Improving Schools

What is something you are doing to change school for students or what is something you would like to do?

Our schools have so much that is good.  They are filled with heartwarming moments and educational leaps and innovation.  
And yet . . .
I sometimes doubt that we are up to the task of educating our 21st century children.  Some days I lose hope that our system serves our students well at all.
Frightening thoughts.
Because if this is not a way to meet our kids' needs then what is??

I'm not a visionary.  I have a hard time dreaming big.  I'm practical.  I like balanced budgets and agendas and concrete plans.  So it's helpful to work with people who do dream big.  Listed below are some of the classroom practices that help me to "catch the vision".

Non-traditional desks/chairs
Several of the teachers I work with have experimented with non traditional seating and desks.  They have a variety of table heights (for standing or seated work) and a variety of chairs (exercise balls, wiggle chairs, bean bags, stools).  The amazing thing is that these classrooms are very calm and centered.  I worried that kids would all want the same cool chair, but the teachers have arranged systems to manage this.  In one upper elementary classroom, the desks and chairs are traditional, but the teacher allows the kids to complete independent work on the floors with clipboards if they want to.  And it works!

Media
Our little tech-savvy learners are fearless with new technology.  They are ready to be engaged, entertained, and challenged by learning in a media rich environment.  Mobile technology is often adaptive to each learner's needs, allowing a level of true curriculum differentiation that was nearly impossible to provide in the past.  The trick is finding learning experiences for the students that challenge them beyond the level of an electronic worksheet.  Tasks with multiple solutions, opportunities to explore and present new ideas, challenges to utilize learning in a novel way (rather than just demonstrate memorization) all take learning to a new level.

Communication and cooperation
Remember when a silent class really showed your administrator what a good teacher you were?  Not anymore!  Kids need opportunities to talk, defend, digest, explain, and collaborate.  On-task talking makes learning more relevant and significant to the students.  It moves the kids from passive learners (just sit quietly and look engaged) to active participants.  One measure of engaged learning is "opportunities to respond".  This includes table talk, partner talk, response boards, and a variety of other active learning strategies.  In addition to participating in their learning, student conversations move English language development (and acquisition of academic language) to the core of how we learn everyday.

Focus on the positive
We can no longer assume that kids "know how to be good."  PBIS trainer, Dale Myers, says, "If you want it, teach it."  If we want a high standard of social behavior at school we have to teach it.  And not just once.  We have to teach it to mastery.  This is true of the social/emotional behaviors our children need to be successful learners (and good human beings) too.  We teach the Second Step curriculum in our classrooms for all our children.  Even the most well-adjusted student can learn a lot from this program.  And while we're being positive, have you noticed how many kids are doing things just the way we asked them to? Sometimes it's easy to overlook this when that one naughty kid is once again up to his/her shenanigans.  Celebrating positive behavior puts attention on the kids who are making right choices instead of the rascals who are being pests (again!).

I'm sure I could think of more ways schools are changing to meet the needs of our kids.  But I just noticed it's late.  And tomorrow is only Thursday.  So I think I'll stop trying to save the world for tonight and try again in the morning.