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This is a Gay Story

4/3/2022

 
by Read Karsell
If you haven’t had to come out, you likely don’t know how overwhelming and all-consuming it is. From early middle school when I began to realize I wasn’t interested in women, being gay was all I was thinking about. It's paranoia. Every second you talk, you worry you don’t sound straight enough.
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I didn’t say gay throughout high school; yet, a day didn’t go by when it was not on my mind. Throughout my education, I had to insist I was straight whenever I was asked if I was gay (which began in forth grade when I didn’t even know what gay was). In high school:
  • I never dated but had my story set: I’m just so busy, I don’t have time to date. (Turns out this is the exact same excuse my boyfriend also used when he was in high school.)
  • Is my voice so high that people assume I am gay?
  • I am friends with mainly girls, of course people think I am gay.
These were just a few of the worries my mind focused on each day.
 
I’d arrive home, struggling daily, because I had this secret I was keeping from my family. I knew they'd be accepting of me, but every day until my coming out was riddled with guilt because I felt I owed it to them. To combat this, I started setting goals:
  1. Come out by the end of first semester of senior year.   --No.
  2. Okay… quarter three.   --No.
  3. Mmm, okay, by graduation.   --NOPE.
 
What ended up forcing my hand was a combination of my mom asking me directly and my self-made rule that I wouldn’t come out to my dad by bringing a boy home--and I held myself to it.
Fun fact from the gay experience: it is so damn hard to say the word “gay.” As I said in the beginning, the word “gay” was on repeat in my mind nearly every hour of every day since sixth grade, so you’d imagine it would literally fly out. No--it was so hard.

And I hear that from a lot of people. It feels like a bad word, one that will get you in trouble if you say it out loud (where might that thought come from?). I’ve read stories of people spending months practicing saying, “I am gay” in a mirror.

My personal loophole was saying  “yes, I am a homosexuál” or “I do like the mens” in a silly voice. It is hard. I still struggle now.
And, one more thing: my experience is privileged. 
Related podcast episode: Equity Work with Sebastian WitherspoonSe

My Story is a Success Story

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I am privileged to have been born into a family that, for whatever reason, is accepting of me. Having met a lot of queer people after coming out, my story is a lesser known one--one of total acceptance. Most people don’t get that. Many have family they have yet to tell, and/or have family that doesn’t acknowledge them. The family of a person very close to me “accepts and loves them unconditionally, will never accept that part of them.”
 
So, to sit and write this, know my story is true, but I share it sitting unscathed in the rose garden while so many in my community are being pricked by thorns.

My Character Helps Students Sketch their Own Character
I am was not the first closeted kid in that high school and I won’t be the last. This is and will always be true about every school in every town across every state in the U.S. no matter the laws that are in place. Every day I get to be the teacher I never had: the openly gay teacher
 
When I told my students I am gay at the start of the school year, I promise you, not one student was fazed. Each class had multiple faces light up, each class had one or two students who gasped with happiness, and one class had two students who exhaled a “YESSSSSSSS” and then turned to high fived each other.
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In the immediate days following, those students talked to me more, they brought their significant others to class and hugged or kissed goodbye at my door, and they all showed a relaxedness in the space we had created. It confirmed to me that there are students who are looking for queer educators and it makes a difference to have them. ​
Related read: Showing Pride In Our Classrooms

Help Students Draft Authentic Stories

No matter who you are as an educator, there are ways to support LGBTQIA+ students. 
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Related podcast episode: On Becoming Deeply Human with Dessa
Support Character Interaction
Start by going to GSA (Gender and Sexuality Alliance) meetings.
 
This was a hurdle for me because I had actively avoided my own high school’s GSA (out of fear of being seen there and being outed), so doing so as an adult in the school I teach was still strangely difficult for me. I found it’s because I still have to come out to myself in different daily moments. The cause of that: internalized homophobia mashed with toxic masculinity. A horrendous cocktail that has a hold over the gay community and could be a doctoral thesis in and of itself.
 
My first GSA meeting was magical. It is a group of students in many different stages of their journey--some already aware of their sexuality and/or gender, some still trying to figure it out, and some trying to have a place where they can live as their true self for an hour a week.
           
This group of students--so special and unique--are the students you see in the halls every day, the students you have in the front seat of your class, and the students who just need an adult to say, I see you. I hear you. I am here for you.
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Having attended regularly, I have been able to make connections with students who now stop by my room to check in with me. I can share my lived experiences with them, and they teach me about their lives and what they are discovering as they go along--so impressive and so empowering.
 
A GSA meeting from just a few weeks ago brings me to my next “here’s what you can do” point. A speaker came at one point and talked about a “Day of Silence'' as a day that the GSA could host at school. They explained it could be one of two things: (1) a day of silence for participating students to not talk as an act of solidarity with LGBTQIA+ people who live in silence everyday about who they are, or (2) a day to celebrate not being silent anymore and getting the word out through conversation and advocacy.
 
