“Sy, I really don’t like this,” said too many kids yesterday on our first day of state testing.

“I know,” I replied. “I know. I am sorry.”

I am sorry.

It’s hard to spend nearly a year trying to convince kids that education is something we can do with them only to have it turned upside down when it clearly becomes–with these types of experiences, something that we do to them.

So, what am I going to do about it? Don’t know. But I either need to put up or shut up. I am getting tired of my own complaining. But it is a formidable foe I face. Lots a politics. Lots a money. Money. Lots.

 

No sword in hand today. The cave hides that which I cannot yet face. But someday I will. Today, I only wield a sorry as we enter day two. Sorry. Someday that will not suffice.

Happy Tuesday, all.

Do. Reflect. Do Better.

Shame

It must seem odd

This thing we do

We see your worth

From a certain view

 

We have been there

This much is true

But you’re there now

Not us, but you.

 

And yet we forget

When we were there

We seemed to know

This wasn’t fair

 

We then best knew

What was real

We could think

And we could feel

 

But that all changed

Our memories lost

We forgot our youth

The line was crossed

 

And now from here

We make you do

The things we’d fight

We know it’s true

 

But here we stand

As if we know

How to best take measure

As you grow

 

We’ve pooled our wisdom

Determined what’s best

To judge your worth

We’ve made a test

 

We’ve spent the time

Checked all twice

We’re pretty darn proud

Of our device

 

It will mark and tally

Measure and weigh

And you will be a number

On display

 

Yes, it’s true

I speak not lies

There is no hiding

There’s no disguise

 

But that I suppose

Is already clear

You know the game

We play each year

 

And this year now

We play again

Some will lose

And some will win

 

But let it not

Your youth encumber

You are not data

You are not a number

 

But then why, Sy?

Why weren’t you brave?

Why didn’t you from

This us save?

 

Alas, I don’t know

How to win the game

I’ve let you down

And that’s my shame

 

Maybe someday

I’ll stand taller

For those who can’t

Those much smaller

 

 

But it’s too late now

We face the test

So, let’s do it to spite

Them with our best

 

And if it so happens

You lose the game

I will own it, young friend

I’ll bear the blame

 

You see, I have to.

That’s my shame.

 

Sorry, all, feeling a little sappy and sassy this morning. We start state testing today, and I have let another round get here without saving my kids from this madness. Shame on me.

Do. Reflect. Do Better.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I want my students to feel like they matter as individuals. Frequently, we begin our time together with what I call “Smiles and Frowns.” Each kid has a chance to share a smile and/or frown from his or her life. It’s a great way to start our time together. It’s a great way to build community. It takes five minutes. Before, in my more-traditional mindset, I wouldn’t take the time, and, if I did, I felt guilty about “stealing” instructional time. Now, if I don’t do it, I feel guilty about stealing community time. I plan to do it everyday next year. It’s important to me, so I have to support it. I choose to support it. It’s possible.

 

Last July I had an opportunity to share how I create a classroom culture with the Teachers Going Gradeless folks (TG2). The words above, from the article, A Culture of Possibility, reflected one of my most important commitments this year, making my kids feel valued and respected as individuals by giving them a daily chance to speak their lives through what I call Smiles and Frowns. And so far we have not missed a single day. Even when I am absent, my kids do it on their own, taking charge of it, despite the fact that there is a sub in the room. Just yesterday, I had to run to the store to fill my Cup Noodle pantry for my hungry kids, but I was out of time during my planning period, so I asked my grade-level teammate and Project 180 contributor Jenna Tamura to join my kids in Smiles and Frowns while I ran to the store. A frequent visitor to my second-period class (it’s her planning period), Jenna fit in perfectly with the kids, sharing her own smile and frown. I walked in just at the end, shared my smile, and we got the rest of our day underway. I am proud beyond measure of the impact that Smiles and Frowns has had on our culture this year. I will have spent over a 1,000 minutes of instructional time by year’s end on this entry activity. In my twenty-years, it may be the best investment I ever made.

