A couple months ago I wrote about the experience of going to the White House and participating at the initial #GoOpen cohort with USDOE. Yesterday we attended the #GoOpen Exchange at Skywalker Ranch outside of San Francisco. We were greeted by lush green surroundings, rolling hills, intense quiet, and Yoda. As you step inside you find George Lucas’ collection of art adorning the walls of the ranch and a variety of spaces that allowed us to connect, collaborate, and think. It was the perfect place to find your creative/innovative side, which is critical in this time in education. We had thoughtful conversations about how we can best leverage the opportunity that OER holds for teaching and learning. Everyone had an opportunity to share their experiences and insights. Quite honestly, if anyone walked away without a new idea to support teachers and schools, then it was their own fault. If they walked away without making connections with other educators or companies, then it was their own fault.
That said, a couple big takeaways for me….
Sean Nash said it best during the panel Q & A with North Kansas City Public Schools…”GoOpen honors teachers as the professionals they are.” This was really so simply profound and his words were echoed throughout many of the conversations. Why is this so important? Text book adoptions and mandatory curriculum have hampered many educators abilities to balance the art and science of education. Textbooks and mandatory programs have stifled creativity and served as a crutch for the past decade in our district. I’m guilty of being one of the administrators that ‘enforced’ this at different points in my career. However, I am proud to say that I can be quoted saying to teachers on multiple occasions (beginning about 7 years ago), “If I come into your classroom and you can answer the question of ‘Why are you doing this (activity) with this group of students right now?’ then you are good to go…don’t worry about the ‘DISTRICT PEOPLE’". Now, I am one of the ‘DISTRICT PEOPLE’ and I want all teachers to effectively answer the question above. (For what it’s worth an acceptable response to this question is not…’It was next or my PLC planned it.’) If teachers want to be granted the autonomy to teach, then they should have no problem answering this question. Don’t misinterpret my words…PLCs are critical but every teacher should be able to understand the decision of a PLC to select a specific text or activity.
Systemic supports are critical to #GoOpen districts. One reason that schools and districts adopt textbooks and mandate curriculum is b/c their fear that teachers cannot develop and implement lessons appropriately to support the needs of their students and demands of the standards. We need to support our teachers as this is not easy work. Districts can’t spend hours and hours ‘vetting’ resources, we need to develop our teachers ability to identify, curate, create, tag, and deliver resources efficiently and effectively. We need to support them taking risks and if they miss the mark rather than ‘reprimand them’ or mandate a curriculum, we need to coach them and improve their skills in that area. Time is the eternal enemy of education (BTW-We need to make this foe a friend-another blog for another time) and this is no different…our roles as school leaders needs to continue a model of differentiated support and professional learning.
Systemic supports are critical to #GoOpen districts. One reason that schools and districts adopt textbooks and mandate curriculum is b/c their fear that teachers cannot develop and implement lessons appropriately to support the needs of their students and demands of the standards. We need to support our teachers as this is not easy work. Districts can’t spend hours and hours ‘vetting’ resources, we need to develop our teachers ability to identify, curate, create, tag, and deliver resources efficiently and effectively. We need to support them taking risks and if they miss the mark rather than ‘reprimand them’ or mandate a curriculum, we need to coach them and improve their skills in that area. Time is the eternal enemy of education (BTW-We need to make this foe a friend-another blog for another time) and this is no different…our roles as school leaders needs to continue a model of differentiated support and professional learning.
How can we get student voice out there through the #GoOpen Movement?
USDOE is committed to this work...to have the opportunity to Google Hangout with Secretary of Education John King on his first official day in office and my colleague @DougTimm34 to ask him a beautiful question about student voice in #GoOpen movement. The new secretary responded to this and other questions with understanding, humor and passion about the current and future state of education. They also reinforced that although there is only 300 days left in this administration that we should expect to see support and work in this important area in the coming months and years. It's hard to imagine an educational policy agenda that would NOT continue providing increased access and opportunity for all students. #GoOpen is all about access and opportunity!
Overall, it was great to make some new connections in education! Great to meet all of you and thanks for stretching my thinking! @E_Ochenduszko @kevinwhaleylsr7 @MsClaraGalan @ericflack
Overall, it was great to make some new connections in education! Great to meet all of you and thanks for stretching my thinking! @E_Ochenduszko @kevinwhaleylsr7 @MsClaraGalan @ericflack
Thanks so much for taking the time to read this blog. I have a question for you to comment on before you leave...
How might we best foster a culture of collaboration, sharing, and risk-taking to support #GoOpen?
How might we best foster a culture of collaboration, sharing, and risk-taking to support #GoOpen?