Doing "Nothing" is "Something"

My idea of "doing nothing" needs a bit of tweaking. For years, people have been telling me this. But I'm learning! Slowly, but surely, I'm learning to ask for help, rather than allowing myself to become overwhelmed. Why do I tend to have such trouble being idle? Relaxing? Do nothing?

I attended a two-day science teachers' conference and returned home Saturday night after a four-hour flight delay. The flight itself was a nightmare for me; the small plane felt every bump of turbulence!  My youngest daughter was having a birthday slumber party that night, so upon my return, the house was filled with 14 thirteen-year-old girls. As I walked through the door, I was gearing myself up to help out with the party.

However, my older daughter had stepped-up. She had done the grocery shopping, baked the cake, helped decorate the house, and most importantly, helped calm my youngest one down, assuring her everything would go smoothly and everyone would have fun. My husband, too, helped tremendously. Along with all the work he normally does, the house had a peaceful feeling, a sense of serenity that only he can provide, even amongst 14 teenage girls. He calmly kissed me hello, asked me about my trip, and offered to make me dinner, since he rightfully guessed I had forgotten to eat.

On Sunday night, I was wiped. The excitement of the conference, the stress of the flight home, etc. wore me out. So my husband tells me, "I'm doing the dishes, taking out the trash and finishing up some emails. You do nothing. Go sit on the couch and relax. We'll watch some TV together when I'm finished. Is there anything else you need me to do for you?"

"Doing nothing sounds great. Thanks, Sweetie. No, I don't need anything. I'm good." So I head for the couch...

I don't know what's wrong with me. Somehow, on my way to the couch, I got out the lunch boxes for the morning, cleaned up the dining room table from the party, grabbed the laundry from the dryer to fold, put in another load, dealt with some work-related emails and then brought my luggage upstairs to unpack. And then it hit me. I had taken a 30 minute detour doing things that could have waited, things that my husband would've gladly done for me (except the laundry). So I abruptly dropped everything and purposefully made my way to the couch!

So am I really learning? Honestly, yes. Six months ago, it would've been a 60 minute detour! But the learning curve can only be understood by someone like me; someone who has a hard time asking for help, someone who seems to have two speeds—80 mph or "shut-down mode" due to burn-out, with no speeds in between!

What I'm learning most of all is that doing "nothing" is "something" and it's a very important skill I want my daughters to learn. I don't want them to develop the idea that they always need to be working. My two-speed engine needs some balance from someone who works just as hard, but balances life with a dominant "stop-and-smell-the-roses" perspective, someone who saves energy for people first and things second, someone with a calm yet strong demeanor, someone whose serenity of mind and heart is contagious to those around him. Someone like my husband.

So I will continue to practice making time to do nothing. Anyone else having trouble with this? Specifically teachers? Any ideas that have worked for you?

Education = Federal Disaster Area. Save Our Students!

My thoughts are spinning. I want to share. No, I need to share. Blogging, I've found, is therapeutic! So let's see if I'm capable of tying together these seemingly isolated stories. Somehow, I know they fit. 

1. First I heard a story on NPR's Morning Edition, Obama Policy Shelves Most Bush-Era Stem Cell Lines. (see below) As I listened, I became increasingly frustrated with the absurdity of red tape, and with the consistently poor transitions that take place when newly elected officials take office and the old ones vacate. In this story, the loss of years of experimentation and millions of dollars of resources are the unintended consequence of a new application process implemented by the Obama administration. In essence, volumes of scientific research might be halted and become worthless due to paperwork? What a mess! Research that is ongoing and progressive is being forced to stop and reapply using new guidelines. And there's no guarantee that the application will be accepted; they might have to start all over! As a science teacher, I wonder how to prepare my future professional scientists (students) for situations like this?





2. Then I listened to another NPR story, Spelling: 'No Child Left Behind' Is A 'Toxic Brand.' (see below) Arne Duncan plans to address congress with a "reworked" version of the No Child Left Behind law. He is recommending that the 2014 deadline for math and English proficiency be replaced by a new 2020 deadline for college and career preparedness. (Breath, Joan, breath.) I am infuriated on so many fronts.
a. Reworked? Why use NCLB as a foundation? Start over!
b.  Fire teachers in underperforming schools? Oh my goodness...We should have the president and congress be scrutinized in the same manner. Then they might understand what a bad idea this is. This completely misses the point!
c. "There's nothing pedagically wrong with teaching to a test." Dewey is turning over in his grave right. I'm sure of it. My point? There's nothing pedagogically RIGHT with teaching to a test. In fact, our entire assessment process needs revamping...High stakes testing is a BAD idea. Period.
d. College and Career Preparedness? Our nation is receiving hourly news reports of teachers being cut, programs being slashed, buildings being shuttered, students becoming victims. And Secretary Duncan is testifying about a reworked NCLB?! Wake up! We need true reform, not anything that resembles revamping or reworking anything!



