Pushing The Edge with Innovative Educator Greg Curran

They’re moments that catch you unaware, moments that surprise and delight you.  

Join us as we celebrate teachers and innovative ways to be all you can be.  I was honored several months ago when Greg Curran asked me for an interview explaining my position on children, their abilities and the many ways they learn. As he peppered me with questions about how my children best me time and again with ideas for our book series, the creation of #whatisschool, one of the top Twitter education chats of 2014, and my views on learning I realized how much I could offer, and how much I've been given by my amazing PLN.   The interview is posted below I hope you enjoy it!

When students stretch themselves in ways that you’d never have imagined, going far beyond what you thought possible.  In this episode: Challenging our views about young people. We’re letting go of the reins and pushing beyond the ‘we know best’, ‘we’ll show you’ approaches with author, broadcaster and speaker Laura Hill. 

Laura has two children, Ava and Kayla, who managed to confound her time and time again. So much so that they’re partners with Laura in the Family Business, and have contributed to a significant shift in how she works with young people.That’s not all though, we’re also talking #WhatisSchool, a Twitter Chat that Laura co-founded with Craig Kemp. Plus we have the Lightning Round – where we’re talking Risk, Courage and Edge.  And to bring us home, a young John Lennon goes one up on his teachers in a Not to Be Missed Quote about Life, School and Happiness.

For more Pushing The Edge with Greg Curran visit http://pushingtheedge.org/8

Opting Out Of A Broken System, Opting Into Life Learning

by Laura Hill

For the last few weeks the conversation in my district has been about opting out of standardized tests.  The reasons for and against opting out were made clear in a bombardment of information both from teachers and teacher’s unions, the district, local news, class moms using class lists to disseminate information and other parents.  By the end of the break I was exhausted and little perplexed, here’s why.

The conversation was not about my child’s education; it was about highly politicized education issues.

I decided to share with my children the pros and cons of the arguments for testing and for opting out. At 12 and 9 they began the process much like I did, with a clear idea of the direction they wanted to take. By the end of the process we had reversed our stand several times.  My daughters learned more about themselves from this exercise in deciphering political messaging, separating fact from propaganda and making an informed choice than they would learn from the results of the standardized assessment. 

What we are really doing is opting out of a broken system.

Education used to be a process in which basic skills were learned to create a level playing field that banished ignorance and created opportunity. As the education system grew in complexity with the increased need for workers and leaders in a newly industrialized economy the system changed to one that winnowed out those less likely to succeed and rewarded those who excelled. There was a place in society for everybody.  Today those values no longer hold true and the system no longer works.

In a world were the unique qualities of the individual are prized the old education system doesn’t work.

You can no longer take out last year’s lesson plan and try to retrofit it into educating today’s students. It is the technology sector that has ripped apart and revolutionized almost every segment of industry and cultural arts including mass media, finance, industry and now education. This is true for two reasons; the needs of the world have changed in both personal and economic sectors and the skills of the students have grown exponentially especially in the area of technology.

So how do you opt out of a broken system and into life learning?

Change often does not come easily but in this space in time it is increasingly evident that change in education is unavoidable.   Parents are increasingly aware of options in education and are using their voice to advocate for their children’s right to diversified, student centric learning environments.  Students are finding voice through technology and learning valuable, viable skills that work in global arenas without the help of the education system.  Governments and unions are being met with opposition and businesses whose models stress profiting off of students and student data are being opposed.  So where does that leave you as a teacher?

You can make this a time of uncertainty and fear or an opportunity to usher in a shiny new paradigm.

Recently, a friend told me there were two kinds of people, campers and hikers. Campers hold down the fort while hikers go out and explore new lands, bringing back with them new opportunities. As educators you have the opportunity now more than ever before to be hikers, and to bring the new ideas you find back to camp for the betterment of your scholastic environment and the education system as a whole. We see this everyday in online forums, PLNs and community groups but it isn’t enough.

To make change happen you need to have desire to make a difference and a place where ideas can grow and be put into action.

