John Clementson is the Director of Academic Outreach and Development at Learner’s Edge. He lives in the country, and wakes up to deer and birds every morning (I am extremely jealous!). He is also “Papa” to four beautiful, awesome, sweet, and adorable grandchildren. He enjoys making heirloom furniture in his woodworking shop and has been known to barefoot waterski….but can’t figure out why his wetsuit keeps getting smaller every year.

One of my former colleagues, a Lakota man raised in missionary boarding schools, helped me understand some of my deep-rooted perceptions of race by saying… “we all have cultural tails.”   No matter how we wish our tail (tale) would disappear, we drag it with us throughout our life.  Often we become so comfortable with our standing in society or life that we forget it is there.  Such a comfort level is often easier for those of privilege, financial means, or a certain skin color.  However, every once in a while, and perhaps not often enough an event or an interaction occurs creating a dissonance in our comfortable world….and that ugly tail reminds us it is still there.   I am reminded of my own privilege and skin color each year when we honor and celebrate the work and memory of Martin Luther King Jr.

My tale begins as a young child growing up in an all white, small town in northern Minnesota.  I remember Native Americans from the nearby reservation being described by adults as “squaws, bucks, and drunken Indians.”   I remember the disdain most townspeople expressed toward the Native Americas who came to “our town.”  The local police were known to take drunken Indians to the reservation border to “dump” them on the side of the road for their “own” people to take care of…even in the dead of winter.

When I was an adolescent, my father, through National Science Foundation grants, was able to study at universities on both the East and West Coasts.  Living in Berkeley, California in 1966 was certainly an eye-opening experience for me.  The campus protests against the war and spirited public debates about civil rights were commonplace.  Living on the East Coast in 1967 and 1968 proved to be one of the most significant formative experiences of my life.  Seeing Peter, Paul and Mary sing on the steps of the LincolnMemorial in the summer of 1968, as thousands of “Poor People’s Campaign” participants rallied, will forever be a part of my tale.  The words of their song “Because All Men Are Brothers,” resonate in my ears and are written in my tail.

My brothers are all others forever hand in hand
Where chimes the bell of freedom there is my native land
My brother’s fears are my fears yellow white or brown
My brother’s tears are my tears the whole wide world around.
 
Let every voice be thunder, let every heart beat strong
Until all tyrants perish our work shall not be done
Let not our memories fail us the lost year shall be found
Let slavery’s chains be broken the whole wide world around.

Seeing Robert “Bobby” Kennedy’s freshly dug grave in June of 1968, and hearing the impassioned speeches from a rally that was supposed to feature Martin Luther King Jr.,  are seared in my memory and my cultural tail.  The National Science Foundation has no idea of the impact it had on my life.

As an adult, I had the privilege of seeing the Civil Rights Museum in Birmingham.  The experience brought back a flood of memories for me.  One in particular brought me back to 1968.  The museum features a cutaway of a bus… one similar to the hundreds I saw lined up near the “Resurrection City” and the Reflecting Pool of the Washington Monument in 1968.  I made a promise to myself at that moment:  that my own children would have a sense of the struggle thousands of people endured in order to bring about a cultural revolution in this country.  When my son and daughter were adolescents my wife and I took them to Birmingham… and have continually tried to keep issues of racism and inequality a part of our conversations with them as adults.

My most recent tail reminders have come while volunteering to build a Habitat for Humanity house in my local community.  I am constantly reminded of what it means to be poor, or to be an immigrant in America.  Rural poverty is alive and well in America, and the anti-immigrant sentiment that swirls about our culture is, once again, a reminder of the struggles of the 60s.

Another painful reminder of my privilege and of our and their not so distant past, have been my experiences working in the poorest-of-the-poor townships near Cape Town, South Africa.  Apartheid’s legacy continues to play itself out in the daily lives of those banished to the fringes of a privileged, white society.  As an educator, I see the Bantu school system, with its racist and paternalistic views of education for blacks as nothing less than deplorable.   Lest we forget, Brown v. Brown, the landmark decision regarding the unconstitutionally of separate but equal schools for blacks and whites happened in 1954.

