Category: Education

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Finding Comfort with the Uncomfortable

person standing on top of rock

This month Alex Honnold completed what once seemed like an impossible feat. He free-soloed Yosemite’s infamous El Capitan, a 3,000 foot peak. This is clearly a unique accomplishment that took several years of preparation and training, and given the challenge of the task he probably didn’t assume it was a sure thing. In fact, he used a technique called “smearing” to climb sections that are comparable to a countertop in texture, moving fast enough to avoid the impacts of gravity.  As quoted in the article, Alex discusses the importance of stepping outside his comfort zone:

“There were so many little sections where I thought ‘Ughh — cringe,’ ” Honnold said. “But in the years since, I’ve pushed my comfort zone and made it bigger and bigger until these objectives that seemed totally crazy eventually fell within the realm of the possible.” 

Over these past few weeks several students have graduated high school and are eager to move on to the next adventure. Some are feeling a sense of accomplishment, just as Alex did after completing his climb. To some, the high school experience might have felt insurmountable and constantly uncomfortable, and therefore actually receiving that diploma is a major accomplishment. Other students though while seeing graduation as an important milestone are probably not in a state of awe, and are instead moving through the motions that are required during this specific life stage. 

I had the privilege the previous  week of chaperoning the senior trip in which the majority of the graduating students spent the day at Devil’s Lake, a state park in Wisconsin intertwined with the Ice Age Trail with great hiking where students could venture out on paddle boats and canoes or go for a hike along the many trails. This location is not new to me, in fact,  I’ve visited it many times with friends and family. However, I was reminded of my own experience as a graduating senior in 2002. While many students are excited about moving on after high school, I remember being in a state of disappointment and dissatisfaction. I had worked so hard, I expected some great sense of closure or at least a clear future plan to float upon me. It never did.  

Throughout the four years of school, I had completed the required tasks, but hadn’t taken many risks or tried to expand my comfort zone, until senior skip day at Devil’s Lake. While as a teacher and parent we caution students to stay on the trail and off the rocks, I did not stay off the rocks that day, instead I climbed them. For a person with very little athleticism or balance, this was a large leap outside my comfort zone.   This experience became the topic of my own brief graduation speech, one that is still helping me today.  (Note: My mother had to search the house to find this file on a 3.5 inch floppy disk!)

Each day of our lives, we are faced with the expectations of others and the expectations we have for ourselves. I am only one out of the thousands of valedictorians in the country today, and like them, I am expected to share some words of knowledge, guidance, and inspiration with my graduating class. Some of you are probably wanting  me to say how we are all sad about leaving high school and yet excited about moving on to bigger and better things. You are probably expecting  many things out of life.

Throughout my four years of high school, I have worked hard believing  this honor would bring great fulfillment and meaning to my high school career. I have done what was expected of me, and in return, it has not given me that great fulfillment I was looking for. I do not regret working hard, and I am not saying that what I have accomplished is nothing. What I am saying, is life extends farther than high school, classes, tests, and a grade point average, and it has taken me awhile to realize that.

While at Devils Lake, a few weeks ago, I was forced by Tom Stadler (a classmate) to climb the rocks. I am not a risk taker and never do anything unless I expect myself to succeed. The second I looked up at the rocks, I told myself, “You can’t do this.” I was expecting to fail, but for some odd reason I took that first step. Of course everyone else wouldn’t consider climbing rocks a big accomplishment, but when I finally got to the top, the feeling of fulfillment was much greater than any academic award I have ever received. I know there is so much more I am capable of doing, much more than I ever expected. 

I do not have enough knowledge or life experience to know exactly what to say that would make a difference in your lives, I can only tell you what I have realized in the past few weeks. You should not live your life according to the expectations others have for you, and you should not expect things in the future. Too often, in our lives we do not take that first step, and are disappointed because what we expected to happen did not. There are many rocks left to climb, but take it one step at a time. Always remember, you have to live for yourself today, because yesterday is gone and tomorrow may never come. Thank you.

