Here's the link to the story they aired.
Just as I was finishing up my last blog post, I received a call from Big Thought asking if I could get to the State Fair in an hour to be interviewed for the local CBS news station about the Curriculum!
Here's the link to the story they aired.
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I'm totally not kidding. I can say this: I consumed no more than 7 Sprinkles cupcakes in total, writing the State Fair lessons. Now please go use them so those calories did not go to waste!
The purpose of school is to prepare children for life - and more specifically, work - in the real world. Some people (ok yes, it's me, but I'm not the only one) might argue, however, that school does anything but give kids an experience that comes remotely close to the real deal. There are so many items on the above graphic that I love and use in conversations about education often, but I think my favorite one here is "Collaborating is not cheating." Oh, that one is so beautiful. I have always kind of had a problem with the whole busting-the-cheaters thing. I mean, if the cheater cheats off someone who doesn't have the right answer, they're kind of stupid for not finding the right person to cheat off of...so hopefully, lesson learned, right? But conversely, if the cheater cheats off someone who has the right answer...she just learned something. Like, she sort of collaborated...didn't she? Just in a back-door kind of way. Soooooooo...would it not make more sense to ENCOURAGE collaboration so that EVERYONE learns?Well, that's exactly what I started doing in the last year I taught elementary music full-time in public school. I started making all my music tests group tests. Kids got in groups of four and collaborated on the answers. There was music reading, writing (notation), dictation, music history, listening, and even singing (that was individual: each kid came up and sang back the notes that were written, after agreeing as a group what they were supposed to sound like). And you know what? They loved it! And they did well! And you know who else loved it? The principal.He came to observe and thought it was one of the best things he'd ever seen. During an evaluation, he said he loved how it got the kids working collaboratively (what was that, a 21st Century Skill, did you say?) and defending their answers to the group. He gave an example of one student saying to the rest, "No, that can't be Chopin, didn't you hear the violins??? It's not a piano piece, it's an orchestra piece!" The rest of the kids said, "Oh yeah!" and they changed their answer. Not cheating. Learning.I'm curious: what if you were to give a test that looked like this: Use Google to find the answers to the following questions. You are not allowed to copy and paste your answers. Please answer in your own words. 1. How many udders does a cow have? a. 12 b. 4 c. 5 d. too many to count. Haha, this is the wrong answer. Don't choose this one. JULIO, DO NOT CHOOSE THIS ONE. Seriously, dude. 2. Describe why a cow chews its cud. 3. Tell a joke about why a cow didn't really ever go to Chik-Fil-A. 4. Describe the process of milking a cow, in your own words. 5. Name three differences between a Holstein and a Texas Longhorn. 6. Find something you think is VERY interesting about cows, that you learned from searching Google. Tell me WHY it's interesting. It has to be something you really think is interesting! If I don't believe you, I'll send it back. Convince me. I'm talking to YOU, BERTA. Wouldn't that be a funny test?! But tell, me honestly: if all your tests were like that, and you had to invest in finding the answers, don't you think you would remember the information you found? HERE'S HOW WE LEARN IN THE REAL WORLD:Those of use who are highly functional have one big skill that we have honed expertly. It's called: "looking stuff up"Don't know something? Look it up. Usually on Google. WANT to know something? Look it up! Usually on Google. Want to learn how to do something? YouTube. Pinterest. Bam, I know how to install a faucet and build a fence. I use the "Fruit Bat Scenario" a lot to describe our current public education system's obsession with what I view as random content (such as standards like "2nd grade students will identify the habits and habitats of fruit bats"), and a very light-to-nonexistent emphasis on actual skills. I ask you: when were YOU last asked on a job interview - or in a job-related task - about your depth of knowledge of fruit bats? "Gee, I'm glad I learned about |
As I gear up to turn in for the night, I thought I'd post this lovely reminder. One of my goals is to help children to be more socially and emotionally aware of the world around them. Sometimes that means allowing them to process the more painful events that occur, and giving them the tools with which to do so. I think some adults believe that by glossing over the difficult topics, we can protect children. However, I believe ultimately this can leave children feeling helpless when they are inevitably faced with reality later on. |
Last semester, I tasked my after school music group to write a song about a currently relevant topic. After much brainstorming, we found that each of them had a common concern about endangered species.
I also gave them a lesson in poetic lyric writing. Then I wrote the first two lines (about a manatee) as an example to start them off, and the kids wrote the rest of the lyrics with either no help, or very little help, from me.
I also gave them a lesson in poetic lyric writing. Then I wrote the first two lines (about a manatee) as an example to start them off, and the kids wrote the rest of the lyrics with either no help, or very little help, from me.
They came up with this:
Sweet manatee, giant of the sea
Hunted for treasure, gold though they may not be
Northern rhino no longer has a horn
Guarded in Kenya...we want more to be born
Beauty of the Russian mountain, mightier than me
Suffering to stay alive and hunted two by three
A bengal, so helpless, despite its size and speed
A bengal, so fearless, despite its hunter's greed
Golden animal, no longer at the helm
King of the jungle, trapped in its tiny realm.
People say the elephants have lengthy memories
They are being separated from their families.
The mountain gorilla is terrorized by many,
But loving protectors have made a sanctuary.
