The Colors of our Diverse World

We live in a state of constant change.  Changing technology.  Changing families. Changing beliefs. Changing demographics.  Changing culture.  Our world is changing - it's becoming increasingly more colorful - and it is our duty to embrace that change so that our diverse student populations feel honored for their lifestyles and beliefs.  Our Truman family is more homogeneous than most, so we must work that much harder to prepare students for living in a diverse and ever-changing society.  Start small with your own inclusive practices, such as those below...

1) When addressing parents, do you use inclusive language?  Instead of referencing moms and dads in your emails and communications, refer to them as parents/guardians.  This includes all family structures: single parents, same sex couples, grandparents, etc.

2)  When talking to students about their family, don't assume that they all live with mom/dad.  Recent data shows that only half of kids live in traditional families (and that includes stepparents!).  44 percent of children are raised by single parents, grandparents, and other family structures.  

3)  When talking about students with disabilities, don't define students with their "label."  Just yesterday, I heard a news reporter share that an "autistic boy" has been missing for 4 days.  I cringed, and thought, "No, he's a boy with Autism."  I don't want to be defined by my challenges, you don't want to be defined by yours, and our students deserve for us to see them as more.

4)  When creating a classroom project/assignment, do you ensure that every student will be able to access it?  Most of our students have Internet access at home, but not all, so consider how you explicitly give options for kids who don't.  Those options can't just be go to a friend's house.  There are students whose family preferences won't allow that.  We must give them a school-based solution.

5)  When designing a field trip or special event, can all kids participate?  Sometimes, it's as simple as ensuring that the provided meal doesn't have peanut products, but it could be so much more.  As we design conferences as a family friendly event and look to add food trucks, we must ensure that there are foods available for the diverse needs of our families, considering allergies and cultural and religious limitations.  It's not just about food -- it's thinking globally about your students.

6)  This year, Beth Hausner, our fabulous ELL teacher will be sending regular "tidbits" of information about our diverse populations.  Use this information to better understand your students.

But, we can do so much more than being inclusive...we can find opportunities for students to learn about those who are different.  And, different comes in many forms:  race, religion, beliefs, geography, gender, the list is infinite.

How do you connect students with the world beyond Truman, St. Louis, Missouri, USA?  Do you have authentic opportunities for students to connect with other kids in other parts of the world?  Do students have real chances to appreciate different experiences and perspectives?  Here are a few ideas...

1)  Skype with a class in another country.  There's a tool called Mystery Skype which allows students opportunities to learn through research, critical-thinking, geography, and listening and speaking skills.  education.skype.com/mysteryskype

2)  Writing is thinking!  Give kids time to write about people and places.  A great resource is shutterfly.com/classroom.  They can publish books!

3) As relevant, have dialogue about diversity.  You don't have to teach ELA or SS to have valuable opportunities to discuss humanity.  Flyertime is always an appropriate venue for these discussions, but I know it can be an intimidating topic...there are some great resources to help you in this process:  http://www.difficultdialoguesuaa.org/index.php/strategies_and_resources/by_technique; http://www.nameorg.org/resources.php; www.tolerance.org.

4)  Move beyond dialogue about diversity and into opportunities for equality.  "Equity Literacy for All" (Educational Leadership, March 2015) highlights that in math, students can calculate living wages, historical trends of poverty, etc.  By focusing on equalizing opportunities for kids, we move beyond understanding and into advocacy for our students.

5)  Learn and use the language of our students.  Ok, I admit that I often intermix my French, German, and Spanish, but I'd like to think that the effort I make matters to the students (as well as our esteemed modern language teachers) taking those classes.  Imagine if I took the same time to honor ELL students in the same way.  

Maybe most importantly, spend time reflecting and discussing your own personal beliefs, stereotypes, etc. with trusted colleagues and family/friends.  You've had experiences in your life that have colored your perceptions about diverse populations and the world.  To start connecting with kids more and helping them appreciate the differences in others, we must confront our own reality.

Oh the Possibilities....

Over the last week, I've stopped into a couple of Lindbergh U classes, and now my mind is racing with ideas, ideas that I would love to implement in my very own Flyertime (if only I had one....).  So in my dream world, here's what I'd do (only I'd need to see students each day to make it truly viable and exciting).

I would integrate 3 key things into a successful class:

1)  Growth Mindset (http://www.mindsetworks.com/free-resources/)

2)  7 Habits for Highly Effective Teens (you're getting the book)

3)  Genius Hour (http://www.geniushour.com/what-is-genius-hour/)

And here's why...

