Leading From The Heart

by Tracy Rosen, teaching & consulting since 1996, blogging about it here since 2007. All views are my own and you should take them with a grain of salt, I do.

Category: Connecting

  • Report Card Jargon and Teacher/Parent communication

    Even though I was already on maternity leave 2 months before our first report cards (note that a ‘progress’ report was issued in November) were sent home I graded and wrote comments for my students based on the first part of the year and gave those marks/comments to the teacher who replaced me who could then use them as a baseline for her own assessments.

    Last June was my first experience with writing report cards in Ontario and I was struck with how jargony we can get as teachers. In Ontario, Jargonese is mandated by the government who guides teachers in the language that is used on report cards in an effort to maintain consistency across schools and school boards. The idea is a good one – when a child moves from one school to another it is helpful if we can understand where the child is coming from so we can most effectively (and quickly) help him or her. The problem is that not only are the comments filled with educational jargon that parents need help with decoding (and to be honest, some teachers need help with getting what they really mean at times as well!) but the creation of the comments, as well as the process of inputting them into the report card system, is laborious to say the least.

    In Quebec (at least at the secondary level. I haven’t taught at the elementary level in Quebec since before new report cards have been used) we were at the opposite pole – instead of teacher-written lengthy comments filled with jargon we could only use canned comments like satisfactory or absence hinders progress.

    In both cases the effectiveness of parent/teacher communication is, er, limited, don’t you think? If reporting is meant to be a way of communicating with parents then what can we really say about teacher-parent communication? And if we want to argue that it isn’t… then why are we still using report cards? I’ve always found that the most effective form of communication between families and teachers is through conversation. And many teachers DO talk to parents on a regular basis so that everyone is on the same page.

    I don’t know. It all seems to be extra work for the teacher when we could better spend our time planning, reflecting, thinking about active engagement with students. There’s GOT to be a better way!

    What do you think?

    A colleague pointed me towards this Xtranormal video on the ‘effectiveness’ of Report Card lingo for communicating with parents.

    Why do we put so many layers between teachers and parents? sigh…

  • Why are we arguing that social networking does not have neg. effect on school & learning?

    Here’s the article from the BBC for context:
    Social networking ‘damaging school work’ say teachers

    In reading through my twitter feed, I read many educators who seem angry about this article by the BBC. Some say kids have always wanted to connect with each other, this is no different. Others say to stop blaming the tools.

    It seems that every time someone mentions social networking as having potentially negative effects on learning there is an uproar – “stop blaming the tools that you don’t understand!” Why is it such a bad thing to point the finger at social networking tools?

    The big gun as of late is, without a doubt, facebook. I know some students (and adults) who are ALWAYS connected to facebook. Always. I have a friend (in his late 30s) who wakes up when his blackberry goes off in the middle of the night with a facebook notification. Old students of mine do the same. In theory, it should be a great way to connect with others in our social networks. I used it to connect with students when I was teaching upper grades. It has become much more than simply a way to connect with one’s network though.

    Advertising
    Facebook is cluttered with advertisement. It is designed to keep its users on as long as possible, with its newsfeed that updates at alarming rates so that we can be sure not to miss anything! with it’s friend suggestions, it’s old picture reminders, it’s game notifications – “Jack just scored 86 000 000 in bubble smash, can you beat his score?”… And that is not counting the actual advertisements in the sidebar that are geared to your recent google searches. Ever since I became pregnant I am seeing advertisements in the right sidebar with a pregnancy theme, or those ads that use your friends to help catch your eye – “Jack is a fan of blablabla”.

    Social networking, at least on facebook, has become so much more than that. It is a tangled web of advertising destined to keep us tethered to the network. OF COURSE it can get in the way of learning. Why is this being argued against?

    Attachment
    One of the biggest concerns of Attachment Theorists is when children attach themselves to their peers instead of a caring, concerned adult in such a way that the peer set becomes the moral compass instead of the adult. Social networks facilitate peer attachment in ways that just aren’t possible without them. Children (I’m thinking middle/high schoolers but it does happen at the elementary level as well) can be ‘friends’ online without actually being friends in person, or they can lurk other people’s profiles without being part of their circle (unless the profile is set to private, which I don’t see much of with the younger set). By spending so much time online attachments can happen that are completely artificial. Sure this can happen without facebook, but it is exponentially greater with it.

    I use social networks. There are times when I waste too much time on them. But I know that I am wasting time. I don’t allow them to interrupt my sleep. I don’t identify my ‘real world’, tangible relationships with those I barely communicate with online. When I need to get work done I stay away from them (unless I need to procrastinate) because I know that some are designed to keep me tethered to the web.

    But children who are increasingly identifying their networks with their facebook network don’t. Why should they? They are too often targeted by telephone companies advertising the latest phones to keep you connected.

    Have you read Super Sad True Love Story by Gary Shteyngart?

