Professional Development

The last two weeks have been very busy for me and I am now quite exhausted. But from a professional point of view, they were really awesome! It was tough only being in school 5 out of 10 days, but the days I was out and both Saturdays were spent engaged in high quality Professional Development and a bit of travel related to the PD.

In my classes, students are all working on projects and this is partly by design. Knowing I would be out of school a few days, I wanted students to have projects they could be working on in class. It's still not easy to be out. Some students have also missed class and need to see me to make things up. It also means this last full week before Thanksgiving will be a busy one in class.

Since being accepted into the Understanding Sacrifice program I have been unable to hide my excitement! The kickoff for our project took place over the course of 3 days in Washington, DC. So I flew out after school on a Wednesday and was fortunate my sister-in-law could pick me up at the airport and let me stay at her house for the night. Then I went to Arlington, VA via the Metro the next day to start our program. It was a beautiful and warm day in the nation's capitol that made for a wonderful tour of the national mall before some time getting to know the other teachers in the program. These teachers are Middle School and High School teachers, mostly Social Studies, who hail from places like Texas, Washington, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Michigan, and more.

Part of our time in DC was spent in Arlington at the American Battle Monuments Commission Headquarters in Arlington, VA. The ABMC was started by General Pershing after World War One. Pershing wanted to ensure that America's sacrifice would not be forgotten by Europeans and also had to deal with the massive number of American soldiers killed. Cemeteries were established as well as monuments. After World War Two, the number of cemeteries increased dramatically. Parents could choose to have their child brought home or buried in the cemetery in the country where they died. Burial in these cemeteries guarantees perpetual care at a sight also connected to some sort of historical significance. As time has moved on and fewer families remain to visit, the ABMC has looked to reinvigorate interest from the public in remembering the sacrifice of the soldiers by emphasizing education. Thus, the program was born. National History Day and the Ray Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media are all co-sponsors.

(General John Pershing)

After learning about the history, we had some lessons on photography, blogging, and digital media all to help us with the final product. Our goal is to create a website that honors Fallen Heroes and connects those heroes to high quality lessons plans for teachers. This is year two of the project. Last year teachers started by focusing on soldiers buried in Normandy and the Netherlands. Their work was just recently published on Veteran's Day, and can be seen here: http://www.abmceducation.org/.

We had an interactive lecture and book discussion with professor Christopher Hamner from George Mason University in the afternoon. It was wonderful to talk about the real skills of historical inquiry and how to bring those to our students and the public. Very exciting stuff and all very well done!

On Saturday we went into DC and had a tour of the World War Two Memorial from one of the folks involved with its construction and design. We also had time to take some photos at the monument designed to evoke feeling and reflection. After some time at the monument, we went to the Smithsonian Museum of American History and spent most of our time in "The Price of Freedom" exhibit. We had the opportunity to analyze in depth the parts of the exhbit that deal with World War Two and to think abotu how we memorilaize and rmemeber the war and those who were involved.

I returned home on Sunday full of energy and excitement to select my Fallen Hero and begin my work on the project. I was so excited to share with my students and talk about how they will be helping me to tell the stories of Mainers buried in these cemeteries. Not surprisingly, they shared in my enthusiasm!

After only two days of school, I headed off for another adventure. As Vice-President of the Maine Council for the Social Studies, I and the President were asked to represent Maine in the House of Delegates at the National Conference. This requires some work from us, but also provides a great opportunity for both of us to attend sessions related to our teaching. We also had the chance to connect with vendors to get new ideas for resources to purchase and even some free resources. I attended last year's Conference in Boston with great enthusiasm, so when the Council offered to cover our travel expenses, I jumped on the chance. This year the Conference was held in New Orleans, a place I had never been. With the Veteran's Day Holiday falling on a Wednesday, it meant I could travel without missing any school. So I flew out early Wednesday morning and was able to check in to my Hotel by noon local time. This gave me the whole rest of the day on Wednesday to explore the French Quarter before the Conference actually started on Thursday. I took every advantage of this! The weather was sunny, 80 degrees and humid!

I explored much of the French Quarter and enjoyed the jazz music on the streets and the outdoor cafes. It was a gorgeous day and so I'm thankful I had the afternoon to check it out!