It was when the presenter referenced “people living in silence everyday about who they are and out of fear for their safety” that the student sitting next to me, a student I have in class, mumbled,  “Relatable. That’s me everyday. Living in silence.”
 
Hearing that from my student, I was shocked; yet, not all. Living in silence wasn’t a new concept to my personal life, but it hurt that the student I teach everyday felt the need to be silent. ​
Related read: Our Stories are Data, Too
Add Some Dialogue
This student is in one of your classes too. You’ve walked by them in the hall many times, you teach their best friend currently, you’ve smiled at them as you chat with another teacher in their room. They are there: silent.
 
Consider writing a note.
 
I wrote that student a note the next morning. And it simply said, 
Student, I heard what you said yesterday during GSA and I want you to know that I see you. I hear you. And when you do talk, know that I am listening and you are heard. When you’re ready and if you need, you can always talk to me or I can help you connect with someone you feel comfortable talking with.
Super simple. No pressure. But assuring. Then, at the end of class, in a tone and confidence that I never saw coming, the student came to me and assured me that if they ever needed, they would talk to me. Then I walked out just as casually as I had dropped the folded note on their desk at the start of class.
​
You can do that too! You don’t have to be queer or  attend GSA, but you do have to listen. You have to pay attention to your students, and you’ll be able to find what to say. You also have to say gay--because gay ain’t going away. 
Related read: Students Names and Getting it Right
Word Choice Matters
I want to touch on the other side of “Don’t say Gay”--straight isn’t going away either, and neither is being cisgender. The idea of “Don’t say Gay” enrages me because wedding rings won’t leave the ring fingers of all the people in man/woman relationships. The family photos won’t be taken off desks. The stories of my husband/wife, kids, and I went to the water park last weekend won’t go away. The straight and cisgender world will continue.
 
Meanwhile “Don’t say Gay,” as it is solely meant to, will eliminate a school community where students who aren’t checking the straight and cisgender, 1950’s expectations can be seen and heard.
 
Please, do say gay. Please, say they/them. Please, say Tanner even though the student roster says their name is Emma. Please, talk about what a healthy relationship looks like and how to get through the rough patches. Please, talk about sex instead of pretending abstenance works. Please, do say gay. 
Related read: Two Takeaways for Supporting All Students

"Don't Say Gay" is a Fictional Tale

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The “Don’t say Gay” bill is, at its core, impossible.
 
Even though it was hard to get the word out of my mouth, it was in my head every second of every day, from my bus rides home to conversations during math class. And, it’s on repeat in the minds of students today too.
 
Let’s acknowledge these silenced students, and the students who have made their voice heard too:
  • Include a lesbian couple in your math class word problem.
  • Teach “elle” - the nonbinary pronoun in Spanish class and “iel” in French.
  • Read a book with a queer coming to age character in English class.
  • In history class, teach about the Stonewall Riots and analyze the government’s response to the AIDS Epidemic.

Related read: On the Joy of Discomfort
And, if none of this sits well with you, start with reading a book or watching a movie/tv show about the LGBTQIA+ experience: acquaint yourself with what your students are going through currently. If you’re feeling ready to take bigger steps forward, hang up a pride sign on your door and put an “I accept and support all” paragraph in your syllabi, write that student a note when you hear they need it, go attend a GSA meeting or start your own club.

​And, of course, make sure to use the word 
gay.

Read Karsell is a Spanish teacher in St. Paul, Minnesota. He is also openly gay educator who is proud of his story. 

Two Takeaways for Supporting All Students

3/6/2022

 
ideas by Tan Huynh and Katie Miller, compiled by Third Eye Education
In our recent podcast interview with Tan Huynh and local Minnesota expert on Multilingual Learners, Katie Miller, our conversation quickly cut to the core of education. 
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Throughout the conversation, Huynh and Miller share some strategies and resources that help them access that educational core quickly and effectively. Their ideas tended to fall into two categories: (1) leveraging what motivates and engages students and (2) modeling what it means to be a lifelong learner. 

They come to school for each other

Huynh shares a realization he had early on in his instruction: students “do not come to school for you, they come to school for each other. So why don’t we use that as the framework for instruction?”
Related podcast listen: A Rich Process of Creation
This takeaway inspired a sharing of ideas: a few favorite strategies and resources from Miller and Huynh that help all students, multilingual learners as well as all classroom learners. They both agree that by upping the amount of talk in our classrooms, and by teaching students structures and protocols for quality conversations, we give them a greater access to success.
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Talk - Read - Talk - Write
A strategy coined by Nancy Motley, Huynh shares a favorite tool of his: the Talk-Read-Talk-Write protocal. 

Learn about this tool here:
  • The book: Talk Read Talk Write: A Practical Routine for Learning in All Content Areas
  • A conversation between Motley and Huynh:

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Q.S.S.S.A.
"Question, Signal, Stem, Share, Assess" was another tool shared by Huynh. This stratgy might be used in this way:
  • Question: Which character emotionally grew the most in these three chapters?
  • Signal: Stand beside your desk once you have your answer ready to share. 
  • Stems: When you share your answer, start by saying, "The character __ grew the most emotionally in chapters 11-13 because..."
  • Share: In your quad, share your thinking with each other. See who agress and who doesn't. Explore why the agreement/disagreements exist. 
  • Assess: Write a sentence that summerizes your final answer to the question. Use the sentence stem shared earlier and be sure to have at least two reasons that follow the word "because."

