The Power of a Well Placed Spoon

I will always remember my first snow day. I was in 7^th grade and had recently moved, in the middle of the school year, to Newton, Massachusetts from Oberlin, Ohio. It was a day like many others that winter. My mother insisted that I bundle up against the cold and snow for my 20 minute walk to school. As the new kid, I hadn’t yet found a friend with whom to share my journey, so I trudged alone through the snow along Washington Street to Warren Junior High. Upon arriving, I discovered that the front door to the school was locked. Warren was a classic American junior high school building – it’s now high-end condos – with a wide set of stairs leading up to a grand entrance. Although it was odd that the main entrance was locked, I didn’t think anything of it until I tried several other doors with the same result. Many things ran through my mind. Is it a holiday? Could I have come to school on Saturday by mistake? I can’t just go home, because my mother is never going to believe me! After checking all the doors again, I eventually noticed the empty parking lot and realized I had no choice but to head home. It was only after my mother called a neighbor that we learned about snow days. I was instantly a fan and, like every other kid I knew, learned the ritual of sitting by the TV or radio to listen for my town to be on the list of closed schools at the sight of a single flake of snow.

As a teacher I remained an ardent supporter of the well-placed snow day. They often seemed to come at just the right time, when everyone needed a break. As I moved into administration, I scoffed at my heads of school who resisted, agonized over, and complained about snow days. After all, what can you do about the weather? Fast forward a couple of decades. I now hold the awesome responsibility of deciding when and when not to have a snow day. My initiation to calling snow days took place early in my tenure as head of Elmwood Franklin School. I had barely settled into my new office when Buffalo was struck by The October Storm of 2006, leading to six days off in a row and having to dip into the winter break to reclaim two school days. Talk about giving with one hand and taking with the other. After assuring me that Buffalo’s weather reputation was largely over blown before I took the job, I think my board of trustees was afraid I might quit right then and there.

The glamour of being up every hour or so all night long to look out the window whenever snow is predicted has long since worn off. The 5am phone calls to my colleagues at Nichols and Buffalo Seminary have similarly become old. What never seems to fade is my fascination with the lengths that students – and some adults – will go to “influence” the weather. I already knew about spoons under the pillow and inside out pajamas. This year I’ve learned that backward pajamas work too, and that flushing ice cubes down the toilet and pencils in the freezer work "every time" according to some students. And if those methods don’t work or the proper tools aren’t available, many resort to the tried and true snow dance. Of course, I always hear about these tricks when they work. I know that many kids, mine included, almost always wear their pajamas inside out, just in case, but I never hear about it when it doesn’t work. EFS is luckier than most schools. It seems that we have a few snow day savants in the student body and on the faculty, who believe they possess a supernatural ability to predict when a snow day is coming. Maybe from now on I’ll just call them instead of waking up early.

What Are Parents To Do?

If it seems as if this space is turning into a tech blog, please know it isn't intentional. It just seems that there's so much out there for us to know about technology: what it can do; what it can't do; what we wish it could do; what we're sorry it can do. Steve Bergen, the director of technology at Concord Academy when I started my teaching career there in 1990, would often say, "If you have a question about how to do something on the computer, ask someone younger than yourself. If that person can't help, then ask someone younger than that." I've never forgotten that advice, and I've never gotten totally comfortable with it either. There's no doubt that Steve knew what he was talking about, but the older I get them more I worry that turning over so much control to the young is not such a great thing.

Last Sunday's New York Times published a front page story, As Bullies Go Digital, Parents Play Catch-Up. The story correctly points out that what we're up against as parents and educators is as much about a technology gap as it is a morality gap.

Does Twitter Make Us Twits?

"All these new machines, new processes, and games can be likened to a hand. Is a hand good or bad? It can kill, steal, destroy, give, embrace, support. It depends how you use it. The same with all these modern appliances and systems. The world isn't fast-paced, it's frenetic. People have to be managers of themselves. Time has been managing itself for 15 billion years; we have to manage ourselves in the context of time."

Response by brain researcher, Tony Buzan, to the question of whether today's faster paced life, from smartphones to Twitter to YouTube, harm intelligence. (Scholastic Administrator, Late Fall 2010)  

I've the Seen the Future...

