How Do You Learn From Others?

As you may have read in my last post, I’m currently enrolled in a program called Apple Learning Coach. It is for teachers/tech leaders to learn about Apple’s apps while also learning the art of coaching.

One of my favorite parts about the program is that we learn by doing. In order to get our certification as an #AppleLearningCoach, we must demonstrate our skill competency through projects and submitting a portfolio.

One of the projects include creating a SKETCHNOTE. This was my jam. As you’ve seen in other blog posts, I’ve been sketchnoting for years, and continue to explore ways to improve my visual thinking and note taking skills both analog (pen/paper) and digitally.

For my sketchnote of “How I Learn From Others” I took a non-traditional approach… not really looking at “what” others have taught me, but more HOW mentors and leaders have supported me in different ways. Some have planted the seeds in my mind, others provided space to grow, or helped remove barriers/“weeds” that might get in the way. Others provided stability and guidance. Some were the “marigolds” who nurtured and made me better, just by being in their proximity (see Cult of Pedagogy’s blog post: Find your Marigold- the One Essential Rule for New Teachers)

I like to think of my mentors who have coached directly (staff members, administrators, etc) as well as the indirect coaching/inspiration (authors, instructors, peers, many of whom I’ve never met) and how my growth is all due to the many supports I’ve had to get me to where I am today.

That is a big reason why I coach, why I lead trainings, why I design materials and resources, to mentor and give back by serving others. A pay it forward so to speak, helping others unlock their unique, buried gifts.

Sketchnote Breakdown

While my go to digital sketchnoting apps tend to be Procreate or Notability, I opted to try out the recommended Tayusui Sketches School app for this project.

I was pleased to see some familiar features from the other digital sketching apps I’m used to:

++ Brushes were easy to use and the visual nature of them felt natural, like grabbing a new brush from a physical art set. While I love Procreate app for it’s wealth of digital brush options, essentially a digital art store at your fingertips, it can also be quite overwhelming and lead to choice paralysis. The brushes on Tayusui allowed for variety yet still some constraint. In this sketchnote I explored the watercolor brush for background, pen/marker for details, and some light pencil for initial sketch/layout.

++ Layers are a paid feature (just $5.99 for pro version) but worth it if you’re used to this style of art process. I like to use layers because it helps me break down each component I add, testing it out for style, size, layout, and if I don’t like it… simply delete that layer, without having to erase all the hard work below.

+ Color options. There is a built in standard range of colors, option for building color palettes, as well as the opportunity to set the brush to a specific color hex code if you’re looking to match specific colors to theme/websites. I loved all these options but with the color picker in the bottom right corner of the screen, I found myself accidentally bumping the color section with my palm, switching colors unexpectedly mid-stroke. I imagine like most apps that I might be able to move the tool bars around, but for a first time use, I’d like to check out this feature more in depth.

Have you used Tayasui Sketches app before? What do you like about it?

I’m looking forward to exploring this app more and learning the different features and brush options.

Want to build your sketchnote skills and find your support group?

Come join me on Doug Neill’s Verbal To Visual Sketchnote Community on Mighty Networks. In this global community of over 1,000 members we learn the art of sketchnoting, share our progress, give each other feedback, and mentor/inspire as we build our visual thinking skills as related to our various fields of expertise! Find YOUR people who support your learning.

Hello 2020. (A New Year’s post that never posted.)

Disclaimer: I wrote this post on the first day of the new year. There seemed to be a bright future ahead. No one could have known that as of October 2020 we are starting our 7th month of “sheltering in place” (aka work from home). As of this week in the SF Bay Area, school is still being taught remotely (and will be at least through December, if not also into 2021). Gyms are only open at 10% capacity, meaning many fitness classes have chosen not to resume yet until it is profitable to have enough customers to cover at least the baseline instructor/operating costs. While I’ve yet to experience it, I’ve heard that restaurants *just* have started opening “indoor” operations for 25% capacity or less, meaning most eating is still happening on side walks and in the parking lane of downtowns. Our church services have all been online through Zoom, with limited capacity outdoor services, held in the parking lots when air quality permits.

