Most recent public comments by Jen Roesch https://nowcomment.com/users/108285 https://nowcomment.com/documents/207234?scroll_to=2505994 https://nowcomment.com/documents/207234?scroll_to=2505994 However, it was very small (about 200 kids) and teachers (including specials, paraprofessionals, special ed and intervention teachers, and counselors) collaborated across grades so they got to know kids over time. There was a lot of time for staff collaboration. They were very creative about scheduling and dividing classes for music, art and movement to allow for small group work and support. Beyond that, I think the progressive curriculum and pedagogy was crucial for allowing this attention. The curriculum was emergent and inquiry-based. The center of every day was a 2 hour block of "work time" in which kids chose their activity area and developed their own projects and interests. Because students were directing their learning in so many ways, this allowed teachers to spend a lot of time observing. Literacy was woven through this work time as kids kept work time journals. There was a lot of focus on social-emotional growth, which yields big dividends as kids get older and are able to take more responsibility for their work. The school had an 80% opt-out rate from the standardized tests, which also freed teachers from having to "teach to the test" and there was a lot of buy-in to alternative assessments and a more holistic understanding of the child. I think all of this helped. But it IS very challenging still to do all this with the large class sizes and small budgets of a public school. It's really made possible by a teaching staff and parent body that is committed to the model. But for it to really scale system-wide, I do think it would require smaller class sizes and far more professional support than teachers usually receive. These are the kinds of schools rich families choose for their own children, but then they tell us that the rest of us needs skills-driven, test-driven, "no-excuses" schools. I agree that every child deserves this amount of attention and to be treated as an individual rather than a product to which we are expected to "add value". Tue, 19 Jul 2022 10:44:42 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/206774?scroll_to=2505917 https://nowcomment.com/documents/206774?scroll_to=2505917 Mon, 02 Aug 2021 16:57:35 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/206774?scroll_to=2505915 https://nowcomment.com/documents/206774?scroll_to=2505915 But this can be really challenging when the demands begin to exceed that ability to compensate because it's even more damaging to the sense of self. Mon, 02 Aug 2021 16:56:22 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/206774?scroll_to=2505914 https://nowcomment.com/documents/206774?scroll_to=2505914 Mon, 02 Aug 2021 16:54:49 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/206774?scroll_to=2505911 https://nowcomment.com/documents/206774?scroll_to=2505911 Mon, 02 Aug 2021 16:53:15 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/204570?scroll_to=2505908 https://nowcomment.com/documents/204570?scroll_to=2505908 This doesn't follow the template of the descriptive review process and I think it really suffers as a result. It feels a little like someone is describing a file rather than a person. I'm not clear on why he doesn't have an IEP. I'm also not clear why he's already planned to go to a transfer school and whether there's been full exploration of potential transfer schools. He's a younger student for a transfer student and there are many places that are smaller and I imagine could provide more support. I'm thinking of places like Urban Academy, Arturo Schomburg Satellite, or City-as-School. All seem like a more appropriate option for a kid who shows strong interest in learning but needs more hands-on support - both academic and social-emotional. It's hard not to read this and feel like the system has just kind of given up on him. Mon, 02 Aug 2021 16:49:24 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/208695?scroll_to=2505786 https://nowcomment.com/documents/208695?scroll_to=2505786 Just as high-stakes testing is an inaccurate measurement of our students, I think high-stakes evaluations of teachers inhibit the kind of vulnerability and openness that are central to this process--and are the basis for genuine growth. Mon, 02 Aug 2021 02:34:44 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/208695?scroll_to=2505785 https://nowcomment.com/documents/208695?scroll_to=2505785 Mon, 02 Aug 2021 02:32:59 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/208695?scroll_to=2505784 https://nowcomment.com/documents/208695?scroll_to=2505784 I think this can make it challenging to understand when children have different learning needs or challenges. I also think it can make us tend to "just try harder" to get kids to understand what we "know works" because it worked for us. But just because it worked for us, or for other kids we've taught, doesn't mean it will work for every student. Sometimes we have to let go of what "we know" and try to learn from the kids themselves. I see this as one of the greatest values of the descriptive review process. I think it leads naturally