November 26, 2010

What Does it Mean to Be 'Educated'?

By Lynn K. McMullin

This BLOG is a bit of a departure – a little more philosophical than newsworthy or practical; but I’d love to know what the members of our community are themselves thinking about the direction of education.

What does ‘being educated’ mean today?
Somewhere and sometime in the past few years, I’ve heard two separate anecdotes which illustrate an interesting paradox in defining what is means to be educated. The first was in a speech by Vartan Gregorian, the past-President of Brown University and current president of the Carnegie Corporation in New York. Gregorian cited a study in which Brown’s graduate students – supposedly among the best and the brightest young people in the country! – were asked, ‘What causes the seasons?’ About 85% of these graduate students (none of them science majors) explained and graphically illustrated on a piece of paper, with a great deal of confidence, an elliptical orbit, which when the earth was closer to the sun gave us summer and when it was farther away, gave us winter. Something approximating the diagram below:

Close to the sun -- it's summer!  Far away, it's winter!

But this, of course, is wrong! If it were true, the entire Earth would experience the same seasons at the same time. Yet, we know that summer in North America occurs at the same time as winter in Australia, and vice-versa. In fact, the Earth's orbit is nearly a circle, and the difference between its smallest distance from the Sun and its largest distance is proportionally very small. Furthermore, the Earth is furthest from the Sun in June when summer is beginning in the north! The seasons are caused by a combination of the tilt of the earth on its axis and its rotation.

Does this then make Brown University’s graduate students unprepared for the real world? They probably knew this concept at one point, but have forgotten it along their paths to learning something else in depth.  Should we label them 'uneducated' as they go off into the 21st century’s market place to become tech specialists, business executive, lawyers, manufacturers, social workers, Spanish teachers, and so on?  Or, should we accept that they will function exceptionally well with their particular skill set, enhanced with what is called 'just-in-time' knowledge, i.e. the ability to analyze accurate information as needed.

This second anecdote I heard at a curriculum workshop for differentiated instruction: eighth graders in a California school were given a portion of a standardized math test in which they were asked to generate their own answers and show their work. A word problem asked them, ‘How many buses will the army need to move 367 soldiers if each bus holds 48 soldiers?’ Students in the highest level math classes were more likely than students in lower level math classes to take their long division answers to the third decimal place and then round their answer to 7.65.  Yet, what’s .65 of a bus?  In this case, the students were well-schooled, but not practical. They were more concerned with being precise or accurate, than they were with being right.

Herein lies the paradox of the ‘educated’ student in the 21st century! To be educated, our students have to do much more than avail themselves of knowledge; they must apply what they know in a logical, meaningful way.  To be educated, they must both seek out information and develop critical minds capable of differentiating between pure academic knowledge and its real-life application. They need to be able to ask deep questions, observe meaningful patterns, make predictions.

In the past century, the ‘educated student’ knew a comparatively small body of work extremely well -- Shakespeare, ancient history, algebra and geometry, the Bible, the Fall of the Roman Empire, the function of cells, and so on. Today, however, with knowledge expanding exponentially, we know less and less about a whole lot more.  We cannot worry about our students being ‘academically’ educated in the same way they were in 1985. Our fear should be whether or not we are creating one-dimensional students who are unsure of what they know and how to use it.  In fact, recognized mathematician Grisha Perelman has said, "Learning is what most adults will do for a living in the 21st century."

Recently someone complained to me that the kids today don’t even know their state capitals. In truth, I wondered why that was such a problem.  In the argument that students can't locate states, countries, continents in the world -- an important global concept -- knowing the state's capitals contributes very little. Learning the state capitals requires rote memorization, a low-level skill that could potentially be reserved for life’s necessities, maybe spelling and multiplication facts (although even that is debatable in 2010).  But, should today’s students spend time memorizing the 50 state capitals?  Keep in mind, no thinking or problem-solving is involved! 

