What's Your Classroom's Story? Why Every Teacher Needs A Class Blog

Everyone has a story. A path taken, opportunities missed, regrets from mistakes, and wonderful triumphant moments - In education though, it moves from every person, to every class. Every class has a story. Each teacher has his/her way of creating a unique and wonderful culture. This is especially the case in elementary school, where those 20-something kids are in the same class all day. Relationships are built, successes take place, and amazing things happen each and every day. So I have to ask, why aren’t more teachers sharing their stories?

At Christie, each teacher has a class blog. Why would we do this? Why would I ask such a thing from each teacher? Wouldn’t there be pushback? Wouldn’t they ask questions like: Who is going to read this? Why would anyone care what I have to say? The short answers...To share our stories, to increase transparency, some, yes, yes.

I would be lying if I told you that when asking each staff member to have a blog (updated weekly I might add) they all cheered. However, they all signed up...hesitant? Maybe. But here is the thing, we need to share our stories.

There are two things our teachers blog about: Classroom activities/learning, and the teacher’s personal learning along the way. Two parts...equally important for our parents, colleagues, and community.

Blogging our Activities/Learning: Miracles happen daily in schools. Students who never thought they could succeed do, teachers who thought the bar might be too high see students reach it, educational risks are taken, students make mistakes and learn from them, and kids build a self-efficacy that will last a lifetime. How can we not share this? How can we keep this to ourselves? Not only does blogging allow the sharing of ideas, but also the stories behind them. Teachers at Christie share activities taking place, lessons coming up, ideas for home, and pictures of great products along the way.

Sharing Your Learning: Having a PLN and utilizing Twitter is a great way to grow professionally. However, by blogging about their learning, teachers offer a transparent moment with other teachers, parents, and even students about their lifelong learning journey. “We want to create Lifelong Learners.” How many times has that phrase used in education? Yet how often do we model this? Blogging opens the door to not only learning from others, but also sharing our personal journey.

PLNs are the new PLCs - but that only works when you share digitally. PLNs are only successful when you are sharing your learning, as well as taking in the learning of others. At Christie we are willing to share, willing to try something new, and willing to step outside our comfort zone...and here is the best part...we are sharing this journey along the way.

So why does every teacher need a class blog? To share their classroom story, and to share their personal learning with others.

Make no mistake - Every week may not bring a literary work on a professionally epiphany that has changed the course of education as we know it...but it will deliver a small piece of the class journey. One week might simply say: This week we reviewed area and perimeter, wrote a story with the letter C, and learned how to get a boiled egg into a glass vase using a match… While the next week might bring a story of how a class came together to help a classmate through a difficult challenge. Both are important, just in their own way.

Miracles are happening, children are learning, wonderful moments are taking place...at Christie, we want to share these moments. It’s as simple as that -

The Teaching Challenge

There is no question that teaching is a challenging profession, teachers today are asked to education 20 to sometimes 40 students at a time, while making sure that each child is seen as an individual. David E. Kelley created a legal drama that aired on ABC from 2004 to 2008 called Boston Legal. During the third season of the show, Shirley Schmidt (played by Candice Bergen) gave a closing argument that tells the challenge of teaching quite well. In the episode, a teacher was being sued by a child’s parents because the child died of a nut allergy while the teacher used her cell phone in class. According to the episode’s transcripts, Shirley Schmidt used the following closing argument:

Lawsuits are about allocating burden. For example, we want our cars to be safer, so we hit the manufacturers with a judgment that makes it more cost-effective to install the airbag. The problem here, as Ms. Bixby correctly states, is we have more and more special needs kids going into our public schools, combined with an unprecedented escalation in auto-immune diseases, autism. The peanut allergy alone has doubled in recent years. So, who do we heap this responsibility on? Who else? The teachers. The average annual starting salary for a teacher is $32,000. For that, we ask them to teach, police, provide emotional and social guidance. In some schools, they actually have to clean the toilets. Now, let's throw in healthcare.

