School’s Out For Summer! That Doesn’t Mean Learning Should Stop. Help Prevent the “Summer Slide.”

Posted on by Dr JR Entsminger

“Summer slide” is the name given to the regression in learning that many students experience over the summer. The achievement damage resulting from a lack of academic activity that occurs during the summer months may go by other names, such as “summer loss,” “summer learning loss,” or “summer learning regression.” The name you give it doesn’t matter. Acknowledging that it exists and then actively doing something about it is what matters.

Every summer, we have students (and often, families of students) regressing because they are not actively involved in some type of worthwhile academic activity over the summer. What is more disheartening, summer slide has been shown to more negatively impact disadvantaged communities. In fact, some researchers decry summer slide as a contributing factor to the widening achievement gap between the rich and the poor.

The education of our students occurs around an agrarian calendar. Almost always has. Knowing that change in education (and changing the education system itself) is very hard, year round schooling is probably not a valid option at this point in time. However, we need not despair! According to many researchers, reading is essential for curtailing summer slide. Some research has shown that reading just six books (“just right books”) may help prevent regression. Other researchers suggest that providing students with opportunities to read something everyday (morning = newspaper; daytime = schedules, magazines, online articles, etc.; night = book, graphic novel) will do the trick. In addition, researchers have found that reading aloud over the summer is extremely important.

Whatever certain researchers may say/suggest, it seems clear that reading over the summer is important and may help prevent summer slide. This sounds like a forgone conclusion. However, as usual, this also sounds easier said than done. As just one example of a barrier that parents lament in response to their role in preventing summer slide, I know parents work over the summer (or have other obligations) and may not be able to partake in a family read aloud or help ensure that their child is reading everyday. However, if preventing summer slide is a priority (which I believe it should be), parents will find a way to help their children prevent learning regression over the summer. I heard a quote today from a fellow administrator/colleague that I really liked. She said (not verbatim), “Show me your calendar or your checkbook (account statement for those of us in the digital age) and I’ll be able to tell you what your priorities are with a fairly significant degree of accuracy.” Point being, if you make it a priority, it will happen.

There are so many community resources out there to help parents in this endeavor. Community libraries are always a huge resource over the summer. Many libraries have camps/programs that are dedicated to preventing summer slide. I’ve also read about “neighborhood read alouds,” where parents team up to help ensure reading is occurring in the community over the summer. I just saw an article about a program that invited kids to the local animal rescue so they could read to the animals (reading aloud). Parents, over the summer it’s up to you. Make it happen!

Have a safe and restful summer break full of reading (or other academic pursuits)!

Like/Comment/Share!

Turns Out, Happiness is the Key (or, at Least One of Them)

Posted on by Dr JR Entsminger

Did you know the following benefits of happiness (Achor, HBR, 2012):

  • 56% greater sales
  • 3 times more creative
  • 31% more productive
  • 40% more likely to receive a promotion
  • 23% fewer fatigue symptoms
  • Up to 6 times more engaged
  • 39% more likely to live to age 94
  • People who are happy and positive are more productive, which results in a better ROI for companies and school districts.

I attended a 2-day Happiness Advantage workshop in Schaumburg this week.  At first, I was skeptical.  I mean,  I already knew happiness was important.  I knew being happy was a big part of success and creativity.  I knew that happiness helped fuel relationship building.  However, I didn’t know the aforementioned specific benefits of being happy.

Also, happiness is a mindset.  We must make a choice to be happy.  As obvious as that may seem, I never truly thought about happiness that way.  I thought that if I worked hard and became successful, I would be happy (almost automatically).  However, that thinking is backwards.  I must first choose to be happy, which will help my brain work better, and then potentially help me become more successful.  As the presenter mentioned, negative emotions narrow our focus towards fight-flight, whereas positive emotions broaden the amount of possibilities we process, thus, making us more creative, thoughtful, and open to new ideas (Fredrickson, 2004).

In addition, I learned that we have to be careful.  Apparently, it’s fairly simple to fall into the “darkness” or be negative (which shouldn’t be hard to believe.  Just turn on the news).  What is more, I also learned that there are specific habits that people engage in order to remain consistently happy.  During the training, I made a commitment to try at least one of these habits for 21 days.  I’m hoping this commitment will become a habit so that I can begin working on developing another one of the happiness habits.