towards this kind of work. I really appreciate this teacher's openness to self-reflection. Mon, 02 Aug 2021 02:32:01 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/208695?scroll_to=2505783 https://nowcomment.com/documents/208695?scroll_to=2505783 This could cause intense frustration because she doesn't have the ability to fully express herself in those mediums. I think it would be important to find ways to continue stimulating her intellectual development and creating ways for her to continue developing her oral literacy skills while scaffolding her reading and writing to gradually catch up. I think a big danger is to "dumb down" material to the existing level of her reading and writing skills. This can cause disengagement and frustration. Instead, the challenge is to scaffold and find adaptations that can meet her at her intellectual level despite the lagging skills. Some ideas might be: using audio books (mentioned elsewhere as effective); a scribe or voice-to-text program; multimodal literacy projects and opportunities for using visual or other multimedia forms for demonstrating understanding; ample opportunity for classroom discussion in which Jane can use her strong vocabulary and verbal language students to be a leader amongst her peers. Tue, 26 Jul 2022 14:38:56 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/208695?scroll_to=2505782 https://nowcomment.com/documents/208695?scroll_to=2505782 Mon, 02 Aug 2021 02:18:40 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/208695?scroll_to=2505781 https://nowcomment.com/documents/208695?scroll_to=2505781 Mon, 02 Aug 2021 02:16:06 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/208695?scroll_to=2505780 https://nowcomment.com/documents/208695?scroll_to=2505780 Mon, 02 Aug 2021 02:05:30 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/208695?scroll_to=2505779 https://nowcomment.com/documents/208695?scroll_to=2505779 Mon, 25 Jul 2022 23:08:34 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/210106?scroll_to=2505778 https://nowcomment.com/documents/210106?scroll_to=2505778 Mon, 02 Aug 2021 01:59:12 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/210106?scroll_to=2505777 https://nowcomment.com/documents/210106?scroll_to=2505777 Mon, 02 Aug 2021 01:55:03 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/210106?scroll_to=2505776 https://nowcomment.com/documents/210106?scroll_to=2505776 Mon, 02 Aug 2021 01:52:11 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/210106?scroll_to=2505775 https://nowcomment.com/documents/210106?scroll_to=2505775 I think it's important to both validate the parents' observations and to not assume that there is something wrong with the home environment that is creating the challenging behavior. Equally important is to use this information to try to look beneath the good behavior to find the expectations or challenges that the child might be struggling with at school. Mon, 02 Aug 2021 01:49:41 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/208696?scroll_to=2505774 https://nowcomment.com/documents/208696?scroll_to=2505774 Mon, 02 Aug 2021 01:40:52 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/208696?scroll_to=2505773 https://nowcomment.com/documents/208696?scroll_to=2505773 Mon, 02 Aug 2021 01:39:24 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/208696?scroll_to=2505772 https://nowcomment.com/documents/208696?scroll_to=2505772 Fri, 22 Jul 2022 13:37:17 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/207234?scroll_to=2505771 https://nowcomment.com/documents/207234?scroll_to=2505771 We got 3 page narrative reports instead of report cards. His 2nd grade teacher had him read to us at a family conference and explained exactly what literacy skills he had (intonation, decoding, etc). She knew his interests and how to engage him, who he chose to work with at work time, and his specific strengths and challenges. All of the teachers in the school collaborated and learned about each child so that there was continuity as they progressed through the years. I had never seen anything like it. It was amazing. Sat, 23 Jul 2022 22:19:44 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/247448?scroll_to=2503833 https://nowcomment.com/documents/247448?scroll_to=2503833 I think it's really important that high-profile athletes are modeling what it looks like to know one's own limits and how to advocate for their own physical and mental health. The price for when people don't feel like they can do that is often too high. As educators, I think we also have a responsibility to help our students develop this ability - and to support them in those choices. "I was like: I think the girls need to do the rest of the competition without me. They were like 'I promise you'll be fine, we watched you warm-up'. But I said 'no, I know I am going to be fine but I can't risk a medal for the team and I need to call it... You usually don't hear me say things like that because I usually persevere and push through things, but not to cost the team a medal. So they were like: OK, if Simone says this, we need to take it pretty serious. I had the correct people around me to do that." https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/27/sport/simone-biles-tokyo-2020-olympics/index.html