by Mary Howard

On May 3, 2018, we (me, Fran McVeigh, Jenn Hayhurst and Amy Brennan) were delighted when Sara Ahmed graced our #G2Great chat stage as first-time guest host. Educators everywhere admire Sara Ahmed, so collective excitement was high. From the moment our #G2Great family settled in for a conversation around Sara’s exquisite new book Twitter style, Being the Change: Lessons and Strategies to Teach Social Comprehension, the virtual swarm of passionate tweets began to literally flash across our #G2Great chat screen at warp speed.

I first began following Sara’s amazing work in 2015 when she joyfully burst into my professional view in a remarkable collaboration with Harvey “Smokey” Daniels: Upstanders: How to Engage Middle School Hearts and Minds with Inquiry. Since then, I find myself soaking in her brilliance and heart through social media, webinars or even face-to-face meetings at NCTE and ILA. Sara brings a lovely mix of humility, humanity and wisdom to all she does so it is always an honor just to be in her presence.

As soon as I received Sara’s book, I flipped back the cover and began reading. It didn’t take long to understand why Terrence J. Roberts used the word “gift” three times in his foreword. Sara’s dedication to this profession transforms the words “Being the Change” from a title on the cover of a book into a profound commitment that takes shape through her sense of urgency writing. This spirit is evident from the haunting opening story of her father to Sara’s words of hope for the future tucked lovingly into each lesson she so beautifully crafted in the company of her students so that teachers can bring them to life in their own classrooms. Yes, I can’t think of a more appropriate descriptor than “gift.”

Whenever it’s my fortunate turn to write our #G2Great chat reflection, I usually gather tweets as a springboard for my thinking. But no matter how many times I perused each of our inspiring chat tweets, I kept wondering if my gathering approach could possibly do a topic of this magnitude justice. I did, however, find myself returning to one tweet exchange between Sara and Tricia Ebarvia since it felt so reflective of the underlying message of Sara’s beautiful book.

The idea of giving our whole self by assuming an open listening stance really struck me. Sara modeled this stance across the entire chat. Even though she joined us on a very early Bangkok morning, she was completely present in each chat moment as she enthusiastically engaged in appreciative dialogue with everyone. I was inspired by Sara’s admission that she is not always successful at open listening and as I contemplated being the change as a work in progress, I turned to Sara’s definition of social comprehension:

This topic felt so big that I struggled to find a direction for this post, a struggle that continued as I flew home the night after the chat. And then it happened in the quiet solitude of the night sky! Without warning, one of the most amazing and humbling experiences of my life flashed into mind and the direction of this post came into view. I wasn’t sure how looking back would translate on paper but I loved the idea that Sara was part of this looking back. The experience is still fresh almost two years later, so heeding the beckoning of a lingering memory seemed important. While my memory of actual event was clear, I’m grateful to my far younger and thus far better ‘rememberer’ friend, Justin Dolci, for jogging my date and place memory).

The experience I am going to share invited me put it in writing, so this is a personal reflection of social comprehension from an insider’s view. Therefore, I will be taking some liberties with this post by setting my sights on an adult perspective. I believe that we cannot be our truest best selves for children until we become our truest best selves for ourselves first. The promise for Being the Change begins within each of us and so the work starts by gazing into a reflective mirror as we ponder the misconceptions that may be thwarting this important work ahead. I am suggesting that being the change resides within each of us and therefore we must have a laser focus on ourselves before we can have a lasting impact on our children, I’m going to do this by looking back so that I can look forward.

In July of 2016, I attended the International Literacy (ILA) Annual Conference in Boston, MA. Shortly after the conference began, an electric energy spread across the conference halls when we heard that Sara Ahmed and Cornelius Minor would be hosting an impromtu session for ILA attendees to engage in dialogue around recent tragic shootings. Brett Whitmarsh interviewed Sara and Cornelius the day before the event in this Heinemann video: When the World Hands You Curriculum.  Sara explains the impetus for this session:

“We’re coming to a place now where people are asking more questions than they are coming with answers and that’s a tremendous spot for learning – for growth. I think creating a space where people can listen, where people can talk and just lean in and say they don’t know is really important.”

I knew I had to be part of this essential “not knowing” conversation since it certainly fit the way I was feeling about the world. On July 20, 2016, I rushed with friends to the small gathering room and we made our way to the front row. The room quickly filled to capacity and as I looked around, I saw both familiar and new faces (Kwame Alexander even sat on the floor at the back of the room). As soon as Cornelius said his first words, a quiet hush fell on the room as often happens when people choose to come together to emotionally connect with others even though we may be strangers. I listened intently to the remarkable initial discussion and then it happened…

Cornelius opened the stage to anyone who wanted to share their stories for the group. Heartfelt personal reflections of struggle, pain, and loss were recounted as quiet sobs reverberated across the room. The raw human emotion was palpable, and each story lovingly reached out and touch anyone lucky enough to be in its path. I listened to each story as tears fell down my cheek, feeling pure gratitude to be in that moment in the presence of such courage. Yet I still vividly recall conflicting emotions washing over me. On one hand I felt humbled that strangers would trust this little old woman from Tulsa Oklahoma with their heart, confident that it would be received in love!

But at the same time I felt an odd sense of shame I couldn’t shake. Suddenly I had an overwhelming desire to stand up and thank these brave educators for sharing their lives with me. I wanted to walk across that room and hug those who spoke as well as those who listened. But what caught me by surprise was the nagging sense that I needed to apologize. I am still struggling even now to understand that odd mix of gratitude and guilt in a small love-fueled room in Boston. I didn’t know what I wanted to say but suddenly I felt like a coward for not saying something. After all, how could I sit in silence and fail to return their gift of courage? I still feel the shame that held me back from standing bravely beside these beautiful courageous humans and express how I felt in that powerful moment, believing that my story would seem so small.

But as I write this now, I wonder if feeling connected in that room was what I was meant to do – or perhaps it was all I knew to do at that time. I wish I could have been brave in that moment, but maybe sharing how I felt wouldn’t have been so brave after all. I had never experienced this kind of unselfish giving but looking back I think I was looking from a loving lens but also from a selfish one. Forgive the double negative, but I felt ashamed that I could not NOT be a 68-year old white heterosexual woman born in the U.S.A. into a middle-class family with loving parents who shielded me from world terrors and close-knit siblings who continue to wrap protective arms around me. Somehow, gratitude and shame intermingled as I felt conflicting desire to express my love for everyone in that room while also wanting to apologize for who I am.

Others have written about this amazing experience far more eloquently than I am able to do in this emotion-laden moment including Julieanne Harmatz and Carol Varsalona. But I am grateful to Sara for giving me the words to be able to relive this from another perspective in a moment I will hold dear for the rest of my life. I am ready to acknowledge the guilt of that moment but also to let go and celebrate this opportunity to have lived it and see only the blessing of that lovely moment.

You see these beautiful humans showed me that we must learn to be open listeners even if the lesson took awhile to reach me. These caring strangers who surrounded me taught me far greater lessons than speaking up would have done at that moment. Maybe choosing not to stand up to share my voice was not the point. Maybe it was about being sitting quietly with an open heart so that I could truly bring my whole self to the experience. I’m not sure why it took two years to understand this lesson, but I am grateful for the opportunity to relive that moment from a new way of seeing. The love I felt for everyone in that room in Boston is as real to me now as it was in 2016.

