Autumn, A Time of Transitions

Photo of Dolly Sods Wildnerness in West Virginia taken by Devin Varsalona Harntett, September 2013

Each year, the season of autumn provides a fresh lens for a hurried world. It quietly walks in, draping and transforming landscapes in seasonal splendor. For those with an appreciation for change, Autumn offers a reflective window on life.  As it boldly states its charge to redesign environments, it allows for brief interludes of quietude. During these times, we see, hear, and view movements of nature with refreshed awareness. We witness subtle changes occurring. With each alteration of nature, Autumn moves reflective observers closer to grasping the magnitude of the moment. People pause in awe of the bounty the season brings. Minds are opened to new noticings and wonders. Thoughts are reframed from the inside out. Autumn nods in response, showcasing itself as a season of transitions. 

While Autumn is often referred to fall, it is not the reality of leaves descending that one ponders. It is the graceful movements and scenic landscapes that are captured by Autumn's lens. The season transcends the act of falling to become a backdrop for transitions. Being nature's change agent, it brings new possibilities to a world ready for color. Teachers embrace Autumn each year, as they transform their literacy spaces into visually-engaging environments. They, as change agents of the educational world, transition students from summer landscapes to autumnal learning laboratories where Common Core standards and shifts are evident in daily instructional practices and lessons. 

As Autumn days move on, nature turns its attention to seasonal changes while practitioners shift their focus to long term learning targets that impact instruction and achievement. Shifts regularly occur in both the world of nature and the educational world. October bursts with the colors of the season, as does the classroom. Sounds of the season enter school doors. From feet scuffling through crumply leaves to luscious bites of crunchy apples, Autumn speaks. From trees ablaze with color to classrooms alive with seasonal sights and decorations, Autumn signifies change. From Indian summer days to cooling breezes, Autumn asks observers to take note of their changing surroundings while teachers do likewise in the classroom. Utilizing transitions, teachers lead students to explore possibilities in collaborative environments. In turn, students observe, pair share, and wonder where their new learning can take them. It is through life's transitions that change is embraced and growth emerges. 

Autumn is a time for transitions. It asks that you be observant of your surroundings that change to brilliant colors of burnt sienna, goldenrod, chestnut, and maize. As you breathe in the fresh Autumn air allow the season to be your guide to rethink and redesign your spaces. Let go of the hurried pace, slow down, and embrace the transitions that lead to new travels as a life learner.

A Delightful Back To School PD Experience

It's Back to School Time and professional development is on the menu with specialties, such as instructional practices, protocols, and materials to impact teaching and learning. School districts and consultants prepare for the event to inspire staff to embrace transitions and develop innovative approaches to learning. Each year the cycle of learning starts anew and every teacher and leader becomes a change agent who impacts learning (Fullan) in novel ways. With an eagerness for new beginnings and an adventuresome attitude, I accepted an opportunity to train teachers in a Long Island district that I was unaware of, Fishers Island.

You might ask, like I did when offered the consulting job, where is this 9-mile island known as the gem of the Long Island Sound? Summer home to families, like the DuPonts and year round home to approximately 250 residents, I read that Fishers Island is a place of tranquility and natural beauty. Delighted to experience an adventure working with a Long Island P-12 district of about 74 students, I traveled three hours by car to Mystic, Connecticut and then took the New London ferry early the next morning to Fishers Island. Intrigued by the concept of a ferry as a school bus, I watched carefully who embarked the transport. Workers, Fisher Island teachers, and a P-2 consultant and I boarded as a light rain drizzled. Within a short time, the light rain turned into a torrential downpour, making the disembarkment a feat unto itself. With the umbrella blowing at angles and rain pelting my right side, a very wet principal with a glowing smile greeted my colleague and me. Quickly whisked to a school vehicle, we traveled about five hundred feet to the Fisher Island School and while attempting to enter the building once again got drenched. Thankfully, the building was warm and inviting, as was the friendly staff. 

Despite the wetness of my attire and the bandwidth problems due to the rain, training started on a humorous note.  As the day progressed, a collaborative environment was fostered, the concept of all instructors as teachers of literacy established, and progress made toward meeting the learning targets set. With a twist of fate, the weather changed and Fishers Island was transformed into a glowing sight, just in time for a delightful tour of the island by one of the teachers who is an island resident. Interesting enough, we passed eight houses owned by the school and rented by staff. At 4:45 pm, the ferry boat departed for Connecticut. On board was a small group of Fisher Island School staff which made for an enjoyable ride. Fond farewells marked the end of my first back to school PD with the anticipation of additional trips to the island throughout the year. After traveling to Fishers Island, I found its charm not only visible in its terrain but in the warmth of the school community of friendly, thoughtful teachers led by principal, Karen Goodwin, a passionate advocate for learning. 

