Wednesday, April 24, 2019

But what if we had a society that didn't . . . .

I wonder.

What would happen if we didn't assume the worst of one another?  If people who are supposed to serve and protect assumed that the people they were protecting and serving were innocent?  Perhaps more of them would live. 

I can't help thinking that if we were able to help our students in school learn that authority can be dangerous, and that they ought to respect it, maybe we could prevent some of this tragedy.  But should it be the job of educators to teach that police might not ask twice? 

I don't know how to fix this society.  But I do know that my own life has been better since I started assuming best intentions.  Of most of the people in my life.  Of course, there are some that aren't deserving.  I suppose I have utilized game theory.  I assume altruism, until trust is broken.  Then I remove that assumption and assume they are untrustworthy until their actions prove otherwise.  For more reading on game theory and evolution:

https://www.nature.com/scitable/knowledge/library/game-theory-evolutionary-stable-strategies-and-the-25953132

Anyhow.  I know that for police, the game is life or death.  It is not the same for teachers - though we aren't free from risk, we aren't putting our lives on the line as police are.  So we build rapport, we understand why the folks who are oppositional and defiant are how they are, keep other students safe, and try to change the behaviors, while assuming best intentions.  But maybe the police could learn from us.  Maybe then, my former student would still be alive.


Students who don't immediately do what is asked of them

A few days ago, a former student of mine was shot and killed.  He was a student who was quiet, nice, and always eventually did what was asked of him.  Though he spent a lot of time in the hallways, usually out of uniform and with his hat on, he wasn't mean, malicious, or negative.  He would just smile at me and say, "yeah mister, I'm going to go to class," predicting what I'd say to him before I even said anything. 

It is tragic to me that this amiable student - who clearly knew what was expected - was shot and killed by police.  He never meant anyone any harm.  I never remember him being mean to anyone.  In fact, though he was almost never in class, he was also never confrontational with any adult about it.  He just went about his business, quietly, pleasantly, and without harming anyone or keeping anyone else from learning. 

Compare and contrast this with the 20 or 30 students who roam the halls now at my school, yelling at any adult who dares question them about their whereabouts.  They are actively disrupting our school environment.  One of them came in and yelled at me yesterday for having the audacity to write him up for roughhousing with 9th graders (he's a senior).  They are actively combative, and they do none of it with a smile.  I miss Anthony.

Anthony wasn't an academic star.  But he was a nice guy, who understood that it was our job to try to get him to class.  Though he didn't choose to participate academically as much as he could have, he was a good kid who benefited from being a part of our caring community.  I'm so sad that his life ended this way - because his aloof nature was interpreted a different way by an authority figure.  I wish I could see him tomorrow, ask him to get to class, and have him smile and say he would.

Thursday, March 21, 2019

What if we could give students the technological tools and the creative space they need to be innovators

Good morning all,

I had the good fortune to tour Infosys' tech hub in Hartford yesterday with a group of my students.  They experienced virtual reality tennis, augmented reality (exploding a model into its composite parts on the screen that the student with the headset and the rest of the class could see on a big monitor) 3-D printing, and collaboration to create creative work.  I was struck by the idea in that company of creation.  They put creative, intelligent people together in a space, give them the tools they need, and watch them develop things. 

Why aren't we doing this with all students?  I know that we at Classical Magnet School do this, to some extent.  Our Coached Projects, when they run well, allow this sort of collaboration.  But we aren't giving the students the technological tools to be greater - to make these ideas into apps or websites, into easily consumable bits and bytes - so the audience for students is largely themselves, and maybe some parents and community members.  If, as a society, we really pushed those 21st century skills, and allowed students the time and creative space to create, as they do at Infosys, think of what they could accomplish! 

