For the Love of Conflict and Why I am not a Big Jerk

April 27, 2012 Leave a comment

(Image Source)

It may sound strange—perhaps even alarming at first—but I love conflict. Let me explain by outlining what I do NOT mean by that statement: I do not love fighting, I do not love violence, and I do not love avoiding disagreement. It’s the rich creative fire that conflict brews that gets me so excited. Too often we regard conflict as a signal to calcify our position and refuse to acknowledge or hear the “opposition.” Is it too abstract? Eh, let me lay it all out with a personal experience. (Oh, the vulnerability!) First, some context.

R and I have just finished our second semester as facilitators for Soliya and our first semester working together as co-facilitators. We are friends—close friends—and we both anticipated that working together as co-facilitators would be a breeze and that the semester would move along swimmingly. We were wrong.

All facilitators are assigned a coach. The coach watches recorded sessions (these recordings are not made available to anyone else unless all participants give their permission) and provides facilitators with detailed feedback about dynamics he sees emerging in the group, what the facilitators are doing well, how they may be missing the mark, and so on. In short, if you want to facilitate for @Soliya you must be open to constant feedback, critical self-reflection, and global reflection (that is, regarding the larger process). Therefore, we are not only reflecting on our own behavior in each session but also the way in which we approach ALL interactions throughout the process, how our behavior is affecting others, recognizing their responses, making efforts to identify misunderstandings…oh and so on. It goes on. This is what it takes to really engage in the process.

Bear Traps and IEDs

Well, it’s not so bloody but indeed there are many “traps” that threaten to disrupt the process. (When I say process, I am referring to steps required to successfully facilitate the group’s process to achieve the Connect Program goals. You can read about those goals here.) Here, I’ll list a few traps I’ve recognized. Some, I’ve avoided stepping into, others, I’ve set off and was snapped nearly in half (figuratively, people) by its snarling grip. The final trap I’ll identify comes with the personal experience I promised to share!

Go through the motions by following the online curriculum to the ‘T,’ without integrating observations you’ve made in your group and their direct requests. This is usually how that works: A particular session is a terrific success and all or the majority of participants explicitly request to continue the discussion about a particular topic the following week. The planning session for the following week arrives and the co-facilitators (for whatever reason) simply overlook their participants request and plan to follow the suggested outline in the online curriculum. What happens when we fall into this trap? We send a strong message to our participants that their input does not matter, that we aren’t listening, and that the group is not theirs. These are obviously not the messages we want to send, nor is it the dynamic we seek to create.

Forget that everyone is involved in the process. Who is counted among “everyone”?! Facilitators, group members, tech support, paid Soliya staff members, coaches, and …who am I forgetting? Also, participants’ university professors, anyone who is in the room from which a participant signs in (such as the noisy cafe’s background noise, the peers that a participant is seeking to impress by performing for them rather than focusing on the group process, etc.). Any one else? Let me know. What happens when we forget that we are all in the process? Simply put, we each must remember that we are all in a constant state of “figuring it out.” That means, a lot of humility, patience, and trust that our colleagues mean well. Why is this so important? There are myriad opportunities for misunderstandings when working with others from various cultural and linguistic contexts, most of whom are communicating in a non-native language (English), a small number of whom are employed by Soliya, and the majority of whom are volunteers. When we forget that we are all engaged in the process, we miss out on invaluable opportunities for learning and growth. We also risk compromising our particular group’s process.

Forget, overlook, or “give up on” our co-facilitators. This is closely related to the forget that everyone is involved in the process trap but deserves special focus. How exactly do we overlook or “give up on” our co-facilitator? Well, I’ll tell you how I fell into this trap. R and I, as I mentioned, are very close friends. R is Egyptian, a non-native English speaker, and much younger than me (seventeen years younger than me!). She is also coming of age in the midst of national and regional revolutions, recently engaged to be married, and also working full-time, attending graduate school, and volunteering for Soliya. By week three into our semester…I pretty much forgot all of that.

I’m sorry…who are you?

This is how it started: During our first session I was worried that R would have  a hard time creating an abbreviated transcript–as the session was unfolding–by typing main points of the conversation into the chat box. (Typically, while one facilitator is asking questions, making observations and so on by speaking, the other facilitator is typing main points into the chat box. Facilitators are meant to switch back and forth so that they have an equal presence and status in the room.) Indeed, she was having a difficult time and was able to catch much less of the conversation than I did. (Of course, she was listening to people speak English with ten different accents…there is no way I could EVER do this if the tables were turned and the group was communicating in Arabic.) So, out of concern for my friend, I began typing and talking at once. Essentially, I pushed her out altogether because I didn’t give her the space to fulfill her role in her own way. This pattern continued into the second session but was eclipsed by tech issues, one especially disruptive participant, and general awkwardness. As a result, when we reached out to our coach for the first time, we were so focused on seeking his advice for working with the disruptive participant that we didn’t even recognize the imbalance developing in our co-facilitation.

We focused on applying our coach’s advice during the third session and were really pleased to shift the dynamic in terms of our one participant who was making it difficult for others to participate. By session four a resentment began brewing between R and I because–I don’t think either of us really recognized what was happening on a conscious level–R felt pushed out of the process and I felt abandoned! (What a jerk I am! At first, I wanted to “help” and then I ended up taking over, which then led me to be mad that she wasn’t helping!) Around the same time, R and I both had packed schedules and were finding it difficult to meet–we both missed or arrived late for scheduled planning meetings, and well, we sort of lost our respective grips. At this point, I was starting to feel like I was doing all the work…but, yet again, I forgot many things and arrived at a place in my own mind in which I figured it would be “easier” to do this on my own than go through the hard work of communicating with R about our conflict. Arg! How did we both forget something so BIG!!