My grand-daughter, who’s a freshman in another school system, could find you a list of the state capitals on her cellphone in less than a minute.  In fact, one day when she, her mother, and I were driving through Vermont, my daughter wondered aloud if every state had a Springfield.  We started naming them, when from the back seat, my grand-daughter soon reported that about 35 states had Springfields… and several countries did… and then there was the Simpsons’ fictional city of Springfield… and three famous people with the last name of Springfield (‘Who’s Dusty?’ she asked!).  In about two minutes, she ‘knew’ more facts about Springfield than anyone cared to know.

That’s why as we work on Canton’s new social studies curriculum, we’re spending a great deal of time on the kinds of questions we want students to be able to answer.  In 5th grade, about the same age they might learn their state capitals, for example:  Not, “What is immigration?” but, “What factors cause groups of people move?”  Not, “What were the major inventions of the Industrial Revolution?” but, “How do we determine when change is 'progress'?”  Not, “What is the capital of Maine, Maryland, or Minnesota?” but, “How do our geography, climate, and resources affect the way we live and work?”

Your thoughts?

November 19, 2010

Improvement and Maintenance of Our Facilities

By
Kevin D. Case

A major responsibility of the Board of Education is the oversight and maintenance of Canton’s school facilities. The Canton Public School System is comprised of three school buildings: Cherry Brook Primary School, housing Grades Pre-K through 3; Canton Intermediate School, housing Grades 4 through 6; and Canton Middle School and Canton High School, located in one campus facility, housing Grades 7 through 12.

To address ongoing facilities needs, a Facilities Subcommittee of the Board of Education was formed comprised of representatives of the Board of Education, the district’s Business Manager, and me, the Superintendent of Schools. This subcommittee has the responsibility to ensure that our students and the Canton community are provided with safe and modern facilities and equipment that support the extraordinary educational opportunities our students are engaged in.

As we prepare our District Budget for the 2011-2012 school year, one of the areas we look at is the improvement and maintenance of our facilities. Throughout this process, we identify Capital Improvement Projects, which are long range and long term in nature. These projects range from roof replacement to comprehensive renovation or replacement and are normally above the $50,000 threshold. We also identify Current Operating Projects, which are projects that are preventative-based and can be accomplished during the fiscal year to prevent further deterioration of the facility. These projects can range up to $50,000.

During the 2009-2010 fiscal year, due to effective management of the district’s budget, the Board of Education was able to purchase equipment and furniture and accomplish projects to improve our schools. Examples include: new cafeteria tables for Canton High School; new performance risers for the stage at Canton Middle and High School; new lockers for the Canton High School locker room; refurbishment of bleachers in the gym at Canton Middle and High School; renovation of the locker room and weight room/wrestling room at Canton High School; and the replacement of the back windows at Cherry Brook Primary School which will result in energy cost savings to the District.

It is at this time of the year that we solicit input from the public as to what projects you feel are necessary to upgrade our school facilities. The Board of Education and I look forward to working with all members of the Canton community throughout the budget process as we look to continuously improve our school system.

Please send me your thoughts or questions at kcase@cantonschools.org.

I wish you and your family a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday.

November 12, 2010

How to Make the Most of a Parent Conference!


You're Invited!
by
Lynn K. McMullin

When I was a high school teacher, both in East Granby and Canton, I remember a few of my colleagues pulling their parent teacher conference schedule from their mailboxes and complaining, “I’m always seeing the wrong sets of parents.”  I understood what they meant by this, but it made me cringe then, and still does today. 

I’ve always looked at parent conferences this way: First, if your child is doing very well in class, you deserve to hear that message in person.  Second, and more importantly, if your child is excelling in class you deserve to know what the teacher is doing to challenge your child above and beyond the everyday expectations… what are his or her goals for your child this year?   Third, if your child is struggling, the teacher should lead a discussion about what you can do together to support your child’s motivation and/or achievement.  You have some information about what works and doesn’t work with your child, and the teacher has additional strategies to suggest.

It’s very important to attend conferences if your child is struggling academically or socially. It’s equally important to go if your child is doing very well.  Every parent has a right to be at conferences, to be treated with respect, and to be given a current progress report, with clear goal statements and suggestions for working together as partners in the student’s best interests.   You should never feel like you don’t belong or are taking up the teacher’s time.  If your schedule does not permit attending conferences, or if you have too many conferences to squeeze them all into one day, call and ask for an alternative day and time.

