tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16052150655285508552024-03-08T11:20:12.369-08:00Learn, Unlearn, & RelearnPersonal and professional reflections of an English teacher kessenburghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06626460063588288283noreply@blogger.comBlogger501125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1605215065528550855.post-35174298296733294122023-03-17T00:22:00.002-07:002023-03-17T00:48:41.161-07:00I MOVED<p> As of March 17, 2023, my future blog posts will be posted on <a href="https://essenburgs.wordpress.com/">Get Flourishing</a>, a collaboration with my husband, Michael. </p><p>To see my posts, <a href="https://essenburgs.wordpress.com/category/author-kim-essenburg/">click here</a>. See you there!</p>kessenburghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06626460063588288283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1605215065528550855.post-35445934899726971802023-03-17T00:16:00.002-07:002023-03-17T00:50:11.718-07:005 Things I Learned from Writing 500 Blog Posts<p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnTKp4inDZEaiFlhMZLpglaGhvceYyDXBWle9Ic3IMSuzLOksm8APfMKnCKPtlDC-FjYG881Em2xipguhGaJWapuJRK7GRTjk-wLb6kPUUKy4-DHIM29NwWEqQLsTSn77_cExzbk8FjSTZ0WzCp9VwlCVvmQ37u-nFi-IuGRAo96aZo1c45EwgKI4O/s4032/IMG-2565.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnTKp4inDZEaiFlhMZLpglaGhvceYyDXBWle9Ic3IMSuzLOksm8APfMKnCKPtlDC-FjYG881Em2xipguhGaJWapuJRK7GRTjk-wLb6kPUUKy4-DHIM29NwWEqQLsTSn77_cExzbk8FjSTZ0WzCp9VwlCVvmQ37u-nFi-IuGRAo96aZo1c45EwgKI4O/w640-h480/IMG-2565.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Moving on--new location, new work, new blog, but still learning and writing</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span><p></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>Over 10 years ago I began this blog simply to process my summer professional reading</b>—which had started with the book <i>Adolescents and Digital Literacies: Learning Alongside Our Students</i>. My husband suggested the title “Learn, Unlearn, and Relearn,” alluding to a prediction by futurist Alvin Toffler that those would be the essential skills for navigating the 21st century. It certainly rang true with me for navigating all the new ways of teaching I was discovering as I returned to the classroom after a few years away for raising young children, so the title stuck. </span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>Three schools, 6 grandchildren, 1 pandemic, and 499 posts later, this blog has been both the catalyst for and the witness to a lot of learning, unlearning, and relearning.</b> With this 500th post, I wrap up my 3rd and final year at my current school and move my writing to a joint venture with my husband: <a href="https://essenburgs.wordpress.com/">Get Flourishing</a>—<a href="https://essenburgs.wordpress.com/category/author-kim-essenburg/">click here </a>for my posts. (I’ll still be learning, unlearning, and relearning—just keeping the end goal in mind! And because it’s on a different platform, you can actually subscribe to it, if you want.)</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span></span><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><b><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">Here are 5 things I’ve learned writing 500 blog posts:</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /></b><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>(1) Being a writer who publishes regularly helps me teach writing.</b> I regularly consider audience and purpose, what kind of writing that I find helpful, and how to use hooks, examples, vivid word choice, sentence variety, transitions, conclusions, and a toolbox full of literary moves. So when I coach students in writing, it’s more immediate than a textbook list of do’s and don’ts.</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>(2) Being a reader who delights in the benefits of reading is the best way to inspire readers. </b>As I read for my own purposes—to relax, to learn about the world, to understand my neighbors, to understand myself, to deepen my faith, to grow my pedagogy—I model a vibrant adult reading life. I also read to recommend books to my students because I love those little humans, and I love to find books that will help them relax, learn about the world, understand their neighbors, understand themselves, deepen their faith, and develop their interests.</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>(3) I am the chief learner in my classroom.</b> The world is a jaw-dropping place—I am so curious about its beauties and its brokenness. I want to understand it more deeply and know how I can help. As I model my interest, questioning, reading, and experimenting (how to teach EFL, how ignite middle schoolers’ reading lives, how to embed grammar instruction in reading and writing, how to be resilient, how to organize class book clubs), learning becomes a normal, human (not just kid) thing to do, and the classroom becomes a community of learners.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>(4) The discipline of writing helps me reflect on, consolidate, implement my learning, and share it with others.</b> Every week I’m thinking, “What is going on in my teaching, in my classroom, that is significant enough to reflect on in writing?” If the answer is nothing, then I’d better do something! Once I’ve done it and wrestled it into words on the page, I have purposefulness to share with students about what and how they’re learning and why it matters, and with colleagues about the excitement of the hunt for what opens students’ hearts and minds.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>(5) Learning is always better with others. </b>It’s better when my students are learning how to ask really good questions, build on classmates’ comments in discussion, share their favorite books, and give and receive feedback on their writing. It’s better when I’m in a book discussion with colleagues, sharing what we’ve tried in class this week and how it’s gone. It’s better when I can articulate it in a blog post and sent it out to find a reader who might need to hear just that thing.</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>Learning. Teaching.</b> The beautiful, groaning creation we find ourselves in. The gifted, hurting neighbors, students, colleagues God plants us among. Even our own flawed, deeply loved selves. Education is tough yet rewarding work. </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>An 8th grade English as a foreign language (EFL) student, reflecting on the experience of preparing for and teaching a 4th/5th grade EFL class this week, sensed it even in that brief exposure:</b> “Teaching is hard because you can’t teach people just with your understanding, and you have to teach it so they can understand. So it was hard. I felt that teachers were incredible. One more thing is that teaching is fun. I had fun when they understand it.”</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>Writing 500 blog posts has been part of helping me lean into the hard and the fun of teaching</b>—teaching so students understand, and seeing that understanding happen.</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>How about you?</b> What have you learned over the last 10 years? How do you consolidate and share that learning?</span></span></div>kessenburghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06626460063588288283noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1605215065528550855.post-10414224651823056912023-03-03T20:08:00.002-08:002023-03-03T20:08:20.465-08:00 2 Reasons to Write in an AI World<p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR12XUDS6Dwe-VThJCVvw30o6uRL6YsiNBHCcPb7wWHcxlAAvksi6diBPtS6P64t0xipeKMF_FoaPxv-8SLxfJGCSnurLhU29TOFN7fxcqTYP8uKOFaDSa6v9nwJ2FPV3XhiMOUWukup0FKHca3jkBpb4ef_t9SHwk0NfGNmCsXF5iCwovrOq07LQg/s4032/IMG-2067.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1840" data-original-width="4032" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR12XUDS6Dwe-VThJCVvw30o6uRL6YsiNBHCcPb7wWHcxlAAvksi6diBPtS6P64t0xipeKMF_FoaPxv-8SLxfJGCSnurLhU29TOFN7fxcqTYP8uKOFaDSa6v9nwJ2FPV3XhiMOUWukup0FKHca3jkBpb4ef_t9SHwk0NfGNmCsXF5iCwovrOq07LQg/w640-h292/IMG-2067.jpeg" width="640" /></a></span></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>If students understood experientially, deep in their bones, that writing accomplishes these 2 purposes</b>, all worry about inappropriate assistance from artificial intelligence would be laid to rest:<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span></span></p><p></p><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>Writing makes my thinking better.</b><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">I can clarify, connect, develop, evaluate, and apply my thinking.</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><b>Writing</b><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b> communicates my better thinking</b> so others can benefit. </span></span></li></ol><p></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>I thought about ChatGPT when it first exploded across the public</b>, what it might mean to me <a href="https://kimessenburg.blogspot.com/2022/12/9-questions-for-english-teachers-in.html">as an English teacher</a></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">, and what it might mean to me <a href="https://kimessenburg.blogspot.com/2022/12/why-and-what-i-blogeven-in-ai-world.html">as a writer</a></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">. I decided my first classroom response would be to experiment with explicitly teaching 6th and 7th graders those 2 purposes for writing. </span></span><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>If students could experience the deep satisfaction of wrestling their thoughts into words and onto paper</b>, of looking at it and saying, “Yes! THAT is what I think!” and if they could then share those words with someone else and see their impact—that would be a good foundation for beginning a conversation about how AI can facilitate or undermine those purposes of writing.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>The writing came after a lot of reading, processing, and discussion had already taken place.</b> This is essential</span></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">—</span><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">that students have stuff they want to say. We started with book clubs on novels with resilient protagonists. We learned about resilience, took an assessment for ourselves and for a character in our novels, and set a personal goal for increasing resilience. We did a novel-based hexagonal thinking project in pairs (see below) and a one-pager as individuals (see bottom of page). Then it was time to see how students would pull together all the thinking they’d been doing. </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span></span></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_qFyVL9-4M0R3RhrPoj1IoG6cXilo9rJ8lFhw-q1U65qeZdnlrqh4Oo1qa5Qt5riNe_EhFq0iKlK1Ut8qIIVTksaiOw-0YePe9IV5Mdt7fN5i6ulI61R1ddeUfDmovm5HdhxCPCXq75fehOFaB5o78OYcwPH4Fwiy5A17sppwuKO7OQcDKEBzoTml/s4032/IMG-2053.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: times; font-size: x-large; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_qFyVL9-4M0R3RhrPoj1IoG6cXilo9rJ8lFhw-q1U65qeZdnlrqh4Oo1qa5Qt5riNe_EhFq0iKlK1Ut8qIIVTksaiOw-0YePe9IV5Mdt7fN5i6ulI61R1ddeUfDmovm5HdhxCPCXq75fehOFaB5o78OYcwPH4Fwiy5A17sppwuKO7OQcDKEBzoTml/w640-h480/IMG-2053.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><b><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><b><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">The prompt was this: "Why is resilience important and how can you increase your resilience? Use resources on resilience, illustrate with examples from your book club book, and apply it to your life."</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span></b><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">Students wrote a thesis, filled in a graphic organizer, hand wrote a rough draft, got peer feedback (using a rubric-based protocol), incorporated that feedback into a typed revision which I edited (first 10 comments), and finally produced a final draft. Once the final draft was submitted, they self-assessed (using the same rubric we’ve been using all along) and reflected on their learning (using 3 specific questions).</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>I’m really pleased to see how students were able to make the connections between the concept of resilience, specific examples in the novel they read, and applications to their own lives. </b>This is the kind of reading and thinking and writing that is real and powerful right now and will continue to be throughout their lives. If students understand experientially the power of writing to make their own thinking better and communicate that better thinking to others so they can benefit, the appropriate role of AI falls into place.</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>How does it fall into place for me?</b> I used ChatGPT to originate a list of 10 suggestions for improving each of the 6 skills of resilient people, according to the Mayo Clinic website. Then I revised the lists to be sure they fit my students’ contexts and had one or two explicitly faith-based suggestions in each list.</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>How about you?</b> What do you think students need to understand about writing in order to see AI in an appropriate role? What do you do to help students own that understanding?<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span></span></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFrA3SUc6sc_iM7ZDPBvpzorGkNW1EqCRN7rOPoL5Q7om4-yHpSjgez8oVwu0o0BqFHnhDeQOcj9AY3jVifUetB71O5CmFfb94lwjHff1KhJOwlts0c3QgE-lo1uwFCAdg2kMAAO6x_FjIwjOAyL28t9JAnO6C9Jaqkg_Uway6ucxSKLGJhz_SCPst/s4032/IMG-2062.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: times; font-size: x-large; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFrA3SUc6sc_iM7ZDPBvpzorGkNW1EqCRN7rOPoL5Q7om4-yHpSjgez8oVwu0o0BqFHnhDeQOcj9AY3jVifUetB71O5CmFfb94lwjHff1KhJOwlts0c3QgE-lo1uwFCAdg2kMAAO6x_FjIwjOAyL28t9JAnO6C9Jaqkg_Uway6ucxSKLGJhz_SCPst/w480-h640/IMG-2062.jpeg" width="480" /></a></div>kessenburghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06626460063588288283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1605215065528550855.post-31538483885890406662023-02-23T20:25:00.002-08:002023-02-23T20:25:30.038-08:00Students Assess Resilience: Connected but not Hopeful or Healthy<div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd8XQ8NZIyLfiQmucBcASqoImToGR3AHghGI94ksQcExBpwXYQ-Rpq-4mm5neiBydiNM1snmJ9Z4zR6OSr1F4Otynegs--CMKTkqWMHkrhNqQdDqW2fzkkQrtBiizVTU5Om1RV9HAfGOWh5iw-ukvRSWf4Rm-OkXrNYFZQr7pstg9Eyg7MYpQwTWRR/s3292/IMG-1965.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2411" data-original-width="3292" height="468" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd8XQ8NZIyLfiQmucBcASqoImToGR3AHghGI94ksQcExBpwXYQ-Rpq-4mm5neiBydiNM1snmJ9Z4zR6OSr1F4Otynegs--CMKTkqWMHkrhNqQdDqW2fzkkQrtBiizVTU5Om1RV9HAfGOWh5iw-ukvRSWf4Rm-OkXrNYFZQr7pstg9Eyg7MYpQwTWRR/w640-h468/IMG-1965.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><b><br /></b></span></span></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>I want students to be resilient individuals,</b> who aren’t surprised by life’s difficulties or embarrassed by struggle, but who know how to identify their needs and access all the resources God has made available for meeting them.</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>The good news:</b> All of my students are satisfied with their social connectedness.</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b><br /></b></span></span><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>The bad news:</b> More than half of them would like to be more hopeful and take care of themselves better.</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>These were the results from a 6-question self-assessment I created for our resilience book clubs</b><span class="Apple-converted-space"> (see <a href="https://kimessenburg.blogspot.com/2023/01/connecting-literature-to-life-by.html">this post</a> for the self-assessment)</span></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">, based on an article from the Mayo Clinic website, <a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/resilience-training/in-depth/resilience/art-20046311">Resilience: Build skills to endure hardship.</a></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>The skills are (1) get connected, (2) make every day meaningful, (3) learn from experience, (4) remain hopeful, (5) take care of yourself, and (6) be proactive. (For further reflections on this framework, see my post<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><a href="https://kimessenburg.blogspot.com/2023/01/how-can-i-more-effectively-help.html">How Can I More Effectively Help Students Increase Their Resilience?</a></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">)</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>I’m glad students were willing to be vulnerable and authentic.</b> I’m glad they feel socially connected—something that is such a big part of resilience that some experts list it as its own category, and then all the other tips for increasing it. And connectedness is not just important for mental health, but even for physical health—lack of it is as detrimental to health as smoking or obesity!</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span></span><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>Connectedness is essential to what it means to follow Jesus.</b> As a Christian school, we believe we are connected to each other as parts of Christ’s body: “The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I don’t need you!’ And the head cannot say to the feet, ‘I don’t need you!’ .… But God has put the body together…so that…its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it” (I Corinthians 12:21-27).</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>I hope that all students witness that kind of connectedness among staff, that students who are Christians deeply experience it, and that students who aren’t yet following Jesus see it as a winsome model of community that they feel invited into.</b> I hope that the very way I structure my class with an emphasis on small group discussion and learning with and from each other echoes and builds this essential human connectedness.</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>I’m also sobered to realize that as an international Christian school, we haven’t escaped the crisis of hope that American education is sounding the alarm on.</b> I wonder how I as a teacher and we as a school can address this. Can we do an even better job of…</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span></span></div><div><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">Being living exemplars of joy, gratitude, and affirmation; talking about why and how we can live this way; and giving students opportunities to practice it, too?</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span></span></li><li><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Understanding, using, and teaching stress management techniques as well as physical health? </span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">Giving students opportunities in every class to set realistic goals and work toward them?</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">Choosing some hopeful literature to balance that which addresses injustice, lament, and brokenness?</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span></span></li><li><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Teaching by word and by example that instead of staying mad or sad about the past, we can be new people in the present because Jesus forgives us, loves us, and helps us grow into the people He made us to be?</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">Offering opportunities for service in the context of joining God in His work of restoration?<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span></span></li></ol></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>Finally, I'm wondering why so many students expressed interest in taking better care of themselves.</b> Maybe for some 6th and 7th graders on the later end of making the shift from concrete to abstract thinking, it was just the easiest concept to grasp. Maybe there’s a measure of safety—after all, what middle schooler wants to admit they’re lacking friends (which could smack of failure), when lacking sleep can also be a badge of hard work and importance? What kind of example are we setting when the standard adult answer to my question "How was your weekend?" is "Busy!"</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>After assessing their level of satisfaction with their use of 6 skills that increase resilience, students set a goal for improving one skill.</b> I worked with them to make goals specific and attainable—not just “get more sleep” (how much more?) or “get 2 hours more sleep per night” (how about starting with 30 minutes?). One student finally wrote that she would not touch her phone after she want to bed. Not all students got so specific, but they got better. Here are some of their goals:</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><i><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">I would like to make every day more meaningful by limiting my screen time and taking breaks from technology, and getting active through physical activities.</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span></i></span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><i style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">I would like to work on learning from my experience. Sometime I couldn’t stop thinking about the past, and when I’m stressed about myself, it’s hard to let go of my past.</i></span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><i style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">I want to learn from experiences more for my future. I will write a diary and fill in good spots and things to improve. (Read it, too.)</i></span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><i style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Build up strength, and maintain being hopeful on something I want or a promise I want to meet. While I’m at it, I should improve my mental health.</i></span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><i style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">I would like to be hopeful and…obey Jesus, [forgiving] like he forgives me.</i></span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><i style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Learn to regulate and manage my emotions. Sometimes when I get mad, I just want to scream at someone, but I can try to keep my emotions in check by praying and asking God to help and taking deep breaths to try to calm down.</i></span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><i style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">I am not proactive as you think. I get hurt easily by words. But I will at least try to pretend it isn’t happening. I will try to…calm myself down.</i></span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><i>I would like to be more proactive and more hopeful, by writing down good things I did during the week, every week.</i></span></span></span></li></ol></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><b>Right now, students are writing their response essay: </b></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Why is resilience important and how can you increase your resilience? Use resources on resilience, illustrate with examples from your book club book, and apply it to your life. I'm looking forward to seeing what they have to say. </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><b>What about you?</b> How resilient are your students? What skills for increasing resilience are they satisfied with? What skills for increasing it do they wish they were better at? How can we help them? <br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" />________________</span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>Related blog posts:</b></span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">Deciding to do book clubs: </span><a href="https://kimessenburg.blogspot.com/2022/10/committing-to-book-club-experiment.html" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Committing to a Book Club Experiment</a></span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">Running book clubs in my 6/7 classroom: </span><a href="https://kimessenburg.blogspot.com/2023/01/student-book-clubs-learning-to-learn.html" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Student Book Clubs: Learning to Learn Together</a></span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">Learning about resilience:</span> <a href="https://kimessenburg.blogspot.com/2023/01/how-can-i-more-effectively-help.html" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">How Can I More Effectively Help Students Increase Their Resilience?</a></span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Teaching about resilience: </span><a href="https://kimessenburg.blogspot.com/2023/01/connecting-literature-to-life-by.html" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Connecting Literature to Life by Focusing on Resilience</a></span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">Students reflecting on the book club experience: <a href="https://kimessenburg.blogspot.com/2023/02/what-are-benefits-of-student-book-clubs.html">What Are the Benefits of Student Book Clubs?</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span></span></span></li></ul></span></div></div>kessenburghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06626460063588288283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1605215065528550855.post-84876489436676482412023-02-10T20:52:00.006-08:002023-02-10T21:26:36.728-08:00What Are the Benefits of Student Book Clubs?<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOPBdR-o-Rf4iiuTJpoFCdoMOmP7cNe_L7ttvkKrJhFAoaXIY2wv8nOXSBTj6M9BQAuld2nYjAEhmRb7ZtN3ve2A2_cdOGKrHmiOj0wvJdTt0vDj6GnYu-T1FWURUQLqtjjiUF0MQ5F-sSbackdku-AZP3r8srGu1OXs6S45kmSpYxeU-FIrWqpucj/s1910/Screenshot%202023-02-11%20at%201.50.39%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1076" data-original-width="1910" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOPBdR-o-Rf4iiuTJpoFCdoMOmP7cNe_L7ttvkKrJhFAoaXIY2wv8nOXSBTj6M9BQAuld2nYjAEhmRb7ZtN3ve2A2_cdOGKrHmiOj0wvJdTt0vDj6GnYu-T1FWURUQLqtjjiUF0MQ5F-sSbackdku-AZP3r8srGu1OXs6S45kmSpYxeU-FIrWqpucj/w640-h360/Screenshot%202023-02-11%20at%201.50.39%20PM.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>What did my 6th and 7th graders think of our book club experiment?</b> This week I</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">surveyed the students on how it went and what they had learned. (See <a href="https://kimessenburg.blogspot.com/2023/01/student-book-clubs-learning-to-learn.html">Student Book Clubs: Learning to Learn Together</a> for more on the structure of the book clubs.) They overwhelmingly preferred this format of novel study over the whole group study of <i>A Long Walk to Water</i> that we did last term, and they could clearly articulate what they learned about literary analysis and about discussion skills. </span></span><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>Bottom line:</b> The experiment was a success, and I would definitely do it again!</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>Every student but 2 preferred getting to choose from a short list of novels and discussing it with a small group. </b>The following selection of reasons are representative of all the answers given:</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">Because you can choose the book that you want to read.</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">Because the discussion is better when it’s a small group.</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">Because it is easier to ask questions and say responses.</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">Because we can think about the story more, and I think I can improve my English talking skill.</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">We can also learn and know the other groups’ novel.</span></span></li></ul></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>Here are 4 other questions I asked, and a sampling of student answers:</b></span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>(1) What reading skills or literature analysis skills did you grow in from taking notes on your own and discussing them with your group?</b></span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">Connecting things. Not just to yourself but to other books. Also connecting quotes to signposts.</span></li><li><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">Being able to identify more foreshadowing in a book, and being able to extend or disagree on others’ ideas more with my own opinion.</span></li><li><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">I became able to think of more detailed things in the book.</p></span></li><li><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">I became able to notice signposts while reading.</p></li><li><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">Questioning more of why a character wants or does this, and noticing “Memory Moments” has improved.</span></li></ul><b>Note:</b> <span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">“</span>Signposts<span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">”</span> refers to the 6 flags for significance in <i>Notice and Note: Strategies for Close Reading</i> by Kylene Beers and Robert E. Probst. <span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">“Memory Moments”</span> is one. These are excellent ways to give middle schoolers traction on finding patterns of meaning in literature. See <a href="https://kimessenburg.blogspot.com/2022/08/notice-and-note-strategies-for-close.html">this post for my review</a>. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>(2) What role did you play in your group’s discussions? How did you help yourself and your neighbor learn?</b></span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">I contributed to the discussion by talking as much as I can. It helped because we were able to get more ideas from the responses to my ideas.</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">I tried to understand others and see their point of view while also seeking to be understood, why I think certain things about a complication/character.</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">I tried to start good discussions. And I also tried to get everyone participating.