Recent Posts
Professional Development 365
I have had an incredible opportunity to talk to well-over a thousand teachers in the past year at Outrageous Teaching seminars or Teach Like a Pirate keynotes. One common complaint I have heard is the lack of meaningful local professional development opportunities and the lack of funds to send teachers to state and national conferences. Well, I have a slightly self-serving answer to the first problem…I travel well! But, more importantly, I also have an answer that is free and available to every teacher out there.
Get ready for it!
Twitter (Wait, wait…don’t leave, let me explain)
We no longer live in a world where you have to wait for PD to come to you, you can access it 24/7 365, right from your computer or smartphone. The use of Twitter by educators is a full-on revolution that is changing the landscape of educational collaboration. Teachers are developing Professional Learning Networks (PLN’s) that span the globe. You can share ideas, ask for (and give) help, and follow all of the emerging educational trends through Twitter.
When I think back to the first time I heard about most of the current and cutting-edge educational trends…it almost always can be traced back to Twitter. The vast majority of educational blogs, magazine articles, newspaper stories, etc. that I have read in the last 12 months have been because of links in Twitter posts of people I follow.
I am sending this message as a special invitation to have you join me for a Twitter event that I think will show you some of it’s potential power. Tomorrow evening (Monday 1/23/12) at 7pm Eastern, 4pm for us on the left coast, I am hosting a Twitter chat for social studies teachers about how to engage hard-to-motivate students. I would love to have you join us even if you teach another subject because I think it will still be relevant. Feel free to participate, but also feel free to just watch the action if you want.
Here’s how you do it: Are you already on Twitter? Search for the #sschat hash tag. All posts will include #sschat in the tweet so that the discussion can be easily followed. Jump on Twitter at 7pm Eastern, go to #sschat and follow along. Reload often…the tweets will be pouring in!
Not on Twitter? Time to join! Go to http://twitter.com and provide your name and email and then choose a username and password. I recommend your name or a derivative of your name but do what you want. I am @burgessdave so you can follow me, if you like. At 7pm Eastern on Monday(1/23/12), go to the “Discover” tab and type in #sschat and join the discussion. If you tweet, please put #sschat in your message so that it will be a part of our discussion. A hash tag (#) put before a topic helps to organize tweets in a more usable, searchable, and effective manner. I recommend that you practice searching for the hash tag before Monday afternoon. If you join, send me a tweet by mentioning me (put @burgessdave in your tweet…the @ symbol directs the tweet to a particular person and is called a “mention”). If you need help, type “Twitter tutorial” into google and you will find articles, videos, etc..
Here is an incomplete list of education-related hash tags that you might like to check out:
#edchat General educational topics discussed here
#edtech Great for educational technology
#ntchat Support for new teachers
#sschat Social Studies
#mathchat Math
#scichat Science
#engchat English
#psychat Psychology
#socteacher Sociology
#kinderchat Kindergarten teachers
#1stchat First grade teachers
#2ndchat, #3rdchat, #4thchat, #5thchat
#mlearning Mobile learning discussions
#cpchat Principals and admin
If you attend a conference…find the hash tag. For example, #NCSS11 was used by many of us at the last Nat. Council of Soc. Stud. Conference in DC.
Trust me, there are many more. You can get unbelievable PD and support 365 days a year. You can also influence thousands of educators all over the world right from your own classroom. Geography no longer needs to be an obstacle to PD and collaboration. If you’re not getting the kind of growth and stimulation you need at your school or district…join the revolution!
Dave Burgess
P.S. Don’t forget…please join me for #sschat on Monday 1/23 7pm Eastern, 6pm Central, 5pm Mountain, 4pm Pacific!!
Play Your Drum Revisited
I released the following blog post, “Play Your Drum”, last December and it received more email comments than anything I have ever written. I have to admit that, even though I wrote it, I still go back and read it when I need some perspective. I have added so many wonderful new people to my list this past year that I hope you forgive me for sending it again this holiday season. I feel truly blessed to have been able to share my ideas with so many people in so many places this past year. Recent travels have taken me to Mobile, Alabama, Birmingham, Alabama, Little Rock, Arkansas, Tonawanda, New York, Camarillo, California, Anaheim, California, Edmond, Oklahoma, Washington D.C., and many other places to deliver the Outrageous Teaching / Teaching Like a Pirate seminars, sessions, and keynotes. I look forward to continuing to bring a positive, uplifting, and passionate message to teachers across the nation in 2012. Thank you for allowing me to play my drum.
