CONNECTIONS: Connecting the Dots
“To inspire meaningful change, you must make a connection to the heart before you can make a connection to the mind.”
George Couros
Several years ago, we saw a TED Talk by Seth Godin in which he opined that schools are good at getting kids to collect dots, yet not so good at getting students to connect dots as they travel along their educational journey. We continue to think this to be not only a clever distinction, but a profoundly important one. Too often in schools, it seems that students (and often educators) are merely checking off boxes and moving from one required item on their to-do list to the next instead of connecting what they are learning and doing one day to themselves, each other, their future, their community, careers, and to society as a whole. In order to make connections with what we are teaching and learning, however, we must first make connections with those we are teaching and learning with and from.
Students, teachers, and administrators who not only have a mission, but are also on a mission, are connected: to the school, to each other, to networks of people on social media, and to the world around them. School connection increases when people in the school believe that others in the school care about them as individuals. Students are more likely to succeed when they feel connected to school. As educators, perhaps our top priority today should be to ensure that our students feel connected to our schools. Our students follow the lead of their teachers in so many things, even when we suspect they have tuned us out. And, teachers often follow the lead of their administrators. If administrators feel they are truly connected to the school community and, especially, the teachers they lead, teachers, in turn, will feel more connected to the school. In schools at which teachers feel authentically connected to the school, including their administrators and their students, students will also feel more connected to the school.
Schools in which students and staff feel connected are schools that succeed. They succeed by connecting what they are doing today to something they will do tomorrow. They aspire to something grand and connect with others who can help them achieve their goals and dreams. They connect what they are learning to what they are doing. They connect academic learning to a purpose. They connect attendance and behavior expectations to group norms and citizenship. They connect social emotional learning to lifelong learning. They connect students and staff members to other students and staff members, both within the school and schools around the world. They connect science, literature, fine arts, physical education, mathematics, and history to current world events. Educators connect with the parents whose children attend the schools--not because they see it as their duty, but because they know connecting with parents increases the likelihood that students will feel connected. Making connections is another way we create a positive and productive culture in our schools.
Thanks to all educators reading this for the amazing work you are doing during these challenging times. As always, Teach and Lead with Passion...
Jeff and Jimmy
DAILY INSPIRATION EDUCATOR
(Please let us know about an inspiring educator you think we should highlight in a future newsletter by completing this brief form!)
BEST SELLER!
Disruptive Thinking in Our Classrooms: Preparing Learners for Their Future by Eric Sheninger
The premise of this book is simple, yet powerful. It’s time to future-proof learning for ALL kids. Broken into four parts, this book combines stories, insight from thousands of school visits, practical strategies, research, lessons from the pandemic, and examples from classrooms to assist educators transform their practice. The parts:
Re-thinking “normal”
Re-thinking learning
Re-thinking the learner
Re-thinking our mindset
Each chapter ends with a “Disruptive Challenge” designed to do just that: Challenge educators to disrupt in some way their current thinking or professional practices.
Critical Components of the Book:
Disruptive change is the new normal. As such, our mindset and practices must evolve to future-proof learning in ways that help students develop meaningful competencies critical for success in an unpredictable world.
Comfort is the enemy of growth. We must critically evaluate if the way things have always been done in the classroom sets learners up for success now and in the future. Improvement in all we do is a never-ended journey.
Learning is a process, not an event. It requires educators to develop and use instructional practices and pedagogical techniques that meet the unique needs of all students.
Outlier practices play a key role in the development of disruptive thinking. Some practices add value while others do not. It is up to educators to find the right blend of these strategies to empower learners.
Packed with ready to use ideas and embedded resources including the latest digital tools, templates, and artifacts from real classrooms, readers will learn:
Why a mindset shift is essential in order to prepare learners for an unpredictable world.
How to implement strategies that focus on developing critical competencies.
How to ensure equity through personalization.
What to reflect on to improve and build powerful relationships.
FEATURED BOOK!
Handle with Care: Managing Difficult Situations in Schools with Dignity and Respect by Jimmy Casas and Joy Kelly
The reception to this new book has been fantastic! In Handle with Care, authors Jimmy Casas and Joy Kelly examine a variety of difficult school-related situations, both in and out of the classroom.In schools across the country, educators at every level are faced with delicate, challenging situations that require leadership skills and insights in order to produce favorable outcomes for students and staff. This book provides educators with insights into a variety of difficult-to-handle situations and scenarios that educators can relate to and may have experienced themselves. Well-intentioned, but inadequate, human responses are identified and practical ideas for handling delicate situations with dignity and respect are provided. This book will help educators develop tools and techniques to help students and staff emerge from missteps more self-aware, feeling valued, and able to move forward.
In this book, you will learn:
What it takes to cultivate a school culture in which every student and staff member feels seen and heard.
How to treat student and staff missteps as opportunities for teaching and learning based on dignity and respect.
How to build leadership capacity and culturize school pride.
The value of student-centered classrooms and school-related programs.
CONNECTEDD’S TAKEAWAYS:
Thought for the Day: “When I find I’m wrong I change my mind; what do you do?”
John Maynard Keynes
Teaching Technique to Try: Jigsaw: Developing Community and Disseminating Knowledge. The Jigsaw strategy asks a group of students to become “experts” on a specific text or body of knowledge and then share that material with another group of students. This strategy offers a way to help students understand and retain information while they develop their collaboration skills. Because students know they will be responsible for teaching the new content to their peers, they often feel more accountable for learning the material. The Jigsaw strategy is most effective when students know that they will be using the information they have learned from each other to create a final product, participate in a class discussion, or acquire material that will be on a test. Check out this link from Facing History and Ourselves for a step-by-step process for using this technique.
Eyes On Culture: We believe that culture is a true difference maker in any classroom, school, district, or organization. As a result, we focus much of the work we do on creating and maintaining positive and productive cultures. Culture Focus: Joy. High performing schools with strong cultures are places in which joy is prevalent in classrooms, playgrounds, cafeterias, and anywhere else students and/or teachers are gathered. Joy is even evident in professional learning settings as well as staff meetings. Defined simply, joy is a “feeling of great pleasure and happiness” and is something we naturally seek. Moreover, perhaps nothing connects people to one another more than shared joy. And, the more joy we experience among each other on a daily basis, the more it becomes embedded as part of the culture. Obviously, we cannot force people to be joyful, but we can be intentional about looking for and experiencing joy in our schools just as we can be intentional about setting academic goals, writing lesson plans, and communicating behavioral expectations. In joyful schools, staff members make time to find the joy in what they are doing each day, remind others how lucky they are to be serving in such an important profession, and weave fun and joyful activities into their daily planning whether they serve as teachers, administrators, or support staff. With so much focus on academic achievement and juggling the endless responsibilities we all are tasked with fulfilling, at times we can forget that schools should be fun, funny, and joyful places filled with fun, funny, and joyful students and staff.
What are some ways we can be intentional about finding and creating joy in our schools? Please share your thoughts about culture via Twitter: @ConnectEDDBooks We would love to hear from you!