As I write this, I am reminded of Sara’s beautiful message: Doing the work of social comprehension erodes the boundaries between “us” and “them.”  I hope I wasn’t inadvertently doing that since eroding the boundaries requires us to acknowledge the thinking that resides deep within that can blur those boundaries. So I am standing up here and now sharing my heart through my fingers on a keyboard and using that experience as a learning opportunity. Looking back is a lovely reminder that all of our stories matter, regardless of who we are or what we look like or what experiences we can or cannot bring to the conversation. What I do know now and what I want to remember is that feeling of love for strangers who crossed paths and thus hearts so long ago. Maybe deep love and appreciation for others is what social comprehension is all about. I’d like to believe that relationships are the undergirder of this process.

In her book, Sara’s resounding message comes through loud and clear that “kids are our curriculum.” It seems to me as this flood of memories hovers over me that the world really did hand me a curriculum in that moment. And when the world does so as it certainly is doing these days, we can be moved to broaden our scope by making our work with students the impetus that has potential to change not only how we view our schools but how we view ourselves, others and the world around us – and how we CHOOSE to interact with each of them in a way that will leave a positive mark in this world. I’d like to believe that the next time I feel compelled to share my heart willingly with gratitude, I would choose not to let my whiteness stand in the way of being brave. This seems so important since I’m not sure that I can bring my whole self to children unless I can bring my whole self to adults. Suddenly this work seems so much more expansive and ever so critical!

In Being the Change Sara reminds us what I find comforting at this moment:

I am comforted by the idea that we can make the world a better place in our own way even when we are not even sure how to begin. This beautiful book is our heart guide as we embrace social comprehension and the ever so relevant transparent conversations that are essential to that process. Without even knowing it, Sara helped me to understand that if we’re willing to engage in open listening and to bring to each experience a compassionate heart as an observer of the world… well then the stories that others so lovingly bring into our lives could fill our hearts and minds with the fuel that could implore us respect the identities that we all bring to this world. I now understand that every story has value – even my own!

On the morning of our #G2Great chat, Sara wrote me an email that I captured in this message below:

Well I can assure you that your remarkable book will bring your hope to life, Sara. We are so grateful to you for making this world a better place and we will each find our own way to “Be the Change” alongside you. And I am grateful to you for allowing me to see this experience in a whole new light. ❤

More Links for Being the Change

Podcasts:

Official Being the Change Podcast (interview): https://blog.heinemann.com/sara-ahmed-on-her-new-book-being-the-change

Sara reading a story about her father from Being the Change:  https://blog.heinemann.com/sara-ahmed-being-the-change-a-story

Sara Ahmed, Cornelius Minor, and Sonia Cherry-Paul podcast: Dismantling Racism in Education: https://blog.heinemann.com/the-heinemann-podcast-dismantling-racism-in-education

Blogs:

Terrence J. Roberts (Little Rock Nine) foreword from Being the Change: https://blog.heinemann.com/sara-ahmed-on-her-new-book-being-the-change

What is Social Comprehension in The Classroom (video of Sara): https://blog.heinemann.com/social-comprehension-in-the-classroom

Kristi Mraz on Being the Change https://blog.heinemann.com/kristi-mraz-on-being-the-change

by Amy Brennan

As summer approaches, students, teachers and administrators begin to think about summer plans. Different types of plans come to mind – vacations, beach days, summer camps, and for many there remains an uncertainty that comes from school closing for the summer months. How to we prepare our students for summer? How do we ensure that all their growth over the school year doesn’t get lost over the long, sun-filled summer? How can we ensure that they have opportunities NOT for worksheets, NOT for summer projects, but for READING, the pure joy of reading. This alone can help to eradicate summer reading loss. We need to inspire our students to read all school year long so that we develop a natural culture of readers. If we establish a culture of reading at our schools, the members of our school community will take the culture with them for the summer. At the #G2Great chat on April 12, 2018 we sat at our virtual table and shared ways to inspire readers across all grades. 

Collectively Define “Culture of Readers”

As with anything, we first wanted to define what we collectively meant by a culture of readers across all grades. Having a common defintion is important to leading and inspiring any kind of movement. The chat generated so many descriptors that define by example what a culture of readers looks like.

To begin, just a few things can get us moving towards a culture of reading. We need to have books available to read. Once the books are there we need to create an invitation to read. After we have invited readers to the the world of reading we need to allow choice and time to read. Valuing books and readers requires that we set aside resources to purchase books, we set aside resources to store books in bins, on shelves, and on display. Relevent texts need to be available – every member of the school community should be able to see themselves in the books available. When we see ourselves individually, only then collectively we see our community. Discussions about books generate more reading. Book recommendations and choosing to read books together provides opportunities for discussions. Publicizing the books we read, posting the books we are reading on classroom or office doors, or bulletin board in the hallways – these steps all help to inspire a culture of readers. A culture of readers develops from these collective experiences at the building level. It only takes one person in a school to be the leader in this charge. Be that person – find your first follower and the others will follow. Develop your collective culture of readers together as more and more followers join your movement. Reach out to all school community members; administrators, teachers, parents, teaching assistants, teaching aides, secretarial, custodial and lunchroom staff and enlist them to be a part of the culture of readers. 

Get Started

Once we define and put into place structures and develop shared beliefs around reading it is important to spread this across to leaders, teachers, staff and parents. This shift will be most effective and lasting if we are all inclusive – all members of the school community can talk about reading. Sharing books, talking about books, reading books around school throughout the day. All members of the school community should be able to talk to students about the books they are reading. Beginning with a shared book acorss a school can really begin this process. In my former school, we gathered the whole school community around a shared read-aloud – the first one was Wonder by R.J. Palacio. We welcomed students back to school after the winter recess with decorated halls sharing quote of kindness and engaged students in adding decorations and quotes as the read aloud spread through the building. 

Develop Your School’s Unique Reading Culture 

Once you’ve started, well that is when your school will begin to develop its own reading culture. Include all stakeholders, listen to all ideas and the school will build its own culture around reading. There are so many ways and so many ideas out there, but the important thing is to collectively engage the school community so that the culture represents that school.

Ready, Set, Go! 

If your school does not already have a culture of readers, be the first to get the movement started. Be positive, have energy and find those first followers who can help you begin the change. Get students involved, they are the reason this is so important and often they have the most creative ideas – unlike the adults sometimes in a school community their minds are not usually restricted by they way things have always been. Students’ minds flexibly think about possibilities without being held to a vision of what was or has been always done. Above all – READ –  people will follow you.

 

 

 

By Amy Brennan

On March 22, 2018 #G2Great welcomed with immense excitement Peter Reynolds and Susan Verde as guest hosts to lead a discussion around using picture books to spark collective curiosity. Like most educators, picture books have been a sacred part of my professional and personal life. During my graduate school years as I studied literacy, my most adored professor started each class reading aloud a different picture book. With each book she told a carefully developed story that connected her to the book. When I began teaching I remember sitting in classrooms with my mentors and we just read picture books to each other, combing through our shelves and sharing our books. Our collaborations in dialogue developed from our connections to those books we shared, sparked creative curisosity for all of us. They lead us to share those books with others, just as when my professor read those books each week. Years later I recall sitting at a celebration for the end of a weeklong institute on reading at Teachers College Reading and Writing Project. At that celebration they read-aloud Peter Reynolds’ Ish. This book was then shared back at my school and we all worked along with our students on living “ishfully ever after.”

