What! Another day off...

Yesterday there were, perhaps, many an LGA parent mumbling expletives about the fact that there was no school. After a long holiday weekend, I appreciate bringing Raviv and Danya to their appointed places, relishing the fact that they are in good hands and we are all back to our routine. So why, then, was there another day off yesterday? It was probably the most important day off that students have taken in a long time. While they were enjoying another day of rest and relaxation, our faculty was deeply immersed in the work of creating a document for a "Vision of Good Teaching" at LGA. This isn't just a one-day, months-long, or even year-long project. This is a multifaceted, ongoing collaboration that is taking our school on a journey to even higher places. Our main question of focus has been, and remains, "How do we make schools a place for teacher learning?"

Yesterday, we focused on two additional questions with four ancillary objectives: "How do we observe to improve learning and teaching?" and "How can standards affect teacher performance?" In the above picture, you will see the four goals of the day. I want to focus a bit on the word niceness. We also used the word politeness a lot. Many elementary schools (and especially LGA) are places that are generally  pleasant, polite places to work. For the most part, faculty members treat each other with the utmost respect. When it comes to their work, they have interacted with each other in rather perfunctory ways - exchanging niceties, never observing each other's classrooms, and assuming that every lesson, from every teacher, every day, is adequate. 

These past three years, we at LGA have started to break down this rather blind vision, and have said our doors are open to learning for everyone in the building. But we haven't been doing this work alone. It is through our time spent with the Mandel Center at Brandeis University that we have really shaped this vision for good teaching. We owe a huge amount of gratitude to Mandel for politely pushing an agenda forward that is in groove with our's as a school. LGA does an excellent job of teaching our students. We must commit to doing the same thing with our teachers. It can't be a one-sided proposition. We are now focusing on the differences between "niceness," "judgement," and "inquiry." As a faculty, we are moving toward "inquiry." In small groups, we started by challenging ourselves to look at a text entitled "Developing Practitioners, Developing Practice." In this article, the authors talk about having "to un-learn the politeness norm that dominates most current teacher discourse." There is a lot to ponder when it comes to this point, largely because of what I mentioned in the previous paragraphs. By nature, we want to be collegial. It's the "nice thing to do." It's part of our school culture.

So how do we become a faculty that takes "inquiry"seriously? We are attempting to hone our skills by splitting into small groups who do "rounds" of observation of each other. We acknowledge that it will be a complicated scheduling task, but it will be worth it. Faculty is being split into groups of five, with a mix of general studies and Judaics teachers. 

Just as when doctors practice rounds, our teachers will explore deeply why certain teacher moves are used. There will be exacting protocols for discussion, and time set aside for teachers to inquire about the lesson that allows for risks to be taken. The teacher will have an opportunity to reflect on what he/she thought went well, and what didn't go as anticipated. It's this commitment to teacher learning that sets LGA apart. When we seek medical attention, we appreciate how doctors are consistently self-improving and staying on top of the latest findings even after years of practicing medicine. Shouldn't we hope for the same for our teachers? 

The word "thanks" can be so complex

I'll admit something right up front. Sometimes I have a hard time remembering to say "thank you." Don't get me wrong -- I am usually so appreciative of any type of gratitude that people show me or the school. It's not that I don't have a good memory. As you may or may not know, I have a freak-like capacity for remembering names and faces. When living in Boston, Rebecca and I went out to dinner with a work colleague and her boyfriend. They invited another person to join us, someone we didn't know. Within minutes, I told him that we had met once before at a random party several years earlier. Rebecca and our new friend sat there astonished by the fact that I remembered this very casual encounter at a crowded house party. I went on to tell him that he had a twin brother and was friends with an old roommate of mine. In short: I have no excuse for not remembering to say "thank you."


Fortunately for me, I am part of a community that takes saying thank you very seriously. Students and faculty members prove this every day. It is more than the simple yet meaningful task of saying thank you that we, as a school, consider such an essential part of a child's education. It isn't negotiable for us. Many of our students come from homes that share these values -- put that thank you into action. We ask our students questions like, "How do you want to change the world?" and "What are you grateful for?" We we don't expect trite responses; we want students to contemplate these questions during their time here. 