To clarify, it’s not that I’m not a happy person.  I am happy.  There are many things that make me happy.  However, as the presenter also said (or asked), we’re not always happy at work.  He asked a poignant question: why do we always wait until retirement to be happy?  We should be focusing on ways to make work happy, so that happiness is part of our regular routine and so happiness is also shared with all the people with whom we come into contact.

I definitely plan to live by what I learned.  I was about to say, “implement what I learned.”  Yet, what we learned can’t really be implemented (in the most literal sense).  The Happiness Advantage focused on a paradigm shift/mind shift/seeing the world through different lenses (emotional lenses).  The presenter wasn’t selling a program or some type of scripted curriculum.  Being happy is within us all.  We must choose to be happy.

Let’s bring this post back to the classroom and apply it to my context as an educational leader.  I believe the rubber will truly meet the road when I’m faced with the plethora of issues that plague educational leaders (or, educators in general) on a daily basis: student misbehavior, problematic parent, having difficult conversations with teachers, etc.  When I’m faced with those challenges, I hope I can remember what I learned from the Happiness Advantage training.  I hope that I can remember my commitment to being happy, and spreading that happiness to others.

Like/Comment/Share!

Considering School Improvement in Underserved/Disadvantaged Areas

Posted on by Dr JR Entsminger

I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately. Actually, this has probably been a thought of mine (at times, it may have lingered in the back of my head as opposed to taking center stage), since I first started my career in education. I work (and have worked since the start of my career) in a severely disadvantaged school district. Over 80% of our students come from low-income homes. We have a 40% student mobility rate. It doesn’t help that our standardized test scores according to PARCC are not very good (which, in my opinion, is highly indicative of socioeconomic status. You can take a map of the south suburbs of Illinois, throw a dart at it, and you will more than likely hit an area that’s underperforming while serving a severely disadvantaged population). What’s even more unfortunate, there is an undeserved negative connotation associated with my district and a plethora of unfavorable perceptions regarding my current school district (and a lot of districts that serve similar populations).

This unfortunate scenario is reinforced by social scripts, which are “a series of behaviors, actions, and consequences that are expected in a particular situation or environment”(https://www.alleydog.com/glossary/definition.php?term=Social%20Scrip). In my district’s case, the social script is defined by environmental factors such as poverty, dysfunctional student home lives, high percentages of EL students, high percentages of students with special needs, etc. Districts like mine (there are many) are often expected to fail (sometimes, this expectation is even held by those whom the district employs) because of the out-of-school factors impacting our students and their learning (among other things). But, I’m trying to find a way to flip that script. We focus a lot on what we CANNOT control in education. Let’s start focusing on what we CAN control.

Elena Aguilar (2013), author of The Art of Coaching: Effective Strategies for School Transformation, describes the Coach’s Optical Refractor as an essential tool which encourages coaches to view issues/problems/situations from six different lenses. If you’d like to learn more about the Refractor, I highly recommend her book. I want to focus on the first lens, Inquiry, and how it relates to my thoughts regarding school improvement in disadvantaged areas. She states, “The way we define the problem dictates how we define the solution” (p. 50). Defining/describing improvement efforts concerning our disadvantaged schools are almost always plagued with assertions and descriptions regarding the effects of pervasive poverty, the dysfunctional family home lives of our students, the lack of resources to properly help our students learn and live productive lives, etc. I understand that those issues impact our reality. There’s no way around that. We can’t deny this reality, and we must be cognizant of how it shapes our own perceptions, beliefs, and actions.

However, I can’t help but wonder if we’re focusing on those aspects of the problem so much so that the solution (if there is one) is often (only) defined in these ways as well. I’ve heard the, “If only we had more resources,” “If only our students’ parents cared more,” “If only we had more parental involvement,” “If only the neighborhoods where are students come from were safer,” “If only our kids came to school on grade level (a good portion of our students do not come to school on grade level),” etc.