1)  These are character building activities - teaching kids to persevere and skills to successfully to do so.

2)  Connect to learning in both elementary and high school programming.  

• Did you know that LHS now has a weekly advisory?  - it's a lot like our Flyertime. 
• Did you know that our students come from elementary already knowing the 7 Habits?  - it's part of their Leader in Me program which builds leadership skills for all kids.

3)  Engage students in meaningful and relevant work for their age.  Middle school students are thirsty, thirsty to learn about themselves and create their identity.  This is the age when Flyertime activities should excite them!

I've said it before, and I'll say it again - multi-age Flyertime is here to stay!  So, it's your job to have a growth mindset and create it into a powerful learning experience.  And, as I hear more and more feedback from parents and students, we are continuing to move in the right direction - you should feel proud of what you've accomplished in your class over the last few years!  

In the coming weeks, you'll receive a Google Calendar invite from Mike and me.  As you arrive to pick up your new TMS shirt and your 7 Habits book, we want to meet with you to discuss what's working in your Flyertime and how to support you for ongoing success.

28 and Counting....

In the last days of school, it's always tricky keeping kids engaging and having a clear purpose.  But, on the last day of school, we still see learning, whether it's piling 28 eight books atop a student-constructed bridge or applying our knowledge of core values in writing in yearbooks.  Check out how we "Fly Right" at TMS!

A Gallery Walk:  Students made bridges and evaluate whose will hold the most books

Still Stacking:  At last check, a student's bridge held 28 books - WOW!

And They're Down!

Signing Yearbooks - That's writing!

Evidence of Yesterday's Gallery Walk:  Students researched a historical topic and presented it to their classmates in a gallery walk.

Game Playing:  Getting kids thinking and developing language.

Learning About Our Classmates: 7th grade superlatives

What Would It Look Like If It Did Work? (Add Comments of What Works!)

Recently, a teacher asked a student, "Why are you so happy? It's Thursday."  The student replied (I didn't make this up!), "Because today is a Flyertime Day!"  Flyertime continues to evolve to meet the needs of our students, and it's not going away.  Based on what I know about early adolescents and their need for social emotional development, it shouldn't go away.  Our task is to embrace it and help it grow.

Flyertime...I hear the voices, I hear the concerns, I hear frustrations, and I ask you what would it look like if it worked to your vision?

Here's my vision of Flyertime:
A class where students feel a sense of purpose
A class where students can discuss those hot topics relevant to them
A class where students learn to lead and grow with the facilitation of their teacher
A class where we explicitly address character education to make connections within daily life

I recently spoke with a teacher whose Flyertime students enjoy coming to Flyertime each day, who has other students ask if they can join the class.  When asked why, students say "because we get to talk about issues and things important to us."  What's noteworthy is that this environment doesn't take a lot of planning - this teacher checks the Flyertime calendar at 7:30 each morning to get the lesson for the day.

My suggestions for the future:

Kickball:  If your Flyertime doesn't play together as a team, don't play.

Calendar:  Use it to help guide you, but know that you have flexibility to adjust based on your students needs, current events, etc.

Engagement:  Get them moving to ensure participation by everyone.  Use the same engagement strategies you use instructionally.

Routines:  Develop routines where there's clear purpose of each topic and reflection connected to the core values.

Service Learning:  Don't stress about it.  Consider both your and the students' interests, and feel free to connect it to your curriculum.  The options are limitless, and can include service to the building.

I challenge you to share ideas that have worked for you in the comments below.

Welcome to 2nd Semester

Here we go, again...starting off the semester ready to roll out the educational red carpet!  When students at TMS ask, "Do we have to learn today?" ... The resounding answer is, "Yes!"

We are learning on the first day back from 2 weeks of vacation, and it's like we never left...with the exception of some goal-setting activities that provide focus for the new year, new semester, new quarter, or in some cases, the new day.

Setting Class Norms for the 2nd Semester

Using Cornell Notes to Build Language Skills and Comprehension

A Visual about Strategies for Success

Integrating Math and Modern Language:  Determine the Pattern, Use Numerical Skills, and Learn Another Language

Setting SMART Goals for 2nd Semester Success

Formative Online Assessment for Skill Identification and Instructional Planning (NoRedInk.com)

Getting Fit

Inquiry-Based Science

Reflection on 1st Semester Writing and Identification of 2nd Semester Goals

Writing Persuasive Essays Using an Outline

Conferencing with Students

Providing Focus for Skill Development

Building Content-Based Vocabulary

Non-Linguistic Interpretation:  Providing a Visual of the Branches of Government

Non-Linguistic Interpretation:  Synthesizing Understanding Through Art

Shifting to Learning Goals

In the last week, there have been a couple of emails about helping students set goals, but how often have you been irritated by a student goal that sounds like this, "My goal is to get an A in the class."?  Is that the goal we want for our students, a grade?  Answer:  NO, unless the grade is 100% reflective of the learning.  To be 100% of the learning, then we'd have to fix all 15 of Ken O'Connor's suggestions in our book study, and let's face it...we aren't ready to do that...yet.

