Teachers, are you feeling a bit overwhelmed? I wanted to let you know that you are not alone. Consider the past week; we have been asked to convert our curriculum to an online platform. Many of us have explored or used the "flipped classroom" approach, but to put EVERYTHING we do online is an entirely different proposition. Not only are we considering the "how" in our teaching, but we are taking a look at the "what" as well. No longer are we teaching to the test- the test is gone. No longer are we teaching to the concert-the concert is gone. Granted, the "test" is still there, and we haven't abandoned our curriculums. However, this horrible event has created an opportunity for teachers to consider the "what" they teach as much as the "how." 
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Under the best of conditions making this transition would be a difficult task, however considering the stress we all feel in our own lives, this is a significant challenge. Admittedly, our fantastic health care workers are on the "front lines" battling this disease, and this post is not meant to suggest that teachers face an impossible situation. We owe a great deal to all of the folks who are risking their safety to protect all of us. 

It has been amazing to see all of the corporations offering free services and products to help support educators as we make this transition. At the same time, it has been overwhelming. Those familiar with the SAMR model know that we have been thrown into the deep end of the pool and are treading water like crazy. Let's use that analogy. Our typical pedagogy has us swimming in a section of the pool that is comfortable but not without risk. We all have days when we are productive in our swimming but might need to touch the bottom of the pool to correct ourselves. Other days we struggle to stay above water and may even reach out to a friend or lifeguard to support us. Rarely are we swimming effortlessly and, although some may suggest it, we never walk on water.

Now let's consider where we are today; the deep end. Agreed, some of us have explored this end of the pool prior to these events and feel comfortable here. Yet, even to the most adventurous educator, this was still a shock. When you consider the pressure and stress on our own families, it is like being in the deep end of a wave pool. If you have young children at home with you, add a few playful dolphins to that wave pool. If you are struggling with food, safety, or shelter, add a few sharks. 

Considering all of this, I think it is essential to acknowledge the following: 1) You have been put in a challenging situation. It is ok to feel overwhelmed. 2) Thanks to many caring individuals and companies, there are a bazillion opportunities out there for your students. It is a full-time job just exploring each of these options, much less implementing them. Don't try to do it all. Keep it simple and try one thing at a time. This is NOT a competition. Your students are NOT better off trying everything at once. 3) When considering your current choices for your online classroom, consider the "why" first (huh, I think there is a book about that). This will help illuminate the "what" you want to accomplish as well as the "how." And let's be clear, a LOT of what you see on FaceBook and other places is the "how." Remember, technology is just a tool. Bells and whistles are great, but only if there is a quality outcome tied to it.  4) Maya Angelou once said, "People will forget what you've said, they will forget what you did, but they will never forget the way you made them feel." Our students WILL forget the software package you decided to go with, but they will always remember your compassion and caring. Taking time to hear their stories or meet their dog or answer their questions or calm their fears trumps any content you can teach at this point. Make a connection with them.

These are just some thoughts floating around in my head. Maybe it resonates with what you are thinking and feeling. More than ever, I am proud to be in this profession and proud of the people I work with. Thank you, educators, for all that you do. Keep supporting each other and remember that it is ok to grab that inner tube as we ride out this wave together. ​

We live in a fast-paced world, where we work long hours and juggle a boatload of responsibilities. We shuttle our kids back and forth to activities, work overtime at our jobs, cook dinner, do housework, and complete a million other tasks. With all the things that demand our time, is it any wonder that hobbies fall by the wayside?  A lot of people scoff at the idea of hobbies, thinking that they don’t have time for them.
 
But according to BestMedicineNews.org, having a hobby makes your life happier and healthier. Hobbies are especially crucial for those going through addiction recovery. DrugRehab.org explains, “One of the hardest parts of being in recovery is feeling like you’re alone, or feeling uncomfortable around others while you’re in a fragile emotional state. Having a hobby can help you set the tone of your social encounters as well as keep them short and sweet; make a date with a friend to go for a swim or head to a DIY pottery class together.”
 