In my opinion, we may need to reframe the problem so that it doesn’t focus so much on issues outside of our control. By reframing the problem, we may also need to adjust our professional practice mirrors onto ourselves to determine what exactly we CAN do in order to positively enact change and improve learning and/or achievement for our students. Can we safely reframe the problem so that we take into consideration all the contributing factors to a student’s success, but also focus mainly on what we, as educators, can do to help ensure learning? I think so. I think it will require honest, courageous, uncomfortable conversations. But, I think it’s possible (and worth it). I also think that this type of change won’t occur until we get honest with ourselves and begin focusing on what we CAN change, as opposed to focusing on those issues over which we have no control.

Like/Comment/Share!

When I Grow Up, I Want To Be…

Posted on by Dr JR Entsminger
Professional Football Player
Professional Soccer Player (“like Cristiano Ronaldo”)
Professional Video Gamer
Professional Youtuber (I wasn’t fully aware this was a thing)
Actress
Actor
Voice Actor
Growing up, I wanted to be an archaeologist, professional baseball player, professional golfer (which is ironic because I’m a terrible golfer), or a rock star.  It was so fun to have these dreams.  I’d picture myself hitting a grand slam to win the game as a professional baseball player.  I’d have daydreams of myself on stage rocking out with my guitar.  However, I was also encouraged (by my parents and teachers) to have more realistic dreams in addition to my utmost desire to be the next Eddie Van Halen.  For instance, after visiting Springfield as a junior high student, I became enthralled with politics.  I was encouraged to consider a career as a lawyer and then to enter politics.  Looking back, I’m so happy that I was encouraged to have a “Plan B Dream” in addition to my ultimate dreams.
At this point in the school year, I get to go out to all the schools within my district in order to learn more about our 6th grade students.  I get to interview 6th graders, which affords me the opportunity to get to know them so much better.  These students are amazing.  They’re smart.  They’re funny.  They’re shy.  They’re nervous.  They’re kind.  They’re caring.  Some are quiet.  Some are more talkative.  Some really like video games.  Some really like animals.  Some really like the Chicago Bulls.  But, most importantly, they’re all 6th grade kids with wide eyes and incredible dreams.  Many times, those dreams consist being a professional singer, an actor in Hollywood, a reality TV star, or a football player for the New England Patriots, just to name a few.  I’v heard students say they wanted to be every single one of those things in the list at the beginning of this post, and then some.
As educators (and parents as well), I think it’s important to embrace our students and their dreams, and to also encourage our students to have “Plan B Dreams” in addition to their ultimate dreams.  These “Plan B Dreams” tend to be a bit more realistic or like “regular jobs” as one student described.  That’s not a bad thing.  Having a backup plan is important (I may be biased because I’m a habitual planner).  Some people take issue with the phrase “Plan B Dreams” because they claim it implies that we’re discouraging students from pursuing their real dreams or that we’re “dream killers.”  If you don’t want to call it “Plan B Dreams,” fine.  Don’t.  These “regular job” dreams can go by another name.  However, I think it’s essential that kids are encouraged to have these “regular job” dreams.  Being real about future careers and opportunities is so important.  What is more, I think it’s important to help students and their parents research future jobs and understand their skills and potential.  As I got older (high school), I remember taking aptitude tests or skills tests that would help identify careers that would be a good fit for me.  The results of these tests were always so narrow.  The results almost always had to do with a public service position like a law enforcement officer or a teacher (nothing wrong with either of those professions).  That being said, it’s our job as educators to show kids and their families that there are so many other opportunities out there in this world, in addition to their ultimate dream jobs/careers and in addition to the jobs/careers that may be identified for them based on the results of some test.
We’re not dream killers.  We’re not crushing the dreams of our students.  Encouraging students to have realistic dreams in addition to their ultimate dreams is not killing their dreams or discouraging them from pursuing their ultimate dreams.  We just want to ensure that the children within our care (whether our own kids or the students in our charge) have a variety of dream jobs/careers and “Plan B Dream” jobs/careers, have the knowledge and ability to one day pursue their dreams, and understand that just because their ultimate dream job/career may not have come to fruition, that doesn’t mean they’re not or they won’t be successful in life.
Like/Comment/Share!

The Importance of Good Mentors

Posted on by Dr JR Entsminger

I just finished reading a book on being a successful school administrator. The book included anecdotal observations and experiential information from past and current educational administrators. It was unanimous. All of the administrators who provided their expertise for publication in this book said the same thing: all educators, including assistants, teachers, curriculum coaches, maintenance and janitorial staff, building level administrators, and district level administrators need good mentors.

