The “Learning Tool”

Many people believe that the key to an improved lifestyle is less work. I think it’s better work. I believe that most of us want to work hard, but we want to do the kind of work that energizes us and makes a positive impact on others. That kind of work is worth working for, and the other kind of work is worth letting go of, finished or not. (The Art of Non-Conformity, p. 10)

I think that pretty much sums it up for our students, doesn’t it? It’s not that they don’t want to work hard. It’s that they don’t want to expend too much energy on work that isn’t meaningful. When we see reports of rampant plagiarism or tales of students who want to do as little as possible in order to get a grade, isn’t that an indication that they’re doing work that’s not meaningful to them? When students are working on something that they’re passionate about, rather than apathetic, don’t most of these so-called generational ‘values’ or ‘character’ issues disappear? Contrary to what many believe, our students don’t want to just get by. They just want better work. The preceding was taken from Scott McLeod’s blog (dangerously ! irrelevant) (http://dangerouslyirrelevant.org/2010/09/our-students-want-better-work-not-less-work.html)

After reading this blog entry from Scott McLeod, I put it on the back burner for a while, but it seemed to resurface in my mind every so often. What is the impact on our students at Manson Northwest Webster? You know and I know we have “pretty good kids around here” adults, parents, students, and staff tell me this every week. And I agree with them. We do have good kids, we have kids for the most part that will come to class and do what is expected of them. We have kids that for the most part make good decisions. They will do what is expected of them regardless of the type of work that is put in front of them. When I think back over the last three years of professional development for our teaching staff, the focus in a nut shell has been on giving our students the opportunity to do “better work.” More meaningful work, real world work, work that challenges students. Will students sit passively in a classroom, taking notes, listening to an instructor? Yes most of our students will because we have pretty good kids at Manson Northwest Webster.

How do we, as a staff, get past just learning how to create “better” work in a professional development session and start changing the experiences we offer our students? Is that a fair question? Aren’t some already providing those experiences? Why aren’t all? When will our students demand to be taught differently? When will more students and staff start asking why? What will be the change agent for this process? It sounds like I have more questions than answers, but take a moment to think about each of those questions. They are big questions. What I do know is this we, as a community, have put a powerful learning tool in our students hand 24/7. Yes a laptop is a learning tool, please think of it this way. The laptop will become and is becoming the main learning tool for our students. The more new learning experiences students have using their laptop, the more comfortable students become with their tool, the more they will want to create “better” work. The change agents will not just be adults, but also our young adults in the building.

To Blog Or Not To Blog: A Non Writers First Attempt

Here goes my first attempt at a Blog. As I told a co-worker the other day, “I’m a non-writer, why in the world would I start a blog?” To which she replied via Twitter, “@shawn_holloway RT @ShellTerrell: Why a Blog? http://bit.ly/bTmofF via @nmhs_principal.” This tweet sent me on a journey to Eric Sheninger’s Blog: Why a Blog? Eric’s Blog can be viewed at http://esheninger.blogspot.com/ It is scary how similar our paths to new learning have been. I could steal all of his words and only have to change the dates. It seems as though I am one year behind Eric in this crazy process of joining Twitter and connecting to a PLN in a very informal way.

My professional life has changed dramatically in the last six months to a year because of the great educators on Twitter. I find myself learning, thinking, questioning, soul searching, and reflecting everyday based on tweets that I have read. My PLN has gone from a handful to literally hundreds. There are too many to list, but these educators can be viewed at http://twitter.com/Shawn_Holloway I would also like to thank Peter Holly, Mark Draper, Warren Weber, Pam Jobgen, and Val Jergens for their help with our struggling learners. Lastly, I would like to thank John C. Carver for being my buddy. Little did I know when John sat down next to me at an administrator’s conference the impact he would have on my professional career.

The intention behind my blog is two fold. The first is to share stories, information, and successes at Manson Northwest Webster. MNW is truly a great place to be, and this upcoming school year we will be starting our journey into the world of 1:1 laptops. I believe this new learning tool has the ability to change the way our students learn and the way our teachers look at learning, both as a learner and a teacher. Our goal is to create student centered classrooms that have authentic learning experiences on a daily basis. This blog will be a place to share these successes with the MNW community as well as educators around the world. The second reason is to share resources gathered, thoughts, and opinions from a young soon to be middle aged Jr/Sr High School Administrator.

I would like to share just a glimpse into what others have said about MNW as a way to brag about the solid foundation we have as we move forward into our 1:1 journey. The following is from a document, “Walking The Talk”. Peter Holly and Mark Draper from the Iowa High School Project wrote the following about Manson Northwest Webster.

This was a very positive experience for the visiting team. While initial impressions were all favorable with everyone involved with the school being friendly and welcoming, what was most impressive was that the visitors heard exactly the same messages from administrators, teachers and students. This is truly the school that “walks the talk”. Although the school has earned a well-deserved reputation (being recognized by the Iowa High School Project for its collaborative work with Van Meter and being sought after by the Smart and Good High School Project to be one of its field research schools), MNW is still one of the best-kept secrets amongst Iowa’s high schools. Everyone encountered during the visit confirmed that the school is a comfortable, close-knit, and friendly place where everyone knows each other and is supportive of each other, students and teachers alike. Students who had arrived from other districts (either because of relocation or open enrollment) emphasized that, in comparison to their old schools and districts, MNW is smaller and much, much friendlier and supportive.

The culture in MNW is one of high expectations. This culture, however, is neither overt nor explicit. It’s just part of the woodwork. Indeed, when asked directly how it works, respondents were hard-pressed to come up with answers. It is so much part of the place, and how it goes about its business, that those involved have ceased to see it.