But what if you don’t have time to go somewhere to take an interesting class or workshop? It’s still possible. The internet allows you to pursue hobbies without even leaving your living room couch. Read on for some fun skills and hobbies you can learn online--alone or with a group of friends.

Play an Instrument
When you say the internet has everything, it really does have everything! Nowadays, you can learn to play an instrument by going online. Popular Science mentions that tutorials on youtube and online music schools can provide you with valuable instruction so you can learn to tootle the flute or play a tune on the violin. Whether you have a hankering to play the piano, the trumpet, or the electric guitar, there’s a good chance you’ll find an online class or instructor who would love to help you out.

Create a Masterpiece
Learn how to fashion your own masterpiece by taking art classes online. There’s a class or tutorial for any type of art you can imagine. Are you a wannabe Leonardo da Vinci? Take an online course on oil painting. Want to draw comics or manga? You can find tutorials on these too! Whether you want to sculpt, paint landscapes using watercolors, or anything in between, you can probably find an online class or tutorial that can make it happen.

Future Stephen King or J.K. Rowling?
Admit it: You have some half-written novels gathering dust in notebooks or suspended in time on your computer drive. You dream of writing a bestseller, but you just can’t get the words right. If you find a course online, you’ll get the tools you need to plot, write and revise your book until it’s ready for you to submit for publication. Many courses offer one-on-one mentoring, critique groups and lectures that help you understand how to write a polished novel. Who knows? Maybe you’ll pen the next blockbuster and end up being famous!

Head to the Barre
Who says you have to go to a dance studio to learn how to dance? Maybe that was the case in the days before the internet, but now, anyone who wants to learn ballet, flamenco, tap, hip hop, modern dance or any other form of movement can learn from knowledgeable instructors by going online. Some classes are free tutorials offered on sites like youtube. Other classes may require a monthly fee. Save some money and get a group of friends together to take class with you. That way, you can split the cost of the subscription. Whatever dance you decide to learn, taking online classes allows you to fulfill your childhood dreams of becoming a dancing queen….or king!
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You don’t have to leave your house to learn a new skill or pick up a new hobby. Just log onto the internet, and a world of opportunities awaits. No matter what you’re interested in, you can find tutorials and classes that allow you to pursue a passion. So, forget those excuses about not having enough time to practice a hobby. With the internet, you can learn something new at any time of the day or night.

Life and Career Coach
[email protected]
​juliemorris.org

I stared into the students eyes and said, "When you leave the deep practice zone you might as well quit."  The students sat stunned. Charlie raised his hand and said, "You mean we don't have to practice?" I responded "No, you should stop. In fact, I would put your instrument away and go do something else. If you are not concentrating you are wasting time." 

The belief that TIME = EXCELLENCE is only partially true. Daniel Coyle has taught me in his book "The Talent Code" that practice is really only effective when students are engaged in the process or as Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi would call "Flow".  A similar logic seems to permeate schools as well.

I have found that schools believe that student time spent "off task" during lunch, passing time and recess should be reduced so that more time can be spent in the classroom.  In fact, time spent in non-tested subjects should be reduced so that more time can be spent in subjects that will lead to higher test scores.  In other words, the more time spent "on task" in subjects "that matter" will result in better educated kids.

In 2007, the Center on Education Policy at George Washington University found that 62% of school districts had increased the amount of time spent on English language arts or math in elementary schools since 2001, while 44% of school districts had cut down on time spent on other subjects. The survey showed that 20% of school districts had reduced recess time. According to the 2016 Shape of the Nation report, just 16% of states require elementary schools to provide daily recess.  (Reilly, Katie. “Is Recess Important for Kids? Here's What the Research Says.” Time, Time, 23 Oct. 2017, time.com/4982061/recess-benefits-research-debate/.)

I believe that allowing students frequent "brain breaks" is not only important, it is necessary. More time on task will not equal excellence unless the students are engaged. Any teacher can tell you that students (heck, humans) will reach a point of saturation. Brains just need time to linger with ideas, to absorb information and to disengage. 

