Giving Thanks

Yesterday was Thanksgiving Day and like many people spent some time thinking of things to be thankful for. It has been a busy start to the school year. Job action has been hard for everyone and it has been especially difficult to find quiet moments in which to regroup and recharge. None the less there are always things to be thankful for. For me two key moments came in the form of responses from former students. One came to see me. The other visited virtually via twitter.

The first student was a young man I had taught years ago who was looking for a reference for his university applications. It had been a few years since I had seen him last and more than a few since he had been one of my students. He made his request and we reminisced a bit about his time in my class. He remembered mostly the good times, the assignments that had made him think and the fun he had learning. He concluded by thanking me for being one of his "better" teachers. "Your class was never boring" he smiled, "considering that it was English that's saying something!" I happen to think that English should never be boring, but I truly appreciated the praise. Its nice to be validated as a teacher.

The second student visit came via a response to a tweet I had sent out last week in recognition of International Teachers Day. "Can you remember your favorite teacher?" I had asked. This student responded in a way that really made me smile. Not only could she remember her favorite teacher - she had a favorite for every stage of her education. She listed her favorite elementary, secondary, college and university teachers. I didn't make the list, but that was ok. It made me feel good that she had so many fond memories of educators who had helped her along the way!

These students' visits and encouragement came at just the right time! I'm glad that they have fond memories of teachers and of learning. Cliche or not, they reminded me that I work in a profession that gets to make a difference in the lives of so many people. And for that I am truly thankful!

Neighborhood Forum--Tacoma Elections

I went to a Candidate Forum held by one of the Neighborhood Councils here in Tacoma.  All four School Board candidates were there.

All the candidates introduced themselves for one minute, then spent one minute each on two more questions.  One was, What do you think the district should do with the buildings that it has closed?  The second was, What is one policy you will pursue if elected?
3 minutes total, then much later a Q & A, that I did not stay to see.

Some interesting things....
Scott Heinze (seeking Seat #3--the very same which your blogger sought in the primary) did a very good job.  He answered both questions thoroughly and clearly.  In fact, Scott reinforced my feeling that he's the best of the four remaining candidates.  Dexter Gordon (Heinze's opponent) offered little specific material by which to take a good sense of what he's about.

Scott answered first of all four on the 'closed buildings' question.  And after he said that we need a long-term strategic plan by which to make better projections about facilities use, he advocated for 'repurposing' empty buildings into things like community centers for neighborhoods.  Last week, he was at a meeting at the Portland Avenue Community Center (which I also attended) in which Eastside community members talked about a variety of plans to establish community activities and a center in their neighborhood.  It was a good example of the specific ways that Scott works with regular Tacomans to solve problems.

Dexter Gordon and Karen Vialle (Seat #5) both largely recycled Scott's answer.  Dexter even used the word 'repurpose,' which I had always avoided (Scott's early and consistent use made it "his" word) and which I had not heard Dexter use before in 5 or 6 public events.

As for the 'one policy you'd implement' question, Dexter led off with a reasonable observation about eroded trust and the need to rebuild it among all players in the story.  Karen Vialle parroted Dexter, even to the point of squeezing in the same quick reference to how important the hiring of the new Superintendent was going to be.   Interesting observations, and I agree with them.  Neither of them answered the question, though.

Scott, by contrast, emphasized the need to focus energy on early childhood education.  He rightly pointed out how serious the consequences are for children that begin to fall behind early, and said we need to make sure we get the pre-school to 3rd grade students on an early track for success.

Nicely put.

Some interesting (as in, odd) things, too, I thought.

Everybody pushed their doctoral status pretty hard.  Kim Washington emphasized the 'Dr.' in her name when she introduced herself.  (She's an Ed.D.)  Dexter Gordon introduced himself as a Distinguished Professor at UPS, sort of hitting 'Distinguished' hard.  Karen Vialle noted that she finished all graduate work for the Ph.D., except the dissertation.  Only Scott neglected to mention his doctoral status.  Last I heard, he was beginning work on his dissertation.

Another interesting aspect....I saw and heard Kim Washington (Seat #5) for the first time.  All during the primary, she participated in none of the public events to which we were all invited.  It's tough to imagine she can surmount Vialle's sizable lead.

The most surprising, however, was Dexter Gordon's listlessness.  As a voter, I have not been thrilled with his zeal--it tends toward zealotry.  But as more than one observer has pointed out, "He's passionate."  Well, the passion seemed absent.  Recycled answers, lower intensity....I hope he's not flagging.  Not with a month still to go.

