Change.

Change.

This word can pack a punch. It can be the good, the bad, or the just plain ugly. We [in the public education profession] especially tend to be resistent to this word.

Change has been a very personal word to me over the past 9 months. My wife and I welcomed a son into the world. That has changed us. This school year I changed my job, and an no longer in the classroom. I have been busy and have not blogged in almost nine months... and that was a change for me.

While on my blogging hiatus, I have not stopped reading. I continue to read David Warlick, Shelly Blake-Plock, and my all time fav, Chris Lehmann. I have also done a lot of self-reflection and thinking about "change".

This thinking mostly stems from my new (quazi-admin) role in the public school system. I have had lots of conversations about change over the past couple of months. In some cases, small change and in others, epic change. And - as I often am - I am left with a question(s)?

As we all begin this new school year...

What are you going to change?

Why are you going to change?

What led to these changes you will make?

How will you affect change in others?

Will these changes make a difference in the lives of those you serve?

(I am bias, but...) I think that these are good questions. Good questions to start off the new school year and a new journey in the education of others. I think that we need to make change a good thing - a word that we do not shudder in fear at - but rather embrace and put to work for the good of our schools.

Have an amazing school year. I promise to write more... way more. That is one of the changes I will make in the lives of others.

Damn it feels good to be a blogga'.

More to come...

Mike Meechin, M.Ed.

mike.meechin@gmail.com

twitter.com/innovateed

How to Hire: An Open Letter to Educational Leaders

Dear Educational Leaders:

I was speaking not too long ago with a former principal of mine. He is now an area superintendent of a large urban school district. Like many school districts we discussed the issues regarding teacher hiring and retention.

He told me that his district had adopted a system where new hires must teach a lesson prior to signing a contract and setting foot in one of the districts classrooms. My thoughts - well, it's about time.

In my experience, especially in "tough to staff" schools, that we practice the "warm body phenomenon". What I mean by that is that too often the applicant pool is quite shallow. Too often we are hiring to get someone in front of those kiddies, instead of practicing a thorough interview process.

The argument that I have heard about the system that my friends district has embraced is that it is too time consuming. We just don't have the time and resources to have all of our applicants teach a lesson in front of interviewers (or better yet, real live students). I ask - why not!?

Time and resources are not a valid argument against this process. Adopting a "teach first, then hire" system will allow us to save time and resources on the back end. We will not longer have to worry about ineffective teachers (as much). We will no longer have to continue to commit time, money, and resources to educators who - well, aren't educators and never will be.

Doctors serve a residency. No licensing board would allow a doc to practice medicine on them without it. However, state education boards allow people to practice education without one. Thanks for the transcripts and your $150 application fee. And POOF... you're a teacher. We need educators coming into the profession to endure a scrutinization (not a word) that we can only dream of before we allow them to teach. (Side note: we need to also re-scrutinize some of those already in the classroom.)

Whether it be a residency, mock lessons, real lessons, or teaching for an interview panel. We all - especially the "hard to staff" schools - need to make time, make resources to ensure that this happens for every what-to-be educator. It is a must.

More to come...

Mike Meechin, M. Ed.
mike.meechin@gmail.com
twitter.com/innovateed

For more information about Mike Meechin and Innovate Education, LLC. professional development please visit: www.innovateedu.org.

Redefining Assessment, an Online Conversation

I have been working on a project over the past 8 months or so regarding grading and assessment. Over the past few months I have been working with faculty members to redefine our grading and assessment systems. It has been a tough conversation - one that we need to have. So, I have decided to bring that conversation to the Interweb.

On February 9, 2011 at 7:00PM, join me online as I discuss the results that we found as we stepped outside of the traditional grading and assessment system.

We will be going in-depth about the 50 Point Project. The 50 Point Project, is the journey that myself and 24 other educators have been on since the beginning of this school year. Basically, the 50 Point Project uses a 50-point minimum grading scale to focus on the motivation and success of all students. In addition, we have redefined what "A" work really is by eliminating 50 points from our traditional 100-point system.

The 50 Point Project also addresses major inconsistencies that we discovered between teachers of the same subject - in the same school. I believe that this is a common issue in schools around the country, especially those with ineffective educators.

To learn more about the 50 Point Project, our journey, and some of our results... mark your calendar and join us for this online conversation to attempt to discover what is best for all students that we serve.

Wednesday, February 9, 2011 7:00PM
Join Us Here: http://www.bigmarker.com/mmeechin/50point

More to come...

Mike Meechin, M. Ed.
mike.meechin@gmail.com
twitter.com/innovateed

For more information about Mike Meechin and Innovate Education, LLC. professional development please visit: www.innovateedu.org.

