Genius Freak

As I was planning out a unit in reading non-fiction text for my juniors in AP English Language and Composition, I decided it was time to go to the Transcendentalists.  Not everyone's favorites, I know, but close to my heart (the inspiration for the title of this blog), and the source of some of the most well-known lines in all of American literature. One of those lines, from the "Conclusion" of Thoreau's  Walden, famously reminds us that he   "went to the woods because [he] wished to live deliberately." As I read it this time around, I was also reminded that the "teach deliberately" mantra I have been repeating to myself this year echoes that passage I have read so many times. Continuing my preparations, I came across this line from the "Sounds" chapter of Walden , and knew it was the thought-foundation on which I would build a project for my students: "Follow your genius closely enough, and it will not fail to show you a fresh...

If nothing else were to come out of all the current hubbub in teaching - new evaluation model, new standards, new student assessments - one positive outcome is the fact that I am motivated to look at my practices more reflectively and intentionally now, maybe more-so than I have at any time in my career. The motivation doesn't come from being afraid that I won't score well on the Marzano scale.  I'm not opposed to the Marzano scale.  In fact, I like that it offers more possibilities than my just being satisfactory or unsatisfactory.  And I am willing to trust that whoever observes me will do his/her best to make an accurate assessment of my work in the classroom by looking at the evidence of what is going on in there. I understand that the Marzano model is based on meta-research - researching the research - on what effective teachers do.  I think that research is important for me to know as a professional in the field of education.  If it can help me be a be...

This week's posting is a byproduct of last week's end-of-marking period grading crunch.  It is my least favorite part of teaching.  Not the "paper grading" itself - I learned long ago not to assign students writing tasks that I would not be interested in reading.   And I take seriously my role in assessing for the purposes of giving feedback that I hope will benefit students' learning.  But grading - assigning a number to what students have mastered over the course of 10 weeks - that remains a philosophical conundrum for me, and it becomes more of one as I continue to grow as a teacher. In the ideal, students would not receive grades on any assignment other than a summative assessment.  For no task given along the way would students receive an actual grade - just a lot of feedback that would help learners grow toward mastery.  In that case, a quarterly/final grade would be a pretty accurate reflection of student mastery.  Unfortunately, that's not th...

This year, more than any other in my teaching career, I am swimming in newness. New teacher evaluation systems based on new frameworks outlining what it means to be an effective teacher.  New requirements for establishing specific objectives for student growth.  New expectations for rigor in the standards driving instruction.  That’s a lot of newness to process: terminology to learn, skills to develop, assignments to complete.  Even for an old-timer like me, with a pretty broad foundation to attach new knowledge to, at times this year it has seemed like the number of things I am being asked to master exceeds the amount of time I have in a day to do it.   Lately, I have realized that with all of this stuff coming at me this this year, I am in the same situation that my students are in throughout their school lives.  With new learning coming at me from several directions, I have been forced into the role of the novice where the newness is concerned, as o...

My students are writing papers this week.  Not the pick-a-side type of persuasive essay they have written so many of, allegedly in training for the multitude of standardized assessments we impose upon them throughout their school lives.  They are writing fairly complex synthesis and analysis essays, apropos for students soon to be venturing into college classrooms where the pick-a-side essay is a long-forgotten acquaintance.   In preparation, we were reviewing some of the Common Core Standards relevant to our endeavor.  I posted this on the board. Big (Learning) Goals (copied from the Common Core): Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive texts, using valid reasoning and sufficient evidence. Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new appr...

Nuts and flowers.  Raw materials of sustenance, growth, and beauty.   And for Henry D. Thoreau, an apt analog for the naturally haphazard thought processes of the unfettered human brain.   Thoreau wrote in his journal on February 6, 1841 -- long before modern insights into brain science and metacognition: Nature strews her nuts and flowers broadcast, and never collects them into heaps.  A man does not tell us all he has thought about truth or beauty at a sitting, but, from his last thought on the subject, wanders through a varied scenery of upland, meadow, and woodland to his next.  Sometimes a single and casual thought rises naturally and inevitably with a queenly majesty and escort, like the stars in the east. (16) No doubt we have all experienced that free flow of thought from one idea to the next, often at our moments of greatest insight and creativity.  I suspect that even the most linear and concrete thinkers among us don’t generally think ...

“Children need structure.” How many times have we heard that? And I get it.  Structure, in the form of routine, contributes to a child’s sense of safety and comfort.  Things that are familiar bring all of us comfort, children and adults alike.   We likely go through the same routine in the morning.  Get up, feed the cat, (the cat likes routine too), take a shower.  Most people even  have a regular shower routine - left arm first, right arm, and so on (or whatever order you prefer). We drive to school and head for the same parking spot. I’ll be the first to admit, finding someone parked in the spot I prefer definitely puts a kink in the comfort of my morning.  And then we begin our classroom routines. For years many of us have been instructed to begin class with a “Do Now.” I do understand the “Do Now” concept.  I understand that it can help students make the transition from hallway mode to classroom mode.  I understand it allows for attendanc...