Published
In January I presented at a conference at Fordham University on my graphic novel research and activities. Someone from Teacher Magazine picked up on it and asked me if I’d like to do an interview about graphic texts. I agreed, and they published the interview. You can find the interview here.
I’m almost done with the school year–only eight more days until final exams!
NWP @ Rutgers
So I guess now I’m officially a Teacher Consultant for the National Writing Project. I presented my demo at the Midwinter Conference and am one of them now. All of my cohert from the summer was there and most of us presented. I heard good things about many of the sessions and also saw some good presentations myself. I think that we, as a group, did well.
One thing that struck me as interesting was how nervous many of the other presenters were. They were very stressed out about the whole thing, looked forward to it being all over, and were clearly relieved when it was over. Throughout the day many people asked me if I was nervous. I really wasn’t. Perhaps it’s because I’ve presented this demo twice already, or maybe because this is not the first conference at which I’ve presented, but I really was comfortable with my role as presenter. Actually, I’ll go even farther than that–I had fun presenting.
Perhaps it’s my ego–maybe I’m just arrogant–but I enjoy presenting at conferences. I like it when I am well-informed, even an expert in one area, and am allowed to share that expertise with others. I like being on stage and being smart. I like sharing what I know with a group, fielding questions, showing the hard work I’ve done. I really think it’s fun. It is nice to be done, and be able to focus on other stuff, but I really had a good time.
But I find, once again, that the best part of the conference wasn’t actually the conference itself. It wasn’t Will Richardson’s keynote. Nor was it the sessions I attended. It was the community. Meeting up with professionals that I enjoy talking to and who are doing great things with their students. Going out for a few drinks afterwards and catching up on both our personal and professional lives. These are the same things that I enjoy about NCTE. It’s not just the conference, it’s the network of great people.
Anyway, if you have the chance to go, the Midwinter Conference is really good. NCTE is still my home, and I’ll always look forward to the November conference, but this is a nice pick-me-up in the middle of winter. I look forward to continuing to be a part of NWP.
Will Richardson
I just listened to Will Richardson speak to the Rutgers NWP Midwinter conference. I’ll write more later, but it was very good to hear him. It was interesting to see and feel the reactions of people in the audience. I’m not sure many of them are keeping up with technology and he may have frightened them a little bit.
I’ll post more later, I hope.
My lousy blogging habit…
If I ever had an audience for this blog, I’m sure they’re long gone by now. I haven’t posted in such a long time. I really want to develop a blogging habit, but I just don’t ever make the time to do so. I have too many other things going on.
Anyway, I wanted to post because something neat happened today.
I’ve begun a unit on Ender’s Game with my 9th graders. It’s a fun unit, filled with good conversation about interesting concepts. One thing that is difficult is that while it’s easy to find things to talk about, it’s sometimes hard to find things to actually teach from the book. But that’s a discussion for another time.
Today, though, the kids had just read Chapters 1-3, where Ender decides to leave behind his family and go to battle school. A six-year-old boy leaves home to set out on an adventure. Card writes:
There was nothing to pack. No belongings to take. “The school provides everything you need, from uniforms to school supplies. And as for toys—there’s only one game.”
I read that bit to the class and talk about how we all carry stuff with us. Our possessions show something about ourselves. I then go into the lesson I read about one time for Tim O’Brien’s “The Things They Carried,” dumping the personal belongings of my briefcase and pockets onto my desk, talking about each one and share a short bit of writing with them about it.
Of course I then have them do the same thing–make a list of what it is they carry with them and then write about how the “stuff” they carry often reveals something about the internal “stuff” they carry inside. It’s a neat lesson and I get some awfully good writing from them.
After the lesson, I wrap up class, and talk again about Ender. He’s leaving his home with no “stuff.” Nothing personal. No clothes, toys, not even a stuffed animal to cuddle when he’s scared. And I ask the students to think about the internal “stuff” he brings with him. And that’s a neat conversation.
It was a great day and a great lesson, but here’s the really neat part. As the kids are packing up to go, one of them says something like, “Mr. Van Nest how come all the things in your class always come together like that?”
I’m caught a bit by surprise by this statement and tell him that I work hard to plan lessons like that so that things come together nicely, but another adds, “Yeah, but it’s like everything just flows together, one thing to the next. Like even if you think about the whole year, everything just flows. Not all teachers do that.”
A couple other students agreed, and I’m touched that they noticed. I’m thrilled that they’re thinking on a level that they see the connections throughout the lesson and the year as a whole. What a nice day.
French Tubas
This is my last night at the NCTE conference. It’s been a good time, and I’ve had some great conversations with many friends and colleagues. Tomorrow I fly home–I’ll work on a more complete post then.
National Writing Project–Reflecting
Ok, so my last post talked about how I wasn’t disappointed with the NWP. At that point I wasn’t. Then I was. Now I’m not. Clear as mud? Good.
Yes, I was diasppointed. Like I said, I had be looking forward to this for years and it just didn’t meet my expectations. But I’m not discouraged for this one reason: the four weeks I spent there were just a small part of the overall picture. I know that the best thing about the NWP is that it is ongoing professional development. I know that at the national level, the NWP is a very strong group and has a lot to offer me. I know that I’ll be getting much more involved in the local site. I know that I have a lot to offer the NWP and know that there’s a lot that it has to offer me. So I’m not discouraged any more.