</span></span></li><li><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">I usually led the conversation and I made X do his homework.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">I was the one who forgot the homework and I learned that you should do your homework.</span></span></li></ul><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>(3) How did your group discussions change over the course of the unit?</b></span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">At the beginning of the unit we weren’t talking that much. We were just saying our discussion questions one by one. Later in the unit everyone was trying to be in the discussion.</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">At the beginning of the unit: Almost no one extending/piggybacking. Dry conversations. Some people didn’t even try to join the conversation. Later in the unit: Lots of piggybacking/extending, and even respectfully disagreeing. Everyone joining the conversation!</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">At the beginning of the unit we were just talking about questions, and no extending and agreeing. Later in the unit we could talk about signposts like “Aha Moments” and we had deeper questions.</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">At the beginning of the unit I was just reading the “reading journal” thing, but later in the unit I was ready for the book talk. </span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">At the beginning of the unit we just said our summaries and didn’t really have good questions that would lead to a good discussion. Later in the unit we had good questions and also talked about the signposts.</span></span></li></ul><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>(4) How did you grow in your discussion skills?</b></span><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">I learned how to respectfully disagree with others’ opinions, with support for why I disagree.</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">I learned to include other group members.</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">Leading people to talk about their ideas.</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">I learned to connect text to text, text to self, text to world.</span></span></li><li><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">I became more thoughtful.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">Asking good questions, and adding on/connecting to others’ response.</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">Actually talking.</span></span></li></ul><div><b>I have to admit, I was a little nervous before I read the students' answers. </b>Asking for student feedback always carries an element of risk. I wasn<span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">’</span>t positive how they<span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">’</span>d respond. But I'm glad I took the risk, both on the book club experiment and on the student feedback. Students were motivated to read and discuss, and they grew in their analysis and discussion skills. And that's a big piece of my vision for how ELA prepares students for college, career, and citizenship!</div><div><br /></div><div><b>What about you? </b>What experiments have you done recently? Did you ask for student feedback? If you did, what did you learn?</div></span></div>kessenburghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06626460063588288283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1605215065528550855.post-83807700227236203512023-02-03T23:58:00.002-08:002023-02-03T23:58:19.250-08:00There Are Plenty of Ways to Learn with Others—Use One!<p><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><b><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh--sYgDMRQ8Cz8SOEO6LcVMo0Ndv9op2ssr13yVY2OoPCrMPxXz13gCEnZqmsNNVcotDXmrQDw_vEWNr6ZKJnTv1wVmih_p7kux_sa2MGYsZz98FBQDSHt767ZPZHi4xUz5UqtM8b65avj-FQLmgtZASdXgztkabs_0tDaoSnyj2uECmm1NpXuB_ut/s1596/Screenshot%202023-02-04%20at%2012.33.41%20PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1596" data-original-width="1278" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh--sYgDMRQ8Cz8SOEO6LcVMo0Ndv9op2ssr13yVY2OoPCrMPxXz13gCEnZqmsNNVcotDXmrQDw_vEWNr6ZKJnTv1wVmih_p7kux_sa2MGYsZz98FBQDSHt767ZPZHi4xUz5UqtM8b65avj-FQLmgtZASdXgztkabs_0tDaoSnyj2uECmm1NpXuB_ut/w512-h640/Screenshot%202023-02-04%20at%2012.33.41%20PM.png" width="512" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here's an example of a free 90-minute learning activity you can participate in!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></span></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><b>Have you ever felt like you were going it alone in your classroom or role at school?</b> Like you needed someone to give you a couple of their best ideas, and you could give them a couple of yours, and you could cheer each other on? </span></span></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>I have. And at a time when I deeply needed such a teaching buddy, I found 176,000 of them</b>—colleagues who came along side me with answers to questions from what books are 6th graders reading to what desks work best in upper elementary classrooms! They cheered for my daily success stories and shared ideas that had worked for them.</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span></span><div><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>I know that I flourish as a teacher when I am learning as well as teaching,</b> when I am growing in my knowledge of pedagogy and my subject area, when I am experiencing and modeling the transformative learning I want for my students. </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>I want all staff at international Christian schools to flourish in terms of this kind of transformative learning.</b> And it is not difficult, expensive, hard to find, or hard to get to. <span style="color: #800180;">All that is needed is internet access.</span> My deep hope is that staff are experiencing participation in professional/virtual learning communities and in professional organizations.</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span></span><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>I wasn’t experiencing learning with others in March 2020 (think the start of COVID).</b> As the world shut down, I found myself in a <i>new</i> city in a non-English speaking country, teaching at a <i>new</i> school—and <i>new</i> classes, <i>new</i> age levels, and a <i>new</i> subject. </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>I felt alone, a little panicky. Facebook saved my life.</b> Well, maybe not my life, but certainly my professional confidence. In a teaching situation where I needed a community and found it thin on the ground for understandable reasons (everyone was flat out scrambling to figure out the online education thing, and in-person meetings simply weren’t happening), I found it thick online in virtual professional learning communities.</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><b><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">Facebook groups were especially live-giving:</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /></b><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>(1)</b> <a href="6-8 https://www.facebook.com/groups/2067542673534523"><b>ELA in the Middle</b></a></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>(42.2K members) helped get me back in touch with middle school after nearly 30 years away, raising kids and then teaching high school.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>(2) <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/ESLteachersK12">ESL Teachers</a></b></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>(10.5K members) helped me find my feet in a new teaching area, introducing me to thought leaders in the field and sharing a plethora of resources.</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>(3) <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/NotSoWimpyFourthGrade">Not So Wimpy Fourth Grade Teachers</a></b></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>(55.5K members) provided a lot of support for my first foray into elementary teaching (4th and 5th grade ELA), including a free mini-course on teaching grammar and a free give-away I won for a class on teaching writing!</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>(4) <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/256927044749038">Creative High School English</a></b></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>(24.0K members) provided a discussion of the book <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Search-Deeper-Learning-Remake-American/dp/0674988396">In Search of Deeper Learning</a></i> by Jal Mehta and Sarah Fine, and an ed camp on independent reading.</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>(5) </b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/ChristianTeachersTalk"><b>Christian Teachers’ Lounge by Teach 4 the Heart</b></a></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>(31.5K members) offered specifically Christian support. Through it I’ve gotten a free mini-course on elementary classroom management, a useful stack of prayer cards with a verse on one side and a prayer request on the other, and an online conference with sessions by <a href="https://davestuartjr.com/">Dave Stuart Jr.</a> and <a href="https://redeemedreader.com/">The Redeemed Reader</a>.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>(6)</b> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/poppluscommunity"><b>Patterns of Power Community</b></a></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>(11.6K members) offered me a supportive place w</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">hen I decided to experiment with a reading-embedded way of teaching grammar and writing. Here, I could</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> share my little success stories, with both community members and the textbook writers themselves (!) always chiming in with words of encouragement.</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>(7)</b> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/awakenedbookclub"><b>“Awakened” Educator Book Discussion</b></a></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>(932 members) is running just for the month of February. It's a discussion of the book <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Awakened-Change-Mindset-Transform-Teaching-ebook/dp/B0BK7PTVRY/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1WV6WZZQ9JWU1&keywords=awakened+angela+watson&qid=1675484857&s=books&sprefix=awakened+angela%2Cstripbooks%2C262&sr=1-1">Awakened: Change Your Mindset to Transform Your Teaching</a></i> (2nd edition)</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>led by the author, Angela Watson. You don’t even have to read the book to participate, though it will deepen your understanding. </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">Angela daily posts a summary of a section of the book with significant quotes and a prompt about how you’ve seen that principle at work. Today’s was about how the unconscious biases of confirmation, recency, and negativity can distort our thoughts.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>These Facebook groups, though private (meaning that you have to apply to be admitted) are easy to join!</b> Joining usually involves just answering a question about why you want to join. </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><b>And I'm confident there's a group for you. </b>I don’t know how many different groups there are, and I have no idea whether these are the best—they’re just the ones I happened across and have found helpful. I know people have mentioned even more specific special interest groups, like ones for teaching AP literature or even a specific novel, like </span><i style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">The Scarlet Letter</i><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">! </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>In addition to Facebook groups, I have also found membership in professional organizations helpful.</b> <a href="https://www.ascd.org/">ASCD</a> (Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development) has a wealth of information about educational practice and curriculum in general that is relevant to any educator at any level. It provides a monthly newsletter, publishes books, and puts on webinars. For my teaching area, <a href="https://ncte.org/">NCTE</a> (National Council of Teachers of English) keeps me abreast of developments. Both of these organizations have annual membership costs.</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>There are also organizations without membership fees</b>, like <a href="https://www.writecenter.org/">National Write Center</a>.</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>This is an incredible community that offers not only conversation about writing, but also free webinars. I’ve enjoyed an hour with the American poet Taylor Mali and a 90-minute panel of experts on ChatGPT (<a href="https://www.writecenter.org/webinars.html">recording available here</a>). The next webinar (scheduled for March 14) is “Argument in Service of Civic Reasoning and Discourse.”</span><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>Maybe you think that you can't participate. </b></span></span></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">Because you teach in a small school with no counterpart. </span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Because your community is limited by mobility, language, or health. </span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Because everyone around you is flat out too busy. </span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Because you have limited funding for attending conventions. </span></li></ul></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>Good news! </b><span style="color: #800180;">If you have internet access (and I'm pretty sure you do), you can still connect to colleagues and professional communities that can support transformational learning for you—the kind of learning that you want to experience so that the students at your school can experience it. </span></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>Bottom line?</b> Do one thing: </span></span></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">Join one Facebook group that represents a level, area, or topic you teach.</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Join one professional organization.<span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span></span></li><li><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Join something! </span></span></li></ul></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>What about you?</b></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Have you ever felt like you were going it alone in your classroom or role at school?</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> What professional/virtual communities are you a part of? What professional organizations are you a member of? What can you do to more consistently experience transformative learning? </span></span></div></div>kessenburghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06626460063588288283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1605215065528550855.post-35468791629722826902023-01-27T20:37:00.000-08:002023-01-27T20:37:05.894-08:00Connecting Literature to Life by Focusing on Resilience<p><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMMqm9xGT5d-ZlCDVO8kt8H3YMQH1aAm6kjgQPfxCnKdP7-AyLndBFEwB1ZQhJvs9NC4tMVb9jgJjnF0ocbLlNrYSrTaWzAPcF8sKNfRroeIlokqUHijpvYUX14fcmSXz0S-19YEiRLG56i1XOk3m0d4b7IP2e4hTqkKk8fCOLngmSFkAy5QGsftSM/s4032/IMG-2014.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMMqm9xGT5d-ZlCDVO8kt8H3YMQH1aAm6kjgQPfxCnKdP7-AyLndBFEwB1ZQhJvs9NC4tMVb9jgJjnF0ocbLlNrYSrTaWzAPcF8sKNfRroeIlokqUHijpvYUX14fcmSXz0S-19YEiRLG56i1XOk3m0d4b7IP2e4hTqkKk8fCOLngmSFkAy5QGsftSM/w640-h480/IMG-2014.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">6th graders absorbed in <i>Because of Winn-Dixie</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><span style="font-size: large;"><i style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: times;">I should learn from my mistakes because I do make the same mistakes over and over. </i><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: times;">—Middle school student</span></span><div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: times;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>The world of books can be a vast moral laboratory for watching characters encounter challenges, make choices, relate to others, and experience consequences. </b>Sometimes if we watch a character make a mistake, it will save us making it ourselves. Other times, we find a hero to emulate.</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span></span></span><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>One of my goals is to help middle school students realize this opportunity, first in the novels we read in class, and then in the ones they read independently. </b>With that in mind, I created a book club unit on novels with resilient characters (<a href="https://kimessenburg.blogspot.com/2022/10/committing-to-book-club-experiment.html">Committing to a Book Club Experiment</a></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">). In addition to learning discussion skills and literary analysis skills, students have also been learning about resilience—what it is, and 6 ways to increase it recommended by Mayo Clinic (<a href="https://kimessenburg.blogspot.com/2023/01/student-book-clubs-learning-to-learn.html">Student Book Clubs: Learning to Learn Together</a></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">).</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">This week Wednesday, students reflected on their protagonist’s resilience, assessed their own resilience, and picked a resilience skill that they wanted to work on. Here are some of the goals students picked:</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><i>I’m not really good in being hopeful. I do accept that things are in the past, but sometimes I still have late night thoughts on past actions that I regret, and I get why I do that. I would like to work on forgiving and if possible to fix the mistake.</i></span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><i>I want to take care of myself better. To do that, instead of blaming myself for everything, I want to try to think about what I can do to fix the problem.</i></span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><i>I should learn from my mistakes because I do make the same mistakes over and over.</i></span></span></li></ul><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>If those 6th and 7th graders can really act on those goals, that would be transformative learning!</b> So I want to capture for myself how students arrived at the point of being able to see themselves so clearly, and what I want to do next to continue supporting their learning.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>First, students learned some content</b>--in this case, Mayo Clinic’s 6 <a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/resilience-training/in-depth/resilience/art-20046311">“skills to endure hardships”</a></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">: (1) get connected, (2) make every day meaningful, (3) learn from experience, (4) remain hopeful, (5) take care of yourself, and (6) be proactive. (For further reflections on this framework, see my post</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><a href="https://kimessenburg.blogspot.com/2023/01/how-can-i-more-effectively-help.html">How Can I More Effectively Help Students Increase Their Resilience?</a></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">)</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>Then, students to applied the content to the literature,</b> assessing how resilient the protagonist in their novel is in terms of those 6 skills. I gave the following prompt: </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>Think about how your protagonist would respond to the following statements that describe resilient people. </b>Which of the following steps in becoming more resilient does your protagonist need to take? Which are they working on? Give evidence for your answer.</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /></span><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><b>Get connected: </b>I have at least one close friend, at least one adult I can talk to, and a community where I feel I belong.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><b>Make every day meaningful:</b> Every day I do at least one thing that gives me a sense of accomplishment and helps other people. I set goals and accomplish them.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><b>Learn from experience: </b>I think about how I’ve dealt with problems in the past–what has helped and what hasn’t. And I use that thinking to guide what I do the next time I have a problem. </span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><b>Remain hopeful:</b> Instead of staying mad or sad about the past, I think about what I can do now.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><b>Take care of yourself:</b> I<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>eat healthy food, exercise, sleep 9-12 hours every night, do something I enjoy, and have strategies for managing my emotions. </span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><b>Be proactive:</b> I notice when I’m having a problem. (I don’t hide it or pretend it isn’t happening). Then I make a plan and do something about it. (I don’t feel helpless or just wait for someone else to do something.) </span></li></ol></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span></span></div><b>Finally, I asked them to assess their own resilience.</b> I gave them the following prompt: </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>How would you respond to each of the following 6 statements?</b> (A) Make your answer bold. (B) Pick one step to increasing your resilience that you do well. Type it in the box below, and explain what you do well. (C) Pick one step to increasing your resilience that you would like to work on. Type it in the last box, and explain one thing you will do to work on it.</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /></span><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><b>(1) Get connected:</b> I have at least one close friend, at least one adult I can talk to, a relationship with Jesus, and a community where I feel I belong.</span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">I feel connected.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">I do not feel as connected as I would like.</span></li></ul></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><b>(2) Make every day meaningful:</b> Every day I do at least one thing that gives me a sense of accomplishment and helps other people. I set goals and accomplish them. I know God made me for a purpose.</span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">My days are meaningful.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">My days are not as meaningful as I would like.</span></li></ul></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><b>(3) Learn from experience:</b> I think about how I’ve dealt with problems in the past–what has helped and what hasn’t. And I use that thinking to guide what I do the next time I have a problem. </span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">I learn from experience.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">I don’t learn from experience as much as I would like.</span></li></ul></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><b>(4) Remain hopeful:</b> Instead of staying mad or sad about the past, I think about what I can do now. I can do this because I believe that<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Jesus forgives me, loves me, and helps me grow into the person He made me to be.</span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">I am hopeful.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">I am not as hopeful as I would like.</span></li></ul></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><b>(5) Take care of yourself:</b> I<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>eat healthy food, exercise, sleep 9-12 hours every night, do something I enjoy, and calm my heart by praying to God. </span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">I take care of myself.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">I don’t take care of myself as well as I would like.</span></li></ul></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><b>(6) Be proactive:</b> I notice when I’m having a problem. (I don’t hide it or pretend it isn’t happening). Then I make a plan and do something about it. (I don’t feel helpless or just wait for someone else to do something.) I know the world is broken and sinful, but when I ask, God gives me inner strength, wisdom, and people I can ask for help.</span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">I am proactive.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">I am not as proactive as I would like. </span></li></ul></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>I was pleased with the thoughtful discussions of their characters, and with the honesty of their self-assessments.</b> With 2 more weeks left in the unit, I need to plan follow-up activities to help students really implement their goals.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>What about you?</b> How do you help students connect literature to life and experience transformative learning?</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">______________________</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>P. S.</b> Blog posts related to this one:</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><a href="https://kimessenburg.blogspot.com/2023/01/how-can-i-more-effectively-help.html">How Can I More Effectively Help Students Increase Their Resilience?</a>: some of my background thinking on resilience</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><a href="https://kimessenburg.blogspot.com/2023/01/student-book-clubs-learning-to-learn.html">Student Book Clubs: Learning to Learn Together</a>: how I run the book clubs</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><a href="https://kimessenburg.blogspot.com/2022/10/committing-to-book-club-experiment.html">Committing to a Book Club Experiment</a>: the books I picked</span></span></li></ul></span></div></div>kessenburghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06626460063588288283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1605215065528550855.post-17218751902779601762023-01-22T22:58:00.003-08:002023-01-22T23:14:32.003-08:00How Can I More Effectively Help Students Increase Their Resilience?<p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz1aRQAGsELOYJyZ39NK1o_CvTEd0spKog04E3RhnNfd2r7T_KL4nLvtHOOQf4tpieCa61bsJWYHgrm2GayQUbpo5pHp6sg3KQ2iQWpufDz6VONa_BdMyZhbXjla2htLjeM9nzvkp-lLfThn53jGyhETop31DYv6JWxfHhwH4yuu-BkfI0PIc6G5J8/s1920/hello-i-m-nik-LUYD2b7MNrg-unsplash.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz1aRQAGsELOYJyZ39NK1o_CvTEd0spKog04E3RhnNfd2r7T_KL4nLvtHOOQf4tpieCa61bsJWYHgrm2GayQUbpo5pHp6sg3KQ2iQWpufDz6VONa_BdMyZhbXjla2htLjeM9nzvkp-lLfThn53jGyhETop31DYv6JWxfHhwH4yuu-BkfI0PIc6G5J8/w640-h426/hello-i-m-nik-LUYD2b7MNrg-unsplash.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span face="-apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "San Francisco", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Ubuntu, Roboto, Noto, "Segoe UI", Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: whitesmoke; caret-color: rgb(17, 17, 17); color: #111111; font-size: 13px; text-align: start; text-size-adjust: auto; white-space: nowrap;">Photo by </span><a href="https://unsplash.com/es/@helloimnik?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #767676; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "San Francisco", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Ubuntu, Roboto, Noto, "Segoe UI", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: start; text-decoration-skip-ink: auto; text-size-adjust: auto; transition: color 0.1s ease-in-out 0s, opacity 0.1s ease-in-out 0s; white-space: nowrap;">Hello I'm Nik</a><span face="-apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "San Francisco", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Ubuntu, Roboto, Noto, "Segoe UI", Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: whitesmoke; caret-color: rgb(17, 17, 17); color: #111111; font-size: 13px; text-align: start; text-size-adjust: auto; white-space: nowrap;"> on </span><a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/LUYD2b7MNrg?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #767676; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "San Francisco", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Ubuntu, Roboto, Noto, "Segoe UI", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: start; text-decoration-skip-ink: auto; text-size-adjust: auto; transition: color 0.1s ease-in-out 0s, opacity 0.1s ease-in-out 0s; white-space: nowrap;">Unsplash</a></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: times; text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>A season-ending injury. A friend’s move. A rejection letter from the dream college. A parent’s death.</b></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: times; text-size-adjust: auto;"> Disappointments, setbacks, and tragedies—some people encounter a truly staggering succession, and no one is exempt. My faith confirms that as fallen people in fallen systems in a fallen world, we don’t escape adversity. It also affirms that God’s original and final intention for his people is wholeness and joy.</span></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: times; text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>Meanwhile, as a teacher I’ve marveled my entire career over how one young person can encounter several large crises and recover while another crumbles under a seemingly smaller crisis.</b></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: times; text-size-adjust: auto;"> What is it that contributes to that resilience or fragility? What resources does God provide for not just enduring, but thriving in the midst of life’s inevitable challenges and hurts? I want students to flourish in terms of resilient well-being, and part of that is experiencing personal durability in times of crisis.