Apples and oranges and "smoots", O my!

There is a bridge over the Charles River in Cambridge, Massachusetts that is approximately 364.4 smoots long. Yes, I said “smoots”; not inches, feet, meters, or any other standard measurement the global society is aware of. And, what is a smoot, you might ask? According to Wikipedia:

The smoot (smuːt/) is a nonstandard unit of length created as part of an MIT fraternity prank. It is named after Oliver R. Smoot, a fraternity pledge to Lambda Chi Alpha, who in October 1958 lay on the Harvard Bridge (between Boston and Cambridge, Massachusetts), and was used by his fraternity brothers to measure the length of the bridge.[1]

Mr. Smoot was 5’7” in height, and when lying down across the bridge, over and over again, was said to be the unit of measurement for this bridge.

What I described seems humorous, but a perfect example to consider the futility in understanding how you measure one object using a non-standardized unit of comparative measurement. It is not understandable in the world of science or engineering, it’s a prank.

In an article posted in the NYTimes this weekend by Matt Richtel[2], he attempts to outline the problem of investing in 21^st Century materials and resources when assessment and accountability scores are not improving. Let's analyze this assertion by clarifying that the assessments being used to measure creativity, inquiry-based learning, and curiosity, are based on a 2 dimensional perspective of learning where rote teaching, lecture, memorization, and linear learning are valued. This column proves the absurdity of using a smoot to measure a bridge, or comparing apples to  oranges.

When you seek to view a landscape of lush beauty and a vivid panorama of rich colors, through dirty, cracked and discolored lenses one will miss the beauty of the moment. 

As I am sure a rational argument is always available for those that insist there is no value in funding all of these gadgets and resources if a child cannot read, the issue at stake is the faulty supposition he makes. He uses the assertion that unless there is quantitative data showing marked improvement in expectations of accountability, the public investment of funding may be for naught. He is suggesting we should be using "smoots" to measure a bridge!  You cannot use literacy and math accountability tools to measure creativity, curiosity, and inquiry-based learning. It's apples and oranges, and smoots, oh my!

In this day and age where accountability is the siren song of the politicos that have no other issue to rile the community’s anger with, to assume that the investment of funding to increase technological and instructional resources can be measured by assessments of linear accountability is fraught with problems of accuracy.

Despite the best efforts of “psycho-magicians” to create something usable, accountability testing in math and literacy skills are not designed to measure these things. There has been a lack of research and development in social science tools to adequately make this a fair fight. If true 21st Century education is to bolster these essential human functions, why are we continuing to assess through the discolored and fractured lens of competitive accountability?

Direct instruction, or linear instructional activities that focus on rote learning, and passive participation for students, thwarts the creative thinking and inquiry building that 21st century learning could truly inspire in students.

The use of quantitative assessments to measure accountability is a curse that remains with educators since the days of Thorndike who desired education to be a science instead of an art form. Results were needed to verify substance and credibility, regardless of differentiation, special education, multiple aptitudes of learning, and the eventual development of children into 21st Century learners.

According to Diane Ravitch, policymakers have always sought to hold school officials accountable for literacy and performance.[3] Using inappropriate data to prove American educational systems are not doing the job of educating children, is a losing battle for both sides of the argument. Anyone trained in social science research can tell you this.

I believe Piaget said it best, many years ago:

“The principle goal of education is to create men who are capable of doing new things, not simply repeating what other generations have done-people who are creative, inventive, and discoverers.”[4]

By the way, for those people that believe American education is poor, because of what a test is saying to the world, remember, it was a group of Americans that landed a man on the moon in 1969, or found breakthroughs in science, medicine, computers, aviation, etc. and made dazzling contributions to art, music, architecture over the past 100 years. I wonder if someone tried to thwart their imagination when coming up with these accomplishments?!

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[1] Smoot. Wikipedia. Retrieved fromSeptember 5, 2011 at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoot

[2] Richtel, M. (September 3, 2011). In Classroom of the Future, Stagnant Scores. New York Times. Retrienved September 4, 2011 at http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/04/technology/technology-in-schools-faces-questions-on-value.html.

[3] Ravitch, D. (2002). A brief history of testing. Hoover Digest (4). Retrieved September 4, 2011 at http://www.hoover.org/publications/hoover-digest/article/7286

[4] Kuszewski, A. (July 7, 2011). The educational value of creative disobedience. Scientific American. Retrieved September 4, 2011 at www.scientificamerican.com/blog/post.cfm

Labor Day Weekend 2011...that sick feeling, again!