Sparking Collective Curiosity

Peter Reynolds and Susan Verde joined together, just as so many other do –  to share in the collective curiosity that is sparked by picture books. Through their collaboration in creating their books they have SPARKED the COLLECTIVE CURIOSITY of so many others. Read the tweets below to see how they have enriched so many teaching lives.

 

Engaging Students in Powerful Picture Book Collaborations Through Dialogue or Creation

Collaborations can happen in dialogue or creation, and oftentimes collaboration leads to both. We can engage our students in read-aloud through accountable talk through partnerships and whole class grand conversations. When we invite students to share a book it helps to create a community. It builds a shared experience that potentionally expands from the classroom to each and every contact that each member of the classroom community has beyond the classroom.

Reading inspires writing. When we invite our students to listen with a writer’s mind it can spark the writing process for our students. Students can create their own writing pieces through reflection and connections that grow during the shared experience of reading a powerful picture book. These words, once written can change lives because the dialogue or creation that comes from sharing picture books can create waves of change that spread messages of hope, wonder, joy and peace.  

Books That Power Your Classroom Mission  

Picture books spark collective curiosity when they are shared, discussed and extended through creative expression. Peter Reynolds and Susan Verde have collaborated on several books that beg to be shared, discussed and extended. These collaborative creations have the power to spark our students to take action and make the world a better place.

Peter Reynold’s Website http://www.peterhreynolds.com
Susan Verde’s Website https://www.susanverde.com

By Jenn Hayhurst

The origin of #G2Great was born out of reflection. A conversation that began in my home office over Twitter with a fellow literacy coach, Amy Brennan, and a brilliant author – yes, I am talking about you, Dr. Mary Howard.  Together, we were able to connect and create something that has grown as a source for weekly reflection on a grand scale. It was our desire to reflect with greater intention because #G2Great was, and forever will be, inspired by Mary’s book, Good to Great Teaching Focusing on the Literacy Work that Matters. As the chat grew we needed backup! The addition of Fran McVeigh completed our team, and now there is no looking back. We are always striving to, Reflect, Refocus, and Renew (so we may) Refresh Our Professional spirit…

As I meandered my way through Storify to write this week’s blog post, I realized that the #G2Great  community is totally stoked in reflection! You all shared practices and insights and this lifted my spirit in ways that were both inspiring and reaffirming.

Making Reflection A Habit of Mind Through Daily Practice 

There is no one right way to reflect, the real power for reflection lies in daily practice. When we allow ourselves to just stop breathe and focus on the practices we are holding up our, in the words of Dr. Gravity Goldberg,  admiring lens to ourselves. We are so worth the effort! Every time we reflect, we are rooting ourselves in deep appreciation for our teaching. We are being intellectually curious and that leads to wonder and discovery:

Probing Possibilities Reflecting Our Way to Personal Growth and Goal Setting

Reflection spurs change because it is the thoughtful pause that gives us time to nurture growth. Goals are like seeds for reflection work, unlocking our potential. Sometimes we have a plan for our goals, tending to them, reflecting on our needs so they may blossom. Sometimes goals can be like wildflowers!  All we have to do is to reflect on what is happening in real time right in front of us, and we see patterns in a beautiful landscape we could not have anticipated. In essence, reflection makes our goals visible, it opens up the landscape for meaningful discourse, and it sharpens our attention for what matters most:

Outgrowing Ourselves Through Reflection

Knowing what you believe is a beginning, not an ending. Reflection is the thing that keeps us flexible and free-thinking if we do it with open minds and hearts. When we untether risk from fear we allow ourselves to take that leap. Every time teachers reflect to expand their beliefs to accommodate a pluralistic lens we push ourselves to grow.  Whenever we are receptive to our students, colleagues, or when we decide to try new things we are outgrowing ourselves:

Writing to Reflect Because Writing Will Set You Free

Writing has changed me in ways that I cannot explain; while at the same time, it has brought me to home to know myself in ways I could not have imagined. Teaching demands authenticity we cannot teach what we don’t understand. Understanding of all things begins once we understand ourselves. Therefore, reflection is a practice that is not bound by the school day, season, or year – it is the work of a lifetime. Reflection is our inner voice, our constant companion, and when we write we are setting ourselves free to create and discover:  

As I close out my post to you, I am humbled by an overwhelming feeling of connectedness to all the teachers who are willing to share during our weekly chats. Teaching can feel very solitary at times, because minute by minute, we are making decisions that shape our students’ view of themselves and of the world. Some days we will be defeated, some days we will triumph and the space between these realities is filled with a million reflections. The good news is we don’t have to do this on our own, we can look within ourselves and within each other to reflect, refocus, and renew:

by Amy Brennan

As educators we work in learning organizations, whether it is a public school, private school, charter school or an institution of higher education – we work in an organization that is built on the idea of learning. Each week educators join us at the #G2Great virtual table to think together and learn together. This incredible group of educators know deeply that the journey to professional excellence begins with learning.

Resources We Learn From

One of the great things about Twitter is the quantity and quality of resources that are shared. Educators join in each week and not only learn from each other but share in meaningful ways different resources, books, blogs and videos. The sharing on Twitter, although each tweet is limited by the number of characters, is a spring board for learning. The professional learning network that is grown from Twitter supports that lifelong learning that educators want for themselves and their students. Books, many of them new and others that are go to and always refer back to educator changing books, are shared regularly through Twitter and discussed in chats where educators have the opportunity to read, write, think, and learn together. The learning that starts with Twitter transfers beyond each individual educator and helps us to continue our lifelong passion, always learning and always improving knowing that this learning will help others learn and grow as well.

We Learn and Students Learn

Our students are at the center of all we do and as educators we know that when we learn, our students learn. Every little tweet, blog, book, video or conversation we have with others who value learning and always improving has an impact on our students and their learning. The power in this is incredible. Educators from all over the world come together, all working in different schools, growing and learning together. No longer are we teaching alone with only our students within four walls. Our learning is collective and changes more students than any one of us can account for individually.

Sharing our Learning with Colleagues

Yet, still as we improve and our students improve there are colleagues we work with in our individual schools who have not discovered Twitter, who do not read books or blogs or watch videos on improving and learning. For whatever reason they have not experienced this drive for lifelong learning and sharing.  It does not matter at this moment for them. What does matter is that in small ways we can leave our learning with them. It may be small and subtle, they may not even notice it but over time those small changes make a difference and our impact will change them too. Learning is contagious, but sometimes it begins with curiosity and inquiry only sparked by one subtle interaction.

Each week when we come together at the #G2Great chat, or when we read blogs, books or watch videos, think about the power behind the sharing and remember that although some of us are more passionate –  others can still be brought along just in different ways. Some need to come more slowly and at their own pace. Everyone can learn, they just have to be ready. We have to remember that sometimes our own passions can overwhelm others who are not yet there. Sometimes our passions can actually shy them away or even turn them completely away from us and that possibility of learning and growing –  and this is not at all what we want. Keep on learning and keep on sharing being mindful that learning begins with curiosity. Excellence comes from that journey we take together in learning, no matter when we join on the journey.

 

by Amy Brennan

On January 18, 2018 #G2Great was honored to have Thomas Newkirk as the guest host. Thomas Newkirk has long been an eduhero of mine, two of his books, Minds Made For Stories and Holding on to Good Ideas in a Time of Bad Ones greatly shaped my thinking and learning. His latest book is the one he joined us on #G2Great to discuss and I could tell as soon as I read the beginning pages it would be another book to impact me deeply.