Related read: Disciplinary Literacy - Adapt Not Adopt
Go Visual
Katie Miller, along with the Third Eye Education podcasts hosts, share a love of visuals for enhancing understanding. Pairing words with pictures is a simple way to increase comprehension and language acquisition. 
  • To support understanding of new vocabulary or complex ideas, try:
    • Ellen McKenzie’s article “Vocabulary Development using Visual Displays” (2014)
    • Boston University’s “Visual Representation of Texts” (2021)
  • To use them as a conversation starter or as a writing prompt, explore:
    • Literacy Ideas’ “Teaching Visual Literacy and Visual Texts in the Classroom” (2022)
  • Or use them as a synectic

​
For each of these three strategies, students “can do this in their heritage community language too,”  Huynh points out.

Learn beyond what you were taught

In our conversation, Huynh also highlights the importance of being continuous learners: we must set aside outdated practices to “Learn beyond what you were taught.”

A few resources Miller and Huynh shared, which may help you push outside of what you areadly know, are:
Cultivating Genious
The book Cultivating Genious: An Equity Framework for Culturally and Historically Responsive Literacy by Gholdy Muhammad is a resource Miller loves, and Huynh just interviewed Muhammad on his podcast last month. Find out more here:
Boosting Achievement
Carol Salva's work was brought up by Huynh: specifically her book Boosting Achievement. Dig into Salva's resources here:
  • The book, Boosting Achievement: Reaching Students with Interupted or Minimal Education by Carol Salva with Anna Matis
  • ​Her podcast, Boosting Achievement, with Voice Ed, CA
  • Her inspirational and resource-filled tweets: @MsSalvac

For more strategies and resources from Huynh and Miller, considering exploring some more of their works.
  • Tan Huynh: podcast, blogposts
  • ​Katie Miller: "The Power of the Words We Choose" and other articles.
“When teachers approach students with a Can-do mindset, everything is possible.”      〰 Tan Huynh

5 Ways to Structure Group Activities that Will Engage All Learners

2/13/2022

 
by Heather M. F. Lyke
— first published in October 2016 ​by RPS Secondary Curriculum & Instruction  |  ​updated in February 2022 — 
As we help students develop skills that will suit them well in the world beyond our classrooms, many of us find ourselves moving to more and more partner work, group tasks, and full class discussions and debates. This is especially true as we return to in-person learning now that we're finishing the second year of the pandemic: more and more we set aside the technology we depended on in recent years--embracing opportunities to have students discuss face to face.

Discussion opportunities help our students develop collaboration skills and illustrate teamwork, develop communication skills and think critically—all skills which today’s students need to thrive in the 21st century workforce that awaits them in their not-to-distant futures.

 
The struggle, however, is in ensuring that all students still walk away with deep levels of understanding. Far too often in partnerships, in small groups, and in full-class activities only a few students are actively engaged--some students choose passivity. When this happens, does it mean only those few students who participate walk away with the learning? It can, so it becomes our jobs as teachers to ensure all students engage in the learning we offer them.
Related read: Beyond Making the Grade: Motivating Jagged Learners with ClassROWEs
As we return to more collaborative and in-person learning environments, here are some strategies to help ensure all learners are still learning at high levels

For Groups of 2-3

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​1. Partners A & B

​What to do:
  1. Have students partner up and assign one as ‘A’ and one as ‘B’.
  2. Give ‘A’ a specific question to answer while ‘B’ only listens.
  3. Then, provide ‘B’ with a different question to respond t0 while ‘A’ only listens.

​Variations:
  • Ask ‘A’ to complete a task, summarize a part of a lesson, or answer a question while ‘B’ observes/listens; afterward, ‘B’ shares what she noticed, captures any missed details, or provides an example pertaining to the what ‘A’ did/discussed.
  • Ask ‘A’ to describe the next step (in say a math problem or science lab) while person ‘B’ then does exactly what student ‘A’ described.

Why this Works:
This ensures that there are equal voices, encouraging shy students to speak up while preventing naturally talkative students from taking over. It also teaches students balance, which is not a skill that many students develop naturally.

​2. Triads

​What to Do:
  1. In groups of three, have students number off.
  2. Then, begin by asking ‘student 1’ a question.  This student is the first of the triad.  
  3. After ‘student 1’ responds, keep your reaction to the student’s response silent.  Instead, redirect the response of ‘student 1’ to ‘student 2’ by saying, “Student 2, please give evidence to support or refute what student 1 said.”  
  4. After ‘student 2’ responds, call on ‘student 3’ to evaluate the merits of the response that ‘student 2’ provided.  
  5. Finally, return to the ‘student 1’ and ask him/her to make a final rebuttal or comment on what the classmates had said.  

