Cole Camplese

Last Day

It started out really rough. Our daughter did not want to move to a new school and she certainly wasn't all that into it when she first got there. To tell you the truth my wife and I weren't all that thrilled either. We loved her pre-school and Kindergarten experiences at the local Montessori school and we really didn't like the vibe we were getting from the public school administration. In retrospect things have turned out great, but it has been a year filled with tears, learning, growth, tolerance, and new perspectives. Its been hard at times, but I think all of us are stronger and better off because of it.

Some of our own hang ups came well before school started ... the biggest was the outright refusal to really create a peanut free environment. Given Madeline's severe allergies, we hoped the district would cooperate and go nut free -- we felt that since there were lots of other students in the same boat they'd find a way to do it. Not so. We had to come to terms with the fact that she'd have to sit at her own table, wear her allergy emergency kit around her waist, and be subject to different treatment than most of her first grade friends. This was really hard on us -- probably more so as we projected visions of being picked on and looked at as an outcast on her. None of that ever happened. As a matter of fact, several of her friends wanted to get cool hip packs like Madeline had and on most days all of her friends sat with her at the peanut free table. That was a huge relief for us.

The year started so rocky the we spent the first few months looking hard at alternatives -- none of it felt right. We toiled over keeping her in the public school, but ultimately decided that moving her to private meant paying lots of money and knowing that she'd eventually have to work her way back. The structure was a shock and the rules angered both Madeline and my wife and I. We felt at times she was singled out because of her free spirit and that she was being "put in line" to act like the other kids. It bothered her. We spent lots of mornings those first few months dealing with tears about going to school. That was difficult as we saw this little girl who just months before would spring out of bed for school in the morning do everything in her power to not have to go. I can understand feeling that way in high school, but first grade is still about wonder and magic. It took until after the winter break for it to turn around, but it did. She started to love school again. That made us very happy.

Even with her growing into it all I was still very concerned with the overall impression I got of the work she was doing. I was writing about it quite a bit this past year and have even used lots of what I was thinking about to fuel many of my more recent talks. I watched my refrigerator go from a full on spectrum of color and creativity to a black and white dumping ground of xeroxed curricular projects. I coined the term "Worksheet Nation" to help describe what I saw happening before my eyes and I was pissed by the State's proud display of the Adequate Progress my daughter's intellectual participation was adding up to. I spent a lot time just complaining about all of it. Then we started to do some different things at home -- we started an ePortfolio together and even though we haven't posted as much as I'd like it still exists. We encouraged her to stretch her reading more, we talked quite a bit more about how she was feeling about what she was learning, and we asked her to reflect on what she was doing. It helped. And I think it helped me a lot.

I needed to grow up about all of it more than she did.

I've watched my little girl walk into her first grade year terrified and emerge as an even more powerful and confident little girl. She's grown so much this year -- and in ways I didn't expect. She taught my wife and I some really valuable parenting lessons about allowing her to be herself, to back off, and to not project our negative impressions of things onto her life. We know she is a sensitive and wonderful little girl who found ways to make all new friends, survive a new environment, and win the heart of a teacher she was initially unsure about. In the end I am so proud of her and I can't believe I just watched her run up the walk as fast as she could to go to her last day of first grade. As we drove up this morning I asked her about first grade and she closed with scream of, "I loved it!" I'm so happy I caught that on audio ... if you want, you can listen to the short Maddiecast of Madeline's Last Day of First Grade. I'll want to be able to revisit this and how it all worked out many times in the future. Thanks for indulging me with this post.

Assessment to a Seven Year Old

I thought since it was Friday I'd share something a little lighter than yesterday's post. Not that the notion of assessment is a topic to be taken lightly ... it is critical to everything we do in education -- at every phase of the game. One thing I've noticed is that people all have notions about assessment that they are usually willing to share. Questions like, do you believe in grades? Mastery learning? Tests? Authentic assessment? Almost always get people talking. Wherever you are you can get a discussion going with people about assessment. I think it is because it is so personal and is tied to our lasting memories of school at various levels. With that in mind I thought I'd talk to someone who is relatively new to the assessment world. My seven year old daughter.

My daughter and I have done several podcasts in the past -- we call them MaddieCasts. I guess they aren't really podcasts as I've never posted any, but regardless of semantics we've taken the time to sit down and capture some thoughts over the last few years in digital format. I always enjoy what we come up with and the other night was no different. I decided to go ahead and post this episode because it is right in the middle of lots of stuff I am thinking about.

I've mentioned it before, but I am taking a course on assessment (INSYS 522) ... in this course we are exploring lots of things, but we spent time in the first week focusing on the ideas of grades and testing. We've moved beyond these concepts, but I have to say that these first conversations made me wonder what it all means to a first grader. Talking about these things brought back lots of my own memories of early school experiences, so I decided I'd engage my little girl in a discussion about these topics. With that in mind I sat down with my seven year old first grade daughter last night to explore these notions. I was interested to hear from someone who is yet to be totally jaded by the educational environment about her view of tests, grades, and school in general. Hearing it from her mouth is a wonderful way of staying connected to the realities of teaching and learning -- and what she had to say was a little surprising.

I have to wonder what are your reactions to concepts like grades, tests, and mastery? What are the two things you like and dislike about school? Funny how much assessment plays into even a seven year old mind.

Maddiecast_020209

Supplemental Activity

So after my post the other day where I was lamenting the lack of opportunities I see for engagement in the school system I got a handful of comments telling me the same thing -- "take matters into your own hands." Good advice and it really got me thinking about some things. My wife and I have always spent time reading with our daughter ... as a matter of fact, the little lady has always really been into reading, talking, singing, and all sorts of other really creative and engaging activities. She pushes us more than we push her and that is really cool. But, I've never really taken the time to bring my own interests, research, and perspectives home to her.

Night before last, she and I sat down at the kids' eMac and opened up iWeb for the first time. I decided that I was going to find a way to work with her to create a digital portfolio, journal, blog, or whatever where she and I could spend time reflecting on the work she was doing in school, the things she was thinking about, or anything in between. The goal for me is to get her used to the idea of actively reflecting on her activity in an ongoing way. As a sidebar, I personally think it is an incredible opportunity to develop a life-long story about her intellectual development ... that is, if it sticks.

So we created a website with iWeb and published it into a password protected space within my .Me account. Very easy and relatively flexible. The real win here is that with only a little instruction she is getting the hang of it. Last night, for example, she wanted to publish a story reflecting on her kitty, Misty. We sat at the desk searching for a picture at Flickr tagged Misty and she dragged it into iWeb. She then proceeded to dictate the words and I was surprised how she spent time really reflecting on what Misty had meant to her ... Misty passed away almost two years ago. The time we spent reflecting was good for both of us. She talked while I typed, but then ran and got her Mother so she could read her reflection to her. She was really proud and I was happy to have spent the extra time with her.

The other thing we're trying to do is capture some of her analog work and put it into her space. Two nights ago she was showing me a picture and the story she wrote to accompany it on a piece of paper. I grabbed the camera and snapped a picture of it. She helped me import it and drag it into iWeb. She then told me the story of how she drew it, what it meant to her, and when I asked her where the story came from, she looked at me at said, "from my mind." I probably should have known that. Either way it is reflection and that is something I now can trust she is engaging in.