This week, I found my blue box back on my door step. It is now the third time this box has been on my door step. For those of you who don't know, the blue box is what you have to mail your National Board Portfolio Entries in when you are finished with them. Seeing this box AGAIN got me to reflect on my journey through this process.

I began National Board Certification four years. My district had implemented a pay for performance plan called Project: Excell. This plan included a professional development component. For this component, a teacher could choose whatever professional development opportunities that they were interested in. According to the list, National Boards fulfilled all professional development requirements. I thought this would be easier than taking multiple workshops. (Boy, was I mistaken.) I signed up for a pre-candidacy class and then became an official candidate.

My first year was a struggle. It was quite a challenge to complete all four portfolio entries. I learned a lot about student achievement and how to connect my learning targets to achievement. I learned how to concisely and accurately document that achievement and I learned how to recognize the things that were not causing student achievement. I pushed myself further than I thought I could and I learned to consider what I did a craft. It takes much practice for a surgeon to be more efficient. And it takes practice and reflection for a teacher to improve their practice. That first year I was able to achieve a bankable score on two entries; the science and math entry and the accomplishment entry.

I started my retake thinking that I already learned everything from this process that I could. I had already changed and became a better teacher. However, it was important to me to complete what I started so I moved forward. I knew I had to focus on writing and social studies. I was very sure of this and I planned great instruction and learning activities. I breezed through writing the entries. I was very proud of myself for what I had done. That pride led to a huge disappointment when I saw my scores. I had failed to bank any entries. In fact, I had done much worse on an entry.

The next few weeks, I spent a lot of time looking back at the work I had done both years. I didn't want to apply for another retake unless I understood where I had come up short. That was something I failed to do my second year. I just put my eyes forward and I did not reflect back on what I had already done. This time was what caused the biggest change in my teaching practice. I realized that I really did not understand all the aspects of what is required of me. I know I am a great math teacher because I understand that subject. I know I am a great reading teacher because I have spent so much time learning how to teach reading. However, I did not understand how to teach social studies or writing. I knew how to take a standard and design a lesson around it but I did not understand what my students needed to build a deeper understand of these subjects. I knew I had to rectify that.

My district uses a lot of staff development to ensure our teachers are capable of teaching reading and math. I haven't been in a workshop though that has covered social studies since college and I have only been to a handful of writing workshops. I was weak in these areas and what was worse; I was completely ignorant of that fact. How many other teachers are walking around unaware of what they need to improve?

I began this process because I was allowed to choose my area of professional development. Through the journey, I was able to recognize what areas I needed to grow. I was able to build a plan that specifically met my learning needs. When I think back to all of the workshops and staff meetings, I have attended the last few years, none of them came close to improving my teaching like the blue box has. What would happen to our profession if every teacher was brave enough to learn their own needs and build a plan to significantly improve their own practice? Well, let me introduce you to my friend, the blue box, and we'll see what can happen! I'm very eager to pass him on to someone else.

 

 

 

 

 

MEMO

To: Child
From: The System

Re: Your Enthusiasm

Welcome to your first day of school; it is obvious you are excited to be here and to learn about the vast world around you.  I hope you revel in the wonder of this morning and enjoy meeting your well-intentioned teachers.  

I want to take a moment to warn you, however, that such enthusiasm will be short-lived.

You have come to The System with a natural curiosity that is the trademark of your earliest years - when every person, pattern, sensation, or sound sparks an investigation driven by your intrinsic love of learning.  Eventually, however, you will come to believe that school and learning are not always synonymous.  You will come to see that each subsequent grade level is simply a rite of passage that moves you one step closer to being “done.”

And, you will count the days with increasing urgency.

As you progress, you will see that although you spend most of your time memorizing Things, you will rarely be asked to apply these Things in any kind of meaningful context.  The System cannot agree on how to assess such thought; this thinking cannot be represented in binary.  However, your retention of isolated Things will define you.  It may even seem ironic that we ask you learn about people who often spent little time memorizing out of context Things, themselves.  Do yourself a favor and ignore that concern.  Plus, analyzing irony is a higher level skill and will rarely help you within The System.