Once Thursday started, it was time to get to business. Thursday I attended a workshop at the National World War Two Museum. This amazing facility houses planes, tanks, weapons, and exhibits related to rememdbering the war. Our workshop was put on by the teachers who took part in Understanding Sacrifice phase 1. It was really interesting for me to get some ideas how I might bring the work I will be doing to my students. We had some time to explore the Museum including wathcing the powerful interactive film "Beyond all Boundaries". This experience of a film tells the story of World War Two with technology to create a true experience. Not only are you convinced you are there at times but the seats vibrate and it actually snows on you!

Friday the vendors arrived and I had some time to work the exhibit hall at the Convention Center. Its an interesting dynamic. Dozens of vendors try their hardest to sell you something, while hundreds of attendees try their hardest to get something for free. Usually there is a little of both. Each participant gets a conference book and a little tote bag with a New Orleans theme to it. Inside are a bunch of goodies with relative value. I always look forward to the freebies!

In addition to working the booths on behalf of my colleagues and myself on both days, I decided to attend sessions on teaching AP Psychology, AP U.S. History, helping to create PD for teachers in Social Studies, the Civil Rights movement, and using a really cool online tool at hstry.co. We also had to represent Maine in the House of Delegates, so I participated during the two hour session Friday night and our President participated in the final session Saturday morning. This is an interesting experience where we get to hear from our lobbyist who works in Washington. We debate resolutions during this time. These resolutions inform the goals of our State and National Councils. Needless to say, when I left for the airport Saturday night I was exhausted! In the end, it was truly an amazing period of learning for me that I can take back to my classroom in meaningful ways and use immediately. I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity. Soon I will be blogging about the specific things I learned and how I am implementing them in my classes.

(Some of the Maine Council Board members who attended the Conference)

It was great, as I said, but it was a lot of travel in a short period of time. I would like to avoid traveling like that in the future if I can. In fact, I am looking forward to a few weeks of quiet routine to get rested up! Now to implement what I have learned!

Change of Seasons

Its really nice as a teacher when you get to interact with former students as they become adults. I am most fortunate to have a former student who now lives in our school community and who is a Warden for the Maine Warden Service. He also has star appeal since he has been featured several times on the Animal Planet TV show "North Woods Law".

(I don't think this is him, but he looks a bit like this Warden and this is the type of stuff they do as featured on North Woods Law. (Photo Credit: North Woods Law)

Ethan Buuck is now a Game Warden and has returned to my Ethics class the last two years to talk about Law Enforcement and Ethics. This is actually a huge topic, so there is only so much he can get into in one class. He does a great job of raising interesting points and provoking questions form the students. My students always report finding his presentation interesting. I appreciate his willingness ot make time to come into the classroom just before hunting season starts. He is one of 4 guest speakers I have lined up. I also have a nurse, an attorney with Death Penalty experience, and someone from the Maine Ethics Commission to discuss Ethics in Politics and Elections. Its always awesome anytime you can get guest speakers. Students respond differently to a different adult, and they can more easily apply their learning to the real world by seeing adults whose jobs are affected by ethical considerations.

(Warden Ethan Buuck speaking to my class)

Last month I announced my acceptance into the Understanding Sacrifice program sponsored by the American Battle Monuments Commission and National History Day. Just after that, the plaque to for th emonument dedicated to Lewis Frelan Goddard arrived. I made contact with a local company and got on their list so sometime over th enext month or two they will attach the plaque to th emonument and it will be complete.

I was pleasantly surprised to be contacted by a local newspaper about my acceptance into the program. the Kennebec Journal has covered our work on telling the stories of Maine soldiers buried in Europe previously, but I wasn't expecting it for my acceptance into the program. Imagine my shock to find out they featured an article about me on the front page pf the KJ when it was published! Needles to say, I received many well wishes from friends, family, former and current students. I even received copies of the paper from students whose parents had saved it for me. I appreciate all of the kind words and support. I am excited about this program and have already had 2 contacts from local families with more stories to tell of soldiers buried in Europe. This is such a special project for me that words fail me. My grandfather was in the Pacific during the War, and I always heard from both he and my grandmother about that time in history and how it affected the people who lived then. I only wish they had lived to see our work. I can't wait to dig into this work and share it with my students. Next week I am headed to DC to kickoff our program. More to come on this topic!