​Variations:
  • Have students do this with a multi-step process where ‘student 1’ does step 1, ‘2’ does step 2, and ‘3’ does step 3.
  • When analyzing a reading, have ‘student 1’ paraphrase the text, have ‘2’ identify the main idea or theme, and have ‘3’ identify 3-4 text excerpts that support the main idea or theme. Finally, return to ‘1’ and have him/her identify what a reader might infer from the text.
  • In math, have ‘student 1’ read the word problem, ‘2’ draw a sketch of the problem, and then ‘3’ writes the equation.

​Why this Works:
Just like with Partners A & B, Triads ensures balanced voices and balanced participation within a small group; the addition of a third student, however, allows for more versatility and creativity within the structure of the activity. Additionally, the ‘additive’ element in almost all variations of Triads forces students to see and to work with how other students think. Often, there are multiple routes to the same answer, or various correct answers, and should ‘student 1’ opt to take a route different than what ‘2’/‘3’ were expecting, then the thinking of ‘student 1’ must broaden and thereby deeper learning will occur.   
Related read: Confidence, Pubs, and Finding a Place

For Groups of 4-6

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3. Numbered Heads

What to Do:
  1. Have students count off: if you have groups of six students, students count off 1-6 (they may do this in whatever order they choose). If there is a group with only five students in it, one student will have two numbers.
  2. Then, pose a question or problem to the class and tell the groups that they have a specific amount of time to come to consensus on an answer (the amount of time allotted depends on how open-ended the question is).
  3. Have the students put their heads together and make sure that everyone in the group has the answer(s).
  4. Then, call a number from 1-6 (try using Virtual Dice Roll so students can’t accuse you of “picking on them”). All the students with that number then stand.
  5. Call on all (or just a few) of the students standing to give their groups’ answer(s).

​Variations:
  • Ask all students with the called number to go to the board to simultaneously record their group’s answer.
  • If the question has multiple answers, allow each standing student to report just one of their answers. Use the rule, “be additive, not repetitive.”
  • Instead of questions, provide all students with a graphic organizer or similar task: have them work through it in their small group. Then, only collect one from the group—the one whose number is selected. (Added bonus: this equates to less work for you to provide feedback on.)

​Why this Works:

When students are assigned to work in groups, particularity groups larger than four or more, it’s common to assign roles. Where roles certainly have their merit, they can also backfire. When one student is assigned to be “recorder” others in that group might hear, 
I guess I don’t have to write any of this down, and thereby may disengage. Likewise, when one student is assigned to be a “reporter” others may hear, I guess I don’t need to really know this if I won’t have to share out later—again, potentially encouraging some disengagement. However, when students know you use Numbered Heads to determine whose work is turned in and/or who shares out, then all must stay engaged for the entire activity.
Related read: Unlearning Helplessness

For Whole Class Discussions

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4. Random Selection

What to Do:
  1. Establish a method for calling on all students at random. (Tip: my favorite low-tech way is to have each student’s name on a note card and to then to shuffle those note cards prior to each class to ensure they're always in a different order; whereas, my favorite high-tech way is to use Wheel of Names.)
  2. Use whatever method you chose to call on students at random as you facilitate the discussion. 

Variations:
  • Both with the cards and with ​Wheel of Names, you can opt to remove the names of the already-called-on-students or to keep them in the mix: removing names helps ensure balanced voices, whereas keeping all names in the mix ensures engagement throughout because students are aware that their name may come up again.
  • Have a student act as the ‘picker’, choosing the next card in the pile or hitting the button on the iPad to pick the next student. It’s a great way for students to show leadership.

​Why this Works:
When facilitating a whole group discussion, students who blurt answers aloud or constantly raise their hands tend to take over, giving other students perceived permission to tune out and disengage. However, establishing that all students will be called on at some point encourages students to stay engaged throughout. This strategy ensures that both shy students and students who prefer to be passive learners stay more active in their learning.

5. Chip Toss

What to Do:
  1. Round up some poker chips or something similar; you’ll need enough chips for each student in the discussion group to have four each.
  2. Give each student four chips—explain that all students are expected to use at least three chips, but that no one is to use more than four.
  3. Sitting in a full-class circle, provide the class with their topic for discussion and/or focus questions (I also like to give them some prep time, which is really key for more introverted students to feel comfortable in such situations), and then have them get started. Do your best to keep your own contributions at a minimum: only interject when absolutely necessary.
  4. Each time a student talks, the student must toss a chip into the center of the circle. (Tip: if your room is not carpeted, set a blanket down on the floor to cushion each chip’s fall, otherwise the chips can make a lot of noise.)

Variations:
  • Playing cards work well in place of chips, as do colored strips of paper.
  • Use this with groups of roughly 8-12 students in a Fishbowl discussion format.
  • Give each student two blue chips and two red chips: have blue mean “I only added slightly to what someone else said or reworded someone else’s idea” and red mean “I added a new idea, text support, or a ‘real-world’ example.” This helps ensure the conversation delves deeper. (Should a student miss-identify the question-type used, feel free to hand back the chip.)
  • Divide the class in half and host a debate: when using the chips, one color can be for new ideas and the other for rebuttals.
  • Give students who have anxiety about group discussions fewer chips to use.