In comes our coach with an email notifying us that there is an imbalance in our facilitation and that we must all three meet to discuss how we can work it out. I wrote back almost immediately and shared my perspective, “You bet there is! I feel like I’m doing all the work!” (Oh, what a jerk I am!!!) I was hoping for our coach’s help and support but at the same time I was buckling under the pressure of my packed schedule and also wanted to avoid a long meeting (our last meeting with our coach was nearly three hours long). Needless to say, his insistence that we all have time as long as we’re committed really ruffled my feathers. Sorry for the cliche, but my emotional response was so pedestrian in its predictability it doesn’t merit colorful or original language. :-) Basically, I felt as if I was already contributing a tremendous amount of time and energy–as a volunteer–but was being told that I simply was not giving or doing enough. Oh, the humanity!

Finally, R and I talked–without our coach–and together we stepped back and reflected on the entire semester up to that point. We reiterated our love and respect for one another and brainstormed about how we could rectify the imbalance in our facilitation. We each shared our frustrations, admitted mistakes we each made up until that point, and clarified our goals and intentions. Since R had tech issues during sessions four and five (which made it difficult for her to hear much of anything and also added to the imbalance and my feeling that I was carrying the bulk of our shared responsibility) and I was absent during session six, we decided that she should be the “front” facilitator for all of session seven, during which I would type the main points of the conversation into the chat box and facilitate the closing round during the last ten minutes. This required R to be more assertive and I was made to step back and stay back while she did her thing. It worked well, the group noticed and we explained to them that since R had tech issues in weeks 4 and 5 and thus didn’t have the opportunity to participate that it was important for her voice to be more prominent in this session. The group seemed to appreciate it. We both feel that the session went well.

The planning meeting for our final session also felt much more balanced. Happily, in our final session, R and I achieved a nice balance–we haven’t perfected it yet but we’ve made great progress. Too,  I have definitely traveled from a feeling of intense frustration leading me to think “I never want to facilitate again, especially with R!” to “hmm, I really wish I had time to facilitate next semester…R and I are finally starting to develop a nice partnership.” That, in my opinion, is a successful process and why I love conflict so very much.

The moral of the story is…the minute we step up to the challenge of recognizing our own weaknesses, exploring miscommunication, and bridging understanding is the moment we can cast off our jerkiness. So, I’m not such a big jerk after all. Alhumdulallah.

Note: This reflection is dedicated to RR, SS, and RG, who have each contributed so much to my personal and professional development through their unyielding and passionate commitment to the Soliya process in addition to their compassion and friendship. I love you all!

Filed under Intercultural Exchange, Professional Development Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Planning to Visit Schools in NYC…1,700 to choose from…

April 6, 2012 Leave a comment

Congratulations, you’re officially a NYC Teaching Fellow. Me too! Now what? Of course, it’s not just us fellows…many other folks out there are also about to become classroom teachers. Whether we arrive in the classroom via a traditional or alternate-certification route, we all share something in common: after a few short months we’ll be standing before the notoriously steep learning curve that all new teachers encounter, particularly in their first few years of teaching. Hopefully, my reflections will be useful to any educator who drops by Thinking Outside the Schoolhouse. Indeed, I’m especially hopeful that more experienced teachers will share their wisdom, and other new teachers will engage here in conversation as we go through our respective induction processes.

We fellows will be muscling our way(s) up that hill in the largest public school system in the United States—New York City’s. There are approximately 1,700 public schools in New York City serving more than 1.1 million young people (source). The NYCTF’s mission is to recruit and train individuals to teach in ‘high-needs’ schools and neighborhoods. In my opinion, the more an educator is tuned-in to her teaching context, the more compassionate, effective, and connected she will be as a teacher, learner, and advocate for the students she’s working with. So, I decided to take the NYCTF’s recommendation and visit as many schools as possible before starting the summer training in an effort to get a sense of what’s out there.

Some questions that are on mind

What does a “failing” school look like, what about a school that’s consistently earning an ‘A’ on its yearly report? What kinds of learning environments and school cultures will we find in small schools, large schools, schools with large numbers of English language learners, and those in which the majority of the population qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, and schools primarily made up of middle- and upper-middle class students? How do teachers and administrators weigh in on the causes and proposed solutions for the so-called achievement gap? These are a few of the questions roaming around in my mind. What do you hope to learn when you start visiting schools and communicating with new and experienced colleagues?