So, on to big dreams: a) Transform at least one room at Classical using the design principles of Infosys.  Big, open space, with room to dream and collaborate.  Lots of whiteboard space, interactive touchscreens which are usable by everyone, fast computers and knowledgeable coaches who can answer questions when students have tech questions.  Infuse this with the ability to create partnerships and drive connections to the larger community - city, state, world, business - and watch our students thrive. 

b) Recycle Infosys' old technology.  When they upgrade, show students how to refurbish the computers and give them to students who need them.  Based on what I saw in the innovation hub, even their old computers would be light years ahead of ours. 

c) Ongoing field trips and tech exploration with Infosys, with Capstone projects being guided by Infosys staff.  One easy connection - the Hartford website is being redesigned by Infosys.  Could the students help in that endeavor?  Could they help us on our website as well, using the design principles they learn at Infosys?

d) Summer internships for educators - become certified in teaching python or java, and learn real world applications of it by being a part of a design team.  I volunteer as tribute. 

e) Math education - each course builds in a few building blocks of CS, so students have some exposure even if they don't take a CS elective. 

f) Legit computer science course - either the one I signed up for with Amazon, or one that helps students prepare for Infosys internships by learning python and starting to play with apps. 

g) More collaboration between math and science, and math and technology, and science and technology.  We need collaborative projects like this because it would allow students to see connections, but also to learn how to work in groups as they would in jobs such as the ones we saw at Infosys.  The groupwork and collaboration was at least as important as the individual brilliance of the folks who work there, perhaps more so.  The collective genius of a group is what seems to drive innovation there, and what gets the most actual work done. 


Tuesday, March 5, 2019

A wealth of information

Good morning all,

I can't get this quote out of my head.  What information consumes is obvious.  It consumes our attention.  Therefore, a wealth of information creates a poverty of attention. 
Here it is in his words:

The brilliant economist and psychologist Herbert A. Simon was one of the first to precisely describe the relationship between information and attention: “….information consumes the attention of its recipients. Hence a wealth of information creates a poverty of attention.”

It's so relevant to my career, and to marketing literally anything.  In my life, I try to market mathematics education, @gr8fullyfeclub, linux, the Grange, recycling, philosophy, computer science, eating local, and my music.  I suppose I also market the beauty in nature, cute things my dog and my family do, and my backyard.  None of these things have gone viral, but I am starting to understand how they might.  In thinking about how to market my school, I am noticing that products like hootsuite, which not only post to several social media sites but also analyze the hits they get from each of them, are going to become ubiquitous and necessary.  How do you keep my school relevant?  It has to be posting every day, a few things to each social media site.  These posts all have to be positive or uplifting, as well as link back to our school and how to apply to it.  The positive attitude coming off of those posts has to be so great that it overcomes the student posts, some of which aren't flattering and some of which denotes a culture that is less than academic.  

So, here are my ideas:
a) Use a phone with a good camera, signed into hootsuite, to take at least one picture of something cool happening in our building every day.  Post it to all the social media at once, with hootsuite.
b) Give out raffle prizes for liking, sharing, and commenting positively on our posts (such as tickets to a show, game, T-shirts, etc. - things we already own)
c) Ask each club/organization in the school to make their own Insta, Facebook, Twitter (at least) and like and follow ours with it, as well as tagging us in each of their posts.
d) Links on the website to all of the official ones, as well as the ones in c)
e) Every teacher and every student checks into CMS daily on all the social media.  Challenge them to say something positive.

My commitment:
a) Take over one FB business page for CMS, one insta and one twitter.  Use Hootsuite to do    a) from above daily, and link to all 3 media sites from the website.  
b) Pay for a cell phone (hopefully reimbursed by the school eventually, but in the interim just me) to do what I said above, so it can be handed around to departments etc. to take pictures of the cool things happening.
c) Keep the website relevant and up to date, and linked to all of the above.
d) Write grants so we have cool things to talk about - for instance, the solar powered calculators in my room.


I also thought about this - could we have our name announced every snowstorm?  I know it's only a scrolling list, but it would get us announced separately from HPS every time on every scrolling list . . . . free advertising.


Friday, February 8, 2019

What teachers do

Good morning all,

I'm up at 3:38 am, stressed because the assistant superintendent is coming to my advisory class today.  I have to be on my game, well dressed and polished, on a Friday, after a truly ridiculous week.  Students have been having a fun game where they harass me in the hallway and during my classes by shouting my name.  The kid who started it was suspended, but he just passed it along to other students.  In the words of another kid, he "started a revolution."  At any rate, I'm not looking forward to today.  I have a good gpa at a great college (Bates), a degree in mathematics with minors in computer science and philosophy, and a Masters in Education from UConn.  No one, especially with those qualifications, should be subjected to this level of harassment with no repercussions.  Humans, in general, should be nicer to one another.