Instead, we need to get students focused on setting goals related to learning, but in order for that to happen, we must:

1)  Set clear learning targets.
2)  Engage students with those targets so they can understand and set their own goals.
3)  Build lessons that engage students to learn autonomously so that they feel a sense of control over their learning.

Here are great examples of these 3 steps....

Given their writing rubric, students reflect upon their writing progress, identifying skills they have mastered and skills they need to improve.

Once students have reflected on their work, they are given options for personalized writing goals.  The samples directly correlate to their rubric to ensure alignment to learning targets and student ownership of learning.

Students writing DBQs work with partners to get feedback on their DBQ learning targets that are directly aligned to the rubric.



Students set the goal to eliminate bullying by targeting specific audiences.  They then begin to research and create presentations that can be given to various groups of students.

When we consistently accomplish these, we've built a learning culture where students will never ask, "Do I have to do this?"

Building Tolerance Within Our Family

In Flyertimes and beyond (yes, that's a lot like "to infinity and beyond..."), we have been focusing on building tolerance.   Check out these examples of expanding thinking about diverse groups of people and things...

Pilots lead students in diversity awareness activities.

Students lead a discussion on the true definition of beauty.

Students practice communicating clearly to help build understanding of those with learning disabilities and communication challenges.

Students make an acrostic to help them build tolerance.

Tolerance starts by understanding ourselves and being open to learning as evidenced in this guidance lesson.

Beyond Flyertimes, we build tolerance for interdisciplinary learning.  Because we prioritize the interconnectiveness of learning, students aren't shocked when they see another subject "creeping" into their classes.

Equations in science!

History and timelines in science!

Merging Character and Leadership - A Visit to RSMS

A group of us visited Rockwood South Middle School's Leadership Day.  This day is part of the "Leader in Me" program, which instills the "7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens" philosophies into character and leadership development.  Seeing this program in action definitely inspired ideas for how to further our Flyertime classes as well as enhance leadership and character throughout the building.  

More will be coming soon, but in the meantime, here's a little teaser of some of the components of their system.

Their "leadership center" is where students get and submit applications for specific clubs and activities.  It's not very different from what we currently have in the lobby.  But...the idea of applying for specific leadership roles in the building has merit!

Here's the "application" to participate in specific RSMS activities.  This leadership process encourages Habit 1:  Be Proactive.

In classrooms, teachers have designated leadership roles that students hold.  See above for specific examples and consider how you can be more systematic in building ownership for your students in your classroom.

Each grade level has a "Lighthouse" class very similar to our "Flight Crew."  The purpose of Lighthouse classes is to provide leadership for the "7 Habits" around the building.

One of the components of the "7 Habits" is writing a personal mission statement that serves as a guidepost for student decision-making.  In the Lighthouse classes, they also write class mission statements, frequently reviewing them to ensure they are supporting their own goals.

As a school, they set goals, identifying the work that must be done along the way to ensure they reach their goals.  This reflects Habit 2:  Begin with the End in Mind.

In this class, students are reviewing their 100 goals written at the beginning of the school year; by identifying what they've accomplished and where they need to focus reminds them of Habit 3:  Put First Things First.

The above pictures demonstrate a project that students worked on collaboratively.  In this class assignment they had four tasks:  1) Explain the problem, 2) Find Alternate Points of View, 3) Propose Policy and 4) Create a Plan.  It should be noted that they designed a video on Powtoon synthesizing their work.  In this assignment, they emphasized Habits 4-6, the relationship habits:  Think Win-Win; Seek First to Understand, Then Be Understood; and Synergize.  Need I also point out the opportunity for authentic learning and service learning here?

I just thought this was cool!  In their cafeteria, students painted these and used them as teachable art.  That's great leadership!

The 7th habit is "Sharpen the Saw," and as we continue on our journey of character and leadership for students, we have many opportunities to renew what we do!  Thank you for joining this journey and looking forward to our continual improvement at TMS!