oh there it is okay we stand at the edge
of the woods early on a Saturday morning
in late September the air is just
slightly crisp as if it’s trying to
start a rumor that autumn is just around
the corner and the hints of red and
orange and gold in the leaves of some of
the trees seem to be doing their best to
try to spread that rumor
we’re here because we have to be here
the biology class we’re taking requires
this field trip every teacher is
required to organize it every student is
required to attend it and there’s a quiz
that every teacher is required to give
following it for our class the quiz will
be given on Monday the focus of the
field trip is to learn about five trees
that happen to be found in these woods
for each of the trees we need to learn
six different characteristics so 30
pieces of information all together
yesterday in class the teacher gave us a
chart with five rows one for each of the
trees and for six columns one for each
of the characteristics and our job today
on the field trip is to fill in the
chart at exactly 9:30 we enter the woods
the teacher takes us directly to each of
the five trees points out specifically
the characteristics that were supposed
to learn and tells us precisely what to
write down in the chart of course the
teacher has used this shirt this chart
for years now and so several of us went
online last night and googled it and got
an image to show up with the chart
completely filled in so our charts are
already filled in and we don’t have to
pay attention to anything that’s
currently going on on this field trip in
fact realistically there’s nothing
happening on this field trip that could
not have been accomplished by a quick
Google search
we were told to block out an hour for
the field trip but after 45 minutes we
visited all the trees and everybody’s
chart is now filled in and so we leave
the woods we spend Sunday memorizing the
chart and the quiz on Monday is actually
pretty easy at the end of the semester
we have to remeber eyes the chart
because five similar questions are going
to be on the final exam or we stand at
the edge of the woods early on a
Saturday morning in late September the
air is just slightly crisp as if it’s
trying to start a rumor that autumn is
just around the corner and the hints of
red and orange and gold in the leaves of
some of the trees seem to be doing their
best to try to spread the rumor we’re
here because we have to be here the
biology class we’re taking requires this
field trip every teacher is required to
organize it every student is required to
attend it and there’s a quiz that every
teacher has to give following it we
don’t know when the quiz is going to be
given to our class the focus of the
field trip is to learn about five trees
that happen to be found in these woods
for each of the trees there are six
characteristics that we need to learn so
a total of 30 pieces of information our
teacher gave us a list of the 30
characteristics but we have no clue
which of the characteristics goes with
which of the trees in fact we weren’t
even told which trees were looking for
instead what our teacher did is open 30
blank documents online one for each of
the characteristics and our job today is
to take as many photos as we can that we
think are of trees that have these
characteristics and upload them into the
corresponding documents at around 9:30
we enter the woods the teacher follows
us
as we make our way up and down the
trails asking us questions as we take
the different photos but not really
giving us any concrete information about
whether the characteristics are there
whether we found the right trees as a
side note as students we have no idea
that it’s the same quiz given to all of
the classes regardless of who the
teacher is
so we don’t know whether or not the
chart the other class got is actually
going to be useful after about 90
minutes of wandering through the woods
we all meet at one of the picnic
shelters we were asked to bring a lunch
and during lunch there’s some casual
conversation between the students and
among the teacher and the students it’s
obvious from these conversations that
this class is starting to become a
community in the few weeks we’ve known
each other we’ve gotten to know one
another as people not just as classmates
which has made today’s field trip not
eventually we get around to opening up
the documents and staring at the photos
that are now they’re discussing whether
or not this tree actually has that
characteristic this could not have been
done by a quick Google search lunch
takes about an hour and we’re not
finished looking through the documents
yet so we’re asked to look at the
remaining documents over the weekend and
we’ll finish up the conversation on
Monday Monday in class were finally told
which five trees we should focus on for
the sake of the quiz but we still don’t
know when the quiz is going to be given
as it turns out the quiz is given on
Friday and those of us who have looked
at the information a little bit each day
find it to be pretty easy at the end of
the semester on the final exam there’s
an essay question where we are given
photos of two trees neither of which was
on that list of five from the field trip
and we’re asked to compare and contrast
the characteristics many teachers want
to teach the first class no frills just
give them the information have them know
it after all that’s the information
that’s going to be on the quiz that’s
the information that’s going to be on
the tests that’s sent by the state at
the end of the year and the results of
those quizzes in that test how well the
students do on those will comprise 50%
of the score that the teacher gets on
their evaluation at the end of the year
for non-tenured teachers how well the
students do on those quizzes and that
test can have a significant impact on
whether or not they get rehired many
students want to take the first class
just give me the information and I’ll
give it back to you no thinking required
after all I need this class to graduate
so let’s focus on the important things
shall we my grade please because I don’t
care about these trees in fact
realistically I would prefer just to
look up all the information online and
I’ll show up for the quizzes and the
only reason I’ll show up for the quizzes
is so that you know that I took the quiz
and not Siri if we’re honest about it
the first class is easier both for the
teacher and for the students and since
the grades are fine the scores are fine
