I know, I know, it's shocking, but you read that correctly. Today was my first teacher day back at school for the 16-17 school year, and it was absolutely amazing.
My district gets it. They get that we have moved way too far on the "let's pass the test" continuum, and now we are swinging back. The swing back is focusing on the 4C's of 21st century learning: critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity. We also added in a 5th - control; as in you need to release control to the kids. So instead of just sitting around and talking about it, today we actually did it.
We started our day with the usual welcome message, but that very quickly transitioned to an entire day of stations and sessions that we could choose for ourselves. We weren't assigned to groups. We weren't give a schedule to follow. We were basically given a series of challenges and told, "Go see what you can do!" These challenges included:
- 6 organized presentations for which we needed "tickets" - they included a presentation by Bricks for Kidz, a session on mindfulness, a drum circle, a paint and create activity, a team building activity, and geocaching.
- a Twitter challenge (check out #easdopeningday to see all of the fun activities)
- a series of outdoor games (cornhole, and giant versions of Jenga, Connect 4, Scrabble, Pick Up Sticks, and Dominoes)
- a photo scavenger hunt
- a Graffiti Wall where people could simply post their thoughts
- a marshmallow / pasta building challenge
- an egg drop challenge (Our egg didn't break!)
- an ice cream truck with ice cream for everybody
Lunch was served from 11-1, and we needed to be back at the main area by 2:00. But other than that the days was ours to plan and carry out. I was able to attend the Bricks for Kidz presentation (good, but too much talking) and the drum circle. My group and I worked on the photo scavenger hunt, participated in the egg drop, played cornhole and an intense game of pick up sticks, and enjoyed some delicious ice cream. Definitely not your typical inservice day.
At 2:00 we wrapped up our activities with a little reflection where they asked us 4 questions for reflection. We got into groups representing K-3, 4-6, 7-8, and 9-12 (a rarity that we all get to interact) and talked about our thoughts and take aways from the day. While our group came up with some great ideas, here are mine:
- My district administrators trust me. They didn't need to put me in an assigned group, have an administrator follow me, or make me complete a series of sign-ins. I was trusted to go out and make the best of my day, and that made me want to get as much out of it as possible.
- I have permission to go for it. If my administrators are willing to give up the control and let us learn the way we did today, it means I have permission to do the same with my students.
- Even when you sometimes want to go it on your own, it is nice to have the support of others. We could all go inside our classrooms and close the door, but it would not help the kids or be nearly as much fun as working together to solve problems.
- It's okay to get out of your comfort zone. You will survive, and you just might possibly like something you never thought you would.
- Just like my colleagues and I deserve the opportunity to lead, so do our kids. Sure, it may take a few extra days, but it's time to give the kids the reins when it's possible and see what they come up with.
- There are many, many ways to show proficiency, and they don't always involve a pencil, a test book, and a bubble sheet. I'm really hopeful that we begin to have a little more freedom with how we measure our students' proficiency towards the standards.
I honestly never thought I would say that an inservice day was the best day ever, but clearly the tides are turning. After years of feeling like I was doing a disservice to my kids by focusing only on "the tests" I finally feel like I can focus on my kids and help them learn and grow as amazing human beings. It's going to be a great year!
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