Category: future of education

Charles Darwin suffered from depression.  He wrote that his depression left him unable to do anything one out of three days.  Doing these episodes of depression, which he referred to as a weakness of the mind, he allowed this affliction to be a time to ruminate, to reflect or, as many would describe today to meditate.  What Darwin discovered is that the pathway to wisdom is through this rumination.  If depression didn’t exist if we didn’t react to stress and trauma with endless ruminations then we would be less likely to solve our problems.

This process of rumination is very deliberate, slow and tiresome and not likely to attract a lot of attention simply because it is difficult and sometimes even painful.  But paying attention to a difficult dilemma creates the best opportunity to escape it and learn from it.

Reading about Darwin made me think about so many of our current problems.  Almost every state in the country is struggling with weighty issues concerning the financing of schools.   News of failure to achieve standard benchmarks and comparisons made to other countries makes these fiscal problems even worse.  I have to wonder if there is a way out of this mess. 

If you look at Darwin and his contribution to science it’s apparent that he saw his depression as a sort of tonic, a way to find the path to resolution.  Some scientists compare depression with a fever.  Fever has its benefits because it’s the body’s mechanism to fight off infection.  Perhaps depression is a similar mechanism to fight off sadness and to move us out of our ruts. 

I think we are in a collective rut and judging from the news instead of reflecting on how we got into this mess we are blaming and criticizing.   This challenge could be an opportunity to discover all those weak areas.  It could be that through a very deliberate and slow rumination solutions will be discovered. 

Just like everything else Creative World Connections is ruminating.  It’s time to change.  In time for the 2010-2011 school year we will be offering a new product, a handbook/ workbook for teachers.  Responsible Decision Making will make its debut in August.  In addition to the hard copy all new subscribers will become members of our online community.  We can ruminate together in sharing dilemmas and in solving problems.   I look forward to the change and the challenge and welcome you to be partners with me.

Schools are finding that something as simple as the timing of recess makes a difference in health and behavior of their students.   Rescheduling recess to play outside before they sit down to eat lunch has resulted in less food waste with higher consumptions of milk, fruit and vegetables and fewer behavior problems.

Children are calmer during lunch when they’ve had time to play first.  They slow down eating because they’re not trying to rush outside.  Nine years ago a school nurse in Scottsdale Arizona suggested the switch.  The school conducted a pilot study and discovered multiple benefits one being that when students returned to the classroom they were calmer.  Lunch served as a cool down time.  Since that pilot program 18 of the districts schools have adopted recess before lunch.  With many other schools across the country now doing the same.

Despite this common sense approach promoting healthier children many schools resist simple changes because doing so always creates logistical problems. Difficulties like children returning to hallways and classrooms to return coats and get lunches becomes excuses.   Many schools stay stuck in the status quo.  Even simple scheduling changes like recess and lunch can quickly become hot issues with staff. 

The word simple change is a contradiction because change is always an adjustment.  And depending on the personality or the resistance it can fall anywhere on the continuum from difficult to intolerable.

So how do any of us switch gears and accept change? 

To be successful in life we must be willing to evaluate ourselves and work to improve. That means dedicating time to align our work with our goals and our purpose. 

For schools this must be a constant.  Every school administrator and every teacher should accept that there are no sacred cows and approach new ideas with the mantra “we can make it work” instead of excuses.

Mediation teachers like to use two animal metaphors for the mind, doggy mind and monkey mind.  Doggy mind is like the dog running after every bone, every impulse, every desire and every aversion.  Any thought can occasion the chase.  Monkey mind swings from tree to tree from thought to thought.  It is active restless and wild.  Whether it is doggy mind or monkey mind this restless activity of thought keeps your from being in the present moment.  Children are unskilled and undisciplined in the arena of self-control.  Their impulses lead them not only into the doggy chase or the monkey climb but also into inattention and distraction.  A growing body of research indicates that many children start school not ready to learn because they lack the critical ability of self-control.  Self-control has a stronger association with academic achievement than either IQ or reading readiness.  The encouraging news is the elements of self-control can be taught.  Tools of the Mind  is a  program that promotes intentional and self  regulated learning.  In Tools:

• Teachers use scaffolding to structure activities.  Children have learning plans and play plans.  Their activity is more more interactive and sustainable.
• The notion of being able to sustain one’s own interest is the core building block.  Children are less distracted because they are so consumed in the activities they have chosen.
• Development of the internal voice or thought conversation helps children avoid distraction.