Teachers often stand alone, surrounded by people but isolated in the camp of their classroom.  It is a noble and lonely stance but it doesn’t have to be. As agents of change we can re-imagine a new system of education, creating forums where tools can be shared not just amongst teachers but also between teachers, students and parents around the world. We can forge a new alliance that keeps students from slipping through the cracks, brings in support from the community and ushers in a new age of student centric learning that will help grow real skills for a global age.This generation of children is going to develop some of the most amazing creations and bring on some of the most profound social changes ever conceived. You can choose to aid that effort or do nothing.

All it takes is one little step.

My daughters and I have taken one little step, now it’s time for you to show us that you echo our desire and support for a new education system by making changes in the classroom.  Stop teaching to the test, start working in teams to integrate technology, create a collaborative learning environment and engage my children in student centric learning that will help them become the leaders and dreamers of tomorrow.   We can’t do it without you and I won’t let my children become political footballs in an arena where student’s needs are ignored so unions, governments and big business can push their agendas.

You are not alone.

You are not alone in this. At #whatisschool we see hundreds of thousands of educators who desire to be agents of change, yet this is still a small percentage of educators worldwide who are striving to re-imagine school and the education system.  If fear holds you back consider this, you can camp and let unions, politics and business dictate how you will teach or you can hike and create a new education system that is destined to change rapidly whether you like it or not.  The real choice here is who will decide what education is to become.  I choose a coalition of teachers, parents and students working together to develop a system that is not based on profit but on the idea that together we can reshape the education system, and the world, to be a place of boundless discovery, creativity and learning.

I am not afraid.  I hope you will join me-Laura

Laura Hill is an author, illustrator, parent and the co-creator of #whatisschool, a global forum for connected educators re-imaging school and implementing strategies to make education a place of excitement and discovery for all students, teachers and parents.  Connect with like-minded educators and concerned persons by visiting www.whatisschool.org or contact Laura on twitter @candylandcaper or laurahillbooks@gmail.com

Maker Faire, NY...Mind Blowing Hands On Creation For Teachers and Students

Saturday I took my daughters Ava and Kayla to Marker Faire, NYC. 

I had been introduced to the maker movement several years ago as board president of my local public library at a NYLA conference when a young librarian from Fayettville explained to me how they used 3D printers to connect the scientific and farming communities by creating replacement parts for agricultural machines. I was hooked.  Since then I have been involved in setting up numerous makerspaces at libraries and schools, but nothing I have seen or done was as wild, crazy, wet and fun as Maker Faire.

Being a Maker means taking what you see around you and transforming it into something more.

The day began in the best way possible, the interactive park at the NY Science museum followed by a performance by the EepyBird Mentos guys. Squished against the barrier that separated us from them my daughters and I listened as Frtiz and Stephen revealed the secrets of their Mentos Experiment explaining how coke interacts with the surface of Mentos creating an explosion that can be guided through different size and shape slots for optimum splash.  

We saw lots of amazing things on Saturday that people had built with their hands, spare parts and imagination. My daughters road a kinetic sculpture called Tik Tok The Croc, we listened to a car covered with fish that sang and danced to the Time Warp, there were Ghost Busters armed with Proton Packs, suited men with displays for faces, drone wars, a circus and a giant mousetrap that crushed a car with a metal safe. 

But the genius of Maker Faire wasn't in the seeing, it was in the doing, which was nothing less that sheer fun!

Booths stretched out for what seemed like miles and were filled with treasure troves of hands on making materials waiting to be discovered. We tried our hand wiring LED lights and lithium batteries to make glowing pumpkin faces at Maker State. We stopped by Circuit Scribe where we crafted circuits that functioned by drawing  designs on a piece of paper.  We built and programmed robots to play piano at Play-I and finally landed at OGOBild a company that makes characters that snap together, bendable creatures ideal for stop animation.  And since we're doing clay animation at my house right now, this was right up our alley and we scooped up a bundle.

But the best part of the day didn't come from a vendor's booth, it came from a great, big pile of junk!

When I was an artist studying at Parson's School of Design in NYC, my friends and I would frequently comb the streets for boards, circuits and wire that could be transformed into sculptures and 3D art.   Now my kids were doing the same thing at Maker Faire!  In a Maker Booth piled high with broken computer parts, craft materials old audio tape and glue guns my daughters spent almost an hour making some really cool sculptures. They were on fire with imagination and solving problems of design as they created without models or instructions.  

