Coach O wrote back!

Anne,
I cannot begin to tell you how much it meant to receive your letter. Your letter found me on a day that I definitely needed a some positive news. I have battled some health issues over the last year. I have a very unique heart condition and had cancer surgery this fall which caused me to miss six weeks of school. As a teacher you understand the difficulties coming back from a six week absence. I felt like I had lost contact with the students. So once again your letter was so wonderful and timely. I received your letter on Monday and on Tuesday I received very good news about my cancer issues.

I am so happy for you. It sounds like you are very happy in Colorado. I would love to meet your daughter some day. Enjoy every minute with her. She will grow up so fast you will absolutely wonder where the time went. Getting married again, wonderful!

Let me tell you what I have been doing. Carol and I moved to Detroit Lakes six years ago. We built a house on a lot Carol had inherited on Little Detroit Lake. We decided to do that after our daughter graduated from high school. I have served Fargo Schools as the History Specialist over the last four years. FPS receive a Teaching American History Grant four years ago ($1,000,000) and I was asked to administer the grant. I taught three classes during the day then I did grant work. The grant has run out of money so this year I am back in the classroom full time. I have been teaching the AP History courses for the last 10 years. We have a very large number of students that take AP European and U.S. History. Though I still enjoy teaching I am planning on retiring this June. I plan to work somewhere but not at North next year. It is a time in my life I need some change and a little less responsibility. I will always have fond memories of the teams and players from North. I have volunteered my time with the Detroit Lakes H.S. volleyball team since we moved to DL. I have enjoyed those kids. Kids are kids wherever you go.

Carol, my wife still teaches elementary physical education in Fargo and will continue to do so for a few more years. Nicholas, our son, just graduated from college in December. He was not prepared for college the first time around but we are very proud of him for going back to school and finishing a degree. Nick also was married last August and lives in West Fargo. Erin, our daughter has been married for three years and lives in Woodbury, MN. She has been teaching in Apple Valley for four years. She also coaches volleyball and their team was second in the state of Minnesota this year.

Anne, I was able to stay in teaching for 35 years because of young people like yourself. You always possessed so much desire to use your talents. You always demonstrated great empathy for teammates and others involved in the program. I am sincerely humbled by your words of kindness. I know after 14 years of teaching you understand how much a teacher benefits from the students and players they work with. I benefited from being associated with you and your teammates. All of you kept me young and determined to do by best. The wonderful benefits of working with young people are the rewards a teacher/coach receives when they receive a letter from a past student/player. I never doubted you would be successful with whatever you chose to do. I sincerely hope we have an opportunity to see each other again. Thank you for writing.
Mr. O

Read More

Dell Studio XPS 16 is a videophile's dream machine

The new XPS 16 multimedia laptop from Dell features a glossy black case with anodized aluminum and leather accents, a backlit keyboard, and a 1920x1080 LED backlit LCD with wide viewing angles for an awesome viewing experience with the built in slot-loading Blu-Ray player. 2 stereo speakers and an internal subwoofer drive the sound, which provides excellent bass for a laptop.

It comes standard with a Core 2 duo P8600 2.4gHZ processor, which provides very good video encoding results, and is upgradable to the 2.8gHZ T9600 Core 2 Duo for even better number crunching power.

The XPS 16 comes with a plethora of ports, Firewire, 3 USB ports, 8 in 1 card reader, double headphone jacks, and even an eSATA port.

The XPS 16 comes with the ATI Mobility RADEON® M86XT video card with 512MB memory. This card is also known as the ATI Mobility RADEON HD 3670, which is getting around 4500 3d marks at 1280x768 resolution.

Read More

Sony VAIO P Series

Sony has just announced their mini-netbook at CES 2009 called the Sony VAIO P. The miniature laptop only weighs 1.4 pounds with an 8 inch screen and an overall width of only 4.7 inches. Do not be fooled by its size though it also comes packed with the latest technology including a high resolution 1600x768 display, built in GPS, Intel Atom Processor, and an instant on mode. Expect to see the VAIO P with a starting sales price of $899 and available soon for short term use from laptop rental providers.

Even though the purchase price is pretty high for a netbook, the Sony VAIO P is too good to pass up. Who would think you could pack so much into something this small. It truly does get better every day.