...and it looks a lot like an iPad. After spending a day this weekend at a workshop called iPad for Administrators, I'm a convert. OK, it didn't take much convincing, but I think this device and the future versions that will follow have the potential to truly change teaching and learning. How? It might still be too early to tell. Just the notion that textbooks could be on a device like an iPad is exciting enough. The blog Eductechnophobia has an entry titled, Six Ways the iPad will Transform Education, giving us a few clues. Are there downsides? No doubt. Growing up Digital, Wired for Distraction in today's New York Times points out negative effects of too much time plugged in can have on the brains of young people. I suppose, like all good things, moderation will be important. Nevertheless, I think the next leap in technology and education is at hand.

Reflections on a Bookless Library

EFS holds its semi-annual bookfair this week. While the fall bookfair is a wonderful community building event and fundraiser, it's perhaps first and foremost a celebration of books and reading. We hold this event in the face of dire predictions of the end of the printed word as we know it. As old fashioned as some  think books are, I don't know many teacher or parents who don't love the sight of a child with a book.

I'd forgotten all about one of my blog posts from last fall in which I attached a Boston Globe article announcing that Cushing Academy, a Massachusetts boarding school, was getting rid of all the books in its library. Last week, The Globe published a follow-up article, Digital Shift, about how their new "bookless library" has been received. Cushing calls it's new library "a creative commons," complete with plenty of comfortable seating and a coffee shop. As a lover of books and hater of coffee, I find sending young people the message that books are bad but caffeine is good quite interesting. Clearly, teaching digital skills is critical in education today. But is it time to quit books cold turkey? I embrace my inner Luddite when it comes to things like Facebook and Twitter, but I'm not anti-technology. As my own children can attest, I'm very excited to be getting an iPad in a couple of weeks. And among the things I'm most anxious to try out is its e-reader function. Maybe digital books are the future for school and research, but I can't imagine they're going to hold up well at the beach.

Upper School Parents' Night

What follows is the text of my talk with Upper School Parents on October 6, 2010.

Strictly speaking, I’m not going to address the usual Parents’ Night topics. I’m not going to talk about our fantastically passionate and committed faculty. I’m not going to talk about our proven academic program. I’m not going to talk about what a great start to the year we’ve enjoyed. I’m not going to talk about our graduates and all the things that an EFS education can prepare you for. Rather, I’m going to talk a little about the past and the future.

Sally Jarzab, in our development office, recently unearthed some interesting history about EFS. As the school marks its 115^th year since incorporation, it is fascinating to see how much has changed and how much has stayed the same.

Both the Elmwood School and the Franklin School were founded in the Elmwood District in the late 19^th century. Prior to their founding, Buffalo was sometimes referred to as an “educational desert.”

In 1914, the Elmwood School established Buffalo’s first parent council, then called the Mother’s Council.

In the 1920s children would often arrive at the Franklin School in the mornings by chauffeured limousine.

Changing class periods were announced at the Elmwood School by the school secretary banging a gong in the hallways.

As part of the new-fangled social studies class at the Elmwood School in 1930, students were given the assignment of looking ahead 10 years and describing life and culture. One group of students predicted that, by 1940, children would simply “sit in chairs, tuned in constantly to elaborate radios for every kind of communication and instruction.”

Tuition at the Franklin School for the 1938-39 school year ranged from $175 for kindergarten to $375 for 8^th grade. Remember, median family income was under $2000.

So what does this tell us about EFS then and now?

• EFS has always been a recognized educational leader in Buffalo.
• The school has always valued innovation.
• Limos and chauffeurs, still proliferate. We just call them the limos SUVs and the chauffeur is known as mom.
• Kids always dream about how school can be less painful and more fun. Unfortunately, for our little dreamers, school always has been and always will be hard work.
• Many through the years have recognized EFS as a worthy investment in the future.

Last week, my daughter Lucy asked me for help on her history homework. I was thrilled. This is the same kid who when I asked her last year what she’d like to be when she grows up, replied, “I think I want to be a history teacher…” Imagine how my chest puffed out. She wants to be a history teacher like her father, I thought. I’d never heard her say anything like this before. Of course, before I could tell her how proud I was that she wanted to follow in my footsteps, she completed her sentence with three words that crushed my spirit, “…like Ms. Drew.” Even though I hadn’t quite recovered from this slight, I jumped at the chance to help her with her homework.

Mr. Garra’s assignment was to read some rules for civility that George Washington had written to practice his handwriting as a child and then to see if those rules had any relevance today. As we read them together, I couldn’t help but smile. The rules for appropriate behavior that our first president was taught as a child are exactly the same as what we all try to teach our children now. Sure they were stated differently, but the sentiments are universal.

