard. From a business perspective, the school ethos seems childishly soft" (275). He further explains that "Education attracts the contemplative and the nurturing more than the competitive and the assertive, drawing people whose guiding occupational interests and values are more likely to emphasize service to others and job security for oneself than, say, entrepreneurial risk taking or the projection of personal power. More simply, people who work in schools tend to like people - and to want to be liked back." Teachers "are used to looking for the best in students because they look for the best in everyone. It is a trait most of us wish them to keep, but one that inclines them to fear and avoid negativity that in other settings would seem mild." The "avoidance of open disagreement or friction is thoroughly entrenched in the culture of schooling and..." "coupled with the structural limits on leaders' leverage, it makes administrators' reluctance to address opposition understandable" (276). However, resisters can and must be challenged.

Reach and Realism, Experience and Hope
    Dr. Evans wraps up with his big lesson... "We must recast our expectations for leaders, for teachers, and for the larger task of improving schools."

• This includes realism - being aware of how much we can grow, and in how much time.
• This also includes hope. We need to preserve and nurture genuine hope.
• Nearly all natural systems have intrinsically optimal rates of growth, and school systems need to find their own. There's a balance between going to fast and going too slow.
• The formula for success is to set mutually agreed standards and to hold people accountable for achieving them - but to free them to do so in their own way whenever possible.
• What we need is a triumph of hope over experience. Hope is an ability to work for something to succeed. Hope is the certainty that something makes sense, regardless of how it turns out...
• Innovation / transformation / change... may be slow, but slow is better than none.

After reading the many stories and quotes from educators and leaders included in this book, and Dr. Evans' interpretations of research, I hope to have much more patience for those who want immediate change, and those who do not want change at all. I feel as if I understand my own role, my principal's role, and my superintendent's role a teeny bit more. I can appreciate just how complex our roles are, and how complex innovation initiatives really can be. I hope to share lateral gratitude more often, along with gratitude for those in leadership roles.

Change - Part 2 - Reluctant Faculty

Last July, our keynote for the last day of the BLC conference was Dr. Robert Evans. I wrote about what he said about change here, and then I purchased the book. It's time to share some of my notes as I slowly work my way through it (amongst the myriad books I read to share with my students)...


Chapter six is called "Staff: Understanding Reluctant Faculty," and here it is in a nutshell, using his words...

"Many improvement schemes...pay little attention to the lived realities of the educators who must accomplish change or to the practical problems of institutional innovation" (91).

Although it is not true of ALL veteran teachers (like me, I hope), "Most of America's educators are veteran practitioners who are not eager to embrace a new round of innovation. Their natural human aversion to change is intensified by three factors: their stage of life, their stage of career, and what demographers would call their 'cohort factor' - their unique composition as a group and the unique historical context in which they have worked" (92).

Supposedly (remember that this was written in 1996, but I'll bet it still holds true), most educators "have become a veteran, middle-aged, immobile group" (93). He states that "middle-aged" includes the mid-forties and older. These "middle-aged" teachers are often dejected. They "feel unappreciated, overworked, and demeaned as professionals." He goes on to explain why, including that many teachers feel that "one's efforts to help others are unsuccessful," and "that the task is both endless and unrewarded in terms of either achievement, appreciation, or advancement" (95).

Dr. Evans then goes in depth about "midlife," and what that means to humans. Many people heading into (and out of) their forties experience changes in their own personal lives - their bodies are changing physically, their children are growing, their parents are ailing, and time is speeding up. Priorities are shifting - they're more invested in their family than in their professions now, and they also have the added worry about their futures.

He lists three "pressures against innovation" when teachers are going through midlife. First, "most people are coping with considerable change...before they even come to school." Second, if "veteran staff seem doubtful about promises of rapid, radical change," it's because they've "become more sophisticated and more skeptical" and no longer see the "world in terms of black and white." Third, people (in midlife) are "much less likely to pursue activities that do not fit into their personal priorities" (100).