This teacher, she works 65-hour weeks. In addition to her actual classroom duties, she teaches sex education to the older kids, she teaches a standardized test the school mandates in order to qualify for funding under the No Child Left Behind Act. She spends another ten hours a month meeting with parents. She supervises extracurricular activities, goes on overnight class trips, cleans and disinfects toys, coaches. She teaches fire drill safety procedures, healthy eating habits, she's certified in CPR, first aid, and food sanitation.

She is so overextended that when her own father had to undergo a life-threatening medical procedure, she couldn't be at the hospital. So she called on her cell phone to see if he had lived. Which he hadn't. She then turned away from her students, so as not to traumatize them with her grief, which as a teacher she was expected to internalize.

She has no savings ... no house. And today she's being sued because, without her knowledge, one of her students snuck a bite-sized candy bar containing traces of peanut into her classroom. Now she's being publicly blamed for the death of a child whose parents had the means to implement a multitude of safeguards. They implemented none of them except a teacher. Is it any wonder half our teachers are quitting the profession outright within five years? Never mind who's going to handle the epi-pen. Who's going to teach?

Wow…When I first heard this I wasn’t sure how to respond, so I just sat there on my couch, my mouth dropped open in amazement, because an hour long legal drama made a pretty decent argument. Shirley Schmidt is right; the list of responsibilities placed on teachers continues to rise, and when asked in an informal manner, fellow educators provided the following expectations/titles placed on them by their community leaders and families: Caregiver, support system, parent, guardian, advocate, identifier of educational needs and the solution for those needs, special education specialist, language barrier breaker, mind reader, counselor, nurse, a shoulder to cry on, an answer for every question, and so much more.

Teachers are asked to educate a room full of children, while at the same time making sure that each child’s individual needs are met. This by no means is a simple task, and requires teachers to have a strong understanding of all grade levels within their subject area. For example, in an average sixth grade language arts classroom, the reading level of each student can range from as low as kindergarten to as high as college. Remember, teachers are called to reach all students, so although the textbooks provided are created for an average sixth grade student, the material may only reach the needs of 40 to 50 percent of the students. Add this to special education needs, second language learners, behavioral issues, and different home lives, and you have the typical daily challenge for a teacher, and that is just one subject.

The weight of our future it placed on the shoulders of educators, yet there are still teachers being called “glorified babysitters.” The challenge is there for all teachers, no matter the school, the numbers of students, or the curriculum provided, the challenge is there. Teachers are asked to do nearly the impossible... The amazing thing? We strive to do so each day. Why? Because what we want more than anything is for every child to be successful. Every child to reach his/her highest potential. Every child to dream big and own his/her own learning. The challenge is there...but we are ready to reach it.

Faith Like a Child

As a Christian, one of the most difficult things I am called to do is have faith like a child. Whether you believe, like me, that Jesus is your Lord and Savior, or believe he was a prophet, or a guy, or even a fictional character in a story...the challenge is an interesting one: Faith like a child.

This past week I was awarded the opportunity to participate in a visioning institute meeting. During the meeting a video of Ken Robinson was played: Video - I had previously watched this video at least a dozen times, but what stood out most to me in the video was the information he shared about the importance of divergent thinking and it’s connection to creativity. During his talk he discusses a study that was done where 1,500 kindergarteners were tested on the genius level of divergent thinking...and what percentage of students scored on the genius level? 98 percent! Let me say that again….98. As the students grew older their scores dropped….why? Life, education, experiences, etc. all slowly take away the ability of a student/person to believe in anything without question. Enter the challenge: Faith like a child…

There is nothing quite like having a conversation with a group of kindergartners. If you have ever worked in the elementary school setting you know exactly what I am talking about. When simply asking a group of kindergartners what they would like to be when they grown up I was given the following answers: Doctor, artist, my mom, principal, and my personal favorite...a lion. Yup, a lion. Of course I had to ask why? The answer, “Well duh, because they are king of the jungle and I want to be king.”

Children enter education ready to become anything. They don’t see the challenges life will bring, they don’t see the hurdles they will need to overcome, they don’t see the curveballs life might send their way. The world is theirs for the taking, and there is nothing wrong with that.

