Moving Day
It’s moving day. I’ve decided to move to a self-hosted site at http://www.philipcummings.com/, and it’s time to say goodbye to this blog. I’ll leave it up for now, but if you’d like to continue following my learning journey, you might want to check out the new site and update your subscription.
Thanks for reading and pushing my thinking. -Philip
I Lost It
I lost it today. Well, not completely, but almost. We had a half day today. Winter Storm Helen threatened to dump freezing rain all over the mid-south, and with safety in mind, our school announced an early dismissal. Imagine my sixth grade boys’ excitement. They couldn’t wait to go home.
Unfortunately, the weather messed up my plans. There were several things I wanted my classes to accomplish, but I narrowed the to-do list and tried motivating the boys with a promise that completing the tasks would mean no homework. Most complied, and today, compliance was what I most wanted. (Ugh, I hate admitting that.) Then, two boys just wouldn’t focus. Perhaps, they couldn’t. They refused to get things done. They started messing with each other. When I corrected one, he argued back at me. When I moved the other, he snuck back and began picking at his partner in crime. Eventually, they riled each other enough to cause a small commotion in our room.
That’s when it happened. I lost it. My temper flared. I didn’t get physical or swear or say things I regret (such things may or may not have come to mind), but I snapped. I yelled. I threatened–manipulating with talk of calls home and referrals to the office. It was ugly. No, I was.
I’ve worked hard this year to build good relationships with my students, to make our learning meaningful, and to give them a voice. Yet, today, I managed to lose it all.
I’m praying that we’ll be back in school tomorrow, that the boys accept my apology, and that tomorrow I can begin to find it all again.
Running Thoughts: Knowing What You Don’t Know
This morning I ran 3.69 miles in 36:14. It was third attempt to restart my running after completing the St. Jude Half Marathon on December 1, 2012. My middle son Sam ran with me this morning and it was 27 degrees with light snow flurries when we headed out the door at 5:15.
Saturday morning I participated in John Spencer’s #rechat on Twitter. The topic for discussion was the use of data in schools. The discussion was interesting and thoughtful, but what reverberated in me was the question about the students’ role in knowing, analyzing, and reflecting on their own data. Paula White and Tom King, two educators that I highly respect really pushed my thinking in this regard.
It began with my response to a comment made by John:
@johntspencer I think the second part of that is hard. Hard to know where you are when you haven’t mastered it yet… #rechat
— Philip Cummings (@Philip_Cummings) January 12, 2013
As the conversation progressed Tom chimed in retweeting and responding to one of my tweets:
RT @philip_cummings: If students can look at data (results) perhaps they can inform on the “whys”. #rechat <Wonder if they need data for that
— Tom King (@ProfTK) January 12, 2013
Then, after Tom had pushed me further, Paula asked:
@philip_cummings If you don’t know what you don’t know, do you know how to go about learning more? #ideachat#rechat
— Paula White (@paulawhite) January 12, 2013
So, I have been thinking about this all weekend. As learners do we know what we don’t know? Can we? If so, how? As a professional educator committed to growing and changing as a teacher, I am well aware that there are many thing I don’t know. I’m still fumbling my way through (or toward) a more constructivist classroom. I’m trying to shift toward a more authentic, Project-Based (capitals intentional) approach to learning. I know I’m not there yet, I’m still reading, researching, conversing, trying, and failing at it. Sometimes I know what I need to learn, and sometimes I’m just lost with no idea what to do next. So, I lean on the great teachers around me. I head next door to talk things over with Alice. I read, re-read, and read again the stories and posts of people like Shelley Wright and John Spencer (among others) trying to glean from their experiences. So, do we know what we don’t know? Can we? I guess…it depends. (How’s that for an answer?) But the question has left me believing even more strongly in the value of a good teacher–someone who knows how to ask the right questions.
To bring this idea about learning back to the metaphor of running, I want to talk about one of my newer goals. I want to run faster. I know I’m not fast enough for a person of my size and age. The trouble is I really don’t know how to run faster. I’m still a novice runner. Sure, I know I need to improve my form. I need to work on my stride and engage in more plyometrics. I need to strengthen my core, and I should lose some weight. In this way I know some things I needs to learn (do), but as for how to go about these things, well, I’m really not sure. What should I do first? What’s the best way to do them? I need a coach, an expert, to help me. Do I know what I don’t know? Well, yes and no. But in the end, I think I’ll benefit most having a good teacher or coach.
So what do you think? Do you know what you don’t know?