And that’s when it hit me, isn't this what we spend so much time trying to get the children to do?

Saturday my children were scientists, artists and mathematicians. They were jungle gym explorers.  They were inventors, thinkers and creators discovering new worlds on their own, yet together with thousands of other children who were doing the same thing. 

Sunday, Kayla and Ava wanted to clean out the garage. We filled two boxes with "maker materials" we found as we cleaned. Then we built an animation recording stage against the wall and a building zone right in the center where we began creating giant kinetic scarecrows for a local installation. Next to the B-zone we put an art chest full of scissors, markers, paper and glue and a bookrack filled with all kinds of books for inspiration.  In a few weeks I will add some motors and circuits I have in a box in my closet. 

I don't know if my daughters will be the next great inventors but I do know that a spark has been lit.

I'm going to do whatever I can to help them grow their ideas and get them onto the world. I owe it to them for no other reason than because I can help.  Take the chance with your students this year and help them create.  See where their imagination leads you and how you can tie in the concepts you're teaching to some big maker opportunities.  One that is coming up that we are participating in is the Imagination Foundation's Global Cardboard Challenge. You might lose some instruction time, but just think of all you will gain.  And who knows, a student of yours may become the next great inventor because of a fire you lit in them, and isn't that what teaching is all about?  -Laura

Laura Hill shares her expertise in creating maker spaces that integrate technology, art, science and hands on fun! She has shared this knowledge in her role with public libraries, now she brings the same excitement to schools. To find out more contact Laura at laurahillbooks@gmail.com

Toxic Or Textbook, What Type School Culture Are You Creating?

Last week my daughter came home upset.  “My teacher said I didn’t hand in my homework when I did and I got a zero,” she told me.  A moment later she gave me a form to sign.  It was from another teacher outlining punishments for bad behavior; a verbal reprimand, being held after class and detention. “What’s the second one all about,” I asked.   “That is so we will be late to our next class and get in trouble with our next period teacher,”  she replied.  I have to admit I was really surprised but thinking back she was also docked grade points for missing a band concert because we went to Lincoln Center to see the ballet.

It made me ask are we teaching our children about academics and cultural arts or are we teaching them to play the game to get by?

At the tender age of 12 my daughter and her friends who all pull outstanding grades are very aware of the culture in their school.  On one hand the principal and guidance make an effort to know the children and engage them.  On the other hand a rigid standard of grading homework and unfair punishments breed a culture that encourages the children to play the game to get by and spawns accusations of favoritism in a very competitive education environment. 

To understand what is happening we need to look at education’s public narrative that emphasizes standardized testing, teachers and funding.

Examining the business models of industry looking to cash in on the multi-billion dollar education market we can discern several things.  First, we need to acknowledge that companies and non-for-profits that sell books, curriculums and testing are in business to make money not to educate students, that is a by-product. In fact, a well-educated student would put many of these companies out of business because the need to recreate the materials they provide would disappear.  In our public narrative standardized testing, rigor, and a focus on numerical achievement has taken the emphasis on growing student’s talents completely out of the picture.

Additionally, a public narrative that emphasizes numerical achievement puts stress on teachers making them responsible for student’s academic success without an opportunity to consider the student’s abilities, drive or environment.  This leads to unfair assessment of students.  I recently spoke to a mom who was upset because her child’s grade in writing was “too good.”  In looking at the essay in question it was full of grammatical mistakes, run on sentences and had poor structure, yet the student received an 87.  “I’m afraid he’s not learning,” she said.  Still, the teacher continues to give high marks presumably due to pressure to meet funding and other goals that might be in jeopardy if her students don’t achieve.

Fear that students will not be prepared for college or real world challenges is growing amongst parents.

Parents are largely shut out of their children’s education, which is a big mistake. Parents are directly responsible for the billions of dollars school systems have available to them and should have their community’s culture, values and children’s needs taken into consideration.  The current public narrative doesn’t allow that and instead de-emphasizes the individual and their unique talents creating a school culture in which children at a very young age know that they are academic failures or successes, that their ideals have no value and that their unique abilities are not part of the scholastic equation of success.  How long will parents continue to fund a system including higher education when their children are not being valued, their talents not being cultivated?  How long will they fund a system that does not grow skills that children can use in the real world, or one that results in debt, not opportunity after studies are complete?