The exciting results of this program are children who are not merely behaved but self-organized and self-directed.  Tools teachers in New Mexico reported fewer classroom incidents and less need for discipline.  And while these techniques might sound fuzzy and theoretical the program has support in neuroscience.  The development of the prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain that controls impulses begins in early childhood.  This high level executive function can be developed and strengthened using the Tools techniques.  When I first read about Tools I was struck by how similar this teaching was to the practice of mediation.  The goal is not to eradicate thinking but to observe what is going on in the mind.  Neuroscience is finding amazing implications for learning.  Any school looking for methods to promote self-control and intrinsic motivation needs to look to the research.  It’s there for those willing to take a risk and look outside of the box  for new applications to promote learning.

By definition children are developmentally a moving target making interventions that target behavior a challenge. In schools children are subjected to a vast number of well-meaning programs that sound absolutely great on paper but fail the test of scientific analysis.

In the book “Nurture Shock” Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman explore the constellation of factors that shape children.  They found that schools hurriedly adopt programs to combat scary issues like drug abuse.   Taking their responsibility seriously to breed good citizens and not just good students schools mistake good intentions for good ideas.

The data on character based interventions shows that at best they have a size effect of 15%.  This means that 15% of children altered their targeted behavior while a whopping 85% did not.  Interventions with a size effect of only 4% can still be considered quite good even though they have no effect on 96% of the students.

 The question is; how can a school implement any character education program and expect a sizable effect?

Research shows that high order thinking like self-reflection encourages children to listen to the inner voice and not act impulsively.   The only way children discover this inner voice is to be consistently asked to evaluate their own behavior.   They must be given the right tools to develop this awareness.

Creative World Connections is just one tool in this toolbox of child development.   Our daily messages give not just encouragement to children but serve as reminders to teachers the role that cognitive control plays in learning and decision-making.

Cognitive control is necessary in many contexts.  It’s necessary to avoid external distractions and more importantly internal distractions like the thought, “I can’t do this.”

To find success schools must be willing to step out of their institutional comfort zone and step out of the box.  The science on all of this is exciting and empowering and will ultimately enrich any school willing to embrace change.

Today is the first day of school for millions of American children.  President Obama is going to deliver a speech encouraging children to take responsibility for their learning and dream big.   Amazingly some in America are suspicious of his motives, some fearful of the content of his speech and some see sinister political messages directed at the most vulnerable audience – our children!

Pardon me but we have sunk too low.  Perhaps we truly deserve the struggling systems that we have created.  Maybe we’re incapable of working together for the common good. 

In 1909 Frederick Cook and Robert Peary both claimed to have reached the North Pole. Neither offered any proof.  For years these claims were undisputed.  Despite this their respective supporters backed them, each side defending their position.  Today we know both claims were false.

Psychologists know that when the facts get in the way of our beliefs our brains are marvelously adept at dispensing with the facts.  We simply use this logic to get around the truth.

So what’s the truth here? 

We have a President who hopes to inspire and encourage children to value learning.  We have a political system that seeks to undermine even this small noble effort to make a difference.  We have a population so attached to their beliefs that the simplest action merits scrutiny and debate.

How can we collectively overcome our tendency to dispense with the facts whenever it’s convenient? 

We must all get over the need to be right.  Being right will not solve our problems, being right will not connect us to the common good, being right will only divide us.

Today I prefer to dream big and believe in the possibilities.  Without dreams nothing is possible.  

Years ago the Detroit Free Press had a popular columnist named Bob Talbert, he was known for his column titled, “Outta of my  Monday moaning mind. “  It was a collection of random thoughts some connected and some disconnected.  With the utmost respect to Bob Talbert, here’s my version.

• Researchers at Stanford University recently published a study that found persistent multitaskers perform badly.  Surprising?  It seems trying to do a lot at the same time is ultimately a waste of time.  Multitaskers are in a constant state of stress with a frenzied pace of ever changing information.  This got me to thinking about the implications for teaching.  Too many layers of directions and instruction are a lesson plan for low achievement.  Morale – keep it simple. 

• Federal Race to the Top grants are inspiring school districts to re-think their education plans.  Some of the more innovative ideas include an Oxford Michigan district offering foreign language and string instruments to all kindergarteners.  Another district is eliminating English and social studies in favor of classes that focus on in-depth projects for lower achieving students. Some educators are willing to let go of long held beliefs to help students learn in a different way.  Sounds hopeful and inspiring to me. 