This was a very brief speech, but it still provides me with guidance today. I still  struggle to step outside my comfort zone. I often need a push from a more daring friend. As a teacher, I wonder if we are creating opportunities for our students to step outside their comfort zones, while also creating spaces for the students who see school as one big zone of discomfort. Students have to experience both comfort and discomfort if they are going to succeed and continue to grow as independent individuals. It’s natural for us to want to provide a cushion, but maybe what they really need is a gentle shove. While I will don’t aspire to free solo El Capitan like Alex Honnold, his accomplishment can sometimes be the reminder we need to at least try. Let’s find comfort with the uncomfortable.

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writer working on typewriter in office

9-Why We Should Keep Writing

My mom and I were traveling this weekend to a family event in Stillwater, Minnesota. She is a former high school teacher, so we tend to talk about education more than any other topic. There was a point in the conversation when we were talking about the effectiveness of various teachers and she said to me, “You’ve always learned on your own since you were little and you continue to want to learn. Why do you think you’re like that?” While this characteristic is obvious to anyone that knows me, the reasons why aren’t at all apparent.

When I was a small child, I’m positive the amount of free play and imagination I had were driving forces. While I took dance lessons, much of my time was unstructured play with my sisters and sometimes cousins. Throughout grade school and high school, I’d be lying if I said grades and adult approval had not motivated my learning to some degree.  However, I also know I would have accomplished the learning without the grade attached as well. The learning opportunities I got most excited about were projects and experiences where I had the option to explore a topic of my choice. 

I do know that reading and writing have played a central role in my learning throughout life. These are two tasks that require time, focus, and often multiple attempts. I don’t usually procrastinate with these two tasks, and often reread a chapter or revisit my writing even if I’d edited it two times prior. While many still remember the three R’s (Reading, Writing and Arithmetics), I’m pretty certain reading and writing will continue to hold a central location in learning, and we in education need to keep encouraging our students to pursue these. (No offense intended to the math teachers I know. A foundational understanding of most topics is essential. However, as technology and times change, it is reading and writing that take the stage.) 

While I teach primarily environmental science and chemistry, increasing student opportunities to write has been a goal of mine this year. Writing can be a scary endeavor for both the teacher and the student. In fact, you’ll frequently hear teachers express their hesitation towards a writing assignment, claiming “I’m not an English teacher!” News flash: Writing is a skill that goes beyond the English class, and it’s a skill like reading that every teacher should spend time focusing on. I can’t think of a single discipline or career that doesn’t involve some form of writing as a necessary skill. 

When I started my adventure into increasing writing opportunities, I quickly realized I needed to address the usual student questions. These questions were stifling but also eye-opening. Stifling because, I realized how scripted the writing process had been for most students and eye-opening because there are students who have amazing things to say, that would not be heard without writing. Here is a summarized list of the most common questions, along with my usual responses.

Student: How long does it have to be?

Me: I don’t know as long as it needs to be. How long do you think it should be? I care about quality not quantity.

Other variations of this question involved the typical five paragraph essay format.  A single paragraph for the introduction, three paragraphs for the body, and a concluding paragraph. While this general format provides structure for students initially, students at the high school and college level need to realize that writing extends outside the box of the five paragraph essay. In fact, if you limit yourself to five paragraphs in some cases, or extend your work to five paragraphs in others you might actually be taking something wonderful and creative and turning it into an encyclopedic excerpt for the boring and dull.

Student: Do I need an introduction and a conclusion?

Me: Do you want  your writing to begin and end? How do you plan on grabbing your reader’s attention? Do you plan on providing closure for your reader, or do you want the reader to continue pondering an interesting question or concept?

Of course writing must begin and end. Again I think students have to realize that the introduction and conclusion are the bookends of any piece supporting the middle. Without strong bookends the middle falls apart. Every person has a different writing process. Certain people need an introduction to proceed to the body of their work, while others can skip the introduction initially, preferring to come back to it at a later time once the middle is completed. 

I personally feel like the writing process is often rushed for students. This is due to teachers trying to cram too much into the class, week, unit, semester, and year. This is also due the students procrastinating with their writing, not realizing the time that must be devoted to the process. In this situation, the conclusion is often really redundant or flies at you out of nowhere. I’ve read many papers, where I’m thinking, “yes now this paper is finally going somewhere!” only to realize it’s the fifth paragraph and the starting phrase is “In conclusion,…” AAHHHH No, no, no keep going!

