Film as a Tool for Teacher Training and Development

Reflecting and thinking about my own upbringing as a classroom teacher, and aligning this with my most recent work over the past few weeks of capturing footage in six, very unique middle and high school classrooms, I began to ask myself a simple yet powerful question: Did I or have I been privy to, in my own development as a high school teacher watch flims on exemplary teaching and learning in the classroom? After some self-discussions, and reflection, I came to the solid conclusion, that very little if almost none of my development as a professional was done with film. With the exception of some footage from Big Picture, that focused on the days and lives of an advisor (which as you can see I still remember) the opportunity to view and reflect and to enhance my own craft was void of any such film. Recording the classroom is a particulary powerful experience for all involved. For teachers, it creates obvious anxiety, for many reasons the most prominent of them all, centering around the fact that practioners are not certain about what is the intent and use of such footage. Perhaps, for many teachers who volunteer and open their classrooms, it is simply a way for the administration to evaluate and critique and perhaps, even negatively assess practice. It is a very highly personal experience and for the six brave souls that allowed me into their classrooms, their responses either prior to, or shortly after the conclusion of the experience certainly led me to think this way. One teacher stated that "she was up all night" trying to review and become familiar with new material. Another teacher straight up asked, "Now, what is the footage being used for?" In this role, I become a sales person and a carrier of the professional learning community touch all in one. I try to ease fears and stay in the background of the classroom. For students, at least the ones that I was in the classroom with, were pretty open and naturally free about the footage, from what I could tell. Of course, there is the possibility that students are not normally that well behaved, but I would venture to argue that these were normal days. For some students, it was visibly clear that they did not want to be on camera and some even gave off a very negative vibe of being recorded. For myself, as the video camera man, it made me think that I was capturing some very powerful experiences and that I should respect and honor all that I was to capture. Nevertheless, the purpose of writing about film as a tool for teacher training and development is simple: if we are to improve our practice and learn from each other, then we must begin to examine and view film on exemplary, mediocre, and poor teaching and be able to know and learn the difference. When I was in high school, and literally obsessed on becoming the next great Division I Basketball Player (I received a few offers but not D-1!), I received a tip from one of my peers that I should literally record, study and memorize basketball games with my favorite players. Can I tell you to this day I still remember the explosive cross-over and behind the back moves from when I was a youngster? I was able to review, and see, and observe and then practice over and over again, until my moves became second nature and when I arrived on the court, at full speed, I made moves and became a Honorable Mention Basketball Player for my high school divison. Now, video footage is not the silver bullet, however, if we infuse high quality footage of teaching and learning, particularly of teachers in urban areas, and structure a process that infuses such practice into the classroom, then we are providing the structure for teachers to hone their craft, see exemplary teaching, and make those same moves when they are on their own basketball "courts," their classrooms, and students become beneficiaries of this knowledge exchange.

The Black Male and Education

Perhaps, with the passage of the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments, the Civil Rights Act, and the election of the first African American President, Black folk, particulary, Black men have achieved a certain level of accomplishment in this racist, capitalist society that has been built on the blood and backs of slaves. Statistically, our current state for many of our young black brothers is in a state of emergency, perhaps, far beyond anything worse than what slaves or activists have suffered in the past. Today, nearly 1 in 5 young men of color who enter high school as freshmen graduate from high school, many of whom are living in urban centers that resemble colonialized nations. Young black men aged 16-34 number one cause of death is homicide, followed by death by AIDS. The black middle class that was emerging in the middle 90's has shrunk largely due to outsourcing, and the burgeoning middle class in India. All these factors lead us to the "back to basics" movement which largely argues that in order to reverse this alarming trends, that equitable education, providing experience and training to young black men, will close and eventually eliminate this gap and create a society where everyone truly does have an equal opportunity to achieve and live a life of value. Unfortunately, the 21st Century, with all of its new inventions, rapid technology advances, and globalization, have placed a new twist on how to best meet the needs of our young men. Intertwined with these challenges, is a society that conveys messages to young people, particulary black men, that they are to fit into a particular mode, to be accepted and to achieve success; these messages prompted by mainstream white America is fueled by profits. Education has a challenging task; to combat these notions of inferiority and limitations, and perhaps, begin to create a new identity for colonized black men living in a country who still profits from their "blackness." For many of our young black men, we are fighting an almost impossible battle, because on one an environment and culture that is deeply rooted and respected becomes diametrically opposed to whatever other form it may encounter, including, education. If we can begin to change the identify of young men, and deal with the multiple issues that come from living in urbanized areas in the 21st Century, then and only then can we really "educate."

Network Collaboration

In order to effectively build small networks of schools, practioners must be willing to accept the fact that there is no silver bullet; development must come through actively facilitating and leading educators across the country in action research, peer reviews and observations and collaboratively creating tools and processess' that address the most pressing issues in education. As student drop-outs are on the rise, dedicated and experienced educators will have to take a leading role in school leadership but schools and organizations often time do not create a pipeline for emerging leaders to take charge. It is essential for networks to develop that strong leadership, deeply rooted in the experiences of the school community, can reach out to others in networks to share resources and act as critical friends. The school district and it's board must encourage this collaboration and invite as many critical friends into the fold so our young people can be reap the benefits.

