Agency & Independence

So far, this school year has gone fairly well and some of my skills have already improved. These skills and goals include gaining agency and more comfort in math. In September, I felt unsure as to where I should start in developing agency. I experimented with this idea of agency and thought I should work on doing things independently (research, math, etc.) Soon after, I learned that forcing myself to figure out things on my own and largely avoiding asking for help was not supportive of my goal. My agency actually started improving when I realized that asking for assistance exists as a form of agency. Embracing the ability to ask questions when unsure or confused was the key to the beginning of my agency development. As for increase in math comfort, this idea of asking for help more often also enhanced this skill. Exploring the provided videos on Khan and forcing myself to solve math problems all by myself seemed like the way to improve at first, but in actuality, achieving the confidence to ask more questions improved my skill. Considering how much better I feel about completing school work now, I believe independence is generally achieved by asking for the support of others.

LT

Choose Your Own Adventure Goes to School

The 21/22 school year marks the first time Do.Think.Learn (DTL) has had school on Fridays. However, like many things we do, Do.Think.Learn’s Fridays differ slightly from other schools. We have Choose Your Own Adventure Fridays.  This means that no one goes to the office for school. Instead, each student has to spend the day ‘doing stuff.’  For the students of DTL this ‘stuff’ may include a range of activities: surfing, skateboarding, meditation, music, art, hiking, yoga, reading, baking, etc. So far this year the adventures have focused primarily on music and exercise. Students have played gigs with a few bands, taught themself to play drums and the bass, surfed, boxed and learned new skateboard skills. 

Now your first question might be why we’ve never had school on Fridays. That’s a pretty simple one to answer - we don’t need to have school on Fridays. No one really needs school on Fridays. Seriously. Think about it - there’s a lot of wasted or lost time in the standard school day. At Do.Think.Learn we strip most of that fat off the typical day. With smaller classes that individualize curriculum and instruction we can minimize wasted time. When students control their schedules and teachers hold them accountability for meeting their academic responsibilities more gets done. Really this is another variation of  our “less is more” philosophy at DTL. And, let’s not kid ourselves, school does not always equate to learning. If you want to create “lifelong learners'' (which so many mission statements claim), two things need to happen. First, students need to stop associating learning solely with school and understand that learning can happen anywhere. Second, students need help connecting their academic skills to the world beyond school.

A student that only associates learning with school will have numerous problematic experiences throughout their life. For example, consider a student that crushes it in their geometry and economics classes.  Area, perimeter, volume = no problem. Questions  around  salary or rent per month are no match to their knowledge.  However, what happens when that student looks at rents for hypothetical retail space and needs to know whether the rent per square foot options in different buildings work for their budget? Many students struggle with this subtle transfer. They conceive of math only in terms of problems on worksheets or Khan Academy. I love me some Khan Academy but we as teachers have to support students as they transfer that academic learning to the world outside of school. One of our goals is to help students understand that learning is really a process of self-discovery and building skills that translate to “real” lifel. Hence Choose Your Own Adventure Fridays.

Way back, way in the Before Time, there was a Choose Your Own Adventure book series. I loved these books. As the reader you had some control over what you wanted to do next and each choice led to new choices. I would sit in my room and read each book over and over; making different choices each time through, and seeing the many possible adventures and outcomes.  

Last April as I organized my collection of Choose Your Own Adventure books it dawned on me -  Choose Your Own Adventure Fridays. And while I talk about learning as an adventure of self discovery, etc. this also solved a rather practical issue for Do.Think.Learn. As we move towards accreditation I need to ensure that we have ‘enough’ days of school each year. However, my students have busy lives outside of school. Their Fridays are full of meaningful activities so taking those activities would anger a few critical constituents. Instead of taking those days away, I decided to add them to our curriculum. Adding Choose Your Own Adventure Fridays also pushes our count of school days up closer to 200 days of school each year. Plus, I like my Fridays as is, as well.

I am a huge fan of adventure and the role of adventure in learning. Unfortunately, most people only subscribe to adventures that have prescribed and predetermined outcomes or they conflate ‘adventure’ with epic journeys in far away places. Adventure is really about self-discovery and exploring ideas. This can happen anywhere (even in the classroom). You don’t have to leave your house, your neighborhood, or town to adventure. Many fantastic adventures have occurred in a comfy chair with a good book or just down the street. So tomorrow, the students of DoThink.Learn will go for and Do. By the sounds of it, plans may include some skating, maybe some surfing, a Logic lesson (music program), maybe an art show, some reading, and there was talk of learning to cook some new dishes. On Mondays we follow the “what, so what, now what?” framework for reflecting on their adventures. After the Do-ing, students will do some Think-ing about what and how they did what they did, and work to understand the various skills involved in what they did. The groundwork for Learn-ing happens when they decide what skills from those activities they want apply to other areas of their life. School and life should not be mutually exclusive. To paraphrase Martha Stewart, adventure - it’s a good thing. 

Understanding Trauma in Native American Communities

Native Americans on reservations, in border towns, and in urban areas across the United States often get trapped in pipelines of vulnerability from which they struggle to escape and which impacts how they view their cultural identity. Generational trauma, bordertown violence and Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) are enormous issues in American indigenous communities. Generational (or historical) trauma is the emotional and psychological harm across generations of Native Americans caused by land loss and deaths over time. According to Dr. Maria Yellow Horse Brave Heart, this trauma is the “cumulative emotional and psychological wounding over one’s lifetime and from generation to generation following loss of lives, land and vital aspects of culture.”  This trauma often  leads to issues such as child abuse, alcoholism, suicide, and other problems in those communities. According to nativehope.org, “the second leading cause of death for Native Americans between age 10 and 34 is suicide.”  In 2018 native people were more likely to be killed by police officers than any other minority group in the nation (Center for Disease Control). Generational trauma is a leading cause of violence on reservations and in towns that border reservations. Bordertown violence occurs in the borderlands between Anglo and indigenous communities. Women are often the victims of bordentown violence. According to the Centers for Disease Control in 2018, murder was the third leading cause of death for indigenous women. Native American women, girls and Two Spirits are murdered ten times more than all other ethnicities. Indigenous women are two times more likely to be raped than Anglo-American women. Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW)  reflect bordertown and urban violence against native women and don’t get nearly the same amount of media as missing Anglo women.  Nativehope.org states that, "The National Crime Information Center reports that, in 2016, there were 5,712 reports of missing American Indian and Alaska Native women and girls, though the US Department of Justice’s federal missing person database, NamUs, only logged 116 cases."  Native Americans can lose hope due to poverty and minimal economic opportunities on these reservations. However not all indigenous people live on reservations. Nativehope.org reports that, “78% of America's Native population lives off of the reservation with 60% of those residing in an urban area.” Urban Native Americans, like those on the reservations and other BIPOC individuals in American cities, also remain in cycles of poverty. With a minimal amount of educational or economic opportunities, and generations of trauma, urban indigenous individuals struggle even more with issues around the loss of Native American culture and identity. As a result of trauma and loss of hope, many Native Americans struggle with their identity.  

SOURCES

• https://www.nativehope.org/en-us/understanding-the-issue-of-missing-and-murdered-indigenous-women

• https://www.csvanw.org/mmiw

• https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/may/09/trauma-lives-on-in-native-americans-while-the-us-looks-away

Moonshot Thinking in Schools

My dog Lobo has tried to pull a crow out of the air on several occasions. Oftentimes this happens on morning walk when I’m half asleep. Nothing starts the day better than all of sudden having your arm yanked to the limits of the shoulder socket when your dog launches himself into the air as a crow flies low over the parking lot. Lobo has some hops but he never comes close. And yet, every time he lands Lobo beams with a look of accomplishment that says, “Dad, did you see that!” 

I’m never sure how to respond.  Do I tell him he’s participating in an exercise in futility? Do I create a training plan to help jump higher? Or, do I stay quiet and let him have these moments for himself? If I’m tired my first inclination is to tell him there’s no chance of him succeeding, but I suppress that negativity. However, the teacher in me wants to support him as he works towards this almost impossible goal. Perhaps we should brainstorm ideas. Most days I stay quiet, laugh, or just readjust my delicate flower shoulder socket.

Then I started to wonder, how would a teacher respond to Lobo’s interests as a student in class?  The idea that his school might dismiss Lobo’s efforts and stymie his creativity got me wondering about why schools don’t support moonshot thinking.

I classify Lobo’s crow project as moonshot thinking. Some describe this way of thinking as audacious. Others might say crazy. Teachers do not usually support audacious or the seemingly crazy. Many in the business world say that moonshot thinking drives innovation. Schools are not exactly bastions of innovation. 

Lobo, a three year old rescue dog (#MexiMutt), is part Belgian Malinois and part goofball (Lab). Often his behavior resembles that of many middle school boys - tough facade but anxious and insecure underneath. Feathers and flapping bags send him into the dog version of the fetal position. He’s curious but wary of things. In general he views squirrels and crows with great disdain (much like my grandfathers viewed rock n roll, long hair, and Red Sox fans). Lobo has gotten pretty good at running up trees after squirrels or throwing himself into the air to avenge any perceived wrong by his various nemeses. His crow fascination took the summer off (which my shoulder greatly appreciated). However recently one afternoon a squirrel talked smack and he was having none of it. Lobo chased the squirrel to the edge of a building and as said squirrel climbed the building Lobo ran up the wall and leaped up after the beast. When his paw caught the squirrel’s tail I’m not sure who was more surprised - me, Lobo, or the squirrel. Fortunately the tag occurred just as Lobo reached the limits of his upward trajectory. The squirrel scampered on up with a “that was close” look on their face. Lobo landed, beaming with pride and said to all “next time.” This reignited his interest in Operation Crowbo. Since then, the leaping or his new jump and spin move have become a regular feature on most walks. Thus after a delightful respite from Leaping Lobo and the Crows of the Complex, he seems motivated and confident in his goal to land a flying bird. I have decided not to mention the odds of things working out in his favor.

I don’t share this so you can marvel at Lobo (although you should), but because this scenario plays out in schools (and companies) across the country all the time. Lobo’s crow plan represents his version of moonshot thinking. This means a way of thinking BIG, that anything is possible if we ask the right questions and apply the best methodologies to solving the issue. Google X often gets credited with pioneering this perspective in corporate America and other companies have adapted moonshot thinking to their communities.However, moonshot thinking gets dismissed too often in education. Schools and teachers don’t encourage and often demean BIG thinking.  Too often when a student approaches a teacher with a big idea, the teacher responds with a version of  “That’s impossible” or “ We don’t have time for that.” Deep, creative thinking has been stripped from the educational experience of students. It just doesn’t fit with the cram it all in, assembly line model of the American education system. Even schools that seem receptive to creativity and big thinking usually can’t or won’t support big thinking. As a result schools too often prepare students for a future that resembles 1985 not 2025.  

OLD TEACHER TRICK:  What makes impossible possible?  An apostrophe and a space (Impossible -> I’m possible).

How can schools support and encourage moonshot thinking? Some companies allow their employees to allocate 10 - 20% of their time at work to pet projects while other companies follow the Let My People Go Surfing Model. Schools could do the same (some, I’m sure, already do).  But there’s no time, you say. To that, I say, if you cut all the bloat from your curriculum and restructure your academics, there would be plenty of time. Others will talk of passion based education… to that I say, please… just no. I can’t (I had a really bad experience with PBL). Now, if you want to encourage students to explore their curiosities or interests, I’m in, but please don’t mention the ‘P’ word.  Here’s what I imagine. Schools having a Big Thinking lab. Students set out to create or design a solution to an issue. Maybe the teacher comes up with the issue or question or perhaps the students do. Perhaps, it is a whole class or small group project. Maybe, individuals investigate their own issue.  Entire grades or schools could have a theme to frame the big thinking.  Project based schools could maybe pivot a bit easier. You know what, nevermind, it doesn’t have to be that complicated. All it would take is for a teacher to say to a student when they approach with a BIG idea, “Ok, what would they look like.” At least this way, the light in the student’s eye, that flicker of possibility, won’t be extinguished. The point is, schools could support moonshot thinking in a variety of ways if they could free themselves of the more = better system that dominates education.

Schools already lack purpose and meaning for many students. The pandemic, etc. has dulled the allure and promise of schooling across almost all levels. If we brought moonshot thinking into classrooms just think of the possibilities for what students would create or explore. If nothing else, students might engage with school again.

As for Lobo and his crow dilemma…I think I will support and encourage his dream. Maybe for now we will focus on the crows that congregate on the overflowing dumpsters on Monday mornings and work our way up to the rows on the parking structures. However, if a crow flies low, well he’s got a green light to take a leap. Truth is, it doesn’t matter what I think about it.  If he’s psyched and focused, well who am I to get in the way of his impossible. 

As for the rest of us, maybe more of us should think big and leap for our own crow.

Because I Can

Grown ups say some dumb things to youth… parents to their kids, teachers to students… it comes in a variety of phrases and situations. My top three dumbest things adults foist on youth includes at #1 -  “there’s nothing to be afraid of.”. I give bonus stupid points for this comment in situations like when the youth is rock climbing or doing something risky. Please stop minimizing or encouraging kids to bury their fears. Coming in at #2 (take a moment to chuckle if you must \ at me saying #2) we have an old standard - “because I said so.” This classic power move of laziness does nothing for the student or child except to get them to mumble things under their breath about how you sound like a tool and the pointlessness of the task. Try a more creative approach and get down off of your plastic throne. If you find yourself about to say this, take a moment to consider how it sounds to hear that from someone and rephrase. The life you save could be your own. And finally coming in at #3, a versatile nugget of dumbness, “because I can.” This phrase captures a difference in power and status between speaker and receiver as well as oozes a smidgen of laziness. Although each of these comments could provide suitable material for an article, this post will focus on #3 - why, because I can… just kidding… let me explain.

