Good afternoon, I hope this finds you doing well. On Sunday in church Father Rick mentioned that it was the Third week of Advent, known as “Gaudete Sunday.” He explained that “Gaudete” means “Rejoice.” He went on to mention that though the news only seems to mention the terrible division and angst going on in our world, we at St. Bernard’s have much to rejoice, including the food and money that was donated for the Christmas food drive as well as the outpouring of support regarding the church’s giving tree.
That got me thinking about all of the wonderful things we as educators have to rejoice over. Yes, the same time of division and angst is present in our world of education, but if we only pause to look, there is so much to rejoice. First, I am certainly am able to rejoice over the fact that I’m far better at handling Zoom lessons and distance learning than I was back in March. Second, I’m able to celebrate that my students have acclimated well too. They don’t hesitate to communicate if they have issues, and they are working incredibly hard. Just today I shared an assignment as an opening activity for my third block Zoom. Before I was able to log off of it, I had three students log on to the Google Document to start working on it! I can celebrate that! Third, I’m very thankful that Kenzie and Cash are so cared for, supported, and loved by their teachers. Finally, I rejoice my fellow teachers who are so willing to help share resources, reach out when they need advice, and are always inspiring me with their creative ideas and innovative ways to meet the needs of their students.
Be thankful. Celebrate the wonderful things you have. Life is better if you do.
Inside this week’s teaching thoughts you’ll find –
Photos – Entreleadership posted on Twitter an excellent image on How to Improve Your Workplace Culture. There are six steps: 1. Take Your Time When Hiring. 2. Kill Gossip. 3. Communicate with Intention. 4. Show Them the Money. 5. Lead Well. 6. Recognize Them.
How many of those can you check off with your team, staff, or class?
The World is a Fine Place – AC/DC is back with a new album, Power Up! Man, I thought these guys were old when I was 13 and bought my first AC/DC album, Fly on the Wall, from Pamida in Crookston back in the summer of 1985. Well, it’s only been 35 years, and they’re still cranking out their brand of rock and roll and having as much fun as ever. May we all have that kind of joy and passion in our work!
Book of the Week – The Power of Wow. This one is from Zappos and it delves into their amazing reputation not just for culture but also for being one of the greatest places to work. The book’s sub title says it all: How to Electrify Your Work and Your Life by Putting Service First.
Podcast of the Week – Shifting our Schools “The Future of Education.” If you’re looking for a great podcast, give this episode a listen. Jeff Utecht, the host, delves in to the various ways he believes education will change permanently thanks to distance learning. One of my favorite ideas of his is to make our content ‘bingeable.’ Just like students consume an entire series on Netflix in a weekend, why couldn’t students show up in the fall and I give them all 18 weeks of College Comp in the form of Google Classroom assignments, tutorial videos helping them with the skills and outcomes, podcasts for each week, and then reserve time to meet with them one on one when they need it? If a student is driven and wants to finish those 18 weeks in two months, why not? Let them move on to the next class or get a job or internship? I love that idea.
Video of the Week – This is one of my all-time favorite Christmas videos, and it comes via The U of M and their school of business, the Carlson School of Business Flash mob. It’s worth every second of the 4:47 length of the video!
Thoughts from Twitter – I love this one from one of my favorite follows on Twitter, Will Richardson, “If we want real change in school, we need to keep reiterating the obvious. Learning is natural; schools are not. We’re not creating conditions for learning to happen we’re creating conditions for schooling to succeed. There is a big difference, and need to own it.”
I was talking about this with my CC 2 class today. They raised a great point – no one ever taught them (or us) in a regular class how to use Zoom. Sure we had some training, but the rest was learn as you go. Much of it was a trial by fire too. Where in school, they asked, do students get a chance to do that?
How different would our training for Zoom have been if we’d have “schooled” it? Well, we’d have to buy a textbook “Zoom 101” I imagine. Then we’d have to study the theory behind screen time and effective communication. Then we’d take a quiz or two. Oh yeah, we’d hit our learning targets for sure. Then we’d take a couple tests on what a breakout room is, how to enable the chat feature, the dangers of not using a waiting room . . . all without ever having used Zoom. Right? Ha ha. Maybe. Maybe not. But we are all fluidly using Zoom, yet none of us ever took a class on it. What does that say about education moving forward?
Bonus content of the Week – check this out from Shifting Schools. They offer free tutorial PDF’s for a variety of technology and classroom topics. I ordered their free guide on how to run an effective break out session on Zoom, and it was great. All for free. Check it out.
I hope you remember to celebrate the awesome things you have in your lives in and out of school. You’re running out of time this year to do that!
PS the background for this week’s Teaching Thoughts is from last year’s HB Sound and Light Annual Lego display in Grand Forks.
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