When beginning to think about this topic, I did some research. I stumbled upon an article by Melinda Beck from The Wall Street Journal entitled, "Thank You. No, Thank You." In the article, Beck writes, "Kids who feel and act grateful tend to be less materialistic, get better grades, set higher goals, complain of fewer headaches and stomach aches, and feel more satisfied with their friends, families, and schools than those who don't, studies show." When I was reading it, I thought of students at LGA and the overall gestalt of our community. It is a nice one. This article is talking about LGA.  Students here genuinely care about each other. We don't expect all of them to love each other, but we do expect respect for differences. We are teaching our students how to be grateful for their strengths and "not-yet strengths" that they have been blessed with. When faced with opposition from a student, often you'll hear a classroom teacher say "every single student in our class is working on something." This time of the year often makes us reflect on what we are thankful for. But it can't be the only time of the year that we think of saying thank you, because if so, then we have failed as educators. Throughout the year, students have the opportunity to ask deeper questions about themselves and why being thankful is such a complex idea. 


This Wednesday, as we prepare for Thanksgiving, the whole school will spend the day involved in different service-learning projects. For some of them it will be a culmination of a unit learned, while for others it will be the first time they are learning about terms like homelessness, poverty, and injustice. Still others will be challenged to think past themselves. For all of them, it is just a brief snapshot of being grateful and giving thanks -- and another compelling reason why this school is just that special. Thanks! (See I remembered...)

Four Square...it's sweeping LGA nation!

Getting ready to serve and showing these kids how it is really done. 

 About three weeks ago, I was walking down the hall during an all-school recess and witnessed something that brought back many fond and vivid memories of my childhood. A very large group of 5th grade students playing an old-fashioned, not so newfangled game of Four Square. All they needed was a ball and their hands and occasionally some fancy foot work. (Can anyone tell me what a Black cherry bomb really means?) I walked out there and said "Ladies and gentlemen, step aside. Now you are going to see some real playing." What ensued was a twenty minute round of Four Square where I found myself becoming a kid again. The 5th graders were seemingly having a blast and were slowly getting the attention of other students both younger and older who were curious as to what this game was that they were playing.

The next day, when the school was about to be dismissed for recess, I found myself standing in the office with a ball. I thought to myself, was I really slipping back into 5th grade mode and jumping up and down with excitement for a game of Four Square? (Yes, I was!) And then I thought there must be other things that I should be doing with my time (No, there wasn't) and I was sure that the students were going to have moved on from Four Square to wanting to play or do something else (No, they most definitely didn't). Much to my surprise, the 5th graders came piling out of the school and lined up to play another round of this really fun game. They were excitedly explaining to me new rules and different moves that the "king" (that's the server) might bestow onto the queen, jack and the fourth square (can't remember the name of that one...) What I've learned in researching for this blog post is that Four Square is quite a popular sport and has garnered many a website dedicated to it (http://www.squarefour.org/rules)

Look at my form. These 5th graders don't know how much of a formidable opponent I really am.

So there I was thoroughly enjoying myself when I noticed behind me that a group of 3rd grade girls had started their own game, mimicking what the older students were doing but making it manageable for them. Across the lawn, I witnessed another set of boys also playing. One day, my wife, Rebecca, was walking in our neighborhood and walked passed an LGA families home at dusk and noticed three LGA students intensively practicing Four Square. I asked a parent to paint Four Square boards on the black top on the playground. You would have thought it was painted with gold the way the students were giddy with excitement this morning when they saw these freshly painted boards just waiting for the first game to play. What has come over us? Were we a community obsessed? Yes. Was this necessarily a bad thing? No way!

Tali, Isaac and Ezra team up to get me out. 

I am walking away from this experience with two thoughts. They aren't necessarily profound, but they made me take pause for a few moments and reflect, since they speak volumes about the students at LGA and the values we promote. First, four square is a perfect game to break the ice. You don't always need to have the best coordination, be the fastest, or remember a lot of rules other than to hit the ball into another square. This game is meant to be totally inclusive. LGA students enjoy watching each other compete as much as they do playing. I marveled at how these games, while taking on a life of their own, have stayed quite dignified and remain open to all who want to play. 

Secondly, it is fascinating to me that with all of the electronics and technology that come our students' way, all they need is a ball to entertain themselves. I put a lot of value on this. With four sqaure, there is a simple joy of kids being kids. It is a timeless game that will be around for generations to come. We often don't give our students enough credit. I honestly don't know how the four square obsession started at LGA, but I am sure glad that it did. It has shown me yet another unique characteristic about a school that is just that special!