I just read a recent Hartford Courant article about an op-ed piece written by middle school English teacher, Elizabeth Natale, of West Hartford Connecticut.  Elizabeth stated in her article that she was considering quitting her job because of government education reforms that are “stripping the joy out of teaching and doing nothing to help the children.” [i][1]  A week after publishing Elisabeth’s editorial, The Courant discovered her comments had gone viral and were receiving supportive responses from teachers all over the country. The Courant quoted education author, Jonathan Kozol, “There’s no question that Elizabeth Natale has captured the mood among classroom teachers who are caught in the straitjacket of the Common Core and the entire regimen that evaluates teachers on the basis of their students’ scores on virtually meaningless standardized exams.” [2] Continue reading “Worry about Working Conditions”

The last of the ponds where I live froze over this week.  The bitter cold weather has made it a struggle for the geese to find food, and the few remaining flocks of geese can be seen overhead, heading for warmer regions. The sight of the birds streaming across the sky, in V-formation reminds me of the often quoted parable, “The Wisdom of Geese”.  The way the geese fly in a pattern to conserve energy and use the uplift from the birds in the front of the V suggests lessons to be learned by people who work together in teams.  The “wisdom” to be gained from the flight patterns of geese is that teams who share a common goal and a sense of community will arrive at their intended destination more efficiently, because (like the geese) they accept help of another, and simultaneously offer benefit to their peers. As a goose falls out of the V-formation, it suddenly feels drag and resistance and quickly moves back into formation to take advantage of the aerodynamic properties of the V-pattern. What are the big lessons here?  If you have as much sense as a goose, you will stay in formation with those headed where the team wants to go. And, just like geese, a well-functioning team will stand by each other when the going gets tough. Continue reading “Geese in the Winter Sky”

The Iowa City Community Schools (ICCSD) decided to hold school on the Martin Luther King, Jr., federal holiday this year.  The Coalition for Racial Justice strongly opposed this decision and asked the school board to honor the MLK Holiday and cancel school on Monday, January 20.  The school board decided not to cancel school in 2014; instead, they passed a resolution that ICCSD should not hold school on the holiday in 2015 and beyond. The board also appointed liaisons to the Coalition for Racial Justice and the Center for Worker Justice to improve communication and community representation in future decisions.  Continue reading “Honoring MLK in Iowa City and Beyond”

One of the greatest privileges in my professional life has been the opportunity to learn the discipline of professional learning in education from highly respected researchers who advanced not just the field of professional development (PD) but the broader sphere of educational reform. Beverly Showers, a widely published and internationally recognized researcher, shaped my growth as an educator and supported the design of a comprehensive state-wide system of professional development in Iowa.  Our work together resulted in dissemination of multiple state publications and the delivery of workshops across the state on how to implement and sustain the Iowa Professional Development Model (IPDM).  Bev concluded from her own research and her knowledge of PD literature that teachers can “acquire new knowledge and skill and use it in their instructional practice when provided with adequate opportunities to learn”[1]. Continue reading “Peer Coaching”

This week I will ask my kids to tell me what they are thankful for.  I will most likely get the usual responses – my dog, my video games, my doll, my Transformers.  And when I ask them to reflect a little more I’ll get some answers I like better – my house, my family, my coat, healthy food.  This year I decided that I will put a little thought into it before I sit down at the table.  And as I did, I couldn’t stop thinking about how grateful I am for the compassion and empathy I have seen inside my children’s school this month. Continue reading “To Everyone in Our Schools: Thank You for Your Compassion and Empathy”

I just came across some quotations by the poet Rainer Maria Rilke (1875-1926), one of the great 20th century German language poets. His writing often gives me a fresh way to think about ideas I have been wrestling with. Perhaps these quotations will give you pause to think more deeply about something on your mind.

“Believe that with your feelings and your work you are taking part in the greatest; the more strongly you cultivate this belief, the more will reality and the world go forth from it.”      

Rainer Maria Rilke Continue reading “Poet’s Words Give Pause”

I watched and listened to much of the event honoring the 50th anniversary of Dr. King’s “I have a dream speech.”

It was inspiring and prompted me to watch the entirety of Dr. King’s speech again. We hear the sound bytes from the speech often enough, but listening, really listening, to his entire message was well worth my time. It is a reminder of the obstacles that had to be overcome, an opportunity to reflect on the progress that has been made, and a reminder there is much to do still today.

“I say to you today, my friends, though, even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream.”

—Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., August 28th, 1963