My students are working on a variety of topics in my classes. We are tackling sensation and perception in AP Psychology, the Industrial Revolution in US History classes, and we have begun watching Schindler's List in History v. Hollywood. AP Psychology students completed a "Zombie Menu" to demonstrate understanding of the functions of parts of the brain in a fun activity for October. This came from the highly valuable AP Psychology Facebook group that has preserved my sanity as I teach this class for the first time ever this year!

Last Friday was the Maine Council for the Social Studies annual conference. For less than a year, I have served as Vice President of the Council after serving on the Board for four years previously. Our former President, Glenn Nerbak, stepped down after many years of keeping the Council going. He has been replaced by the equally wonderful Kate Sheldon. It has been a great professional pleasure for me to work with this wonderful Board. Sue Lahti from the Maine Geographic Alliance served as Chair of the Conference Committee and worked tirelessly to organize the Conference. After a year of work, it all came together in a wonderful day of professional development with about 120 Social Studies Educators from around the State.

(MCSS Board memebers with Jenny Buccos)

I was most fortunate to meet our keynote speaker on Twitter! Jenny Buccos participates in the same #sschat I partake in on Monday evenings. Jenny has given TED talks and won numerous awards. She generously waived her speaking fee to come to our conference and discuss the importance of global education. She also touted her Project Explorer Website with free videos and lesson plans. It was quite fantastic and inspiring!

(Jenny Buccos)

In addition to our keynote, we had several other teachers who gave awesome presentations! With the vendors and fantastic lasagna lunch it really was a fantastic day! I learned so much and I was somewhat distracted by the logistics I was helping with. I can only imagine how much most folks came away with!

(Senator Angus King was one of 3 Congresspersons who gave a personal message about the importance of Social Studies to the attendees)

(President Kate Sheldon)

The next two weeks will be very busy, but very interesting! After a few days in DC, I will be back in school for two days before heading to New Orleans and the National Council for the Social Studies Conference. Its good to be busy sometimes!

So busy

This has been by far the busiest Fall I can remember since my first year of teaching! Why so busy? I think its helpful for me and maybe for others as well, if I outline a recent day I experienced. Some aspects of this day are typical and some are not. Some days are just insane and there is way more. Some days are very reasonable compared to this day. But I think this day is a fair representation of my job.

5:10am... I awake without an alarm as usual. My wife is just getting out of the bathroom in time for me to get in. I get ready for the day, pack my lunch, say hello to my dog and interact with my son while he prepares for school. Fortunately my wife and I can ride together today as we can leave at the same time to see our son's soccer game at 5pm.

6:20... We are on the 32 mile drive to Readfield. Our son gets on the bus at 6:50 and is pretty self sufficient at this point. I drop my wife off at her school and arrive at my school around 7:05.

7:10... after collecting some things from my mailbox and using the restroom, I have a meeting at 7:15. I am mentoring a new teacher and we meet from 7:15-7:50.

7:50... as I attempt to check email, a student comes in early to ask me some questions.

8:00... homeroom begins. During the next 10 minutes I have to check to see who is tagged and who isn't. I have 11 advisees and 2 attend the technical center, so I have to check for 9 of my advisees. It takes approximately 25 seconds to check each one. I also have the Pledge of Allegiance, announcements to read, and general checking in with kids. Also, if any kids aren't tagged for focus time I need to tag them. Inexplicably only 1-2 of my advisees are tagged on most days. I still can't figure out why this is, but I end up with at least 5 of my advisees on top of the 12-14 students I tagged every day. Sometimes it makes Focus time difficult.

8:14... AP U.S. History. On this day my students are debating Hamilton vs. Jefferson. Each was assigned a different person and the topic was chosen at random. We then use what we learn to answer some analaytical questions about how political parties were formed in the U.S.

9:34... History v. Hollywood. Students talk in small groups using an analysis guide to dicuss the film we just watched. They create an outline and begin to compose a film review. I help groups and individuals as they work.