How do we keep this alive? Better yet, how do we as principals, teachers, paraprofessionals, and parents maintain the belief our students have in themselves? Here is the truth: Life moves forward, and it won’t be long before our students begin to learn about barriers such as stress, finances, time, and other challenges along the way. In essence, it won’t be long before our kids stop dreaming about being a lion, and start settling for the future they feel is reachable, which in reality may just be the tip of the iceberg each child is capable of achieving.

So...what am I going to do? What am I going to encourage my amazing teachers to do? Love the journey, fail forward, risk big, believe in every child, and focus on self-efficacy.

If our students have any hope of reaching their kindergarten dreams they need to learn one key thing: It’s alright to fail, especially when we fail forward. I can’t count the number of mistakes I have made in my life. I am actually quite good at it...but you know what? I am alright with that. I embrace the fact that I am human and absolutely not perfect.

I truly believe there are countless students sitting in classrooms across this country believing there is no point in even trying because they know they are going to fail. Depression, frustration, self-doubt, and devastating life choices happen when a student believes he or she is a failure. So what do our students need? Simply put...their inner kindergartner, or more importantly - self-efficacy.

I remember my first round of parent-teacher conferences as if it was yesterday. I was 21 years old and wanted nothing more than to show how smart I was to each parent. I carefully wrote an introduction to articulate my educational background to each parent, and I am still haunted by my breakdown of self-efficacy. It went something like this: “Please know, one of the biggest goals I have as your child’s teacher is to ensure the growth of his/her self-efficacy. I want my students to have a good sense of who they are, and in turn, have a positive view of their own self worth.”

It wasn’t until my second to last parent-teacher conference that I had a parent say, “Do you mean self-esteem? Self-efficacy is a student’s belief in his ability to be successful, not a belief in his self worth.”

Apparently it wasn’t enough to just say, “I think you mean self-esteem, not self-efficacy.” Rather, I was given the definition, backed up with a face full of pity pointed in my direction.

Although the hit to my pride was pretty hard, I learned a valuable lesson, and it wasn’t to check my facts (although that is important). Even though, on that day, I did mean self-esteem, from that day forward I began to focus on self-efficacy. The definition I was given from that parent spoke to exactly what I wanted to do, to build up each of my student’s belief in their ability to succeed.

The challenge: Faith like a child. A kindergartner can be anything - and a person with a strong self-efficacy can as well. Knowing that...Could there be a better gift for a child then self-efficacy? It may not seem like much, but a student’s belief in his ability to be successful can mean the very difference between settling for the surface of life’s journey, or growing up to be a lion. And who wouldn’t want to be a lion?

Risk to Learn Part One

I think the saying “Taking a risk in education” is starting to become more cliche than meaningful…

I was participating in an edchat the other day and the questions all stemmed around the idea of helping students improve. The majority of answers started to sound the same:

”We need to take risks in learning”

“Ts need to take risks with tech”

“Risks in education is the only way to get Ss successful”

“Support risks in the classroom”

“Allowing and supporting Ts to take risks”

The last one was basically what I wrote. After I had hit submit something dawned on me. What on earth were we all talking about? What risks? Who is taking them? What does that even mean? What does it mean learn through risk taking...or in my blog’s case - risk to learn?

It all starts with understanding what a risks in education are and why we need to take them...and for me, its really quite simple in concept - A risk in education is creating a learning environment for our students that steps out of the norm and allows students to own their learning. An environment that encourages students to ask questions, learn from failure, focus on the process of learning rather than the outcome, and using collaboration not as a point on a rubric - but a true sharing of new information and knowledge. Why? Students need something different...The teacher is no longer the keeper of knowledge...think about that for a second...The teacher is no longer the keeper of knowledge. What a shift in the educational world.

How long does a student have to wait to get an answer to a question they have? It is getting to the point where they only need to wait long enough to type a question or idea into a Google search engine...So how do teachers stay relevant and powerful...enter risk taking.

Where is the risk? It comes when we step away from the routine…This week I encourage you to look for those who are doing something different than the norm in a classroom. What is taking place with technology, collaboration, or projects? Where are student voices being heard and shared?

I will be doing the same this week, and I look forward to sharing the risks in education I see with others.

