"It takes a village . . . "

Essential Question: How am I responsible for the communities that I am a part of?

Paul Houston of AASA speaks of acting locally:

"Every educator is familiar with the African proverb that “it takes a village to raise a child.” It is a nice but inadequate sentiment for modern America.

I have visited African villages and seen their focus on children. In Kenya, the Masai greet each other with the question, “How are the children?” America would be better off if we could say that to each other with meaning. But we don’t and we can’t rely on the village to raise our children because we no longer have even a sense of village.

Educators must find a way to become village builders, and I think that starts with helping our children see that as their role. We have to build character in our children so they become their 'brother’s keepers.'" More . . .

How are the Children?

Character Resources
Process Resources
Citizenship Resources
The Maine Council for the Social Studies

The Bat, the Birds, and the Beasts

A great conflict was about to come off between the Birds and the Beasts. When the two armies were collected together the Bat hesitated which to join. The Birds that passed his perch said: "Come with us"; but he said: "I am a Beast." Later on, some Beasts who were passing underneath him looked up and said: "Come with us"; but he said: "I am a Bird." Luckily at the last moment peace was made, and no battle took place, so the Bat came to the Birds and wished to join in the rejoicings, but they all turned against him and he had to fly away. He then went to the Beasts, but soon had to beat a retreat, or else they would have torn him to pieces. "Ah," said the Bat, "I see now."

"He that is neither one thing nor the other has no friends."

One of my side jobs is to work with adult education teachers through the MARTI grant in investigating ways of making use of computer technology in their work with adult learners. Little did I know how much I would be learning by working in this area that focuses on life-long learning. It certainly has been an eye-opening experience.

This evening I spent several hours at the "Little Yellow Schoolhouse" with Ramsey Ludlow and her students. The topic was one of my favorites: Aesop's Fables. Such simple yet powerful stories always seem to strike a chord with students, no matter what the age. The above quoted story led to heart-felt personal stories from the students about the reasons they dropped out of high school. Ultimately it was because they felt like the bat.

Sometimes I wonder why we put so much attention on standards and testing in order to encourage student growth when the real issues are much more personal and connected with our culture.

Fables are a great take-off point for critical thinking for all ages . . . and are readily available on the web.

One of my all-time favorite teaching tools in my years as an elementary teacher was Albert Cullum's Aesop in the Afternoon, which is as timely now as when it was first published. Highly recommended. The other "modern" fable that generates great interest for all ages in George Orwell's Animal Farm, which never failed to get my fifth graders thinking.

Know any bats?

School Culture & Climate @ Oxford Hills

Oxford Hills School District devoted their professional development day today to student behavior and school culture and climate. All approximately 600 employees, including bus drivers, custodians, cafeteria and maintenance workers, started the day out with an introduction to the PBIS model. Employees later went to smaller groups to hear about ways to identify and deal with harassment and sexual harassment. The day ended with individual building members meeting together to discuss local needs. They had earlier taken a survey using one of the popular free online survey tools.

PBIS Resources

Behavior Management Resources
Rights & Responsibilities Resources
Process Skills
Classroom Management Resources
Character Resources
Bullying Resources

The Smell of Bacon at Climate & Culture Morning Meeting

You gotta love it. I connect with Mountain Valley Middle School as often as I can, being an additional resource for their literacy initiative and building-wide climate and culture focus. It is such a joy to observe the light-hearted social interaction of this staff combined with the serious work of school improvement. Today, as I arrive, a complete breakfast including the smell of bacon drew me to the home economics room where the staff gathers before the professional development meeting. Friendly place . . .nice touch.

This morning's topic was bullying. There's an enthusiastic and well-organized committee that leads the monthly late-arrival meeting devoted to school climate and culture.

Here's leadership that respects the group process, but perhaps more importantly, knows how to do it. The congeniality that comes from working through issues with patience in a collaborative manner shines through, mixing laughter and good humor with the more serious realities of working in a school. Want a model for PLC's? Look no further - they understand the concept at MVMS.

Today's task was to work in groups to try to come to a consensus on the consequences of different types of inappropriate language in the building. The discussion was to the point, relating to the realities. To me, the process was the important thing.

How is discipline and behavior management in buildings used to create a school that is friendly, caring, and encourages the best in each student as well as civility?

Behavior Management Resources
Rights & Responsibilities Resources
Process Skills
Classroom Management Resources
Character Resources
Bullying Resources

Professional Learning Communities

Character Series: Humility

"Keep me away from the wisdom which does not cry, the philosophy which does not laugh and the greatness which does not bow before children." ~ Kahlil Gibran

"Once the game is over, the king and the pawn go back in the same box." ~ Italian proverb

How do we model humility?

