This is such an interesting question! Most of my students are attending school in person, but I also have remote learners. Every morning when I take attendance, I鈥檓 wondering the same thing – what is present? How do I know? I鈥檓 very grateful for the team my school has put together to oversee the students who are learning remotely. This team functions as the main point-of-contact for my remote students because I am not able to respond to requests immediately during the school day. This support allows me to spend time with the students in front of me, but ensures that my remote learners have access to materials, content, and teacher support. It鈥檚 a great system! I would say we are on track for a positive problem-solving approach as a school!

I love this conversation! The question of whether a child is 鈥渇alling behind鈥� is asked by parents all over the country – whether their kids are doing remote learning, homeschooling, or attending school in person. All parents struggle to assess whether or not their kids are 鈥渙kay.鈥� I always tell parents that their children will be okay, but that鈥檚 easier to say as a teacher than it is to believe as a parent. I have the perspective of seeing 17 years worth of children grow up.聽 They are all okay! But this year, we鈥檙e in a very special position because children around the world missed out on months of schooling. That鈥檚 bound to have an impact. What I see right now is that kids are exactly where they should be. And if I shift the question, and stop asking if they are behind, and start asking where I can take them, then everything really does feel okay.

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I just watched a video posted on Edutopia called, 鈥淓ducators Say Good Morning to Students鈥擵ia Video鈥�. The tagline says, 鈥淭his round-up of teachers reaching out to their distant students makes it more clear than ever that relationships are always at the heart of teaching.鈥� I agree completely with this description. Teachers work hard to build and grow our relationships with students. This fall some of us are teaching in person and some are teaching online. No matter the format, we want our students to know that we care about them. A thoughtful introduction will set the tone for the rest of the school day. This video gives me ideas about finding creative ways to greet my students each morning. If you are looking for inspiration, you should watch this video too!

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An article came across my screen that immediately resonated with me and my experiences teaching math at ucds. Kara Newhouse discussed the idea of applying the concept of 鈥淩ough Draft Thinking鈥� to the instruction and study of math with Amanda Jansen, a University of Delaware math education researcher, and author of the book Rough Draft Math: Revising to Learn.聽

Rough drafting is ubiquitous in writing instruction and practice鈥攖he idea that any piece of writing benefits from rereading, reflection, feedback and revision is something that we start teaching children from a very young age. It makes one wonder: if we aren鈥檛 expecting a finished product from our emerging writers, why are we expecting it from budding mathematicians?聽

If you鈥檝e had the chance to participate in 果冻传媒鈥檚 Math Workshop, you know why this more process-driven approach to math stood out to me. As a new teacher, when I took Math Workshop, I was excited by the reframing of math as a guided exploration rather than a performance of memorized tasks. As someone who always struggled with memorizing math facts and algorithms, this appealed to me on a personal level. As a new teacher who believed strongly in preserving and honoring the curiosity of kids, I appreciated the idea that if we remove the performance demands of math instruction, we could ask students to take on bigger concepts and explore them from a very young age.聽

Jansen鈥檚 description of teachers who embrace the rough draft philosophy is what you鈥檒l see in math conversations at 果冻传媒: 鈥�If we shift our role as a teacher from an evaluator to more of someone that鈥檚 making sense out of ideas along with people, that鈥檚 a very different way of interacting.鈥� She also discusses the importance of sharing one鈥檚 work, another important step in the 果冻传媒 Math Vitamin process. 鈥�Every time we’re being asked to articulate our thinking we make new connections or crystallize our ideas just by trying to put them into words or trying to put them into writing.鈥� At 果冻传媒, once a student completes the initial building and drawing steps of a Math Vitamin, they are asked to record with an equation and then share what they learned with a teacher and often with a peer. As students鈥� writing skills grow, they are asked to write about their learning as an integral piece of the documentation process.聽聽

Reflecting on their learning is often a part of this writing process. As Jansen discusses why this is important, I learned more about the science of why we ask students to think back on the learning process. 鈥�There’s a phenomenon that when you understand something new and you develop a deep understanding for it, you feel like you’ve always known it.聽Honoring that history聽of how the idea came to evolve helps you when you hit a new topic that’s very amorphous and challenging to understand. It聽normalizes聽and reminds you about the ongoing learning process.鈥�

One of the statements that stood out the most to me is actually not about students at all, but about how rough draft thinking supports teachers. 鈥�I’ve found that if I treat my work as a teacher as a draft, then a misstep is a聽learning opportunity, not something to get frustrated about.鈥� I was lucky that I developed and continue to hone my teaching craft at 果冻传媒, a place that lives and breathes a growth mindset, so the idea that teachers are continually observing, reflecting and revising their approach is not new to me. But, it never hurts to be reminded that modeling authentic learning with tolerance for the process is beneficial for both students and teachers alike.聽

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This article, which summarizes Dr. Burke Harris鈥檚 research on how trauma influences physical health, is, unfortunately, more relevant than ever鈥攖he global pandemic we all find ourselves living through has been called by many experts 鈥渁 collective trauma.鈥� Dr. Burke Harris is currently the surgeon general of California and author of The Deepest Well, a book that describes her research on the public and individual health implications of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs).聽