Learning Commons or Makerspace? Don't Forget the Library

Creating a Learning Commons, with the addition of a Makerspace, has been quite the journey. In the past I wrote, and shared, about the process we went through to create our Learning Commons - I also wrote about the importance of the Prinicpal-Librarian relationship - Yet as I continue to reflect on our tranision, it appears I have forgotten to address one very important thing...Our Learning Commons takes place in a fully funtioning library, as it should.

In the beginning stages, before walls were painted and shelves were moved, I consistently made one thing clear as plans were formulated...I am a literacy guy. In fairness, I am happy to see the STEM/STEAM movement, love a good engineering project, and even look forward to experimenting with PBL types of activities in the K-5 classrooms, but I - am - a - literacy - guy. Can’t help it, and I don’t want to...stories excite/inspire/entertain/drive me, and the value of a good book still outweighs anything I could create out of cardboard...well, for me anyway.

It was painful to walk by the library each day and see shelves of books quietly sitting there with little actual learning taking place around them. While we did have thousands of books checked out each year, and wonderful short stories read to children each day...it just seemed to be a quiet and empty place. Something needed to change, and for us, that was the creation of our Learning Commons/Makerspace.

In creating the right amount of space, some shelves were removed and our entire reference section was replaced with a laptop opened to Google.

Yet it is important to note that we worked very hard to keep each and every book that wasn’t needing to be weeded out. Why would we do this? It would have been much easier to just remove many books in order to add more room...Simply put: We didn’t want to throw the baby out with the bathwater.

In education, there is a tendency, at times, to throw the baby out with the bathwater in the pursuit of the next big thing...I mean think about it, how many times have you overheard, or been apart of, a conversation that sounded like this: “I would try that, but if you have been in education long enough you soon find out that everything is circular, give it time, that strategy will come back...so I don’t see a reason to change now.” Personally, I don’t think thoughts like this are shared due to an unwillingness to change, but rather a history of having new ideas completely replace other proven ones. --- Of course, there can also be a tendency in education to hang onto everything. So instead of replacing unsuccessful ideas, we continue to add and add, leaving less and less time in the day. It can be a slippery slope either way...

At Christie, we knew that something needed to change, we knew we wanted to create something amazing, but one thing was clear...we were not going to throw out the library with the Learning Commons/Makerspace.

So naturally one question needed to be answered: How were both the library and Makerspace going to thrive in the newly named Learning Commons? We want our Learning Commons to not only be a place to find a great book/hear a good story...but a place where inventions are made, ideas are shared, and the slogan “If you can imagine it, you can create it” reigns.

The first step was easy - Keep as many books as possible. I know this was addressed above, but I wanted to reiterate the fact that this was a crucial first step.

Once the books were moved and saved to the greatest extent possible, we created the Learning Commons - again, you can read about our Journey from Library to Learning Commons here.

The second step was equally important - identify and utilize several campus leaders to oversee the newly created Learning Commons. For me, it was important to find those, outside of the librarian, who would be excited and passionate about transitioning our library to a Learning Commons. This is a key point in ensuring the Learning Commons continues to be a fully functioning library - think about it...librarians are very important, but the idea of running a continually used Learning Commons/Makerspace as well as reading stories to students, teaching how to check-out books, re-shelving, and ordering/reviewing other texts would be an almost impossible task. While I am sure there are librarians willing to take on this task, the fact of the matter is that having a Makerspace used all day, as well as a fully functioning library requires multiple hands on deck...not just one person’s…

The third step was all about space - we are very fortunate to be able to have a library classroom that is not only inside the Learning Commons, but has a door with a room containing all the technology and elements of a school classroom. This space is a huge blessing for our campus - essentially what it does is allow the Learning Commons/Makerspace to be used all day - yet our librarian is able to continue to teach lessons, read stories, and help students through a traditional library lense when needed.

The natural fourth step was then to figure out scheduling - Due to the fact that this is the first year with our Learning Commons, we decided to make the use of this space optional. Using an electronic cloud-based calendar, we sectioned the day into 45 minute segments. Teachers are able to check out time in the Learning Commons/Makerspace during the instructional day. At the same time, our librarian created a schedule for our Kinder, First, and Second grade classes to come for a weekly library day with story time in the library classroom. Our third, fourth, and fifth grade classes also have a schedule in order for self-checkout and library lessons to take place as needed.