I have made it one of my goals to reclaim and reinterpret these phrases. Over the years I have focused on encouraging individuals to embrace or use their fears and when in the course of educative interactions finding new ways to get students to do work or that is both meaningless and stupid. In a less than shocking pronouncement, schools are filled with meaningless and stupid task. Mr. Barner, coach and teacher at WHS, explained it best. One a hazy, hot, and humid NJ afternoon during a double session he told me, “J, shit flows downhill and you live in the valley right now. If you move up the hill you still have to deal with shit, but it moves by you fast and lingers somewhere else.” I do appreciate eloquent directness. Too often teachers, etc. pretend something isn’t meaningless and think their students will buy it). Just tell them, they already know (everyone knows - shit is shit. Anyway, back to reclaiming “because I can.”

As mentioned above this phrase reflects power, status, stupidity, and laziness. For example, in 8th grade some 9th graders hooked my underwear to a hook in the locker room and when I asked why they did it, they replied, “because we can.” Since then I’ve heard it used in schools, businesses, car/bicycle interactions - all sorts of ways. 

What would happen if we stop using the phrase as a means to demonstrate status and privilege over others? What if we resituated the power behind this phrase and used it as a super power for good not evil? “Because I can” could empower individuals and groups to take on tasks, achieve goals, or just to get out and change the world right in front of them.

I do a lot my thinking about school on bike rides. Last weekend I got to thinking about the phrase “Because I can” on my day in the saddle. My buddy Colin asked me to join his Ride to Fight ALS team to raise money for the ALS Foundation of Washington and Oregon. I jumped at the chance.... You had me at ride my bike for a good cause, but there’s more to it.

Aside from being a world class photographer and awesome dad, Colin is perhaps the most generous person I know. He has a sixth sense for knowing when to reach out. Colin gives to his friends and to strangers. The Beattles had Mother Mary. In Seattle, I had Colin. Whether a beer, a piece of his sister’s gourmet cheese, or bike parts, Colin was there. Back in the day he lived blocks away and now he lives a few states away. Now he is fighting ALS and I had a chance to give something back.

So last weekend I started on my dirt odyssey before it hotted up. I signed up for the 51 mile ride and put together a scenic and slightly stupid loop around Calabasas. I stopped to refill my bottles and to take pics of the sites along the way (Kobe Crash Memorial, the old MASH set, and the rather large rattlesnake sunning themself across the trail). I planned a five hour ride and decided to take my time. The first parts flew by… well the climbs never “fly by” for me, but whenever I needed motivation I thought about all the mountain bike coaching Colin gave me over the years. True confessions - Colin’s gives advice, etc. as freely as he gives beers or a home cooked meal :) He got me riding dirt again after years of road racing and it is not uncommon for me to hear Colin’s voice coaching me as I cruise singletrack. Plus, I figured this was the better choice. The other choice was to think about all the things Colin can’t do anymore, but following his example, I chose to focus on the positive.

So I’m rolling along as Colin’s voice occasionally admonishes me for being careless with my body position and not looking down the trail far enough. At mile 34 I stop to refill bottles and hydrate at my last water source before heading up the canyon and across the last 17 miles. Although I regretted not stopping for Nutter Butters and a Coke, things were fine. Palo Comado always heats up in the afternoon and rarely has a breeze, but if I pedaled fast enough… oh wait, uphill and fast lay outside my wheelhouse. Things stayed fine, but doubt crept in. Maybe you know the doubt I speak of - the voices that begin whispering when things start to get difficult. First my feet swelled in the heat so I had to stop a few times and take my shoes off. Then the water in my bottles started warming up and stagnant water that tastes of plastic never refreshes the weary rider. Soon the heat teamed up with dehydration and the shadows of negativity slowly overtook my confidence.  I should mention that for a few reasons I have not ridden more than 40 miles on dirt in a bit and 51 miles on gravel and 51 road miles are not the same (seriously Barry did the math and he’s wicked smart). I should also say that a single piece of cinnamon toast and a pot of coffee don’t provide the best nutrition for that kind of day. The wheels weren’t coming off but my five hour ride seemed to be stretching out (not quite Gilligan’s Island but…).

When the doubts grow in my mind I often start asking myself, “why am I doing this?” And sure, I said things like - “it’s for a good cause” or “because Colin can’t.” Unfortunately that only gets you so far. The voices grew louder as I got up to China Flats and the last breeze for the next dozen miles. My feet needed a break so I sat on a rock to enjoy a breeze and give my feet some time out of the shoes. That’s when I heard it loudest - “J what are you doing? Your training has sucked recently. Why don’t you just turn around? We can cruise down the hill, coast home, get the miles we need, and blow off the 1700 feet of climbing left?”

Generally when things start to go sideways for me during endurance related events (rides, runs, climbs, school) my brain rationalizes changing the plan, to make things easier or entice me to throw in the towel. Sometimes these voices scream at me and other times they whisper enticingly, but on this day I just can’t listen. When your friend wrestles with a degenerative neuromuscular disease, you don’t just bail when things get hard. So when the voices asked why I was doing this to myself, my answer was simple.

Because I can…

Things did not magically get better after that realization.Yet whenever things sucked, I recited my new mantra - Because I can. Each time things seemed grim - Because I can. When my wheels spun out on some loose dirt, I hopped off and walked to a spot where I could hop on and start pedaling - Because I can.  I did some ugly riding over the last miles - although I did catch a lovely breeze over the last few downhill miles (first headwind I ever enjoyed). While it is slightly embarrassing to admit that a 50 mile ride knackered me something fierce, I did it - Because I could.

Maybe it was the heat distress, the bonk, and the dehydration but for whatever reason I focused on “Because I can.” I thought about how students could benefit.  They don’t have to accept obstacles as insurmountable or the world as it is. If teachers can instill “Because I can” as a positive and confident mindset, students can gain the momentum they need to succeed on their terms. It always seems like individuals are a half step (usually the most difficult step) from success when they bail.  If as they approached the angle of repose students said to themselves “Because I can,” that could generate enough momentum to get themselves over the top. Teaching includes both turning negatives into positives and getting your students to look at things from new or different perspectives. Back in the day “Because I can” represented wedgies or getting hosed in some fashion. We can do better than that - because we can. 

PS. If you can, please consider being part of the fight against ALS: http://web.alsa.org/site/TR/Endurance/OregonandSWWashington?px=8625378&pg=personal&fr_id=14616

Listen...That's Ok

LISTEN/ Dear Me

We can get through

 everything 

If you just

 listen

It's always about 

you

Your rules and

 plans

What about 

me ?

Have you ever

 considered

You’re selfish

You always run away

From the things 

you don't like

Haven't you realized

Not everything is

 about you

Just think 

about

Someone else

For once

That’s Ok

Sometimes people get

 nervous 

That's ok

Sometimes people get 

Stressed

That's ok

Sometimes people have 

Anxiety

And freak out

That's ok

Stop it

People say

You think 

we want

To be

Stressed

Panicked

Sad

No

Sometimes we 

try 

to stop it

And 

Other times 

we don't

Just think

How 

Would you

Feel

Next time

You say 

to someone 

you don't 

have 

anxiety

just

calm down

Why do you 

Have anxiety 

Calm down!!!

Author - CP

Gangsta Puppets

Charley, a 7th grader who attends Do Think Learn, arrived at school on a Monday morning with a number of injuries. Her eye was surrounded in a dark purple hue, leaving Charley nearly blind. Her nose had a narrow red slit across its surface, perhaps the least severe of her injuries. Charley’s knee was a mixture of cool colors, from shades of green to purple. On the same leg, two other bruises were present. Horrified by Charley’s physical state, J immediately asked what happened. Charley felt reluctant to explain for fear of J not believing the strange, but completely true situation that occurred. On a Saturday evening, a feeling of hunger stirred up in Charley. She was desperate to eat, but nothing in the fridge or the pantry satisfied her. Charley craved only one thing. This thing she craved was relatively easy to find, but difficult to hunt. Charley grew ravenous and the one thing she truly desired to consume was… puppets.

Where Charley lived, puppets were known as the most gangster, criminally insane and muscular beings out there, but she felt up to the challenge. Careful as not to make much noise, Charley opened the front door to her house and sprinted out to the opposite side of the road, so hungry that the fact that she left the front door open didn’t even bother her. The puppets often did gang shit behind Bristol Farms near Charley’s home. She speed-walked stealthily to the grocery store. On her way there, Charley encountered a gang of four puppets chillin’ at the intersection. Some were drinkin’, others were trippin’ on some exclusive puppet drugs. Charley had to think fast and decided to aim for the smallest puppet of the gang. She darted toward the mass of puppets and they all began beating her ass! Charley managed to bite off a puppet’s leg, but regretted it after getting punched in the face. She couldn’t take it anymore and used all her strength to race back home. The puppets, as they clearly lack lower body strength, didn’t run after her and continued to do gang shit. That day changed Charley’s life, as she never again craved the taste of puppets.

Author - LT.

2 + 2 = 5 America

Democracy needs a lifeguard or two with those red tubes to pull it from the throes of drowning. Lifeguards always carry those red tubes for a reason. Drowning victims in their panic and fear, often try to drown the people who try to rescue them.  Paranoia and fear they feel causes people to cling on to what they have around them.  This also happens all the time in social, political, or educational situations when individuals fear the loss of what they know or when they fear losing power or control. After a year of examining the state of democracy in America, our US Government class has decided that the American experiment in democracy is drowning. At present we bear witness to a country splashing around in the open water, attempting to drown those who have come to its rescue.

In Post Truth America the demagoguery and manufactured rage of the Republican Party have pulled democracy under the water. Some members of Congress prefer getting attention to getting things done. The American democracy is part liberal and part conservative.  Its head, heart, and soul blend liberal and conservative, democrat and republican ways of being. It is the conservative part of the country, like the part of the brain that rejects logic and reason in the face of an uncertain future, has freaked out and wants to drown the lifeguard. The conservative lung of America has filled not with water, but with misinformation, lies, and fealty to an individual more interested in corruption and power than democracy and the Constitution. In 1984, Big Brother and the Party did whatever it took to remain in and consolidate power. These actions, based on lies and manipulation, can be summed up in the metaphor of 2 + 2 = 5. Part of this effort holds tight to a specific myth of America. The rage focused against The 1619 Project and Critical Race Theory (CRT) represent a misguided effort to preserve a narrow mythical understanding of this country’s history.

The various arms of conservative state media and bottom feeders on social media have created dangerous conditions. This rip tide pulls at our country. First, there’s the Big Lie. Election denial in largely Republican controlled state legislatures has resulted in subsequent efforts to suppress votes from the BIPOC community. Republicans in Congress more interested in reelection and preserving their privileged lifestyle in DC embrace the Big Lie. Fear of 45 has “forced” them to kiss the Donald’s ring. Power and preservation instincts have warped their sensibilities for what this country is really about. Power > Policy + People. Politicians these days, particularly Republicans, are more concerned with re-election and clinging to power than they are in solving problems. This zero sum politics has emerged from what Madison referred to an “impetuous vortex” (Federalist 48) and the rise of factions. On any day we can observe efforts around the country to make lies the law. We can also witness the revising of the events of January 6th as many conservatives try to sanitize the insurrection as well as their support for the violence and their support for unconstitutional election interference. If anyone within the republican caucus dares speak out they are punished.  For all of their rage against Cancel Culture, Republicans were more than happy to cancel Liz Cheney for speaking truth to power.  However, these are not the only areas in which conservatives work to sanitize and whitewash American history.

America has to honestly examine its racist legacy. However, as part of their culture war strategy to reclaim power, these same people have created a new hysteria around bothThe 1619 Project and CRT.  This hysteria has once again worked to incite a  mob that is largely ignorant about what their outage is about beyond several well worn talking points (the usual bogeymen are present - anti-American, socialists, marxists, political correctness, etc.). The wave of hysteria has washed ashore in several states that have banned both 1619 and CRT from being used in schools or in anti-racist trainings. I guess some folks really miss McCarthyism and the Red Scare. Oddly enough most of the people freaking out have not read the articles in The 1619 Project or the seminal articles of Critical Race Theory. Both projects provide a different lens by which we can examine the history and institutional systems that shaped and continue to shape the history and institutions of this country. 

Quick aside #1 - back in the day I used a version of Red Light/Green Light every time someone in my class brought up reverse discrimination or affirmative action. Actually, with affirmative action I just pointed to data that stated that the primary beneficiaries of affirmative action were middle class White women between the ages of 25 and 40. For Red Light/Green Light I had everyone on one side of a basketball court or room to start.  Then I moved a group 15 steps closer to the finish line. We played a few rounds like that and every time someone that got a head start won.  Next, I moved some of the people from the group that did not get the benefit of a head start further back. We played a few rounds like that and still someone from the groups out in front won. I then moved everyone to the privileged starting line. Sure enough some new people won and the folks who had been winning complained that it wasn’t fair. So I moved everyone back to their original positions and ran a few rounds.  The people who had been winning were winning again. While they were pleased, everyone else stewed with more anger after coming close to victory. In the final rounds I moved everyone back to the end line (or far wall) to play. Again those in the original group that got a head start felt this was unfair - that they were being cheated. This sounds vaguely familiar, but I digress.