At some point, we will ask you to read.  If you cannot read, you will not progress.  At no point will you be stopped because you have not demonstrated an ability to analyze, apply, compare, critique, assess, or construct.  Doing so would be controversial and the results cannot be quantified in a percentage model.  Hence, they have no value.

The enjoyment of learning how much you have learned, and what you can do next will be replaced by the fear of earning an insufficient Grade.  You will be caught not learning to a baseline level and will receive the appropriate variation of a modern scarlet letter.  Although you will have a deep sense that one alphabetic representation of sophisticated learning processes is being oversimplified and poorly indicated, I urge you to ignore that feeling.  

We know what we are doing.  After all, we are the Architects of The System.

Lastly, do not attempt to contact me; I cannot be found.  I hide within good intentions, political motives, unwarranted nostalgia, and society’s insatiable desire to categorize and label.  You, will, however, feel my effects and, depending on your level of compliance, benefit from my rewards.  

I bid you good luck.  I will be in touch.

There are over 97,000 National Board Certified Teachers in America. Only 3% of the teaching workforce is Nationally Board Certified. 3% seems very small when compared to a number like 97,000. NBCTs are teachers that have proven that they teach to the National Professional Standards for teaching; they are highly skilled educators, advocates for students and educational leaders.

National Board Certification has held the theme of “one” in my mind for a long time. It only takes one teacher to start the ball rolling at a school and others will follow. I have been operating from that perspective for the last few years because I have seen many examples of teachers as the “one”. I have witnessed timid teachers become lions and weak teachers become superstars. Focusing on improving education one teacher at a time seemed like enough, but I always had a nagging feeling that I could be doing more. Promoting National Boards and supporting candidates, both highly worthwhile endeavors, distracted me.

The time has come for NBCTs to change the teaching profession; we are at the top of the educational pyramid and need to promote our profession from within. This work matters and we are the most qualified to do it. We must take every opportunity to insert ourselves into the discussions that lead to educational policy-making at every level from the classroom to the legislature. Our work is invaluable, our profession creates all other professions, the work that we do weaves that fabric of our society. It is up to us to make sure that the work of teachers is respected, valued and indispensable; we must discuss our work with colleagues, parents, voters and legislators. The time has come for us to mobilize as a united group of professionals. 97,000 NBCTs don’t need to wait to be invited to the table.

The impasse has been resolved. New York reached an agreement on teacher evaluations. Thankfully, it was a result of Governor Cuomo's resolve to create his own way of measuring teacher work if a resolution was not reached. The power of ultimatums.

As the sun rises, the country breathes a sigh of relief to know that New York teachers will have up to 40% of their evaluation attached to student achievement. Growth from a student's test score from one year to the next year will also be included. The remaining 60% will be subjective measures-observations. 

Perhaps, this evaluation design brings a sense of security to most. To trust this design one must believe that student achievement equates to student learning. Test scores are objective. And, the biggest misconception: standardized tests are valid measures.

Let's be honest this evaluation design brings a sense of security to the tune of $700 million in Race to the Top funding. This is what the renewed passion for evaluating teachers is about...the almighty dollar. New York to Arizona, teacher evaluation is about money. We can argue about how we reached this point or we can simply start to question the policies that are at our front door.

The first question is easy: Which standarized test is being used to determine if little Maya achieved, and if Miss Rivera taught? The second question is easier: Can little Maya only demonstrate her achievement as a result of Miss Rivera's teaching by the bubble she marks on the test that the scan machine scores? 

I'm sure you can figure out the next question.

Typically around this time of the year I pull out my old, tattered and torn, Charles Schultz books:

Happiness is a Warm Puppy

Love is Walking Hand in Hand

When I was in the classroom it was fun to read the stories and invite children to write their own pages for the book. Last week I was teaching third grade and had the students create their own book using the sentence stem: Learning is…

Their sentences soon began to tell a story about teaching and learning.

Learning is going for your goal.

Learning is really important for you.

Learning is a fun way to become educated.

Learning happens before and after lunch.

Learning is getting an A+ and working your butt off.