Student: Do I have to write? Can’t I just make a prezi or a google slides presentation instead?

Me: NOOO! We both know you can rock the prezi or the google slides. Writing is a skill that takes practice. 

Because I teach science classes, students often believe they can talk me out of assigning a writing assignment. Hah! Never. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve seen some pretty impressive videos and google slides, and I do honor these modes of communication and creativity in my class at times. However, for many students these are the easy way out, and it is really important to expose students to the risk of writing in the science class. This way students can see that writing is not just a skill of the english or social science class, but an essential skill for many careers and disciplines.

While my students might see me forcing writing on them, hoping they will grow as writers, and eventually learn to value both the frustration and reward that comes with the process of writing.  What they may not realize is that I am forcing writing on myself as well, in hopes that I will continue to grow. I am struggling through this blog post right now, reaching that point where I need to end…but I can’t quite find the perfect way…Luckliy, I have more than five paragraphs, and I know I can write something amazing tomorrow or the next day.  Ray Bradbury said it best:

“You must write every single day of your life… You must lurk in libraries and climb the stacks like ladders to sniff books like perfumes and wear books like hats upon your crazy heads… may you be in love every day for the next 20,000 days. And out of that love, remake a world.” 

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Collaboration is Not Always Key

Collaboration is not always key. 

&

iPhones are a beautiful distraction. 

These are two ideas I have thought about a lot this week as the school year winds down and everyone is a bit stir crazy. 

The central role of  collaboration is emphasized in both education and business. A job description never describes the ideal candidate as someone who must work in solitude to make progress. In fact many work and school spaces are being designed to encourage and facilitate collaboration. However, if you are constantly collaborating, what impact does this have on learning or progress at your job? 

I began thinking about this question after reading an article from The Economist that popped up on my Twitter feed entitled The Collaboration Curse.  The article considers the true cost of collaboration in terms of the actual expense of constant communication, commenting, and feedback through various forums of email, meetings, social media etc. More importantly though the article claims that collaboration prohibits deep work: 

Deep work is the killer app of the knowledge economy: it is only by concentrating intensely that you can master a difficult discipline or solve a demanding problem. Many of the most productive knowledge workers go out of their way to avoid meetings and unplug electronic distractions. 

Deep work sounds a lot like “deep learning” in education (not to be confused with deep learning in the progress and development of artificial intelligence), yet we continue to constantly push the group work and peer connections at a rate that might be detrimental to further learning. I’m not saying we should remove all collaboration from classes, but there is a comfort zone of appropriate collaboration. Every teacher has  probably witnessed instances when collaboration is working, when all students are contributing and participating, offering ideas and feedback. However, there are always those times when one student is powering through dragging the rest behind. While the one student understands, the others are nodding their heads with a facade of comprehension. So then we might consider ability grouping, where students can work at an appropriate pace with students who are at a comparable skill level but yet we are still grouping. 

I believe it’s okay to stop grouping in certain situations. 

Students need to learn how to work independently and productively.  They need to understand how they as individuals learn best and it is difficult to see how this can happen if they are always moving from one constructed social situation to the next. There is definite and necessary skills reaped from collaborative group work, but it can also add another layer of compliance for some students who are pleasers. Their first motivation is to please their teacher and now their second motivation is  please their group members. When we do finally ask students to work independently, many  will continue to function in groups because they thrive on the attention of the social connections and  we haven’t necessarily created a school wide environment conducive to true independence where students have the ability to do what is best for their own depth of learning.  

There may also be a fear of providing time for independent work, because if students are working alone on a variety of tasks and someone of importance walks into the classroom, will it look like learning is happening? Collaborative adventures are easy to point at and assume students are making progress in their learning, compared to time spent independently. Because of this, we see collaboration as more valuable and we instead expect them to do “deep learning” at home. Many students are successful doing this, but a large majority are not.  Consider for a moment how much of our lives are really driven by independence and how much of our success in adult life relies on our need to to truly understand our personal requirements that allow us to continually learn and improve. Skills of independence as well as collaboration are vital to the future of learning and business.