As a recovering history geek and as someone with a degree in multicultural education I was curious about both 1619 and CRT. I have not read every article in The 1619 Project (I think I have one or two to finish) but I found what I did read interesting with well articulated ideas. When I first read CRT articles back in the early 2000s I didn’t know what to make of the theory. As a teacher I found the political and legal arguments interests but outside my window of classroom work. More recently, my thinking has evolved some to see more of a connection to school and schooling And that’s the thing - I read the work and decided for myself.  Did I (or do I) agree with everything written - no. Am I willing to listen, yes. 

Quick aside #2 - Also back in the day, during the first week of school I had my students fan out around our school building and describe how they saw the building. Everyone came back with their perspective but alone no one captured what the whole building looked like. If we put all of our perspectives together only then did we get a complete picture of what the school looked like. History is the same way. One perspective does not capture the entirety of the American experience. Yet, many conservatives are trying to legalize only one way of seeing America and criminalizing an expanded interpretation of history. POSTSCRIPT - I do recognize that this is one perspective on a large issue. I look forward to a chance to tape other perspective to my perspective to create a richer description of what’s happening.

If you read either project you will find out that neither The 1619 Project or Critical Race Theory states that it hates America or that America is evil. Neither espouse communist or socialist principles.  There is, however, some mention of how unbridled capitalism does not go well with specific groups. As my students used to say - facts. If only a limited and specific group of individuals benefits from a system that is in fact not good for those who do not benefit.   Both projects ask that we consider and explore the idea that racism, discrimination, and prejudice played a role in American history.  Honestly, this isn’t outlandish. Sorry if I don’t take the word of a White senator from South Carolina when he says America isn’t a racist country. Uh… yeah. Forgive me, but I think it is safe to say that racism (or White supremacy if you prefer) played (still plays) a significant role in American history. Listen, don’t take my word for it. Do your homework. Analyze the information. Have a conversation without someone with a different point of view. Come to your own conclusion.  Stop relying on social media and bow-tied talking heads to tell you what to think.

The cries of indoctrination represent a form of gaslighting that provides a “solution” for a “problem” that doesn’t exist in order to gain attention and power. Don’t come at me with your PC this or your woke racism bs. Save it. Those are just new shades of lipstick on the same pig you’ve been riding for decades. CRT is not anti-White.The 1619 Project is not anti-American. Neither is a form of indoctrination. If you’re against indoctrination stop punching the Pledge of Allegiance in schools. The 1776 Patriotic Education Commission crap was in fact indoctrination.  The teaching of American history has long been a form of indoctrination. The story textbooks sell is a myth used to indoctrinate millions of students with a singular version of this country’s story. Deconstructing these myths is a good thing. History has to reflect all of the stories and needs to be inclusive of a multitude of experiences. Critical thinking and analysis does not mean you’re against something or for something. It just means that someone is taking a closer look and shining a different light on a subject. Doing what Dear Leader says, because he says, that’s indoctrination. Remember, teaching does not mean telling people what to think. It means teaching people to think for themselves.  Stop gaslighting us.  

Speaking of gaslighting, let us return to the newest evolution of conservatives I mentioned earlier. A faction of Republicans have gone off the deep end. It is to the point where I don’t recognize this breed of Republican.  This faction that spews America First, WASP theories, Replacement Theory, etc. in the “media” sound more like members of the Taliban or Islamic extremists than Regan or Goldwater Republicans. Trump-ettes such as Tucker and Laura on Fox or Representatives Greene and Gaetz have manufactured a reality and created a narrative for extremists. These Radical Republicans who claim to be saving America are in fact the ones killing the American experience out of fear of losing power and anxiety around change. Now the more ‘moderate’ conservatives are forced to be bystanders to a problematic fissure in the United States. This emergent form of extremist conservatism poses more of a threat to the well being of the US than the foreign extremists they so often vilify. 

The America of the Post Truth Republican Party reflects many characteristics of Big Brother’s Oceania in 1984. Their willful acceptance of lies and constant attention seeking disinformation campaigns serve selfish interests. The sole purpose of these cowardly actions is to regain and hold on to power.  

I tell you, Winston, that reality is not external. Reality exists 

in the human mind, and nowhere else. Not in the individual 

mind... only in the mind of the Party, which is collective and 

immortal. Whatever the Party holds to be the truth, is truth. 

It is impossible to see reality except by looking through the 

eyes of the Party. (1984, p. 249)

Representative McCarthy (R- CA) sounds more and more like O’Brien; while Representative Greene (R - GA) sounds and acts more and more like Winston's neighbor and co-worker Parsons. .  They, like many others in his party, tirelessly work to convince us that 2 + 2 = 5.  When McCarthy told reporters that no one in his party believed the election was stolen is akin to O’Brien telling Winston that 2 + 2 = 5.

‘Do you remember,' he went on, 'writing in your diary, "Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four"?' 

'Yes,' said Winston.  

O'Brien held up his left hand, its back towards Winston, with the thumb hidden and the four fingers extended. 'How many fingers am I holding up, Winston?'  

'Four.' 

'And if the party says that it is not four but five -- then how many?' 

 'Four.'  

The word ended in a gasp of pain. (1984, p. 249)

 Facts no longer matter in some halls of Congress or in large swaths of this country. Senator Cruz (R - TX) and some of his buddies embrace falsehoods for political purposes while pretending it is part of some search for truth (‘Some of my constituents believe…’). These fantasy “truths” come from specific sources who spew opinion, rumor, or disinformation and claim it as fact or news. Yet consider this - you can have an opinion, but not all opinions are valid. In fact, opinions that are not supported by evidence are truisms, not opinion.  Unfortunately their gaslighting efforts have been successful. 

After the 2016 election I did not jump on the bandwagons for the Trump as Hitler, Trump as fascist, or the Trump as Big Brother comparisons. More recently, with the devolution of democracy, the willful ignoring of the increased violence towards People of Color, and the criminalization of diverse voices - I have to say, those comparisons are not far fetched. A few weeks ago in our government class we read an article that reminded people the Holocaust began not with the gas chamber but with dehumanizing hate speech from politicians. It seemed to us that the parallels between past and present were too close to ignore. 

So here it is…we can’t ignore how racism is woven into the fabric of our country, but I’m not sure we have to throw out the quilt. We can’t be afraid of what we find when we analyze our past, present, or future with new or different lenses. The impending social, cultural, political, and economic readjustment across groups doesn’t imply hatred for White folks or anti-Americanism. Like my students in the adjusted Red Light/Green Light, it just means that a small group of folks can’t control the game or the rules anymore.  Many of the people who complain about ant-racist teaching, etc love to talk about merit based this or that. Until we level the ‘playing fields’ such a notion remains stuck between a fantasy and a bad joke. We have to come to terms with our sins of omission and commission around racism and provide equitable access to social, economic, and political resources. The critics of the anti-racist teaching, trainings, etc. actually stand in the way of creating a chance for a real meritocracy to happen. 

The quest by extremist Republicans for attention, money, and control only serves their lust for power. They have abandoned democracy. Their “news” sources have as much in common with professional journalism as the WWE has in common with actual wrestling. And yet, they are either blind to the impact their actions have on our democratic institutions or have given in to their baser authoritarian instincts. Will democracy survive? Reckon it depends on if anyone on the shore notices and alerts the lifeguards or if the lifeguards can survive the destructive flailing out in the water.

Learning In The Attention Economy

Not long ago I gave up telling stories in class. Story telling used to be a great way to provide examples, build relationships, or to challenge student thinking. In recent years however, the constant interruption and questions has made it so telling stories isn’t worth it. Zoom teaching put the final nail into my story telling, which sucks. I really thought that stories helped build relationships with students. These days not too many people have the attention span to listen to a story. It bums me out a bit, but I get it - the classroom has changed and I have to make some changes as well.

Lately I’ve wrestled with an idea that compares the current distracted faux connected culture we live in to the dot com bubble bursting back in the day and how the overinflation of hollow or superficial interactions have led and will lead to a social recession.  Yes that does seem like the idea of a retro grouch who never jumped on the socials, but so many of my students and friends have over-invested in the look at me world of social media or have allowed doom scrolling to reduce them to a paralyzed shell of their former selves.  While doing some exploring I came across an op-ed piece in The New York Times (Warsel, 2.4.21) in which the author described how his brain had been hijacked by information. Over-stimulus made it so he had trouble focusing on his day to day tasks. The author realized that pretending to multitask or his distraction reflected his anxiety or inability to allocate attention. This distraction represented a search for attention and uncertainty around when to apply his limited attention.  Many people have struggled with similar issues and Warzel makes clear that all of this is due to the fact that our lives are dominated by the Attention Economy.  This idea connected with my original idea and I momentarily considered myself a genius.

Attention drives us (as individuals and groups) towards, what I consider, a trinity of human behavior - power, control, and fear. We have a reciprocal and transactional relationship with attention. Not only do we arrange our behavior to claim attention by putting things out there, but we receive and must decide how to direct our attention. Others put messages out (to get attention) and that messaging impacts the behavior of their audience. Individuals behave in ways that get them attention while simultaneously deciding what to attend to while processing incoming stimuli. Multitasking is really just a nice way to frame an inability to focus.  With all this going on, no wonder people have trouble focusing.

The emergence of the Attention Economy can be traced to the early 90s when several forces emerged that would change the framework of many lives. Perhaps the clearest sign of this shift was the emergence of cable news and the purchase of media outlets by large corporations. This new media  focused on getting viewers for advertisers. This required getting and holding peoples’ attention and diluting the quality of information provided to the viewer. In the late 90s Michael Goldhaber applied the Attention Economy to emerging trends and technologies to predict the many systems that shape the way we live our lives. Goldhaber did not coin the idea of the Attention Economy. Herbert Swan created the term to describe how attention was not only a finite resource for individuals but was also a currency and a path for individuals or groups to gain power. Goldhaber outlined how the internet would transform how people lived, shopped, and interacted. His assertions described how online living would reshape politics and advertising as well as how the rise of reality television and influencers would change our concept of celebrity.  This transformation, exacerbated by social and economic technologies,  has destabilized individuals with a constant bombardment of information, unrelenting pressure to keep up with “the Jones,” and the ever widening schism between friends and followers. I have to wonder if the Show versus Substance question is an extension of the Attention Economy. Or, more broadly perhaps, I would like to examine how the Attention Economy has impacted education and how teachers can address teaching and learning within this system.

To deconstruct the Attention Economy we have to begin with the idea that many people in America cannot escape this phenomena. The layers of attention swirling around us shape the context and situations of our lives. Individuals now seem to prefer to connect with attention than other people. This goes way beyond the notion of information overload. The economics of attention refer to the idea that attention is a finite resource. The human brain can only attend to a limited amount of stimuli and as such people must make decisions as to how they use their resources. As a commodity, people buy and sell attention everyday much like they trade stocks, etc. on Wall St. Profiting from this economy requires a relentless effort to achieve marginal gains. Attention grabbing… attention seeking… attention inequalities shape the dynamics of attention in our daily lives. 

Let’s start by looking at how the Attention Economy has impacted four areas - celebrity, social media, politics, and culminations.  I have recently weaned myself off of US Weekly magazines. How I got hooked on that magazine is a story for another day (but it does involve a sauna and some hairy old men).  For the past ten years or so I noticed that I know fewer and fewer celebrities in my US Weeklies.  My students would often be able to fill me in on what I was missing. However, more and more I noticed that the idea of celebrity has changed. It seems that these days celebrity status goes to people whose only claim to fame is extensive and effective marketing. Initially this shift began with reality television ‘stars,’ but now includes a wider range of folks from various realms of the online world. Instead of developing talent, people trying to crack into the entertainment industry now find new ways to market themselves to get the attention of industry gatekeepers.

Then we have social media as a driver of the Attention Economy. Full disclosure I do not use the socials. This is not me bashing social media, just connecting the socials to the Attention Economy. Going viral = attention gold mine… You Tube, Instagram, and Tik Tok (and all those in between) = look at me attention… Click bait = read me read me read me! The first time I had a student “addicted” to social media happened in 2004. Next came conversations with students around if followers equaled friends. After that classroom discussions focused on  if you were really friends with people who you only interacted with online. This was soon followed by student distress around issues of self related to social.  These distress around issues of self  was brought on by students comparing themselves to their peers (as well as influencers) online. NOTE: Influencer is another symptom of the Attention Economy. This layer within the Attention Economy around social media, from my perspective, has had three problematic influences: superficial interactions, faux friends, and inflated sense of self. It has also brought about the unwelcome return of self esteem pedalers. Interactions and connections online represent the most minimal level of social engagement. Liking a photo and a quick comment fills someone’s need for attention or social connection. While this is not an illusion like TSA’s performance of airport safety, these connections reflect the bare minimum of human interaction. And yet now, some hold this up as the gold standard of human engagement. All of this has led to some individuals having an overinflated sense of self - a house of cards built on attention and ego that crumbles with the slightest breeze from the Me versus You comparisons. Of course, we haven’t even begun to discuss the algorithmic nature of curated feeds and whether individuals are the consumer or product within the social media worlds.

