Last year I finally had enough of telling my students what the holiday season looks like in different countries and cultures around the world. I wanted to give them an authentic experience of learning about Christmas and other holidays. So last year my grade 7 classroom was the beneficiary of the amazing Twitter platform and teachers who, just like me, wanted to enrich their classroom. And, in the world we live in, we as educators can and should do much better than handing out worksheets about Christmas in Uganda.
 
So last year, I placed a tweet asking teachers from around the world to join a project where kids shared their Christmas stories, using a new hashtag #christmaswhereweare.  And WOW what a difference it has made. My students connected with Australia, Finland, Ethiopia, South Africa, Ghana, Netherlands and Sweden. They learned traditions, similarities and differences. They also learned that regardless of where you live, family is at the centre. My students didn’t just love learning all about celebrations globally but they also loved and felt proud to share their own traditions and talk about their own values. The project brought kids together and families together. The engagement and authentic learning could not be matched.
 
This project is starting up again. The guidelines are simple. If the time zones match-up then organize a videoconference. Add as many classes to your chat as possible. If times zones don’t match-up then create a video or play, expressing your cultures and traditions. (Examples are up on the Twitter hashtag)Lastly, if those modes don’t work simply blog about it or open up a Twitter chat. Really the only rule is you post it on #christmaswhereweare so the world can learn from and with you.
 
So please join this project and enrich the experience for your kiddos. They will thank you for it!
 
If you wish to participate in this project add yourself here to connect with other teachers.
 
The official project site is http://christmaswhereweare.weebly.com/
 
If you require any additional information please contact me on Twitter @rondorland  

Leadership has changed. The concept of the heroic general giving soldiers orders and then watching them as they fall in line is a thing of the past. The hierarchical idea of one person barking orders and the rest happily obeying simply does not work. In my opinion, collaboration is the key to success, particularly in an educational environment.


Currently I am reading a great book titled Flat Army in a teacher leadership book club.  The author, Dan Pontefract, brings to light key leadership strategies for success in the twenty-first century. And I must tell you it’s refreshing! His philosophy puts the focus on leader attributes, participative frameworks and collaborative action models. So far, my take from the book is for effective leadership to take place, in schools or any other environment, the focus needs to be on relationships; analyzing and making decisions with input from others and being on the same level as stakeholders.

Before Pontefract transformed the management structure at Telus, he was involved with the Vancouver school district. He observed teachers’ behaviours and emotional states. He also examined research of teacher engagement. He brought to light that in his findings, only thirty percent of teachers were engaged in their work. I find this to be deeply disappointing as in my opinion teachers choose this profession because they are deeply passionate. Passionate about enriching the lives of children and shaping future generations. To me, passion and engagement go hand and hand. I believe the key concepts discussed in Pontefract’s book are vital in promoting a healthy and successful environment for students, teachers and administration alike.


The author uses Michael Bloomberg, former Mayor of New York City, as an example of what modern leadership must look like. Where plausible he leaned on his co-workers. He trusted them. He involved them in decision-making, and developed decisions through clear and honest communication. And all along he never made decisions based on what looked good on paper as he new “If it looks good on paper, it might not look good on skin.” [1] The focus was on keeping a healthy workplace. One where people understood viewpoints, trusted each other to move the company forward and most importantly were engaged. But what would this look like in a school?

It looks like teamwork, committees, collaboration, smiles, compliments and an overwhelming feeling of trust and importance. I feel very lucky to have been a part of so many schools with amazing administrators. My engagement has never been higher, and I believe a huge part of this needs to be credited to school leaders who have exhibited Mr. Pontefract’s philosophies. Constantly I am feeling like I am valued and trusted. I feel that my voice and ideas matter. I at no point feel inferior, but rather I feel like I belong.

Conversely, Daniel Pink in his book Drive, explains why some individuals begin losing motivation. According to his findings intrinsic motivation is the engine that drives one's engagement. A hierarchy system, where one is to take orders and have little say gives little opportunity to become intrinsically motivated. The result are employees who feel isolated and undervalued, thus leading to disengagement.

But creating a FLAT hierarchy-free ARMY who work together to achieve greatness is bound to have a positive influence on all who are involved. Pontefract is telling us to lean on the strengths of all involved in a school. He mentions to place a focus on taking time to talk with one another. And furthermore, to not only focus on work discussions but also to remember we have home lives we love to talk about too. Lastly, he reminds us that the focus can’t be on productivity, but rather it needs to be focussed on making a harmonious, hard-working workplace. In other words, keep all engaged and towing the rope together.



@rondorland


[1] Dan Pontefract, Flat Army: Creating a Connected and Engaged Organization (Jossey-Bass, 2013), 94

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​Like many, I enjoy starting my day with a freshly brewed dark roast from my favourite coffee shop.  This got me thinking… What if we ran a classroom in the same way, like a Starbucks? A day would start with no pre-set lessons (or pre-made beverages if you will) but rather we would await an influx of inquisitive minds, eager to make their orders a reality. Not to worry though, you are prepared for them to sprint into your room, wide-eyed, excited and ready to go. That is because of instead of espresso machines and specialty syrups your Starbucks has Maker spaces, iPads and every other learning agent galore. In other words, you provide the essentials from which any number of specialty orders can be made. The children will enter their classroom as eagerly as…well… you entering Starbucks.
 