What environment does promote the intense concentration necessary to fully grasp a complex concept or solve a challenging problem? I believe this environment is probably unique to the individual.  In nature, each species has an ecological niche which describes its unique position in an ecosystem and the critical limits and conditions necessary for that species to survive. Some species have a narrow niche and are specialists because they depend on a specific resource to thrive. (Ex. The panda requires bamboo, while the koala requires eucalyptus.) Others are generalists and have very broad niches and can thrive in various environmental conditions like the coyote and raccoon. 

Like other species, some people are  also generalists and have the ability to focus in a variety of environments, while others are specialists requiring unique conditions in order for learning or productivity to occur. My optimal place for creative and complex tasks is at a coffee shop or cafe (with slight background noise and natural light), where I can feed off the energy of the atmosphere and gain some focus from caffeine. I appreciate subtle music and quiet conversation while I work, as long as there isn’t that one person who decides his conversation is important enough for the whole room to hear. In fact, silence will usually distract me, because I’ll pick up on the slight buzz of florescent lighting or another slightly audible and annoying background noise. I appreciate natural light and the less industrial atmosphere of most coffee shops compared to traditional schools and offices. There is often a range of seating choices, from a more comfortable place to read to a table-chair combination for one (or a small group). When the weather is nice an outdoor patio area is especially appealing. 

Each person can most likely describe an ultimate environment for productivity and focus. Some people prefer a certain style of music while others prefer complete silence. Some people are most productive sitting upright, while others might find a lounging position more comfortable. 

Now imagine your typical classroom or office space. While new designs are much more flexible, they still often lack the spaces of solitude necessary for some individuals. Most classrooms today also lack general aesthetic appeal in terms of seating and color. The walls are white and the desks and chairs designed for a small person, not for the wide range of body types present in schools today. Teachers do their best to make it a welcoming space, but for me it’s still not Starbucks.

Now even at Starbucks, the one item that impedes my ability to focus is my iPhone, my beautiful distraction.  I love my iPhone, because as a piece of technology it’s not only sleek and appealing, it’s very useful. The iPhone functions as the internet, gps, camera, recorder, planner, personal trainer, step-tracker, mobile music DJ, and restaurant guide, etc…..oh and as a phone wrapped into one device. At the same time though, it’s an addiction. I find myself having to continually refocus over and over again. (In fact right now, I just got a twitter notification, so I’m going to have to read this paragraph again.) I am constantly conflicted about this form of technology. In some ways it’s helping me to connect with people I wouldn’t normally keep in touch with, and in other ways it’s destroying my ability to connect with people who are five feet away. 

Cell phones in schools are also a beautiful distraction, because they can be a great learning tool (an entire computer in your pocket), for students to use. The various apps make tasks like research and movie-making easily accessible. However, it’s easy to see that for a large portion of the time the students are experiencing a common addiction, and instead of listening to a classmate or considering the challenge of the moment,  they are focused on their next SnapChat connection. While there is a wide range of responses schools have to cell phones from prohibition to an open door policy, the trend of cell phone use is increasing and the technology is not going away. (It might drastically change if Elon Musk extends his neural lace concept to somehow connect the human brain directly to an iPhone. Given his recent work, it’s not improbable.)

So how do we help ourselves and our students navigate a world overdosing on collaboration and iPhones? 

While I don’t have a ground shattering answer, I think it lies somewhere with the foundational importance of reflection. 

If we encourage students to be more reflective and provide them the time to do so, they will better understand themselves as individuals and the world around them. They will begin to identify how they learn and grow, what works, what doesn’t. They might then have the self-awareness and motivation to seek out an environment conducive to their success, or make a personal decision to put the iPhone away (wishful thinking I know…) Reflection might be the one tool that will help students navigate an unpredictable future involving  constant connection, artificial intelligence, and who knows what, without losing sight of their essential ability as humans to continue growing and learning. 

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Play On

I never would have eaten cow tongue if I had known what it was, but my grandmother never gave me a choice. She fried it up and I ate it. The texture was tough but spongy on the surface. Catsup definitely helped this delicacy. During most of my childhood my grandmother cooked, and I was expected to eat whatever she made. My grandmother also continuously body-blocked me from watching more than 30 minutes of television after school. My sisters and I would be just finishing up an episode of MacGyver, and my grandmother would often insist that we’d had enough. 

