Like_youknow

For those of you with teenagers at home with whom you have difficulty communicating, this video will be either helpful or at least give you comfort.

It's o.k. to insist that our young people be articulate.

Unfortunately we used to teach students to write the way they speak. That philosophy has resulted in a large segment of the population that is both inarticulate and illiterate. One "you know" at a time, we can make a difference. Go ahead, try it...just insist for one day, for one dinner, or for one account of a fight with a sibling, that a young person form a coherent thought without using the phrase "you know" or preceding every sentence or fragment with "like"...

If we band together we can "like" change the world "you know"...

Hug It Out

Today at our district wide administrative council meeting, one of our principals told the story of a 6th grader coming up to him in the hallway and asking for a hug. I don't know if the boy really needed one, or was playing around, but he got what he asked for. After the story was told, I was asked facetiously if that happens often at the high school. It doesn't, but the world might be a better place if it did.

Whether it's through hugging or some other kind of human warmth, all people need support. At our recent Challenge Day event, the facilitators suggested that people need twelve hugs a day to function at their highest level. If that's true, I'm guessing we have a lot of students, and a lot of adults as well, who aren't getting their daily quota. At Challenge Day, students challenged each other to give out twelve hugs a day. Whether it's through hugs or other acts of kindness, the world's a better place when we reach out to each other.

There are literal hugs and figurative ones. Sometimes a kind word, a random act of kindness, or even a smile of greeting can make a person's day. So often people are too busy and too self absorbed to even notice those around them. One of the most common occurrences of this phenomenon is found in traffic jams, and is one of my pet peeves. On those days when, because of construction or a traffic accident, the expressway resembles the parking lot at Wal-Mart on the day after Thanksgiving, simple courtesy is required. One driver lets another squeeze into a line of traffic, and then waits for that simple acknowledgement - the thank you wave. I don't know about anyone else, but it drives me crazy when I let another driver "take cuts", and I don't get that simple acknowledging wave...I'm convinced it drives people to road rage.

It is so simple to show appreciation for others. A wave, a gesture, an email, a simple nod of the head...sometimes anything works. I'm convinced that some of the most significant things we can do to acknowledge others have lasting impact. Using someone's name when speaking to them, a hand on the shoulder, a hug...we never know when those gestures can lift someone from the gloom of despair.

Today's three "R's" of education are different than they used to be. Today we emphasize "relationships, rigor, and relevance". The most important of those three is, without a doubt, relationships. One of my good friends, South principal Al Diver, is fond of saying, "People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care". Truer words were never spoken in education. Today more than ever, our students live with some tough situations, and many families are facing some tough times. The greatest cure for those ailments, and the most important step to establishing relationships, is genuine kindness.

Maybe the best secret of Challenge Day is that getting the hug, the smile, or the nod makes you feel really good, but giving it makes you feel great. To quote one of my favorite television characters, Entourage's Ari Gold, "When in doubt, hug it out".

Be the Change

Today's young people are remarkable. They are resilient, strong, adaptable individuals, and never has that been more evident to me than during yesterday's "Challenge Day" activities hosted by North High School. Challenge Day is a program that has been featured on the Oprah Winfrey show, and has been around for more than twenty years. North hosted two days of the event last year, and we thought it was so powerful that we brought it back again. Essentially it is a day long program that challenges participants to look past superficial differences in others to achieve a greater realization that we are all more alike than we are different, and that we need the support of those around us to maximize our potential as people. I know...sounds warm and fuzzy, psychobabble"ish", and a little too much like a mix of Jack Handey and Matt Foley, motivational speaker - except it's not. It is a life altering experience for those who participate.

Last year we had two hundred students from North in the program - one hundred different students each day. We did the same this year, with all new attendees. During last year's program I spent the good part of both days at the event, but this year, decided to participate fully as an adult facilitator during yesterday's first day. It would be very difficult to do the program justice for anyone who has not gone through it, but it is a roller coaster of emotions. The facilitators get students to laugh together, and cry together. At the end of the day, students "speak out" and talk about their experiences and their challenges to one another to make the school and the world better places. It's impressive and inspirational to hear these young people open their hearts and minds.

Students share some very powerful things about themselves and their lives. One of the goals of Challenge Day is to get everyone to realize that below the surface, and the facade we present for each other, we are all dealing with issues. One of the things the kids realize, and in a very powerful way during an activity called the "power shuffle" is that many of them have the same struggles in common. They may be of different ethnicity, religions, socioeconomic backgrounds, gender or social clique, but beneath those superficialities, are very real human emotions that are universal. Students step outside of their comfort zones, and reach out to others who they might never have known, seen or talked to prior to the day. At the end, after a lot of laughter, tears and hugs, they walk out sharing a common bond, and a desire to "be the change" they want to see in the world.