</span></span></p><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>How can I help students build personal durability?</b><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">The Internet is rife with advice—a Google search on <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=becoming+more+resilient&oq=becoming+more+resilient&aqs=chrome..69i57j0i512j0i22i30l7j0i15i22i30.5676j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8">“becoming more resilient”</a> yielded nearly 60 million results in under a minute, including 1 from<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/1605215065528550855/7767939211849988036#">Mayo Clinic</a></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>which lists the following 6 steps:</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">“Get connected.”</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">“Make every day meaningful.”</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">“Learn from experience.”</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">“Remain hopeful.”</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">“Take care of yourself.”</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">“Be proactive.”</span></span></li></ol></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLOQLjtr1SdRDyDqzH-cRnJUII-h7ex3X7KGJHlb--NX-eH-uELx_H14O61ERm7c9hxB1pPU1ZMyewQEREMoWcGNnrElRZrI5xxY-5giFJ_mfVUJnjt1ERuOhcqmrKyDtjbK4et3AtYm-pK9vSE0xw6bm3mIGrH0ItD1I93eAgv5Km3lxGYdbmHEEV/s1442/Screenshot%202023-01-23%20at%203.42.36%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="420" data-original-width="1442" height="186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLOQLjtr1SdRDyDqzH-cRnJUII-h7ex3X7KGJHlb--NX-eH-uELx_H14O61ERm7c9hxB1pPU1ZMyewQEREMoWcGNnrElRZrI5xxY-5giFJ_mfVUJnjt1ERuOhcqmrKyDtjbK4et3AtYm-pK9vSE0xw6bm3mIGrH0ItD1I93eAgv5Km3lxGYdbmHEEV/w640-h186/Screenshot%202023-01-23%20at%203.42.36%20PM.png" width="640" /></a></div></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>These 6 steps fit with what I believe as a Christian:</b></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><b><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /></b><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>(1) Get connected:<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></b></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">Created in the image of the triune God, humans are made for<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">connection</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">, and as believers, we are deeply, organically<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">connected</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>to each other in the Body of Christ.</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>(2) Make every day meaningful:</b><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">Each day is imbued with<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">meaning</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>because God created us with purpose: to love Him, to love our neighbors, and to care for creation.</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>(3) Learn from experience:</b><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">In our walk with God, the Bible frequently urges us to<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">learn</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>from God’s work in the past in order to bolster our faith for today and for the future.</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>(4) Remain hopeful:</b><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">Learning from God’s work in the past gives us a reason for<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">hope</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">. As Timothy Keller says in </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><i>Hope in Times of Fear</i></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">, “When we unite with the risen Christ by faith, that future power that is potent enough to remake the universe comes into us” (loc 780).</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>(5) Take care of yourself:</b></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>We<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">care for</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>the whole selves that God has made us, so that our body, mind, and spirit will be ready to do the good works He has prepared for us to do.</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>(6) Be proactive:</b> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">While trusting God, we can also be<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">proactive</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>in doing justice, loving mercy, and walking humbly with God. We can do this because we know that God is good though the world is broken, so we are not surprised by trouble, but access the spiritual, social, and physical resources He provides.</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><b><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">As I thought about how these 6 steps fit with my beliefs, I realized that I do incorporate the 6 steps into my classroom practices:</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /></b><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>(1) Get connected:</b></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b> </b>I put a high value on healthy relationships with students (A) because they are my neighbors who I have the opportunity to love and (B) because such relationships support learning (see </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/1605215065528550855/7767939211849988036#">What Type of Relationship with Staff Helps Students Flourish?</a></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">). I also emphasize collaborative learning because it produces more durable learning and develops the “soft” skills that employers are looking for—and now I also know it builds and strengthens social connections among students that will increase their personal durability.</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>(2) Make every day meaningful:</b> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">I choose literature that will help us <a href="https://kimessenburg.blogspot.com/2022/01/increase-global-connectedness-with-books.html">love our neighbors</a></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">, and I share case studies of what that looks like in real life—like my family’s <a href="https://kimessenburg.blogspot.com/2022/09/sharing-joy-sharing-life-sharing-faith.html">adoption of a grandchild</a></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">. I also try to make daily learning challenging, attainable, and </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/1605215065528550855/7767939211849988036#">significant</a></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">—which also helps make every day meaningful.</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>(3) Learn from experience:</b></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> Students </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">reflect whenever they finish a <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/1605215065528550855/7767939211849988036#">major project</a></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>and also write memoirs about a time they learned something important. My 6th and 7th grade ELA curriculum includes a unit on success and failure (available on <a href="https://www.commonlit.org/en/units/failure-and-success/lessons_and_materials">Common Lit</a></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">) which has short stories, poems, and nonfiction about learning through challenges. I also share experiences I’ve learned from. </span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>(4) Remain hopeful:</b></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> I think of the reading conference I had earlier this year with a student who had loved <i>A Wish in the Dark</i> by Christina Soontornvat. She was excited about the book’s theme of never losing hope. In response to her excitement, I said, “Hope is so important to humans, isn’t it?” Then I reminded her that Jesus is the one who gives us hope that never lets us down. Psychology counsels optimism because it’s healthy, but psychology can’t give a foundation for hope. And I wonder, “Do I live and talk about that hope that Jesus gives in a winsome way?”</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>(5) Take care of yourself:</b></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> I remind students to eat healthy food, go outside, exercise,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><a href="https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/sleep.html#:~:text=toddlers%20%281%E2%80%932%20years%29%3A,years%29%3A%208%E2%80%9310%20hours">sleep</a></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>(9-12 hours for elementary/middle schoolers, 8-10 hours for high schoolers), savor something that gives them joy, still their busy minds before God in prayer. Like a well-watered garden that can withstand a dry spell, a human being whose heart, soul, strength, and mind are healthy can weather stress and recover from it more quickly. I know this has been true for me in stressful times. </span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>(6) Be proactive:</b></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> This means identifying problems (rather than denying or minimizing them), making a plan (rather than feeling helpless), and carrying it out. I acknowledge students who take initiative to solve problems—from identifying the spot in the reading that confused them to drawing up their own double-entry journal when they left the print I gave them at school. I use some goal setting for students, and I’d like to use more. </span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>And now that I’ve identified and reflected Mayo Clinic’s 6 steps, I find that I can now incorporate them into my classroom more intentionally, more articulately, and more frequently in order to help students build their personal durability.</b><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">For example, right now my 6th and 7th grade ELA class is doing a book club unit on resilience, looking at how the characters in 4 different novels get connected, make every day meaningful, learn from experience, remain hopeful, take care of themselves, and are proactive. As part of this unit, I showed a counter example of proactivity—the “stuck on a broken escalator” video:</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Sb7mzUCpTyY" width="320" youtube-src-id="Sb7mzUCpTyY"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: times; font-size: x-large; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: times; text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>Students were whisper-shouting at the screen, “You have feet!” and “Just walk!”</b> At the end of the unit, students will assess the level of their personal durability and identify how they can increase it. </span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: times; text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: times; text-size-adjust: auto;" /><b><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: times; text-size-adjust: auto;">Note 1:<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: times; text-size-adjust: auto;">While I chose Mayo Clinic’s 6 steps to resilience to think about, there are many others you could investigate, such as…</span></b><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: times; text-size-adjust: auto;" /></span><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: times; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.fosteringresilience.com/7cs_professionals.php">The 7 Cs from Fostering Resilience</a> (A program particularly designed for young people)</span></span></li><li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: times; text-size-adjust: auto;"><a href="https://www.everydayhealth.com/wellness/resilience/">What Is Resilience? Your Guide to Facing Life’s Challenges, Adversities, and Crises</a></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: times; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>(Amit Sood, MD, Everyday Health, 14 Jul 2022)</span></span></li><li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: times; text-size-adjust: auto;"><a href="https://www.verywellmind.com/ways-to-become-more-resilient-2795063">Ten Ways to Build Resilience</a></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: times; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>(Kendra Cherry, Very Well Mind, 6 Oct 2022)</span></span></li></ul><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><b>Note 2: Part of being proactive is also knowing when professional help is needed and reaching out for that.</b></span><br /><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsIEZjGvkIFXjPj8bPs6EmDK3nejLoZw07A67jTd94PsLbJjWKwAK77tFZfWAyIN0Brb4CHESjnTusM2WOaqfyRR8Xs1Hy4DEGPs0ZY7ymZKizBCqQ_LKdGncKikF0S9Lel1EUMonex0nwRo7UYwgMT0iBEHFEhiWyoW03eCC_qIIvS7_QoAEwN0V7/s1600/question-mark-gcb1c3cc6d_1920.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsIEZjGvkIFXjPj8bPs6EmDK3nejLoZw07A67jTd94PsLbJjWKwAK77tFZfWAyIN0Brb4CHESjnTusM2WOaqfyRR8Xs1Hy4DEGPs0ZY7ymZKizBCqQ_LKdGncKikF0S9Lel1EUMonex0nwRo7UYwgMT0iBEHFEhiWyoW03eCC_qIIvS7_QoAEwN0V7/w640-h426/question-mark-gcb1c3cc6d_1920.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: start; text-size-adjust: auto; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Image by </span><a href="https://pixabay.com/users/geralt-9301/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=3842932" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; text-align: start; text-decoration-line: none; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Gerd Altmann</span></a><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: start; text-size-adjust: auto; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> from </span><a href="https://pixabay.com/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=3842932" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; text-align: start; text-decoration-line: none; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Pixabay</span></a><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: start; text-size-adjust: auto; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: times; text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>What about you?</b></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: times; text-size-adjust: auto;"> What’s your perspective on adversity? What helps students build personal durability? How do you help your students build personal durability? How can you more effectively help students build personal durability and flourish in terms of resilient well-being?</span></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /></div>kessenburghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06626460063588288283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1605215065528550855.post-36549421216866021912023-01-20T21:53:00.010-08:002023-01-20T22:20:42.648-08:00Student Book Clubs: Learning to Learn Together<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYMKu2qS7sGeViIj9jzOwhBAa7LARzwBrv9Uw-u0aw0iNsTaMm8VUgb9W6yUkIxr4AdNHBDifaI6tYJHTLqQPomVLwHXTL1ijxKpp2PdF_aFD3WGt0o1GIOcGf6S0HaOT7rZGEe8ajspcK1_qc4mg2LLOC5RNwoJ_ZVSTqeoflCLCI-QlvymbFqz84/s4028/IMG-2008.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1747" data-original-width="4028" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYMKu2qS7sGeViIj9jzOwhBAa7LARzwBrv9Uw-u0aw0iNsTaMm8VUgb9W6yUkIxr4AdNHBDifaI6tYJHTLqQPomVLwHXTL1ijxKpp2PdF_aFD3WGt0o1GIOcGf6S0HaOT7rZGEe8ajspcK1_qc4mg2LLOC5RNwoJ_ZVSTqeoflCLCI-QlvymbFqz84/w640-h278/IMG-2008.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><p><span style="font-family: times;"><b style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size: large;">I’m reading over 6th and 7th graders’ reflections on their book club discussion reflections, and I’m delighted.</span></b><span style="font-size: large;"> The <i>Winn-Dixie</i> group has noticed all on their own that Winn-Dixie’s “pathological fear” of lightning is a strange contrast to his usual calm disposition, and they’re predicting that it is going to come up again later in the book. The <i>Wonder</i> group comments that they did a better job of piggybacking on other member’s comments. </span></span></p></span><p></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">The <i>Caterpillar Summer</i> group noted that Macon’s words about half of life being just showing up are coming up again and again, so it might be connected both to the past mystery of what happened between the mom and her father—and to the current mystery of why Macon seems so gruff. And the <i>Dan Unmasked</i> group said, “We had such a great discussion today that we weren’t even finished when our time was up!” </span></span></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>We are 2 weeks into our first <a href="https://kimessenburg.blogspot.com/2022/10/committing-to-book-club-experiment.html">book club experiment</a></b></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>, and it’s going well!</b> Students are half-way through their books, and they are growing in their discussion skills, their literary analysis skills, and their understanding of resilience.</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>Their first task was to work together to divide their book up into 18 assignments and report their decision to me.</b> Most of them took the total number of pages and divided by 18 and said they were done. I said, “If that's what you want. You’re really going to just stop randomly in the middle of a chapter?” “Oh,” they responded, and went back to discuss it some more. I think they’ll appreciate the work teachers put into dividing up assignments a little more!</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span></span><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>Since then, we start each day with a 10-minute lesson on the day’s topic.</b> It might be... </span></span></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">A discussion skill (like piggybacking, or respectfully disagreeing).</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">A literary analysis skill (such as a <a href="https://kimessenburg.blogspot.com/2022/08/notice-and-note-strategies-for-close.html">Notice and Note signpost</a> like “Again and Again” or a literary term like conflict or foreshadowing). </span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">Content on how to build resilience (like getting connected or being proactive). </span></span></li></ul></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">Next they take their books and journals (see below for the generic journal page and examples of how different groups used it) and move into their groups. There, they apply the focus lesson in their discussion and talk about the thinking on last night’s reading that they held in their journal. After that, they reflect on the day’s discussion (see end of post for reflection) and turn the journal page and the reflection in to me. </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">Finally, they have 10 minutes to get started on their next reading. (For this daily schedule as well as for the discussion lessons and reflection sheet, I am indebted to Lesley Roessing's <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Talking-Texts-Lesley-Roessing/dp/1475834586/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1IS9I5M6QZNH1&keywords=talking+texts+lesley+roessing&qid=1674278563&s=books&sprefix=talking+texts%2Cstripbooks%2C290&sr=1-1">Talking Texts: A Teacher's Guide to Book Clubs across the Curriculum</a></i>.)</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrnx88tiPTUO8Nc4Dk7H3-5VKPyIy4mQ7cJ27oMPzOYPbBArNvM_eJye4j1CRBavoLBJ6hd8qG2H0Avmr-c0HyohHncmKNeT_BVjOEerIT-diVzUqF76c29WI64GxVVi9lyy-Zb3w8bspFVY7GOISotta7_s_kuebFH04deTKOyg164Zd3xcAXZAAS/s4032/IMG-2006.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrnx88tiPTUO8Nc4Dk7H3-5VKPyIy4mQ7cJ27oMPzOYPbBArNvM_eJye4j1CRBavoLBJ6hd8qG2H0Avmr-c0HyohHncmKNeT_BVjOEerIT-diVzUqF76c29WI64GxVVi9lyy-Zb3w8bspFVY7GOISotta7_s_kuebFH04deTKOyg164Zd3xcAXZAAS/w480-h640/IMG-2006.jpeg" width="480" /></a></span></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZADAeGxA7fRIqF2uLXKhCbOR5XRA_LPh_7t3NRZ61EGQcNfWJXKSAdDSOB2m39atkWLNwiIRRTalcGZ3e02LWbpvKrLY4ypexoVJ5e1vZhN4hR2XTByFUCJuhYuuBko3Yh6v7SCORl8GHktbQ9EzziN_ldBN7ujlO-eoRdWDw5qGCdKhHp6-vVoMx/s4032/IMG-2005.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZADAeGxA7fRIqF2uLXKhCbOR5XRA_LPh_7t3NRZ61EGQcNfWJXKSAdDSOB2m39atkWLNwiIRRTalcGZ3e02LWbpvKrLY4ypexoVJ5e1vZhN4hR2XTByFUCJuhYuuBko3Yh6v7SCORl8GHktbQ9EzziN_ldBN7ujlO-eoRdWDw5qGCdKhHp6-vVoMx/w480-h640/IMG-2005.jpeg" width="480" /></span></a></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-T8AVSmigYfRxKjDEWe9vLwJc0OP5sl5sgsq9Do8yKOUKOeobUENuXw82R03ZnmaQUR3za4ZR8wgk2iYtfbFRUQo0Whld4wyvkwnGm6mmQx0W2_X93TbWHPj3gqXVXDPhTucXSkhV0sYYNPnpzqNgXURLjhVZO1ro9dp8KXsjz4gsk_v-sVpbBvw6/s4032/IMG-2004.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-T8AVSmigYfRxKjDEWe9vLwJc0OP5sl5sgsq9Do8yKOUKOeobUENuXw82R03ZnmaQUR3za4ZR8wgk2iYtfbFRUQo0Whld4wyvkwnGm6mmQx0W2_X93TbWHPj3gqXVXDPhTucXSkhV0sYYNPnpzqNgXURLjhVZO1ro9dp8KXsjz4gsk_v-sVpbBvw6/w480-h640/IMG-2004.jpeg" width="480" /></span></a></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>What do I do while students discuss?</b> The first week I wandered around the classroom, listening in to various discussions, noting what was going well, what misunderstandings were happening, and what skills needed more guidance, intervening on the spot or in the next day’s focus lesson. The second week I spent a whole discussion sitting in on each group. I’d meant to just observe, but I found it was a really important time to give some specific instruction and modeling. Next week I hope to wander again.</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>In addition to watching the students grow in their discussion and analysis skills, I’ve been kind quietly geeking out about how amazingly well the novels are illustrating what I’ve been learning about resilience. </b>You see, I just picked them to go with <i>Wonder</i>, which half of the class this year had already read. So I thought that resilience is a topic that interests me, I picked a bunch of really good books with protagonists that overcome challenges, and I did some research (see Mayo Clinic’s <a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/resilience-training/in-depth/resilience/art-20046311">“Resilience: Build skills to endure hardship”</a></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">). It seemed like it would fit the books pretty well.</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> <br /></span></span></div><div><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>Then came the actual lessons.</b> The first week we learned about the importance of social connectedness to resilience. This week we learned about the importance of being proactive. I showed students the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47rQkTPWW2I">“stuck on a broken escalator”</a> video as a counter example. Before class the next day, I was reading the assigned section from <i>Dan Unmasked,</i> and both skills—getting connected and being proactive—are mentioned on the same page (202)! </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>Here's how it happens: </b>Ollie, Dan, and Courtney have brainstormed a list of possible endings to the story they are writing, and now they are winnowing down the choices. </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">When they are down to the last 3, they eliminate the ending where a new group of characters shows up out of the blue, because, Ollie says, “You can’t always wait for somebody else to fix your problems, you know?” (<i>Bing-bong</i>: proactivity!) Then they eliminate the ending where the protagonist goes it alone because Courtney and Dan simultaneously reach the conclusion that teamwork is required.</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">(<i>Bing-bong</i>: social connectedness!)</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>We have 2 more weeks left.</b> I’m really intrigued to see how the books continue to fit with the 4 more steps to resilience that I got from <a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/resilience-training/in-depth/resilience/art-20046311">Mayo Clinic</a>: make every day meaningful, learn from experience, remain hopeful, and take care of yourself. I’m also looking forward to mixing the groups together to discuss connections among their books, especially as to how their characters build resilience.</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>What about you?</b> Have you tried book clubs with your students? If so, what have you and your students learned through the experience?</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>P. S.</b> Here's an example, mentioned at the top of the post, of the discussion reflection students do each day:</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdHKFPT7-jqSfBSPiot0pElt6NqEtCCQhIuEysmzGYGIPju84HjeVSMIV-edXJorBB3fH3LBDEQ2x9l0yAKafvs--xX9JBIMXZDb4GN00Mt8y_X9hAxE_taK8VwBVkV-6QpdZIqIgfli1cGhed9JdtmGd9Xeso4uTksUJgqi4jbCFIbEV-cnPWsCW-/s4032/IMG-2007.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdHKFPT7-jqSfBSPiot0pElt6NqEtCCQhIuEysmzGYGIPju84HjeVSMIV-edXJorBB3fH3LBDEQ2x9l0yAKafvs--xX9JBIMXZDb4GN00Mt8y_X9hAxE_taK8VwBVkV-6QpdZIqIgfli1cGhed9JdtmGd9Xeso4uTksUJgqi4jbCFIbEV-cnPWsCW-/w480-h640/IMG-2007.jpeg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span></span></div>kessenburghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06626460063588288283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1605215065528550855.post-68724459636337958912023-01-08T21:21:00.003-08:002023-01-08T21:31:13.876-08:00Detecting Patterns<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit8p1Pyv0lAcxlqPmP8YtY7PSvDw54XZLI-px5VsuuqVlxSjGAv1qzRkrrWakqYi-55J3iEWxILasc4jBy34Rh8XgIQnSU2u2X5Rm2nCwDooHbu00g__L6Puf6Sd7zdp6OV7k7FLFyTNVXNL9VXZATi8sWW1U3Nrj_3ebwtSz2GTqYOZf3xtTmEHq8/s1334/Screen%20Shot%202023-01-09%20at%201.44.38%20PM.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1334" data-original-width="1270" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit8p1Pyv0lAcxlqPmP8YtY7PSvDw54XZLI-px5VsuuqVlxSjGAv1qzRkrrWakqYi-55J3iEWxILasc4jBy34Rh8XgIQnSU2u2X5Rm2nCwDooHbu00g__L6Puf6Sd7zdp6OV7k7FLFyTNVXNL9VXZATi8sWW1U3Nrj_3ebwtSz2GTqYOZf3xtTmEHq8/w381-h400/Screen%20Shot%202023-01-09%20at%201.44.38%20PM.png" width="381" /></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: times; text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>Thursday I got to regale my 6th and 7th graders with a grandkid tale while reading them a picture book.</b> It was hilarity with a point: the middle schoolers realized</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: times; text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: times; text-size-adjust: auto;">they were much more sophisticated readers than a preschooler. Then I told them about my adult daughter's chat message about a novel she’d just finished: “No one to discuss it</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: times; text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: times; text-size-adjust: auto;">with! Just finished and I have questions!!” Literature has a variety of levels of complexity—some challenge preschoolers, some challenge middle schoolers, and some challenge</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: times; text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: times; text-size-adjust: auto;">adults. Meeting the challenge can be fun. And there are tools for helping meet the challenge at every level. Here’s how those levels came together for me last week and culminated in a</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: times; text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: times; text-size-adjust: auto;">good reading lesson.</span></span><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiujanx87L69JP0hUHUazlAMe-3R1JpVWW7I6PkVNnpPZkmCCwOLyryhM1C3vUr8eHFD2Q_6LzsVAV9OCfINuKJRad_Yzjvg7wQI0M9FIDuI_cByQRub9Pa4wtJc_59u7HM8x46S9OFw0nEIWd1mvdUEhfvX8HQueu8Guybh734EtjdYlo9c_E7Ij7Y/s2676/Screen%20Shot%202023-01-05%20at%207.45.27%20AM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1398" data-original-width="2676" height="334" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiujanx87L69JP0hUHUazlAMe-3R1JpVWW7I6PkVNnpPZkmCCwOLyryhM1C3vUr8eHFD2Q_6LzsVAV9OCfINuKJRad_Yzjvg7wQI0M9FIDuI_cByQRub9Pa4wtJc_59u7HM8x46S9OFw0nEIWd1mvdUEhfvX8HQueu8Guybh734EtjdYlo9c_E7Ij7Y/w640-h334/Screen%20Shot%202023-01-05%20at%207.45.27%20AM.png" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Different book, but you get the idea of what our reading times look like</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><span style="font-family: times;"><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>Preschool Level:</b></span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>Earlier in the week I was reading <i>Getting Dressed with Lily and Milo</i> to my grandson.</b> (Though living on opposite sides of the Pacific Ocean, we have regular online</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">reading times using Readeo.com.) The interesting thing was how much scaffolding it took for my grandson to notice and understand the contrasting pattern of the simple story.</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>It starts with Milo, the little brother mouse character, fully dressed and ready to go outside.</b> The text narrates Lily, the big sister rabbit character, choosing (for example, green,</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">pink, or striped socks) and putting on each item of clothing, page by page. Meanwhile, the illustrations also show, without any text, Milo taking off an item on each page, so that by</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">the time Lily is ready to go outside and play, Milo is not.</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>At first, my grandson didn’t even notice the Milo illustration, being fully focused on the Lily illustration that was described by the text.</b> When I asked him what Milo was doing, he answered,</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">“Putting his coat on!” “Hmm,” I said, “it does look like he could be putting his coat on. But if we look back at the page before—look he has his coat on already. So what is he doing</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">here?” “Taking his coat off!”