Yesterday, I contacted 10 parents about students' grades, received 2 angry emails about my contact from students, helped the same 2 angry students fix their math grades, taught 3 classes, had lunch duty (where kids yelled my name some more) and updated the school website.  With no real breaks, I had to have another teacher watch my class so I could use the restroom.  In this system, what should be my motivation to stay?  I suppose I could become apathetic, and stop calling and emailing parents of students who aren't achieving mastery.  I don't want to do that.  I care too much for that.

I care about all of my students, and I want them to succeed.  Many of them make my life better, and I can't wait to see what they do with their lives.  The students who harass me are usually outweighed by the great students who are empathetic, caring, and are really wonderful people.  But today, it's hard to get motivated.   It's hard to face a scenario where I know I will be interrupted in my duty to educate students by kids whose only motivation is to interrupt that education and "get" me.  I've done everything I can do to mitigate that situation - I've written referral forms, made phone calls home, conferenced with the student - and he bragged to friends that he was going to "Hey Teacher" himself right into inside suspension.

I suppose what teachers do is they take it.  They turn the other cheek, in the interest of the students who will lose out if they're not there.  However - I'd like to live in a world where I didn't have to deal with this at my job.  Where students treat each other and their teachers with respect, instead of this mean spirited asininity.  The fact that the student is able to continue to gloat over this, that he feels that he is "winning" means that my feelings as the professional are less important than his enjoyment.

At any rate, I wish you all a productive Friday.  Hopefully you all treat each other with respect, and enjoy your day.  I will try my best to enjoy mine, and hopefully convey some mathematical concepts to some students.

Thursday, January 31, 2019

Donorschoose vs. what I think the school should supply

Donorschoose: feelings and thoughts about having to buy supplies for my job.

What other job, aside from an independent contractor, has to buy their own supplies that are necessary to complete their work?  I suppose I have a higher than average need for technology, but it seems to me that I should have, to be effective:

A computer less than 3 years old
A functional printer with toner
A SMART board or Google Jamboard
A chromebook cart, or 1-1 tech policy such that all students have access to technology like Khan Academy, teachertube/youtube and the ability to word process.

I also need printer paper, pencils, graphing calculators (I teach math), graph paper, staplers and staples, hole punches, and:
Copiers that work/aren’t Bob Marley and always jammin’.

Of these things, I have, provided by the school:
A 14 year old computer
A printer with no toner
A projector for the computer
A chromebook cart with 15 working chromebooks, and none which still have all of their keys
Pencils
Paper
Hole punch
Staples
20 graphing calculators

I have, provided by myself, my friends and family, and parents:
8 more graphing calculators, TI nspire CAS CX's
2 printers, with enough toner
10 year old, somewhat functional (off by 6 inches or so) SMART board, which was requisitioned from another school when they upgraded (by me)
HDMI projector
I3 laptop (donorschoose)
I5 laptop, donated by a former student

The best, and most functional, things I have in my classroom were bought by me, or given to the classroom by donorschoose donors, my friends, family, or former students/parents.  I'm seriously considering donating the rest of the money needed to fund my projects myself.  It's better than outright buying these things, because the projects are matched by donors like Samsung, Dalio Foundation, and sometimes Bill and Melinda Gates foundation.  So for $600, I'd get a $900 laptop for my classroom.  I KNOW it makes me faster and more effective when I have a faster computer.  I don't spend as much time waiting for the gradebook to open, or for my powerpoint to load, or for the computer to reboot.  Things just work.  

Here's what I think teachers need to be effective (it's the same as what corporate folks need).  We are paid relatively well per hour, and every moment we waste waiting for a computer is a moment we're not helping a student, planning effectively, or being the best teachers we can be.  Therefore, we should do what everybody else does.  We should lease computers and replace them every 3 years, just like industry.  We should insist on working printers and copiers, or go all the way paperless with ipads or kindles - but either way, they have to work.  We need for our students to see that they are valued - that they don't just have old, broken technology, but instead they have new things.  I know there are schools that are funded in this way - and I'll bet the students are higher performing, because they believe they are valued.  They have things that work.  That's the expectation.  