The knowledge of academic rank affects every aspect of a student’s growth, drive and future ability to succeed. 

So what do we do?

First, we need to very boldly acknowledge that our school cultures are creating a toxic learning environment for students, teachers and parents.  Teachers need to be willing to stand up against unfair practices and hierarchies that breed resentment and diminish their ability to collaborate and grow as a professional community.  Second, we need to shift the emphasis away from numerical ranking and move toward measuring individual achievement, helping students grow their talents to become confident, productive members of society upon leaving the scholastic system.

Do not sacrifice a generation of students to the bottom line of big business. 

You are passionate, talented educators who have dedicated your life to empowering our youngest citizens with information, shaping their character and inspiring them to the greatness we all possess. You might not be able to change the system or the public narrative overnight but you can change the culture in your school.  Make it fun, bright, engaging! Change the physical environment to be more conducive to learning, exploring and collaborating. Set aside time for sharing and discussion-15 minutes a day can make a huge difference in a child’s mind. Try something new even if it puts you outside your comfort zone. And make sure you find time for creativity and play, especially in the higher grades.

 No one ever learns stuck in a box. 

Be bold, examine your school culture today and make a change with your colleagues. You have the power. Your students and their parents will thank you and so will I because today my daughters are living in the culture you’ve created.  You can build on the foundation I have given them or you can destroy it, the choice is up to you.  I hope for all of us you make a good one.

Building Skills By Building Robots

Last weekend my daughters participated in the First Lego League Robotic competition.

They got involved building robots several years ago, not through the schools but through a program at our local library.  At the time Ava was seven and in second grade while Kayla was 9 and in fourth grade.

Working in pairs with kids of different ages they learned how to use Lego Mindstorm to build robots they could program to complete tasks.  My daughters loved coming up with interesting and sometimes crazy engineering that enabled their robots to push levers, shoot hoops and open doors on a tabletop course.  They used programming language to tell the robots what to do, working together to refine their programs until the robots did exactly what they had intended.

I can't tell you what a rush of excitement they got from building and programming robots, or how happy it made me as a parent to know they were embracing critical skills they would need to be 21st century creators and thought leaders all while having fun, it was a triple threat!

This year they were ready to enter the First Lego League Robotics Competition.  There were also two teams forming at our Middle School, one for six graders and another for seventh.  After exploring both the library and middle school options my older daughter decided, along with two other six graders, one boy and one girl, to join the library team.  When I asked her why, she said the school team was all boys and she wouldn't get a chance to have her ideas heard.  That really resonated with me.

56% of girls who go into programming leave their jobs after 10 years.

I found her answer intriguing. Statistics have shown that it's not the capacity to do the work but the environment in which the work is being done that makes female programmers abandon their posts.  This is important because girls as well as boys need to be encouraged to take on positions that will shape the future use of technology, to create inventions we can't even imagine yet.  Think of all the ideas that would be lost, talent that would be wasted, if girls weren't given an equal opportunity and encouraged to enter and stay in these fields.

The other thing that intrigued me about the team was the mixed age group.

Unlike the school, the library team included kids ages 9-14.  This brought an interesting perspective to the group as the children were focused on different learning modules and different types of play.  It was a ten year old who came up with the world problem solution the team was judged on and showed the older kids how to use Scratch to create a learning game to make student's better programmers. He also showed them how to build a controller out of tacks, cardboard and wire.  It was pretty amazing.

So what's the point?  

The point is that as educators you can't be boxed in by age, grade or gender when exploring ways to help students acquire critical collaborative skills in key technological areas like programming and robotics.  And the younger you start children learning these skills, the better.  If instruction time is limited create a club, if resources are the problem enlist the help of your local library, boy and girl scouts or look for local donors.   Parents can form homeschooling groups to help their children gain the critical skills they need while having fun.  All you need is a few building kits, a computer, imagination and some commitment. 

My daughter's team went on to win an award for the best mechanical design of a robot by using sensors in its construction.  They placed in the upper tier over all and were judged on their design, robot's performance, world problem solution, their teamwork and attitude.  Going to the competition, seeing what other kids had made and working together made them eager for more. 

