Our New School

So... a lot is happening (and school hasn't even started yet) and I feel the need to communicate what is going on at my school. Handily enough, I worked with a few fellow staff members this morning to develop our talking points about what we are doing, so I am ultra-prepared to draft this here blog post.

I currently work at a small alternative high school that primarily serves at-risk high school students. For those of you who don't speak in educational jargon , "at-risk" mainly means that these are students who have fallen behind their graduating class in credit earnings. I need to backtrack already to say that not all of our students fall into this category, but most do. Further, the reasons as to why our students are at-risk vary widely. Over the years that our school has been in operation, an immeasurable amount of good has been done in the lives of the children that came through our doors. It is with bittersweet sentiment that I will tell you that this school year (2011-12) will be the last year of our school.

The staff at our school are mostly of the workaholic creative type. We have done some amazing things in our classrooms as they are, but there are so many things (schedule, traditional assessments, school policies, etc.) that stifle us from doing our best work with students. It is this (and some other things that are not as interesting to write about) that has led us to the need for a new charter school.

Our new school (name to be determined) will be a community- and project- based, interest-driven, participatory cooperative school. There is some jargon for you. I won't give you our talking points yet, as they are still being tweaked, but I will be sure to elaborate on the above words/phrases soon. What I find so amazing right now and want to share with you is that my staff and I get to start a new school. I have only been teaching for six years, but I imagine that teachers work their whole lives wishing that they could change the system and build a school around what is really important - we get to do this. I don't have words for how this feels (which is inconvenient as this is a blog) but any of you who have ever wished education were different, and I imagine this is a lot of you, can appreciate the gravity of the moment.

In personal news, I have taken on a leadership role on our steering committee. This means that I will be letting go of two classes and using that time (and probably a lot more time) to work on the new school. I can't tell you how excited I am about this. For example, tonight I am writing this at 7:33 PM; I would ordinarily be sitting on the couch and watching What Not to Wear, but I just got a new book about writing workshop and I am itching to get back to it. Honestly, I feel so lucky to have been given this time read, learn, and grow and apply all of what I come up with to the new school. I have moments of panic: I don't know how to start a new school! But I trust that I am not doing it alone and we will all figure it out along the way.

As I write this, I hear the tune of an ice cream truck traveling through my neighborhood. This is such a sound of summer to me. Lest I be fooled, school is starting and for me, starting in a new and exciting way that it never has before.

Readings

In addition to writing a fair amount, which is evidenced by this here blog, I have been reading a lot this summer. A few of the titles are relevant to the blog and I wanted to share some that I thought were particular rockstars with all of you. I have provided you with links to purchase these titles at Better World Books because I know that after reading this you will want to buy copies for yourself and all of your friends :)

A Reason to Teach: Creating Classrooms of Dignity and Hope by James A. Beane

This book was recommended to me by a fellow member of the Greater Madison Writing Project. One of my current interests is democratic education and this book provides a practical and inspiring way of looking at education as a way to prepare students to participate in and to improve our democracy. It is a hard-hitting read; I found myself wanting to jump and cheer while reading it. Beane challenges the traditional system in a way that seems so obvious - why aren't schools like this already?! This is readable for teachers at any level and I am going to recommend it to all of my staff members.



Place- and Community-Based Education in Schools by Gregory A. Smith and David Sobel


If you are interested in what my school is doing this year and in the coming years (and I know you are!) this book is it. This book has provided me with a touchstone for understanding the basics when it comes to place/community-based education. They are clear and concise as well as helpful for starting projects in your own school or classroom.



Writing America: Classroom Literacy and Public Engagement This one is not available on Better World Books, so this link goes to Amazon. I recommend you buy it used :)

This lovely volume is written by a collection of teachers in the National Writing Project and focuses on their experiences with place-based learning. The experiences range in subject matter and grade level and is full of ideas as to how to engage students in community-based research, inquiry, and journalism.

Lastly, I just finished reading Bossypants by Tina Fey. I was scared by the cover, but I encourage you try to get past that. If you need a laugh after all that school related reading - I highly recommend it :)

Wisconsin Teachers of Local Culture: Lakefronts and Backstories Cultural Tour

I have a tendency to over-schedule during the summer. So naturally between the summer institute and a houseboat vacation with friends, I decided to sign up for a cultural tour with the WTLC. While I don't regret taking the tour in the least, I lament the lack of time I always seem to forget that I need to process, apply, and unwind from one experience to the next. This leaves me drafting this post from my bedroom cabin on the aforementioned houseboat vacation in hopes of summarizing the experience for myself and so that I can put all of these thoughts to rest and enjoy some cold beer and our on boat water slide!