Schools tend to avoid "unstructured" time with students for obvious reasons - they are concerned about kids getting into trouble and making poor choices. The solution is to restrict this time and to place students in highly structured environments. Yet, this is not what is best for learning and does not help our students who struggle with mental illness and trauma. 

Recently, I finished a book called Teach Like Finland: 33 Simple Strategies for Joyful Classrooms by Timothy D. Walker. As you can imagine the book reveals insights into what makes Finland so successful in regards to their education system. What was unique about this book is that the author, Walker, was a teacher in the United States before moving to Finland. His perspective is that of a US teacher trying to fit in a new educational climate.  In the book he writes:

• Like a zombie, Sami—one of my fifth graders—lumbered over to me and hissed, “I think I’m going to explode! I’m not used to this schedule.” And I believed him. An angry red rash was starting to form on his forehead.   Yikes, I thought. What a way to begin my first year of teaching in Finland. It was only the third day of school and I was already pushing a student to the breaking point. When I took him aside, I quickly discovered why he was so upset
• Throughout this first week of school, I had gotten creative with my fifth grade timetable. Normally, students and teachers in Finland take a 15-minute break after every 45 minutes of instruction. During a typical break, students head outside to play and socialize with friends while teachers disappear to the lounge to chat over coffee.
• I didn’t see the point of these frequent pit stops. As a teacher in the United States, I’d spent several consecutive hours with my students in the classroom. And I was trying to replicate this model in Finland. The Finnish way seemed soft and I was convinced that kids learned better with longer stretches of instructional time. So I decided to hold my students back from their regularly scheduled break and teach two 45-minute lessons in a row, followed by a double break of 30 minutes. Now I knew why the red dots had appeared on Sami’s forehead.
• Come to think of it, I wasn’t sure if the American approach had ever worked very well. My students in the States had always seemed to drag their feet after about 45 minutes in the classroom. But they’d never thought of revolting like this shrimpy Finnish fifth grader, who was digging in his heels on the third day of school. At that moment, I decided to embrace the Finnish model of taking breaks.
• Once I incorporated these short recesses into our timetable, I no longer saw feet-dragging, zombie-like kids in my classroom. Throughout the school year, my Finnish students would—without fail—enter the classroom with a bounce in their steps after a 15-minute break. And most importantly, they were more focused during lessons.

Anthony Pellegrini, author of the book Recess: Its Role in Education and Development and emeritus professor of educational psychology at the University of Minnesota—has praised this approach for more than a decade. In East Asia, where many primary schools provide their students with a ten-minute break after about forty minutes of classroom instruction, Pellegrini observed the same phenomenon Walker had witnessed at his Finnish school. After these shorter recesses, students appeared to be more focused in the classroom (Pellegrini, 2005).
Not satisfied with anecdotal evidence alone, Pellegrini and his colleagues ran a series of experiments at a U.S. public elementary school to explore the relationship between recess timing and attentiveness in the classroom. In every one of the experiments, students were more attentive after a break than before a break. They also found that the children were less focused when the timing of the break was delayed—or in other words, when the lesson dragged on (Pellegrini, 2005).

In addition to this, a number of recent articles has also talked about schools realizing the importance of breaks during the day: Texas School Beats ADHD by Tripling Recess Time.

I'm sure many administrators would shutter at the idea of providing more "breaks" for kids. But what if we actually gave students what they needed?  What if we helped those students who need mental health supports and wrap around services?  What if we supported all learners (and teachers) with appropriate breaks?  What if we realized that there is more to education than the subjects tested on most standardized tests and invested in those subject areas rather than siphon minutes and resources away from them?

Time does not equal excellence. More is not necessarily better. We need to provide teachers with the autonomy they need and deserve to make the best choices for their students. We need to treat teachers like professionals and provide them with more opportunities to research what successful schools are doing. We need to provide schools with the resources necessary to take care of our kids - each and every one of them so that we can focus on teaching and learning. ​Time does not equal excellence. More is not necessarily better.