Read More

Reflecting about AR- week 2

This past week I reflected earlier on what it is like having a student teacher and having him collaborate with me on my AR project. He had no knowledge that when he agreed to student teach at Arapahoe that he would be undertaking such a large task besides his student teaching. He has been handling it with all the passion he puts into his teaching. At first I wasn’t sure what Randon was going to think about the No D policy. He seemed to really struggle with the responsibility of assignments being completed on time versus the learning being the focus of the assignments. This is something I still struggle with and have struggled with for 11 years so I couldn’t imagine him to react in any other way. I wonder though if there is any dialogue in his education classes about zero policies versus accepting late work. Could this be a really interesting area that education classes should be focusing upon? I should hook Randon up with Tony Winger from Heritage for a conversation that keeps replaying in my head every time I give a zero for a grade.

Randon has been blogging for his student teaching and I happened to read a great reflection from him about grading; he said, “Grading is something that I enjoy, not for the fact of putting grades into the computer or even assessing student work, but because I get to give feed back to students and help them to get better. Plus the whole no D policy makes everything a little better. When I really give students a bad grade I know that they can make anything up if they want to, it's just that I truly hope that they do.”

I feel like he is getting the idea behind it, maybe even my vision of what I am hoping it will become for these students, but my worry more lies on the kids and what they have been accomplishing lately. I feel like they have been slacking to put it in their language. There really aren’t as focused as they have previously been nor have they been completing work that they are capable of. I am not quite sure if they are just testing the grounds with Randon seeing what they can get away with or if the “Project: Change the World” has been that overwhelming for them. Randon and I had a great talk after school on Friday and I think that we are going to spend some time reviewing what we were doing and almost go back to square. In order for them to really do well on this big project, we need to concentrate on making sure they are understanding each and every step of the writing process. If they do not, or are not putting forth their full effort, then we need to spend some time going back as many times as necessary in order to really make an impact. If we want to change the world, we have to get the kids understanding the fundamentals of writing first.

Another aspect I am thinking about with my AR project is how to assess my second cycle. I was really hoping to do personal interviews with the project selecting out students who have been impacted more by the No D and ability to redo policies. I am not sure of how to go about this, what questions to ask, what is appropriate for a cycle report interview, etc… I know MR has supplied us with a few great tutorials that will hopefully guide me in the direction necessary to do a good job on this report .

I have also spent some time reading on of our AR books Doing Your Research Project. I can see why MR likes this book for its practicality and clear layout of all the steps necessary to create a coherent AR project and report. A few of the things seem so outdated though. The sections I have been reading as of late speak of using note cards, yes, note cards to conduct your research and to keep your points in order. While reading this, I was taken back to high school and how we wrote our senior research paper. I would think there would be a more updated version of the research process for Action Research work than this book. I have my hope set that the end of this book will be more impacting than what I have read so far. MR hasn’t steered us wrong yet.
Going forward for this week, I am planning on spending some time looking at the tutorials, developing questions for the second cycle interview, and reading, reading, reading. Maybe Randon’s mentoring will fit in there somewhere too!

Read More

AWNM intro-3 fishbowl

Yesterday was our first big plunge into discussion Daniel Pink’s A Whole New Mind. Although we didn’t invite any outside guests to blog with our students, it still was a good discussion. The kids really had some interesting things to say in both classes.

Participating in this first fishbowl gives our kids a chance to see the technology that will be used as well as try out their thoughts and questions discussing a non-fiction text. When we were first setting up the fishbowl, I talked with them about how important these fishbowls are with inviting in guests, the level of comprehension that this text requires and the huge opportunity for growth that this opportunity will allow. Basically, this will be like nothing they have ever done before and I want to make sure they understand that. No pressure- but I want to see them shine here.

Period 2 started with some great questions but really seemed to focus on the surface of the issue Pink is discussing regarding outsourcing left brain jobs. Finally my student assistant Ben jumped into the conversation (thanks Ben) to push their thinking. He asked them about outsourcing right brain jobs and couldn’t that be done as well. This really made the conversation move along. I try to stay out of the conversation for the most part but jumped in a couple of times to get them to personally relate to the text and ideas. What does outsourcing have to do with you? This class did a tremendous job of bringing in a lot of kids from the outer circle to help drive the conversation. Over 1/3 of the outer circle kids came into the inner circle conversation. And the discussion I saw taking place on the outer circle’s Cover It Live was fast paced and in depth. There was great push back and engagement. I was pleased to see how the came through on this first fishbowl.