​Why it Works:
Again, as was noted with 
Random Selection, large group discussions tend to foster environments where some students naturally dominate, either pushing quieter students aside or giving students who wish to disengage permission to do so. However, a strategy like this helps combat that by making students aware of the discussion's balance—helping those likely to over-contribute keep themselves in check while simultaneously motivating those likely to under-contribute to add their voices into the conversation.

Bonus Ideas

If you are looking for more ideas on increasing student voice and engagement, or would like to dig deeper into the value of such strategies, consider starting with these four resources: 
  • "Giving Students a Voice in the Classroom" by the Search Institute, 2016
  • "How to Open Class Participation to Everyone" by Edutopia, 2022 
  • "Including Voice in Education: Addressing Equity Through Student and Family Voice in the Classroom" by the Institute of Education Sciences, 2021
  • "Maximizing Student Voice to Achieve Equity in Classroom Participation" by Edutopia, 2021

Heather M. F. Lyke is the Director of Teaching & Learning for Dover-Eyota Schools and author of numerous articles focusing on quality education.

Learning from Our Students

12/19/2021

 
by Jean Prokott
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The sophomores have spent December writing creative nonfiction, short vignettes that allow them to rummage around for the metaphors hiding in their lives. I’ve been teaching personal essay for the last decade, so I often predict the topics students will choose (failing a test, church mission trip, sports injury) and the symbols they will find (butterflies, water, clouds) and preemptively direct them away from those clichés. The best part is to tell them what not to write. They have to keep rummaging.

Every once in a while, a kid finds a perfect peach of a topic and writes about it in a way that unties me. I want to share with you the story of “nonnie” so you see what I mean.* ​

​nonnie
​

When I found nonnie she was lying on her side, her stomach bloated, legs straight out, stiff, eyes wide open. The flies had already found her; they swarmed around her mouth, entered and exited as they pleased. She never let anyone as close as I was to her, she should have been running, putting a comfortable distance between us, keeping an eye on me as I fed the other cows. Yet there at my feet she lay motionless, off guard, vulnerable. Her fur coat fluffy, white and grey splotches with black running through like ink in water. Swirling, twisting, winding its way down her back and along her sides, creating an elegant contrast. This beautiful creature one foot away who should be running but is still as a rock. This beautiful creature with fluid creeping out of her mouth forming a puddle at my feet. The same fluid that built up in her lungs and drowned her, all because she faced an incline and couldn't get up. Such a simple action. There were visible imprints on the ground like a marred snow angel, made while she fought for life.
 
nonnie wasn't a tame cow, never one to crowd for food. She found out how to get under a fence in the far paddock and went for a couple joy runs. She ate grass in the pasture. She liked potatoes. I watched her birth, the first time I had ever seen a cow born. 3 days late, quick labor, the placenta covered her nose and I helped cut it away. Her mom tiredly cleaned her. She nursed the first milk, the most important for the calf, the colostrum containing antibodies necessary for immunity.  I remembered those things as I looked at her lifeless body. I saw this cow as a fresh little calf and I now see her as a bloated, lifeless, mound.
  
When Bill got there he told me what happened to nonnie. He got the skid loader and moved her to a grove of trees far from the house. I asked if he buried her, he said the coyotes would find her.​
That comma splice in the last line alone.

That structure with time, to start and end with death, to bring nonnie to life in the middle.

Her metaphor is one we all know. There's a defining moment in our lives when we learn about death. nonnie represents the literal of this coming-of-age, but also her struggle up the hill represents how my student felt when she lost nonnie.
Related read: On the Joy of Discomfort
It was a gift to read this piece. I wrote tomes of feedback in purple pen—mostly stars and wut and this is powerful over and over to the point where she probably thought I’d been living as a recluse for the last decade with only episodes of trash TV to keep me company. (Although to be fair, I think I just described last year and most of this one.)

One would have to be a callous car crash of a person if they didn’t feel their heart explode when they learned about nonnie’s fate and the effect she'd had on my student, and the day I read this, the time of year I read this, that this had been the 80th out of 95 essays I’d read—nonnie’s story was literally the saddest thing I’d ever heard in my whole sad life and I would spend the rest of my days mourning nonnie and my student’s loss.
​
After I read about nonnie, I had a flashback to an experience I’d had on my grandparents’ dairy farm and a cow named Flopsy, who’d been born with a messed-up leg. The end of that story is predictable: while eating hamburgers one evening, my father brought it up.