Anyway, rant over.  I'm in the process of writing grants and fundraising as much as I can to provide the things my school needs.  But I don't think we should have to.  I think every school, every single one in the US, should be given the technology it needs to create 21st century learners.  If not, we're not preparing them for the future.  We're preparing them for the past.

Friday, January 25, 2019

Joy in school?

I wonder . . .

What if we helped students find what brings them joy, then built upon that as a foundation until they had achieved what they wanted to in the ways that they want to.  I suppose we'd lose some of the "well rounded" features of a liberal arts education, but I wonder how we could bring out the best of our students in the ways that they want, instead of the ways we think they need.  I think, at its best, Montessori schools and Paideia schools do this.  At Classical Magnet, we use the Paideia philosophy, which, at its best, finds and develops the strengths and the passions of each student.  We have Socratic dialogue and seminar, which coaches students into their best selves, while encouraging them to think critically about themselves and the world around them.  We have coached projects, which allow our students to showcase their talents in a way that can't be assessed on tests and papers.  Our artists get to create, our musicians to play, our comedians and dancers to entertain.  They develop the skills that they have innately, whether or not those skills are ever measurable on a standardized test.  We do assess them, on rubrics which require them to have good sources and correct citations, but we also assess their creativity, their interest in their subject, and the way they portray their chosen topic.

I believe that testing can help us ascertain whether students have certain skills.  They need pre-assessments to help us edit our instruction to best fit their needs, formative assessments to see how they are progressing, and summative assessments to see whether they actually learned what we intended.  These are all necessary to inform good instruction, help students learn, and make sure they have learned.  However, if all we do is teach them a single subject, instead of letting them engage in their passions and showing us what they care about, we don't see the whole student.  I teach math, but I am happiest when I see my students, at the end of a coached project or Socratic Seminar, talking about what drives them, what they love, and what keeps them moving forward.  I don't teach because I can help students get higher scores on the SAT or my assessments in math, though I can and do accomplish that as well.  I teach because of those aha moments, where students realize the greater connections to their lives.  I teach because the kid who wants to be a rapper will someday not be swindled by their accountant if and when they make it.  I teach because the math skills I possess have helped me to live a better life.  I've gotten better deals at banks and car dealerships, found efficiency in my life, looked at my expenditures through the lens of an actuary, and found underground tanks using an old diagram and the Pythagorean theorem to figure out where to dig.

Anyway . . . that's how math has helped me.  But as to how I became inspired: I did Junior Engineering Team competitions with a math teacher.  I learned how to build 3d models in Cadkey 98 and Autocad, which helped me understand the math I was doing in my calculus class.  I dreamed of building things, designing things, and improving things.  I created a computer program that used mathematics to create fractals.  All of this allowed me to be in flow.  I stopped caring about time because I was so into what I was doing.  I've experienced flow as a musician as well, but never when I was told to do something.  It was always because I chose to.  We have to give our students choices, then support what they choose until they learn what they want to learn.  They need the basics in everything as well, but they need, more importantly, to find what drives them and expound upon that until they have learned to love learning.

I think flow is the expression of joy in what you are doing.  I find it in nature, I find it in music that tingles my spine, and I find it in the beauty of mathematics and computer science.  I also find it in the students I teach learning to love something they are doing.  It doesn't have to be (and usually isn't) math.  They just have to love it, and want to learn more, and be willing to involve me in that process.

Sunday, January 20, 2019

On Reading

Good morning all,

I hope you're all cozy and warm, safe from the snowstorm which is changing to an ice storm in the Northeast.  I'm currently reading a book called "World Without Mind" by Franklin Foer.  It was a choice for my  book club, which frequently picks books I wouldn't otherwise try, and provides an academic outlet for me in times when I can't or won't take college classes. 

