I'm Going to Be the Mayor of Minneapolis

OK, kids hang on to your hats. I am going to be the mayor of Minneapolis. No, I have never actually lived there, but I have visited for the past 20+ years and I know exactly what the problems of the city are and, though I know nothing about how to fix them, I can point out the problems in a loud and obnoxious way. TJ for Mayor!!!

I am not really running for mayor, but I needed to make a point. There are LOTS of people out in the world bullying others, especially teachers, with what they KNOW to be the way to solve the problems of the world. However, merely look at their credentials (and they are hard to miss because they are slapped on  just about everything that they put out there) and you will notice one glaring flaw....Many of the bullies of education have never been in a classroom or haven't been there for a LONG time. What does that have to do with anything, you might ask? Well, if you have to ask that question, you might as well stop reading because the rest of the post is not going to make sense to you.

Unless you have stayed up half the night worrying about a kid, or jumped up and down for joy when you FINALLY made a breakthrough in teaching a difficult topic, you just don't have the voice I need to hear. I am willing to be beaten up for a good cause, but not from people who have not walked in my shoes. Flitting through a few dozen classrooms is NOTHING like spending hours and years putting your heart and soul into a sometimes thankless job. I will NOT accept the criticism from outsiders as to what is best for my kids in my room at my school. Period.

I sometimes laugh at the big ed-tech pundits who, like their political counterparts, are busy banging away at teachers and the things they do to try to make a difference. One big trend, as an example, is to beat up the use of Interactive Whiteboards....Here is where I first started to split ways with the famous. I LOVE my board and I KNOW my kids (in my room and school) are better for having one. Am I the 'sage on the stage?' Not a chance. My kids are in front of the board and manipulating things and connecting pieces they have learned previously with some new information. Could they do it without the technology? Certainly. But, why go backwards?

Politicians are sitting in their ivory towers making decisions that will change, and typically harm, the kids in school. That is the way it is and there is nothing we really can do about that. However, it's the people who claim to be all about education that I can no longer abide. I am NOT about to name names, but I ask you to try to be a better consumer of information. Before considering someone an expert and taking their grief for something you tweeted/facebooked/blogged, consider where they come from. No one is going to let me be the mayor of Minneapolis just because I have driven through for 20 years, why should someone who knows very little about REAL life in a classroom change your teaching? My new montra.... "Those who can, do. Those who can't, beat up the people who are doing on Facebook and Twitter."

Excluded from this tirade (which started because of a mean comment someone made to a friend on Facebook), are GOOD, DECENT, KIND, WONDERFUL people who are not necessarily teachers but who are trying to bring out the BEST in kids and classrooms and not tossing stones at them. Of course my first example would be Peter H. Reynolds who is EXACTLY the kind of person that teachers and kids need. He GIVES tons of resources to teachers and challenges everyone to be the best they can be. In the spirit of full disclosure, I do lead an educator program for FableVision, Peter's company....but I do that BECAUSE of the people they are. Creating products that inspire teachers and with a mission that is about helping everyone reach their true potential. Another great example is Debbie Silver, who wrote a book called "Drumming to the Beat of Different Marchers."  I remember hearing Debbie (before I even met Peter) and I was so inspired by her heart and her demeanor. She inspired me to give MORE to teaching. I also must mention my dear friend, Dr. Peggy Healy Stearns, who is a software designer. She spends countless hours make amazing software for teachers and kids so that they can attain lofty goals. These kind of people deserve our attention and our trust. They endeavor to make us the best that we can be.

So, I guess the point of this long-winded crazy rant..... a thank you to wonderful people who try to build up teachers and kids.....and to the bullies, move along, there is nothing to see here. I shall go about my business, WORKING to make life better for kids.

UPDATE: I could list tons of people that are NOT what I am talking about, Leslie Fisher comes to mind. People who add to your knowledge without judging and beating people up are what we need more of. I guess the bottom line is that if the person GIVES and LISTENS, they bring something welcome to the table. If they berate and judge, not so much.

What Inspires You?

ColleenK on Twitter said that she got to hear Peter H. Reynolds speak this week and he gave a "very inspirational talk." To which I replied, "Peter is always inspirational to me, in one-on-one talks or in large groups. He has a great outlook on life and kids." It is no secret if you have ever happened upon this blog that I am a big fan of Peter Reynolds and of FableVision. I have even tried to explain what it is that motivates me to speak of them so often.

