My Sunday Seven

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With the release of “Innovate Inside the Box” this past week, I was given the fantastic opportunity to share my “Sunday Seven” with the Burgess Consulting community which “IMPress Books” is a part of as a subsidiary company.

The “Sunday Seven” is just seven random things from different people each week and I have found some great educational tools, followed some great people, and found some excellent TV shows. If you want to subscribe to this email list, you can do that here.

Here is my attempt at it this week.

1. An App that makes me smile. TikTok is the new “Vine” for me. When Vine went away, I was destroyed. TikTok is the closest thing, and although it started as “Musica.ly” with mostly lip-synching videos, it is now a wide range of short videos from highlights, to funny sketches, etc.  When I am stressed, I scroll through TikTok, and it makes me smile. This app reminds me that sometimes apps are just for mindless fun and that can be okay. This “TikTok” makes me laugh every time I see it.

2. An app that I could not live without. Aaptiv is an excellent fitness app that has different programs from weight lifting, cycling, running, yoga, and meditation. I use it every single day, and the “coach in your ear” model has helped me tremendously. I have improved my running significantly by using this app.  It isn’t free, but for me, it is worth the monthly subscription price.

3. Book on education that I just read that I love. “Be Excellent on Purpose” by Sanée Bell is a must-read for educational leaders but has lessons and ideas for all K-12 educators. Not only is it a great read, but I know of Sanée’s work, and her work is legit.  This is my favorite quote from the book and one I refer to often:

“Students should have rich, relevant, and authentic experiences at school, across the board.”

It is a simple yet powerful quote and should be the aim of all of the work that we do in education. It is a great book, and Sanée is an even better person. You can connect with Sanée on Twitter.

4. The movie I have watched the most in my life. I can recite every single line from “Can’t Buy Me Love” with a young Patrick Dempsey.  If I am ever channel surfing, which I rarely do, and that movie is on, I am watching it.  I don’t know why I love this movie so much, but it is still one of my favorite movies of all-time.

5. Instagram account that inspires me. I love the quotes and messages shared from Alexandra Elle (@alex_elle) as they are ones that both inspire and make me think. I recently shared one of her quotes on Instagram, which came to me at just the right moment. It simply stated this;

“the older i get, the more comfortable i am with not entertaining things that make me feel unworthy, uncertain, and unclear.”

After I saw that quote, I just started reading through everything from her account and go back and read her quotes often. Beautiful stuff.

6. Broadway Soundtrack I love. “Dear Evan Hansen” is a fantastic soundtrack and a fascinating story that ties in bullying, social media, and the impact it can have on our lives and our need to be “seen.” I loved the soundtrack, and then I saw the play, and now I listen to it almost daily. I will be honest that I struggled a bit with the message of the play but it really makes me think.  A great show and soundtrack

6. An idea for every new parent or grandparent. Years ago I saw the “Dear Sophie” commercial which highlights a dad that created an email account for his daughter and emailed her his life through his eyes from her birth to the present day (if you can make it through the commercial without crying, you might be stronger than I am).  I started an email account for my daughter Kallea about three months before she was born, and I take time to write her emails now and then, and it is one of the most powerful exercises I have done as a parent. The thought of talking to her in the future, whether I am here or not, allows me to create something extraordinary for both of us.  Even if your own children are older, this is still a great idea and something I am so glad that I started.

You can connect with me on Instagram or Twitter at @gcouros.

(The full “Dear Sophie” video is below.)

Innovate Inside the Box (The Book)

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It is with great pleasure that I share  “Innovate Inside the Box: Empowering Learners Through UDL and the Innovator’s Mindset” my co-authored book with Katie Novak, is now available. As the follow-up to “The Innovator’s Mindset,” this book is meant to not only help you create a vision for what our schools and classrooms can look like today while providing compelling stories and practical strategies for educators through a shared lens of Universal Design for Learning and an Innovator’s Mindset. The style of the book is meant to be conversational yet practical and while focusing on ideas and strategies to help all learners find success in ways that are meaningful to them. In the following review from David Rose, Ph.D. and CAST’s co-founder, he articulates our hopes beautifully for what this book sets out to accomplish.

