Status Quo

It has been awhile since the last post and really on the work end it has been the typical day to day dealings in the life of a House Principal. I have been thinking a lot about the term status quo. Status quo can be perceived as both good and bad I suppose. Currently I have been viewing it in a negative light for some reason. Possibly this is because I see the incredible changes happening in the world right now with technology leading the way.  Education tends to change at a slower rate than the world/businesses around the school. While students are immersed in technologies at home, schools have policies that limit many of these tools during the school day as they can be used for inappropriate measures. Gains have been made as SmartBoards are present throughout the building and trainings are taking place to make them active for students. Laptop carts are used constantly as evidenced by the sign-out book and questions I receive if the sign-out process is not working smoothly. With these gains is it still the status quo? We have very good teachers at Bay Trail with varied teaching styles including the traditional approach and a more student centered approach that incorporates student use of technology into their learning? Is this the status quo? Should it be?

Why NYSCATE?

The first of a two part post on the NYSCATE conference I am attending this week. I have had the opportunity the last three years I believe to attend NYSCATE here in Rochester. NYSCATE stands for the New York State Computers and Technology in Education group that is an affiliate of ISTE. Lots of acronyms for sure but NYSCATE is the conference that provides to be my north in educational technology. Conference attendees tend to be primarily teachers and technology coordinators/directors of NYS districts with some administrators, board members, students, and other groups mixed in. I am continually exposed to the ever expanding technology tools available for students and the adults that play a role in their learning. The theme I am hearing more this year more and more is that technology needs to serve the learning rather than the other way around. It was said in years past but more consistently given this year. It will not and should not be used to replace sound instruction but should be used as a way to help engage students in the learning in a medium students are very comfortable in using. Are we giving students a choice in the way they can demonstrate their learning? Lots of blockers to having students use technology in school like they use out of school but solutions are to be had; they just need to be discussed with all stakeholders involved. Two questions resonate with me so far. Are we including students in the conversations about technology use? Are our current policies (including technology) aligned with our district goals and core commitments?

My next post on NYSCATE will occur after the conference and synthesis of thought. There is a lot to take in and the challenge for me is to then put some of what I have learned into application, not only for myself but for the BT admins. and staff that I work with.

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Ancoria Impario - Still I learn

The title sums up my approach to the field as well as my hobbies. To be a lifelong learner. I hear this a lot these days and it holds true to my belief system. Actually, it played a large role in my transition from classroom teacher to middle school administrator. Upon signing up for my first administration classes there was no grand design to be a building principal or superintendent at the time. Rather, I simply wanted the challenge of continued learning in my field and stepping outside of my teaching comfort zone. Tiring, yes, but something I felt very good by doing and very comfortable with. Lately I have had some opportunities to continue this learning. In October, a number of Bay Trail staff both attended and presented at the New York State Middle School Association conference in Rochester. Winton Buddington and I presented a session on School 2.0 for administrators. In presenting I find there is a large amount of learning and want to thank Winton for continuing to challenge me in this way. Kudos to Bay Trail staff for stepping up and showing other New York state educators the great activities planned for Bay Trail students.

I attended Bill Daggett's session on 21st century learners and left the session shaken by the changing world around us and changes New York State will be experiencing soon. It seems like education has largely remained untouched by the sweeping changes in industry and technology and with the presentation it appears things are likely to hit closer to home very soon. Soon, I will attend the New York State Technology in Education Conference coming to Rochester. This conference started me on my educational technology journey a few years ago and helps remind me of the changing world we live in. It is my hope that anyone who reads this blog (not sure if there are many) will take the time to reflect on their learning since September, plan for opportunities of new learning, and share out here what those are. I look forward to hearing and sharing your experience.

