El Parque Nuez

So because I travel in somewhat ornery education circles, the very title of this post probably meant I’m the only person who is reading it.

But I wanted to get a point across.  I’ve heard multiple people highlight that true “diagnostic assessment”, as opposed to thinking about testing and data rather than thinking about students, is about creating relationships with kids and understand where they are coming from.  I agree with this.

But I also think that the first day is about kids testing you.

Testing whether or not you’re ready for them.

Testing whether or not you’re going to get unreasonably mad at little things they do.

Testing whether you’re going to read a list of rules and a syllabus.  Or you’re going to do some icebreaker you saw at a conference.

Testing whether you’re going to design things that are captivating, but not corny.

Testing whether you’re kind, compassionate, and caring.  And testing if you’re also resolute, passionate and firm in your beliefs.

Testing whether or not you’re cool, but not just cool because you want them to think you’re cool.

Testing whether or not you trust them.

Testing whether or not you’re going to respect them.

Testing whether or not you’re going to be worth their time.

Testing whether or not you’re going to do things that are really important.

Testing whether or not you care about the things they care about, but also care deeply about the things you care about.

This “diagnostic” that your kids administer to you is more high-stakes than any multiple choice test.  Thankfully, this isn’t the kind you have to shade in a circle to do well.

Good luck and have fun with them.

First day of school tomorrow.  And it makes me think about what Godin says about fostering tribes.  Find people with passion, and provide them with vehicles to communicate.

In many ways, the first day of school consists of a good bit of marketing.  Now, not the kind of “investment” marketing that happens in traditional classrooms.  Where teachers trick kids into liking something they don’t, akin to selling a ketchup popsicle to a person wearing white gloves.  This is about marketing their role in connecting with the world. About marketing their own self-confidence.  Their own self-discipline.  Their own right to and hand in this changing world.
I have to “market” the idea of my kids being self-directed learners.

I have to “market” the idea of my kids being responsible with their equipment and relationships online.

I have to “market” the idea of my kids being respectful to each other and safe in an environment that looks drastically different than the learning environments they are accustomed to.

I have to “market” the idea that school can be about what you passion, not what you find boring.

To focus this year, my third in teaching, I want to “market” four new ideas.

1. Communicating with actual people from around the globe.
2. Making sense of global misunderstandings by understanding yourself.
3. Finding your own engagement.
4. Creating new things and telling stories that are interesting to people outside the classroom.

I’ve always used video to “market” these ideas.  It provides support that these ideas come from outside my own head, and were created by groups of people who believe these four things are crucial to the future.

Here are the videos I’ve chosen for tomorrow, I hope other teachers might find them helpful.

Idea #1: Self Control

As kids walk into the room, every student from Kindergarten to 8th grade, I hand them a marshmallow.  ”If you can resist eating it” I say, “you have proven to yourself that you have the sort of self-control necessary to make a difference”.  The ones who can’t resist (usually only a few each year): “we have some work to do : ) “

Idea #2: The world is a much different place than even when I was your age, just 11 (or 13 for 6th graders) years ago (I began 8th grade in August 1999).  Anything is now possible (with access and knowledge)

Idea #3: Social Media has changed the way this world talks and works with each other, even in places you wouldn’t immediately think.

Thought #4: Things are changing…really fast (sometimes for good, sometimes for bad).  The world will be different when you are older too.  Don’t you want it to be your choice?

Thought #5: Language helps us understand each other.

Thought #6: Other people think other languages are important, other than me.

(I’m always careful with using Obama, because lot’s of people use Obama as an example that Black kids can do anything, which a lot of my kids find incredibly insulting).

Thought #7: You need to get better at something everyday.  This is an opportunity for you to work on something exciting.

After watching the last one, my students will eat their marshmallow while writing their “sentence” on an index card to post on a wall in my room.

I’m super excited about tomorrow.  I get to start a relationship with students I’ve never met, and to continue relationships with kids I’ve known for 2 years.

Good luck starting school everyone.

img via edvc on flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/edvvc/1248693031/

I posted this as a comment on @mbteach’s blog post today over at edutopia. I want to help others aggregate these resources. I totally believe that it’s unfair distribution of resources that keeps learners from the stuff they need, and one of our responsibilities is to go and and redistribute it.

I would recommend scavenging thrift stores, pawn shops, craigslist, etc. for used equipment. Might not be a lot, but you will find some gems of video cameras, digital cameras, ipods/mp3 players, etc. In an afternoon of work you can cheaply pull together some really great stuff.

Have lots of conversations with friends about buying new technology. Urge them to upgrade if they are able, or to go buy that new gadget, as long as they donate the old version to your classroom. I have 3 (albiet older) video ipods and 4 digital cameras from this. Laptops too. Any laptop with at least 256MB of Ram and less than 8 years old can run a lot of internet applications. People have these laptops in their basements.

Throw a “techluck” party where friends bring their old digital cameras, video cameras, laptops, microphones, headsets, etc. You cook and provide hospitality. This interaction also provides a community of people interested in what you do. They’ll be fans of your classroom and can interact with your kids.

These new tools make a huge difference in how my kids can share their learning.

Lastly, I recommend finding the 10 largest companies in your city.

Explain to them you are a teacher with limited resources and how laptops (I only recommend laptops, since they have screens, mice and keyboards built in, and are portable) will fundamentally transform the world you can open to your kids.

Tell them that laptops will provide students with a depth of thinking not found with paper and pencil.  Tell them everything you believe in (but be concise).

Send this email to the human resource person at each of these companies, asking that person if there are any laptops that have completed their IT cycle, or if there is a program for computer donations to schools or organizations. If you email 10 (or more) a few will bite. I know of 3 people (including myself) who were able to piece together 1:1 classrooms in similar ways.

Don’t be shy, and be creative.

We are not suffering from a scarcity of resources, but rather an abundance of resources that are not equitably distributed to the most important users: learners.