While I had all intention to “get back into blogging” in 2020, hoping to Learn in Public and share some of my thoughts and reflections as I journey through this new phase of my career- teaching, sketching, adventuring… as we all know, 2020 hasn’t exactly been the year of intention. At times it’s been the year of feeling like so much is out of our control. The year of waiting. The year of hoping. The year of feeling discouraged. While I won’t go into the ups and downs, the lessons learned (so far), and the obstacles still waiting to be overcome, here’s a post from my pre-pandemic self. I’ll share about a challenging digital sketch and a reflective mindset of where I was January 2020. Enjoy.

A new year. A new decade.

Over the holiday break I got inspired to continue an online course from @dougneill called “Learning in Public.” In the course he shares about documenting your skill development in public, rather than in private. I tend to be an avid learner (opting for books, podcasts, experiences rather than tv watching) and like challenging myself with building a growth mindset. While I make a lot more than I share, I am challenging myself to reflect more publicly, should it benefit anyone who also is struggling in the journey. I learn from so many others, and hope to return that favor as well.

A skill I’d like to improve this year is digital sketchnoting. For years I’ve done visual note taking with pen/paper, but last February I bought an iPad Pro so I could start to go digital. I had my first every workshop proposal accepted for a local CUE-affiliate teacher conference. I was presenting on sketchnoting but only knew paper/pen style. Feeling like a “fraud” for presenting at a tech conference without any form of tech, I opted to buy an iPad Pro and Apple Pencil to see what all the rage was about. I soon learned that the advantages of digital included having all my notes in one place, having access to more tools/colors than I could even imagine, and the ability to share my sketch notes easily with my friends and colleagues.

What I hadn’t realized as I started “going digital” was how much the creative constraint of only having a few pen choices made it easy to go with the flow of whatever got on the page. I’d simply get an idea, try to represent it visually, and turn any mistakes into purposeful components.

The Paradox of Choice

Switching to the @procreate app is like having access to all art mediums (pen, paint, airbrush, …) in ANY color, and the ability to ERASE. Imagine walking into Michael’s craft store with an unlimited budget and every color imaginable at your fingertips. At first it seemed like every artist’s dream. And then… the paradox of choice started to turn into paralysis.

The moment an eraser is an option, I find myself doubting every pen stroke, falling back into the traps of perfectionism I’ve been battling for years. What used to not take mental energy now turns into decision after decision. In this article, Too Much Choice (Psychology Today), the author shares that unlike our Western culture’s belief that the freedom of choice can “increase our wellbeing and happiness,” it often can lead to decision paralysis, disappointment, and self blame. While this all can seem a little heavy for a self-imposed task like doodling, the paradox of too many choices has shed light on some of the worst characteristics of my personality and habits. While it is great to be detail oriented, and people often praise others’ work for the execution and attention to every aspect of the task, what you don’t often see is a window into the mind of that perfectionist. You don’t see their self-doubt, their insecurities, their frustrations. You don’t always know that those creatives often weren’t “satisfied” with their outcome, just gave in to a deadline or external (or internal) pressure, to finally publish what they’ve been over analyzing for so long.

So, for this year, as I re-surface some old perfectionist tendencies through the challenge of learning in public and being vulnerable, I hope to journey some of my work and my reflections along the way.

In this initial stage, I’m liking the options Procreate has to offer, but the best advice I can give when trying any new app is start small. Get to know a few tools and features. Master them, and then scale up to include the “fancy” stuff. You’ll thank yourself later for the hours of choice paralysis you’ve saved by ignoring all the bells and whistles your first few goes around.

@dougneill @ianbarnard @hollypixels #foilballoons #procreateart #ipadpro #applepencil #NewYearsResolution #LearninginPublic

PS- Thanks to all the digital artists who have posted “foil balloon” art tutorials on YouTube. You saved me a lot of time in wondering how to get that to look even somewhat realistic and 3-dimensional.

For those of you who look at a static digital art piece and go… “wait, someone drew that?!” Yes- it’s a drawing. One that took A LOT of layers and patience.