And, because most people in midlife are also in midcareer, they've got to deal with the effects of staying in the same job for a long time. Remember when you first began teaching? Everything was new and exciting! You put in 110% each night at home and again when you were in front of the students! You didn't have to worry about a mortgage, children to raise, or illness among parents or in-laws. No way were you worried about benefits once you retired. Sick days? Take 'em if you need 'em! In midcareer, "one's focus shifts to include a growing preoccupation with personal and family concerns. The midlife issues...exert a stronger pull on one's energy and attention..." (103).  "Having devoted themselves primarily to their career for several decades, they are often ready to reduce their work commitment and devote greater energy to personal or family interests." Not only that, but one "becomes less exclusively centered on the innate satisfaction of one's work and more concerned about salary, benefits, and related matters." But wait - there's more! Once you get closer to mastering your craft, "challenge dwindles and recognition plummets" (104).

It's a vicious cycle! "To sustain performance everyone needs feedback" (105). However, the older we become, the less feedback we get. Our profession is such that we spend our days with children, and not our peers. We grow even more isolated in later years! "Given the rise in personal and family demands and the drop in work motivation and interest, veteran staff are more likely to limit their time at work to the essential, if not the minimum. They are less likely to come early or to stay late to meet with one another, and they are less likely to 'talk shop' during their breaks. And since middle-aged people tend to go out socially less often than younger adults, there is less personal connection among colleagues over the years." This doesn't mean, as Dr. Evans continues, that we don't care about one another as much, but what it does mean is we "spend less time together, are less familiar with one's work, and draw less support from one another" (106). Let's pile on the stress and add that this is not something teachers talk about. They don't acknowledge it with peers, and so they feel that this dilemma is isolated to just themselves.

I'm not there... yet. In this, my 23rd year, I can feel myself some days heading into this abyss of not being connected, of trying "too hard" without reward, of being knocked down by parent confusion, but I'm not there YET. I am still open to innovation - in fact, I still crave it! This chapter helped me understand WHY. I do not have children of my own, therefore I do not have that energy pull or emotional toll. My parents are older, yes, but healthy at this point. My in-laws are gone, so any parental angst is virtually nil right now. I have time to devote to my husband AND my profession, and I'm supported by my administration in my efforts to innovate. It's no wonder I'm currently still an agent for change. This book is helping me understand many of my peers so much better, and I'm so very glad Dr. Evans goes on to give coping strategies for "veteran" teachers!! He doesn't let us off the hook, even though the resistance to change can be so strong.

So... What can veteran teachers do?!

First, he says we cannot blame working in schools. We are lucky to be alive, have a solid job, and live in the era in which we live. Here are five tasks "each person in midcareer must master...

1. Specializing versus generalizing. Over the course of a career, there is a logical progression from being a learner to being a contributor in a particular area. In midcareer, we must decide whether we will continue to concentrate on these skills or seek a more broader, more general role, such as leadership. ...
2. Establishing an organizational identity and area of contribution. Everybody needs a niche. All of us need to achieve a place, establish an identifiable role, make a recognized contribution in our workplace. ...
3. Modifying career dreams. Midlife is a time of self-assessment in which we ask ourselves, 'whether our career progress has been consistent with our goals, ambitions, and dreams, and if not, how to resolve the discrepancy...'
4. Achieving a balance between work, family, and self-development. The personal and professional changes of midlife and midcareer require us to reassess our investments in the different areas of our life...
5. Maintaining a positive growth orientation. Having less time left and fewer opportunities open, having to accept the repercussions of past errors and the prospect of future losses - these make it easy to exaggerate our lot, to become attached to our burdens, to assume that we are trapped and unable to improve things, to give in to depression and passivity. To sustain a positive, constructive outlook on life and work, people must find a way to keep developing their strengths, to treasure and celebrate their successes, to appreciate......" (more on pages 111-113).

