In the week leading up to this chat on July 19, 2018, I wondered about the title and where it would take the chat. I consulted the dictionary and the thesaurus. I even discussed the topic with a co-moderator. I wanted an idea or a theme in mind to “jump start” my thinking. A spark. An angle. A beginning point. After all . . . I was going to be at #ILA18 and my goal was to not spend all weekend writing a blog post. So here’s a small snapshot of what I discovered.
When the teacher says, “It has research to support it.” ???
When the administrator says, “This is what I bought.” ???
When is pertinence enough?
When the teacher says, “This is what my kids need.” ???
When the teacher says, “It worked this way for my students last year but I think if I try this one little change, it may work even better.” ???
When the administrator says, “Have you checked with others about this idea? And with whom?” ???
Before you make a decision about what you want (those things you revere) or what is needed (or relevant), let’s review this curated sample of #G2Great community tweets. The link for the entire Wakelet (archive) is at the bottom of this page.
What are our beliefs?
Meaningful, purposeful work: What are we in awe of?
Goals: What are we in awe of? What do we believe is best for students?
Collaboration and Goal-Setting: How do we keep students at the center?
Time: How do we allocate and use time to reflect what we revere and what is relevant?
Talk: How do we ensure that students talk more in the service of learning than the teacher?
Eureka . . .
What if, instead of trying to decide whether we need to start, continue, or stop doing something because of its reverence or relevance, we decided that both factors would be part of the same lens or filter? What if reverence AND relevance became a double simultaneous filter for reviewing and reflecting on our teaching needs and desires?
And as I participated in the chat in the midst of a group of #G2Great dear friends,
Quietly
Concentrating
Reading
Writing
Giggling occasionally
Greeting passer-bys
Reverence and relevance both merged together in Brent’s Canva of a quote from Dr. Mary Howard here.
. . . amazing child . . . notice and nurture . . . incredible potential . . . that resides in each child . . . without exception!
If that’s our vision and our goal how can we not use our understanding of reverence and relevance together?
And now that you have read through a curated set of tweets, just think about what learning in our classrooms could be if we asked students to “curate their learning daily.” What possibilities do you envision?
The fact that we were trending in the opening moments of our #G2Great chat “Shining a Spotlight on Push In/Pull Out”, on June 28, 2018, was not a surprise. Services for students with Individual Education Plans (IEPs) have been a hot topic since the first federal law, PL 94-142 (1975) which guaranteed: a free, appropriate education (FAPE) in the least restrictive environment (LRE). Every reauthorization since that initial law has involved change, but the requirement for educating students in the least restrictive environment remains a topic that requires ongoing discussion in every school across the country.
A walk down memory lane in special education would also shine some light on “mainstreaming” and “inclusion” as other terms used to describe student services. Mainstreaming brought special-needs students who were being served in separate classrooms back into general education classes. It was assumed that these students would be able to find success once mainstreamed, but access alone was not the issue. Many students still struggled because specialized assistance within the regular education classes was not provided. To remedy this, inclusion was the next wave of reform. Students with special needs were placed in general education classes but were also supported by specialists in those classes. Co-teaching became one form of support that still exists because IDEA continues to require students to be educated in the least restrictive placement.
As a former special education teacher who has taught in both push in and pull out programs, I eagerly anticipated this chat about services for ALL students including those who are striving, whether they have an IEP or they are Gifted and Talented. In reality this topic has huge implications because it can also include any student ever pulled out for any services: a Tier 2 or 3 Intervention, English Learner instruction, band lessons or even speech services.
Let’s begin with what was revealed in our conversations during the #G2Great chat. This quote of Johnny Downey’s sums up much of the thinking and also matched Amy’s quote about many factors being involved. It’s complicated!
When is the location or the content of instruction an equity issue?
The presumption is that each child will first receive quality core or Tier 1 instruction in the same classroom as their peers. Removal to another location through a Pull Out program during core instruction would be an equity issue because those students could be denied basic instruction. It depends what they would be “missing” in the classroom. However, this could also happen with Push In instruction if the student had small group instruction during a whole class Read Aloud time. The very elements of literacy instruction that are most needed by students, especially independent reading time, are often assigned as time for additional instruction. This does become an equity issue because the student may actually have access to less time for reading than his or her peers.