What has been most impressive is the learning that takes place and the creations made throughout the day from all our K-5 classrooms and students. As the principal, it has been nothing short of amazing to see first hand the use of: Lego Robotics, Lego Creation Center, K'nex, Circuitry, Makey Makey Inventions, Green Screen Video, Robotic Petting Zoo, Cardboard Creations, Reverse Engineering, Sticky-Note Designs through Blueprints, Research Tools, Coding, and so much more...in fact, our 3D printer is on the way…

Next year we are adding a third room/area that is attached to the Learning Commons which will be called our Multimedia Center. This area will house our green screen filming, tablet tech bars, 3D printing, and will be the home of our technology to be utilized throughout the building such as tablets, iPhones, Chromebooks, and additional laptops.

The last note I would like to add is this: Our teachers facilitate the learning in the Learning Commons. This is a crucial step that cannot be missed - it is our teachers who check out time, our teachers who decide what activities will ultimately take place, our teachers that care for and maintain the environment, our teachers that partner cross-grade levels, our teachers that keep our dream alive.

The next steps? We are answering them as they come. But again, it is important to remember that our goal was not to throw out the library with the creation of our Learning Commons...and we haven't.

At Christie, we focus on and celebrate the process, while expecting great results along the way. Our Learning Commons blends beautifully with this belief. What is most exciting about this space is it gives students an opportunity to create, imagine, and build something out of their imagination. We want our students to become creators instead of consumers, so utilizing the Four C’s (Collaboration, Communication, Creativity, and Critical Thinking) through the Learning Commons/Makerspace lense is one of the most valuable tools we use in education for authentic, student owned, learning.

Why Your PLN Matters

The world is at your fingertips...I never really understood the value of that phrase. I remember my college professor would say that to us all the time. I remember at the end of high school and entering college, the internet was all of the sudden considered to be a research tool - yet many of us had no idea how to effectively utilize it. We would open up Google/Yahoo in the computer lab and type in a phrase/topic and then hit search...and then oh my goodness - magic. While the internet, as a research tool, was nothing short of amazing, never before had I learned at the speed and level as I do right now. That is because today I have a Professional Learning Network (PLN) through my new best online buddy...Twitter.

One year ago, almost to the day, my then principal - Lorraine aka @LorraineShimizu - told me I needed to get onto Twitter. As her assistant principal, I figured I didn’t have a lot of choice, so I went online and signed up. What did I do? Probably what most people do when first entering the world of Twitter...I followed anyone that could give me information on my favorite sports teams: Dallas Mavericks, Texas Rangers, Detroit Lions, and yes...even the Cowboys. Truthfully that was the end of it. All the while she was using it to share articles, relay information, reach out to our families, and grow what she called, her PLN.

A few months went by and I was given the opportunity to become the new principal of Christie Elementary. So what did I do? I took over the rights to the @ChristieCubs account and began to share information to those who followed me about what was happening… So to recap: I was sharing information and following my favorite sports teams. There is nothing wrong with this, except one major thing...I wasn’t learning anything of educational/professional value. Something had to change…

While at an educational conference in October we were asked to write our Twitter handle on our “Hi my name is _____” cards. So I wrote @ChristieCubs. It wasn’t ten minutes before several people boldly stated that I needed to get my own account. Challenge Accepted - quick note, there are a lot of people in the world named Ryan Steele - but after what felt like an hour I found a username that would work…@R_H_Steele was born.

What was the first thing I did? Well, I followed my favorite sports team reporters of course...but after that I decided I would start by following those at the educational conference. Then, here comes the truth...I looked at who @LorraineShimizu, @SKimbriel, and @matthew_arend followed so I could then follow them too. So at this point I had like 2 followers, but I was following 1,000 + people.

I made a deal with myself that I would look at Twitter at least once a day and see if there was anything valuable...within 10 days I went from checking once to checking constantly, joining EdChats, reading blogs shared through Twitter, and then connecting with other educational leaders from Australia, Toronto, California, New York, Florida and Iowa. 10 days...seriously...10 days.