• Prominent child rearing experts observe that siblings who play together have healthier relationships because play allows them to work out grievances and competition.  Too much parent intervention often looks like favoritism to children and sometimes creates life long jealously and fractured adult relationships.  The ties that bind need not be too tight.  Be a model of kindness and respect and your children can take that into their play relationships.

• Middle and High School literature teachers are letting students choose their own books to help build a life-long love of reading.  “The Reading Zone” by Nancie Atwell promotes achievement through choice.  This book that has sold half a million copies is gaining popularity with many teachers all over the country.  Many lit teachers report gains in student achievement and higher performance on standardized tests. More evidence of how letting go of sacred cows allows for growth and success. 

• One last thought: All of these show the amazing potential to create a better system when the shareholders allow change to happen.  In order to change anything you must be willing to let go of something forever.  It’s time to let go.

Be afraid of everything? 

When my husband and I were young and inexperienced parents we tried to childproof the world.  Like generations of parents before we hoped warnings would protect our children from harm. 

I remember one incident when our son was going on a field trip to the zoo with his class.  The night before my husband gave our son the “be careful” pep talk.  He said to stay with the group and to avoid looking at the sun.  There was going to be a lunar eclipse the next day and my husband decided it was better for our son to be warned and afraid than to experience the unlikely side effect of going blind.

Our good intentions only served to create a world where danger lurked everywhere.  Fortunately our children were bold hearted explorers when it came to the unknown.  The lessons learned were not for them but for us. 

We can’t live in fear.  Fear keeps us from stepping outside of our comfort zone and expanding our perspective.  Fear serves as a powerful element that creates resistance.

I wonder just how much of the rhetoric I’m hearing right now about everything from health care reform to charter schools is based in fear?  Is it fear or simply a stubborn opposition to change?

Resistance is the enemy of change.  Everything changes.  Yet we live as if this were not true exerting force to control and influence outcomes.   The fact is change is an important element for growth.  When we resist the inevitable we only create fear and anxiety.  

To overcome resistance and fear we must:

• Maintain a clear focus.  Clear focus is like a beacon in the fog.  Even when everything is covered in a deep mist, the beacon keeps you on course.
• Know our intentions.  Fear limits our ability to see the big picture. 

It’s easy to resort to our default positions when confronted with the unknown but doing so creates more fear and more resistance.  When we face resistance most of us react with an assortment of ineffective approaches:  We - use power, manipulate opposition, apply the force of reason, play off relationships and make deals. 

Like over protective parents we all can learn to relax and let go by:

• Understanding the voice of resistance
• Respecting the reasons for resistance. Listening and being  honest about our intentions.
• Staying calm and engaged.  Not allowing fear to set the course.
• Changing the game.  Ask what matter’s most.

When I look back on my years as a worried parent I can see the tipping point, the time when I embraced a different approach. 

Ask yourself: Is it time to find that tipping point?

Postscript:

In the next several weeks our website will have makeover.  In September we are offering a subscription to a weekly newsletter.  Each week you will receive five special messages to share with your school community in your morning announcements or greeting.  In addition you will have information on ways to develop and grow your professional learning community.  If you are interested in a free trail subscription click on the link Contact Us and send an e-mail.  

Do you create obstacles?

I know that I do, especially when I don’t like something, when I’m uncertain or afraid to step out of my comfort zone.  In those times it’s easy to list everything that’s wrong and make an impressive argument in my own favor. 

But when I really want something it doesn’t matter how difficult or unlikely the chances of success are.  I’m willing to take a risk because I dream of the possibilities.

This last week in the news I observed a lot examples of those who see only obstacles and of those who see possibilities.  It seems when bold thinking is required people separate into two camps.  Those who cling to sometimes failed methods, citing the obstacles as the rationale for maintaining the status quo, and those who accept risk believing in the possibility of change for a better way.   These two positions rarely find common ground. 

I compared this to my own thinking when presented with a challenge.  The camp I join depends on whether I’m willing to let go or to hold on.  

“Dream nothing,” the Dalai Lama says.  When we make this radical change in thinking the power that lies nowhere but in ourselves becomes more apparent.  We can’t change the world, only the way we look at it.  So some us will always see obstacles and some will see magic.  But the truth is, neither one matters. 

The Buddha once famously said, “If an arrow is sticking out of your side you don’t argue about where it came from or who made, you just pull it out.”  Likewise the path to happiness is simply finding the cause of your suffering and attending to it.  Like pulling out the arrow. 

Pulling out the arrow is identifying what we can do better now.  

I can’t think of a faster way to getting on the path of recovery than by just doing something better now.  And there’s a lot that needs to be recovered. 