It's Labor Day weekend in the US, and for many Americans a last long weekend of summer before the summer officially ends. For many children and teachers, it is the worst weekend of the year, since all school age children and teachers have a sick feeling in the pit of their stomachs. But, for a school superintendent it is another weekend where we get to prepare for the opening of another exciting school year.


My favorite activity at the start of the Labor Day weekend is to visit all of my school buildings to absorb the calm before the hustle and bustle of the oncoming activities that make up a school year. I enjoy this mundane act, probably the least interesting of all the things I do as a school superintendent, but one I value the most since I get to ensure the state of readiness for the children of my community.


In touring the rooms, and enjoying the glossy, shiny finish on the floors, I witness the transformation of my district- albeit slow-  in becoming a 21st Century learning environment. Many classrooms now have smart boards, lap tops, ELMO's and other devices to enhance the learning process for kids. But, remember, it's not the equipment that makes the environment a true 21st Century learning community; it's the instructional experience.


Will Richardson recently quoted an interesting remark by Nishant Shah, Research Director of the Centre for Internet and Society in India;


"The digital outcast is not somebody who doesn’t have access to the technologies; s/he is somebody who, after the access has been granted, fails to actualise the transformative potentials of technologies for the self or for others.(1)"


All the equipment added to a classroom does not make the instruction differentiated or meaningful, if teacher centered lectures and the same photocopied worksheets are passed out for the same meaningless busy work that prevents children from reaching their potential and investigating their inquiries and interests.  Even at the administrative level, when everything is done to stretch the budget and place an iPad to make principals and directors more efficient, it is frustrating to see one still walking around with a huge, bounded, planner stuffed and crammed to the seams with thousands of pages of paper and calendars! 


Or, libraries in schools still dependent on static, unchanging volumes called "encyclopedias" or "dictionaries", when the global knowledge base is fluid, evolving and continuous. 


Why are we, as educational professionals, still scared to confront this reality?


Why are there still people in this profession that refuse to actualize the reality of this percept?


Time will tell, and here is hoping that a few teachers will grab onto this reality. 






1. Richardson, W. (2011, September 3). Digital outcast [Web log message]. Retrieved September 4, 2011 from http://goo.gl/M6zz3

And they're off....

As I live in the Albany, NY area, this has been an interesting weekend.  Today is the running of the Travers, the biggest horse race in the Saratoga meet. Millions on the line, so to speak. Also, this afternoon we are awaiting the arrival of Irene, the hurricane.

Why should I be writing about this activity in my blog on 21st Century learning for school leaders? Because it hearkens to the children's story about "Chicken Little" and the errant warnings that the 'sky is falling'.

 For anyone that has ever attended a horse race or has attempted to handicap horses, they will note an entire culture and database system with more information on horses than one could ever digest in a lifetime. For example, here is a sample of a horse racing entry found in the program of a race:



Notice how much information is offered on this one horse named Duca. From this 2" block of newsprint you know everything there is to understand if this horse has the potential to win a race; height, weight, jockey, trainer, past performances on other races, speed records at each turn of each race, whether the horse won, lost, pooped out, or retired. To the trained eye there is probably much more that can be gleaned, as well as information so well coded about the horse, you would think a person has to work for the CIA to crack the code. And this is just for one horse! Every horse in a race has information available like this.

When I consider this method of data analysis on horses, and the extent people go to interpret and become experts at using this information, I ask myself if this is the ultimate goal for the mania our education system has evolved into. Are we attempting to test, assess, and evaluate every aspect of the learning experience for children so that someday we can tatoo information like the image above on a child's arm and summarize their educational potential in 2" of print? Just imagine how useful this information becomes in a job interview? Before any questions are asked, candidates are requested to roll up their sleeves so that we can read or scan the information from a QR code or UPC label permanently affixed on Johnnie or Suzie's arm.

But, this is the mandate of the federal and state government to assess the begeebies out of children and to place them into educational castes and to categorize their potential into 2". Imagine going through life feeling that because you scored such and such on the grade 3-8 NYS ELA exam, you will never be able to rise to your potential?

Diane Ravitch summarizes this mania into an interesting comment, that testing is not the most important thing we do in education. Testing is nothing more than a thermometer, like the one on your car's water pump. Testing is not the last thing or the most important thing. I hope our teachers rise to the challenge of moving their students to greater heights than what an assessment indicates.

Chasing Our Tails!

I have a wonderful, little dog-a Maltese, named Samme. He is small, portable, playful and quite amusing. He’s my best friend. He has a curious habit of chasing his tail and working himself into a dizzying quandary, which is funny to watch. There is a lot to be learned about issues going on in education today, by watching my dog in this frustrating effort.