It was a beautiful fall afternoon when a colleague approached me after a busy day of teaching. This was our conversation:
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Colleague: “Can I ask you about your SMART Goal for this year?”
Me: “Sure”
Colleague: “I see your SMART Goal has something to do with increasing empathy with your 7th grade band students?”
Me: “Yes that is correct.”  
Colleague: “Why are you doing that as your SMART Goal?”
Me: “Have you seen the hallways lately?”
Colleague: “How will you teach empathy?”
Me: “Using Salvation is Created by Russian composer Pavel Chesnokov”
Colleague:  “I don’t understand”
Me: “Chesnokov wrote Salvation is Created . He was told by the Russian government that he could no longer write sacred music and must write for his country. Salvation is Created is one of the most beautiful pieces you will ever hear. It was one of the last sacred works he ever wrote. The tragedy is that Pavel Chesnokov never heard it performed. Can you imagine writing something this beautiful and never hearing it performed? That is my entry point to empathy.”
Colleague: “How will you measure it?”
Me: “We will do reflections and look for signs of growth, vulnerability, and change.”
Colleague: “What if you don’t meet your goals?”
Me: “I would rather aim for empathy and fail than aim for a lower goal and achieve it.”

A “SMART” goal is one that has the following criteria: specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time bound. At first glance, these criteria seem to make perfect sense. Who would argue that goals should be random, undeterminable, impossible, inapplicable, and never ending?  However, we must consider the implication of producing a measurable outcome. No measurement system in the world can assess what most matters in life: Integrity. Determination. Empathy. Resourcefulness. Connectedness. A Thirst for knowledge. Passion. Creativity. Adaptability. Confidence and kindness. Respect. These are the qualities that adults who are truly prepared and engaged possess. They are beyond measurement and they are what we must actively cultivate in our students.

Admittedly, I have impressed administrators with color coded Excel spreadsheets brimming with numbers and graphs in the past. Yet, I would argue that some of my worst teaching created some of my most impressive “data”.  I believe that numbers and letters cannot summarize the complexities of our classrooms. I also believe that when our focus is on producing measurable data and not on our students three things happen:

1. We take less interest in what we are doing.
2. We take the easiest possible task to get it done. In other words, we aim low and avoid risks.
3. We get less creative and the quality of our thinking is reduced.

As Albert Einstein once said, “Not everything important is measurable and not everything measurable is important.” Carrots and sticks play too big a role in our schools. We tend to create safe goals focusing on standardized test scores. Surely, academic progress is important but it is not sufficient. I believe that schools must consider the growth and well being of the whole child. Districts need to cultivate safe spaces for teachers to take risks, think critically, and explore new ideas. As teachers, we must be courageous, advocate for the learning not easily represented in a number and avoid setting goals that just “check the box.”  In other words, it is better to aim high and fail.

We have all heard the idiom "the straw that broke the camel's back", describing the seemingly minor or routine action which causes an unpredictably large and sudden reaction, all due to the cumulative effect of the small actions. This proverb actually began with the saying ""It is the last feather that breaks the horse's back" (1677). Either way, the important concept is this -- a human/animal can only take on a certain amount before they can no longer handle the load. What seems to be a minor, almost insignificant, addition can make a huge and sometimes devastating effect due to the load already being managed.

For a moment consider the load our public schools already carry. What societal influences/necessities have increased the load placed on our schools? What resources have been given to meet those increased needs? At what point will we reach the "final straw"? In my twenty years of teaching in Wisconsin's public schools I have seen and felt the increased load placed on our schools. I believe that we need to recognize the load that has been placed on our schools and take the necessary steps to support those who serve in this public role. We must be very careful not to push to a point at which we find, or even get close to, "the final straw".