I try to read at least two educational books a month and as many research articles I can find. I’ve scoured the internet searching for books to read that could help me in my profession. I’ve picked my colleagues’ libraries clean in search of practical books/information that can help me grow. All this searching and reading has been extremely beneficial. However, besides on the job experiences and making mistakes then learning from them, I think mentoring is probably the most propitious form of growth in my professional practice.

Many districts place heavy emphasis on the mentoring and induction of our new teachers. Yet, I know there are some districts that provide no formal mentoring for their administrators. I’ve heard how some districts assume that because someone was a successful teacher, they will be a successful administrator. I find that assumption problematic.

I’m thankful that my district invests in its administrators by providing them an opportunity to work closely with mentors. During my first year as an assistant principal, I was partnered with a retired high school principal. Because of the difference in grade level experience of my mentoring relationship, I was skeptical at first. However, even though my mentor was a previous high school administrator, much of the wisdom he shared with me has been certainly applicable. In addition to my formal experiences with a mentor, I’m thankful for a superintendent who invites all the administrators in the district to learn and grow with him. I feel that he has taken me under his wing and helped me understand things and get better at things along the way. This informal mentoring has been and continues to be just as beneficial as the formal mentoring.

Essentially, I think it’s important for districts to remember that as administrators, we need mentors, too.

Like/Share/Comment!

Teacher Quality and Practice Comes First

Posted on by Dr JR Entsminger

At yesterday’s district institute, we had a wonderful presenter who initiated the conversation regarding grading practices and homework. He brought the data to help support his claims. He cited relevant research that showed that homework, especially in the primary grades, often results in an effect size of zero when it comes to student learning. Yet, one of the aspects about his presentation that made it so compelling was his connection to our children and our students. We may have heard the message before, but he was particularly effective in communicating “If it’s not good enough for your own kids, why would you consider it good enough for the students you teach?” I’ve traveled to neighboring districts to see similar presentations from different presenters on grading practices and homework policies. The presentations lacked that compelling piece.

I completely see the validity in the presenter’s claims regarding homework and grading. It’s hard to argue with the majority of the evidence he presented. However, I’m not quite sure that teaching/instructing/informing teachers about proper grading practices is a step towards district improvement (or the most effective step towards improvement). For example, with homework, if a teacher looks at an assignment and determines that it’s good/quality, but in reality, the assignment is not very good and serves no purpose for student learning, I’m thinking there’s a deeper issue at hand. With this scenario, we may have an issue of teacher quality. In this instance, I do not believe that teaching/instructing/informing teachers about proper grading practices or what good homework should look like (if homework is given at all) is the first step in the process of improving the quality of that teacher. Yes, having this knowledge regarding grading practices and homework is essential. But, like I said, there may be an underlying issue that can’t be completely addressed by learning more about homework and grading.

Point being, improving teacher quality (especially from an instructional standpoint) before focusing on grading and homework policies is essential. We may be putting the cart before the horse by considering homework and grading policies before considering teacher quality.

Later, I was fortunate enough to participate in a round table discussion with the presenter. He agreed that addressing teacher practices and teacher quality before grading practices and homework policies was essential. He then clarified (which I had difficulty articulating for some reason) that with good teaching practices and improved teacher quality, grading practices and homework policies could lead to school improvement.

Overall, the presentation was fantastic. I’m simply concerned about any execution of his suggestions before improving teacher quality (and administrator quality for that matter).

Comment/like/share!

Safety in Our Schools: A Parent’s Poignant Question Regarding Erin’s Law

Posted on by Dr JR Entsminger

Last night, I had the pleasure of meeting Tom Kress. He will be presenting information concerning Erin’s Law to our entire district (parents, students, teachers, administrators, and other community members). His presentation was very informative. In addition, it was certainly geared towards his most important audience members: students.

Last night’s session was intended for parents and community members. Tom presents to parents and community members first in the event that a parent may wish to opt out his/her child from the school-wide presentation. Thankfully, it didn’t seem that any of our parents desired to do so.