In Retro Cite (weekly)
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Reading Like A Historian | Stanford History Education Group
“The Reading Like a Historian curriculum engages students in historical inquiry. Each lesson revolves around a central historical question and features sets of primary documents designed for groups of students with diverse reading skills and abilities.”
Reading Like A Historian | Stanford History Education Group http://t.co/NG3gAlep h/t @larryferlazzo (cc: @jnabers) -
8 Things to Look For in Today’s Classroom
(via @gcouros) “Although technology is not the focus, it does give us many opportunities to magnify the opportunities I list below. So with that being said, here are some things that I believe will help the learner of today be successful in our world, both today and tomorrow.”
8 Things to Look For in Today’s Classroom http://t.co/XkKa8Oot via @gcouros -
Technology is not Neutral : Stager-to-Go
(via @garystager) “This vision of computing democratizes educational opportunity and supports what Papert and Turkle call epistemological pluralism. The learner is at the center of the educational experience and learns in their own way.”
Thinking about this excellent piece by @garystager >> Technology is not Neutral http://t.co/LXVVs9CV -
ReadWrite – 5 New Year’s Resolutions To Manage Your Tech Habits
5 New Year’s Resolutions To Manage Your Tech Habits http://t.co/Zbw9sUgM via @rww
(via @rww) “But in my reluctance to come back onto the grid this week, I eased in cautiously, and I realized that most of the problems just arise from me using tech too much and without enough intention. When I use my gadgets and services more deliberately and less often, the problems mostly go away, but still leave me with the benefits of being connected.”
In Retro Cite (weekly)
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edrethink: Why Do We Need to Play?
(via @johntspencer) “But the truth is, I want students to play, because it is vital to how students learn. It may or may not come in handy in a job someday. But that’s not the point. We need to play, because we are human and that’s a part of how humans learn.”
Why Do We Need to Play? http://t.co/Eq23ZvjK via @johntspencer -
The Best Posts & Articles On The “Motivation Trumps IQ” Study http://t.co/f3EGzYuj via @LarryFerlazzo
“Motivation and study skills turned out to be more important factors in terms of students’ growth (their learning curve or ability to learn) in math.”
In Retro Cite (weekly)
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Big blog posts that made a difference
Big blog posts that made a difference http://t.co/r04RLoyy via @markwschaefer < This is why I don't read only education related blogs. /pc
(via @markwschaefer) "I'm frequently asked by new readers if there is some way to catch up with the best content on my blog. Well, hopefully it's ALL good to somebody, but each year I look back and review the blog posts that seemed to make the biggest impact." -
Race and Intellect, or Except for You, You’re The Smart One [Unreleased] | The Jose Vilson
Race and Intellect, or Except for You, You’re The Smart One http://t.co/Bisr50GU via @thejlv << Brilliant. /pc
(Via @thejlv) "Start grappling with your privilege. It’s the smartest thing you can do right now." -
Blogging through the Fourth Dimension: Standards Based Report Cards; Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing?
(via @pernilleripp) “So while there may be some positives; they are supposed to be broader skills, narrative missives rather than just percentages, and we finally all have the same report card, I still see some massive red flags.”
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Humility Matters | Practical Theory
Humility Matters http://t.co/chrmWfBR via @chrislehmann < Another wonderful reminder. Thanks, Chris. /pc
(via @chrislehmann) "True humility means understanding that one’s personal empowerment can never come at the expense of the empowerment of someone else’s." -
The Pursuit of Technology Integration Happiness: Apps for the 12 Days of Christmas – Summary Post
Apps for the 12 Days of Christmas – Summary Post http://t.co/rZUupVTT via @mzimmer557
(via @mzimmer557) “A lot of the posts for the 12 Days of Christmas posts were set on a schedule, so I don’t think I am missing any time with my family for these. Anyway, I wanted to have a quick summary post of all 12 in one place, so here it is.” -
Free Technology for Teachers: 10 Useful Chrome Extensions for Teachers & Students
(via @rmbyrne) “If you’re one of the people that made the switch to Chrome in 2012, here are some extensions and Chrome web apps that you and your students should find handy.”
10 Useful Chrome Extensions for Teachers & Students http://t.co/uGRhwNLX via @rmbyrne
In Retro Cite (weekly)
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Teaching Kids to Curate Content Collections [ACTIVITY] – The Tempered Radical
Another brilliant classroom activity from @plugusin > Teaching Kids to Curate Content Collections http://t.co/6BfVj78Q
(via @plugusin) “Basically, Scoop.it can become a one-stop shop for (1). teaching kids to search, (2). giving kids chances to manage information, to evaluate sources and to build collections and (3). allowing kids to easily publish content on topics that they care about.”