What is the primary focus for decision-making?
The student must be at the heart of all decisions made about where and when extra instruction will be provided. This seems simpler for students with IEPs because federal legislation, IDEA, guarantees parental rights:
“each public agency must ensure that the parents of each child with a disability are members of any group that makes decisions on the educational placement of their child.” Source Link
But this is also true for all students whether they are missing class for an intervention, speech instruction, or any of the other myriad of reasons that students are pulled out of classrooms. Parents should be part of the decision-making process. No parent of a fifth grader should be blindsided by this statement, “Well, she is not doing well in social studies because she missed it for the last two years because of her intervention time.“
What issues must be considered?
Quality Tier 1 instruction is critical and must be provided by expert teachers.
Neither push in or pull out is ever perfect for all children.
We must consider effectiveness of instruction and collect results to see if our students are really “learning” and if the support is increasing student success and joyfulness.
Decisions cannot EVER be about time, the schedule or the adults. It’s not their education on the line.
Sometimes, pull out instruction can be more efficient and more effective.
Thoughtful discussions should always be a part of the process for EACH and EVERY student.
And FINALLY, the biggest concern with Push In or Pull Out is the feelings and perceptions of the students involved. When do we include students in the decision-making process and what do they tell us?
Access to quality instruction is the right of all students. Access in the least restrictive environment is also a legal mandate for many students as parents consider just where that instruction should take place. An arbitrary requirement for ONLY “Pull Out” or “Push In” services must be rejected because the needs of the students should be a central focus of all decision-making. Student responses to their education, as well as their attitudes and perceptions, need to be considered as the focus of staff must be to accelerate learning in order to decrease learning gaps and develop a love of learning. Team Teaching or Co-Teaching is one current popular way of meeting students’ needs in a less intrusive setting and you can read more about that in the Wakelet archive. Data on the successes of Push In / Pull Out settings is inconclusive but more students are successful in life after learning in Push In settings. Other positive benefits from Push In settings include: more positive interactions with peers, improvement on standardized tests, and increased social and communication skills. Decisions about instruction must occur on a student by student basis in order for ALL students to have access to the highest quality education available in the least restrictive environment.
by Jenn Hayhurst On April 19, 2018, #G2Great’s PLN welcomed Tom Marshall to the fold. We had an inspired conversation about his new book, Reclaiming the Principalship Instructional Leadership Strategies to Engage Your School Community and Focus on Learning In Tom’s book he extends a beautiful invitation to “Make the word principal an adjective again. Join me, Head Learner, on the journey of reclaiming the principalship in the name of learning!” This is a powerful challenge. He is asking us to consider a richer more meaningful definition of what it means to teach and lead. How would school be different if we were learners first?
This left me wondering, what if…
What if we were learners who fostered collaboration and coaching?
Collaboration is alive and well. There are so many ways to learn with colleagues. We can learn with teachers in our schools and we can learn with teachers from around the world. Learning can be scheduled and it can be spontaneous. When we decide to raise the bar on our learning lives and open ourselves up to coaching we create a whole new dynamic. Coaching offers the benefit of a shared learning experience. The more we learn together the more informed that learning becomes because everyone has something important to offer:
What if we were learners who were responsive leaders within a learning culture?
Being responsive to needs requires us to think deeply about what is happening so we can plan a course of action. Leaders who make this an inclusive process, one that encourages us all to think of creative solutions, promote a learning culture. Tom reminds us that this relevant work, whether it is at the building level or classroom level, should pass a litmus test – does this benefit student learning? All of it – our evaluations, school improvement plans all of it can be swayed by a learning stance:
What if we were learners who honored each other’s values while growing professional discourse?
Classrooms are dripping with formative data and it tells a story. It reveals what we value and where we may need to go next. Every time we push ourselves to be honest and authentic about instructional practice we invite growth. This is the first step, the beginning of more substantial conversations that build upon strengths and reflection.
