Go with the Flow

“Spend more time doing things that make you forget about the time."                                                                 ~Charlotte Eriksson

In October I saw Harvey “Smokey” Daniels present a fantastic session about inquiry in the classroom at Kean University. He modeled several ideas on how to leverage students’ interests while teaching them critical literacy skills such as reading informational texts and evaluating data. However, he also made two poignant comments that have bounced around my brain ever since.

The education world has engaged in lots of conversations about “grit” over the last few years. Angela Duckworth’s TED Talk on grit in April 2013 really brought this discussion to the forefront of the education narrative both in popular media and in our faculty meetings. In his recent workshop, though, Smokey Daniels stated, “When we are curious, we don’t need grit. If [educators] rely on grit, that blames the child rather than the curriculum.”

Grit Versus Flow

I love when I hear something that makes me think, “I’ve never thought of it that way before,” and these statements definitely fell into this category. Should educators dedicate our energy to teaching students how to be gritty, or should we provide them learning experiences that intrinsically activate their desire to persevere? I do not pretend to have the answer, but it has inspired some more thinking. Maybe rather than focusing on developing grit in students, our more fruitful pursuit is to give students increased opportunities to experience “flow.” Around the same time I saw Smokey, I also saw The Educator Collaborative Founding Director (and all-around amazing educator and person) Chris Lehman present at the Conference on English Leadership's Regional Institute in New Jersey. He wisely discussed the need to create condition of flow in order to generate insatiably curious learners, teachers, and school leaders.

Have you ever experienced flow? Think about those spectacular times when you dove head first into a project and minutes or (more likely) hours passed without notice because you were so deeply entrenched in the flow of the work. In his book Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi writes “Most enjoyable activities are not natural; they demand an effort that initially one is reluctant to make. But once the interaction starts to provide feedback to the person's skills, it usually begins to be intrinsically rewarding.”

Perhaps, then, our conversation about resilience in students should more carefully examine how our curriculum and instruction provides optimal “flow” conditions, so our students learn more than just “grit.” They learn that challenging but meaningful work is a reward itself.  

Conditions for Flow

So how do we create "flow" conditions in our classrooms?  If teachers are very clear on what skills students need to learn, they can design engaging learning experiences that launch students into a state of flow rather than requiring them to endure the activity.  As I watch the tweets that are coming out of Heinemann's "Reading the City Institute" in Santa Fe, NM this weekend, I am reminded that inquiry and ownership are the key components to creating the optimal conditions for flow.  Here are a few components to consider as you design students' learning opportunities:

1.  Clear Goals - When I say students should have choice, I am not suggesting it is a free-for-all.  Teachers have standards they need to teach, and students have skills they need to acquire.  Instead, it is crucial for teachers to clearly identify what these skills are and how students will know they have met them.  No matter what the grade level, then, teachers need to share these goals with their students in language the children will understand.  This may take more time than most people realize.  Revisiting these objectives throughout the teachers' and the students' planning process is vital.  Teachers will need to mention them over and over as students work, especially if the students' work veers off track.  Asking students, "How does this meet our goal of examining persuasive writing techniques?" when they simply want to bake a cake and write a how-to book about it helps get them back on target.

2. Consistent, Frequent Feedback - Once learning experiences are determined and underway, teachers move into feedback mode.  As students conduct research or write stories or prepare presentations, the teacher's primary role is to offer them specific feedback that validates as well as challenges students.  I'm not going to sugar coat this process.  It is exhausting, draining work. Students will be in all different stages of understanding and their needs will vary greatly.  Teachers will feel more like triage nurses, at times, as they seek to support and push all their students appropriately.  However, it is worth the time and the effort.  Teachers will need to meet with students as often as possible to help maintain the "flow" conditions, but the results will astound.  

3.  Healthy Balance of Challenge & Success - Without a sense of efficacy, students will be easily discouraged (as we all would).  However, if they believe they have the skills and the support to be success, they will be more likely to embrace any challenges that arise.  And they should arise.  That space between stress and success is where they learning happens.  Not only do they acquire new skills, they also feel that sense of accomplishment that satisfies the soul and shows them how fulfilling the work can be.  Hence, the feeling of flow.  Again, teachers' consistent feedback and instruction keeps them working in that sweet spot of learning.  Teachers add complexity to a task by offering resources that extend or contradict the students' premise or by expanding their audience so they contemplate their language more carefully or any number of ways to raise the bar (if only slightly).

Assessment

Often, the assessment of student-driven inquiries causes educators stress or discomfort.  Teachers frequently ask me how they will answer parents who wonder why all the students are reading different texts or exploring different topics.  However, it all goes back to setting clear goals.  Teachers are measuring students' capacities with particular skills.  A clear, easy-to-read rubric can help parents and students understand what these are.   Also, teachers should explain that they do not need to teach only one book in order to measure students' abilities to analyze text or to evaluate voice or whatever the key objectives may be.  They can do so within texts students have selected to pursue inquiry pathways they have built.  Through a teacher's consistent work with the students as well as his/her own advanced skill, he or she can assess how well students have met the goals.  It is also important to explain that students find more success when they are working within their interest areas.   

Designing Learning Experiences

This could be an entirely different blog post, but I think it is unnecessary to write it.  Why?  Well, the first reason is your students will be your best resource.  You will use their interests and questions to help them create inquiry experiences that meet the standards and create "flow" conditions.  The second reason is several really smart people have already written fantastic professional texts to help teachers with this work.  Here are links to a few great ones:

Upstanders by Harvey "Smokey" Daniels and Sara Ahmed

Comprehension and Collaboration: Inquiry Circles for Curiosity, Engagement and Understanding by Stephanie Harvey and Harvey "Smokey" Daniels

Energize Research Reading and Writing by Chris Lehman.