</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>The second time he didn't notice the Milo illustration on his own either.</b> I prompt him again, and again he answered, “Putting his boots on!” After repeating the same procedure of looking</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">back to the previous picture where Milo has his boots on, my grandson recognized that Milo is taking them off.</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">The third time I had to prompt him to look at Milo, but he had the</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">pattern then—“He’s taking his socks off!” And the fourth time, he went straight to the Milo illustration, shrieking with laughter.</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><b><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">It fascinated my how much coaching it took for a preschooler to notice a pattern that had seemed so obvious to me at first glance, how gradually he mastered it, and how delighted</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">he was once he did.</span></b><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>Expert Level:</b></span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>My phone lit up with a message from my adult daughter: “Have you read <i>Night of the Living Rez</i>?”</b> I knew it was a collection of short stories set on a Penobscot</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEjPTF_NLXC09QZ6Ai2llCRrIPS21Qdl5ufHCRD4RdNZaZnqJ1zNH3GMogStV0DqR5Rvtj6t6mbVac5vPNoi-XuF1b4DiCMHIuTsvwu4Oux8PyIVIWPTGOnRCkgDwSh9mvRVevu_lxi70ySl4QFLUDFVu-DucCaLM0dW-Xj4JpW-dmVcCvulXwoy2P/s690/Screen%20Shot%202023-01-09%20at%201.46.38%20PM.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="690" data-original-width="444" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEjPTF_NLXC09QZ6Ai2llCRrIPS21Qdl5ufHCRD4RdNZaZnqJ1zNH3GMogStV0DqR5Rvtj6t6mbVac5vPNoi-XuF1b4DiCMHIuTsvwu4Oux8PyIVIWPTGOnRCkgDwSh9mvRVevu_lxi70ySl4QFLUDFVu-DucCaLM0dW-Xj4JpW-dmVcCvulXwoy2P/s320/Screen%20Shot%202023-01-09%20at%201.46.38%20PM.png" width="206" /></a></div>reservation in Maine that had made many "Best Books of 2022" lists. I couldn’t pass up an opportunity like that, so I got the book and tore through it. It was a tough read. I struggled to find the hope and compassion reviewers</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">mentioned finding in the midst of trauma, dysfunction, and despair—though I do believe that love listens to all the stories of all our neighbors. It took me over half of the</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">book to even realize that the stories shared the same main character as a child, young person, and adult (though not in chronological order, and called by different names</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">). Then I had to look back for the patterns: What was the chronological order, and why did the author decide to put them in this order?</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>Middle School Level:</b></span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><b><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">As my students returned from Christmas break for a new term, I wanted to introduce them to their fourth signpost from <i>Notice and Note: Strategies for Close Reading</i> by Beers and</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span></b><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>Probst (one of my <a href="https://kimessenburg.blogspot.com/2022/08/notice-and-note-strategies-for-close.html">professional books from last summer</a>): Again and Again.</b> When you notice</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">a word, phrase, image, or event coming up over and over, stop and ask yourself, “Why might the author bring this up again and again?” You’ll probably learn something about</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">character, conflict, and theme. I’d planned to use Langston Hughes’ short story “Thank You, M’am” as the whole-class lesson to prepare students to use the signpost in their <a href="https://kimessenburg.blogspot.com/2022/10/committing-to-book-club-experiment.html">book</a></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><a href="https://kimessenburg.blogspot.com/2022/10/committing-to-book-club-experiment.html"> </a></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><a href="https://kimessenburg.blogspot.com/2022/10/committing-to-book-club-experiment.html">clubs on resilience</a> which will begin this week.</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi96W5YdVExJ_f469R6ftsBm9MlBEh4rMXg6q5MHB8C_r-GhJwvwPauo7i6k4CV7kwRJQVUPbLGkpqIxAONlMeE0wAiNUzc5f5BMla0ls9v0sv5bvl4DBu7zJ2hMmcTqxW9lgS_fJ0fbEF7nUoU7OjFlKYTqGWdXizUTjNR2dgQwrQ8CMasZf7wxDRV/s658/Screen%20Shot%202023-01-09%20at%202.14.40%20PM.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="658" data-original-width="522" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi96W5YdVExJ_f469R6ftsBm9MlBEh4rMXg6q5MHB8C_r-GhJwvwPauo7i6k4CV7kwRJQVUPbLGkpqIxAONlMeE0wAiNUzc5f5BMla0ls9v0sv5bvl4DBu7zJ2hMmcTqxW9lgS_fJ0fbEF7nUoU7OjFlKYTqGWdXizUTjNR2dgQwrQ8CMasZf7wxDRV/s320/Screen%20Shot%202023-01-09%20at%202.14.40%20PM.png" width="254" /></a></div><b>Suddenly I put it all together.</b> What is so fantastic about Beers and Probst’s signposts is that they give readers with some sophistication in reading—like my middle schoolers who</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">could easily recognize the pattern in <i>Getting Dressed with Lily and Milo</i>—the tools that more sophisticated readers--like my daughter and me--naturally use, possibly without being able to articulate what it</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">was that alerted them to stop and notice and note. After the hilarity of the picture book and grandkid story, students did a good job searching out the Again and Again patterns in “Thank You, M’am,” and I look forward to seeing how</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">they do with it as they begin their book clubs this week.</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>How about you?</b> What kinds of questions do you ask when you are reading challenging material? What patterns do you notice? How does it help? How do you help less</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">sophisticated readers ask good questions and notice important patterns? </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> <br /></span></span></span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; text-size-adjust: auto;" />kessenburghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06626460063588288283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1605215065528550855.post-68365072381647342772022-12-29T22:04:00.004-08:002022-12-29T22:10:50.135-08:00My Reading in 2022<br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSlVxPLL9gT4kri3Oc67bBycf0v0JgJeh1sis_q6Xx2mZQf7KGVIUPF6s0EzpTEDreJtGwtEORmNerfMzoXzeJ5dJWVG-wR4nR0L7jm6Ma8rIoqoyHnh36Y8oco-Jt8RVrCjRhc2vRUuxKdwE3rqYX2mNF1qIcSNatBEtMd_vv6LWeDeY-iD_oHVXd/s2500/Screen%20Shot%202022-12-30%20at%201.01.45%20PM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1284" data-original-width="2500" height="328" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSlVxPLL9gT4kri3Oc67bBycf0v0JgJeh1sis_q6Xx2mZQf7KGVIUPF6s0EzpTEDreJtGwtEORmNerfMzoXzeJ5dJWVG-wR4nR0L7jm6Ma8rIoqoyHnh36Y8oco-Jt8RVrCjRhc2vRUuxKdwE3rqYX2mNF1qIcSNatBEtMd_vv6LWeDeY-iD_oHVXd/w640-h328/Screen%20Shot%202022-12-30%20at%201.01.45%20PM.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">See the rest of My Year in Books at https://www.goodreads.com/user/year_in_books/2022/5706089</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><b>Reading in 2022 connected me with my grandchildren, deepened my faith, refined my teaching, educated me about the world, strengthened my</b></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b> </b></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>empathy, introduced me to new viewpoints, helped me think about complex issues, and gave me hours of enjoyment. </b>Tracking my reading on</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">Goodreads provides me the opportunity to reflect back over the year of reading: 50,416 pages in 196 books including nearly every genre,</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">format, and age level. </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">Here’s a sampling:</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b><i>Get Real: Sharing Your Everyday Faith Every Day</i> by John Leonard</b> is an old favorite I return to every several years for encouragement,</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">practical advice, and a lot of inspiring stories from the author’s life about how to live grace, love people, and naturally connect the two.</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b><i>Notice and Note: Strategies for Close Reading</i> by Kylene Beers and Robert Probst</b> is the book from my <a href="https://kimessenburg.blogspot.com/2022/08/notice-and-note-strategies-for-close.html">summer professional reading</a> that has</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">most impacted my teaching this year.</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b><i>The Art of Talking with Children: The Simple Keys to Nurturing Kindness, Creativity, and Confidence in Kids</i> by Rebecca Rolland</b> I discovered</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">as part of an audiobook offer free to educators from Libro.fm. Its principles are illustrated with many examples from the author’s experience as a</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">school psychologist and as a parent.</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b><i>Victory. Stand!: Raising My Fist for Justice</i> by Tommie Smith, Dawud Anyabwile, and Derrick Barnes</b> is a graphic novel where Tommie Smith</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">recounts his life story within the frame of his 1968 Olympic race and the historic protest against racism of all 3 medalists at the award ceremony.</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">It has been popular and eye-opening in my 6th and 7th grade classroom. </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b><i>All Thirteen: The Incredible Cave Rescue of the Thai Boys’ Soccer Team</i> by Christina Soontornvat</b> is full of beautiful glossy pictures and</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">graphics, explanatory insets about everything from hypothermia to Thai culture, and, of course, the story of the impossible rescue of the 13</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">boys trapped in the Tham Luang cave system by floodwater in 2018. I really enjoyed reading about the intense collaboration by many different</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">people with different knowledge and skills from many different countries. It just arrived during the vacation, so it hasn’t been road tested with my</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">students yet, but I have a couple who have lived in Thailand and a couple who are soccer players, so I think it will raise some interest.</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b><i>A World of Curiosities</i> by Louise Penny</b> was pure recreation for me: #18 in the Inspector Gamache mystery series which is full of literary</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">allusions, wisdom, and characters that actually grow over time. Also, the Quebec setting provides cross-culture interest as French and English</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">speakers interact.</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b><i>The Lost Ryu</i> by Emi Watanabe Cohen</b> is one of the most unique and insightful middle grades books I’ve read—with the added plus of being</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">set in Japan, like my school. It’s 20 years after Japan’s defeat in World War 2, but it's a world where small, shoulder-sitting dragons are</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">ubiquitous pets. Kohei, an English-speaking Japanese boy, is supposed to help Isolde, the Japanese/Jewish American girl who has just moved</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">into the downstairs apartment, adjust to life in Japan. Actually, Isolde helps him uncover his family's stories and heal a little of the hurt in the</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">world. As a 30-year resident of Japan, I can say the culture and language works. This was another </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">libro.fm</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> audiobook, and it was really</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">delightful to hear the Japanese that sprinkles the text.</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b><i>The Blackbird Girls</i> by Anne Blankman</b> was one I found when searching for books to allow my students to access stories of their Ukrainian</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">neighbors. It alternates between the story of 2 girls whose fathers work at the Chernobyl power plant as they flee the nuclear disaster and the</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">story of a girl fleeing the Nazi advance 2 generations earlier. It touches on bullying, antisemitism, domestic abuse, and is a beautiful tale of how</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">love risks all to assert and protect the value and dignity of God’s image bearers.</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span></span></li></ul><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGHe_lIV4TOL8KkqQ_vHBehqPF0IINXLBPdYqBcsfc5TWGF-fzHRbBUE6ngBMge1gmQ4CkU02bRJlyZyegteNoOZxo4DKC2DCaE870aMdsEOhXSrOAf0xCbgzjZogV3dI0nN4yInuE7bZQxdPyIX71YnwG5HgVKM8ssMOqnPSMmiN8TExt_HrWaKpI/s1414/Screen%20Shot%202022-12-30%20at%201.02.10%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1138" data-original-width="1414" height="516" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGHe_lIV4TOL8KkqQ_vHBehqPF0IINXLBPdYqBcsfc5TWGF-fzHRbBUE6ngBMge1gmQ4CkU02bRJlyZyegteNoOZxo4DKC2DCaE870aMdsEOhXSrOAf0xCbgzjZogV3dI0nN4yInuE7bZQxdPyIX71YnwG5HgVKM8ssMOqnPSMmiN8TExt_HrWaKpI/w640-h516/Screen%20Shot%202022-12-30%20at%201.02.10%20PM.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /> </span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>How do I find all these books?</b> Here are 3 resources that I’ve been delighted to discover this year, plus one extra:</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b><a href="https://redeemedreader.com/">The Redeemed Reader</a></b>. This is a Christian organization with the tag line “We read ahead for you.” I love their <a href="https://redeemedreader.com/our-philosophy-and-practice/">philosophy</a></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">, and their <a href="https://redeemedreader.com/book-lists/">book lists</a> are so helpful.</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b><a href="https://thebrainstormplus.blogspot.com/">The Brainstorm Plus</a></b>. This is the blog of the librarian at a <a href="https://www.ics.ac.th/">Christian international school in Thailand</a></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">. It is amazing—not only</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">does she have lists and lists of books (<a href="https://thebrainstormplus.blogspot.com/2022/12/brainstorm-286-top-10s-of-2022-part-4.html">here's part 4 for her "Top 10's of 2022"</a>),</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">but also every book is linked to her Goodreads review, which is quite thorough.</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><a href="http://Libro.fm"><b>Libro.fm</b></a>. This is an audiobook site that supports local bookstores and also offers a selection of 6-8 <a href="https://libro.fm/alc-program">free new releases to educators</a> every month.</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">If you are an educator, don’t miss this great offer! I’ve enjoyed new releases by favorite authors (<i>I Must Betray You</i> by Ruta Sepetys) as well as</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">discovering new gems (see above: <i>The Art of Talking with Children</i> and <i>The Lost Ryu</i>).</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><a href="http://Readeo.com"><b>Readeo.com</b></a></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">. This is an online platform that has provided us hours of reading and chatting with our grandchildren even</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">when separated by the Pacific Ocean while a global pandemic shut all travel down. For a modest annual fee, you get 5 accounts to share with</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">all the children you want to read with.</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span></span></li></ol></span><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><b>How about you?</b> How has reading benefitted you this year? What are some books you’ve enjoyed? How do you find them?</span> </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiggtdQ1ZmXNUFGGuar7EcyULIlLZNjBBMu_WyzxTI75btckrn1bz4vw7OsmWe6CNfCI56PfKbMPnNtO9J9keUUpHAzRIhuz7CBRGFS-awuEsk8p5gIB7etjc86VfvmVJERrXK3E5OHYnvOTepSMqplhzETtj_74W8R8qebPvJPZ2GfzkZNQgYzUfUr/s1324/Screen%20Shot%202022-12-30%20at%201.05.27%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1324" data-original-width="1304" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiggtdQ1ZmXNUFGGuar7EcyULIlLZNjBBMu_WyzxTI75btckrn1bz4vw7OsmWe6CNfCI56PfKbMPnNtO9J9keUUpHAzRIhuz7CBRGFS-awuEsk8p5gIB7etjc86VfvmVJERrXK3E5OHYnvOTepSMqplhzETtj_74W8R8qebPvJPZ2GfzkZNQgYzUfUr/w630-h640/Screen%20Shot%202022-12-30%20at%201.05.27%20PM.png" width="630" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p>kessenburghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06626460063588288283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1605215065528550855.post-70071513900920649352022-12-22T23:58:00.001-08:002022-12-22T23:58:35.718-08:00Why and What I Blog...Even in an AI World<p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrKkIeb1T8m0Owumz_RFAX7qxjlTnx72W1e025bPODsbq0mcLBDcuVMklQl226R72lIIjiLF34VaXIHTNeSQC_MrU-BF1vNSEjyI172woWxjp-MhcGCw6sKv6tSfk1_J6gZ4WguKkATFN7HAdkLIKDeRUuQK7ho-548dVZS1jk5Tc_ZblIbeIEI6Eu/s4032/8FE82DC5-83B6-4BE2-BFF1-FF085842E806.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrKkIeb1T8m0Owumz_RFAX7qxjlTnx72W1e025bPODsbq0mcLBDcuVMklQl226R72lIIjiLF34VaXIHTNeSQC_MrU-BF1vNSEjyI172woWxjp-MhcGCw6sKv6tSfk1_J6gZ4WguKkATFN7HAdkLIKDeRUuQK7ho-548dVZS1jk5Tc_ZblIbeIEI6Eu/w640-h480/8FE82DC5-83B6-4BE2-BFF1-FF085842E806.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Merry Christmas from my writing happy place to yours!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>If I had not written the 490 posts on this blog in the last 10 years, what difference would it make?</b> In the final weeks of December, I</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">make it a habit to reflect on my blogging for the year—to review my purpose and the year’s most popular posts. The release last month of</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">ChatGPT (see <a href="https://kimessenburg.blogspot.com/2022/12/9-questions-for-english-teachers-in.html">last week’s post</a>) adds a new dimension to this reflection: What does writing DO in my experience? Should I just quit and send</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">ChatGPT my queries? Let my readers do the same?</span></span></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>Put like that, the question becomes nonsensical.</b> If the primary purpose of my writing were providing others with information, it’s possible. However, my primary purpose in writing</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">this blog has always been to consolidate, elaborate, and apply my own learning. </span></span><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><b><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">If I had not gone through nearly every week of the last 10</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span></b><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>years thinking, “What am I learning about learning and about life that I can reflect on in writing?” I would be a different person.</b> Writing has made me a</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">person who learns, reflects, grows, and shares that learning. I would be different teacher. Writing has made me a teacher of writing who is a writer,</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">and who is continuously experimenting with best practice of both teaching and writing. </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>The biggest difference writing this blog has made is in me.</b> I wonder how I can help</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">students in an AI world experience and value writing for the difference it makes in them.</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><b><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">After I’ve wrestled my own learning into words, sentences, and paragraphs, then I find the possibility of sending it out into the world to see if there</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span></b><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>is a community of like-minded learners out there. </b>Is there someone who will be encouraged by a reflection I offer as a reminder of joy, or a catalyst to action, or a</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">personal example illuminating theory, or just an invitation to learn, unlearn, and relearn in company? </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><b><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">AI can’t offer that, either—the personal</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span></b><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>connection between author and audience.</b> Whether it is me, the writer, offering specific examples of what a problem or an experiment or an</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">epiphany looks like in my life, in my classroom. Or whether it is me, the writer, discerning and responding to the felt needs the audience has—</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">the questions and circumstances they are facing. I wonder how I can help students in an AI world experience and value writing for the personal</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">connection between reader and writer.</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><b><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">As I reflected on the 5 blog posts that garnered the most reads in 2022, I those were the two thoughts that came to mind as significant reasons</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span></b><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>for me to write:</b> How writing these posts changed me, and how the personal reader-writer connection showed up. Here they are, starting with</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">the #5 and building up to #1. See what you think:</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><a href="https://kimessenburg.blogspot.com/2022/09/what-type-of-relationship-with-staff.html"><b>What Type of Relationship with Staff Helps Students Flourish</b></a></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> (23 Sep 2022): Students’ relationships with their teachers have a significant effect on their learning. As I desired my grandchildren</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">to be welcomed into learning communities where they would flourish, I thought about what I could do to extend a welcome to every student who</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">walks into my room. My deep hope is that students in my classroom and at my international Christian school are experiencing caring,</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">collaborative, respectful Christ-centered staff. What might that look like for me? See the blog post for a list of specific examples.</span></span> </li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b><a href="https://kimessenburg.blogspot.com/2022/02/looking-for-books-to-love-my-ukrainian.html">Looking for Books to Love My Ukrainian Neighbors</a></b></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> (26</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">Feb 2022) When Russia invaded Ukraine, I realized my deplorable lack of knowledge about Ukraine’s history. I tackled that problem in</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">the way I usually do: hunting for books. I searched for both fiction and nonfiction, both for myself and for my middle school students. Since then</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">I discovered a wonderful middle grades jewel set in Ukraine and Russia, alternating between the time of the Chernobyl disaster and World War</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">2: <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Blackbird-Girls-Anne-Blankman-ebook/dp/B07T1V3N9K/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3G1Z3UE3K0R3Y&keywords=the+blackbird+girls&qid=1671689785&s=books&sprefix=the+blackbird%2Cstripbooks%2C269&sr=1-1">The Blackbird Girls</a></i> by Anne Blankman.</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b><a href="https://kimessenburg.blogspot.com/2022/09/what-do-i-do-with-classroom-full-of.html">What Do I Do with a Classroom Full of Immortals?</a></b></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> (2 Sep</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">2022) What do I get when I combine a CS Lewis quote, a family photo, and the concept of people being made in the image of God? A</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">memorable object lesson that I love to use at some point every year in every class.</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b><a href="https://kimessenburg.blogspot.com/2022/09/sharing-joy-sharing-life-sharing-faith.html">Sharing Joy, Sharing Life, Sharing Faith</a></b></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> (30 Sep 2022) </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">We added a grandchild this year as a daughter and her husband adopted a child they’d been fostering. Sharing this significant family</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">event with my class was part of building relationships and providing real stories of the difference knowing Jesus and sharing his love</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">makes in real people’s lives. The added delight: That using my blog post to reflect on sharing this with my class amplified the joy by sharing our</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">news with many others! (I have learned that reflecting on big family events generates a large readership—reflections on my mother’s death and</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">a daughter’s wedding are in my top 10 most read posts.)</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><a href="https://kimessenburg.blogspot.com/2021/12/independent-choice-reading-builds.html"><b>Independent Choice Reading Builds a Culture of Reading</b></a></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> (</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">1 Jan 2022) One year ago, my regular reflection on how independent choice reading for the trimester has gone turned into the year’s top</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">post. It’s all about audience: I was involved in an online ed camp about independent choice reading, and I wrote the post with the questions in</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">mind that were being asked by participants, with the purpose in mind of sharing the post in the group.</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span></span></li></ul><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>Writing those 5 posts—as well as the 485 other posts I’ve written since July 2012—has changed me.</b> Given the number of readers, they’ve also</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">found some personal connection with an audience, which absolutely delights me—that the thoughts I labor over putting together find an echo</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">and leave a blessing in another human. And those are two things writing does that AI-generated responses don’t: change the writer and create</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">human connection. That is the question I will be carrying into my 2023 writing lessons—How can I help students experience and value the</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">personal change and connection that writing creates?</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>What about you? </b>Do you write? What difference does your writing make in an AI world? What about writing do you experience and value that</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">you hope students continue to experience and value in an AI world? How will you help students do that?</span></span></div>kessenburghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06626460063588288283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1605215065528550855.post-48326813533697117872022-12-16T19:21:00.002-08:002022-12-16T19:21:46.016-08:009 Questions for English Teachers in a World with AI<p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqY3_xOEbHXnewYY07Zw4Uj0zyCE5Tyihzdx06PTijSDdPSMEirmnHwN-2IJyGb-8hhhRohw_bTdphFz2mMsdwF_e5DAdKRmxy95szXRCN4O9hg-IY6u9RtD4E0T7V1uum0hf9NXq_JI1lYiaIpQ7bQ07wGg-Fa0Qw7goG4EFTWcfVAIfPqdLOGh2H/s1280/pexels-alex-knight-2599244.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="853" data-original-width="1280" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqY3_xOEbHXnewYY07Zw4Uj0zyCE5Tyihzdx06PTijSDdPSMEirmnHwN-2IJyGb-8hhhRohw_bTdphFz2mMsdwF_e5DAdKRmxy95szXRCN4O9hg-IY6u9RtD4E0T7V1uum0hf9NXq_JI1lYiaIpQ7bQ07wGg-Fa0Qw7goG4EFTWcfVAIfPqdLOGh2H/w640-h426/pexels-alex-knight-2599244.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: PlusJakartaSans, -apple-system, "system-ui", "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Cantarell, "Helvetica Neue", Ubuntu, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: start; white-space: pre;">Photo by <a href="https://www.pexels.com/photo/high-angle-photo-of-robot-2599244/">Alex Knight</a></span></td></tr></tbody></table></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>The <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2022/12/openai-chatgpt-writing-high-school-english-essay/672412/">death of high school English</a> was declared by <i>The Atlantic</i> last week</b></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>.