This morning (8/25/2011) New York State educators were greeted with the news that an Albany County Supreme Court Judge overturned part of the new regulations for the Teacher-Principal Evaluation process, mandated to begin September 1, 2011. The New York State United Teachers successfully waged a battle stating that teachers cannot be deemed ineffective with student achievement scores that are failing or not improving.  

So much for addressing mediocrity in our public schools.

There is some speculation that the presiding judge may not have read the argument correctly- if he read it it, at all-, but nevertheless, the appeals process will check this court’s ruling.

This experience has created many questions and as school leaders are wrestling with what all of this means, we seem to be chasing our own tails, so to speak.

In an excellent leadership blog by Shawn Murphy[1], he poses a similar question for educators to be concerned about. “Are we too busy chasing big?” exemplifies the frustrating act of looking for things that are so exceptional that we miss the everyday achievements that we need to take pride in.

“Are you looking for something big while missing the small that happens around you each day? Does big equate to great?”

Thanks to the Federal enticement for funding, which the US government does not have, Race to the Top is forcing our schools to hold student achievement as the priority and this will be completed by testing and assessing the “begeebies” out of kids until school is nothing more than teaching to a test.

So, again, we offer the supposition, “are we chasing our tails”? “Are we chasing ‘big’”? Have we ignored the creative potential of children to learn, and the creative teacher to try any means that works to reach students of differing abilities and needs?

My dog, Samme, eventually catches his tail, and after biting down hard on it, learns a valuable lesson on futility. I predict the USDOE, NYSED, and NYSUT, will learn that lesson down the road!

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[1] Murphy, S. (August 22, 2011). Are we too busy chasing big? Retrieved August 22, 2011 at http://achievedstrategies.com/blog/are-we-too-busy-chasing-big/

Taboo of Social Media in Schools!!?!

 Over the past few weeks there has been much news about policies being developed to curb the social media experience between teachers and students. It poses many ethical and moral questions to a significant part of the population, especially the mainline purists and puritans controlling the media throughout the country, but the reality is still there; social media is a significant tool for educational purposes. To avoid it, encourages the movement, to understand it and facilitate it for constructive educational purposes is to be part of the 21st Century.

Case in point is the new law that has recently been promulgated in Missouri banning social media interactions between teachers and students. Specifically, #SB54 of the Missouri legislature forbids teachers from communicating privately with a student using a non-work social media account or website. Any discussion between a teacher and student online must be completely public and transparent.[1]

The inference is quite clear, though. There are bad people in the world that do nasty things in perverting the welfare of children. But, they are in every corner of society, not just on the Internet. They are in the community, in churches, in movie theaters, and malls, as well as online. The issue is how to support the creative act of working through social media to express one’s ideas and to write in a constructive manner. The key reference to the law above is to find a way to do so that is “public and transparent”. [2]

But, first, let’s rationalize and define the barriers of good and bad social media practice. These are bad uses of social media experiences:

• Barrow County, Ga.: an English teacher sued to get her job back after being fired when someone anonymously told school officials that a student accessed the teacher's page and viewed photos of her drinking alcohol. The district couldn't prove a student ever viewed the page.

• Brooklyn, N.Y.: a fifth-grade teacher, faces termination after saying she hated her students and that a trip to the beach would be good for them, a day after a 12-year-old student drowned there on a school trip.

• Brownsville, Pa.: a high school Spanish teacher, was suspended (but later reinstated) over a photo taken at a bachelorette party that showed her posing with a stripper.

• Cohasset, Mass.: a high school math and science teacher, resigned after parents saw Facebook posts, which the teacher thought were private, where she called district residents "arrogant and snobby."[3]

Here is an outstanding and positive use of social media:

Bethany Fenyus, an eighth-grade language arts teacher at Steel Valley Middle School, said she decided to create a class Twitter page for its potential educational benefits. Steel Valley doesn't have a policy regarding social media use, but Fenyus got permission from her superintendent and principal to set up the account. She had parents sign an informational sheet acknowledging that she intended the page to be used for educational purposes and that she wasn't personally responsible for how students used it.
She said she's never had a problem with any tweets.

"I've told them that I'm getting everything you're tweeting so remember to keep it appropriate," Fenyus said.
Fenyus said she'll send tweets from a vacation spot in hopes that students might go online and learn more about the place. She'll also let students know about education shows on the History Channel.
"I'll tweet something that I think they'd find interesting or is educational," she said.[4]

A big difference between the top examples and the one from the enterprising and constructive leader of 21st Century learning at Steel Valley Middle School, right?

