#TBH part 2

What you can expect from me based on my own reflection:

• No more evernote - everything on a google site
• Links will have context, not simply presented in a list form
• refined rubrics and project directions
• more discussions** (provided that I don't need to focus all my attention on off task individuals)
• I will strive to have more 1:1 check-ins

What I need from you:

• Take responsibility for your work. You are a team and the team can't function if members don't do their jobs. We can't have a discussion as a group if people aren't keeping up. Keeping up might mean that you finish readings outside of class.
• Respect like it was at the beginning of the year:
• I know you know me now and most of you are pretty comfortable in my room. You know I don't yell, etc. We need mutual respect. When I ask for attention or silence, I mean it. You have time built in to your classes to be social - that is how it is designed. When I need to talk to all of you, usually for a brief minute, there is no reason for you to not be quiet and listen.
• LISTEN means actually listening. If I give directions, follow them. 
• Change your focus - you have a different role as a learner now. You are not a "student" in the traditional sense. You must actually work to obtain knowledge. It isn't spoon fed in lectures and notes. Part of changing your focus is knowing that you can look up anything at any time in order to assist you in your understanding. The internet is limitless for satisfying curiosity. Use it to your advantage. Take control of your learning.
• Actually think about things. Really read. Don't skim and search for answers. Looking for answers alone limits your learning. Answers are not the same as knowledge. Knowledge is powerful and lasting. Answers are feeble and fleeting. Approach things knowing that there is a purpose. If you must seek something, seek out the purpose of the readings and videos - not the answers you hope are in them. Seeking the purpose helps you build knowledge on a deeper scale. 

#TBH

If I'm going to be completely honest with you, you need to know how this entire crazy system that we've been working within came to be. 

Last year was horrible. It was horrible mostly because I wanted kids to step up and be great and do amazing things that would blow the minds of any and all adults who came into contact with their work, and that didn't happen. At first I thought it was the kids, but after spending a solid chunk of this summer thinking and reflecting about what went wrong, I realized that it was less the kids and  more the format. You can't do amazing work inside the traditional box that has been known as "school" since as far back as I can remember. How could I expect kids to overcome the limitations of the lecture/note take/memorize/spit back format if I was still doing that - especially with chromebooks? I knew at some point this summer that I needed to fundamentally change how I approached my classroom. I came to realize that if I wanted kids to step up and do amazing things, I'd need to give them the freedom to do so. I'd need to put more power in their hands and less in mine. I'd have to stop being the expert in control of everything and let go. I'd need to take the training wheels off and let you struggle and fall. This was a scary realization to have.

And so it began. I knew that in order to make this format work, I'd need to do some serious planning ahead of time. I spent the final weeks of summer at my desk instead of at the beach. I was planning. And planning. And also planning. By the time school started I was still unsure how this was going to go down.

The Planning Process

As we began to do actual work with the themes I was hit with this strange overwhelming feeling of euphoria. You were (for the most part) doing what I was hoping you'd do. Most of you were approaching this with an open mind and a healthy dose of enthusiasm. As I circulated the room, I was overhearing great conversations and deep insights. You were proving to me that if I gave up control, you'd thrive. What I loved about that was the fact that the realizations and understanding you were arriving at were truly yours. You were not simply remembering what I told you in a lecture - instead you were in complete control of your learning. You created your new knowledge and therefore you owned it. You are far more likely to truly know something if it is your brains that makes it happen.

...and then things started to change. As the personal responsibility grew, some of you began to fall off. Some were less focused as the novelty of the format wore off. Once the realization sunk in that, even though this was different, it might be harder - things began to unravel. The traditional game of school is easy once you know how to play it. You sit, you get told what to know, you exercise your short term memory by cramming things into your mind. You take a test. You are graded on how much you remember and how strong your memory is, not what you truly know. That is how is has been for pretty much all of school - and to be honest - that is how it will be in other classes for quite a while. That isn't how it works in life, however. 

The Game of School

I don't measure my success as a teacher by how much content you remember from my class. I measure myself by how much you are able to take control of your own learning. You have access to the total sum of human knowledge at your fingertips, the only thing that gets in your way of learning anything you want is your motivation and desire. I can't teach those things. I can only model them and push you to take control of your own learning in the hopes you see how liberating is to forge your own path. If we're being truly honest here, I don't remember a single thing from my middle school experience other than how to game the system. The system is broken. I hope that, over anything else, you come away from this class knowing how to think, and find, and learn independently - because those are skills that are far more important than memorizing facts. 

Change (is good)

These posts are always so hard for me to write.

I sit here and try to think of inspirational and witty words for you - all the while soaking in the irony that I don't even know you yet. How can I try to inspire you when I don't even know you? I'd be inspiring generic ideas of who you are, based on my experiences with ten previous classes of 8th graders - but those ideas are false. I don't know you.

Sure, I know who many of you are but that is not what I'm talking about. I am talking about really truly knowing you. Knowing how you learn, what you enjoy to do, what inspires you, what makes you make that fingernails on the chalk board face (wait, what is a chalk board?) - those things. That takes time. Time I am willing to invest so that one day I will be able to say that I really know you. Therefore, instead of wasting your time now with words that aren't specifically tailored to you, I'll instead focus on something I do know. This class.

Many of you have had older siblings or cousins or even close friends that have been in this 8th grade social studies class. They may or may not have told you about things we do, topics we cover, and so on. I'd like to take this opportunity to inform you that this year will be different. Very different. After 10 years things were getting stale, and with the addition of Chromebooks we are now able to things otherwise unthinkable.

Let me be clear that different does not mean worse.

It does not mean less fun or meaningful or impactful.

Different means fresh. It means renewed energy. It surely means bumps in the road as well - it is not going to be smooth 100% of the time. That would be boring. Above all, it means that you will get to play an unspeakably important role in the development of this class. That is exciting and, hopefully, flattering. This is a year of change, and while I don't know you I have a feeling that you are up for the challenge.



Update: 08/27/14

I've been thinking a lot today about the concept of ownership. What it means to own something. When you own something it is yours. You are responsible for it. More often than not, you care for the things you own - be it a pair of Jordan's or an iPhone or a bike or guitar. You want to take care of it and you want to be sure it doesn't get ruined or lost. Another thing that people own is businesses. Business owners want their business to succeed and make money and they go to great lengths to make sure that happens. One aspect of that is hiring great employees. At this point you might be wondering what any of this has to do with school. Quite a bit, in all honesty. Education is your business. School is your workplace - and you are the owner of your education. As the owner of your education it is up to you to make sure you hire good employees. In that sense, for the next two days you will be going through the hiring process. There is a more detailed explanation here ( <--click that link).

To be clear - while you are going through this simulated hiring experiance, let's just all understand that I do already have this job, and while I do work for you there is a limit to the control you have. Just like a doctor or lawyer work for you - that doesn’t mean they need to listen to everything you say - they are the experts and you trust them to provide expert medical or legal advice - the same dynamic is at play here.