Today, while in many ways I feel we have made strides as a society toward the ideals dreamed of by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. or Robert F. Kennedy, I am fearful our contentious political divisions and the harsh rhetoric of various media outlets demonizes those that are the “other.”

I have a dream that one day my grandchildren will know our past, and realize a new future: A future that embraces the dreams and hopes of Martin and Bobby.

Etched in stone, and in my cultural tale, are the words found on Bobby Kennedy’s memorial reminding us all, especially those of us who are teachers of our responsibility to society, no matter how long or ugly our cultural tail may be.

“Few will have the greatness to bend history itself, but each of us can work to change a small portion of events. It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped. Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.”   Robert F. Kennedy.

I am pleased to announce an open call for blog posts for ChalkBlog!

Who should be interested?
Take a look and see if you fit any of the following criteria:

• Anyone who became a teaching professional – and who can share their journey and their educational philosophy.
• Anyone who has ever tried something in a classroom and has been successful.
• Anyone who has ever tried something in a classroom, failed, and learned from the experience.
• Folks who have successfully implemented strategies and methods they learned from a Learner’s Edge course.
• Anyone who has amazing ideas for connecting with students.
• Education professionals who want to comment on any trends in education.
• Anyone who teaches in an unusual and/or innovative environment (flipped classrooms, virtual schools, etc).
• Education professionals whose districts have adopted and implemented Common Core standards- and who want to comment on the experience.
• Counselors or Social Workers who have noticed trends in student populations, and who desperately want to inform others.
• People who LOVE using technology in their instructional practices, and want to share what they do.
• Anyone who has worked with children who has an amazing story.
• Anyone who does cool and engaging stuff in their classroom.

(Sorry – what we can’t publish are advertisements or outside business promotions.)

The topics are endless, and since Learner’s Edge put me in charge of the blog (hee hee!), I get to work with you to highlight your best work, strongest epiphanies, and successful strategies.  I really, really want to hear from you!

How does this work?
Well, it starts with an email to me: dawn@learnersedgeinc.com.  When you email me, please share a little bit about yourself: what you do, who you serve, any Learner’s Edge courses you have taken (not a necessary qualification), and your idea for a blog post. You and I will work together to make sure your thoughts shine.  No deadlines- just an opening of the gates to share what you know.

What if you are worried about your writing?
I got you covered. Let me know what you want to say, and I will say it for you. You will be able to see the finished copy before it goes live.
If you do want to write your own post, I will do my normal editing thing with grammar and mechanics, but I will do my best to retain your style and voice.

What’s in it for you?
Your blog post with be cross-posted on our Facebook page, and you will officially be published on the Internet. You can share this with all of your friends and family, and you will be a hit at parties (I know being a blogger has done WONDERS for my social life).   If you already have a blog, you will be able to cross-post, and I will be sure to tag your blog.  Plus, you and your school will gain some notice – we do have quite a few Facebook friends, you know. Most importantly, your voice will be heard – saying something you are passionate about. Your words have the potential to inspire thousands of teachers.

Yay! You’re convinced! What do you do?
Email me! dawn@learnersedgeinc.com. Here’s what I need from you:

• The blog post (1-5 paragraphs), should you choose to write it, or your idea for a blog post.
• A very, very brief biography of yourself, including where you teach, the age level of your students, and something interesting about you (hobbies, special talents, etc).
• If you choose, a photo of yourself….this isn’t mandatory, but it’s nice to have a visual of who you are for the readers. If you don’t wish to have your picture up, not a problem at all.

What I will do:

• Read and edit your post for any mechanical errors, retaining your voice and your style
• Tag you in the post to insure that you get credit for the post on the Internet
• Post your writing on the blog and on our Facebook page
• Watch you become a SUPERSTAR.

