Hanging On...The Rockin' Redhawk 10/9/2015

Hanging On...

I'm pretty sure that all of us, at one time or another, have felt like the little girl in the picture above: Just hanging on.  Clearly, hanging on to a moving see-saw loaded with rowdy children is courting disaster because the laws of physics (particularly gravity and inertia) are both universal and unforgiving.  I can't help but chuckle at this picture because this is a window into the world of our grandparents where this sort of play was the norm...and TOTALLY unacceptable today.  Can you picture us having a playground like this with a hard-packed gravel play surface and a rickety contraption going at full tilt loaded with kids?  I also liked it because (strange as it may seem) it is kind of a metaphor for school.  (WARNING) As with any metaphor, we have to be careful when stretching it, because they do break...so here goes.    

First of all, you have the LEADERS, these are the students we have who are at the top of the class and are thirsty for an adventure in learning. In the picture, this is the girl who is standing up at the front, like Kate Winslet reaching out over the bow of the Titanic, and is clearly a leader with her arm raised in triumph and jubilation.  Next we have the HANGERS.  The hangers are our students who are struggling to survive in the classroom and are hanging on for dear life each day.  Ironically, the most obvious person in this picture is the girl down below who is hanging on for dear life, but in your classroom sometimes identifying the hangers is not so easy.  Next we have the large group of students who are just along for the ride; these are the RIDERS.  They are not leading the pack or hanging on.  They are our students in the middle who are just getting by and not causing any trouble, but probably not learning much either.  In addition to the riders, you have the BYSTANDERS (see the one kid just standing there with his hands behind his back).  The bystanders are not active participants in learning and are the ones who try to hide out in your classrooms.  Lastly, we have those students who are in the DANGER ZONE (through no fault of their own) and are in a challenging circumstance. This is the girl in the picture who is standing near the back of the contraption who is about to get knocked over when it swings back the other way.  These are our students in need of immediate intervention in hopes that our system doesn't overwhelm them and prevent them from being able to access the curriculum.  These are often our students who are our English Language Learners or our Special Education students.   

I don't want to leave this metaphor just yet without discussing the see-saw itself.  As I said before, can you imagine us allowing such a contraption onto our school playgrounds of today?  Probably not, right?  While we easily recognize that this type of equipment is not right for our students today, as educators, we are clinging to structures in our schools and classrooms that pre-date even this photo.  We have heard lots of talk over the years about adopting 21st century teaching practices into our classrooms that promote: Critical Thinking, Collaboration, Communication, and Creativity.  All of our students are in need of these skills in order to thrive, but many are stranded in a system and in classrooms that are the equivalent of the see-saw in the photo above...out-dated, overloaded, dangerous to learning, and ill-equipped for the modern world.  If we continue to all ride the same out-dated and dangerous 20th century contraption, then we will continue to get the same results:  A few kids at the top and the majority either just along for the ride, checked out, hanging on, or standing in the danger zone. This is not acceptable.  Perhaps it is time we all join the new century, leave the past behind, and work together to build a rocket ship big enough and powerful enough so that all of our students can hop on and reach for the stars!    

VIDEO OF THE WEEK

(Ellen introduces kids to OLD technology)

This past week I....

• Met with Pamela Moore (my administrative coach)
• Attend weekly administrator's meeting
• Met with Dr. Cara Mendoza regarding upcoming IPR meeting
• Conducted weekly staff meeting 
• Met with Roxane Liu (Site Visit)
• Met with FSUTA Representatives Keitha Bryan and Katie Rees
• Conduct an initial 504 meeting
• Attended various IEP meetings
• Attended a training on Illuminate (what is going to take the place of SchoolCity)
• Met with WestEd 

Next week I will...

• Meet with new noon duty helpers
• Attend an initial IEP for a student
• Attend PTO Meeting (Wednesday Night)
• Conduct the TK, K, and 1st grade Parent Meeting (Thursday)
• Meet with FSUTA Representatives Keitha Bryan and Katie Rees

          

Welcome to the Rockin Redhawk Weekly Blog!