In the beginning pages of his latest book, Embarassment and The Emotional Underlife of Learning Thomas Newkirk talks about the pages of the book being “the help we need, the voices we need to hear, the barriers we need to overcome.” He explores the “emotional underlife of teaching,” a topic that needs a space for analysis and discourse.  As I read through the pages and reflected on the #G2Great twitter chat I came to realize this is exactly the book we need in education today.  

I watch students and teachers silently struggle, not taking risks, hiding their embarassment by deflecting attention from teaching and learning to trivial topics that are mere distractions from the fear of revealing themselves. All of this because they fear the consequences of what comes by revealing their own struggles.

Share the Struggle

“I’ll go first.” Through the opening line in his book, Newkirk brings us into a story where he offers a narrative we can hold onto when he was young and experienced an embarssing moment in school. As educators, whether we are teachers, administrators or staff developers we need to follow Newkirk’s lead and say, “I’ll go first.” Sharing struggles and modeling how to talk about failure is the first step in suppporting all learners, whether they are adults or children. Too often educators and students do not feel comfortable revealing what they do not know or when they are learning something new that contradicts what they have been doing for so many years. This unfortunately is compouded because in education there is a perception that when you are at a certain point in your career or if you are a student and were always told you were “smart” – even the thought of revealing a weakness can be paralyzing. We tend to avoid situations that we perceive could show us failing, we believe if this does not go well and our weaknesses are revealed it will be a catastrophe. Embarassment silences learners, whether those learners are teachers in a professional learning setting or they are children inside a classroom. By acknowleding this emotional underlife of teaching we can begin share struggles and build safe spaces to be open about our own learning. We can give space to adults and children to try new things by giving time and space for students and teachers to talk – we can no longer allow the silence that comes from embarassment to hinder anyone’s ability to learn, whether they are adults or children.  Model ways to ask for help, provide a sample of the language and be specific in the help you would like. We can start class, a professional development session or a faculty meeting with an “I’ll go first, let me share with you what I struggled with.”

 

Talk with the Team

My husband watches sports, every sport, all the time. I used to watch with him and now I just watch once in a while and with a completely different lens. Athletes and their audiences view mistakes or failures publicly and then move on immediately. Newkirk spoke with athletes and their coaches to better understand how they develop the capacity to face embarassment,move on and try again. In the moment athletes have to recover from setbacks, they have to clear their heads and try again. This is how they continue to take risks to perform their best. They do not let the embarassment lead to cautious and limiting behaviors. Newkirk points out that athletes have coaches and teams that support them and say it is ok, move on. They get past the failure. We need to be more like coaches and teams in order to create supportive environments where we learners can try, fail, try again and find success. We have to acknowledge that learning in education is just like sports, we may experience multiple iterations before we see success and likely we may suceed once in practice but when we are in the game, we might fail. We need to clear our head of that particular failure and try again. We can experience multiple iterations of something before we get it. We have to allow that for our students and we have to allow that for ourselves. Let’s talk with the team, create a safe environment where we can look at how we do something together and then support each other in moving past that to build the capacity to be resilient and not allow embarassment to get in the way of our learning process.

Frame the Fear

As I look at the walls of my family room I notice that they are adorned with frames with pictures of my family. Each one frames a particular moment in time, holding it as a precious memory of a time when… Those pictures capture a particular moment in time.  You cannot tell from that one picture what happened before or after or even what I was thinking before or after. When looking at the word frame in reference to a movie or film which tells a longer story, the frame is a single one still photo that is part of a series that creates the film or video. If we can learn to frame the fear you can see what comes next and it does not have to be catastrophic. The more we push past the fear frame the more we will become reslient to failure and allow ourselves to try again which will ultimately lead to continued growth and learning. As we share the struggle with our colleagues and students and create spaces for ongoing talk with the team we can begin to frame the fear that we have for embarassment. It is then that we will be able to allow ourselves and our students to take risks as learners to grow.

Check out the Tweets below from the #G2Great chat.

 

If you want to explore this topic more or learn and read about Thomas Newkirk follow the links below:

Embarrassment: The Emotional Underlife of Learning by Tom Newkirk (Heinemann)

https://www.heinemann.com/products/e08877.aspx

 

Heinemann Blog: Tom Newkirk: On Writing Embarrassment—An Interview with Myself

https://blog.heinemann.com/on-writing-embarrassment-an-interview-with-myself/

 

Paul Hankins: “From Reflecting and Rejecting to Ringing In and Rallying In”

http://paulwhankins.edublogs.org/2018/01/02/from-reflecting-and-rejecting-to-ringing-in-and-rallying-in/

 

Embarrassment, it’s how we learn (video interview)

http://www.newscentermaine.com/article/news/local/207/embarrassment-its-how-we-grow/506947365

 

 

 

by Mary Howard (and friends)

#G2Great Three-Year Anniversary…oh my!

My heart just explodes with pride every time I utter those lovely words. #G2Great first opened it’s professional collaboration doors on January 8, 2015 after Amy Brennan and Jenn Hayhurst invited me to join them in a six-week exploration of my book, Good to Great Teaching. Our journey over the past three years as moderators and behind the scenes co-conspirators was recently expanded when Fran McVeigh joined the #G2Great party. We never cease to be amazed at the remarkable way #G2Great has blossomed into an celebratory exploration and yet we know that this is far less about our efforts and far more about dedicated educators who show up each week to share their devotion to this amazing profession and to the children who inspire us to continue our own learning.

We chose the title of our anniversary celebration on January 4, 2018 quite intentionally as we believe that Culture of Collective Curiosity defines the very heart and soul of our #G2Great family. Each week as the clock strikes 8:30 EST, #G2Great immediately transforms into a passionately curious community of learners Twitter style. We share. We question. We dialogue. We wonder. We explore. We dream. We imagine. We do all of this based on our collective desire to enrich the learning lives of children and an unwavering determination to do our best work in their honor. We know that our curiosity is the driving force of our efforts and that it can lead us on a joyful quest for excellence. We know this journey is best traveled in the company of others… and so we do.

In celebration of this passionate curiosity inspired collective journey, we decided to turn the #G2Great reins over to some of our friends who have supported our learning endeavors over the years this week. We asked each of them to collaborate with a partner to write one of our questions and then to respond to those questions on this blog. After you finish reading their amazing thinking, be sure to read their reflections along with others about what #G2Great has meant to each of them. aWe hope that you will then add your own thoughts using this link.

This week it’s all about you friends and how much each of you mean to us!

Kitty Donohoe @donohoe_kitty; Brent Gilson @Mrbgilson

Kitty Donohoe

I believe we are all fortunate to be teachers. In my experience, teachers are innately curious. However, it is very easy, in the rush of lesson plans, meetings, and bell driven schedules, to push that instinctive curiosity away.  It is important to be mindful of what is uniquely organic for those of us blessed to be teachers.  To be curious with intention means to stop and reflect about what matters, despite all the distractions. The outside diversions are minor compared to our mission of keeping curiosity and vibrancy alive in ourselves as educators to best support our students in their path of curious adventure.

