Being a bit of a “word nerd,” I decided to research the meaning of ‘curious.’ Most children, who have grown up in English speaking countries, have heard the stories about Curious George - that funny little monkey who went on all sorts of adventures and got into a lot of mischief, due to his curiosity. So, even as children, we learned and understood the basic meaning of the word.
However, if we wish to dig deeper, we can go to a site like http://www.etymonline.com to uncover the origins of a word and related meanings. This is known as etymology. Understanding the etymology of a word can give us greater insight into text. As an adjective, as early as the mid-14th century, it meant "eager to know" (often in a bad sense), from Old French curios "solicitous, anxious, inquisitive; odd, strange" (Modern French curieux) and directly from Latin curiosus "careful, diligent; inquiring eagerly, meddlesome," akin to cura "care" (see cure (n.) - remedy). As the noun ‘curiosity,’ it appears in the late 14th century meaning "careful attention to detail," also "desire to know or learn" (originally usually in a bad sense), from Old French curiosete "curiosity, avidity, choosiness" (Modern French curiosité), from Latin curiositatem (nominative curiositas) "desire of knowledge, inquisitiveness," from curiosus. The neutral or good sense is from early 17th century. The meaning "an object of interest" is from 1640s. Most of this, we already know intuitively. To be curious is to have the desire to know or learn. But what I wish to focus on is the connection of the word ‘curious’ to care and cure. To be curious then is to care about what and how we teach and learn, and to care about the learning of our students. In addition to that, it means to cure or to remedy. Cure who? From what? Perhaps it means to cure ourselves and our students of boredom, apathy, or the dislike of school systems and to find a remedy for the drudgery of schedules, homework, worksheets, committees, marking, detentions, and so on. Let’s be curious, like that famous little monkey and the man with the yellow hat … seek out adventures, choose objects of interest, desire to know more, care, cure, and get “lost” in our learning along the way.
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Please select the best answer to the following question: What is an IMMOOC? A. A mythical beast B. A primitive dwelling C. An automated milking machine D. None of the above The correct answer is … D. None of the above.
Let’s try again! Please select the best answer to the following question: What is an IMMOOC? A. A personal learning network B. A motivating experience for a group of committed educators C. An Innovator’s Mindset mass open online course D. All of the aboveThe correct answer is … D. All of the above. Go out and find an #IMMOOC near you! You will slay it and it will change your life. Why are we always waiting for the "right time" to start something? The old adage "there's no time like the present" is actually more fitting for an #InnovatorsMindset. Rumi says "Load the ship and set out." So that's just what I did. Just yesterday, I wrote a blog post, stating: Over time, I’d like to set up a Facebook page and Twitter chat to connect with local educators more. I’ve learned that I don’t need to ask anyone’s permission to do these things, and keep looking/asking. I shouldn’t get discouraged just because some people aren’t interested. Well, I set up that Facebook group last night. It's called the Okanagan Educators group (click link to go to page; then click 'join'). So much for "over time." I live in the Okanagan Valley region of British Columbia, Canada. It stretches from Salmon Arm to Osoyoos, which is a distance of approximately 235 km. There are 5 public school districts and numerous independent schools in this area, but we are somewhat isolated and disconnected. My dream is to help connect educators all along the valley to learn from each other, share resources, inform each other about special events such as wokshops and speakers, create face-to-face meet-ups, and be innovative collectively. "If you do nothing, you lose. Don't be one of those merchants who won't risk the ocean." What are you waiting for?
It’s been amazing participating in the #IMMOOC (Innovator’s Mindset mass open online course) and Twitter chats. I’ve learned so much, been inspired to try new things, and met so many passionate, intelligent educators. It’s gotten my mind reeling even more than usual.
Here are the things I want to try/ become better at:
I’ve prioritized these in terms of what I’m able to achieve now or soon, and level of importance. Here’s my plan:
I know that’s a lot but I have no grand illusions about completing all of this right away. It will slowly take place over the next few years. I’ll go back to this checklist to keep focused, accountable, and not just keep adding more. I’m going to take it one step at a time and will let you know where I’m at in my journey. Kids are notorious for asking, “Are we there yet?” You’ve just made it from your house to the freeway, and out of the backseat comes a slightly nasal, oh-my-word-I’ve-never been-so-bored-in-all-my-life drawl asking this quintessential question on a family road trip.
