Maximize Professional Development Opportunities

     One of the best—and least expensive—ways to maximize professional development opportunities at school is to have conference, workshop, or school-visit experiences brought back to your school by those who attend.  A quick email summarizing the experience or a presentation at faculty and staff meetings, sharing the experience helps everyone learn from the experience.  Here is a recent email I sent to my school colleagues:

Having just returned from attending the 50^th Anniversary Annual Conference of AMS in Boston, I wanted to share with you some of the highlights of my professional development experience.  Being among 3,000 Montessori educators, networking, talking about BHMS, and learning was a treat.  It was during our spring break so I could be there and not have to feel guilty about missing school!

Speakers Heard & Sessions Attended
• Maren Schmidt, author of the book Understanding Montessori A Guide for Parents
• Dr. Stephanie Pace Marshall - Transforming Minds: Reimaging Learning and Schooling for the 21^st Century
• Judi Bauerlein - Living Legacy recipient for 2010 (I had the good fortune to work with her on an accreditation.)
• Dr. Diane Levin - So Sexy So Soon: How Media and Marketing Affect Our Children . . . and What We Can Do to protect Them
• Daniel Pink - author of the bestselling book Drive.  I had the good fortune to interview him for a future article in Montessori Life.
• A session on On-line learning
• A session on what is new in and the future of Montessori research projects and programs
• A session on Montessori research
• Annual AMS Meeting
• Attend a Heads' networking session with over 100 heads of Montessori schools from all over the country.  Many thoughts and ideas were exchanged.

Purchased signed books and CDs for our professional development library
• Montessori in Practice by Lakshmi A. Kripalani - Observations from someone who learned and worked with Dr. Montessori.
• Building Cathedrals Not Walls by Maren Schmidt - Essays for parents and teachers
• Montessori Comes to America by Phyllis Povell - The leadership of Maria Montessori and Nancy McCormick Rambusch - I was able to attend a session to hear Phyllis read from her book.

As an AMS Board member, I had the privilege to be with some of the best and brightest in Montessori education.  Part of our time together was a dinner for the Board hosted by the Kingsley School, a nearby Montessori school for toddlers through sixth grade.  Also, I attended a Gala dinner in celebration of Nancy McCormick Rambusch, founder of AMS, and the Society's 50^th Anniversary.

Present a session to 65 heads, trustees, and administrators with Bob Fricker (a consultant BHMS used on strategic planning) on building a healthy board.

Meeting new people throughout my time is always a treat.

AMS Conference

     I am attending the American Montessori Society (AMS) Annual Conference where 3,000 Montessori educators have gathered in Back Bay Boston to celebrate AMS's 50th anniversary.  It was in 1960 when Dr. Nancy McCormick Rambusch reintroduced America to Dr. Montessori's philosophy, started the Whitby School in Greenwich, CT, and formed AMS.  Made up of 1,100 Montessori schools and 11,000 members, the organization holds its annual conference each year in a major city in the U.S.  This year Dr. Diane Levin (author of So Sexy So Soon), Dr. Stephanie Pace Marshall (author of The Power to Transform: Leadership That Brings Learning and Schooling to Life), and Daniel Pink (bestselling author of A Whole New Mind and Drive) are keynote speakers.  

Ned Hallowell Visit

     Recently, faculty, staff, and parents were fortunate to have Dr. Ned Hallowell spend time at our school.  "Driven From Distraction" and "Childhood Roots of Adult Happiness" were topics all appreciated hearing Dr. Hallowell present.  The best part of our time together was his affable, genial, and expert delivery that is so much a part of Dr. Hallowell's work and approach to supporting children and families.  Visit his comprehensive website to learn more about this author (18 books and growing), psychiatrist, educator, and father of three.

Driving to Year 3

     It was two years ago on March 19, 2008 that this blog took to the Internet with the post "Learning About Montessori."  Oddly enough, the second post was "A Whole New Mind," Daniel Pink's popular, bestselling book.  Having attended the NAIS Annual conference the month before, I was inspired to read the book and write that post.  
     This time I have read his newest book, Drive, and will see him next week at the American Montessori Society Annual conference in Boston.

Small to Big <-> Big to Small

If you are teaching the size of small particles like molecules, atoms, and quarks OR on the other end, large things like planets, solar systems, and galaxies, click below to view the 1977 short documentary film "Powers of Ten" written and directed by Ray Eames.