First, the words that young George Washington wrote, and then I’ll translate them into today’s vernacular. Parents may hear themselves in these words:

“Every action done in company ought to be with some sign of respect to those that are present.” Or as we might say today, treat others as you would like to be treated.

“Sleep not when others speak, sit not when others stand, speak not when you should hold your peace, walk not on when others stop.”  Translated for 21^st century parents, “Listen to me when I’m talking to you,” or, “Take that iPod out of your ears before I throw it out the window.”

“Kill no vermin as fleas, lice, ticks, etc in the sight of others, if you see any filth or thick spittle put your foot dexterously upon it. If it be upon the clothes of your companions, put it off privately and if it be upon your own cloths return thanks to him who puts it off.” With today’s notion of privacy being stretched to its limit, we find ourselves reminding students that privacy can afford us all a little dignity in embarrassing situations. Parents might want to remind their kids not to post family secrets on Facebook.

“Read no letters, books, or papers in company but when there is a necessity for the doing it, you must ask leave.” Don’t text at the dinner table!

“Show not yourself glad at the misfortune of another though he were your enemy.” Never kick someone when they’re down.

“Speak not injurious words neither in jest nor earnest. Scoff at none although they may give you occasion.” Teasing isn’t funny to the one being teased.

And finally, “Associate yourself with men of good quality if you esteem your own reputation, for tis better to be alone than in bad company.” Or put as I heard my father say many times, “Just because your friends jump off a bridge doesn’t mean you should.”

See, simple, universal, timeless themes. Some of the issues may be different – Washington’s parents didn’t have to contend with the concern of George being exposed to adult themes at a young age through TV, movies, music, and the internet. They didn’t have to worry about email, texting, and IMing replacing good old fashioned human contact as the preferred modes of communication or the notion that how many “friends” you have is more important than the depth of those friendships. Nevertheless, the overall lessons are exactly what we all hope our children learn and learn well; what we know for a fact will stand them in good stead at Elmwood Franklin School, in high school and college, in their relationships and their careers.

These rules were drilled into George Washington’s consciousness by his copying them in his own handwriting. To those of us who spent time at the board in school, writing things like, “I promise not to take my neighbor’s pencil without asking,” over and over again until the teacher finally took mercy on us, this method of learning important lessons is familiar. Of course we don’t do that sort of thing any more, but I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing. If we did, I can hear one of our students telling his teacher, “I could cut and paste it much faster.”

While parenting styles and pedagogy change, good character is always in fashion. Indeed, Elmwood Franklin’s mission has consistently spoken to the importance of positive character development as well as academic excellence. Our themes for the year – respect and celebration – demand action of our students in order to live up to our mission. Respect speaks to an attitude, but celebration asks that we all reach a little farther, to look for opportunities to celebrate the gifts that each member of this community has to offer.

I think the white noise of technology that bombards our children today makes teaching these old fashioned lessons more difficult – and more important – so I hope I can count on you to support our themes through your words and deeds throughout this year. When we work together, all our children benefit. Thank you, in advance. I’m looking forward to a great school year.

Even Superman Can't Fight City Hall

"Superman ran into politics, and in the world of education that's kryptonite."

So ends the blog posting of Jim Stergios on Boston.com announcing Michelle Rhee's resignation as chancellor of the DC public schools and referencing the recently released documentary on the state of public schools, Waiting for Superman. It's a great line!

Although many have judged Rhee during her short tenure - yes, 3 1/2 years is a very short time to try to fix something that took decades to break - only time will really prove her ideas and methods right or wrong. What seems indisputable, however, is that she generated energy, national attention, enthusiasm, new ideas, and, oh by the way, lots and lots of money all to benefit DC's school children. No doubt, Michelle Rhee will find another job - probably a very high paying, high profile job - so I'm left thinking the only ones losing out in all this are the kids of Washington, DC...again.

A Celebration of the "Dangers" of Childhood

Here's a book for the consideration of all parents. Fifty Dangerous Things (you should let your children do) caught my attention simply because of the title. What's that they say about judging a book by it's cover? Not only do most of the fifty things, e.g., make a slingshot, play with dry ice, burn things with a magnifying glass,  lick a 9-volt battery, remind me fondly of my childhood, but they make me sad that most of today's children will never experience this sort of living on the edge, mine included. The author, Gever Tulley, is both nostalgic and purpose driven. He recently spoke at Canisius College, where he read from his book and spoke about the importance of hands-on, self-directed learning as being critical to the development of the kind of creativity and love of learning that is largely absent from today's test driven schooling. In their article on his talk, The Buffalo News quotes Mr. Tulley, "When we're teaching children, we shouldn't worry so much about the facts that they're learning, the techniques that they're learning, but how well they're learning to love learning. If we produce children who are voracious, self-directed learners, they can learn and adapt to anything." Here's to teaching your nine-year-old to drive over the weekend.