Hiatus.

Well it's been almost two months since my last entry. I wanted to take a moment to explain my hiatus.

On December 05, my wife and I welcomed a son into the world - and since then it has been busy to say the least. Juggling life, work, and parenting - well, blogging got moved to the back burner.

I am happy to say that things have now slowed down and gotten back to normal. I will be contributing to my blog again beginning this week. I have some things that have been on my mind over the past two months and I can not wait to share.

Happy New Year!

More to come...

Mike Meechin, M. Ed.
mike.meechin@gmail.com
twitter.com/innovateed

The Truth.

The truth?

You can't handle the truth!

I am sure the visions of the courtroom scene between a young Tom Cruise and the ageless Jack Nicholson reverberate through your mind - as they do mine.

However, this time it is public education on trial. The truth is tough to handle. You don't have what it takes to be an educator - period. I believe that this needs to be the new mindset of the education reform grassroots movement.

The time has come to lift the level of the teacher profession to a new status. Stop telling people that you can teach, stop promoting career change programs into education. I mean, I want to be a doctor - where is the teachers to doctors program? If this is not an acceptable practice, then why do we assume that if you can't do anything else... you should teach.

Our new mantra must be... You do not have what is takes to be an educator.

We need to be recruiting new, young talent into the ranks (how we do that is another discussion) of education right from the start. Stop funneling those who do not want to "do" their career or could not choose a major in college into our classrooms. We are doing damage to the system that is beyond repair.

The truth hurts. We need to be having tough conversations with potential candidates and (unfortunately) those already in the classroom and telling them - you do not have what it takes to be an educator.

To close - check out Taylor Mali's "What Teachers Make".

Disclaimer:
I understand that their are some career changers that are the most solid teachers in our student's classrooms. But, this post is for poopy teachers - no matter how you got there. However, society's belief is that teaching is easy and that anyone can do it... and this could not be farther from the truth.

More to come...

Mike Meechin, M.Ed.
mike.meechin@gmail.com
twitter.com/innovateed

Giving Thanks.

I am thankful for family (a new baby in the next few days), thankful for opportunities, thankful for good health as well. But, for the sake of this post I want to focus on this...

I am thankful to be an educator.

The past two months have been some of the busiest of my life. I finished grad school (again) and my wife and I are expecting our first baby shortly. But, when I have some down time I have been keeping up with reading the work of so many passionate about public education in this country.

I also have been thinking about what to say for the Blogging for Real Reform challenge. And... I already realized that is what I have been blogging about for the past year. It makes me feel great to know that there are grassroots educators out there fighting the good fight.

I hope that you will read through some of my posts and see what I have to offer to the discussion.

I also encourage you to read the work of other educators that I am thankful for:

• Chris Lehmann
• David Warlick

These are the guys that inspire me to write and continue to fight for what is best for my students - always. I am so thankful for their wisdom and musings. Whatever you think that you can do for this movement - do it. Write, read, blog, debate, discuss, teach, serve, just do it.

I am thankful to be an educator.

More to come...

Mike Meechin, M.Ed.

mike.meechin@gmail.com

twitter.com/innovateed

For more information about Mike Meechin and Innovate Education, LLC. professional development please visit:www.innovateedu.org.

Priorities.

A month and a half. That is how long it has been since I last wrote.

I have had a lot on the plate with a myriad of professional developments, a baby on the way, and the homestretch of graduate school. And with the close of Education Nation timed with my last blog post - I have had lots on my mind.

I read a lot. Blog posts that is. My Google Reader is slammed packed each and every day with the passionate musings of those in the edublogosphere. I just have not had time to empty my brain.

Over the past few months it seems as though the debate about education reform has heated up. I disagree, I just believe that it has been brought to the mainstream as of late. Whether in my grad classes, talking to colleagues, or surfing the Web... I have had many discussions centered around what needs to change in schools NOW.

The answer is simple. The educator.

The public educational system in the United States needs to "clean house". I do not care about the tenure debate. The fact of the matter is that across this country right now there are educators in front of students that do not belong. In fact I will say that they are doing more harm than they do good... period.

No matter what reforms we discuss, no matter what programs we implement, no matter how great our edtech ideas are... these educators will never have a handle on one of the toughest professions there is. I do not care what your passion is with regard to education - this must become our priority. This must become our national priority.

Without this "clean house" approach - nothing else matters.

This is what I have been thinking about. I would also beckon all others with a voice to call for the same. Take a break from your other blogging topics and speak on this.

This is "our" priority.

More to come (soon)...

