Bev - Wasn't The Last Lecture powerful?!?
B for staples - You've got to wonder about the amount of time the principal put in to going and reviewing the directions of the staples. I, for one, never had time for stuff like that! 4 minute walkthroughs - When we were taught how to do those, I immediately jumped on the reflective question part. That's where the powerfulness of a 4 minute walkthrough comes in. Like I'm going to see deep thought in 4 minutes - totally ridiculous! But, I would have time to see something that I wanted my teachers to think back on and tell me the strategies and thought behind why they did what they were doing. Those questions led to some very powerful discussions in the hallways. If a teacher had a great response (the responses were done via e-mail) then I would include the response in our weekly newsletter without the teacher's name. (This is the same group who would pick on the teachers who were trying to do great things.) Before I left, the thing that we had added onto our 4 minute walkthrough was a checkoff portion for what part of Marzano's 9 Best Practices was seen in action or seen on the walls. Long story short - the basic 4 minute walkthrough - bleck! It was what you could do with it - asking a student what they were learning, the Marzano's 9, or the reflective question...those things were powerful!!!! "What would Ellin's first super have to say about these drive-throughs?" I bet he would never have had admin. do them in the first place. I see them as just another form of quick data - do they really tell us what's happening in a classroom? "Are these administrators encouraging being in "just a little over our heads?" Trial and error is a legitimate learning, problem-solving, technique, but what do our current practices in regard to supervision say to young (or seasoned) teachers? What does charting "fidelity" say to our teachers?" Can't help you here other than...current practices in regard to supervision say to young... If you look at teaching in a global way - we are teaching young teachers to follow the script, no exploration or refining of teaching techniques,...what we are creating is nice young robots who will teach in the mandated manner. What do you mean by charting "fidelity"? "I HATE it when standing up for our well-considered beliefs is considered "not being a team player" or "being insubordinate to our administrator." If I were still a principal, I'd be asking you to come to my school based on those words alone. What is it Einstein (I think) said, something like - Asking questions is a sign of intelligence. I'd rather be a part of a group of teachers who questioned than a group of passive yes mam types. Now you probably have lumped me in the dark side for being a principal. Try not to think to harshly of me. :o) I was only there for 4 years. I hope it didn't stain me forever. Lori _______________________________________________ Understand mailing list Understand@literacyworkshop.org http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/listinfo/understand_literacyworkshop.org