Brent Gilson

I started this year not purposefully pursuing curiosity in my classroom. I believed that this was an innate skill kids just had. Not knowing that adults and teacher in particular have done much harm to student curiosity. Why do we need to be curious to write exam? Complete essays on main idea? The fact is we don’t but I noticed that students were just going through the motions. Finishing assignments because they had to not because they were passionate about it. Realizing this I started looking more into Voice and Choice and Inquiry. The change has been eye opening. Students are asking to have extra time to work, they are realizing they are in the driver’s seat not just passengers checking off assignments. I wish I had started asking more questions and providing less direct instruction when I first started teaching. I still do lessons on the mechanics, I introduce a writing form we must cover but they get to explore the topics they want (fitting with the outcomes and standards) If they have nothing they wonder about we will dive into Non-fiction look at the world around us. Curiosity is the both the driving force of discovery and the byproduct of it. Learning new things will breed more curiosity. I was always under the impression Inquiry was reserved for Social Studies and Science I have learned the error in my thinking. What greater time is there to explore the world and what we wonder about than with a million books at our fingertips?

Jill and Kim @ShelfieTalk

When our teaching and learning are driven by curiosity, our students become the curriculum.  Our lens shifts to one of uncovering strengths and potentials.  We listen and watch with intention in order to determine where we fit in each students’ path of learning. Our curiosity as educators ignites our own learning.  It keeps us questioning and wondering.  We become investigators and researchers, always asking ourselves, “What are the opportunities for learning here?” Approaching teaching and learning with an air of curiosity means that we see the world as being filled with possibilities.  For curious educators, learning never stops.

Johnny Downey @johnnydowney; Susan Sprout Vincent @ssvincent

Teachers consider many differences in their students as learners, but how well do we honor different dispositions? Introversion and extroversion directly affect students’ development as learners. It’s not about being shy or social. It’s about what drains your energy and what recharges you. It’s about which environments help you think and which shut you down. Knowing about the specific needs of intros and extros can help us orchestrate a learning environment that encompasses the needs of all our learners.

From the Introvert (Susan)

“Whoever is doing the talking is doing the learning.” This popular quote always makes me feel odd, because it isn’t true for me. I think I’ve learned more in my life by listening and reading than talking — but that’s because that’s how I’m wired. Schools today have placed great value on group work and oral participation in class. But this may be at the expense of those who need quiet solitude to generate thoughts and express themselves through writing more easily than verbally. Are we honoring every way of being and learning in our classrooms?

From the Extrovert (Johnny)

Speaking from very personal experience, I need other humans in order to do my best work. I need to talk and bounce ideas around before I am able to implement a plan. My strength is collaborating with others. When thinking about extroverts in the classroom, these needs can have a very negative appearance to a teacher. It may appear as though we are goofing off or not doing the work because others are involved. In the real world, how many times are we allowed and even expected to work with other professionals? Let’s allow and even expect our extroverted students to work in this way. We are going to better prepare them for the future as well as cultivate their strengths. We can leverage so much out of our students by allowing them to work in the environments that best meet their needs.

Cameron Carter @CRCarter313; Roman Nowak @NowakRo

Cameron Carter

The concept of students expressing curiosity and wonder is very near and dear to my heart. The answer is plain and simple: there is ALWAYS an opportunity to foster creativity. I’ve heard many teachers say they get worried about altering their plans since it may be different than their teammates. First off, you as the teacher know what is BEST for the students that are in YOUR classroom. If you feel something should be altered or changed to allow more creative flow than it is your right to do it! To be honest, some of my best teaching has come from an “off the cuff” discussion with my students. You are the facilitator of learning, and the students are the thinkers. Always allow your students the ability to have a “productive struggle” in which they can think for themselves and create a world of wonder and curiosity! You will be simply amazed at the results!

Roman Nowak

As schools have traditionally been institutions of learning content/knowledge, it is difficult to break from the status quo and transform what schools should look like today. Although content is readily available to everyone, we still see students struggling in school. Therefore, rather than focusing on concepts and content, as educators, we need to focus on developing skills and competencies. If students knew how to find, reflect, analyze information, if they could formulate ideas, communicate efficiently, create innovative ways to demonstrate their learning and solve problems, content would not be as big of an obstacle. Our most important mission is to inspire and allow for curiosity and fun in learning. We need to give students the gift of time for their learning. Do not expect every student to be at the same level at the same time. Give students the freedom to develop their knowledge at their pace. Let them experiment with knowledge and content and to build their own context. We need more passionate learners, more driven and engaged students, rather than compliant individuals who are only done as they are told. We need students who will question, who will break status quo, who will make this world a better place.

Susie Thompson Rolander @suzrolander; Kara Pranikoff @pranikoff

Susie Rolander and Kara Pranikoff

We are all born with immense curiosity. Life is so much more rich when we engage with ideas shared by other people and our own thinking about our surroundings. We need to tune into the thoughts that fill our heads. Our professional curiosity is sparked in three major ways: observation, conversation and reading. Each one feeds the next in a continual loop. We have the privilege of spending our days watching students and teachers (from elementary school to graduate school) in action. We’re always attending to their moves, the messages they communicate in verbal and nonverbal ways and the way their interactions facilitate learning. This quiet observation and notetaking is endlessly stimulating and it makes us appreciate the power of the relationship between the student and teacher and how effective classroom learning can be at every age. Observation is life-changing. We’re in continual conversation with our colleagues in real life and in our strong digital PLN. (Hooray for #G2G! This conversation is our favorite of each week!) We are so much stronger when we listen to other people’s experiences and consider different points of view. This is true of our conversations with students as well. Hearing their ideas always shifts our teaching and makes us curious about the ways we can connect more deeply. Reading; that’s just a conversation between an author and yourself. So every article, Twitter Feed, and professional book we sit with makes us curious and want to learn more. Professional curiosity is what propels our growth. It’s easy to stay curious, there’s so much to learn!

We’ll include your thoughts here if you add them to this link 

Mary Howard @DrMaryHoward

Three years ago my life changed forever when two educators I’d never met, Amy Brennan and Jenn Hayhurst, contacted me about doing a six-week book study chat for my book, Good to Great Teaching. Looking back on the email that gave birth to our #G2Great weekly Twitter chat, I am reminded that I was oblivious to the magnitude of this life altering moment and how its impact would exponentially multiply from that day forward. I have been blessed to collaborate weekly with my amazing co-moderators Amy, Jenn and our most recent addition Fran who are all now treasured friends. We enthusiastically do the behind the scenes work that translates into each chat but there is no question in our minds that it is each of you who give #G2Great life. I have made more friends than I can count, friends I know I’ll hold forever dear in my heart. I sit in front of my computer every Thursday night bursting with pride that so many educators from across the globe spend one hour pondering this remarkable work we all do in the name of kids. Each of you willingly share your professional hopes, dreams and aspirations for education by graciously showing up Twitter style so that we can join joyful forces to explore possibilities in what has become a celebration of children and the teachers who change their lives. We are so grateful for each of you because we know that #G2Great would be little more than a hashtag and what began as a book study would have come to a close at the end of those six weeks without you bringing your heart to the chat experiences. We are inspired by your dedicated commitment to kids and that unwavering devotion is the impetus that keeps #G2Great thriving for three years and counting. Thank you for all you do to enrich the lives of children – and in the process enrich ours!

