Teach42

Chris Lehmann’s session on Administration and School 2.0 “We finally have the tools to realize Dewey’s dream” What changes do we need to make structurally in our schools to achieve this dream?

Data: NCLB is a reality. Need to find ways to stop wrapping education around the testing, rather teach what needs to be taught and find concrete, quantitative ways to assess it. Also, what data we collect.

Time: Teacher have enough on their plates. They need to have chunks of time that they can actually learn new skills, and get to a point where they are natural.

Planning: Can’t just be off the cuff. Change requires significant forethought and planning.

Leadership: Administrators have to have vision.

Knowledge, Application, Design, Presentation and Process. Five benchmarks that apply across all subjects.

“We need to stop using grades and gradebooks as weapons against students.”

Location: Physical space. We tend to be locked into the typical classroom environment. Desks in rows, 40 minutes before the bell rings, everyone facing forward, teacher at the chalkboard.

Roles: Breaking down the walls between students and teachers. Lifelong learning and such.

Chris: “We need to teach kids before we teach the subjects” Interesting statement. Sometimes I wonder whether we really teach the subjects, or just give them a ‘taste’ portion, enough for them to discover whether they really are interested in it or not.

As kids go from Kindergarten up through the grades, the rooms get more and more sterile, homogeneous and less student centered.

How do you evaluate teacher performance? Chris is in classroom’s every single day. Evaluations aren’t used as weapons. If you want your teachers to treat your students with an ethic of care, you need to treat your teachers with an ethic of care.

Awwwww….. I was recording this session and just watched the red light go out. Lost the audio. Guess we won’t the end of this session later unless someone else records it.

Connection with parents, make school as transparent as possible using technology available. Email lists, moodle, whatever else that would work.

Make use of the web to free up teacher time. If syllabus and homework and assignments are on the web, then teachers don’t need to answer those questions individually when a parent wants to know.

You have to open yourselves up. You can’t be afraid of innovation. “What’s the worst consequence of your best idea.” Administration has to start with the idea that we don’t know anything and that things will happen that we can’t anticipate. We can’t quite because bad things could happen.

How much can we move this?

Will post audio later!

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