and they’re the only thing that matter
why should we change we’ve fallen into
the trap we asked a nice neat questions
that have nice neat answers questions
that can be asked and graded by a
computer so the computer produces nice
neat data showing that we’re doing a
good job the problem with this model of
Education should be obvious but for
whatever reason it’s not at least not
until you compare what
education expects with what the rest of
the world expects the rest of the world
expects far more than just facts and
basic skills the rest of the world asks
questions that series simply can’t
answer the rest of the world expects
deep understanding understanding to the
point that we can creatively use the
facts and skills and think creatively
and think critically to answer questions
the likes of which we’ve never seen
before
questions that didn’t even exist until
just recently
or just nate’ll in fact a study
published in 2016
reported that employers in business and
industry are having difficulty finding
qualified candidates to fill positions
in their companies because while recent
graduates are very adept at memorizing
things and doing what they’re told they
are missing many if not all of the
following abilities the ability to think
critically to answer authentic problems
to communicate verbally to communicate
in writing to pay attention to detail
and to take accountability for their own
work these are not skills that you can
quickly look up online and they’re
certainly not the skills that are
checked on standardized tests for the
most part not even the AP tests now if
we’re going to help our kids get better
at acquiring these skills we’re going to
have to help them
with something that is far more
difficult but far more valuable we’re
going to need to help them get better at
being human truly human and its
second class the one that asks the kids
to wander and wonder and to question and
collaborate and to seek and to
synthesize it’s the second class that
will help the kids acquire and practice
those skills our students need to be
taking second class and so we need to
stop making excuses and start teaching
the second class we need to go into the
woods with the students and talk with
them and learn with them and work with
them and build relationships with them
not just because they need the skills
but if we’re honest about it we need to
practice and please don’t tell me that
this can’t be done because I know it can
I’ve seen it done in English and science
and social studies and art and if you’ve
been in my classroom you know it can be
done in mathematics without losing sight
of what we’re teaching we need to know
we stand at the edge of our classroom
early on a Monday morning in the middle
of August the summer Sun outside beckons
us to just turn around to go back to
July to go back to the ball fields and
the amusement parks or even to the woods
but we have promises to keep how we
choose to keep those promises is up to
us will we help our students get better
and more successful at school or will we
take on the real challenge and help
prepare them for tomorrow regardless of
what it brings both can be accomplished
by a field trip to the woods it’s up to
us to make the trip worthwhile
thank you [Applause]
of the woods early on a Saturday morning
in late September the air is just
slightly crisp as if it’s trying to
start a rumor that autumn is just around
the corner and the hints of red and
orange and gold in the leaves of some of
the trees seem to be doing their best to
try to spread that rumor
we’re here because we have to be here
the biology class we’re taking requires
this field trip every teacher is
required to organize it every student is
required to attend it and there’s a quiz
that every teacher is required to give
following it for our class the quiz will
be given on Monday the focus of the
field trip is to learn about five trees
that happen to be found in these woods
for each of the trees we need to learn
six different characteristics so 30
pieces of information all together
yesterday in class the teacher gave us a
chart with five rows one for each of the
trees and for six columns one for each
of the characteristics and our job today
on the field trip is to fill in the
chart at exactly 9:30 we enter the woods
the teacher takes us directly to each of
the five trees points out specifically
the characteristics that were supposed
to learn and tells us precisely what to
write down in the chart of course the
teacher has used this shirt this chart
for years now and so several of us went
online last night and googled it and got
an image to show up with the chart
completely filled in so our charts are
already filled in and we don’t have to
pay attention to anything that’s
currently going on on this field trip in
fact realistically there’s nothing
happening on this field trip that could
not have been accomplished by a quick
Google search
we were told to block out an hour for
the field trip but after 45 minutes we
visited all the trees and everybody’s
chart is now filled in and so we leave
the woods we spend Sunday memorizing the
chart and the quiz on Monday is actually
pretty easy at the end of the semester
we have to remeber eyes the chart
because five similar questions are going
to be on the final exam or we stand at
the edge of the woods early on a
Saturday morning in late September the
air is just slightly crisp as if it’s
trying to start a rumor that autumn is
just around the corner and the hints of
red and orange and gold in the leaves of
some of the trees seem to be doing their
best to try to spread the rumor we’re
here because we have to be here the
biology class we’re taking requires this
field trip every teacher is required to
organize it every student is required to
attend it and there’s a quiz that every
teacher has to give following it we
don’t know when the quiz is going to be
given to our class the focus of the
field trip is to learn about five trees
that happen to be found in these woods
for each of the trees there are six
characteristics that we need to learn so
a total of 30 pieces of information our
teacher gave us a list of the 30
characteristics but we have no clue
which of the characteristics goes with
which of the trees in fact we weren’t
even told which trees were looking for
instead what our teacher did is open 30
blank documents online one for each of
the characteristics and our job today is
to take as many photos as we can that we
think are of trees that have these