Title 1, SINIs, and such things

This year, Brooklyn and the Bronx were listed as the boroughs most in need. According to the NYC Department of Education’s most recent stats (2009-2010), 103 schools in the Bronx and 80 schools in Brooklyn have been identified as “schools in need of improvement” (referred to as SINIs). SINI schools are further categorized on the NYC Department of Education’s website:

SED identifies the following five categories of Title I schools in need of improvement, according to the number of years that the school has not made adequate yearly progress (AYP):

  • Title I School in Need of Improvement – Year 1
  • Title I School in Need of Improvement – Year 2
  • Title I Corrective Action School – Year 1
  • Title I Corrective Action School – Year 2 (Planning for Restructuring)
  • Title I School in Restructuring
  • Click here for the list of schools. (Source)

Title 1 schools qualify for “supplemental funds to school districts to assist eligible public and private schools with the highest student concentration of poverty [sic] to meet school educational goals.” (source) In short, NYCTF’s mission is to help provide teachers to work in under-resourced schools with large numbers of students who are living in poverty and those who are new Americans (non-native English speakers). Therefore, many of the schools we’ll find on the borough profiles provided in the fellow portal (I LOVE these profiles, they are SUPER useful, especially when planning school visits) are Title 1 schools. The profiles are available under the Job Search Preview tab in the Job Search Support Provided by the NYCTF page in the MY NYCTF portal.

How the heck do I even begin to arrange school visits? 1,700 public schools?!?!

I’m so glad you’ve asked. In fact, the plan was to write about my research, reach out, and visit process in this blog post but I got caught up setting the stage. Here are some tips that I hope you will find useful. Let me know how you’ve been arranging your school visits and any tips you have. (Thank you!)

Supplies:

  1. Index cards
  2. Pen
  3. Highlighters (two different colors)
  4. Borough profile (for your preferred borough)
  5. Computer and Internet!

First step:

Since I’m enrolled to teach ESL, I decided to go through the Brooklyn profiles (East New York; Bushwick; Crown Heights, Prospect Heights, and Prospect-Lefferts Gardens; and Brownsville and Bedford-Stuyvesant, aka Bed-Stuy) and highlight all schools in which 10% or more of the student population is made up of English language learners (ELLS). Forty-four of the 150 schools profiled in the neighborhoods listed above have 10% or more ELLs; the percentage of ELLs ranges from 10% to 90.5% (the latter is the number of ELLs at the International High School at Prospect Park).

Second step:

One by one, I looked up each of the highlighted schools on the NYC Department of Education website and jotted down its address, phone number, and district on an index card. Next, I went to Google maps and searched for directions from my place in Brooklyn to the school, via public transportation, to see how long it will take to commute. I jotted the trains and total travel time on each card as well as total distance (sometimes I prefer to bike to work…will it be a six-mile or fifteen-mile commute?). I also jotted down the grade range, number of students, percentage of ELLs, and number of teaching fellows on each school’s index card. Finally, I checked the progress reports of each school (you’ll find a link when you get the initial search result on the NYC DOE website) and jotted down its current rating. This took me about two or three hours on Wednesday night.

Third step:

Sort through the cards and rule out any schools that are just too far to get to each day (I ruled out any one-way commute that was more than an hour and fifteen minutes each way). Next, arrange cards according to which schools appeal to you most for whatever reason. For me, I prioritized the international schools and other schools that have a large numbers of ELLs. Some of you might want to eliminate certain grade levels, locations, etc. Obviously, everyone has their own set of preferences.

Fourth step:

Start making phone calls! I spent another three hours on Thursday cold-calling schools. This is how I approached it: “Hi, I’m Kelly  Marie Johnston and I recently enrolled as a NYC Teaching Fellow to teach ESL. I’m interested in visiting schools in the community and I’m wondering if we can arrange a time for me to visit [name of school].” It turns out, my timing was okay-ish. The first three phone calls I made were very productive! I managed to arrange three visits, all to schools I’m very interested in. During and after each phone call I jotted notes on the blank side of the index cards. What were my first impressions, did I need to make any follow-up calls or take any other action (a few schools asked me to send my resume), and any other relevant notes. It was fascinating to experience a broad range of tones–some folks were very friendly, energetic, and welcoming; others were downright surly. In a few cases, well-spoken and confident students answered the phone and very capably responded to my request. It seemed important to me to keep these first impressions in mind.

Fifth step:

Wait! Yeah…because it turns out that my timing was “okay-ish” because Spring Break started today! Schools re-open on April 16 and from that day until April 27th the high schools (I think only the high schools…this, I’ll need to double-check) are administering the state exams. Ugh. Two full weeks of testing.

Sixth step:

Spruce up my resume to highlight my teaching experience and forward it to those schools that requested I send my credentials and pull together a folder of hard copies to carry with me on visits. Also…work on that list of questions.

Notes you might find helpful:

One school asked that I bring a copy of my proof of enrollment letter, others wouldn’t arrange a visit without first seeing a copy of my resume. I didn’t actually talk to anyone at a number of the schools I called…in fact, I left…four messages but was unable to leave messages for others because I either got stuck in the automated system or led to full voicemail boxes that simply cut me off. One school insisted I fax a resume (they simply would not accept it via email) before they would schedule a visit. One school notified me that they have an opening for an ESL teacher and asked me to please send my resume and that we could then schedule an interview and a visit (SCORE!). Finally, I ended up with three confirmed visits and one request to call back on April 30th to schedule a visit sometime after testing season.

Well…I hope this helps any of you who are planning to visit schools! What are you hoping to find out by visiting schools? What questions to you plan to ask? How are you approaching the process? I’d love to hear from you. Also, it would be awesome if some teachers with experience in the NYC public school system could share their ideas! Give a Fellow a hand!