In previous posts, I wrote about some plans I had to collaborate with the librarian at our school and having a conversation with the district principal for educational technology. Due to some pending HR “restructuring” in our district, the librarian has lost her zest for this idea and is understandably more concerned right now with her FTE for next year. Also, after I had the Zoom conference with the district principal, my CEA came into the room with her eyes wide in expectation and said, “Well …?!” I replied honestly, “It wasn’t exactly a ‘no,’ but I’ll take it as a ‘not yet.’” George Couros posted this encouraging comment to my last blog post: “I am a big believer in the idea that we create our own paths and journeys [italics mine], and you are doing that! All the best on this process! Keep making it happen!” So, to paraphrase Willy Nelson, I guess I’m on the road again. Perhaps I need to change the image in my mind though. Maybe this journey won’t be a road trip on the freeway, zooming along at 100km/hr - but rather a marathon with others along the side of the road cheering me on. See you at the next mile marker! Fear holds power. It has the power to hold you back, to recoil, to shrivel, to hide, to be jealous, to run, to hate, to fight, to rage, to paralyze, to quit. Fear’s response to everything is “NO!” But somewhere inside each of us, we have found occasions to overcome fear and say “Yes!” even if it was with a feeble, trembling voice. Just think if you would’ve been too scared to go out with that beautiful person who is now your spouse. And what if you had never taken that trip that you could barely afford? You’d still be dreaming about going to Paris “one day.” In Chapter Four of The Innovator’s Mindset, Couros makes this empowering statement: Instead of fear driving us to a place where “no” is our default, we need to strive to create a “culture of yes.” When trust is the norm and people know they are supported, taking chances seems less “risky” – for learners, educators, and leaders. About five years ago, I made a major change in my life. I moved to a new city and got a new position in a new school district, all within a few months. That was a huge risk. It hasn’t been an easy transition but in the long run, I know I made the right decision. Having said that, I’ve felt like I’ve been holding back in my role here. I’ve tried to fit in and go with the flow. I’m still the “new kid on the block” in some ways, even though I have tons of experience and credentials. But in the process, I’ve felt like that tight bud waiting to blossom. I’ve been thinking about what I’d like to try (all the time), talking about it with a few people (some of the time), but not always acting on it because I was afraid of others' reactions … or more accurately, my imagined perceptions of their reactions. Enough! I need to say “Yes!” to my dreams. I’ve starting talking to the librarian about doing some collaborating next year and incorporating more tech into what we do already. We’re both passionate about books, literacy instruction, and technology, but work within the constraints of time, isolation, budget allotments, and space. Working together on a common goal can help alleviate some of these constraints. She’s very excited about it and so am I. Today, I also mentioned it to the principal and he’s 100% behind it. We may even convert the computer lab (which is outdated and barely used, but located right next to the library) to a “literacy learning center.” We could combine spaces, schedules, and budgets, as well as pool our existing resources and knowledge. In the end, it will undoubtedly benefit the kids, the staff, and us. Wish me luck on this “risky” adventure! I hope the idea blossoms into something exciting and innovative. #IMMOOC #InnovatorsMindset As I've read through the posts on #IMMOOC blogs, Facebook, and Twitter, there's a common thread. So many posts begin with a disclaimer such as, "I'm not a very good writer" or "It's not the best, but here goes nothing." Yes, writing can be challenging. It's also pretty scary putting our thoughts and ideas out there in front of our peers and, indeed, the world. However, it's time to silence our inner critic and let our words speak.
I've been to a number of writing retreats and workshops, and even led a few myself. We often begin the sharing session by reading the group's "agreements." These are statements like:
You get the idea ... Just write it and click submit. There may be another educator out there who feels the same way, is inspired by what you are doing, or connects with you to collaborate on a project in the future. And then there's the butterfly effect - you change someone's life, who touches someone else's life, and so on. "There are words waiting for you to write them, and they're alive. Let them push you past your self-doubt. Let them speak to people you may never even meet." Thank you, Martha Beck, for these words of wisdom! Photo Credit: https://twitter.com/MarthaBeck/status/841304196594974725 I connect with others both locally and globally to tap into ideas from all people and spaces. I will use those ideas, along with my professional judgment, to adapt the ideas to meet the needs of the learners in my community.