But there’s a problem. For the next two weeks, I am going to have to betray my commitment to individualizing and humanizing my kids’ experiences in my classroom. For the next two weeks, I will reluctantly bow to the standardizing force that will disrupt our culture. For the next two weeks, I will not be able to do Smiles and Frowns with my kids as we face the reality of state testing. I have thought of doing it anyway, putting the start of the test on hold, but it may qualify as an “irregularity” and have to be reported to the state, invalidating my kids’ tests. Irregularity. Yeah, beginning each day by honoring my kids is an objectionable threat to the sanctity of the deified data that we are about to collect.

So, what does one do on the last day before state testing? He does Community Circle with his kids. What else would I do? It’s the first Friday. Made a promise. I’ll keep a promise. But what about my other promise with Smiles and Frowns? Oh, I have not yet given up. I will have something up my sleeve Monday morning. Promise. Pinky Promise.

Today’s Trail…

Along today’s trail we will…

…deepen our the culture of our community with Community Circle.

Happy Friday, all.

Do. Reflect. Do Better.

Sat down at the keyboard tired and not terribly inspired this morning. Not much wind to get me going this morning. Been a stressful, hard week, but when I read the comments that some of my readers left me, after my recent request An Opportunity and…a Request , my wings  woke. Wanted to share with you this morning.

From Elise Foster, Cincinnati, Ohio. Thank you, Elise. You give me courage.

Hi Monte,

What an exciting opportunity. I’ll share a few thoughts here – hope you find it helpful. In short, your blog and tweets give me hope. The more students and teachers I meet, from all kinds of schools, the more I’m seeing the debilitating effects of the testing stress – on kids, on teachers, and even admins. It is rewarding to see people like you who are willing to experiment to find ways to do well on tests and create curious learners at the same time. Your courage, humility, and candor make the blog worth it – too many blogs these days show the certainty of solutions. You respect and honor the need to ‘not know’ just as much as the need ‘to know’ – and welcome the growth, challenge, and learning that comes from experimenting well.

You’re a shining example of how we can be open, honest, and courageous to try new things (that might fail) in a time when most of what gets put out there is the shiny version of perfect, that’s nearly unattainable.

Thanks for being there and giving me hope! Elise

Elise Foster

President, Leadership Potential Consulting | http://elisefoster.com

Co-Author, The Multiplier Effect | http://MultiplierEffectBook.com

 

 

From Mr. Abe Moore, Lynton, Paige, and Amber, Adelaide, South Australia. You deepen my hope in kids around the world. Thank you.

 

Monte Syrie and his Project 180 has had a huge impact on our class even though we are on the other side of the planet. We are a year 6/7 class in Adelaide, South Australia. Monte inspired us to begin our daily routine with Smiles and Frowns, which we love because it has helped us get to know each other better, have a laugh at times, and has allowed us to build a stronger connection with each other. We use Journey Journals to reflect on our learning and find ways to improve. We have Monte’s stimulus stems in the front of our books to help us. Last year our class connected with Monte via FlipGrid because we were interested in why he chose to give his students all A’s and how he has built student voice into his classroom. He inspired our class to use a select and defend model of self-reporting which gave us more choice, less stress, allowed us to be more creative and gave us greater awareness of our learning and control over it. Finally, Monte gave us an awesome book recommendation, “Freak the Mighty” which we have thoroughly enjoyed as a “read-aloud” story. Even though we have never met Monte in real life, he has helped change our classroom and learning in many positive ways. Thanks, Monte.

From Lynton, Paige, and Amber.

 

From Mary Wade, Utah. Thank you, Mary. You give me strength–often when I need it most–to stay the course. Thank you. 

Hi, Syrie. I would love to leave a comment. Your blog is continually packed with the rawness, honesty, and messiness that comes with being a visionary 21st-century teacher. It’s easy for these changes and concepts to be discussed in a shiny surface-level manner, but because you are in the trenches and continue to share your voice day in and day out, you are able to convey absolutely invaluable insight into what the work really looks like. You inspire me to have the courage it takes to shift the paradigm from teacher control to student ownership, agency, and voice. Thank you for your dedication!

 

From Amarise, former student who now lives in Texas. Thank you, Amarise. You give me frequent reminders of the impact I have on kids, and that matters. A lot. Thank you.

Hey Syrie! All I can say is that your blog makes me as a student think about the reasons my teachers have for doing things, like grades, differently. And it has helped me to understand the reasons as well.

Hopefully this was what you were looking for!

 

Thank you, all, for lifting my spirit this morning. Just the wind my wings needed. Thank you.