I spent the week of August 1-5 on a cultural tour of Wisconsin. Specifically we toured the area around Lake Winnebago. I knew very little about this place before embarking on the tour. I traveled with my colleague, Robyn, as well as twenty other teachers from around the state. We were led by four remarkable individuals: Ruth Olson (a folklorist and the associate director of the Center for the Study of Upper Midwestern Cultures), Anne Pryor (the folk and traditional arts specialist at the Wisconsin Arts Board), Mark Wagler (a folklorist, researcher with the UW-Madison Local Games Lab, and consultant to Badger Rock Middle School), and Steve Ackerman (Professor of Atmospheric and Ocean Sciences, and the Director of the Cooperative Institute of Meteorological Satellite Studies at UW-Madison) who all shared unwavering passion for local culture.


Robyn and myself strolling through Algoma, WI.

I was able to see and do things on this tour that I don't think I ever could have been able to experience otherwise: visiting the Oneida Summer Arts Program for children, talking with Hmong-American Vietnam Veterans at a memorial to their service, meeting artisans: a boat builder, wood cover, Chinese cook, organic farmers - the list goes on...


Atop the Point Beach Lighthouse.

The purpose of the tour was to engage teachers in local culture so that they might do the same with their students. We were all at different places with this idea, some teachers have taken yearly trips, some use the community in their classroom daily, others had little to no experience at all. As my school is starting anew in the 2012-13 school year as a community-based school, this was the perfect opportunity to experiment, learn, and think.

Like the Greater Madison Writing Project, I am sure this will be an experience that I go back to again and again. For now, here are some of my most tangible take-aways:

1. People want to talk to you. This sounds silly, but one of my concerns about taking students out into the community was that we would be inconveniencing people, businesses, organizations. Everyone we talked to on our tour was excited to have us visit and to be given the opportunity to tell their story. I think this is almost universal and it makes the community seem more open and inviting.

2. School becomes relevant when it connects to life outside the classroom. And why shouldn't it?! Isn't it our duty to provide students with relevant curriculum? How did schools ever become so isolated from the riches of their local community?

3. Local community provides an endless amount of potential. Who knew that people surf year round (not a joke) on Lake Michigan!? Who knew how much fun Robyn would have curling?!

Robyn: Curler extrodinare. Green Bay Curling Club.
If students are aware of the healthy, interesting, community-connecting options in their areas, maybe they won't feel so alone or take such unhealthy risks.


Overall, the experience left me exhausted, but uplifted about the potential that lies ahead. I feel full of ideas and inspiration that will hopefully carry me through this exciting year of planning a school around the ideas of place and community connection.


The whole crew at Saxon Creamery.

**Photo Credit: Ken Swift - recently retired Madison Metropolitan School district teacher and amazing photographer! Featured on left of lighthouse photo.

Reflections on the Greater Madison Writing Project Summer Institute

I have fallen a little bit behind on blogging. Which was probably bound to happen. (School hasn't even started yet... yikes.) I have, however, been writing a lot - just not online. So, I will begin where I left off by wrapping up my experience in the summer institute with the Greater Madison Writing Project.

It is difficult to put into words how powerful and inspiring my time in the summer institute has been. People talk about summer institutes as life changing; I would instead describe it as an experience that took my every curiosity, interest, passion related to education and enriched it. I regularly found myself wanting to be able to learn more faster, to take it all in as quickly as possible, all the while knowing that it can take a lifetime to become a masterful teacher (or student for that matter). After a rocky relationship with this profession, I feel refreshed and deeply recommitted. The summer institute reminded me that I love education, I never cease to be interested in it, and I am prepared in a new way for what lies ahead.

The institute left me a snow-globe brain full of ideas and things to learn more about. A few that are currently surfacing include: democratic education, Nancie Atwell's writers workshop instruction, mindfulness practices in the classroom, authentic education, habits of mind, and place/community-based learning.

In addition to sparking my interest and allowing me to rethink old ideas, I came to a few currently tangible realizations about education. They are as follows:

1. I need to come to teaching joyfully. I may have written about this previously, but I realized this summer how much my attitude has influenced my practice. For me, what this means is that I need to read and write joyfully if that is what I want for my students.

2. I don't want to ever stop being curious. There is so much I want to know more about that I just can't get enough fast enough. If this ever goes away, it will be time for me to stop teaching.

When I sought out this opportunity, I was mostly looking to find a community of professionals to be connected to. I feel so blessed to have round this network and I am excited to see how we grow together in the future. As I move forward with this school year (and the next, and the next), I feel prepared, inspired, enlivened as an educator and an individual.