Lower School Parents' Night

What follows is my address to Lower School parents on September 30, 2010.

Welcome back to school. 

A colleague at a DC area independent school recently sent me a blog posting from The Washington Post's website titled, Surviving Back to School Night. It begins:

An administrator at a school in Montgomery County welcomed several hundred parents at back-to-school night by relating his extensive experience as an educator and as a soldier. 

Then he said, “So you can see I am very qualified. So, do I know more than you do about the curriculum? Yes I do. Do I know more about [student] placement? Yes I do. Do I want your opinion? No I don’t.”

The crowd was effectively cowed.

This, admittedly, is not the best way to start back- to-school night, but it points to two problems that can mar the evening when parents and teachers meet at the start of the new year. The two problems: the parents and the teachers.

Pretty funny column, actually, with a little truth sprinkled in for sure. I don’t view Parents’ Night this way, however.

Parents’ Night is a wonderful opportunity for parents to get a little taste of what your children experience every day: expert, passionate, nurturing teachers, stimulating lessons and activities aimed at developing academic skills and confidence, cutting edge technology that helps to actively engage students in their learning, a facility specifically designed for the needs of students in preschool through 8^th grade, and an environment in which high standards for character are as important as high standards for academic excellence.

I’ve come to the conclusion – after more than 20 years as a teacher and administrator in independent schools – that we educate first and foremost by relationship. Yes, we have formal curricula around academics and the arts. And while we’re always looking to improve what we offer, using the best resources available, it is through relationships – between student, teacher, and parent – that the real magic happens. We all know a fire needs fuel to burn, a pile of wood simply isn’t enough. There needs to be a spark and then the fire needs to be fed by oxygen to continue burning. That’s what this school does. That’s what these teachers do. That’s what you do as parents. Together we bring the fuel, the spark, and the oxygen together. Because each child is different, how and when the elements come together to make fire differs. I can hear my own father muttering to himself something like, “The teacher’s providing the spark and blowing really hard, but my kid is like wet wood. He won’t burn.” And that was an apt description of me and my brothers at certain times. And you may be thinking something similar. It’s important to remember, all wood dries in its own time. EFS is a ten-year experience. Some of our students arrive red hot and we can all sit back and enjoy watching the fire. Others are just beginning to smolder when they graduate, but because all the elements were brought together here, early, under the watchful eye of master fire starters, when EFS students and graduates are ready to burn, everything is in place. And the secret is that we do this together. No one element is more important than the other. We need engaged students, excellent teachers, and involved parents.

I have a quick story about a graduate that offers me the chance to brag a little. Hope you don’t mind.
Buffalo Business First recently published a list of the 26 local high school seniors who were named National Merit Semifinalists, meaning their PSAT scores were among the top 1% of all students who took the test last year. James Dryden, EFS class of 2007, is on the list. Anyone who knows James won’t be surprised by this recognition. He’s a very smart and talented, not to mention nice, young man. High schools often claim credit for their highest flyers, but genetics and native curiosity have a lot more to do with success on the PSAT and SAT than high school honors and AP classes. On the other hand, I would posit that elementary schools like Elmwood Franklin School play a huge role. No matter how bright – or to go back to the fire analogy, how good the wood – love of learning and great study habits are developed and fostered at a young age. These teachers and this curriculum engendered in James a passion for knowledge and school, and helped to build his confidence to perform to his considerable capability, thus putting him in the position to succeed later in school. Without the foundation he got here, he might only be in the top 5%. That’s why the teachers are here: to build those skills and confidence. And I think that’s why you’re here too: to ensure that your child maximizes her or his potential.

But back to why we’re here tonight. For teachers, Parents’ Night represents a chance to help parents put in context what they hear from their children and other parents and to inform future individual discussions later in the year. In many schools, report cards are seen as the primary mode of communication between school and parents. I see them as the least important of all the ways in which we convey information about your children. Remember, it’s about the relationships, not the reports. Tonight represents an important stone in the foundation we’re building together. Parents’ Night is meant to give you a sense of the big picture, to get you excited about what the kids get to do in school each day – this isn’t the time to ask individual questions about your child. In November and again in March we have conferences that provide us a formal time to give feedback and hear your insights and to strategize together. And in between, our teachers are available for questions anytime they’re not teaching. As with any relationship, our partnership takes time and deliberate effort to make it work well.