10:50... Focus time. We only have 28 minutes and some of the students I tagged need every minute so I get those students going on makeup quizzes, test corrections, and questions answered by me.

11:05... I have students off and running so I can take attendance on EDYouSched. I call the office to report a missing student from Focus time. I continue to help students as needed.

11:22... Lunch! I check my email looking for timely emails. I then walk to the Staff room and get my lunch box from the fridge. I chat casually with other teachers in the room for about 10 minutes while I eat quickly. I use the restroom on the way back to my room. I arrive in time to do a little set up before class and check email again.

11:50... AP Psychology. The Brain! We build models of neurons using candy. The students then eat the candy. We follow it up with a partner quiz on the parts of the Brain based on what they had read for homework. We review the vocabulary terms for this unit using quizlet. Then we watch a video about The Birdman Jeb Corliss and discuss what is going on in his brain when he engages in thrill-seeking behavior.

1:14... AP U.S. History. Different students, but a repeat of what we did first thing in the morning.

2:30... Students leave and I check email. Over the next 10 minutes 2 students stop by for a quick question and help.

2:45... Meeting. I meet with another teacher, a Guidance Counselor and the ELL teacher in our district to discuss a student.

3:15... Back in my room to get my room ready for the next day and grade a few papers.

4:00... Leave to pick up my wife and head to my son's soccer game.

6:15... arrive home, and eat dinner. We picked up sandwiches at the store and eat when we get home. I check in with my son and how his day was at school.

7:15... I check homework and grade some papers while watching TV.

9:00... say goodnight to my son and read. While I enjoy this reading, its not just for fun. Its part of the class I am doing called Understanding Sacrifice. I read untl I get sleepy.

To be fair I should mention that this was a busy day for me in my class schedule. Every other day I teach 4 class, but on the other days I teach only 2. On those days instead of class I run around trying to make plans in the short amount of time that is increasingly taken up by meetings or "common planning time" (which is ironic in some ways as we have things to do as a Department during this time and have not yet done any actual planning together during this time). I also try to find time in the evening or whenever to look for new and innovative ways of teaching what I teach. This includes using social media like Twitter and help form colleagues around the country, or sometimes just surfing the web. This is how I have operated for a while. But this year, in addition to these things, we have a new evaluation system to worry about. This means I have to think about Learning targets, scales, SLO's and other things related to the Marzano model for teacher evaluations. We also have to analyze student data in order to do this work. We must also take a College Class and document it somehow at some point every 5 years to stay certified. We must find time to email or call parents of students who are struggling. In addition, we are changing our curriculum to incorporate the Common Core standards, and new content standards. I also can't forget my duties as an advisor. Planning for the next Advisor/Advisee event also takes up my time along with updating Google Classroom and tagging students for the next Focus time. Emails continue to pile up as well! It is the added pressure of the Marzano evaluation stuff that sometimes feels like too much. I enjoy being with my students, but the changes I have seen in the last year or two have got me seriously considering a change. Either something drastic, or even something less drastic. Perhaps things will calm down a bit, but its been a rough Fall!

I really do enjoy those 72 minutes when we we are in the classroom! I also have my participation in the Understanding Sacrifice program to look forward to. I will be heading to Washington DC in November to start the project.

If things weren't crazy enough, I also helped host a webinar on writing in the Social Studies classroom this week. And one more thing! I am helping (though not as much as some others are) to organize and host a Conference through the Maine Council for the Social Studies on October 30. Next week we have Parent/Teacher Conferences to add on top of everything else we are doing. Maybe in two weeks I will be a little more upbeat! For now, I try to focus on one day at a time and keeping student learning at the forefront of where my focus is.

Cooler temps and more learning!

I'm sure I wasn't the only one who appreciated seeing the weather turn cooler. I love hot weather, but my classroom is just unbearable when its hot, and uncomfortable when its warm outside. Its unfortunate, but I know that if its a high of 70 and sunny, my classroom will tough 80 before its over. If there is a breeze, opening the window will help. So when we received some rain, and temperatures in the 60's, my students and I were both more comfortable for the first time this year.