What if we were learners who built on community and momentum if we nurtured inner curiosity?
Leaders who set clear goals and pair them to a metaphor make it take root within a faculty. Teachers who come together around a goal build community and that is powerful. Whenever we tap into our personal power and harness it supports a shared vision we are making a huge impact on the lives of our students. Writing plays an important and meaningful role in this process. Taking time to stop and reflect is a game changer:
What begins with a “What if…” can lead to powerful changes and important discoveries. Tom’s wonderful book was written to encourage us all to adopt a learning leadership stance. Thank you Tom. Your wisdom and passion are exactly the right next step forward in education.
On February 22, 2018, Kate Roberts joined #G2Great to have a conversation about taking a fresh look at the whole-class novel. There is something deeply reassuring about her book, because she asks us to lift our presuppositions, regardless of what stance you take, and find some common ground. What is good about this practice? What’s a potential drawback? How can we elevate this practice so it can evolve based on what we now know about strong instructional practice?
We are all teachers who want to get to the heart of the matter… how do we help usher in the next generation of readers? As with any complex endeavor, there is so much to consider. Kate’s book inspired all of us to think past our preconceptions because the more we share the more we could learn from and support each other through professional sharing.
Sharing Experiences
Experiences shape us. They fill us up and give us the ink so we may write our stories. If I understand your experience with this instructional move, I can broaden my own understanding. During the chat, I broadened my understanding and I saw the Whole-Class Novel (WCN) as something that is not a yes/ no proposition I re-envisioned it as an opportunity that may be full of potential.
Sharing Expertise
We are smarter together! Yes, the Whole-Class Novel can be an object of inquiry. When teachers think about their end goals for using this instructional practice it can grant permission for critical thinking. We can take this one book, and open it up to all our students and see where they take it. That can be an exciting proposition.
Sharing the Journey
When teachers and students share the journey to make meaning it is magical. It is also powerful that Kate’s book inspired this revelation for the #G2Great community. This is not an easy proposition but it is a worthwhile one. Students will have vastly different interpretations of a book and that’s ok. The classroom is the perfect place to learn how to have those conversations that may not have been possible without this instructional move.
Thank you, Kate for helping us to re-envision the potential for the Whole-Class Novel. Together we continue to shape and grow our practice, because none of us are as brilliant as all of us…
Purpose is the spark that moves us to action. Purpose ignites a flame that lights the way for deeper learning. Purpose burns deep within each teacher so we can be leaders who advocate for keeping instruction student-centered, always. This was the conversation that inspired the #G2Great chat, Purposeful Planning: Relinquishing Instructional Control, on February 1, 2018.
How does working with a sense of purpose change us? Expectations. When we have sense of purpose in our work we also have higher expectations for the outcome of our work. This is true for any learner whether they are a teacher or a student.
Purpose Initiates Freedom & Leadership:
Teachers are the most influential leaders in the world, because we are leading students on a journey of self-discovery. We are teaching students to rely on themselves, and when students learn they can rely on themselves they become leaders too.
Every time teachers model how to take risks we set students free. When we are unafraid to try something, wrestle with a problem, or create complex learning experiences we create an expectation for learning. We are teaching them that the productive struggle is to be expected along the way. Each time teachers come to the classroom with a flexible purposeful plan we welcome student thinking into the mix. When we do that, we create stakeholders for learning!
Purpose Honors Identity & Choice:
Every child offers something totally unique. When teachers look at students’ differences as strengths to be integrated into a purposeful plan, we create something magical. We create learning opportunities that emphasize their individual talents.
Student voice and choice is not an extra nicety, it’s a necessity! Surely, these learning opportunities would not be possible without them. Every time students see their interests, their culture, their preferences represented in their classroom they become vested in purpose. Purpose is entirely the point.
Purpose Grows Learning & Success:
In the end, we have to get real about purposeful planning. It’s purposeful planning, not perfect planning. There is no neat and easy road to growth and success. Every time we plan for new experiences, complex thinking, and something a little unexpected we are helping our students to grow beyond what our curriculums asks us to teach.