So what straws have been added?
Obsession With Numbers - With every passing year I hear more and more of the rhetoric: "raising the bar", "higher accountability", "test scores" and "data". Our obsession with competition versus collaboration and test scores versus the love of learning has hurt our schools and our students. I believe that we need to have high standards but we must not forget the students in this process. Our only goal as educators should not be to raise test scores, but rather to instill a love of learning within each child. If we can get kids to love learning than test scores will take care of themselves.  In fact, Timo Heikkinen, a Helsinki principal with 24 years of teaching experience stated “If you only measure the statistics, you miss the human aspect.”  Moreover, Alfie Kohn wrote in his book The Homework Myth, "Any aspect of learning (or life) that appears in numerical form seems reassuringly scientific; if the numbers are getting larger over time, we must be making progress. Concepts such as intrinsic motivation and intellectual exploration are difficult for some minds to grasp, whereas test scores, like sales figures or votes, can be calculated and tracked and used to define success and failure. Broadly speaking, it is easier to measure efficiency than effectiveness, easier to rate how well we’re doing something than to ask whether what we’re doing makes sense. Not everyone realizes that the process of coming to understand ideas in a classroom is not always linear or quantifiable - or, in fact, that measurable outcomes may be the least significant results of learning.”  Data is an important tool in education but should not be the focus of education.

Mental Health - Our students are coming to school with higher ACE scores than ever before. What is ACE? Adverse Childhood Experiences or in other words, forms of trauma. The ACE score is a tally of different types of abuse, neglect, and other hallmarks of a rough childhood. "Five are personal — physical abuse, verbal abuse, sexual abuse, physical neglect, and emotional neglect. Five are related to other family members: a parent who’s an alcoholic, a mother who’s a victim of domestic violence, a family member in jail, a family member diagnosed with a mental illness, and the disappearance of a parent through divorce, death or abandonment. Each type of trauma counts as one. So a person who’s been physically abused, with one alcoholic parent, and a mother who was beaten up has an ACE score of three." (https://acestoohigh.com/got-your-ace-score/) 

In fact, a recent study found "more than half of adolescents have had at least one of these adverse childhood experiences, and nearly one in ten have experienced four or more. (Source: NSCH, 2011-2012)

• 68% of children and adolescents experienced at least one potentially traumatic event by age 16.
• In one study, 78% of children reportedly had multiple adversities, with an average initial exposure at age 5 years
• Data suggest that every classroom has at least one student affected by trauma.
• Students living in poverty, homelessness, and with other social vulnerabilities are significantly more apt to experience stress and trauma. (Copeland, Keeler Angold & Costello, 2007; Cook, Blaustein, Spinazzolla, & Vander Kolk , 2003)

Child psychologist Hilit Kletter, of Stanford University's School of Medicine, says that "to spot these children, she looks for visible signs of stress to understand what might have happened to them and how best to intervene. Kletter says reactions to trauma are sometimes misdiagnosed as symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, because kids dealing with adverse experiences may be impulsive — acting out with anger or other strong emotions." Kletter explains, "It's something that's very common in trauma: difficulty in regulating emotions and behavior. That's why a lot of these kids get in trouble with the classroom." (https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2015/03/02/387007941/take-the-ace-quiz-and-learn-what-it-does-and-doesnt-mean)
Studies show that kids who are dealing with high ACE scores are overloaded with stress hormones. In other words, they are in flight, fright, or freeze mode. These kids are simply not ready or able to learn in school. These students often have a hard time trusting adults or developing relationships with classmates. I see students displaying difficulty with…

• Organization
• Cause and effect
• Taking another’ s perspective
• Attentiveness
• Regulating emotions
• Executive functions
• Engaging in the curriculum
• Transitions

I witness students demonstrating:

• Non-age appropriate behavior
• Anxiety/worry about safety of self and others
• Poor or changed school performance and attendance
• Overly protective of personal space or belongings
• Reactivity and impulsivity
• Aggression and defiance 
• Withdrawal/avoidance
• Perfectionism

Yet, what are we doing to combat this? I've seen districts across the country buy into programs (and I mean that literally) like PBIS. This Skinnerian approach to behavior has actually done more harm than good. In our attempts to manipulate and coerce kids into compliance we have completely missed the underlying problem plaguing many of our students. There IS treatment for students with high ACE scores, but it certainly doesn't start with rewards and punishments. Schools need a buffet of strategies to meet this challenge:  Individual counseling services, safety/crisis planning, therapeutic & skill-building groups, youth development activities and case/care management. 

