26 Days to Speak Life

26 Days,

624 Hours,

37, 440 Minutes

2, 246, 400 Seconds

Twenty-six days. That’s how long the educators in my district have to speak life into our students before summer winds scatter us.  As part of the district’s communication team, I partnered with our high school SMAT crew/teacher and embarked on a project inspired by Community ISD (Texas).  We embraced their challenge and have forever changed educator and student lives because of it.  Our mission: Tell students that we believe in them and why. Simple enough, right? But how many days, hours, minutes of missed opportunity have we neglected to do this?  

My initial role in this motivational campaign was to be the liaison between the filming crew, campus principals, and the superintendent.  My reality: A backstage pass to what each and every impressionable mind should hear and know from the adults entrusted with their education.  Each campus was asked to select a few teachers who would each, in turn, select and deliver a message to one student, beginning with these words: “I was asked to pick one student that I believe in and I chose you.”  With more than two dozen teacher/student interviews on the camera rolls, this is clear: Pin drops can be heard from miles away after those 15 words are spoken. Each interaction takes its own direction but the bottom line message is the same: I believe in you. Believe in yourself.

Each interview has ended with a four-word, goosebump-raising, take your breath away moment where the student looks directly into the camera and says, “I believe in myself.”  It stops me every time because I know that this may be the first time that he/she has ever thought or said those four words.  Powerful, perhaps. Life-changing, yes.  Nearly each exchange ends in a hug, handshake, tears, smiles and more words of affirmation between the adult and student.  The film crew and I are repeatedly told “thank you for doing this” and we’ve heard countless stories of how the ripple effect of this project will spill over into their classrooms.  Let me make this clear: This was not our original idea.  We collaborated with district administration, viewed another district’s video, and knew then and there the profound impact that you can have on a student’s life when you stop, reflect, and share your words with them.

It’s not about the backdrop or your speaking skills.  It’s not about the cameras or the lights.  It’s about breathing and speaking life into our students while we have them.  I urge each and every person reading this post to view Community’s video, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9vc5WLls7k , find your inspiration, and make this project your own--annually.  Each and every moment that our crew says, “rolling” I hear these lyrics in my mind:

Well it's crazy to imagine,

Words from our lips as the arms of compassion,

Mountains crumble with every syllable.

Hope can live or die.

So speak Life, speak Life.

~Toby Mac, Speak Life

Students have entered the filming room timid and mumbling, “I don’t like this. I don’t want to be here.” Many have left smiling, crying, hugging and thanking us.  Students perceive what we think of them, whether we tell them or not.  Unfortunately, far too many have the wrong perception of what we truly believe about them--simply because we don’t stop often enough (or at all) to tell them that we do believe in them.

It is humbling to be a part of this life-changing project. We have asked teachers to bare their souls, one after another, as we film their most heartfelt words and thoughts with their students.  For this, we thank you for trusting us.  We’ve heard confessions, words of comfort, raw and real words...words of hope.  We’ve hugged and cried with them. We’ve laughed and smiled, too.   More importantly, we’ve inspired so many teachers to capitalize on their time left this school year and speak life into more.  One student is a start, but it’s never enough.  #IBelieveInYou

Disrupt. Education. Please.

Disrupt. Education. Please.

ASCD 2016 Annual Conference Educators Demonstrate The Dividends When You Disturb

ATLANTA, Georgia, April 3, 2016 -- It doesn't take a Pure Genius to recognize that author and educator Don Wettrick pushed the boundaries on 20% genius hour time when he developed his first Innovation class in 2012.  He tossed a pebble into the placid, glass-like face of traditional classroom norms and sent a ripple effect across the globe. Don dares his students to debate, dream, and develop products and services that will not only impact the world but also give these students intangible 21st century skills.  Their collective innovation is funneled into community platforms and global marketplaces where they are the makers and movers of their own products and services. In his session titled Genius Hour Throw Down:  Separating Fact from Fiction, Wettrick  made it clear, "A whiteboard is the most important piece of technology that you should have in your classroom." He reminded us that technology doesn't make learning happen. Instead, students learn life-lessons when they are empowered with resources, connections, time, unconventional educators, global entrepreneurs, and an unceasing determination to make change happen.  This learning isn’t reflected in a standardized assessment. It is revealed in life as they purposefully focus their effort and networking on what matters most to them.  Though many of the student products are considered high-tech, the path to innovation is lined with low-tech pavers, each with a indispensable role in the process.  Outlining the six traits of innovation, Wettrick didn’t begin with the latest smart device or application. Instead, he kicked off his list with one of the most potentially disruptive practices: Collaboration.  Wait a minute. Collaboration in classrooms is rarely described as disruptive (unless through the lense of poor classroom management), but it should be.  Collaboration allows students avenues to discuss, disagree, partner, create, modify, reflect and more. Are educators allowing disruptions or blocking them at the door?  Wettrick’s message and work are an inspiration to students seeking meaningful avenues to learning and educators pursuing unconventional approaches to classroom standards.  To find out more about Wettrick’s innovation path, how he not only advocates but invariably seeks opportunities to help students innovate and infuse their passions with their learning, pick up a copy of Pure Genius.  You can also connect with Wettrick on Twitter @donwettrick and TheInnovationTeacher.com.

