Monthly Archives: February 2019

What’s the recipe?

28 Thursday Feb 2019

Posted by in Learning, Montessori Education, Teachers

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Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Do you use a recipe or do you let your senses, intuition and previous experience guide you when you cook? Do you closely follow directions when assembling a piece of furniture or model? Are you willing to experiment with the “known” – the instructions provided?

When I first became a teacher I was surprised to learn that the teacher editions of all textbooks/curriculum provided the words to say when giving each and every lesson. They are the recipes for teaching – the precise recipes. That’s nice to have, I suppose, but what it fails to take into account is the dialogue and conversation that is essential to learning. If we stick too closely to the scripted directions of lessons, we can miss the very thing that makes learning so worthwhile.

Learning is a dynamic process. The dialogue between teachers and students is nothing short of eye-opening and inspiring. The conversation goes well beyond the directions and instructions, instead pushing us each to learn and grow in many different directions. There is not one best recipe for learning or teaching. There are millions. The first is to be who you are each every day and to recognize the children in your schools and classrooms for who they are. It is by being willing to put aside the mandated conversations and instructions that we grow as learners and yearn for more. Great cooks know that recipes are meant to be adjusted. The same can be said for great schools. Learning is an ever-evolving recipe based on the essential ingredients the students bring each day.

Decisions Matter

24 Sunday Feb 2019

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If you’ve raised children, you know that there are millions of decisions made in the process. Children push us to be deciders, to give permission and, of course, question the decision or lack of permission. They want to know the boundaries, and we are typically quite happy to provide them. You also know that often choices are the order of the day. Do you want to wear this or that, eat this or that, or go now or in five minutes? We repeat questions similar to these every single day, often multiple times each day. We want to allow our children to have some ownership over their decisions and to learn to make decisions.

“How do we create leaders if we don’t let kids make decisions?” I was struck by this question posed by Alice Keeler, a leader in technology education in one of her recent blogs. I don’t know that I ever equated decision-making with the creation of leaders. It makes sense, but I didn’t draw a direct line. Leadership roles require the ability to make decisions but also to know what decisions are critical, somewhat important or perhaps inconsequential. Just as it does not really matter if a child wears a blue or brown shirt, it may not matter if a meeting is held today or next week. However, it absolutely matters if a child holds your hand to be safe in crossing a street just as it matters if this person is qualified for a position and another is not.

The trick is balancing these decisions and making sure that others know you have faith in their ability to decide and will stand by the decision that is made. If your children or your co-workers think you will second guess them at every turn, they will effectively be hampered from making any decisions in their lives. And, as Alice Keeler states, how will they assume leadership roles if they don’t have this practice along the way?

Do You Want to Learn?

14 Thursday Feb 2019

Posted by in 21st century learning, Learning, learning environment, Montessori Education, Schools of the Future

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If you want to learn something, I can’t stop you. If you don’t want to learn it, I cannot teach you.

– Wynton Marsalis

Heather Siple-First Day-Rm19-1As I listened to this podcast about creativity, I not only learned a great deal about the lives of a variety of people we would all consider to be creative in very different ways, I was inspired to apply these ideas and experiences to education and children’s school experiences.

At the same time, in talking to a teacher who was attending classes to become a certified Montessori teacher, she shared the idea presented that small class sizes can be detrimental to the idea of children gaining independence. The thinking is that in order to become independent, make the best decisions and learn from mistakes, it is important to have freedom. Children need freedom from adults watching every move they make. They need space for experimentation, for creativity to allow growth in ways they can’t experience if all they know is the “right” way to do things and the rewards are established by someone else, either a person or institution. We need to establish environments that allow students to set their own goals and assess their progress using criteria that continue to evolve through various iterations of a project or assignment. If we don’t allow for this process, students will struggle to become independent and make decisions throughout life. Continue reading →

Get Ready

07 Thursday Feb 2019

Posted by in 21st century learning, Learning, Mindset, Schools of the Future

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polar vortex.jpgEveryone likes to be prepared for what is to come. Some of us may enjoy a surprise or two, but typically, we humans like to plan and be ready. This winter has done nothing if not taught us how sometimes even the best preparations are not quite enough.

Last week, many parts of the U.S. experienced a deep freeze of historic proportion. Residents of cities like Chicago and Minneapolis are quite accustomed to cold temperatures and snowfall during the winter. What they have not seen is the subzero temperatures that gripped that part of the country – temperatures that made it hard to carry out even the most mundane task such as starting your car or going to work and school. Meteorologists predicted this weather, but it exceeded expectations and was not part of anyone’s plans. Everyone had to adapt and adjust to new circumstances.

Life often hands us situations that require us to adapt and change. In some instances, nothing prepares us for the change ahead. In others, we have a few warning signals and can begin to think about what it means to change. One of the goals of school is to prepare students for the next steps in their school and work life. Educators pride themselves in helping students be ready for any situation that might arise. Is that reasonable? Or, instead, is it more beneficial to prepare students for the uncertainty that is sure to greet them, if not next week, then next month or next year, or years down the road?

Schools are preparing students for an uncertain future. We know what we know today, and we know the rate of change is faster than humans have ever experienced in history. We can embrace the change, adapt our mindset to one of seeking knowledge, understanding and learning rather than staying the course that was implemented when educating our citizens began. We continually face new and interesting challenges that require more from us. Are we ready? More importantly, are our children ready? They are our future.