Why does your PLN matter? Simply put, because I have learned more in the last six months then I can ever remember before. But it’s more than that...I have made connections, allies, and friends. I have found people who challenge my thinking and encourage me to be a better leader. In essence, my PLN is a network of people who have been willing to form a connection, a relationship really, with me...and that is nothing short of amazing.

There is so much to learn, so many things to read, so many ideas to try, and so many risks to take. A powerful PLN can offer guidance and support like nothing else, and for that reason alone...it matters.

The Principal - Librarian Relationship

There was a time when the library was the true center of the school. Of course, it needed to be...after all, if you wanted to learn something new, read a great book, or find research to back-up your personal stance, where else were you going to turn? The library was THE room full of knowledge, stories, and ideas. It was a magical place, and its gatekeeper? The librarian. When you think about it, she had a lot of power...to single handedly hold the keys to the place where knowledge was stored.

I am not sure when it happened...maybe when the internet no longer took a dial tone to connect, or when one Kindle could hold an entire library worth of literature in the palm of your hands...but for many schools, the library is no longer the sole keeper of knowledge. No longer the center of the school building. No longer the magical place it once was.

Today, many schools are working hard to bring the library back to the center of learning. Makerspaces and Learning Commons are beginning to change the look and feel of the once silent center of learning. At Christie, we have moved from a library to a Learning Commons - it is now a place where hands-on learning, collaboration, and creativity are king. Yet, as I detailed this transformation in my blog post “The Journey from Library to Learning Commons” (http://risktolearn.blogspot.com) it became painfully clear...I created this environment with some amazing teachers and staff, but my librarian was not the driving force. How could I have let this happen? I changed a space that was once filled with rows of shelves and whispers, to a colorfully loud space full of books and collaboration without my librarian leading the way. I didn’t just move her cheese, I blew it up! So while we are both excited and encouraged by the authentic student-driven learning taking place...the truth of the matter is we didn’t get here together.

As I have talked to other librarians and principals something interesting has come to light. Somehow, for many, the relationship between the principal and librarian, while professional, is better described as a mutual respect/appreciation, rather than a true partnership. Why is this? How did many of us get here? More importantly, why does this need to change?

I can’t recall a single class I took during my undergraduate or graduate degrees that centered around the library. Not one. I can’t think of one class called, “Libraries and You” or “Why the Library is Important” … I would have even settles for a “Libraries 101” … but sadly, never happened. I used the library to study and learn, but I never studied or learned about the library itself.

As a principal, the success of my students is the single most important thing to me. It’s the reason I come to work, take risks, put in countless hours and do all I can to serve and support my teachers and community. In all honesty, before creating our Learning Commons, when making a list of the people I worked with each day to ensure the success of each child, it looked something like this: Teachers, Students, Instructional Specialists/Coaches, ESL Specialists, Gifted and Talented Teachers, Paraprofessionals, Office Staff, Parents, and Community Members...notice something? No librarian...Why was this? The answer: My mindset.

Here is what I have learned, and I don’t think I was alone in my thinking...I viewed my librarian as the person in charge of the space where books were stored, NOT as a key player in the student learning experience. Such a misguided mindset...Luckily, it took only a few short weeks of being a principal for me to figure out I was underutilizing and undervaluing my librarian.

Truthfully, I don’t know why I didn’t strive to build a partnership with my librarian right away. Maybe because “Libraries 101” was never offered, or because I viewed the library as an outdated environment that no longer supported our technology-filled lives. No matter the reason, it was foolish.

I believe the library, or in our case the Learning Commons, needs to be the center of our school buildings once again. A place where creativity is fostered, mistakes are made, problems are solved, and literacy is just as important as active engagement through authentic higher-level questioning.

So, why should there be a strong principal - librarian relationship? Simply put...if the library is going to once again be the center of learning, the librarian needs to be leading the way. Librarians are no longer the people who tell kids to be quiet then re-shelve books...they are teachers, leaders, learners, risk-takers, and knowledge seekers. As such, it’s time for our librarians to once again be our strongest guides to learning...and as principals, we need to help them get there. After all, we are in this together.