Resilience is not always innate it can be learned over time. When we see our struggles as a gift, they become badges of honor that every learner can be proud to wear. This is what purposeful planning anticipates and celebrates for students and for teachers alike.
Purpose is defined as, the reason for which something is done or created or for which something exists.We believe that teacher’s purpose is inextricably linked to student growth. Growth in all its beauty and complexity and for something so big, we have to come at it with a plan. So, plan wisely, plan with great intention and compassion. Plan with optimism and expectations. As Dr. Mary Howard would advise you, plan with heart.
On a personal note, I’d like to wish my friend and mentor, Mary Howard, a very Happy Birthday. You are a gift to me and to so many others. You are the ultimate advocate for students and I thank you for pushing me to live up to your high expectations to be a better teacher than I was the day before. Truly, you inspire me in every way every day. xo
On August 24, 2017, our #G2Great community welcomed back Pernille Ripp with open arms. We celebrated her book, Passionate Readers: The Art of Reaching and Engaging Every Childwith a thoughtful and heartfelt conversation about what it takes to be a teacher of reading. Pernille is a teacher, she is one of us. She is open and honest about her own personal struggles and shares her celebrations and successes. She lets us into her classroom, and in doing so, we see our own teaching lives revealed.
As I read through my Twitter feed, I imagined that I was part of an extended faculty. A member of a dynamic group of educators who cares deeply about our profession. Teachers who understand that together we are changing lives. We are united by a shared purpose and our conversations with Pernille are a prelude to all the good work that lies ahead of a new school year.
As you read this post, imagine we are in the faculty room, and we are having a good conversation, thinking about the complexities of the work that goes into helping students discover their passion for reading. What is the most important thing to focus on? What should I do to set up a successful year? What do I do if students don’t even like to read?
Establish Reading Rituals…
Nurture Reading Identities…
Create a Reading Culture…
Set Attainable Goals…
Design Learning Environments…
Prioritize Time to Read…
Honor Authentic Choices…
Share Your Hopes & Dreams…
Thank you Pernille, you inspired so many of us to dig deep and share what we know. This chat was a glimpse into your marvelous book, which is a beautiful read that is both poignant and practical. Together we can wrestle with the big important questions, and find solutions through our collective wisdom. Fortunately, there are so many talented teachers to learn with as we begin this exciting new year of learning for students as well as ourselves.
On August 3, 2017, authors Katie Stover-Kelly and Lindsay Yearta joined #G2Great to extend a conversation that began with their book, From Pencils to Podcasts Digital Tools for Transforming K-6 Literacy Practices. Providing an education in the 21st Century means that whatever our role: teachers, administrators, professional developers, or college professors we need to be open to seeking out ways to intentionally integrate technology with learning.
This post is dedicated to the vibrant #G2Great Professional Learning Network, (PLN) because we are a community of educators who are unafraid to try new things, to learn, to mix it up and push ourselves forward in the name of our students. In that spirit, this post is beginning where our chat ended with our future technology goals. To boldly step out of our comfort zones and meet learning at the cutting edge of the 21st Century.
Our last question initiated BIG GOALS for future learning…
Global Read Aloud is an opportunity to connect and learn around story with a digital backdrop. According to Katie and Lindsay, “In this age of digital tools and multiliteracies, there are increasing demands of students to collaborate in order to consume and produce multimodal texts in online spaces.
If you are interested in learning more about Global Read Aloud: “The premise is simple; we pick a book to read aloud to our students during a set 6-week period and during that time we try to make as many global connections as possible. Each teacher decides how much time they would like to dedicate and how involved they would like to be. Some people choose to connect with just one class, while others go for as many as possible. The scope and depth of the project is up to you. While there are official tools you can use such as Skype, Twitter, Write About or Edmodo, you choose the tools that will make the most sense for you. Teachers get a community of other educators to do a global project with, hopefully inspiring them to continue these connections through the year. “ – Pernille Ripp
Twitter provides a unique social learning environment, It gives a space for intellectual engagement through live interactions with others. Katie and Lindsay underscore the importance of Twitter in their book, “Twitter provides students with a digital space to connect with other readers and authors to share and discuss books.” However, due to its organization and fast pace, Twitter can be daunting. There is a solution. Tweetdeck is a web-based tool that helps users to organize their Tweets into more manageable columns. It offers many useful features such as enabling users to “pre-tweet” or schedule tweets ahead of time. This is especially useful when planning and facilitating Twitter chats.To learn more, watch this video.