Drive by Pink via TED - Part 2

     Daniel Pink's newest book Drive has many exceptional ideas and philosophy. He makes a compelling argument for moving from a 20th Century Motivation 2.0 operating system that employs the old "carrot and stick" motivators to a much improved Motivation 3.0 system that advocates for more intrinsic motivators, using autonomy, mastery, and purpose.
     If you don't have time to read his book and want to get an 18-minute insight into Drive click on the TED Talk below.

Drive to ROWE

     I was first inspired when I read Jim Collins' book How the Mighty Fall and he talks about employees who look at their work as a responsibility rather than a job (see my August 28, 2009 post "Job or Responsibility").
     In Daniel Pink's newest book Drive he writes convincingly about motivation and how people accomplish their work.  The book is fascinating.  There is one section of the book where he introduces Jeff Gunther, CEO of Meddius a small company based in Charlottesville, Virginia.  Gunther decided to make his company a "results-only work environment" or ROWE.  In Dirve Pink states "ROWEs are the brainchild of Cali Ressler and Jody Thompson, two former human resources executives at retailer Best Buy.  In a ROWE workplace, people don't have schedules.  They show up when they want.  They don't have to be in the office at a certain time—or any time for that matter.  They just have to get their work done.  How they do it, when they do it, and where they do it is up to them."
     Can this really work?  Get a copy of Drive and learn much much more about how people are motivated.

A Beautiful Father/Son Story - Part 2

A few posts ago I offered a link to a StoryCorps story about a 16-year old father who raised his son.  The following week, StoryCorps presented a sequel that revealed another twist to the original beautiful story.  Very touching, listen to the 2-minute piece ->

Prophetic Pacyderms

     I love John Godfrey Saxe's version of “The Blind Men and the Elephant” where six blind men are positioned at different locations around the elephant each describing what he senses.  

     In my reading, I came across another beautiful piece using the majestic elephant.

      “I was at a meeting recently when a colleague told a story of being in India, where an educator there asked her, somewhat skeptically, ‘In America, you test your students a lot, don’t you?’  She replied, ‘Well, indeed, the United States has a national policy that requires testing of all students in certain grades.’  The Indian educator said, ‘Here, when we want the elephant to grow, we feed the elephant.  We don’t weigh the elephant.’ “

Taken from the article, “Don’t Weigh the Elephant—Feed the Elephant: Feedback Is Key in Assessment,” by Milton Chen, Executive director of the George Lucas Educational Foundation; edutopia.org 

Executive Functioning & Self-regulation in Children

         As reported by our Head of Preschool to parents and faculty: 


"We were fortunate to have New York University Professor Clancy Blair give two inspiring presentations to preschool teachers and parents on his current research, which is studying the development of self-regulation in children using measures of executive functioning and stress physiology and relating these to measures of children’s temperament, adjustment to preschool, and early academic growth.  Executive functions (EFs) are aspects of cognition that are called upon when brain and behavior cannot simply run on automatic, and when one has to stop and exert effort to process information and manage behavior.  In general, EFs are aspects of cognition that are important for planning, future directed thinking, and monitoring of behavior.  Therefore, they are essential for school readiness and early school achievement.  Professor Blair’s research, and that of others in child development, has shown that EFs are better predictors of academic achievement than general intelligence."

A Beautiful Father/Son Story

Click on the picture to hear this beautiful 2 minute, StoryCorps story.

Give Back

     One of the best ways to become involved in professional development for yourself and for educators new to the profession is to have experienced educators mentor new teachers, administrators, and heads of school.  I began mentoring my eighth aspiring head through the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) Fellowship for Aspiring School Heads program.  Here a description of the program as presented on the NAIS website:
     "The NAIS Fellowship for Aspiring School Heads is a one-year professional development program for individuals at NAIS member schools who wish to become heads of independent schools. Through programming, mentorship, and a school project, fellows develop their own leadership styles, learn key issues and skills, and develop a strong network. The fellowship is a critical component of NAIS's leadership development philosophy. We invest in this program because we believe strongly in the importance of nurturing the next generation of independent school leaders. Equally important is the investment that fellows, their schools, and their mentors are making in their own leadership development."
     Keep in mind, to have a true mentor/protege relationship there has to be give and receive at both ends — not just mentor giving to protege.  Get involved in mentoring a colleague and GIVE BACK to the profession.