The single term of the 45th president showed us the extremes of politics in the Attention Economy. Such politics represent a “getting attention instead of actually doing something” model of leadership. Political media used to be dominated by sound bites, now politicians can just throw something out on Twitter and call it good. The emphasis on or need for attention in politics can also be seen in the fact that several new representatives (hello GA and NC) set up their communication teams immediately and have yet to establish policy teams. Goldhaber warned way back when that politics in the Attention Economy would devolve. Instead of “nuanced policy discussions” overly simple slogans and messaging would dominate political discourse. This has come to fruition. Political leaders feel the need now to fight for their share of attention pie to remain relevant and in office. This has resulted in some individuals spewing crazy things online - the more extreme your post, the more attention one receives. Sure some of those individuals don’t really believe all of what they post, but words matter. Unfortunately this slippery slope has resulted in numerous problems as  many constituents consume, believe, and sometimes act on those extreme views.

Now, let us turn our attention to education within the Attention Economy. In terms of education the Attention Economy has impacted education in two ways. First, the practice of teaching has been impacted. Second, how students learn has changed in the Attention Economy.  I am not even going to get into the teacher at school who puts more effort into curating their Instagram feed about their teaching than their actual teaching (pretty sure every school has that teacher).  Students often bring their social media behavior into the classroom. Media shapes classroom interactions and learning on several levels.  Reality TV, YouTube, and Twitch also impact their interactions in the classroom. Let’s face it, if they have to choose how to allot their limited attention resources between something cool they streamed versus understanding the fundamental principles of Jacksonian Democracy, most students will not put their resources into their schoolwork. Students will also mimic what they see in popular media - clothes, interests, and behavior.  Students also emulate the behavior of media influencers or personalities, and  politicians by spewing out attention grabbing statements in class and in the halls. Educators can address these changes or file this behavior under “damn kids.”

In my mind, the shift towards the Attention Economy in education began in the early 2000s. This was when conversations around Show versus Substance (SvS) infiltrated my faculty meetings.  I define SvS as an effort to wow parents and the outside world with things that look cool but that only skim the surface of understanding. Part of me wants to lay some blame on Bill Nye the Science Guy who brought edutainment to new heights and killed science for many students (science sucks if your teacher can’t do all that cool stuff, right?). Unfortunately Show versus Substance was just the beginning. Now we have to consider how to maximize the knowledge constructed within the Attention Economy.

Educators have to, once again, rethink what and how to teach to adjust our methods to meet the needs of individuals who do not know how to or what to focus on in their studies. It seems the first place to start would be with teaching individuals to develop their attention economics skills. This isn’t so different from teaching people to be better consumers of information. Goldhaber suggests that people become intentional and focused on what they pay attention to every day.  He suggests people pay attention to who is generating the material that attracts their attention.  Next,  individuals must examine how their attention is being manipulated by a variety of sources. This is closely related to questioning who is curating the information you see or how your feeds are being curated by outside forces. Last, he recommends people take a hard look at what they value and allot their attention accordingly. 

Teachers have a decision to make. Do we give into the algorithmic forces of the Attention Economy and provide quick and shallow curriculum that attracts the attention of our students? Do we continue with material that attracts the attention of only a few students? Or, do we rethink things to reconstruct teaching and learning to maximize students experiences despite the Attention Economy?

Things have changed in the last 20 years. Technology has reconstructed how we live, how we process information, and how we connect (or don’t) connect the dots moment to moment.  The grown ups always question or blame youth, but these days adults rarely do any better in terms of practicing smarts and focus. Back in the day if someone spewed hollow bravado we laughed and dropped reality in their laps. Lately, when someone talks big and spews nonsense we reply by saying “Yes, Mr. Trump.” If the last two decades did not make it clear, the last four years should have driven home the fact that our world runs on Show not Substance. The quest for and rationing of attention dictates how the game is played these days in politics, celebrity, and education. Hate the game. Welcome to the Attention Economy.

What Lies Beyond

The bumper sticker I want to make would say: Fear saves. Panic kills. A blank page that needs to be filled with a coherent message intimidates many students. For me the panic was always associated with math.  Long division messed me up good in fourth grade. Junior high math crushed me. In each case, whether Ms. Khan, Mr. Lipman, or Mr Seitz, the teachers spoke and darkness clouded my thinking. Fear gave way to panic as I found myself lost in the forgein lands of long division and algebra.  If it hadn’t been for the patient encouragement of my new math tutor guiding me out of the darkness, I would have succumbed, helpless to those math demons. These instances happen all the time in school and represent frightening journeys into the academic unknown for students. In order to learn we all must explore what lies beyond our known world. However, teachers can’t just throw students into the unknown (they often do, but we’ll get to that). When educators ask students to explore what lies beyond the maps they’ve constructed of their world, we have to encourage their exploration and tether them back to what they already know. Learning requires risk and a guide.

The first time I rolled my eyes at my mother happened soon after I told her I wanted to be an explorer. She looked at me and said I explore everyday when I learn something new. My eye rolling did not go over well. In typical Mary Jo fashion, she “discussed” with me how all learning involved exploring the unknown.  Twenty some years later during a crisis intervention training, the instructor told us that an individual presents in crisis when they find themselves beyond the limits of their experience and knowledge.  So it turns out my mother might have been right. It dawned on me that crisis and learning were two sides of the same coin. 

Part of teaching involves helping students find the limits of their knowledge and to take a step or two beyond their known world (preferably without putting students into crisis). However, students often find themselves beyond the limits of their knowledge and experience alone - resulting in panic if not in the early stages of crisis. Easing them into the unknown may be more effective than throwing them into the unknown. Too often, however, teachers pressed for time throw students into the unknown and leave them to flounder and drown in uncertainty.

Listen, there’s nothing wrong with just jumping in - I learned to swim and ski that way. If you throw someone into the deep end follow up with formal and informal instruction. Many teachers, I fear, don’t have time to take this idea of students exploring their limits or the unknown seriously.  Teachers and schools often lower expectations to remove uncertainty from the process of learning.  Of course you don’t want to allow so much time to explore that you create a group of Hamlets who over think, over analyze, and become paralyzed in the possibilities.  Like many aspects of teaching, there’s a carefully crafted middle ground for each teacher to find. A good rule of thumb to keep in mind about when to end any activity - stop while people are enjoying and involved in the work (quit while you’re ahead). This way students more willingly return to that project or activity.

So how can teachers and schools support students explore what lies beyond?  Perhaps this connects to the larger question of how can we help individuals get comfortable being uncomfortable?  

In 4th grade Mrs. Khan taught us long division.  I was super excited since long division, in my mind, was what older kids did. That meant we were leaving the little kid world and joining the big league. I had basic division down so when she drew the ‘house of division’ on the chalkboard my enthusiasm must have burst a few synapses inside my head. As Mrs. Khan explained each step as she put the problem up on the board, but what I heard sounded a lot like the emergency broadcast system sounds.  I had no idea what was going on. So when it was my turn to go to the board to practice a problem in front of the class...the suffocating darkness and social anxiety paralyzed me in front of my peers.

Not long ago I tried to run my age in miles. I wanted to see what would happen when I plodded my way past the 26th mile and beyond. It seemed like a good idea at the time.  As I trained physically I prepped myself mentally. I considered the various unknowns I would deal with on the ’run.’  How would my body respond? What would hurt first?  How could I deal with the different dark moments that would inevitably cross my mind? Oddly enough, I looked forward to dealing with the many unknowns more than anything. That turned out to be a good thing. As I crossed into the 28th mile I didn’t freak out when my knee and back began to argue. At mile 33 I ran out of water. Instead of going into a self defeating funk, I thought ‘well this is going to be interesting’ and started dreaming of finding a giant puddle in which I could lay down. I finished the last 15 miles in a zombie like walk/run combination and yet felt oddly good about things.  It wasn’t pretty, but making the unknown known was gratifying.

Running into the unknown went way better than long division.  What separates the two experiences? In 4th grade I was untethered. Nothing anchored me to prior knowledge or experience. Mrs. Khan’s voice echoed across an insurmountable distance. While plodding beyond mile 26 (running is too generous) I knew I could walk when I had to. I could see my apartment for the last 24 miles. And, I knew I could call an Uber if things went really sideways. Even though I saw more snakes (4) than people (0) for the last five hours and ran out of water 15 miles from the trailhead, I never panicked. For this journey into the beyond, I remained tethered to the idea that everything would be ok one way or another.

Back when I ran a climbing program for kids, we used to shake our heads every time we heard a parent or volunteer tell a kid “there’s nothing to be afraid of” as they got stuck on a wall or rock face. Those words remain near the top of my list of “Dumb Things People Say to Kids.” Of course there was something to be concerned about. Instead of ignoring fear we embraced it and included falling practice in our curriculum.  We found that most of our students put so much energy into worrying about falling that they had little energy left to climb up anything. We created a supportive place for our students to ’fall’ in order to show them what would happen so that they could spend less energy worrying and more time pushing themselves upward.  Our falling practice provided a ‘safe’ leap into the unknown.  In both cases the individual remained tethered to their known world. Anchored to the known world individuals may be more willing to explore the unknown.

So how can educators create their own version of academic falling practice in their classroom. Rarely do I emphasize the solving phase of the educational practice equation. Too often, in my mind, people rush to name and solve issues without really understanding the issue at hand. Keep in mind that solutions are situational and specific to a group or community. However, the first step regardless of place and people is to build supportive relationships in your class. Teachers have to first work to shift the culture of learning so that taking risks and ‘failing’ are welcomed and supported behaviors within the workings of the classroom. 

Everyone can create their own way of doing this. I go about this a few different ways. Usually I add “fail spectacularly” to my classroom expectations. Then I set this expectation in my emphasis on process over outcome (grades). It’s process, process, process. If your assessments focus on the what/how of learning and not getting things ‘right’ then academic stumbles become an essential part of the process and students are less likely to be paralyzed by fear of failure. Another strategy I use is to model failure and a willingness to journey into subjects or ideas in which I am not all that familiar.  If I can show students what exploring what lies beyond looks like, more students are willing to go there themselves.

We all can do more to help students check out what lies beyond. Students (and teachers) often resist learning new skills or exploring unfamiliar topics. Many teachers have the same struggles. Learning involves a combination of major shifts and incremental changes in intellectual development. It would be great if we could all see ‘the unknown’ as an opportunity and not as a crisis. Students who panic when confronting new material that challenges their limits of understanding often shut down and remain in the comfy confines of their known world. Our job as educators involves  helping each student break down their limits and become competent explorers of their world. 

Full Metal Learning

Last year my students wanted to make a marketing video for do.think.learn that makes fun of the videos that their previous Heads of Schools had posted on YouTube.  I want to call it Full Metal Learning.  Our video would be part satire and part music video. What, you may ask, does Full Metal Learning mean? Well, it has taken me some time to figure that out.  

In the Before Time, at a bike race, my friend Peter suggested that I rebrand do.think.learn with the moniker Full Metal Learning. This intrigued me.  However, it took me the seventeen hour drive home and some quality shelter in place time to start forming in my mind what Full metal learning would mean.   The term is a play on full metal jacket. It refers to a type of bullet (hard on the outside, soft on the inside) as well as a slightly disjointed Vietnam War movie. Ammunition is not my area of expertise, but I do like a good curmudgeon.  To know what a Full Metal Learning school included, we started with music. This helped, but to get the process really going, I turned to Liverpool FC of the English Premier League to generate some coherent ideas.

In trying to understand what this concept might include,  and after doing some digging into heavy metal music and English football, potential elements of Full Metal Learning include:

• A Do It Yourself ethos (DIY)

• An In Your Face attitude

• Focus

• Organization 

• Self-Awareness

I’m not really into metal, but I have an open mind. Metal, like the many different types of students, is a diverse genre of music. Some students are more Metallica, some are Primus, a few resemble Korn, and the ones who are too smart for their own good rep Tool. A good chunk of middle schoolers would go Icelandic full death metal if given the chance. Others would go more hiphop metal. This all got me thinking about two things. First, how often do teachers step outside their cottage of knowledge and learn from their students? Second, how does the underlying ethos of metal connect to learning and schooling? This essay focuses mostly on the second point.

A few years ago I learned about mumble rap, auto tune, as well as all the Lils and Uzzis in the rap/hiphop world.  More recently my students have taught me about metal.  Slowly I have learned about the thrash and death metal genres. I had no idea the full scope and diversity of metal in the world.  Chris Tilyou introduced me to Black Sabbath in 5th grade. Jeff Sands cranked Iron Maiden and early Metallica before football games.  Brett at Stone Gardens blasted Scandanavian death metal during Sunday night closing.  Now my students have me listening to Lamb of God, Sepultura, Alien Weaponry, and Gojira. We’ve discussed the similarities between punk and metal; how in some ways punk evolved into metal after punk sold out; the nexus of hip hop and metal (Bodycount, etc.); and the San Francisco funk/metal scene (wait Primus is a metal band?). I don’t know if I was ignorant or just lacked appreciation for the scope and nuances of metal?  Well, I’m starting to get it.