​​​That wasn’t the impetus of my response, however.
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I sent a few lines of the essay to a few teacher friends with the note:

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​And they wrote back: 

Because it is quite clear we are all nonnie. 
Related read: Our Stories are Data, Too
Her tragedy was that she’d wanted to climb a hill. There are so many hills this year. nonnie drowned “all because she faced an incline and couldn't get up. Such a simple action.” nonnie had spent her life free and sassy and getting under fences. She “liked potatoes.”  I like potatoes, too, I’d thought. I like potatoes, too.
​
Since the assignment was not one short scene, but three, when I conferenced with my student this week, I reviewed more rough drafts. One was about a horse named Iago (and I’m sorry, but find a more perfect name for a horse). An excerpt:
He broke through the fence the first day we had him […] Iago became my favorite horse. First I was brushing him, that soon turned into riding him, performing tricks like standing on him, spending hours in the barnyard making different ¨5 star meals¨ out of oats, potatoes, and grass (sushi was the favorite).
Is Iago still alive? I asked. Yes, Ms. Prokott, Iago is still alive.
​

The third scene was about a chicken.
the chicken I refuse to name

​Just two weeks after we got the chicks they had doubled in size. Besse chickens, white, fat, feathers missing, they were meat birds. As chicks they were cute but the chick phase quickly disappeared, lasting only two weeks. This type of chicken is bred to grow fast as most meat birds are. It's easier that way, the stressed heart, weak legs, achy joints, and poor quality of life are a small setback. So small in fact that it gets skipped over, we don't care about the living chicken, we care about the meat. The fact that it grows fast and is ready to butcher in about a month and a half outweighs the chicken's life experience.
 
The chicken I refuse to name was probably three weeks old, it was in a really ugly period where the feathers were patchy, bare pink skin showed through, like a red stain on white. The chicken's feathers were dusty, making her look cream. She was probably two pounds, not fully grown but not a chick. I found her laying down in the chick coop, her breath irregular, heavy, all the energy she had quickly depleted as she tried to prolong her life. Slow, sickly, inhale, shaky, lacking, exhale. Her eyes tired, head heavy, dropped like a weight to the hard ground. She was suffering. I brought over a bowl of water and a small handful of food, like that was going to help. She didn't even seem to notice me, eyes lazily fixed ahead of her, hanging on to all the energy she had left. When she didn't eat or drink I sat there for a while, I knew what was going to happen next. Though it was selfish I wasn't ready for her to die, maybe she would get better. As I sat there though, I knew I was kidding myself, she wasn't going to get any better. I looked at her one last time, in all her frailty and weakness. Then I told Bill.
 
As he walked toward the chickens I walked slowly the other way. I came back to the chickens, shovel in hand, gloves on. With a hole, about a foot deep, dug under the cover of a large maple, I picked up her small, delicate, body and buried her.
I read this, I looked up, I said: Why are you doing this? Why are you trying to kill me?
Related read: Creating Space for Student Empowerment
What also kills me is how humble she is. I think I might spend the rest of the year convincing her that, yes, it is that good. I know I will spend the next decade using her essay as a model for the assignment. And I just now realize this random IKEA print of a cow I have hanging in my classroom will never look the same.
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My reaction to this powerful piece was not only reader-response, of course—this student has mastered empathy and control of language and voice and happy accidents and every possible technique to make me react the way I did. But I don’t want to talk about how she got there, don’t care to list which activities we did in the classroom, don’t want to get my nails dirty in pedagogy. This was all her. I simply want to share this victory. Her victory to write such a heart wrenching piece, to have the maturity to revisit grief and make it beautiful.

While we’re all nonnies this year, struggling up the hill (and praying we don’t meet her fate) maybe we can also be my student. It’s been a year of loss, so let’s talk about it. Maybe find the metaphors. Learn from our students. 
​
And the next time you have a glass of milk, please pour one out for nonnie.

​* The student has given me permission to share. 

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​Jean Prokott is an English teacher in the Rochester Public Schools. She is also the author of the book The Second Longest Day of the Year which won the Howling Bird Press Book Prize, author of the chapbook The Birthday Effect, a recipient of the AWP Intro Journals Award, and has both poetry and nonfiction published in numerous journals.  Learn more about Prokott online or connect via ​email.


The Gift of Reading

12/5/2021

 
​by Heather M. F. Lyke
Reading Facts
We all know reading is important. I mean, just take a look at this infographic (aka: my attempt to summarize all the layers of importance).

Since reading is such an essential skill, it’s not surprising that the questions I receive most in my role as Teaching and Learning Director for Dover-Eyota  schools revolve around reading.
  • How can I help my child read more?
  • Do you have books suggestions for my reluctant reader?
  • My grandkid seems to be reading below grade-level: how do I get him up to speed?
  • My niece once loved reading, but now never picks up a book—is there a holiday gift I could get her to help her reengage?
​
​Simply put, there is a lot of passion out there for helping our youth become strong readers.

Plus, ‘tis the season of holiday sales, gift giving, vacation days, and new year’s resolutions…

​Combine these truths, and this becomes a perfect time for finding and sharing books, for having extra time to enjoy literature, and for setting new reading goals.

So, what can we do to support young readers and to foster within them a desire to read that lasts a lifetime?