Pink & 930: An Article

     After listening to Daniel Pink author of A Whole New Mind, I was inspired to take what he said and write an article right after I heard him in February 2008 at the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) annual conference in New York.  The article eventually appeared in the September 2009 issue of the American Montessori Society (AMS) Newsletter "Daniel Pink Presentation Sparks Revelation of Long-Held Secret: '930'”
     I am looking forward to seeing him at the AMS annual conference in Boston the end of March.  To get primed to hear him, I picked up his newest book Drive; it was no surprise to read his glowing references to Howard Gardner, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Robert Sternberg, Carol Dweck, etc. as those who were instrumental in the analysis of his motivation operating systems: Motivation 2.0 and Motivation 3.0.
    See what you think about the article.

Faculty & Staff Meetings

There are department faculty meetings, and there are division faculty meetings, and there are school meetings for all employees.  Author Thomas Hoerr discusses these meetings by asking  What If Faculty Meetings Were Voluntary? in his December 2 edweek.org piece.  I enjoyed reading his five myths and how he addresses each.  Here are the five:


Myth No.1. Faculty meetings are good times to share information.
Myth No. 2. Faculty meetings belong to administrators.
Myth No. 3. Faculty meetings are times for administrators to be in charge.
Myth No. 4. Faculty meetings should focus only on content.
Myth No. 5. Faculty meetings are serious, and a smile means we’re not being productive.

The Hunger Games

     The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins is a must-read for middle school students and teachers.  It is the first book in a trilogy by Collins.  I thought of S. E. Hinton's The Outsiders while I read the drama-packed Hunger Games and the gang mentality of the characters.  It is one of those books that captures the life of teen years in a very unusual setting.  Snippets of Orwell's Animal Farm came through as well as I read about the Capitol government and big brother hovering over district citizens and tributes.  Click here to get a glimpse of images that depict scenes from the book, but do read the book and get ready for the movie.  
     I'm off to read Catching Fire, the second book in the Hunger Games Trilogy.

Idiom

     Recently while I was at the front doors of the School greeting students and parents at the beginning of school, I noticed a father with his second and fourth grade children approaching.  The father recently changed jobs and was about to begin his first day of his new job.  So, as the three of them entered, I said to the father with a wink of the eye, "Hey, David, break a leg."  He smiled and said, "Thanks."  Immediately the second grader looked up at Dad and said, "Why would Dane tell you to break your leg?"  I had to trust Dad would explain what an idiomatic expression is.  In case you forgot, check out this great site: Using English.com.

More Online Education Resources

     Online resource from Apple:

"iTunesU, part of the iTunes Store, is possibly the world’s greatest collection of free educational media available to students, teachers, and lifelong learners. With over 200,000 educational audio and video files available, iTunes U has quickly become the engine for the mobile learning movement. It puts the power of the iTunes Store in the hands of qualifying universities so they can distribute their educational media to their students or to the world." 
     Visit iTunes U and click on the demonstration video. Pretty amazing.

     Also, you might click on British TV's teachers.tv.

Author, Ventriloquist, Magician

When I walked into our school library during the annual book fair, I knew I would be listening to author Grace Chang read from her book Jin Jin the Dragon.  What I did not expect to see was 40 children and adults mesmerized by this very talented woman.  Jin Jin the dragon came alive with a voice and jaw-dropping magic that captured everyone's imagination.  Visit her website to see a bit of what I am writing about.

Confident Kids

With many years of greeting children as they walk into school and observing their interaction with adults, I have come to realize the significant difference in Montessori kids; their confidence is visibly evident.

When I meet a child, I look for eye contact, or a firm handshake, or how easily she/he engages in conversation. I do notice that Montessori children are more comfortable with adult interaction; they work and play in an environment that welcomes adult-child interaction. It is an environment that says we—children, young adults, and adults—are life-long active learners and enjoy learning together and learning from each other. We all have something to share, no matter what age you are. This inevitably breeds confidence in our children.

Whether it is a little one who toddles into my office attracted by the beaver doorstop, preschoolers who want to have me look at their work in the classroom, or an Upper Elementary student who is sharing today’s classroom snack, I love the fact that they feel comfortable enough to engage with the Head of School, who is just another person at school.

Research suggests that building a child’s confidence starts early on, and parents who understand the idea of transitioning independence to their child will better serve their child. Dr. Montessori is very clear about how children work through early sensitive periods. A preschooler’s sensitivity to detail, order, use of hands, walking, and language happens at different stages and is made whole when parents give their children time to explore, experiment, and self-discover their abilities during each sensitive period. Confidence grows with each success, and when there is failure, confidence will grow out of the recovery, not the fall.