Maybe you’re asking yourself why you should attend for the umpteenth time and what you're supposed to say or ask during a parent teacher conference.  After all, you’ve got a progress report; you can check grades in PowerSchool; you’ve seen papers coming home; you have, or will receive, a report card.  What’s left?  Face-to-face communication can be much more effective than a number or letter on a report card.  You can learn so much about the teacher’s expectations and your child’s progress when you and the teacher review a few of your child’s papers together.  Facial expressions and body language can also help you and the teacher better understand each other’s perceptions.

The Art of the Elementary School Conference:
1. Ask how your child is doing overall in the classroom. Is your son or daughter behind, ahead, or on target academically and socially? Is your child happy in the classroom?
2. Ask to review some specific information about your child’s work in comparison to a benchmark. The teacher should be able to show you examples of what the grade-level expectations are for writing or what a sample math problem or task looks like. The teacher should be able to show you and explain your child’s reading level. Together, you should compare your child’s papers or written work to a benchmark or standard. Some teachers can also provide rubrics which describe what they are assessing.
3. Wherever your child is on the spectrum, ask what the teacher’s goals are for your child, when your child might reach those goals, and how your child is going to get there.
4. Ask about your child’s personal performance. Is your child working hard? To his or her full potential? Does your child enjoy the academic work? Share what you observe during homework time. Share any strategies that motivate your child … or circumstances that shut him/her down.
5. Ask about your child’s social growth. Does your child get along with others? Is your child friendly and respectful towards others? Does your child handle frustration, disappointment, guilt, or anger appropriately? Is your child accepted by others?
6. Both the teacher and parents must try to give vague observations a clearer context. If you can’t picture your child in a particular scenario, say, “Tell me more about that.” Ask the teacher to describe a particular time, place, and situation. Provide the same specifics for the teacher, when necessary. The goal is to determine ‘what works.’
7. Ask the teacher about your child’s good qualities and strengths. How can you, together, as a team, capitalize on those qualities and strengths?
8. Ask the teacher for suggestions about what you can do at home to support what the teacher is doing in school. There are specific ways parents can help children develop number sense, engage in critical thinking, read and follow multi-step directions, or make connections between stories (or even movies) and their own lives.
9. Ask what’s coming next. What’s the next unit in math or science? The next skill in reading?
10. If necessary, plan a follow-up conversation. Sometimes the teacher needs to think through a question or research new information. In that case, the teacher will need to get back to you. Sometimes, you’ll agree to try new strategies at home or in school and a follow-up will be necessary to evaluate the strategy.

Middle school and high school conferences are much tougher. Because teachers must see 40 or more parents in three days, secondary school conferences are considerably shorter. As a result, specific details about the student (rather than generic observations) and the facial expression and body language from both parties become the key communication devices. There IS time to be friendly; but there’s no time to chat about older siblings who went off to college, where the student is currently working, or the outcome of a recent sport or music event.

The Art of the 8-Minute Conference:
1. Ask how your child is doing overall in the subject. Is your son or daughter behind, ahead, or on target academically for that course? Is your child engaged, interested, and involved in the classroom?
2. Bring the last progress report with you and ask the teacher about any patterns you’ve observed. For example, your student might be struggling with homework or tests and quizzes. Ask the teacher for strategies which can strengthen weak areas. Ask for content-specific studying tips, such as flash cards or out-loud practice in front of a mirror. If you don’t know the amount of homework time expected each night, ask.
3. Ask to see your child’s work in comparison to a grade-level or department benchmark. The teacher should be able to show you what the expectations are for some elements of the content area -- a sample of a lab report, a one-page essay, or an essay test question response, for example. The teacher should be able to define the work qualities being assessed, such as labeling, showing all steps in a process, using complete sentences, or providing specific examples. Most teachers can provide rubrics which describe what they are assessing.
4. If necessary, plan a follow-up meeting or phone call, especially when a parent-teacher collaboration is required for the student to improve.