The skills they have gained will stay with them and make them more apt to lead and get their thoughts heard when they leave school. It sparked their imagination, inspired them to discover new ideas and acquire new skills by working on solving real life problems with other children.   They made friends and had fun.  Isn't that what learning is really all about anyway?

Laura Hill is an author and speaker who works with children and adults to get 21-century skills into their hands and great ideas into the world.  As president of her local library board she has been instrumental in helping libraries and school find niches that bring maker space learning environments to their communities.

If you missed EDCampLI…

Saturday I attended my first EDCamp, which was held in my own backyard on Long Island. 

Growing up on Long Island is a real experience.  From it’s humble clam digger roots to the mansions and millionaires of the Hamptons, miles of white sand that make the pristine beaches of Fire Island, and orchard upon orchard of grapes where some of the best wines in the world are produced, there is really something for everyone.

 Fire Island 

If you don’t know where Long Island is, let me clue you in. Long Island juts off the east end of NYC and has long been a mecca for artists, innovators, the rich and famous boasting residents like Jackson Pollack, Teddy Roosevelt, Charles Lindbergh, Walt Whitman, Natalie Portman, Jerry Seinfeld, Eddie Murphy, Billy Joel, Calvin Klein, Francis Ford Coppala, and Steven Spielberg. Dee Snyder of Twisted Sister fame lives down the road.   It's the home of famous movie scenes like the "horse head" scene from the film The Godfather (1972), which was lensed at Sand’s Point Preserve; North By Northwest (1959) 
and The Manchurian Candidate (2004) at Old Westbury Gardens and Arthur (1981) staring Dudley Moore at Caumsett State Park.  

It is no wonder that education innovation has a hub here.

Entering EDCampLI, I was greeted by Carol Varsolona of NYEDChat who interviewed me (and many others!) about #whatisschool and the impact it is having on teachers and the way they thinking about education.  Change in education and integrating technology were the big themes of the day. 

Laura Hill #whatisschool interviewed by NYEDChat

Co-hosting NYEDChat was Tony Sinanis who also spoke of telling your school story by branding with technology and social media. Look for his book, The Power Of Branding, out now. Talks with Teachers creator Brian Sztabnik, who lives nearby and is just brilliant was there, along with Doc Sheilah, who presented a talk title “What does your Vox say?” And the list goes on. Tom Whitby, Gwen Pescatore, Dan McCabe and even Starr Sackstien showed up to share their knowledge with packed rooms of educators. It was truly a day of learning and connecting.

Laura Hill #whatisschool and Tony
Sinanis on branding your sch

So if you have a chance and there’s an edcamp near you, why not go!  It got me revved up to do some spectacular author talks on the Great Story World Mix-Up series I write with my daughters and inspired me to share more widely my ideas on the shift needed in teaching to prepare students for a technology based workforce in a #whatisschool lecture series.

The organizers are amazing and you never know who you will bump into. Innovative like-minded educators are right next door, take the leap and head out to an EDCamp, you've got so much to gain and nothing to lose!

-Laura

Laura Hill #whatisschool and
Doc Sheilah on Voxing

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Original Post: Excited To Go To EdCampLI

This weekend Long Island is hosting it’s first EdCamp, Saturday, September 13 and it couldn’t come at a better time!  Long Island is home to a wealth of educators, educational institutions and students of many faces, all poised and ready to use and infuse the system with new models of educational technology and methodology.  What better way to network, share ideas and experiences than a face-to-face meeting with people you’ve been speaking to all along!  

My question to you going into this weekend is what do you expect to get out of it? 

I know my goals are simple; I connected on Twitter to better understand what educators are experiencing in order to add direction to my in-school author talks and workshops, to share my insights on how education is changing to meet the needs of students entering a communications based economy with #whatisschool and to enrich my own children’s education by understanding the opportunities available. 

What I hope to get out of EdCampLI is a deeper enrichment and a connection to educators who are striving towards the same goals, right here in my own backyard.

I hope if you see me you will stop and say hi, introduce yourself and let me know how I can help you, I’ll do the same!  It will be a fantastic day; I hope to make it as meaningful as possible and to see you all there.

-Laura