As I speak with principals, assistant superintendents and curriculum directors each day, one of the first questions I always ask is “what is it that separates your superstar teachers from the rest of the pack?” The answer that comes back is always the same: “They are able to connect with each of their students,” “they tailor their lesson strategies to each class,” or “their classes are consistently engaged.”
Sounds a lot like another profession I was in for a couple of decades…marketing. A marketer’s job is to take a product and make it look/sound as appealing as possible to the target audience so that they’ll listen long enough to eventually be convinced to buy it based on the messages in their packaging, advertising and brochures. The selected message and advertising vehicle for products is not the same—it needs to be tweaked, tailored and massaged based on the target demographic. Focus groups are run in which all KINDS of perspectives are heard. A/B test splits are executed. Even if the message is perfected for a certain group, it will need to be modified if it’s to effectively reach a different target.
A teacher’s job is to take a concept and make it look/sound as appealing as possible to students so that they’ll engage long enough to eventually learn it based on the messages in lesson plans, homework and breakout groups. And, just as with marketing, the selected lessons and breakout groups need to be tweaked, tailored and massaged for the class based on who’s sitting in the classroom. Even if a unit is a hit with one class, the teacher will most likely need to modify it to most effectively reach their class mix either the next year…or next period.
In fact, the teacher’s job is INFINITELY harder than the marketer’s job because, while marketers can get a pat on the back for getting just a percentage of their target audience to purchase the product…the teacher is expected to get every kid in class to “buy” the concept.
Master teachers are able to do this because they often have an innate interpersonal gift. They intuitively know how to reach very different students. They are able to convince a raucous group of teenagers why geometry is and will be important to them. They are able to contextualize history in ways that students will be able to remember so that we’re not all doomed to repeat past horrors. They work magic with student breakout groups so that students are empowered to learn from each other and admire the unique strengths of their peers. They’re able to detect when a student “learns different” and help both the student and their parent modify the ways in which homework is approached so that the child has a greater chance of success with learning.
Why’s this important? Harvard & Columbia recently released the findings of a longitudinal study of 2.5 million students over 20 years that show the dramatic impact that quality teachers can have on their students. They are more likely to attend college, earn higher salaries, live in better neighborhoods and save more for retirement. They are also less likely to become pregnant as a teenager.
But earning your stripes as a quality teacher is more meaningful than just for the students. It’s a much more enjoyable profession for the teacher when she feels she’s reaching or, better yet, inspiring her students. At long last, the education and EdTech sectors are beginning to take notice and calling this new ground swell Personalization 3.0. But, at Kidzmet, we feel that what EdWeek has dubbed Personalization 3.0 isn’t using a wide enough angle lens. While the teacher-student relationship is important, so is engaging the parents as a critical member of a child’s learning team…as is beginning to harness the power of compatible student groups. In short, we believe that ALL learning relationships matter in a student’s education. Parent-student, teacher-student, parent-teacher, and student-student.
What about you? Do you feel that content positioning is as important as content pacing in educating our youth?
March 13, 2012
The common core standards set forth the following criteria for math proficiency are grounded in 8 math “commandments” that include contextualizing, strategizing, modeling, precision, reasoning, structure, content proficiency and perseverance.
We feel these standards are missing a crucial first step… Going a step deeper into “why should I care about math? How will I use it in my life outside of school?”
Getting your child to WHY s/he should tune into the lesson is key to unlocking their interest in HOW to address the 8 “commandments” of the math common core standards.
Today, we explore this topic for the Interpersonally Intelligent Child. For kids who thrive on interacting with others, focusing on math homework when s/he could be hanging out with, talking to, or IMing with friends can be a tough sell. You can help them understand why math is important…even to “people people” with this party planning activity.
Please Note: This activity will likely take a few days or more. Be sure to pay attention to when your child starts to lose focus and take a break, then suggest you pick up the “party plan” at another time. (S/he may even come to you to keep planning!)
Sit down with your child to create their “ideal” party plan. Tell the child first that the sky’s the limit. Offer to pay for half of this particular party.
We’re off to the races with:
STEP 1 – Brainstorming
(Your role is to write down the elements of their perfect party. We’ve compiled these questions in this Party Brainstorm PDF to make life easier.)
- Where would s/he host the party?
- Would s/he have tables for the guests or chairs to sit on?
- What kinds of decorations would s/he have to give it the “feel” s/he wants the guests to have when s/he enter?
- Would s/he have entertainment? If so, who would provide it? If it’s just music, will you need special stereos/speakers/etc.?
- How long will the party last?
- Would there be food served at the party? What kinds?
- Based on the food choices, will plates be needed? How about napkins? How about utensils?
- How about drinks? Would there be any? If so, what kinds?
- Will the drinks need cups? How about pitchers?
- Who would be on the guest list?
STEP 2 – Research
Count how many people are on the guest list. You can use our Party Breakdown PDF spreadsheet or handwrite the answers and collect them in a party planning folder.
Have your child call the place (or look up the answer online) and find out
- how many people s/he will allow in the room
- how much it costs to rent it for the party
If the space is big enough for the number of guests your people smart child wants to invite, go to the next step. If it won’t accommodate the number of guests s/he’d like to invite, research a different space.
If s/he wanted to have chairs/tables for the guests, find out how much these will run each.
