Learning in the Long Run

Tonight I am to speak at Richmond Ignite, an event that our school district has organized.  There will be about 15 speakers, each with only 5 minutes to share something they feel to be important with the attendees.  Here is what I plan to say.

I'm very pleased to be able to talk to you about two of my passions and three things they have in common:  Public Education and Long Distance Running, ultra marathons, mostly on trails, as you can see from my slides.

I started running at the same time, not coincidentally, as I began my teaching practice.  In 1990 I was a stressed out single mum, a student in the teacher ed program at UBC, living in my parents' basement.  I needed cheap and easy therapy and running fit the bill.  I started a bit at a time, until I could run about 5 km to The Gates and back.  In the spring I heard about the Sun Run.  My brother had done it and he said - if you can run 5 km you can run 10.  So I did and was overwhelmed by the feeling of joy crossing the finish line, feeling proud of my own accomplishment, but also part of something bigger than my self.  So I just kept doubling my distances.

The first lesson from the long run I'll share is to be present, to show up.  Our students and colleagues deserve nothing less than our full attention, our full engagement.  I time when being present really paid off for me in running was when I entered my first 100 km race.  We started in the pitch dark and the field of runners quickly spread out.  With 92 kilometres under my belt, the race director pedalled up to me on his bike and said, "Ok, Margaret, the next woman is 15 minutes behind you and if you keep up this pace, you will win and set a new women' course record." I looked at him in astonishment!  "What about the fast girls who signed up," I asked.  "They didn't show up," he replied.

I could not have completed that race, (anything over 42.2 km is called an ultra marathon), without a plan and a support crew.  My second lesson from the long run could be called collaborative UBD.  Beginning with the end in mind and having planned with a colleague.  In teaching these days, collaborative and planning give us the best odds of ensuring that our students are engaged in the kind of deep learning we want for them.  Running without a plan is called junk miles.  A time when I had an epic fail in a race was when I had trained all year to run 100 miler.  What I failed to do was plan for a pacer, a partner to run with me through the night.  I was too shy, too stubborn to ask for help, And in the night, in the dark, scare and alone, I pulled the plug and quit.  Collaboration makes the seemingly impossible, possible.

The third lesson from the long run I will share is to remain ever hopeful.  There are a lot of irritants in the long run, from bugs to blister to bears, muscle cramps and gastrointestinal distress. What I now know from finishing over 50 long distance races is that you can feel like hell, like every fibre of your being is telling you to stop, but it can get better. A friendly smile from a volunteer, having something to eat or drink, everything can change for the better.  And I think this is the greatest gift we can give our students - the gift of hope.  I think of the children of Attawapasat, of my own dear friend who's 15 year old somehow lost hope on the night of March 3rd.  We need our kids to know that there is hope - that things can and will get better.  There's an aid station just around the corner.

So in your work, be present, plan with a buddy, promote a growth mindset, and we will all cross the finish line and make a difference in public education.  Thank you.

Cookies and Blankets

Last Friday, I attended a Professional Development Day in Squamish.  The keynote speaker was a woman named Monique Gray Smith.  Her presentation was entitled "Fostering Resiliency with Indigenous Children and Families," but what she had to share made sense for all of our children and families.  She taught us about the physiological responses to stress and trauma.  When the brain judges a situation to be “dangerous” it responds by releasing epinephrine, cortisol, norepinephrine, serotonin, endorphin and ACTH (adrenocorticotropic hormone).  These chemicals are meant to help the body for a short period of time, but when the stress is prolonged, these chemicals can act against us, compromising our health and immune system. 

“Resiliency is the ability of individuals and systems (families, groups, communities) to cope successfully in the face of significant adversity or risk.”  All children and families, Monique reminded us, have the ability to learn new skills to become more resilient.  She then described four “blankets” to “wrap” around our children: Self, Family, Community, and Culture, Language and Connection to the land.  When we work in one of these four areas to build confidence and knowledge, we create a ripple effect into the other areas.  Success breeds success.

Many students in our schools are stressed.  This inhibits their ability to learn and remember, to imagine and create.  At a recent McNeely Morning Tea and Talk, parents expressed concern and wondered how to help their children cope.  At school we try many approaches to creating safe, calm learning spaces.  We do this with children in circles, with morning meetings, with greetings and good byes, with lessons on self-regulation and mindfulness, and most of all, kindness.

At home, you can limit children’s and your own screen time, have dinner as a family, plan some unstructured time for children to play freely and use their imaginations.  Visit the public or school library and spend time reading.  Exercise together by walking, playing ball or soccer.  Not every minute needs to be scheduled. Resist the temptation to add to the rush of modern life.