In Chapter Three of The Innovator's Mindset, Couros speaks of the "mantra of the innovative educator." It is the sentences above that resonated most with me. It's been inspiring, motivating, and encouraging to connect with other educators globally through Twitter, Facebook, and our websites/blogs. It's given me that spark again to try new things ... make a word cloud on Tagul, download and experiment with PicCollage and Snapchat to make #BookSnaps, buy a mulit-device Bluetooth keyboard so that I can keep up with the Twitter chats, get back to blogging and update my website on Weebly, and add captions to GIFs on http://giphy.com/ . Most of all, I feel like I'm part of community. I had mentioned in the last #IMMOOC Twitter chat that I'm relatively new to my current district and felt like I hadn't found my "tribe" yet. This willingness to be vulnerable led others to admit the same thing. It's great to know that I belong to an online Professional Learning Network (PLN), and I look forward to hearing from others and what they're doing in their school/ district/ community/ university/ organization. As a result of all the inspiration and encouragement I received online, I took a risk and decided to try to connect locally. I sent an email to our District Principal of Learning Technology and offered to lead or co-lead a workshop, and also asked a few questions. We plan to meet in the near future to discuss some options. Thank you fellow Innovators and "IMMOOCers" for teaching me and inspiring me to connect and continue my learning journey as the best educator that I can be. *Word cloud created at https://tagul.com/ If I could start a school from scratch, I would:
1. Have furniture and finishings that are colourful, comfortable, and welcoming … less institutional. I understand about the cleanliness piece (I got rid of couches and pillows long ago, due to germs, lice, etc.), but it doesn’t have to be so cold, uncomfortable, and lacking good design. 2. Ask community members, parents, and local experts to come in more often to teach us about interesting topics like building, baking, and animal care. The “teacher” is not the only teacher. 3. Organize libraries differently. Make it more like a bookstore where you can browse, sit in comfy chairs, showcase different topics and text sets. 4. Have a low photocopy and print copy limit for everyone. The paper waste in schools in atrocious. I’m even more committed to this than ever since one of my Gr. 5 students did an inquiry about paper. His question was, “How much paper do we get from a tree?” The answer will shock you! Here it is: It takes 12 trees to make one ton of 100 percent non-recycled newsprint. It would take a little more than half a tree to make a carton (10 reams) of 100 percent, non-recycled 20-lb. copier paper. One tree makes 16.67 reams of copy paper, or 8,333.3 sheets. One ream (500 sheets) uses 6 percent of a tree. Now think about how many of those boxes of paper your school goes through in a month, multiply that by ten, then multiply that by the number of schools in your district. You get the idea. Not good. ☹ Which leads to #5 … http://www.bizjournals.com/buffalo/blog/morning_roundup/2014/05/pulp-fiction-how-many-trees-does-it-take-to-make.html 5. Design more digital lessons, activities, and communications. Offer after school workshops for all staff until everyone’s trained. No more excuses; it’s not the 1980’s. 6. Have more communal meals as a class and a school. Make a big pot of soup, sit together in groups with an adult at each table, use proper dishes and cutlery, everyone helps to prepare or clean up. (Not talking about community potlucks here or hot lunch days.) Many families rarely have a meal together any more. A communal meal is a great way to build a sense of belonging and discuss important topics together. Talk, share, enjoy each other’s company, create a sense of belonging. 8. Read more, read lots. (Yes, I’m a reading teacher, as you can tell from a lot of the points.) In Richard Allington’s seminal article The Six T’s of Effective Elementary Literacy Instruction, he states that elementary classroom teachers teach lots of reading skills but don’t spend as much time with the actual reading of text. [Elementary classroom] teachers routinely had children actually reading and writing for as much a half of the school day – often around a 50/50 ratio of reading and writing to stuff (stuff is all the others things teachers have children do instead of reading and writing). In typical classrooms, it is not unusual to find that kids read and write for as little as ten percent of the day (30 minutes of reading and writing activity in a 300 minute, or five hour, school day). In many classrooms, a 90 minute "reading block" produces only 10–15 minutes of actual reading, or less than 20 percent of the allocated reading time is spent reading. Worse, in many classrooms, 20 minutes of actual reading across the school day is a common event, which includes reading in science, social studies, math, and other subjects. Thus, less than ten percent of the day is actually spent reading and 90 percent or more of the time is spent doing