Understanding why a goal is important is essential, answering what you will do to accomplish the goal ties it to an action. This article offers 15 dynamic ways to make reflection a habit of mind in the classroom. In their book, Katie and Lindsay remind us that, “In the 21st Century, information is updated and readily available in real time.” Collaboration, and reflection begin with us. Teachers who lead by example, are the ones who will give students experiences that will help them grow to meet their potential.
If you visit Kate Messenger’s blog, you will see that she has created a platform to connect readers and authors through FREE Skype visits. Technology offers virtually limitless opportunities to provide access that would otherwise had been impossible. All we have to do is step out and take a risk and try. In Katie and Lindsay’s words “It is through the struggle that we learn. Additionally, the struggle provides you with thoughts and ideas to share with your students…”
Flipgrid allows teachers to create video discussion platforms. There are so many creative ways to incorporate this technology tool that are too numerous for this blog post! The important thing about Flipgrid is that it is a tool that amplifies student voice from pre-K to college aged students and beyond. It’s ok to start small with this technology, but the important thing is just to start. We need to start because we are educators, “As teachers we have the responsibility to equip our students with the tools that they need to fully participate in our interconnected, global society.” – Stover & Yearta
Thank you for writing this book Katie and Lindsay. It is an incredible resource that teachers need to have in their hands so they can put your ideas to work in their classrooms. I especially love that at the close of your book you extend an invitation to keep the conversation going through Twitter. That’s just what you did, and now we have even more resources and ideas to explore. That is is what learning is all about, and we are educators who fully embrace a learning lifestyle. We are flexible thinkers who are fueled by a collaborative spirit ready to take the next step forward together.
LInks to share…
From Pencils to Podcasts by Katie Stover Kelly and Lindsay Yearta
On Thursday, July 13, 2017 #G2Great welcomed three dynamic leaders Jessica Johnson, Shira Leibowitz, and Kathy Perret co-authors of The Coach Approach for School Leadership. Their book examines how to find the balance between the roles of learner and leader while fulfilling all that comes with the charge of being an administrator. They believe that if administrators can integrate instructional coaching techniques into their roles, they will lead their faculties to embrace learning with a sense of team spirit. Our #G2Great PLN welcomed their “coach approach” with great enthusiasm, understanding that when we view ourselves as learners first we are also leaders on a mission to improve education.
If we are willing, we can live the life of a learner in whatever our roles as educators and that is a powerful proposition. Any one of us who is willing to step into a leadership role understands that education is very complex and none of us knows all the answers. We also understand how important it is to “walk the walk” our actions, or inactions, impact the culture of our schools. If we adopt a coaching stance, we also understand that no great work can happen unless there is trust. For all these reasons Johnson, Leibowitz, and Perret coined The Coach Approach Mindset using the acronym HAT:
It’s never about the administrator, coach, or teacher the real work is always contextualized by the learners themselves no matter who they may be. A leader’s first priority should be to help learners achieve their best possible selves. However, before we can proceed we need to know what do our learners need? This is how we begin to adopt a coaching mindset.
Q2 Coaching is part of so many roles in education. What are key characteristics of your coaching mindset?
In writing this post, there is a need for many voices to define the key characteristics of a coaching mindset. Effective leadership requires a plurality and diverse perspectives. In order to define what makes a great leader or coach, we need to understand that a coach’s’ role is not defined by the coach or leader. It is defined by those we are honored to serve. While reading this post, repeat this as if it were a mantra, “Any one of us can be a leader.” If we are leaders who view our role through a coaching lens, we understand that any actions taken must reflect the needs of those around us. As we continue to make trust our priority and safeguard it, we all can continue to be our best for the students under our charge.
