Dear TeamTowne Advisory... or Wonder Women: The End of a Era

To My Wonder Women...

Advisory is a double edged sword.  There are wonderful things like: community and friendship, built in support mechanisms, parent outreach and connection, being the school mom. Then there are things that make it not so wonderful: small group dynamics, 4 years with the same people, being the school mom.

Prom was a couple weeks ago (complete with a surprise appearance by Shristi who moved away after junior year to Virginia) and it was such a gift to celebrate and watch them enjoy the night!


#TeamTowne made plans to celebrate the end of the school year. I proposed taking them to dinner and Wonder Woman. None of them had seen it yet and they all are fully aware of my WW obsession. It was not a hard sell. We shared pizza at Patsy's then headed over to the Regal. We filed into our row, snacks in hand, and settled into our seats. 

I sat on the aisle of our row in the huge movie theater and as Wonder Woman began her first huge reveal in the movie: crossing no man's land, I turned to my right and was overcome with emotions. There sat 7 of the 9 remaining members of Team Towne, my all-girl advisory of the last four years. There were some of the most incredible women, no longer girls, that I have helped to shepherd through high school. Their faces glowing, I was so glad I was able to share something that means so much to me, with them. 

At the end of the movie, we were walking out and Linda was wiping the tears from her eyes. I stopped to tell them, how proud I was of all of them and I began to cry... and one by one they surrounded me with hugs, tears and love. 

 These moments of joy and celebration far outweigh the frustrations that can cloud ones perspective when working with teenagers. I am not a parent, but advisory is by far the one of the hardest experiences of the last 4 years. It does indeed take a village to raise children. I'm honored to say that I was able to contribute in some small way to the evolution of these Wonder Women. 

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Yesterday was the second commencement exercises of the Academy for Software Engineering.  While two of my girls almost didn't make it in time, in the end all 9 members of Team Towne walked across the stage.  I could not be more proud of each of my babies, now grown, women, who are ready to take on the world.  

So today, I leave you with this: 

Dear Team Towne,

I am a better human because of the time I have spent with you.  You have been my constant over the last four years.  You have been the faces I have always come back to in sickness and health.  You have pushed me to become a better teacher, a better leader, a better woman, a better human.  I have watched as you learned to navigate not only the hallways of high school but of corporate America in your numerous internships.  You have fought like sisters and loved like family.  In the end, I know you always have each-others backs. 

One by one, you have come in this morning to pick up your diplomas and final report cards. I had made it through the entire day yesterday without tears, but today, knowing that this is the end of one leg of your journey as you begin the next the tears have come.  While I know your tears are about missing, please know that my tears of of pride and joy for the Wonder Women you have all become.

Enjoy the next leg of your journey &
TeamTowne4Eva! 💜🎓 

Love,

Ms. Towne

Day 3: 2017 April Blog A Day Challenge - Professional Mentoring

Prompt: What role has professional mentoring played in your teaching career?

Image via Here (Also a great article!)

Today, my field supervisor for my graduate program came to observe me working with one of the teacher teams I am coaching this semester. Because half of the team was out with the flu, it was 1:1 coaching time!  It can be a double-edged sword.  Is there going to be enough to discuss with one teacher instead of two?  Is the teacher going to have enough autonomy in the pair to make decisions and keep the work moving forward? As we began the work together, all the while being watched by a field supervisor I had met only an hour earlier, the discussion flowed. We dug into thinking about the development of the new mastery skills for the upcoming unit.  The thinking the teacher was doing was exciting to experience and as a coach, it pushes my own understanding of the process of developing mastery skills for content outside my expertise.  

I share this story because it is an important reminder for me about the importance of coaching and mentoring to support the development of teacher capacity.  I have had a number of coaches and mentors over the years- Marci and Courtney have been the most pivotal in the context of teaching English.  My current administration- a team of three that have each made themselves available to me to be think partners as well as critical evaluators of my work and development as a leader. 

Day 2: 2017 April Blog A Day Challenge - Teaching Wins: Growth

Prompt: Teaching Win: Where have you grown the most this year?

I am in my last semester of completing my a second MSED in Leadership (School and District).  There are a multitude of moving parts this year both in and out of the classroom as I fulfill graduation requirements as well as course work on top of keeping up with the day to day teaching of three different English classes.  Needless to say, it is a lot and I am working far beyond my capacity.  I knew this year would not be my best work in the classroom, but I always go into an experience hoping to learn, stretch my thinking, and leaving with new insight into the hows and whys of any job I am doing.

Image via HERE

This semester I am working with a Algebra II ICT co-teaching partnership.  The pair are an exceptional example of strong ebb and flow when it comes to team teaching.  The content teacher, a young woman in her second year, joined out staff this year. In addition to asking her to take on learning the new CC Algebra II curriculum, we also challenged all out teachers with continuing to design and integrate mastery based assessment and learning into their practice.  