Humility Resources

Character Series: Responsibility

“Be the change you want to see in the world.” ~ Mahatma Gandhi

“You are not only responsible for what you say, but also for what you do not say” ~ Martin Luther

Are we teaching our children to be responsible?

Responsibility Resources

Rights and Responsibilities Resources

School Culture

Every Wednesday morning at Mountain Valley Middle School in Mexico, Maine, is "late-arrival" teacher workshop time. This is a valuable time when everyone is fresh to work on ways to improve the school. One session a month is devoted to a literacy initiative with the Western Maine Educational Collaborative, as previously posted. Today was focused on school culture. MVMS has an enthusiastic committee called the MVMS Improvement Committee (formerly the Student Climate and Culture group). Not only have they created some areas to focus on each month, but they provide hands-on training for staff during the professional development time. In other words, there are some strong capacity-building activities that promote implementation, not just words alone.

Today we worked on team-building, cooperative learning activities and conflict resolution skills in small groups that could be used with students during flex-time. Congratulations to the team for excellent leadership. :) Good stuff that I'm sure will make a difference! You see. . . there is a double function here . . . teachers working as a team in order to promote teamwork with students.

Lindsay MacMillan, teacher at MVMS, created a Noteshare notebook called Flex Time with many great ideas. Here is the Web Notebook version. MVMS Librarian, Amy Ryder, added the library resources available to teachers and students.

Process Skills Resources
Student Aspirations: Eight Conditions

Eight Conditions

The Quaglia Institute for Student Aspirations has a list of 8 conditions that it argues is important in the lives of students.

"• Belonging means that a student is a valued member of a community while still maintaining his or her uniqueness.

• Heroes are people with whom a student can connect. They have a positive influence and listen to and value students’ ideas.

• Sense of Accomplishment is based on being recognized for different types of success, including hard work and being a good person.

• Fun and Excitement as a condition means students are inspired. Students are actively engaged and emotionally involved in their schoolwork.

• Curiosity and Creativity become evident when students ask “why” or “why not” about the world around them.

• Spirit of Adventure is experienced when students tackle something new without the fear of failure or pressure of success.

• Leadership and Responsibility as a condition happens when students can make decisions and accept responsibility for their actions.

• Confidence to Take Action is the extent to which students believe in themselves and are encouraged to dream about their future, while being motivated to set goals in the present." ~ Russell Quaglia

What do you think? How important are these conditions in our lives? How do these conditions relate to character education and expeditionary education?

Also check out the September 2007 issue of American Association of School Superintendents on Personalizing Schools.

Also NAESP

Character Series: Courage

"Moral cowardice that keeps us from speaking our minds is as dangerous to this country as irresponsible talk. The right way is not always the popular and easy way. Standing for right when it is unpopular is a true test of moral character." ~ Margaret Chase Smith

Question: What place does courage have in schooling?

Courage Resources

Who

“Feelings of worth can flourish only in an atmosphere where individual differences are appreciated, mistakes are tolerated, communication is open, and rules are flexible - the kind of atmosphere that is found in a nurturing family” ~ Virginia Satir

How do we learn to appreciate other people?

Who Resources

Diversity Resources

Resources for Writing Biographies

Biography Resources

Character Series: Responsibility

"If you want children to keep their feet on the ground, put some responsibility on their shoulders." - Abigail Van Buren

How do we develop a sense of responsibility in our children?

Responsibility Resources

Character Series: Humility

"The goal of life is to make your heartbeat match the beat of the universe, to match your nature with Nature." ~ Joseph Campbell

Where does humility fit in K-12 education?

Humility Resources

Character Series: Compassion

"How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant of the weak and strong. Because someday in your life you will have been all of these." ~ George Washington Carver

Question:

How do we encourage compassionate behavior?

Compassion Resources
Diversity Resources
Prejudice & Intolerance Resources
Tolerance Resources
Bullying Resources

Character Series: Perseverance

"Fall seven times, stand up eight." ~Japanese Proverb

There are many words for it: perseverance, obstinacy, stick-to-it-iveness, persistence, pigheadedness. Each word carries a connotation with it, depending on the value we place on the task at hand.

Questions:

How do we encourage perseverance in accomplishing worthwhile goals?

How do we determine what a worthwhile goal is?

Perseverance Resources