Kick it up a notch

20. October 2012 · 3 comments · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags: ,

About a week ago, I started to feel overwhelmed by all the work I’m doing. Instead of feeling defeatist about it, I decided I was just going to dig in and do the best that I can. I still find it difficult to be in high gear work wise and to manage to carve out time for my family and for myself. Because I also think I can’t do my best work without getting enough rest and without feeling connected to friends and family, and honestly, without clean clothes!

And the thing is, most of my work is somewhat my choice. I do things I don’t absolutely have to do because I care about what I do. I know I can have impact on my students, on my school, and maybe even my field, through my work. So I take it seriously. But it can’t be everything.

What a week!

13. October 2012 · Write a comment · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags: ,

Yes, a week went by. I had one of the busiest weeks ever. There were several days where I didn’t have a free moment. But I had a lot of great conversations with colleagues. My meetings were all productive, which I know sounds crazy. We began the week with our in-service day, where we are doing some major work as a school in preparation for our accreditation process next year. I’m co-chairing a committee so there was a lot of work to be done there. After lunch, we attended workshops run by faculty. I ran one on google docs, which is the third one I’ve run. I love doing these. I also covered a few other things I use, like twitter and ifttt. Then I attended my colleague’s workshop on robotics to see what she was up to in the lower school. And that was fun.

Later in the week, I held my techie Thursday lunch, something new I’m doing this year. It was pretty awesome. We talked about specific things like course management systems, how to see the revision history in google docs, and how to create a PDF form. But we also talked about technology literacy among our students and how we might improve upon it. The head librarian was there so she could chime in on helping students with their search skills and other information literacy skills. I could talk about what I do in my middle school tech classes and how those skills are or not addressed in upper school. It was a great conversation.

I’m also working on figuring out how to continue building the computer science program. I talked to colleagues in math and science as well as several administrators. I’m trying to do this in a cooperative way, creating something that benefits the students and the school as a whole. Everyone has been quite supportive, and quite helpful in helping me think through the possibilities and potential unintended consequences. I learned a lot about how students typically progress through their high school years. I, of course, know the requirements, etc., but this gave me a clearer sense of what students really do.

Oh, and there were the five classes I teach as well. They’re chugging along quite nicely.

What I like about not teaching college

07. October 2012 · 6 comments · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags: , , ,

I get asked quite often why I decided to make a move from college-level work to teaching in a k-12 environment. There was the obvious fact that I could not find a college-level teaching job. I had nibbles, interviews here and there. I even had one job pan out, but I turned it down because of distance and work load. There are plenty of practical things about the hours, the pay, and the type of work that made me choose to leave college work. But I think much of my decision was based on intangible things that had to do with the way I interacted with the institution.

It can be summed up with a phrase that I uttered to a colleague the other day, “We are the school.” At every place I’ve ever worked, I’ve always taken that attitude. I am part of the institution. I represent it out in the world. I contribute to it. I help keep it going, improve it, etc. and I feel that my colleagues do the same. I expect in return remuneration, of course, but also a general appreciation of my contributions to the institution. That appreciation does not have to come from the top, i.e., the administration. But I do need it to come from my colleagues first and foremost, but also students and, in the case of a k-12 school, parents (all of whom are also the school). I need to feel a sense that what I do matters, even if it’s just to a handful of people, and I need to have some semi-tangible evidence of that–appreciative emails, a thank you in the hallway, a student who lingers in the class to chat or who says hi every day in the hall. And I try to pay these things forward as well.

I guess I would classify this as a sense of community, and I suppose a collaborative work environment, a sense that we are all in this together. I get that from where I am now, even as I am aware that not everyone may feel the way I do about it. I feel it’s my job to help them feel that way about it (or alternatively, just to recognize that some people aren’t happy and there’s nothing I can do about it, so I will ignore them).

Almost every institution of higher education I’ve worked at, save one, has been the opposite of this, to the point where I just decided that the one, my graduate school, was the exception, not the rule. What I’ve found at many colleges is an air of competition, of differentiation into us and them, of a lack of empathy or even a lack of desire to understand what people across the campus do. There’s a rigidity to most places that is stifling and unproductive. Faculty get appreciated and recognized by their field and not their colleagues within their institution. Faculty may build relationships with students during a class but almost never outside of class. Staff are invisible to both faculty and students and their work goes unappreciated, and unnoticed except when it goes badly wrong and then it’s suddenly “all their fault”.

It’s a toxic environment that’s hard to fix, especially in a place with lifetime employment on one side and comings and goings among both staff and students on the other. And I am vaguely aware that such issues exist on a smaller scale at my current institution. But they are not what defines it, which has been the case at too many places I’ve been involved with.

I guess I feel that institutions of education should encourage a feeling of working toward the greater good, a common cause of educating citizens of the world. Even at research-heavy places, there should be a feeling that your work could lead to the betterment of society, whether that’s through finding cures for diseases, building the next great app, or helping people understand how literature creates a view of the world around us. Instead, many places seem to foster a dog eat dog world of fighting over scarce resources, of claiming some kinds of work is more important than other kinds (based on funding models), of a focus on looking out for oneself rather than for the institution or its members.