Kudos to the administrators from Bethany’s school district for having the fortitude to allow this young teacher to use the social media tool to interact with students, and continue to write and express their thoughts and ideas. Kudos to the teacher for being so skillful in considering all of the dangers and pitfalls for something like this, and then designing a format to allow an open, transparent communication process through the media.

This is an example of 21^st Century thinking and learning. I sincerely hope others will be daring enough.

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[1] Heaton, B. (2011, August 3). Social media between students and teachers restricted. Retrieved from http://citationmachine.net/index2.php?reqstyleid=2&mode=form&reqsrcid=APAWebPage&more=yes&nameCnt=1

[2] Ibid.

[3] Weigand, J. (2011, August 18). Pitfalls await teachers who publicize lives on social media. Pittsburgh Tribune Review, Retrieved from http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/s_752099.html?_s_icmp=NetworkHeadlines

[4] Ibid.

Custodian Responsible for Putting Man On The Moon

"Of the many stories that came out of NASA’s Apollo space program, one of my favourites is the story about the janitor who upon being asked by a reporter what his job was in the organization replied “I’m helping to put a man on the Moon”. Now, whether this story is true or not doesn’t really matter as it exemplifies the general sentiment shared by everyone involved in that project; that regardless of how large or visible their contribution was, they all felt a genuine and direct connection between the work they did and that moment when Neil Armstrong took that first step on the Moon."

Being part of something greater than one's self or one's position! 

As a school superintendent, I would hope everyone in my school district feels that way about the purpose of the organization. Everyone in this district is responsible for influencing and creating a quality educational experience for every student that attends school each day. It is the job of the 21st Century School Leader to do just that; inspire people in the school district to engage their work faithfully and constructively each and every day, week, month and year.

Leadership in our schools is the challenge that we all face each and every day. Whether it is managing the day-to-day operational issues of providing a safe and appropriate environment for a quality education, to wrestling with the impossible demands coming from government leaders interested on making an issue where there is none, or creating the vision and strategy for the future. Leadership is really about making a difference for people, and in the schools it is for children and their preparation to meet the future. 

Rajeev Peshwaria provides an excellent view into the true leadership soul of being impactful leaders in education. His q&a in the Smart Blog on Leadership [Cox, D. (August 15, 2011). Q&A with Rajeev Peshawaria: Stop bossing and start leading..  Smart Blog on Leadership. [Internet]. Retrieved August 17, 2011 from https://goo.gl/aFk7n.] is phenomenal, and truly resonates with all educational leaders, from, principals, subject supervisors, directors, coordinators to school superintendents and to the school custodian.

 "Leadership is about having the lasting energy to create a better future." 

What a magnificent statement that hopefully inspires all of our  21st Century School Leaders to make a lasting difference. The better future we seek is to provide that optimal educational experience that will move our students into an educated future. 

Like the NASA custodian, if you work in our school district, everyone is a keyplayer for the purpose of the organization.

3 R's Need to Expand

We've come a long way from calling a public education the 3 R's. The modicum of 19th Century learning that really was the basis for 20th and 21st Century teachers needs to change. Do you have what it takes to do that?

In a continuing discussion of the model for 21st Century Learning I am writing today to encourage people to read the most recent post by Meris Stansbury, Associate Editor of the eSchool News. Her article was entitled the "Top Ten Skills Every Student should Learn", and it resonates with the 21st Century learning context so well. She outlines ten reasonable and supported skills that should be a part of the total instructional learning experience for all children. (https://t.co/VCjZ6JI).

1)   Read
2)   Type
3)   Write
4)   Communicate
5)   Question
6)   Resourcefulness
7)   Accountability
8)   Learning
9)   Critical thinking
10)  Happiness

While some may debate that reducing the instructional experiences of children to 10 skills is an oversimplification, I would contend that to avoid addressing these skills is forfeiting one's career commitment. More so, than ever before we need  children to step up to the future well-prepared and well-versed in this skill set of learning outcomes. And there won't be a state created assessment that will be used to justify not doing it in the future.

Randy Turner, an English Teacher from California, was quoted in the Huffington Post in March as saying that if teachers did their jobs years ago we would have been able to affect a better outcome with our current politicians. As teachers we did not do enough to teach the things that really matter such as decency, respect, moral fortitude to make constructive arguments in leading for the welfare of people that elect them to positions of authority.

Skill sets such as reading, writing, and computer fluency are a given. But working harder to teach effective communication, respectful interactions, encouraging inquiry, and critical thinking are also a premium. But, now that we are all racing to the bottom together, another generation of warped politicos will be a certainty.

Be the difference for the future. Read this excellent article in eSchool News.