After the presentation, Tom opened the floor for a Q & A session. A parent asked a question that rattled me all night and has stayed with me this morning as well. She asked, “Why aren’t training and informational sessions such as this [Erin’s Law training and informational sessions] mandated like other safety drills throughout the district/schools?” The parent was referring to tornado drills, fire drills, lockdown drills, etc. I began to cogitate on her inquiry. We have fire drills. We have tornado drills. We have lockdown drills. We constantly engage in other safety precautions and measures throughout the entire school year. It’s not that these measures aren’t important (especially from a preventative perspective). I’m not saying that these drills are not essential. Of course, anything that has the potential to keep our students safe is pivotal. However, we haven’t had a fire in years. We’ve never had a tornado. We do occasionally have external lockdowns (when something unsafe or potentially unsafe for students occurs within the city or community), but they are always resolved by the community police force. Yet, we have an abundance (unfortunately) of students who are the victims of sexual abuse. As a teacher, I had multiple students confess to me about sexual abuse they experienced. As an administrator, I’ve had teachers bring their concerns to me regarding potential abuse of students in their classrooms. Clearly, as a mandated reporter, I brought these concerns to the proper authorities. But, one can’t help but wonder about this reality.

In the room last night, a parent broke down and admitted to being the victim of sexual abuse as a child. She mentioned knowing others who were also victims of sexual abuse. If we work to keep our students safe at all times from ALL threats, isn’t sexual abuse training just as essential as the tornado drills, fire drills, and lockdown drills, especially considering that many of us teachers and administrators have actually had to navigate situations where children confide in us regarding some of their horrific experiences?

I encourage you to reflect on this parent’s question. Should we mandate and normalize sexual abuse training the same way we’ve mandated and normalized tornado drills, fire drills, and lockdown drills? In addition, should parents be able to opt their children out of training regarding sexual abuse? This is an issue that impacts so many and truly has the potential to alter the trajectory of a child’s/family’s life.

Like/Comment/share!

Learning During the Teacher Evaluation Process

Posted on by Dr JR Entsminger

I’ve been in a copious amount of interviews throughout my time as an educator. Fortunately, I’ve been on both sides of the interview table, as part of the hiring committee and as a potential employee. In almost every interview, someone asks some kind of question concerning teacher evaluation (as they should. It’s an important part of the job). In regards to questions about teacher evaluation, I believe that administrators can and should learn during the process. In addition to some members of my hiring committees, some of the people interviewing me seem put off by that comment/belief. They seem fairly traditional in the sense that the teacher evaluation process is a learning experience (ideally) only for teachers and that the administrator evaluation process is a learning experience (ideally) for the administrators. I don’t agree with that.

Like Randi Weingarten says, teacher evaluation can and should build the capacity of our teachers. I go a step further. I believe that it can and should also build the capacity of our administrators. I’ve been asked, “What types of skills can an administrator possibly gain during the teacher evaluation process?” My answer regarding skills that administrators can build/develop during the teacher evaluation process is usually something like the following (this list is not exhaustive):

  • Empathy
    • Some administrators forget; we were once teachers (at least the majority of us). The teacher evaluation process is extremely stressful. The transition to the Danielson Framework was complex and was not easy for all teachers. We must empathize with our teachers as we all continue to grapple with the evaluation framework and the fact that teacher evaluation is extremely strenuous.
  • Inclusion
    • We must focus on conducting evaluations that include the teacher as opposed to being “done” to the teacher.
  • Communication skills
    • Conducting teacher evaluations requires navigating precarious terrain. Obviously, some teachers are more open to evaluation than others. Clearly, some teachers see evaluation as an accountability measure that administrators use to dismiss teachers. Good administrators don’t view it that way. Regardless, as administrators, we must communicate effectively with teachers during the evaluation process that helps put them at ease. For me, having a stressful and, possibly, even an animus evaluation process is one of my least favorite aspects of the job. Collegial communication could help assuage teacher concerns and establish teacher evaluation as a process for continued learning.
  • Organizational and prioritization skills
    • Teacher evaluations are a lengthy process. In addition, many schools have large amounts of teachers who need to be evaluated. As administrators, we must be seriously organized while coordinating all of our teacher evaluations (among the plethora of other responsibilities).
  • Professionalism
    • Horror stories abound regarding teacher evaluation. I just heard a story from a teacher who said that her principal set up two formal evaluations in ONE week. Not to mention, the administrator then canceled one of the formal evaluations and didn’t show up for the other. Come on… Seriously?
  • Instructional knowledge
    • With the intention of developing the quality of our teachers, it should be presumed that evaluation conversations (held throughout the evaluation process), focus on practices that help positively impact student achievement. That being said, collegially conversing about student learning would ideally help develop a collaborative understanding regarding the practices that best improve student learning and achievement.
  • Informal, anecdotal needs assessment
    • Yes, administrators (especially new administrators at new buildings) should administer a needs assessment at the beginning of the school year to determine the school community’s needs. However, properly conducting the teacher evaluation process helps administrators “keep the pulse” of teacher needs as well.