If the #G2Great PLN were a dream faculty, this would be our collective Top Tenfor how we would define the characteristics of a coaching mindset:
1. Growth is essential for everyone. It is contextual to the team you are part of:
2. Listening is essential for learning. It is an active presence in all that we do:
3. Positivity is essential because we find what we seek. It colors the context of our work:
4. Collaboration is essential because we all have something to offer. It requires ongoing practice:
5. Relationships are essential because they open doors to learning. Focus on care and trust:
6. Teamwork is essential because it expands empathy. Shared understandings help everyone to thrive:
7. Belief in potential is essential. Let your actions prove that you believe in other’s success:
8. Vision is essential because it is the underpinning for intentional work it requires flexibility:
9. Creating culture is essential. What do you want most? Look at it from every perspective:
10. Reflection is essential as we continue to learn we shape ourselves around other’s needs:
Coaching work begins to happen once you realize that the very nature of coaching is to lead others to self-discovery.It is the purview of each coach to believe in the power and potential that every teacher in the classroom possesses. As leaders, we do not distribute knowledge, but rather we thrive on the quest to learn more with and from teachers.
Our last words of wisdom come from the authors themselves, as they continue to strive to lead and learn by example:
Don’t be afraid to try new things
Set meaningful goals to work towards
Always question your purpose and recalibrate your path if necessary
Thank you, Jessica Johnson, Shira Leibowitz, and Kathy Perret for working to help us be our best possible selves as we continue our work as learners and leaders!
Kathy Perret offers Virtual Coaching for Instructional Coaches and School Leaders with testimonials on the home page. My first call with potential clients is always free. website http://kathyperret.net
I think by now everyone know members of #G2Great PLN like to talk. As a matter of fact, my good friend and mentor Dr Mary Howard just hit 50.5 K Tweets! To use Mary’s words, “What can I say, I like to talk.”
Teachers embrace talk because it is foundational for creating community. A good conversation grants us access to higher levels of understanding. On May 18, 2017Kara Pranikoff hosted #G2Great to discuss her new book, Teaching Talk, A Practical Guide to Fostering Student Thinking and Conversation and we explored ways to leverage talk to develop greater sophistication for how to use talk to bolster thinking and learning in the classroom.
Bridging research to classroom practice is the heart of Mary’s book, Good To Great Teaching . When we say “yes” to research, the next thing to do is to make our classrooms home to action research. We are all approaching the end of a school year, and now is the perfect time to try out some of the practices we are learning about during our #G2Great chats so we can finish strong and use what we learn in the year ahead.
As I think about how I can strengthen my talk practices in my own teaching. These two tweets sparked my learning into action:
Jenny and Kara inspired me to think about and adjust my own practices. First I will more intentionally offer explicit models to increase student engagement within collaborative dialogue and second I will keep a concrete reference of that dialogue use as an instructional springboard to next steps. The following is a transcript of an exchange between a partnership. The transcript is from two students discussing the benefits of using Thinking Tracks. Thinking Tracks is a tool I created, after attending a Summer Reading Institute at the Reading and Writing Project. The intention for the tool is to help students annotate texts quickly.
London: “Well a thinking track is really like used to jot down something. Like if I say, in the book Shortcut, they’re on a train track. That’s surprising to me, so I’d like jot down a surprising mark.”
Daniela: “Yeah, like um I will use this the Thinking Track by surprising. When they were all like looking and listening to the sounds and looking they were all surprised. I was surprised too that the kids were there on the train tracks. It is dangerous because they hurried and looked at the train coming through. On the other side they thought a train wasn’t coming, but the train passed! Someone could have maybe got hurt.”
London: “It (this book) opens up with a big twist and we just started the book!”
Daniela: “These tracks, like funny, important favorite, and surprised, connecting, I wonder, and there is one more conforce, confus, confusing.” (laughing a little) “You can all use these even the little pictures that show us how to use them.”
London: “It’s just a quick jot.”
What did my transcriptions do for me as a professional willing to shift my stance as a learner?
It shows me that both students have a strong understanding for how to use the tool.
It shows me that Daniela is learning how to integrate academic talk into her conversational speech.