Inspirational Speech

As you can probably tell by the posting dates, work has gotten the better of my time. What I learned in my first year of administration is that that job ebbs and flows. It seems like the flow has been heavy and finding balance at work and at home is the key. When times get very busy or hard I generally turn to outside sources for motivation and perspective. Often, I think in terms of the bigger picture. My favorite inspirational speech of all time comes from Steve Jobs. Take 15 minutes to watch the video from TED's website (another favorite of mine) and your life may be changed by it like mine has.

http://www.ted.com/talks/steve_jobs_how_to_live_before_you_die.html

J. Goode

 (Note: name modified to protect the unorganized)

Who is J. Goode? He is a student I taught many years ago and representative of a handful of students each year. I thought of him the other day and periodically when I focus on assessing learning vs. doing in schools. J. Goode was a mess organizationally at school. This is not atypical for a middle school student. Given the poor organization and apathy for homework, J. Goode's grade suffered. Rarely did he have his homework in. His term grades ranged from the C-F range for each term based on assignments he should have been bringing to class with him. Funny thing is, J. Goode typically scored B's and A's on tests. Clearly he was learning and most likely had a sound understanding of the content. J. Goode really had me thinking about my grading policies and how a student demonstrating knowledge of the content could get such low grades. I started changing my homework policy to have less impact on the overall grade. My hw policies originated with adopting those policies of teaching team members around me. I started to take late work because I wanted to see what the student understood rather than shut the learning door. I did provide a slight late penalty but not to the extent it would deter from my understanding of student learning. J. Goode made me truly think about what exactly a grade means.

J. Goode moved out of the district the year after I taught him. It is funny I remember him so well. Part of that reason is every year we get students like J. Goode. I am involved in conversations frequently about students like him.. Often, students like this are still getting those poor grades and bring up the question of learning vs. doing. How much of a role or weight should homework play in an overall grade? Should we accept late work? Should schools have a set homework policy for all teachers that might include items like accepting late work? What about those students opposite J. Goode who depend on the homework to get a passing grade? To me, it focuses on assessing the learning and a topic that comes up in schools across the country.I see the learning conversation becoming more important in this century. Great conversations, no easy answers, and certainly a challenge to traditional schooling.

Thanks Jason for challenging my beliefs. I hope you are doing well.Something tells me you are fine.

The Blogging Challenge

With students arriving back to school this week, I was reminded of the challenge ahead of me with posting weekly updates on the blog? Where does it fall on the priority list and where does the time come from? Given the list of items that need immediate attention with the job, the blog falls to the middle of the list (at best). The time will have to be on weekends such as Sunday mornings like now. With that said, I feel like it is a worthwhile endeavor and needs to be done. Not for the sake of earth shattering importance of what I am saying but the notion of online communication and setting the directions for where I want to go with 2.0 technologies in the future. Twitter falls into this same category as I have been letting the school based tweets slip a bit but want to post a couple on a daily basis describing what I am seeing around the school. Tweets can be accessed at

http://twitter.com/JBurkeBT


I went into some classrooms this week and saw some good things happening. Lots of positive interactions between teachers and students. This week I will be going into classrooms to give students a presentation on the ABC's of Bay Trail and review behavioral expectations. Parents, please review these expectations with your child. These are in the front of the student planner.

Student Orientations

The 6B student orientations took place yesterday for a couple hours. It was the first time in seven weeks or so that a large number of students were back in the building. In thinking on the event I thought of the following:

1. Working with students is very tiring. I came home much more tired than I have for most of the summer. Part of this is due to walking around most of the day. The other part is in being there for students. This requires concentrated focus much of the time and answering many, many questions. To me, this separates school jobs from private sector jobs. Being there for students means you are always on, even when you are not teaching or have scheduled breaks.

2. Students make schools come alive. I saw it at the orientation. Bay Trail halls look great all summer but are fairly quiet. 120 students changed that. The halls came to life, the way they should. I sensed the excitement and nervousness of starting a new school year. Eighth grade students took on leadership roles in helping the sixth graders. They were eager to do so and this was genuine.

3. Penfield students are fantastic. Working with the new students, I thought how well adjusted the students seemed to be. Every now and then I hear some negative talk about students in the school. Do not believe it.
By and large, the students are courteous, respectful, and here to learn. Being middle schoolers, they need some reminders from time to time but this is typical given the age. I am impressed with what I see from students on a daily basis.Take it from someone who works with them each day.

4. Custodial staff earns their money. The school looks great and this is not by accident. The summer is their busy season and I have seen them bust it for a couple months. Having a clean, safe environment makes learning that much easier as it eliminates distractions.

Two weeks and counting until the start of school. Enjoy the last days of unofficial summer.