An award? That’s awkward.

I struggle with praise. Yet I crave it. Therefore, I was both anxious and excited when, at the end of June, the driving force behind the Hip Hop project, Dr. Charity Marsh, told me that a colleague of hers had nominated us for the Arts and Learning Award at the Lieutenant Governor’s Arts Awards for our work on the arts side of the project. The excitement came from the fact that a nomination such as this adds to the credibility of project-based learning at our school. As well, the nomination shows the students that their work is valued at more than a school and community level – that the larger arts community sees the value in what they are doing.The anxious part came from not being comfortable in the spotlight. Though, it turns out, it should have been for another reason.

Initially, the plan was to take a group of students up to the gala, but I didn’t return to work right away in August, and finding chaperones became problematic, so I made the trip up on my own. When we were announced as the winners, I was shocked, and began to regret not making a list of people to thank in the acceptance speech. I did remember to thank the students, for all their hard work, my colleagues and administration at the school, without whom the project would never have happened, Charity, and all of her TAs in the IMP Labs. Forgotten on the thank you list, however, was Dr. Ann Kipling Brown at the U of R Education Dance department, Saskatchewan InMotion and Farley Flex, CBC Radio, and, oh, wait, what about the Saskatchewan Arts Board? — you know, the ones who provided the funding for the project! Oh my. So, turns out my anxiousness shouldn’t have been about whether or not we’d win, but rather how many people I’d forget to thank! So, thank you to everyone for all that you did to work with our students! Without all the support you’ve given, as I said onstage, “I’m just a guy with lofty goals and no discernible talents.”

Photojournalism Project

Check out this article in today’s Leader Post — Photo project looks at life in North Central Regina

What the story fails to mention is all of the hard work of the staff at our school on this project! Our art teacher and one of our English teachers created an entire integrated project that taught the students about photography and journalism while meeting all of the outcomes for ELA A30 (Canadian Voices) and Visual Art 30. This is no small feat! So hats off to you, the unmentioned heroes of the project.

Where have all the posts gone?

Blogging is kind of like exercise or flossing — the longer you go without doing it, the harder it is to start again. By the way, I haven’t exercised or flossed since N was born, either. However, if this snow ever melts, I will be biking to work again…

So, where to start?

Well, we’re in survival mode on the home front. N is a sweet, wonderful baby, but she gets bad gas, and this causes her not to sleep, and this causes her to cry, and this causes us not to sleep. Luckily, I have a fantastic partner who is so understanding and accommodating — we tag team N at night, making sure that at least one of us gets a decent(ish) sleep. For example, last night B stayed up holding N as she fussily slept from 9 to 1am, allowing me four hours of uninterrupted bed-sleep (to let you know how much sleep we’re getting, when I woke up at 1, my body thought it was done sleeping for the night and was wide awake!) I took over at 1, and stayed up with fussing N until 5:30 (B fed her around 3 maybe? It’s a bit fuzzy) when she calmed enough that I got another hour and a half with her on my chest sleeping until 7. However, we keep telling ourselves that every day it is getting better. And it will.

I am really looking forward to next weekend, when we have a dinner party, and the following weekend, when we have a wedding, because we will be leaving N with her Grandma Honey one night, and Grandma and Papa the other — we’ll get to spend hours together! B has been pumping like a mad-woman to save up enough frozen breast-milk to allow us this luxurious time. In addition, the 8th is the last class of my last grad class (if that makes sense.) Sure, I still have a thesis to propose and write, but that will be on my own time…I have three years left to finish it.

On the work front, next weekend will be great because the Hip Hop project I’m coordinating will have come to a close with two shows — one Thursday night at a local club, and Friday afternoon at the school. Especially exciting is that we have 160 students from a three suburban high schools coming to Friday’s show – it’ll be a great chance for our students to debunk some myths about their school and neighbourhood. Also, on Monday W-5 is coming to do a spot on the neighbourhood, and will interview me and the students about the project-based learning we’re doing at the school — nice exposure!

Alright, there’s a stab at a blog post — hope it gets me back on the horse. More later.

Who could ask for anything more?

I’ve been seconded 50% of the day since November to work on developing a new learning model for my school. A new school is being built that integrates community services with the learning program of the school. As such, a different, more engaging, pedagogy (project-based learning based in the community) will be used. My final task, as the secondment ends in two weeks, is to compile a Planning Guide for Teachers. Hopefully, we will implement this prdagogy in the fall with our grade 9s, as part of a three-year phase-in plan. For me, this is very exciting stuff. I really geek out on merging theory with practice. I have been very engaged with my work the past months.