Tue, 27 Jul 2021 21:48:18 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/279583?scroll_to=2503121 https://nowcomment.com/documents/279583?scroll_to=2503121 Mon, 26 Jul 2021 20:45:18 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/279583?scroll_to=2503120 https://nowcomment.com/documents/279583?scroll_to=2503120 Mon, 26 Jul 2021 20:42:59 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/279583?scroll_to=2503119 https://nowcomment.com/documents/279583?scroll_to=2503119 Mon, 26 Jul 2021 20:41:22 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/279583?scroll_to=2503118 https://nowcomment.com/documents/279583?scroll_to=2503118 Mon, 26 Jul 2021 20:35:18 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/280371?scroll_to=2503027 https://nowcomment.com/documents/280371?scroll_to=2503027 Mon, 26 Jul 2021 16:45:11 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/280371?scroll_to=2503023 https://nowcomment.com/documents/280371?scroll_to=2503023 Mon, 26 Jul 2021 16:41:35 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/280371?scroll_to=2503022 https://nowcomment.com/documents/280371?scroll_to=2503022 Mon, 26 Jul 2021 16:40:55 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/280371?scroll_to=2503021 https://nowcomment.com/documents/280371?scroll_to=2503021 Mon, 26 Jul 2021 16:40:09 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/280371?scroll_to=2503020 https://nowcomment.com/documents/280371?scroll_to=2503020 Mon, 26 Jul 2021 16:38:40 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/280371?scroll_to=2503019 https://nowcomment.com/documents/280371?scroll_to=2503019 Mon, 26 Jul 2021 16:37:44 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/280371?scroll_to=2503018 https://nowcomment.com/documents/280371?scroll_to=2503018 Mon, 26 Jul 2021 16:34:11 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/279583?scroll_to=2503016 https://nowcomment.com/documents/279583?scroll_to=2503016 Mon, 26 Jul 2021 16:32:46 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/279583?scroll_to=2503014 https://nowcomment.com/documents/279583?scroll_to=2503014 Fri, 15 Jul 2022 12:42:39 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/279583?scroll_to=2503013 https://nowcomment.com/documents/279583?scroll_to=2503013 Mon, 26 Jul 2021 16:30:51 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/280475?scroll_to=2502589 https://nowcomment.com/documents/280475?scroll_to=2502589 The space key must be pressed. I think it is to walk in a circle and return to the original starting point. Sun, 25 Jul 2021 11:12:50 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/280475?scroll_to=2502588 https://nowcomment.com/documents/280475?scroll_to=2502588 For my partner, making coffee in the aeropress is an algorithm triggered by waking up in the morning and must be executed before anything else can be done. 1. Walk in kitchen 2. Flip on electric kettle. 3. Flip on grinder. 4. Put 2 equals in cup. 5. Pour coffee grinds into aeropress. 6. Pour hot water over grinds and let steep. 7. Take half & half out of fridge. 8. Pour several tablespoons half & half into cup. 9. Pour Microwave cup with equal & half and half for 45 seconds. 10. Stir water and coffee grinds. 11. Place filter and lid on aeropress. 12. Flip aeropress over cup and press down to extract coffee. A fire drill would be an algorithm used in a school. I couldn't break down the steps right now though. Mon, 26 Jul 2021 10:01:39 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/247448?scroll_to=2502207 https://nowcomment.com/documents/247448?scroll_to=2502207 Thu, 22 Jul 2021 14:54:07 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/247448?scroll_to=2502206 https://nowcomment.com/documents/247448?scroll_to=2502206 Thu, 22 Jul 2021 14:52:22 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/247448?scroll_to=2502205 https://nowcomment.com/documents/247448?scroll_to=2502205 Again, I think there is a trade off. People who are blind or deaf often develop an acuity of their other senses that is far greater than that of a sighted or hearing person. So I'm not sure it's accurate to say that someone able to use all their senses is at an inherent advantage in intelligence over someone who is not. Instead, I'd think about the different ways people absorb knowledge and how to balance the tradeoffs. By way of personal example, I recently learned that I have a rare condition in which I cannot produce mental visual images. I only recently learned that other people literally see things in their mind's eye. I do not. This is clearly a deficit in some ways and I feel the loss of it now that I know others have this ability. At the same time, it goes a long way to explaining my intense presence in the moment, my constant narration of events and the scene around me, and the rich vocabulary I've developed. Things that other people see in pictures in their mind, I see in words that feel so real that I could touch, smell and see them. I've cultivated a different kind of intelligence as a result, but I would not say it is lesser. Thu, 22 Jul 2021 14:30:30 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/247448?scroll_to=2502204 