I believe these guidelines are necessary for happiness in any profession. Our school systems need to "focus on people." People's "acceptance of a new perspective depends much less on its intrinsic validity than on their own readiness to consider any new ideas at all. Before they can respond to a particular innovation, something must unfreeze their current thinking and perceptions and reach them in a fundamental way" (115) - because we are human beings.

This chapter was the one that my husband heard the most from so far. I'd stop and read it aloud, and we'd process the ideas together. I wish every superintendent and board of education member could read this book and see how difficult is is for humans to change - when it's not our own idea. [Even when change IS our own idea, there's resistance - read part one (chapters 1-3) for this reasoning!] I'm excited to continue reading about setting and leadership, and I'll be more excited to head into part three where I hope he shares some guidance in "Leading Innovation."

Part 3: Leading Innovation

Change

Every time I come home from the Building Learning Communities Conference in Boston (BLC), ideas swirl around in my brain, and I have so many things I feel I need to share with other teachers. This year, however, our last keynote, Dr. Rob Evans, had the message I think all agents of change need to hear and understand.

FULL KEYNOTE PRESENTATION HERE

He started by telling us (with much humor) who he was and what he does. The short version is that he is a psychologist and the director of Human Relations Service in Wellesley, MA. He used to teach HS and preschool students, and just can't imagine why anyone would choose to work with middle school students... (I LOVED laughing with him.)

Dr. Evans then dove in to share his wisdom about CHANGE. I believed him right away, because what he first shared, I share in my "Shift the Culture of Your Classroom" presentation --> We like the idea of change if it is OUR idea. When change is imposed upon us, we resist. So many conversations this week at BLC revolved around going back to school and meeting with resistance when we want the educational system to change. He threw in humor throughout his presentation, but this is the one gem I wrote down so I could quote him...

Because he has so much to share, this is going to be one of those bullet point posts - just laying it all down.

Points I need to remember and share regarding the reasons WHY change isn't easy in education:

• Consider changes in your life - the ones you've wanted and the ones you have resisted. The "good" changes we wanted in life came with some unexpected consequences. Same for the unwanted changes - they most likely came with some unexpected consequences that were good. And, if we think of those changes in our lives and the lessons learned, the stronger lessons that were more valuable probably came from the changes that were NOT wanted. We learn in the context of loss, failure, and disappointment. Change is full of ambivalence. 
• People resist change - ESPECIALLY if they were not the ones to come up with the idea to change. Our brains are hardwired to seek out patterns - even if we think we don't like the patterns, our brain wants them - they make life make sense. "We cling to patterns because they give life meaning, not necessarily because they make us happy. People often hate the pattern they're in, but also hate to change their situations."
• When we're asking for colleagues to change, we need to consider this: What does this change mean to them? We think it means progress, growth, development, learning... Yet what it means to them often includes LOSS - grief and bereavement. Suddenly, an assumption they've had has been DEVALUED. So ask... what's the loss they will feel?
• Resistance to change is NORMAL and NECESSARY.
• Businesses deal better with conflict and problem-solving than schools do. Schools are more personal - and they should be! A school is "much harder to change than a business because a school is more like a house of worship." In schools we're skilled at congeniality (warm, friendly connections), but not at collegiality (which focuses more on growth and performance). Because of this, we have what Dr. Evans called "non-discussables" - things we don't talk about openly - only in the parking lot. "We get along great as long as we agree. When we stop agreeing, we stop talking TO each other, and start talking ABOUT each other." (He did add that if we were TOO candid, we would have a "collapse of society..." There's no need to go around telling people what you think every moment of the day!)

• Side note: During this keynote, I was sitting next to Carol Salva, a teacher who is a brand-new author and who used to be in sales prior to teaching. (I'm sure she has a much longer story, but we didn't get to chat too much!) She said when she received harsh feedback, she would do what they suggested, get better at her job, and earn more money. It wasn't her nature to have thick skin - she grew it in this position. The feedback - although it meant change - was effective. Instead of taking the feedback personally, she used the feedback to improve. 