In this summer’s faculty and staff book read, The Price of Privilege, author Madeline Levine states that the [child’s] self is born in the crucible of interaction between parent and child. Every time we encourage exploration, applaud independence, and require self-control we help our children grow into their best selves. Interestingly, she goes on to say that kids with a strong sense of self can come out of dismal economic circumstances and kids with an impaired sense of self can come out of the most fortunate economic circumstance.

All parents want their children to make choices, become self-reliant, be independent thinkers, and engage with each other and adults confidently.

Charlie Bit My Finger

When I was at an education conference in San Francisco this past weekend, the 1,000 participants sitting in the grand ballroom were introduced to the video below.  With over 150,000,000 views recorded, videos don't get much cuter than this.

Do What You Need To Do

Reading Malcom Gladwell's newest best seller, What the Dog Saw you discover the book is a compilation of his New Yorker articles that he wrote since 1996.  In the usual Gladwell fashion, you begin reading his works and you find yourself saying, "Yah, he is so right.  How does he assemble so many relevant thoughts, statistics, and connections in one article?"


It was when I was reading "Million-Dollar Murray" an article that was published on February 13, 2006 and coincidentally listening to John Mayer's "Say" that I was struck by Gladwell's ability to strike a chord in our sensibilities.  Making a connection between homelessness, the inefficiency of eradicating it, and Gladwell's ability to say what we need to hear, will help us prepare our world for our children so that they can accomplish what we mean to accomplish.  Read the piece as you listen to Mayer and see if you can understand what I am saying.

And the winners are . . .

The Newbery Medal and Caldecott Medal winners were announced, and the winners are When You Reach Me and The Lion and the Mouse.  Click over to this two minute Today Show interview with the authors. 

Newbery & Caldecott Medal Awards

     Aren't young adult and children's picture books great . . . for kids and adults.  The picture above is one of the walls in my office.  One poster is of all of the Newbery Medal (the most distinguished children's American book literature) book covers and the other is a poster of all of the Caldecott Medal (The Most Distinguished Chidren's Book Illustration) book covers.  In case you didn't know, the American Library Association (ALA) is currently holding its annual meeting in Boston.  The conference culminating event is the announcement of the Newbery and Caldecott Medal winners.

     Pssst . . . I will let you in on a little secret.  After speaking to our school librarian, I have two picks to watch for: Claudette Colvin by Phillip M. Hoose for the Newbery Medal and The Lion and the Mouse by Jerry Pinkney for the Caldecott Medal.

     Let's see what happens when the awards are announced tomorrow, January 18.

Tweens, Porcupines, and Good Advice

     I can never be sensitive enough to those parents of 9- through 13-year old children.  It is such a difficult age for the children AND parents.  I was reintroduced to the above books recently, and they reminded me of the challenges of the tween years — those middle school years.  Here are some links to the books.

• Get Out of My Life but First Could You Drive Me and Cheryl to the Mall
• How to Hug a Porcupine
• Our Last Best Shot

     Don't be surprised when you read the first chapter of Porcupine and the introduction to Our Last Best Shot to see that they are almost identical.  The former is about a boy and the latter is about a girl, nevertheless they have similar characteristics.
     The books are all must-reads for parents with children who are approaching these sensitive years in life.  Do yourself a favor and read at least one of them.

Gutenberg Press, Then — E-Books, Now?

I first began seriously asking myself, "If and when will electronic books take over book-books?" when I bumped into the "Book v. Kindle" challenges (see August 10, 2009 post).  Funny though they are, the sketches made me think and say, "Right, this really isn't going to happen . . . at least, not in my time."


Enter stage right "How E-Books Will Change Reading and Writing," an NPR piece that makes you think about the E-Book notion when you stack it up against what the Gutenburg press did for reading and writing a gazillion years ago.

Growing K-12 Online Learning

Here are some statistics to think about:

• K-12 online learning is a new field consisting of an estimated $300 million market, which is growing at an estimated annual pace of 30% annually.
• 87% of all youth between the ages of 12 and 17 use the Internet 

(21 million people).


• 45 of the 50 states, plus Washington D.C., have a state virtual school or online initiative, full-time online schools, or both.
• As of January 2007, there were 173 virtual charter schools serving 92,235 students in 18 states.
• 57% of public secondary schools in the U.S. provide access to students for online learning.
• 86% percent of teens, 88% of online teens, and 80% of all parents believe that the Internet helps teenagers to do better in school.


• 14.2 million computers were available for classroom use in the nation’s schools as of the 2005-2006 school year. That works out to one computer for every four students learning.

     Prompted by Susan Booth's Independent School article "At the Tipping Point: K-12 Online Learning," I visited the International Association for K-12 Online Learning (iNACOL)'s Fast Facts About Online Learning to retrieve the above stats.  How far will we go with technology in our classrooms?