https://nowcomment.com/documents/247448?scroll_to=2502204 Thu, 22 Jul 2021 14:24:19 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/247448?scroll_to=2502203 https://nowcomment.com/documents/247448?scroll_to=2502203 This is a good point. I also think we should normalize pauses in conversation. We shouldn't have to have instantaneous answers and responses. It should be okay to say, "wow, I hear that. Let me think about that for a minute." When conversation is so fast paced, it can be hard to really listen and reflect before speaking. I think this contributes to the phenomenon of formulating a response while listening. Fri, 15 Jul 2022 16:16:27 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/247448?scroll_to=2502202 https://nowcomment.com/documents/247448?scroll_to=2502202 I find this interesting because in English/rhetoric & composition, we spend a lot of time talking about the need to communicate to an intended audience. Writers and speakers are always asked to communicate with the audience in mind. But I don't think we spend enough time asking listeners to listen with the speaker or writer in mind. We put all the burden on the speaker/writer and little on the listener. This is relevant, in my opinion, to debates about what constitutes "appropriate" language or proper usage conventions. Whose standards are we being asked to perform to and whose cultures, language practices and conventions are being marginalized? Focusing on listening and empathy seems important in this regard. Thu, 22 Jul 2021 14:20:13 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/247448?scroll_to=2502182 https://nowcomment.com/documents/247448?scroll_to=2502182 I think this lacks empathy and imagination for the many reasons a student might struggle to persist. I also think we should consider what we can do as educators to create conducive environments rather than simply looking to change the mindsets of students. Thu, 22 Jul 2021 13:59:44 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/247448?scroll_to=2502178 https://nowcomment.com/documents/247448?scroll_to=2502178 People with ADHD are often given tips and tricks for how to better focus their attention. They are trained to work against rather than with their brain's natural way of functioning. While I generally agree that people with ADHD can benefit from learning how to focus their attention and manage their time, I think many also cause themselves unnecessary pain trying to work against their natural inclinations. People with ADHD are better described as having "variable attention" and can be astonishingly focused ("hyperfocused") on tasks that engage and interest them. Instead of always trying to better focus on externally mandated tasks, we can also give people with ADHD the opportunity and means to engage with tasks that are meaningful to them. We can help them to leverage their ability to hyper-focus and to think creatively. But this requires starting from a standpoint of seeing ADHD as a divergent way of thinking and processing (with attendant strengths and challenges) rather than simply as a deficit. Thu, 22 Jul 2021 13:51:08 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/247448?scroll_to=2502161 https://nowcomment.com/documents/247448?scroll_to=2502161 Mon, 18 Jul 2022 08:02:51 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/247448?scroll_to=2502159 https://nowcomment.com/documents/247448?scroll_to=2502159 Mon, 30 Aug 2021 09:50:00 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/247448?scroll_to=2502157 https://nowcomment.com/documents/247448?scroll_to=2502157 Mon, 20 May 2024 12:48:37 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/247448?scroll_to=2502156 https://nowcomment.com/documents/247448?scroll_to=2502156 One characteristic of many (not all) autistic people is rigid thinking. But, they also tend to think and communicate with clarity and precision. Non-autistic people might respond to this clarity and precision by saying that they are not being flexible. So, in this scenario, these two habits of mind might be in contradiction. And it might be that an individual may possess one to a greater degree than, and possibly at the expense of, the other. Rather than looking at these as attributes every individual must possess, it might be helpful to see them as contributions individuals make to a greater whole. Thu, 22 Jul 2021 13:41:23 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/247448?scroll_to=2502155 https://nowcomment.com/documents/247448?scroll_to=2502155 There are certain habits of mind and ways of thinking that our society traditionally values and rewards. However, I've lately been thinking and learning about neurodivergence and understanding this not as a deficit but as a different way of thinking. I have not yet had time to really think through whether these 16 habits encompass that divergence, but it is something I am attuned to. And, in general, I become uncomfortable with attempts to definite "intelligence" in very specific ways that don't account for different kinds of intelligence. I appreciate that the habits of mind are trying to focus on an approach to learning rather than narrow, discrete skills or content. But I also find myself uneasy. Thu, 22 Jul 2021 13:37:26 -0400