Educational Transformation

I thought these last two chapters of the book really got to the heart of what we need to be doing for the educational system in this country. We don't necessarily have to change the curriculum or take more standardized testing or even change our assessment strategies. What we really need an educational make-over or a transformation. I really liked the last chapter because it talked a lot about all of these schools around the world, including here, that have totally transformed the way that they have been teaching and it is working just as good, if not better then what we have been using. All throughout the book, Dr. Robinson has been telling us about famous entertainers and academics that couldn't cut it in school or just couldn't find their element. Well, through a transformation in the way schools are presenting the information may help students to find their element earlier in life AND help them learn the material that will help them on standardized tests and survival in the real world. We need to make education practical and give them informationg that can be applied to the "real world," as adults put it, and make it relevant. Students learn nothing if they can't find a way to connect it to their lives and to their passions. I really liked this book and I hope that we can pick up another book for this group that is just as good. I really hope we can take away at least some of the ideas and concepts presented in this book to make our own classrooms better and help our students reach their academic and career goals.

Mentors and Book Buddies

Chapters 8 and 9 are by far my favorite chapters. I really enjoyed the stories of all these famous people but what I love the most are all the people that mentored these famous ones and helped them to reach their potential. I want to be just like these mentors. That is why I wanted to become a teacher. So I could share my passions with others and help students reach their potential by being a mentor or just someone to turn to for advice on, not only school but life in general. Children need people to look up to and use as a model for their own lives. I had quite a few teachers, librarians and adults in general that encouraged me in ways that I remember to this day. They affected my whole path in life and without those people I might have never taken the same route or got to where I am today. I am an avid reader and when I read about the Book Buddies in the last chapter, I thought this was not only an awesome idea but a monumental one. Why are they doing more things like that? It's not only a great way to get the people in homes to start caring about others, especially after most of their family and people in general have neglected or totally written them off, but to revitalize them in ways that we could only dream of. The fact that the residents included in the program not only need less meds but were looking and feeling younger then they were would be a huge sign that this is a good thing. It also bridges the gap between the technological age children and the adults that lived through some of the toughest times in our history including two world wars and the Great Depression. These chapters were great and I hope to share in more ideas about these chapters later today with everyone! :)

P.S. One of the people mentioned in the last chapter is Paul Potts. He won Britain's Got Talent for his operatic singing. He is phenominal!!!! Go to this link and watch his performance of Nessun Dorma for his first audition for the show!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEo5bjnJViA

Do You Feel Lucky?

My husband, an avid snowmobiler, shared with me this story about a snowcross racer named Mike Schultz who lost his leg in a snowmobiling accident and developed his own prosthetic knee. He's since returned to the sport and recently won a gold medal at the Winter X games. The story is reminiscent of Brad Zdanivsky's, the quadriplegic rock climber who created a device to get him back onto a mountain. What impressed me the most about Schultz is that he created the knee in his own garage and hopes to market it to help other "extreme" athletes.

Start the video at 30 seconds to skip the advertising.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MIekBbhzno

Element Week of March 17

I'm not sure which chapters we are blogging about at this point...i'm a little off track since I can't make it to meetings. On page 159 Robinson states "It's not what happens to us that determines our lives, it's what we make of what happens." I feel that throughout my life I have taken this simple fact for granted. It took me a lot of years to stop blaming events in my life for holding me back from certain things and start taking responsibility for myself. I feel that this simple message, if presented in the correct way, could have a lasting impact on some of our students. I always knew I had potential to go to college, but was never really given that extra push to use my full potential. It took me a lot of years to find teaching and an even longer time to feel comfortable doing it. At one point, I was going to settle for an associates degree in human relations, and without the push from a true friend, I may be sitting in an unfulfilling job somewhere.
I feel that my little sister, who is an 8th grader in Titusville, is starting to learn from mine and my sister's shortcomings. She is truly a person who has found her 'Element' and is very lucky to have parents who support it. She has really become interested in writing and movies. She has gotten a lot of positive feedback from teachers as well as fellow bloggers on websites. It may have been going on for awhile, but reading this book has opened my mind to the idea of an element, and I am seeing hers very clearly.....too bad my own true element is not so obvious! Although as quoted on page 216 "For most of us we're not even close to "too late"."

Essential Questions

On page 102, the end of the assigned reading for Feb. 24, 2010, author Ken Robinson of The Element lists some question to help one "find their element." The questions are:

• Left to their [your] own devices, what are they [you] drawn to?
• What kinds of activities do they [you] tend to engage in voluntarily?
• What sorts of aptitude do they [your answers] suggest?
• What absorbs them [you] most?
• What sort of questions do they [you] ask, and what type of points do they [you] make?

He goes on to say "we need to understand what puts them and us in the zone. And we need to determine what implications that has for the rest of our lives." This is a tall order, but one that could really make the difference with some. We talked about asking the kids these questions, and structuring learning based on their answers. For instance, if the Holocaust was the unit to be studied,

• the student whose passion is art could be assigned the task of researching art movements and specific artists of the period
• the student whose passion is music could be assigned the task of researching and presenting music of the time
• sports enthusiasts, the athletes of the period
• the student whose passion is dance could perform an interpretive work bringing together music and other elements.
• the students who like to paint/draw could create posters, etc.
• and so on.

I said that I would try to locate some Readers Theater scripts that could hook kids with dramatic flair and they are listed in my previous post. I had also asked group participants bring some creative ideas to share with group that might hook kids/grab their interest. Sorry for not filling you in on the last ten minutes of the discussion, Becky! Thanks Judy and Susie, for sharing with us. For our next meeting (March 17th), I'd like the others in the group to bring some ideas. I'm going to post some more Readers Theater sites as well. Keep up the good work!

