The following principles are from the book, Leadership
for Differentiating Schools and Classrooms, by Tomlinson
and Allan. These are principles that the authors selected
that are necessary for change in schools. This issue includes
the first 4 principles.
THE NINE PRINCIPLES
PRINCIPLE 1: Change is Imperative in Today's Classroom
In general, we know change is necessary for growth. Whatever
does not change does not grow , and what does not grow
atrophies. This correlation holds true for individuals,
for systems, and for educators and the schools where they
spend their professional lives. Change is a precondition
for continued existence. Further pointing the way to change
is the compelling knowledge we have developed in recent
generations about how students learn. We have a clear
sense of what would characterize high-quality practice
in a classroom. Many of our classrooms, however, look
remarkably like those of 100 years ago: places where teachers
tell, students repeat, and facts alone seem to map the
universe of knowledge. Thus, we need to change, to apply
our best understanding of teaching and learning to classrooms.
Just as we demand that medicine, architecture, engineering,
and even sports must be contemporary, classrooms, too,
must be contemporary.
PRINCIPLE 2: The Focus of School Change Must Be Classroom
Practice
The sort of change we need to revitalize students, teachers,
and schools necessarily has one focus- creating classrooms
where each student is coached in becoming the best educated,
most productive person possible.
PRINCIPLE 3: For Schools to Become What They Ought
to Be, We Need Systemic Change
Undeniably a teacher here or a team there can achieve
expertise in designing and facilitating effective differentiation.
Most parents of children in such a classroom would be
grateful for the benefits offered in those singular environments.
A student in one of those classrooms could experience
life-transforming change. In no way would we want to discourage
the evolution of individual teachers in becoming skilled
at designing and leading responsive or differentiated
classrooms. On the other hand, pockets of quality do not
seem to spread on their own. A mission of educational
leaders is widespread dissemination of excellent practice:
promoting broad-scale quality.
PRINCIPLE 4: Change Is Difficult, Slow, and Uncertain
Change is unnerving
The prospect of change makes us feel uncomfortable,
often guilty. It challenges us, makes us rethink ourselves,
calls on us to recreate what we do. Change robs us of
uncertainty, routine, and all the comforts to which we
would rather cling. Consequently, people resist change,
even when we see the need for it-let alone when we are
unconvinced of it.
Poetry Corner
The sun turns black,
earth sinks in the sea,
The hot stars down from heaven are whirled;
Fierce grows the steam and the life-feeding fame,
Till fire leaps high about heaven itself.
-- The Viking Saga
The best thing to invest in right now
is collegiality.
The number one skill that teachers will need is to be
team- based, collegial, sharing their knowledge and wisdom.
-Alan November
1998 EFFECTIVE TEAMWORK
Collegiality among teachers, as measured
by the frequency of communication, mutual support, help,
etc., was a strong indicator of implementation success.
Virtually every research study on the topic has found
this to be the case.
Unfortunately, teacher isolation - the opposite of teamwork
- is one of the most obvious realities of a teacher's
life (Lortie 1975). "Teacher individualism is not cocky
and self - assured; it is hesitant and uneasy"
Individualism combines with presentism to retard the
search for occupational knowledge. Teachers who work in
isolation cannot create an empirically grounded, semantically
potent common language. Unless they develop teams to indicate
specific events, discussion will lack the clarity it needs
to enlighten practice....
Individualism supports presentism by inhabiting work
with others in a search for common solutions. Teachers
do not undertake the collegial effort which has played
so crucial a role in other occupations.
from RESULTS by: Mike Schmoker
5 Facts of Life
1.Enthusiasm is not a random model; it's a daily choice.
2.Taking time to listen to others is a rare and special
talent.
3.Self-belief is a simple matter of focusing on what
you DO have.
4.A sincere compliment is the least expensive and most
valuable gift a person can offer.
5.Wisdom is always realizing that the only time you can
ever live is NOW.
Joe Takash
Attendance Redux
Don't forget that our API score is influenced by attendance.
Keep pushing. Our future is heavily influenced by these
scores.
The Three R's
The only Stanford 9 scores that are counted in the API
score are reading, writing, and arithmetic. Its important
that we all focus on the three R's in our classes, no
matter what class we teach. Lets pull together and push
the scores up again.
Half our life is spent trying to find
something to do with the time we have rushed through life
trying to save.
Will Rogers