Speaking of being more involved, I’ll be going to NCTE this year as part of my NWP site. Cindy and Bud have been involved in the NWP stuff before the NCTE conference, and I’m excited to be part of this now. It’ll mean that I’ll have to scale back on my involvement in CEL, which is too bad. But the NWP is on Thursday, the day I usually travel, and CEL is Monday and Tuesday. I just can’t be gone that many days. And I’ve been to CEL for the last nine years–it’s time to branch out a bit.
So now my summer vacation has actually begun. No papers to write, demos to create, books to read. Well I have a stack of books I want to read, but that’s a different story.
National Writing Project
I’ve posted in the past how excited I was about going to the National Writing Project. I’m sitting here in the project now, waiting for it to begin for the day. So far I’ve been happy with the program. We’re in our third week, so we’re certainly on our way to working towards our demo. I’ll be doing mine on using graphic novels in the classroom.
I’m also finishing up my online course on the Renaissance. I have to get the final paper for that class done before I can really focus on the demo for this class, which is due next week.
I have to admit, though, that my expectations were a bit high for this class. It’s not that I’m disappointed, but Cindy, Bud, and others have talked up the NWP so much that I was expecting something that would be the most inspiring, useful professional development that I’d ever done. And I’m not disappointed, really, I’m not. Maybe it’s because I’ve been a part of NCTE and CEL for so long that I’ve been part of the “discussion” of professional development for so long that the NWP isn’t something new or radical or mind-blowing.
But I’ve met some great teachers though this project–even one who lives in my neighborhood, literally. We carpool, which adds another two hours of professional conversation every day. And I’ve had the chance to do more writing, which is great, too. I’m hoping to start a new writing group at my school, but if I can’t get that going, at least I know other people I can get together to do some writing and talking about writing.
The 80% Rule and Mediocrity
One of my interests outside of teaching is music, specifically playing the guitar. Actually, I play guitar, bass, and am attempting to learn the Dobro as well. I like bluegrass music and am working on playing all the instruments in the band, I suppose.
I read blogs and articles about music and playing the guitar, and found some articles by Jamie Andreas. I’m not sure who Andreas is, but here’s a quote from an article that just smacks of truth to me:
It is relatively easy to achieve about 80% of anything. It is relatively easy to develop ourselves to about 80% of proficiency in any field we may choose. If you want to become a computer programmer, a business person, own a restaurant, be a carpenter, be a musician, anything, you can study it, get experience, and become “functional.” Most people that bother to develop something useful (and most do, being forced as we are to “make a living”) achieve this level.
But to become really good, to start to rise above, and noticeably so, the average person doing what you do, THAT takes a whole different kind of effort, and a whole lot more of it. Most people do not do this in their particular field. Most people really are, when it comes down to it, content with doing what they “must,” and keeping their standards and goals low enough to avoid too much demand and discomfort. That is why the age-old lament of all employers is “you just can’t find good help anymore.” Yes, because the #1 goal of most people is to DO as little as possible and GET as much as possible. That is the formula for mediocrity.
To put it simply, it is easy to be mediocre, that is why so many people are achieving it
I first became aware of the 80% rule from read Scott Adams’s blog–he’s the author of the Dilbert cartoons–and I think there’s a great deal of truth to it. It’s easy to be mediocre, but to be good, or excellent, takes a lot of work. Getting back to Andreas’s article:
Closing in on that last 20%, well, that separates the men from the boys, as they say. Here is the thing to understand: every step forward and upward required to move past the common crowd will most likely require as much as ALL the effort previously put out. The higher we climb, the more we must exert for every inch gained, but every inch is precious, and worth more than everything before it. The gap between 99% to 100% is, in fact, infinite. Yes, the real polish, the real excellence, comes only to those deeply committed to it.
I think about this in relation to playing the guitar, being a student, or being a teacher, and I’m certain of the truth in it.
Feratisms
Turns out the teacher next door to me has a blog. I had no idea. Anyway, I’ve included his blog in my links. I have no idea why the heading for my links says “5604″ instead of “Links,” but that’s the way it is, I suppose. Anyway, Dan’s a great guy, check out his blog and leave him some comments to encourage him to post more frequently. I think he’ll write more if he knows people are reading.
NWP and Ranting
I went to a meeting this weekend at Rutgers for the National Writing Project. I’m not sure that what they shared with me they couldn’t have done via e-mail or a letter, but it was nice to see those folks again. I’m excited about working with them, and also have set up someone to carpool the 100-mile round trip commute it will be each day. That’ll be nice.
Anyway, my rant is that yesterday the tech. people at my school let us all know that we have to turn in our laptops over the summer, and that will be standard policy from here on out. What a stupid idea! Many teachers use their laptops over the summer to prepare for the school year. And I need it for the NWP this summer. I’m hoping that the huge backlash that will hit them from the entire staff will make them reconsider, but not too happy about it.
I guess I’m just lucky that my school issues me a laptop to begin with, so maybe I should be too upset. How about you? Do your school districts issue laptops to teachers? Do you get to keep them over the summer?