“No one articulates a more compelling, a more urgent, or a more motivating vision of education–for both teachers and their students–than George Couros. No one articulates how that vision can be reached–for every student and teacher–more daringly, more practically, and more inclusively, than Katie Novak. Having them together in one book not only helps us reimagine the goals and practices of education, it reminds us of why we ever wanted to be teachers at all.”

Katie and I are very excited about the release, and I wanted to give you a little preview of the book.  The book is separated into three parts:

Part one focuses on the “Core of Innovative Teaching and Learning”  and how we can refocus our intentions and actions in a way that will help our students to be successful now and throughout their lives.

Part two focuses on the characteristics of the “Innovator’s Mindset” and how we can bring these characteristics to life through the lens of UDL. Each chapter in part two focuses on why each characteristic is important in our work today, followed by Katie providing ideas and strategies of how to bring these characteristics to life through UDL strategies.

Finally, part three focuses on how we can influence others to move forward (no matter our role), and how sometimes, the best inspiration we can find is by looking from within.

Below is a short snippet from the first chapter focusing on the core element of “relationships.” After each chapter, we provide questions that are meant for self-reflection and group discussion. We hope this will lead to not only growth for the reader but allows myself and Katie to learn from you as well. You can also go directly to the “Innovate Inside the Box” website for full book study resources as well.

You can get a copy of the book directly from Amazon.

Rita F. Pierson, in one of my favorite TED Talks of all time, shared the following statement: “Kids don’t learn from people they don’t like.” I love the statement, but I have seen it challenged often by people who ask, “Isn’t it possible to learn from people you don’t like?” Of course it is. Every person reading this right now has learned something from a person they disliked or a situation that was negative. We can find opportunities for learning in any situation if we are willing to look for them.

Rita’s statement, however, points to the truth that we can learn so much more from those with whom we have a positive connection. Relationships don’t serve only to build up our learners; they give us a foundation to be able to challenge them as well. And the truth is, we are more likely to rise to high expectations when they are held by someone we like and trust.

If schools do not push our students to grow, then there is no purpose for them to be there in the first place. But if there is no relationship where learners feel seen and cared about, when we push our students or colleagues, there will be little motivation, if any, to respond to that encouragement. How do you find that balance between building up and challenging others to grow?

Ask yourself these questions:

1. Do I have any positive connection other than this initial interaction, and do they know their contributions are valued?

2. Do I ever connect with this person to say something positive, or do I only share feedback with others (or specific people) when it is negative?

3. Am I open to being challenged and critiqued in the same manner in which I am ready to deliver?

The common denominator in all three questions is the importance of the reciprocated relationship. Ultimately, you can learn without a relationship, but you will also go much further when one is present. Knowing and being known are not everything in education, but with positive relationships, our ability to effectively teach, inspire, and empower our students to make the world a better place today and tomorrow increase exponentially.

Questions for Discussion

1. How do you build relationships and know your students as individuals inside and outside of your classroom?

2. Think of two or three teachers who influenced you as a student, either positively or negatively. How has that made an impact on you today?

3. Share a story on social media (blog or video) about a time that you saw an impact of “relationships” as a learner or teacher.

We hope you enjoy the book! 

Learning from What Doesn’t Work for Students

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One of the blessings of my work is that I work with so many different schools and districts that I can garner so many great ideas from their learning and leadership. Recently, one of these school districts started the day off with having a panel of students that “traditional school” had seemingly failed. These students currently were in situations with alternative options that were working for them. A favorite quote of mine is, “Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.” from Bill Gates. Listening to these students share their struggles set a tone for the day for all of the adults to center their work. Too often, when we have student panels, we ask students where “school” worked great for them. Although we can learn much from success, we do have to learn from where we have let our students down.

Here are a few things that I learned from these students during this conversation:

1. Relationships are everything.

Many of the students had shared that they had gone through some personal struggles and that they couldn’t keep up with school. They reminded the group that they needed to be seen as “people first and students second.” One student had mentioned that in their new setting that one teacher, who had never taught her in any class, said hello to her every morning and knew her name. She acknowledged that this simple gesture had made such a difference for her. It reminded me of the importance of seeing all students in our schools, whether we teach them or not are our students and a simple greeting as you pass by can mean everything. Her words validated why “relationships” are at the “core” of the work that we do in education, with both students and colleagues.