3. Lastly, I watched an old TedTalk of Ken Robinson (see old post of mine). And I'm reading his book, The Element. Phenomenal discussion on where to start with school "reform" (for lack of a better term).

So how are these stories linked? Here's what I came up with:
We need to figure out how to NOT reinvent and cause trouble (story 1),
we need to reform when things have spiraled out of control (story 2),
we need to use our creative intelligence to know the difference (story 3).
These are the exact life challenges our students need to be prepared for. Do we really think we're modeling things well for them?
Let the comments begin. Please. What do you think?

(As an aside, I wish my district would have said "no" when NCLB started to diffuse through our classroom walls, and instead used creativity to do better by our students.
And said "no" to increasing AP offerings and enrollment when schools became ranked using this criterion, and instead used creativity to do better by our students.
And said "no" when programs were cut and/or replaced with "test prep" or "content driven" courses, and instead used creativity to do better by our students.
We have a chance now. We can say "no" to RTI (Response to Intervention), and instead use creativity to do better by our students. RTI is an insult. It is a waste of time and energy. Time and energy that is being expended by lowering the bar on incredibly talented individuals. BUT it CAN be twisted into something meaningful. We just need to let go and let the creativity flow!)

Reactionary Collaboration & Reflection is Better Than None...Right?

"You cannot hold me more accountable than I hold myself responsible for the children in my charge." ~Chris Lehmann, Principal SLA, Philadelphia

This quote pops into my head every time I hear a news story about the government's and/or educational leaders' plans on how to best "reform" our public education system. Accountability cannot be the foundation of sustainable, meaningful reform. So I was shocked when I heard the news that Central Falls High School in Rhode Island fired its entire teaching faculty, effective at the end of this school year, in part to comply with the No Child Left Behind Act. Yes, the whole faculty has been fired. And President Obama implied that this was a good decision!

The story on NPR's Morning Edition (below) filled me with simultaneous outrage and relief. Former Assistant Secretary of Education, Diane Ravitch, has changed her position on No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and other educational reform ideas. A former supporter, she now says that "It actually lowers standards...The problem is that when we attach high stakes to the tests...This, then corrupts the value of the measure..."

One quote by Ravitch resonates with me because I have always nurtured a collaborative environment in my classroom. True collaboration is key. Ravitch states, "Schools operate fundamentally — or should operate — like families. The fundamental principle by which education proceeds is collaboration. Teachers are supposed to share what works; schools are supposed to get together and talk about what's [been successful] for them. They're not supposed to hide their trade secrets and have a survival of the fittest competition with the school down the block."

Collaboration. Hallelujah! I'm relieved that this has finally been voiced. I hope this quote is aired repeatedly and used as a focus for faculty discussions all over the country. It holds so many foundational elements to quality education. So I applaud Ms. Ravitch's reflection and growth. But the only way these ideas will become reality in our school system is when the evaluation process matches these thoughts. When will these ideas become the foundation for educational reform?

I'm enraged that this has taken so long. Why weren't the teachers, professors, educational researchers and a large number of school administrators listened to years ago when these tragic outcomes were predicted ad nauseam? The present state and federal mandates are unfortunately speeding up this path of educational destruction and we need to put on the brakes!  I vividly recall a conversation I had with my husband approximately ten years ago. He said, "I think they're trying to destroy public education. I think they're campaigning to take it down, to privatize it. I really do." And look where we are. Is it too late? Can we still turn the corner, implement collaborative, research-based, sound changes?

Our students need individualized, local attention. High stakes must go. Education is not formulaic. So will the people responsible for making educational decisions finally start to sincerely collaborate with the educational community? We're ready!

The Need for Creativity in Education

Just saw this TedTalk. Yes, it's a bit old, but it is funny, thought-provoking and still very much relevant. Take a look. How creative do you feel as an educator? Do you take risks? And most importantly, what do you do in your classroom to nurture the creativity in students?

Some interesting thoughts/quotes from the video:
(1) Creativity is as important as literacy in education.
(2) If you're not prepared to be wrong, you'll never come up with anything original.
(3) We're educating our children out of their creative capacities.
(4) Shakespeare was in somebody's English class, wasn't he?
(5) There isn't an education system on earth that has a unique hierarchy. Math and science on top; Humanities in the middle; then the arts at the bottom.
(6) If you were to explain the purpose of public education to an alien, you'd have to conclude that it is to produce university professors...Professors live in their heads...This is not the way most of the world lives.
(7) We need to radically rethink our view of intelligence.
(8) We have to rethink the fundamental principles on which we are educating our children.
(9) If Gillian Lynne had been assessed in our time, she would've been diagnosed with ADHD, put on medication and told to calm down. Back in the 1930s, when she was 8, her doctor instead told her to go to a dance school. She did. And she became a choreographer and dancer and multimillionaire. She did Cats, Phantom, etc. Dozens! She's brought happiness to millions of people.
(10) The last clip is incredible.