No Power? No Problem

I want to brag about a teacher.  In Ohio, like many other states, teachers are being evaluated under a more structured process.  We have all heard of high-stakes testing, so I would classify this as high-stakes evaluating.  I am also a new principal in the building, so the teachers are a bit stressed and even veteran teachers are nervous.

I had my Pre-Conference meeting with the teacher this morning where she explained to me all of the great things I was going to see and all of the technology that she incorporates into her lesson to engage the students.  I was as excited as she was nervous.

Ten minutes before I was to observe her lesson, the power went out in our town.  The early word I was getting was that it would not be a quick fix and would likely be out for most of the day.  Now I am aware of the stress our teachers are under for their evaluation.  I was not going to be heartless and say "this is unfortunate, but too bad."  I told her I had no problem pushing her evaluation back a day.

Here was her dilemma (and a problem with the process):  she could not just wait until tomorrow to teach the lesson.  Technically she could, but that means today would have been a "blow-off day" for her kids.  If I were to evaluate her tomorrow on a different lesson, she would have to submit a new lesson plan (typically 5-8 pages single spaced) and we would have to have another Pre-Conference meeting, because the one we had this morning would no longer apply to the new lesson.

Her decision:  come and evaluate me.  She did not care that the power was out and a majority of what she planned would no longer work. She was confident enough in her skills and did not want the kids' learning to suffer by delaying a day.  I am also guessing she did not want to jump through all the hoops a new lesson would require.  And you know what?  I do not blame her.

You know how this story ends.  She taught an awesome lesson.  I knew she would and I believe she knew she would as well.  Too often our teachers get vilified in the media. I am sure this story will only reach a few people, but it is worth telling.  She went old-school and taught without any technology, and there was no problem.

Why I Tweet

Today, I was fortunate enough to attend the Ohio School Boards Association Capital Conference, and it reaffirmed why I am on Twitter.  I have attended this conference the previous two years.  Last year, I ran into a former principal, who is now a superintendent, and he introduced me to another superintendent.  That was the extent of that connection.

Today's experience was quite different.  I have been an active Twitter participant for a year now, have learned more than I could have ever imagined, and have made many connections along the way.  This afternoon, I met many of those connections in person. Three superintendents, a director of educational services, two curriculum directors, a college professor,  several school board members, and too many principals to count.  That was just after lunch.  

The difference? I got so much more out of today's event because of the connections I have made.  A year ago, if I had a curriculum question, I was left to searching for the answer myself.  Today, I could contact any one of a number of people I now "know" on Twitter and probably have an answer or some insight within an hour. Chances are, if someone is on Twitter, they will respond to you if you ask a question.  It is access to some of the best minds in education.

Why do I Tweet?  Why wouldn't I?

The Video Newsletter

I have to admit, I was inspired by someone on Twitter.  Phil Griffins, an assistant principal in Virginia was doing a weekly video webcast to communicate with parents about what was going on in his school.  I like Phil and he has given me good ideas in the past. This video idea intrigued me.

Now the last thing I ever thought I would do would be to get on camera and upload a video to YouTube every week.  But then again, a year ago, I did not think there was a chance I would get anything out of Twitter, have a school Facebook page, or become the first school to conduct the Teach Like A PIRATE Experiment (a phenomenon I did not know even existed at the time).  So I figured, what the heck? The worst that could happen would be it would be an epic failure and episode 2 would never see the light of day.  Oh how wrong I was.

Why the video newsletter?  Because it is gold.  The feedback I received was: we love it; it makes us feel like we get to know you; I love seeing for myself what is going on in the school; we look forward to the video each Thursday.  Think about that one.  We look forward to watching the video each Thursday.  Have you ever had a parent tell you that about your paper newsletter, email blast, or robo call?  I can say that I have not.  When I did a a paper newsletter, I found them on the hallway floor, in the bottom of lockers and backpacks, and in the garbage can.  They were not getting home and the papers that were making it to their intended destination, I cannot be certain they were actually being read.

I now have a tool that people look forward to watching.  I keep it short, three minutes tops.  Our signature line is "Here's what's going on."  I now can get our message out, promote the great things that happen in our school every day, and not only are people watching it, but they are waiting for it.