The deadline for applications for administrative positions in our district came and went yesterday, and, for the first time in a while, I wasn’t tempted to apply. Maybe it’s because I’m turning 30 next month and I’m maturing, or maybe it’s because I’ve realized a vertical move would place me above my level of competence (Peter who?), but either way, this is the first time I’ve seen a promotion and not thought, “I could do that job way better than most – I should apply!”

I think the real reason I didn’t apply is that I am excited. I’ve had a blast over the last year and a half working with staff and students to put together a Dinner Theatre Project and a Hip Hop Project. The last few months have been warmup, with the constructivist theory and the challenges of implementing it with a whole school coursing through my veins. The thought of being able to do project like these again – all next year – is irresistible. I am 24 years from retirement, and I will have lots of time to be an administrator if I so desire.

I often reflect on how lucky I am to be engaged in my work. And starting January 27th, I’m back in the classroom full-time. I can’t imagine being one of those teachers who doesn’t get excited by this thought…

Baby is coming…

In a mere 72 days, our family will increase in size 50%. The additional 50% will begin life somewhere around 8 lbs, and consume approximately the next 18 years of our lives.  I am so excited.

We’ve been working like mad to get the house ready for the new arrival – so far, 500 sq. feet of bamboo flooring is down, with just 225sq. feet left to go. The filthy old carpet has been removed, as well as the vintage linoleum tiles located underneath the carpet (no asbestos in the backing – phew!) We’ve received numerous hand-me-downs from our siblings and siblings-in-law, and have ordered a crib. We’ve decided on an unfinished Canadian made birch crib. With all the talk of the VOCs in paint, carpet, underlay, heck, pretty much everything, we’ve decided we’ll finish the crib with some sort of food-grade oil. With the carpet gone, and  low-VOC environmentally friendly bamboo on the floor, we should be doing our best to limit our new addition’s contact with all that is environmentally evil. We are going to do cloth diapers (there is some debate over this one, if you poke around the internet) but as we are inheriting most of the diapers, it seems foolish not to use them. Also, we use Pink Solution for laundry (and all our household cleaning), and it has no phosphates, which is one of the criticisms of the soap used to launder cloth diapers. We also have a high-efficiency front-loading washer, which should minimize the water used. We did buy some disposables, but they are compostable (whether or not our bin will be able to handle 8-10 of these a day for the first couple weeks until we can move to cloth is unknown.) And, yesterday while buying a water bottle to replace my sadly lost (and much dented) Klean Kanteen, we picked up two stainless steel sippy cups which, though we won’t need for some time, were half price. So, onward we move…after this (long) weekend, the flooring in the baby’s room should be done, and we can start getting that together.

At work, my job has changed somewhat, as I’ll be working half-time for the next ten weeks to coordinate the development of the learning model for the shared facility that will house the new school. The goal is to open the building (which will integrate many human services with the learning program of the school) in fall 2011, which seems like a long time away. However, we are hoping to be able to implement the grade 9 program next year, to iron out some kinks, and then implement grades 9 and 10 for the year following. The school will combine project-based learning with service learning and cognitive apprenticeships, and house around 400 students grades 9-12. It is very exciting to be a part of the program development – I have been so lucky in my career to continually land myself in really engaging teaching environments.

While many schools do project-based learning, or have apprenticeships, ours will be the first to fully integrate the learning into the daily operations of the facility, which will likely house a library, a food store, the community association, a health clinic, and a police station. It’s a great challenge to get all these partners to come to a common understanding, but there are some great, visionary people in leadership positions with the parties involved, and  they see the potential benefit to those in the community, and are willing to work through the difficult pieces.

In addition, I’m finishing up another masters class (just one class and a thesis left after this one!) It’ll be nice to be able to focus solely on my thesis proposal – however, I’ve been able to tailor almost all of my coursework thus far towards my area of research (project-based learning with “at-risk” youth), which is nice.

So, nothing dull about my home life, or my work life — who could ask for anything more?

Project-based Learning – independent or collaborative?

Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about project-based learning, and the potential it holds for transforming the landscape of education. Since Dewey first challenged the methods of scientific curriculum making preferred by Tyler and Bobbitt almost a hundred years ago, scholars have been saying that what we do in schools needs to be relevant to students. Yet it still is not. PBL provides the chance for educators to take content that is prescribed by a provincial government, and place it within a real situation or scenario for the students.