Here are three sets of ideas:

Model It --

Read aloud to your child.
According to Scholastic (2019), a powerful predictor of kids’ reading frequency is having a parent [or other adult] who personally reads aloud to/with the child 5-7 days a week. Commonly, this is something we do with younger children, but recent studies have shown that even middle-school-aged youth love to be read to.
 
Read around your child.
Show the children in your life that you, too, are a reader. “Children who see adults reading and enjoying it,” according to Pearson Education (2021), “are much more likely to want to read themselves.” Maria Russo and Pamela Paul, authors of How to Raise a Reader, note that “when I’m sitting there on my couch, reading a book, and my kids are doing their own thing, I like to think, I’m parenting right now—they can see me reading this book”—conversely, if “right after dinner, the first thing you do is scroll through your phone, open up your laptop, or watch TV, kids are likely to take note.”
Related podcast episode: Literacy for All
Listen to audiobooks together.
Audiobooks support literacy skills in ways that physical books sometimes can’t. The web resource Reading Rockets (2003) shares that audiobooks model strong interpretive reading, make difficult vocabulary words or dialects more accessible, and enhance listening skills among other things.

Tip: there are a lot of ways to access free audiobooks. Visit the website LibriVox or try the app Libby (you just need a public library card!).

Remove Barriers --

Keep literature in reach.
Pearson Education (2021) shares a few tips: at home, have books on accessible shelves and coffee tables; when traveling, toss a few books in the car or suitcase; and when headed to an appointment, have a book at the ready should there be time spent in the waiting room. Personally, I’m currently reading 4 books: an audiobook, a bedside-table book, a living-room book, and one waiting-in-line book (which I actually access electronically on my phone).
Related read: Accessing Mirrors and Seeing Through Windows: Why Students Need Diverse Books
Embrace whatever text they choose.
From nonfiction to fiction, from poetry to graphic novels, from magazines to thick novels, from comic strips to junk-mail…anything with text is an opportunity to build vocabulary, to increase interest, and grow reading stamina. Additionally, each genre has its own unique trends when it comes to plot structures, character development, and literary techniques: reading widely exposes one to all the trends, making it easier to navigate future works of the same genre.   ​

Look past levels.

Once a reader is able to decode basic words, according to the School Library Journal (2020), which is typically around first grade, students should be encouraged to “read a wide range of texts…they should read easy books to things that kick their butt. The variation of difficulty does matter.” Simpler texts can build fluency, enjoyment, and stamina; while a text outside of one’s comfort level can introduce a reader to new vocabulary and increase understanding of what skills they’ve yet to master. ​
Related read: Creating Space for Student Empowerment

Encourage Interests --

Ask questions.
Reading teachers and authors Karen Szymusiak and Franki Sibberson (2007) share the tip that adults should “…talk about the books they [the students] are reading” by having conversations rooted in “open-ended questions they can use in discussing their reading.” They suggest questions that fit each of three layers:
  1. questions about the self -- How are you like the character of Rory?
  2. questions about the text -- You said it was set in Texas: how do you know? Can you show me where it says that in the book?
  3. questions about the world -- What you read reminds me of what we saw at the grocery store yesterday. How is the puppy in a vest that you just read about like the one we saw with the women getting milk?).
Related read: Mirrors, Windows, and Sliding Doors
Leverage hook books.
Reading a book series, going on author binges, rereading a favorite book—these sometimes get bad reps. Yet, they are integral to creating lifelong readers. Author Devon Corneal shared on Read Brightly (2021) that rereading helps learners develop strong word recognition, notice patterns, enhance fluency, strengthen comprehension, and foster confidence. Similarly, a reader who is hooked on a series deepens their connections with characters, increases comprehension, spends more time reading, and quickens the process of finding what book to read next, according to Edutopia (2016): likewise, reading multiple books by the same author can have similar impacts. 
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Celebrate books and reading.
Make literacy a reward. Make going to the library, visiting the bookmobile, or browsing at a bookstore a regular and joyful event. Combine reading with what your learner enjoys. For me, that was lunch with my father at Wong’s in downtown Rochester after spending a summer morning with my mom at the library. For my third-grade niece and nephew, it’s being allowed time to read uninterrupted in their small, end-of-bunkbed nooks they created with their father last year—simple plywood nests filled with blankets, pillows, and a few favorite reads. Lifelong reading is fostered by the memories of contentment we nurture now. ​

If you ever want to dig more deeply into reading, I’d love to connect! Until then, I hope you and the youth in your life find a great piece of literature to cuddle up with and enjoy this holiday season. 

Heather M. F. Lyke is the Director of Teaching & Learning for Dover-Eyota Schools and author of numerous articles focusing on quality education.

Reframing Our Future with Results Based Accountability

11/28/2021

 
​by Julie Brock
Shrouded in blame and punishment, accountability has been twisted into a punitive action versus the rich conversation it actually is intended to spur. To account is to reconcile, balance, see the full picture so future decisions are better informed.
 