    

And do not forget to add flow into your life as well.  Do something simply because you love to do it. Follow Charlotte Eriksson's advice and allow yourself time to engage in work that causes you to lose all sense of time!    

Why I Love My Job

*Originally published on January 3, 2016 on my Medium.com blog (which I am abandoning - Blogger is better). 

“The pitcher cries for water to carry/ and a person for work that is real.” 

To Be of Use ~Marge Piercy

Recently, I chatted with a friend about work. Approximately thirty minutes into the conversation, he paused and said, “We are only talking about our frustrations. Let’s talk about what is going well at school.” This interjection was a wonderful reminder that (though tempting, at times) I should not fall prey to focusing on what isn’t going exactly the way I planned or hoped. Instead, I should spend time celebrating the many accomplishments of students, teachers and colleagues.

Since that phone call I have reflected on why I absolutely love my job and how blessed I am to return to my work every day. So on the eve of this winter break’s end, I thought I’d share just a few reasons why I love what I do:

1. Teachers — My job is to work with teachers, and teachers are the bravest, smartest, best people I know. Each day teachers walk into classrooms filled with dozens of children who bring various strengths, needs, and interests to their desks. Teachers see potential where others may only see challenges. And I am lucky enough to be the person to whom teachers turn when they are struggling. It is my job to help them design lessons and assessments, to find ways to reach disaffected students, to seek resources to inspire students’ learning and to encourage them when they feel uncertain. It is a joy to be surrounded by so many people who simply love their work and want to do what is best for kids.
2. Students — Since leaving the classroom a few years ago, I have limited opportunities to work closely with students. However, I am in classrooms all the time, so I frequently have the privilege to see them in action. I sit in first grade rooms and watch reading buddies enthusiastically share their favorite books. I visit fourth grade rooms and observe students composing their fictional narratives, making sure every word captures the correct mood. I join tenth grade classes and listen to students debate whether Lady Macbeth’s insults were the catalyst for MacBeth’s power hungry rampage. Whether I spend five minutes or fifty with students, I am reminded why our work matters. I feel privileged to help design their educational experiences and to see them engage in their learning process.
3. Books & Poetry — Somedays it feels like a miracle. I have to read all kinds of books and all types of poetry to identify the best ones to include in our classroom libraries, instructional units and book circles. It is my job to do so! I review picture books by the dozen. I follow the Nerdy Book Club and read books they recommend. I notice what our middle and high school students read during independent reading time and read those books too. Plus, I read poetry every day, checking The Writer’s Almanac and Poetry Daily web pages to see what poems are posted and how they might be used in our classrooms. Seriously? Pinch me.

So before the Sunday night blues sweep over you, take a few minutes and jot down why you love your job. Then when your 5:30 a.m. alarm sounds on Monday morning, you will wake with a smile knowing how blessed you are to be an educator.

Have a great day!

More Than Words

*Originally published on Dec 29, 2015 on my Medium.com blog (which I am abandoning - Blogger is better).

“I don’t want just words. If that’s all you have for me, you’d better go.” 

~F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Beautiful and the Damned

While I extracted this quote from Fitzgerald’s novel about a doomed couple, it is also a sentiment easily applied to leaders. Teachers are not a naive audience. Those born to be teachers were also born with the gift to quickly spot a phony. This gift is a survival instinct that is deeply embedded into their psyche to assist their navigation of those students who try to fake their way through a class discussion or assessment or bathroom requests. With little hesitation, teachers feel in their guts whether a student is being truthful when she says her printer wasn’t working or her dog ate her homework.

Teachers have the same instinct when it comes to school leaders.

School leaders have to offer more than “just words.” Truthfully, leaders should listen — really listen — more than they speak. An astute listener will learn more about a school’s culture, a teacher’s struggles, or a student’s pain by what is left unsaid. Leaders, then, should use their words to ask questions, to propose possible solutions, and to create plans.

School leaders must be comprised of more than the words they proffer during faculty or PTO meetings. Leaders who show teachers that the work they do matters and that they believe in them are those who create positive school climates which lead to productive teachers and students.

So how do you show you are a person of more than words? Resolve to perform one, two or all of these actions before the school year ends:

1. Dress up on a theme day. I mean who doesn’t want to go to work in PJs? Of course you can have your regular business attire at the ready, but if it is school spirit week, make sure you show your school spirit.
2. Teach a lesson. Plan the lesson. Teach the lesson. Gather feedback. Repeat. True, it is probably not something you can do often, but you should try to do so several times a year.
3. Celebrate teachers. Show the community how hard they work. Invite the local newspaper to write profiles. Take photos and post them on Twitter. Write a blog that describes what teachers do each day to teach and reach students.
4. Give them time. Too often leaders make the mistake of talking their ways through the entire professional development days. If you need to present information or provide training, limit yourself to 20% of the allotted time slot for the in-service. Give teachers, then, the rest of the time to work in groups or alone to extend their learning and apply it to their teaching.
5. Seek input from your teachers and staff. Consistently ask where they want to go professionally. What should the school do to be a better learning environment? What does and does not work about a daily schedule. When someone gives you a great idea, then, make sure you give him or her the credit.

What other ways can school leaders show they are more than “just words”?