Diffraction of Light Rather than Refraction: Why Change is Better (Part 2)

Reflection, abrupt change in the direction of a wave that strikes the boundary between different mediums. Refraction is the change in direction of waves that occurs when waves travel from one medium to another. Diffraction is the bending of waves around obstacles and openings. -Webster's Dictionary

Waves of Ingenuity

To me students are waves. Waves of ingenuity. Waves of energy and persistence. Waves of determination and eagerness. They have a deep seeded desire, to learn and grow and they are both flexible and ductile. They peak and trough, expand their minds and slow their thoughts. Their perspectives change, their ideas bend and alter direction. Most importantly, they gather momentum and influence those around them. They can brighten any room. To me they are light waves, reflecting, refracting and diffracting between, around, and off of, every surface around them. They are the energy in the room. The impetus of progress. They simply need a smooth, conducive, surface from which, to bounce off of. The continuous, even, stable guidance of both parent and teacher.

Light behaves as a wave - it undergoes reflection, refraction, and diffraction just like any wave would. Water is a reflective surface. It generates life, it is the information that is shared between individuals and debated, agreed upon and dismissed. When the water in a lake or sea is very still, the reflection of the landscape is perfect, because the reflecting surface is very flat. A calmness comes from this certainty and clarity. This allows students to absorb new knowledge and form their own opinions. However, it is temporary. Students must be prepared to ride the upsurge and lean in to the tide of new information.

Ripples to the Smooth

If there are ripples or waves in the water, the reflection becomes distorted. This is because the reflecting surface is no longer flat and may have humps and troughs, caused by the wind. This wind, whether an opposing view or simply false information, causes a disruption in thinking. A halt in comprehension. All waves are known to undergo reflection or the bouncing off of an obstacle. It is our job, as educators and parents, to be ready with a flotation device, with the life vest, that will keep their head above water. Disruption can be a very good thing. It challenges our way of thinking, it presents alternative points of view. But, it can be detrimental if children do not have the skills to decipher fact from fiction.

By giving students opportunities to debate with vigor, argue using research and to challenge the status quo, we are preparing them for the real world. Let them have their own vision, their own conceptual framework. We do this by not teaching from a textbook but presenting options and alternative routes, to reach similar conclusions. In science there is an answer for many things, but the interpretation of the details and evidence makes all the difference. New theories and scientific research does not emerge from interpreting the solution, but from investigation of the hypothesis. Recognizing that if we change one variable, we can get a completely different outcome. This is strategy number one, let students manipulate the details, read various testimony and corroborate their own findings. This makes learning personal and pliant, like a light wave. Extensible and persistent.

Letting The Wave Bend

We can’t control every aspect of our children's lives. As a teacher or a parent, it is ignorant to believe otherwise. However, through open-dialogue at home and in the classroom, we can help steer the wave in the right direction. We can place mirrors and reflective surfaces to help the circulation of information stay productive, relevant and safe. We must not remove their freedom to explore and debunk. Discover and perceive. Be pioneers in their own schema of learning. We must let them determine the variables and the process, on their own and then choose how to tackle it.

I believe that real 21st-century learning means preparing students for a world that we can’t even imagine yet. I can’t even imagine yet. There will be jobs for them, not even realized as necessary, at this time. We won’t be with them when they face that world, so the most important 21st-century skill we can teach our students, is how to think for themselves. In the next post, posting tomorrow, I will discuss these five strategies I use to help my students be independent learners.

1.    Let students know that you don’t have all the answers.

2.    Question everything and encourage them to do the same.

3.    Force students to make their own choices.

4.    Avoid content specific tests, especially multiple-choice, whenever possible.

5.    Push students to try new things. 

The Shape of Windows: Curved or Flat, Perspective Changes (Part 1)

The Shape of the Landscape

A classroom: four walls, a door, seats and tables. Enclosed, yet infinite. Protected from the elements, but open to the barrage of information and data available, to the world at large. Sifting through this assortment, of facts and inferences, opinions and viewpoints, can be a challenge. But, with a solid foundation, of the learning environment, the framework, to tackle this bombardment, will be in place. In place, to organize and dismantle the mound. There is no new knowledge, unavailable to students on Google, it is the interpretation and analysis that is important. This skill, students acquire, through collaboration and community, within a well-designed, student-driven classroom. The clarity of vision, sharpness of contrast and translucence, imagery and discovery, bring a sharpness, to this acquisition. The curve and cleanliness of the glass, through which students gaze, makes all the difference.