Which led me to wonder, what inspires me - or maybe more accurately, what is it about the people who inspire me? I will start with what inspires me and I hope readers will comment with what inspires them.

Thinking back to speakers I have heard, I think of the things that they said that are still with me. I think I have come up with some common threads to share.

1- One strong memory I have of being completely inspired--and in fact, changed, was when I heard Bill Page who was a speaker at an "At Risk" conference. I remember him saying, "it all comes down to what you believe in?" He said (paraphrased), if you get done teaching a lesson and the kids fail the test, what you do next depends on what you believe in. If you believe the kids are dumb and didn't learn what you so excellently taught, you move on. If you believe that all kids can learn if you could teach it in a way that they learn, you reteach and you do it in a different way. I can't tell you how those words have practically haunted me. When dealing with kids, I frequently hold decisions up to the "Bill Page" test. Not that I give tests, but it is a great way to approach problems.

2- Next, I would point to Peter H. Reynolds (I know, not a surprise). I had never met Peter until 2006 at the Iowa Technology Education Connection Conference when he was the keynote speaker. I had known the company and Peter's books, but I hadn't met the man. I had the priviledge of meeting Peter and Bill Norris in person. You could go through a lot of life without meeting people as genuine as Peter and Bill.

The true inspiration of Mr. Reynolds lies in watching him interact with people. I believe I have watched him interact with people for dozens of hours between the Iowa conference and the two NECC's I attended. I am amazed how 'present' he is when he talks to people. Total and complete chaos can be occurring around him, but he focuses on the person he is speaking to. It inspires me. It makes me want to be more like that. He is a person who has hundreds of projects going at the same time and deadlines that have to be always looming, and he takes time for people.

The other facet of the inspiration comes from the walk-the-talk nature of his personality. The first time we were out to dinner with a huge group of people, I am sure my jaw dropped when Peter took out his water colors and using a little wine, embellished a picture someone down the table had drawn. He is everything that the website says he is, a truly rare commodity.

4- A few years ago, I heard Debbie Silver, author of the book Drumming to the Beat of a Different Marcher: Finding the Rhythm for Teaching a Differentiated Classroom, which ironically did NOT have a cover by Peter Reynolds when I bought the book (but it does now and I have that copy too). What amazed me about Ms. Silver was that she was keynoting at the Iowa Technology conference and seemed to ignore the technology part and just speak about her educational experiences. I laughed...I got misty....and best of all, it made me think. It was early in the days of differentiation, or at least the word, and she spoke compassionately about kids and learning.

5- I have also mentioned Dr. Peggy Healy-Stearns a bunch of times and, trust me, she is deserving of every mention. She inspires me through her honest love of learning. Let's face it, Stationery Studio is an amazing piece of software and if Peggy did nothing, people would still buy it. That software is how I got to know FableVision. But watching Peggy talk to people about the software is an amazing and beautiful thing. She encourages them to send her projects and share what they are doing with kids...because she loves to learn how kids are impacted by the software and enjoys seeing the creations. The fact that she is one of the nicest people I have ever met is just icing on the cake! She also listens to every suggestion about possible changes to the program...the only thing that could motivate that is wanting it to be the very best and the most useful.

In terms of inspiration there are many other people who inspire me. Sylvia Martinez, Diane Cordell, and Karen Janowski all used Skype to present to the college class I am teaching. First, they were all inspiring because they had so much knowledge and experience to share. Second, they were so inspiring because they all either volunteered, or jumped at the chance to help out. It takes a special person to share their knowledge in a non-traditional format. There literally wasn't a moment of hesitation for any of them to jump in and help, which I attribute to being great people and to loving what they do. I won't go into the entire social network again, but I am constantly inspired by my learning network.

I am also constantly inspired by my wife. She teaches in a large school (for Iowa -- 1800 in 9-12) and she sincerely cares about the students in her classroom. It is easy for me in a small school, but her classes are sometimes stretched to fit more than 30 students, it amazes me that she knows all their names and can work with them all to bring out their best writing. I can't tell you how many times she has cried over something her students have written or how many times she has gone above and beyond to help them.

Now, for the common thread that all of these people share -- they all have a passion for learning, people, and kids. They are all immensely creative people who care about other people and share their talents.

People with passion and creativity inspire me.... What inspires you?