Working with teachers outside of my content is always something that I have felt less than comfortable doing. I also always wondered about (questioned/challenged?) the ability of a school leader to effectively coach/observe teachers who did not share their content.  In making the move to work with a team outside of my content area this semester, it has already begin to help me to grow and see how my 10 years of experience as well as the work I have done in #TTOG and moving to MBA has made me a strong thinking partner for the pair.  It is exciting to see their thinking and evolution and hearing the great questions they have about MBA in their own practice.       

So, for me, this year I think my greatest area of growth as an educator has been in gaining a new awareness of the power and possibilities of coaching and how truly successful coaching is about unlocking and helping to develop potential. 

Day 1: 2017 April Blog A Day Challenge

Prompt: Glows: What are your greatest strengths as an educator?

Image via HERE

Saturday mornings, my husband and I order bagels from our favorite place in the neighborhood.  As some of you know, New Yorkers take their bagels very seriously--almost as seriously as they do their pizza, subway riding, or sidewalk etiquette. They only deliver on Saturdays, so it has become ritual over the last 11 years.  As a teacher, I know there are a million other things that I could (should?) be doing, but nine times out of ten, Saturday mornings are for us. 

I share this story because I believe one of my greatest strengths as an educator has come with experience and time but happens out of the classroom.  It is my ability to take the time to reflect, refresh, and regroup.  The Saturday mornings do just this.  While there is a pile of papers to grade, lessons to plan, and hours to be logged for my apprenticeship, I know it will be there later and it will get done. If it doesn't, well, frankly that's ok.  I find transparency about our humanity is one of the greatest lessons teachers have to offer students.  "Hey class, I need a few more days.  My apologies." They get it. They have been there too and it's ok.

What do my kids, high school students -- this year grades 10-12-- learn from my humanity? They learn empathy.  They learn that I too struggle sometimes and it is ok.  They know how hard I work because I tell them! But they also learn that it is ok to struggle, work through things, be tested, grow and learn because they learn from the example that is set. So, order your bagels, have a morning with your family, and remember that time is what you make of it.

Image via HERE

Flipping The Script: Coders as Novelists

Last November, I had the distinct honor and privilege of being the title character in a New Yorker Magazine- Talk of the Town piece called “Can An English Teacher Learn to Code?” It was a privilege to get to speak up and out for young coders, for the Academy for Software Engineering (AFSE) and indirectly for the CS For All initiative that was just beginning to take off here in NYC and later President Obama would push at the nationwide level.  AFSE has been at the forefront of work-- work that Computer Science teacher Sean Stern says has made CS part of the core at our school- just like Math, Science, Social Studies and English.  Our students understand that computer science is part of the four year sequence of learning and that there are opportunities to take full advantage of the experts, both inside and outside of school, that support the learning and development of all our students.

Fast forward one year.  I am teaching Seniors at AFSE for the first time since joining the school four years ago.  My section of 12^th graders, many of which I taught last year in AP Language and Composition, are done with college applications, are now just waiting on replies and to get to things like Prom and Graduation in June.  Most of us remember Senioritis!  We remember how the year went, plodding on and taking what sometimes felt and interminable amount of time to get to that stage that we would walk across and finally move the tassel across the mortar board adorning our heads. I, along with John Bernor (the newest ELA teacher at AFSE- who happens to also be a classroom veteran), and I have been working to create a course that not only addressed the learning needs of a diverse population of students, but also challenged students to stretch and grow as writers and thinkers. As a result, Senior Writing Seminar was born.

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The SWS is a year long course that meets five days a week.  Bernor and I met in August to outline a month of lessons and learning that would be engaging as well as challenging and ultimately better preparing our seniors for the college and careers of their choice. November is National Novel Writing Month (@nanowrimo @nycnowrimo) where writers from around the world attempt to write 50,000 words in 30 days.  I knew it was not impossible and had attempted on two separate occasions to complete the task (failing-only reaching 15,000 words at most). I knew it was hard.  I also knew there was a student version- the Young Writers Project (#NaNoYWP) complete with lesson plans for before, during and after as well as an online platform for students (and their teacher!) to track their progress.

Image Via NaNoWriMo Young Writers Project

It was time to flip the script and for the coders to become the novelists.  My 24 seniors have written for hours and hours to work to reach their goal of each producing 30,000 words in the month.  For those of you doing the math, it's 1000 words a day: not an unreasonable task, especially for students who will be in college soon.  Over the course of November it was exciting to see the kids develop their stories, their ideas and to watch them struggle in the same way the thousands of writers around the world do to write at length. They were given the choice of topics, fiction or non fiction.  The literary world was their oyster and boy did they write. It has perhaps been one of the most incredible classroom experiences I have witnessed since stepping into my first classroom in the fall of 2008.