You may be asking yourself what age range these children were. They were 4th and 5th graders. They are not public school kids. The tragedy is that currently, I don't think most urban public school kids in grades 4 or 5 would be able to just take off and write these lyrics on their own.
The good news is, I truly believe with time and practice, and a change in approach, we can get there.
We need to stop all the testing and give kids a chance to wade through the lovely process of mingling thought and feeling and emotion...and let them put these things into movement and art and words and music. The arts must be directly integrated with academics. | I teach so many kids, and so many age groups: Toddlers through 6th grade, and adults. This song was written 5 months ago, and I was able to sit here and write out all the lyrics from memory. Emotion and arts make academics more relevant and tie them to memory, aiding in long-term retention. |
Or maybe I'm just an elephant.
Welcome!
I haven't blogged since last year, and since then, so much has changed. I finished my Master of Music in Music Education. I began a new position with the non-profit organization I work for (Big Thought), in which I am a curriculum writer and mentor for teachers in their after-school and summer school programs. They were very pleased with my work at the campus I served during the spring semester, and summer school, so they increased my campus load to four for the 2015-16 school year.
Big Tex
As I was completing my master's project in the spring, Big Thought approached me about a different project: writing a curriculum for the State Fair of Texas! They thought I would be perfect to lead the team of writers in weaving the Texas state learning standards into lessons about the Fair. This was a perfect chance for me to branch away from the music arena, as I feel many people see only my music background and want to pigeon-hole me there.
We formed a team of 5 writers, plus myself, and we toured the fairgrounds looking for inspiration (there was a lot to inspire us!) Then we met with the marketing and agriculture people from the Fair, who told us their goals for the project, and we came up with four main themes to work with:
Then we got to work! I am extremely proud of what we produced. The lessons can be found here. Please let me know what you think. The Dallas Morning News has already weighed in; click here to read the article!
Love
My relationship status changed to "single" back in November. Wow, that was a painful change. First time in 16 years. That's all I'll say about that, other than to say that A) it is really, really great for me, and B) I want it to stay this way for a while. I am happy.
PhD
I am currently applying to PhD programs in Education.
My goal is to have a three-pronged focus: Critical Race Theory, Social & Emotional Learning, and Arts Integration in Urban Public Schools.
My ultimate objective: to change the approach to teaching and learning in urban public schools, specifically for our Black and Brown kids, so that they have a more equitable chance to Whites and Asians at finding their own success in life. I currently define "success" as:
I do not believe that the current public education system in most urban environments prepares most Black and Brown students to achieve true equitable success. I DO believe I have ideas and solutions that can help change that.
Well. This post covered a lot. I will log a more focused post soon.
always with love jkh
I haven't blogged since last year, and since then, so much has changed. I finished my Master of Music in Music Education. I began a new position with the non-profit organization I work for (Big Thought), in which I am a curriculum writer and mentor for teachers in their after-school and summer school programs. They were very pleased with my work at the campus I served during the spring semester, and summer school, so they increased my campus load to four for the 2015-16 school year.
Big Tex
As I was completing my master's project in the spring, Big Thought approached me about a different project: writing a curriculum for the State Fair of Texas! They thought I would be perfect to lead the team of writers in weaving the Texas state learning standards into lessons about the Fair. This was a perfect chance for me to branch away from the music arena, as I feel many people see only my music background and want to pigeon-hole me there.
We formed a team of 5 writers, plus myself, and we toured the fairgrounds looking for inspiration (there was a lot to inspire us!) Then we met with the marketing and agriculture people from the Fair, who told us their goals for the project, and we came up with four main themes to work with:
- Livestock & Agriculture
- Big Tex
- The Midway & Games
- Fair Food
Then we got to work! I am extremely proud of what we produced. The lessons can be found here. Please let me know what you think. The Dallas Morning News has already weighed in; click here to read the article!
Love
My relationship status changed to "single" back in November. Wow, that was a painful change. First time in 16 years. That's all I'll say about that, other than to say that A) it is really, really great for me, and B) I want it to stay this way for a while. I am happy.
PhD
I am currently applying to PhD programs in Education.
My goal is to have a three-pronged focus: Critical Race Theory, Social & Emotional Learning, and Arts Integration in Urban Public Schools.
My ultimate objective: to change the approach to teaching and learning in urban public schools, specifically for our Black and Brown kids, so that they have a more equitable chance to Whites and Asians at finding their own success in life. I currently define "success" as:
- a sense of fulfillment and joy in one's achievements
- satisfaction with one's place in life currently
- hopeful (but realistic) expectations for achieving one's own personal goals in the future
- a feeling of efficacy and confidence in one's own ability to achieve those goals
I do not believe that the current public education system in most urban environments prepares most Black and Brown students to achieve true equitable success. I DO believe I have ideas and solutions that can help change that.
Well. This post covered a lot. I will log a more focused post soon.
always with love jkh
Jadyn Harris
I am an educator in Dallas. I work with urban public school children and their teachers as a teacher mentor, curriculum writer, and part time music teacher. I have been teaching for 10 years. Click here to learn more.
I earned my MM in Music Education from SMU in 2015 and hope to begin PhD studies in Education in the 2016, with a concentration in Critical Race Theory, Social and Emotional Learning, and Arts Integration in Curriculum & Instruction.
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