Overall, as educators, we must always be aware of opportunities for learning and growth.

Human Cognition and Implications for the Constructivist Classroom

Posted on by Dr JR Entsminger

In light of Brain Awareness Week (March 13-19), I thought I would write about the brain!

With the development and increased usage of the FMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging), I find myself reading more and more findings regarding human cognition and neuroscience. It has also become a major interest of mine. That being said, while analyzing study findings, I find myself in a state of excitement, discovery, and uncertainty. The more I learn about human cognition, the more I question current best practices, educational trends, teaching strategies and approaches, etc.

In the context of direct instructional guidance as it relates to human cognition, learning is defined as a change in long-term memory. Kirschner, Sweller, & Clark (2006) posit:

The aim of all instruction is to alter long-term memory. If nothing has changed in long-term memory, nothing has been learned. Any instructional recommendation that does not or cannot specify what has been changed in long-term memory, or that does not increase the efficiency with which relevant information is stored in or retrieved from long-term memory, is likely to be ineffective. (p. 77)

Based on my readings and knowledge regarding human cognition (which is admittedly limited), I find that these cognitive researchers often sound very definitive when talking about learning. However, for me, questions continually abound regarding their claims or evidence. For instance, can Kirschner et al. safely conclude that absolutely no learning has occurred if nothing has changed in long-term memory? Again, for me, that sounds very definitive.

Kirschner et al. further posit that controlled experiments almost always demonstrate that when students are dealing with novel information, they should be explicitly shown what to do and how to do it (sounds somewhat like lots of hand-holding). If they are not, students may experience an excessive cognitive load that is detrimental to learning.

As an avid and vocal proponent of project-based learning, I always get a little nervous while reading and analyzing cognitive studies that decry constructivism or constructivist teaching approaches. I’m not denying the results of these cognition studies or the plethora of literature reviews concerning human cognition that suggest that direct instructional approaches are more effective and more efficient.

However, with well-designed and well-planned project-based learning, students are provided with a real-world problem and (often) a pathway or guidelines to follow in order to solve the problem (therefore, possibly alleviating the “problem-solving search” that has been shown to deplete working memory). Well-designed PBL is highly structured and organized by skilled teachers. Students are guided through the journey as they endeavor to meet project deadlines, secure resources for their projects, practice and prepare for presentations in front of authentic audiences, and receive and reflect on critical feedback. When done well, and when students are truly engaged in these endeavors, though it may not be considered a “direct instructional approach” or “direct instructional guidance,” PBL can have profound learning impacts on students, right? I’ve seen it happen. Or, is what I’ve seen simply increased levels of engagement and excitement regarding learning activities? Is what I’ve seen simply students engaging in meaningless activities that look good, but will not transfer to long-term memory alterations? Cognitive studies often rock educational foundations. As such, these are turbulent times for me as I grapple with this information.

Human Cognition and the Case for Early Childhood Education.

Also, as we become more informed about human cognition, I can’t help but think about its implications for early childhood education. Based on what I’ve read and what researchers have found, a substantial amount of information stored in long-term memory is essential for continued and future successful learning. If this is the case, I don’t see why early-childhood education is not mandated (I’m sure most people will resort to the argument that there’s not enough funding for it). I live/work in Illinois. Students don’t have to go to school until they’re 6-7 years old (first grade). In underserved communities, it’s highly likely that if students are not attending school during those foundational years, they are not building experiences necessary to form and fill long-term memory. By the time some students come to us at 5 or 6 or 7 year olds, they may have missed a copious amount of opportunities to build their long-term memory.

 

What are your thoughts? I’d love to hear from you! Feel free to follow/share/leave a comment!