I look forward to working together with you, the faculty, and your children to make this another great year.

Return to Oz, Hold the Monkeys

The EFS auction is an annual highlight for the school community. Although it doesn’t take place until April 30^th this year, there was a kick-off luncheon yesterday for all the committee chairs. The auction occurs each year only because of the hard work, dedication, and generosity of hundreds of committed volunteers and donors. Planning is well under way, but yesterday’s event marked the official start of auction season and the announcement of the theme, Return to Oz. Everyone loves The Wizard of Oz and it presents our auction planners with so many great options for creative decorations. But before we get too far down the yellow brick road of planning and building excitement, I’ve got a little confession.

My goals upon arriving at EFS just over four years ago were modest. I wanted students, parents, alumni, and friends of the school to see me as approachable, humble, smart, confident, engaged, an effective communicator, and balanced. At least I wasn’t putting too much pressure on myself, right? I’m lucky to have found a school community that has allowed me to be myself and grow into the job.

As with any relationship, layers are peeled away over time. Insights into my upbringing, my family, my personality, and my quirks have no doubt revealed themselves, some intentionally and others in spite of my best efforts to keep them hidden. I love to tell stories and often use tales about my strict parents, about being the new kid in school, about my successes and failures to illustrate life lessons we hope to teach EFS students. Some of my stories are even true. I’ve certainly shared my passion for Boston sports teams, history, cycling, and playing hockey. And I think anyone who knows me knows how much I enjoy and take seriously my responsibility as Riley and Lucy’s father.

Now the EFS auction is forcing me to reveal a secret I’d hoped to keep to myself. I hate the flying monkeys. I know hate is a strong word and one that parents and teachers tell young children not to use, but I don’t do so lightly. First, it makes me a little less vulnerable than words like scared, nightmares, or heebie jeebies. And second, let’s be honest, no one likes those monkeys. They’re poor role models for our children. They’re followers of the worst sort, doing whatever the wicked witch tells them. They’re bullies, picking on poor, defenseless Toto. Worst of all, they have awful theme music. Everyone needs good theme music – think Superman, ET, Mighty Mouse, and Dudley Do-Right (dating myself a bit, aren’t I?). Flying monkeys are just plain creepy.

Anyway, I have every confidence that this year’s auction will be a rousing success. Of course I’ll be there to greet folks and share in the revelry as usual. But if there are any flying monkeys around, you’ll find me in the bathroom.

See, they're a traffic hazard too!

Congress Catches Up with EFS...But It's a Good Thing!

What do you call someone who can speak two languages?
Bilingual.

What do you call someone who can speak three languages? Trilingual.

What do you call someone who can speak only one language? American.

It's an old joke, but it's truer than many of us wish. And increasingly we speak our one language less and less well. In July, on the very last day the 111th Congress was in session, H.R. 6036, the Excellence and Innovation in Language Learning Act, was introduced in the US House of Representatives. It aims to have every child in the US become proficient in a second language. In other words, it aims to do what EFS and other leading independent schools have done for years: make learning a second language an essential part of what it means to be an educated citizen.

The State of Education

I'm frustrated every summer that when I have time to go to the movies there's nothing worth seeing. And with the start of school, when I have less time and energy to head to the theater, there always seem to be many interesting films that I want to see. This year is no exception. Among the films I'm looking forward to seeing are two documentaries about the state of education in the US: Race to Nowhere and Waiting for Superman. While each offers a different view, they both point to troubling trends that affect the future for our children and our country. Check out the trailers.

New Shoes

Perhaps there's nothing that symbolizes the first day of school more than a new pair of shoes. I remember being so excited to wear the new school shoes my mother had bought in August but I wasn't allowed to wear until the first day of school. Of course, in the old days, shoes meant shoes rather than sneakers, so I remember the blisters after walking to and from school those first few days as much as I remember the shoes themselves. Later, when it was ok to wear sneakers everyday - my mother was a late convert to the idea - there were Chuck Taylors, Stan Smiths, Jack Purcells, and Puma Clydes. I can even tell you what colors I had. And I can recall begging for Nikes when they first became fashionable, but they were just too expensive. As a parent, I'm always amazed that my kids' feet seem to grow exponentially during the last week of August. Those shoes that fit perfectly while we were on vacation earlier in the month are suddenly too small. So off the the mall we go to find the perfect pair of first-day-of-school shoes. As the father of two girls, we keep looking until we find the pair with just the right amount of pink.