Finding good books used to be really difficult for me, as I sort of dropped off the reading for pleasure radar around 8th grade.  I became a 3 season athlete in high school, taking all the hardest courses with no study halls, and reading all the books my teachers mandated I read.  Before that, I was a bookish, nerdy middle school kid with a thirst for anything fantasy.  I loved the dragonlance series, and before that the Mossflower and Redwall series, and before that Rhoald Dahl and Shel Silverstein.  I was extremely fortunate in having my Aunt Gail, who worked in an elementary school, and loved to find new books for me to read at all of her book fairs.  My parents, grandparents, and others in my life always encouraged me to read, so I kept doing so.

However, once I started reading only what was assigned, because I didn't have time to do otherwise, I stopped reading for pleasure.  I spent my whole high school career reading things other people told me to read, and consequently losing much of the joy in it.  My teachers didn't make bad recommendations - I just didn't choose them, so I read them because I had to, not because I wanted to. 

In college, I remember one of my most rebellious acts.  I skipped a class I didn't feel like going to, and read George Orwell's 1984 cover to cover in one sitting.  Later, I figured out what it cost per class to go to Bates, and I never skipped another class.  However, the joy of reading resurfaced in my soul, and I started picking books I wanted to read again, and choosing classes based upon reading lists I liked and topics I enjoyed reading about.  I read all of Steven King's books, because my library had them and they were based in Maine, close to my college.  I remember "The Fog" being especially chilling as we took a trip to a foggy storage unit shortly thereafter, and it took place in the neighboring town.

For my students, I always try to foment in them a love for reading.  It's anathema to their natural impulses, but we have a Tempus Legendo period every day, which encourages them to read for about a half hour every day.  It is supposed to be pleasure reading, with no homework to be done, no reading for classes, no cell phones out, etc.  The only way I accomplish this is with strict oversight, which sort of defeats the purpose.  In the first place, I can't read myself because I have to enforce their reading, and in the second place, they usually only pretend to read a book to keep me from bothering them. 

It's a difficult philosophical problem - how to make someone love to do something.  I try to curate my classroom library such that there are things that are of their lexile level and interest, but I find it hard to do.  Whenever my teachers in high school asked me to read something, I did it, but not because I loved it.  Rather, I did it because there would be a test.  How, as an educator, can I approach this in such a way as to help students find the love of reading that I have rediscovered as a college student and been lucky enough to keep as an adult?  I can, and do model it, but they don't want to be like me when they grow up (or they'd never admit that to their peers).  I can grade it, which I've done in the past, but this is artificial and keeps me from reading myself.  I can ask them what they care about and give them books I think they'd like.  This has been by far the most effective method. 

I suppose the best thing I have done is to share my story with the students I teach.  Sometimes they recognize themselves in the above - especially the overachievers.  They are fluent in the ways of success, and sometimes success means the choice to read what is required instead of what is desired.  I hope that I can do both throughout my life, and inspire others to do the same.

Happy Reading!

~Mark

Friday, January 18, 2019

Job satisfaction, mathematics and how to make it a priority in our society again

Good morning all,

I think that my job satisfaction is directly related to how much people at work appreciate what I do.  Very infrequently, former students come back and say hi, and tell me they are appreciative of what I taught them.  This means a great deal.  More often, other teachers say nice things, and this is always fantastic.  Sometimes, there is even nice feedback from administrators or bosses, which is really cool.  Comments don't have to be evaluative, they can just be positive.  I think that those sorts of comments, from any of the above, are more important than how much I'm paid to do my work. 

I love engaging with other professionals about theories about education, how best to help students, and what we can do to help them become citizens of the state, country, and world.  My school does a great job at this with the Paideia philosophy, creating students (and teachers) who think deeply about things. 

My other job, at Northwestern Connecticut Community College, teaching Math Boot Camp, is a different experience and I really appreciate it, for different reasons.  Students there are more appreciative, even as they have more math phobia or recalcitrance towards math.  They are adults, so I think they have learned/realized how much they will need math skills for their associate's degrees/careers.  It's pretty neat to be able to diagnose their misunderstandings about math and helping them overcome them. 