Readers Theater Scripts

Readers Theater Scripts

Shiloh Seasonby Phyllis Reynold NaylorScript by Becky EndlichPartsNarrator (6), Judd Travers (7), Marty (9), Dad (4)

http://web.archive.org/web/20000925115635/http://ee.edmonds.wednet.edu/98EEWeb/Teachers/MrB/scripts/shiloh.htm
The War Prayer
By Mark Twain
Reader’s Theater Edition #5
Adapted for reader’s theater (or readers theatre) by Aaron Shepard
http://www.aaronshep.com/rt/RTE05.html

RTE #16 ~ How Violence Is Ended: A Buddhist Legend
Told by Aaron Shepard
A prince must choose whether to heed his father’s last words or take revenge on the king who has killed both parents.
RTE #16 ~ How Violence Is Ended: A Buddhist Legend
Told by Aaron Shepard
A prince must choose whether to heed his father’s last words or take revenge on the king who has killed both parents.
http://www.aaronshep.com/rt/RTE16.html



Civil War Events Readers Theatre Script
Developed with Dr. Rosalind M. Flynn by Teachers attending The Peace Center for the
Performing Arts, Greenville, SC Summer Teacher Institute 2005
http://www.rosalindflynn.com/pdf%20files/Civil%20War%20Events%20RT%20Script.pdf

This idea of a person finding their element reminds me of what my wife and I are going through with my son who is graduating this year and going to college and how difficult the process of narrowing down what it is that he is interested in and where is the best fit for college. I believe this is the process most people attempt to help their children find as they grow up. I think it is lot like the school, where we try to expose our children to as many experiences and activities in the hope that they will find their niche in the world. I do not believe that everybody will find their element and I don't believe that it is possible to help all find their element. I do think that the majority of people will eventually find their element probably through trial and error like most in our generation. I do think that this finding "my way" process can also be a cop out for I'm lazy and lack initiative.

Though I agree with Allison that chapters 5 and 6 did not include any "earthshaking" information, I still felt that it was nice to read. Chapter five brought to mind the fact that after the third year in a different position with the district, I am so grateful that I have like minded individuals to speak with about the challenges of each position that I have held. When frustrations are mounting with students, schedules, and curriculum concerns it has been a relief for me to talk with the other teachers and be reminded why I am here.

These chapters also made me think of the enormous pressure that our students must feel to fit in when everyone's expectations are being placed on them. It brings to mind my own middle school daughter who is struggling to find herself in the midst of meeting the very high standards that I hold for her. She is very bright, and also VERY disorganized. Her grades have slipped a bit this year because she has recently become more concerned with communication than school. Recently, she asked me what I thought of her going to Vo-tech for Culinary. I told her I was against it as I want her to continue with her academic and honors classes. I worry that if she decides on this career path now, she is limiting herself to a narrow career range if she changes her mind. After reading these chapters, I am seriously questioning my decision. She has wanted to be a chef since she was four and I don't want to squash those dreams. What to do, what to do?

Conformity and Schools

After reading Chapter 5, nothing from that chapter jumped out at me that said anything earthshaking. We know that when we find a group of people that think like us and are also in the throes of their Element that we are also encouraged to improve or excell where other might have tried to deterr us or stop us all together. Duh. Chapter six though covered a lot of "duh" moments also but I thnk they touched more on a subject that has been a struggle in schools forever. Something that has been plagueing education for a long time. Conformity.

Conformity and fitting in with the mob that is present in schools is often paralyzing to the ones that often can't fit that mold. Don't get me wrong, I don't want anyone to think I am referring to them in a deroggatory manner or being mean about this. It has been something that I have been combating for a long time because I was one of those "different" people that just couldn't fit the mold. The preconcieved notion that what the mob said goes. If the mob thought it was uncool to be smart or excell in school then you were looked upon with disdain. If you thought hanging out with friends and going to parties every weekend were cool then you found your place among the mob but would in essence lose yourself. You lose the will to do the things that you like or appreciate for fear of what others will think of you. I liked chapter 6 because they touched on conformity and the mob that keeps students from finding their Element for fear that they will be bullied by the mob if it does not line up with their preconcieved notions on how you should behave, the things you enjoy doing or how you should dress, etc.

Chapter 6 was another one of those things that we see every year in every classroom and every grade. What is the solution? How do we solve the problem of the mob and help them understand that people who beat to their own drum or who are different aren't bad? I know that schools have been combating this for some with workshops and counselors but will it ever truly end? This problem might never be solved but that is one of the reasons that students fear finding their Element for fear of what the mob will think. Some students, no matter what the mob thinks, will follow their dreams anyway and those are the people who go on to do great things. Why does the mob still believe they are going to be the innovators when it is really the ones that travel outside of the mob or the ones that can travel within the mob but still keep themselves seperated from the mobs influence, are the ones that will change the world as we know it? Just a thought.

Week 3- The Element

After reading chapters five and six, I found many quotes that the author made that I wanted to share in the blog, but I am going to focus on one. "It is difficult to feel accomplished when you're not accomplishing something that matters to you" (pg 139). This was very eye opening, especially when I picture the students at our school. A problem we are facing is that a lot of these students don't get to see what an education can do for you. They see it as a waste of time, just like their parents probably felt when they were here. A majority of our students don't get to see the benefits of an education. They see people who went to college, but it doesn't seem attainable to them because they are living in a home where education failied. It's a vicious cycle, the parents see their parents not caring, so they don't care, then they pass it on to our students. We are trying to fight against a battle that has been building up force for generations. A student who has a family member who went to college is a lot more likely to go to college. Now think of the students who have parents who come from generations of the welfare program. They are a lot less likely to see college as an opportunity, therefore, accomplishing our goal of giving them an education is almost meaningless to them.