Curved Surface

A curved aperture creates a breach, an opening in which new processes and ways of thinking can be acquired. When we as teachers, provide strategies such as, summarizing and annotation, this helps students narrow their focus. We have to give our students methods of soothsaying- getting to the truth, recognizing falsities and tricks in the information, they are reading every day. What is real? What is ‘fake news’? What is fact? What is opinion? Most importantly, how can they, as learners, decipher and distinguish, for themselves, what they see and believe, from what others are trying, to get them to think. The best thing we can do as educators, is to let our students, think for themselves. To give them opportunities, to analyze primary sources, listen to debates and debate themselves. Once they get comfortable, with the skill of argument, they will be able to tackle any confusing content, they may come across. They will be able to look through the myriad of interpretation and depiction and design their own schema, their own map of awareness and wisdom. So how do we do this?

Flat surface

Wash and shine, a smooth, clear, porthole, from which they can visualize and understand the world. Open up our classrooms with skylights and fenestra’s. By peeling back the layers of doubt and distraction and opening that porthole, up into a huge orifice, from which they can see angles and trajectory, circuits and parallels. As educators, we can’t fear alternative points of view, as much as we may disagree with them. Students need to hear and analyze, even the most unpleasant of counter-arguments. It is our strength as teachers, that we recognize these alternatives and discuss them, allowing our students to see every side, of the discourse. True understanding comes not from words or action, but purposeful, focused, open dialogue. When we as humans, can see eye to eye, look beyond the glass, see the landscape from a different perspective, is when change of thought and perspective occurs. Our knowledge may come directly, from seeing through the windshield, the forward panorama, but our objectivity, relativity and context comes from those side windows that shape our peripheral vision. Together, with our rear-view angle, we get a more complex and precise image of the world. Without a driver’s license, one may miss this speculum. As passengers, we tend to look, in only one direction, forward. While our passengers tend to look at the scenic view, from the side. Our job as driver, is to help our passengers, students, to see the world from every angle, to welcome each impression, as another piece of the puzzle.

Range of View

Our range of view is limited by our experience. We interpret the situations around us, in the only way we know how. The more we expand this dimension, the deeper we feel for it. When we create a bird’s eye view, a wide lens from which we interpret our surroundings, rather than a scenic one, we step outside of our comfort zone. The comfort zone, we construct to allow us, to stay warm and safe. The prospect of journeying outside of it, can be daunting for some. But we as teachers, have to guide them out. Lead them away from the enclosure. We need to clean the glass, so through the shininess and clarion, they find truth and meaning for themselves. In my next post, I will share some strategies I use, to do just that. Get my students, out of the car, and into nature, exploring and discovering more, about what makes the world tick.

The Framework of Sustenance: A Pie is More than Fruit and Crust

The Fibrous Nature of Things

To peel or not to peel, that is the question. To remove the fibrous layer or to let the coarse, pulpy skin help the produce, keep its shape and firmness, as it bakes. It may be the inside of the pie, the woody, wiry, mantle of deliciousness, yet it is the star. Thickness matters. Flavor matters. Tartness and consistency matters. A bark-like skin, will be tough and inedible. But, a thin, sweet dermis, will bring forth the juicy, liquid of nature. As it oozes out, it creates a semblance, of freshness and time. It requires the season, to mature and ripen. Only a moment to enjoy its nectar.

If the fruit loses its texture, the filling will be soft and mushy. If the crust does not have enough fat content, if it was not rolled our properly, it will not be flaky and buttery. It will be dry and crumbly. Flavor and taste, both emerge when the details are emphasized. When patience is given to the ingredients, the process and the assembly, perfection is more likely. When forethought and expertise, are used to develop and bake a beautiful crust, you feel it. The pie becomes more than a treat. It is true mastery. For the crust, holds everything together. Some may use a simple mixture, that tears and thins. While others, with care and love, layer and soften the edges, until the perfect groundwork, is in place. This framework, the golden, fragrant, memory everyone has, of grandma's kitchen.