So on this first day of school, my new greeting is, "Welcome back! Have a great day! Nice shoes!"

A Bruins Fan in Buffalo

Wearing my Red Sox hat while shaking hands was one thing – I only offended the Yankees fans among our students and parents – but I think I may have gone too far by proudly donning my Bruins cap during the recent playoff series between Boston’s hockey team and Buffalo’s beloved Sabres.

One student, a 4^th grader, came up to shake my hand one morning last week and said, a little dejected and bewildered, “Why are you wearing that hat?”

“I’m a Bruins fan,” I replied. “Did you know that I grew up in Boston?”

He just stared at me for a few seconds and I said, “You’re disappointed, aren’t you?”

“Yeah.” And he turned and walked into school.

Some adults I encountered around town were equally bemused and not all were as polite as the 4^th grader. Most just gave me a little good-natured ribbing. Truth be told, I’m not much of a Bruins fan anymore. I don’t get to see them play in person or even on TV very often, and it’s been a while since they’ve had much to cheer about. That said, I’ve been a fan for more than 35 years. What can I say? They’re my team. I assume Buffalo natives all over the Boston area were wearing their Sabres regalia proudly over the last two weeks. The real difference is that few places care about their hockey team as much as Buffalo. Even I root for the Sabres to do well, unless they’re playing Boston, of course. I’ve lived in other cities and haven’t felt even the slightest desire to root for their teams. I like the Sabres because I like Buffalo and Buffalonians.

OK, so now can I count on a little support for my Bruins in the next round of the playoffs?

Confession of a Frankenparent

I was going to be different. With 20 years of experience in independent schools I know the college game and I wasn't going to be sucked in to the trap of living out my own insecurities through my daughter's college acceptances. I know better, right? Maybe not. An op-ed piece in today's Boston Globe, The myth of the Frankenstudent, points out the struggle for many parents, even those of younger children, of balancing our hopes and dreams for our kids with letting them just be kids. I like to think I'm mostly successful at keeping my inner "Frankenparent" at bay, but as I vacillate between being happy to allow my girls to be who they are and registering my eldest for SAT tutoring this summer, I fear I'm really Jekyll and Hyde.

History Comes to EFS with Skype

EFS 6th graders recently read The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963, by Christopher Paul Curtis. The novel tells the story of a family who moved from Michigan to Alabama at the time of one of the Civil Rights era's hallmark tragedies, the bombing of the 16th Avenue Baptist Church that killed four young girls. The book really resonates with middle schoolers, but as we move further and further from African-Americans' fight for civil rights, kids know less and less about what the Movement was all about. They know about Dr. King and a couple of his speeches, but they know little about Jim Crow and the system of oppression that existed in the US. While it might seem impossible, and perhaps a little depressing, that our students largely unaware of depth of the struggle for civil rights, realize that Dr. King was assassinated 42 years ago next month. 42 years before I was in 6th grade Herbert Hoover was president and the US was sinking into the Great Depression. In other words, it's all ancient history to the kids.

In an effort to put a face on the Civil Rights Movement, the grandmother of one of our 6th graders volunteered to speak with our class about her experiences as a young woman. Dr. Marjorie Miller was a student at Tufts University in 1960 when she helped organize and participate in boycotts and marches in Boston. She also helped to organize a concert in the Boston Garden featuring Harry Bellafonte that raised funds for college students in the South who had been arrested at lunch counter sit-ins. Our students were totally engaged, listening intently to her stories and asking excellent questions. Her personal story brought to light many issues of which our students were largely unaware, including the fact that the Civil Rights Movement was not exclusively Southern and that white people played a critical role in the Movement. And did I mention that Dr. Miller spoke to the students from Busan, South Korea? Thanks to the wonders of Skype and a recently installed interactive SMART Board in the 5/6 English classroom, our students experienced some real-time distance learning. Dr. Miller is on a Fulbright from her regular job as a professor of feminist philosophy at SUNY Purchase, but she stayed up late into the night to "meet" with our kids (South Korea is 13 hours ahead of us). It is not hyperbole to say that this is a class that could not have taken place at EFS even just a year or two ago.

EFS 6th graders speaking with Dr. Marjorie Miller from Korea via Skype.