I could say a lot more, but I’ll just end with saying that I’m grateful for my job, for my colleagues, for my students, and their parents, all of whom make me feel like what I’m doing is worth it, even when they’re challenging me. And that’s a really nice feeling.

Even 8th graders like infographics

04. October 2012 · 1 comment · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags: , ,

Yesterday was the first day I’d seen my 8th graders in three weeks. I introduced them to our project, put them into groups, and had them decide what they wanted to collect data about. I then reminded them via our homeroom bulletin to collect their data. I was fully expecting them not to have their data. But they did!

I had them put their data into a spreadsheet and generate a couple of graphs to see how their data looked. They actually had fun with that. Students have collected data on favorite broadway shows, favorite travel destinations, favorite froyo flavors and toppings, and the hair and eye color of the whole 8th grade. I’ve had no whining or claims of boredom, etc.I can’t wait to see the end results next week.

I think there were two main things that have made this successful so far. One, groups, and two, having a clear sense of the end goal. Showing the examples seems to have really stuck with them as they mentioned them several times. Another factor is probably that this is the first group I’ve had since 8th grade. They just know me better. Whatever it is, I’m glad, and I really think they’re getting something out of it.

Am I qualified?

01. October 2012 · 8 comments · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags: , ,

This is a question I ask myself occasionally. But being qualified to teach CS is a somewhat tricky question. In my state, there’s no certification for CS. I can get certified in business and information technology, but I’m not sure what that entails. The web site is a bit Byzantine. In states where there is CS certification, it’s pretty straightforward. You need a bachelor’s in CS plus the education program, standard for any other field. I have neither of those things (and my job requires neither). I have about 20 years of teaching experience. I have taken several classes in pedagogy. I have about 10 years of IT experience and about two years of programming experience (at least in the language I teach). It sounds okay, but it often feels like not enough.

I certainly wish I had the breadth of knowledge in the field a CS degree would give me. If I had the CS degree, though, I don’t think I’d teach. I think I’d be working in industry. The money’s certainly better. And this is the argument made by many about why there aren’t more CS grads teaching CS at the K-12 level. There’s a push by some organizations like the CSTA to increase CS certifications and have more teachers with the “right” credentials teaching CS. I don’t disagree with this idea. But first you need the demand for those teachers, which isn’t there right now. CS isn’t a core academic subject so it’s not taught everywhere, and even where it is taught, there are not enough courses for a full time CS teacher.

So at many places, the lack of certification standards benefits both the school and the teachers. The school makes do with a math teacher who can program or has the tech person teach a couple of courses. And the teacher hones their CS skills in other ways, through online or summer courses or just through reading and practice. Is it ideal? Probably not. But it’s what’s in practice at many places.

There’s a bigger question about credentialing in general that my own anxiety raises. Does having a degree in x qualify you to teach x? Does not having the degree disqualify you? Are there different routes one can take to be qualified? For example, could a well-read author teach not just writing, but also literature? And what about education research and training? Is that more important than experience? Is being qualified to do anything really that cut and dried?

Title IX and computer science

26. September 2012 · Write a comment · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags: , ,

Mark Guzdial wrote an article pondering whether CS teachers might not have a legal obligation to teach differently in order to eliminate bias and potential discrimination. It’s an interesting idea, one that’s been mulled over before, and that mulling never seems to have amounted to anything. This is not an issue I personally have to worry about since all my students are women. But I know that I drifted away from science and tech as a student in part because of bias. I had a biology professor who basically told me to drop the class and not worry my pretty little head about it. I felt intimidated by an all male CS class. I quietly kept practicing my tech skills on the side away from the competition of the classroom. FSM bless my 10th grade math teacher, Mr. Chandler, who, even when I started to flounder, insisted I was good at math and helped me claw my way back to understanding.

As the 2008 article mentions, determine whether a gender imbalance in a class or department is due to discrimination is difficult. And requiring a quota for classes or departments might be damaging. What if you had to turn away 20 male students to keep the gender balance at a certain level? That seems wrong as well in a field where there is an overall shortage of graduates. But I do think, as Mark suggests, that it’s worth examining one’s teaching methods and course offerings and not make the assumption that female students aren’t taking your class because they just aren’t interested in CS. Students talk. They find out before they sign up for a class if you are boring or too harsh or condescend to the girls or never call on them. While I think there are plenty of CS teachers and professors doing just that, there are just as many who probably aren’t.

Controlling, not controlling

15. September 2012 · 2 comments · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags: , , ,

The year is off to a good start. Yes, I wish I had a few more students in my CS classes, but I generally like where all my classes are headed. In my middle school classes, I think I’ve come up with a curriculum that will not only teach them some cool things, but will also keep them engaged. I’m still doing web site design in 6th grade, and they seem exited about that. Scratch is going over well in 7th grade, where I’m hearing “cool” and “wow” and “come look at this” around the room. The 8th graders seem happy with their assignment and happy to be in groups. We’ll see what the end result is.