In a “Pickle”—> The search for an affordable place to call home

This could easily be a #runandrant but instead I write this cozily from bed on a Sunday morning looking up at the Cupertino hills. A deer roams in the backyard (canyon) and I take a second to pause and enjoy this moment because I know it’ll soon be gone. The short term rental with “mountain living” feel comes to a close when the lease is up in two weeks.

In a Housing Pickle- Worth the Risk?

In baseball, a pickle (also known as a “rundown”) is when a player is trapped between two bases. They may have the intention of running to 2nd, only to find that it’s safer to run back to 1st. The Bay Area housing situation is like being trapped in a “pickle” wanting to try to move on up to a nicer place, only to realize what you can afford is back where you came from.

Many people I know are faced with housing and job decisions every day in the pricey Bay Area, and it’s not just teachers. My roommate, a UX designer, is moving to Seattle for better job prospects there. My boyfriend, a personal trainer, is currently on the housing search only to be disappointed by the 4,000+ views on a single bedroom rental posting on Facebook marketplace or the strict living conditions laid out on a Craigslist housing post. Tech workers and teachers alike are moving out of the Bay Area due to the rising cost of living (According to this USA Today article from April 4th, 2019, San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA TOPPED the list of “America’s Most Expensive Cities”)

When I moved to Silicon Valley 10 years ago to start my teaching career, I knew I’d have to be smart about how I spent my money. That first salary of $45,000 a year would need to stretch across rent, utilities, food, and a few local adventures. But in my early 20s, living with a roommate and living modestly was never an issue. It was simply an extension of college living. Fast forward ten years later, having moved 5 times to keep up with housing prices/appropriate commutes, I’ve had 8+ roommates and have kept the dream alive of one day being able to rent my very own 1 bedroom apartment. Any time my lease is about to renew, I check the local listings to see if “this year” it is possible to have my own space, and once again, the dangling carrot just gets further out of reach.

According to RentJungle.com, an average 1 BEDROOM apartment in Mountain View goes for $3,063 a month (April 2019). That’s $1,572 MORE a month than the average price 8 years ago of ($1,491- April 2011), or over double the earlier rent. Yes- we are in a tech boom. Yes- there is inflation. But the reality is people are not actually getting richer, they just have to spend more for a worse quality of living.

As my boyfriend is looking for a place to move to, we decided to do some investigating of what’s available for about $1,000. We came across some interesting finds…

An unfurnished converted living room space, complete with a 6 foot divider for privacy. Hope the ideal candidate is a heavy sleeper and can ignore the 4 other roommates coming to and fro throughout the apartment!

This is not uncommon… many people are trying to squeeze too many people into one home, as in this 2 bedroom apartment with 5 people.

Or this “one bedroom” complete with twin bed furnishings:

This setup may work for 10 year old girls, but professionals in their 30’s… not so much.

Or my favorite… the shared living space with the following limitations, including but not limited to:

No cooking
No guests
No alcohol

So much for “adulting.”

So… what do we do about it?

Through this whole search, I don’t have a solution to the problem or an answer for “how to make it” in the Bay Area. But this is my home, it is where I was born and raised, and for at least the time being I’d like to make the most of living here.

Instead of trying to “steal second base” and splurge on a 1 room apartment that cuts into a significant amount of my take home paycheck, I’ll head back to “first” and settle for roommate living, just like most other single or unmarried professionals in this area.

Hopefully those extra pennies I’m saving at the end of the day by having “cheaper” rent can be put to good use in being able to enjoy this beautiful place I get to call home. Thanks to all my easy-going roommates and accommodating landlords that have helped keep me in the Bay Area for the time being.

Will the housing bubble “pop” ?? Possibly. But now it’s simply a waiting game.

For now, I simply wait and enjoy the moment each day.

And I can’t complain… while other parts of the country are suffering from crazy heat or wild thunderstorms, blue sunny skies shine into my room on this moderate 65 degree day. Should I head to the City (San Francisco)? Or the beach? Hike in the redwoods? Maybe even visit wine country? Decisions. Decisions.

Oh yeah… that’s the real reason we pay the big bucks to live here.

Your Thoughts??

Bay Area Residents- what keeps you living here?