Mike Meechin, M.Ed.
mike.meechin@gmail.com
twitter.com/innovateed

For more information about Mike Meechin and Innovate Education, LLC. professional development please visit:www.innovateedu.org.


Image Source: add1sun

If Not Us - Who?

This week has been a rollercoaster of emotions stemming from watching NBC's coverage of Education Nation, having tough conversations with colleagues, reading the blogs of others, and also living out a career in a "turnaround" model school.

I am fearful of the demise of public education in this country. I believe that even with all of the circus with Education Nation this past week - that education will once again fall by the wayside. But, the honest truth is that it can't. If it does public education will be in a state of peril.

You see, I work is a school that is in trouble. We are not in a downtown urban setting, but rather in one of the biggest tourist destination in the country. We are a school that has adopted one of the federal differentiated accountability models, also known as a "turnaround". But, I fear that the focus is not on the  dire need to reform what we are doing in these schools. We talk charters all the time - but, with 2000 students at our school, where are these students going to go. We must educate these students in these buildings. However, reform is not the correct option - we need to "blow it up" and begin all over again with the design of these schools.

It must begin with a topic discussed this week - tenure. The need to eliminate the educators who do nothing for our students is crucial to the success of these schools. We have them - others have them, and they need to go. We need to put quality educators in these classrooms and use some of the models that are working. Models like SLA, and so may others. Designing institutions that focus on student learning - nothing else - must be our mission. We need to flood these schools with resources including technology.

I know that this post is all over the place - but that is where my mind is right now.

The time for talking is over... action is what is needed now. I am doing my part and will graduate in December with my administrator certification - putting myself in a position to begin to influence the system. It is time for all of us, educators to stand up and take control of the system. While this will not happen overnight, it needs to happen.

It is our job to make sure that these schools and this system do not fail. I will pose a question to you as well. If not us - who?

What are you going to do?

More to come...

Mike Meechin, M. Ed.
mike.meechin@gmail.com
twitter.com/innovateed

For more information about Mike Meechin and Innovate Education, LLC. professional development please visit:www.innovateedu.org.

Cheat, Cheat - Never Beat

Today in class, as I often do, caught a student copying work for another class. It got me to thinking...

What are our students getting from the work that we assign them?

Assignments that can be copied and done in a few minutes during the class period prior to being turned in have zero affect on student learning. The student not only missed instruction in my classroom, but also got nothing from the assigned work.

The bigger question is whether we should give homework that is "copiable".

I understand that there may be the occasional assignment or subject where this may be unavoidable. However, homework assignments that can simply be copied are not effective. Students need to be creating original work that requires them to think at high levels. This concept is really tough for some to grasp.

Some educators may argue the point that the student is cheating and should be penalized. These same educators would give no thought to the assessment itself and whether it was a valid assignment to begin with. The truth is that if we give "copiable" assignments we are just as guilty as the student. They are cheating - but we too are cheating. We are cheating students of learning - and you know what they say...

Cheat, cheat - never beat.

More to come...

Mike Meechin, M. Ed.
mike.meechin@gmail.com
twitter.com/innovateed

For more information about Mike Meechin and Innovate Education, LLC. professional development please visit:www.innovateedu.org.

Now Hiring... Instructional Leaders

I am banishing the word administrator from my vocabulary with regard to public education.

Now hiring... instructional leaders.

The day and age of the instructional leader (the leader formerly known as the principal) sitting in an office and dealing with finances and other decision making alone are over. Today's educators and educational institutions are in need of innovative instructional leaders. Those who leave one foot in the classroom not matter how far removed they may actually be.

We (public education) need instructional leaders who are collaborating with teachers and students in their buildings to make the best decisions for the students. We often tote around the company line of "do it for the kids" - an empty goal that in turn goes ignored when decisions are made at the district, state, or federal level. The time for leaders with stagnant ideas who occupy the big chair for years on end are over - as in done.

Now hiring... instructional leaders.

Educators need leaders in their schools (especially the lowest performing schools) that model what to do, not dictate what to do. I have often wondered how many leaders charged with turning around or leading schools can outperform me in the classroom. The answer is probably far too low. That is what I want - in fact, it is what we must have. Instructional leaders that can instruct, develop, and nurture teacher and students alike are what we need.

I aspire to become one of these leaders and I know that they are out there already leading some great schools. If you are one of them - share your message and skills with others. We are not looking for leaders who are not interested in "doing it for the kids".

Now hiring... instructional leaders.

More to come...

Mike Meechin, M. Ed.
mike.meechin@gmail.com
twitter.com/innovateed

For more information about Mike Meechin and Innovate Education, LLC. professional development please visit:www.innovateedu.org