The Wednesday before Thanksgiving I asked the class to sit in a circle and craft a one minute book pitch.  How would they sell their books?  Their ideas were exciting and provocative.  It was fascinating to hear about how they perceived their books and what their peers wanted to know more about. I was proud.  I was excited. It was a perfect example of how mutual trust, high expectations, and intellectual freedom and creativity can lead to an incredibly rich learning experience for both students and teachers. 

I did feel a sense of disappointment, not in my students, but in myself.  I had set out with them at the beginning of the month with every intension of writing along with them.  Of completing my 1000 words a day.  My life, not to make excuses, got the best of me. (Three preps/full time job, grad school, internship, and some family time thrown in for good measure.) I made it to 10,000 words this time.  New writing that I had not done before.  New stories and memories taking shape.  I had been transparent, putting my writing up on the SMART board and writing along with them.  I wanted my kids to see that I was willing to do the writing with them.  That work bought me buy-in and energy.  It created momentum.  Walking the walk- at least for the first 10 days set the tone in the room and for the work.   

Yesterday, Lindsey Christ, Education Reporter from NY 1, our local cable news channel,  came to do a piece on students participating in NaNoWriMo this year.  She spent an hour with my class.  Jose happened to hit his 30,000 word goal while she was there.  It was incredible to hear the kids talk about their work, their accomplishment, and working to complete what at times felt like an insurmountable task.  You can read the final piece here: Greenwich Village Students Participate in the National Novel Writing Month (If you are local, you may be able to see it on air.)

Tomorrow we celebrate.  December 1st, 2016.  Coders have become novelists, mirroring my journey a year ago, working to to learn SCRATCH and some basic coding. 

Today, at the end of class after Jabari had reached his 30,000 words he asked, "Ms. Towne, can I keep writing? Even though I hit my 30,000 words." 

#TeacherWin 

The Morning After- How I Had Tough Conversations With My Students

The workshop yesterday at AFSE on Restorative Justice with Erin Dunlevy was well timed.  As we participated in the morning training, I honestly didn't think I would need to be using some of the tools I learned to soon.  But last night, I along with all of you, watching the election results and America broke my heart (though not unexpectedly- as we all like a bad boy, right?)

I finally fell asleep around 2, wondering what I would say to my students in the morning.  My first period class on Wednesday is my AP Lang class.  We just spent a month thinking about language and rhetoric in politics as well as reading Thank You For Arguing. The 11th graders have begun to think critically of language and word choice and how a writer or speaker can use language to achieve a goal.  I knew that combining a content circle and keeping the discussion grounded in the content I would be able to get through a 60 minute class with out crying.

Before class started, I asked a few of the kids who arrive early to create the circle in the space, moving the desks out of the way.  I was grateful that they were willing and able.  Erin had been right- kids understand the unspoken rules of circles.   I posted the discussion norms on the board:

1. Only talk when holding the Talking Piece
2. Respect for all perspectives
3. You can pass.
4. If you aren’t sure, pose a question to the group.
5. It you want to save it for later, write put it in the parking lot.

We then did two rounds.  Round one, I asked each student to share one word that described how they were feeling in the moment.  Each student passed a small button around the circle, sharing their words with the group:

Confused. Scared. Frightened. Angry. Confounded. Lost. Why? Frustrated. Powerless.

It was clear that this had been the right move.  The tone of the room was somber, but these are kids I have built a relationship with over the last few years and they knew the room was a safe place (even for our one vocal Republican). 

In the second round I asked kids to write one question they had.  That it may not be answered, but something they wanted to pose to the group and the universe. 

Here are some of their questions: 

• How did Trump successfully get the majority of the votes?
• What did Hillary do differently than Trump?
• Why did 31% of hispanics, 38% of asians and 8% of blacks vote for Trump?
• What do you think Trump's first move as president will be?
• Why do you think the number of women that voted [for] Trump was so high?
• Do you think Hillary would have won if the people who voted for Bernie voted for Hillary?
• Are you ready to be drafted for the war?
• Will he do anything to change our educational system?
• How do you think having Trump as president and the Senate and House being Republican will affect new and past laws? 
• How did you react to all the red on the map?
• Does this mean we are living in a mostly racist world?

We can tell from looking at the list of questions where their heads are.  They are grappling with the same confusion that I watched the news commentators and analysts sort through late into the night.  They are at a loss, as are many of us.