Teachers- Where are you will to “splurge” and where do you “save” when budgeting?

Comment below or on Twitter @AlishaZ143!

Can you build a hand? 4th Grade Adventures in Building a 3D Prosthetic!

Can you build a hand?

Cumberland 4th graders wondered that exact question after reading a Scholastic News article about Jordan Reeves, a girl born with limb differences who designed her own 3D printed prosthetic that shoots glitter! Upon reading, the wonderings started a buzz of class discussion.

Can anyone build a prosthetic? How does the hand work? How does a 3D printer work? These inquiries led the class on a journey of research to find out more.

In the process, they learned about a nonprofit called e-NABLE, a global network of volunteers who design/print/ship 3D printed prosthetics for those in need. Since the organization is open source, the designs for the prosthetics are available for free online, and even could be printed from home 3D printers.

Realizing that the class was hooked on this topic, I decided to turn it into an authentic PBL (Project Based Learning) experience, guiding student's inquiries through research and ending with a product/projects for an audience. Since Cumberland has converted the former computer lab into the school's Makerspace, teachers have been adapting their curriculum and lessons to include opportunities for students to design and make. Riding on the motivation and curiosities about 3D printed prosthetics seemed like the perfect opportunity to foster design thinking skills.

But one problem... I don't know much about 3D printing! In former years, I may have resorted to simply showing some videos or having the students do some research. But with such high interest in the topic, I realized it was time to call in some community experts! In an effort to have simply a guest speaker or someone to share more expertise with the students, I put out an all call to our class community, staff, and PTA, as well as reaching out to educators on Twitter.

Email to the community:

Screen Shot 2019-05-15 at 3.22.53 PM.png

A Personalized Field Trip

It sure pays to ask for help! To my surprise, we not only settled for a guest speaker, but a few parents reached out to share that they could help us PRINT some 3D hand parts! We found out that one parent, Ron Li, even worked for a local company called Carbon, a leader in revolutionizing 3D printed solutions. He connected us with their education coordinator and they offered to design a personal field trip for our class to come to visit and see 3D printing live at their Redwood City headquarters!

We now had a few extra layers to add to our once small project. While students were working on sharing their research and low-tech 3D hands for the science fair, parents were also 3D printing the parts for hands that we could assemble at school, while also planning a field trip to Carbon!

When it was time for the field trip, Carbon was so accommodating to answer our students' questions while also taking their knowledge and wonderings to the next level. When we got to Carbon, students received printed guest badges with their names (How official!) and students got to hang out in the front lobby. We were taken to the board room first, where students received a presentation about Carbon's history and technology for 3D printing. Seeing the dangling feet in the large board room chairs just reminded me how "little" these 4th graders are, but that their curiosities at this age may spark a future career! Next, Carbon's education team split our class into three groups for some exploration and deeper learning. One group stayed in the board room and got to learn about all the textures that could be printed using Carbon's special technology. Students got to touch and feel the peculiar textures and even got to squish the lattice design that is used in Adidas's newest FutureCraft 4D footwear and Riddell's revolutionary football helmet liners. The next group got to tour the facilities and see Carbon's employees in action. Students learned that it was definitely a team effort with support from all aspects including the programmers to the chemists to the marketing team who promoted their products. A student's favorite experience was getting to see "The Vault." The Vault is a special room that housed all of Carbon's prototypes from the early years with little funding, to more recent designs with millions of dollars of investments. If you've had the privilege of stepping foot in a Silicon Valley workplace, the high presence of creative whiteboard art, snacks galore, and even dogs at work got these students excited to get a job! Finally, the highlight for most students was seeing a live 3D printing in action. Unlike most 3D printers that use additive technology (think layer by layer melted plastic, so to speak), Carbon uses Digital Light Synthesis in a process that utilizes UV rays to cure liquid resin into solid parts. We got to see a bone model go from digital design to 3D printed structure in about 5 minutes! WOW! The trip even ended with a special visit from Carbon's CEO, Joe DeSimone, who gave students some great advice about never giving up and always staying curious.

Was it worth it?

ABSOLUTELY.

