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I became a teacher not for dreams of riches or glory but because I believed I could make a difference.   I believed that I could be the kind of teacher that would inspire children to themselves become teachers.  I would be the kind of teachers that would make school a place students would want to go to.  I would make a mandated education meaningful and relevant.  I didn’t become a teacher to get rich or even well-off.  I didn’t become a teacher to get a free ride from the public or to mooch off of society.  I didn’t become a teacher to have long leisurely summers off where I could do whatever I wanted, which apparently mainly involves scoffing at those who work. 

And yet, if you ask the Governor of Wisconsin and many of his supporters, I had no glorious or noble intentions when I chose my profession.  It is much more simple than that; I became a teacher to catch a free ride.  To hustle the public into paying for my mediocrity with unlimited job protection so I can do as little as possible while collecting a big fat paycheck.  I have become the reason for the recession we are in.  I have become the reason for the dumbing down of American society.  I have become the reason for the deficit, the lack of pay raises and the general bad state of the state of Wisconsin. 

So these days I turn off the radio when the ads come on.  I turn off the TV when the governor proclaims that his reforms are working, that taxpayers support him, that he is moving us forward.  Forward doesn’t involve taking the voice away from the people of the state, even if they are public workers.  Forward doesn’t involve cutting programs for the poorest people of the state.  Forward doesn’t include dividing an entire state because you cannot reach across the aisle.  Increasing class sizes and not being able to hire enough teachers is moving forward?  Cutting my salary, which already is laughable, and giving me no chance for a raise, because there isn’t money for it, moving forward?  I can’t even bargain for one, like they can in the private sector because that  has been taken away too.   

Yes, I believe in being held accountable, yes, I believe in paying my fair share, but I don’t believe that slashing the education budget is forward.  I don’t believe in the governor when he says that Wisconsin is on the right path. I don’t believe that Wisconsin will become a better state because of what the politicians have done and that to me is just sad.  Those who lead us should be role models, much like the teachers that are bashed every single day.  So this isn’t just about politics, this is my life every day.  The decisions made in our capitol affect every single thing I do in the classroom, yet where is the accountability for those who make the decisions?  I hope someone can give me an answer.

We talk about summers as if they are our enemy, something to be combatted with reading lists, report card comments urging more practice and for some even packets that need to be filled in. We battle the summer slide with pep talks, with promises of learning to come and inspirational speeches. We battle it with threats of how much they will lose, how much harder the next year will be, how much they will have to catch up. But did it ever occur to us that we don’t own the learning? That just because school is out, learning doesn’t stop? Sure, it looks vastly different. No desks, no bells, no schedule. No dictated curriculum, no things to hand in, no feedback to be given or processed. Just learning, in it’s pure, childlike wonder stage.

Now I know that not all children will get amazing learning opportunities in the summer. Not everyone gets to go to science camp, have a tutor or even parents that are around in the summer. I didn’t go to any programs, camps, or staged learning envirnments; I played all summer long. I went to the creek and looked for frogs, I climbed trees and got stuck. Sometimes read a book. Some kids don’t even get that. Some kids get less learning opportunies than that even. And yet, perhaps, they are still learning too.

So, yes we can worry about our children when they leave our classrooms, but we should not pretend that learning stops. Instead we should show them what learning looks like outside of school, in case they have forgotten. Instead we should tell them what we look forward to doing, how we will be learning. I plan on reflecting, refining, reading, and exploring with Thea as much as this crazy pregnancy will let me. I will be learning away from school, away from classrooms, away from anything structured but I will still be learning and so will my students. I don’t own their learning, they do.

Picture from my first EdCamp, I am all the way to the left

The first ever Wisconsin EdCamp, #EdCampMKE,  is this coming Saturday which made me think back to when I was getting ready to attend my first EdCamp in Chicago last year.  To say I was nervous wouldn’t quite cover it.  It was more of a, “Why did I sign up for this and I can’t believe people will see me, what if they hate me…” kind of pukey feeling nervousness.  So I figured I am not alone, perhaps you are about to attend an EdCamp or even some other conference where you are meeting people from your PLN for the first time, perhaps you are an old pro at these events.  Either way, here is what I wish I had known before I went.