Everybody love Starbucks! They are a staple on every corner and are as hip as can be for all ages. Don’t believe me? Just ask a grade 2 student if they could have any hot chocolate cup on their desk what it would be. But we also love Starbucks because of the array of choices it provides. They have a beverage, or even a snack, for any craving one may have. According to Google, Starbucks offers north of 87,000 possible drinks. Thank goodness they organize their menu or it would be like a movie night back in the day when you went to a video store – perusing for what seemed like for hours through endless rows. Thankfully Starbucks menus guide you to make decisions easier and you almost always know what type of a drink you are going in there for. Maybe you don’t know the exact drink but you have an idea growing in your mind of what you want to satisfy your current need.
 
Why can’t our classrooms do that? Why can’t we have a menu, and then an order form for the kids that give choice and autonomy? A menu, which is full of the big ideas, that matches the grade curriculums and then an order form, which will personalize the learning. These order forms are the first things the students will fill out upon arriving to class. We can. It’s a mindset. If we take that scary step away from normality to create a classroom of choice, then the students will follow suit and take a chance in learning outside the traditional box.
 
I read an article that highlighted fifty famous people who never graduated high school. You can read the article here. After seeing names on the list which includes some of the greatest American Presidents and some of the most current inspirational trend setters, it got me thinking about our current school systems. My conclusion was two-fold. Firstly, we are stuck running a system that doesn’t necessarily match the world we live in. And secondly, these individuals were driven by much more than what school offered them. George Corous, in his book “The Innovators Mindset” makes an amazing point that may be the fault at hand,  “If students leave schools less curious than when they started, we failed them.” These individuals had that inner drive, which Daniel Pink talks about, to overcome the education system, but not everybody has that fortitude. We need to change. In other words, we need to address our own static, archaic practice so kids can fully learn AT SCHOOL.
 
I can give a guarantee that a Starbucks style classroom feeds the inquisitive mind while setting up a culture of future world changers. Students will be passionate, explore things of relevance and intrigue, examine and attempt to rectify real-world issues, gain hands-on experience and walk around the community exposing the brilliance of their classroom like a Starbucks red holiday cup! Your classroom will be the trendy place to be and the kids will flourish in both todays class and tomorrows marketplace. Why can’t we give the classroom and the learning back to the kids? We can, for as our Prime Minister reminded us, it is 2015. Run a Starbucks classroom and our children will thank us a latte!
 
Please click on the attachment below to see the CLASSROOM ORDER FORM that I will use in my room. I would love to hear thoughts and possible changes you may add.
 
Thank you!
 
@rondorland


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Recently I was a part of a Twitter teacher chat (#7thchat) moderated by Makerspace and STEM fanatic Janelle Van Dop. For those who don’t know what those terms stand for click here. Now I currently run some STEM and Makerspaces in my room, but the dialogue between these educational pioneers opened my eyes to even more of the profits. The takeaways from the chat have helped form my top 3 reasons why you need to run a classroom enriched with it.
 
1. Real-life
 
When is the last time you went to a job interview and they asked you, “What was your classroom test score on …?” If you can’t think of a time it’s because that question never came up. What they ask instead is, “Do you have any real-life experience?”  Yet our go to model in education continues to be based around tests and numbers. Heck, you can't get into university unless your numbers are good.
 
Maker and STEM change this. It develops hands-on skills that will transfer to later hobbies, education and jobs that are of interest to the child. Learning becomes more meaningful on all accounts.
 
 
2. Failing in order to succeed 
 
You run a spelling test and a kid gets more than half wrong. The child then shuts down, slouches his/her shoulders and whispers quietly “I’m not smart.” Kids say that enough and they start to believe it. What ensues is hatred to spelling due to the fear of being inferior.  Now feel free to substitute spelling with any other subject in school.
 
Maker and STEM change this. While students are building they constantly run into problems. But instead of thinking of it as a failure they, without thought, overcome it and create solutions. Moreover, they will learn to predict future problems, or “what if’s?” that need answering.  Don Wettrick states in his book that these scenarios not only keep kids on target but also excite them to want to keep improving. The result is a growth mindset that spreads through all school activities, and real-life circumstances.
 
 
3. Engagement
 
To all anti-change educators, I am very sorry to tell you this, worksheets don’t excite many. Your students don’t line-up outside the door chatting about how excited and moved they were reading a textbook and taking notes.

Maker and STEM change this. Children have a natural inclination to learn by doing. Don’t believe me? Just think about your favourite time in school. Was it centres during kindergarten? Thought so, mine too. Secretly, I must admit, I also love playing in the toy room with my three boys. Creating and building structures, plans, etc. stimulate excitement and I constantly think, what can I build next? Kids are the same. Bring out the hands-on “toys” and watch engagement skyrocket. Next you will witness your students salivate at the opportunity to learn. How cool is that concept.
 

@rondorland