There are moments in this most surreal life that I’m now leading when I’m standing in front of more than a few hundred educators in a large, dimly lit auditorium and this eerie, palpable feeling of discomfort settles in around me. Sometimes, I know, I feel like I push too many buttons. Other times, I feel like I don’t push enough. It depends on the place, the people, the purpose. But when it happens, when I’ve managed to say just enough to almost force those who are still listening to consider some of the (I think, at least) challenging questions I’m asking, this feeling presents itself in this kind of eerie quiet where the only sound I seem to hear is that of arms folding in defense or heads bending in despair. It’s that “digging in” moment where I know now from doing this over and over and over again that a good chunk of the audience is not happy.
I had one of those moments, one of those audiences recently, one where while I think the majority of people in the room walked away challenged in a good way, many also walked away angry in a not so good way. The “yeah, buts” were out in force. And I know that their anger isn’t directed so much at me as it is the reality of schools, the reality of the change, and the reality of the difficult conversations we need to start having. (I’m reminded of Chris Lehmann’s Tweet yesterday that read “When trying to explain how much has changed and how schools must change… where do we start?” Amen.) But in this case, that anger came out in some really remarkably interesting ways that challenged the message and the messenger.
Oy.
Yesterday’s Newsday had an article that said that a recent survey showed 61% of us “would prefer a “computer therapist” who is compassionate and easy to talk to” instead of the typical tech support person. And “52% said they felt “anger, sadness, alienation” when dealing with their most recent computer problem.” Or the most recent in-service technology speaker, I would guess. The new term is “innovation overload.” I feel that too.
But we as educators have to tackle this stuff. My own anger at times comes from the fact that I’m not talking to a room full of plumbers or software engineers or CEOs, people who aren’t working with kids every day helping them (I hope) become literate navigators of this increasingly challenging world. (Read yesterday’s New York Times article “An Internet Jihad Aims at U.S. Viewers” if you want a sense of just how challenging.) We’re educators, for goodness sake. Educate! Innovate! Where is the innovation overload for schools???
In other news, the Times today reports “that all 6,063 [California] public schools serving poor students will be declared in need of restructuring by 2014” when NCLB requires proficiency in math and reading.
Yeah. Let’s just dig in and stick with what we got.
Will, had a similar experience myself last week with my own faculty which I am still pondering.
I was questioning some things, and then I saw the article you referenced in the Times, along with another one about runners using technology, and then saw a YouTube video instructing FUNERAL DIRECTORS about web 2.0 tools and how they would be affecting their businesses.
And I thought…whoa….if funeral directors are attending workshops on why they need to pay attention to web 2.0 tools and the nature of change, then shouldn’t educators??
So, while I think there is something to be said for finding a channel in that people can respond to, and pull in, it really struck me (which I posted about) while watching Clarence Fisher’s K12 Online keynote, that some people aren’t accepting that the world is changing, just like some aren’t accepting global warming.
We can’t invalidate the world our kids live in that way, I don’t believe.
So, maybe the friction isn’t always necessary–maybe there’s ways (Clarence’s video being a great, calming example!) of speaking to educators about this, but also, change obviously can cause friction, fear, stress, etc.
Another thought I had last week, is that I think teachers feel guilty. Most of them do work hard, try hard(the ones attending conferences are probably among those, since they went to the trouble to come to a conference). There is a guilt/self-doubt/embarrassment/defensive factor you have as a teacher that you aren’t doing enough, aren’t changing enough, etc., when sometimes you barely know where to begin.
I do think the message that things are changing is making it to the schools. So, how can we help them get started, as you and Chris mention?
You’ve done a great job in your books and speaking to give people a place to begin. How can we help them “begin”?
One of the great things about the K-12 Open Minds conference in Indiana is that you could talk to regular teachers who are transforming their practice as a result of two simple things. Reliable, consistent access to 1-to-1 (desktop) computing in their classroom (it is there every day, and will be there every day until they retire), and Moodle.
For years I have been the one screaming from the rooftops about how we need to change our approach with students. Everytime any group of teachers in my school meets to talk about reform or change, it is like the proverbial rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic. We need new schools, new approaches, new resources and new leaders that are able to guide the ranks of teachers through the maze of fear and confusion when it comes to rethinking the way in which we do school. I will be attending a school reform conference this year and trying to work through what are some tangible steps that can be taken to overhaul a system that fails students and teachers alike.