Technique Matters

If the right apple is picked and the right technique is utilized to prepare it, the innards will taste amazing. If the crust is handled with composure, a foolproof pie, will be fashioned. Dessert is a gift, an ending to a worth-while meal. It is not more important than the feast, yet, it is missed, if it is absent. It is a compliment, a confection, a last course, of a needed festive spread. A meal is an experience, whether with family around the table, or a brief snack between tasks. We all require sustenance. We all desire a delicious, well-balanced, tasty refreshment. We revel in the beauty of food. We look for that second, where the sweetness meets the crispness. We seek the moment where, savory meets crunchy goodness. The balance of texture and flavor. We desire a merging of the understanding of the process and the appreciation of the effort. This makes it more meaningful.

Pie, like other pastries, requires a level of skill and ability. The first attempt, usually ends up in a fractured mess, albeit a tasty one. A broken crust, holds within it, a mixture still luscious and syrupy. But, as with all dedicated bakers, the crust is more than a covering. It is the schema on which the harvest lies. It is the shell, under which, the crop merges, into a treat, unlike no other. It is vented, to release the steam, to keep the integrity, of the floury fabric. The pie is nothing without the crusty, flaky, buttery layer that binds it all together. Sweetness meets crispness, under the blanket of kneaded and rolled sublimity. Fruit and wheat combine into a complete carnival of subsistence.

Expertise is Homemade

As with all bakers, there is a love of the ingredients. A passion for the ability to take various products and ideas and create something, people will love to eat. Educators, like the great chefs of the world, look to their experiences and locality to create the best frame of reference for learning, for their students. Each with their own skill set and mindset building and designing, the glorious meal of growth and sustenance. Whether a homemade pie or a handcrafted lesson, both bring nourishment and livelihood, to those around them. Both requiring tools of the trade. Whether a fork or a pencil, a plate or a desk, each requires the desire to use them. Are you hungry? Let's eat.

It Speaks Volumes: Collaboration is Noisy

A Clamor of Collusion

It is a joyous moment for me, when I witness a cacophony, of collision and teamwork, with my students. Fraternization can be boisterous. In fact in my classroom, if it is quiet, students are taking an assessment. Babel and bedlam are expected, in the confines, of room 1161. In fact on my door it says "Excuse the noise, there is learning happening in here."  When visitors pop in, they are often surprised at the synchronicity, of volume and motion. There is a semblance, a flow, that lures students into, a sense of community and partnership.

When organized and structured pandemonium, is the norm, creativity and independence become a touchstone. The more I can engage my students- not with a teacher led hook, but with immersion and movement, the more they will take ownership, of how they learn and grow. When students are faced with choices, challenges and the freedom to network- they embrace their role as learner, leader and partner.

A Frontier of Fraternization

This week for review, rather than a test review packet or Kahoot!, students had several opportunities to truly work together, to solve a problem. Plants and Photosynthesis is not a difficult concept for my students, in general. They understand the structures and functions of plants, germination and tropisms, but every year they never seem, to see the 'big picture.' The connections between them. How all the vocabulary they are learning, ties together into a framework of survival, for the plant.

So I designed an activity I call the Vocabulary Scramble, in which they do just that. It is an exercise in listening, understanding and association. In not only a collaborative sense, but a conceptual one, as well. The first step as a teacher in this enterprise, acceptance of a bit of coordinated chaos. It will look a little bit like traffic, on a highway, each car changing lanes and shifting positions, in order for the best continuity to occur. You have to embrace the momentum. You have to be alright, with the din of honking.

The lesson starts with me, explaining that, there are connections between every vocabulary word they learned this unit. Even if they seem very isolated, they do relate. I tell them that each of them are going to get one word and they will have to work together, to get all of the words, in a line that makes sense. The order definitely matters, but it is also flexible. It is their job to make a configuration, where each student (holding their individualized vocabulary card), will have a clear place, in which they fit. This organization of vocabulary should be able to be read aloud, demonstrating their cohesion.

For instance, if the head of the line is holding cell wall and the second person in line, is holding turgor pressure and the 3rd in line, a card with the word vacuole- student one will say "I am the cell wall and I protect the cell, I connect to turgor pressure because the force of the water inside pushes against me and this causes turgor pressure." Student two will say, "I am turgor pressure, the force of water inside the cell, maintaining equilibrium, inside the cells of a plant and I connect to the vacuole because that is the location, in the cell, that stores the water." The third student will connect vacuole to the next vocabulary word and so on....