The literature on PBL is limited, and somewhat contradictory – some practitioners claim that student-led inquiry is at the base of all authentic project-based learning. Sometimes in this context it is related directly to Science, and called problem-based learning. Whole schools are based on inquiry or constructivist learning, with varying levels of student direction, such as Zoo School, Avalon School, or New Country School to name just a few. Other call project-based learning Project-Based Service Learning — here, projects may or may not have a basis in inquiry, but the end goal is for students to provide a service to the school, the larger community, or even the global community. PBL also relates to Place-based Learning, another way to describe learning that takes place outside of the school, often as part of providing a service.

Other people who advocate PBL cite the benefits of students working together towards a common product, performance, service, or solution. In my experience with students coming from poverty, this is the ultimate benefit of PBL – the engagement and belonging that comes from working with other students towards an end goal, mattering to these students, and ultimately being depended on by these students. Middle-class students generally already have this sense of belonging in their lives – whether they belong with a sports team, their family, or a club or group outside of school. Our students, however, don’t always have avenues to build these feelings of belonging. If we can build this feeling of belonging at school, then students have a compelling reason to attend.

Another concern I have with student-led inquiry is that our students, especially in grades 9 and 10, don’t really know what they are interested in. They don’t have the life experience to know what is out there – often they have barely left their own neighbourhood. During the Dinner Theatre, we had students who couldn’t tell you two things they liked besides television and video games discover that they loved cooking, or acting, or set-building.

I think that any implementation of PBL would have to carefully combine both independent, student-led inquiry-based projects with structured, teacher-led projects. I see it as a contiuum, with students starting with structured projects where they “Discover Their Passion” to steal a term from Sir Ken Robinson, and moving towards more student-led projects by grades 10/11/12 (or whenever they’re ready for them.) Even within the context of teacher-led projects, there is room for students to have choice. One quick example – we’re looking at running a photo-journalism project later this year. While the form of the project (producing a newspaper and everything that goes along with it) is structured, the actual content of the paper will depend on student interest. However, if a student had never taken a photograph, or written an article for a specific purpose, how would they know they liked to do these things?

So this is where I find myself, on a Saturday morning, homework done for the day but not the weekend, trying to reconcile student-led inquiry with structured large group projects. What a geek.

Thesis

Like many of my colleagues, I’m working on a Masters of Education. For mine, I chose to focus on Curriculum and Instruction, and I chose to write a thesis. Most people I know don’t go the thesis route – instead, they take 10 courses, and get the good ole M.Ed. (and the $2000 a year pay raise that goes along with it.) I have taken three classes so far, and have two more to finish. After that, thesis time. However, I am working on my thesis right now. I collected data on the project we did last year, and spent the last few months (part time) and the last few days (full-time) reviewing literature relating to project-based learning, “at-risk” youth (the youth that are called urban youth if you read American research, inner-city youth if Canadian) and case study methodology. Needless to say, the good times have been rolling for some time, now. However, today I finished draft #1 of my summary. 55 pages of APA-style glory. The reading has been really interesting – this is why I didn’t do the course route – I can’t imagine spending (wasting?) time doing research that doesn’t directly relate to something I’m doing. Perhaps this is a comment on my lack of abstract thinking ability. Either way, the process thus far has been great. And time consuming these last few days. However, with the draft on ice until the 16th (when I get back from the social justice summer camp I work at) I am feeling rather accomplished and relaxed. Now, to install the new Energy Star front and rear doors…

Project Planning Again?

Well, it’s been a long time since I wrote, but not for lack of fodder – just lack of time. It is June, after all. (School here goes until the last week of June.) This week, a couple staff and I met with Farley Flex of Canadian Idol fame to plan “Project Hip Hop” (not my choice in names). Apparently while Farley was in a neighbouring city he saw the racism that First Nations people in our province face, and noticed the similarities to his experience growing up in Toronto. He decided he wanted to be involved with a school, and got in touch with our principal. The rest is, as they say, history.

The goal of Project Hip Hop (I remind you, not a name I chose) is to create an environment that simulates working in the music industry. Students will choose roles that fit their specific personalities and skill sets – from artist to producer to dancer to graphic designer to record label executive. Now, before you immediately write off Project-Hip Hop as being a lame simulation (something I wanted to do after reading that last sentence) let me clarify – the students will be DOING all of the things associated with these roles. Performers will be putting out tracks. Graphic designers will be creating their album art. Managers will be working with the performers on their projected image. There will be a show at the end of the project, highlighting the skills learned.

Our students really connect with the whole Hip Hop culture. There are many similarities between their experiences and those of the people who started Hip Hop. The challenge will be to help students see how they can adapt Hip Hop culture to fit with their personal backgrounds, and not just blindly adopt it.