As a teacher, I had to debate... do I stick with my original plans according to our curriculum map, or jump on this wonderful learning opportunity that was student driven? I chose the latter. Does it mean we totally stopped everything else? Not at all. Our typical routine of novel studies, book club discussions, and math investigations continued. But for those few months, our informational reading and writing were woven into research about 3D printed prosthetics. Our science and engineering practices came through the method of learning about the human hand and how tendons control our fingers' movements. Students designed low-tech prototypes of hands that could hold or grip an object in our school makerspace as we learned about the design thinking process. Our history learning expanded beyond typical 4th grade CA history and delved into a global history of prosthetics (Did you know that the first recorded prosthetic came in the form of an artificial toe found on a mummy from Ancient Egypt?!) and timelines of the history of 3D printers. Our technology integration came through the form of finding the right Google tools to share student research. Would it be a slideshow? A doc? A spreadsheet? Students have learned all of these Google apps attached to their SESD gmail accounts and now had the opportunity to apply their learning for the purpose of sharing information about their research and project. Selecting the right tool for the purpose and audience is key, and such an important skill to build in our growing technology age.

The entire process was a hit! Students who might not be engaged in typical academic reading/writing tasks were now asking if they could research during their choice time. Students who have struggled with perseverance and growth mindset now spent hours meticulously using tweezers to string elastic through 3D printed fingers. Students who have argued out on the playground at recess collaborated side-by-side on prototypes since there was a shared goal and product to create. This 3-month inquiry project touched on so many teachable moments ranging from academic skills to social-emotional learning.

Our 3D printing project has been the highlight of the year for students, and one of the most memorable experiences in my ten years of teaching. It all started with letting go of perceived expectations ("we're supposed to work _____ at this time" or "But it's not a topic covered in state testing") and instead opened up teaching and learning to be responsive to student curiosity and motivation. Students probably did more learning in these past few months based on discovery ("How do I...? What does it mean...? What happens if...?") than if I had tried to directly teach those same skills with standard 4th-grade content. Most importantly, they got to see an idea come to fruition, with hard work, patience, and asking for help. These are the skills of an innovator. These are the traits we want for the next generation.

Teachers- if you're debating whether to take the risk... just do it. Dive in! If you learn alongside your students and ask for help, you won't be going at it alone. Modeling the learning process is exactly the growth mindset we hope to foster in our students, so we have to give ourselves permission to do the same. You'll make mistakes. You'll adventure through uncharted territories. You'll stretch yourself as a teacher AND learner in ways you couldn't have imagined. But most importantly, you won't be disappointed.

Parents- If you're wondering, "What should I do to help my child be successful?" Start with an inquiry. Find a topic they're curious about. Help them research more about the topic (Newsela is a great resource for adapting news articles to children's reading levels). Simply let them explore and prototype. When they build/make and fail, they get to reflect on what worked and what didn't, and how they might re-iterate to improve on their design. Don't stop your child from experiencing the struggle. When we as adults jump in and rescue too soon, we deprive children of the learning opportunities of reflection and fixing their mistakes. And finally, give them an authentic audience. Let them design and share with someone. Let them reflect on their learning and teach about their new knowledge and skills to someone else. Being successful in school doesn't have to mean worksheets and test prep. It could (and should) be authentic tasks that require students to step outside their comfort zone, seek information, build skills, and share their learning.

Want to Learn More About 3D Printing/Prosthetics?

Jesus Huerta did this project with his class and created a website so YOU CAN TOO! Check out his work at --> mrhuertasclass.weebly.com
He's leading a workshop this Saturday, June 1st for FREE for Bay Area Educators. Check out the STEM Summit at KCI (Krause Center for Innovation) -->
Valerie Perez also did the same with her students. Check out her Twitter site. Both of these amazing educators are worth a follow!

Here's the sketchnote I created to document our experience!

Don’t feed the dog, chew with your mouth closed, and other lessons in etiquette

Growing up in an Iranian-American household, etiquette was a big deal. Hosting large family parties was the norm, and I quickly had to learn when to give two kisses (one on each cheek as a greeting) and when to give three kisses for more traditional (often older) guests. In Iranian culture, you never know when someone might stop by for “chai” (pronounced cha-ee) so it’s expected that you always have a platter with fruit, cucumbers, nuts, and cookies available on your coffee table. All of these “life lessons” I wouldn’t have learned had I not been taught proper etiquette.