As we draw closer to the opening of school, a statement delivered by Will Richardson brings significance to the goal of all Common Core related professional development, "Make this school year one where you commit to doing something that pushes your thinking around teaching and learning." 

Unravel the String to Find Possibilities

With summer break approaching its end and back to school specials part of the media blitz, my mind drifts back into teaching mode. This is the time of year that I always penned my literacy message to staff. As I prepare for a new role as ELA consultant, I am filled with the same sentiments that greet each new school year. To honor the tradition of writing an opening greeting, this afternoon I browsed through my personal library to find the just right book to share as a read aloud with teachers. Just how long can a long string be?! by Keith Baker, popped out as the book to open dialogue about issues that may arise in the classroom. 

At the start of the book, Little Ant poses a question to Bird. “Just how long can a long string be?  Through several short retorts, wise bird thoughtfully provides a series of answers that helps Little Ant problem solve. Although this book has a 340 lexile level, I feel that is appropriate for a beginning of the school year read aloud for adult learners. From the book jacket's lead question, Has something ever gotten in your way that seems way too big to handle?, to the final statement, “Thank you, Bird! Now I see…a string’s just as long as I need it to be.," the reader is aware that there a variety of approaches to solving a problem. Going beyond this I pose three questions to open conversations:

Do educators and students sometimes get tangled up in a ball of string? Do we routinely step back and reflect about our entanglements or those of our students? Do we lead our students to find creative solutions to messy, perplexing problems?

Might you consider at the start of this school year to allow the string that pulls you in different directions to be as long as you need it to be? Encourage perseverance through challenging text and tasks and provide your students with the tools and resources to develop their thinking skills. As a facilitator of learning gracefully unravel the ball of yarn to find possibilities amongst supposed disarray. 

Enjoy the new school year and find the just right length for your many long strings.

Teaching Is The Core

On July 8, 2013, I along with 600-800 NYS educators gathered for a week full of learning and engagement at the Network Team Institute training in Albany, New York. We were charged by Deputy Commissioner Ken Slentz to become learners, students of the Core, to build a level of content knowledge leading to new expertise, and to sustain the effort into the future.  Slentz, Senior Fellow Kate Gerson, as well as other presenters provided us with the latest updates on the NYS initiatives and views on how to change the trajectory of teaching and learning. 

Each day, Commissioner John King delivered an address to encourage NYS educators to "right the ills of democracy with rigorous education." On the third day, his contagious energy acted as a catalyst for us to move forward. While thanking educators for their tenacity, courage, and perseverance, King noted there is a gap between our values and reality. He asked administrators, staff developers, and teachers in the room to confront that gap, develop a path where deeds match convictions, to challenge themselves to live in the I can, rather than the I can't, in order to affect teaching and learning. 

Throughout the week, I and others tweeted pertinent phrases, posting them for both the Albany audience and those back home. Below is a sampling of the tweets. More can be found on Twitter at #NTIny and #ntiJuly13. 

• We are all teachers. We represent the gateway for each of our students to access new opportunities.
• Thrilled to see over 300 NY educators focus on the critical work of P-2 education and the education and the acquisition of knowledge through text. 
• Go back to districts/classrooms and talk about what we value and believe in. 
• CCLS demands much more student voice and much less teacher voice.  
• When change happens without people going through a transition, it is just a rearrangement of the chairs.
• Updated information from EL will be available on EngageNY next week.

Each day we met to grapple with the "hard" work of the Core that impacts teaching and learning. While sharing common goals during those long days in Albany, a new set of objectives were established. No matter which part of NYS you came from, your essential "take away" was to teach to the core in classrooms leveled for ALL learners. This demands a shift from old vestiges of teaching and learning to a growth mindset. In order for leaders to effectively lead the core and teachers to effectively teach the core:

• standards and shifts need to be internalized
• best practices need to be implemented
• student work needs to be examined

Throughout the NTI training, Commissioner King and Deputy Commissioner Slentz referenced Ronald A. Heifetz's perspectives on change: in order for adaptive change to occur, employees at all levels must work together toward solutions. At the NTI training, all the participants worked closely and collaboratively but the weeklong work only paves the path. We left with tools in hand, such as Metrics and Expectations document, Impactful PD Rubric, Professional Development Turnkey Kit, and curriculum materials to make the Common Core come alive. We left with a sense of commitment. We left with expectations on how to transform teaching and learning. However, the next step of the journey depends on the collective body of educators harnessing their energies to become facilitators of literacy because TEACHING IS THE CORE.