I can’t wait to hear from you.
Dawn
dawn@learnersedgeinc.com

The Blueberry Story: The teacher gives the businessman a lesson
by Jamie Robert Vollmer

“If I ran my business the way you people operate your schools, I wouldn’t be in business very long!”
I stood before an auditorium filled with outraged teachers who were becoming angrier by the minute. My speech had entirely consumed their precious 90 minutes of inservice. Their initial icy glares had turned to restless agitation. You could cut the hostility with a knife.

I represented a group of business people dedicated to improving public schools. I was an executive at an ice cream company that became famous in the middle 1980s when People Magazine chose our blueberry as the “Best Ice Cream in America.”

I was convinced of two things. First, public schools needed to change; they were archaic selecting and sorting mechanisms designed for the industrial age and out of step with the needs of our emerging “knowledge society”. Second, educators were a major part of the problem: they resisted change, hunkered down in their feathered nests, protected by tenure and shielded by a bureaucratic monopoly. They needed to look to business. We knew how to produce quality. Zero defects! TQM! Continuous improvement!

In retrospect, the speech was perfectly balanced – equal parts ignorance and arrogance.

As soon as I finished, a woman’s hand shot up. She appeared polite, pleasant — she was, in fact, a razor-edged, veteran, high school English teacher who had been waiting to unload.

She began quietly, “We are told, sir, that you manage a company that makes good ice cream.”

I smugly replied, “Best ice cream in America, Ma’am.”

“How nice,” she said. “Is it rich and smooth?”

“Sixteen percent butterfat,” I crowed.

“Premium ingredients?” she inquired.

“Super-premium! Nothing but triple A.” I was on a roll. I never saw the next line coming.

“Mr. Vollmer,” she said, leaning forward with a wicked eyebrow raised to the sky, “when you are standing on your receiving dock and you see an inferior shipment of blueberries arrive, what do you do?”

In the silence of that room, I could hear the trap snap…. I was dead meat, but I wasn’t going to lie.

“I send them back.”

“That’s right!” she barked, “and we can never send back our blueberries. We take them big, small, rich, poor, gifted, exceptional, abused, frightened, confident, homeless, rude, and brilliant. We take them with ADHD, junior rheumatoid arthritis, and English as their second language. We take them all! Every one! And that, Mr. Vollmer, is why it’s not a business. It’s school!”

In an explosion, all 290 teachers, principals, bus drivers, aides, custodians and secretaries jumped to their feet and yelled, “Yeah! Blueberries! Blueberries!”

And so began my long transformation.

Since then, I have visited hundreds of schools. I have learned that a school is not a business. Schools are unable to control the quality of their raw material, they are dependent upon the vagaries of politics for a reliable revenue stream, and they are constantly mauled by a howling horde of disparate, competing customer groups that would send the best CEO screaming into the night.

None of this negates the need for change. We must change what, when, and how we teach to give all children maximum opportunity to thrive in a post-industrial society. But educators cannot do this alone; these changes can occur only with the understanding, trust, permission and active support of the surrounding community. For the most important thing I have learned is that schools reflect the attitudes, beliefs and health of the communities they serve, and therefore, to improve public education means more than changing our schools, it means changing America.

The Hunger Games Trilogy- Suzanne Collins
This is an amazing series – all three books: The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay. It’s not often that you can find a book that has a strong female protagonist, edge-of-your-seat action, and media-driven propaganda, all in a sci-fi setting. The themes are mature, but not unrealistic. I couldn’t put down my Kindle (My husband was strongly regretting that purchase). Collins is a fantastic storyteller, and she even wrote the screenplay for the upcoming movie, due in March.

Bel Canto- Ann Patchett
Without giving away the plot, this is one of the most unique books I have read in my long readership history. The characters are beautifully developed and their stories hold you close and tight. Even if you know little of music, you can appreciate Patchett’s threads of opera and rebellion. You will be left in awe – of the story, of the writing, and of human fragility.