Fran McVeigh @franmcveigh

I’m a newcomer to the #G2Great team, but not to the #G2Great chats.  I know that I can count on my fingers the number of chats that I have missed over the last three years but the impact of #G2Great is beyond all measures.  Mary Howard’s Good to Great Teaching: Focusing on the Literacy Work that Matters heralded a pivotal change in my work in professional development.  I had the opportunity to put words (Mary’s of course) into moving teachers from unconscious and/or moderately productive practices to conscious and more productive choices in instruction, environment and use of time.  I was thrilled.  And then I found the book study group, the twitter hashtag #G2Great, storifies of the chat, and the blog posts.  Thursday nights became the inspirational point of the week.  Our chats became the focus for reflecting on our own teaching practices as well as inspiring and aspiring to continue to grow and intentionally be better – each and every day! The book, the chats, and this group consist of dedicated teachers searching to be the best teachers in the world. Seeking out answers to puzzling problems. Pondering behaviors that have been relegated to “less than desirable practices” for several decades but that continue to exist behind closed doors.  Actively growing knowledge and skills to become better, stronger teachers. Together the #G2Great community has grown to include dear friends from across the entire country who are generous in their time, energy, thoughts and wisdom.  I am truly blessed to be a member of this community that convenes on a weekly basis to “be all that we can be” collectively.

Jenn Hayhurst @hayhurst3

The reason why it’s so important to offer choice for our students is because our choices impact the way we live our lives. Sometimes, our everyday choices will change our lives in ways we cannot even imagine. The initial collaboration that began with my hopeful tweet to Amy, and then Mary launched me into a passion project that has lasted three years, and counting. That does not even seem possible! The reason I came to Twitter was because I longed to grow a community of collaborators who shared my love for teaching. So much has changed since then. Now, I am part of a dynamic community of people who offer an incredible wealth of knowledge, humor, and support on a daily basis. Now I have an amazing network of not just colleagues, but friends. Amy, and Mary are no longer just virtual colleagues but are my trusted friends. Their names have been integrated into my home as well as my heart. The circle of admiration, love, and respect grew as we added more members to our #G2Great team with the addition of Fran. I had met Fran over the years at NCTE and Teachers College. Now I have come to know her as a smart, gentile, and steadfast person who has enriched my life in many ways. Again, it is my privilege to call her friend. There are so many lessons that #G2Great has taught me so far – but the most important is when presented with an opportunity to learn unabashedly say YES. Don’t be afraid to reach out and connect with others – grow your thinking – build relationships! Just say yes to it all without fear or shame. As a result of my choice to begin this #G2Great adventure I have built a network of friendships that have forever changed me.

With much gratitude and love, I want  to celebrate these friends because they are in many ways the  greater extension of our #G2Great team:

So, the choice is yours, what will you decide to create in 2018? I really can’t wait to see what happens next.

Amy Brennan @brennanamy

Pictures tell a story, and sometimes they tell more than one story –  like the multiple plot lines we learn about when we read great books. Recently a photo popped up on my phone. It was a photo of me with Barbara Marsicano and Danielle Goncalves – two of my closest friends from my former school, reading teacher friends, or as we were often called, “The Lovely Ladies of Literacy.” In that selfie we were capturing the three of us at Teachers College Reading and Writing Project on a day we attended to see Dr. Mary Howard present on RTI. The story that is also tells is the beginning of my collaboration with Mary and Jenn. I did not realize at the time that day would be one that would set me on a pathway to an amazing collaboration that has become the #G2Great Twitter Chat and the Literacy Lenses blog. Working alongside Mary, Jenn and now Fran I am grateful for the connections that have grown into friendships and have helped me to grow both personally and professionally. Each Thursday night as we gather around the #G2Great table to chat I reflect on this pathway that brought us all together.

Brent Gilson @Mrbgilson

Everything. I started the #G2Great chats this spring I think with a focus on my favourite book Disrupting Thinking. It was a wild ride but I was so inspired and truthfully fuelled further by the likes and comments from Kylene. I think the power in these chats for my professional development has been the exposure to so much brilliance. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would have the opportunity to learn from experts in our field let alone call them my friends. That is what #G2Great has meant to me. It has been an opportunity to extend my PLN to build myself up as a teacher and have the opportunity to share my thoughts with others. Most importantly however it introduced me to Dr.Mary Howard who inspires me every morning when I check my facebook while working out, who is a cheerleader for all educators and I am so honored to call my friend.

Susan Vincent @ssvincent

Have you ever gone to see a movie with no idea what it was about? And then loved the movie and been blown away by what you stumbled into? That describes my first experience with a #G2Great chat. I don’t even know how I happened into the chat, but I knew I’d found a network of my tribe. I also knew I’d be back the next week. I believe as teachers we need to be connected to groups of other teachers who can stretch our thinking, give us new ideas, and keep us thinking.  For 19 years of my career I was part of the Reading Recovery network. The network was my professional home, so when my site closed, I felt very much adrift professionally. Of course I had close connections to wonderful educators in my school, but I honestly think we need to connect beyond the walls of our school in order to really grow. This is what #G2Great provides – a network beyond the walls of our schools, where we can keep our finger on the pulse of our profession. We can learn about the newest professional books, learn from the authors themselves, and best of all, learn from teachers from all over the globe who value literacy and share common philosophical beliefs. Thank you to Mary for creating this network and also to Amy, Jenn, and Fran for being so incredibly welcoming to all who stumble in.

Johnny Downey @johnnydowney

Much like Susan, I had no idea what I was getting into the evening of my first #G2Great chat. I remember it being kind of scary at first. I sat back watching the tweets literally fly by on my phone- before the end of Q1 I told myself it’s now or never, just DO IT! I jumped in and the rest is history. Fast forward almost 2 years and I am part of one of the most inspiring and powerful PLNs in the world. Every Thursday evening in my house is Twitter Night, I sit with my phone and computer ready to interact and learn something. I have always been hungry to learn more and the #G2Great chat feeds my curiosities and need for professional learning. Who knows where I would have been had I not connected with this great group of educators, maybe in the same seat I am today, maybe not, but I wouldn’t have access to such a wonderful PLN. Words cannot express my gratitude and thanks to my personal champion, Dr. Mary Howard, for igniting this fire within me and letting me join the club!

Jill and Kim @shelfietalk

#G2Great was one of the first chats we discovered after we joined Twitter.  We soon realized that this is a community of passionate and dedicated educators who gather on Thursday evenings to celebrate, challenge, and inspire one another.  Thanks to Mary, Amy, Jenn, and Fran we are able to connect with educators who believe in the power of putting children at the center of all we do, of seeing students’ strengths instead of focusing on deficits, and of finding joy in our work.  We are grateful to be in the company of educators who truly live and breathe their love for learning.

Kitty Donohoe @donohoe_kitty

Thoreau went to Walden Pond to find peace and support in the vibrancy and peaceful joy of nature.  Good to Great has been a respite of joy and hope for me during each week, a virtual Walden Pond. It is a miracle to be able to connect with other like-minded educators from all over the world and to truly experience a sense of community.  Teachers understand each other in a way that brings an instant sense of comradery and acceptance.  I am so blessed to continuously learn and make new friends because of this extraordinary chat.  And a very special thank you to Mary, Jenn, Amy, and Fran!

Roman Nowak  @NowakRo

I stumbled upon the #G2Great chat haphazardly this past year and it has changed my outlook on education. The questions, the exchanges, the topics, have allowed me to delve deep into my pedagogical beliefs and create a stronger voice for what what I believe in. In the fast-paced life of education, we usually try to get things done and make things efficient. I have learned and been empowered to constantly act upon my learning beliefs. It is important to stand up for what we believe in, to give the underdogs a bigger voice. We can’t simply accept what is done without questioning it. The leaders and educators on this chat, all keep inspiring me to be better, to keep pushing limits, to collaborate, to make a difference. We can never become complacent, never give up. We must always try to be better, for our students, for their hearts, for their curious and learning minds.  