• Too much pressure from agents of change will drive the resistance underground, yet pressure makes it harder for people to remain status quo. We need a balance of pressure and support.
• Schools need more tolerance for conflict.
• Teachers CHOOSE to spend time in the presence of children or adolescents. There has to be something inside us that helps us connect to these students (if we stick with the profession). Being in the classroom makes us happy. ... HOWEVER ...  "The characteristics (nurturing, sacrifice, kindness, etc.) that make us good with kids don't help us work well with ADULTS."

WOAH.
Mind blown right there.
WHY is this? Is this true?
He could have stopped, and I'd be satisfied knowing the reasons why schools aren't changing (fast enough - yet).

However, he kept sharing - and he got to the HOW...

• First of all - and this notion is directed towards administrators - if you want teachers to lead change in your school, you need to tell the other teachers to listen to them. If these change-agents are not the boss, then others don't have much motivation to even begin to listen to the ideas.
• "Buy-in" is an end state. It's not a beginning condition. Don't look for buy-in right away.
• What matters is that people KNOW if they're going to be listened to during the process of change, or if the decision has already been made. The decision itself actually doesn't matter, even if people don't agree with the decision. It's the clarity of the process - who is involved, and who isn't - that matters. If we had to choose someone to work under, we'd choose someone who is clear about their decisions over someone we agree with but is not clear about who is deciding what. If you want change, be clear and truthful about who is involved in the decision-making process.
• Be ready to support - What are people losing with this change? What will they grieve? 
• When asking for change, change-agents need to be clear about the 
• WHY - Why can't I keep doing what I've been doing? Why do I have to do this now? Why should I listen to you?  -- This is the stage where we cause the loss. This is also the stage that is often skipped. Change won't come if this stage is skipped.
• WHAT - What do you want me to do?
• HOW - How do you expect me to do it?
• Difference between problems and dilemmas:
• People solve or fix problems. People cope with dilemmas.
• Remember that almost everything we're trying to solve in education was once a solution to something else.
• The most productive, successful, engaged, happy people have someone who cares about their development. This is why conferences like BLC are so successful and invigorating.
• Let's do with teachers what we do with our students...
• Ask teachers about what they do well.
• Build on teachers' strengths. This will help them cope with the loss and get them to where they're learning. Then change will be transformational.

THANK YOU, Dr. Robert Evans.

The Human Side of School Change is on its way to my house, and I'm sure it will be by my side when I go to the next conference where teachers wonder, "How can I get others at my own school to try this?"

And thank you to my online and face-to-face PLN who continue to challenge me. Whether I choose change or it is imposed upon me, this quote from George Couros is true...

Kudos to this teacher for sharing this mindset with her students!

Update 12/31/17:

     Want more? I've finished the book!

          Part 2: Reluctant Faculty

          Part 3: Leading Innovation

-----------------------

I'll be adding more references to change below as I find them or they are shared with me:

     3 Crucial Elements of Being a Change Agent - George Couros

     Addicted to Change

     Overcome Resistance to Change with Two Conversations - Harvard Business Review

     Managing Change - podcast with Dr. Rob Evans (18 min)

     How School Leaders Can Attend to the Emotional Side of Change - Katrina Schwartz on Dr. 

     The Fallacy of the "Either/Or" Scenario - George Couros

     Dare to Go First (How to Be a Change Agent) - Shanna Peeples in Educational Leadership

     Convince ME - George Couros

     The Grief of Accepting New Ideas - Rick Wormeli

     A Reminder for When Others Seem Resistant to Change - George Couros

Going Places

I have a dear friend who lost her mom last week. My friend is the epitome of the word "woman" - strong, vibrant, and full of life. She joined the estimated 250,000 in the Women's March in Chicago this weekend. She posted a quote from her mom on her Facebook page the morning of the march.