This leads to the next point.

2. The value of relationships lessened as they grew older.

As students grow older and content gets heavier in school, there seems to be less of a focus on relationships, and seemingly as a correlation, a lesser interest in the school experience. I know this is not the only factor, but I do believe it plays a part for many. At the older levels where there are more “content specialists,” it is harder to connect with students as you could see over 100 students, if not more. Building these relationships when we see so many students may seem hard, but it doesn’t mean we don’t try. Many educators I know at the middle and high school level do a great job building relationships with students in and out of their classrooms despite the barriers they face.

One of the things that I discussed with the group after the students left is how could we change the structure of high school where classes are longer in a day but for a shorter duration of the year. Some schools are doing this right now and not only does it allow you to know your students better, but it also gives you more time to dive deep into learning while helping shift the structure of the classroom. It would be tough to lecture for 3-4 hours a day to the same group, whereas if you only have 45-60 minutes, the time frame almost lends itself to this process. What is essential to understand is that content is relevant and lecturing is not a bad thing. But when you see students for only a short time every day, it is hard to “create” when there is little time to deliver the necessary content in the first place.  

Many high schools have a structure similar to what I had as a student (five classes in the day for about an hour). But when teachers were the sole source of information, was that perhaps the best way? When teachers currently are an important, yet not the only source of information students have access to, is there a better format of how we can structure these days? A format that helps us know our students better and what drives them, but also create spaces for a deeper understanding of what they are learning. This is just something that I started thinking about as I listened to these students. I know many high schools have already tinkered and changed this structure so they can better respond to the diverse needs of their students and teachers.

3. All of the suggestions and students made were things school can do.

There was nothing that I heard from the students that weren’t possible in a traditional setting of education. They focused on the importance of relationships, having the opportunity to learn content in a way that was meaningful to them, and providing different options in how they shared learning. They also discussed the importance of tapping into who they are as people to bring out their best while supporting them to find pathways to success in a meaningful way.

In “The Innovator’s Mindset,” I shared some “what if’s” and then asked, “if you could start a school from scratch, what would that look like?” Some of the “what if’s?” are below:

What if we believed that everything that we had to make great schools was already within our organization, and we just needed to develop and share it?

What if schools operated as if we should all be “learners,” as opposed to students being the only learners?

What if we promoted “risk-taking” to our staff and students and modeled it openly as administrators? What if we hired people who did not look at teaching as a “career” but as a “passion”?

What if everyone in our organization, not just our students, was encouraged to pursue his or her dreams?

What if we focused on connecting and learning, both globally and locally?

What if people were always our first focus, as opposed to “stuff”?

In a place where every learner is encouraged to reach his or her dreams, these “what ifs” can become reality. 

The purpose of the exercise was to show that some of these “what if’s” are things that we can do in schools today. The above, in my opinion, are all possible. They might not be easy, but they are possible.

Listening to students who “struggled” in the traditional setting of school (that were now all flourishing in new environments) is something we need to do more often, but listening is only a first step. When we receive the feedback, what will we do differently because of it, and how will the students know?

I was so inspired by what I heard from these students and the educators who immediately started discussing things they could change right away and implement them in their context. I hope by sharing this idea, more schools and districts will follow this process.

Where You Are Right Now

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I saw this picture on Imgur awhile ago, and I have it saved in my favorite images.

This is a good reminder for us as individuals and as schools.

For individuals, focusing on goals is essential, but the process and the journey are important and where you are now will only happen once.  You might be frustrated where you are at this point in some capacity, but if you slow down and think about it, I guarantee you are further than where you were before.

For schools, we have to remember that although we need to keep an eye on the future, the kids in our schools and classroom are more concerned about right now.  Katie Novak said something to me once, and it has stuck in my brain.

“This is the only year this group of grade three students will be in grade three. Give them the best experience possible.”

Keep your eye on your goals but appreciate where you are now.  You will only be here once.

Innovation Focused on the Ability to Improvise

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Something I have been focusing on quite a bit as of late is the idea of innovation in education being more focused on depth rather than being something new.  For example, a lot of organizations (including education) are always touting being on the “cutting edge” as they are embracing the “latest and greatest” technologies or perhaps strategies.  The problem with this focus is that if you are too focused on doing the “new” thing, you probably never had a chance to get good at the last item or initiative.  It is a cycle that continues over and over again in too many spaces.