My favorite English football teams are Liverpool and Nottingham Forest. I also have a soft spot for Watford but that’s not important now.  Both of those teams played a heavy, in your face style of soccer.  In the early 80s when the Juelis family would watch Forest or Liverpool matches at the dinner table if our black and white set could get the UHF signal to work. This was perhaps the heyday of heavy metal football in England, which makes sense in a historical context.  The Thatcher years destroyed many socioeconomic groups in England. In the UK and America punk and metal emerged in response to Thatcher and Reagan’s destruction of cities, opportunities, and the middle class). There was no shortage of angst. Football and  music provided outlets for many folks. Fast forward 20+ years to when Jurgen Klopp arrived at Meyerside as the new coach at Liverpool, he stated that he “likes things loud” on the pitch and described his team’s style as “heavy metal football.”  At the time this was what Liverpool needed to do to shake up their football culture and force their way into the minds of other teams. Heavy Metal Football emphasizes  an active in your face style designed to rattle the opponent and engage the players in a system. Liverpool used this system to force their opponents into making mistakes thus setting up a counter attack.  This system of play (like the music), also requires focus, organization, and stamina to stay on top of things.  It also requires high levels of self-awareness and systems thinking. These characteristics bridge heavy metal music and soccer with Full Metal Learning.

As it turns out, the thrash or death metal I gravitate towards reminds me of punk bands I like (loud, fast, and sort of organized).  The mix of the DIY let’s make it happen mixed with a bit of F@$k you does not appear in my marketing material. Yet many parents are looking for something different for their students. And many of us wouldn’t mind kicking unresponsive school systems in the pants. I never really thought of do.think.learn as kicking the education system in the giblets, but I kind of like the idea. 

Our DIY approach means a “let’s shake things up” attitude that is rather appealing to us do.think.learners.  do.think.learn is definitely a DIY learning environment. We have an office - a workplace among other professionals. School is our workplace. Students take on the responsibility of getting their work done and handling their various responsibilities.  There is no hand holding. We set big goals and provide oodles of support to enable students to work towards their goals. We like a  blend of independence, support, and reflection around what works/doesn’t work. Students have to organize their day and their due dates. Our school day is often a choose your own adventure schedule. I communicate goals, due dates, and daily responsibilities each morning.  Students, either get done or don’t get it done. Either way the show goes on.  

This in your face mindset also reflects our attitude towards schooling and the education system in general. My students don’t fit the cookie cutter most schools use to determine success. They’re smart, attentive, and curious, but the system doesn’t work for them or has cast them aside. So a good way to motivate students like this is to tap in to their resentment against the system. The in your face attitude does not pertain to how I interact with students.  I’m rarely in their face, just in their business. Since there are never more than five students enrolled in DTL, by proximity (even during shelter in place) I’m in their business quite a bit. Proximity in a micro-school seems way better than being lost in the shuffle of 32 other kids in a class. 

Full metal teaching and learning requires focus, organization, self-awareness, and organization. These however, are not strengths of the average middle or high schooler. Schools have to create a framework for learning that values and fosters these skills.  Getting students to focus has become more and more problematic.  Some of that problem is on students (or at least the impact of technology on them). Much more of that issue is the fault of schools. Are we, as teachers, expecting all students to focus the same way? Deliberate practice is not the only pathway to mastery. Perhaps we can expand our notion of what focus looks like as well.  Are we expecting students to focus (or care) when they get talked at or have to learn outdated material?  Maybe schools could do more to give students a reason to focus and care. For me, as  long as students do not disrupt things and take care of business, that is all that matters.

Developing organization systems and skills remains  problematic for most middle schoolers and a good many high schoolers.  Part of that is developmental and part of that we can attribute to systems thinking.  Systems thinking is another problematic area for middle and high schoolers. And again part of this is developmental, but schools can do more to help foster these skills. My preference is for students to create their own systems to organize their time, their things, and their work.  If and when those systems break down, then we can address the issue and create new systems.  Students seem to invest more in this method than being told how to organize their lives (although some do like being told what to do). My guess is that most middle school students have had it with being told how to do things or instructed on the ‘right way’ to do things and just want to do things their way. Understanding cause and effect, trends, and how facts or actions relate to one another takes practice. I once watched a 9th grader spend 20 minutes trying to figure out how to get cereal out of the box. As teachers we can create opportunities for students to develop systems thinking or better understand cause and effect (hello natural and logical consequences).  This is where outdoor ed, gardening, and cooking experiences come in handy. Experiential learning or any set up that uses natural and logical consequences can help build systems thinking.  Provide opportunities for students to have a meaningful say or control over how things play out and hold them accountable. Let them do it their way. If it works, great. If it doesn’t, no worries (unless it involves feeding large groups…). Either way reflect on the situation so that they know what worked, what didn’t, and why.  This helps build effective systems and systems thinking. 

Self awareness represents the last piece of heavy metal football and learning. Students have to understand that the world doesn’t revolve around them; or at least, that their actions create a ripple effect on the people around them. Individual actions have consequences. On the soccer pitch in the Liverpool scheme players are linked to the actions of their mates. On stage, the bass player is linked to the drummer, who is in turn tied to what guitar and singer does.  If one person blows their assignment or isn’t paying attention, everyone has to cover for that lapse. The same thing happens in schools and at jobs. This is a skill that is actually transferable from school to life on the outside. Unfortunately, too many people walk around clueless and ignorant of how they impact the world right in front of them. Maybe we start with taking out the ear buds and going beyond the gated communities social media has created and recognize the interconnectedness of our lives. Getting students to understand how their actions impact their peers and the community might be another uphill battle, but the payoff would be huge. Schools can help students to minimize their impact or even change their impact on the world.  Schools can do this. Let’s face it, addressing these issues will have a greater impact on more students’ lives than anything Algebra 2 has to offer them. 

Do we rep Full Metal Learning? Not sure. Of the five criteria (a DIY ethos, In Your Face attitude, Focus, Organization, and  Self-Awareness), traditional schooling would embrace three of them for sure (Sorry DIY and in your face are usually frowned upon).  In the last few years DTL has looked at our punk roots, our hip hop credentials, and now the full spectrum of metal out there. We reflect all of those genres of music and maybe none of them. However, each of those families of music has a student who reacted against the status quo and lost faith in the system.  I don’t know if my students really feel that way. I do know they want to get away from the bloated overproduction of schools.  Do they want to kick the school system in the giblets? Doubt it. However, most days they’d settle for kicking me for not letting them settle. At do.think.learn we, as individuals and a group,  will use this Full Metal Learning mindset to create our future.. 

Violence is the Answer

In college my intellectual history requirements were taught by a professor named Marvin. On the first day of class Marvin told us that all thought was a violent act. Ideas, information, and learned behavior all represented acts of violence within the brain. Individuals, he believed, carved knowledge into their  brain and that without these inscriptions they had difficulty holding on to or repeating that knowledge. Thus, thinking and learning required violence.

AUTHOR’S NOTE:  This article is not advocating physical violence. The question of if/when physical violence is necessary is one for another day (and preferably offline). 

Now we know that this isn’t exactly true. Learning and the development of skills reflects the wrapping of neural circuitry with myelin (check out The Talent Code for extended discussion). However, I don’t think Marvin was too far off.  There’s something to the idea. If nothing else, thinking represents a habit and all habits are ingrained behavior. 

Thinking may not require violence per se, but it does require some physicality. Students who use pen and pencil to write down notes retain more than those who type up their research or lecture notes. Reading comprehension increases when a text is actually read instead of being consumed on a device. I catch a lot of grief for it, but I require students to hand write all of their notes during the research process. I also provide books for all in class readings. Again not violent, but you’ve got to earn it to learn it.

Most educational experiences lack physicality.  By that I mean that, by and large, most schools  do not teach students to think. Instead, teachers spend most of their time telling students what the right answer is and how to spew answers on tests. Students really just have to go through the motions of learning. Much like TSA is the performance of security at the airport, schools perform elaborate educational theater. 

Now the country reckons with parents and students who never learned how to think, to critically analyze ideas, and make decisions for themselves. The results of this can be found in various workplaces and political spheres around the country. In many fields, employers struggle to find people who can examine information, problem solve  and adapt to dynamic situations. Politicians and their respective disciples whine about indoctrination in schools (usually right before they suggest their own indoctrination program). Now, I don’t know that the purpose of learning is solely to get a good job, but school should prepare you to succeed outside of school. And to those people who clamor about indoctrination and can’t move beyond a headline, I say, “Lighten up Francis.”

A teacher helps a student learn to think. We support and facilitate the development of an array of skills across the grades. Teachers help students find information, deconstruct facts or evidence, and reconstruct those ideas in a variety of situations. My job is not to teach your student what to think. My job is to teach your kid to think for themself. 

I used to give bonus points to students who disagreed with me. The only catch was that they had to support their claims with facts and you could calmly discuss the issue. In my classes you can hold whatever perspective you want under two conditions - that you have evidence to support your position and the understanding that your opinion might be wrong.  Students (like adults) should have evidence and be able to provide a reasonable explanation of their claims. When this happens, we can then use class time to hold all perspectives up to a bright light and pull apart various ideas. In the end we don’t have to agree. However, the act of wrestling with ideas makes all of us stronger thinkers.

The other junior high in Westfield had engraved above the main doors the words, I think, therefore I am. Descartes’ words seemed to me an odd choice for that school considering my friends who went there. However, Descartes had the right idea. Our students can change the world. However, if they never learn to think, they will become nameless cogs in the machine.  Going through the motions is fine at the gym, but it has no place in education. For too long too many schools have ascribed to convenience and comfort in education. As a result, students can pass tests but can’t think. 

This does not bode well for the future. Thinking requires some physical labor and too often we let people off the hook or punish those who do ask questions.  If thinking represents a violent act, then maybe violence is the answer.

Columbus Day vs Indigenous Peoples' Day

The students of do.think.learn worked together this week to craft a statement on whether or not we should celebrate Columbus Day or Indigenous Peoples’ Day. I’m pretty psyched about their research and collaboration in putting this together.

Their statement reads as follows:

We should definitely not celebrate Columbus Day. Christopher Columbus represents European colonization and slavery. He was selfish and killed people. He pretty much popularized colonization on indigenous people’s lands. The indigenous people are the originators of the locations we live on. Columbus’s evil ways encouraged more colonizations and mass murder. For example- when the Spanish colonized/conquered the Aztec’s land. Hernan Cortes, the Spanish leader, took many of the Aztecs hostage and used his mistress (La Malinche) to manipulate the Aztec leader (Montezuma). Later the Spanish colonized California and the tribes of Los Angeles such as the Chumash and the Tongva. We should celebrate the indigenous people and individuals like Bartolome de Las Casas. He was originally a jerk like Columbus, who changed. He sold his land, freed his slaves, and spoke out against people who treated indigenous people poorly. Instead of taking a day to appreciate an evil European colonizer, we should take a day to appreciate the people that were here before us.

First Steps: Teach Equity and Justice In School

I intended to write about teenage mental health this week. Recent events and several conversations about teaching white students about oppression and white supremacy have altered those plans. 

“...the approach has been to help outsiders develop characteristics that will make them more acceptable to the insiders. I am suggesting something different:  The group must change its attitudes and expectations towards those who, for whatever reason, are not yet part of the system.”  (Paley, 1992)

In my dreams last night, I wrote a powerful article on the topic. Unfortunately I remember little about the details of my imaginary genius.  The only thing I do remember is that my dream involved the book We Can’t Teach What We Don’t Know (Howard, 1999). From that book I paraphrase a question that I often ask my classes before we begin discussing power and privilege, “Do fish consider the water they’re swimming in.”  No doubt some of you made the same WTF face as my students do when I ask the question. This text examines the fears white teachers have when asked to work with students of color or address issues within multicultural education. Too often those fears prevent these teachers from meeting the needs of students of color or facilitating changes in their classroom or school communities. Reluctance and uncertainty among teachers often perpetuates emerging systems of oppression and white supremacy in schools.  There are, however,  ways to make teaching against these poisons more accessible for teachers and students. 

Oppression and white supremacy are intertwined with racism in this country. At the core of oppression and white supremacy lies power, exclusion and dominance. These practices emerge early in schooling. If the seeds of oppression germinate in kindergarten classrooms, by high school such practices become standard operating procedure. Students and teachers tend to ignore the subtle sprinkling of power and exclusion that emerges when innocuous social domination takes root in everyday interactions.  Like the fish in the question above, those who have power and privilege rarely consider let alone question the power they swim in everyday.  In order to change, white teachers and students have to examine their role in maintaining and supporting the systems of exclusion and dominance at the core of oppression, racism, and white supremacy. 

Until the events of the last two weeks addressing systemic racism and oppression within the fabric of our communities have often been marginalized in our schools and in our country. Since most institutions benefit from white supremacy, those who question the hand that feeds them are kept in their lane until they can be ushered to the nearest off ramp. Hopefully, in the near future, meaningful and dramatic changes will replace hashtags and hope so we can transform the dynamics of power and privilege in our country. To do this, schools will have to assume a more effective role in dismantling systems of oppression and confront the inherent bias within their curricula and community.  However, many individuals struggle with where to begin or how to effectively handle the inevitable pushback from those resisting their perceived loss of privilege.

Schools can no longer ignore the cancerous impact of white supremacy and oppression in the curricula, their teaching practices, or the hallways.. Teachers will have to confront these and many other interconnected issues. White teachers and students will have to get comfortable being uncomfortable. While students of color have been ready and waiting for these conversations and changes, many of their white peers don’t know what they don’t know. Many teachers discuss racism and the institutions that reinforce power and privilege in a theoretical manner. Unfortunately, that aligns these problems with a disconnected ‘other’ and fails to address issues in their classroom, school and community. To effectively dismantle these systems each of us has to look inward first and then begin by addressing the world just beyond our shoes.