Filed under Professional Development Tagged with , , , , , , , ,

It’s Official: Walking into the Schoolhouse

April 2, 2012 9 Comments

It’s been interesting. After months and months of restless anticipation, I am no longer waiting to hear from Teaching Residents @ Teachers College or the New York City Teaching Fellows. Teachers College offered me a spot in their MA in TESOL program (which will run me about 100K) but—three weeks later—I received a generic email notifying me that I have not been accepted into the Teaching Residents program. I was devastated! Note to future applicants: Desperate emails to the program director asking “May I join the program if I foot the bill?” (even though I really cannot afford to take more loans but was willing to because I wanted so badly to complete the best training available before entering a high-needs public school as a classroom teacher) are likely to go unanswered. Well, mine did at least.

The other news is…the New York City Teaching Fellows invited me to join their program, in which I am now officially enrolled. I’m feeling a bit—as my Grandmom would say—like a chicken with its head cut off. I want to run in circles and learn as much as I can in order to prepare as much as humanly possible from now until September when I step into the classroom. After an intensive summer program (including graduate classes, co-teaching summer school classes with a mentor teacher, and professional development courses) I will be teaching full-time in a high-needs school in New York City. NYCTF has brought me into the fellowship to teach English to students who are non-native speakers…and who in some cases, have little-to-no English language proficiency. Although I’ve had lots of experience teaching English as a foreign language (in Egypt, Japan, and on Skype), I’ve never worked in a public school in the United States. Soon, I’ll be working in a public school in one of the most infamous systems in the U.S. (New York City’s) that has been designated as ‘high-needs.’

What does ‘high needs’ mean? It means—primarily—that the schools are under-resourced (in terms of supplies, “the best teachers,” and curricular diversity); the majority of the students are poor (and receive free or reduced-price lunch); and many of these schools (administrators, teachers, and students and their parents) are under intense scrutiny, and in some cases the schools themselves are on the chopping block, because their students are not passing state exams. Many people will testify that these schools are also subject to heavy-handed mayoral control and plugged into the school to prison pipeline. (Check out the last issue of Rethinking Schools.)

Everything in the above paragraph is highly contentious. Although I will dig into many of these issues in future posts (as I move from dipping my toe into the schools pool to swimming laps to the point of muscle failure), for now I’m simply recognizing that there’s a big messy conflict raging on and public schools—especially high-needs public schools in urban areas—are very much on the front line. Here, I’ll mention a powerful counter-point to the dominant narrative about the state of public education in the United States and education reform, which often focuses on the failure of teachers rather than larger structural issues: Kevin K. Kumashiro’s Bad Teacher: How Blaming Teachers Distorts the Bigger Picture. Please share any resources—books, presentations, and so on—that weigh in on this debate. I’m interested in exploring multiple perspectives. Conflict—I still uphold this very important lesson from my training in Peace Education—is an opportunity for productive and constructive collaboration and growth. Unfortunately, many of us still respond to conflict by clinging more tightly to our views and becoming increasingly rigid in our respective positions. This is not the only option. We can do better than this.

I’ve decided to become a teacher for four reasons: 1) I feel called to teach; 2) I love to learn and find working with children to be highly educational; 3) Kids are insatiably curious until they are programmed to sit-up, shut-up, and memorize and I’d like to nourish the curiosity; 4) All children—no matter how rich or poor and no matter how native or non-native (I’m talking here about citizens and undocumented residents)—deserve equal access to high-quality public education. And…the school to prison pipeline—as my Grandmom would say—really gets my Irish up. (Translation: INFURIATES me.) Oh, AND, I realized that it’s downright arrogant and foolish to take a stand on the “education issue” without having had on the ground, in the field, classroom experience. (Actually, there are many more reasons, most of which are related to a love of learning, a fascination with the process of learning and human development, and a passionate commitment to doing everything I can to support the effort to ensure that all young people acquire the skills and knowledge needed to participate actively, responsibly, and intelligently in social, political, and economic aspects of life.) Yes, I love Freire.

So, how will I prepare to teach young people who are already too-often receiving the short end of the stick? Of course, I’m going to work harder than ever. Absolutely, I’ll reach out to other educators in search of critical feedback. Yes, I’ll reflect on my practice in effort to identify my own weakness and to further understand my students’ needs. The thing is…the more I read about “becoming a teacher” the more I realize that I’m going to screw up. There’s going to be a steep learning curve for me those first few years in the classroom. I’m hoping (meditating, practicing, studying in order) that I will be a successful student and will build a strong, flexible, and reflective teaching practice. I don’t want to let down the kids.

Here it goes: I’m about to walk into the schoolhouse but I’m committed to maintaining space for reflection. PLEASE share any information, advice, tips, or resources at your disposal. It’s all much appreciated!

Interested in applying for the New York City Teaching Fellows? You can read about the NYCTF interview event here.

Filed under Professional Development Tagged with , , , , , , , , ,

New York City Teaching Fellows versus Teaching Residents @ Teachers College

January 15, 2012 12 Comments

Update: Lots of people visit this blog via searches for information about NYCTF and TR@TC. Lately, lots of search inquiries are focused on notification. For those of you looking for that information: TC has begun notifying applicants of final decisions. Yay!!! I’ve been admitted to the MA in TESOL program! This is the first step in the two-part process for admission to the TR@TC program. I’ve also been admitted to the NYC Teaching Fellows! I’m really inspired and deeply honored to have been admitted to both programs. So exciting!