</b> Cause of death: Open AI’s new <a href="https://openai.com/blog/chatgpt/">ChatGPT</a>. Enter any prompt from “Compare the themes of</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><i>The Great Gatsby</i> and <i>Death of a Salesman</i></span></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">”</span><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> to “Make a 10-item to-do list for a supervillain” to “Write a mission statement for a Christian</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">school.” In seconds (or less) an answer is composed—currently for free.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><b><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">A frenzy of discussion erupted across online English teacher land, ranging from panic (How do we prevent cheating NOW?) to new motivation</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span></b><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>to highlight process, creativity, and project-based learning.</b> It’s a fascinating discussion to follow (including one that incorporates AI’s answer to</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">how English teachers should respond to AI!). Here’s some of it:</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /></span><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><a href="https://spencerauthor.com/human-skills/">Human Skills in a World of Artificial Intelligence</a> (John Spencer 9 Dec 2022)</span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/petergreene/2022/12/11/no-chatgpt-is-not-the-end-of-high-school-english-but-heres-the-useful-tool-it-offers-teachers/?sh=295c05a81437">No, ChatGPT Is Not the End of High School English. But Here’s the Useful Tool It Offers Teachers</a> (Peter Greene, Forbes, 11 Dec 2022)</span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><a href="https://spencerauthor.com/englishai/">No, Artificial Intelligence Won’t Destroy High School English (or Any Other Subject)</a> (John Spencer 12 Dec 2022)</span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.writecenter.org/blog/will-ai-make-english-teachers-obsolete-a-conversation-with-chatgpt">Will AI Make Writing Teachers Obsolete? A Conversation with ChatGPT</a> (Tamara Tate, et al, Write Center, 13 Dec 2022)</span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><a href="https://nowsparkcreativity.com/2022/12/why-im-not-worried-about-the-new-ai-tools.html">Why I’m Not Worried about the New AI Tools</a> (Betsy Potash, Spark Creativity, 14 Dec 2022)</span></li></ul></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>One thing that is clear to me: we need to respond somehow.</b> If not proactively now, then it will be reactively later. And it’s not the English class</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">apocalypse: math and foreign language classes have continued even with the advent of the calculator and translation software. A place to start</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">is with questions. </span></span><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span></span></div><div><b><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">Here are some questions that I'm considering:</span></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"> </span></b><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">What is English class for?</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">What kind of a world is AI creating?</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">How can we prepare students to flourish in that world?</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">What can people do that AI can’t do?</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">What must people be able to do even IF AI can do it?</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">What brings people joy to do even IF AI can do it?</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">How do we help students value and master those skills (see #4-#6)?</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">How can AI be a tool to help people do more of what they can do (#4), should do (#5), and love to do (#6)?</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">How might AI hinder human flourishing? How can we be aware of and guard against that?</span></span></li></ol><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>As I begin to ruminate on these questions, I start by reaffirming what English class is for.</b> It's not for producing novel summaries and essays (something</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">AI can do), but for nurturing thinking that is curious, clear, nuanced, compassionate, creative, just, humble, and well-supported, and for</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">effectively communicating that thinking to audiences in ways that build shalom, reimagining God's intention for creation. I will remind my students of this: The goal of this class is not</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">your essay; it is your growth as a thinker and communicator. (For more background, see my blog post <a href="https://kimessenburg.blogspot.com/2017/08/naming-arts-in-english-language-arts.html">Naming the “Arts” in “English Language Arts”</a></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">). Such thinkers will be needed more than ever.</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>I’m intrigued by the ways AI can be a tool.</b> For example, models are important for writing. I can get a model essay from ChatGPT in seconds rather than kicking myself</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">for not remembering to keep past samples and then laboring over creating one myself. I can tell the kids what I did, what the AI provided, and</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> together we can explore </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">where it is weak. I can use it for revising exercises. (I loved John Spencer’s idea of taking the AI-generated 10-item to-do list for a supervillain</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">and revising with voice, specificity, and humor.) An ESL teacher I follow on Twitter used ChatGPT to generate conversations (specifying topic,</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">English level, and line length). My husband muses about how small international Christian schools could generate initial policy drafts. </span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>I’ll continue to teach reading strategies, discussion skills, and writing process.</b> I’ll continue to use creative thinking tools, like <a href="https://kimessenburg.blogspot.com/2020/09/six-questions-for-growing-readers.html">reading journals</a></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">, <a href="https://kimessenburg.blogspot.com/2020/10/hexagons-spur-collaborative-and.html">hexagonal thinking</a></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><a href="https://kimessenburg.blogspot.com/2020/10/hexagons-spur-collaborative-and.html"> activities</a></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">, and <a href="https://kimessenburg.blogspot.com/2020/10/one-pagers-enjoyable-assessment-is-not.html">one-pagers</a></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">. And I’ll continue to pay attention to the discussion of</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">thoughtful, creative English teachers and how they are helping their students flourish in a world with AI.</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>How about you?</b> What have you heard about ChatGPT? What questions interest or concern you? How will you respond?</span></span></div>kessenburghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06626460063588288283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1605215065528550855.post-87508784646080528732022-12-09T23:10:00.002-08:002022-12-09T23:10:27.404-08:00Putting My Time Where My Mouth Is: Independent Reading<p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYcJCl4ItymUiSXKRsCaAGv66aRnIaS8fN44utR11bZKMH0d6ubICy3ZYwMIMOpCDXm-YYE5NeOR-8pPTBoXDjqL-XveIQT8SwN2ZYuhoouL_5MSfRoHVImltkprU4tfFuOsq04t_2paz1bSxMwZj2ZvDd0jmcwjgu0-AknXY7avlhASaBmzaSFvgG/s4032/01464421-F1B7-4DFB-8EA7-9C119422BAA8.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYcJCl4ItymUiSXKRsCaAGv66aRnIaS8fN44utR11bZKMH0d6ubICy3ZYwMIMOpCDXm-YYE5NeOR-8pPTBoXDjqL-XveIQT8SwN2ZYuhoouL_5MSfRoHVImltkprU4tfFuOsq04t_2paz1bSxMwZj2ZvDd0jmcwjgu0-AknXY7avlhASaBmzaSFvgG/w640-h480/01464421-F1B7-4DFB-8EA7-9C119422BAA8.jpeg" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /> </span><p></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><i>Reading is awesome because you can have fun while getting smart!</i> —6th grader</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>I remember the days when I used to require outside reading but give no class time for it.</b> After all, independent reading is just that—it can be</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">done independently. And we had so many demands on our class time.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>With a lot of cajoling, reminders, and scary mom stares, most of the students would finish their required book or two.</b> At least, they posted a</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">book review or scheduled an interview with me. But I’m pretty sure none of my students ever said, like one did this week, “Reading is awesome because you can have</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">fun while getting smart!”</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b><br /></b></span></span><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>Time is one of our most precious commodities.</b> Students understand this at a gut level. It’s not that students can’t read at home. It’s that</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">in the past my actions out-shouted my words as I demonstrated to them that what we did in class was more important than developing a lifelong</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">habit of reading. That knowing the symbols in this particular play or learning that particular vocabulary list was more important than sinking into the</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">state of flow with a good book, and all the other benefits that come from that.</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><b><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">This is my third year of reserving the first 10 minutes of every 45-minute class period for independent reading, and it has revolutionized my</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span></b><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>students’ attitudes toward reading.</b> I end every trimester with an opportunity for students to reflect on their independent reading. Today, I’ve</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">been reviewing this term’s data. My 6th and 7th graders read an average of 7 books since the beginning of September. The range was 3 - 15,</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">with a mode of 5 and a median of 7. Here are some of their responses to prompts on the reflection:</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: bold; text-size-adjust: auto;">How do you feel about your progress in reading?</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: bold; text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><i>Compared to the start of the term, I think I have expanded my range of vocabulary.</i></span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><i>I can understand everything in the books while reading at a faster pace.</i></span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><i>I like reading historical fiction and don’t really read fantasy, so I will try to read those.</i></span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><i><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">I sometimes use the vocabulary from the book I read.</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span></i></span></li></ul><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>What benefits have you experienced from independent reading this term?</b></span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><i>I have learned about different cultures around the world, or just had a relaxing time reading.</i></span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><i>I learned how successful people are not successful just because of their skill.</i></span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><i>I have improved my vocabulary and expression which I have applied to my essay.</i></span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><i>I am enjoying reading now even though I hated reading before.</i></span></span></li></ul><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: bold; text-size-adjust: auto;">What was a satisfying book you read this term?</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">The Book Thief<i>: (1) There isn’t as much “plot armor” (people not dying because they are the main character) as some novels have. (2) It’s from</i></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: italic; text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: italic; text-size-adjust: auto;">a unique point of view (the grim reaper). (3) It’s long but doesn’t get boring.</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">Quiet<i> because it took long, it is long, and because it had a lot of information in it.</i></span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">Trevor Noah: Born a Crime [young readers version]<i> was the most satisfying because (1) Trevor Noah himself wrote the book so it was funny.</i></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: italic; text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: italic; text-size-adjust: auto;">(2) I started reading more after this book. (3) It was not too easy or too hard.</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">Victory. Stand!<i> It was about running track. It was nonfiction. It was about challenges with racism.</i></span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">Prisoner B-3087<i>: I liked Alan Gratz so I was happy that I could read his new book.</i></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: italic; text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span></span></li></ul><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>What strategies are you using to help you understand your book?</b></span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><i>If I find a word I don’t understand, I either look it up immediately or note the word and page somewhere.</i></span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><i>Read everything on the cover. </i>[This students was referring to Challenger Deep--a book with an unreliable narrator. I'd told him to start it since he'd picked it, and I'd check with him the next day to see if he needed any help. He took it as a challenge and discovered this helpful strategy.]</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><i>I summarized my book by telling people about the content.</i></span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><i>Read. Then read it one more time to see if I have mistaked thing. </i>[Reading this comment reassured me that this student who I'd noticed returning to books wasn't just avoiding picking a new one.]</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><i>Imagine what’s happening in the book.</i></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span></span></li></ul><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: bold; text-size-adjust: auto;">Complete the following statement: Reading is…because…</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><i>Reading is important because you can learn new things, and is also a great way to relax.</i></span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><i><i>Reading is </i>beneficial to our future because having good understanding and good vocabulary will open up chances for jobs that need bilingual employees.</i></span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><i><i>Reading is </i>important because it can improve your writing skills, and you can learn more words.</i></span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><i><i>Reading is </i>helpful for you because it improves your focus, memory, and communication skills.</i></span></span></li></ul><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>It’s been a delight not only to spend the first 10 minutes of every class period in a room full of focused readers, but also to see them grow.</b> The</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">student for whom English is a 3rd language who has gone from reading only fantasy a year ago, to historical fiction in the spring, to non fiction</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">(<i>Quiet</i> by Susan Cain and <i>Outliers </i>by Malcolm Gladwell!) this fall. The student who shared with her peers in her book talk on Kelly Yang’s <i>Room to Dream</i>, “I have had the same</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">problem as Mia: how to follow my dream and still keep my friends. This book showed me it is possible.”</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>How about you?</b> How important do you think it is for your students to develop a life-long reading habit? How do you help them do it? </span></span></div>kessenburghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06626460063588288283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1605215065528550855.post-13487042557892604202022-12-02T20:27:00.002-08:002022-12-02T20:39:00.100-08:00Give Yourself an Early Christmas Present: Silent Discussion<p><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-TGC0D17mXfWZc5rmEQzCT9IEMnprlIXvzGWZAaAm25HHU6bYV21S3agW7aZ__EuJFMuzBXTrSNuoOdc9qZPHD1yVwWlOOGaQi4cKWTnyF2yUHvwspDwy4QUvJJmm5BcBZz8QJuhejFA67Yaju1UR_La1HJNDWFUHpv8t2FC7hPpIxrNiw-bTPu1R/s4032/D007A716-A772-4929-97EA-03A88D813185_1_201_a.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-TGC0D17mXfWZc5rmEQzCT9IEMnprlIXvzGWZAaAm25HHU6bYV21S3agW7aZ__EuJFMuzBXTrSNuoOdc9qZPHD1yVwWlOOGaQi4cKWTnyF2yUHvwspDwy4QUvJJmm5BcBZz8QJuhejFA67Yaju1UR_La1HJNDWFUHpv8t2FC7hPpIxrNiw-bTPu1R/w640-h480/D007A716-A772-4929-97EA-03A88D813185_1_201_a.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>Give yourself an early Christmas present!</b> Ask your students what they’re learning about the big ideas in your unit or course. Even better, use</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">an interactive protocol where they can see each other’s learning and build on it. Best of all: do it in writing, so you can capture it to reflect on</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">when you need encouragement, to know that you are making a difference in young people’s lives. Previously I’ve used <a href="https://kimessenburg.blogspot.com/2022/01/what-are-students-learning-ask-them.html">online discussion</a></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><a href="https://kimessenburg.blogspot.com/2022/01/what-are-students-learning-ask-them.html"> </a></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><a href="https://kimessenburg.blogspot.com/2022/01/what-are-students-learning-ask-them.html">boards</a>, <a href="https://kimessenburg.blogspot.com/2020/10/hexagons-spur-collaborative-and.html">hexagonal thinking</a>, and <a href="https://kimessenburg.blogspot.com/2020/10/one-pagers-enjoyable-assessment-is-not.html">one-pagers</a>.</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> This week I used a <a href="https://www.readwritethink.org/professional-development/strategy-guides/facilitating-participation-silent">silent discussion protocol</a>.</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span></span></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><b><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">In 6th and 7th grade ELA, we’d just finished our final literary analysis essay on <i>A Long Walk to Water</i> by Linda Sue Park, and I wanted to wrap</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span></b><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>up with some reflection on our big learnings.</b> The novel alternates between the true story Salva, who became one of the Lost Boys of Sudan,</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">and the story of Nya, a composite portrait of the life of a girl in South Sudan. I gave each student 3 post-it notes, and I made 3 posters, each</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">with a prompt in the center that they were to address on one of the post-it notes:</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">What did you learn about the world: What’s amazing? What’s awful?</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">What did you learn about your neighbors: How people are like/unlike you? How knowing that helps you love them?</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">What did you learn about yourself: Who you are? Who you want to be?</span></span></li></ol><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><div>Here are some of the things students wrote on the notes that they stuck on each of the 3 posters:</div></span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>(1) What did you learn about the world: What’s amazing? What’s awful?</b></span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /></span><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">I learned that my “normal life” might be somebody else’s dream. Being able to go to school every day, have a house, and eat.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">The world is not a perfect place and never will be, but we can try to make it bearable and prosperous for everybody.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">In the story, even though Salva’s uncle was killed by some people in the Nuer tribe, he didn’t become prejudiced against everyone in the rival Nuer tribe because he gave water to them, too. Even if you have a bad experience with someone from a certain community, tribe, etc., that doesn’t make everyone from that place bad.</span></li></ol></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>(2) What did you learn about your neighbors: How people are like/unlike you? How knowing that helps you love them?</b></span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /></span><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">I learned other people’s struggles could be way worse than mine, and I felt encouraged by other people’s stories and how they overcame their struggles.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">I learned that I shouldn’t just look away from people that are in the middle of a problem even if I don’t know that person that much. </span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">Neighbors are sometimes all the way in other countries, like when the workers at the camps helped Salva to live a better life.</span></li></ol></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>(3) What did you learn about yourself: Who you are? Who you want to be?</b></span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /></span><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">I would like to be like Salva who has the power to take action for other people.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">I learned that I am very fortunate and should appreciate the family and people around me.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">I learned that I should be more grateful for my surroundings, and be thankful for my opportunities.</span></li></ol></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>Students then divided themselves into groups. </b>Each group got 4 minutes at each poster. Students were eager to read their classmates thoughts</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">and write their own responses on the poster around the post-its.</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><b><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">And I’m still smiling, reading over what they learned.</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /></b><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>How about you?</b> Does knowing that students are learning important things in your class energize you? If so, how do you find out what important things they’re</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">learning? How do you ask students to reflect on, interact with classmates over, and record their their big learnings from a unit?</span></span>kessenburghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06626460063588288283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1605215065528550855.post-75807976120013798892022-11-25T22:41:00.002-08:002022-11-25T23:14:02.146-08:00What Is the Most Significant Resource for Helping a Teacher Flourish?<p><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn0PqYd_b-6Wp1ZnVWVxWf_t12LzcIQVVYYo8JIAyHW2Rmj5cG0Y6oQnTeR4zN5w1RV1J36v6_W_Tznc4S48-0xHi-1q89OGZoNT3czMknRACfwTjjkoSW_fh8dwBoawjOSUr4IBtqz49iwhvwsXCsF2f5POt-lHfNuDaQNOjVP9r_Ny9aK9O-eQEL/s2592/aldi-sigun-K-sdQ12jZeY-unsplash.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1944" data-original-width="2592" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn0PqYd_b-6Wp1ZnVWVxWf_t12LzcIQVVYYo8JIAyHW2Rmj5cG0Y6oQnTeR4zN5w1RV1J36v6_W_Tznc4S48-0xHi-1q89OGZoNT3czMknRACfwTjjkoSW_fh8dwBoawjOSUr4IBtqz49iwhvwsXCsF2f5POt-lHfNuDaQNOjVP9r_Ny9aK9O-eQEL/w640-h480/aldi-sigun-K-sdQ12jZeY-unsplash.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@sigun?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">aldi sigun</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/s/photos/monster?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Unsplash</a></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>As a kid, I imagined the principal as an ogre who sat in a dark cave in the inner recesses of the school, waiting for disobedient children.</b> I got</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">sent there once in first grade: I was terrified. Looking back, it was probably just a protocol—late students were to report in at the office before</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">going to class. But 6-year-old me didn’t know that, and when I showed up at my classroom, I was sent to the office, and by the time I was</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">standing in front of a big desk, I could hardly choke out between sobs my confession of a failed alarm clock and my promise never to do it</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">again.</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span></span></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><b><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">As an adult, I’ve sensed that some people think of school administration as the dull but necessary bits of, yes, discipline, as well policies,</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span></b><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>schedules, and budgets that somebody has to do so the teachers can get on with the real business of educating students.</b> That is, of course, a</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">bare minimum and essential for a school to function. However, in my 35 years of experience in international Christian education, I’ve been</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">blessed to experience leaders who have not only seen how the discipline, policies, schedules, and budgets are a vital part of the larger</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">school vision, but also taught staff by word and example the dispositions, knowledge, and skills that create a culture of purpose, belonging, and</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">learning where staff flourish in Jesus.</span></span><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><b>So if you ask me what is the single most significant resource for helping me and my colleagues flourish, I'd say it's leaders,</b> more specifically, <span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">skillful, encouraging, Christ-centered leaders with a trust-and-inspire mindset</span>. Let me explain:</span></div><div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>(1) Skillful leaders </b>are ones who are knowledgeable about education, people, and leadership; they know there is always more to learn, and</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">they delight in mastering, practicing, and sharing that learning. For example, I’ve grown from working with leaders who hosted breakfast</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">discussions of teaching from a Biblical perspective or participated in after school <a href="https://kimessenburg.blogspot.com/2021/07/9-components-of-book-discussion.html">book discussions</a>. </span></span></div><div><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: times; font-size: large; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">According to a 2021 ASCD article, what</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">effective principals do, besides manage strategically, is interact with teachers around instruction, build a productive school climate, and</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">facilitate collaboration</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> (<a href="https://www.ascd.org/el/articles/what-great-principals-really-do">“What Great Principals Really Do”</a>, see graphic below)</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">. </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">Jal Mehta and Sarah Fine in their book <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Search-Deeper-Learning-Remake-American-ebook/dp/B07PBLJK33/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2FOW0Y51XB0F&keywords=in+search+of+deeper+learning&qid=1669440832&s=books&sprefix=in+search+of+deeper%2Cstripbooks%2C461&sr=1-1">In Search of Deeper Learning</a></i></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">confirm that in all their observations “the most skilled school leaders used professional learning time to give teachers the kinds of learning</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">experiences that they hoped teachers would recreate in their classrooms” (location 7545). Skillful school leaders are the chief learners and</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">collaborators of their organizations, showing the way for their teachers.