It is staggering to hear and see the struggles some of our young people are going through, and have to handle just to get through a day, let alone function as a productive student in a rigorous, socially challenging school environment. It is heroic that some of them manage to come to school every day in the face of their individual issues. Sometimes we see the outward expression of a young person's anger and frustration and wonder how anyone could act so poorly - Challenge Day gives some insight into why people act out. More importantly, Challenge Day gives kids a solution for helping each other - "Notice, Choose, and Act". Notice other people, their problems and their pain, choose to help, and act on that choice by being there, reaching out, practicing random acts of kindness, and offering a simple greeting, kind word or hug.

If your son or daughter attended Challenge Day, ask them about their experiences. If they didn't, encourage them to pursue it next year. To learn more about the Challenge Day program, and its "Be the Change" motto, visit http://www.challengeday.org . Be the Change!!

The First Help Desk Call

The First Help Desk Call


The standard cliche for evaluating the technical proficiency of an adult always used to be whether that individual could program his or her own vcr without assistance (usually from a child). It's the hallmark of change in the tech world that once we finally master something, it becomes irrelevant - such is the fate of the videocassette recorder. In fact, its replacement, the dvd player, is fast on its way to obsolescence, as the Blu-Ray version becomes the standard. It should come as no surprise then, that schools are victims to the same lag in technology implementation as the rest of the world. Even now, as we evaluate our best technology options for building "Smart" 21st century classrooms, new advances become available at a greater pace than we can even complete studies. Still, as we work to prepare students for jobs that don't yet exist, it is incumbent upon us to take advantage of any hardware or software that gives our students an advantage, better prepares them for life beyond high school, gives new tools to our teachers in the delivery of instruction, and positively impacts the academic achievement of our students.


The Grosse Pointe school district is currently evaluating our classroom technology priorities for the future. Among the things being considered for our high school classrooms are :

1. LCD Projectors - These have become almost essential as teachers use them daily to show powerpoints, websites, interactive web lessons, video clips, project lessons and student work and any number of other options.

2.Smart Boards - Interactive boards that function as large scale interactive computer monitors. The applications for these boards are limitless.

3. Document Cameras - High tech, new and improved versions of the old overheads, these devices are essentially cameras that project images on a screen or wall. For example, a biology teacher can do a dissection under the camera, and have the entire procedure projected live for students to see.

4. Sound systems for recording and amplifying sound.

5. A wide variety of other content specific technologies ranging from GPS labs for Earth Science, to sophisticated graphing calculators, to digital photo labs for photography, to various software and other pieces.

While we may all sometimes feel like the subject of the video on this post, it is critical that we provide our students with a 21st century education. The parents and students of our district have a right to expect that we will be leaders and innovators, and not followers in the efforts to use technology as part of the educational process. Please share your thoughts on technology with school administrators, teachers, board members and central office staff.

Legendary coach John Wooden said, "Failure is not fatal, but failure to change might be". In today's world, schools that are not moving forward rapidly, and changing fluidly with the times, are quickly left behind. In the coming months we will be demonstrating some of the technologies we are considering for purchase in our classrooms. Watch this site and the Northern Lights newsletter for information on demonstrations for parents, as well as surveys and updates on district technology plans.

Grosse Pointe High Schools 2.0

In December of last year, Grosse Pointe high school administrators presented a plan for our two high schools entitled Grosse Pointe High Schools 2.0. The plan is a two pronged concept aimed at addressing achievement gap issues and creating a high school program of study and delivery model that engages students of our millenial generation through interdisciplinary, connected project based learning. Please view our most recent update presentation which we outlined at the board meeting Monday, Sept. 22.

http://www.gpschools.org/bdrpts_hs20.htm#SlideFrame_1

Be the Change - Tigger or Eeyore?

Welcome Back Norsemen!

The dawning of a new school year is like New Year’s in September. We make resolutions to be broken, promise to re-connect with lost friends, look forward to the fresh start that will wash away broken promises and dreams, walk uncomfortably in new clothes, and revel in the smell of new backpacks and fresh school supplies. Nevertheless, September gives way to the winter months, and before long that little hop in the step everyone has in September turns to a trudge through the depressing gray of our winter “wonderland”. This year I challenge all of you to be part of a change – a commitment to that first week of school enthusiasm throughout the year. Mahatma Gandhi said “You must be the change you want to see in the world...” – At North we’re challenging students and staff to “be the change”.