Today we are debriefing on their take aways from yesterday’s discussion. Some of the things I think they did really well were referencing one another’s comments by name. I do not know what it is, but using someone’s name in your response shows the camaraderie and acknowledges another’s intriguing thoughts. I really am a big fan! Also, they seem to be really pushing one another about left and right brain thinking as well as Pink’s ideas regarding outsourcing. I love a good discussion. Another positive take away from yesterday was watching them use the computers to have instantaneous access to information. At one point a student was interested in brain surgery and what happens when you removed half of your brain; seeing as how none of us were brain surgeons, she could use the tool of technology to aid us all in our understandings. My student assistant Katie was looking over their blog today and truly amazed at the conversation these kids were having. She was quite impressed. I was too! (but I know they can do more).

Some of the things I want them to work on improving are of course pushing the discussion in all areas. I don’t want them to see the book as gospel but more as a place to start thinking differently wherever that might lead them. Also, I want as all English teachers would, for them to spend some time proofreading their response before they post it online. I want to see them listening to one another answering all the questions that are asked whether those come from the inner or outer circles. Finally, I want when they are quoting things to actually use the page numbers to help us all follow along. Seems trivial but I like to mark these quotes of interest in my own book.

The kid’s reactions to the conversations are recorded under the blog posting for the CoverItLive post. We are using CIL for the live blogging but still embedding it into a blog post so the conversation can be continued afterwards.

In Period 5 the discussion really focused on outsourcing as well as the future job market. It was an interesting discussion but I somehow expected more from them than what they did. I think as I said before it is always challenging to discuss non-fiction. This is one thing I noticed last year in our first few fishbowls. However, the outer circle’s discussion was very interesting. Some of the kids really have some amazing questions about our economy and how Pink’s philosophies fit into our troubled times. I am anxious to see where they go with this. Additionally, I am always impressed that when I think I need to jump into the conversation to make a point or steer it in a different direction that the kids end up doing that for me. Another fun point was doing the polls in the class with CoverItLive. This I think is one of the kids favorite features and I even had one student ask for a particular poll. We will have to figure out a system of how to do this so it is more student directed. (I am not trying to steal your job away from you Karl).

Some points that we need to work on are making sure that we are using the text, keep coming back to the text and citing page numbers of our references for others to follow along. One thing that concerns me in with this class is that I have a number of quiet kids who are fantastic bloggers but I need them to speak up and step up into the inner circle conversation- So many seem reluctant to jump in. I think they are enjoying the conversation online and would rather be there than the face to face conversation. We will have to discuss this in class today.

I am wondering going forward how next week with Daniel Pink will go. Will the students rise to the challenge? Will they do as well as the kids from last year? Should I invite their parents in for future fishbowls? Would I get any parents that would participate? So many thoughts, but I am glad we are on this journey again.

Read More

Thanking a Mentor

In one of my new Masters classes, we were asked to write to a mentor that we have never thanked. I have so many people in my life that I should do this for (Dad, Mom, Grandma, Karl) but I chose a very special coach who really helped me realize how good I could be at something if I set my mind to it. So here's to you Coach O:

Coach O,

It has been a long time since I have seen you or spoken with you. It has probably been close to 14 years or so. I live in Littleton, CO now and am a Language Arts teacher. I have been teaching for 11 years if you can believe it. I coached volleyball for my first five years of teaching, and loved every minute of it except for one year I coached two teams for only one paycheck. Not the smartest decision, but I did it for the love of the game. I still play volleyball on an all women’s team as well as a coed team with my fiancée Jeff. I was married before and have a wonderful daughter Emma from that relationship, and am now getting remarried.

You are probably wondering why I am writing to you and what prompted this letter from someone in your past. I am currently in grad school at Pepperdine and we are exploring the idea of mentors. Our professor asked us to write to a mentor of ours thanking him/her for all he/she has done. I immediately thought of you and Mrs. Tidd. I can’t tell you how much nor thank you for all you did for me as an athlete, a student, and as a person.

I vividly remember sitting down at the end of my junior year having spent a lot of time that season only playing in the back row. I knew I was a good defensive player and you acknowledged that. You told me that that was to be my role the next year- primarily a defensive player without much action in the front row. I accepted what you said but knew I could do more because of your belief in me. I spent so much time that summer before my senior year working on my hitting and when I returned and showed you what I had learned and accomplished, you rewarded me with a starting position as well as being a major player on the team.

You never let me down Coach O. I recall times of feeling like I couldn’t do right out on the court but you would just push me more and more to be better. During my senior year, we played all 5 games in each of our matches and I recall that one time I kept missing the outside hitters cross court shot. You didn’t pull me out but simply told me, “Anne, you know where you are supposed to be.” I didn’t miss that hit again. You listened to my frustrations about playing, you took an active interest in helping me pursue my goals of playing in college, and never let me back down from a challenge. Because of you, I was able to be All North Dakota and All Conference. These were accolades I never dreamed of until you believed in me.