Below is our latest episode, our 18th.  It is done entirely on an iPad using iMovie and an app called Touchcast.  Now that I have the hang of it, it takes about 30 minutes of my time a week, which is not much longer than the time I spent writing and revising our paper newsletter.

Face Time/Skype/Google Hangout...Can't Believe I Didn't Think of This.

I was talking with a teacher today, who is also a mom, and she told me how her kids are using Face Time and I cannot believe I did not think of this.

You may have read about Mystery Skype and its use in the classroom.  I have done it, and it is a phenomenal experience.  You may also have read about having a Google Hangout with an author.  I have not done this one yet, but I think this would be another great educational experience.

Neither of these were how my teacher's kids were using the technology on their own, and to be honest, I have not read about it on any blogs, tweets, or anything else.  It is so simple that I cannot believe I never thought of it.  It is also so educationally sound I want more people to hear about it.

These kids are Face Timing their friends to study together.  They quiz each other on vocabulary, speak Spanish back and forth to work on their conversational fluency, and work out math problems together.  If a friend did not understand a math concept in class, they can demonstrate it for them.

I admit, this is not a revolutionary concept, but I am so happy to know kids in my school are embracing this technology to become better learners, even after the bell rings.  They are working on projects together without ever leaving their homes.  I can't believe I didn't think of this.

School Shooting Simulation

Today, the staff in my building went through our second phase of A.L.I.C.E. (Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate) training. Basically, use what is appropriate, fight back if necessary, and get out if you can.

I want to explain what I experienced today, and how that experience no longer allows me to defend the traditional lockdown security measure that so many schools institute in their crisis plan.

Our School Resource Officer, who is a Delaware County Sheriff, put our staff through three simulations.

Scenario One:  Shooter in the building, traditional lockdown.

As many of us were taught and trained, the 26 staff members got on the ground along an interior wall.  I grabbed a desk that was nearby and pulled it over top of me, because that would certainly protect me, right?  Many of my colleagues followed suit. As the shooter entered the room he started firing, kill shot after kill shot. I watched in simulated horror, and momentarily was thankful that I had not been shot.  He started in the middle of the room, and I was the first person near the door and he had skipped right over me.  Shot after shot, another person experienced a simulated death, and then he pointed the gun right at me and fired.  Everyone in that classroom would have been dead, and we did exactly what we had been trained to do since Columbine happened in 1999.

Scenario Two:  Shooter in the building, no time to prepare, fight back.

Our staff was instructed that they would hear an air horn, which would signify a gun shot, and we were to react.  Barricade the door, fight back, escape, whatever was common sense.  We would probably have about 15 seconds before he got to our room.  What my staff did not know, was there would be no 15 second delay. He was entering the room immediately in order  to catch us off guard.  As he entered the room we were armed with tennis balls, because it was a simulation after all, and we did not want anyone to get hurt. He immediately began shooting, teachers began swarming him, and wrestled him to the ground and got the gun.  The intruder was only able to fire shots at four people, and not all of them would have been kill shots.

Scenario Three:  Shooter in the building, fight back, but your room has 30 seconds to prepare.

This scenario would be if we heard gun shots down the hall, and we would have about 30 seconds to block the door.  One teacher wrapped a leather belt around the door knob, because the door opened out into the hall.  A couple others moved a metal cabinet and desks in front of the door as a barricade.  Some teachers literally started climbing out the windows to escape.  The intruder somehow got the door open but could only get his hand through the top of the door to start shooting.  People began throwing items at it and we were able to knock the gun out of his hand.  No one was shot in this scenario.

I am smart enough to know that I am not a superintendent, and that I do not know everything they have to consider when making important decisions.  What I did learn today was that the traditional lockdown cannot be a one size fits all security measure for an active shooter in your building, or even worse, if the shooter enters your classroom. I appreciate the fact that our superintendent is investigating and studying all of the options.