So why is she being interviewed on an education blog? There are a few reasons.聽聽

First, a child who has experienced adverse events is significantly more likely to demonstrate behavior and learning challenges. In fact, the number of ACEs a child has directly correlates to the incidence of behavior and learning challenges. As teachers, engaging daily with students who may be under new or different stressors, it is incredibly important to keep this in mind. At 果冻传媒, we are in the habit of considering what might be causing a student鈥檚 behavior or getting in the way of their learning鈥搘e鈥檙e always looking for the why instead of making assumptions based on what we are seeing. This research about trauma is one more thing to keep in mind as we鈥檙e mentally running through the list of things that might be influencing a child鈥檚 ability to engage and learn.聽聽

Fortunately, the second reason that this is relevant is good news: unsurprisingly to many educators out there, teachers can help students who have ACEs. While teachers aren鈥檛 social workers, psychologists, or doctors, they have something working for them that these other roles don鈥檛: near-daily interactions. During these small but regular interactions, the relationship that teachers have with students can serve as a sort of buffer against toxic stress. Burke Harris says, 鈥渏ust as the science shows that it鈥檚 the cumulative dose of early adversity that鈥檚 most harmful, it also shows that the cumulative dose of healing nurturing interactions is most healing.鈥� 果冻传媒 teachers are intentional about developing relationships with their students from day one because we know that the most successful learning happens when students feel safe and connected. These relationships are even more important in a year that is full of unknowns.

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Forget about the world being round鈥� I feel like I鈥檝e just been turned upside down! I currently work with children age three through six and have marveled over the way they write their letters backward. We teach handwriting. We give individualized instruction. We model. But they write them the wrong way! It鈥檚 a worry that often pops up in parent-teacher conferences, especially for the Kindergartners who have been in our program for a couple of years. I now feel armed with a scientific answer. And it makes so much sense! When you think about the way you see things in the world 鈥� it is amazing that you can recognize your coffee cup from all those different angles. And of course, I don鈥檛 know from which hand the torch extends on the Statue of Liberty, despite the fact I鈥檝e seen pictures of it all my life 鈥� and it doesn鈥檛 really matter! It makes perfect sense that until children learn to read, therefore fully understanding that each letter has a direction, they might write their letters backward even their whole names. And I will be nothing less than amazed when I see it happen from now on. I can see myself trying to read it aloud to them in a funny way, helping them see that each letter has to go a certain way in order to read it correctly. And I can see myself having new information to share with them the wonders of human communication鈥檚 evolution! Thank you, Mariano Sigman! I can鈥檛 wait to read your book.

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Environmental activism is a topic that鈥檚 easy to love in the classroom and one I personally feel strongly about. Last fall, the 1st and 2nd grade students drafted postcards expressing their love for the earth, to send to Governor Jay Inslee, as a show of support for the Youth Climate Strike. Students are invested and often passionate about the health of beloved places and animals, but how inclusive are our lessons on environmental health? Liz Kleinrock, an anti-bias anti-racist educator, writes in her essay 鈥淗ow Inclusive is your Teaching About the Environment?鈥�

鈥淭eaching students to respect the environment and participate in sustainable practices is just one part of tackling the issue. We must also help them understand that climate change and institutional racism go hand in hand.鈥�

In conversations with students, it is important to include that climate change disproportionately affects Black and Brown people in America and across the world. The environmental movement often ignores that fact, as well as the fact that BIPOC activists historically played, and continue to play, enormous roles in environmental activism worldwide. My role as a white educator is to actively work to decenter whiteness and colonial narratives when teaching about climate change and environmental activism. When talking about history in the classroom, we ask 鈥淲ho gets to tell this story? Whose perspective is missing?鈥�.Those questions can also act as a springboard to inclusive teaching of environmental issues Kleinrock writes, 鈥淲hen we include multiple cultural and historical perspectives in our teaching about environmentalism, our students learn that intent and impact do not always align.鈥� That lesson is equally as important as learning environmental stewardship as we strive to foster an inclusive and deep understanding of environmental issues.聽

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Jordan Taitingfong鈥檚 blog post as part of a series on Diversity, Belonging, and Racial Justice titled 鈥淭he future of childhood will be built by the youth鈥� addresses the vital role children play in dismantling the systems of oppression in our society. She writes, 鈥渃hildren have radical ideas for the future. Our job is to create spaces that center their voices while giving them tools to understand the world so they can create something better.鈥�

Children are capable of big things. As Taitingfong writes, our job as adults and teachers is to give children tools to activate that ability. 果冻传媒 empowers young people to engage in that work from the time they enter their 果冻传媒 journey all the way through fifth grade. In Class Meeting, students collaborate to enact creative problem-solving in their community. During Math Vitamin, students learn and use complex mathematical vocabulary beginning in preschool鈥攂ecause when kids engage with those concepts year after year, they deepen and contextualize their understanding of high-level mathematical thinking.