But if you stay focused on something too long, how can that truly be considered innovation? Think of it this way.  The original iPhone was a marvel when it first came out over ten years ago, but if you have had any of the iterations since, you probably would not be excited about the limitations of the original today. Each iteration of the iPhone to the product we have today is an innovation.  The more time we have to focus on depth creates an environment where we can bring out the true artistry within teaching and learning.

Image result for innovation focused on depth couros

I often compare this to a jazz musician and their ability to improvise. That ability doesn’t come from playing whatever random note you want at the moment but comes from the experience of being so well-versed in your instrument that you can create something magical in the moment.  From the article “Is Improvising Really Improvising?” they discuss how “improvising” on the spot is a skill that is genuinely developed over time.

One widespread myth about improvisation is that it is completely made up on the spot. No preparation, no memorization, and nothing that isn’t completely original.

For many, especially those watching from a distance with little musical experience, this is the most logical explanation for improvisation. After all, how else do you explain those musicians playing without music?

However, as anyone whose tried their hand at soloing over a chord progression knows, jazz improvisation is not a completely random free-for-all. You can’t just play whatever you want and sound good…

…This type of practice can be repetitive, however it is necessary to attain that level of freedom that we desire on the bandstand. However, many of us do not put in enough work to get to this level of creative intuition. Even though we know better, we get sucked into the belief that improvisation is magic. Sure, we start out in the practice room studying and ingraining the pieces of a good improvised solo, but we rarely go far enough. We stop with a few scales, arpeggios, and memorized licks and we expect something magical to happen when we get on stage.

The article goes on to end by saying the following:

It’s practice and experience that allow spontaneity and create the right environment for improvisation. And, spontaneity transforms those scales, techniques, and hours spent transcribing solos into something greater than you could have possibly imagined.

The more you’ve learned, the more you’ve studied, the more experience you have soloing, the more you have to draw from when you improvise. You can take bigger chances and explore uncharted creative territories. Sure, you might play some lines or ideas that you’ve worked out in the practice room, but you are adapting them to the moment – the music happening right now.

In the end, this is the kind of improvising that really is improvising.

That experience and focus on depth is the type of “innovation” we should be looking for in education. If we don’t have the time or expertise to dive deep into new learning, it is harder to get to those moments that become magical in our education.

Less is more. The less “new” that comes our way the “more” likely it is that we can create exceptional learning experiences for every single learner that we serve.

Defining a Personal Path to Success

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I received a really great question the other day from a teacher regarding the notion of “innovation” and how I see it as something that is both “new and better” (with the emphasis on the “better”).

I discussed this concept from “The Innovator’s Mindset” in the following paragraph:

For the purpose of this book, I’m defining innovation as a way of thinking that creates something new and better. Innovation can come from either “invention” (something totally new), or “iteration” (a change of something that already exists), but if it does not meet the idea of “new and better,” it is not innovative. That means that change for the sake of change is never good enough. Neither is using innovation as a buzzword, as many organizations do, to appear current or relevant.

A few things I have been pondering:

  1. I focus on innovation as more of a “mindset” than a skillset. What is “new” to one person or organization might be considered a norm in another space, but the focus is always on is this “better” in a way that it is helping our students move toward their own success.
  2. Seeing innovation as either “invention” or “iteration” is crucial to education. If have certain strategies that work for reading that I use, but they don’t work for a specific learner, I might take something I already know and tweak it to assist (iteration) or come up with something new to help the learner move forward (invention).  The idea of this being a “mindset” is that we actively look to create solutions to help those that we serve.
  3. “Innovation” and “best practice” should work hand-in-hand, but when people cite evidence that a certain practice helps something like “90% of students”, my first response is, “what are we doing for the other 10% that it doesn’t work?”  Educators bring certain tools and strategies to their work every single day, but when those things don’t work for all of our kids, we have to look for ways to support all students to become successful.

Last thing.

