My thoughts on Education

[dustin-strickland]

The hardest part of my trip to Kenya

This post is by and far the hardest post for me to write about my trip to Kenya.  I’ve wrestled with how to share it and what to say.  I’ve tried to write about it but keep erasing and trying to figure it out …and I still don’t know.  But it’s important to understand what is happening and the hope that I saw. If it’s incoherent and difficult understand that it’s because I can’t wrap my mind around the evil I saw.  But I’m going to try.

Before I had gone on the trip I was already planning for the; What if I could go back.  Well I thought I would bring my kids, 10 and 11, and they would get the chance to spend time with the kids in the school while I worked.  I figured it would be a great opportunity for them to gain a first-hand grasp of a culture vastly different from their own.  But that was before I took my first boda, taxi, ride home to where we were staying.  What I saw in the bars and walking the streets was and is the hardest parts of the trip for me comprehend.

This hardest part of the trip had nothing to do with the classroom, the teachers, or even the massive poverty many of the kids lived it.  What was ans is so difficult for me to process was what I saw on the street when we drove through town.  It wasn’t uncommon for me to see old white men sitting with girls not much older that my daughter… Just the thought of it fills me with rage and deep sadness.  I don’t know how to wrap my mind around it…I can’t.  No one should have to.  It’s wrong….How would I explain that to my daughter and son?!?  

The area where I was working is known as a hub for sexual exploitation.   How a place even comes to be known as a place where you can exploit young girls, baffles me.  But it is.  Men come to this area because they know they can find young girls.  The tradition of prostitution, either forced or as a result of the massive poverty, is prevalent there.  I would see it every evening as we road home and these men would sit openly in the bars with these young girls.

The only hope that I could grasp onto was that Retouch was making a difference.  Many of the children in their schools are either exploited or at the risk of exploitation.  The children in the school have been interviewed and identified as those that are in a dire need of change. Retouch understands that by providing these children with an education, a hope for a better future, homework to keep them busy in the evening, a loving environment, teachers and staff that continually loves them cover them in prayers, and the hope that springs from change our risen Savior can bring. Through education the Almighty can make a difference in their lives.  That he can bring hope, change lives, and transform their lives, their families, and the community.

It’s a story I’ll share with my kids when they get older.  It’s important for them to understand that in this world that there is evil but more importantly there is Hope, Hope that comes from the Almighty and Hope that can transform lives.  In the meantime I’m going to continue working with Retouch.  You can make a difference too.  You can sponsor a child and ensure that they are able to receive the education that they desperately need.  You can also make help by provide finances to help build their newest school.

Click on the link below and make a difference. https://retouchtheworld.reachapp.co/sponsorships

[dustin-strickland]

Quick Writes

Quick writes is an excellent strategy that develops writing fluency.  Couple that with its ability to activate prior knowledge, informally/formally assess, promote critical thinking, foster peer reflection and critique, be applicable in any content area, build vocabulary, summarize content, make predictions, and multiple other areas of application makes it an extremely versatile tool.  

In essence quick writes is a brief timed writing exercise.  Students are giving a topic and told they have one or two minutes, the choice is yours, to write whatever they can about the topic.  The only rules are that their pens/pencils cannot stop moving.  They are not to worry about correct spelling, grammar, or anything besides getting as much information down on the paper as they can.  I often couple this with a contest to see who can write the most…it’s amazing how a little competition will drive a class to write like crazy. The flexibility of academic focus and small time commitment required make it an excellent strategy for any classroom or area of study.

If I were teaching math I could use quick writes after introducing dividing fraction to see if they students fully comprehend how to divide fractions.  In science I could use it to activate their prior knowledge of cells prior to teaching.  For social studies I could use it to have students compare Walt Whitman and Allen Grinsberg.  In reading I could have students tell me everything they know about the protagonist.  To be honest quick writes can be used in every content area and at nearly every academic level.

Here are few links that can give you more examples of how to use this fantastic and engaging strategy.   http://nrhs.nred.org/www/nred_nrhs/site/hosting/Literacy%20Website/Literacy%20Strategy%20Templates/Quick_Write__description.pdf http://teacher.scholastic.com/products/scholasticprofessional/authors/pdfs/rief_sample_pages_introduction.pdf http://wvde.state.wv.us/strategybank/QuickWrites.html http://www.heinemann.com/shared/onlineresources/002154/MyQuickWritestextsamples.pdf

[dustin-strickland]

Google Earth Pro is FREE!!!!

Google Earth Pro is absolutely free!!!! If you haven’t downloaded this amazing tool, which use to cost $399, go do it now…seriously I’ll wait.