Isolation is inexcusable. Social media ignorance, coupled with personal idiosyncrasies do not advance our students or educators. Connections are essential. Whether you are comfortable (or not) with the tsunami of social media options is irrelevant. Our students began developing a digital footprint before they reached the schoolhouse doors. We can no longer afford to dismiss the opportunities to strategically engage and connect with them and their families. If educators want to relevantly reach their stakeholders, they must first reach one another. In their session titled Oh, The People You'll Meet If Only You’ll Tweet, Dr. Wendy Claussen Schoolmeester and Dr. Sonya Vierstraete, both professors at Southwest Minnesota State University, defined the power of one disruptive tool: Twitter. They suggested that the mere willingness to "lurk" in a Twitter chat, explore tools like web-based Tweetdeck, follow educators, share resources, expand PLNs (Professional Learning Networks), and tell your story show a proactive attempt to rethinking how we gain and give to our colleagues near and far.  Educators are no longer restricted to resources in print and attending remote and often costly face-to-face professional development. At the ASCD 2016 Annual Conference, there was compelling evidence to support this: badges printed with Twitter handles, rapid sharing on the #ASCD16 hashtag, nightly "Tweetups" (where fellow followers congregated face-to-face), strangers asking one another "What's your handle?" and a networking buzz that spanned downtown Atlanta streets, restaurants, hotels, and event centers.  Tucked away into a small session room, veteran educators yet novice Twitter users like Jenny Edwards and Cathy Timpone remained after this session to learn Twitter 101 basics and how to advance their usage to incorporate Tweetdeck’s features. As an active participant in this session, it was my responsibility (not I’ll offer support if it feels right) to recognize their desire(s) to grow, connect, and shatter their comfort zones. One an author and the other a district-level administrator, both women realized that being a Twitter account holder was no longer sufficient. Disrupt communication and stagnant connections at the professional development and central office levels? Yes! It's necessary and overdue.  An avid Twitter user and advocate myself, it ceases to amaze me how many educators are still unaware of this professional and personal life changing catalyst. As an educator, it's insufficient to be a Twitter consumer. Educators must also be the producers that disrupt the stagnation of stale instructional practices and professional growth opportunities. Want change in students? Be it first. Use Twitter to advance your learning, increase your pool of resources and improve the educational experiences that students and communities deserve and expect. You can connect with Dr. Wendy Claussen Schoolmeester and Dr. Sonya Vierstraete @kiddielitprof and @DrVteacher.

Chime in. Grace Dearborn had everyone doing this in her ASCD session titled Engaging Kids Isn’t All Fun and Games--Or Is It?  Schools and educator prep programs need progressive educators like Dearborn to once again show that the use of innovative practices, including technology, doesn’t translate to high tech.  Grace’s session technology (which she presented to a sold out crowd of hungry educators from around the world): chimes, musical playlist, and a modest slide presentation.  She had the entire room at “Ahhhh.” No frills or gimmicks, but the practical truths about lab rats, brain research, and how educators can shake up what happens in their classrooms if they will disturb their routines, push the old and tired methods aside, embrace laughter as a pathway and not a deterrent to learning, and tweek (not twerk) their current practice(s).  I applaud any educator who can pack a session, maintain full capacity, and completely engage adult learners after lunch and during the afternoon lull of conference day #2. At the onset of the session, Dearborn stated, “When you are willing to couple laughter with learning, the retention rate can increase by up to 50%.  Laughter increases circulation, which stimulates the brain.” Absent from that statement is mention of a high-tech gadget or app, yet a solid foundation for disrupting the way that traditional classes engage and manage students.   Laughter compliments learning; learning while laughing has potential to raise retention. It’s a testament to both Dearborn’s speaking reputation and the session’s title that educators are hungry for “stuff you can use.”  Grace challenges many of the traditional (and outdated) methods and pedagogy presented in traditional educator prep programs.  Connect with this funny, practical, and game changing educator by email at grace@consiousteaching.com and on the web at http://www.consciousteaching.com/.

Innovation is inescapable if we want to develop 21st century learners who will cast a ripple of influence worldwide for years to come.  Connecting is no longer optional.  It’s the lifeline that will sustain educators as they face the moving targets of increased accountability and ever changing student populations. Engaging students, it’s inexcusable not to. A call to action: Disrupt your current practices. Start small but more importantly: Start now. You can’t get yesterday back.

Contact:

Stephanie Frosch

Communications Coordinator

Kaufman Independent School District

sfrosch@kaufman-isd.net

@steph_frosch