This conversation gives me some insights as to the kinds of language standards I might want to lean into.
I can see that multisyllabic words, even familiar ones, might be still challenging to read flexibility.
I can use this conversation as mentor text to teach other students how to use the tool in a number of ways!
I can read it aloud to the rest of the class, or even next year’s class to demonstrate the value of the tool by pairing that with a copy of Donal Crew’s Shortcuts.
I can leave a copy of the transcript for students to read and annotate in a write around.
Just the act of transcribing their conversation sends a strong message to my students, we value talk here. It elevates their conversations to a new level of importance. They begin to see each other as a source of information to learn from. Wow!
I am grateful that Kara has elevated my own thinking about talk and I am going to use these points and her phenomenal book to fine tune my thinking this summer. Yes, this just the beginning of my learning and I invite you to join me so we can all delve deeper into her remarkable thinking. If you are reading this blog, you are the kind of teacher who is on a constant journey to bring your good classroom practices to great ones. It is every author’s hope that their work will inspire ours. When we read a professional book we are entering into a partnership that aspires to empower learning and benefit the intellectual world that we create for our students. We are co-creating a better opportunities for ourselves and our students. Happy reading.
LINKS
Teaching Talk: A Practical Guide to Fostering Student Thinking & Conversation
As I ponder the collective commitment of dedicated educators who live and breathe a vision for Brilliant Tapestries, I am drawn to Maya Angelou’s words:
We all should know that diversity makes for a rich tapestry, and we must understand that all the threads of the tapestry are equal in value no matter what their color.
The colorful threads of our Brilliant Tapestry symbolize our responsibility to be relentless advocates for every child who enters our classroom. Cornelius and Courtney are widely known as student advocacy leaders so we were hungry for their message of hope, evidenced when our conversation quickly trended on Twitter. For one inspirational hour, they became our teachers and we were willing students eager to soak in their wisdom. The energy was palpable as we formed a community of kindred advocacy spirits where our hearts and minds intersected in a joyful expedition of Brilliant Tapestries.
As I began the daunting task of reflecting on a conversation that surpassed the 1000 tweet storify limit, I was filled with the awesome responsibility afforded me to write this post. I wrestled with doubt in the days that followed the chat, wondering if I could possibly do such a critically important topic justice in a brief overview. But then I remembered that every journey begins with a single step and my hope for a post that would reflect first steps quieted my fears:
Our #G2Great educators reflect varying stages in their advocacy journey so for some this journey is in the early stages. #G2Great educators willingness to engage in this discussion represents their sense of advocacy urgency but this is also accompanied by equal parts of trepidation as we consider where to begin such expansive work. It is this breadth, however, that makes first steps even more important as those initial steps can offer an entry point for what follows.
Armed with renewed determination to take those first steps in the name of our Brilliant Tapestries, I turned back to Cornelius and Courtney for inspiration and revisited a multitude of tweets. Narrowing this passionate discussion into a brief overview was formidable and yet doing so was a fitting first step. Eight BIG ideas emerged from this awe-inspiring chat that I will forever hold dear. Although this feels inadequate to represent the scope of wisdom that loomed large in #G2Great, it is my hope that my noticings can offer a starting point for new or continuing journeys in classrooms across the country:
BIG IDEA 1: Acknowledge that the journey is needed
We can no longer afford to turn a blind eye to the children who enter our classrooms and our responsibility to acknowledge and honor the identities each of them bring to the learning table. We must sharpen our professional lens to truly see the unique identities in front of us so that we can begin to ‘cultivate’ community. It is only when we can celebrate every colorful thread in each child’s life tapestry that we will embrace those identities with an open heart knowing that each distinct thread adds to the beauty of our Brilliant Tapestries.
BIG IDEA 2: Assume responsibility for change
Once we acknowledge the Brilliant Tapestries that inhabit our classrooms, we must then begin the change process that will allow us to truly create a culture of inclusivity that celebrates each child. To do this, we must begin by accepting our professional and ethical responsibility to children by recognizing that the structural systems in place are inadequate to make the significant changes we know are necessary. Once we do this we can begin to create new systems that will support our efforts to celebrate our Brilliant Tapestries.