Learning is creative, fun, tricky, awesome, cool and out of this world.

Learning is asking questions and saying statements.

Learning is trying out new things.

Learning is making your brain work.

Learning is trying to be better than okay.

Learning is reading, writing, spelling, math, science and social studies.

Learning is fun and it can be really boring.

Learning is what kids do best at school.

Learning is easy to do for some kids.

Learning helps you do your stuff.

Learning is fun because it is to me.

Learning is helpful to other people.

Learning is how you learn so you’ll be smarter.

Learning is the best part if the day.

Learning is my favorite thing in the world.

Learning is listening, friendship, reading, working hard and cool.

Learning is making your brain really smart.

Learning is fun to do for some kids.

Learning is easy to do for some kids.

Learning helps you go to college.

Learning is one thing to one person and another thing to another person.

What would your students add to this story?

    

Many times as educators---just by the nature of our profession-- we’re in it because we love kids and are driven to leave a legacy of learning for the next generation. 

The very nature of the people who are called to this profession is that often we wear our hearts on our sleeves; and in such a precarious position, our hearts are easily bruised.  And over the years, some of the energy, some of the vibrancy, some of the optimism, some of the hopeful expectation is diminished because we feel marginalized, devalued, and stereotyped.

 As a National Board Certified teacher, I must confess that recently I was going through such a funk; and I know better.  But I received inspiration from a very unlikely source.  He and I don’t know each other, we’re not in the same profession, we don’t collaborate via webinars, neither is he one of my FB friends. But his story spoke to my heart in a way that I gained fresh perspective about a difficult two week period in my life. 

In the midst of my pity party came Jeremy Lin.  Just in case you don’t know who he is, permit me a moment to share the little that I know.

Jeremy is a basketball player of Asian descent who, after graduating from Harvard, became an undrafted talent looking for a place in the NBA. Two years and three teams later, up until a week ago, he'd seen about as much playing time as I have.  As circumstances would have it, a series of injuries on the team catapulted him into the unlikely role as the starting point guard for the floundering New York Knicks. In one week, his record-setting accomplishments have inspired people all over the world to not give up on their unlikely dreams!

 So here I am, on the other side of my funk, glad to say that my unlikely dream for the teaching profession is still intact.  “I still believe that in spite of everything” that, strengthened by the National Board Standards, the teaching profession can:

• be one that is highly respected and well-paid
• create a self-regulating licensing board, much like the legal and medical professions, that retains and rewards the effective teachers and, for evidence of malpractice, weeds out the ineffective
• develop and implement rigorous university-based teacher training programs that adequately prepare future teachers for tomorrow’s classrooms
• lead the way in transforming how schools are funded in this country
• be transformed from a job of last resort to (as coined by my friend Alaina Adams) a League of Extraordinary Educators.

To the regret of the teams who let him go, Jeremy Lin has not only led the Knicks on a five-game winning streak--an experience they’ve not enjoyed for awhile--but he’s set some amazing records along the way in his first four games as a starter. 

In all this I can’t help but wonder how many schools, how many districts, how many departments of education have devalued their "Jeremy Lins" and now sit in the stands watching those extraordinary educators invest their talents into transforming other systems into winning teams?

 Let’s learn a lesson, that’s come unfortunately too late for Jeremy’s former teams: we need to do all we can to retain, empower and reward accomplished teachers. Period. 

 But if you find yourself feeling like an undrafted, unwanted talent whose value and efforts are marginalized, take heart; be inspired by Jeremy Lin’s story.

 You too can make your unlikely dream a reality.

 

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

Robert Frost

Lately I have been reflecting on my career in education, reminiscing on my past accomplishments, while wondering what lies ahead. As you read, I invite you to think about the roads you have traveled.

Upon completing my undergraduate program, I had an experience at summer camp for students with special needs that impacted who I am and what I do today. A student at camp said, “This is the only place that I can come and people don’t stare at me and ask me what’s wrong. I get to be me.” This comment resonated with me and inspired me to pursue my masters degree in exceptional education. As I began my career in special education, I was fortunate to have the opportunity to work with children in various age groups at different academic levels.

