Flow and New Horizons

Since my exit from TFA and the world of elementary education, I have had lots of time to reflect and consider the new horizons that lay before us. 

In what my wife and I consider to be miraculous fashion, I was hired by Community Care College as a videographer to make media content for that college, as well as Clary Sage College and Oklahoma Technical College.  In this position I get to back movies, full time. Wahoo! 

My job is called "media assistant" and I am a member of the marketing department. This placement is unique and exciting to me because while I get to use skills I developed as a film student at BYU, I am also in an educational environment that is completely new to me. Initially when I learned that Community Care is a for-profit organization I felt slightly repulsed. However, in the short time I have been here my mind has been opened to the impact and quality of education a group of highly thoughtful and good people can bring about. 

As I have been reading Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience I realized that one reason I love my new job is it enables me to have meaningful work to do, that requires complex skills at an increasing rate. I am not overwhelmed, and neither am I bored - I am experiencing the "Goldilocks Effect" as Dan Pink calls it. My task is "just right". Time flies as I plan, shoot, and edit projects. I get immense pleasure from struggling with the unique challenges each project gives me. The good news is, I have the skill to engage with these challenges. I feel that is why I suffered so much as a teacher: my skill level was obliterated by the sheer challenges and complexity of effective instruction, causing me severe psychic entropy. 

Anyway, here is the first project I made in my new position. 

Beyond being allowed to enjoy lots of time "in flow" at my job, I am also overjoyed by the fact that work ends at 5 p.m. and then I go home and have time to spend with my family and improve myself in new ways. Recently I decided I want to improve art skills. I have drawn seriously since I was a kid, and I only stopped because I believed I wasn't as good as I should be if I was serious with drawing. 

So each evening I spend some time watching instructors on YouTube and am finding an immense source of flow doing that. I have uploaded a few of my drawings below. 

As I have been drawing, I occasionally think to myself, "Why am I doing this? What good can come out of this? It isn't like I am hoping to get a job as an illustrator or animator or anything!" But then I remember the sentiment and lesson expressed from Flow.

"Amateur and Dilettante . . . Nowadays these labels are slightly derogatory. An amateur or a dilettante is someone not quite up to par, a person not to be taken very seriously, one whose performance falls short of professional standards. But originally, "amateur," from the Latin verb amare, "to love," referred to a person who loved what he was doing. Similarly a "dilettante," from the Latin delectare, "to find delight in," was someone who enjoyed a given activity. The earliest meanings for these words therefore drew attention to experiences rather than accomplishments; they described the subjective rewards individuals gained from doing things, instead of focusing on how well they were achieving." 

Though I still consider myself an amateur filmmaker (and artist in general), there is no reason for me to allow that fact to rob any sense of enjoyment from the process of creation. 

Perhaps my favorite section in the book is called "The Waste of Free Time." This section isn't about cramming your life full of activities and events, rather it is about how often Americans "fill" free time with activities that are utterly draining and mind-numbing.

"Hobbies that demand skill, habits that set goals and limits, personal interests, and especially inner discipline help to make leisure what it is supposed to be - a chance for re-creation. . . instead of using our physical and mental resources to experience flow, most of us spend man  hours each week watching celebrated athletes playing in enormous stadiums. Instead of making music, we listen to platinum records cut by millionaire musicians. Instead of making art, we go to admire paintings that brought in the highest bids at the latest auction. WE do not run risk acting on our beliefs, but occupy hours each day watching actors who pretend to have adventures, engaged in mock-meaningful action." 

Kas and I do watch Downton Abbey and Sherlock, but apart from that I am really trying to embrace new hobbies or activities that will challenge me to improve myself - and use the faculties I have been blessed with. Said C K Brightbill (and quoted in Flow),"The future will belong not only to the educated man, but the man who is educated to use his leisure wisely." 

Balance, Ed Tech, and Raw Failure

Ok, it is time for me to finish up my reflection of the original 6 points I pondered on after only 3 weeks of teaching.

Because I am tired, it is basically the last day of Thanksgiving break, and I just want to get this off my chest - I am condensing the last three points into one post. Yes.

4. Teaching is about finding the sweet and tender balance amidst insane chaos

Don't ask me how to obtain the balance, but feel free to ask me about the insane chaos.

As I walk the halls of my school, and engage with teachers with and without their classes, I notice something about them. A small flame of wildness tempered by wisdom and/or optimism, lighting from their eyes and faces. It is this tempered, or honed attention that I have not yet obtained. The teachers who have braved Education's valley of shadow and death (AKA the first three years) and emerged victorious appear to have this serene sense of calm -like a patient and wise mother waiting to listen to the sobbing child tell the story of a hurt knee or a distressed teenager moan about a rude boyfriend. In regards to reacting to the politically insane and economically humiliating circumstances around them they display a balance between brute animal instinct and sophisticated self-restraint (though I did witness some brute instinct earlier this year).