Cameron Carter @CRCarter313

I was introduced to the #G2Great family through Dr. Mary Howard when we met “virtually” via Twitter. Our conversations of student learning, engagement, and professional development sparked a special connection! I was fortunate enough to meet the #G2Great team at the National Council of Teachers of English convention in November of 2017. It was as if we all had known each other for years! The connections we make with our colleagues, whether virtual or in person, are focused around one goal: building learners. I am so glad I met my “tribe” of professional learners who view learning the same way as I. Thank you for all you do for children and teachers across the world! We must all continue to learn and grow to go from good to great!

Kara Pranikoff @pranikoff

I will admit it, I was hesitant to connect on Twitter. The thought of all those voices coming at me at once was overwhelming and I could not begin to imagine how I would be able to tune in. I really like to listen, intently and think with depth. I could not imagine how that could happen online. However, I trusted Susie and when she introduced me to Dr. Mary Howard at NCTE 2016 and the rest of the  #G2Great family, I could not resist. I waded in and now I’m hooked. (Susan talked about the overwhelming pleasure of stumbling into an unknown and delightful movie. That is a powerful description for me, too.) The amount of information that is shared each week is incredible. I always feel like you can see the lightbulbs of professional learning link across the map. These #G2Great chats each week are an instant injection of inspiration. I’m pushed in my own thinking by what others have to share. I get off the chats each week with a list of authors to seek out and strategies to try on my own. All of this is because of the community that has been built through these chats. Learning is social and in a digital world Mary, Fran, Amy and Jenn have figured out how to connect a tribe of kind, thoughtful, supportive and engaging teachers from around the world. My #G2Great family reminds me each week why I’m proud to be a teacher and honored to have such deep and grounded colleagues.

Susie Rolander @suzrolander

I stumbled into the #G2Great chat a few years ago as I was in traffic along the FDR after teaching at Bank Street.  (I was not driving!)  I remember being a newbie to Twitter but wanting the traffic to continue because I wanted to stay on the chat!  I felt like for the first time, the walls of the school where I was teaching disappeared and ask Kara describes, there was a glow around the US (and Canada) with the amazing ideas that were flying across the screen!  I was hooked!  Never in my teaching career have I felt so inspired and excited to be a teacher than after I started tuning into #G2Great every week.  The depth of knowledge, breadth of experience and passion for teaching that the #G2Great community exudes lifts me up each week.  In addition, the friendships I have forged with Mary Howard, Justin Dolci and many others in the #G2Great family are life changing.  Lastly, it has provided such an incredible link for many of the new teachers that Kara and I teach at BankStreet to such a rich PLN.  To see their faces light up when an author of one of our readings is featured on #G2Great and they can actually ask them questions is priceless.  This chat has not only changed my life but continues to enrich the lives of new teachers in their process of establishing their own PLN. #lifechanging.

Carol Varsalona @cvarsalona

The #G2Great community has impacted my literacy practices since I first joined. It has been a go-to place to discuss the best of literacy trends and chat with amazing, passion-filled educators. I not only have made virtual edufriends but lifelong, face-to-face ones. The moderators are open, collegial educators who support and honor all voices. No matter how much time might be between my visits to the PLN, I am always greeted with enthusiasm, thus, making the hour of engaging chatting a worthwhile experience. May my experience be so for all.

Cornelius Minor @MisterMinor

Growing up, I was a lucky kid. I had a friend whose family treated me like a brother. Every time I showed up, his parents shared their wisdom. They were happy for me whenever I did well, and if I were ever in trouble, their firm scoldings mirrored what my own parents would say. There was always food on the table if I was hungry, and encouragement to go around if I needed a boost.

The #G2Great community is like that. Like any friend, I don’t get to stop by as often as I would like, but every time I show up at the #G2Great “house”, there is plenty of practical wisdom, sage advice, thoughtful research and love to go around. I am a better educator because of them.

JoAnne Duncan @joanneduncanjo

#G2great has become an important part of my life. It has been an unbelievable three years of connecting, building friendships, reflecting, sharing,questioning and growing.Gathering on Thursday nights has energized me when I’m feeling drained, inspired me when I need it most, and always fills me with hope, possibility and courage to take action.  I’m grateful for the time, energy and love that  Mary, Jenn, Amy and Fran give to make these chats happen every Thursday. You are changing the world one chat, one classroom, one school, one community at a time. Thank you #G2great!

Patty Palmer @MrsPalmer23 

I am what Jason Reynolds would call a “newbie” – to Twitter and to #G2great.  You have provided a welcoming platform as a dress rehearsal for floating and validating my ideas.  In the process, you’ve also offered a treasure trove of wonderful educators to follow and emulate.  I am super curious about what 2018 will bring with all of you paving the way for greatness!  Thank you, #G2great leaders, for your continued passion for curiosity and commitment to improving the practice of teaching, one educator at a time!

Dani Burtsfield @girlworld4

When a friend told me about Mary Howard’s #G2Great Twitter chat, I nervously showed up on a Thursday night in February, 2014. A complete novice to Twitter, I found myself in the company of the most amazing group of educators. They made me feel safe to share my thoughts, secure in holding tight to my literacy teaching values, and empowered in my role as an educator as they warmly welcomed me into the fold. Sharing in the study of Mary’s book, Good To Great was just the beginning of a transformational experience for me. The friendships that ensued in the 3 years that followed have been some of the most impactful both personally and professionally in my life. Thursday nights I can count on being challenged to be intentionally reflective in everything I do as an educator.

Laura Robb @LRobbTeacher

I have been a regular on #g2great for a year and it has made a huge difference in my learning and building my professional learning community. Mary has been accessible to me and all members because her HEART reaches out to us, to teachers she learns with and to children. #g2great has introduced me to books I might have not read and I have made friends with teachers all over the country! To be able to contact others for help with a problem or question means do much! Mary, by example, shows the importance of listening to and supporting each other. Each week is an opportunity to learn, reflect, share, and be uplifted by the #g2great community! It is also heartening to know there are so many educators who fight for children and want to help them learn and love Reading. Thanks to everyone for making the #g2great such a fabulous community of learners! And Mary, thanks for giving all of us so much to reflect on and share!

Faige Meller @dubioseducator

#G2Great has become a Thursday night mainstay for me. The dedication of the moderators, Mary, Jenn, Amy and Fran, instill empowerment to those of us whose heart lies in doing what’s best for our students. Sharing views and practices to help us understand the literacy needs of our students, using best practices, has been a powerful learning tool for me. Many times I go from the chat to a reflective post on my blog. Thanks to all for this platform.

We’ll include your thoughts here if you add them to this link 

Thank you for everything you do for children my friends. On a personal note, thank you for breathing new life in my book and keeping the Ten Lesson of Good to Great Teaching at the center of your practices. #G2Great is in your honor and it has become a force of good because of each of you. We know that this anniversary celebration would not be possible without you….

So here’s to many more #G2Great anniversaries ahead

by Mary Howard

On December 7, 2017, old friends honored us with a return visit to the #G2great guest host chair. #BowTieBoys with teacher Jason Augustowski have joined us on three other occasions including May 25, 2017, March 16, 2017 and June 9, 2016 (our first guest #BowTieBoy, Sam Fremin). This week we were excited to celebrate NCTE17 as we explored Student Choice from their very wise eyes. I consider myself the self appointed #BowTieBoy cheerleader – or as Lester Laminack lovingly dubbed me on facebook: “official Fairy Godmother of the #BowTieBoys.” The  pleasure is all mine!