I am left wondering how to give the sort of motivation that the adult students have to my high school students.  Many of my high school students are extremely motivated, but I teach so many that think that they will never need mathematics in general, and Algebraic skills in particular.  I tell them anecdotes about my life and when I've used algebra/math to outwit car salesmen, calculate tip faster than others, use the Pythagorean theorem to locate an underground tank for my grandparents, and how it can, in general, lead to a better life than the life that could be led without any math knowledge. 

As a culture, I think we need to start making math a priority again.  America has had years, and decades even, where the most important thing to our society was knowledge.  The drive to put a man on the moon before Russia made us glorify math/science/engineers because they were connected to patriotism.  We need that again, badly.  Technology companies can't find qualified American workers, and we need to be at the forefront of this.  This can't happen unless education becomes important to society again.  We have to put our money where our mouth is, and give funding to schools, K-12 AND community colleges, all the way up to graduate school.  Everyone with the aptitude should be able to learn as much as they want to about their chosen subject.  This wouldn't cost a lot, in the long run, and it would lead to the US dominating in technology, innovation, science, and math again. 

More importantly, the culture around it needs to change.  Instead of calling people dorky for wanting to learn about math, science, technology, or really any school subject, we should praise them and encourage them.  We should provide them with resources and scholarships, so that our companies can eventually innovate.  We should help our teachers.  Elevating the profession of education will elevate our students, because the BEST, most QUALIFIED people will want to teach.  It will be rewarded monetarily in a way commensurate with the qualification, drive, motivation, and intelligence that the teachers bring to students, every day.  Qualified teachers won't get jaded, feel frustration over non-working technology, or feel undervalued.  As a result, students will get our BEST. 

When that happens, the whole society benefits.  We help students become citizens of their city/town, the state, the country, and the world.  Making the teachers feel valued filters down to the students.  They will have the best education we can provide, with the resources required to do so, and the students feel that.  When I bring donorschoose resources to bear on my classroom, my students feel valued.  They feel that they are cared for, and they work harder because they know they have the resources they need to be their most effective. 

Saturday, January 12, 2019

Why do I teach, and what do I teach best?

Hi all,

I've been a teacher in the Hartford Public Schools for 14 years.  Much of this has been in a brand new magnet school, founded on some old educational principles.  I believe in the liberal arts, and letting students find themselves in their education until they are well rounded students who have a diverse set of skills.  Because of this, I'm not just a math teacher.  I'm a coached project teacher, a technology integration specialist teacher, a computer teacher (yes, this is different from technology), a photography teacher, an essay reviewer, a college essay and resume helper, a financial advisor, a social worker, counselor and a life advice purveyor. 

I am considering becoming a technology teacher next year, and I'm thinking philosophically about what I am best at, and what students need the most.  I love mathematics, the problem solving aspects and the logic required to solve algebraic equations.  I love the beauty and the simplicity of a good formula or proof.  I love fractals, and I loved the computer science I used to create them for my senior thesis so much that programming time just went by without me noticing it passing.  The psychological term for this is flow.  I got so into it that hours would pass and I wouldn't notice. 

I am even more passionate about computers and technology.  I have a charity called @gr8fullyfeclub which almost has its 501c3 nonprofit status.  I take old computers, use Darik's Boot and Nuke, then use debian, ubuntu, or linux mint on them, depending on the speed of the computer.  Then they are given to students who don't have working technology at home.  As a technology teacher, I could have a class on that, on computer hardware and software, and teach students how to install an operating system, change a hard drive, fix a screen.  All of those things fade in necessity as tech becomes cheaper and better, but the basics - the building blocks of a computer, the hard drive, processor and graphics processor, and how it outputs to a display - are needed to understand even the smallest of computers, the phone. 

I'd also like to teach financial literacy to our students, since none of them understand fully what the world will expect of them in terms of their money management or finances.  Unless their parents teach them, they won't get the financial education they need to balance a checkbook, do their taxes, live within their means or be good financial members of our society.  That's the most important math class I can teach them - and it's not a class we offer. 

Anyway, there are my thoughts for this chilly Saturday.  Hope your day is filled with relaxation, love, peace, and happiness.

~Mark