Monique Gray Smith encouraged us to surround ourselves with Cookie People.  Cookie People who make you feel bigger than yourselves, who bring out the best in you with their care and love.  Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote:  We find delight in the beauty and happiness of children that makes the heart too big for the body.

Let’s be Cookie People for all of our children.

Communicating Student Learning

Mr. Kibblewhite and I have just finished reading over three hundred second term reports cards.   Teachers spend hours writing these reports, choosing words carefully, wanting to be kind but honest in how they describe students’ progress and areas for further growth.

It is hard to put a child’s full learning profile into words, especially on only one page.  And we also are beginning to wonder if a letter grade can accurately represent what a child knows and can do.  Many schools across our province are piloting a new way of communicating student learning, that is on-going and frequent, rather than a three-times a year event.

Some teachers are using Twitter, some a program like Fresh Grade, to send parents and anecdotes about their child:  projects, speeches, art work, activities, daily writing, responses to reading, participation in games, and so on.  I know that I would have loved to be a fly on the wall in my children’s classrooms!  As a single, working parent, it was hard to be in the school on a regular basis, and the answer to, “What did you do in school today?” was not always very satisfying.

Let us know what you think?  Are you getting the information you would like from our report cards?  Do you find the comments (and the letter grades in grades 4 to 7) give you sufficient information?  Would you like to see examples of work that is “meeting expectations” in order to see what the “widely held expectations” are?  We’d love to have a conversation.

Competencies in Action

Last week we took sixteen grade 6 and 7 students to the RCMP detachment, to decorate the Command Vehicle for the Christmas Toy Drive.  We worked with the officers at different stations while listening to Christmas music, drinking hot chocolate and eating cookies.  While a little shy at first, the students responded to the friendliness of the officers and the enjoyed the chance to be out of school, in the fresh air and fall sunshine.

With the redesigned curriculum frequently on my mind, I realized that I was watching the students practice the competencies of Communication, Critical and Creative Thinking, Positive Personal and Cultural Identity, Personal Awareness and Responsibility and Social Responsibility. The tasks to be completed fell into the zone of "not too easy, not too hard."  Some students had never wrapped a present before, so that was a bit of a challenge.  Using spray snow to decorate the vehicle was another   job.  Decorating Santa's chair with garlands of greenery and ornaments definitely took some dexterity and teamwork.

We need to plan even more of these real-world, authentic experiences for students to connect and engage with the community.  Some of the statements successful students can make are:

I can work with others to achieve a common goal; I do my share.
I can give, receive and act on feedback.
I make my ideas work of change what I am doing.
I can experiment with more than one way of doing things.
I can show a sense of accomplishment and joy.
I can interact with others and the environment respectfully and thoughtfully.

Thanks to the teachers and the RCMP members for giving our students a chance to step up and contribute.  I helps us learn and makes us feel good.

Scanning

Big Change!  How wonderful!  So many new things to learn and discover!  I will not deny that a change of district and a move to "the city" came with some stress and anxiety, but I have loved the uncertainty, the uncovering, the exploration, the adventure. I love my new school.

I have now been the acting principal of McNeely for almost three months.  During this time, I have been so curious.  Who are our families?  What matters to them?  What do our students like about our school?  How do our staff members communicate with one another?  What are structures, traditions, rituals and celebrations that define our place?  Who holds power and influence?  How can we integrate new staff, students and families?  What makes McNeely tick?  And how does Mrs. Farrow remember everyone's name and story?

Some of the things I have noticed in my scanning of the school are:

• The staff and many of the families have a strong emotional investment in the school.
• There is a sense of pride, history and tradition in the place.
• There is strong relational trust among the staff.
• The students respect their teachers and want to do well.
• It is a place of social, emotional and academic learning, with a multicultural flavour that is appreciated and celebrated.

I have enjoyed being invited to teach in all of the classrooms.  The students have been so kind and welcoming.  Teachers have been generous and patient in the time they have taken to help me get a grip on how things work in the District and have been very forgiving when I have made mistakes.  They have also been open to having conversations about topics such as Mindset and Mindfulness, which are some of my favourite social-emotional topics and lessons.

I think what sums up my experience so far are the smiles I see on the faces of the youngest of our students, when I show up to take them to gym twice a week.  To me, that is a measure of my success: the relationships I can build with our 4, 5 and 6-year olds, which is "money in the bank" for years to come.  I am so lucky and so grateful.  

Change is good.