In her text White Fragility (2018) Dr. DiAngelo eloquently explores and describes the experience of having conversations that confront white supremacy in various institutions. The defensiveness, outrage, and tears from the white members of these communities she explains reflects a power play that stymies change by taking the focus off of racism and oppression. If you have ever had such discussions in a classroom of predominantly white students the reactions she describes also ring true. Unfortunately, as the song says, most people are more concerned about being called racist than they are with ending racism.  So how do we get beyond the defense mechanisms of white students and teachers to change things?

Getting started usually trips people up. Others rush to solve the problem and create a solution to a problem they don’t fully understand.  If you are game, here are three possible ways to begin as you move into the conversation:

1. Change the teacher/student dynamic.

2. Map power in the community. 

3. Don’t start off mentioning racism, oppression, etc.

Wait what?!?  I will try to explain my reasoning.  We have to change our mindset and approach to ensure that meaningful change happens. These suggestions propose more of a ground up approach to transforming schools into equitable and supportive learning environments. Mistakes will be made. We will learn and grow. Listen for the little it is worth, I am a white man with a PhD in Multicultural Education. My preference when addressing topics such as these is to jump in and speak truth to power. Yet, that is not always the most effective strategy. The conversation often gets bogged down by the defensive outbursts of some of my white students. While I deal with those tantrums, my students of color just feel like they’re better off banging their heads against their tables. Little progress is made and the status quo remains unchanged. So instead, perhaps we can sow the seeds of change by addressing the underlying issues of oppression and white supremacy (such as exclusion and dominance) before examining the issue in a more direct and lengthy manner.

Many teachers are reluctant to teach subjects in which they are not experts.  Others do not want to open themselves up to getting called racist or having to deal with the considerable pushback. All valid concerns. Consider reframing the relationship between individuals and the information. Remove yourself from a position of expertise or even take a ‘one down’ approach. Allow students to explore ideas with you. If you are a white teacher, recasting this as a shared learning experience in which teacher and students move towards a new understanding together can soothe, if not remove, much of the anxiety.  Repositioning yourself can help diffuse power struggles that can emerge. When you reframe your relationship with students and these topics, you diminish your role as an agent of the oppressive system for students of color. Doing this also decreases the criticism you get from white students who might think you are forcing your ideas on them. Reframing the teacher/student dynamic sets this up as a shared journey to understanding and not a top down mandate.

Oppression represents an expression of power. At the core of power sits exclusion and dominance.  Thus, oppression impacts almost every interaction in school. Since schools stand as a microcosm of society, if we address and change the hierarchy of power in schools, this will set the stage for change in how power shapes society at large. In schools power takes numerous forms: who controls resources, whose voices dominate conversations, popular vs unpopular, etc. Understanding power and how it alters relationships and involvement in learning can help a community reshape the distribution of power and improve the learning experience for more students. Mapping out the distribution of power in class draws attention to what most students already know or feel, but students or adults rarely address it. Ask your students to create a visual representation of power (in their class, grade, or school.). One way is to draw this like the food pyramid of old. Those with power sit on top of those with less, little, or no real power.  However, if you ask them to position those with the most power in the center of the paper; those without power along the edges of the paper (the marginalized); and others in between they can represent the relationships or dynamics of power with greater specificity.  Doing this enables you to have conversations about intent versus impact and how power impedes access for some students to all the class has to offer. You can also create a goal for what the hierarchy could look like and revisit the mapping throughout the school year.

Another way to start these conversations without setting off defensive positioning or to establish a foundation for change involves emphasizing the components of oppression and white supremacy, but from the flip side. The concepts that follow provide a foundation and a jumping off point to address issues of oppression and white supremacy. Introduce students to these six topics:

• Democratic Interactions

• Equality and Equity

• Empowered Voices

• Diverse Perspectives

• Critical Thinking

• Collaboration

These six concepts (or practices) represent what is possible in a place of inclusion, diversity, and positive engagement. These concepts borrow from multicultural education and impact the quality of students’ learning experiences. Attention to these topics and how they operate in school can occur several ways. Explore with your students what these concepts are and examine how they play out in their day to day interactions. If your school uses experiential learning the facilitators can use these concepts as anchor points for the different activities. Other school activities (drama, dance, etc.) can create a framework of best practices around these terms. Finally, classroom work could also draw on these concepts to guide and foster success for more students. The key is for these concepts to serve as more than an idea. Use them as an objective, or an ongoing practice to measure against and always work towards.

These concepts represent skills that will set the foundation for students to understand oppression and white supremacy in future activities. What follows is a brief description of each concept. They are not presented in order of importance. Feel free to begin in whatever order is appropriate for the needs of your students.

• Critical Thinking encourages students and teachers to analyze information as well as their actions and attitudes in classroom interactions. Thinking critically can also focus on assessment of individual actions and of group interactions. One goal of Critical Thinking is for students to reflect and change to become more self aware and  to promote intellectual or social growth. 

• Collaboration enables teachers and students to build a safe and supportive environment in which each person could succeed. Collaboration emphasizes students working with a partner, in small groups, and as a whole class. This allows students to focus on the skills involved in completing activities instead of competing against one another. By emphasizing collaboration over competition teachers can highlight interactions during activities instead of focusing on the outcomes. Some themes to consider within Collaboration are how to work effectively and efficiently together, as well as group versus individual rewards or consequences. 

• Empowered Voices means that classrooms or groups move beyond being dominated by the ideas of high status individuals and towards including multiple voices. It involves instances when students feel or  do not feel comfortable in expressing their true feelings or speaking honestly with their peers. Ideally the community enables students to speak their minds and push back on the dominant narrative without  consequences. Creating a safe classroom  in which students developed can develop trust and compassion so that individuals can connect with one another and be valued for who they are not for what they are. 

• Diverse Perspectives focuses attention on understanding and using the diversity of skills and abilities of all students so the learning community could be more successful. Building off of Empowered Voices, students can explore a range of ideas or opinions to move their work towards specific inclusive goals. Students can also learn to merge multiple ideas into one strategy or find common ground between their perspectives. Students can be encouraged to explore the benefits of using diverse approaches to problem solving and decision-making in order to understand the strengths, opinions, and learning styles of their peers. 

• Democratic Interactions represents group decision making beyond a simple vote and the tyranny of the majority. Specifically, this examines  how students discuss problems, devised strategies, and made decisions as a group. Teachers can emphasize the development of student leadership, but perhaps focus more on shared decision making in the community while also linking back to Empowered Voices and Diverse Perspectives so that myriad students have a voice when devising strategies to solve problems and understand how all individuals benefit when groups benefit in the classroom. Teachers can also explore conflict resolution within a lens of Diverse Perspectives or Democrat Interactions, or Equality & Equity.  

• Equality & Equity represented both a starting place and a goal for all interactions during the school and classroom experiences of students. First students need to understand the difference between these two ideas as well as when to apply each. Teachers must also ensure that all members of the learning community have equal rights and equal status socially and academically.  This way they create a place where diversity is valued, and individual differences can be used to help everyone succeed. Like in several other concepts, if all students have equal status they are more likely to blend ideas and strategies. Equality & Equity should also involve reducing differences in status and power among classmates while providing opportunities for students to realize what they all had in common.

By engaging in practices antithetical to the invidious concepts within oppression and white supremacy, students will begin to understand how such constructs take root in seemingly innocuous ways.  When you move to address racism, oppression, and white supremacy, students (white students in particular perhaps) will have a foundation of experiences on which to connect and process these difficult topics.

For many these ideas neither go far enough nor fast enough.  I get it and agree on several levels. A big part of this work involves dismantling systems of exclusion and dominance while exposing white folks to the power they swim in but also putting new water in their tank. These ideas represent the first steps on a journey to undo 400 years of systematic oppression and white supremacy in America. The path will be long and frustrating. Let us operationalize inclusion and equity while using diversity and differences to power learning. If students learn what is possible when we remove layers of oppression, they can then move beyond schools to reshape their community and country so that our social, economic, and political system include and benefit every American.

It Is Not About You

“I won’t wear a mask because I live in a free country…” some idiocy paraphrased from Kevins and Karens

I went to pick up dog food the other day. The nice folks at Pet Food Express had a great system in place to maintain a safer experience for the customers and for themselves. Yet, they all looked frazzled. It turns out that a few shoppers freaked out on them about being required to wear a mask in the store.I know there’s a segment of folks who do this on purpose and video the interactions in hope of gaining notoriety and maybe some money. Insert eye rolling emoticon here. The anti-mask thing seems to be the latest faux flashpoint for some folks looking to tantrum. As noted, this is an issue of respect and selfishness. And, this connects to an issue that schools could do a better job addressing - balancing the Me and the We.

Today I saw a graph online that presents the Pros and Cons of mask wearing (https://twitter.com/bethrevis/status/1262375254938341376/photo/1).  I’m not a fan of mask wearing, but I do it to make sure I don’t inadvertently contribute to the problem.What got my attention was the phrase in the pro mask column that read - “SHOW RESPECT. It’s Not About You.” Finally someone else said it! Chapeau. 

My classic first day of school speech centered on reminding students that they were not the center of the universe and that the world did not revolve around them. That we were in this together. Throughout the year I reminded folks that not everything was about them. It was often an uphill battle.  Judging from the amount to tantrumming children I see dressed as grown ups on the news these days, a lot of teachers chose not to address this problem in school.

One way to examine the basics of democracy is to explore the tension between the individual and the community. Although I went into detail describing democracy in the classroom in an early post, let me quickly review. Democracy translates (in ancient Greek) to actions taken for the good of the community.  To the Greeks idiocy (actions taken for the benefit of the individual) represented the opposite of democracy. Fast forward to the founding of the American democratic republic. The central tension at the core of this little experiment balanced the needs/rights between federal, state, and individual entities. In the classroom, we often see similar tensions arise. For students and teachers this democracy versus idiocy presents as a Me versus We issue.  

Our country has been transformed by a zero sum mindset. I win. You lose. I will get mine and you will get what’s left.  Our country and our classroom should not resemble packs of wild dogs fighting over scraps.  Zero sum idiocy in the classroom is the student who dominates conversations or hoards resources. The student who makes sure everyone knows how smart they are or what grade they got. It could also be the student who cuts everyone down, bullies, or intimidates their peers.  Even the most jaded, or burnt out teacher knows on some level that classrooms don’t have to operate this way. 

The various pandemic problems have created a network of Me versus We issues. Initially we saw the Me Folks hoarding toilet paper, hand sanitizer, etc. The We Folks asked questions about flattening the curve and social distancing. More recently, we see the Me Folks protesting against stay at home orders and wearing masks. While We Folks continue to look for ways to support the community and contribute to solutions.  No matter how you view the current situation, what has happened should  fundamentally alter how we live and how our country operates moving forward.  In teacher talk, what we have is a giant teachable moment. We can do better to balance the Me and the We.  I think that we as educators could do more to adjust students’ mindsets to be more aware of the Me and the We issues.

It is possible for the community and individuals to benefit in the classroom. A parent once tried to admonish me for having students create portions for the group during a buffet dinner while camping. Beyond being a good way for students to analyze and divide their resources, I pointed out, we had to do this because some students at the front of the line tried to take most of the food and the cooks at the back of the line ended up with little food. I mentioned that students didn’t think this was fair so they created a solution and that the students who usually complained about the new system were the ones who tended to take most of the food.  Teachers can create similar solutions for class interactions. 

Listen, everyone has the right to protest. Few people enjoy being told what to do. The pandemic has disrupted everything. It sucks and most folks want to get out and do things. Some of the protest signs are funny (although I don’t think farting and a virus work the same). Others however make great examples of Greek idiocy. Please stop confusing your freedom and this the current inconveniences. Stop throwing a fit like a toddler who didn’t get their way if you have to wear a mask in a store. Side note - lay off the hypocrisy and faux history - when protesting stop misappropriating historical figures, using quotes out of context, etc. Don’t call stay at home orders fascist and then vote for an authoritarian president who corrodes democracy. Don’t use ‘my body, my choice’ signage now, but later support pro-life candidates. And for heaven's sake, don’t compare pandemic policies to Hitler’s Germany.  I mean you can, but you’d be wrong and just show how little you understand.

Wear a mask. Don’t wear a mask. Just know that none of this is about you.  The current predicament is about the community.  Freedom requires responsibility and accountability. Unfortunately too many people act like teenagers - they want all the freedom, none of the responsibility, and get pissed when they are held accountable.  Whenever we get back in the classroom, let’s do more to dismantle zero sum interactions and show students how to balance their needs with the needs of the community.  If we do this, we can all get what we need. 

Strange Days & Silver Linings

So Albus Dumbledore and Jim Morrison walk into a bar…

Things have gone sideways recently. The current pandemic has dragged folks to the cusp of the future.  New realities have emerged and the future will reflect what roads we walk in the coming days. We can choose to freak out or we can find the silver linings. We can return to business as usual or we can reshape how we do business. To paraphrase Dumbledore, we have a choice between what is right and what is easy.  Strange days have indeed tracked us down. 

Strange days have found us

Strange days have tracked us down

The Doors have provided some soundtrack to the current plague for me (I’ve also been listening to a lot of death metal but that’s for another post).  Word is that I was conceived to a Doors record but I don’t like to talk about that. More to the point, I keep thinking back to this girl in my junior high school graphic arts program who used to silk screen Doors t-shirts every week. One day I asked why she did that. After giving me a look of disdain, she told me, “because Jim knows the future…” Turns out she might have been right.