December 10th was an exciting day for me…and a bunch of other folks who participated in a New York Teaching Fellows interview “event.” It was a fun, inspiring, and exhausting process, which I wrote about in detail here. At the end of the day, we were told that we would “hear back” in four to six weeks. In the meantime, or more specifically, while I wasn’t neurotically checking and rechecking the MYNYCTF portal (each applicant is given access to the portal, where she can check the status of her application, upload documents, receive and send email to the folks at Teaching Fellows headquarters, and so on), I was searching for other opportunities to become a classroom teacher in a NYC public school without, ideally, spending another twenty plus thousand dollars on tuition for a program that leads to certification. According to my site statistics, a lot of other NYC Teaching Fellow applicants are also waiting anxiously to learn whether or not they will be counted among the approximately nine percent of those accepted into the program.

Well, good news aspiring teachers. It turns out that there are currently eight programs that offer “alternative routes to certification” to folks who are interested in teaching in New York City public schools and who meet the eligibility requirements.  I’ve applied to two: the New York City Teaching Fellows and–now my first choice–Teaching Residents @ Teachers College (TR@TC). It might be worth your time and effort to check out a few of these other programs and, if you are eligible, prepare and submit applications. Here, I’ll tell you what I’ve learned at an information session about TR@TC and while preparing my application and share why the TR@TC program is a much more attractive option in my case.

Those of you who have already gone through the application and interview processes with the NYC Teaching Fellows should know the following: Most fellows will go on to teach special education or science and a small number may be brought on to teach English as a foreign language (EFL). I’ve applied to teach EFL…so this looming question mark from the folks at NYCTF makes me nervous…and so I’ve marked a tick on the con list. In contrast, the TR@TC program offers three tracks that lead to certification for aspiring teachers: Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL), which leads to a K-12 certification; Intellectual Disabilities, Autism (IDA), which leads to a 7-12 Teaching Students with Disabilities certification; and Teaching Students with Disabilities, Secondary Inclusive Education, which leads to a 7-12 Teaching Students with Disabilities certification. You can check out the eligibility requirements for each on the TR@TC website.

Hands down, NYC Teaching Fellows is mighty attractive to those of us who already have loads of student loan debt from undergraduate and graduate studies. Teaching Fellows take an intensive summer course and then are awarded a provisional certification that qualifies them to teach in a NYC public school. During the summer immersion course, fellows begin their master’s programs, which are highly subsidized by the NYC Department of Education. Fellows do pay for some of their tuition (less than 7,000) and they are responsible for all other costs (books, transportation, etcetera). The tuition payments are taken bit-by-bit from a fellows’ paychecks, and since fellows are working full-time in a New York City public school while taking master’s courses part time…it is unlikely that any fellow will have to borrow money to participate in the program. This is a giant tick on the pro list for the NYC Teaching Fellows.

Oh, call me crazy…but TR@TC…even though I might have to take a loan to do it…is a much more attractive program. Here’s the deal on the money front: All teaching residents are awarded a scholarship that pays for 18 of the 38 required credits. In addition to that scholarship, residents are awarded a $22,500 stipend that they can use to help defray living expenses or put toward the remaining tuition costs, which amounts to…at $1231 per credit: $24,620. Yikes. There is, however, a possibility for loan forgiveness if graduates spend five years teaching in a high needs school. This is not a done deal yet…but I am sending regular requests to the Universe to make it happen! Note: TR@TC graduates are required to spend three years teaching in a high-needs school after graduating from the program. Those who do not, are required to pay back the scholarship and stipend monies.

What makes it more attractive? Have you checked out the image above? First, residents complete the master’s program in 14 months while working closely with a mentor teacher in a public school. In contrast, NYC Teaching Fellows work full-time in a public school and take their master’s courses in the evening. Most NYC Teaching Fellows take two to three years to complete their master’s degree. Importantly, the provisional certification lasts only three years, so fellows MUST earn their certification within that time. Second, the TR@TC program provides much more support to residents. Check out this semester-by-semester breakdown.

In the first summer session, each resident receives a school assignment and visits that school to build some familiarity. Residents earn approximately 13 credits during the summer session by attending the Intensive Summer Institute. In sum, the first summer semester combines field and classroom components. Then life gets a bit busy.

During the fall semester residents spend three full days per week in their schools working alongside their mentors. In addition to the residency, residents take graduate courses (in the evenings) and attend weekly “integration seminars” each Friday from 9:00am to 1:00pm to discuss their experiences in their respective schools, and integrate those practical experiences with what they are encountering in their coursework. Residents are also required to spend thirty hours “interacting” with a community based organization (CBO) situated in the same community as the school they are assigned to. In order to prevent residents from developing a limited view of the public school system, each are placed in another school for twenty days during the fall semester. It. Sounds. Brilliant. Life gets busier.

The spring semester is just as intense–if not more so. Residents spend four full days per week working alongside their mentors in the NYC public school they are assigned to, attend the Friday integration seminars each week, complete six credits worth of coursework, complete their certification requirements, and begin their job searches. In addition, as during the fall semester, residents are observed while they are in the classroom by Residency Supervisors.

The final semester, it is said, is a bit more relaxed as the program is wrapping up. Residents complete three to six credits of coursework, finish their integrating seminar, work with support system at Teachers College to find a job, and gear up for their first year of teaching in a high-needs New York City public school!