</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaCHhbc0GvPvdNy7smA4tYTC4FywgjgLLq92EEzs64e3wMQYLkH0M_b_1uLMnlsZS0sItkn_AKK7Miu738yfztb3zeXZgGKcUOtpQoQA8u5ELDRU3Uw9wzgZoZh8L0MSz1aH4ghARGonigyoy7tYrsPWt-rKVh-RNg7TjQ5YjkAS74-ACQVixdLedC/s1572/What%20Great%20Principals%20Really%20Do.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1178" data-original-width="1572" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaCHhbc0GvPvdNy7smA4tYTC4FywgjgLLq92EEzs64e3wMQYLkH0M_b_1uLMnlsZS0sItkn_AKK7Miu738yfztb3zeXZgGKcUOtpQoQA8u5ELDRU3Uw9wzgZoZh8L0MSz1aH4ghARGonigyoy7tYrsPWt-rKVh-RNg7TjQ5YjkAS74-ACQVixdLedC/w640-h480/What%20Great%20Principals%20Really%20Do.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>(2) Encouraging leaders</b> are ones who provide an environment where teachers know they matter. For example, I’ve worked with leaders who</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">schedule frequent, brief classroom walkthroughs, and follow up with short, specific appreciative comments. This encouraged me. </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">I’ve also</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">worked with leaders who start meetings with 5-minute check-ins. This could involve sharing with a partner, small group, or whole group. The</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">question could be as simple as "What is something that made you smile today?" or as focused as "What is an example of student learning you</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">saw in your class this week?" or as broad as "What was a high and a low from this week?" (See this link for a list of <a href="https://www.teachthought.com/pedagogy/reflection-prompts-for-teacher-well-being/">30 reflection prompts for</a></span><a href="https://www.teachthought.com/pedagogy/reflection-prompts-for-teacher-well-being/"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">teacher well-being</span></a>.<span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">) </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">When teachers are pouring into</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">students’ lives, who is pouring into teachers’ lives? For a deeper dive into helping teachers know they matter, check out the 2021 ASCD article</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> <a href="https://www.ascd.org/el/articles/how-mattering-matters-for-educators">"</a></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><a href="https://www.ascd.org/el/articles/how-mattering-matters-for-educators">How Mattering Matters for Educators."</a> </span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>(3) Christ-centered leaders</b> are ones who can say to teachers,</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ” (<i>NIV</i> I Cor. 11:1). As they do so, they model for teachers what teachers should be doing with their students.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">I have been blessed to work with...</span></span></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">Leaders who have</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">regularly joined morning prayer meetings, praying with and for staff. </span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">Leaders who have started meetings with short devotions, focusing on how</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">their faith informs, motivates, and empowers the way we’re going to deal with the topic at hand. </span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">Leaders who, as they’ve encountered</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">personal and professional successes and setbacks, articulate and embody what it means to be part of a fallen, redeemed, Spirit-empowered</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">community of grace. </span></span></li></ul></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">These leaders weren’t perfect, but they were models of vulnerability and of what it means to be a vital, growing disciple of Jesus in</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">the world of education.</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>(4) Leaders who have a trust-and-inspire mindset</b> are neither micromanagers nor absentee landlords. I recently saw a post on social media in a</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">teacher group, asking whether people preferred leadership that micromanaged teachers or that did not really know or care what teachers were</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">doing. Teachers who were limited to a scripted curriculum or required to submit detailed daily lesson plans longed for freedom, and teachers</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">who were languishing from lack of leadership longed for some attention and connection. </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">A few voices said, “Wait, it doesn’t have to be an</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">either-or choice!” Stephen M. R. Covey calls the third option <a href="https://www.franklincovey.com/books/trust-and-inspire/">trust-and-inspire</a> (instead of command-and-control).</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> It involves leadership modeling (who you are), inspiring (connect to why), and trusting</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">(how you lead). These leaders unleash the best in the people who work for them. And when they are leaders in international Christian schools,</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">they have the opportunity to unleash the best in God’s people, helping these school staff to flourish and to help students flourish</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">.</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>Think of it this way:</b> just as a skillful teacher can</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">help more students to learn more effectively more of the time, so a skillful leader can help more staff to flourish even more, even more of the</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">time. I want staff at international Christian schools to flourish in terms of helpful resources, and my deep hope is that staff are experiencing the most significant resource—</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">skillful, encouraging, Christ-centered leaders who have a </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">trust-and-inspire mindset</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">.</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>How about you?</b> What is your experience with school administration? What are the characteristics of leaders that have helped you flourish?</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">What are the characteristics of leaders you hope the staff at your international Christian school are experiencing?</span></span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; text-size-adjust: auto;" /></div></div>kessenburghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06626460063588288283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1605215065528550855.post-13157112402005625732022-11-18T22:34:00.001-08:002022-11-18T22:40:31.061-08:00Experimenting with Using a Novel to Teach EFL<div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvEvbArJTccs_GwA9-fOmbXT9euOWpIUy0IZWaDEgDuc-BdNamGs82JgsUzpfj50pLzJqf9Qf5Qs2Xpl55sa352vqc4hBvcpfr5LGHMA6wTUVO2DaGbOyEl1-Rs_XxxAJb8HubvMJAMO8CED_eVwTw-PosUAJKL_7fpT-h89WFIllXa5oy6O9iBx48/s4032/ECA1170C-ABE1-4466-9253-9F8836200686.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvEvbArJTccs_GwA9-fOmbXT9euOWpIUy0IZWaDEgDuc-BdNamGs82JgsUzpfj50pLzJqf9Qf5Qs2Xpl55sa352vqc4hBvcpfr5LGHMA6wTUVO2DaGbOyEl1-Rs_XxxAJb8HubvMJAMO8CED_eVwTw-PosUAJKL_7fpT-h89WFIllXa5oy6O9iBx48/w640-h480/ECA1170C-ABE1-4466-9253-9F8836200686.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span></span></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">Student: <i>What is a dozen?</i></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">Me: <i>Twelve.</i></span></span></div>Student: <i>So </i>a dozen<i> means 12—not 11 and 13?</i></span><i><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /></i><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>I answered affirmatively.</b> However, curious as to where the question was coming from, I then looked at the sentence in <i>When My Name Was Keoko</i> by Linda Sue Park that had prompted the student’s</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">question: “I can’t keep still. I stand up a dozen times, go to the door, look toward the gate” (82).</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>I backpedaled:</b> “Actually, it depends on the context. <i>A dozen</i> can mean exactly 12, or it can mean sort of more than 5, but not 20.” I’m constantly amazed at the nuances of English I had never</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">considered in 3 decades of English teaching, even when teaching AP English Comp, before expanding into teaching English as a foreign language (EFL). This is my 3rd year in that role, and my big</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">experiment this term is teaching using an English novel in its original form (not abridged or leveled) to teach an advanced middle school class. It’s been fascinating and fun both for me and for the students.</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>I’m energized by it because teaching literature is my jam—it’s what I’m knowledgeable about and experienced in</b>. And even at that (and having taught the novel last year to the combined 6th and</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">7th grade ELA class) I’m learning things about language, about style, and about this story reading it slowly (5 pages per day—fewer at the outset), out loud, with inquisitive companions.</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><b><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">For instance, I’d never realized that as the point of view alternates between two narrators, the sister (Sun-hee) tells the story in past tense, and the brother (Tae-yul) tells the story in present</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span></b><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>tense.</b> We’ve had interesting discussions about why the author might have done that (my theory is that it communicates the methodical or impulsive nature of the characters) as well as when we</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">use present tense in English, and the importance of being consistent with verb tense. </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>The students are learning vocabulary, pronunciation, grammar, reading strategies, and they are having meaningful discussions</b></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>.</b> Here's how we tie each of those in.</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>(1) Vocabulary</b></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>:</b> As we read, we stop frequently for students to ask questions and clarify confusion. When the question is about the meaning of a word, I explain it. If it seems like a pretty significant word, or if</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">this is the third time the same word has been asked about, I’ll write it on the board for a possible vocabulary word. Every Wednesday we finalize a list of 10, Thursday we play a review game,</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">and Friday there’s a quiz.</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>(2) Pronunciation</b></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>:</b> Because we’re taking turns reading aloud, it’s great pronunciation practice. It’s a small class with a high level of trust, so no one is feeling embarrassed. The other day one</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">student was determined to master <i>deliberately</i> (<i>l, b</i>, and <i>r</i> all being difficult English sounds for a Japanese speaker). I'm able to reinforce things like the significance of doubled consonants (staring/starring) and whether the context of the word <i>read</i> puts it in present or past tense.</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>(3) Grammar</b></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>:</b> I've cross-checking the standards I’m supposed to teach, areas for growth I’ve noticed,</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">and questions students ask as we read to choose a list: adverbs of frequency,</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">gerunds/infinitives, count/non-count nouns, passive verbs. We spend 10-15 minutes per day on worksheets from </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><a href="http://Teach-This.com">Teach-This.com</a></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> or a chapter from a textbook resource.</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">We notice when the pattern comes up in the novel. The novel has also offered great opportunities to review perfect tenses from last term (especially past perfect!). And cloze exercises from</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">yesterday’s reading are a quick opportunity for review. (I copy a paragraph or two from the novel and whiteout articles, or prepositions, or verbs.)</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>(4) Reading strategies:</b> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">We reviewed these last term (the students remembered learning them the previous year), and now we are becoming quite proficient in using them.</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>Asking questions:</b> These can range from clarifying vocabulary to uncovering motivation to probing plot holes. What does recite mean? How old is Sun-hee now? Why didn’t Tae-yup tell Abuji?</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">And the one that stumped me (<i>spoiler alert!</i>): How did the Japanese soldiers not find the rose of Sharon tree hidden in the shed when they searched for Uncle while the rest of the family</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">stood in the street for 2 hours? (See this <a href="https://kimessenburg.blogspot.com/2022/10/when-student-questions-ignite-thinking.html">blog post</a> for a list of questions asked one class last month.)</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>Making predictions:</b> What will happen next? I love hearing the rapid intake of breath or the giggle that means someone has already made a guess.</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>Making inferences:</b> <i>(Spoiler alert!)</i> Friday we just read the chapter where Sun-hee decipher's the true meanings in Tae-yul's first letter past the military censors. Talk about a master class in making inferences! </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>Summarizing:</b> At the end of a day’s reading or the next day before picking up the reading again: What happened today? What happened yesterday?</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>Making connections:</b> Many of these are to the historical background they already know about the war, or noting similarities and differences in Japanese and Korean culture. But there’s also just</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">the way families and friends interact.</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>Envisioning images:</b> Sometimes students ask, “What just happened?” and I end up acting it out, like “Abuji was pacing back and forth in great agitation” (113). Sometimes Google images works</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">better, like for World War 2 army kit bag or the “topknot” describing the grandfather’s traditional hair style.</span></span></li></ul><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>(5) Meaningful Discussions:</b></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> Reading a significant work together gives rise to discussions on meaningful topics. Gratitude—What do you have in your daily life that these characters would be</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">grateful for? Difficult choices—What would you risk your life for? Empathy—How does reading this help you understand your neighbors who you are to love? Character—Which characters do</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">you admire? Why? Individuality—How do different characters show the same characteristic in different ways? Identity—What makes each character unique? What makes you unique?</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /></span><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><b>My students and I may both be enjoying the novel study, but is it effective for their English learning?</b> Great question. A week ago they took the TOEFL Jr. Test. My school administers it about a month before the end of each trimester. My students came to class afterward grinning. When I asked them how it had gone, they said, "Perfect!" When I asked for specifics, they said the reading comprehension part was so much easier than last term. So, I'm encouraged. And I'm really interested in seeing the actual scores when they come in. But if they think they're learning, that's pretty good in my book. My experiment is paying off!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><b>How about you?</b> What experiment are you trying to lean into your strengths to help your students grow? </span></p>kessenburghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06626460063588288283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1605215065528550855.post-48962672392662216172022-11-11T22:38:00.006-08:002022-11-25T23:18:40.319-08:00What Is the Most Significant Resource for Helping Students Flourish?<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsZnoczJsiQcL81rDm_CjxYmZCqiTa4B8s3N7j7euQ8tALdmo60WFohSbtMqes6kGoW0NMdTvBYKakEmRSONhWqPItq3QN02MMXG5kFSQmd_HL-yNL0AsBrm6nRyeUWch86fwcLVdVyQpvv6viZBNCIdkVf_jgWKZRxrUd8IoUvbVL43ju-jEwFk9l/s5472/hans-reniers-lQGJCMY5qcM-unsplash.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsZnoczJsiQcL81rDm_CjxYmZCqiTa4B8s3N7j7euQ8tALdmo60WFohSbtMqes6kGoW0NMdTvBYKakEmRSONhWqPItq3QN02MMXG5kFSQmd_HL-yNL0AsBrm6nRyeUWch86fwcLVdVyQpvv6viZBNCIdkVf_jgWKZRxrUd8IoUvbVL43ju-jEwFk9l/w640-h426/hans-reniers-lQGJCMY5qcM-unsplash.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@hansreniers?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Hans Reniers</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/s/photos/chemistry-class?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Unsplash</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><br /></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>Some things I find scary: </b></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>spiders, making phone calls in Japanese, and teaching a subject area or age group I am not an expert in.</b> That</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">doesn’t mean I haven’t done it, or can’t gain expertise. When my children were small, I played the part of the fearless superhero who rescued</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">them from terrifying arachnids. Last year when I asked my EFL students to commit to an action that would increase language</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">learning, I committed to answering the phone in the teachers’ office in Japanese. And over the last 35 years, I’ve taught many subjects</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">and levels, including PE to 6-year-olds and chemistry to 18-year-olds.</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>Teaching that chemistry class for one quarter on an emergency basis was easily the scariest.</b> It wasn't all that great for the students, either. In fact, I’d be the first to say that those students did not get the science</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">education that I hope for students. Secondary English language arts is my area of expertise and experience. When I am teaching it, my</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">understanding of my students, the deep structures of my subject matter, and how to connect the two energizes me and fills me with joy. That’s</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">when I am the most helpful resource for my students.</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>Does that sound odd, to speak of the teacher as a resource? </b>When I think of educational resources, I tend to think of the accoutrements—the</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">library, the science lab, the gym, band instruments, technology, even textbooks. But in reality, the teacher is the most influential resource in a</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">student’s experience. That’s both encouraging and sobering. Those other accoutrements are largely outside of my control, and some of them</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">may not even be within the realm of current possibility for a given school at a particular time. But teachers—well, without them, there is no</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">school!</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><b><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">When I say I want students to flourish in terms of helpful resources, my deep hope is not for a well-stocked library or 1-to-1 Chromebooks</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span></b><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>(though both of those things are significant tools).</b> My deep hope is that they are experiencing qualified, joyful, Christ-centered staff who have</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">a best-practice mindset. What does that look like?</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>(1) Qualified staff </b></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>means teachers who understand their subject area, possess a set of pedagogical tools, and have experience. </b>There are, of</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">course, exceptions. I’ve known a fantastic math teacher who didn’t major in math or graduate from a teacher training program. While I know</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">that I’m a much better teacher now that I was 35 years ago, fresh out of college, I’d never have gotten here without starting somewhere. And</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">while I didn’t give those chemistry students the quarter of learning I’d wish for them, it was better than no teacher! Emergencies and</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">exigencies happen, adjustments are made, gifts are uncovered, and experience accrues. But consistently having teachers without field</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">knowledge, pedagogical competence, and experience—that is not what I would wish for my own children, not what any parents wish for their children, not what any school would plan on promising to its students. To</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">increase the likelihood of students experiencing excellent staff, ACSI puts it this way: “New teacher hires are credentialed (educationally and</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">licensed/certified) and have classroom experience” (<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1wLyA_imFokYAX_-xckp0enTMlPTzf6gO/view">Flourishing Schools: Research on Christian School Culture and Community</a>, p. 17).</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>(2) Joyful staff</b></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b> enjoy the stuff of their field, the children in their charge, and the opportunity to induct those children into the work of that field.</b> Joy</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">has many different expressions. It doesn’t have to be fireworks and <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/world-cup/2010-world-cup-south-africa-vuvuzelas-a9563661.html">vuvuzelas</a> (see video): </span></span><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bKCIFXqhLzo" width="320" youtube-src-id="bKCIFXqhLzo"></iframe></div><br /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">But if I don’t enjoy my field, then why would a student be</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">attracted to learning about it? Dave Stuart Jr. calls it being <a href="https://davestuartjr.com/an-apologist-winsome-and-sure-caroline-ongs-math-is-beautiful-high-horse-example/">“an apologist winsome and sure.”</a> The world is an amazing place, filled with</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">amazing people, who have explored and thought deeply about it, and we can invite our students, the amazing, potential-filled beings in front</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">of us, to join that exploration and thinking in ways that celebrate the beauty, expand the possibilities, love our neighbors, and heal the</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">brokenness.</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: bold; text-size-adjust: auto;">(3) Christ-centered staff</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b> use renewed minds to cultivate a learning community and to think about their discipline</b><b>. </b></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">Cultivating a learning community with a renewed mind includes living the community that Jesus’ resurrection empowers, and extending the</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">grace I receive daily to my students as we learn together about God, his world, and our place in it.</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">Thinking about my discipline with a renewed mind includes humility, critical thinking, hope, and love that ask questions like…</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><ul><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">How does the stuff of my discipline fill me with awe for the Creator and joy in his good gifts?</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">How does the stuff of my discipline demonstrate sin’s vandalism of the good and the ways people turn away from God, create their own</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">kingdoms, and misuse and abuse creation, including their fellow people?</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">How does Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection change the way I see and work in my discipline?</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">What will the stuff of my discipline look like in the new heaven and new earth, and how can I be part of bringing that now?</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span></span></li></ul><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">(See </span><a href="https://kimessenburg.blogspot.com/2016/07/a-magnificent-messy-mission.html" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">this blog post</a><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> for some answers to the questions from 12 fields.)</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>(4) Staff with best practice orientation </b></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>know that their pedagogical practices can always be honed.</b> They also know that they don’t have to do</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">everything now. My mother-in-law gave me some invaluable advice early in my career: if you just add one new teaching practice per year, in</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">10 years, you’ll have mastered 10 new teaching practices! In the last few years I’ve added <a href="https://kimessenburg.blogspot.com/2021/02/independent-reading-keeping-students.html">independent reading</a>, <a href="https://kimessenburg.blogspot.com/search/label/POP">teaching grammar in context</a>,</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">and transforming into an <a href="https://kimessenburg.blogspot.com/search/label/ESL">EFL teacher</a>. How do I know what to choose? Join a professional organization (like <a href="https://www.ascd.org/">ASCD</a>). Pick one book (I find staff</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><a href="https://kimessenburg.blogspot.com/2021/07/9-components-of-book-discussion.html">book discussions</a> to be my best form of professional development!). Subscribe to a newsletter (like <a href="https://www.smartbrief.com/signupSystem/subscribe.action?pageSequence=1&briefName=middleweb">MiddleWeb SmartBrief</a>). Read a blog (like</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><a href="https://davestuartjr.com/archives/">Dave Stuart Jr.</a>). Listen to a podcast (like <a href="https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/">Cult of Pedagogy</a>). Follow an educator on Twitter (like Larry Ferlazzo @Larryferlazzo). </span></span><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>I hope I never have to teach chemistry again.</b> I hope no student ever has to experience my chemistry teaching again. I hope students at international Christian schools </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">get to experience qualified, joyful, Christ-centered staff who have</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">a best-practice mindset.</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> </span></span></div><div><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><b>How about you?</b> What scares you? When are you the best resource for your students? In your experience, what kind of staff help students flourish? What are the characteristics of the staff you hope the students at your international Christian school are experiencing? </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> </span></span></div></div></div>kessenburghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06626460063588288283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1605215065528550855.post-57851176337558477742022-11-05T01:30:00.005-07:002022-11-05T02:58:31.830-07:00Being "Deeply Intertwined" with My Area of Expertise<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmn9gZm3GVyIJjXUnGix8Ex3tuojjT1XvtqI0g5o5UjtaaUx7y3Aqv-6mFnlxavz6a1A4oawx4qWy9jcSN2_lD-dCKY2McF_8VZpy-oLPEgemTIQgUv5Be7VQxugUylH1scqsxybdNCIZ5Dq7ll_nbfwWoE6mUfENAIPx7rL8dB1eW0BE_5vmOmIdq/s4032/IMG-1932.