I first met #BowTieBoys when I saw them present at NCTE 2015 and was instantly professionally smitten. I was grateful to join their #NCTE 2017 presentation and watched with pride as they rotated from table to table sharing their collective commitment to student choice. These young men in high school possess wisdom far beyond their years and have the uncanny ability to translate that wisdom in ways that could maximize our instructional  efforts if we are only willing to listen to their oh so sage advice.  It is worth emphasizing that each of our #G2Great questions was posed by #BowTieBoys based on their interests and that they literally took over the #G2Great chat reins just as they have each time they visit.

Since every question was related to our topic of student choice, I decided to peruse tweets to see if some patterns would begin to emerge within and across those questions. This proved to be quite challenging since there were well over one hundred tweets from the #BowTieBoys alone. As I explored this magnitude of student wisdom, eight essential ideas soon became visible that celebrate student choice from their perspective. Each Choice Point includes my reflections followed by #BowTieBoys words of wisdom:

CHOICE POINT #1: Building a Foundation of Trusting Relationships

One of the first things I noticed as I looked back across the chat was the repeated use of the words trust and relationship. In fact, the very spirit of the chat was grounded in a deep respect for both the learning and teaching process. Jason, Sam and Ryan H help us see those ideas from both sides and how relationships or the lack of them can either impede learning or help students to “flourish.” Learning depends on our willingness to build this foundation of positive relationships between students and teachers from the first day of school. But this is only possible when we know our learners enough to craft the instructional experiences that demonstrate that we have their best interest as learners at heart.

CHOICE POINT #2:  Designing Spaces that Honor Learners

Another common discussion point that was interwoven across all questions was the importance of creating a classroom design that could support and nurture choice. Jason and Christian remind us that this is a shared process that engages student and teacher as design partners (which reiterates the spirit of respect in the first point). Kellen added to this conversation by emphasizing that this can prove challenging for students who may not have previously experienced a flexible design mindset. We could at least in part address this concern by giving students a shared role in this process while recognizing that some students may need additional support along the way.

CHOICE POINT #3: Exploring a Healthy Balance for Choice

Perhaps the question that elicited the greatest range of varied view was the one that asked us to consider if it is possible to have too much choice. Ryan B and Ryan H reflect this variety since Ryan B felt that this is largely dependent upon individual students while Ryan H felt that choice should be a component of every learning experience. One of the things I particularly appreciate about these varying viewpoints is that both agreed that they personally needed no boundaries even though there was variation in what they feel other students may need.  What struck me about these distinctive perspectives is that it illustrates why we need to know students and then make these decisions accordingly.

CHOICE POINT #4: Making Real World Experiences a Priority

Jack, Sam and Sean noted the value of creating an instructional experience that will help learners move beyond our four walls as we expand our horizon by embracing real world concerns and issues. While there are certainly professional constraints that we must adhere to, this does not mean that any teacher is forced to turn a blind eye to the very issues that students will be facing in their own lives once they leave those walls. This is not a either-or proposition but an issue of refusing to allow obligations to cloud our view of responsibility to our learners. It can also reflect a two pronged issue since it requires teachers and students to explore topics that may even be uncomfortable while maintaining enough choice for students to navigate those topics in creative ways.

CHOICE POINT #5: Inviting Conversation and Collaboration

When we discuss choice within the instructional process it will inevitable require us to consider where meaningful dialogue with peers can fits into this process. Any time we reflect on empowering our learners within the learning process we must also consider how we will create an instructional framework where student talk is at the center of that process. Ryan B and Sean remind us that choice also plays a role in the collaborative process as we can offer different ways for students to collaborate based both on the partnerships as well as the structure of those partnerships. It is important to consider distinctive possibilities including partners and small groups and to ensure that these partnerships change over time.

CHOICE POINT #6: Finding a Space for Shared Ownership

As we acknowledge the important role that choice can play in an engaging instructional environment, we must also examine how we will help students assume increasing responsibility for this role and what this could look like in an instructional setting. This is not simply a matter of the teacher saying, “I’m going to offer choice” but considering choice in much deeper ways. This will require us to maintain the flexibility that will leave room to support students in a variety of ways as we put choice into action and likely make adjustments as we make choice a priority. Christian and Spencer explore both sides of this issue by highlighting this supportive process as well as allowing for that flexibility within those choices.

CHOICE POINT #7: Broadening Our Authentic Assessment View

It would be challenging to even consider the role of choice without considering where this fits from an assessment perspective so I was grateful this question was addressed. Doug emphasized that choice can be connected to the assessment process as we allow students to show what they have learned in a unique ways. Spencer tackled a common concern teachers express about the challenge of applying grades to authentic learning by suggesting that we shift our perception. If we started with the authentic task that we want to celebrate, then we could design assessments around this lofty end goal as a logical way to ensure that both are in place.

CHOICE POINT #8: Celebrating Joyful Engagement in Learning

It seems to me that joyful engagement is the undergirder of the entire discussion about choice. Incorporating student choice is not merely done for the sake of choice but to consider the implications of this decision. By making choice a priority, we are acknowledging that there is no virtue to merely asking students to sit at a table to be filled with information. Choice reflects our commitment to learning opportunities that actively and pleasurably engage our students with their own learning. Doug, Jack, and Kellen illustrate why incorporating choice is so relevant in that we want to create instructional experiences where students are active participants in productive learning that will also take their unique needs and interests into consideration. Engagement and joy go hand in hand as one has the potential to dramatically impact the other for better or worse. Quite frankly, we need both.

I was astounded by the wisdom of these young men as they shared their thinking at twitter style warp speed. I am so grateful to have the storify record to revisit again and again so that we can soak in their insight. What I found particularly exciting is that their tweets not only represented their own thinking, but also reflected their willingness to engage in conversations with our #G2Great family

With each other

And through their own posing of questions
#BowTieBoys have given each of us who are lucky enough to learn from them such an incredible gift and it is my hope that we will open this discussion to students in classrooms across the country. Their passion for learning and willingness to share their thinking offers us a lens to see our teaching from their eyes. We have long known that choice can play a powerful role in the learning process and yet this role is largely ignored in too many classrooms. They remind us that student choice is not just a topic to be discussed but an issue that must also consider the human factor as we envision what this means for our own learners. We are so honored that they invited us all into their world through their generous sharing and graced the #G2Great stage once again.

And so as I close, the question that comes into my mind is, “Why isn’t choice a high priority goal in every classroom? Sam helps us to ponder the importance of this question

Imagine if you will a classroom where we break free of the box that is confining teachers and students from exploring opportunities that abound. Imagine what would be possible if we were willing to gaze through a two-way reflective mirror and see the instructional process not only through our own eyes but through the eyes of our students.

In the words of Dr. Seuss, Oh the places we could go!”

See #BowTieBoys engaging in the Twitter Chat they led!

Please follow the #BowTieBoys on Twitter:

Teacher, Jason Augustowski @MisterAMisterA
Dawson (Doug) Unger: @dawsonunger
Joe O’Such: @Joe_Osuch
Spencer Hill – @spencerrhill99
Sean Pettit: @seanpettit9
Sam Fremin @TheSammer88
Ryan Hur @RyanHur09
Jack Michael @jackmichael776
Ryan Beaver @RBeaver05
Christian Sporre @CSporre
Kellen Pluntke @kellenpluntke

 

#G2Great with #BowTieBoys • 12:17:17 (with images, tweets) · DrMaryHoward · Storify