Your influence didn’t end with volleyball. Being your student left an impact as well. You made me think about history differently and made it apply to my own life. You didn’t let your athletes slide by in class, but instead held us to a higher standard. Being your volleyball student, you helped us understand and study the game. We weren’t just volleyball players, but thinkers out on the court dissecting all the possibilities and breaking down the structure so that we would be successful. You are the one who inspired me to coach myself and to understand the great responsibility that comes with being a coach and a teacher. You really started me on the path of reexamining my plays, thinking about my attitude on the court , and being an example for younger players to look up to.

Also, I appreciated what a good father you were to your own children. Bringing your daughter to practice let us see what a tremendous dad you are. You cared enough about us to share your family with us. You gave of yourself each day and provided so many of us young women with a chance to make ourselves the best. As a Christian, it was so impressive and meaningful to see you at church.

I couldn’t have asked for a better mentor in my life Coach O. Here is a standing O for you from me. Thanks so much for the caring, concern , drive, listening, and example you have set for me. You set the standard high for all my other coaches and teachers to follow as well as for me to uphold.

Thanks so much,
Anne Smith
(formerly Anne Johnson class of ’92)

Read More

ED 665: Understanding by Design 1-2

I have been a big fan of UbD for a couple of years. After we started our incredible staff development work a couple of years ago, a friend and colleague of Karl Fisch’s, Chris Lehman, suggested the book since his school, The Science Leadership Academy, uses it extensively. I picked it up and read it right away buying the workbook as well. Soon, I found out that a colleague of mine, Lauren Gaffney, used it in her graduate studies at Trinity University as well. We have talked about UbD a lot with our cooperative planning on English Literature and 9th grade units. She has actually showed me more applications of it seeing as how the first time I read it, it was challenging to make it work in my mind.

There are a few areas I want to concentrate on regarding UbD. First of all, I see real value in doing things differently. I think as a teacher it is so easy to do things the same way things have always been done whether they have been successful or not. UbD forces you to reexamine everything you have always done. I wonder at times if I will ever get to a point that I do not do this. Change is challenging and inspiring all at the same time. It is challenging because you do not know if what you are changing will be successful or not. And do schools really support you do something different especially if it takes a while to get to a place where it does make a difference? Change is also a challenge because when you have previously been successful for so many years, why do you need to do things differently? Change is inspiring because when you do see the impact of the change work in ways that were never imaginable before and truly transform kids’ lives as well as your own, then why wouldn’t you change? To continually change is hard work.

At AHS, we are going through the second year of PLC’s defining essential learnings that will hopefully someday lead us to sharing best practices. I am still awaiting this light at the end of the tunnel. But I see real connection between our PLC work and the value in UbD. We need as a school to really examine what we value, what we want kids to learn and focus on those essentials. I am not sure if I agree so much on the common assessment piece of the UbD puzzle, but I see it as a need to measure understanding for all kids. How else are we going to know if all kids are learning since they have a multitude of teachers all teaching in a variety of ways? If someone is getting kids to understand the material on a deeper more engaging level, I want to know what they did to get there.

The other aspect of the UbD book that I have some issues with is the rubric. Now, I am a fan of giving kids the “head’s up” of what they are going to be assessed on, but after reading some Alfie Kohn and thinking about what I see from my kids when I do give them a really detailed rubric, is that they only complete what the rubric tells them to do. I can see rubrics adapting to my problem if they could be viewed as more of a jumping off point for some kids, but not the end all be all I think they tend to become.

I loved the second chapter of the book that really examines the difference between knowledge and understanding. A few years ago, I was asked to be part of a grading pilot program examining doing grading differently and if we were really using grades to show learning and understanding or were they mere measures of being a good kid. Ever since Tony Winger’s insight into this subject, this has been an area I have focused a lot of thinking about. I really have tried to instill in my own students the difference between knowledge and understanding. In fact, right now my students are reading Daniel Pink’s A Whole New Mind and we discussed today about in the conceptual age if thinking is different and facts are available to all, what is school going to be like? Is school going to remain the same as a regurgitation platform of facts? Or instead, will school finally change and adapt to meet the needs of an ever connected student body? Because if facts and knowledge are available to all, we need to rethink how we do school. We need to reexamine everything we are doing and maybe that all start from doing things backwards- beginning with the end in mind.

Read More