Abusing Rigor and Subtle Inequities

In todays world, the word "rigor" has taken on a connotation on all of its own. We throw the word around as if it some old socks in our drawer that we simply do not know what to do with. Unfortunately, what could be defined as a word that can add to the discussion around how student instruction can inform how we teach, it is now all about this idea that rigor has simply one connotation: students seating neatly in rows, with a 1200 pound text book in front, pen or pencil in hand, quietly answering one question after another, while the teacher sits in the front of the classroom. Not only does this theory paint a picture of what is wrong with education, it also implies, in a very subtle way, that the reason why under-resourced students are not performing at the level of their suburban counterparts is simply a cultural defiency, rather than a lack in the system itself. What arises from these ideals of lack of rigor, is really stating to the educational world as a whole that there simply needs to be more "structure" in the classroom and that rote memorization of skills, rather than a full, in-depth exploration of subjects and content, are the way to close the achievement gap. In one study alone, both German and Chinese textbooks cover nearly 1/2 as much content as their United States counterparts do, but exceed standardized tests scores by leaps and bounds. By suggesting that students learn less, but more in-depth while in school would be a huge paradigm shift for traditional educators, many of whom still believe that schools should be ran akin to a factory, where 55 minute classrooms, with 30-35 students, crammed with facts and knowledge used exclusively to show spikes in standardized tests are still valid and are creating learners for the 21st Century. To the contrary, in fact, this is having a polarizing effect on students, further isolating them from the world that needs them so desperately to shape an ever changing globalized, techno-driven society. The skills that are enforced in the "rigorous" benchmarks and standards are a starting point, but nevertheless, do our students an injustice in the larger context of preparing kids for the challenges of tomorrow. So if we are to discuss rigor than lets have a discussion about how such standard needs to be personalized, uniquely adapted to particular content and circumstances that common with differientated instruction. No one said that such approach would be easy. But by looking carefully and examining the social, political and economic constructs that our students have about the world, and how a world shapes our young people, we can more carefully examine on how a rigorous education has more to do with bringing about bring change to a world that desperately needs thinkers, creators, and problem-solvers just as much as it needs students who are ready to matriculate to college and post-secondary institutions.

Power To and From The People

Looking back over my career, I would not be half as successful if it were not for working with extremely smart and passionate people. Whether it was acting as a mentor for a student teacher, leading and working with staff to facilitate professional development sessions, or sharing resources to improve student learning, collaboration and working close with my colleagues and friends has left me humbled, empowered, and ultimately, successful in the field of education. Because of an amazing cadre of professionals, we were able to accomplish what no other public or charter school was able to achieve: graduate 95% of entering freshmen four years later and of that, over 90% of those students were accepted to post-secondary institutions. In my classroom, collaborating with students, parents, community members, and colleagues, allowed me to leverage student learning towards high school graduation and college readiness. On a national scale, my promotion to work with the Alternative High School Initiative was due largely to my colleagues and friends. Additionally, collaboration with a national network of youth development organizations, key stakeholders, superintendents, program officers, directors, curriculum specialists, principals, and educators, have made our initiatives key to building network and school capacity. On every level of my career, collaboration has been the key to positive student outcomes.

Empowering Assessments

I have used formative, summative, standardized and authentic forms of assessment to inform both my teaching and learning and those of the students and parents that I have been fortunate enough to be with. We have used both innovative practices, such as portfolio's and student exhibitions as well as self-evaluations to measure student outcomes. I have used data analysis, analyzing student errors in ACT scores to teach and plan school wide curriculum. In both instances, students not only became more insightful and honest thinkers about what, why, and how they learn, but also increased student outcomes on standardized tests in the areas of reading and English. Additionally, I used pre-and post-ACT test scores to identify content areas that needed additional support. These specific areas were then integrated into student learning plans, studied and re-enforced with mini-lessons throughout the semester, and then used to identify specific gains.

Classroom as an Democratic Institution

My key to a management system in my classroom is student relationships. I make it a point to get to know each and everyone of my students on a personal level. This can be accomplished through a variety of team building exercises, reflective writing or just everyday acknowledging students as human beings entitled to a powerful learning environment. Establishing relationships is central to others in my classroom as well so we will begin to learn how to operate as a collective team through powerful learning experiences. We will then take these experiences and build on them in the classroom where we will collectively and collaboratively create and design our classroom policies. Spending time up front, building relationships, classroom norms, trust and a safe environment for students to learn are central to managing and effective place for kids to get excited about learning. Communication with parents is especially central. Positive phone calls home to encourage student behavior and practice are crucial as well as acknowledge student achievement whenever the opportunity presents itself. I largely see my classroom as an extension as a part of our larger society, where there are certainly rights and some privileges, but those, like the community we live in are being negotiated and need dialogue to constantly to improve the human condition. My classroom is a place where structures and systems certainly have a place, but ultimately, I want to raise young men and women that will have an internal management system that respects and cherishes all.

Importance of Collaboration

Looking back over my career, I would not be half as successful if it were not for working with extremely smart and passionate people. Whether it was acting as a mentor for a student teacher, leading and working with staff to facilitate professional development sessions, or sharing resources to improve student learning, collaboration and working close with my colleagues and friends has left me humbled, empowered, and ultimately, successful in the field of education. Because of an amazing cadre of professionals, we were able to accomplish what no other public or charter school was able to achieve: graduate 95% of entering freshmen four years later and of that, over 90% of those students were accepted to post-secondary institutions. In my classroom, collaborating with students, parents, community members, and colleagues, allowed me to leverage student learning towards high school graduation and college readiness. On a national scale, my promotion to work with the Alternative High School Initiative was due largely to my colleagues and friends. Additionally, collaboration with a national network of youth development organizations, key stakeholders, superintendents, program officers, directors, curriculum specialists, principals, and educators, have made our initiatives key to building network and school capacity. On every level of my career, collaboration has been the key to positive student outcomes.