Having just attended the ACTEM Conference, I found the keynote address inspiring. As a result of your address, Will, I began my journey on Web 2.0.
I had a face-to-face discussion with my first period of the day students and they confirmed all you stated about today’s youth. I had 1 student only without a presence, but all others in that room had a web presence, even the 2 students who were not connected to the internet at home had a virtual social life.
So, I asked them to visit my blog (pls-teacher-learner.blogspot.com) and to respond to a research question I posted. They actually were to do the online research last week while I was being inspired by a keynote speaker….
I hope I am using some of the “tools” as intended, but if not I’m still excited…I’ll will evolve and get better, right?
So, I can’t wait to read the second half of your book, Will. I left your address awestruck but motivated.
Looking forward to hearing your keynote at CUEBC on Friday. Bring your umbrella, they don’t call us the Wet Coast for nothing!
Will, I believe that one could easily argue that an educational system in which 75% to 85% of students’ work is factual recall is long overdue for an overhaul. For me, it doesn’t even get to the point of “innovation overload.” Heck, I’d probably be happy if schools just did what they already know works. How about greater usage of high-yield instructional strategies? How about some best practice that is conceived in terms a little higher on Bloom’s taxonomy?
I know that digging-in moment well.
It’s usually a sign of lamination with institutions, pulling back to those walls, as some form of a siege reflex.
As I work to get the teachers in my middle school to examine their practice in light of (a) the needs, interests, and talents of the kids (b) what we know works with young adolescents (c) research, best practice and the voices of practicioners who are seeing innovations work to engage more students more of the time, I struggle with maintaining hope and perserverence as I “read”the body language of some of the teachers to whom I am talking. I agree with Scott about being satisfied if we were to use high-yield strategies or if we moved intruction and student interactions up on Bloom’s. When I taught in this building (in which I am now the principal) I had a banner hanging that said “Teach for Competence, Not Compliance.” Ten years later, not much has changed – much is all about control and keeping kids in line – and it does get discouraging. Today, after a faculty meeting in which we examined our grading pracice of penalizing student’s grades for turning in work late and including efort & participation in academic grades – I drove home wondering if I can ever really make a difference; if I can ever overcome the resistance; and if I can ever get used to the anger – directed at me often times – for simply posing the questions and attempting to open up a dialogue. Change is difficult, yes – but increasingly it seems to me – that educators – those who should love, value, and prmote learning most – are digging in their heels more and more and refusing to even participate in the discussion about what we could do and what we could provide if we would just be open to the possibilities nad if we would just be willing to work together.
The whole conversation about changing our approach/methods for teaching is falling on deaf ears. It seems to me that the few teachers that are involved in the conversation, me being one of them, are looked at as a challenger to ones professional ability to “teach” their students. This is one notion that teachers retract from. “How dare you question my teaching stategies”.
Until we as teachers collectively understand our goals in the education profession, this will continue to be the case. I see teachers every day that are just trying to get through the day, worrying about insignificant deadlines, grading stacks of worksheets, attending meetings about our State Assessments, spending hours on spelling curriculum, taking 20 minute bathroom breaks with their class, spending hours after school having conferences with parents that want to know why their child received a “C” on their Math Test. This is what our teachers are focusing on. They focus on getting their students to pass a test in March or April that tests the teachers ability to teach their students memorization and comprehension skills. The focus is lost!
Change will be a slow process as long as the focus lies on the insignificant and mundane. I would be very interested to see a study about what percentage of the school day in an average American Public School is spent on “TEACHING”.
Woody (and others), take a listen to this 9-minute excerpt from Richard Elmore’s UCEA keynote last November:
http://tinyurl.com/34db3f
(direct link to .mp3 file)
It’s a phenomenal (and, I believe, appropriate) indictment of teachers’ current beliefs about professionalism and autonomy.
Will, one more thought. It’s great that you’re supplementing your kids’ schooling at home. We’re doing that too. But we have to recognize that we’re only tinkering around the edges…
I enjoy the new technologies and I’ve incorporated blogs and wikis into my teaching, though our district doesn’t make this easy.
Nonetheless, such things don’t seem of great moment to me, most of the time. More often they seem a distraction, a way of keeping busy without giving too much thought to the real work.
“In education, you can either quit, complain or innovate!” Marco Torres – Amen