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2002" data-original-width="4032" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmn9gZm3GVyIJjXUnGix8Ex3tuojjT1XvtqI0g5o5UjtaaUx7y3Aqv-6mFnlxavz6a1A4oawx4qWy9jcSN2_lD-dCKY2McF_8VZpy-oLPEgemTIQgUv5Be7VQxugUylH1scqsxybdNCIZ5Dq7ll_nbfwWoE6mUfENAIPx7rL8dB1eW0BE_5vmOmIdq/w640-h318/IMG-1932.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /></div><p></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><div><b>What did you do on fall break?</b></div><div><br /></div><b>I get the thing about work-life balance—I really do.</b> I didn’t do any lesson planning or grading. I did do a lot of fun things. And some of the fun things I did involved reading and writing. Like writing</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">this blog. One of the great things about being a teacher is getting to share with students the things that I love about my area, getting to induct them into the coolness of reading and writing.</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">So, here are some of the cool things I did, including (but not limited to) reading and writing!</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>I ate fun food</b>--like afternoon tea and really good Mexican food in downtown Kyoto.</span></span></li><li><span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>I went for long walks with my husband</b> to enjoy the perfect fall weather here and breathe in the fall sights—the last of the rice harvest being brought in, brilliant orange persimmons dangling on</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">bare branches against a blue sky, and flaming golden gingko trees. (While we walked, we also may have talked about another blog I'm working on, as well as some blogs he is working on.)</span></span></li><li><span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>I talked with family</b>--my dad on Skype, my daughter on Facebook, and my grandkids on Readeo. (I also saw lots of grandkid pictures on Instagram!)</span></span></li><li><span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>I read my new issue of the <i>School Library Journal</i></b> and found a couple of new books for my to-read list.</span></span></li><li><span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>I got my 4th COVID vaccination</b> (2nd booster) and spent the next day lying in bed reading. (Who doesn’t love an excuse for doing that! Worth the body aches and fatigue.)</span></span></li><li><span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>I watched a Nerdy Book Club <a href="https://www.facebook.com/nerdybookclub/videos/483356336911632">podcast</a></b> by Donalyn Miller and Colby Sharp about introducing books to kids and found a</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">couple of new books for my to-read list.</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span></span></li><li><span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>I browsed an English bookstore</b> (a holiday treat here in Japan!) and came across the book <i>So Far from the Bamboo Grove</i> by Yoko Kawashima Watkins. It’s the author’s story of fleeing her</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">home in northern Korea at the end of World War 2 as a young child with her mother and older sister, and returning as a refugee to her unknown homeland of Japan. Great to pair with <i>When My</i></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><i> </i></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><i>Name Was Keoko</i> by Linda Sue Park, historical fiction about a Korean family during the Japanese occupation, which is in my middle school curriculum.</span></span></li><li><span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>Besides that I also read…</b></span></span></li><ul><li><span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Living-Full-View-God-Grace-ebook/dp/B0B6617SQ3/ref=sr_1_1?crid=DGAJZ2O72FL9&keywords=living+in+full+view+of+the+god+of+grace&qid=1667633869&qu=eyJxc2MiOiIxLjc4IiwicXNhIjoiMS41MCIsInFzcCI6IjEuNTkifQ==&s=books&sprefix=living+in+full+,stripbooks,287&sr=1-1">Living in Full View of the God of Grace</a></i> by my friend Bruce Young</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">, long time Japan missionaries, which came out November 1.</span></span></li><li><span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Motivational-Strategies-Language-Classroom-Cambridge/dp/0521793777/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3U3GY1YZHH7QM&keywords=motivational+strategies+for+the+language+classroom&qid=1667634025&s=books&sprefix=motivational+strategies+for+the+language+classroom,stripbooks,239&sr=1-1&ufe=app_do:amzn1.fos.006c50ae-5d4c-4777-9bc0-4513d670b6bc">Motivational Strategies in the Language Classroom</a></i> by Zoltan Dornyei</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> in preparation for a department discussion next week.</span></span></li><li><span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Trash-Andy-Mulligan-ebook/dp/B003F3PMBQ/ref=sr_1_1?crid=I2E589A097KL&keywords=trash+by+andy+mulligan&qid=1667634123&qu=eyJxc2MiOiIxLjMzIiwicXNhIjoiMC44NCIsInFzcCI6IjAuODkifQ%3D%3D&s=books&sprefix=trash+by%2Cstripbooks%2C266&sr=1-1">Trash</a></i> by Andy Mulligan</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">—a story that will open kids’ eyes to poverty and political corruption in the Philippines, but also give them a happy ending.</span></span></li><li><span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Resistance-Jennifer-Nielsen-ebook/dp/B078TMSKL3/ref=sr_1_1?crid=T4I3FMXGTGVT&keywords=resistance+by+jennifer+nielsen&qid=1667634308&qu=eyJxc2MiOiIxLjU1IiwicXNhIjoiMS4wNiIsInFzcCI6IjEuMDIifQ%3D%3D&s=books&sprefix=resistance+by+j%2Cstripbooks%2C246&sr=1-1">Resistance</a></i> by Jennifer Nielsen</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">. I’ve recently discovered this great writer of middle grades European historical fiction, and I have a student who is also a fan. This story of the Warsaw Ghetto</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">Uprising is the best of the three I’ve read!</span></span></li><li><span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Omar-Rising-Aisha-Saeed-ebook/dp/B093YRDGKY/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3OBXOYECFIOQ0&keywords=omar+rising+by+aisha+saeed&qid=1667634484&qu=eyJxc2MiOiIxLjI4IiwicXNhIjoiMS4wNiIsInFzcCI6IjAuOTUifQ%3D%3D&s=books&sprefix=omar+rising%2Cstripbooks%2C242&sr=1-1">Omar Rising</a></i> by Aisha Saeed</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">. I loved Amal Unbound, and this companion book about Amal’s friend, Omar, confronting his own injustice in their corner of Pakistan is another great, hope filled</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">story.</span></span></li><li><span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Wizard-Earthsea-Cycle-Book-ebook/dp/B008T9L6AM/ref=sr_1_1?crid=37T51EE20H9O1&keywords=the+wizard+of+earthsea&qid=1667634738&qu=eyJxc2MiOiIyLjg5IiwicXNhIjoiMi40OSIsInFzcCI6IjIuNDkifQ%3D%3D&s=books&sprefix=the+wizard+of+earth%2Cstripbooks%2C244&sr=1-1">The Wizard of Earthsea</a></i> by Ursula LeGuin</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">. I read this classic a long time ago, and wanted to revisit it before passing it on to a student who was interested.</span></span></li></ul></ul>In </span><i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Search-Deeper-Learning-Remake-American-ebook/dp/B07PBLJK33/ref=sr_1_1?crid=39Y32Y22XYGE9&keywords=in+search+of+deeper+learning&qid=1667635902&qu=eyJxc2MiOiIxLjM2IiwicXNhIjoiMS4xMSIsInFzcCI6IjEuMzMifQ%3D%3D&s=books&sprefix=in+search+of+deeper%2Cstripbooks%2C276&sr=1-1" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">In Search of Deeper Learning: The Quest to Remake the American High School</a> </i><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Jal Mehta and Sarah Fine quote the administrator of one of their model schools: "</span><span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">…[T]he school’s best teachers are those whose areas of teaching expertise are deeply intertwined with their out-of-school identities….I want know what [job candidates] are doing</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">on weekends. If they have tools in their hands on a weekend, that’s the engineering teacher I want. If they’re a working artist, that’s the art teacher I want. I don’t want somebody</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">who’s just teaching it. I want someone who’s got to do it" (Location 1689</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">). </span></span></span><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>This is what it looks like for me.</b> What does it look like for you to maintain a work-life balance and yet have an area "of teaching expertise...deeply intertwined with [your] out-of-school identit[y]"? </span></span></div>kessenburghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06626460063588288283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1605215065528550855.post-65265638074466025732022-10-28T22:06:00.002-07:002022-10-28T23:27:53.001-07:00 Committing to a Book Club Experiment<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ-4dNct4j5V7vWeUq8BuiXCnBvEepK67R_d9jytL0getwkN2OQnoAPPUiEUIqnaxs7FAgUYYorvYVAnuZ7OHuO2W0MBo1jxMRJ8EiYLFnM3NgPlVPd7v-iOl6tBg1dn_KCNILYLPJfO8BfpkkBc-K38KMMDKT_c-yJsWrIDzLYrdkdVQ_mKmqRvFq/s4032/IMG-1907.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1976" data-original-width="4032" height="314" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ-4dNct4j5V7vWeUq8BuiXCnBvEepK67R_d9jytL0getwkN2OQnoAPPUiEUIqnaxs7FAgUYYorvYVAnuZ7OHuO2W0MBo1jxMRJ8EiYLFnM3NgPlVPd7v-iOl6tBg1dn_KCNILYLPJfO8BfpkkBc-K38KMMDKT_c-yJsWrIDzLYrdkdVQ_mKmqRvFq/w640-h314/IMG-1907.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>I know I’m late to teaching with book clubs. </b>But I'm finally getting on board for an experiment, and I'm really excited about it. </span></span><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>Why has it taken me so long?</b> I really like whole class novels. I’m good at selling it—I don't have a problem with buy-in. R</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">eading, discussing, and writing about the same significant topic builds a rich class culture. And even with whole class novels, I value teaching readers, not the novel, giving readers a pattern for capturing the way they use reading strategies, the questions they have, the</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">images they envision, the great quotes and writing moves they come across as they read—so they can remember them for the next day’s discussion</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">—<a href="https://kimessenburg.blogspot.com/2020/09/six-questions-for-growing-readers.html">equipping readers</a> not just with knowledge about a given book, but with the skills, strategies, and confidence to read other books</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">. </span></span><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><b><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">Still, I kept hearing about this great pedagogical approach of</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span></b><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>using book clubs</b>—giving students choice and agency—and it sounded great, like what real readers do. I wanted to try it—I really did. But what I was already doing was going well, so I didn’t really want to</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">lose <a href="https://kimessenburg.blogspot.com/2022/01/increase-global-connectedness-with-books.html">any of the novels</a> I was already teaching</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">—</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><i><a href="https://kimessenburg.blogspot.com/2020/09/six-questions-for-growing-readers.html">Wonder</a></i>, <i>Ghost Boys</i>, <i><a href="https://kimessenburg.blogspot.com/2021/01/processing-current-events-through.html">A Long Walk to Water</a></i>, and <i><a href="https://kimessenburg.blogspot.com/2022/02/where-im-from-poems-to-explore.html">When My Name Was Keoko</a></i>. </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>Enter this year’s combined 6/7 class.</b> Two years ago when I first taught <i>Wonder</i>, not a single student had read it. Last year when I taught the 4/5 class, I had noticed <i>Wonder</i> circulating. So</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> this year I asked how many had read it, and over half of the hands in the class went up. I</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">had 3 thoughts simultaneously: </span></span></div><div><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>Bummer</b>—I won’t get to have the experience of introducing it to these kids! </span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>Wow</b>—That’s an amazing indicator for how a reading culture has grown in 2 years! </span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>Hmmm</b></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">—This could be t</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">he</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">perfect opportunity to try out book clubs with one of the options being <i>Wonder</i>!</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span></span></li></ol><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDCUioRTr10DsiaUec_ncDUoiiraVDKYdzh1ljJ0g59casLDk9BWYbPb76v3sgeclxPLvzCTLAPGnSSiC84rMrxk84LYymuCZDP0WGOWMkdWpgjetQJRkkQxVKQ0tfqvg05i2TU6Zg-3wg1vDdg2ILxOvrv1shweytyeOBqJ9Ix_HD-QW28bpRivrj/s4032/54AF6000-919B-411C-B0F8-B4EBBAAE7A33.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDCUioRTr10DsiaUec_ncDUoiiraVDKYdzh1ljJ0g59casLDk9BWYbPb76v3sgeclxPLvzCTLAPGnSSiC84rMrxk84LYymuCZDP0WGOWMkdWpgjetQJRkkQxVKQ0tfqvg05i2TU6Zg-3wg1vDdg2ILxOvrv1shweytyeOBqJ9Ix_HD-QW28bpRivrj/w640-h480/54AF6000-919B-411C-B0F8-B4EBBAAE7A33.jpeg" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>What are book clubs?</b> Also known at literary circles, book clubs offer choice, peer accountability, and an authentic reading experience. A selection of books, usually with something in common (topic, genre, author, etc.), is offered for study. Students choose the</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">book that best fits their ability and interest, and the group reading a given book sets their own schedule (within the teacher's parameters) for reading and discussing. </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><b><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">During the study, the teacher can teach</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span></b><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>whole-class mini-lessons that apply across works.</b> The mini-lessons can be on discussion skills (like how to respectfully disagree), reading strategies (like making inferences), or literary content (like</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">characterization, plot structure, or symbolism). Students then apply the mini-lesson in their small group discussion that day. When the study is finished, students can compare the different books they’ve read.</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>Yesterday, I ordered the books for the winter term’s book clubs.</b> We’re doing this!</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>I decided on the topic resilience.</b> Then I hunted for additional books on the same topic that have a modern setting, but a variety of reading levels, cultures, and both male and female</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">protagonists represented. Here are the choices I came up with:</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b><i>Wonder</i> by R.J. Palacio:</b> Auggie is a boy born with severe facial deformities who has always been homeschooled due to the need for frequent hospitalization. This novel follows him as he</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">navigates his first year in school. It deals with bullying, friendship, growing up, and so much more.</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b><i>Because of Winn-Dixie</i> by Kate DiCamillo:</b> This is a classic while also being the shortest and easiest reading level, specially picked for my many English learners who may be intimidated by the</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">size of the other books. It still offers many opportunities for deep and critical thinking as the stray dog Winn-Dixie leads Opal into choices that build empathy and community.</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b><i>While I Was Away</i> by Waka T. Brown: </b>This is a true story about when the Japanese-American author’s parents sent her to Japan for 5 months to be reintroduced to her heritage, live with her</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">grandmother, and attend the local public school.</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b><i>Caterpillar Summer</i> by Gillian McDunn: </b>Cat takes good care of her little brother Chicken while their mom is busy working since their dad’s death. Then summer child care plans fall apart and the</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">children are suddenly dropped off at the home of their mom’s parents—who they’ve never met—on an island on the Atlantic coast of the US. Cat learns a lot about family, friends, and the variety</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">of ways that people connect and reconnect. </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b><i>Dan Unmasked</i> by Chris Negron:</b> Dan’s world is baseball, superhero comics, and his best friend Nate. Until an accident at baseball practice leaves Nate in a coma. Nate was always the heroic</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">one. For Nate's sake, can Dan be the one to pull people together now?</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span></span></li></ul><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>On 2 consecutive Fridays I spent a good chunk of the period introducing my students to the book choices.</b> I read aloud the</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">first couple of pages to give a feel for the style and reading level. And I put up a poster with Amazon reviews and left out a display of the books students could examine more closely during independent reading time. Finally, I asked students to</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">rate their top 3 selections.</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>All students but one got their first choice. </b>That was because only one student picked <i>While I Was Away</i> for a top choice. I was surprised because I thought that being in Japan and largely Japanese, my students would really connect with that story. Maybe it was too much like daily life?</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><b>The final distribution looked like this:<br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /></b><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><i>Because of Winn-Dixie</i>: 7 (All of them 6th graders, so a good grouping, though the reason they gave was mostly because they liked dogs!)</span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><i>Wonder</i>: 5 (Still a good chunk here--yay! One student said that even though she'd already read it, she'd loved it so much she wanted to discuss it with others.)</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><i>Caterpillar Summer</i>: 2 (Both avid readers, so this will be very fun for them, I think!)</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><i>Dan Unmasked</i>: 2 (Both very competitive boys who tend to read ahead and, intentionally or unintentionally, deliver spoilers. It will be interesting to see how they work together!)</span></span></li></ul></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><b>It's been an interesting experiment already, and I think we're all looking forward to continuing it next term! </b></span><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">Resources I'm using include the following by Lesley Roessing: </span></div><div><ul><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.literacywithlesley.com/blog/the-5-steps-of-facilitating-book-clubs?fbclid=IwAR1PxYVvBVpeyaP_83yaeEe9TIa3zX3PPEjuPsKZ02u66QM_t6guFDHAUSY">The 5 Steps of Facilitating Book Clubs</a> (blog post)</span></li><li><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Talking-Texts-Lesley-Roessing/dp/1475834586/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3F5K8QHL4ML1N&keywords=talking+texts&qid=1667024598&qu=eyJxc2MiOiIwLjAwIiwicXNhIjoiMC4wMCIsInFzcCI6IjAuMDAifQ%3D%3D&s=books&sprefix=talking+texts%2Cstripbooks%2C260&sr=1-1">Talking Texts: A Teacher's Guide to Book Clubs across the Curriculum</a></i> (book)</span></li></ul></div></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><b>How about you?</b> What is your experience with book clubs? Any advice for me?</span></div><div><br /></div>kessenburghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06626460063588288283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1605215065528550855.post-70855398078230651312022-10-21T23:51:00.003-07:002022-10-22T01:13:25.084-07:00The Awesome Peculiarity of Language<p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKUNfxEQ-BFFo4LqvXAcBFh6gFc1Aby4VJMn53AUGUCqi1pFBhbvw4W72RSum7LDgjhnoNfGKKXaLEd7juUCpgmYoCuJlmdaSLsO018yL5btoAqpbouR-YMZTz3JMaCu5uPm1mh3cluU2mkZVYgrMhHzlIXHolfChkqiR9SHveErOLEh9qQxfhRat6/s2448/jacqueline-brandwayn-S8MSj5VzHxQ-unsplash.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2448" data-original-width="2448" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKUNfxEQ-BFFo4LqvXAcBFh6gFc1Aby4VJMn53AUGUCqi1pFBhbvw4W72RSum7LDgjhnoNfGKKXaLEd7juUCpgmYoCuJlmdaSLsO018yL5btoAqpbouR-YMZTz3JMaCu5uPm1mh3cluU2mkZVYgrMhHzlIXHolfChkqiR9SHveErOLEh9qQxfhRat6/w640-h640/jacqueline-brandwayn-S8MSj5VzHxQ-unsplash.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@lajaxx?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">JACQUELINE BRANDWAYN</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/s/photos/language?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Unsplash</a></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>“What does ‘display’ mean?” one of my 8th grade English learners asked.</b> I answered, “To show.” He and his friend stared at me in disbelief. Wondering why it was so hard to understand, I</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">asked them to show me the sentence they’d found it in. It read, “He displayed his new toy.” To befuddle matters even further, “displayed” came at the end of a line and didn’t quite fit, so it was</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">hyphenated with “dis-” on one line and “-played” on the next. It had never before occurred to me to think that “display” could be perceived to have a negative prefix like “displace” or</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">“discontinue.” These two boys were clearly perceiving that. Especially because the sentence was about a toy! It seemed a whole lot more likely to them that the character had stopped playing</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">with it.</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>There is nothing like working with language learners to help me appreciate the awesome peculiarity of language in general and English in particular.</b> The wonder of communication, the disaster of</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">Babel's fragmentation, the fascinating array of language systems that humans have developed, and the beautiful determination of people reaching across those divides to learn to think as</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">strangers think and come to love them. Still, the struggle is real, and it surfaces at unexpected times. A class primed for curiosity and laughter is the best antidote to the frustration that always lurks.</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">This happens daily in my EFL class. Let me share a couple of examples from this past week.</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>Every time we read in our novel about the character or his uncle going to the workshop, one of the students would ask, “They have that at their house?”</b> I would explain that it was a room with</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">tools where they worked on the bicycle and other things. The next time we read “workshop,” the same student asked the same question. I finally realized that the confusion was being caused by</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">the word “shop.” He was picturing a store. I guess we could call it a work space, or work place, but that could just as easily be an office, sewing area, or kitchen. When we finally clarified that</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">“workshop” was not a store, he asked,“What do you call a shop that sells tools?” “A hardware store.” Which makes no sense in this computer age.</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>In the workshop, the character was making bowls out of gourds.</b> After a long discussion about what gourds were (Google Image is my immediate go-to resource), whether pumpkins were gourds, and</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">which was the bigger category—squash or gourd (these students are scientists and never run out of questions!), one student finally asked why I was making such a small cup of my hands when</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">I was talking about the bowls. I said that I was picturing rice bowls or soup bowls. He said, “We only call big ones bowls.” I said, “It <i>could</i> be a serving bowl.” He said, “Not a serving bowl. We</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">don’t have serving bowls in Japan. The meal is brought out in small dishes. A big bowl for mixing.” While Americans may have many sizes and shapes of curved food containers designated</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">“bowls,” Japanese has a special name for each from <i>chawan</i> (rice bowl) to <i>misodonburi</i> (soup bowl).</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>The previous week, a student asked for a “Hotchkiss” (Japanese: <i>hoh-chee-kee-su</i>)—a stapler.</b> Hotchkiss was a company that produced staplers (like Kleenex for facial tissues in American</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">English, or hoover for vacuum cleaner in British English). I wrote on the board: staple (noun/verb); stapler (noun). One of the students asked what the “staple” noun was. I clicked the stapler,</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">caught the staple that came out in my hand, and held it out to him. He said, “So, like a paper clip?” Nope, only this little piece of metal that comes out of a stapler. He looked at me incredulously</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">and said, “There isn’t any other meaning?” I hesitated and ventured, “Well, there is one other meaning, but it is totally different. Do you want to know it?” He shook his head. We’ll save “main food” for</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">a different day.</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>Another day we read the sentence “I skid to a stop and turn the bike partway around.”</b> First a student asked what “skid” means. I mimed squeezing handbrakes, coming to a sudden halt, and pointed to the</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">place there are black tire marks on the ground. “Ah! ‘<i>Drift</i>,’” he said. I’m familiar with the concept of the movie <i>Tokyo Drift</i>, but I assure the class that while this IS English, it is a very specialized</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">term, and if they tell an English speaker that their bike drifted, they will more likely communicate aimlessness and slowness than power and speed. I’m not sure they believed me.</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>Next, we established the fact that while “bike” (<i>baiku</i>) in Japanese means “motor bike” or “motorcycle,” it is an exact simile for “bicycle” in English (<i>jitensha</i> in Japanese).</b> Even these advanced</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">students had trouble wrapping their brains around that. I told them how confused I was when I first came to Japan, such a law-abiding country, and saw everyone riding their bicycles on paths</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">clearly marked “No bikes.” </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>The curiosities of language are endless.</b> Here are a few more that have actually come up in class in the last few weeks. While "I love <i>to</i> eat" and "I enjoy eat<i>ing</i>" mean the same thing, if you stop eat<i>ing</i>, you</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">don’t eat; if you stop <i>to</i> eat, you do eat. Sometimes one form of a word is related, but others are not: <i>emergency</i> is similar to <i>urgency</i>, but <i>emergent</i> has nothing to do with <i>urgent</i>. Sometimes the presence</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">or absence of <i>a </i>creates a different meaning: I have a few friends (yay!) vs. I have few friends (boo!).</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>Isn’t language amazing?</b> Aren’t our students who tackle learning a new one amazing, too?</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>What language curiosities have you been fascinated with recently?</b></span></span>kessenburghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06626460063588288283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1605215065528550855.post-75374068730873691642022-10-14T22:31:00.001-07:002022-10-14T22:31:56.203-07:006 Moments: Sharing Bookish Joy<p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqgVglJeFyMrabIpYf6Zv7QHYMMmoDuYDUo17Ala7IkCjLzhGMLoGQphNccLhke9oaUHJYXuhN_CEfwm8apWay1W3aLSq5GVE4PsuPocP6feIcFVr7xr8Vxim3zAJnAh_o6mkXodjCM356YSckCf3YOvnE0jYexF9a5jniim1wQeec9uhSs7AKVPge/s4032/B356EEA1-29C4-4183-B991-827E507D5FA8.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqgVglJeFyMrabIpYf6Zv7QHYMMmoDuYDUo17Ala7IkCjLzhGMLoGQphNccLhke9oaUHJYXuhN_CEfwm8apWay1W3aLSq5GVE4PsuPocP6feIcFVr7xr8Vxim3zAJnAh_o6mkXodjCM356YSckCf3YOvnE0jYexF9a5jniim1wQeec9uhSs7AKVPge/w640-h480/B356EEA1-29C4-4183-B991-827E507D5FA8.