Imagine giving a homework assignment that your students can't wait to start. Sounds like you'd need to wave a magic wand, doesn't it? But I just received such an assignment: Examine in detail the opening to Joss Whedon's science-fiction move Serenity,…
Are your students curious, exploring ideas or questions on their own? Or do they sigh with relief and go back to sports or social media or other pastimes once the bell rings? Yes we all need downtime, but look at…
I’ve been writing about how effort and perseverance without capacity and readiness simply aren’t enough. (Check out my past posts on grit and effort.) They’re all interdependent. Ignore either side and you simply won’t get where you want to go.…
I was only about a half-mile into my run when my legs began whispering, Wouldn’t this be a great day for a walk? But I persevered, finishing my regular loop around the park and back home. As I ran, this…
A school leader recently asked me, "Is it easier for students with some personality types, or cognitive processes, to develop a growth mindset than for others?" The idea of a growth mindset comes from the research of Carol Dweck, captured in…
Usually my morning runs take me around the blacktop trails near our house, but up at the lake, we're experimenting with trail running. The paths wind in and out amongst meadows, ponds and woods, sometimes grassy, sometimes weedy, and sometimes…
Last month’s edition of Educational Leadership was all about creativity. The article that struck me the most described how Einstein cited his secondary school training in using his senses during observations, practicing visualization, and exploring the construction of devices as a patent examiner fueled his abilities as a scientist. He also directly attributed his breakthrough on the theory of relativity to his ability to think musically, nurtured by his study of violin since the age of six.
What’s the so what? These are all skills. Einstein is talking about physical and mental skills and habits of mind. He didn’t cite memorizing theorems or formulas, but skills he mastered through purposeful practice. Take a look at the schools around you. Are students getting a chance to develop in nonbook-learning ways that scientists and other problem-solvers need? Ask yourself
Last time, I posted about the Platinum Rule for leaders:
“Treat others in the way they would like to be treated”
I’d like to suggest a twist on it for those whose decisions affect children in our public schools:
“Would you want your own child in a classroom following these policies? How would you have fared as a student?”
For one thing, this simple data item–our own values around a policy–would halt debates on topics such as “Do students benefit from recess?” “Should a first-grader be asked to sit still for a three-hour test?” I think we could answer these with the question, “Were you ever a child?”
But more important, we need to have students as excited on their first day of their senior year as they are on their first day of kindergarten.Why? Because their learning has only just begun. To really make it in today’s world, no matter what they learned in school, they will have to keep learning their entire lives. Cultivating a love of learning is as, if not more, crucial as any content matter.
“The only thing that kept me motivated in high school was singing in the choir.” That statement came from a very successful student who landed a scholarship at a top engineering university. Not the AP classes, not being on the championship math team, not competing for valedictorian. No, motivation came from having a chance to perform, to express himself, to use parts of the brain separate from logic and reasoning. In essence, it was the class that gave him a chance to stretch outside of academics.
If top students need the arts to stay motivated, what about those who struggle with math or reading? In all too many schools these “extras” are being cut in the push to get students “on track” with core skills. However, where is the research and common sense that says that a narrow focus will produce better mathematicians and readers? As one 11-year-old who was struggling told me, “With an extra hour of math and one of reading, I don’t get to do anything fun. Not even Spanish.”
Here’s the THREE reasons to push back on such a narrowing of the courses students take in school: