OOSA - Out Of School Academy

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Winding Down while Ramping Up

It is hard to believe there is less than one month of summer left before school starts!  For those of us working in the out-of-school-time field, it is a period of push and pull.  While we are still knee-deep in our summer programs, our brains are already being drawn into planning for the fall.  We are simultaneously winding down and ramping up.  The result often feels like a spinning head!

In order to help you calm some of the chaos, this post offers a quick checklist of fall-planning activities you may want to start working on.  If it helps, go ahead and put a “due date” by each of the activities, to help you spread out the workload over the next weeks.  If you have coworkers who can help you with some of the activities or deliverables, put their names down by the item and spend this week asking them for support.

Program Applications:

O   Update your 2012-2013 program application and distribute it. 

O   If you have already sent out your application, do a push to get applications back (phone calls, email blasts, post flyers).

O   Update your program acceptance letter.

O   Once your 2012-2013 has passed and you have received enough applications, contact families to let them know their children have been accepted and send out your program acceptance letter.

O   Update and include any necessary paperwork for families to fill out in the program acceptance letter (e.g. emergency forms, field trip forms, important program dates, etc.)

O   Plan a family orientation and inform families of the day(s) and time(s).  You may want to hold more than one orientation to accommodate the busy schedules of your families.

Staff Hiring and Professional Development:

O   Revise your job descriptions for any open positions, post, and begin interviews.

O   Plan a staff orientation, put it on the calendar, and inform staff of the dates and times.

O   Pick weekly or monthly staff meeting times for the year (e.g. Tuesdays from 1-3pm), and put it on a calendar along with other important program dates.  Send the calendar out to staff so they can plan ahead.

Program Schedules and Activities:

O   Review any participant surveys and plan out classes and special program activities for the fall. 

O   Create a program schedule that you can share with families and staff.

O   Create a list of materials that you will need to purchase before the start of program in order for activities to run smoothly.

O   Update sign-in/out sheets, lesson plan templates, and any other paperwork that staff are required to complete for program activities.

Hopefully using this list will help you feel more organized and less panicked about winding down while ramping up!  Upcoming posts will delve into some of the checklist areas in more detail.  In the meantime, if you have a specific area you would like me to address, or a suggestion for something to add to the list, post a comment or send an email!

[oosaonline]

Weather is Cool

I always think of “talking about the weather” as a last resort at a boring cocktail party.  However, in case you are not familiar with San Francisco weather patterns, they are bizarre, and may actually merit some discussion. 

On the side of the city where I live, near the beach, it is pretty much perpetually gray and cold from June through August.  Meanwhile, only 15-20 blocks inland, it is sunny and warm.  Move even further east, and the temperature is likely to be at least ten degrees warmer, sun shining, you know, summer.

Tourists who visit San Francisco are always easy to spot on the beach as they are chronically underdressed (“But it was sunny and warm at my hotel!”)  So, OK, let’s jump in!  Because the reasons behind why these crazy weather patters occur is just one example of how to get your afterschool program participants excited about the wonderfully scientific world of weather.  Here is the San Francisco example played out:

1.     Start with a field trip that begins at Ocean Beach, and ends in the Mission - or vice-versa (a ride on the N-Judah would work great).  Have students get off of the train periodically to check the air temperature and make notes about the color of the sky, sun visibility, etc.

2.     Upon returning to the afterschool program, chart your findings on a map and ask your group to hypothesize why they think there were these variations.

3.     Help your group use the internet to find an explanation of San Francisco’s microclimates.  An article from 2001 in the SF Chronicle (our local newspaper) sums it all up nicely and is worth a read.

4.     Now see if your students can find other examples throughout the world where microclimates exist (i.e. Santiago, Chile).

Did you learn something?

There are many other weather phenomena that can generate enthusiasm.  Lightening usually gets people’s pulses up quickly.  Again, the internet is your friend as there are some really incredible videos on YouTube of lightening strikes that are worth watching.  This is one of my favorites.  Or check out the tornado videos (definitely screen these beforehand for younger students, as some of the videos are pretty scary).

After learning about the science of lightening or tornadoes, your students can research what to do to avoid getting hurt by these types of storms.  They may even want to do a service-learning project and create flyers or posters or a presentation for the larger afterschool program community about how to stay safe in dangerous weather situations.  Or, hey, maybe they want to make a brochure for tourists explaining how to dress in each neighborhood!

You really don’t need to spend a lot of time creating lessons.  The Weather Channel actually has a pretty awesome website with ideas, games, and lessons for learning about weather. 

Weather is such a cool place to start when studying dinosaurs, or cultures of the world, or, heck, even fashion.  Because, although it may make lame cocktail party talk, it really is one of the major influencers in our lives – so, go ahead, why not spend a little time trying to understand it?

[oosaonline]

Homework - HELP!

I am actually not a big advocate of homework.  In my experience, homework simply furthers the divide between the students who are understanding what is happening in class, and can therefore DO their homework, and those who do not understand the material and therefore CANNOT do their homework.  This might not be such a big deal, if it weren’t for the fact that successful homework completion often hinges on whether or not a student has someone around who can actually help with homework.  For many students, especially those students who do not have access to a quality afterschool program, there simply isn’t anyone around to answer questions or offer support.  In the end, homework becomes one more frustration and one more reason to dislike school.  Paper airplane and spitballs are flying.

For those of you who are in a position to help students with their homework, I would like to offer the following suggestions.  For those of you who are not currently in a position to offer homework help, I strongly encourage you to volunteer at a local afterschool program.  There are so many students who need just an hour of your time to help them understand the work!  Your impact could be revolutionary.

Homework Help Tips:

1.     Time it Right:  After a long day of school, the last thing children want to be doing is sitting still and concentrating.  Before starting homework time, make sure students have a solid 30-60 minutes of “running around” time (preferably in the fresh air), have a snack, and have a chance to chat and debrief their day with their friends.

2.     Create the Right Environment:  By the end of the day, even the most focused student may have trouble concentrating.  Insist on quiet in the homework room, and be conscious of where students are sitting – if a student is easily distracted, do not sit her near her friends, near an open window or door, or within reach of books, toys, or other items that could pull her off-task.

3.     Gather the Right Tools:  Create “homework kits” that include rulers, sharpened pencils, erasers, calculators, dictionaries, and anything else you think your students might need during homework time.  A lot of time and energy gets wasted looking for these items, so help your students be prepared.

4.     Create a “Help” System:  Students waste a lot of homework time waiting for someone to help them.  Teach to “skip” homework items they need help with and move on to those they can do on their own while they wait for help.  Develop a system for students to ask for your help without having to wait with their hand raised.  For example, you could put a card on each students’ desk that is green on one side (meaning, “I don’t need help”), which they can flip over to red (meaning, “I need help”) on the other side.  Then make sure to make your rounds to the red cards!

5.     Prepare Post-Homework Activities:  There is nothing more frustrating or distracting for a student struggling to finish homework than the students who have already finished their homework.  Either train these early-finishers to be tutors for their peers (or for a younger grade), or offer them quiet activities they can do while they wait for everyone else to finish such as reading, fun writing prompts, math games, etc.

6.     Get Help:  Some students benefit tremendously from one-on-one or small group help.  If you have a few students who consistently struggle to finish their homework, recruit a volunteer, college student, or parent to sit with those students in a separate area to offer more intensive assistance.  You may also consider contacting those students’ teachers to share your concerns about their homework and figure out the best way to help them.

There are a ton of websites dedicated to homework help!  Do a Google search and let us know what you come up with.  We’d love to hear your ideas.

And please let us know if using these tips help reduce the amount of soggy paper you are scraping off of the ceiling.

[oosaonline]

Reduce Test-Stress

Spring is just around the corner!  Peas have sprouted in my garden, the days are getting longer, and robins have been sighted in the yard.  It is a wonderful time of year when teachers, parents, and students look forward to that most joyful occasion of… testing.

I am not here to pontificate on the pros and cons of testing (because I would be hard-pressed to muster up any pros), but, rather, to offer some suggestions to those of you working in out-of-school-time programs about how to make this time of year less stressful for the young people in your programs.

For those of you in school-based afterschool programs, you may be feeling pressure from the administration to do test prep in your program.  If you have no choice, then, by all means, help your students feel more confident through direct practice. 

If, however, you have some sway in the matter, I am here to recommend some alternative activities and some of the research to back those activities up.

Play Strategy Games This is like sneaking vegetables into ice cream.  Help your students build skills and exercise their brains without even knowing it!  Anything from Connect Four to Chess; Apples to Apples, to Pictionary...  these games build great social skills, too!  Set up a tournament day to raise the stakes a little if you want.

Make Music Karaoke, anyone?  Drum circle?  Check out this research shared at a symposium at Stanford University:

“Harold Russell, a clinical psychologist and adjunct research professor in the Department of Gerontology and Health Promotion at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, used rhythmic light and sound stimulation to treat ADD (attention deficit disorder) in elementary and middle school boys. His studies found that rhythmic stimuli that sped up brainwaves in subjects increased concentration in ways similar to ADD medications such as Ritalin and Adderall. Following a series of 20-minute treatment sessions administered over several months, the children made lasting gains in concentration and performance on IQ tests and had a notable reduction in behavioral problems compared to the control group, Russell said.”

Burn Off Some Steam (BOSS!) Make sure your students are getting at least 30 minutes of physical activity each afternoon when they arrive.  Relay races, dancing, jump rope… try to choose activities that require students to break into a sweat, not just stand around and wait for a ball.  Here’s an article on some research on the benefits of intensive exercise.

Focus on Nutrients Been wanting to start a cooking club?  Now is the time!  Up the ante on your healthy snacks by introducing unusual fruits, lots of fresh vegetables, and whole-grain breads and crackers.  Watch this slideshow on WebMD for more suggestions.

Tackle Stress Head-On What do YOU like to do to reduce stress?  Introduce the same techniques to your students.  Maybe you like to do a few yoga stretches, deep breathing, or positive visualization (ah, that vacation in Hawaii sure sounds good).  Practice these strategies with your students so that they can benefit from them, too!  And research shows that doing deep breathing reduces stress just as much as getting a massage – so practice it more in your own life, too!

Have more ideas or know of some great research on stress-reduction and brain power?  Please share them!

[oosaonline]

Minding the Gap

Leslie Bennetts wrote a highly informative article on “ Women and the Leadership Gap ,” for this week’s edition of Newsweek.  In honor of International Women’s Day, I strongly recommend you take five minutes to read it.

In the article, Bennetts quotes an array of statistics that absolutely shocked me. (Do they shock you?)  For example:

Bennetts quotes Mary Quist-Newins, an assistant professor at The American College, “In the financial services industry, 57 percent of the workers are women—but only 1.5 percent of the CEO’s are female.” 

WHAT?!

And how about this zinger of a paragraph of statistics from Bennetts:  “Among this year’s Academy Award nominations, 98 percent were given to movies directed by men, 84 percent went to movies written by men, and 70 percent to movies starring men. In the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, as elsewhere in American society, the important decisions continue to be made by men: 77 percent of Oscar voters are male.”

Of course, the situation is ubiquitous, and not limited to who is CEO and who wins an Academy Award, as anyone who works with children or youth will tell you.

Let’s talk about math for a minute, since STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) is getting a lot of attention (and funding) these days.  There have been a myriad of studies done that show that stereotyping about who is good at math (boys) begins in elementary school – often before the test score gap between boys and girls in math even presents itself (upper elementary/middle school).  Likewise, there has been a great deal of research done on why the math gap starts and persists.  Do a quick Google search on “girls math research” and read a few of the studies.  Just don’t do it right after eating lunch.  The statistics will make you queasy.

Let me challenge you to think about your daily contact with the girls in your life, program, or class.  Are there any things going on that may, subtly or overtly, be passing along math gender stereotypes.  For example:

-       If you are a woman, do you ever let slip to your students that you are not very good at math? 

-       What gender are your math tutors? 

-       Which gender gets the most attention/time with a tutor during homework time?  (I’m guessing it’s the boys, based on the research).  Seriously, take a day or two and keep track of this, just to make sure you’re not missing something obvious.

Now, what are you doing in your program to actively undo the gender gap?  Not sure where to start?  Here are a few ideas!

-       Check out Expanding Your Horizons, a non-profit organization whose networking mission is to, “Encourage young women to pursue science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) careers,” and get your girls involved.

-       Jump in with Girls, Inc., to provide programming and learning opportunities directed specifically at empowering girls.

-       If you need a little inspiration to start a discussion, watch some of the videos posted on SheHeroes’ website with your youth or staff.

Have more ideas or resources?  Please share them with us! 

There is no better time than now.  As Bennetts points out, “In an era when health insurance plans reimburse men for Viagra while denying women coverage for birth control, it’s anyone’s guess when women will finally decide to mobilize their numbers and their networks to demand an equal voice, instead of continuing to tolerate their relative disenfranchisement.”  Case in point, the current debate regarding Federal funding to women’s health services (in case you haven’t been following that debate, here’s a recent New York Times article for you).

This is not history; this is now.  This is not going to just “work itself out” unless we actively do something to address it.

Use this post as an excuse to make a resolution to make a change in your behavior, your program, or your life to support and promote equality for girls so that International Women’s Day can really be an occasion to celebrate.

[oosaonline]

Conferencing

This past week I had the pleasure of attending the Digital Media and Learning conference.  I was so excited that the conference was taking place in San Francisco this year, I was literally counting down the days for weeks beforehand.  As someone who spends a great deal of time planning and providing professional development to educators, I was particularly looking forward to seeing the ways in which the conference would integrate digital learning into the format of the gathering.

Although the conference exceeded my expectations content-wise (wow, those panel-sessions were powerful!), I was sorely disappointed in the overall lack of digital-media-and-learning-ness surrounding me.  I wanted to the conference to open my eyes to new ways of hosting conferences in this digital era!  Instead, it was pretty on par with the general education conferences I attend, just with a lot more ipads.

If I may be so bold, what follows is a list of what I perceived to be the strengths of the conference, and things I wish I had seen in action.  I invite conference-planning, or attending, aficionados to chime in!

Strengths:

As someone who works in the world of afterschool, I particularly appreciated the youth-centered panels.  I felt like having the youth, themselves, present their own work really brought the purpose of the conference into focus.  Well done!  I’d like to include more youth-led sessions in the next conference I organize (instead of just performances, which is what youth are usually asked to do).

I can’t decide if I liked or was annoyed by the Twitter feeding that was constantly going on.  As much as I’d like to believe that I have truly emigrated into digitalandia, I was unable to focus on both the feed (and the constant tap-tappity-tapping going on around me) and the presenter at hand.  I suppose the feed was more appreciated by those who were not in attendance(?)  I may try to create a hashtag for the next conference I organize, or, hmmm, maybe not.

Unfortunately, I was unable to attend any of the Ignite Talks, but I love the idea and hope to integrate this into the next conference I plan.  For those of you who are not familiar with Ignite Talks, you can read (and watch) more about them here.

I liked the idea of pairing mentors with mentees, and will definitely look to integrate this type of function into the next conference I plan.  (Although, ahem, my group’s mentor didn’t show up.  Whatever, we did fine without him).

Things I wished I had Seen:

The conference organizers were charging $10 for a printed-out full version of the conference program.  Why not create an app that does the same thing?  I’d pay $10 not to waste all that paper.

I truly expected each panel-session to have a QR code that you could scan to get information/handouts/copies of the presentation.  This is something I have been thinking about doing for the next conference I plan and was hoping to see it (or something similar) in action.  Too much to ask?  Maybe redundant if there’s an app.

I heard over and over again from presenters, that the beauty of digital media is that it facilitates the transition from a “one-to-many” model of learning (think, teacher in front of a classroom), to a “many-to-many” model of learning (think, Wikipedia).  I was therefore surprised at how little integrated-sharing I felt was built into the conference.  I would recommend, at the least, that the opening plenary speakers invite us to introduce ourselves to the people seated around us so that we can start up conversations of our own.  Or, better yet, how about lunches that are specifically designed to help facilitate discussions by inviting us to sit by interest area and respond to a series of discussion-starters (perhaps even facilitated by a designated table-lead)?

I will be the first to admit that there may have been more digital-media-ish things going on around me that I didn’t pick up on (simul-blogging?), but, hey, shouldn’t a conference help even the newest person to the field understand what’s going on?

Again, I invite you to share your thoughts and resources and hope to see you all in Chicago next year for the 2013 DML Conference!

[oosaonline]

Attempting Artichokes

This year will be year number three that I’ve had a garden in my back yard.  And, as they say, third one’s the charm.  So I’m pretty optimistic.  So optimistic, in fact, that I went ahead and purchased not one, but two artichoke plants at $3.99 a pop.  Yes sir.  I’m feeling lucky.

Spending eight dollars on two vegetable plants may not seem like a big deal, but gardening, especially for those of us who, um, sometimes forget to make sure our plants have enough water or light or aren’t completely covered in slugs, is a bit of a gamble.  My success rate with seedlings at this point is about 1:20.  If you count my success rate starting from seed, I’d say I’m at about 1:200.  I’ve killed a Kefir lime tree, a Meyer lemon tree, and several jasmine bushes.  My cucumbers withered, my pumpkins never even flowered, my zucchini were completely infested with earwigs, and my broccoli heads were so small they wouldn’t have made a decent meal for Thumbelina.  Oh, I could go on and on.

But I am determined!  Because being able to eat a strawberry (surprisingly, one thing that has done extremely well in my garden), or salad, or feed my kid chard straight out of the ground is unbelievably rewarding.   I can’t decide if I feel more like an artist or scientist winning a contest, but it certainly has that feeling of crossing a finish line or getting to the ticker tape parade.

There is currently a lot of momentum in schools and afterschool programs to start edible gardens.   A great example is the Edible Schoolyard project that was started by Alice Waters, but there are many others out there, like FoodCorps, an Americorps program now operating in almost a dozen states.  These programs generally aim to help students see the connection between the food that grows, and the food they eat, a connection that is often lost, particularly in urban settings. 

But what I like so much about gardening with kids (and I have done it both as a classroom teacher and as an afterschool program manager), is the work, science, and trial and error that is involved. 

First of all, gardening is back-breaking work.  Sure, there are tools and machinery to make some of the tasks easier, but, let’s face it, farmers around the world are still harvesting rice with machetes, or picking thorny blackberries with bare hands, or bringing down banana bunches on their backs.  I like that “aha” moment when a student realizes how much effort it takes to produce one melon.  Kinda makes you appreciate it a bit more.

And then there’s the science - all sorts of awesome, real-life science.  From how that small, hard, dry seed can become a lettuce leaf, to how a worm transforms detritus into nutrient-rich soil.  From understanding the difference between heirloom and hybrid seeds, to understanding the difference between annuals and perennials.  Oh, and there was that time that a group of my middle school students unearthed a nest of baby gophers.  Holy science in action!  None of us will forget that one!

Finally, an extension of the science, there is the trial and error.  Or, as I like to think about it, the patience.  My snap pea seeds are planted.  I tried putting some near the fence, and some in a sunnier spot.   Three or four months from now, I will be able to tell you which spot was better.  I can’t speed up that learning process.  I just have to wait and see.  If they don’t grow, I’ll have to start over again, so try checking in with me in eight months.  Because, wow, growing food takes a long time, much longer than running to the supermarket and buying a picture-perfect-pepper.  And couldn't we all stand to learn how to be a little more patient?

So here’s your opportunity to give it a shot.  Spring is just around the corner.  It’s the perfect time to start trying to sprout some seeds in your classroom.  Then, once the days get a little longer and the weather warms up, you can transfer the seedlings outside to a bucket, or a box, or, if you’re really lucky, into a plot designated in your school’s yard. 

Want a little help?  Here’s a website that has a ton of information for you and your (soon to be) green thumb! 

Have more tips or ideas?  Please share them with us.  And check back to this blog in a few months to see how my artichokes are doing!

[oosaonline]

"We Did it Ourselves"

If you were lucky enough to have had Presidents’ Day off, you may, as I did, have had some time to ruminate on what it must be like to be president.  Whether or not I agree with the man in the White House, I continuously marvel at why a person would want a job with so much pressure.  Because, let’s face it, a lot of people are depending on you.  And there is just so much ever-changing information you need to know about.  And let’s not forget that you and your loved ones have to have bodyguards for the rest of your life.  Ack, I get claustrophobic just thinking about it.

But the truth of the matter is, many of us working in afterschool programs, and in the field of education at large, have a lot of the same pressures.  Although on a smaller scale, the demands and repercussions are really no less salient.  So today’s blog post is on the topic of leadership.  It’s a big topic, so we’re going to start small  and just tackle that little thing called “democracy.” 

Contemplate the following quote from Lao Tzu:

“When the best leader's work is done the people say, 'We did it ourselves!'"

  Think about that quote in your political life.  How often do you feel that what is being done and decided in governmental agencies locally, state-wide, or nationally, is owed, at least in part, to your involvement and input?  Maybe you voted in a new tax that is helping schools.  Perhaps you sent a letter to your congress person petitioning for a bill to be passed.  Or maybe you donated money to a political campaign.  There are dozens of ways for you, as a citizen, to get involved.  That’s the design of democracy.  However large or small our involvement, it is critical to helping us buy into the system.  (Sidenote, for those of you having difficulty suspending disbelief, I am not here to argue whether or not the United States is, actually, a democracy.  Please just bear with me.)      

Now think about that in your work life.  How often do you feel that what is being done and decided in your agency, school, or district is owed, at least in part, to your involvement and input?  If your answer is, “not very often,” chance are, you’d move on if the opportunity presented itself.  It’s not much fun, and is certainly not particularly rewarding, to work somewhere where you have little or no control over your circumstances. 

Burnout, turnover, low productivity… just a few items from the list of woes that plague organizations that do not have systems built into their structure to allow for involvement and input in governance and decision making by employees.  If you are experiencing a lot of these issues, now you know one of the reasons why.  If you supervise staff, start thinking about ways to give them more control and voice.  If you are not in a position of power, start asking for more control and voice.  And I mean real control and voice, not just a token survey here or there.  Want some ideas of places to start?  Here’s a link to a business article by Ray Attiyah to launch you in the right direction.    

Now think about the Lao Tzu quote from the perspective of your students and their families.  How often do they feel that what is being done and decided in your classroom, program, or school is owed, at least in part, to their involvement and input? 

But here’s the catch.  I am not just talking about that handful of students involved in your student or organization government, or that group of parents/caregivers who is actively involved in your PTA or board, but ALL of your students and their caregivers.  What systems or structures do you have in place that enables each and every one of the people you are serving to say, “We did it ourselves!”?  Feeling stuck?  Here are a few ideas from Richard Louv on places to start.

Have more ideas or articles to help out with this?  Please share them!

And note, I’m not encouraging you to completely overhaul your system overnight.  No, no, no.  I’m just suggesting that you may want to add in a new litmus test:  The Did-the-People-Say-“I-Did-It-Myself”-Test.  You know, just check in with yourself at the end of the day and take stock of how much power you gave to the people.

Because I think it’s a practice we all, even our greatest presidents, could stand to improve on.

[oosaonline]

Supporting Young Rockers, Rappers, and Singer-Songwriters

My best friend is a high school teacher.  I got a call from one of her students yesterday.  He’s a twelfth grader, and a musician.  He’s working on his first album, but doesn’t have the funds to finish it.  Seriously, what twelfth grader could come up with the $5,000 he estimates he needs? 

I had a band in high school, too.  I get it.  It’s hard to find gigs (because you’re under 21 so most bars won’t let you in), and even harder to figure out things like recording (which, in the absence of DIY recording studios, was not even an option in my day).  Raising money, managing promotion, and building a fan base are things that even most adult-bands struggle with.  My band deals with this all of the time.  Like I said, I get it.

So this blog post is for all of you out there who know a kid like my friend’s student.  Those motivated, talented, and hard-working musicians who want to turn their art into something a little more than a hobby.

Tip #1:  Gig, gig, gig, gig, gig (and Tour!)

I spoke with a promoter for small indie bands once who told me that in order to even be considered by her agency, a band has to have gone on at least three - yes THREE - national tours.

We can also take a lesson from the Beatles here, whose unbelievable talent is, at least partly, often contributed to the – literally - thousands of hours they played together in nightclubs long before they were famous. 

So, how does an aspiring 17-year-old find gigs and go on tours?

Tip #2:  Put Together a Resume – Online

Facebook and Myspace have actually made this a lot easier (and cheaper to do).  At a minimum, the resume (website) should include:

-       Short bios of the musicians

-       Contact information for booking

-       Sample music – VERY IMPORTANT (no one will book you without hearing you first)

-       A Stage Plot (a diagram of the band’s instrumentation and input needs)

-       A List of Past Shows/Venues

Tip #3:  Play Whenever, and Wherever you Can

In high school, I would plan events just so that my band would have a place to play.  Dances, fundraisers, parties… Yes, even Aunt Mabel’s 60th birthday party could be a potential gig. 

Start with looking for open-mics.  It’s a built-in audience and you can use it to network and learn from other musicians.

Search online for venues that look like they host the type of music that you play, and then look for the tab that says “Booking.”  Follow the directions exactly.  You don’t want to burn any bridges by being annoying with too many emails or not following the rules.

Try to meet other artists who play a similar type of music as you do.  Venues often want to book a complete bill (it’s easier for them).  So, having a few people you can call on to share the stage with you or trade off sets with is really useful.  Plus, if they book a gig somewhere, they may ask you to join or open for them!  Oh, and their fans just might become your fans too.

Going on a family vacation?  See if there’s a venue you can play at while there.  Yes, this counts as a “national tour.”

  Tip #4:  Gather Email Addresses – Create a Following

Start by making an email list of all of your family and friends.

Next gather emails from anyone you can at school.

And then, every time the band gigs, a sheet on a clipboard should be handed around to the audience to collect emails. 

Use the mailing list to let people know about future gigs.  Don’t abuse the list though, or people will unsubscribe (keep it to one email a month unless an unexpected gig comes up at the last minute).  Mail Chimp offers a free enewsletter service that is very slick and easy to use.

Of course, Twitter, Facebook, and other social media sites are also great outlets to let people know what you’re up to.  But I’m still a big fan of the direct mail.

Tip #5:  Create – and Sell - Collateral

Believe it or not, my band makes more money from the sale of our t-shirts than from the sale of our music!  While having an album is super important, having a way to make money to create more albums is equally important.  T-shirts are much cheaper to produce than CDs and can be sold for more money (we get between $15-$20 a pop for ours).  Drag your merchandise with you to all of your shows.  It’s a pain, but it pays off.

Tip #6:  Find Allies

There are a lot of community based organizations out there who are dedicated to supporting teen musicians.  Here are a few to get you started:  

For Everyone:

- Boys and Girls Clubs (many clubs are opening recording studios)

- Many local organizations and teen centers, like the Neutral Zone in Michigan, or the Palomar YMCA in San Diego have recording studios

- Do a Google Search for “teen recording studio [your state]” to see if there is a recording studio for teens in your area

For Girls:

There are a number of organizations out there that specifically target girls.  For example:

Girls Rock Chicago

Girls Rock Camp in Oregon

Girls Rock Camp in North Carolina

If you have other links or resources for teen musicians, please share them! 

And please take your teen rockers, rappers, and singer-songwriters seriously!  They are the creative force, and voice, of the future!

[oosaonline]

Museums are for Everyone

Today we decided to take our 21-month-old son to the de Young Museum.  On the way there we talked about going to a “museum” to see “art”.  He was very excited, because we were excited, and was skipping along repeating his new words: “museum” “art.”  They sounded delicious coming out of his tiny mouth, but I was nervous.  Was this really a place to be taking a rambunctious toddler?  When we finally entered into the museum (and it’s a pretty majestic entrance), he screeched with an enthusiasm that turned heads and caused chuckles. “Aaaart!” he bellowed, running into lobby.

It reminded me of the time I took my 3rd graders to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

In preparation, I visited the museum several times before our class trip, trying to pick just the right pieces and halls for us to focus on, and decided we would do the Egyptian wing, the knights in armor, and the Japanese garden. 

In class, we spent several weeks prior to the adventure reading books about the museum and the exhibits I planned to take them to.  I wanted to make sure I built enough prior knowledge so that seeing the actual artworks would resonate with my students.  Writing in hieroglyphics, stories of King Arthur, Koi in their ponds…  there was so much to learn about!

Knowing that one of the first things you see when you walk into the Met is a nude statue ala “David,” we also discussed how some of the art might include depictions of naked people (which, in case you are unaware, are HILARIOUS to a third grader).  If we saw something that made us uncomfortable at the museum, we were to look away and remind ourselves that, “It’s art, and it’s beautiful.”

I enlisted a couple of art-loving-friends to take the day off of work to join us as chaperones/docents and created a scavenger hunt of things for my students to find.   We had maps, and schedules, and a bus to get us there.  We were ready.

My students were ebullient as we slowly climbed the grand staircase and passed through the towering columns into the museum.  They were so eager and filled with anticipation.  My heart soared.

We had a lot to cover and not much time, so we started in right away on the Egyptian wing.  So far, so good.

But what happened next is the lesson that I really took away.

We had to pass through a number of halls to get to the knights in armor exhibit.  The artwork was stuff I considered supremely boring at the time, religious paraphernalia from Europe – you know, paintings of Jesus on the cross, gem-encrusted crucifixes, statues of the Virgin.  I was racing ahead before I noticed that my students had stopped dead in their tracks and were gazing around, awestruck, at the exhibit.  “Look, Ms. Meyers!” they were shouting.

Needless to say, we had to change our itinerary because there was no way my students were going to let me run them through that hall without us examining each and every piece of priceless religious iconography. 

How could I have been so dumb?  Of course!  I had spent so much time trying to build knowledge with my class so that they could appreciate the art - and art museums in general (since it was the first visit for most of them) - that I had overlooked the possibility that there might be something in the museum that already resonated with them.   

Their engagement was truly breath-taking.  These rather unwelcoming marble-floored, echoing galleries, filled with fancy shoes and stern-looking guards, could also be cherished by the littlest amongst us.         

As we wrapped up our day, standing on the balcony overlooking the lobby, basking in our memories of beauty, one of my more wily students finally noticed the nude statue.  “ Ew, ew, disgusting!” he started to scream, pointing and snickering.  I began to panic as heads turned and disapproving looks shot our way.  Was this really how we were going to end a perfect trip?

But above his cackling, the clear voice of one of my students came through: Hands on her hips, feet braced, head wagging in disapproval, in a booming voice that carried across the gallery, she countered, “That’s not disgusting!  It’s ART, and it’s BEAUTIFUL!”

So, yeah, don’t worry.  Just go ahead and take them. 

[oosaonline]

On the Topic of Success

Watch this video.  Pay particular attention around 30 seconds into the clip. 

Why, you are asking yourself, am I making you watch footage of a kitten climbing and then falling down the stairs?    

Because of this:  After flipping and bouncing, did you notice how quickly the little guy recovered his balance and started climbing back up those slippery steps?  That, my friends, is some serious resilience.  That cute-as-all-get-out ball of fluff is a powerful role model. 

A friend of mine mentioned that she drove by a school recently that had the following quote written above the door, “The only time that Success comes before Work is in the dictionary.”  I had to chuckle.  How many of us, in our innocent youth, had dreams involving becoming movie stars, sports heroes, or pop artists without any idea of how many hours of internships, low-paying side jobs, practices, or, ugh, voice lessons, we would have to endure. 

And how many times have we taken three steps forward towards our dreams, only to have to take two steps back. Like Winston Churchill pontificated, “Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.”  But the truth of the matter is, most of us do lose enthusiasm.  And most of us never realize the glorious success we dreamed of when we started out.

Or do we?

Part of the problem with big dreams, is that they demand deferred gratification.  Here’s an example you may be familiar with in your afterschool programs:  You have a rewards system set up where when your group earns a certain number of stars, they will win a pizza party.  At some point you realize that your system isn’t working because it takes months to earn enough stars for a party.  For a lot of children, the motivation to earn stars just isn’t there because the prize is too far away. 

Similarly, the goal of college and career are also often poor motivators for students because they are so remote and disconnected from the present.  I’d rather be successful in something right here, right now (like playing this video game), than working towards being successful ten years from now.

So here’s my plan of action:  Break it down.  Set your students (or yourself!) up for small successes.  I do not mean that you should set a lower bar.  I mean you should set up shorter checkpoints.  “I will consider myself successful if I write two blog posts a week.”  And, hey, look!  I did it.  Oh, OK, you’re right, I missed a blog post a few weeks back.  That’s alright, I’m still moving in the right direction.  I deserve to eat some ice cream. 

Look at each of the students in your program.  What are their goals?  What do they need to do to reach those goals?  Are there any goals between here and there that they could use as oases to get them through the great barren desert that leads to their dreams?  Can you help them set up those checkpoints and choose rewards for their successes so that they don’t lose enthusiasm?

Let’s say a student wants to be a dancer.  Great!  Let’s do some research to find out how many hours of practice a typical dancer needs before becoming a professional.  What other types of training do dancers do?  Where can your student get that training?  Break it down.  Then go to the dance recitals and bring flowers, because each performance (good or bad!) is a small success along the highway to the end goal.

That little kitten wanted to know what was upstairs.  He was determined to get there, one step at a time.  Feel free to share that clip with your students, or watch it yourself every now and again.  And remember to celebrate your successes (ice cream, ice cream, ice cream), because we are successful, even when, at the moment, we’re not. 

[oosaonline]

Superbowl Math

Math.  The word makes me glaze over before any numbers have even made an appearance.

It wasn’t always this way.  There was, believe it or not, a brief period in college when I thought I might actually major in math; I really loved math in high school. I found comfort in the fact that there were solid answers that did not rely on opinions, or viewpoints, or whether the teacher liked you or not.  You just did the math, and it was either right or wrong.  And there were a million ways to apply math!  I mean, you could figure out exactly where a bowling bowl rolled out of a window would land, or determine the sale price of that cool turquoise sweater (turquoise was very in back then).

Unfortunately, all it took was one semester of college calculus to send me straight to the art department.  I have never, before or since, had a teacher make a subject so horribly boring and confusing.  He would spend a full hour showing a derivation in class (with his back to the students), and then assign homework that had (as far as I could tell) absolutely nothing to do with what he had droned on and on about.  What was worse, there was never any real-world application.  It was just chalk numbers bobbing around on a squeaky green board with no purpose or direction.

Why am I writing about a subject I have lost touch with?  Because there are times, like when the Superbowl rolls around, that I begin to consider a conciliation.  Think about all of the mathematical juice in that one game – from player’s statistics, to their salaries (Omygoodness!  They’re getting paid HOW MUCH per game?!) to plotting the arc of a field goal kick.  That most-watched-event-EVER is a mathematical minefield! 

Whether you love or hate the sport, I’m here to suggest that this week you burn the worksheets and get into the game.  I did a quick brainstorm, and here are a few ideas I came up with.  Get your students some internet access, scratch paper, and a calculator and create a scavenger hunt to see if they can figure out:

1.     How much the Superbowl game earns the TV network (ads baby, ads!)

2.     Passing yard averages, completion averages, running yard averages, etc. for a player of their choice

3.     How much ticket sales at the stadium earn

4.     The average age of the players on each team

5.     The percentage of time that TV viewers spend watching ads versus watching the game, versus watching commentary

6.     How much the cheerleaders earn per game

Then, while you’re all jazzed up about math, check out this super cool website I found that contains a collection of links to websites that deal with ethnomathematics (the relationship between math and culture)!  There are all sorts of ideas, resources, and groups to be found in this collection.  For example, the Computer Girl website has a page of links about women and girls and math!  Or try out one of the “Indigenous Knowledge Systems” links like this one that explains the Mayan mathematical system.  Definitely makes you stretch your brain and your understanding of what math is all about.  Who knew math could be so… interesting?!

Got more ideas or links for making math fun afterschool?  Please post them! 

Oh, and if you missed the Superbowl, don’t forget that the NCAA basketball playoffs are just around the corner!

[oosaonline]

Valentine's Day: A Perfect Excuse

February 1st rolls around and suddenly the world turns pink and red and roses.  They’re already sharing their “Top Valentine’s Day Gift” lists on the radio, TV commercials have all gone dove-eyed and sappy, and you can’t walk into a Walgreens or CVS without walking out smelling like chocolate.

We all have our wonderful childhood memories of Valentine’s Day:  Envelopes with sweet and funny notes, parties at school, and bags and bags of heart-shaped candies.  And we also have our traumatic memories of Valentine’s Day (mostly from adolescence):  The time we didn’t get any Valentines, the time our crush asked another kid out, the time the gift we so reverently bestowed upon our love was cast aside…

As someone who works with children or youth, you have, no doubt, your own opinions about the holiday.  The thing is, whether you embrace it or loathe it, there is no way to ignore it.  It will arrive, and it will need to be dealt with – hopefully in a way that will leave hearts intact and generate warm memories for everyone.

My suggestion?  Harness the power of love that Valentine’s Day evokes to spread love to your community.  Yes, that’s right.  Valentine’s Day is the perfect excuse to get everyone in your program involved in community service.

How?

The best thing to do is to ask your students who they think needs some love in their community.  They may come up with cats in a shelter, people in the hospital, or the homeless at a soup kitchen.  Now ask them to generate a list of ideas for what they can do to help those people feel more loved on Valentine’s Day.  Then help them put those ideas into action.

If you need a little inspiration, or if your group is having trouble coming up with ideas, here’s a project I have done with groups both during the school day and afterschool: 

Step 1:  If you haven’t already got it, pick up a copy of “Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch,” by Eileen Spinelli.  If you are not familiar with the story, you can here it read here.  (I know it looks very elementary-grades focused, but I promise you, my middle school students were weeping right along with me!)

Step 2:  A few days before Valentine’s Day, read the book to your group (be prepared with a box of tissues, it’s a real tear-jerker).  After reading the book, ask them to come up with a list of lonely people they know about in their community. 

Step 3:  I happened to introduce them to the nonprofit “Meals on Wheels” at this point, but if Meals on Wheels doesn’t operate in your area, there are plenty of other agencies you can contact who would be delighted to work with you.   Tell your group about the agency and how they serve isolated, lonely, or needy people in your community.

Step 4:  After identifying who might need some cheering up and an agency to partner with, provide your group with materials to create hand-made Valentine’s Day cards.  I also (particularly with younger students) like to have them brainstorm a list of phrases they might want to include in their cards.  I keep these posted on the board for those who struggle with writing.  Make sure students work hard to make the cards beautiful!

Step 5:  Once the Valentine’s Day cards are finished, ship them off to Meals on Wheels, or whichever organization you are partnering with (make arrangements in advance) a few days before Valentine’s Day and they will include them in their meal delivery on Valentine’s Day! 

Step 6:  One Valentine’s Day, have your group envision the people receiving their cards.  Have them talk about how it makes them feel to know that they are helping someone feel better on Valentine’s Day.  Maybe they want to start doing a community service project every month!

If you have other ideas for Valentine’s Day service projects, let us know!

And don’t forget to hit the chocolate sales that start on February 15th.

[oosaonline]

Before the Internet

I know I am not the only one who pauses now and then to try to dredge up from not-so-distant memory a time when the internet did not exist.  How did we ever function?

For example, this morning I was remembering how on the radio in the morning when I was in high school, the DJs used to announce which famous people were celebrating a birthday that day.  So there I was this morning, pondering how they knew whose birthday it was each day.  Where did they find that information if not on the internet?  Really, think about it.  Did they have an almanac?  Did they have to look it up in encyclopedias?  I am stumped.

I am considered a “digital immigrant,” an endearing term typically used to describe those of us born before 1985.  In “Moodle for Dummies,” my handbook for everything these days, Radana Dvorak sums up some of the general characteristics of us immigrants.  According to Dvorak, digital immigrants process information in a linear fashion, like step-by-step instructions, are work oriented and don’t multitask with electronic devices, and expect things to go wrong (digitally speaking). 

In contrast, “digital natives,” meaning that portion of the population born after 1985, do not read instructions (preferring to “jump right in”), multi-task connected to at least one electronic device, expect immediate results, and do not expect things to go wrong (digitally speaking). 

To any of us who work with children or youth, this is not news.  And yet, we struggle to break out of our linear, one-thing-at-a-time teaching methods.  We think we are “getting it” when we introduce internet-social-media-digital-computer-based projects into our curricula, but we are often missing a key point:  It is not just the way that the information is being presented that is new, it is the way it is being processed that is fundamentally different. 

This quick read by Marc Prensky, who coined the term “digital native,” sums it up perfectly.  He writes:

" So what should happen? Should the Digital Native students learn the old ways, or should their Digital Immigrant educators learn the new? Unfortunately, no matter how much the Immigrants may wish it, it is highly unlikely the Digital Natives will go backwards. In the first place, it may be impossible – their brains may already be different. It also flies in the face of everything we know about cultural migration. Kids born into any new culture learn the new language easily, and forcefully resist using the old. Smart adult immigrants accept that they don’t know about their new world and take advantage of their kids to help them learn and integrate. Not-so-smart (or not-so-flexible) immigrants spend most of their time grousing about how good things were in the “old country.”"

It is here that I see the golden opportunity for afterschool programs.  Unhindered by mandated curricula, often staffed by digital natives, and with far more flexibility in time and space than the school day, afterschool programs have the basic stuff to lead the way into native learning.  If we choose to make the commitment to do so, that is.

Here’s a few places I’m thinking we could start:

-       Allow participants to multi-task:  Let them play music, have the TV on, or listen to headphone while they’re doing homework.  That may not be the optimal environment for you, but it is for them. 

-       End the ban on cell phones: Instead, incorporate their cameras, video, and internet capabilities into creative projects – like autobiographies, neighborhood mapping, plant species censuses… you name it! 

-       Let participants take the lead:  See what you can learn from them about the technology that is a part of their wiring.  Try it out.  Use it.  Learn their language and thought speed.

Of course, you can always look online to find more ideas.  The internet does, after all, hold a wealth of information if you are savvy enough to wade through the dregs to the gold.

Then post your finds and ideas so we can carry on this conversation in our forever-more digital reality.

Welcome to our new country my fellow immigrants!

[oosaonline]

The Psychology of Buildings

Stop reading this blog post and take a look around you. 

Why?   Because the physical space you are in matters.

I remember doing research for a paper I wrote in high school on the psychology of buildings.  This was a new concept for me (at the ripe old age of 17):  That the way buildings are built has a statistically significant effect on the building’s inhabitants.  One example I remember was from the housing projects built (in the 60’s?) in New York City.  There was something about the way that the public areas of the buildings were constructed that made crimes easy to commit – something about the fact that they were public, but also semi-private spaces.  In short, it was a building design flaw that had negative consequences on the residents.

On the flip side, this past week I had the opportunity to attend a meeting in the City College of San Francisco’s brand new LEED-Certified building (which happens to house their Child and Family Studies department).  In a window-filled room with an expansive view, brand-new furniture, and state-of-the-art everything, I felt inspired and full of grand ideas.  I couldn’t help but think that this new building must surely be improving student learning. 

If you read up on your psychology research, you will find that this is, quite literally, the case.

In an article published in April, 2011 in the Wall Street Journal, Jonah Lehrer writes about “Building a Thinking Room.”  The article definitely merits a full read, but here are a few of the studies he references that really got me:

“…researchers at Ohio State University and the National Institute of Mental Health tracked 60 white-collar workers at a government facility in the central U.S. Some had been randomly assigned to an old office building, with low ceilings and loud air-conditioners. The rest got to work in a recently renovated space filled with skylights and open cubicles.

For the next 17 months, the scientists tracked various metrics of emotional well-being, such as heart-rate variability and levels of stress hormone. They discovered that people working in the older building were significantly more stressed, even when they weren't at work. The scientists said the effect was big enough to be a potential risk factor for heart disease.”

I could stop there, but let me excerpt just one more piece from the article:

“…Joan Meyers-Levy, a marketing professor at the University of Minnesota's school of management, studied the relationship between ceiling height and thinking style. She demonstrated that, when people are in a high-ceilinged room, they're significantly better at seeing the connections between seemingly unrelated subjects. In one experiment, undergraduates came up with nearly 25% more connections between different sports, such as chess and basketball, when sitting in a loft-like space than in a room with an 8-foot ceiling.”

OK.  Now tell me about your afterschool programs.  Do they have lofty ceilings, bright light, and open space?  Or do the rooms you occupy feel cramped, noisy, or dark?   

There are so many things that we fight for to help our students succeed:  We hound families for report cards, bang down teachers’ doors for copies of the homework, spend hours planning fundraisers to bring in money to buy snacks…  I am begging you to think deeply about this because although we often have little, if any, control over the buildings our programs are in, we may have some power to clean-up, or even renovate our spaces so that our students can thrive in them.  Because the research shows that it will have an effect.

And, if doing it for our students is not enough to motivate you, we need to do this for our own sakes as well.  Because if we are stressed out (and at greater risk for heart disease!), or have our creativity stunted by our dismal environment, are we really the best we can be for our students, or our friends, or our families?

If this task seems overwhelming, I want to let you know that there may be help available to you.  Check out Rebuilding Together, an agency that offers free building rehabilitation and repair services to low income communities.  Other places to look for support are local furniture, building supply, and flooring stores that may be willing to donate lamps, brighter carpets, or paint.  Ask the parents of your students; you may have some very handy folks to lead a “spruce-up-our-space” day, including contractors, decorators, or just people with a good eye and a tidiness bent.  Of course, students love to get involved in these types of projects - don’t forget to include them!

So, yeah, take a look around you, imagine the possibilities… and go for it.

Then let me know if you see or feel a difference.  Oh, and don’t forget to send me the before and after photos!

[oosaonline]

To Contest or Not to Contest?

I love to cook.  Tonight, over a home-cooked dinner of shitake-leek-chard quiche, roasted rosemary potatoes and herbed salad with mustard dressing, the subject of cooking contests came up.   One of my dinner guests excitedly shared that she actually won a cooking contest in elementary school.  Her entry:  Fruit salad.  We all began grilling her on the details of her salad.  Did she use fancy fruits?  Did she cut them into special shapes?  Did she drizzle the dish with some rose-water infused, minted dressing?  No, she said.  I was 9.  You entered, and you won. 

And she remembered, and is still glowing, some-twenty-odd-years later. 

I’m actually not a huge fan of competition (ironic, considering how competitive I can be).  But I am an advocate of contests – not because I am interested in students trying to be the best at something, but because I believe it can be a catalyst for encouraging them to try something new – like making up a recipe for fruit salad; learning new skills – like how to think critically or creatively; and can give them exposure to bigger and better ideas – like those developed by their co-contestants. 

I’m not going to argue with the research that says that when students compete their creativity goes down and they don’t learn as much as when they work cooperatively. That is, more likely than not, quite true.  Does it damage their self-esteem to compete?  Does it damage their self-esteem to not-compete?  If you’re interested, there is plenty of literature available on the subject.  Google, “Competition Kids” and you’ll have your reading cut out for you.    

Literature aside, for the time being, let’s take the middle road.

What I am advocating for here is for students to have the opportunity to be part of something larger and more exciting than what happens in their usual daily routine.  What makes competitions like a cooking, art, or writing contest so attractive to me, is not the winning and the losing, but the chance that it gives to young people to just play the game. 

So, what does this all mean for your afterschool program?  Here are a few questions to get you thinking about whether encouraging your students to participate in a contest is right for them.

-       Consider the criteria upon which students will be judged.  For example, to go back to the cooking contest theme, is there a prize for “most creative use of an ingredient (e.g. chicken-apple soup)?  How about a prize for “most unusual ingredient” (e.g. chicory stir-fry)?  Or perhaps a category for “best no-need-to-use-a-knife-or-oven” recipe (e.g. sticky-peanut butter cookies), so that even your 4-year-old kid brother can make it?  The criteria in and of themselves should encourage your students to think outside the box and try something new.  If you are designing the contest yourself, I encourage you to ask your students to help you come up with the criteria.

-       Consider the venue and judges.  Will the contest be taking place as part of an event?  Will students get to experience each other’s work (and therefore benefit from seeing – or tasting - what other students came up with)? Will they have an opportunity to give their opinions and/or serve as the judges?  Will they be honored for participating?  Will they get to speak to people about what they created, how, and why?  Think about all of the potential skills that students can develop while participating in these types of activities!

-       Consider why you are asking students to participate. Is it about the prize they could win, or about the process of coming up with their entry?  Is it to motivate them to do a good job, or is it because they are already doing a good job?  Is it for them to show off, or to help them learn new skills?  I encourage you to choose contest formats that emphasize the process over the product or prize; to use contests as opportunities to show good work, not as motivators for students to improve their work; and to look for every opportunity for students to use the experience to build skills. 

So, yeah, I think I may enter a cooking contest with that awesome Udon soup recipe I made up last week.  Not because I need to win to feel good about my cooking (heck, I already won with the smiles, and smacking lips, and oohs and ahs the diners let out), but just for the fun of learning how to write down a recipe; for the thrill of waiting for a response and feedback; and, OK, sure, for the chance at that $100 prize.

[oosaonline]

Why'd the Chicken Cross the Road?

I got a text today from a neighbor:  There are chickens walking down 43rd if you’re in the hood and outside and want to see chickens :)

I didn’t happen to be outside, nor in the hood, but I would have liked to have seen the chickens.  I mean, it’s not something you see everyday here in the city.    

And it got me to thinking about the time I took a group of students to the woods.  There’s this big park in the northern part of New York City, Van Cortland Park and it feels like a real wilderness, with ducks in a lake, and foxes if you’re lucky, and even park rangers with brown hats.  The kids, of course, had a blast.  It’s not an everyday thing to go hiking in the woods when you live in a city.

The trip, which was part of a year-long partnership my class had with the rangers, was actually the first time most of them had been to the woods.  It was only after we went that I realized how important that trip was.  Now when we would read stories that took place in rural settings, they knew what it felt like to be surrounded by trees instead of buildings.

There is a growing number of voices concerned about the effects that nature – or, more accurately, lack of exposure to nature – has on children.  You may have heard of Richard Louv’s book, “Last Child in the Woods.”  If not, take a few minutes to listen to an interview with him on NPR’s Morning Edition or check out the quick facts about NDD on education.com’s website.

Whether you share Louv’s concern or not, (and I do), hopefully you can at least agree that the more exposure our young people have to a diverse range of settings and experiences, the better they will be able to understand the world.  There is only so much that can be learned inside four walls or while surrounded by cars, skyscrapers, and asphalt.

Giving the students in your afterschool or summer program access to nature does not have to be overwhelming.  You do not need to turn your concrete playground into a garden (although you are certainly encouraged to do so!)  You do not need to take them backpacking for a week in the wilderness (although, with a proper guide, that could be revolutionizing). 

How about starting with planting just a few flowers, say, in a window box garden?  Or maybe you go out and see how many “natural objects” you can collect just from walking down the street or road (leaves, twigs, feathers) and talk about where they came from.  Or perhaps you have a scavenger hunt to find as many living things as you can in a one-block or 100-yard radius and discuss their relationship to each other (and to your students!).  There are so many little ways you can bring nature into your students’ lives!

So this post’s challenge to you is thus:  See if you can plan at least one lesson a week that involves getting in touch with nature in some way.  If you need ideas, the National Wildlife Federation has a list of activities to promote during Green Hour.  This is also an excellent opportunity to involve parents and caregivers!  Check out the Children and Nature Network for even more ideas.

The proverbial chickens that were walking down the street near my house today were excited to get out of their confines.   I am sure their owner was very concerned about their whereabouts and the dangers that they might face, but what a treat it must have been for them to be able to be outside, touring the world.  And, on the flip side, how fun for a group of kids to get to see the escaped chickens!

Afterall, why did the chicken cross the road?  Simply to get to the other side. 

Enjoy the journey.  And please post your ideas or comments!