    The most slicing satire in this novel, however, is reserved for the technologized culture of everyday urban life; Shteyngart is the Joseph Heller of the information age. His characters carry networked devices called ƤppƤrƤti wherever they go, emitting (willingly or not) such data as their cholesterol and stress levels, credit rankings, self-esteem and relationship history, as well as their off-the-cuff evaluations of friends and strangers. “Learn to rate everyone around you,” a co-worker admonishes Lenny: The instantaneously broadcasted metrics include such categories as Personality, Sustainability and F***ability. When a friend suggests that they “FAC” while hanging out in a bar, clueless Lenny has to be told that this acronym means “‘Form A Community’ … It’s, like, a way to judge people. And let them judge you.” (Lenny, by the way, comes in last place among 40 in the category of “Male Hotness.”) Laura Miller of Salon.com

    Perhaps if learning were somehow completely embedded in social networking it would be less negatively affected. Then again, perhaps more. I don’t know. But I do know that we should not be arguing that it does not have negative effects on learning and school.

  • Time to collect some sentences!

    Hi everyone. It’s that time again, I’m asking you all to come up with some descriptive sentences to illustrate your day/week/month/year/state of mind as we enter the 2nd week, no, is it the third? (this daylight savings thing has me all confused) of November.

    Here are my plans – to put out the call for sentences (with Bonnie’s help :), to collect them throughout the week, and then to search for images that ‘go’ with them in order to post them as a combination of audio and text blurbs in a voicethread at the end of the week. If you feel like creating your own voicethread for your sentence, go ahead, and I’ll incorporate it into the final product.

    So…what’s on your mind this start of daylight savings week? (which, by the way, I think is quite cruel. Last week we teachers had to deal with Sunday night Halloween fallout, this week, with messed up clock fall out.)

  • Day in a Sentence – transitioning into a new year

    As a Jewish teacher, September does not only bring in a new school year but Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, as well. It’s a time for celebration and reflection as we transition into a new year, with new opportunities for personal and social improvement.

    Last week I reflected on my own transitions and asked how yours were going. Here are your responses, your transitions in a sentence. Oh, and please, if you didn’t manage to add your sentence to the list last week, do add it to the comments! I love reading what you have to say – the experiences of others always add to my own :)

    And if you’d like,Ā  something to listen to while reading through the sentences. This music made me smile this morning.


    Itā€™s been another long week of twelve-year-old rambunctiousness taken to the extreme, resulting in very little fun for their teacher, who is extremely thankful that the weather has at least cooled off. by Lynn Jacobs. Her last blog ..The Wheatless Chronicles- Redux

    Weā€™re in a sweet stage of transition ā€“ from infanthood to toddlerhood, and splendidly settled into this Mamaā€™s second year teaching a part-time schedule! Whatā€™s better than sweet snuggles before afternoon rest time?! by Amanda

    Monday to Tuesday to Wednesday, the tipping point to the end of the week. It is down hill now! by Bill Gaskins

    Thus, the leaves were changing. by Ben@TIC. His last blog ..Why We Need to Get Rid of Textbooks

    Great photo, great topic and as we move over to my blog Tracy, I hope you take up the challenge to collaborate with me in sharing more of the hosting. What do you think??

    Hereā€™s my sentenceā€¦
    Itā€™s September and Iā€™m in a great state of transition and loving it beginning with the Jewish holidays and moving into my work and play life. I love summer and welcome fall. by Bonnie. Her last blog ..Flipped Worked!

    (Yes, Bonnie – definitely!)

    I am transitioning back into the world of work, away from the classroom, working two days a week for a microfinance startup. by Delaine Zody. Her last blog ..Grumpy lives here

    Relinquishing my classroom to a student teacher this semester, especially when my classes are so freakinā€™ awesome, is much more difficult than I thought it would beā€¦ by April Niemela. Her last blog ..Research Interests a la Digital Story

    i am adrift from day to day right now, caring for my peaceful 2-month old baby girl without the solidity of ā€œweekdayā€ or ā€œweekendā€; at the same time, i feel the tidal pull of simplicity, a strong urge to declutter, divest, and reclaim life. by Sara p-c

    Oldest of 10-Our 92 yr. old mother went to a better place of no pain and suffering this week. by Mary in Missouri

    Iā€™m beginning new relationships with 120 seventh graders (and an intern) as both of my own children journey out west, exploring, which will probably transform my relationship with my wifeā€¦and so it goes. by
    Aram Kabodian. His last blog ..Transition time

    From the frantic stress of week 10, term 3
    To the spring holidays for two weeks
    From the farm I live on
    To the magnificent Australian outback
    For several days camping in the Flinders Ranges
    To relax, wind down and get ready for the final term of our school year. by
    Anne Mirtschin. Her last blog ..eT@lking- Playing on the Internet

    Making the autumnal change in culinary mindset means using the oven much more and trying to have fun with the longer food prep time. by Gail P. Her last blog ..Finding Our Own Groove!

    The cold air last night blew in a slight hint of winter, and our aging cat, Coltrane, finally came in for the night after six months of open-air living. by Kevin Hodgson. his last blog ..Dream Scenes- complete

    And thanks to all who commented on the transition I am in! (I’ve left those comments on the original post) I’m just past the half-way mark – it is going quickly!

  • Transitions in a sentence

    I am finding that this is a time of many transitions for me!

    From summer to school (and to autumn),
    From Grade 11 to Kindergarten,
    From English to French,

    and here is one last big transition for me:

    Most of us go through transitions at this time of year. What are yours?

    Feel free to write your sentence in any form, include images, sound, whatever you like to illustrate your transitions.
    As always, commenting will be moderated until next weekend when the sentences go public.

    I’m looking forward to reading them!