The Stockdale Paradox

As an educator, I have often wondered how many other of my colleagues hold a similar view of the state of education. How many maintain a mindset that we have the power and duty to fulfill the charge to pass along our shared experiences and human knowledge from one generation to the next? Currently, I am half way through a book by Jim Collins, Good to Great. Collins wrote, leaders of companies who were instrumental in facilitating a transition in the corporations they worked in, from being good companies to being great companies, did so knowing and understanding the brutal realities and truths of their current situation. They did so, however, with a faith that they would prevail in the end. This is known as the Stockdale Paradox. This paradox is named for a Navy Admiral who was captured and subsequently tortured in a POW camp in Vietnam. He later gave an interview and described how he and the other men in the camp had to face the reality of their situation, but with an unwavering faith that they would inevitably prevail. Startlingly, I read his answer to the question, "who did not make it?" To which he replied, "the optimists".


I have long considered myself an optimist in many things, because I embrace hope and the positive affirmation that I can make a difference in the life of someone now or in the future. I live my life by the creed given to me by my faith: God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I can not change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

Maybe the difference is that an optimist may not try and actively change his circumstance, but waits for it to change on its own. Whereas a realist with the Stockdale Paradox in mind will actively work toward improving himself and anything in the situation he can. In which case, I am the latter and not the former.

Common sense online.

About 3 years ago, I became affiliated with the organization known as Common Sense Media. Impressed by their commitment to provide resources and spread awareness of digital citizenship to parents, teachers, and students, I took advantage of the opportunity to partner with them to be a certified educator through their program. Later on a second tier of increased involvement presented itself and I was invited to participate as an ambassador who actively disseminates information to all stakeholders for the benefit of students to sustain positive digital citizenship.

I am proud that Hays CISD embraces the call to action and is taking steps to better ensure that students stay safe online in school and at home. The internet can be a perilous destination, but with the help of tools, resources, and educational activities, we can combat the hazards that plague those who are caught unaware. Hays CISD has earned the distinction as a certified Common Sense Media Digital Citizenship District. This means that Hays has provided its students and parents with information, and resources through lessons in classrooms, parent information events through community gatherings and a number of other engagements both face to face and digitally. I am truly grateful for the opportunity to be an agent of change where I know that my efforts and the efforts of those who are of the same mind can help to protect our students now and in the future by equipping them with the knowledge to foster positive digital citizenship and maintain a good digital footprint.

Feeling like a car salesman

There are some days I feel like a car salesman, only I am "selling" the idea of using tech in a lesson to teachers. I offer to tell all about the new innovations included, the upgrades that have been made, the ways in which the teacher will save time, forms of creation and collaboration that can be sustained by students, and access to content that would not be possible with out the use of technology. In my case, and in contrast to a car salesman, I would not be in this position if I did not believe in the product and the real and genuine value that my product can bring to its adopter.

There is a local car dealership who's slogan is, "Whatever you need, anything we can do... we'll stand by you. I thought, that is great, because the last thing that a buyer wants is to sign on the line and then you are out the door on your own. I believe dealerships are trying to offer the sense of a relationship with their customers. I want to convey the same message to my teachers as well. That I will be here to support them as they take their first steps into trying something new. I am committed to supporting success beginning, middle, and end.

Also, similar to a car salesman, their job is made easier or more difficult to varying degrees based on the reputation of the manufacturer. If the car is know as being reliable and dependable, then quality is a commodity that sells itself. When the success of the tools you work with is predicated on the strength and reliability of the support system that undergirds them, there is only so much you can do in preparation for successful use. So many variables are out of your hands. In my world, the tools I work with are provided through a network. The program software design itself could have flaws.

I hope that people know when I make a suggestion, it comes from a genuine desire to help both teachers and student attain higher levels of academic success, personal growth, and preparation for the future. I also hope that people know I don't work on commission. 

Can you get me two minutes out of one?

During weeks like this, I am often reminded of a conversation I had with a friend of mine who, like me, is an instructional coach. We both agreed that we held a common fear of losing touch with what it feels like to be a classroom teacher. As a classroom teacher, I admit, that I would scoff at those who would try to give me advise on how to be more effective, or how to improve my practice especially if they had been separated from their classroom for any number of years. I would of course nod politely, while in my mind, scream thoughts of "if I could only get these hours back and give them to my kids!" My friend and I joked with each other that there has to be a statistical correlation between the number of years an administrator or support staff has been out of the classroom to the inverse effect it has on the reliability/believability/validity of the suggestions they offer. Sure things sound great on paper, and all manor of contingencies have been considered except one important, immutable, and unfailingly unpredictable factor: my students. So, yes, your research-based, best practice, pedagogically sound strategy or technique will get you published, but will it allow me to have greater access to the only thing that can improve scores with? Probable not.

By the way, the only thing, tried and true, 100% effective, that can improve scores in my opinion, if that is all you are in it for, is to have more time. Find a way for me to get two minutes out of one and I am all yours! When I was able to have more time with my kids, I could work miracles. In the precious and rare minutes that I was able to trade pieces of my soul for, I could open minds and clear confusion like Moses parting the Red Sea. All it took was a few extra minutes with my kids.