We cannot just throw this on the backs of our teachers and expect them to make significant progress with students dealing with trauma while teaching twenty plus other students (dealing with normal adolescent challenges!)  “It is not uncommon for school professionals who have a classroom with one or more students struggling from the effects of trauma to experience symptoms very much like those their students are exhibiting.” (The Heart of Learning and Teaching: Compassion, Resilience, and Academic Success - Wolpow)

Doing More With Less - Some say that money cannot fix our problems. I would argue to say that money is essential in order to allocate the resources necessary to educate our students. Schools are being asked to take on more and more to deal with societal challenges such as trauma but with fewer resources. We must fix the way we fund our schools. Governor Scott Walker has done long term damage to the schools in Wisconsin with his budget cuts and his attack on the teaching profession.

Teaching Profession - As a young child I remember tagging along with my father to do errands in our hometown of Arcadia, Wisconsin. No matter where we went, everyone knew my father. In fact, everyone knew all of the teachers in this small town. There was a certain amount of reverence for the teachers and the profession in general. I still see some of this today. I believe this is what makes Wisconsin so special and wonderful. Yet, much has been said and done in recent years causing damage to this noble profession. We are now facing one of the worst teacher shortages in history. We must realize the difficult work our teachers are doing each and every day. We must lift up the profession and encourage our students to consider becoming educators. What teacher made the biggest impact on your life?  Imagine a world without that teacher in your life?

It is imperative that we reinvest in our teachers and education system. We need to end our obsession with numbers and put our focus back on the kids.

• I believe that focusing on kids begins with asking “What does this child need?”
• I believe that our choices create the climate in our classrooms and those choices have a significant impact on our student’s learning.
• I believe the default question in education should be “how can we increase kids’ excitement about learning?”
• I believe that the seeds of potential are within every child, just waiting for the correct conditions to occur.
• I believe that the most important goal we should have is to foster a love of learning in each and every child.  Children should leave our classrooms more curious every day.

​Let's realize the increased load on our teachers, administrators and schools. Let's do more to support our schools and to lighten the load before we reach the "final straw."

In the 1950's Toyota implemented the Andon Cord. It was a physical rope that followed the assembly line and could be pulled to stop the manufacturing line at any time. Just think, any worker had the autonomy to stop production at any time in order to fix a problem. Management understood that the workers who were on the line understood the products the best and gave them the ability to suggest changes.

Do educators have an Andon Cord? My concern in education is that the adults who are closest to the students often do not have their voices heard. I believe that successful schools not only listen to its teachers, but embrace teacher leadership in real ways. In fact, a recent study found that "students who go to schools where their teachers have a leadership role in decision making perform significantly better on state tests." (Will, Madeline. “Students Fare Better When Teachers Have a Say, Study Finds.” Education Week, 1 Nov. 2017)

I believe that Teacher Leaders are poised in the perfect position to do this work and here's how:

• Teacher Leaders understand the principles of adult learning.  They know how to develop a collaborative culture of collective responsibility in schools.
• ​​Teacher Leaders value and utilize research.  They understand how it can be used to inform policies and practices.
• Teacher leaders understand the evolving nature of teaching and learning. They can use this knowledge to promote job-embedded professional learning.
• Teacher leaders model curiosity, continuous learning, and reflective practice. They can use these attributes to demonstrate how to grow and improve.
• Teacher leaders understand authentic assessment. They can guide educators on ways to use data to support teaching and learning.
• Teacher leaders demonstrate the importance of communication. They can use this to enhance collaboration with families, communities, and supportive entities.
• Teacher leaders can articulate the importance of education. They can use this to emphasize the role education plays in the lives of our children.

My plea for administrators, policy makers, and community members-- listen to your teachers!  As Sir Ken Robinson stated, "There is no system in the world or any school in the country that is better than its teachers. Teachers are the lifeblood of the success of schools."  Teacher voice is necessary. Teacher leadership is powerful. It is time to use this wisdom to combat the challenges that face our schools.