stuff. http://www.readingrockets.org/article/six-ts-effective-elementary-literacy-instruction 9. Eliminate silent reading, SSR, DEAR, read-to-self, or whatever you call it … unless if the student wants to. Most kids, especially those who struggle with reading or don’t like it, either stare at the pictures, fiddle with something in their desk, or daydream during this time. I’ve seen it over and over for years. It’s painful. Some kids are both ADD and LD, and now they’re being forced to sit still, be quiet, and “read” for sometimes up to 30 minutes. Whatever shred of interest they had in reading before is mostly certainly now killed. I prefer calling it active reading. All students and teachers are actively involved in reading in some way – read to self, partner reading, reading conferences, taking notes/ highlighting/ studying, listening, making connections, whatever works for them. P.S. You don’t all need to be in the classroom. 10. Hold pro-d days and EdCamps that feel like camp! Remember how fun it was to go to day camp at the YMCA or head off to the lake and cabins in the woods for a week? Adults like to play too. We should make professional learning just as fun as camp. Maybe it would be a little (a lot?) easier to get teachers inspired to attend workshops. 11. Okay, this is really dreaming, but wouldn’t it be fun to have a giant IKEA-like ball room, a firehouse pole, or a slide inside the school?! (Forget the safety and cleanliness issues for just a moment.) Bring the playground indoors and on that note, bring more teaching and learning outdoors. 12. More teaming and meeting of the minds. Scaffold instruction not only in your own classroom but also throughout the school. This shouldn’t just be an ideal; it should be imperative. It should be the norm. Our response should be, “Well, of course! That only makes sense!” Are we making a concerted effort to ensure that the students are learning and progressing? Here's another way of looking at it by Sir Ken Robinson, who gave a TED Talk about how teaching can be like dieting: [An old friend of mine used to] talk about the difference between the task and achievement senses of verbs. You can be engaged in the activity of something, but not really be achieving it, like dieting. It's a very good example. There he is. He's dieting. Is he losing any weight? Not really. Teaching is a word like that. You can say, "There's Deborah, she's in room 34, she's teaching." But if nobody's learning anything, she may be engaged in the task of teaching but not actually fulfilling it. https://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_how_to_escape_education_s_death_valley/transcript?language=en These are just some of my ideas. I know they’re not all realistic but like I always say, “Dreams are free!” I read through the intro to The Innovator's Mindset and was struck by a certain phrase. Couros quoted the author, Steven Johnson, who wrote Where Good Ideas Come From: The Natural History of Innovation (2010). It was Johnson's term that really got my mind reeling. He spoke of the "adjacent possible." Hmmm ... interesting term; I've never heard of that before. And so, I read on.
The adjacent possible means all the possibilities that are right next to each of us, if we but only listen and observe. What are our students telling us through their actions and their work? What might a colleague be hinting at without actually saying so explicitly? Which ideas have been gifted to us without even fully noticing or comprehending? There are so many people whose path we cross each and every day that could be a potential collaborator and innovator. When the focus of our innovating is "we over me," the adjacent possible is ignited. However, this is "not the endpoint, but the beginning," as explained by Johnson: The strange and beautiful truth about the adjacent possible is that its boundaries grow as you explore them. Each new combination opens up the possibility of other new combinations. Think of it as a house that magically expands with each door you open. You begin in a room with four doors, each leading to a new room that you haven't visited yet. Once you open one of those doors and stroll into that room, three new doors appear, each leading to a brand-new room that you couldn't have reached from your original starting point. Keep opening new doors and eventually you'll have built a palace. I sense that this wandering will never end, but it opens up to more wondering and discovering. And that's the whole point. As in the words of Robert Grudin in The Grace of Great Things, I choose to “see the world of inquiry [and innovation] more as an unfinished house of light and shadow, with unglassed windows opening up on indefinite vistas, with doorways and staircases opening to empty space and, rather than threatening, the incompleteness and emptiness seem to beckon” (1990, p. 21). Sounds amazing, doesn't it? Let's keep opening doors for each other and follow each other through the next. I'm excited to see what we might discover! |
AuthorVicki Den Ouden is a Learning Disabilities & Reading Intervention specialist in Kelowna, BC, Canada. She love books, photography, and technology. ArchivesCategories |