Standards based assessments not a panacea

A Tacoma School Board candidate that I know asked me what I thought of standards-based assessment.

Well, I told him, I have a lot of thoughts...depending on the more specific framing of the question.

First, I think everybody just imagines the 4-3-2-1 as grades anyway--A-B-C-D.  So there will need to be some relearning of what the scores mean.  Unless that IS what they mean?

More importantly, the human element still exists in the determining of how well the student met the standard.  Last year we had some oddly written standards rubrics (from OSPI, for the social studies CBA), so we had quite lengthy discussions about how to evaluate whether the student met the standard.  (The question of what the standards are and how they're created is another matter.)

Further, I think teachers are subtly encouraged to read the standard then simply look for the presence of material that matches that standard.  And it doesn't matter whether that material is any good or not.  This is particularly problematic in social studies/humanities kinds of subjects.

Ultimately, I think the impulse toward standards based assessment is driven by the (mindless) desire to numerate and technologize things.  If we can put seemingly replicable numeration to something we can believe that we're standardizing the measurement and production of what in this case is hard to measure in that way.  We've thus technologized it in a way that makes us think we can routinize the production of that thing.

Neil Postman writes extensively of this in his book Technopoly.

In the end, I don't think we're any clearer that a student is actually learning something or learning as much as they should/need to.  I think the standards movement thinks that standards based assessment does give us a better sense, but I don't know that it does.

Take 'inference making,' for instance.  I can teach about that.  Talk about what goes into it, etc., but some kids will always be better than others.  Or writing.  We are going to work on a 'standard' that involves teaching the writing process.  We'll measure their facility with naming and knowing the process, but not worry so much about whether they actually write anything worth reading.  Seems strange to me, but the logic goes, 'well, at least they know the process.'

As I've said before, education is an endeavor that entails a certain degree of sloppiness.  Thinking that we can clean up that sloppiness with a new evaluation system may be too hopeful.  I'd much rather prepare teachers and administrators to identify the ways that teachers and students accomplish good things in looser ways, and encourage a general alertness to shifting and stretching what works to cover more students in more skills and content areas.

Personal Branding: Creating Your Twitter Profile

Twitter is a must for college students! � For personal branding, networking, opportunities, and limitless access to information. Recent headlines say that Twitter is transforming business and impacting life in general! So, what is Twitter? Twitter is a free social networking and micro-blogging service that lets you post short text messages on your profile � up to 140 characters. You can follow people or organizations in order to read their updates (or �Tweets�), and others can follow you to read your Tweets as well.

To begin, create your free profile at http://twitter.com/ using your name (try to be consistent with the same form of your name that you used to create other social profiles). Fill out your user profile completely, including adding a picture of yourself. Make sure your bio reflects and represents who you are. Before you start posting, think about how you want to brand (or represent) yourself.

Basic information to get you started:

First, you can only post 140 characters, but only use abbreviations when necessary. If you want to post a link to a web site, you might want to shorten the link by using a URL shrinking service such as tinyurl.com or bit.ly. You will see posts with �RT� � this is used when someone is re-tweeting something someone has already posted. The �@� sign is used to direct a message to a particular user. For more information on how to effectively use Twitter, check out the following videos on Youtube: Twitter in Plain English: http://bit.ly/13gm0r , Twitter Tutorial - Getting Started: http://bit.ly/nZqUjU 

Beyond keeping connected with family and friends, and creating a personal brand with Twitter, there are definitely other benefits and opportunities.

The current economic situation and poor job market are making it very important to get ahead of the competition through online networking, and using invaluable online tools such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and others. According to some professionals, social media tools will separate you from the pack. It is estimated that 78 per cent of companies now use social media or networking sites to both find and attract people to fill graduate jobs. Four out of five hiring managers Google search a candidate�s name before they decide to bring them in for an interview. Some feel the traditional job boards like Monster.com and Careerbuilder.com are outdated and may cease to exist in the future. Employers want graduates to research jobs and prepare for interviews more thoroughly than ever � and this is possible through Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and other online social tools.

As an international student, it will be useful for you to follow schools, organizations, and companies that post information regarding studying abroad, scholarships, internships, jobs, travel and volunteer information and opportunities. You can also ask the people you follow for help or advice. Check out this video at Youtube �How to Find and Follow People on Twitter: http://bit.ly/LulNp ; here�s a link to help you find people or organizations to follow: http://twitter.com/#!/who_to_follow/;

And maybe the best thing about Twitter is that it�s fun! You�ll find different ways to use Twitter - connecting with people who share the same interests and ideas can create a special community for you; connecting with people who have different interests and ideas can open your world!