Research to find out how much each individual decoration will run to give the space the “look” s/he have in mind. Note the dimensions of all of the desired decorations.
If the child wanted to hire an entertainer or DJ, find out how much s/he costs per hour. If the child just wanted to have music on the stereo, do you have equipment you could use that would be loud enough for the whole event? Will you just be playing music from Slacker, Spotify or Pandora…or will you want to create an iTunes compilation. If iTunes is the response, then approximately how many songs will you need to “keep the beats popping” for the whole party? Does s/he have enough? If not, how many times will each song s/he’s got repeat? Is this acceptable or will s/he need to buy more music? If s/he need to buy more music, how many more songs will s/he need? What’s the approximate cost per song?
Go to the grocery store together and write down the costs of all of the food and drink items your child would like to serve at the party, as well as the cost of plates, napkins, bowls, utensils, pitchers, cups, etc. and the number of servings for each.
STEP 3 – Add it all up
Create a spreadsheet or draw 6 lines down a piece of lined paper to make seven columns (first column is the widest). Or return to our Party Breakdown PDF.
Make the header of the first column “ITEM”, second column “ITEM COST” third column “# of UNITS/SERVINGS”, fourth column “COST PER”, fifth column “# UNITS NEEDED”, sixth column “# ITEMS NEEDED”, seventh column “TOTAL COST”. (Or, just print out this handy worksheet.)
In the first column, write down all of the items you researched for their perfect party plan, the cost and the number of units/servings in each item.
If you want to find the cost per unit or serving, should the child add, subtract, multiply or divide? (answer = Divide)
Further, which number should be the numerator? How about the denominator?
Make each calculation
Decide on the number needed based on the number of guests. When looking at food, are there enough servings of food to accommodate all of the guests for the whole party? How about drinks?
Draw the size of the room on graph paper and diagram the decorations based on their sizes. Are there enough to give the party the “festive” feel your child wants? Will s/he need more? Note the decision in the # needed column for these items.
Now, figure the total cost of each line item. Does s/he add, subtract, multiply or divide to get the correct answers? Based on the number of units/servings in each item, how many total items will s/he need to serve the guests? Remind him/her that s/he will need to round each number up accordingly.
What’s the total cost of that line item for the party? How did s/he figure out that number?
Finally, total up all the party costs in the right hand column. (Does this mean adding, subtracting, multiplying or dividing?)
STEP 4 – Concessions
If you’re paying for half of the party, how much will each of you be chipping in? How do you find this information? (Adding? Subtracting? Multiplying? Dividing? What fraction or percent is half?)
Once you’ve got the costs, how much money have s/he got saved up? How much more will s/he need to chip in their half? Given their weekly allowance, how many weeks will it take them to earn enough money to pay for the party? How many months? (or years?)
We’re betting that the ultimate cost of the “pie in the sky” party for most “people smart” kids will be astronomical…and that it will take them well into their teens or adulthood to earn enough money to pay for it, so it’s time to start making concessions.
How can s/he eliminate or minimize the party costs? Invite fewer guests? How does this impact each line item? Select cheaper food or drink? What would s/he give up? What would s/he add more of? Would s/he choose a different locale? How does this impact the final cost and number of decorations needed?
At this point, you may want to make a party “budget” recommendation to your child…based on what you’re both able or/willing to afford. Work backwards until you reach the budget you both agree upon. Or, take it a step further and figure out how s/he can make additional money to add to their contribution and do the math to find out how much s/he can make and how long it will take to reach the goal.
STEP 5 – Once the money’s been saved, decide on a date and invite your guests!
It’s time for both of you to celebrate! Not only will your interpersonally adept child get a chance to be surrounded by their closest friends in an environment that s/he’s designed and planned…you’ll have taught your child JUST HOW MUCH MATH is required in every day life—and in flexing his or her mind muscles in a way that celebrates & embraces his or her passion for people.
September 13, 2011
Inspired by an activity in Multiple Intelligences in the Elementary Classroom: A Teachers Toolkit by Susan Baum, Julie Viens and Barbara Slatin.
Take a square box (or die) and put 4 of your child’s FAVORITE multiple intelligences on the sides and two of your child’s LEAST favorite MIs.
Have your child roll the “dice”. Whatever side they land on, they have to talk about one of the ways they MOST enjoy flexing that mind muscle.
Next, you roll the dice. Now talk about the way YOU most enjoy flexing that mind muscle.
Invite other family members to join the game.
Do you find similarities? Differences? Based on your child’s responses, can you think of new activities or pursuits to which you’d like to introduce them?
Have each participant roll the dice at least 10 times. At the end, each participant should have revealed at least 10 ways they feel they are SMART. Note them on a piece of paper you keep handy. If discouragement crops up at any time during the school year for your child, remind them of all the ways you randomly discovered they were smart during this exercise…and how the other participants’ “smarts” differed from theirs.
Remind him or her to not ask IF they are smart…but HOW they are smart.
Extra Credit: Make TWO autobiographical die. Roll them simultaneously. How does your child like to use these intelligences in concert? (E.g. logical & linguistic intelligence together in whodunit puzzles…creating new lyrics for music blends linguistic & musical intelligences…creating art from natural elements…etc.)
August 31, 2011
Whether your child has had close attachments to childhood pets or an obsession with Animal Planet, there is a career for every kind of animal lover. Below are the top 11 careers for animal lovers.
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