Independent School Reading

On December 10, 1997 I wrote "Getting a Read on Independent Schools" for Education Week where I made reference to books about independent schools.  The usual suspects were mentioned: The Catcher in the Rye, A Separate Peace, The Rector of Justin, A Prayer For Owen Meany, Dead Poet Society, and others.  All of these literary icons came flooding back to me when I read NAIS President Pat Bassett's Independent Perspective Column "An Explication of 'Fisherman's Wife'" and related short story "Fisherman's Wife" by Medb Mahony in the Winter 2010 issue of Independent School magazine.


Pat eloquently ties Mahony's short story to the Brothers Grimm fable "The Fisherman and His Wife" in his thoughtful analysis, helping readers gain one perspective on today's independent schools.

It's Just a Story

     As he made his way around the corner, Paul reached into his pocket for spare change to drop into the paper cup of the beckoning street person.  Where the money went, Paul did not care; he was happy to help someone less fortunate.

     Paul was a contributing artist at an odd but well respected gallery in the City.  People often viewed his video/CD-based installations with wonderment and invariably walked away feeling inspired, hopeful, and reaffirmed.  A former teacher of 16 years, Paul developed a sense of what made up a good child.  Over those years he came to appreciate the characteristics in a child that caused him to stay in the classroom as long as he did.  Kind, hard working, thoughtful of the needs of others, and honest described the child he envisioned as the perfect child.  Paul felt obliged to help parents see this in their children.

     When his wife passed away and he had to raise his own two children by himself, he struggled to find ways to make ends meet financially and at the same time hold his own son and daughter to the values about children in which he believed so passionately.  Medical insurance held him to teaching, but financial necessity forced him to explore other avenues.  Technology, art, and part-time working opportunities lead him to work evenings at a small art gallery.  The hours were flexible, the owner loved his children, and a creative side of Paul emerged quite unexpectedly.  Here is where he began to develop his love of art and incorporate his appreciation of good child qualities and a desire to help parents see how beautiful children can be if nurtured and taught with love, care, and structure. 

     During ensuing years, his art, which was presented in sound, video, and still images, depicted children extending themselves in ways that captured the viewer – ways that told the story of just how beautiful children are.  Paul’s exhibits were especially appreciated by parents who were in the throes of a particularly difficult time with their children.  Repeatedly, Paul’s patrons were captured by the beauty children exhibit in their innocence juxtaposed to their desire to imitate their parents.  The power held by parents over children was readily seen in an image of a child’s eyes looking for approval, or a questioning voice looking for an answer, or a joyful smile offering love.

     It was no surprise when one evening as he was exiting the gallery, Paul noticed a young girl holding the hand of a lost soul who was sitting on a shiny brass standpipe.  How proud Paul beamed to eventually see that it was his daughter who was giving comfort to the stranger.

Grimm NERDS

I had the good fortune to listen to the very funny author Michael Buckley at our school's Holiday Book Fair.  Michael talked about his career that began as an intern on the David Letterman Show and progressed to being an acclaimed author of the Sisters Grimm series.  His newest series, NERDS (National Espionage, Rescue, and Defense Society) is about the misfits at Nathan Hale Elementary School in the "geektropolis" of Arlington, Virginia.  Much like James Howe's The Misfits and 13 (see Oct. 22 and July 29 posts), Buckley's writing is of a Simpson's genre suitable for kids and adult reading.


When Michael read from the first chapter of the first book in NERDS, fifth grader Jackson Jones is in the dentist chair staring up at Dr. Gupta.  What follows is hilarious.

Smart Empathy

The holiday season — no matter what faith — does bring families together, and as I read Wendy Mogel's (The Blessing of a Skinned Knee) recent, insightful article "Smart Empathy" in the winter issue of Independent School magazine, it made me appreciate how important a role empathy plays in binding families, especially today in our school communities.  In her article, Mogel cites Daniel Pink's A Whole New Mind (see post dated 3/30/08 post) by pointing out his emphasis on empathy as an essential quality for success in the 21st century.  On the other hand, she does warn readers that there can be a "dark side of empathy," and while the economy is placing stress on our families, it is also setting a stage for school communities to take notice of others' needs.

If you want a touch of seeing inside empathy, a teacher colleague sent me a link to John Henry Faulk's Christmas story, which first aired in 1974 on radio's "Voices in the Wind" and is now presented annually on NPR radio.  It is a beautiful story about one family being thoughtful of another family.