A common beef with young kids is that they don’t have the same manners expected of prior generations. But whose fault is that? Etiquette is something to be taught, modeled, and expected. So what better time to teach it than right before the holidays. So that’s exactly what I did.

I started off with a little pre-assessment on what they knew to be common table manners. We had a good laugh about a few:

Don’t feed the dog under the table! (This contribution proceeded to a very detailed story from a student’s personal experience)
Don’t start a food fight.
If you feel like you’re going to burp… hold it in. (That was an interesting variation haha!)After a few quick videos on proper etiquette, it was time for our simulation. (In retrospect, I wish I would have brought in proper utensils/plates/cups, but sometimes my most creative ideas come the day of the lesson!)

I sent all the students outside and quickly “set the mood”.

Dim the lights. Check.

Turn on classical background music. Check.

“Menus” in hand. Check.

I then proceeded to let students in, one table at a time.

“Group 1, your table is now ready. Welcome to the Fancy Schmancy Restaurant. Your server will be right with you.”

The students were hooked. What was originally just a math lesson on ordering and budgeting now turned into a full on restaurant simulation- the perfect chance for them to play and practice their proper etiquette.

As each table group was greeted and given their menus, I noticed a shift in the classroom. The typical squirrely kids sat up a little straighter in their chairs. The quiet ones spoke up a little louder with confidence, requesting “a turkey leg with mashed potatoes for the entree” and “apple pie a la mode for dessert”. Some who are quick to take a challenge tested my waitress skills, asking if I had half and half to go with their coffee! 😂

The most hilarious interaction of the day:

S: “Do you have espresso?”

Me: “Yes. One shot or two?”

S: “Two please.”

Me: “Okay, one double espresso coming right up.”

S: “Thank you. Can you make it dirty?”

Me: “Excuse me?” (Was she asking for a dirty martini?🍸)

S: “I don’t know. My parents always seem to order their drinks dirty.”

HA!

First lesson in true etiquette- don’t repeat what you don’t understand!

With this little interaction, it reminded me that as adults we model etiquette all day long. The choices we make, the ways we react to others, and the patience and self-control we demonstrate during times of success and times of hardship, all lead to the behaviors children mimic.

We have the potential of raising the “smartest” generation with information at their fingertips, yet, if they don’t have manners or social skills… what good is all that knowledge? The longer I’ve taught, the more I’ve realized that it is less the academic content that I’ll expose/teach, and more the skills, mindsets, and manners that are important for young children.

Lastly, after two weeks stuck inside due to poor air quality from CA fires, playing restaurant was exactly what we ALL needed. You’re never too old for a little time to pretend. And you never know, maybe you’ll be ordering a dirty espresso at your next fancy schmancy dinner. 😉

Let the struggle happen. Getting comfortable with being uncomfortable.

Today was an eye-opening experience as a teacher. It’s the first Friday afternoon of the school year. For our 4th graders, this is the first time they haven’t had early dismissal after lunch like in their K-3 years. Being the only ones on campus when their siblings are done for the day can be hard to sell, but I try to reserve these afternoons for fun projects, teamwork challenges, and choice time.

As in typical first week tradition, I had my class put together our Room 14 Puzzle to display in our front window. Each person decorates a piece and they have to work together as a team to solve the puzzle. I don’t tell them what it will make (at the start) but some make a guess as it starts to form.

In activities like this, I can learn a lot about the culture of a class. Natural leaders step up to take charge. Natural followers listen to what they’re told by their peers. And some kids wait until all the work has been done by the majority of their group, and squeeze their puzzle piece in the 1 empty spot (not “initiative” but definitely a strategy for efficiency! Ha!)

Being my 10th year, I have made it an intention to respond to teachable moments as they arise, but also to let students “get comfortable with being uncomfortable.” This is a large factor of fostering a growth mindset, and an important component in building the traits of perseverance and grit.

And boy was it hard for them.