If we are talking about personalizing learning it is important that we also talk about personalized success.  Not all learners (adults too) will do the same things at the same time (or at any time) but success is a very personal concept and is too often defined by others for people. If we want to truly empower our learners to find their own path to success, it is important that we assist them in defining what that path and outcome can look like for themselves.

Just some thoughts I have been pondering.

The Gifts of Each and Every Child

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As a child, I did not read much. I definitely did not read for pleasure, but I read because I had to. Part of the reason I didn’t enjoy reading was that I was continuously asked to read books in which I was not interested in the classroom setting.

Now that I think about it, I did read for pleasure. Rick Reilly was one of my favorite authors, and he always wrote an article on the last page of Sports Illustrated that would combine a sports story with some emotional, human-interest story. As soon as I saw the new Sports Illustrated in the library, I would immediately rush for it and go right to the back to read the new Reilly piece. The problem is that I was told that reading magazines were not “real reading.” From conversations that I have seen educators have and have been lucky to be a part of, it is often shared we should never deter students from reading anything that interests them, whether it is graphic novels, blogs, magazines, novels, non-fiction, or whatever media I am not listing. A child reading is a good thing, although it might not be the type of text that interests you.

I am not saying that students shouldn’t be exposed to literature in which they might not have much interest. There are books that I have read that have blown me away that I would not have picked up if it was not for someone else’s suggestion. My concern is when we only ask students to read things that they do not have any interest. If at any point I would have been encouraged in class to read a book that had to do with the history of basketball, I would have been elated, and perhaps I wouldn’t have seen reading in the negative and been more open to suggested texts. I am proud to say that I read every day now and am an author, not only of books but of this blog. If you would have asked me in high school if I saw writing in my future. I would have laughed. I now can’t see a future where I don’t write. But I can read and write things that I am interested in, which makes all of the difference.

The point of this post is not only to think about what our students read but more about finding out who they are and tapping into their strengths and passions. As a student I was told that I “talk too much”, and although I understand the concern for disrupting the learning of others, was this something that was seen as a strength to develop and harness or something to be avoided? Many of our students bring talents and passions into the classroom, and although it would be impossible to tie in everything we do in a school directly to the needs of each child we serve, we need to find the opportunities when we can. I have shared the following image as questions to start the school year, but they can be used at any time to help build “learner profiles” that help us better understand our students.

Image result for 5 questions you should ask your students

This isn’t the only thing that can be done to tap into bring out the genius in each child as the answers to these questions can and will change over time. We simply need to be aware that “school” should never be a deterrent in bringing out the talents, abilities, and passions of each and every child we serve.

Are you adding to the person or the plate?

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Please bear with me as I try to process my thoughts through writing…This might seem like a bit of a ramble, but I am trying to work through some ideas.

I read something on a picture sharing site (I cannot find the image, but this is not my idea) that has stuck with me and has been bubbling in my brain. It said something similar to, “We spend all of this money and time developing and providing mental health initiatives in the workplace yet we don’t look at the things that we do in the workplace that may be contributing to the problems in the first place.”

That made me pause and reflect.

As someone who struggles with my mental health and has placed a strong emphasis on this in my life, this is something I am trying to learn more about to support others. I spend less time on social media, more time exercising, more time with friends and family, and have learned to say no to requests a lot more.  It has helped, but I have a long way to go on my journey. I believe in the importance of “hard work,” but there is a fine line between that and “overworked,” which can lead to a lot of issues.

So when we look at education, think about this reality. No matter what decade you went to school, the time frame of the school day was pretty close to what it is today, yet the demands of educators, as well as students, continues to go up.  I know there is a lot of conversation about homework and whether it is valid or not, and I know it is not this simple, but I am not a fan because I want kids to have a childhood.  As someone who grew up playing multiple sports, I wonder the impact of playing the same sport year-round and creating teams that almost act as mini-professional teams have on our youth.

