Showcasing students work...Is it time to rethink the focus of schools?

Once again this summer, I am blessed to have the opportunity to travel to a couple of national conventions/conferences.  As such, the wheels of thought are spinning as I have had the opportunity to engage in great conversation with our schools leaders as well as witness some presentations and showcases that humble me in my own work as an educator.  I am eternally grateful to the #CozadMakers schools system for believing in my work and investing in my professional development, so that I can work to enrich the experience our students have at Cozad Community Schools

The first of these conference has been the Skills USA National convention in Louisville Kentucky.  Sixteen thousand attendees have gathered to watch students engage in an authentic showcasing of their technical skills across the spectrum of vocational, technical, and academic areas.  Students from high school and post-secondary institutions across the country have earned the right to compete and showcase their skills in every competition from industrial technology to robotics to health care and beyond under one roof at the Kentucky Exposition Center.  A national champion will be crowned in every competition, scholarships and prize winnings will follow, along with job offers from America's leaders in every industry as they jockey to secure the next Michael Jordan of their field.

Don't be fooled that these vocational competitions are for the 'other' kids.  These are the best and brightest in schools across the United States.  The worlds demand for workers with the skills to apply the theory they learn in academic settings is insatiable.  The world  needs people who can perform.  Their earning potential in many cases is higher than those who work in what are typically seen as the 'prestigious' jobs in America.

Unfortunately today, schools and our society seem to think that career and technical education is the 'ugly duckling' of education.  These STEM opportunities, may be receiving a great deal of press due to the buzzword phenomenon, but few schools are taking the leap to make these new programs the common occurrence as opposed to being the rarity in new program implementation.

So why is that so?  Why are schools so remiss in putting these CTE classes and programs as their flagship?  Why are we resistant to the experiences that are driving growth and innovation in the world?  Tom Whitby (@TomWhitby), an educational leader, blogger and 34 year veteran of education published a blog today, where he proposed an answer to all these questions: Because innovation is change, and we are afraid of change.  

To focus on career and technical education, in the same way we focus on the core areas, would be to change from what we have done for decades in education.  It would be to resist the forces that are mandating standardization and quantification in education.  It would require that we admit education can be done differently and it can be better.

After this week at Skills USA National Convention, I can assure you that I will be bringing some new ideas back to my alma mater where I work.  A few of the thoughts and questions I will work on finding answers to are:

• Lets rethink the course offerings we have as a school.  They nearly identical to the classes we offered 20 years ago when I was a student.
• Can we envision a school where we tap into the hidden genius in EVERY student?
• What opportunities can we offer our students by partnering with our business community that engage students in real world learning and application of skills and knowledge?
• If we believe that the word FAIL stands for First Attempt In Learning, then lets not be afraid to try something new and Bobbi, thanks for the reply. The booking reference is one that I ready a few years ago and I agree it's a great book. Your question at the end of what you do to turn those teachers around her still reluctant to change, in my opinion focuses on the concept of creating the shared vision. Once you have that  thanks for the reply. The booking reference is one that I ready a few years ago and I agree it's a great book. Your question at the end of what you do to turn those teachers around her still reluctant to change, in my opinion focuses on the concept of creating the shared vision. Once you have that 

It is easy to sit behind the keys of a blog and post these thoughts.  It is another to delve into the muddy waters and work to find a solution.  I can assure you, that I am vested in what is best for our students.  I can assure you, that I will never be satisfied with good enough.  I can assure you that as I watched the best and brightest in the nation competing here at Skills USA, I was pompous enough to believe that our students could be on this national stage.  I was confident enough in our teachers to believe with a focused and shared vision, we could be the best in the nation.

I am excited to head out to ISTE in Philadelphia Saturday and continue my journey to answer the existential call to improve the great education our students at Cozad receive.  I look forward to once again learning with my fellow #CozadMakers teachers.  I look forward to the great ideas that arise, the hard questions we will have to ask ourselves that will follow, and heart and soul of work that it will take to make things great.

There are two quotes I think about often.  The first one is one that is also a favorite of great friend Jed Droge (@ibejed)

The second one is a quote I use while with athletes as a coach.