Professional Blogging

I started this blogging business on a whim. In an effort to keep our friends and family in touch with our trip to last year's inauguration, I set-up a blog that chronicled our 4 days in DC. My family and I enjoyed recounting our experiences and hearing from those who were following us. As school started in September I launched this blog to have the forum to discuss various topics having to do with education, parenting, EFS, and anything else that came to mind. Although I hoped to post once a week, I haven't always kept up. Nevertheless, this will be my 19th post; not too bad.

As a result of my vast experience with blogging, I was asked to be one of four official bloggers for the National Association of Independent School (NAIS) Annual Conference - there are over 4000 independent school administrators and teachers at the conference. So here I sit, in San Francisco, attending workshops and general session speakers and blogging in every free moment. I've been to the conference many times over the years, but this is a very different way to experience it. It's meant that I need to be efficient and focused, but it's also been fun to be a voice of the conference for others. I had assumed that most of the followers would be folks who could not attend, but there are many attendees who have told me that they are following as well. Who knew?


I consider myself something of a luddite when it comes to social networking, so this blogging thing, this year and this week, has been an interesting new addition to my life. If you are interested in seeing what I've been up to in San Francisco, click here. Not included in the blog for NAIS, but definitely a highlight of the trip, was a dinner last night with a few EFS alums who live in the Bay Area.

One final note...don't feel too badly for me. In spite of dire predictions of rain all week, the weather here has been quite delightful. Although I've been stuck inside most of the time, it's struck me how nice 55 and sunny can feel for those of us mirerd in a cold and relatively snowless winter in Buffalo. The picture below was taken at a park across the street from the convention center during a break when I was able to sneak out for a few minutes.

 

Hopefully, this is what spring will look like when it finally arrives in Western New York.

Am I Really Too Old?

My mother clearly thinks so.

Last week I sprained my knee - grade 2 tear of the MCL I think the doctor said - playing hockey. I'm not really sure what happened, but I think I caught an edge, causing me to fall and slam into the boards. No one was near me, nor was I moving all that fast. Nevertheless, I wasn't able to continue playing that night, and the visit to the doctor a couple of days later resulted in my wearing a brace while the ligament heals. Hopefully, I'll be back on the ice in a few weeks, albeit with the brace under my shin pad.

Now back to my mother. We spoke a couple of days after the incident and she made it very clear that I was too old to still be playing hockey. "It's time to stop that," is what I remember her saying. Those who know Mother Featherston know she's nothing if not direct. And I think my brothers would agree that she continues to take seriously her role as mother and not-so-gentle voice of reason, even though we're all in our 40s. In other words, I expected nothing less. Just think what she might have said if I told her that before I played hockey that fateful evening I'd gone snowboarding with our middle schoolers. I'm certainly not too old to know there are some things you don't need to share with your mother.

So, back to the original question. Am I really too old? I guess the answer is that while my body may, in fact, be too old to keep up with my athletic aspirations, I'm not mature enough to know when to stop.

Sorry, Mom.

Let the Games Begin

Molly Clauss, Prep music and Friendship Club teacher, is our resident Olympics guru. In an effort to bring the Olympics home to her students, Molly has created a blog through which the class is communicating with people in Vancouver, fans, parents of athletes competing in the Games, and even some athletes themselves. In her first post, Molly spelled out the mission for the site and for her class: "We are a class from New York State that wants to know more about the Olympic experience, and we are hoping that people who are attending the Olympics will become our eyes and ears, and write to us about the events they attend." I think it's safe to say, we've all been surprised, pleasantly so, by the response. And it is great to see a committed and innovative teacher making use of technology to teach our students about competition, sportsmanship, geography, and more. Thanks, Molly!

 

Molly Clauss and the Prep students taking the Olympic oath.

Characteristics of a Good Student: The Top 10 List

Last night EFS inducted 20 7th and 8th graders into the National Junior Honor Society. This recognition is given to students who have earned an A- average in their classes and who maintain high standards of character, service, leadership, and citizenship. In my talk to the students and their parents I proposed a list of 10 characteristics that I feel are critical for success in school. While this list is not meant to be definitive or exclusive of other worthy traits, I do hope that it sparks reflection among students about their own strengths. I'm anxious to hear from others about important characteristics I've failed to include.

Top 10 Characteristics of a Good Student
10. Ability
9.   Luck/Blessings
8.   Humor
7.   Humility
6.   Self-awareness
5.   Empathy
4.   Confidence
3.   Sense of Wonder
2.   Discipline
1.   Positive Attitude

How Much is Too Much?

