AVReading

For this month’s newsletter, I have invited Jae Cody (AVHS World Language Teacher and STEM Advisor) to write a reflection on a fascinating   study she had read as part of our Data Blitz Team which meets the first Thursday of every month..   The study was Christopher Kirchgasler’s “True Grit: Making a Scientific Object and Pedagogical Tool” published in AERA in August of 2018.   Here is her description of the study along with some reflections on the idea of grit. In an effort to understand the role that “grit” has come to play in educational discussions, Kirchgasler traces the idea of grit back to American pioneers. Grit was considered a key reason that white settlers were successful in settling the frontier. Their success was contrasted with the natives living on the land, and the idea of American “rugged individualism” was closely associated with the idea of grit and perseverance in “civilizing” the land. The thread of grit being associated with p...

Over break, I’ve had the chance to read and enjoy Linda Darling-Hammond’s The Flat World and Education: How America’s Commitment to Equity Will Determine Our Future (2010).  It has served as an excellent reminder of what we know about schools, what we are doing well, and what we could probably still do better.  As we continue our focus this year on educational research and how we can use it to improve our classrooms and our school, I would like to devote this month’s newsletter to some of those big and small picture findings that Darling-Hammond offers.  While the book is fairly detailed, I will limit my focus to key findings in the areas of schools, teachers, and practices.                   When it comes to schools in the U.S., Darling-Hammond pulls out some of the well-worn scores from international testing, which show how our schools are falling behind in compari...

Full newsletter here . 

            Our emphasis for the Cultural Proficiency workshop this month was on “Building Relationships.”  We discussed how important it is, and how the actual nature of our relationships with students have changed over the course of time.  As stated in a recent Educational Leadership article that Eugene Schegolkov found, “The absolute, unquestionable, and essentially assumed authority that teachers once possessed is diminishing and being replaced by an authority that has to be earned . Building a healthy rapport and positive relationship with students requires the careful cultivation of mutual respect, honesty, and trust” (“Relationships and Rapport: ‘You Don’t Know Me Like That,’” Educational Leadership, Fall 2018).               Building relationships across lines of race, class, and culture becomes even more complex, as we are constant...

            Our focus this year is on educational research and theory, and its application to classroom practice.  Each month, you are invited to join our data blitz during which we sift through volumes of educational research publications looking for studies or writings that look of interest or significance.  Over the course of this year’s newsletters, we will take this opportunity to share out some of the studies and writings that we have discovered. I’ve decided to start with a study entitled “Enactive Metaphors: Learning Through Full-Body Engagement” published in Educational Psychology Review (2015). And I have three reasons for doing so.  First, it was co-authored by Robb Lindgren,  a former AVHS student (Class of 1996) now professor of education at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.  Second, it highlights the exciting and important domain of engagement. And third, it mi...

As we start a new school year, it is once again an opportunity (rushed though it may be) to reflect upon changes we can make as we move ahead.  One of the challenges to making a change is not knowing what has been tried and tested by others before us. That’s why my focus for the newsletters and this year’s “Reading Group” will be on research. I actually stole the idea from an acquaintance who is a bioinformatician at the Mayo Center in Rochester.  He once told me of a Data Blitz that a cross-disciplinary group of researchers completed about once a month.   The group of thinkers, representing a number of different scientific fields, would come together and browse through the hundreds of recently published research studies. Each member of the group would vet a few studies that looked to be worthy of study, present them to the group, and then they would vote on which ones to read and discuss more deeply.   Within the culture at Mayo, this type ...

The focus of the AVReading newsletters this year has been on race and equity.  If you missed some of the newsletters or you would like to review them, you can access them at avreading.org.  We have examined a broad range of topics from intentionality and language to recognizing privilege, holding courageous conversations and addressing microagressions. We’ve addressed specific practices like calling home, bringing in current events, and acknowledging language choices.   For this last installment, I will discuss the idea of increased consciousness.  I have taken the idea from the concept of “Stay Woke” which has a history within the African American community.  It’s the idea that once you start to realize the inequities and injustices that exist around you, it’s important to remain aware and active in your work to make our community safe for everyone.   The idea of staying conscious implies that it requires a perpetual effort to rec...

The White Savior Narrative        To continue our examination of equity and cultural proficiency within the classroom, we will focus this month on what has come to be known as the white savior complex.  While an examination of the white savior theme or narrative   might be a bit disturbing for some people, it is important to study, as it can have an impact on the way we see others, the way we see ourselves, and the way we respond  in certain situations.   To paraphrase a definition offered by the Urban Dictionary, the white savior is a term that refers to a white person who acts to help a non-white person for reasons that might be self serving.  It is a story type that has appeared frequently throughout literature and film, and usually sends implicit messages that both validate and honor the knowledge and culture of the dominant culture and reduces (or in some cases patronizes) the knowledge and culture of n...

Here is the address for the online MCA Practice test. 

Guidelines for Writing a Commencement Address The draft you write for consideration does not need to be a final version, but should give the panelists a clear idea of what you plan to say in your speech.  The traditional commencement address has had content which reflects back on the class's experiences and also gives advice or guidance for the future.  The tone should be one which inspires and motivates the listeners. Although the Commencement Address is directed at the graduating class, the message needs to be meaningful and appropriate for the adult audience present as well.  Content, language, or style which parents or grandparents might find offensive is not suitable for a Commencement Address. Humor can be an effective minor element of a Commencement Address.  The predominant message, and consequently the predominant writing style, should be serious, thoughtful and inspirational.  Format:  This might be helpful...

At your wits end?  Not sure how to handle the growing number of students who are not handing in work, misbehaving, or just simply not showing up?  I know the feeling.  Working with a higher percentage of students who struggle with reading (and by default school), I have to employ as many tools in my toolbox as possible. One of the most important, is the call.  As a teacher, I have to admit that I’ve always shied away from “the call.”  They are time consuming, they usually communicate bad news, and they require a live conversation (which can be unpredictable at times).  However, despite my reservations, I have found it to be one of the most useful tools in my toolbox.  And when talking about creating more culturally proficient environments and practices that promote equity, I believe practices like the call are especially important in building school-to-home relationships.   Now I am going to preface this newsletter with the...