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April 15, 2019
By: Noah Klein
My professional flaw is the same quality that most professions value: I am ambitious. In fact, I have been accused of being ambitious to a fault. Throughout my ten-year career, I have continuously sought out opportunities to make a name for myself and to demonstrate that I have opinions worth listening to and skills worth utilizing. And while that has gotten me far, it has also created enemies along the way. I could definitely tell stories about those who tried to keep me in “a lane.” While those experiences have taught me significant lessons on how to navigate complex systems and inter-human dynamics, those lessons are insignificant compared to the more important lesson.
I learned that teacher leadership is not a title, nor is it a status symbol. Teacher leadership is a mindset.
In today’s climate, teachers are, more than ever, facing headwinds that threaten to steer us away from safer ports. We, in the classroom, know certain truths in our guts when it comes to how to help students or when it comes to curricular choices, yet we are not often given the space to innovate, knowing the risks. Furthermore, the increase in attacks on the professionalism of teaching creates fear; teachers are more unwilling to sharpen skills to improve, but rather fall back on old tricks because it is more “acceptable” to those who do not truly understand what we do.
We, as teachers, know this. We are always tired, but we must always strive to be better.
So what now? Teacher leadership is a mindset. I was once told by a woman who works for the Center for Teaching Quality that by definition, all teachers are teacher leaders by virtue of the fact that they lead students on a daily basis. And while I agree with the sentiment, that doesn’t always scratch the itch for teacher leaders that desire to do more. William Anderson, a teacher in Colorado, said to me that teacher leaders are more akin to iron sharpening iron. The power of these words is undeniable and their truth cannot be stated strongly enough. In the words of the philosopher Peter Parker, “With great power comes great responsibility.”
It is the responsibility of all teacher leaders to not only improve themselves, but to also improve those around them. If we strike the idea that teacher leadership involves titles, but instead redefine it as teachers improving others, we have no choice but to become better. If we breathe life into each other, our intrinsic drive to be phenomenal will not be denied, but rather strengthened. If we take whatever platform we have to not gain the spotlight, but rather shine it on others doing earth-shattering work, we become more united and interconnected.
Whatever your goal, whether it is to change policy or change students’ lives in your classroom, true teacher leadership will affect change. When we build ourselves up by supporting the work of others’, the rising tide that is created will raise all ships. Our call, therefore, is a simple one. Be ambitious, sure, as that ambition will make you better. But when your ambition supports the work of others, than we all become better. Be better, together.
Processing MC Question Components to Support Text-Based Reading & Discussion
March 4, 2019
By: Maggie Lopez @meg_lopez0
The multiple choice section of the AP Literature and AP Language exams prove to be difficult--both for students and teachers, as no one wants to practice the skills demanded by taking practice tests over and over again.
One way to help students develop the close reading and critical thinking skills needed to address the range and variety of challenging excerpts on the exam is by breaking down the process of the test-taking in steps within peer groups in what I call “Reverse Multiple Choice.”
Although the process takes a bit of planning and sometimes typing on our end, the exercise positively impacts students. In summary, students are grouped and given each part of a multiple choice selection--the passage, the question stems, and the answer sets--one at a time, then asked to answer the questions after a lot of process thinking.
Here are the steps as you would implement them in your classroom (please note the time required will be determined by your students or your expectations of how quickly they are to work, the times provided are just suggestions and will differ with the text):
Students love working together to break the monotony of practice selections as this becomes about thinking and talking with one another while still developing the thought patterns necessary for working through passages on the exam. Here is a sample of the process using the 50 Essays Multiple Choice for “Letters from a Birmingham Jail.”
Engagement Tip #1: Got a deck of cards laying around the house or classroom? Missing a few? No matter! Take them to school and as students enter the room, give each one a card. Then, use these to group the students for instructional activities. This ensures the grouping are random, varied, and easily changeable in the moment if needed for engagement or classroom management. For example, if you're going to start an activity that warrants sharing with a partner, ask students to find a peer with a card that has the same suit, number, color, etc. Bonus: this works with adults, too, especially at mandatory faculty meetings nobody wants to attend!
Thanks for the great idea, Robin Burr!
Books, Bourbon, & Weekend Consulting
January 25, 2019 By: Kristie H. Ennis
Today marks the first official trip for SparkEd Consulting as an LLC in the state of KY. I am headed out to visit Northeast Pittsburgh, where I will facilitate a four hour workshop for AP Literature and Composition students at area high schools that have opened their enrollment policies to make this challenging coursework available to all willing to try. Then, I am on to New York City (God willing and TSA staffed) to mentor and train AP English teachers.
I am very proud to be a part of the National Math and Science Initiative (NMSI) for the sixth year; I began as a pre-AP and AP teacher in an at-risk high school in Louisville, KY and sat in the very trainings that I now provide, gleaning every bit of useful instructional knowledge I could and I knew immediately that I needed to be part of the organization. It took a little over a year, but I soon became a trainer myself and began working in Kentucky and across the country to serve teachers and students. I often contract to write curriculum, review and edit for the company, and even serve on panels. It is amazing what can come of a passion to be part of an organization!
On my way out, as time allows, I always visit Book & Bourbon, a must-see stop on the Urban Bourbon Trail that happens to be at the Louisville Airport. I mean, how much better does it get than books, southern food, and bourbon? AT AN AIRPORT? If you’re ever passing through, pick up your passport and get your first stamp here! Then, if you’re actually staying in Louisville, you can hit up the other spots. Let me know you’re here and we can hang out! I live right in the heart of the Louisville Bourbon District. #lifeisgood