I know that “work” is not the only factor in personal mental health, but I still think there are things we can do within the workplace that can perhaps help.  Here are a few things I think about:

  1. Initiative fatigue. Are we so focused on doing everything that it leads us to a) not doing anything well and b) total exhaustion? There is value in having our eye on depth, and I encourage groups that I work with that if you are going to add an “initiative”, we have to be explicit about taking 1-2 things off the plate platter of our schools. Think about it this way…are you adding to the person or the plate?
  2. Longer time for breaks, reflection, and connection. As I work with schools on professional learning days, I have done my best to challenge the idea that “structured learning” is the only valuable way to spend our time during the day. Longer breaks between some of the structured learning opportunities give people time to process, connect with others, or, go off on their own and have some downtime.  Not only does overscheduling lead to an overwhelming feeling, but it also models something that we should bring into our classrooms.  Maybe if we quit calling breaks “breaks” and called them “reflection and connection” time, we would see more value in that informal time.
  3. Giving grace. Not all people are at the same place you are, whether it is ahead or behind. I always think about how there are things that I do today that I swore I would never do that has become my norm.  But at some point, others were wondering why I wasn’t moving fast enough.  We need to recognize and be supportive of the fact that people are at different places in their journey and that as long as we are learning, we are on the right path. The speed of that journey matters less than the focus on moving forward.  This image was shared with me recently (I am not sure who this quote is from), and it stuck with me as a good reminder.

I am not sure if any of the ideas I have suggested will lead to the better mental health of others, but I don’t think we shouldn’t try as organizations and individuals.  We should be more focused on what we can do to identify and help alleviate the cause rather than looking for the cure.  Again, “work” is not the only factor in our mental health, but I still think we should try to find ways within organizations to support those we serve in their unique journeys.

This post by Ann Weiler gave me a lot to think about regarding the topic of mental health if you are looking for further reading.

“I get it now.”

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This past week, I had the pleasure to speak at a conference where the attendees were both educators and students, at a 70/30 split. It was an incredible experience, and the enthusiasm from the students for the event was infectious for not only me but the entire room. I had the opportunity to connect with so many of the students, and they had shared so many stories of leadership in their communities, and it was inspiring to see examples of students not waiting for tomorrow to lead, but doing it right now. But one interaction I had with a student has stuck with me since that day.

When I speak, I often share my parent’s immigration story and how their sacrifices have made such an impact on the life of myself and my siblings. I often remind myself that they did so much for us with so little, that I would not be comfortable doing so little with so much opportunity. My dad passed away over six years ago, and I miss him every day. My mom in her 80’s is still an incredible learner and would do anything for her kids. I am much more appreciative now that I am a parent.

After my talk, a student came up to me and asked if I had a moment. He shared the story of his father, also an immigrant to North America, and the story of how much he worked to give his son the opportunities he had now. He then told me that his father was really hard on him growing up and that he even resented him often. He then said, “As I was listening to your talk, I totally changed my view on my dad and now appreciate him in a way that I didn’t before I listened to you speak about your own parents. I didn’t understand why he did things the way he did, but I get it now. Thank you.”

I started tearing up.

That moment with this young man was something that reminded me that our words and stories could make a difference in the world to others, so I am going to do my best to keep that impact positive. His story inspired me as well, and made me miss my dad even more. I will never forget that moment and will cherish that interaction forever.

 

The Difference You Make

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In the article, “6 Powerful Ways to Turn Setbacks Into Opportunities” by Cindy Lamothe, I was struck by the following part:

Self-confidence takes the biggest hit after a setback, but there’s a way of lessening its impact. In his book Option B, renowned psychologist Adam Grant makes a case for counting one’s contributions instead of blessings.

In doing so, you’re reminded that what you do makes a difference.
Rather than ruminating over lost achievements, refocus on self-compassion. This involves confronting any adversity you face without judgment and recognizing that no one is infallible.

The idea of “counting contributions” really struck me. I have noticed that when I am frustrated or struggle, being grateful for what I currently have is important. But I also have seen that helping someone at that moment has a much more significant impact on my mood and well-being. According to the “Mental Health Foundation,” helping others is also good for our health:

“…evidence shows that helping others is actually beneficial for your own mental health and wellbeing. It can help reduce stress, improve your emotional wellbeing and even benefit your physical health.”

Like anything, if we focus too much on others and not our self, it can lead to emotional fatigue.  But one strategy I am going to incorporate into my life is when I am struggling, I will reach out and share a moment of gratitude that I have for someone in my life.  Not only could it make an impact on someone else, selfishly, but it can also help with our personal health.

Paulo Coelho Quote: “Because when we love, we always strive to become better than we are.”