At this point I am not balanced, and I am trying to figure out how to get away from my basal instincts when faced with the extraordinary everyday challenges of teaching.


5. Educational technology is cool, but is it possible the field is turning a blind eye to the biggest issues?

Contrary to what I have thought in the past, I feel there are much larger and important issues in education than the next technology or learning theory. Poverty is the underlying issue for at least a quarter of American children. Is it possible that while we are learning how to teach students in virtual worlds, or use blogs and flipped classrooms to increase engagement and interactivity, we are just contributing to the opportunity gap that already stands between poor and rich kids?

At my school we do lots of computerized tests. Cool, it saves time! Not so cool, many of my kids don't know how to use a mouse properly.

I was delighted to find a host of amazing online resources when I started at my job, but then discovered that many of my students don't have access to the Internet at home.

It seemed like if we just had a growth mindset and went to work, then that well-researched concept would create some good results, and then I realized just my own mindset isn't enough to change 23+ in just a few months.

Do we have the responsibility to enable students in poverty to learn in the same ways and at the same rates as those who aren't?

6. Continued raw failure is the essential attribute of true learning

I have never failed so hard, so frequently, and so publicly in my life. I was not prepared for it, which made the descent down to mental, spiritual, and emotional turmoil much more difficult. Currently I am trying to allow my failures to teach me, rather than define me.

Perhaps the hardest and most bitter element of my daily inability to reach the level I yearn for is the impact of my short comings on my students.

3 Weeks in the Trenches

Woah. I'm here.

Originally the title of this blog was "1 week in the trenches" . . . but obviously I didn't get around to publishing till now. Teaching at an elementary school in an area riddled with poverty is not easy. Of course it is not easy. The reason I signed up through Teach For America was to get into a classroom and see first hand what was happening in struggling public schools. I have done a little writing and thinking about education and "reform" and all that, but I've always known I could never understand or make a meaningful difference in the field of education if I didn't get into the trenches at least for a while. I wanted a first hand experience.

And now I am getting it.

So far, six lessons have been injected into me through my short experience as a 2nd grade teacher thus far:

1. There is so much more to public school than academics
2. Teachers actually are superhuman
3. Self control is the gateway to service
4. Teaching is about finding the sweet and tender balance amidst insane chaos
5. Educational technology is cool, but is it possible the field is turning a blind eye to the biggest issues?
6. Continued raw failure is the essential attribute of true learning  

If you are a current teacher, or have taught before, you may be holding back a knowing smile. I'm sure I sound like a really silly kid who thinks he has figured it all out. While it is true I am a rather silly idealistic kid, it has never been more clear to me how little I actually know.

In my next posts I will expound on the six points above. As I reflect on what I am learning and thinking I invite you to share your questions, comments, or your own reflections on education so we can learn more together.

Exhaustion and Teaching Salaries - Two Angry and Valid Arguments Worth Listening To

The time for my actual teaching experience is almost here. Students come to class on the 22nd, and I am terrified. 

That being said, I am also very excited and tired. I haven't been able attend to my blog like I have wanted to, and that is ok, because there are more important things. This week I decided to cop out and just share two articles I think are worth reading. That being said, I don't think they are perfect articles, and I don't agree with everything said in them. But I do believe in their core messages. 

1. Below is an excerpt from The Exhaustion of the American Teacher. I haven't even started teaching yet, and I am exhausted. I have already put in huge amounts of time, but I won't get paid with dollars or satisfaction for a few more weeks. The article seeks to push readers away from the problems of kids these days, and points to adults as the real issue of today's education. 

While this article makes some good points, the author is clearly very angry and is guilty of a few logical fallacies. Though the argument is passionate and wide-swinging, I still think it is valid. I wish there were an easy answer.

Bottom line: The problem with American Education may merely be a bigger problem of American Adult vision and values. 

2. The next article also comes from a frustrated educator, but with a more specific problem: The High Cost of Low Teacher Salaries. As I read this I couldn't help feeling a little indignation of my own, especially after seeing what kinds of insurance packages for my family the school district can (or rather can't) offer this year.

At the moment, the average teacher’s pay is on par with that of a toll taker or bartender. Teachers make 14 percent less than professionals in other occupations that require similar levels of education. In real terms, teachers’ salaries have declined for 30 years. The average starting salary is $39,000; the average ending salary — after 25 years in the profession — is $67,000. This prices teachers out of home ownership in 32 metropolitan areas, and makes raising a family on one salary near impossible. 