We then came back to the language.  I had heard a commentator on the news talking about the effectiveness of "Make America Great Again" and what it did for the campaign.  I posted the following slide on the board, asking them to examine the language itself and what it did for each campaign: 

The shares were again thoughtful and insightful.  My one Trump supporter was asked to begin the share- as the first thing he said as he had stormed into my room earlier in the period was, yes, you guessed it, "Make America Great Again!"  The nice thing about the protocol is that it is not about debate, it's about sharing and being heard.  The space was safe, nonjudgmental and all voices and perspectives were able to be heard.

At the end of the hour, we had all participated in a thoughtful and reflective conversation that helped us to think about one narrow aspect of why? and to challenge our thinking and push our own understanding of the complexities of our country and it's citizens. I made it through the class with out crying.

Hours later, as I sat with my 9 advisees- all young women, all minorities, and I finally cried.  I cried because in hearing their fears, I became even more aware of my own privilege and what it allows me.  I cried because I had wanted so badly for Clinton to shatter the glass ceiling and for these 17 and 18 year old young women to see the first female president.  I cried because I want them to not fear the rest of the country, but in reality- red= danger in many of their minds. And I cried because for many of them their instinct is to protect others, to advocate and stand up for injustice, because they are all amazing young women. 

In another hour I will be sitting with my cohort of 14 peers, all aspiring school leaders who are passionate about our kids and urban education.  As educators, we are the front line- Blue state or Red.  It is our job to educate.  It is our job to teach empathy and tolerance. It is our job to continue to help in the raising of kids who will always fight injustice and not be afraid to speak up.

I know that the future is in good hands.  I hope the next generation of young people will be the change they want to see in the world.  In the mean time, I show up. I listen. I make the circle and I pass the button and ask the tough questions.

An Open Letter to Incredible Women on: Words, Gender and Unintentional Consequences

Dear Incredible Women: 

This post has been coming for a long time.

On Friday, I along with another amazing female teacher Angela, sat in a large circle with our two advisory groups combined for what is becoming a weekly tradition of young women, talk, and challenging of thinking and ideas.  I have deliberately brought topics to the circle that are things that I am grappling with and genuinely want to hear what they have to think and say on a topic.

This week, I brought to them the questions: 

• When do we as females transition from being girls to women? 
• When do we begin to self identify as women and even in some cases- like I have- reject the label of girl, because I have earned my status as women in my family, community, and society? 

I listened to them dance around the question for 30 minutes, touching on everything from their relationships and learning from their own mothers, aunties, and older sisters to what they feel they need to accomplish in life and how that is tied to womanhood. 

At the end of class, I reminded them of my original question and they finally flushed out an answer for me: post college, financial independence, established in a career.  No one mentioned relationships, intimacy, or the cliche "coming of age" ideas that I had grown up with.  I shared with them the thinking I had learned in my Adolescent Psych class at NYU 10 years ago that there is a period in developed, western nations (think United States, Canada, UK, etc.) called "Emerging Adulthood".  It is the period after high school, but through college and then after as one transitions from college to high school.  The thinking is tied to biological research around brain development and that the brain is not fully developed until the middle 20's (some say later!) This theory of Emerging Adulthood corresponds with when my group of Junior and Senior girls said they would feel like they could call themselves: woman.  (Here is a pretty good article about Emerging Adulthood.)

The bell rang. The desks were moved back to the original formation.  The girls moved on to last period.  As an educator, I never know if the time and space to think about theses big ideas has an impact?  I don't remember anyone in high school talking with me like this. Challenging me to think about what was important to me and what my timeline might look like.  And what it means to be a women.

I don't want to be referred to as a girl. I am almost 40. I am not a girl.  I have been teased in my grad program about my feelings when it comes to referring to adults as: girls or boys.  But, here is my bigger concern: that young women, women who have status in the media and are seen as role models to girls like my students, continue to refer to themselves as girl.  I have seen the hashtag #girlboss even used by the incredible Tiffany Pham who was named by Forbes as a Top 30 under 30.  Would you EVER see the hashtag #boyboss?  I mean really?   Women, own it.  Be: #THEBOSS or even simply #BOSS.  

When I listened to our students sit and talk about when they thought they would feel comfortable calling themselves woman it was tied to experience, knowledge, independence, and achievement. This is an amazing shift from generations past when being a woman was tied to menstruation, having sex for the first time or getting married. Our female students are incredible but setting the example of continuing to tie achievements to gender- and especially childhood, does a disservice to these strides.  

So to all the amazing young women, who still feel they are emerging or have not yet become the women you hope to be: that is ok, but I encourage you to think about the messages you are sending to the next generations through social media and your digital platforms.  Word choice is important.  Leadership is essential.  If we, as women, want things like being POTUS to no longer be novel, then we need to pursue them as people, humans and not diminish the power of achievement by equating it with childhood.