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /> </span><p></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>A couple of days ago I saw this post in a Facebook group for middle school teachers:</b> “Been a rough week. I need some positivity. Tell me 1 thing about your job as a middle school educator that</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">you really love.” In one hour, there were 47 comments, and only one of them was negative (“Nothing”). I was impressed that the poster had the impulse to reach out for other people’s joy rather than vent, and</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">that so many others were so ready to share their joy.</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>That set me to looking for the moments that gave me joy.</b> One of the things I really love is sharing books with students and seeing them grow in their independent reading lives. Here are some of those moments from this</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">week:</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>(1) A 6th grader waved me over during independent reading time because she was so excited</b> she’d discovered a comment from the author of the class novel we’re reading (<i>A Long Walk to Water</i> by Linda Sue Park) on the</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">back of the independent book she was reading (<i>Towers Falling</i> by Jewell Parker Rhodes). It was so fun to see that student experience the coolness of realizing authors read each other’s books,</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">and recognizing known authors in other contexts.</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>(2) A 7th grader is noticing interesting words in her independent reading book <i>A Wind in the Door</i>.</b> I asked her for an example, and she flipped a couple of pages and landed on the word <i>aeon</i>. She</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">said, “I had to look it up, and then the sentence made a lot more sense.” I pointed out that there is a chain of Japanese malls named Aeon. She giggled and said, “Oh, yeah! Maybe because</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">they want you to come in and shop for a very long time!”</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>(3) Another 7th grader, in his 3rd language, is reading <i>Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can’t Stop Talking</i> by Susan Caine.</b> He said, “We do what she says in class.” I asked him to tell</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">me more, and he expanded, “The way we discuss things with partners and in small groups.” So he’s not only sticking with this pretty advanced nonfiction book (last year he’d read nothing but</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">fantasy), he’s understanding it and connecting it to his life!</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>(4) I recently added <i>Room to Dream</i>, the third book in Kelly Yang’s <i>Front Desk</i> series, to my classroom library, and there’s a waiting list to read it!</b> When the first reader finished it on Friday, I got to pass it on to the next reader.</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>(5) A student who's usually an avid reader has been starting and abandoning books one after another for a few weeks.</b> I'd been trusting what I’ve read about the ebbs and flows of reading passion,</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">and telling her not to worry, she’ll find one. This week she started and finished <i>Pay Attention, Carter Jones</i> by Gary Schmidt. (Which I then turned around and recommended to a student who’d</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">just finished <i>Three Keys</i> and had to wait for <i>Room to Dream</i>.)</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>(6) Another student is such a voracious reader that she’s already devoured most of the books in my classroom library that she’s interested in</b><b>—</b><b>mostly historical fiction.</b> A few weeks ago I read my first Jennifer Nielsen book, <i>A</i></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><i> </i></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><i>Night Divided</i>, and this student snatched it up as soon as I book talked it. A couple of days later, she asked me if there were more books in the series. I said no, but the author has written a</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">number of other historical fiction books set in Europe. She got quite excited. But it takes a while for ordered English books to make it to Japan. In the wait period, I remembered that on my high</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">school shelf I had Ruta Sepetys’s <i>Between Shades of Gray</i> about a Lithuanian family sent to Siberia by the Soviets. She finished that this week and was delighted to find out there were a couple</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">more Sepetys books in our online library.</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>October can be a teaching slog—our grand vision at the beginning of a shiny new school year is beginning to fray at the edges, and holiday cheer is not yet on the horizon.</b> It’s the messy middle.</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">It’s a great time to remember to keep my antennae out for moments of connection, epiphany, growth—even the small ones. Because I generally find what I’m looking for</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">—whether it’s reasons to be frustrated or reasons to be encouraged. Then tell somebody. Because things shared multiply—like iris bulbs. And whether you’re dancing or struggling through October, who ever said "no" to</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> a little more joy?</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>How about you?</b> How is your October going? What is something that gives you joy? Who have you shared it with?</span></span>kessenburghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06626460063588288283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1605215065528550855.post-86496211605635908152022-10-07T23:25:00.002-07:002022-10-07T23:28:56.948-07:00 When Student Questions Ignite Thinking<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPB3xuHbb13DxwExtc7Pu3dQVAN9Fi0JqfpDS47QdSfa2sQtGRhadYPEa0ABPdExzoXmV1uDbf_7-5Ddt-fpxQ1D8qxqiyI2LAgDsg-FEeBftSAMpDFP8bOArRu_fRuIgWtycYmpQNBMNOZxCPAJnm1Yd57iuQIqe6KgL032z_cscnGyWNHYsKSZlG/s4496/ana-municio-PbzntH58GLQ-unsplash.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4496" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPB3xuHbb13DxwExtc7Pu3dQVAN9Fi0JqfpDS47QdSfa2sQtGRhadYPEa0ABPdExzoXmV1uDbf_7-5Ddt-fpxQ1D8qxqiyI2LAgDsg-FEeBftSAMpDFP8bOArRu_fRuIgWtycYmpQNBMNOZxCPAJnm1Yd57iuQIqe6KgL032z_cscnGyWNHYsKSZlG/w640-h428/ana-municio-PbzntH58GLQ-unsplash.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@lamunix?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Ana Municio</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/s/photos/question-mark?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Unsplash</a></td></tr></tbody></table><p><br /></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>Student questions are beautiful things.</b> Not the fifth question about assignment directions. (I’m trying to teach them to listen to my explanation, read the directions themselves, and that</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">failing, listen to my answer the first four times.) Not “Is this good enough?”</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">(I’m trying to teach them to develop their own expectations of excellence.)</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>The student questions that are beautiful are the ones that extend knowledge, deepen understanding, and build new insights.</b> Unfortunately, students sometimes think asking a question is</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">a show of weakness. A sign of this thinking is when I ask students to write questions they have in the margin of a text, and they come to the discussion proclaiming with satisfaction that</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">they didn’t have any. They understood it all. Or their only questions are about the meaning of unknown words.</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>Identifying what is unknown is an essential first step, a place to start, and it is only the launch pad, not the stars.</b> The rocket boosters ignited in one of my classes last week—a middle</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">school advanced English as a foreign language (EFL) class. We were reading <i>When My Name Was Keoko</i> by Linda Sue Park, a novel set in Korea during the Japanese occupation. We</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">had just read about a character seeing airplanes flying overhead to Manchuria. From there, here’s my attempt at following the trajectory of the students’ questions:</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>(1) What is Manchuria?</b> We confirmed the Japanese name.</span></span><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>(2) How did Tae-yul know the airplanes were going to Manchuria?</b> We looked at the world map on the classroom wall and saw that China was the only option for Japanese planes flying</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">over Korea.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>(3) Why did the Japanese want to control Manchuria?</b> We talked about natural resources, the colonial precedent of the western powers, and the slogan “Asia for the Asians.”</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>(4) How many countries did England control?</b> I started listing some: America, Kenya, India, China, Australia….</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>(5) What language was spoken in Australia before English?</b> We discussed indigenous people all over the world and the myth of empty land.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>(6) How did the tiny island England come to control so much area?</b> Wow. This could be an entire course, an entire book, an entire library full of books, but I channelled what I could</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">remember from Jared Diamond’s book <i>Guns, Germs, and Steel</i>.</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>(7) But not all Japanese people did terrible things in the war, right?</b> We talked about two types of responsibility—personal and corporate. As a Christian, I understand that individuals are fallen, and</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">also that all the social constructs they make are fallen. People do bad things; the groups they are part of do bad things. No nation has the corner on this: last term we read about the US internment of Japanese-Americans. </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">We also know that when we confess sin, personal and corporate, God forgives us and</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">loves us. We have no face to save by defending ourselves, only grace and freedom to gain by confession. Then we can look into the faces of people who have suffered and say, “Please</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">tell me your story. That’s terrible. What can be done to repair the harm?” P</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">eople in the Bible like Daniel and Nehemiah set an example of repenting before God for the corporate sins of their ancestors in order to bring restoration in the present. </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>(8) Didn’t God tell people in the Bible to kill other people? </b>Yes. Yes, he did. Those are hard passages to think about. I think it has to do with God’s holiness, justice, and power. Let’s keep</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">talking about it. And while those stories are old and difficult, we can know what God wants us to do today: love him, love our neighbors, love our enemies, do justice, care for the</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">creation, and invite others to know him.</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>Whew! That was one crammed period—and we only actually read two paragraphs of the novel.</b> But that’s okay because the important thing is not that we finished the chapter. The</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">important thing is that students’ curiosity was ignited, and they began to want to know for themselves why the world works the way it does, what their place in it is, and how faith informs</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">it.</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>I see a research project in this class’s near future</b>, one driven by finding answers to the questions they still have, because I'm sure I didn't sufficiently answer them all.</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>And I’m wondering what exactly happened on Wednesday to unleash that train of questions.</b> </span></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: times;">All I can say is, I will keep trying to cultivate a classroom environment where it is safe to ask questions. I will keep inviting, expecting, requiring questions. I will keep telling students why asking questions is important. When questions come, I will keep celebrating, respecting, and giving time to them. And sometimes, like this week, the rocket ship will take off for the stars. </span></span><div><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: times; font-size: large;"><b>How about you?</b> What do you do to cultivate students' asking questions? When have you seen those questions drive deep thinking?</span></div></div>kessenburghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06626460063588288283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1605215065528550855.post-8940695710271618692022-09-30T22:55:00.000-07:002022-09-30T22:55:37.041-07:00Sharing Joy, Sharing Life, Sharing Faith<p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b></b></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAUeF7T_bxbtXHypU7V0bxXh7qtlnjeqYREArm4Cbfb1OtZ7inxPXgiBoncFOFEjOBuI0wbFa3-FT7VPULss-oQC0j3HTBCzkdMQa8ToFr_3IijW0d23IQIM9YxcPFCynovGYQlHXcn-Vi9xjxhtnFLjLMUzG3VAx05MDUOdCFRb5VKvtsjZSeLmBY/s5945/603F8921-AE7F-4098-8E4F-FFD9379BE7F1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3963" data-original-width="5945" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAUeF7T_bxbtXHypU7V0bxXh7qtlnjeqYREArm4Cbfb1OtZ7inxPXgiBoncFOFEjOBuI0wbFa3-FT7VPULss-oQC0j3HTBCzkdMQa8ToFr_3IijW0d23IQIM9YxcPFCynovGYQlHXcn-Vi9xjxhtnFLjLMUzG3VAx05MDUOdCFRb5VKvtsjZSeLmBY/w640-h426/603F8921-AE7F-4098-8E4F-FFD9379BE7F1.jpeg" width="640" /></a></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><b>Friday before school I watched our family grow to 6 grandchildren. </b>No nurse, midwife, or doctor assisted, but a judge directed the proceedings. We’ve loved this little boy for a while,<span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">along with our daughter and son-in-law who have adopted him, and now he is legally theirs, and by extension, ours.</span></span><p></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>My daughter, her husband, their 2 birth children, and their soon-to-be middle son were in the courtroom</b>, along with a small, supportive community of family and friends. And because</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">COVID has made live streaming options standard, we (along with several more family members) were able to join virtually.</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>The judge was so joyful and kind.</b> She engaged with the 3-year-old across the bench from her, between his mom and dad and 2 brothers. She asked him what he liked doing with his</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">family. He replied, “Playing in the backyard and having fun.” So as part of the adoption ceremony, she made him a little charge: “Do you promise always to play the backyard and have</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">fun with your brothers?”</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>Later that day at school, I showed my 6th and 7th graders the family picture</b> (see above) I’d used as an example of an image at the beginning of the term when I introduced both the</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">family I’d visited during the summer vacation and the importance of people being created in the image of God. (It may have involved tearing out my husband’s head—see <a href="https://kimessenburg.blogspot.com/2022/09/what-do-i-do-with-classroom-full-of.html">this blog post</a>.)</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">Then I pointed to one of the little boys and said, “You may remember that I told you my daughter and her husband were working to adopt this child. Well, it just became official.”</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><b><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">The kids cheered, clapped, and offered congratulations.</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /></b><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWpKmB2lXiBkMYUVWoV8SlHSs7tmEfZA7bw8KJvruHpd0PzF_YEnJ5c1jI-H2k7_mynYWhrUigctvvizzkswwLRSMTT-FT3mQCz4bObr3pVn21bd81IuF1XCIF0A01zeOc20TBe5Iyu2klzBMvvjOkMCUGgNY0a-_0XQNCrfciNbqUsTTaF3YRIPp8/s2012/Screen%20Shot%202022-09-30%20at%207.44.37%20AM.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="2012" height="204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWpKmB2lXiBkMYUVWoV8SlHSs7tmEfZA7bw8KJvruHpd0PzF_YEnJ5c1jI-H2k7_mynYWhrUigctvvizzkswwLRSMTT-FT3mQCz4bObr3pVn21bd81IuF1XCIF0A01zeOc20TBe5Iyu2klzBMvvjOkMCUGgNY0a-_0XQNCrfciNbqUsTTaF3YRIPp8/w640-h204/Screen%20Shot%202022-09-30%20at%207.44.37%20AM.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><b>I showed them screen shot I’d taken of the courtroom proceedings. </b>I let them know that I was sharing this with them because they are my class, <a href="https://kimessenburg.blogspot.com/2022/09/what-type-of-relationship-with-staff.html">we are a community</a>, this is a big deal in</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">my life, and in communities, we share life’s big deals.</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>I also told them I was sharing it because it was connected to the novel study we were doing</b>—<i>A Long Walk to Water</i> by Linda Sue Park. No, it’s got nothing to do with South Sudan or the</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">global issues of water scarcity, girls’ education, ethnic conflict, or refugees. But not all human needs are far away; many also exist in our own community. The point is to keep our eyes</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">and hearts open to the needs of our fellow image bearers, our neighbors who God loves and requires us to love, whether they are far away or near by. My daughter and her husband saw</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">this little boy who needed the care and love of a family, and they said, “God loves you, and we do, too. We will be your family.”</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtl3DAiXexxZt49UnqcpRF34AgtJCCp6XULwKUP4hh50bzxPmVweoDKGk80vljmuq22i51ojIHzPjbbk_DI5L-iamI5odI2MGDm9mqvjp5yRx0-T7hY5bUyt4q-VUPVGeoBhYo784_NOERQ-64ssHA0qQRso1H6U9pvJ3hr_kNvS66uWBadRKxt7O6/s1172/Screen%20Shot%202022-10-01%20at%202.27.04%20PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1102" data-original-width="1172" height="301" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtl3DAiXexxZt49UnqcpRF34AgtJCCp6XULwKUP4hh50bzxPmVweoDKGk80vljmuq22i51ojIHzPjbbk_DI5L-iamI5odI2MGDm9mqvjp5yRx0-T7hY5bUyt4q-VUPVGeoBhYo784_NOERQ-64ssHA0qQRso1H6U9pvJ3hr_kNvS66uWBadRKxt7O6/w320-h301/Screen%20Shot%202022-10-01%20at%202.27.04%20PM.png" width="320" /></a></div>Finally, I told my students that it was my deep hope that everything they learn at school would help them to be the kind of people who would step up to make a difference, too.</b> Who would</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">live in the world with their eyes wide open to all the blessings they have received, to all those neighbors near and far who don’t have the same blessings, and who would actively work to</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">be part of the solution, part of the healing, part of God’s bringing justice and peace to the world. None of us can do everything, but all of us can do something.</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>May we all be that kind of people. Shalom.</b></span></span><br />kessenburghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06626460063588288283noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1605215065528550855.post-38073518076507481462022-09-29T09:00:00.012-07:002022-09-29T12:57:17.468-07:00 What Type of Relationship with School Leadership Helps You Flourish?<p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRpeaLSRVsWFuMl5doSKpdLWeELrMzQEMEXokYTDx3gB9--15ZL8auGZN95fLw0p1kFFaQSkNgwS7b678xeiW_rTPmkBXva8_u7WeLrn1LVkbp5MHpp17iH0KmLU_cdkd31ixOZknHxOo29QWXMQS_fXoU9Lf1GQSvf_yhGxnz8KcrkebospBLWtqI/s4032/476F9759-C348-4B25-9F37-1DF25AEEB8A2.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRpeaLSRVsWFuMl5doSKpdLWeELrMzQEMEXokYTDx3gB9--15ZL8auGZN95fLw0p1kFFaQSkNgwS7b678xeiW_rTPmkBXva8_u7WeLrn1LVkbp5MHpp17iH0KmLU_cdkd31ixOZknHxOo29QWXMQS_fXoU9Lf1GQSvf_yhGxnz8KcrkebospBLWtqI/w640-h480/476F9759-C348-4B25-9F37-1DF25AEEB8A2.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Rice ripening toward harvest--the image of flourishing that meets my eye every day on my walk to school</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>The summer I was 15, my family moved, and my understanding of community was born.</b> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">The church that had called my dad as pastor, 350 miles</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">away, had a thriving young adult group of college graduates and young married couples. It also had only one other high schooler.</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span></span></p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>The young adult group, however, embraced the two of us teenagers, modeling healthy relationships and immersing us in their community.</b> They included us in</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">their Wednesday night Bible studies, came to my basketball and volleyball games, bought me my first pair of hiking boots, got me every summer job I ever</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">had, and one brave soul even parked his Peugeot in the parsonage driveway while he went on vacation, gave me one lesson in driving a stick shift, and</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">told me to use it if I needed. </span></span><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>They were my formative example of a Christian community flourishing in terms of healthy relationships.</b> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">I want the students at my international Christian school to experience similar flourishing as they develop healthy relationships with teachers.</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>But who will provide those healthy relationships for the teachers?</b></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">For me, experiencing healthy relationships at school is vital. When I experience vibrant, healthy relationships, I experience joy and energy (instead of</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">discouragement and a feeling like I’m slogging through things). And when I experience healthy relationships, I’m better able to build healthy relationships with</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">my colleagues and <a href="https://kimessenburg.blogspot.com/2022/09/what-type-of-relationship-with-staff.html">my students</a>.</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>As I look back on my 35 years in international Christian education,</b> I’m grateful to school leaders (heads of school, principals, and department chairs) for</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">demonstrating trustworthiness, support, respect, empowerment, and Christ-centeredness, five building blocks of healthy relationships. I deeply hope you are</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">experiencing each of those building blocks consistently, daily.</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>You might be wondering, “What exactly does that look like?</b> What exactly does it look like for school leaders to demonstrate trustworthiness,</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">support, respect, empowerment, and Christ-centeredness?”</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> Let me explain.</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>(1) When staff experience trustworthy leadership, they feel can rely on leaders to have both the character and expertise to do the job.</b></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> The leadership</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">is authentic, realistic, and reliable, as opposed to inaccurate, unrealistic, and unreliable. It could look like turning to a principal for help with a discipline</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">problem knowing she wants to help, not blame; will have multiple strategies to try; and will follow through until the problem is resolved.</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>(2) When staff experience supportive leadership, they feel that the leaders see their strengths and struggles, are cheering them on, and have their backs.</b> The</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">leadership is understanding, encouraging, and protective, as opposed to suspicious, discouraging, and defensive. It could look like genuine curiosity about</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">class displays or offering to field a parent complaint.</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>(3) When staff experience respectful leadership, they feel the leaders rely on them to have both the character and expertise to do the job.</b></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b> </b>The</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">leadership is appreciative, considerate, and humble, as opposed to unaware, inconsiderate, and self-absorbed. In an international setting especially, it is</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">crucial to be aware of <a href="https://buildingjerusalem.blog/2022/08/03/honour-respect-are-culturally-bound/">what respect looks like to different cultures</a>, to show respect across the cultures, to be sure all cultures feel respected and give</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">respect. It could look like making a clear explanation of what western education is like available to teachers from non-western cultures (see <a href="https://www.ma.org.tw/christ-centered-school/">here</a></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> or <a href="https://caj.ac.jp/info/index.php/Understanding_a_Christian-Focused,_Western-Style_Education">here</a></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">). Or it</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">could look like a specific, targeted thank you, or like a leader who teaches one or more classes investing the time to consistently attend meetings of the</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">department she teaches in.</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><b><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">(4) When staff experience empowering leadership, they feel invited into collaborative purpose-building and trusted to make decisions that will</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">further that purpose—rather than feeling micro-managed.</span></b><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> The leadership gives responsibility, freedom, and trust, rather than being controlling in terms</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">of vision, information, and resources. It could look like staff trying project-based learning, book clubs, blogging, podcasting, or Skype connections with</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">classes in other countries. (Sometimes empowering leadership is terrifying. For me, it looked like being invited into the position of department chair and</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">then curriculum coordinator when I did not feel prepared or inclined—but the leaders who invited me saw my potential better than I did!) </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>(5) When staff experience Christ-centered leadership, they are welcomed into the spiritual life of a school-centered disciple-making leader.</b></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b> </b>They</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">come to understand what it means, at least to one person, to be a person, educator, leader, and colleague who loves Jesus, wants to be more like him, and</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">wants the school to be a place where students experience God’s love, develop their God-given potential, and learn about God, his world, and their place in</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">it. It could look like leaders starting every meeting with a short devotional relevant to an important aspect of the school vision or participating in regular staff</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">prayer times. </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>Bottom line?</b></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> Staff tend to reproduce their experience for students. Experiencing healthy relationships with leadership will set staff up to have healthy</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">relationships with colleagues and <a href="https://kimessenburg.blogspot.com/2022/09/what-type-of-relationship-with-staff.html">with students</a>. To this end, my deep hope is that you are consistently experiencing trustworthy, supportive, respectful,</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">empowering Christ-centered leadership.</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><b>How about you?</b></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> What’s your experience with healthy/unhealthy relationships? What type of relationship with leadership helps you flourish? What type of</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;">relationship with leadership helps you develop healthy relationships with students?</span></span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; text-size-adjust: auto;" /></div>kessenburghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06626460063588288283noreply@blogger.com0