BIG IDEA 3: Broaden your identity perspective
For too long, identity has been narrowly defined by color, gender, race or even financial status. We cannot truly see children as long as we focus on narrow descriptors of what we deem defines them. If we look closely, we will find that the identity they bring to our classrooms extends far beyond a label confined to a single descriptor. When we take time and effort to know children at a deeper level, varied identities begin to gloriously emerge both within and beyond our school walls as each one adds to our Brilliant Tapestry.
BIG IDEA 4: Lift students voices in joyful harmony
While these are important first steps, we will never truly create the inclusive classrooms our children deserve until we invite students into the conversation. Simply acknowledging that diversity exists is not enough. Inclusive assumes that we empower our students by lifting up their voices in ways that will give them choice, voice, and agency. And lifting up their voices means that we must truly hear them in order for our classrooms to change in any substantive way. Their voices are interwoven in our Brilliant Tapestries and bring it to life.
BIG IDEA 5: Widen your scope of reference
Embracing inclusive classrooms is certainly another important step in that journey but this means that we must move beyond our classroom doors. Embracing inclusivity is not limited by the life students live in our school but extends to the life they live beyond our schools. It is important that we don’t simply depend on formal structures to engage students and parents but find informal ways to demonstrate our role as ‘fierce and unapologetic advocates’ from both sides. Brilliant Tapestries reflect each aspect of our students’ lives.
BIG IDEA 6: Plant and nurture seeds of respect
We cannot create inclusive classrooms by simply giving lip service to the process of inclusivity. Rather we begin by planting the seeds that will create classrooms rooted in respect based on relationships we build with children in and beyond our school setting. Those relationship are not simply the ones that we build between teacher and students but extend to peers and community. These respectful relationships are reflected in our words and actions as we listen to and interact with students in ways that honor our Brilliant Tapestries.
BIG IDEA 7: Build a strong foundation first
This important work can seem so expansive that it’s tempting to want change to happen overnight. But time can be our greatest gift as we begin by creating classrooms where our children feel safe while acknowledging that we may well be their only safe haven. Creating a safe classroom culture takes time and in some cases may require undoing damage already done. We must ensure ‘safe’ is not just in our minds but also in the minds of the children who inhabit our classrooms. We strengthen the threads of Brilliant Tapestries by strengthening the foundation that supports those threads.
BIG IDEA 8: Courageously forge a new path
We have become complacent about how we define ‘normal’ and often based on our own sense of normal. Welcoming new students into our classrooms year after year requires us to see a new normal that is inclusive of every child in that classroom in that year. The educators participating in #G2Great received a hefty dose of brave, but we must initiate these same brave conversations in our schools. Our conversational journey was a supportive one – the same journey schools need as they redefine normal and create inclusive classroom. We will only truly celebrate our Brilliant Tapestries when this spirit can spreads across every classroom in every school.
As I close this post and reflect on the BIG ideas of our Brilliant Tapestries inspired by Cornelius and Courtney, I am further inspired by the words of Cornelius in a recent Heinemann Blog Post, Cornelius Minor on Being an Advocate for Your Students. In his eloquent words:
As each of us launches a personal and professional journey of choosing to do something to celebrate Beautiful Tapestries that inhabit our classroom, we can begin with honest introspection. Will we be proud of the choices we have made as educators? Will we be able to say with unwavering certainty that the something we did made our instructional world a better place and afforded our children a brighter future within and beyond our school walls? I am grateful to our advocacy leaders, Cornelius and Courtney, for initiating the conversation that will illuminate our way as we bravely forge our own path along a shared journey of commitment to fiercely advocate for our students.
So I end with a final question that will ultimately define the impact we have had in this world and in the lives of our children…
How can we step outside of the tapestry of our own lives and embrace the Brilliant Tapestries that connect us all?
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Since this chat was about merging our collective voices, I would be remiss if I didn’t include other voices. Georgia Heard’s powerful words and Courtney’s eloquent response seems like a fitting way to merge our voices in an orchestra of shared commitment as we advocate that all kids have the right to “sing.”