This Life is in Your Hands – Melissa Coleman
I used to get upset when my parents didn’t pack Hostess snacks in my lunch. That’s nothing compared to Melissa Coleman’s childhood. Her parents married young, started a homestead in 1970′s Maine, and lived completely off the land. Their lifestyle set them apart, and amassed admirers who came from far and near to work with the family, honing the craft of organic farming as their relationships became more strained. When I began reading, I wanted to become a homesteader, and when I completed the book, I hugged my microwave. A fascinating take on the “green” movement; especially the depths to which the family sunk to remain authentic.

These books are fantastic, and well worth the time when you can get to them.  Let me know what you think!
Happy Reading,
Dawn
dawn@learnersedgeinc.com

Collaborate- Seriously – no more chip on your shoulders.  You don’t need to do everything alone.  Do your best to work with someone in your building on something cool.  Some possibilities: science with math, English with social studies….one year, there was collaboration between science and English when science read The Hot Zone.  Worked out nicely.  I also hear that media center specialists really like to collaborate with teachers.  Start out small – the ideas will only get bigger and brighter from there.  Can anyone say “shared workload”?

Celebrate – even the littlest successes can be celebrations in the middle of doldrums, and recovering-from-holiday-break-sleep-schedule-students will be thankful for small bursts of energy that give them a break.  I used to have my students trained so that when I said, “can I get a HEY HEY?” they “raised the roof” with their hands on cue.  You can also do standing ovations, “Whoop!” breaks, whatever suits your fancy.  It heightens interest and invites participation (don’t we all wish all of our curriculum was like that?).  Even Ellen DeGeneres dances every day.

Cool Off - sometimes, kids are just being kids, and sometimes there’s a reason they are being punks.  That underdeveloped prefrontal cortex thing makes them especially vulnerable to poor judgement and disorganization.  But here’s the deal- you are smarter than them: socially and intellectually.  And that teacher who ticked you off in the duplicating center this morning?  Not worth it.  Take the high road, and stay on the high road.  Your energy is valuable, and the students who are NOT ticking you off deserve your attention more.

Compassion- There’s ALWAYS reason for treating all students with compassion – the kids you like, and the kids you don’t.  Even teachers who are tough to deal with need a bit of TLC now and then – even a small note in their box that reminds them that they are valued.  A teacher I really admire used to tell her students, “sometimes, I will be an A teacher, and sometimes I will be a C teacher, just like you’ll sometimes be A students or C students.  That just makes us all human.”  We are in the business, at least in part, of teaching people how to be human, are we not?

We are.  Indeed.  Happy New Year.
Dawn
dawn@learnersedgeinc.com

Merry Christmas from The Edge!

Dawn
dawn@learnersedgeinc.com

**Repost – this was so wonderful and timely when Susie first wrote it…it’s worth sharing again.  -DHB

Guest Blogger Susanne Deitermann is the Director of Evaluation and Assessment at The Edge, and has been with us for four years.  She is an avid fitness enthusiast, and loves good movies, books, and snacks.

For my family, Christmas will be different this year.
Yes, Christmas will be different this year.
But, Christmas will come.

Each year, as I take out my Christmas decorations, I am reminded of my own childhood Christmases…

I remember the year our Christmas tree was so dry, the needles fell to the carpeting, instigated by the breeze created when I swooshed by, oblivious to what was going on ‘behind the scenes’ to make my Christmas magical.

I remember Santa (I found out years later it was my Uncle Don) his Santa suit covered in snow, surprising my cousin Lori and I by delivering our “Baby First Steps” to the front porch of our little blue house — and later, my brother renaming mine “Baby Last Step” as he rigged her up to tumble to the floor–from the kitchen counter.

I remember my grandmas, aunts, and mom all in their aprons–generations of women crowded into the kitchen– washing and drying the dishes (who knew that washing dishes would become one of my favorite childhood memories–listen up kids!) sharing stories and laughter, the lutefisk, lefse, and Lingonberries safely put away in the ‘fridge.

I remember Lori and I, as the youngest and the only girls, organizing the gifts into piles and delivering them to the name on the tag—creating little mini-piles at the feet of each of our family members.

I remember grandpa, every time it was his turn to open a gift—exclaiming “it’s the fruitcake!”