Creative World Connection wants to be your schools resource for finding that path and connecting with your staff and students. Imagine CWC as a compass to help you navigate.   Our website is getting a makeover.  In September we are offering the only education weekly newsletter dedicated to promoting character and personal growth.   Each week you will receive five special messages to share with your school community in your morning announcements or greeting.  In addition you will receive the most current information on ways to develop and grow your professional learning community.  If you are interested in a free trail subscription click on the link Contact Us and send an e-mail.  

The country of Tanzania has a relatively stable government and is about as safe as anywhere on the African continent, especially if you spend as little time as possible in the cities.   Interestingly you have a greater chance of being robbed than of having an unpleasant meeting with simba (Swahili for lion).   The concentration of wildlife will allow you to see elephants, rhinos, wildebeest, lions, leopards, giraffes, and cheetahs all within the space of an hour. 

I wrote earlier how my daughter had been robbed in the northern town of Arusha while booking a safari.  After that incident I began to worry about the safety of a safari I could not have been more wrong.

Anthropologists believe that the Serengeti is part of our racial memory.  If they have it correct human life began in this astonishing environment.  Those who visit it describe the smell and sounds as a rightness that infuses the spirit. 

My daughter’s enthusiasm for the country and most especially for the animal sightings confirmed all that I had read about the Serengeti experience.  I have to wonder if we don’t deliberately put ourselves into natural environments will we lose our connection to the real world?  And as this connection grows weaker will we lose our ability to solve problems with respect to these natural systems?

There is a balance in nature that has existed since millennia.  Tribal groups like that Masai that still survive in the harsh African climate have resisted assimilation into the modern world.  Their survival demands a reverence and observance of the life they compete with. 

Rarely today do you ever hear a commentary on respecting the competition or acknowledging the importance of balance.  We live in the world of extremes.  Either too much or too little.

All of this pays homage to the scarcity mentality.  The belief that there is only so much to go around and I had better get mine before it runs out.  The opposing belief is more consistent with nature.  It is the abundance mentality.  The belief that there is enough to go around.  That everyone can have a piece of the pie if we learn how to share. 

Like it or not, we had better learn how to share.  Share ideas, share space, share resources, and even share failures.   If we take a lesson from nature we can all prosper, we can all enjoy a more balanced way of life. 

Schools especially must be willing to let go of their attachments to old ways and look at educators everywhere as one abundant resource. 

Happy Summer!

“The essence of synergy is to value differences – to respect them, to build on strengths and to compensate for weaknesses.”

Stephen Covey

Recently the New York Times ran an op-ed piece titled “Five Ways to Fix America’s Schools.”   Some of the changes suggested were:

• Raise the compulsory age to 19.  The benefits of an extra year of school beyond high school would allow for at least one year of college, vocational training or apprenticeship.
• Get serious about truancy.  Truants quickly become dropouts.  In many cities as many as 30% of students are absent a month of school each year. 
• Produce more qualified college applicants.  Half of the freshmen in college have weak academic skills.  Graduation rates at most colleges are less than 60%.

There were many responses to the article from educators all over the country.  Some suggested recruiting better teachers, raising teacher salaries, and eliminating tenure.  Others suggested making learning relevant to students, just compelling students to stay in school longer is no guarantee of higher learning.  Several targeted literacy and pointed out the benefits of early interventions, like head start and reforming the system and starting age of school.  Those who favor charter schools and vouchers pointed out that one size fits all does not help all children.

There was a wealth of information and ideas from everyone.  Reading these I realized how critical is for all associated with education to value the differences and work together cooperatively. 

Synergy creates the third alternative.  The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.  Synergy takes place when two or more people produce more together than the sum of what they could have produced separately.

Synergy is:

• Results oriented
• Examining, exploring, seeking diverse perspective openly enough to alter or complete your paradigm
• Have a mutually agreed upon end in mind
• Worth the effort and effective
• A process

The essence of synergy is valuing the differences.  This does not imply that you approve of or agree with differences: rather it means that you respect the differences and see them as opportunities for learning.  These differences become valuable tools for finding solutions because they enable you to discover and produce outcomes together that you would not find separately. 

In order to change you must be willing to let go of something.  Educators and those who influence the policy must leave their egos and attachments to one  position behind and embrace the possibilities.

There is a wealth of ideas and innovations available.  Stephen Covey stated it most eloquently.

“People who are truly effective have the humility and reverence to recognize their own perceptual limitations and to appreciate the rich resources available through interaction with the hearts and minds of other human beings.”