PLAY YOUR DRUM
The “Little Drummer Boy” has been my favorite Christmas Carol for as long as I can remember. Of all of the holiday songs, I can honestly say that it is the only one that truly moves me. Always has…always will. The idea of a young boy, too poor to afford a fitting gift for the “new born king”, attempting to honor him with that which he does have is a great lesson for all of us. We spend too much time stressing out and concerning ourselves with what is absent in our lives and not enough time focusing on what really matters. The drummer boy may not be able to afford the expensive and fancy gifts that others have brought, but he has something better…he can offer the gift of his unique strengths and talents and that which makes him truly special. He has no material gift to offer but what he CAN do is play his drum like no one else is capable of playing it…and so he does. The fact that his play is met by approval and acceptance from Mary and the animals is certainly of no surprise, because when one is engaged in pursuing one’s passion and offering the very personal gift of doing what one does best, the power is undeniable and clear to all.
Isn’t that what it’s really all about? We all have to find our own personal “drum” and then play it the best we can. For me, I never feel more truly alive than when I’m standing in front of a class of students or a seminar room full of teachers. That’s my drum I’m playing up there and I’m going to play the heck out of it. The line, “I played my best for him,” is a call to arms and a challenge to meet. Forget about all of things that you can’t control and make sure that you are playing your drum to the best of your abilities and with all of the passion, enthusiasm, and heart that you can muster. Nothing else really matters. There is no finer gift or higher honor that you can offer to the world than to find out what your “drum” is and then play it for all it’s worth.
Happy Holidays!
Dave Burgess
This Isn’t Fantasy Football!
Most of my friends play fantasy football, but I’ve always resisted their peer
pressure and refused to join in. Nothing against it…just don’t want to spend the time.
This year, however, one of the dads started a kid’s league in the
neighborhood and my son joined. I watched the first games of the season with my son and his friend as they followed
their players and I noticed that it definitely changes how you see the
game. My son’s friend, Robby, is a huge Chargers fan and I watched in disbelief as he cheered after an incomplete pass
from Phillip Rivers to Vincent Jackson. We were losing the game and it would have been a touchdown for our team
but Jackson and Rivers were on his opponent’s fantasy team. He was actually rooting against his beloved
Chargers because the stats of individual players had become more important than the game.
In fantasy football, a player’s worth is solely based on their individual statistics. Much of what makes a player great, and a team
win, doesn’t show up on the stat sheet.
That block that set up the winning touchdown…forget about it because it
wasn’t my guy who scored. Mindlessly and obsessively tracking stats can lead to a shallow view of the game. As a basketball coach, I love to watch the player who rotates to provide defensive help, sets the proper angled screen to
free up the 3 point shooter, and blocks out the other team’s leading rebounder. Unfortunately, the majority
of fans watching the game (and everybody reading the box score in the paper) miss these crucial elements in the win.
Statistics just can’t properly measure the impact that a player has on the game.
The exact same is true when we turn school into a twisted version of fantasy sports
and place an over-emphasis on standardized testing. It leads to a shallow and narrow view of what
is important. I refuse to boil down the learning, growth, and development of my students into a statistic. Much of what is truly significant in the long run just doesn’t show on the “stat sheet” provided by test scores. For example, I would much rather have my kids leave my class not being racist and with the strength of character and courage to fight racism when they find it than to have memorized some facts about the Civil Rights Act of 1964. I’m not saying that you can’t have both, I’m just pointing out that only one of those things will be measured on the test and it isn’t the most important one.
Why have so many schools reduced the time and emphasis that they place on art,
music, and physical education? The answer is beyond simple…those areas aren’t measured on the all-important
tests. You know where those areas are measured…in LIFE! They help us to develop a richer,
deeper, and more balanced perspective. Never have we needed more of an emphasis on the development of
creativity than now but schools have gone the exact opposite direction and have
set off to make the best test-taking automatons that they can. Our economy no longer rewards people for
blindly following rules and becoming a cog in the machine. We need risk-takers, outside-the-box
thinkers, and entrepreneurs and our school systems are doing a disservice by
discouraging these very skills and attitudes.
Shut up, sit down, put the cell phone away, memorize these facts and fill in the bubbles.
Hey, this isn’t fantasy football! It’s not about raising statistics… it’s about raising and fulfilling human potential. Focusing on the stats leads to a lost perspective of what is truly important…the game.