Yes, I remember the excitement and anticipation of Christmas.

Yet, as I have grown older, I began to realize that Christmas had become something else.

Instead of excitement and anticipation, Christmas had become plain old anxiety producing work.

Christmas became pressure–pressure I put on myself for insisting that we…

go to church
celebrate the season with extended family
make it to all of the Christmas parties
create a Christmas card
put lights up
purchase the ‘right’ gifts
decorate the tree
make cookies
wrap the gifts
see Santa…well, you get the idea…

The perspective of age has taught me that Christmas will come.  Even if my list is not achieved.

And some years, like this year for my family, it may look different than it has in years past.

But, either way, Christmas will come, and in many ways it will be the same.

We will be together, we will wake up slowly.
We will eat, light candles, relax, sing, laugh, be silly, and pray.

Yes.  Christmas will be different this year.

But, Christmas will come.

Merry Christmas!

Mouky

Today, I am going to share a lesson I learned about people and cats.

We have a dog and two cats.  All three of them are rescue animals- and we got them in the following order: Taylor (orange cat), Mouky (grey cat), and Hurley (border collie/Aussie dog mix).  We picked out Taylor because he was talkative and fluffy.  We picked out Mouky because, in his picture, he was lounging in his litter box, one elbow hanging out, and his bed was right next to the litter box, empty. “That,” we said, “is our cat.”

When we first got Taylor and Mouky, they were coming from separate foster homes, and came out of their shells once we had them.  Taylor proved himself to be a hedonistic glutton who sees no purpose for human hands other than to be pet.  Mouky is a chirping goofball, who engaged Taylor in what we call “teddy bear fights,” with Mouky exhibiting ninja-like fighting skills.  At first, we were pretty sure Taylor had the brains of the two- and told anyone who pretended to listen about Mouky’s goofy escapades.

We were wrong.

As we approach our 5th year with these cats as our companions, we have moved 90 degrees in our assessment of Mouky.  Sure, he’s a goofball, but he takes more risks, and can manipulate us into getting what he wants. He gets the hierarchy in the house.  Mouky understands to run away from the 14 month old little boy who is waving his hands excitedly at him.  He is nimble, a good hunter (don’t ask how we know this), and is capable of figuring things out that we would never have expected when we first adopted him.  He didn’t leave my side when I was first pregnant – almost guarding me (in fact, we are pretty sure he knew before we knew).

Nebelung

Just today, I found out that Mouky is, indeed and officially, a rare breed of cat – a Nebelung (see picture on the right).  Descriptions of this breed suit Mouky as well – loyal, intelligent, a bit afraid of strangers, but even tempered and sweet.  This breed even tends to let companions know if something isn’t right – litterbox, out of food or water, etc.  That’s Mouky’s job around here, too.  After I learned about Mouky’s “rare breed,” I’ve been looking at him differently today.  Almost overdoing the affection.  Wanting him near me – as if to say, “the special cat likes me best.”

If you are still reading, you are probably wondering why I needed to share this with you all, on this blog.  For me, this Moukylearning was an education in a few ways.  One, he’s not a mutt, like his household brothers.  Two, he’s rare, and it’s pretty cool that we have him as our companion – that he’s even cooler than we thought.

And three, I still haven’t learned this very valuable lesson: don’t judge a book by its cover.

How many times did I walk into a classroom with preconceived, or at least initial judgements about kids?  How many times did they prove me right – possibly as a result of my expectations of them?  How many times did they prove me wrong?  Enough that I should have figured this out by now.

It’s dangerous to listen to other teachers’ opinions of kids, or to read a child’s entire file before you meet them and see how they will work with you.  Whenever possible, every child should be able to meet a teacher with a clean slate, and to make their own mark.  First impressions are huge too, but I used to forget that my first impression of them didn’t show what they were bringing to the class – and I had to temper what I saw and felt with what they might be seeing and feeling.  Also, our impressions come with seasoning and experience; student impressions come with very different elements.  And breeding does not a personality or temprament make, either – how often did I make passing judgements (in my head, of course) about kids based on their siblings or parents?  Or their last name?  If I really think about it, I can be honest and say that, over 11 years,  I improved my perception and the lens through which I was seeing my students.  But old habits die hard, I guess.

