Community

On Friday, our community raised almost $100,000 for non-fiction books to be distributed throughout our school system.

On May 6, our community will decide, through their votes, if they'd like to see new construction and major renovations to our district as well as technology and athletic upgrades. They've shown before that they are supporters of the right bond; I certainly hope that's the case again.

That's incredible money. It takes thousands (in terms of the voting) to make major change for a school district. For The Shindig, the name given to the casual fundraiser, over seven hundred individuals showed up to eat, drink, and be merry--all in the name of new books for our kids.

And, me, I get to live in this community. I feel proud to pay these taxes and raise my kids in a place where they are embraced and supported by the individuals and companies in them.

It's not easy being a child. So many changes--in emotions, in appearances, in relationships, in academics--that a child goes goes through during his/her course via the school system. To be supported by the entire community is such a major help while traveling down an often rocky, always adventurous, road. When we put our kids in the center of a community-wide embrace, we are giving them a far-reaching foundation, one we hope can last a lifetime--or at least until they are ready to embrace their own community's children.

But not every community does this. Why?

Because it doesn't have the visionaries focused on helping others, the few at the center of an event who can rally the masses. Sometimes, visionaries just look out for themselves--doing anything they can to make money or elevate themselves within the community. The few at the center of both of these events--The Shindig and the 2014 Bond Proposal--wouldn't want to call themselves visionaries. They would quickly deflect the title and share it with the masses (and, don't get me wrong, the masses are essential; they have to show up), but it is the few with the motivation and know-how who start the process of greater change in our schools.

Visionaries see things differently than they are and then put in the work, including connecting with a community of people who will help spread the vision, to make it come true.

Here in Spring Lake, we're lucky; our visionaries are looking out for our kids, embracing them every chance they get.

Calling All Conferences

Over the last year--starting with MACUL 2013--I've been bitten by a bug: a presenting bug. I LOVE it! I suppose it really connects my two passions: education and performance. Before I was a teacher, I was an aspiring actor. Really, I only left theatre because I taught it to children once and learned that I liked that more than actually doing it myself.

For ten years, I didn't realize that I could do both. I'm not sure why, but I just hadn't considered it. I just didn't know about the opportunities.

And that's still how I feel. Though I'm speaking quite a bit more around the state--getting ready to head to Jackson, MI next Saturday for #ConnectEdu--I still don't know of all the opportunities.

So, I need your help. Hook me up with links! Connect them as comments to this blog or email the opportunities to dtheune@springlakeschools.org or contact me on Twitter using @DavidTheune.

Over the last year, I've learned more than ever. That's because I've been in the presence of more motivated educators than ever through these conferences. Also, through preparing my own talks, I've become more aware and excited and reflective of my own practices. Together, with the daily education I get from my colleagues and from my students, it has made the last year the best one of my career.

Calling All Conferences!
Bring 'em on!

Life Lessons, Part 2

In last week's blog (the first weekend of spring break), I wrote about the life lessons my girls were teaching me while my wife was visiting a friend in Boston. (Read it here: Life Lessons from My Girls). But the lessons continued when my other girl--my wife--got home.

People will pay $70+ a ticket to hear Jim Gaffigan for 90 minutes. Others will pay more for silliness. Why? Because silliness carries value in our lives. It allows us a break to be more productive on the other side.

As for me, I'm fortunate. I don't have to pay a thing for this all-important characteristic.

Truth is: I often take myself too seriously. I find myself working too many hours and thinking of my job as a sprint (and, yes, I'm glad I do see it as that sometimes. I am certainly NOT belittling the importance of my job as an educator). During my normal hours, my everyday life, silly is not my thing. I smile a lot--and even laugh. But that's not silly. I need reminders to be silly--to laugh and chuckle. To roll on the floor laughing--kicking and screaming because the tickle torture I'm receiving has gone on too long. To be startled and scream like my five-year-old self when my girls--yes, including the 37-year-old one--jump out from around the corner. I need that from them because I don't produce it enough in myself.

The value? I get to be a kid. And smile more broadly. And laugh more loudly. And--eventually--embrace more passionately. And breathe more freely.

It's silliness that allows me to work harder and make a bigger difference in the world.

It's because of the silliness I received over spring break from all of my girls that I am now ready for the final push of the school year.

Life Lessons From My Girls

This week is spring break for our school system and I'm so glad that my wife both had the opportunity to visit a friend who has a newborn AND that she took it. My wife is so selfless that she too often passes up these kind of moments for the betterment of the family's budget or time or whatever. She and I both agreed that she needed to see our friend--to continue creating ties that will bind them for life.

