First Day Butterflies

Welcome! You're a Tornado now!

I met with my new staff members today.  I thought back to when I used to first meet my classes for the school year.  I wanted to be engaging.  I wanted them to know they could trust that I was going to develop their scholarly skills in ways that were meaningful to their futures. I wanted to be fun.  I wanted to be the teacher they raved about at the end of the day when they were talking with peers about which classes they were looking forward to. 

Today - all that still applied.  I want my new teachers to know that they are being supported.  I want them to recognize that there are lots of chances for collaboration, and they will never need to feel like they're on their own.  I want them to know that they are the newest members of the best department in the district.

In all of my eagerness, I forget one thing, and it's something I've forgotten at times as a teacher and as a coach and as a parent.  What do they want?  When I stop to listen, I find out that they have concerns.  They're nervous.  They're not all brand new to teaching, but my district is brand new to all of them.  They have questions to which I have no answers.  They wonder how their students will receive them.  They wonder what their classroom will look like.  They wonder how their coworkers will receive them and maybe what they look like.

I know that I am confident in their abilities.  I know that I'm excited for them to share their talents with our students.  I know they'll learn so much about themselves in the process, and I'm excited to be a part of their growth.

What do you wish someone shared with you before your first day of school?

Portfolio Presentation Reflection

As promised at TeachMeet NJ, this is the backchannel from todaysmeet.com/mrlebrun regarding the portfolio process. It seems that a majority of the posts focused on the reality of the current portfolio system being something that dies in a file cabinet and never gets revisited.

There were two conversations that came out of the portfolio presentation which I felt warranted further thought.  The first was the question in the session that came up more than once about the danger of a student accidentally deleting a file.  One of the aspects of the teaching job that comes through at every level is the gradual release of control. In the Danielson Framework, the most highly-effective teachers are those who allow their classes to be truly student-driven. From discussion topics to input on grading rubrics, highly effective scores are reserved for those teachers willing to relinquish control.  The same should be said in this process.  The more responsibility we give to our young people, the more likely they are to be effectively using the tools they are given.  We have to instill in them a sense of responsibility.  They have to be aware that if they're not careful, they may lose the work they have done.  How many times have we forgotten to save with frequency and then had the unimaginable happen and the work disappears?  Accidents will happen, but if we are careful to guard against them, we can minimize them.

After lunch, I was stopped on my way into the App Smackdown by Allen Martin (@AlsTechTime) with a question I couldn't answer. He asked me what the real-world value of the portfolio was.  I pointed to the ability of the student to share growth and knowledge gained.  I pointed to the ability for a person to put those skills on display for colleges and potential employers.

And he said, "But why? Have you ever heard that a college made its decision to enroll a student because of the work presented in his or her portfolio?" And I froze. I hadn't. I actually hadn't ever asked a candidate to share his or her portfolio with me, nor had I ever been asked to produce my portfolio during an interview.  So the next step in my process is to connect with area colleges and university admission folks to see exactly what role, if any, the portfolio plays.  After that, we, as educators will really have to identify the ways in which we're going to use portfolios in our classrooms.

Click here to find my presentations page including my portfolio presentations.


The transcript from the backchannel follows:

mrlebrun

What aspects of portfolios are challenging? 07:39PM Tue, 20 August 2013 GMT by MrLeBrun

Seems like others are using back-channeling today! Love it! 01:13PM Thu, 22 August 2013 GMT by MrLeBrun

Portfolios die in a file cabinet. No time to review them! 03:32PM Thu, 22 August 2013 GMT by Kate B. @KtBkr4

I agree with you Kate. I never get a chance to look through paper file folders. 03:33PM Thu, 22 August 2013 GMT by Jawharah

It seems there is so much material, it gets lost and pushed around. I agree it gets lost in a file cabinet. 03:33PM Thu, 22 August 2013 GMT by Allen

does anyone actually look at all portfolios for their students...time consuming 03:34PM Thu, 22 August 2013 GMT by kyle

when we did portfolios, i was never able to look at them for incoming students. 03:34PM Thu, 22 August 2013 GMT by Kate B. @KtBkr4

Rubrics! 03:34PM Thu, 22 August 2013 GMT by Mike

they just traveled in boxes, dusted off, stuffed w new stuff, transported to next teacher 03:35PM Thu, 22 August 2013 GMT by Kate B. @KtBkr4

I am interested in how high school students can use their work and "show it off" to potential colleges or businesses. 03:35PM Thu, 22 August 2013 GMT by Allen

YES! Lack of access! Locked in a room is not effective! 03:36PM Thu, 22 August 2013 GMT by Kate B. @KtBkr4

YES! Student self evaluation is a MUST! #validation 03:42PM Thu, 22 August 2013 GMT by Kate B. @KtBkr4

Smart! Only those pieces self evaluated are included in portfolio. 03:43PM Thu, 22 August 2013 GMT by Kate B. @KtBkr4