Is there a parent out there who didn't gasp a little when it was recently announced that a new study found that children 8 to 18 spend an average of 7 hours and 38 minutes a day using recreational media? It sounds unbelievable, especially when you realize that "recreational media" means time spent on the computer, TV, mobile phone, iPod, handheld game, etc. for fun; time spent on the computer for homework is not included. The research, conducted by the Henry J. Kaiser Family foundation found that the time on entertainment media had increased over and hour and a quarter since 2004, with most of that increase due to more access to mobile media. According to the study, "Over the past 5 years, the percentage of students owning cellphones jumped from 39 to 66 percent. The share of students who own iPods or other MP3 players rose from 18% to 76%." (Education Week, 1/27/10) And due to multitasking, young people are actually packing 10 hours and 45 minutes of recreational media content into the 7 hours and 38 minutes! If my kids can be considered normal in this context, I can certainly attest to the fact that they tend to watch a show on Hulu.com in one corner of the screen and browse the web or play a game in another corner. Not surprisingly, the study found that heavy users reported a negative impact on grades. The shocking piece of this is that a heavy user is defined as consuming, on average, more than 16 hours a day of recreational media content! How is that even possible?

So what's a parent to do? How do we balance the need to develop media literacy with the tendency of young people to overdo it? Is it possible to effectively monitor and limit all this access to the recreational use of media? Is it really worse than all the TV I watched as a kid? The best answer probably lies in what most EFS parents are doing already: engage children in athletics, theater, music, and other outside activities; spend as much family time...unplugged family time...as possible; continue to encourage independent, leisure reading. Over the summer, I read a great book, The Dumbest Generation: How the Digital Age Stupefies Young Americans and Jeopardizes Our Future (Or, Don't Trust Anyone Under 30). This fascinating, research-based book posits that all this time spent plugged-in comes at the expense of leisure reading, and is resulting in the least literate, least informed, and most self-absorbed generation ever. While it doesn't necessarily provide THE answer for parents, along with this recent study, The Dumbest Generation provides a compelling and cautionary tale for parents and educators alike.

Gr8 Db8

Although educators have become enlightened about the link between spelling and intelligence or academic ability - there is none - any teacher of writing will admit to being both amazed and amused from time to time at students' creative misspellings. While spell check certainly helps writers produced more polished essays, my experience is that it doesn't seem to actually help children learn to spell. And with the advent of instant and text messaging, the job for all teachers of writing has gotten more difficult. As Ammon Shea points out in The Keypad Solution, from Friday's New York Times, many have tried to "fix" spelling in the English language, without much success. Now text messaging may be the start of a populist spelling revolution - every English teacher I know cringes at the thought. Will it happen? Is it a good thing? You be the judge.

Why MLK Matters

Every family has its stories. Or perhaps they should be called legends, because that’s what they become over the years and through the many retellings. And often they change as time passes and our memory plays tricks on us, or they change simply to make a better story. One of the legendary stories in my family involves my eldest daughter, Riley, and Martin Luther King, Jr. She was in kindergarten and had been learning about the civil rights leader in school, so at dinner one night she excitedly told us all about him. The conversation led us to talk about my father who had died the previous year. Somehow, she hadn’t made what many of us would probably think was the most obvious connection between the two men: they were both African-American. When I informed her of this and that it meant that I, too, am African-American, she was pretty impressed. And because at five she wasn’t quite ready to make the final connection on her own, I finally let her know that this meant that she is African-American. To which she responded excitedly, “I am?! Why didn’t you tell me?!”

That’s our family story, one that’s been told many, many times. And no doubt my telling of it has gotten better over the years, for the sake of maximum humor if not maximum accuracy. Riley just grins and shrugs now, as if to say, “I was five. What did I know about this stuff?” Over the years, I’ve had many interesting discussions around this story, from the innocence of children and if they see race on their own or only after they are taught to see difference to whether African-American is a more inclusive, accurate, palatable term than black. But as the national observance of Dr. King approaches, I’ve been thinking about another thing about this tale points out: his story resonates with children. Why?

While the specifics of slavery, Jim Crow, the Civil Rights Movement, nonviolent resistance, the Poor People’s Campaign, war in Vietnam, the social and political atmosphere of the 1960s, and Dr. King’s assassination may escape most children, even a five year-old understands what’s fair. And really Dr. King’s work was just about doing what was right and fair. As he said in his famous speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in 1963, “In a sense we have come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men would be guaranteed the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” I often implore our students to work hard, play fair, be kind, and get involved. Dr. King asked the same of all of us and then led by example. Kids know fake from real. And they know Martin Luther King, Jr. was the real deal.