All of this is possible because of some partners – the local University has $2 million “Interactive Media and Performance Studio Labs” where students will spend two mornings a week. As well, the Arts Education students from the University will be out at our school one morning a week working on the dance side of things. Farley will come to our city five times during the year to work with students – this is made possible by support from a large provincial organization. All of this has fallen together quite nicely, and we are excited for the possibilities.

Now, if you’re a teacher, and like me, you’re probably having this dialogue in your head.

“Gee, that sounds neat. And like it has nothing to do with any curriculum, except maybe arts education. Seems like a lot of time and energy for an arts ed credit.”

Well, we are giving an Arts Ed 20 credit. In addition, as students will be writing songs, press packages, press releases, etc, and reading autobiographies, histories, information on the industry, etc, we are tying in a grade 11 English Language Arts credit as well. We have spent two mornings coming up with our list of critical outcomes for English, and are correlating those to activities. I am working on the project with two other English teachers (each of us allotting 0.5 of our teaching time to the project) and our job will be to ensure that all the skills necessary for students to experience success in grade 12 English are being taught. Actually, that will mostly be there job – I am coordinating contact with the University, Farley, etc.

We will limit the project to around 30 students (though we’ll probably push upwards of 40 if we have space for the students.) Already, we had a couple young men who have been out of school for more than 5 years approach the school to ask if they can come back for the project. While the project won’t address the years of systemic racism, and rampant poverty, hopefully it will help some students connect with
school, build some skills, and make meaningful connections and memories.

Now, to sort out the logistics…

Where’s that update? Oh, here it is!

Well, looks like I haven’t finished the updates from Minneapolis yet. Last week was busy, and this week is shaping up to be similar. Such is life as a teacher and student, I suppose. On the thesis front, I have lined up eight students to participate in my qualitative study of the Dinner Theatre Project. I am excited to see what I find out about students perceptions of the project, and how their experience in the project compares to their past experiences in schools. Hopefully the data I collect will help inform future project-based learning endeavors at our school. I have my first interview tomorrow after school, and so I spent some of the weekend reading up on Case Studies and interviewing techniques. Not exactly intriguing reading, but purposeful.

On the personal side of things, B and I spent Saturday afternoon and evening on a scavenger hunt co-ed pre-wed (the name courtesy of her cleverness, not mine) for close friends of ours who are getting married May-long weekend. We went for a long bike ride today, met up with some good friends from out of town for lunch, visited some other friends in their new house a few blocks away, distracting them from the painting they were doing, shaved our cats (sorry, no photos) and rounded out the day with family supper at my in-laws. I must admit that though I spent the winter cursing the cold weather and wishing for the tropical sun of Cambodia, it sure is nice to be close to friends and family again.

Minneapolis Reflection: Cristo Rey Jesuit High School

Cristo Rey Jesuit High School is part of the Cristo Rey Network of schools that was started in Philadelphia. It is in the area of Minneapolis affectionately known as Murder-opolis. Fielding-Nair International, the same company contracted to design our new shared facility, designed Cristo Rey. It has a massive shared gymnasium on the north side with room for 8 basketball courts. Apparently on Friday nights all courts are used and the place is electric. Check out the physical layout of Cristo Rey.

The neighbourhood has a lot of Spanish speaking students, and all promotional material for the school is in both English and Spanish. Cristo Rey is a private school, with the students working one day a week (job-sharing with other students) in order to pay for their schooling. On any given day, 20% of the school population is at work. Local corporations and organizations hire students, however, because of this all students must be in the USA legally and have the paperwork to prove it. This precludes many vulnerable students from attending Cristo Rey. (This is a problem we’re tackling here, as many students only have a health card – no SIN, no photo ID, no Birth Certificate – and can’t have their SIN reissued.) Students and  staff follow a dress code.

The learning model at this Cristo Rey wasn’t fully developed, but it was still interesting to see the allocation of space on the inside. There were many informal learning spaces and wide corridors with sitting areas as opposed to traditional classrooms. Where there were separate rooms, there were garage doors to open them up if a space needed to be larger.

As we toured around once again it struck me how important it is to have collaboration on staff. A building like Cristo Rey wouldn’t be functional if staff didn’t have a shared vision of education, and weren’t planning together to enact that vision. So, as we move on with creating a new community learning centre here, the question remains – how do you ensure all teachers (and partners in the building) are on the same page? If I had the answer, I sure wouldn’t be writing a blog entry – I’d be speaking to millions of people.