In his Fast Company article, Four Ways You’re Getting Accountability Wrong, Mark Lukens explains why a culture of accountability is vital to the success of any organization. The principles Luken presents ask leaders to:
  1. focus on the goal
  2. look at what is working well
  3. create a culture in which progress includes failing forward.
“Whether you’re looking to fix a problem or to replicate a success, don’t act until you’ve understood why you got the results you did,” says Lukens.
Depending on how many classes of students move through a classroom in a day, it is possible to have three to six ‘micro-organizations’ that look to an educator as the ‘CEO’ responsible for setting the tone and expectations of their collective work.
 
How, then, do we function as a leader cultivating a collective culture of accountability as well as one of individual progress?
Related Read: Shifting Views on Assessments: Avoiding Blind Spots
Mark Friedman, author of Trying Hard isn’t Good Enough, created a data framework that helps communities work toward big, shared goals. The crux of his argument is that no one organization can own the results of an entire community. It takes many organizations contributing to get sustainable solutions. Within each contributing organization are departments or programs that contribute to the overall effectiveness of the organization. For example, a large school district may think that they do own the graduation rate for their community, but they do not—they do not have every student who lives in their boundaries attending their school, so they share that result with other education settings.
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Each educational setting can contribute to the overall graduation rate; yet, it does not have to look exactly the same. It is why school choice exists. Imagine each of those settings creating a culture of accountability in which students understand the systems serving them and also understand their role within the overall culture. It creates collaboration, cooperation, and communication. 
Related Read: Opening Classroom Doors to Allow in Community Collaborators
The conversation that data inspires what leads to actionable change. Our educational systems are limping along. The last blow of COVID damaged our barge and we cannot bail the water out faster than it is coming in [1]. And it is all levels. No educational setting is immune. We are a fleet of zero—grad school education settings taking on water and pivoting to figure out if the bucket brigade will work from a different angle.
 
That’s the thing with pivoting. I think about basketball. Once that pivot foot is set, it cannot move before a dribble. Players are stuck in one place until a pass or a path opens up for them to move. It is stationary, but all the while we keep spinning…thinking something will change.
Related Read: You Have Learned Something / You Have Lost Something
But it doesn’t.
 
Instead, I ask…
  • How long will we stay in place on the sinking barge?
  • How long will we wish away a pandemic that will not abide by our will?
  • How long will we, as a community, admire those on the barge trying to bail themselves out while throwing pithy advice across the bay? Or worse yet, gaslighting their circumstances:
    • “It’s hard for all of us.”
    • “You signed up for this.”
    • “It can’t be that bad.”
All the while, people are screaming at school board members, students are throwing things at teachers, and we comment safely from the shore.
 
The state of education can be overwhelming, stifling, and feel futile. But a classroom’s contribution matters. A department’s contribution matters. A building’s contribution matters. An afterschool program’s contribution matters. They matter when we hold ourselves accountable to a shared result. Students want to learn. According to the 2019 Minnesota Student survey, 97.8% of Olmsted County 9th graders (current 11th graders) said “if something interests me, I’ll learn more about it.” In that same survey, 99.2% of 11th graders said they will learn more about something that interests them.
Related Listen: "Project Based, Data Driven Education," a podcast conversation with Anna Tavis
Maybe we need to co-design around standards with students. Ask them how they want to learn the standards, what will resonate, and what will ultimately spur them to learn more within the content area [2]. Results Based Accountability™ (RBA), Friedman’s framework, asks for a community of people to solve community problems together. It isn’t a framework that leaves people behind. If we adopt this framework within communities, new partnerships start to blossom. Youth who move between organizations are more likely to be supported when there is a framework holding us together around the success of youth. Pair RBA and the co-design process with students, and now we have created partnership, collaboration, and ownership for youth over their own education, potentially fueling that 97-99% curiosity students reported in 2019. ​
Related Listen: "Giving Students a Say," a podcast conversation with Myron Dueck
The nice thing about RBA is that we can start right now, today, using it in classrooms. We don’t have to wait for the community to get on board: it can start a ripple effect. In fact, we may already live in a community that is using RBA to effect systemic change. Strive Together is a national nonprofit that has seventy communities across the nation doing this kind of work. If you live in Minnesota, there are seven cradle-to-career communities and two promise neighborhoods working for systemic change.
 
Accountability isn’t about shame and blame. It has to be reclaimed and untwisted from its negative connotation to create space for creativity, for innovation, and a way to get those on the shore to help get those on the sinking barge off and together—find our way into the next wave of education.
 
Interested in learning more about RBA and using it in your classroom / department / building / feeder system / district? Let me know and we’ll collaborate!
[1] This is where I tell you, I am a mixed metaphor monster. Enjoy the bumpy ride!
[2] This is typically where a “yeah, but” comes in. I’m not asking for standards to be ripped from the hands of professionally trained educators. I’m asking that we raise autonomous humans, and that includes giving them a say and honoring it where we can, and where we can’t, we explain why not. “Pushing a car off the building would be a cool way to learn about gravity, Jean, but we just can’t put people at risk that way.”

​Juile Brock has worked in the world of education for a few decades now and currently is the Assistant Director of licensure, accreditation, & assessment  for WSU's College of Education. Find our more about her on her website.

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