characteristics and upload them into the
corresponding documents at around 9:30
we enter the woods the teacher follows
us
as we make our way up and down the
trails asking us questions as we take
the different photos but not really
giving us any concrete information about
whether the characteristics are there
whether we found the right trees as a
side note as students we have no idea
that it’s the same quiz given to all of
the classes regardless of who the
teacher is
so we don’t know whether or not the
chart the other class got is actually
going to be useful after about 90
minutes of wandering through the woods
we all meet at one of the picnic
shelters we were asked to bring a lunch
and during lunch there’s some casual
conversation between the students and
among the teacher and the students it’s
obvious from these conversations that
this class is starting to become a
community in the few weeks we’ve known
each other we’ve gotten to know one
another as people not just as classmates
which has made today’s field trip not
eventually we get around to opening up
the documents and staring at the photos
that are now they’re discussing whether
or not this tree actually has that
characteristic this could not have been
done by a quick Google search lunch
takes about an hour and we’re not
finished looking through the documents
yet so we’re asked to look at the
remaining documents over the weekend and
we’ll finish up the conversation on
Monday Monday in class were finally told
which five trees we should focus on for
the sake of the quiz but we still don’t
know when the quiz is going to be given
as it turns out the quiz is given on
Friday and those of us who have looked
at the information a little bit each day
find it to be pretty easy at the end of
the semester on the final exam there’s
an essay question where we are given
photos of two trees neither of which was
on that list of five from the field trip
and we’re asked to compare and contrast
the characteristics many teachers want
to teach the first class no frills just
give them the information have them know
it after all that’s the information
that’s going to be on the quiz that’s
the information that’s going to be on
the tests that’s sent by the state at
the end of the year and the results of
those quizzes in that test how well the
students do on those will comprise 50%
of the score that the teacher gets on
their evaluation at the end of the year
for non-tenured teachers how well the
students do on those quizzes and that
test can have a significant impact on
whether or not they get rehired many
students want to take the first class
just give me the information and I’ll
give it back to you no thinking required
after all I need this class to graduate
so let’s focus on the important things
shall we my grade please because I don’t
care about these trees in fact
realistically I would prefer just to
look up all the information online and
I’ll show up for the quizzes and the
only reason I’ll show up for the quizzes
is so that you know that I took the quiz
and not Siri if we’re honest about it
the first class is easier both for the
teacher and for the students and since
the grades are fine the scores are fine
and they’re the only thing that matter
why should we change we’ve fallen into
the trap we asked a nice neat questions
that have nice neat answers questions
that can be asked and graded by a
computer so the computer produces nice
neat data showing that we’re doing a
good job the problem with this model of
Education should be obvious but for
whatever reason it’s not at least not
until you compare what
education expects with what the rest of
the world expects the rest of the world
expects far more than just facts and
basic skills the rest of the world asks
questions that series simply can’t
answer the rest of the world expects
deep understanding understanding to the
point that we can creatively use the
facts and skills and think creatively
and think critically to answer questions
the likes of which we’ve never seen
before
questions that didn’t even exist until
just recently
or just nate’ll in fact a study
published in 2016
reported that employers in business and
industry are having difficulty finding
qualified candidates to fill positions
in their companies because while recent
graduates are very adept at memorizing
things and doing what they’re told they
are missing many if not all of the
following abilities the ability to think
critically to answer authentic problems
to communicate verbally to communicate
in writing to pay attention to detail
and to take accountability for their own
work these are not skills that you can
quickly look up online and they’re
certainly not the skills that are
checked on standardized tests for the
most part not even the AP tests now if
we’re going to help our kids get better
at acquiring these skills we’re going to
have to help them
with something that is far more
difficult but far more valuable we’re
going to need to help them get better at
being human truly human and its
second class the one that asks the kids
to wander and wonder and to question and
collaborate and to seek and to
synthesize it’s the second class that
will help the kids acquire and practice
those skills our students need to be
taking second class and so we need to
stop making excuses and start teaching
the second class we need to go into the
woods with the students and talk with
them and learn with them and work with
them and build relationships with them
not just because they need the skills
but if we’re honest about it we need to
practice and please don’t tell me that
this can’t be done because I know it can
I’ve seen it done in English and science
and social studies and art and if you’ve
been in my classroom you know it can be
done in mathematics without losing sight
of what we’re teaching we need to know
we stand at the edge of our classroom
early on a Monday morning in the middle
of August the summer Sun outside beckons
us to just turn around to go back to
July to go back to the ball fields and
the amusement parks or even to the woods
but we have promises to keep how we
choose to keep those promises is up to
us will we help our students get better
and more successful at school or will we
take on the real challenge and help
prepare them for tomorrow regardless of
what it brings both can be accomplished
by a field trip to the woods it’s up to
us to make the trip worthwhile
thank you [Applause]
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