The next post: How to build your personal brand using LinkedIn. (Very professional, huge benefits!)

Perception management

My father--who was for years the public relations director for a major state agency in CA--often said, "It doesn't matter what IS....It matters what people THINK things are."  Obviously, that can be used cynically or constructively.  He being my father, I liked to think that his candor reflected that he was trying to open, honest, etc.  His truism also reflects on our penchant for conspiracy.  It is all too easy to think something, even if that something ISN'T!

It would be tempting, for instance, to see a public agency post notice of a fairly unusual idea/plan after close of business on a Friday (as the Tacoma school district did with its unusual Deputy to Elect to Interim--to beyond??--Superintendent plan) and think they did so with the intent of minimizing the prospect of questions or blowback.

(Just as tempting, by the way, as when I kept asking the Tacoma Education Association why they had not interviewed me as part of the endorsement process during the campaign last summer and they finally responded to my 4 phone calls and one in-person visit by calling me Friday--the last day before they would be closed for a week--at 5:15 PM.)

It would be tempting to look at that Deputy Interim Elect Super plan and think it is a back-door mechanism by which to give Carla Santorno the job, since they seemed eager to do so in September.

It would be tempting to look at the idea for the current Superintendent to represent the district in Olympia as a way for him to sharpen up his lobbying credentials while drawing a big salary and move into an attractive career after he finally leaves Tacoma.

These--and many more--tempt one to conspiratorial thinking.  I'm working hard to resist that inclination...but I'm just saying.

Tacoma comes up with another dubious plan

The school board in Tacoma is considering a plan to...well, read it here.


I think this is a very problematic idea, not because of the individuals involved but because of the organizational realities of such things. 

Interim, Elect (interim), what does all that mean?  Is it a probationary period?  What kind of expectations does everybody have?  What expectations will develop?  

Patterns tend to get set, so in 18 months she's "in place" or we need to remove and replace, which becomes another political brawl because she's entrenched with allies.

Is this a back door way to get her the job?  And why in the world is the district paying Jarvis a fat salary to go grease the way to a lobbying career?

Why does it seem like 2 board members (Dugan and Golding are lame ducks, Winskill seems absent) are driving this so hard right now?

The personal, personnel and organizational tangle that such things create primarily promise to project the staffing/appointment process into the future.  

Organizationally, this seems like a dubious plan that generates a lot more questions than clarity.

Personal Branding: Getting started with Facebook

In my previous post, I wrote about the importance of creating a personal brand; in today�s post we get started! Currently one of the top websites, Facebook is one of the first places to start your personal branding campaign. Everyone should have a Facebook strategy and it should be based on your overall life goals. (But certainly balance the professional with the personal - your profile should reflect who you are!)

Most of you may already have a Facebook profile, but make sure you look good when a college or company recruiter looks up your profile � and they will. The Federal Trade Commission (in the U.S.) has decided that companies and universities that research how you spend your personal time and what your passions and hobbies are do not violate your privacy.  In other words, the Internet is fair game.

 Depending on who you are, where you are in your career, what you�re passionate about and an expert in, you�ll want to brand yourself differently. Here�s a quick list of ways to promote YOU on Facebook:

1. Use your real name in all of your online profiles; be consistent in your branding (and be yourself).
2. Add important information about you, focusing on the education and work section. In the contact information field, be sure to list your blog if you have one, any websites you might have and links to your profiles on other social networks. (More information about other networks in my next blog!)
3. Put your picture on your profile � they are a positive addition to your online presence. It�s always better if you can associate the name with a face. In fact, post albums of pictures! (Just be thoughtful about the pictures you post.)
4. You might consider turning tagging settings off for both photos and videos; some pictures you just might not want everyone to find easily.
5. Keep the applications and widgets to a minimum; only those that will represent who you are in a positive light.
6. Join and actively participate in Groups that interest you; or start your own!
7. Regularly update your status � making it a reflection of who you are and what you do.
8. Write informational notes.
9. Share useful links.
10. Comment on your friends� walls, pictures, videos, notes, and posted items
11. Check -- and frequently recheck -- your privacy settings on social-media accounts like Facebook and Twitter.You may set your entire account to private or grant certain individuals permission to view sections of your profile. You can also make your entire profile public for everyone to see, which could be beneficial to you if you�re looking to become more visible, and have your name come up in searches.
12. Make every effort to find out what's out there about you. Anything that may be taken out of context should be taken down.


Next blog post � How to build your personal brand on Twitter (FUN!!)