T.G.I.M. or T.G.I.F.? Which are you?

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Are you a T.G.I.M. kinda person or a T.G.I.F. kinda person? If you don’t subscribe to dichotomous views of the world, where are you on the spectrum of T.G.I.M. to T.G.I.F.?

Last Wednesday, I was fortunate to observe a teacher facilitating a lesson for about an hour. This teacher has 40+ years of experience in public and independent K-12 schools, as well as experience as a private tutor and coach. Based on reputation and observation, I’d say this person is a “master teacher.”

At one point, she turned to me and asked the first question from above – “Are you a T.G.I.M. kinda person or a T.G.I.F. kinda person?” She then went on to explain that she had always been a T.G.I.M. kinda person. And she attributed her love of teaching and learning to being purposeful about that mindset.

And it never seemed like just a motto, a catch-phrase, or empty words. I got a sense she lived for Mondays!

I love that.

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Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

#FSBL, #YesAnd, #DTk12, #MVPSchool

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Tue, Jul 02 2013 14:05:35

#FSBL –> #YesAnd –> #DTk12 –> #MVPSchool

HOW MIGHT WE weave together: 1) a blog post about student-driven learning, 2) explorations by a father and two sons, and 3) two incredible educators working to blur the lines between “school” and “real life?”

  1. For me, a wonderful convergence happened today. First, while reading this morning, I benefitted mightily from “Start with Why: The power of student-driven learning” by Shelley Wright.
  2. boadams1

    Bo Adams@boadams1
    Start with Why: The power of student-driven learning plpnetwork.com/2013/06/21/sta… via @plpnetwork & @wrightsroom #MustRead

    Tue, Jul 02 2013 05:38:35

  3. Then, my two sons and I embarked on a Father-Son-Based-Learning journey to Sope Creek Park. Near the end of that trip, I highlighted one of the posts from our adventure for @SciTechyEdu. In exemplary improv and design-thinking form, she “yes-and’ed” me. Beautifully, another extraordinary team member of mine from Mount Vernon chimed in with more “yes-and’s.” Now, we have the nucleus of a pretty amazing opportunity for unifying and integrating curriculum and instruction around a core idea of natural area surrounding our school and the water-based challenges we face as a community.
  4. Here’s the #FSBL – in 9 quick auto-posts that are generated when my sons and I create an #FSBL observation-journal entry.
  5. boadams1

    Bo Adams@boadams1
    Exploring Sope Creek Park #FSBL wp.me/p3fWuN-bT57V

    Tue, Jul 02 2013 07:46:35

  6. boadams1

    Bo Adams@boadams1
    Learning to navigate & map read #FSBL wp.me/p3fWuN-bT57Z

    Tue, Jul 02 2013 08:03:00

  7. boadams1

    Bo Adams@boadams1
    Fascinated by fungi #fsbl wp.me/p3fWuN-bT583

    Tue, Jul 02 2013 08:16:24

  8. boadams1

    Bo Adams@boadams1
    Roots #FSBL wp.me/p3fWuN-bT587

    Tue, Jul 02 2013 08:18:20

  9. boadams1

    Bo Adams@boadams1
    Sibley Pond, Sope Creek Park, #FSBL wp.me/p3fWuN-bT58b

    Tue, Jul 02 2013 08:27:46

  10. boadams1

    Bo Adams@boadams1
    Weird fungi #FSBL wp.me/p3fWuN-bT58f

    Tue, Jul 02 2013 08:42:32

  11. boadams1

    Bo Adams@boadams1
    Scat. #fsbl wp.me/p3fWuN-bT58j

    Tue, Jul 02 2013 08:53:11

  12. boadams1

    Bo Adams@boadams1
    Tree ooze. #FSBL wp.me/p3fWuN-bT58n

    Tue, Jul 02 2013 09:07:17

  13. boadams1

    Bo Adams@boadams1
    Info board. Natl Park Service. #FSBL, @scitechyedu wp.me/p3fWuN-bT58r

    Tue, Jul 02 2013 09:10:57

  14. And here’s where Mary joins in our learning journey and expands the potential of a future project/challenge exploration…
  15. scitechyEDU

    Mary Cantwell@scitechyEDU
    Yes plant & animal id, geocaching, trail maint. &… RT @boadams1: Info board Natl Park Service #FSBL, @scitechyedu wp.me/p3fWuN-bT58r