Conferences are November 16th, 17th, and 18th. Early release days are scheduled to accommodate the greatest number of parents.


November 5, 2010

Carnival Day in Math Class

By Lynn K. McMullin

Often, I have mentioned the importance of 21st century skills and real-world applications in classroom learning.  I’m sure everyone is familiar with the concept that knowledge is expanding astronomically. We’ve all read or heard that knowledge doubles at some “fill-in-the-blank” rate, whether that rate be every 8 days … or every 8 months … or some other frightening statistic.  But, the point remains: change happens in content knowledge so quickly that what a person knows is becoming secondary to what a person is able to do.

We hear that students in other countries are now achieving much more than our own students do.  Studies show that the countries with the highest achievement teach fewer topics more deeply. They teach less content knowledge and more reasoning and application skills.  In order to compete in the global economy, the United States will need students who can communicate, collaborate, and problem solve, not recite.  Our students will work with ‘just-in-time’ specifics by researching and analyzing information just as they need it for the particular problem and proposal their boss has assigned.  They need to be innovative, analytical, and persistent.

This week, in two high school math classes, students participated in Carnival Game Day. The task was this: work collaboratively in a small group to develop a carnival game that favored the house, but looked ‘winnable’ to the potential client.  There were a lot of parameters.  Students had to use a combination of at least two spinners, coins, dice, or cards. They needed to write-out the ‘game-play” rules, test the probabilities for profit vs. payout, and calculate the mathematical expectation of their games.


On “Carnival Day" itself, the students were given $48 in play money and were required to visit each game a minimum of three times.  In the end, the tables had to calculate their profits; and the contestants, their winnings.  Keep in mind, the students could go back as many times as they wanted to the games that seemed the “loosest” to them.


Lollipalozza -- what row you spin, what side you flip,
which lollipop you choose determines whether you win --
nothing, the lollipop, or $4.
 Lollipalozza was both enticing and interesting. It cost $3 to play. First, you spun for a color: 33.3% of the wheel was red (the bottom row) and 8.3% of the wheel was yellow (the top).  If you spun blue, green, or yellow, you knew you walked away with at least a lollipop; so if you didn’t mind a $3 price tag for the lollipop, you could call yourself a winner at that point!  Next, you flipped a coin.  Heads got you a pick from the left side; tails from the right.  Now, you got to select a lollipop from the colored row and side you had won.  If the dot on your lollipop stick matched the color of the row, you won $4… and the lollipop!

In Probability Roulette, you paid $3 to play. You had to spin the wheel and roll the dice simultaneously.  If your die landed on a pink triangle, you won the show of the die, anywhere from $1 - $6.  If your die landed on a green triangle, you lost.

I really enjoyed seeing what the kids had created, but I didn’t count my money on the way out.  I did hear one student complain to Mrs. Gabrielle Aitchison, their math teacher and the department chair, “I don’t get it. The probability of winning our game is minimal, but everyone keeps winning!”

The final part of this activity is that the students each write a self-evaluation based on the game they invented and the games they played.  Which game was the best performer and why?  Remember, a game had to both make money and attract customers. What would you do to improve your own game now that you saw how it performed?  Explain why your game’s performance did or did not match your mathematical prediction?  Students learned a little bit about odds and gaming at the same time, knowing how games can be built to favor the table and still look attractive.


Spin the roulette wheel and throw the die into the spinning wheel --
land on pink, you win the face value of the die.

Will this kind of collaborative, problem-solving activity make a difference?  I think so, especially since self-reflection is an important final component of the process.  Students still had to “know” things about probability and math to write their game proposals and resolve their problems.  But, they also had to put what they knew to the test, and then they had to be critical of their results. 

What do I see next?  I’d love for this kind of activity to move into the technology realm, with the kids designing their game components on computers and testing their results over the broad spectrum of their many peers through their ready access to ‘social networking.' Posting links to their games and collecting the results might even be one example of putting the Internet to work for them.

The Carnival Day assignment was designed by Mrs. Gabrielle Aitchison, (in red)
who grades students on every facet ... from the project proposal to the visual display ... from the "fairness" of the payout description to their grammar and spelling.