Ok now that you’ve got it loading up in the background let me explain why I love this program. While Google Maps is nice and I use it a lot, Google Earth is its bigger cooler brother. With Google Earth you are able to take your students on a virtual tour of ANYWHERE on earth. Many locations have preprogramed 3d tours of a location along with multiple pictures, information, and even some videos.

In addition from flying from location to another and getting a bird’s eye view of anywhere on earth you also get these great features with the pro version (Credit goes to http://www.cnet.com/news/get-google-earth-pro-for-free/ for the break down) • Advanced measurements: Measure parking lots and land developments with polygon area measure, or determine affected radius with circle measure. • High-resolution printing: Print images up to 4,800 x 3,200 pixel resolution. • Exclusive pro data layers: Demographics, parcels, and traffic count. • Spreadsheet import: Ingest up to 2,500 addresses at a time, assigning place marks and style templates in bulk. • Movie-Maker: Export Windows Media and QuickTime HD movies, up to 1,920x1,080-pixel resolution.

There are so many things you can do with this program! I love that it’s not only highly educational but so much fun to play with.

Where to get it: (it says free trial but it’s simply free now) https://geoauth.google.com/gev0/free_trial.html

[dustin-strickland]

Depth of Knowledge, DOK

One of the key terms in education today is Depth of Knowledge (DOK). In a nut shell DOK refers to how academically rigorous an activity or task is. However, before I go further it needs to be noted that simply providing a student with more work does not make a task more rigorous. The rigor or DOK of a task/project is determined by how deep or complex the thinking of the student has to be to complete a task. DOK levels 1-4 progressively require deeper or more complex thinking in order to complete the task.

In level one thinking students are only required to recall facts, complete rote activates, or have shallow/basic understanding of a topic. These activities usually only have one correct answer. Some examples of DOK 1 would be using math flash cards, memorizing vocabulary words, labeling a drawing, and so on.

In level two, DOK 2, students are moving a bit deeper in their thought process and applying skills and concepts. These activities/task usually require more than one thought process and could require the students to compare and contrast, describe and explain a problem, or classify by characteristics.

Level three depth of knowledge, DOK 3, is centered on strategic thinking. In these activities/tasks students are delving into and answering why things happen, arguing and supporting their argument, or even evaluating or investigating the cause of a problem. This level of deeper thinking requires the student to wrestle with the content to determine their answer.

The final level, DOK 4, is extended strategic thinking. In this students are thinking at the deepest level and maybe synthesizing information, applying one known concept to an unrelated field, or designing a functional model. These activities/task require extended time and often could not be completed within one class period.

Ideally the bulk of activities or tasks throughout the school day should range between DOK levels 2 and 3. This will ensure that students are continually thinking rigorously throughout the school day and are learning information at a deeper level. It is important to note that in order to move to level 3 and 4 activities that students must first move through levels 1 and 2.

This fantastic image from above and more information can be found here: http://blog.edmentum.com/four-levels-depth-knowledge Another fantastic resource can be found here: http://www.aps.edu/rda/documents/resources/Webbs_DOK_Guide.pdf

[dustin-strickland]

My trip to Kenya

I’ve wrestled with how I was going to share my story of visiting Kenya.   It seemed that everything seemed to fall into place and come together so quickly that I didn’t have time to process what was happening much less put it into words.  To be completely honest, I’m not sure if now I’ll do much better but I’ve had time to chew on everything that has happened and I’m going to try.  Although when I began to type out my experience and it exceeded 2,300 words, and still wasn’t finished, I knew I would have to break it into to chunks.  So that’s what I’m going to do.  For the next few weeks I will break down my story and tell it sections.  Some of it will be focused on the educational training we did and some on my personal experiences.

I had a good friend ask me this weekend what the main take away from my trip was.  It took me back a second because I hadn’t processed it that way.  So from the hip I simple responded and that there were two main take aways but that they were related.   The first was spiritual. 

I grew up in the church, in fact I’ve got 7 preachers in my family so my faith was not just something I visited on Sunday.  In the denomination I grew up in, even though it was never directly said, it was heavily implied that ministry only took place in the pulpit or on the mission field.  I mean you could serve the Almighty in your day to day life but if you really wanted to be of true service you had to be in the pulpit or on the mission field.  Throughout my life I really wrestled with that and finally came to understand how absolutely ridiculous that notion is.  Regardless of the fact that is found nowhere in Scripture and I understood that intellectually that teaching was rubbish, I still didn’t feel it was true.  I didn’t feel like what I did in the school was ministry.  

This trip changed that.  I mean I met Chris and in 5 months we are working together in Kenya teaching.  We met, fished, talked about implementing a reading program, I met with Jennifer (Chris’s wife) to talk about what they could do to change reading, I skyped with Sarah, we all met up and chatted, and then we went to Africa… This sort of thing isn’t common in my life.  I mean my training and job for the past 5 years has trained me specifically for this trip with classes ranging on how to improve teacher engagement to how to best improve reading comprehension in struggling readers.  In Kenya all students are taught exclusively in English starting in third grade, so there wasn’t even a language barrier. And to top it all off the teachers specifically wanted new techniques and strategies to improve their teaching.  If ever there was a trip that was tailor made for me, it was this one.

Throughout the trip the Almighty was showing me that what I do, day in and day out, is ministry.  The impact that I make in the lives of students and teachers is ministry.  My meetings and trainings are ministry.  My daily life from running copies to helping teachers is ministry.  Regardless of where my job takes me or what I may end up doing, because of my commitment to Him, I doing ministry, I’m furthering the Kingdom, and I’m pointing people to him.

The truth is, if you are a Christ follower then your ministry is what you do.  It doesn’t have to be in the pulpit or on the mission field.  It is being a teacher, nurse, construction worker, student, home maker, pastor…or whatever.  Your life is your ministry and you daily impact those around you. So if you bought into the lie that ministry only takes place in churches or in a faraway country accept it as a lie. As a Christ follower, what you do impacts the kingdom regardless of where it takes place or what profession you have. 

[dustin-strickland]

The greatest impact on your child’s education will come from you.

This week I’ve had a lot of time to reflect on the school year.  As a teacher I know first-hand the impact that we have on the education of your child.  We are entrusted with your precious ones for nearly 8 hours a day, serve them breakfast and lunch, and do our very best to meet their individual learning needs.  It goes without saying that we have a huge impact on your child’s education.   However, the greatest impact on your child’s education will come from you.

You are their heroes who chase away the shadows in the night.  You are their doctor when they skin their knee riding their bike.  You are who they run to when they are scared or nervous.  You are the one who wipes their tears and holds them when they cry.  You are their world.

When you read with them or cuddle up to a good book, you reinforce the necessity for reading.  When you help them with math homework or make save allowance to buy a toy, you reinforce the necessity of math.  When you praise a teacher or bad mouth the school, you model the attitude they will have in the classroom.  You influence them in every aspect of their education. 

What impact are you making?

[dustin-strickland]

A better way to read to your kids

Now before I begin let me say that if you are reading to your kids, you are doing the right thing.  Countless studies have shown that a key component to high literacy rates in children has been exposure to text.  So if you are reading to them, if you are pointing out signs as you drive, if they sit in your lap as you read the paper, or cuddling up next to you with their own book as you read yours, then you are setting them up to be a successful reader.  However, if you would like to make a larger impact as you read to your kids try implementing a strategy called an Interactive Read-aloud.

In essence the read-aloud and an interactive read-aloud are colleagues.  Both incorporate you reading aloud to your kid, modeling fluent reading, demonstrating tone, and reading with emphasis and passion.  An interactive read-aloud however takes it a step further.  In addition to those mentioned above you will intentional stop at strategic points throughout your reading and include some of the following strategies.

Asking questions: What do you think will happen next?  How would that make you feel?  Have we met this character? Why are they laughing? Because _____ happened, how do you think the main character feels?

Draw personal connections: That reminds me of the big white dog down the street.  Doesn’t that sound like something Grandma would say?  I bet that is like the toy we saw at Wal-Mart.  I could see your mom doing that.

Quick Scaffold: Basically you quickly describe a new vocabulary you think they don’t know is a sentence or two. You want it to be a brief explanation so that it doesn’t take away from the story.

Model strategies a good reader uses: Do you see how I stumbled over that word and went back to reread it rather than just rushing on.  Wait…I didn’t understand that so I’m going to go back and reread it….Oh I think it means __________.    Ha, that makes me picture the time tripped, dropped my burger, and the dog stole it before I could pick it up.

By incorporating these strategies into your readings you will expose your kids the skills you use when you read.  So often as good readers we forget that poor readers don’t play a movie in their head, connect what is happening in the story to something in their life, or go back to reread something they don’t understand.  Instead a poor reader just pushes on through a text whether or not they understand it.  If we model these tactics for our kids, odds are they will begin to use them when they read.

  Here are some resources that may help:

http://www.comprehensivereadingsolutions.com/interactive-read-alouds/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJjGKJawG8U

[dustin-strickland]

Puppet Pals

Puppet Pals is a fantastic app that is great for the classroom and at home.  In fact, when I first tried out the app I downloaded it at home, on my iPad, and let my kids run with it.  It quickly became a favorite app of theirs and they are constantly using it to tell stories.  As it happens, when I introduced Puppet Pals to my teachers I used a few of the videos my kids created to show how user friendly the app is.

In essence Puppet Pals is a digital storyboard.  The kids are able to choose the characters, backgrounds, and the props.  They then arrange the characters on the screen, hit record, and then move those characters around.  The program records their voices and all actions the characters or props make.  They are able to pause the recording, change background or props, and then begin recording again.  Once they finished they simply hit the stop tab and they can replay their masterpiece. Plus if they like it enough they can save it to replay it later.

On the educational front this app can be used to cover multiple content areas.  It can easily be incorporated into literacy standards to help reinforce comprehension skills, practice retell, and sequencing events.  It can also be used in content outside of Reading/Language Arts as an alternative a Power Point or poster presentation.  To be honest, if given as an option in a class project students will discover interesting ways to use this app that I haven’t even thought of.

This app is user friendly, highly engaging, the kids love it, and it applies across multiple content areas.  All around it’s an outstanding app.

[dustin-strickland]

Graduation Walk

I had such an amazing experience today! 

Every year our system holds a graduation walk, which allows graduating seniors to wear their caps and gowns and walk through the elementary and middle schools they attended.  It is such an inspiring event!  To be completely honest I’m not sure who is more excited on these days our students or our teachers.  For our elementary and middle school students the importance and distinction of graduation is reinforced through these walks.  Our graduates are proud and eager to strut through their old stomping grounds and hug the necks of their previous teachers.  However the largest impact of these walks may be on the graduates’ previous teachers.  

For the teachers we look into the eyes of these young adults and see the glint of the child we taught.  We are instantly transported to the times they laughed, goofed off, and struggled in our classroom. In that instant we remember how hard we worked to make sure that not only did they succeed but that they excelled in our classes.  In them we see the reason we began teaching and the impact we have made on the future. 

The second group of students I taught in fifth grade is graduating this year. As they walked through the halls I heard them call out my name, yell out salami (an acronym I used to get their attention Stop. And. Look. At. Me. Immediately), and shook their hands and hug their necks.  It moved me more than I thought it would. And when they call your name and run to hug your neck you’re a better man than I if a tear doesn’t run down your face.    

It was an awesome day.

[dustin-strickland]

Flocabulary is a library of songs, videos and activities for K-12 online learning. Hundreds of thousands of teachers use Flocabulary's educational raps and teaching lesson plans to supplement their instruction and engage students. Our team of artists and educators is not only committed to raising test scores, but also to fostering a love of learning in every child.

I’ve recently discovered Flocabulary (http://www.flocabulary.com) a fantastic website that has content specific hip-hop songs and videos.   These videos cover multiple topics; Vocabulary, Language Arts, Math, Science, Social Studies, and the Week in Rap as well as being aligned to specific grade levels from Kindergarten to 12th grade.  The videos are fun, engaging, the students love them, and they are effective. In fact Dr. Roger Farr, former president of the International Reading Association, conducted a study that indicated an increase on test scores based on use of Flocabulary.

Now the website does have a cost, ranging from single user to district implementation, but they are continually putting out new videos and content.  They do however have a great free trial as well as free videos you can view.  When I contacted them for my school they gave us a 90 day trail that was open to all of my teachers and students. My teachers have been really impressed with Flocabulary and we are planning on purchasing it for our school next year.

Check them out; I think you will like it!

[dustin-strickland]

A 504

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Twice this year I’ve had friends vent to me about their struggles and frustrations in ensuring that their child’s educational needs are being met at school and it has absolutely infuriated me that this is happening. A parent should never have to fight to ensure that their child’s educational needs are being met! This is especially true if the child has a diagnosed medical condition that impacts their learning. In these cases, which both of them were, it is not only educationally unconscionable for a school not to meet the needs of these students but it is also illegal.

The rights of students with a diagnosed medical condition are protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008, specifically section 504.  A 504, as it is commonly called in the school system, protects the rights of those students in any school or program that receive Federal funding from the Department of Education.  If a school or program fails to protect these rights then the school could lose their federal funding and/or face litigation by the Department of Justice.

If you feel that your child should receive a 504 the first step would be to contact your school.  Each school processes these request differently however nearly all require that you provide a physician’s report documenting you child’s medical condition.  Once this is provided the process to create the 504 is relatively simple, at our school it takes less than 30 minutes. The school will then have a conversation with you on how to best meet the individual needs of your child, so that your child receives the same quality of education as a child without a medical condition. Once this has taken place the school creates the 504 to ensure that your child’s educational needs are being met.

A couple of great resources are:

http://ncld.org/students-disabilities/iep-504-plan/developing-successful-504-plan-k-12-students

http://www.ncld.org/students-disabilities/iep-504-plan/five-things-to-know-about-504-plan

http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/504faq.html

  If you have any question please feel free to reach out to me and I’ll will provide any help that I can.