Believe me, when I approach a teacher with the latest and greatest technology app, or software, I won't sell it unless I can say, "Do you need more time? Well, this will improve the quality of the time you have and possibly give you more of it!" Sure there is disbelief, and even a struggle to comprehend to some degree. When I am able to sit down with a teacher and show them the magnificence of a really great tool that matches the outcome they want to see from their students, with the assurance that I am not going to abandon them once the meeting is over, I see a look, and I get a feeling that makes me know that I am fulfilling my purpose and honoring my vocation.

I know there will come a time when I finish talking to a teacher and they, like me many years ago, have the exact same thought as I did. That is just how it goes, but I hope to make the most convincing argument I can. At the end of the day, a teachers has to make a choice based on whats best for their kids. We have to trust in that.

Nature of modern learning

What is the nature of the modern world? I don't think a blog post could do the answer to that question justice, but here is a glimpse into current research that illustrates new learning principles connected with the modern world and the demands that students are facing as they leave their high school or university.

The principles of Connectivism written by Goerge Seimens is called a learning theory for the Digital Age. It seeks to explain complex learning in a rapidly changing social and modern world. Essentially, learning is a process associated more often occurring through connections in a network.

The principles of Connectivism are as follows:


1) Learning and knowledge rest in the diversity of opinions.
2) Learning is a process of connecting sources of information.
3) Learning may reside in non-human appliances.
4) Capacity to know more is more important and critical then what is currently known.
5) Nurturing and maintaining connection is needed to facilitate connected learning.
6) Ability to see connections between fields, ideas, and concepts, is a core skill.
7) Currency (accurate and up to date knowledge) is the intent of all Connectivist learning activities.
8) Decision making is itself a learning process.

The principle that caught my attention was the fourth. We can definitely see the shift from the world we knew a few decades ago to the present. Memorization was the key to success. Now, there is too much information to memorize, all you need to know now is how to locate it.

References:

Siemens, G. (2006). Knowing knowledge. Lulu. com. Chicago

Walling, D. R. (2014). Designing learning for tablet classrooms: Innovations in instruction. New York, NY: Springer.

The answer is always, "our students".

Anyone that has ever been in my classroom knows that I love to teach. This statement is not just a euphemism or expression. My passion is profoundly set within my soul and I believe that I was placed on this earth, to live my life as a teacher. I do so with great zeal and profound pride in our profession. I scarcely gain as great a pleasure from anything else professionally, than being connected to, and a support to teachers and students.

Completing my 15th year in education and my 3rd as a district instructional coach has opened my eyes to a lot. I realize now that during my time in the classroom my principal shielded me from many things that could have distracted me from what was important, namely, focusing on my students. Now that my circle of involvement has been expanded to a district level, I now see some of the issues that cause disruptions and changes within the system leading to frustration and anxiety which detract from a teachers focus. I now recognize people and mindsets that prevent progress for one reason or another. Sometimes there are legitimate reasons, and in other instances there is no reason, only a lack of commitment to students. This lack of commitment to students is a great cause of concern to me primarily because of the negative impact on students as well as teachers.

I have witnessed teachers get shut down, and shut out. I have observed the life and passion of once strong teachers slowly bleed out of them. When a teacher begins to question why they persist and lose sight of the answer staring right in front of them, I am frightened. The answer should always be, students. However, there seems to be a clandestine force which seeks to subvert the good work that teachers do which has an immeasurable, incalculable, and invaluable impact on the future of our entire community.

My son, who is only seven, wants to be a teacher. Who knows if that will change, I am greatly saddened by momentary thoughts which hope it does change. I hope that when the time comes I will be able to guide him and even protect him, but we all know that no matter how much advise you give someone, they have to walk their own path. He will face adversity and painful trials. All I can do as his father is to prepare him with tools to overcome the challenges he will surely face. Will education be any better than it is now? Will school climate and practices be more effective when he is ready to accept his own classroom? I will continue to work and make it so.

I want to continue to be a source of hope and encouragement to others. I have been asked, "how can you be an optimist and an educator?" to which I proudly reply, how can I not be both? To be a teacher, is to see the very best in people even though they do not realize it is even there. Then, you create moments where they have opportunities to discover what you saw, and eventually see it as well. To be a teacher means that you hope, and to hope means that you have faith. I have faith that we are beings created by, for, and to love. Love is the greatest source of hope.

Let us never forget that all the love we will ever need to sustain our hope is sitting in our classrooms right now. 

Growth Mindset or Die

I have never been in a position where having a growth mindset was as critical to survival as the one I am currently in. Yes, to a great extent, having a growth mindset as a classroom teachers is important, but sadly, you can survive without one. As a supporter of innovation in the classroom, learning new things and staying on top of trends and innovations is essential to provide the necessary support to teachers and students. Part of my job is to learn. I am very greatly for that opportunity, and I take full advantage of it.

There is one tool that I have been putting off learning more about. Autocrat works with Google Forms to email a PDF document to a recipient with all the input formatted as you like via automatically generated email. I can wait no longer, since a principal has requested my assistance to create an autocrat job.

Thank God for 8th hour learning!

I will let you know how it goes.