It turns out, though, she's not the only one creating ties that bind for life. I am, too--at home, with my three daughters. In just the past few hours, they reminded me of what it is to the best human. Three simple lessons all taught within a three hour span, all taught in our backyard.

1. Be creative. Now that the snow is gone, I was able to put up our Slackers Slackline (imagine a nylon tight rope, if you will). When I put it up, I saw it as just that--a training tool for future circus performers. Within minutes, however, the girls made lassos for imaginary cows; they created suspended swings out of the leftover nylon rope; they even had a moment of imagining they were Rapunzel when one climbed the tree and let the rope hang from her shoulders.
2. Invite others. Once the Slackline was up for about twenty minutes, it was a magnet to the rest of the neighborhood. The girls all welcomed the other children, gave them turns, and encouraged others to get inventive. They played. They connected. It was simple. 
3. Keep trying. My youngest (she's six) left the Slackline before any of the others because she decided it was time for batting practice. So, we grabbed the bucket of balls and the tiny bat and started swinging. And whiffing. And more swinging. And more whiffing. Her contact average was about .150--that of a minor league catcher--but she just kept on swinging. Then, after about the 70th pitch, she crushed one past the neighbor's trampoline and it made all the whiffs worth it.

I'm glad my wife is in Boston. She is holding one of her best friend's newborns. There is absolutely NO doubt she is creating memories that will last a lifetime. But so am I. 

And all I had to do was play with my children to learn them.

A Life of Purpose

This week, I had the opportunity to talk about my class's WORDS HAVE POWER essay project on Shelley Irwin's WGVU Morning Radio Show. (Read about the project here: WORDS HAVE POWER and listen to the Podcast here: Shelley Irwin's WGVU Morning Radio Show.) I'm not going to lie. It was a cool moment and my ego was sufficiently stroked.

But, that same day, my ego was stroked in an even better way--a much less public way: I got to hang out with Olivia, the student who joined me on the show. We drove to Grand Rapids and talked about school; we did our show--she blowing me away with her intelligence and communication skills; we had lunch and talked about the future. It's those connections, those human connections that make teaching my passion.

And Olivia is just one of many student connections I've had in the past few months. With each hour-long coffee date, I'm filled with a sense of pride that I could be a moment in their lives. My students give me--well--purpose. They make me laugh and think and care. Yes, my wife, my daughters, and my family give that to me, too, but it's so refreshing to claim that I have purpose in my career.

It's that human connection, that exchange of ideas, that matters most. Over the past few months, I've been fortunate to have phenomenal face-to-face connections, but humanity can connect in other ways, too: through technology, through silence, and through words.

Humans have connected through words, through story, since the beginning of time and, now, to complete a cycle that started in the fall through our community book club, I'm making the final push for meaningful stories now. Please consider changing our corner of the world by sharing your stories of empathy. While it might seem obvious that you can affect others with your story, you might just be surprised by what sharing your story will do for you.

It might just give you a purpose you never knew existed.

Share here: ELEVATE EMPATHY Submission Form

Turning the Tables: MY Turn in Front of the Audience

Over the last 600 days (the last two years of teaching), I've made a significant shift to authentic assessment. That is, for each major piece of work in class, the assessment has been a product to share with a real audience--whether it be peers from other school districts, parents, social media, etc. If you've been following my blog or following me on Twitter or if you're friends with me on Facebook or in real life, this is NOT news.

What is news is that I got to play the role of the student a couple times in the last two weeks. That's right. For two different reasons--I presented on the value of our fall community book club AND I sang as part of a fundraiser for a phenomenal local non-profit--I was in front of audiences. And it did some pretty miraculous things for me.

• I worked harder knowing there was an audience. I have not sung publicly in seventeen years, but when asked, I worked hard to do it well. I went to the one optional rehearsal. I recorded the accompanist. I sang it once a day until the event. As for the Lightning Talk at MACUL, I went through multiple written drafts to get the talk just right, to match the message up with the slides that accompanied it (see the video below). I practiced and practiced and practiced. 
• I had fun knowing there was an audience. When preparing for the audience, I was having a good time dreaming of the moment. It just feels good to get meaningful feedback--to prepare, perform, and receive the credit for that. It's good for the soul when people recognize effort.
• I connected with community because of the audience. Through the performances, I met new people. I shook hands with people I had never met and probably never would have had I not given the time to these endeavors. From those connections, ideas spread, thoughts are given legs to walk into others' lives.
• I did it to communicate my ideas to an audience, NOT to get an official assessment. When preparing for the performances, I thought of ways to communicate my main ideas differently. I considered what the audience might like and let it inform my delivery. I did not use a rigid rubric. I used past examples. I looked up other Lightning Talks and other performances of "Mister Cellophane". I wondered how others did it and then I made it my own. I had the freedom to create, so I did.