As they started the puzzle, I let them fully take the lead as I sat back and my desk and “appeared” to be distracted in my own work. Instead, I was observing, recording notes about personality traits, documenting the amount of time it took to get an idea started, and the approximate times that certain groups of students got frustrated and burned out. That window was quick. Within the first 4 minutes of the task. A few decided they didn’t like how others were taking lead, or they felt “bossed around” and quickly went to their seat. The difference this time was that they didn’t go to their seat disengaged because they had gotten bored. They were frustrated, and turned that frustration into gossip and complaining.

It took all my strength and willpower not to do the typical teacher move and come over and rescue those whose feelings were hurt and kindly suggest that the bossy leaders take a step back and let others have a turn. Instead, for 13 long minutes, I sat there observing how they handled their conflict. A few students came to me, asking for structure and suggesting that I have everyone rotate in for equal turns after 5 minutes. Others stuck it out, not knowing how to participate but also not wanting to give up. It got brutal as the train they’d hopped on was veering toward failure and frustration rather than success.

At the 13 minute mark, I stopped the clock, had them all go back to their seats, take a deep breath, and debrief. We talked about the difference between “Glows” (things that went well) and “Grows” (things that needed improvement), and their suggestions for how to solve the issue at hand. Then, each student got 5 minutes to reflect and share their opinion.

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After some deep discussion and reflection around the suggestions, they came up with the plan to divide and conquer. To start by finding a match to their puzzle (similar to the “find someone who…” activity I’d intentionally had them do earlier today) and only once they found a match, then try to add it to the larger puzzle, so there would be less conflict and crowding.

It was still tough, but in 6 minutes (less than half the time it took the first round) they were able to start fresh and complete the rest of their puzzle. Some smiles appeared, but no where near the cheers and excitement as in past years, because the struggle in the journey overpowered their excitement in seeing the end product.

My Takeaways:

Let the struggle happen. In my earlier years, I never would have had the chance to see how the students stepped up to handle the situation, because I would have handled it for them. Yes, there was some awkwardness. Yes, there were a few feelings hurt. And yes, some students were looking to me for guidance and I chose to sit back and observe. But what message am I sharing if every time a challenge or conflict arises, I jump in to be the problem solver because I don’t trust that they are capable of doing it themselves. They are capable. They have a voice. They just needed me to facilitate it so everyone could be heard. I never would have had the chance to do that if I had jumped in at the first sign of struggle.

Get comfortable with being uncomfortable. This goes twofold. The students needed the experience of being uncomfortable with the struggle and not letting themselves give up. About a third of the class literally handed someone their puzzle piece and sat at their seats when they didn’t like how it was going. I had to get comfortable with not being in the “rescuer” role. I’m not a mother yet, but the first example that comes to mind is the recommendation to new moms to let the baby cry, to let them learn to self-soothe. What we model as adults in the decisions we make, the cautions we share (“Oh Johnny, don’t climb on that! You might get hurt!”), and the timing in when we choose to step in to “fix” something shares a message with children. Whether intended or not, the message shows that there is a conflict the child can’t handle themselves, and that an adult is needed to fix it. I’ve been on both ends of that situation, both as a child/student, and as an adult/teacher. I think getting comfortable with being uncomfortable is more difficult the older we get, and ever more reason to try it with intention.

This year, we will focus a lot on building the soft skills students will need to be successful. As educators, we can talk all we want about building a “growth mindset” and valuing grit, perseverance, and problem solving. But if we don’t actually give students (and ourselves) authentic experiences to practice and build these skills, we’re just telling them these skills are important without the opportunities to actually grow.

So… that first week of school puzzle activity may just look like a “filler” to the teacher who is worried about not having enough time to “cover” all of their curriculum before testing, but how I define success in a year is not whether or not they can excel on that test. Yes, do I want them to do well and show what they know? Of course. But is that going to define who they are and prepare them for the world beyond fourth grade?

Not at all.

It is the attitude, the confidence, the communication skills, the ability to be comfortable with letting themselves struggle a bit in order to achieve a goal. That is what building a growth mindset means to me. Not watching a video here or there, singing a song, or reading one book on how the brain works. It is creating a learning culture where lessons are authentic, teaching is more like timely coaching and facilitation, and risks and reflection are experienced and modeled by both teacher and student.