I have heard many superintendents say that they support the lockdown method, because everyone is accounted for.  Once the shooter is killed or apprehended, all of the teachers know where all of the kids are in the building.  Prior to today, I could buy that.  After seeing what I saw today, I cannot.  Sure there are many unknowns, and a great deal of uncertainty if we teach and instruct kids to flee the school in the event of an active shooter.  Is ALICE the answer? I don't know.  Maybe the answer has not been invented yet. But today, in a simulation, I experienced one of my worst fears, and I am certain, that hiding under a desk with a shooter in the room, is not the answer.

Curriculum Night...Speed Dating Style

Some of the best plays in football are the result of an audible.  In some instances, a quarterback sees what the defense is giving him, and checks to a better play.  Other times, it is the result of a little luck.

Our Curriculum Night was very similar.  We had a conflict with the high school, which was having their event on the same evening.  This was stressing some parents out.  If they had kids in both of our buildings, how could they possibly attend both?

Our initial plan was to have a very structured evening.  I figured I would kick things off in the gym, and then the parents would follow their child's schedule, going from room to room every 15 minutes.  I even planned to ring the bells in order to give them the full experience.

Then came the audible.  First of all I did not want to compete directly against the high school (I would lose, I am the intermediate school principal).  Secondly, and more importantly, the parents would lose, and I did not want that.  We wanted parents to be able to attend both.  So we came up with:  Curriculum Night meets Speed Dating.

We began in the gym in which I gave a short presentation.  I kept it under ten minutes. Why?  People do not come to these events to hear the principal talk, they want to meet the teachers.  I received so much feedback on this.  Joe Mazza, an expert on the topic of school and parent interaction, talks about giving the parents what they want.  Well this is one of the things they want.

After my nine minute talk, parents could go to any class they wished.  Every ten minutes, I made an announcement that it was time to rotate and find another teacher.  Parents could leave early and go to the high school, or come late and still meet teachers.  We did six rounds of the ten minutes class meetings.

The vast majority of the feedback was positive.  If I were to adjust anything for next time, it would be to give a few minutes for parents to get to the next teacher, or just extend each presentation a few minutes.  The teachers enjoyed the format because it avoided the situation where parents wanted to tell them specific things about their children.  Those things are important, but this evening was not the time or the place  for those conversations to happen.

As I mentioned, it was not the perfect scenario having two events on the same evening, but sometimes you have to be willing to be a little flexible and call an audible.  It turned out to be an evening that many people are still talking about.

Inaugural #sstlap Chat 7/11

The Teach Like a PIRATE chats:  #tlap have been very popular on Twitter.  Several weeks ago I noticed some content specific chats were popping up.  There was #tlapmath for...well math and then #ELAtlap for english and language arts.  So last week I decided to create #sstlap for social studies at about the same time Misty White @mwhite_science decided to start up #SCItlap.

So if you are keeping track:

#tlap

#tlapmath

#ELAtlap

#sstlap

#SCItlap

If you have followed this blog, or know anything about me, I am onboard with the philosophy of Dave Burgess @burgessdave and his book Teach Like a PIRATE.  What I was hoping to accomplish with #sstlap, was to create a forum where social studies teachers could gather and share specific ideas.  Dave talks about how teaching the Industrial Revolution is never his favorite thing in the world.  For me it was.  He or another teacher could take some of my ideas, and I am sure I will take someone else's.  At the end of the day, we are creating more engagement and a better learning experience for our students.

Last night (7/11) was the first #sstlap chat, and it was a great success.  If you missed it, here were the questions:

Q1:  What specific area of history/social studies are you passionate about?

Q2:  @burgessdave discusses the importance of the 1st 3 days in building rapport.  What's your plan for the 1st 3 days this fall?

Q3:  What specific "experiences" have you created?

Q4:  How do you display immersion in your classroom? (Getting in the pool vs. sitting in the lifeguard chair)

Q5:  What unique ways have you integrated technology into your class to make it more engaging?

The #sstlap chat will be every other Thursday at 9 PM EST.  I am planning on having a designated blog post that will have links to the different experiences teachers have created and shared.  If you have a great experience, send me the link via Twitter to @mclane_ryan.  

The next chat will be on 7/25.