Okay, all of that is intense, brilliant, and makes me super-excited, nervous, and finger-cross-ey (because I really hope I am accepted into the program)…but I haven’t even mentioned what I think is the most attractive aspect of the TR@TC program: The induction years. In short, residents get loads of support during their first two years as teachers. This includes: an induction mentor, monthly observations from folks appointed by Teachers College, monthly meetings with their master’s cohort, and more. (Check the image above.) Second year, more support, more mentoring, more professional development. This appeals to me for a few different reasons: a) I know that becoming a good teacher is A LOT of work and the more support and feedback I get, the more my students will learn;  b) The NYC Teaching Fellows model feels a bit like seven weeks of basic training before jumping out of plane and into the school zone; and c) Research shows that teachers who receive mentoring and intensive feedback are much more likely to be more effective teacher and to continue teaching for more than five years.

The bottom line is, the TR@TC program will better prepare me to be an effective teacher in a high-needs school. As for the money…man, it sure would help if I didn’t have to borrow more money, God knows it’s true…but I’m going to consider it an investment in my future students. You know, the kids who need more well-prepared and dedicated teachers. They’re worth it!

Moving Forward

Timeline: The “priority deadline” for the TR@TC admissions is January 15th. You can read more details about the application process here. Two days ago I “heard back” from the New York City Teaching Fellows; they told me that my application was still under review and changed my status from “interview completed” to “decision pending.” It’s not clear to me whether anyone has been accepted or if this is another “cut” (I made second cut…like during sports try-outs in high school!). The email from NYCTF indicated that accepted applicants will be notified in “spring.” Not very specific! The NYCTF summer-intensive training begins in June. Those who have applied to TR@TC by the priority deadline will know by mid-March whether they are accepted. The first summer session begins on May 14th!!

Tell Me About Your Experience!

Have you applied to NYCTF, TR@TC, or any of the other programs that offer alternative routes to certification? What has been your experience? Good luck to us all!

On the fence about whether or not you should teach? Consider this.

Filed under Change-makers Unite!, Professional Development Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Here’s the Skinny on the NYC Teaching Fellows Interview Event

December 13, 2011 8 Comments

The fact is…there were no surprises. After much waiting and Christmas-Eve-like anticipation…I have finally completed the New York Teaching Fellows interview “event.” And when they say “event,” they aren’t joking! This is not your typical interview. Thank God! Here, I’d like to share my impressions and offer some ideas, for those of you who will be interviewing in the future, to help you prepare for the event. First, my impressions.

It’s hard not to notice the bird droppings peppering the stairs leading into Washington Irving High School (where the event was held), my guess is that not many kids loiter on the front stairs before and after school! Walking into the building was a wholly different experience. This past Saturday morning, the orchestra was practicing in the auditorium on the ground floor, which was  filled not only with its rich music but also with gorgeous murals and beautiful architectural details. I thought to myself, “Wow…this feels like a place that fosters learning. I would feel inspired….” It turns out, appearances can indeed be deceiving, that same morning the NYTimes published an article in which Washington Irving was identified as one of the 19 added to the city’s list of schools to be closed. As it goes, last year only 48% of Washington Irving’s seniors graduated.

This bittersweet intersection of idealism and passion for teaching and learning with the absolute state of emergency confronting students, teachers, and other stakeholders in public education and the grim realities associated with that status quo permeated–for me–the entire interview process. However, I must admit, by the end of the day I felt more determined, more inspired, and downright hellbent on doing my part to effect positive change. But. I. Am. So. Humble. What I mean is…I know that this is not such an easy task, that we (I don’t know if I’ll be selected to be a NYC Teaching Fellow but here I’ll imagine I will be chosen ;-) ) will not know what it means to work in the highest needs schools with the kids who are most at risk and “hard to teach” until we are there, in the moment, doing it. But, dammit, I cannot bear the thought of NOT making my best effort to reach as many young people as I can and I am already praying for the strength, insight, and smarts to do a consistently good job.

After milling around a bit in the lobby and chatting with a few “fellow potential Fellows,” we were invited to head up to the third floor, where the interview event would take place. Once there, I noticed the walls were filled with posters about testing, which listed goals “achieve at least 75% on regents exam” and to pass the exam each year. Suitably, the interview event began with a test: a 30-minute math assessment. It’s been ages since I’ve filled in bubbles on a scantron sheet with a number 2 pencil! Being citizens of the United States of Mathphobia, there is much nervousness about such assessments. It seems that many candidates worry about what they will find on this test. The NYCTF website fairly describes the assessment as one that a candidate really need not prepare for–as one might for the GRE or GMAT for example. The math itself is very easy–between 4th and 6th (if even) grade levels. The structure of the test is a bit different though.

Here’s the deal: The questions are meant to approximate a situation in which a teacher is presenting mathematical concepts or problems and asking students to carry out the appropriate procedures. The teacher expects x but finds that some students have done y or z. The test is to determine which approaches are valid and which are invalid. Should you prepare for this test and if yes how? My suggestion is this: If you suffer from stereotype threat (you belong to a group that supposedly sucks at math and the mere mention of the word causes you to temporarily lose 50 IQ points), then do thirty minutes of math each day before your interview AND (most importantly) remind yourself that you ARE NOT SCARED OF MATH. Get over it. Mathphobia is a contagious condition that you do NOT want to pass on to students.