My background in special education proved to be a crucial element as I moved to a regular education classroom. I recall a comment a professor once said, “Fair is not everyone being treated equally; fair is giving each child what they need to learn.” My expertise and knowledge helped to individualize lessons providing all students with what they “needed” to learn. Originally I thought being a classroom teacher was my destiny and where I would always be. No matter what was going on in my student’s lives, my classroom was safe and learning was fun. What I did everyday in the classroom mattered and impacted my students' lives. Working with parents and students was very gratifying, but I was only able to impact the learning and lives of students who were in my classroom.

As I continued teaching in the classroom, it became clear that I needed to expand beyond my classroom and explore other available opportunities in order to have the greatest impact on student learning. As a result of going though the National Board certification process I began to examine my teaching practices more closely. This process pushed me to go beyond my comfort zone, to lean into discomfort. Through analyzing and reflecting I refined my teaching techniques. I began to really question what I did and why, examining how I influenced student learning. Realizing that my strengths in the classroom were important qualities to share with all teachers, I stepped into the role of an instructional coach. This endeavor was exciting and challenging.

My work with National Board certification in Arizona motivated me to pursue my doctorate in educational leadership and innovation. It made me realize the importance of the National Board certification process and how facilitating and coaching teachers enables them to articulate their teaching practice at a deep, rich level. I have seen teachers at my school take on the role of teacher leaders and advocate for students and learning. I feel fortunate to be part of those “light bulb” moments, where their thinking shifts and they are never the same teacher. They are constantly questioning, analyzing and pushing their teaching, positively impacting students.

This spring I will complete coursework for my principal certification. I am not sure what road I will travel. Some days, I am inspired and hopeful that I could make a difference and impact teachers and students on a different level. Other days, I am discouraged and wonder if I would get lost in the rhetoric, the noise that interferes with teaching and learning. So, what roads have you traveled?

I spent the weekend at the Biosphere 2 Science Center near Tucson, Arizona. Many of you may remember B2 as a highly publicized ecological research project back in the early 90s where humans were sealed inside a giant simulation of the Earth to measure survivability; or maybe you remember B2 as the setting for a Pauly Shore flick called Bio Dome. Either way, both ended as big disappointments. While here, I realized that being a teacher has some parallels to what the Biospherians might have experienced.

Fortunately, we are not living in a separate world like B2, but we often teach in a bubble. No one really knows the complexity of what we do, we function with very limited resources, and have become very isolated. We briefly see our colleagues as we gather our students and seldom have opportunities to discuss our work as we are constantly migrating from task to task and working well beyond the school day. Our confinement and isolation, along with having to compete for limited resources, such as technology and supplies, has left us as disoriented as the Biospherians. As teachers, we are often solely responsible for the education of the students that are in our classrooms. Support from the outside is sparse and recently we have become the scapegoats for the failures of educational bureaucracies.

Here we are, twenty years after the first Biospherians volunteered to enter B2 and live in seclusion, choosing to isolate ourselves at a National Board Retreat, analyzing and discussing our teaching practice. The outside world may not understand what were doing or why, however all sixty-five educators at B2 this weekend were working together to strengthen their teaching practice for a better B1.

At least not in the literal sense. Some days I do feel like a rock star or an all-star and maybe even a superstar. But a star is something that I can count on every night to shine in the sky. It can provide light and heat to solar systems such as what the Sun does for ours. Our Sun, a true star, is an infinite resource for heat, light, and energy (if we would learn how to tap it). It will never run dry in my life time. In this sense, I am not a star! Nor is any other teacher. We are not infinite resource for time or energy. We will run dry if we are not taken care of. There is only so much that can be reasonably expected out of us.