And you know what? The EXACT same thing happens for my students when they create for audiences: they work harder, they have fun, they connect with community, and they care more about developing their thoughts than the final grade.

Having an AUDIENCE provides more CARE which means more THOUGHT and that results in more LEARNING.

THE MACUL 2014 LIGHTNING TALK

BE MY BIG-HAIRED MOTHER

THE SONG FOR FUNDRAISING

MISTER CELLOPHANE

MACUL 2014--Elevate Empathy Through a Book Club & FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS

Usually, I pontificate about something in the educational world in my blog. But not today. Today, the blog is directly informative and practical.

I had the great fortune of giving a Lightning Talk at this year's MACUL conference in Grand Rapids. In it, I encouraged other communities to consider a community book club of their own. AND I COULDN'T BE HAPPIER THAT THERE WAS A BUZZ ABOUT IT.

So, here it is: what you need to know to start your own community book club and, later in the blog, the presentation to my session titled FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS.

Thank you,
David
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About the Book Club

If you're thinking about creating your own community book club, I strongly recommend the following steps as your first three steps:

1. Find and read the book. I strongly recommend Emily Bazelon's Sticks and Stones, but it isn't a nice book to read. It calls out all of the complexities of bullying and has a fair share of difficult language. It is rooted in narratives AND data. 
2. Get support from your superintendent. I think it's just very wise to get the top person behind you. Be honest about the book, get his/her support, and then move forward with confidence.
3. Form a committee. My recommendation is to get some power players in the schools--and in the community. A few willing folks have far reach to get people signed up. Just find people who have a passion and the book club will fly.

Now, links to all kinds of links we used. Take what you like:

• Presentation Used at Board Meeting
• Sign Up Form
• Spring Lake Community Book Club Website
• Opening Slide at Kick Off Event
• Kick Off Agenda
• The Kick Off
• Google Hangout with Bazelon
• STICKS AND STONES on Amazon
• Spring Lake Community Book Club Facebook Page

The following are blog posts I wrote throughout the book club process:

• Looking in the Mirror First
• The Book Club Takes Form
• The Book Club Teaches Me Lessons
• The Sign Up is Released
• The Final Launch is in Sight
• Compiling OUR Stories of Empathy

Finally, this: I asked a student to chime in on her experience in the community book club. Here is her response.

When I think about the community book club we had last fall there are two things about it that stick out me: conversations between all types of people and the instrument of discussion. Discussion between teenagers and adults was the part I found to be most interesting. As a teenager I feel like there are very few times honest conversation about serious topics (or any topic) takes place between people of my age and people of our parent's age. We might have serious conversations with our parents or a few other close, trusted adults but most conversation with adults isn't real. It was nice to talk openly about a topic everyone has been affected by at some point in their life. It was interesting to hear the adult perspective and their stories. In order to have everyone be comfortable with sharing their thoughts and feelings I think it was important to have meetings with smaller groups as well as the whole group. Which brings me to the instrument of communication: Facebook. Facebook allowed me to participate in every talk we had with my busy schedule. It's much too hard to try to find a day a group that big can all go somewhere and meet face-to-face. Having discussion on Facebook eliminated a lot of organizational problems. It also meant there was an automatic record of everything said for those who weren't able to participate in real time. One problem with talking about such heated issues in a big group is that only one person can talk at once so whoever is loudest normally gets heard. On Facebook more than one person can post their opinion at the same time and no one has to worry about being interrupted. Typing helped me to articulate my thoughts better than when trying to speak them instantly. So, if I was to give any advice to someone looking to do a community book club (on any issue), it would be to involve people of all ages and backgrounds and to hold at least a few of your discussions online in order to make it as easy as possible for people to participate. Overall, it was a valuable experience and I would highly recommend other students to participate. -Carlyn

I SO badly want this idea to be a chain reaction. I'm willing to answer emails or have Google Hangout/Skype sessions. Please, just contact me: dtheune@springlakeschools.org.

Starting a community book club is a lot of work, yes, but it is incredibly rewarding. My best!

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FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS Session

I absolutely encourage students to work for real purposes and for real audiences. Here is the link to my presentation. Friday Night Lights, Classroom Style

Let me know if you have questions. I'd love to have conversation about this.