So how do teachers cope? Sixty-two percent work outside the classroom to make ends meet. For Erik Benner, an award-winning history teacher in Keller, Tex., money has been a constant struggle. He has two children, and for 15 years has been unable to support them on his salary. Every weekday, he goes directly from Trinity Springs Middle School to drive a forklift at Floor and Décor. He works until 11 every night, then gets up and starts all over again. Does this look like “A Plan,” either on the state or federal level?
We’ve been working with public school teachers for 10 years; every spring, we see many of the best teachers leave the profession. They’re mowed down by the long hours, low pay, the lack of support and respect.

These facts make me feel very sad. I want to be able to support my family, and I also want to make a difference in the lives of young people through education. But at the current rate of things, it doesn't seem like that is very possible without extreme sacrifice on the part of my whole family. I must say, I can totally see and understand why many young teachers with Teach For America or not who do amazing things in their classroom decide to leave teaching. Can you blame them for wanting to support a family and eventually buy a house?

Bottom line: "A poll of 900 top-tier American college students found that 68 percent would consider teaching if salaries started at $65,000 and rose to a minimum of $150,000. Could we do this? If we’re committed to “winning the future,” we should."

Technology as the Differentiation Silver Bullet?

I believe in the U.S. the goal is to give every child an excellent education so they can have the knowledge, skills, and ability to choose what direction they want to take their life. This doesn't always happen (especially in high poverty areas) but I believe that is still the goal. What is the role of differentiated teaching then here in the "land of the free"? How can we help the students who are excelling continue to progress and not get bored, and the students struggling to also move forward and not get overwhelmed or depressed? Is technology the answer? Mmmm. 

An Nguyen - Flickr

I recently had a short and enlightening exchange with two friends about this TED talk below. Check out the talk and add your voice to our little conversation if you would like. Differentiated education is incredibly important, and I think everyone understands that to a certain point. But in the United States we tend to have a harder time than some other countries such as Germany because we don't put our kids on official track to specific trades at an early age. 

Perhaps there is a role here for pop culture and media literacy in general. Using digital tools offers students many ways to approach an assignment, and also can fuel interest and relevant work for students far ahead or behind the main objectives of the specific grade level . . . I don't know, I need to push that idea around for a little. 

And now, the TED talk. 

If you made it through this whole post - don't forget to leave your thoughts in the comments box below!  Polite disagreement is welcome so please let me know what you think.

Testing and the Complexities of Education

Photo by timlewisnm via Flickr

 Last week I was fortunate enough to attend the American Educational Research Association (AERA) conference in San Francisco.  There I presented a paper related to creative Problem-based Learning, ate some amazing food, walked peacefully in the Redwood Forest, and watched with mixed feelings as protestors and scholars alike voiced their thoughts about the complex and sometimes controversial issues of our contemporary education system. I heard some fascinating paper presentations on representations of charter schools in the media, the image and reality of Tinker Bell across the decades, as well as the importance of social justice and needed attention to students who are stuck in perpetual cycles of poverty. What took the cake, though, was my experience watching United States Secretary of Education Arne Duncan address the packed ballroom of the Hilton Hotel in downtown. Here is a little video of what it looked like, thanks to my new and somewhat nifty iTouch.

Not only was it packed, but apparently before I arrived in the line (in which I felt like I was in a huge line for a ride at Disney Land or something) there were some protests organized in preparation for Secretary Duncan. Indeed, as I entered the ballroom I received this paper which, as you can see, some folks felt they should raise often throughout the Secretary's speech.

Can you see them holding the signs? There were moments I thought
there might be a hangin' . . . or a public stoning at least.

The Secretary spoke about the importance of testing, but how the current way of doing things is not working. He talked about improving tests rather than abolishing them, and actually mentioned Paul Tough's book (which I reviewed last week) as an indicator that character education is also an important part of what we should be interested. While I don't doubt the integrity of Secretary Duncan's intentions, I am wary of his agenda of testing on the national level with such intensity and focus. I grew up in a time where these kinds of tests were limited, and I will be forever grateful.

Three professors were allowed to ask the Secretary some questions after his speech, and they did so in a pointed, loaded, and--in some regards--disrespectful in tone and nature. However, I can understand to some degree the argument of these individuals and others who want to see this old failed system out of the way. Currently I am reading Teach Like Your Hair's On Fire, by Rafe Esquith, and his insights on testing resonate with me: maybe because he takes a moderate course between where Secretary Duncan stands and where his opponents seem to be.