1. Initiate.  My first EdCamp I sat at a table until my friend Katie found me.  I was so nervous to say hi to anyone, I would have gladly sat at that table all day, just slipping through the cracks.  But that is not what EdCamps are about; they are there for you to start a conversation, so do so right away.  Sit down at a table that is having a lively discussion or say hi to someone sitting by themselves.  We don’t all look like our avatars so you never know who that person is and just how introvereted they may really be, me included.
2. Engage and speak up.  Once you have made initial contact; speak up.  Add your voice to the conversation, again this is what make EdCamp so ingenious, it is all about communication and relationships.
3. Propose.  I am passionate about limiting grades, homework and rewards in the classroom and no one had offered a session on it.  So up to the stage I went with my proposal.  The worst thing that could happen?  No one showing up, but instead it was a lively one hour discussion that brought many people to the table.  So if you have something you would love to discuss, propose a session or find someone to propose it with you.  This isn’t about you lecturing a group of people; it is all about the discussion.
4. Think Un-Tech.  I love technology!  But I don’t want to discuss it all day, so please come to EdCamp with more than just tech-related ideas.  And while there is room for everything at EdCamp, there needs to be a balance.  We may all be geeking out over possible 1 to 1 initiatives but isn’t education much more than just fancy tools?  
5. Move on.  So you really want to discuss a particular topic but no one else does, or the session you thought was going to be incredibly exciting is just not?  Move on.  Do so quietly and respectfully, but do find something that interests you, otherwise why bother spending your Saturday afternoon there.
6. Be Nice.  EdCamp isn’t about snark or putting others down, it is about community and great debate.  So just like our moms taught us; play nice.  And that also goes for the backchannel that usually pops up.
7. Be Courageous.  If you are passionate about something bring that to the session or better yet, lead your own.  I am not an expert on anything but I do have opinions so why not add them to the conversations.  Yes, people may disagree with you but you may learn something and so may they.
8. Be Creative.  At the last EdCamp Chicago my friends Katie and Jason led a session on the shy/introverted educator and their place in educator.  What a fantastic creative topic that I was so sorry I missed.  Think of what you really want to discuss and take it further.  Why not start a discussion on how we can actually change education in our country starting in your classroom, or how to bring passion in to the classroom or some other topic that may seem a bit out of the ordinary.  While you may not come up with solutions, the conversations will probably still be worth it.
9. Be Quiet.  Yes, I know I have said to speak up but also know when to listen.  I was amazed at some of the things and ideas coming from other people, as long as I stopped talking long enough to hear them.  So add you ideas and then listen to others.  It is the give and take that make EdCamp extraordinary.
10. Drink water.  This very pregnant mama will be the one chugging water all day and you should do the same.  EdCamp, or any other conference, can be exhausting and you want to stay alert for the whole day.  

Fellow EdCamp Veterans, what did I miss?

I am super excited and freaking out just a little bit over being a presenter at the Global Education Conference happening November 14th – Nov 18th, 2011.  Not only is this another incredible professional development opportunity, it is also a chance to connect with educators around the world all from the comfort of your own home.  Oh and did I mention it is free?

My session will be a window into the Global Read Aloud; how it started, how it grew, and ultimately how it continues on.  I hope to inspire others to create global projects by showing how easy it is with the use of social media, and also to promote getting involved in global projects. 

So join me, join the conversation, and get inspired!  I will post a link to my session soon but it is Tuesday, November 15th at 8 PM CST.   Here is a link to the entire schedule.

Somewhere in the grade debate, colleges came into the picture.  As in if you don’t grade a student, they will never be able to get into college.  However, this simply isn’t true, in fact Alfie Kohn just discussed it in his latest article “The Case Against Grades.”  In it he also makes the point that even if a college did require grades, they don’t care about the grades from middle school or elementary school.  And yet as a nation we are obsessed with numbers and ranks.  We love to sort our children and compare them to others. Unfortunately because we have so many to get to, we do it the easy way; by assigning them a letter grade based on a percentage.

Now, you may think that I am bashing teachers who grade, but no, I am discussing the system that requires us to do so.  I grade.   I have to for trimester report cards, that is also the only time my students see a letter grade.  It is decided upon through a conversation between the student and where we discuss their progress and their goals.  Also, don’t confuse this for an attack on assessing students, because it is not.  Grades do not equal assessment at all times.

So let’s be frank, it is way easier for me to grade my students than it is to properly assess them.  Grading means I can tell them when something is due, collect it from them, take it home and based upon a rubric or key I assign their percentage which then translates into a grade.  All I then have to do is enter it into my gradebook and hand it back to the child.  Assessment done.  I don’t need to speak to the child about their work because it would not change how they did.  I could also dock them points if they handed it in late, or didn’t have their name on it.  I could dock them points for neatness or creativity, because I am the judge of both of those.

True assessment is messy and time consuming.  It involves speaking to the children about their work and their progress.  You have to find the time to speak to all of them about whatever they are working on.  You have to actually listen while they speak and brainstorm together.  And this can’t be a one-time visit either if the project is larger, then you have to find the time for multiple check-ins.  When the project is finished you look through it with the child.  You discuss its strengths, its weaknesses and how it could be improved.  You discuss what they have learned, what they have discovered, and sometimes you even let them take it back and work on it some more.  Those conversations don’t translate into neat percentages.  They don’t translate well into grades because my “A” is going to be different from anyone else’s “A.”  Together you assess and perhaps even find new venues for learning.  You walk away feeling that you know the child, their knowledge, their passions and what they need to focus on.  Percentages don’t tell you that.

Now I know what some will say; I don’t have time to discuss all of this with my students, especially people who have more than one classroom.  And to them I say; who decides what your assignments look like?  Who decides how the time is spent in the classroom?  We have more power over how we teach than we think, even with all of the crazy standards and regulations we all face.  We decide how the time is spent in our rooms, how material is covered, how students learn together.  We decide more than we know.

So next time you sit down to grade an assignment, wonder whether it can be done a different way.  Wonder whether this is truly giving you the best perception of the child’s learning and growth.  You might be surprised of what you realize.