Over the last few years my students and I have spent a good amount of time working on telling some of the stories of those who sacrificed during World War Two. Last May we had an assembly and announced a memorial on our campus to Lewis Frelan Goddard who was killed duirng the war and is buried at the Rhone American Cemetery in France. The stone is in the ground near our flag pole, and the plaque has been ordered. If the weather is still warm when it arrives, we will attach it to the stone. Otherwise it will be completed in the Spring. When I became aware of an opportunity to take this work further, I applied for it over the summer. I was very excited and felt incredibly fortunate of ind out I was one of 18 teachers elected to participate in the Understanding Sacrifice Teacher Institute. We received the syllabus for this study, and its really so exciting its hard to put into words exactly how thrilling it is to be a part of it! With a focus on the Mediterranean, we will be studying World War Two over the next year. This study includes research, reading 6 books, participating in online discussions, online webinars, lesson plan development, and travel to the American Battle Monument Commission Headquarters in Washington, DC, tours of monuments and historic sites in DC, travel to visit 5 American Cemeteries in France and Italy, publishing of written pieces by us about the project, and a presentation at the National Council for the Social Studies national conference in Washington, DC in the Fall of 2016. The best thing about all of this, is that it won't cost me a thing! I am thankful and feel very privileged to have been selected for this experience! It starts with a trip to DC in November. Our trip to France and Italy will be in July. I can;t wait to bring this work to my students and help them get interested in telling the stories of other Maine soldiers buried in these cemeteries. It gives me goosebumps just thinking about it! There is more information about Understanding Sacrifice on their website.

In our school there is white board in our staff room that has been designated the data wall. Our Department was asked to post some sort of data on the wall. As one of the Departments that does not have any type of standardized test, we decided to give our staff a brief assessment. This was designed to be somewhat similar to what a standardized test for students might be like in Social Studies. We then collected the results and posted them on the data wall. We didn't go through a norming process, but we decided 10/12 correct was considered "passing". With that in mind, the overwhelming majority of our staff "passed"! I'm torn about this issue in many ways. There is much emphasis on data in education right now (maybe too much?) and yet we don't test in Social Studies. That sends a message that the subject is not as important. In my view its the most important subject! Yet, by not having a test there is no scrutiny on our student or our subject from the community or the School District. So its an interesting situation to be in for sure. I think there definitely should be some sort of standardized assessment for Social Studies for our students as long as they exist for other subjects. Having said that, I think we shouldn't be spending so much time concerning ourselves with standardized tests in any subject area. At the very least this exercise has sparked interesting conversations among the Staff about testing and Social Studies. That can't help but be a good thing!

(the data wall from our staff room)

One of the wonderful things about working at my school is our advisor/advisee program. Though probably seen as corny or unnecessary when it was first started with the opening of the school in 1976, this program is now incorporated into schools across the country. Its really great that we get to work with 9-10 students every day for 4 years to help support them in their education through this program. Every Fall we set aside a day for some sort of activity through this program. I have juniors this year and so we were tasked with community service. My group and another group went to the homes of two folks in our community who needed help stacking wood. Both of these people have done and continue to do so much for our students and larger community that I was drawn to this opportunity immediately! I was so impressed with my advisees. They worked hard stacking wood all day long, only breaking a couple of times. They didn't complain about the work, and they worked quickly. It was so nice to see my students willing to help others and I know they felt good about giving back to the community! I took a couple of pictures of our work!

In my U.S. History classes we have been studying the American Revolution. This gives us the chance to try and solve the first of many mysteries in my class... Who Fired the First Shot at Lexington Green? Students are given two primary sources and we analyze them in depth for clues. How reliable are the authors? What biases did they have? Who was their audience? All of these questions help us to understand and make decision about what happened. I love our conversations and how they try and convince each other they know the answer. One source claims he turned his back to the British and then one of them fired first. The students wondered how he would know if his back was turned? the other source tells his he and his British soldiers had been up all night marching when they were fired upon first by the rebels. But, as my students pointed out, who among us is keenly aware of our surroundings after having been up all night? Fun stuff! Now they get to make a claim and write an essay to defend it. This, along with much of my material, comes from the Stanford History Education Group and their work around using inquiry in U.S. history.

(painting depicting the rebels defending the Old North Bridge near Lexington Green)

Hard to believe we are in October already!