Real World Ed

As 2016 comes to a close, I reflect on how this school year has been both challenging and rewarding.  Moving to a brand new content area encouraged me to grow in ways that I didn’t realize were possible.  Learning the curriculum, working with a new professional learning team, and teaching kids one year older not only refreshed me but gave me much needed insight as I prepared for my instructional facilitator role.   Since becoming an instructional facilitator, I have been able to work with a plethora of teachers in the building.  From working with 7th and 8th grade teachers as they designed and implemented video projects to even working with math teachers on integrating the 4 C’s (creativity, critical thinking, communication, and collaboration) into their lessons, it has been an honor to be a part of great instruction on campus.    Because of the many transitions that I have been experiencing this school year, I’ve neglected some of the things th...

In my previous post, I introduced some of the statistics involved in Finland’s philosophy, “Teach Less, Learn More.”  I discussed how even though Finland’s students spend fewer hours in the classroom, they consistently outperform other nations on many comparable assessments.  Because I don’t think we will all of a sudden have a new calendar that allows us to “teach less,” part 2 of my discussion of Finnish Paradox #1 will dive directly into strategies that teachers can and should use to allow students to take control of their own learning.  I truly believe that for us, this paradox should mean that we as teachers spend less time directly teaching our students and give them more of an opportunity to teach and learn themselves.     The Finns call this being “minimally invasive.”  By getting out of the way, our students will prosper and have an opportunity to truly learn something meaningful.  I’ve made it my goal to be as minimally invasive a...

As I was touring Suomenlinna Sea Fortress off the coast of Helsinki in July 2016, I encountered a group of children excitedly playing and engaging with three actors portraying the noble people of the late 1700s.  The king’s crown had been lost and it was up to the children to help Gustav III find his missing diadem.  Although I couldn’t quite follow the Finnish storyline, there were a few things that were quite clear to me.  First, the children were doing the work; they were in charge of finding the clues and the adults were not providing much assistance except when a performance was needed.  Second, the engagement level was probably the highest I’ve ever seen for a group of children spending a summer day at a museum.  “Kuningas ja Kadonnut Kruunu” (The King and the Lost Crown) represented the epitome of Pasi Sahlberg’s first paradox from Finnish Lessons (2011 and 2015): “Teach Less, Learn More.”   Part of the “Teach Less, Learn More” phenomenon ...

I have always had an eagerness to start a blog, but never could quite motivate myself to begin. I enjoy writing immensely, but usually made excuses for why I wasn’t getting started.  I questioned who would want to read what I wrote; I told myself I was too busy with teaching and other extracurriculars; finally, I just couldn’t figure out what to even write about.  I’ve had various ideas over the years, but could never flesh out a concrete idea that I would want to continue with over an extended period of time.  I finally have a concept that I am both passionate about and eager to explore further: Real World Education. Why Blog? My passion is education; it’s that simple.  I love social studies (my previous subject), I love children and seeing them grow both educationally and socially, and I am sure I will love what is in store for me this upcoming school year as I transition into 8th grade language arts and instructional coaching.  As a beginning teacher, ...