I am excited to see the #CozadMakers teachers, students and community join me in moving from good to great and making our better best!

Choosing your attitude

As the school year is set to begin, many teachers and administrators have been rejuvenated over the summer.  They have rediscovered their inner passion and remember why they joined this great profession.

Those in education can identify a cycle that takes place with teachers: School year begins and excitement is high, then comes mid-year and that excitement begins to wain. Then look out because here comes a time  late in the school year and that excitement morphs in to cynicism.

By way of full disclosure, I must admit that I have fallen into the this quagmire myself.  Each summer I take time to reflect on what my successes were, but more importantly to me than those successes are my failures.  I am a firm believer that failure is essential to growth and even more essential to success.  If we are satisfied with resting on good enough, then greatness, is a phenomenon that we will never experience.  One my favorite quotes is:  "Failure isn't fatal, but failure to change might be" -- John Wooden

So how did the process of reflection lead to a blog about 'Choosing your attitude'?  Experiencing excitement is a choice.  Experiencing cynicism is also a choice.  When people are excited, they are focused on the potential of what could be.  When people are cynics, they are focused on what isn't.  

This year, I am challenging my co-workers to remain centered on the first of those 'What could be'.  I am also challenging my co-workers to hold me accountable to this and keep me focused on it as well.  My hope is, to do my part, to create an environment that is as conducive to student success.  We owe it to our kids to not let our choice of attitude negatively affect our students.  

I recently read a blog by @PernilleRipp that she posted to twitter.  The blog was spot on with what I have been thinking.  Click here to read her blog on "A letter to those who are new...Myself included'  She pointed out the importance of being fearless, setting goals, and most importantly not losing yourself in the job.  If you read nothing else between now and when school begins, I suggest that post to give you a lift before school starts.  

Another resource I just love is to utilize is to watch the Kid President videos on YouTube.  If you have not checked them out I highly recommend it.  Here is one of my favorites:

So here is to staying motivated and positive this coming year and changing what I failed at the in past...all while focusing on what could be with a positive attitude and actions.

Follow me on twitter @CHS_Mr_F

The Power of Do -- Living your life in Beta

As the school year is just around the corner I am recommitting myself to blogging about my experiences in a school going through a transformational time.  This post (and probably those to follow) will be different from my past posts, less refined but hopefully more authentic.  In the past I wrote many blog, but left them unpublished because I just didn't feel there were real world ready.  Well, this summer I was bludgeoned by the obvious reason why I need to change self imposed restriction to sharing.

Once again this summer, I had the wonderful opportunity to attend ISTE 2014 international conference and the Great Plains Google Summit.  Just as expected, they were just what the doctor in terms of re-energizing me and reminding me of just what we need to move our educational systems from 'good enough' to 'the best it can be'.

During the ISTE 2014 conference I had the opportunity to listen to Phil Hansen (@Philinthecircle) talk about 'Embracing the Shake'  If you do nothing else after reading this blog, then watch this TED talk about discovering your true limits.  He posits that 'In order to limitless, we must first be limited'.  How can each of us Embrace Our Shake to make the classes and schools we work in be the best they can be for students.


http://youtu.be/YrZTho_o_is


The keynotes at these sessions all spoke of the importance of letting go of our fear of failure.  As educators we tend to be a conservative bunch.  By nature we want to succeed and help others succeed.  However, stop to consider the fact the in the real world, failure is where we learn the most impactful lessons.  Check out this video from the Google Summit Keynote Speaker Jia Jiang (@Jia Jiang)


http://youtu.be/ZFWyseydTkQ

Rejection and failure are what shape us to better next time.  We need to live our life in Beta mode.  We need to model for students that it is ok to fail so long as we evaluate our venture and do better next time.  Education has been a cumbersome beast when it comes to change and moving in the way the real world does.  (Remember we educators are conservative by nature).  So many times we rob the world of our gifts because we fear failure.  So many times we limit opportunities for students because we fear our inability to provide the perfect experience for them.  It is time we stop allowing our own fear as educators be the limiting factor for our students.