Today’s Trail

Along today’s trail we will…

…begin with Smiles and Frowns.

…wrap up a literary device review–table talk style.

…end with a Sappy Sy Rhyme.

Happy Thursday, all.

Do. Reflect. Do Better.

What did you expect? Did you not think you’d wrestle regret? Did you not think you’d duel with doubt? You’ve been stressed. And you know it. And there’s no way out. Just yesterday, your Sappy Sy Rhyme gave you away. You can’t hide. It’s here. The SBA.

It is here. The peel is in my path, and I am going to step on it. I have to. I chose this path. I took a risk. And now I have to own it. All of it, even the fear and trepidation that comes with it, the stress that comes with it.

And while it’s cool that I am resolute in my rejection of the starring role that standardized testing has come to own on the educational stage, courage–even foolhardy courage–is not without fear. The data are here.

They have arrived. The data are here. I’ve known for sometime. They come every year. First came the WASL. Then the HSPE. Now the SBA; they are coming for me. But even worse, they come for each kid. Claiming to be measure of all that we did. Or didn’t. Ready or not. They’ve come to assess all that I’ve taught. But this year is different. I turned away. I’ve tried to ignore it. Out in the fray. In terms of the test, we have not prepared. And though I boast brave. I am admittedly scared.

And I hate that. I hate that my otherwise exhilarating year with my kids gets reduced to a test. I have not prepared my kids for the test. At all, really. I have focused on them and their learning. And while I imagine things will turn out “fine,” for my numbers are always “good,” this year is different. I bought the banana. I peeled the banana. I ate the banana. I threw the peel in my path. And now I am going to step on it. I have to.

Today’s Trail

Along today’s trail we will…

…begin with Smiles and Frowns.

…discuss latest performance results: class and individual feedback.

…do some dreaded, cheap, I-am-a-sellout, last minute prep for the SBA. (Brave, indeed…).

…end with a Sappy Sy Rhyme.

Happy Wednesday, all. Have a great day. I’ve got a banana to eat.

Do. Reflect. Do Better.

 

 

 

 

 

Somewhat out of the blue, I was invited to present at this year’s Washington State Teacher Advisory Council (WATAC) Spring Conference. I will be co-presenting with 2012 Regional Teacher of the Year Lynne Olmos. She and I will share how we have used social media to elevate our voices in education. I am honored to have an opportunity to share how I have used my blog, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram to share my vision and voice, hopefully compelling other educational leaders in our state to do the same.

To help prepare my presentation, I have a request for my readers. If you are so inclined, would you please consider providing a testimonial on the impact my blog has had on you? I am not fishing for compliments or seeking strokes for my ego–even though it feels like that. That is not my intent. Truly. Rather, I want to be able to show other educational leaders who are reluctant to share their vision and voice that they can make a difference, which I guess presumes that I am making a difference (sorry, this is a bit awkward). Anyway, any reader, regardless your station: teacher, friend, former student, parent, mom, etc. please consider this. It would be greatly appreciated. Please leave a comment on this post or email me at msyrie@cheneysd.org. Thank you for your consideration. Thank you.

Today’s Trail

Along today’s trail we will…

…begin with Smiles and Frowns.

…wrap up introductions.

…submit self-selected grades.

…end with a Sappy Sy Rhyme.

Happy Tuesday, all.

Do. Reflect. Do Better.

 

 

Before break I gave my kids some last-minute homework (see below). Not only did I want to recharge my batteries over break, but also I wanted them to recharge theirs, so I gave them lots of RE’s to chase, to complete.

Today, during Smiles and Frowns, I will check to make sure that they did just that because that charge will have to sustain us till the end. And of course, that little extra charge will come in handy when we start state testing next week, for it will deplete their batteries like no other, sucking the life out of them as they–and I–comply to the mandated madness of standardized testing.

In the end, it is what it is, and I will muster what positivity I can for my kids’ sake–attitude does matter, but every year, it’s getting harder and harder to put on a happy face. But it’s never hard to put that face on for my kiddos. Eager to be back among them today.

Today’s Trail

Along today’s trail we will…

…begin with Smiles and Frowns.

…continue/complete introductions.

…self-select mid-term grades.

…end with a Sappy Sy Rhyme.

Happy Monday, all.

Do. Reflect. Do Better.