They're going to destroy

Our casual joys

A lot of people seem stuck between living in an alternate reality, negotiating new realities, and holding tightly to an outdated reality.  It is easy to become overwhelmed by the multitude of uncertainties, confusion, and stress. Lockdowns, shelter in place, essential versus nonessential, and distance learning oh my.  This crisis has demonstrated (in case it wasn’t already obvious) that many of our systems (education, health care, etc.) teeter on collapse at any sign of heightened pressure upon those systems. Some see this as a catastrophe. Yet if we can keep the shadows from crowding our thinking, we  can find silver linings - opportunities to change how we do things and the systems that guide everyday life.

We shall go on playing

Or find a new town

Sure teaching from home is less than ideal and it will have a negative impact on students’ intellectual and academic development. It could be worse. Public schools and independent schools have struggled to adapt to the Covid-19 realities. And, we have a chance to change schools for the future. Say what you will about schools and schooling, but our education systems are giant, lumbering beasts stumbling into the future. If you have ever shuddered at someone saying well that’s how we’ve always done it, don’t accept it for schools and schooling.

Strange eyes fill strange rooms

Voices will signal their tired end

The hostess is grinning

Her guests sleep from sinning

Hear me talk of sin

And you know this is it

Schools and schooling have an opportunity to change as a result of our current pandemic. Teachers and principles have been scrambling to switch gears.  Parents are freaking out as they try to deal with their kids, do school at home, and their various other grown up anxieties. Listen, a lot of things suck right now. Finding silver linings gives us a glimmer of hope.  Teachers can reflect on new ways to expand their bag of tricks or rethink how they teach. Schools that have been trapped by their history or traditions are momentarily freed of those constraints to redesign their programs.  Parents… well maybe they will appreciate teachers a bit more ...

Strange days have found us

And through their strange hours

We linger alone

Do.Think.Learn has it better than most schools. I designed the school to flex and shift as situations change or as the needs of students change.  Our shift to remote learning almost went seamlessly. As with any change you have to tighten things up and make adjustments as you go. Is it ideal? No. I have to use spring break to change how I deliver content, how I interact with students, and how I ensure students connect the dots and have opportunities to make meaning from content. Several years ago I created this school to better meet the needs of a growing number of students and to meet my professional needs. Schooling doesn’t have to be trapped by history and business as usual. The Do.Think.Learn web page features a lot of photos of bridges. I did that for two reasons. One reason is that adolescence bridges childhood and adulthood. Second, DTL stands as a bridge from how we used to do school to how we can do school in the future. In the future I want to create a team of micro-schools that can adapt and adjust to the world as it changes. Something akin to armies of guerrilla educators to reshape teaching and learning. 

Bodies confused

Memories misused

As we run from the day

To a strange night of stone

The present situation has not so subtly hinted that we need to change our ways in a few different areas.  The question is, we will listen and make those changes or do we make the easy choice and go back to business as usual?  My dissertation advisor used to always say, You make the road by walking it.  Some folks will want to go forward and some folks will want to go back.  Do.Think.Learn chooses to go forward.

History = Our Story: Reshaping How We Teach US History

1. “Because everyday is white kids’ day,” Kathy (age 6, White River Apache) in response to an older peer asking why there wasn’t a day to celebrate white kids

The other day in class I told my 8th graders that one of their culmination questions this term would be - How did slavery continue after the adoption of the 13th Amendment.  My announcement did not go over well. After a bit of stammering, a student asked me how slavery could continue if it was illegal.  I replied that some forms of slavery are visible and other forms of slavery take on new names. This washed over their heads a bit so I tried a metaphor that I thought might begin to ground their thinking.  I asked them what the difference is between a spelling test and a spellabration? They acknowledged that both test spelling and that calling it a spellabration probably makes some students relax more. This, I told them, was not unlike forms of slavery, oppression, and racism in America. In US History, some folks changed the names of specific systems of power so other people would relax and go along with a program that marginalizes specific individuals and groups.

This term we have begun our History of Slavery and Oppression project. My students this year only understand racism and slavery in an abstract, theoretical concept. The project aims to move them into a deeper understanding of these tough concepts by stripping away the whitewashing found in most history textbooks. We began with the aspirational and lofty words found in the founding documents (“all men are created equal...life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness) and asked if those words ring true and if all citizens have had access to equality, or life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.  This marks the forth or fifth time I’ve run this project and it always opens some eyes (mine included). As my culmination question suggests, one of the underlying goals of this project is for students to begin to understand that slavery and oppression by any other name is just called everyday living for People of Color.

Students examine  how Indigineous, Black, Latinx, and Asian Americans have experienced American history.  Before I go much further I should mention that I don’t hold much back and I work to make sure I measure out the doses of reality for each class.  Students (and grown ups) should feel uncomfortable studying this history - think of it as America - the good, the bad, and the ugly. We have to pull the curtain back and see America for all that she is and dismantle the myriad myths with US History. The traditional myths associated with teaching history can be lumped into a Great Men doing Great Deeds curricula. In addition, it is critical for the study of this history to look at how white supremacy shaped and transformed this country over time. Simplistic interpretations do no one any favors.  Our history is complex, contradictory, and uncomfortable at times - we have to create curricula that helps students understand this. Since three year olds understand racism (see Drs. Kenneth and Mamie Clark doll experiment) then we as teachers can teach students at all grade levels about these ideas as well. Students are more capable than we often give them credit for, so my guess is that the problem (as usual) is the adults. Amongst the grown ups, I’m guessing that many feel anxious or uncomfortable teaching slavery and genocide in America. While others get upset and defensive when the heroes and myths  they grew up with suddenly aren’t so heroic. Our country’s founding and path forward is complicated. Many issues have emerged from efforts to dismantle the various myths that have contributed to the American story. This project re-examines the American experience in hopes of creating a version of history that is more honest and accessible to more people.  

The project isn’t perfect but it is a start. I’ve run it a few different ways and it always moves according to the needs of the students towards a culmination that fits with those needs. One year with a large and diverse class we had difficult and rewarding conversations that culminated with a student designed music/dance performance called The History of Light & Dark. Other years with less diverse groups we’ve focused on negotiating  white guilt and white anger as well as supporting students of color who became frustrated and tired of the predictable range of responses from their white peers. I used to expect (and maybe hope) that my students of color would get pissed at their white peers ignorant of privilege who push meritocracy or color blindness. Mostly though these young women and men tend to look sad and tired as they, once again, have to deal with the subtle forms of white supremacy manifested by their peers. Over the years, many of these culminations have taken the form of Socratic Seminars. In these public conversations our big questions have included:

• How has our country lived up to the lofty words in the Declaration of Independence and Constitution?. 

• Was the Civil War really about slavery?

• How has slavery, racism, and oppression shaped our country?

• Describe instances in which the political, justice, or economic systems marginalized specific racial or ethnic groups.

Deconstructing myths and expanding the focus of our study of history does cause anxiety and confusion.  That’s ok. As teachers our job is to help students negotiate these feelings and the information involved.  If we do not have these uncomfortable conversations we will continue to maintain inequities and fail to understand how past experiences shape current conversations around race, justice, and power in our everyday lives. To continue to perpetuate the myth of America only adds to the vacuous acceptance of the past and ever growing reach of “Ignorance is Strength”.

2.12.2020: My Foray Into The Four A's

A few years ago my boss Dennis and I were tasked with coming up with some upper school marketing ideas that would fit on a postcard.  We bounced around some ideas, but kept coming back to the 3Rs of yesteryear (reading, writing, and arithmetic). We wanted to fight against the notion that our school was a summer camp and we thought we could redesign that traditional academic foundation to fit with our school’s nontraditional ethos. So we started with a new set of R’s - Rigor, Responsibility, and Resourcefulness. Admin rejected those immediately. Evidently rigor and responsibility didn’t mesh with the intended image. We shifted gears and went with the three S’s - Self Efficacy, Sustainability, and Success. We mocked up a tight card. We tipped our hat to traditional academics and moved the idea into the school’s  modern, progressive ethos. The first two S’s came right from the school’s “pillars.” The success piece seemed like a natural fit - what parent doesn’t want their student to succeed in some ways at school. Heck, we even wrote about how each student defines success for themself. We felt great about sending this card out and it too was rejected. Sigh...

Years later when I opened DTL I worked to create an easily digestible message around what this school was about. Something that concisely summed up our emphasis on skill development while also conveying our learning philosophy. Oddly enough I have found this much more difficult than my three S work. Keep it simple. Less is more. Focus on what we do. This wasn’t nearly as easy as I thought it would be. Finally I narrowed down the messaging I wanted to convey to four concepts - investigate, communicate, collaborate, and dedicate (the 8s). I listed our four areas of focus as:  

• Investigate: The search for information and the construction of knowledge through inquiry. 

• Communicate: Multiple means to present a wide range of information.

• Collaborate: Work with other individuals to build knowledge. 

• Dedicate: Earn it to learn it. Take responsibility for and commit to doing the highest level of work possible. 

In my mind, these four skills are what schools emphasize.  I was quite proud of my ability to distill my message down. However, at the time, I worked one on one with individuals around town. So while three skills worked well, one of those things was not like the others and it is quite tricky to collaborate with yourself. 

The next summer I focused on the next evolution of DTL messaging. I wanted to repackage our focus but not do away with the 8s. How could I reframe these ideas for a one on one learning community?  After a rather lively internal dialogue, the Four A’s (4A’s) emerged - Ask, Analyze, Answer, and Assess. And that’s when school tripled in size…

The 4A’s roll of the tongue and map on to the 8s pretty well. Collaborate remains a bit of an outlier and Assess isn’t quite congruent with Dedicate but we’re getting closer. I started getting ready for the new school year by changing up the web page. I add Ask, Analyze, Answer, Assess along the bottom of the page - easy enough. In my mind I put together what I will say when potential families ask me what they mean or what my own marketing material would read like. A more difficult task emerged when I attempted to expand on my elevator pitch explanation.

Elevator pitch description:

• Ask:  Help students formulate questions of material and to question the information they consume everyday.

• Analyze:  Foster critical thinking and the examination of multiple perspectives or data sources. Students learn how to think not what to think.

• Answer:  Develop a range of skills so that students can present their findings in multiple media (emphasis on written, spoken, and visual presentations).

• Assess: Reflect on the quality of skills involved in the process (ask and analyze) and product (answer).

Extended dance remix :

• Ask:  Students have questions and need to ask questions. Sometimes they have their own questions, and other times, teachers assign them questions.  Life is about answering questions. If students do not question information, they run the risk of becoming pawns in someone else’s game of chess.  Students are bombarded with information. Surrounded by all this content, students have to become critical consumers of information. DTL supports students as they develop their skills around asking questions.

• Analyze: To answer questions, students process quite a bit of information and disinformation. In order to build their answers students have to explore multiple perspectives and examine data. This means researching ideas, holding facts up to the light, and connect how information evolved over time.   AT DTL we facilitate this process and support each student as they develop their critical thinking skills.

• Answer: Questions need answers and how students present their ideas, opinions, and information is critical to their success in school and out of school. Students work to develop their skills in myriad types of presenting. AT DTL we focus on written, spoken, and  visual presentations. These three broad categories allow for the development of a wide range of skills within each area so that students can provide strong answers in a variety of situations.

• Assess:   Grades are a necessary evil. However, how we define that term and assess student work can be supportive for students while holding them accountable. DTL avoids the term ‘grade’ as much as possible. Students are not their grades. We discuss assessment quite a bit however. This provides a snapshot into an array of skills within specific projects or activities. Assessing skills allows students, teachers, and various grown ups to track progress and know how best to support a student and plan out future curricula for each student.

The extended explanations definitely took some thinking, but made sense to me.  The real problems emerged when I attempted to use the 4A’s as the framework for my fall report cards.

I planned to use the 4A’s instead of the various subjects as the categories of assessment for my narratives. In theory this was a great idea, but in order to make this happen I needed a rubric of sorts to serve as a skeleton of skills within each category. Really, if I could pull this off, I could reshape how people look at what and how students learn. Ok easy J…. Two things tripped me up. The foremost issue centered on other schools might react to this framework.  They couldn’t just glance at the narrative and get an idea of a student’s subject specific skills and understanding. I hear admissions people like to quickly ascertain what a student learned and how they performed. As much as I want to change things, I often feel trapped in a system that talks a good game but often resists change on practical grounds. As they say, the tall tulip gets whacked. The second issue was the difficulty I had constructing the framework of skills within each A.  I slowly framed in some of each category, but really didn’t have enough built to hold up each category within the narrative. Since it didn’t feel ready to go, I put this idea back in beta and moved forward with Plan B.

In the end, I created narratives that kept the traditional subjects as the primary categories and used the 4As as a guide to assess student work within each category.  And, since I still have a soft spot for the 8s, I also wove those ideas into each subject specific narrative. Baby steps, I guess…. 

Schools and schooling are a bit bloated and reluctant or unable to change for a variety of reasons.  The majority of schools provide an education for a future that went by the wayside decades ago. After years of having students ask versions of the “why do we have to know this?” or “ when am I ever going to use this?” I need to find a different way of doing things.  Much of the subject matter inherent in middle school and high school curricula lacks relevance or meaning to the majority of youth. Conversely, many of the subjects that could be relevant remain outside the realm of schools and formal education. However, many of the underlying skills within these subjects do translate to a multitude of futures for our students.  Maybe more schools should take up the 8s and have their foray into the 4As to make education matter again.