Just as we teach children the vocabulary to approach mathematical concepts at a young age, we should also prioritize teaching students the language they need to talk about equity. When we give students the vocabulary to define, recognize, and talk about racism, sexism, and other forms of discrimination, we empower them to be able to speak up when they notice injustice. Awareness is the first step to developing understanding, which is a stepping stone to action.

Taitingfong writes:

Through my work, I center children鈥檚 voices. I recognize the power, wisdom, and understanding children bring when we create spaces where we respect them. Giving them words like ableism, racism, and xenophobia allows them to engage. Recognizing play as an expression of voice allows us to see their understandings as they shape the world.

In the same way that disability justice must center people with disabilities, and racial justice movements must center Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color, a vision for the future of childhood is incomplete without our youngest pushing it forward. A future of childhood built on belonging can exist. If we support them, our children will forge it in ways only they can imagine.

果冻传媒 is built around the creativity, independence, and community-mindedness of children. We can continue to emphasize high-level vocabulary words and make conversations about equity and systems of oppression a regular practice, giving students the 鈥渢ools to understand the world so they can create something better鈥�. (Jordan Taitingfong, )

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What does fitness mean to you? If you are thinking strenuous, sweaty, and hard work, you鈥檙e not alone. We鈥檙e often taught that being fit involves 6-pack abs, the ability to run a marathon or to do 50 burpees in under 5 minutes. But what if we lifted up another element of fitness – body awareness, or proprioception? In Dr. Andrea Spina speaks about how he defines proprioception as the basic building block of how we interact with the world.

Quality proprioception, the ability to know where one鈥檚 body is in space, is easy to spot鈥攊t鈥檚 a certain smoothness and quality of movement that we sometimes call 鈥済race.” On a more granular level quality proprioception is the efficient processing of environmental input into movement output. We see this quality in high-level circus performers, dancers, kung-fu artists, and even some team sports players. These athletes are able to react effectively to variable environments and cues such as an oncoming defender or unexpected movement by an opponent. (If you鈥檙e interested in the science and developmental aspect of this check out the bottom of this article.)

So how do we develop this elusive but important quality in our kids? Good news, the easiest way is to play! Especially with younger kids, unstructured or semi-structured play is the best way to develop quality movement. As Dr. Spina mentions in, the quality of output is dependent on the volume of information coming in. Playing is a bit like being a Roomba – it doesn鈥檛 really matter which direction you鈥檙e going, but every time you touch a wall you discover a point of information about your environment, aka your body.

This building of quality movement pathways is especially important in the early developmental years when kids are just learning to coordinate movement and balance. A gym mantra we often use is 鈥渜uality over quantity鈥�. Once these great neuromuscular pathways are built, in later years we can add volume and weight and get great results.

Luckily, this 鈥渜uality of movement鈥� is something you can work on at any point in life. Because we鈥檙e a bit less injury proof than kids, the key for adults is slowing down a bit and focusing on the way you鈥檙e completing the exercise or movement, rather than the amount of weight or number of reps. So get out there and play away with the knowledge that, yes, there is definitely a benefit to

*Addendum (Science background on the Vestibular system):

Play is especially important for developing the vestibular system – the system located in our inner ear that talks directly with the muscle sensors (proprioceptors) to coordinate movement and maintain balance. Think of it like a gyroscope on a spaceship, informing us of exactly where we are in time and space (physically, not metaphysically speaking). When we move our head during play (swinging, rolling etc), our vestibular system signals our body to make adaptive responses such as changing direction to avoid an obstacle, kicking hard on the swing, etc.

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鈥淚 totally agree with you. We need to talk more about this. At the level I teach (Early Elementary, 3-6 yr olds), we have been supporting our families with video calls, helping with setting up routines and talking a lot about how to explain to our little humans about this very unusual time. Before we ended school, we also talked to all our kids about safety and the fact that we are closing so that everyone can be safe and we also acknowledged that it can feel scary and what we can do to make ourselves feel better.聽

We have surely had kids who just want to see friends too and we have made plans with families to try some video play dates, or talk on the phone or write letters to keep the connection as well as address the emotional turmoil within the kid. I hope more schools spend more time addressing this issue and making sure our families feel supported and loved.聽

I absolutely agree with you. Your article is so timely during COVID. Considering my classroom students are living in a virtual world (3-6 yr olds), how much screen time should they have has been a very frequent question from a lot of grown-ups. As we have been planning an online curriculum, our teaching team has been talking a lot about how to make sure we don鈥檛 over do screen activities for our kids. If they can watch a video and learn a math problem, we have now been recording them ourselves so they see teacher faces and have connections rather than just a youtube video about math. We have also been balancing hands on problem solving with some work on screens, we have been including more fine motor and gross motor activities so those skills can still be honed and we are also making sure that kids spend time interacting with grown-ups or siblings instead of doing a certain task on the computer. It is a very heavy 鈥榙igital world鈥� right now and it鈥檚 important to not forget that we can still make and build connections in other ways. Thank you for your article. I really enjoyed reading it and the research you are doing is really amazing.

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