Some Thoughts on Fall Leaves and Students

I love fall.  It is my favorite season of the year.  The air turns a bit colder and the leaves begin to change. There is a bit of anticipation that goes along with fall that I like too.  We start to look forward to Halloween, Thanksgiving, and begin to think about the nearness of Christmas and winter...good memories and times spent with family and friends.  I look forward to this time of the year because every year about this time, my wife and I take a short trip to just look at the changing leaves and pose for pictures in the woods.  By the time the first leaves of fall are hitting the ground, we have settled into our routines at school and the hectic and chaotic days of the first weeks of school are behind us.  

One of the things I also like about fall is this little thing I learned about leaves.  When I was in college, I was a Biology major and my emphasis was in the area of Botany.  I learned that one of the cool things about leaves is that the brilliant colors we see in the fall leaves are ALWAYS there throughout the year; we only start to see them in the fall after the green pigment (chlorophyll) has started to die off.  Those beautiful red, yellow and orange pigments are always there, they are just not seen and for most of the year, the leaf just looks green and ordinary.  However, when the green goes away, the other colors are free to be expressed.  I think that can actually be a metaphor for ourselves and especially our students.  Sometimes what we see on the surface is what we expect to see (the green and the ordinary); it forces us to blend easily into the crowd and doesn't show how special we are at all.  Meanwhile, the most beautiful and special parts of ourselves and our students may be just below the surface waiting for just the right time to come out.  All of us have something beautiful and special inside us just waiting to be noticed! As teachers, we have the blessing of being that catalyst that can begin to uncover the special beauty and unique talents and gifts that reside within our students.  That's why teaching is THE BEST PROFESSION IN THE WORLD.  

Never Judge a Book by its Cover

How do we see our students?  Do we see them as the world sees them OR do we see them for the potential that lies just beneath the surface; yearning to break free?  And, are we willing to do what we can to help unlock that potential in each of our students?  

Some Thoughts on My Fall Focus Areas

I had some time this week to reflect on how far we have come so far this year and also to begin to think about some areas of focus for me this fall.  The following focus areas are in line with our district LCAP goals and represent some good first steps.  

• Continue relationship building with staff, students, and parents
• Continue to refine our arrival and dismissal systems
• Begin our work to refine and improve our lunch and recess systems (a first step for our PBIS program)
• Begin our work towards implementing a robust "Bring Your Own Device" program in grades 3-5
• Begin our work towards developing a consistent and coherent school-wide system for intervention
• Work to support and enhance teacher collaboration and lesson planning 
• Increase the number and quality of parent volunteers in key areas

I would welcome any feedback and ideas you have regarding these focus areas.  

This past week I....

• Visited Cordelia Hills to view their BYOD program and to see how they were using technology in their classrooms.
• Attended a workshop regarding ELA strategies
• Attended various IEP and SST meetings regarding students on our campus
• Met with Linda Samera regarding PTO, Music Matters, and PTO funding for Chromebooks
• Met with F-SUTA representative Keitha Bryan 
• Met with Judi Honeychurch (FSUSD Board Member) and toured campus
• Attended Home and Hospital training
• Attended principal's breakfast conference  

Next week I will...

• Meet with Pam Moore (my administrative coach)
• Attend weekly administrator's meeting
• Meet with Dr. Cara Mendoza regarding upcoming IPR meeting
• Conduct weekly staff meeting (Tuesday)
• Meet with Roxane Liu (Site Visit...Wednesday)
• Conduct an initial 504 meeting
• Meet with WestEd (Sweeps are still supposed to happen next week)

Things to remember:

1. Staff Meeting Next Week (Tuesday 3 - 4:30)  If you need anything on the agenda, get it to me before the end of the day on Monday 10/5.
2. Progress Reports due to me by Monday 10/5 and go home on 10/7