"Standardized testing has become a nightmare in our schools. Teachers have become so overwhelmed by testing demands that they no longer have enough time to teach their students the subject they are supposed to master . . . I am not opposed to tests. We need to assess how the kids are doing. Accurate, fair, and reasonable examinations can help parents, teachers, and students see what skills are being mastered and what ares need strengthening. Having accurate data is a gift to all parties concerned. But the current system of testing is broken" (p. 73-74). 

I don't have the experience, the context, or the wits to express or argue a coherent perspective on this issue, but Rafe's words seem pretty good to me. The problem is, just like most big and important issues, we can't solve it in one quick swoop of the hand! We all want change, but we just can't seem to agree how, why, and when we need it.

One thing I do know is that booing, blasting Snoop Dog songs on your iPhone, or cat-calling at the Secretary of Education during his speech at a conference is not only unprofessional (especially for an academic conference), but clearly an immature and foolish way to model appropriate methods of protest. It wasn't hard for me to see which party left the conference seeming more the fool and uncontrollable miscreant with major issues. While I disagree with some of the tones and directions of Secretary Duncan, he took the higher road in San Francisco and I hope I will always do the same when engaging in passionate and important discussions about the future of education and our children.

How Children Succeed: Book Review

How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character by Paul Tough
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book caught my attention after hearing an interview with Tough of This American Life and NPR Weekends. His work with Heckman and other scholars he references such as Dweck echos many similar trendy philosophies of today's educational literature such as the almost legendary study of the cupcakes and the important concepts of character education.

I thought Tough did a great job at sharing a variety of sources and perspectives on large and complex issues today's children face while in both poverty and educational settings. I really connected with what he shared concerning stress and the high impact that has on a child, particularly one who has little nurturing or comforting figure in the first few years of life. Also the idea of learning how to fail and come away with renewed zeal to succeed is so important.

If you only have an hour or so, look up his interviews on NPR and TAL or just read the final chapter in the book. However, this topic deserves much more of all of our time, and with that in mind I encourage you to read this whole thing and share it with your friends.

View all my reviews

A Media Literacy Community

#medialiteracy on Twitter, NAMLE, MakingCurriculum Pop, and Facebook seem to be pretty good places to discuss education and many other ideas. However, I know of no Google+ presence revolved around media literacy. I wonder if I can cultivate a small network of teachers, researchers, and interested people oriented around Media Literacy on Google’s social networking platform? I think it would be great to also have homeschooling educators, parents, and even students too!

What is media literacy? 

I love these points below which are posted on the National Association for Media Literacy Education website. While they are helpful to better understanding the field, the definition of media literacy is by no means final or secured. 

• Media refers to all electronic or digital means and print or artistic visuals used to transmit messages.
• Literacy is the ability to encode and decode symbols and to synthesize and analyze messages.
• Media literacy is the ability to encode and decode the symbols transmitted via media and the ability to synthesize, analyze and produce mediated messages.
• Media education is the study of media, including ‘hands on’ experiences and media production.
• Media literacy education is the educational field dedicated to teaching the skills associated with media literacy.

The Community

I have created the community on G+ and started actively working with it about a week ago. The image above is the icon for the group, and I am hoping to build a network of interested people who have things to say or who are just curious about what is being said. The purpose of a G+ community in my mind is not necessarily about gathering cool content, as it is an opportunity to ask questions, share ideas, and engage with others about important issues. Since I am obviously no expert of media literacy, I don't expect to be teaching or handing information to others in a didactic fashion. Rather I see this group as a chance to expand what I am reading and learning about, especially as I begin teaching grade school this fall. 

I am currently reading Media Literacy Is Elementary by Jaff Share. Near the beginning of the book he states, "We live in a multimedia age where the majority of information people receive comes less often from print sources and more typically from highly constructed visual images, complex sound arrangements, and multiple media formats." We spend a great deal of time teaching youngsters to learn how to spell, write, make arguments in essays, and so forth -but how often do we help them understand or deconstruct advertisements, films, and other forms of pop culture? If this is what they are consuming all the time, shouldn't we try and help them better understand these "highly constructed" media messages? I am all for kids reading, I think that is one of the most important activities they can do. In fact I think reading and becoming acquainted with good literature can help students understand issues of technology and media better than almost anything else. However, in our media drenched world where people are getting information in other ways we need to adjust our teaching to include more forms of media than the written word. 

Media literacy should be a very important part of every student's educational experience, at least to some degree. Please Join me and the Media Literacy Community and share the group with your friends.