My school has been doing a math intervention program for the last four years. Our students take a 5 minute fact test once a month on a Tuesday and we have always gotten the results on Friday. This year, it has taken two weeks to get the results. I have learned that the person who was in charge last year was a full time employee. That position is now a part time position but still required to do all the same requirements. That position lost have of their time and pay. When I complained about this, I found that I had inadvertantly volunteered to help grade the papers. I'm not quite sure where I'm going to find the time to help. Nor am I getting any kind of compensation for this. I also found out that we used to have volunteers that helped grade the papers. Can you imagine a business that starts a new initiative with the hopes of finding "volunteers" to run it? That's absurd! If a business does not have the resources to accomplish the goal or the money to pay people to do it, they won't move forward with it! However, in edcuation we begin many projects or policies with the hopes of finding a volunteer to help. When those volunteers no longer show up, the work falls on the shoulders of the teachers. Everyone knows teachers can't or won't say no.

My school has also started talking about providing breakfast for every student to ensure that every child has to opportunity to be fed to help learning. Sounds like a great idea. However, this breakfast will occur in our classrooms. We will be expected to distribute the breakfast to our students once the bell rings and also clean up once students are done. I know that once it is realized that this is cutting into instruction time, they will expect teachers to open our rooms 15 minutes early to feed the students. And of course, I can expect no compensation nor any extra planning time.

My contract is Monday through Friday from 8-4. I have students from 8:30 to 3:10. I get 5 40 minutes lunch breaks and 3 45 minute planning times a week. How much do administrators feasibly think can be done by me in those "free" times? I only have so much time in my day.

And then you take into account all of the required meetings that I have to go to in a week and the workshops. I can only handle so much learning. I am not Einstein. I need time to practice and implement what I learn from a workshop. You can only dump so much into my brain.

Yesterday was a pretty demanding day. It was bad enough that I decided to take a personal day today to help recover. I felt like a Texas oil field. I had been drilled, prodded, and searched for oil and I came up empty.

How do we convince the powers that be that teachers are not stars? We are more like the oil fields in Texas. Sometimes, we get burnt up or dried out. We need a little more give and take. If you are going to expect something more out of us, than you either have to compensate fairly or else remove another obligation. No matter how hard you squeeze a berry, you are only going to get so much juice.

My district is currently in the search for a new superintendant. Our beloved superintendant is retiring this summer. (Thank you, Dr. Balentine, for your years of service! Your leadership has been incredibly inspiring especially through these very trying last few years.)

I've thought of some ways we can select a new one. We could hold an American Idol type competition and have all of the possible "contestants" do some sort of performance. Maybe sing a song about teaching math facts or act out a scene from a Dr. Suess book. All of the teachers in my district could watch and call in our vote. I heard that when they select a new pope, the Vatican watches to see  who the smoke goes to. We could put all of our contestants on a playground and see who all of the students run to. Or maybe we could just have them all campaign like they are running for president. They could visit all of our schools and make promises of everything they plan to accomplish once they win the office. "I promise that when I am superintendant, all students will turn in their homework every night and every student will excel in all subjects!"

No matter how they are selected, this has got me thinking about what I would like in an educational leader. I'm very fortunate to be in a district where they have scheduled forums for teachers to come and speak their minds about what factors we consider important in a new superintendant. I put some thought into my checklist.

First of all, I want a leader who values teachers. Someone who listens to teachers input. Someone who goes out of their way to make sure teachers have the tools and resources they need to do our job. Someone who trusts teachers and sincerely listens to our problems and our side of the story. Someone who backs us up and does not throw us under the bus. Someone who knows how valuable our time is and does not try to fill it up with meaningless workshops and district agendas.

Secondly, I want someone who has been a teacher and knows what its like. Someone with great business sense would be nice but I would much rather have someone who knows what a word wall is and how to unjam a copy machine. Someone who has spent hours looking at student data. I think it would be easier to listen to someone who has done what I have done and who has walked in my shoes. We've seen in the news what happens to school districts that were not run by profesional educators.

Another thing I want is to have someone who is a people person. Someone who is good at relating to others and who knows how important it is to build relationships. My district has been devastated these past few years with forced transfers and lay offs. There have been great collaborators who have been split apart and families who have lost much respected teachers who they wanted for the siblings in their family. A good superintendant should know how important community and relationships are to a school.

I could come up with more criteria such as someone who loves kids or someone who is willing to pay teachers more money but things like that should be implied or belong on a wish list. What do you think is important in an effective educational leader?