I’m seeing the opposite occur with many children today. While they are still limited in their options for meals, children are often given a choice for what they would like to eat. Additionally, given the popularity of tablets, children can easily access their favorite shows during short trips in the car, and even while eating meals. (I’m not saying these are  options offered to all children today or that providing children with choice is bad. I’m just noting a change.) It might seem that children and young people today have unlimited choices in the consumption aspects of life. 

However, the question I have is: Do students today know how to make a choice, when given an open opportunity? Their lives today are overscheduled and while they are given options about what instrument to master, and sport to play, etc.– Are these really choices?  Where is the unstructured time for exploration and discovery throughout a lifetime? We talk about how something is lost when comparing a kindergartener to a senior in high school. Is this really surprising? 

Many schools do an excellent job at the younger levels promoting play, but this is often a missing component at the upper levels of our educational system. An article from 2015 in TIME summarizes nicely the advantages of incorporating more “play” into the teenage classroom, giving hope to many teachers who strive to incorporate more student voice and choice:

“Giving students occasions to learn through play not only fosters creative thinking, problem solving, independence, and perseverance, but also addresses teenagers’ developmental needs for greater independence and ownership in their learning, opportunities for physical activity and creative expression, and the ability to demonstrate competence.”

Reading something like this definitely is philosophically inspiring, but often times I struggle to see this happen in my own classroom, when I give students time to explore or investigate a topic of their choice that relates to the course.  Students often ask me, “What do you think I should do?” or “Just tell me what you want me to do.”  When I ask them to use their creativity a few will produce some amazing products using art, video, creative writing, but many just want to create a google slides presentation. I’m not saying I haven’t seen some amazingly engaging google presentations, but this is their comfort zone. 

What is going on? I have a few ideas:

1. The students have not learned how to make a choice or be creative in the school/classroom setting.  They have went through their lives learning to work the system, so they fall back to their places of comfort–Do what the teacher wants, earn a good grade, be successful.  Most of my students are juniors and seniors, and while they make progress throughout the year, and produce some amazing products,  they still struggle internally with these opportunities initially.

They definitely do not lack this ability, because once outside the classroom,   it’s easy so see them easily accessing vast amounts of creativity and passion. Whether it’s playing guitar in a band, or beginning a plastic pollution coalition within the local community. We as teachers, see these examples and immediately understand how these could be connected to our classrooms, but our students may not be aware of this possibility, based on their prior experiences.

2. The students have no energy left for choice or creativity. When students are involved in so much outside of the school day, extra-curriculars, a job, service-learning requirements, students have very little energy left in school to invest in tasks that require higher order thinking and application. Earlier this year, I was invited by a student to the teacher appreciation night for hockey. I had a wonderful time and enjoyed seeing my student do something he truly enjoyed. It was one of the highlights of my year. The game however, did not finish until 10pm, and while the players for our school could make it home at a semi-decent time, the traveling team still had a two hour journey home. This seems like a very long day, and I am amazed at the commitment and discipline of the many student athletes I know.

3. The culture in my classroom and others  is not yet one of comfort to take the risk. While I do my best to create a welcoming environment where students are encouraged to pursue their interests, I still have to attach a grade to their work. This is a huge roadblock for a student who sees this choice and creativity as a potential risk to their transcript and eventual college acceptance.  What are some strategies for making the grade less powerful? (This will probably be a future blog post, but if you have any suggestions, I’m open to hearing from you.) I’ve been reading the recent posts by Arthur Chiaravalli, about teachers “going gradeless”, which has definitely sparked my internal examination of grades and grading in my classroom.

When I have to make a choice in life, I often think of my grandmother and consider, “What would Bernadine do?”  She was the strongest no-nonsense person I have known to date, and while it may have first seemed she was controlling my childhood, by turning off the television and implementing a “no fuss” meal policy, she was actually providing me with more unstructured time to play and explore with my sisters and friends. We would ride bikes in the summer, sled in the winter,  roll down hills  and eat ground cherries at her farm, or just quietly read for pleasure. She didn’t plan activities for us or make suggestions. She just told us to “Go play!” My grandmother was wise, and I am hopeful we can begin to focus on play again at all ages of life.