Previously posted on February 3, 2012...

What if...?

It made me think of a conversation we had at lunch the day my friend returned to school. We were commenting on a video that had her youngest child in it. Her daughter, as we said, is "going places. She'll do whatever she wants to in life." We all nodded, and I thought of my friend as I saw her agree, as well. Guess what? SHE, too, is "going places." She has done, and can do what she wants to do in life, as well.

She's in her 30s, and found her loving husband in the science department. She has worked tirelessly to achieve her doctorate. She is currently raising four children, and works way more than 40 hours a week. She is a leader in her department, and on her team. Her voice is valued in any committee or meeting she may join. She is looked up to by many. Some day, I fear, she will leave us for what she wants to do next - whatever that may be. She can do whatever she wants to in life - she is that kind of woman.

Next, I thought of all the other women and teachers I surround myself with. So many of them (us) are "going places," and doing what we want in life. Why do we sometimes feel as if we aren't? I believe it's the words we hear...

"She dresses like a teacher."
"She teaches middle school."
"She has children."

These three sentences could be translated like this:
"She's a hero."
"She's a hero."
"She's a hero."

Why don't some of us hear those words in our heads? I have realized I'm a fairly insecure person. I've been trying to "fake it 'til I make it," but it's a daily struggle. I know if I act confident enough, my students will believe I am confident, and I will be a better role model for them. So I continue to share what we do in the classroom that I believe is right for students. I continue to share others' ideas in order to give them a voice. I continue to be that person that quotes leaders and inspirational people.

Because we NEED the positive words in our lives. We NEED the support.

If you don't already, start leaving the room when the negativity seeps in. Smile, and then excuse yourself. If the meeting or family time has turned into a complaint fest, either try to offer a solution, or find those who will work with you on one. "Leave the darkness behind..." We are what we speak. If we sow seeds of what we CAN be, the fruit will start to grow. Focus on "hope and peace, empathy and kindness..." We need to start with ourselves.

What if we did "live in the light..."? Change your inside voice to say, "I am going places. I have already succeeded in my life. I am ready for more success. I am open to new ideas and insights. I am a hero to my children. I am a hero to my students. I spread good messages. I speak with kindness and compassion. I am an ear if someone needs me. I am passionate. I am confident. I am qualified. I am determined. I am strong. I am able. I am blessed."

Don't let those whispers of doubt in.
You can't think negatively and expect to live a positive life.

After the march, my friend said she felt "empowered."
Shouldn't we all? At all times? Don't we have a choice to be what we want to be?
Yes. Yes. Yes.

Made with Fotor

Assessment 3.0

I have finally finished Assessment 3.0 by Mark Barnes. It's taken me a long time, and that's a good thing, as I've had to stop and sort through ideas in my head. I've written sticky notes, added to a notebook just for ideas and questions, and I've begun creating forms for students and I along with ideas for explaining "no grades" to parents.

That's right - "no grades." It's that way until report cards are due, of course. I haven't even gotten permission from my administration yet to see if I can pull this off, but I'm in the planning stages anyway, thanks to this book. My brain has to get out some kinks in my thinking and take the time and paper to brainstorm just how the heck I can make this happen. I'm finally finished with the book, yet I'll be returning to it time and again to read my notes alongside the text...

In order to make "no grades" happen, I need the following:

• A way to create a digital portfolio. At this point in time, I'm thinking our blogs would suffice, as long as students use tags or labels so we can sort the posts by standards or other categories.
• Some sort of chart to show each assignment, room for feedback, and columns for resubmission notes. There is a sample on page 69, but I think mine would look different. I want mine to include URL addresses where student work is located, and I'd love this to be filled automatically by a Google form of some sort...
• A simple Google form for students to resubmit / turn in work. This will have to have an easy-to-remember link for students.
• SE2R feedback examples ready to go for certain work we already do in the classroom.
• Plans for students to work on during 3-4 days of our individual report card discussions at the end of each quarter. I'm already thinking that first quarter could be taking an online "Google Like a Boss"-type class to prepare for second quarter's Genius Hour.
• A clean comment sheet so students can choose their own comments for their report card, as well.
• Something like "Sign Up Genius" for students to make appointments with me to discuss anything we don't get to in class.
• A general guide to distinguish between an A, B, C, D, and F. Each quarter might be different. This we'll use when there are discrepancies, or when students need a scaffold of sorts.
• Research to have on hand for parents. Of course, this was a catalyst for a new LiveBinder...