After the math assessment, the candidates join the group they were assigned to, upon registration at the event, in classrooms throughout the building. Two current NYC Teaching Fellows work with each group of candidates. My group was made up of six people (counting moi). The first order of business: We each presented our five-minute teaching sample. Holy cow, five minutes goes by super fast. Only one of the group finished in less than five minutes…and I don’t think that was such a great thing. As the NYCTF website suggests: It’s a great idea to practice your five-minute lesson in front of friends, family, or anyone else who will listen. There really aren’t any surprises to this component of the interview. Everyone in my group brought in materials to accompany their lessons–so you might want to keep that in mind. Notably, everyone I met at the interview event was smart, engaged, and collegial–this made the entire process fun and not at all nerve-wracking. This warmth and collegiality was especially helpful during this part of the event. In fact, it was deeply inspiring and I felt more motivated to become a NYCTF by the end of the day.

Next, we took a short break while our evaluators (I forget the term they used to identify their role in the process) set up the room for our group activity. When we returned to the room, we were asked to sit around the table and read over the instructions for our group activity. We were presented with a list of issues at a particular school and our task–as teachers at the school–was to discuss those issues and come up with a plan to address them. We were given twelve minutes to discuss the issues as a group and we were then required to present a three-minute pitch to the principal and vice-principal (played by our evaluators). The advice is this: Don’t dominate the conversation but also make sure that you contribute, that is–don’t be a fly on the wall! The dynamic in this activity will obviously be influenced by the personalities in your group. We had a cool group but I noticed that many in the group were less cognizant of the fact that it was a GROUP activity and more focused on asserting (or piling on) as many ideas as they could. I would suggest working hard to strike a good balance between actively listening and actively contributing input. This is the time to illustrate your capacity to listen and collaborate rather than talk non-stop and dominate!

The three-minute presentation was a bit clumsy for our group for two reasons: We got so caught up discussing the issues facing our school that we did not take one minute, or even thirty seconds, to discuss how we would divvy up the presentation among ourselves, and we had an individual in our group who tended to dominate (this, I think, may have been an expression of nervous on her part…she was receptive when I whispered to her, “We need to give everyone a chance to contribute”). Don’t be shy to politely assert yourself within the group! Remember, this is an assessment of how you work in and with a group as well as how you operate individually.

We were next asked to provide a written response to two different prompts. Typically, I do very well with written assessments but I think by this point in the day–even though I was enjoying the process–I was a bit brain fried! It is usually very easy for me to write–and I LOVE writing–but for some reason, I felt much less fluent than usual as I was responding to these prompts. Nonetheless, I do think I did okay. We had only 15 minutes (total) to respond to the prompts. No time for drafting outlines!

FINALLY, the one-on-one interviews–the last step in the process. Our group was divided in half so that each evaluator would interview three candidates. During the one-on-one interview, I was asked to accept feedback on my five-minute lesson sample, incorporate that feedback, and re-deliver the first minute of the lesson. The rest of the interview flew by. Honestly, the only interviews I have ever enjoyed–in the sense that I feel at home, natural, and at ease–are those related to education. This was no exception–it’s easy for me to interview in this context because I am so passionate about teaching and learning and about teaching and learning at-risk students in particular. Having said that, I won’t know for four to six weeks whether I will be chosen to be a NYC Teaching Fellow. Fingers crossed!!

And for those of you who are gearing up for your own NYCTF interview: Good luck! Have fun! And, DEFINITELY bring some food and water with you. It’s a LONG day!

On the fence about whether or not you should teach? Consider this.

Filed under Professional Development Tagged with , , , , , , , , ,

Great and Not-so-Great Professional Development Webinars

December 8, 2011 5 Comments

The bad news is—at least from where I’m standing— the economy still sucks and my job search continues on its cold streak. The GOOD news, for those of us who are interested in education, is that there is an entire universe of professional development opportunities available online and much of it is FREE. Of course, such resources exist for folks in various disciplines and industries but I’ll be focusing here primarily on materials that are related to education and available online: Webinars, podcasts, open education resources (OER), online conferences, and so on.

In the past three weeks, I have attended five Webinars, all of which were free: Integrating 21st Century Tools: What are some considerations for laying the foundation of purposeful technology integration?; The Common Core of the Whole Child; Peace Education from Theory to Practice; Ladders of Hate, Ladders of Peace; and an informational session about the NY Teaching Fellows program. It occurred to me, as I experienced the range in quality among the above Webinars, that I am in a unique position to provide a service for those of you who are working full-time. We all know that life-long learning is a must—not to mention it’s fun, enriching, and an excellent way to connect and collaborate with peers around the world. However, it also takes time to seek out and sift through these programs and you full-timers are likely not in a position to spend five, seven, ten or more hours a week exploring these resources. Too, when you do finally carve out a few hours here and there to learn something new…it’s a real drag if that time is squandered on a low quality, simplistic, or superficial presentation.

Here’s my gift to you: I’m going to hunt down, check out, and review as many of these resources as I can. Along the way, I’ll share information about the platform, the presenter (and his or her skill with the chosen platform), and the content of the program. Hopefully these reviews will help you save time by avoiding those I-want-to-jab-my-eyeball-with-my-pencil type presentations and seeking out those that are inspiring, jam-packed with useful information, and relevant to your work and interests. Since many of these resources are available in real-time and as recordings, you might use the reviews to influence which presenters you might be willing to pay to see (some folks—for example, the Curriculum 21 team—offer series that are kicked off with a free Webinar but which cost a few bucks for the remainder) and which archived sessions you might want to etch out some time to watch. And now, a quick review of the first two Webinars listed above.

