Thursday, September 21, 2017

Go Out and Make Yourself Struggle




Go Out and Make Yourself Struggle

I have often accredited much of my success in school and now working at schools, to growing up in a “literature rich environment.”  What that translates to, is that I grew up before computers were common and we watched little television. Instead, my room and our home was crammed full of bookcases, which were in turn crammed full of books.  The house rule was that on free weekends we did not leave our rooms until 9 AM, which meant I read for what felt like years waiting for the clock to hit the appointed hour.     
In addition, it was not just the quantity of literature or the time spent reading, for me it was the quality of books and time spent reading.  I was, and still am, a nerd.  I played Dungeons and Dragons with our babysitter, which led me to a love of Fantasy and Science Fiction and in turn to mythology.  So when I asked to if I could read the copy of “The Iliad” sitting on the “adult” bookshelf, the answer was not, “it is too hard”, but “Let’s read it together.”  I was never told that I was not able to read something, just that we would read it together.  Due to this approach I struggled, but never gave up on reading what I set my mind to reading.  This was the key; it was not the literature that engaged my interest, but the modeling from the adults in my life.  It was not that I grew up in a “literature rich environment”, but a “learning rich environment.”

It was not that I grew up in a “literature rich environment”, but a “learning rich environment.”

When I was growing up, the adults in my life were, at times, students, professors, researchers, government workers, and lawyers, but they were also painters,  home remodelers, a camp instructors,  woodworkers, chicken farmers, cooks and a host of other things.  Each of these things and so many more showed me about being a learner.  Moreover, not everything was a success!  This was perhaps the most important lesson, I saw them struggle at school, struggle through work, struggle to start a fire, raise a chicken, build a table.  I saw them try, and struggle, sometimes repeatedly!  One of our family’s favorite stories is of the years of Mom making fudge from her mother’s recipe at the holidays. Each year the same recipe, each year a different, largely inedible, result.  What made it fun was that we looked forward to the next year, hoping that perhaps this would be the year that Grandma’s recipe turned out just like Mom remembered it*.  I learned that it is not always about success, but about making the attempt, and that failure can be full of laughter and build memories.

I learned that it is not always about success, but about making the attempt, and that failure can be full of laughter and build memories.

What kind of kind of learning environment do you provide?  What do people learn about how to learn by watching you?  Those of us of a certain age are presented everyday with new technology, new research, new literature, and new ideas.  Do you dive in and find out what you might be missing, or do you avoid it, fight it, or say “I’m just not good at it.”?   Are you providing, and modeling, a learning rich environment or are you reinforcing the idea that if you might not succeed it isn’t worth doing?  Get out there and struggle, create a learning rich environment. 


*In case you were wondering, we stopped making fudge many years ago, never having made the delicious confection of Mom’s youth.   

Tuesday, August 29, 2017

School-Home (Dis)Connection






At Little Miami Intermediate School, we are well into our third full week of school, and if things are going correctly, you have gotten a ton of information from both the school and your student.  Our hope is that you have followed us on Twitter (@LMIntermediate), gotten a newsletter from the school, and from the teacher. Soon you will get information regarding Remind, Twitter, email lists, and Schoology.  From your student you have gotten excitement, stories about community building, goal setting, school procedures and maybe even a little content. 
For some, it will be a bit different.  Newsletters are stuffed in backpacks and forgotten; emails addresses are off by a letter or two, arriving in the inbox of strangers, and as for Remind and Twitter, what is that?  Students are “fine” and learned “nothing”.  If you are in this situation we will keep trying to connect because for this year to be successful, we need your support, feedback, and two-way communication regarding your student!
Many students, and parents, dread the idea of a call from the teacher.  The list of reasons that teachers call home or parents call the school is long, but unfortunately too many of them are made in frustration, desperation, or anger.  Problems that have gone on for many years have been talked about at home, but not shared with the school.  Issues at school are “worked out with the student”, but not communicated to adults at home.  Not enough calls are simply about a success at school that needs to be shared, or a success at home because of the work being done at school that can be shared.  As we all know, problems get attention while success is sometimes overlooked.

My challenge to all of you… let us celebrate the success and work together on the problems!  Below are a few items that may help with the School-Home Connection.

  •  Share the best way to communicate!  Do you hate phone calls?  We can email.  Emails too long?  We can text.  Text and emails too impersonal?  We will make a phone call. 
  •  Call or email when you have questions!  If you don’t hear back, give the person the benefit of the doubt and try another method of communication.  One incorrect character in a phone number or email means it doesn’t arrive, not that they are ignoring you. 
  •  Be proactive about reoccurring frustrations.  Identify WHO is involved so that you can get them on the team and WHAT can be done to make a plan.
  • Look for success.  It is there, I promise.  Your child and their teacher are making progress every day.  Train your child to share what has worked.
  •  Celebrate success AND failure!  More importantly talk about failure being a beginning, not an end.  An attempt is just one-step towards success, and there is so much to learn from just trying.

Above all, remember that each one of us wants your child to succeed emotionally, socially and academically.  We want them to grow, learn, and love the time they spend with us.  We need to make sure that we are on the same page, and the same team, by communicating as much as possible!