Questions I have to ponder and ask for guidance:

• I have three classes. Right now, one is co-taught. Do I pilot "no grades" with two of my three classes? One?
• What do I do when eligibility checks come about every week? Do I ask the student if he/she thinks he/she is failing?
• Does this mean I need to provide much more time in class for student independent work? This would include time for revisions, editing, peer and teacher feedback.

I'm very glad I read Role Reversal first. Mark Barnes got me to thinking that it is actually possible to have students grade themselves, and the seed was planted. This was almost TWO years ago! That means it's now time for me to act. Assessment 3.0 gives specific examples to make "no grades" possible. The feedback we will provide in lieu of grades will be transformative.

I'm excited to build this new LiveBinder with resources for other teachers to try giving more feedback and fewer grades. Many of the articles cited in Assessment 3.0 are already included.

Check the hashtag #TTOG (Teachers Throwing Out Grades) to see more teachers taking on this challenge. There is also a Facebook group by the same name if you want to stay current.

Blogging Blunders

I've tried blogging in my 7th grade ELA class for two years now, each with a different tilt...

Quick overview of 2012-2013...
My goal: have students reflect on what we're doing throughout the year - mainly for Genius Hour

We set up our blogs through Kidblog.
Pros and Cons:
     + I was able to see new blog posts easily.
     + One class was on one page.
     -  Not all three classes were on one page.
           Resolution: I easily created a page on our class blog for this.

Results:
I assigned blog posts for reflections - for Dot Day, Cardboard Challenge, and Genius Hour posts.
These were graded blog posts, but students chose how I graded them (from Sylvia Tolisano's rubric).
I really didn't assign a ton of posts - I only give independent reading as homework, and I need to check out the laptop carts if I expect them to blog in class. I also saw this as just a substitute for a notebook - I was not assigning authentic blog post assignments... It was also hard to grade them using a blogging rubric, as those were not always the standards we cover in class. So... blogging really fell by the wayside for us. I needed to change things.

Quick overview of 2013-2014...
My goal: have AUTHENTIC blogging experiences, so they continue to blog

We set up blogs through Blogger this time, as they all have Google accounts through school.
Pros and Cons:
      + Students could design, adding background picture or gadgets, or... so many choices!
      - They took a lot of time to set up.
            Resolution: Took the time when the reruns of Big Bang Theory were on.
      - I did not set up the blogs so I could moderate
            Resolution: I found out I COULD, thanks to @alcp! I may do this next year.
      - Cannot check the blogs easily (like on Kidblog) to see if there are new ones. 
            Resolution: @TeachMrsFerrari taught me how through Feedly! <-- post from @langwitches
      - All blogs are not all in one place.
            Resolution: I made a page on our class blog for a list of their blogs.
      + It was fun making a ThingLink for each class like I saw another teacher do (It's been so long I forget who deserves the credit!), and the kids love it.

Results:
I did not assign blog posts (except for the first paper blog). This meant that those students who don't do anything extra never wrote any more blog posts. That was the major blunder. Another was that since there weren't that many blog posts written, there weren't that many to share, hardly any comments on them, and not many in-class role models to celebrate as a class.

With that in mind, we did experience some successes:

-May Joy's description of herself - I never asked students to write this, but she definitely got what I was hoping our purpose for the blogs would be!

-Annie's story was featured on the 100-Word Challenge Showcase!