Last year North hosted a two day “Challenge Day” event. Challenge Day is a nationally known and respected program that has been featured on shows such as the Oprah Winfrey Show. During Challenge Day, participants are challenged to break down barriers created by ethnic stereotypes, societal cliques, and gender and age differences. Participants are encouraged to see one another as people, and the humanizing process of the day is powerful. Challenge Day’s slogan is “Be the Change”, and everyone is asked to be part of a movement to eliminate the barriers that keep us from communicating as people. At North, we are challenging our staff and students to maintain the positive first week of spirit that leaves us open to others, excited about being Norsemen, and open to every possibility.

As the leaves began to fall and summer slips away, there is a tendency for our positive spirit to fade with it. Our school year is off to a tremendous start, and the positive spirit in the building has been fantastic in this first week. The change is to keep that feeling alive, and grow it through the school year. So – to “Be the Change”:
· Commit unsolicited random acts of kindness
· Reach out to someone new, someone from outside your social circle
· Commit yourself to showing your appreciation for others – at least twice a day tell someone you appreciate them for who they are or what they do
· Make a promise to yourself – and keep it
· Talk less and listen more
· Show your appreciation and interest in others by asking them questions about their lives outside of school

In short, give of yourself, and you will receive tenfold in return.

Finally, our staff committed to a school wide book club this summer, and read the book The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch. Dr. Pausch died recently as a result of pancreatic cancer, and in his months of terminal illness, he wrote a book and delivered a “last lecture” in which he shared life lessons. One of the powerful phrases he uses is “be a Tigger not an Eeyore”. Most of us are familiar with the stories of Winnie the Pooh. Tigger is a vessel of boundless energy and enthusiasm, while Eeyore moans and complains his pessimistic way through life. I encourage everyone to “Be the Change” – be a first week of school Tigger all year – not a gray February Eeyore...Have a GREAT year Grosse Pointe North!

Where There's Smoke, There's Fire....Or Not...

If I'm not quite as well rested this week as I should be while preparing for the opening day of school, it's with good reason. This past weekend my family and I endured our smoke detectors going off indiscriminately at all hours of day and night for no apparent reason. We changed batteries, cleaned every detector, reset our system, all to no avail...apparently at some point these things just fail and have to be replaced. Fortunately, the alarms were not shrieking in response to a real threat of fire, but they were telling us there was a problem. Sometimes how we interpret information is more important than the information itself.



This past month, North High School received its test scores from the state of Michigan. North improved in every tested category except social studies where we stayed above 90% at 94% proficient. This effort by our students reflects a concentrated effort by staff to focus on literacy and writing in particular. Our writing scores on the state's standardized test increased by 6% while many schools saw declining writing scores this year.

In addition over the summer, we received notification from Newsweek that North was again named one of the top 1000 high schools in the States. We increased the number of students taking AP tests significantly while maintaining a pass rate of close to 70%.

How then, one might ask, is it possible that North does not meet the federal government's standards for "Adequate Yearly Progress" or AYP? Elsewhere on this blog is a lengthy explanation for how that determination is made, and on what basis. However, at first blush one might look at AYP status and use it to determine whether a school is in trouble. It's a kind of fire alarm for schools.

In this case, the truth is that North does have an issue - just not the one that it may appear to have - much like my own home fire alarm situation. While overall our school is doing exceptionally well (in fact is one of the very best schools not just in Michigan, but in the country), we have an achievement gap issue which is recognized in our AYP status. The gap between certain sub-populations in our school and our highest performing students is too big. Our goal is to eliminate that gap without sacrificing performance at the top.

On this blog, check out the link to our High Schools 2.0 plans, as well as the narrative on AYP to see some of our plans for attacking this achievement gap. While I don't believe in the methodologies being employed in the Federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) act, or particularly in our state's interpretation of the data points, all of us at North firmly believe that all children can and should succeed. The idea behind the law is sound despite its flawed implementation. Nevertheless, we are focused on getting better and leaving no child behind - for real.

Sometimes when the alarms go off, all is not as it seems - North is a tremendous school, and successful in almost every way, by almost any measure. Still the AYP alarm has helped us focus on our one real deficiency - closing the achievement gap that exists. We made tremendous progress this last year, and expect that progress to continue in 08-09.

Some say that NCLB's goal of 100% proficiency by all students by the year 2014 is unrealistic. It may be, but I do believe in the "shoot for the moon and if you miss you're still among the stars philosophy". In the midst of all of our accolades and successes we can't ignore the real meaning of an occasional alarm.