Words Become Art

After the last connection is in place and the line of vocabulary has been rearranged and reviewed, students reflect on the 'big picture.' They have to take the word they were given and the direct connection they made, in the activity, and create a cartoon if it. A piece of visual phraseology and glossary. Thus an interactive word wall, that can be modified and added to, throughout the day. This graffiti wall is not a science wall, but a personal expression of understanding. At the end of class there is a colorful, characterization, both visual and humorous, of all of the words and how they all fit together. A huge mural. A network of thoughts, associations and relationships. A combination of interaction, imagination and independence. Student-driven and student-created.

This enterprise was not calm, nor was it regulated. I simply observed. There was a quarterback, self proclaimed, that stepped up to guide the process. There were MVP's and those that sat, on the side line and watched, for a bit. But, eventually every student entered the field and all of them found their place on it. Spectators became players. Defensive lines, became blurred, with offensive lines.Yet, the 50 yard line, the center of it all, remained the focus. That line, the final semblance of words and connection, formulated, with noise and frustration. It started with a bit of confusion and ultimately ended with collaboration.

In this case, higher order thinking was a joint effort. It was full of hullabaloo and fuss. Stridency and outcry. Students argued and debated. Yet, they figured it out. They worked together to solve a problem. Collaboration is noisy and I am not sure how it can't be. Ruckus and clatter is apart of the process. When we as teachers, step back and let the beauty of commotion and discord, unfold, growth occurs and like plants, we all need the light, motion and energy we acquire, from others. This is the foundation of learning. It speaks volumes.

Impulse, Stimulus, Allegiance: It All Comes Down to Time Itself

Tall Sequoia's grow tall and strong, because they bend with the wind. Their priority, survival. Their design, sustainability. Rigidity, can cause them to crack and cleft. Yet, flexibility allows them to crook and arc, wobble and teeter, when necessary. It's impulse is to photosynthesize, germinate and cultivate, a niche for itself. Stimuli are constant: water, light, temperature, touch. A continual response system allows these successful plants, to anticipate, propagate and reciprocate with ease. They have endured climate change, deforestation and attack from local flora and fauna- but, they remain, steadfast, deep rooted and towering over the younger, more vulnerable greenery. It is all about stamina and perseverance.

Impulse and stimulus, for us Homo sapiens, will only take us so far. It will spark curiosity, increase enthusiasm, cause engrossment and attentiveness, but it will be temporary, if the allegiance and adherence is waning. It is one thing to have skill, it is another, to have a steady stream of devotion, dedication and duty. From a strict adherence, to participating in multiple activities and an overload of conquest and competition, comes burn out. While having an affinity, for a few ventures, can lead to greatness. We all can't be impeccable and expert at everything. Especially if we over-extend ourselves and try to master an abundance, of time-consuming hobbies and challenging enterprises. This is when priorities become difficult to arrange and something, often something we are passionate about, falls to the wayside. We have to let something go.

Time is our biggest obstacle. An unavoidable barrier to fulfilling, every one, of our interests. We can't be in two places at once, therefore we have to set priorities. We have to have a schedule. This itinerary may be limiting, but it is obligatory. I am seeing this in abundance lately. My students who are partaking in athletics, theater and both math and science competitions. They simply do not have time to do them all, well. They are showing signs of burn out. Their fatigue and unrelenting pressure placed by parents, as well as themselves, is beginning to become more visible and more taxing on them. We have to let kids be kids. They need to know that they have an escape route. That they can choose to wean themselves off, of so many investments.Time is precious and children need quiet time, reflection time, and family time. We need to find a way to challenge our children, but still let them have fun and just play.

I have to make some of my most eager, determined students, alternates rather than full players, because they are not coming to practice. They are prioritizing their myriad of activities and Quiz Bowl is at the bottom. I do not begrudge them their prerogative, to pursue and attend their other venues, but it does put a damper on our team. If they are alternates, they may not play as much, but they can still remain valuable players. If you do not show up for practice, you don't play. This is pretty much a universal commandment. As much as it pains me to do it, it needs to be done. I wish there was a better way, for these students to accomplish every task, they have every week. There just isn't. Maybe pulling them back a little on Quiz Bowl will allow them, to not burn out. Impulse, stimulus and allegiance- together, when used sparingly can fortify a child's participation, commitment and success. But we have to have limits. Their brains have to have a shut down mode- a sleep mode. As parents that needs to be our priority.