    Tue, Jul 02 2013 10:13:47

  16. boadams1

    Bo Adams@boadams1
    @scitechyEDU YES, AND! HMW…

    Tue, Jul 02 2013 10:24:02

  17. And here’s where Chris jumps in and expands the opportunity and potential even further…
  18. chrisandres003

    chris andres@chrisandres003
    @boadams1 @scitechyEDU YES and include water table info; explore h2o rights, too

    Tue, Jul 02 2013 10:26:35

  19. boadams1

    Bo Adams@boadams1
    @chrisandres003 Yes! And could write to Upper Hooch River Keepers, apply for grant, etc. @scitechyEDU

    Tue, Jul 02 2013 10:28:50

  20. chrisandres003

    chris andres@chrisandres003
    @boadams1 @scitechyEDU YES and design water usage/conservation plan for MVPS, S. Spings, etc.

    Tue, Jul 02 2013 10:33:58

  21. Mary connects our ideating to a resource from Stanford d.school…
  22. scitechyEDU

    Mary Cantwell@scitechyEDU
    @chrisandres003 @boadams1 look at this H20 design thinking challenge stanford.edu/group/d-loft/c…

    Tue, Jul 02 2013 10:38:35

  23. And she moves to implementation by moving us to “WHEN & WHERE.” This moves ideas to action.
  24. scitechyEDU

    Mary Cantwell@scitechyEDU
    @boadams1 @chrisandres003 I will b in i.Design lab all next week workin’ & strategizing on the ZBoards… Swing by…

    Tue, Jul 02 2013 10:40:55

  25. And Chris commits to joining such implementation and #ActionEd…
  26. chrisandres003

    chris andres@chrisandres003
    @scitechyEDU @boadams1 love where this is going! I’ll try and swing by Monday. Name a time

    Tue, Jul 02 2013 10:45:06

  27. boadams1

    Bo Adams@boadams1
    @chrisandres003 @scitechyEDU Me, too. Love this impromptu #YesAnd #dtk12 #LetsMakeItHappen Blessed to work w/ u #mvpschool #ActionEd-ucators

    Tue, Jul 02 2013 11:02:28

  28. For me, this is an incredible example of how a simple commitment to community exploration and discovery (#FSBL) can connect with other ideas and possibilities for reimagining and recreating school. Together, I believe Mary, Chris, and I (and others) will make something happen from this ideation. It is this openness and exuberance and design-mindedness that makes me so excited to work with #MVPSchool faculty and leadership. For me, Mary and Chris translated ideation into innovation. Thanks, you two!

Learning to ride a bike – old school.

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My six-year-old son, JT, is learning to ride a bike. We’ve been so convinced by the compelling and current research coming from folks like Horace Mann and the Prussian Army that we’ve decided to enroll JT in cycling school.

The school’s named “Cycle Riding Ultimately Deconstructed Academy.” Or C.R.U.D. Academy, for short.

JT’s day at C.R.U.D. is organized into several 45 minute periods.

  • 8:00 – 8:45 is Handle Bars and Grips
  • 8:50 – 9:35 is Pedals and Cranks
  • 9:40 – 10:25 is Shifters and Gears
  • 10:30 – 11:15 is Balance

After lunch…

  • 12:00 – 12:45 is Steering and Braking
  • 12:50 – 1:35 is Tubes and Tires
  • 1:40 – 2:25 is Frames

Every Friday, JT will take quizzes and tests in each course. Because the school is very cutting edge, we’ll actually be able to see all of his multiple-choice assessments online. I can’t wait to see his performance on the test where he selects the diagram of a person with good balance. And in the fall and spring, JT will take the CRCTs – Cycle Ready Components Test. From those results, not only will we have a better bead on JT’s cycling cognition, but the school will also be able to determine who the best biking teachers are. That’s a win-win.

His mom and I are very excited for the school term to conclude so that we can then take JT to bike with us. He should be so well prepared to put all of those content areas together into an integrated whole. The school told us they wish they could offer such an experiential course, but there’s just not enough time in the day with all of the content to cover. We said we totally understand.

We were thrilled to find a cycling academy that draws from the decades and decades of systemic wisdom from industrial-age structuring of school. I’ll let you know how it goes.

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Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.