As it goes, kicking off my tour de Webinar-ville with the first episode of the Integrating 21st Century Tools and Skills series was pure kismet. Why? The presenters were top-notch, highly skilled with the platform (they used Instapresenter as their Webinar hosting platform), and the content provided was fascinating and relevant. Michael Fisher and Silvia Rosenthal Tolisano co-facilitated the Webinar, which was carried out as a dynamic exchange among presenters and attendees rather than a lecture-like presenter-reading-from-script-and-talking-at-a-monitor approach. In part, this more conversational and dynamic approach is supported by the Instapresenter platform, which has a chat box along the bottom of the screen that all participants can type into and read from throughout the Webinar. However, it was the hosts’ skilled use of the technology that really created the open and collaborative dynamic. (It would be infinitely more helpful if I could share a screen shot with you—I will collect screen shots from future Webinars.) Participants can see, on the top left of the screen, live video of the presenters, who can choose to keep all cameras open or to switch back and forth according to who is doing most of the talking at any particular point. Seeing the presenters faces—even if just for a few minutes at the beginning of the episode—helps to create a greater sense of connection and proximity.

Silvia and Mike did an excellent job collaborating throughout the presentation. As they delivered information about various 21st Century Literacies—information literacy, media literacy, global literacy, and digital citizenship—one of them would type relevant links and names of resources in the chat box and respond to participants’ questions in real time as the other presenter spoke. The speaker was also watching the chat feed and incorporating and responding to attendees’ feedback as it came into view. This Webinar is an excellent resource for any educator—whether you are working in a formal or informal program—who is interested in creating learning opportunities that will better prepare students to practice the “5 ‘C’s”: critical thinking; communicating; connecting; collaborating; and creating.

I have only one complaint: I cannot find an archived version of the Webinar on the Curriculum 21 website (Episode title: What are some considerations for laying the foundation of purposeful technology integration?). Hopefully, it will be made available soon. Notably, there are three more Webinars in the series: Thoughtful task consideration: It’s not about the tools; Curation and Implementation; and Automating, Informating, and Amplifying. You can register for one or all three of the Webinars at the Curriculum 21 website.

The second Webinar—The Common Core of the Whole Child—was recorded and you can view the archived episode online if you are interested in watching a living example of how not to host a Webinar. Unlike the Curriculum 21 episode, which opened fifteen minutes early so that the series host could explain to attendees how to use the platform and to iron out any unforeseeable technical glitches—the Common Core of the Whole Child started ten minutes late. The total Webinar was slotted to last one hour—so watching the presenters wrestle with the technology for ten full minutes kicked off the episode on a very sour note. Teachers are very busy people, it’s simply not nice to waste their time.

The presenter, Molly McCloskey, used the GoToMeeting webinar-hosting platform, which is much less collaborative than Instapresenter. Attendees are not able to see one another, and the chat box is a pop-up screen and does not stream all participants comments only those input by each user. For example, if I input a question or piece of feedback into the chat box, I can see my own question. If another attendee types a question or statement, only he and the hosts can read his feedback. Other attendees’ feedback is only visible to all attendees once a presenter responds to that question and makes it visible to the group. I resented this host-controlled conversational (power) dynamic. In fact, it was not conversational at all. The dynamic gave me the eerie feeling that I was at the end of a long dark tunnel and that somewhere, far away, someone was talking into a horn in a tinny radio voice. Essentially, it was an old-school approach superimposed on a new-school technology. Had this been my first Webinar experience, I can’t imagine I would opt to seek for more.

It was very clear from the start that neither the presenter nor the person who was in the room “supporting” her was comfortable with the technology. During the first ten minutes, attendees watched as the presenter wrestled with the sound, the screen (at one point her Outlook inbox was made available for all to see). Finally, when Molly started the presentation, she did not move her slides forward. I typed feedback notifying the presenter and her tech support person that I could not see the slides. I was told to download a Java update. (The problem was not on my side.) Apparently, other attendees complained that they also did not see the slides moving forward. Finally, about twenty minutes into the Webinar the sound was working, the speaker was presenting, and her slides were moving forward in line with her words. Unfortunately, the logic of the presentation mirrored the fumbling with the platform. At one point Molly said “The key word is each because when we think about education we don’t want to talk about all children because that doesn’t reach every single child. We want to think about each.” (This is a paraphrase but it’s damn close.) Uh, I think I get the point…we don’t want to lose sight of the fact that each kid faces a unique set of circumstances and that we want all students—every individual student—to be considered when we plan, deliver, and assess teaching and learning…but would you mind rephrasing that? In short, it appeared that the presenters were either unprepared or overwhelmed by the platform. Honestly, if I didn’t have so much free time on my hands, or if I were required by my work to watch this Webinar for “professional development,” I’d feel aggravated. Frankly, I was expecting a much higher quality Webinar from ASCD—their newsletters are excellent and many resources on their website are very useful.

Hopefully, future Webinars in the ASCD Common Core series will be more professional, content rich, and less painful to watch. It can be very daunting to communicate across a new and unfamiliar platform. My guess is that Molly is super-smart and has a lot of insight to share with educators. Sadly, this didn’t shine through in this Webinar. A great reminder to us all to be sure to practice practice practice and familiarize ourselves with new media before going public with a presentation. The good news is, fumbling leads to learning. I bet Molly’s next Webinar will run much more smoothly.You can review the schedule and register for future Webinars here.

Filed under Professional Development Tagged with , , , , , ,

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 28 other followers