The Times They Are a-Changin’

When one walks into a teachers’ lounge, they might expect to hear nefarious talk amongst teachers as they vent about various students, colleagues, initiatives, etc. At least that’s the common stereotype perpetuated by the media. And admittedly, even the most kind and compassionate educator actually falls prey to the occasional ‘bitch session.’

But around here, lunch-goers are more likely to hear a variety of interesting conversations covering relevant topics. Recently, during lunches, I have overheard talk about the 2016 Election, the Chicago Cubs, myriad television series, and Bob Dylan’s Nobel Prize among other things.

However, recently, as I sat down to eat lunch, I encountered a different conversation - one that symbolizes changed times here at Stevenson. The participants: an English teacher and a Science teacher. The subject: interdisciplinary paragraph writing. And of course, as one of the Literacy Coaches here at Stevenson, I could barely contain my literacy nerd excitement.

While, no doubt, academic conversations happen in the teachers’ lounge, this one was specific and unique - and in a way, it’s been almost four years in the making. Four years ago, Stevenson increased its already robust commitment to success for all students by embarking on a Literacy Coaching model designed to support faculty and staff as they began implementing new, literacy heavy shifts in standards brought about by Common Core State Standards in Math and English, Next Generation Science Standards, C3 Social Studies Standards, and Standards development in the Fine Arts. The result: three Literacy Coaches tasked with developing and implementing a literacy plan here at Stevenson. And nearly four years later, here we are with a Literacy Committee, a new (developing) website, and a blog. For those still reading, we hope that this blog will cover a variety of ideas and stories - written by Literacy Coaches, Literacy Committee Members, and guests. We hope that by sharing our ideas and stories - you will share back, and together, we will continue developing successful literacy skills, differentiation, and intervention that serve our students well, which is what I ultimately witnessed in the teachers’ lounge.

The Science teacher and English teacher were talking about how they were teaching their kids to write summary paragraphs. Without going into the gory details, one of them had students organizing their science writing with alternating summary ideas and explanations. The other explained how the students were writing science content organized into three parts: context, summary, explanation. They continued to discuss the merits of each style, the growth they were seeing in the students by using common writing language increasingly used across the school, how they might recommend their students organize their thinking in the next writing exercise, and how they were eager to continue to work together to benefit their students.

It was gratifying and amazing to see; however, I would be lying to say I was surprised. The two teachers have been part of our Literacy Committee for a few years. And in our fourth year, we are fortunate to work with over 80 teachers who have dedicated their own time to engage in collaborative literacy coaching and skill development. I know that similar conversations are happening around our school because our colleagues know the value of literacy and they are incredibly attentive practitioners. The conversation I witnessed symbolizes the new world of education - heavily steeped in literacy, critical thinking, and built for a future with information at students’ fingertips. I cannot wait to see what the next few years have to bring with literacy at Stevenson because as Bob Dylan, recent Nobel Prize winner, penned:

The line it is drawn

The curse it is cast

The slow one now

Will later be fast

As the present now

Will later be past

The order is rapidly fadin’

And the first one now will later be last

For the times they are a-changin’

-Bob Dylan: The Times They Are a-Changin’

Until next time…

#literacy #conversations #LiteracyCoaching #LiteracyCommittee #Stevenson #interdisciplinary