When dealing with people and animals, there is more than meets the eye.  And we would do well to remember that as we make interactions and forge relationships each day.

Enjoy the day.
Dawn
dawn@learnersedgeinc.com

The Chalk Blog Holiday List
1.  That teachers be valued as the professionals they are, and that teaching continues to attract bright, innovative and global thinkers.
2.  That children everywhere are infused with a lifelong love of learning.
3.   That the general public, particularly in the United States, respects and honors the committment of teachers for the betterment of our society.
4.  That technology, materials and safe spaces and structures are available for all who wish to learn in a school.
5.  That society, particularly politicians, trust that some important outcomes simply cannot be measured, and that there are both/and approaches to assessment and evaluation.
6.  That all children, everywhere have enough clean water, nutrition, strength and shelter to thrive.
7.  That educators are appropriately compensated for their work.
8.  That the unknown becomes something to embrace, rather than to flee.
9.  That people, especially children, learn to see that life is something to be celebrated and cherished rather than to be endured.
10.  That folks believe that all of the above are possible.

Happy Holidays,
Dawn
dawn@learnersedgeinc.com

I have been in plenty of airports with tight connections to know that this may have helped me out a bit.  Shopping malls – love the idea of an online map, because shopping and me go together like peanut butter and peas.  I want to get in, get what I want, and get out. (shudder)

One never really knows if they are born with a navigational-savvy brain until it’s put to the test.  Those who are navigationally challenged usually figure this out pretty quickly – and so GPS and Google maps become their friends.  Those of us who can navigate, and have a good sense of direction, can delight in being lost as a way of discovery.  After all, I didn’t learn my way around our cities and towns by relying on maps, but by getting lost and learning about all sorts of new routes and neighborhoods.

But, in this age of “NOW” thinking, there’s not a lot of exploration, which in my mind, inhibits learning.  If it’s not handed to people, they don’t want to try and find it.  Students want to know what the “right” answer is, rather than trusting the process of learning.  We have a lot of technology that will do work for us, but we are missing out on calculating, plotting, examining, revising….all things that get us to the point of discovery.   Remember Rilke’s “Live the questions now…and someday, perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer.” ?  Or this gorgeous poem by David Wagoner:

Stand still. The trees ahead and bushes beside you Are not lost. Wherever you are is called Here, And you must treat it as a powerful stranger, Must ask permission to know it and be known. The forest breathes. Listen. It answers, I have made this place around you, If you leave it you may come back again, saying Here. No two trees are the same to Raven. No two branches are the same to Wren. If what a tree or a bush does is lost on you, You are surely lost. Stand still. The forest knows Where you are. You must let it find you.

David Wagoner

I remember setting up a webquest for students, and having them look for sites that had to do with a certain concept.  They did a keyword search on Google, and after scanning through page one of the results, their hand was up in the air.  “There’s nothing online,” they explained.  “I even searched for ____- and it’s not here.”

In the span of 30 seconds, they had briefly looked, and given up.  That’s it.

Curious George had the right idea, I think....

I mourn the gradual loss of discovery, but there is hope. Inquiry is a method that has been gaining traction for a while now, and it’s lighting students up.  Check out Reflections of a Techie – MRatzel is doing a lot with inquiry in her classes.  She then led me to Voices of the Learning Revolution, which headlines a piece on inquiry, actually.  There’s a lot of Socratic Method being utilized as well.

Discovery, and the process of discovery, is such an integral piece in the development of strong citizens- folks who will become our leaders, our scientists, our problem solvers.  Although technology makes it easy for those who do not like to be lost, I encourage each and every one of us to seek the discomfort once in a while.  Being lost isn’t so bad.  You usually learn a thing or two.

Dawn
dawn@learnersedgeinc.com