-Christina wrote a review of Hate List before she was even finished with it.

     The author commented - and then REPLIED to Christina's question!

Click here for the full post.

- Colin used his blog to raise money. His most successful was his water campaign.
- Claire kept trying different things - her novel(s), Psychology Saturdays, Fan Fiction...
    Sadly, she hasn't kept this up over the summer...
- Annie tried many ideas this year... For one blog, she copied and pasted funny photos 
      & videos.
   She ran into a few people asking about the appropriateness of the "cheeky quotes" 
       widget she had, and what the purpose of her blog was... She was upset by this.
   She then began a new food blog and that, too, was copying other people's ideas.
   By the time our genius hour presentations came along, she had begun 
       this book review blog! Sadly, she has not kept this up over the summer...
   I love how she experimented with blogs (although I was worried for her, and realized 
       I did not give lessons on "how to blog") and finally found something that works for her.

Some statistics:
Nine of my 64 students blogged - inconsistently, but they did blog for a bit. 
Four of these created NEW blogs!
One of these is still blogging over the summer - Woot! Woot! It matters to that one... 
       Please take a moment to check it out and comment. I suppose it was my dream for ALL
       students to keep a blog over the summer! I'll keep dreaming...

Changes for 2014-2015...
My goal: model throughout the year how to blog authentically, while requiring certain posts and using ELA standards on which to grade them

We will continue to use Blogger. This is so they may continue with their blogs in 8th grade...

What I will do to prepare my students for blogging...
--Share this document with articles regarding using other people's ideas on your blog.
--Set up something like this post - good "How To" to start with.
--Discuss WHY people blog.
     Share Top Ten Things I've Learned About Blogging from a 5th grader.
     Share some of the reasons from Pernille Ripp's post What Does Student Blogging Exactly Do?
--Start with paper blogging from McTeach - BEST LESSON EVER.
--Teach how to (and why!) comment.
          Solid posts regarding leaving good comments:
               How to Be a Good Commenter from John Scalzi
               Commenting from @BalancEdTech
               Quality Commenting - student guest post from @langwitches
               Leaving Good Comments PDF from Solution Tree
--Teach students how to embed videos, add Clustr Maps, give credit where due, set comments settings to "anyone" and "never" for moderating (requests were going to email accounts that the students never check).
--Go to #comments4kids on Twitter, and comment on some together as a class. (Then 
     tweet out #ICommented from your class account when your class comments!)
--Find a class that is blogging already and comment on some of their posts TOGETHER 
     as a class.
--Purchase a world map for marking reader comment locations. (Purchase pins and 
     string, too.)
--I've thought about requiring students to comment, but I'll work that out with my partner 
     across the hall... Still not sure about this one.
--Include parents - we had our first blog posts (passion paragraphs) ready for Open House.
--Email parents or advertise on your class blog when there are when stellar posts.
--Require reflection blogs, using portions and variations of this rubric or this rubric (or both).
     Does anyone want to help me with this? I'd love to create a short rubric that fits the 
     CCSSs & allows for reflections, as well!
--Require some (how many??) independent reading blog posts, using these rubrics.
--This rubric can be our ultimate goal, but I won't grade them with it!
--At the end of the year, emphasize once again how blogging is usually used for authentic 
     purposes. Show them that it is okay to delete posts they no longer need on their blog, 
     in order to start fresh. What do they really feel a passion to blog about? Or not...??

Final thoughts:
I exposed these seventh graders to blogging last year - it was really the first time they'd 
     set up a blog and been let loose with it. They currently do not blog in 6th or 8th grade,
     so I feel it is my duty to at the very least expose them to the idea of blogging and
     leaving a positive digital footprint. I know now that I need to model and require 
     some blogs from students. Model, model, model, and practice, practice, practice... 
     These will be my main changes for this upcoming year. How do YOU approach 
     blogging with your middle school students??

I know I will have many more blunders...