And the upper school students seem happy, too. Some have even said so out loud.

A non-teacher colleague saw my middle school class the other day and said, “Wow, some of those kids are hard to control, aren’t they?”. Um, yeah. Especially when they’re sitting in front of a computer in spinny chairs. Basically, I don’t worry about having complete control. I try to get across my instructions to them in relative quiet knowing that the three girls in the back are going to ask again.

Across the board, I know that I can only control so much. I can create curriculum but I have no control over how students will interact with it. They might go slower than expected, as my CS II students are. They might be excited by it or bored by it. The best I can do is adjust as needed to make sure every student can learn. So I might go slower or I might create a new project that gives students more freedom or that they will find more engaging. I might cede control entirely as I let the students determine their own direction.

I often find it difficult to cede control in the classroom, but I’m almost always happy with the results. The students often do more than I thought they would or go in very interesting directions. But, yes, it’s sometimes a bit unsettling. I just have to go with it.

Days with no breaks

11. September 2012 · Write a comment · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags: ,

The last two days have been days with no breaks. For those who don’t teach, it’s often typical for teachers to have empty period during a day, in order to plan, grade, or meet with students or colleagues. There might be 6 periods in a day, but a teacher would only tech 4 periods. Because half of my job involves working with teachers, my empty periods fill pretty quickly. I fill them with meetings to work with teachers on projects or meeting with administrators and staff about broader tech issues. Or I meet with students who need help or need mentoring.

I like being busy. I like getting to work with lots of people, and I do guard my lunch periods. But I need to be better about saving a couple of planning periods. And I need to start looking ahead further. If I only have a couple of hours a week to plan, then I need to plan for several classes at once. The last two days, I’ve been doing it in 15 minutes chunks. I also want to spend some time thinking more deeply about my curriculum as a whole, about advocating for CS education more generally, and for keeping up with the field. I do some of that at night, but my mind is better acclimated to thinking deeply during the workday. By the time I get home, I’m mostly thinking in gibberish.

I had days like this in my previous job, it’s not quite the same. The energy level is hard to maintain. I’ll adjust, and things will settle in. And then it’ll be summer.

What my life looks like

08. September 2012 · Write a comment · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags: , ,

If you asked me if I was ambitious, I’d say no. I’m edging past middle age and though I believe people can become great leaders or famous in some way at any age, that’s not my goal. I believe in being the best I can be at what I do. And that is actually ambitious. And what I do is quite a lot. I’m a teacher of computing, broadly defined. I can’t focus on just one thing, and the field is constantly changing so I have to keep my skills up. I’m also the person who provides avenues for professional development for my teachers in the area of technology. Another rapidly evolving field. And I’m a strong supporter of advocating for CS education in schools and for CS education for women more specifically, which means volunteering in my community and elsewhere, mentoring students, developing programs to educate my immediate community, and more. And I’m the mother of two children, who both need to be fed and clothed, but also guided and supported as they navigate their lives. And I’m a wife, daughter, sister, and friend, meaning I have many relationships to nurture and give time to.

So that means that the photos I wanted to take over the last couple of days didn’t happen because I was in meetings, driving children to school, working with teachers, meeting with students, writing articles, commenting on blogs, curating materials to share with my colleagues, having informal but important conversations in the hallway, attending an evening school event, planning and making dinner, chatting with friends, and listening to my spouse over a martini. It means that this weekend, I will do the homework I assigned to my students, start programming something for a colleague, finish up two or three short articles, spackle my bedroom walls with my hubby, go clothes shopping with my daughter, work with my son on his college application plan, do some volunteer work, go grocery shopping, and make soup for the week. This is a lot. And I wish sometimes I could do more, but I do actually sleep and relax–a lot. Because if I didn’t, I might explode.

It’s a difficult thing to always be trying to effect change in yourself and others without exhausting yourself. I’m well aware that if I abandoned my family responsibilities and my need for rest and relaxation, I could do more, but my life wouldn’t feel as satisfying if I did that. What goes are things like blogging, taking pictures, exercise, mundane housework. I can handle that.

A good problem to have

05. September 2012 · Write a comment · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags: , ,

I spent a good chunk of yesterday trying to help students get into my class. My class is an elective so it gets juggled around quite bit. I also teach in both the middle and upper school, so my schedule gets tight as well. That often means that there are students who get bumped. It’s a good thing to have students who really want to take my class. And those that are taking it have told me how excited they are for the course. those people that claim that girls don’t like CS need to meet my students.

That’s actually my second year class. Though I do have one student trying to get into my first year class, that will only bring it up to 3 total students. My second year students were surprised. One said, “They just don’t know how cool it is.”. I said, “You guys have to tell them how cool it is.”. I also need to work on that because 3 students does not a program make. I have plans to offer two new courses next year that I hope will encourage more students to take CS, but I also need to advertise more among the parents. I need to figure out if it’s an interest problem or a scheduling problem. And I need to work to alleviate whatever it is. It’s a lot to take on as one person. Those who teach required courses don’t know how easy they have it.

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