Letting struggle happen alerts all the red flags in my former perfectionist nature. And it is all the reason more for me to push past what is uncomfortable, and simply give it a try.

For more reading on this topic, check out:

“The soft skills college students need to succeed now and in the future”- American Psychology Association

TED Talk- Angela Lee Duckworth- Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance

TED Talk- Luvvie Ajayi- Get comfortable with being uncomfortable

Forbes- Why Feeling Uncomfortable Is The Key To Success

What is something you can do for yourself or your class to get comfortable with being uncomfortable? Share your ideas in the comments below!

If you like what you’re reading, subscribe to keep posted for more on this topic and the soft skills of teaching and learning.

Let children play.

As I sit here on the beach holding on to the last moments of summer, off in the distance I see a group of kids playing in the sand. Have you watched kids play in the sand? They don’t need adult guidance. They don’t need ideas for how to be creative. Even the most tech addicted child doesn’t get bored.

They play.

They build sand castles with the highest work ethic, braving the waves and the distance to get that best scoop of wet sand. The child building the structure out of drift wood has a purpose. He sees a potential fort in his future. He doesn’t need a lesson on architecture to realize that there is a certain angle the wood needs to lay so it doesn’t fall. He discovered it through exploration.

In the start of the year, I challenge you- don’t overplan every second of the day. Build in some room to let students play- at all ages.

I always wait til the first rainy day recess to pull out the games, and each year I wonder- Why didn’t I do this sooner? When the games come out and students have choice and freedom, little micro cultures build in the classroom. You get the group that wants a challenge that will wait 15 minutes in line just for their turn at a round of Connect 4. You have the doodlers in the back discovering what they can make with form, shape, and color. You get the persistent student who will spend the whole break setting up Keva Planks or Dominoes only to knock them down 5 seconds before the bell rings. You may even get the students like I did last year, who built a fake town on our carpet solely out of privacy folders typically used for testing. When they honored new members to the town and offered them roles such as mayor, I was shocked when the next student came around collecting property taxes. I couldn’t come up with something this entertaining if I tried!

And remember, not everyone will be so willing. You may even find that student who is uncomfortable with unstructured time and instead asks for advice about what she should play, and when you encourage her to just give something a try and join a friend, she ends up bouncing around from activity to activity because she’s been trained to only do things with directions.

Watching rainy day recess is more informative to me than some of my best assessments. From those 20 minutes, I can gain insight on personality traits, strengths, motivators, and friendships.

So this year I make a challenge to all who will take it- let “rainy day recess” come early, with or without the rain. Let your students have choice time, but not in the sense of you being tired and wanting them to stay busy so you can get a break. Be intentional. Observe, play, and take note of the interactions and ways your students spend their time. That is more of a window into their natural motivations and tendencies than any beginning of the year survey you can give them. It gives you light into what students would want to do if they aren’t thinking they’re “playing school”.

Unstructured play is something lacking in today’s youth, that has been a pivotal part of childhood for generations. “Learning is what we do best. We learn through our lives by wondering and exploring, experiencing and playing,” says Wendy Ostroff, child development professor and author of Cultivating Curiosity in K-12 Classrooms and Understanding How Young Children Learn. When we over-standardize education during the school day, and students then go home to their structured tutoring sessions, sports practices, and after school classes, they can go a whole day with their only time to “play” at recess or lunch, should they actually get up and not just sit the whole time eating.

Some of my favorite childhood memories were from unstructured play. I remember finishing my homework quickly so all the neighbor kids could meet behind our houses in “the ditch”, or when my brother and I created our new favorite sport- roller blade basketball! Or the time a classmate and I went house to house advertising our “business” by selling marigold seeds to neighbors (sorry Mom, I didn’t realize I’d de-flowered your front garden!) I bet you have your own list of play memories that defined not only your childhood but helped positively develop you into the person you are today.

I am going to challenge myself this year to let kids play more.

Are you up to take the challenge?

Let children play.

They are only kids once.