Oh, and by the way, in the game I’m talking about we are all on the same team.
Dave Burgess
The Power of “Live”
I saw Juan Tamariz, one of the greatest magicians in the world, perform card magic at the 2010 Magic Con conference last summer. I had seen him perform on video many times but it paled in comparison to seeing him live. It was an amazing and transformative experience. Not only did he do a formal performance from the stage; but on the first night he simply sat in a chair at a small table in the hotel hallway and proceeded to hold court in front of a huge group of magicians who crowded and surrounded the table at least 10 rows deep. I saw an entire audience of well-posted, knowledgeable magicians with their jaws on the floor and in a complete state of astonishment. He completely devastated the crowd. He took us on an emotional rollercoaster ride and weaved a masterful performance that was not just amazing and entertaining, but was also inspiring and uplifting. It was a once in a lifetime moment. Why was it so powerful? It was LIVE! He was able to play off of the crowd, improvise, shift and change directions, and build his effects into emotional climaxes. He wasn’t just manipulating pasteboards…he was manipulating people. Furthermore, it was powerful because it was a shared experience. It was the group dynamic that helped to create the electricity in the air. It will never be duplicated. If there was a video of the performance you might as well burn it because, like so many things in life, it was one of those “you had to be there” moments.
Compare listening to a music CD in your car to going to a live concert. It is undeniably and qualitatively different. What if you were the only person there? That would also be qualitatively different because a large part of the magic of a live concert is the shared experience and feeling of community. Ask a Deadhead if the CD of the show is the same as being there. How about watching the football game on your couch vs. at the stadium with 70,000 of your closest friends? Even just having friends over to your house to watch is a different experience as you share in the triumphs and disappointments of the game. I’ve listened on the radio as Trevor Hoffman entered the game for the Padres in the 9th inning and I’ve been in the stadium when “Hells Bells” started ringing and the crowd leaped up and a jolt of electricity surged through the crowd. It’s different. I saw Mama Mia live on stage and then I saw the movie. There is just something more powerful about a live performance.
Try this: Go to Youtube and watch someone walking on the beach. Then go to the beach (I know, I know, easy to say writing fromSan Diego!) and feel the waves wash over your feet and the sand between your toes. Punch “Grand Canyon” into Google images and take a look. Then go stand on the edge and gaze down. Let’s assume you can’t swim. Go do a month’s worth of online research and read and watch everything you can about how to swim. Now go jump in the deep end of the pool. I’m guessing 30 minutes with a live instructor in the water would have served you better.
I have always resisted the temptation (and request) to have my Outrageous Teaching seminars and workshops videotaped and made available. The primary reason is that I strongly believe that the video would be much less impactful. There is just something about being in a jam-packed room and seeing it in person that contributes to the successful delivery of the message and the intensity of the experience. A two-dimensional version won’t cut it.
There is nothing more powerful than a master teacher standing before a class of students and orchestrating the learning experience. The teacher can instantly shift directions after intuitively sensing a lack of understanding or engagement. They can provide instantaneous feedback, and read body language, facial expressions and vocal intonation. They can lead discussions, bring enthusiasm, and inject emotion and intensity at just the right time. A masterful teacher can determine when it is appropriate to temporarily drop the lesson all together in order to capture that elusive “teachable moment” that might be far more significant than the content standard on the board. Every year and even every period will be a little different because of the different students that make up the community of the classroom. A group of people sharing a common experience and interacting in a face-to-face environment is not outdated or obsolete. It is the handwritten thank you note in a world of email, tweets, and texts. It still works.
Technology, as one of a multitude of tools in the hands of an expert educator, can be undeniably powerful. However, technology as a replacement for live interaction between teachers and students concerns me. Sure, I know some students are bored and disengaged in their traditional classes but that sounds like an argument for better professional development and training for teachers, not for sticking kids in front of a computer screen all day. I’m just not ready to jump completely onto the online learning bandwagon quite yet. I know the horse might be out of the barn, but I have concerns that the pendulum might be swinging too far towards a love affair with technology just for the sake of technology. Using it in new and creative ways is a natural progression that is positive and should be encouraged but I fear many have become almost cult-like in there allegiance to it and have sipped a little too much of the Kool Aid.
I have been too slow to embrace innovative technology in my classroom and I know this is one of my weaknesses. Part of it is fear, part of it is ignorance, and part of it is probably just laziness. There is something else, though, and it is important. I still believe in the “POWER OF LIVE!”
Dave Burgess
