On
the road again -
Just
can't wait to get on the road again.
I don’t think I can fully endorse
the sentiments that Willie Nelson expressed in his hit single, and a recent
three week road trip that covered 20,000 km of air travel and a few more by
car, has me really pondering what he was thinking! The reality is, however,
there are aspects of this lifestyle I really love. They are very simply defined
by the people I come in contact with. I feel truly blessed to be in the
company, regularly and frequently, of quality, compassionate educators who are
committed to making a difference for kids. As I reflect on this recent sojourn,
that’s what keeps coming back to me.
The trip began with a day in Los
Banos, CA where I had the privilege of joining school-based administrators and
district leaders on walkthroughs in a number of their schools. We were peeking
in on classes to see how some of their newly designed RCD units were rolling
out. There were many positive moments and mentioning one is arbitrary on my part
but it was great to see how Corey led his algebra class through a lesson on
Pythagorean theory and rates by engaging his students in a real world
experience of being on the beach and wanting to get the shortest distance to
the taco truck. Excellent kid talk that has them process math concepts while
storing away the knowledge gained for a future time when they would be on the
beach with a friend and know how they could get their tacos first (and maybe
free depending on a friendly wager with an unsuspecting friend who wasn’t in
their algebra class!).
I followed that up with a day in
Fontana where I have the good fortune of working with teachers who are using
the RCD process to create new units of instruction in ELA. What’s inspiring
about the work there is the collaborative nature of the group. They don’t shy
away from challenges and engage in great collegial dialogue focused on making
the highest quality learning experiences for their students. They do this while
also placing a high premium on having fun and I benefit from their wisdom
whenever we meet.
From there, it was off to Woodridge,
IL where I continued the ongoing RCD work with teachers as we revisited and
refined the work already created. They’ve recognized that creating quality is
not a finite process. Assistant Superintendent Greg Wolcott leads by example
and is at all of the training sessions and has become as expert in the work as
anyone I’ve encountered. That’s modeling the expectations and emphasizing the
definition of team.
I
did manage to squeeze in three days of rest so my wife and I could visit
Chicago and I could run the marathon. The time went by quickly (although my
race pace is slowing for some reason!).
I
went back out to Woodridge for a two-day workshop on my 7 Keys book with a number
of educators I was familiar with from the RCD work plus many others from
neighboring districts. The group numbered over 100 and it was awesome to see
how they processed the work and contextualized what I, and my co-authors
(Charlie Coleman and Chris Weber), had put in print. I look forward to seeing
the work these folks create when they get back to their school sites and do
further planning with their colleagues.
From
Chicago it was off to Toronto where I had the honor of being part of the
inaugural Hulley Center event. A small but enthusiastic crowd embraced the
sessions offered by this team:
My
tweet of the conference was a comment shared by Ken Williams:
Does that kid believe you
believe in him? @unfoldthesoul #bbsti
There
will be many great conversations occurring in schools as a result of this
event. I can’t help but feel inspired every time I’m in the company of Wayne
Hulley. He has set the gold standard for educators in Canada and reminds me of
what’s possible when you build your work on the foundation of strong
relationships.
Being a Grandpa is one of the
coolest things. Liam’s first birthday was too important an event to miss so I
caught the flight from Toronto to Vancouver so I could enjoy the festivities.
After the celebration, it was back east through Toronto to the Assessment Now
conference in Atlanta.
I enjoyed
the opportunity to present four breakout sessions and to keynote alongside
Marzano, Heflebower, Kanold, Fisher, and Guskey. The participants came from all
across the United States and also had a strong Francophone contingent from the
Ottawa region as well as a group of educators from Singapore. Some of the
comments that generated further discussion, both at the conference and on
Twitter, included:
Tom Hierck made the point that
we have to meet people who resist change where they are. Put the research
on assessment in front of them and have conversations shift from default
practices to practices that use the research about what's best for students.
need to push the
conversation on assessment to focus on student learning. #asmtNOW Use our knowledge
of teaching & learning.
You know your kids better than anyone else. Context matters. Take what you learn & make it work for & in your community. #AsmtNOW
These are the conversations that really drive my passion for the work. As my energy levels start to flag, the brilliant thoughts, probing questions, and passionate connections to students outcomes serve to energize me and excite me for the next location where I'll encounter and collaborate with amazing educators. This line later in the same Willie Nelson song accurately addresses that aspect:
Goin'
places that I've never been,
Seein'
things that I may never see again.
Thanks to all who make this work so enjoyable. See you on the road soon!
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