9.4.19: Anarchy in the Classroom

Way back in the day, Bobby Kelly and I were riding our bikes in the woods that split Westfield and Garwood. Somehow we ended up on the other side of the creek and stumbled across a wooden fort down in a gulley.  Someone had spray painted the anarchy A on one of the walls … Damn…excitement and confusion flooded my system. I knew what the A meant… some of the older kids talked that way after they went off to junior high. Actually, I didn’t really know much, but it sounded cool.  We wanted to know more, so we snuck in. We didn’t figure much out, but the inner walls had weird band names painted everywhere. As a result, we came to associate the anarchy A with punk music. For some soon to be teenagers, a door to a new world had opened. Adolescence and anarchy fit together naturally. Nothing feels better at 14 than independence and doing things for yourself. Giving the world a giant middle finger feels good at the time, but doesn’t really solve a whole lot. 

Last year a former student told me that I promoted an anarchistic community in my classroom. On the plus side, I’m glad he paid attention in his government class, but WHAT?!  I encouraged and promoted anarchy in my middle school classrooms for years? This hit me hard… Until it didn’t. Then I started getting psyched. Don’t confuse me with an anarchist - I lack the chutzpah and energy.  As much as I wanted to be anarchy back in the day,  I wasn’t even that punk back in the day. Sure, I had combat boots, tried carving the anarchy A into my bicep, and wore a trench coat, but punk and anarchy are way more than a look. The necessary attitude and full rejection of the system eluded me. All of that seemed like too much work. Maybe I just couldn’t bite the hand that fed me too hard.

Hearing that I had facilitated an anarchist community as a teacher made me feel almost legit.  I’m not pretending to know or be that knowledgeable about the anarchist community, but being told that, I got the same sensations as I did sneaking into the cool, older kids fort back in the woods. I did some digging. and came to realize that if teachers could harness some of the energy and concepts of anarchy, we could make school function more effectively or at least make it a better experience for more students.

Generally, teachers and schools frown upon anarchy in the classroom. Yet, anarchist ideas could benefit classrooms and school communities. Embracing the core ideas of anarchy could help teachers and students get more out of school. Some readers will  have already started freaking out. At the mention of anarchy, most people think chaos, confusion, and dysfunction. We hear ‘anarchy’ and picture AntiFa protests and scenes of chaos or violence. However, this doesn’t do anarchy justice. In reality, anarchy represents way more than individuals using violence to dismantle social and political hierarchies. Anarchy can provide a system that many schools actually want to establish and encourage. 

If we take a deeper dive into anarchist communities or go beyond the common imagery of anarchists we find  something more meaningful. Anarchists, their communities, and workplaces reflect more organization and equity than many of us give anarchists credit. In fact, many workplaces strive to employ some of the same ideas as anarchist communities. In schools, good luck finding a teacher who admits to embracing anarchy. Yet, if they say they emphasize decentralized, collaborative, and equitable practices - look out! So, what can we borrow from anarchistic philosophy to improve our classrooms and schools? For the purpose of this conversation I want to focus on four components of anarchist collectives that would benefit learning communities. Those four components are: collaborative relations, direct action, community assembly, and a self managed workplace. Each of these concepts involves a decentralized hierarchy that emphasizes responsibility as well as accountability within the community.

Many teachers strive for cooperative or collaborative interactions, but few would say they’re anarchists. However, if we adjust their perspective on anarchism, perhaps they really are anarchists.   A deeper understanding could lead to big changes in how we facilitate classroom interactions. Let’s start here - Schools are based on factory assembly lines or corporate offices. Classroom dynamics represent political interactions.  Most of the interactions within a school reflect a struggle for or reaction to power. Various micro-communities (small groups) coalesce around or position themselves against those with power (for example the typical popular kids versus marginalized individuals). It is foolish not to acknowledge that the social dynamics of school inhibit or impact learning. In most classrooms a limited number of students control the vast majority of resources. So classrooms reflect unbridled capitalism in which a limited section of the population controls almost all of the economic distribution system. When a few students control almost all of the classroom resources (time, attention, power, etc.), those at the mercy of the powerful have a harder time learning and living in the classroom. The festering resentment of the disenfranchised towards the ruling class of students not only impacts learning but has tremendous repercussions throughout the school.  So for a lot of schools and teachers the focus on collaborative relations fits naturally (effectiveness is a different story).

Generally, schools have issues with direct action by students. Some principals frown on student protests. Other administrators accept if not encourage students exercising their rights (appropriately of course). However, large scale direct action from students or teachers rarely happens. Perhaps teachers should protest more, but let’s focus on students for a second. Individuals and small groups fight against the systems of adolescent or academic power throughout each day.  This may stretch the boundaries of direct action, but some direct action supports positive change. Other direct action came about in response to a negative change or incident. The school day is littered with small incidents, individual action, and subtle confrontations. Whether or not we understand or support student direct action, it happens and will continue to happen. Perhaps if we infuse the other three ideas I’m discussing, we’d see more positive direct action in schools.

Having students participate in authentic decision making in the classroom and larger school community has a positive influence throughout school. What that looks like will vary quite a bit. In most schools, assemblies and meetings are rarely autonomous and usually reflect top down systems. In anarchist terms community assemblies involve autonomous, face-to-face decision making conversations by members of the community. Decentralized conversations address specific problems and issues that impact the community. Teachers and schools have a lot of control issues so ceding decision making to students takes a certain amount of confidence and trust. As a result, most schools shy away from providing students with authentic and autonomous power to make decisions. More likely teachers provide opportunities that resemble authentic control, but again what this looks like varies.  The meaningfulness of these opportunities also varies. When teachers step out of the way, their students will usually (eventually?) come up big. Expanding and increasing student autonomy by providing critical roles in deciding how the schools shapes policy and responds to issues benefits students on many levels and can reshape what going to school means. 

Contrary to popular mischaracterizations, anarchists really focus on taking an active role in and accepting responsibility for their actions in the community.  The notion of a self managed workplace continues this focus. Teaching and learning would change dramatically if teachers created self-managed workplaces in their classrooms. When students have a chance to organize and manage themselves and their work, learning changes and takes on new meaning. To my novice, wannabe anarchist eye, a self managed workplace comes down to holding oneself and your peers accountable for your actions. The self managed workplace relies on decentralized empowerment that uses a mix of delegation and direct participation within the workplace.  Since the classroom represent students’ workplace, schools and classrooms could better entrust students with genuine opportunities to shape their school experience and the power to hold folks accountable.

Almost no one will take these ideas seriously. The optics around anarchist principles in the classroom won’t fly in most school communities.  Of course, education is quite good at creating descriptors for programs or practice that people find more palatable. The truth is, schools have already adopted versions of these anarchist ideas using different terminology to describe things. I noticed that I’ve used the words ‘authentic’ and ‘genuine’ a few times in this conversation. My mom used to always tell me, “it’s not what you did, it’s how you did.” School programs and interventions are the same way. Some schools do well enough, others may not have effective programs. I’m willing to bet that the majority of all of these endeavors reflect a top down management style. To really go there, schools and teachers have to trust their students and give up some control in their  communities (developmentally appropriate of course). 

Again, many will scoff and say that students do not want or can not handle such responsibility. To that, I say this - if you give them a chance and scaffold their efforts to practice handling new found responsibility, youth will surprise you and usually in a good way. This would fundamentally change how we teach, what we teach, and the nature of schooling.  I’m guessing that most educators can not or will not shed the trappings of traditional school practices. Once again, I don’t know that I can do it either. I’ve dabbled in these practices… perhaps more than most of my colleagues. My students tend to get quite a bit of power and responsibility to shape their learning. Much of the time things work out. Patience and reflection helps students adjust to this responsibility. Most of them having never had a say or choice at school.  The transition is messy and slow, freedom and responsibility are tricky that way. Some groups handle the power better than others. Reflecting on and discussing their process and experience helps the process along. Like any other skill nurtured at school, seeing students get the hang of and run with their new skills and power warms even the coldest teacher heart. 

I wish my classroom did model anarchist principles.  Schools have to change. The factory and corporate models that guide schooling have reached the breaking point. Shifting 21st century away from traditional models of schooling might require a change in how we teach and go against many popular parenting trends (snowplow, etc.). Yet the benefit to students and communities could be quite powerful. Anarchy isn’t really about chaos and violence. Recently an article described one purpose of school as preparing individuals to be proactive members of a free society. If that’s the case, shouldn’t schools reflect free societies? To me a free society requires choice, responsibility, and accountability. If that’s the case anarchist communities have the jump on traditional communities in terms of more authentic freedom.  To make school experiences more engaging and authentic maybe we need to give anarchy a chance. 

Sources:

*theanarchistslibrary.org

*democraciaparticipativa.net

8.26.19: Bridging the Internal and External Brains

One of my students is an aspiring hip hop producer. He can SoundCloud with the best of them and loves the mumble rap. When we discuss the hip hop he listens to well ... the artists he mentions, I have to look up. He played me some ‘lit’ tracks but I didn’t get it. The staccato lyrics hit me like a snare drum to the face.  I didn’t get it. Where was the message, or the rhythm and flow?  Give me P.E., Gang Starr, Blue Scholars, some Beasties, J5, or Tribe any day. So like many aging music lovers I had to ask myself the painful question, “Can I still kick it?”

Now I could go full, grumpy old white man (and maybe I did at first), but that doesn’t really help us bridge our two worlds. The thing is, I do get it. He occupies one musical space within the hip hop realm and I operate in another space.  If we can bridge our two realms perhaps we can build a new understanding. So I try to find the flow and message in the music he shares with me. Although my understanding has evolved, the struggle is real. I bring this up not to demonstrate my hip hop bonafides, but to discuss a similar situation with technology and learning that perplexes me. 

How do we teach a generation of students who rely on technology to store the majority of the knowledge they construct? I used a computer to type a paper for the first time in the Spring of 1988. Some years later a student told me that if I don’t with technology I’ll stay lost in the technological boondocks. I’m old and migrated into the technological universe largely against my will, but I did commute to computers. My students have all grown up with technology as an appendage. Again, maybe I could get grouchy about their addiction or over-reliance on technology. That wouldn’t help. So really I have to adapt to the shifting landscape of technology.

How many phone numbers do you know off the top of your head? No, 911 doesn’t count. I think I can recite three or four from memory. What happened, where did the knowledge go? I used to be able to dial with the best on the rotor or various iterations of glorious touch tone technology. Once we no longer needed to hold on to that knowledge, it vanished from our brain over time. These days our phone takes care of remembering our contact information. Our brain is off the hook. What happens now when you don’t know something or don’t remember something… get out your phone and google it. After you look it up, that information generally slips back into the shadows of your brain. Most of us don’t bother remembering it or knowing it for the future. 

My point is that we have entered an age in which our phones, tablets, and laptops have begun to replace our brains as the primary storage facility for knowledge. This has significant implications for teaching and learning (and is kind of freaking me out). Let me present this idea from the perspective that your brain is an internal hard drive and that your phone, etc. represents an external hard drive. Forgive my rudimentary descriptions, but to me an external hard drive eases storage concerns for my laptop. This frees up space on my computer for other things. Doing this is super helpful.  Unfortunately, my brain and laptop are not interchangeable. Outsourcing knowledge to a device may not be helpful to me in the long run. And of course, these changes impact teaching and learning.

When your phone becomes the primary storage facility, your brain suffers some. If you don’t actively engage and use info or if it isn’t committed to ‘muscle memory’  your brain discards that information. More accurately, the brain prunes or shuts down the chemical/electrical circuits that store unused knowledge. Thus once the layers of dust settles on those pathways it becomes much harder, if possible at all, to access that knowledge. 

NOTE:  First, technology is not a silver bullet for education. Second, I fully recognize that this focus on technology does not address the have/have not issues (and ever widening gap) involved. Last, I will not be jumping into a discussion of what knowledge is important for students.

Where do I begin… do we abandon the brain altogether and teach to the technology… do we ignore the technology and focus only on internalizing knowledge…?  While the rise of technology does remind me of a chapter from The Illustrated Man, it may be possible to link technology with students’ brains and use technology to filter out the clutter or unnecessary knowledge so that students can prioritize what is most meaningful.

If the external HD acts as a filter that allows the internal HD to strengthen its grasp on pertinent knowledge, then teachers (and teaching) would have to serve as a bridge between the two domains. Maybe that’s what teaching and learning has to become.  This is where I have become stuck in my unpacking of this issue. This iteration of technological development presents teachers with new questions about how to teach, what to teach, and how to infuse this technology into education. It dawned on me, and this may get me unstuck some, that this development is not unique to me or those currently teaching.  As the world of students develops and changes in leaps and bounds the various developments have a big impact on education. Yet, this isn’t new, just a new change. Perhaps the problem isn’t the technology but how we change or adapt with that technology.  

Teaching students to declutter their focus will enable them to comprehend, organize, and store knowledge for later use is the name of the new game. I realize that the words declutter and focus are not often associated with middle or high schoolers but that’s the rock I push up the hill each day.  Technology can’t replace teachers. The role of teachers and teaching just has to adapt and shift as we move into a new future. 

I guess the real answer to my soul searching is...Can I kick it? 

Yes, yes I can….