The Power of Compounding

 

Little Things, Time, and the Inevitable Influence of Habits

Just the other day I was listening to one of my favorite podcasts - "Everything Everywhere" - and the topic was Compound Interest. What makes this podcast so great - in my opinion - is the level of detail and background given on the day's particular topic. Of course, we all see how Compound Interest can have positive and negative impacts in life with money and finances. And even though this is thankfully NOT a financial blog, it struck me as fascinating how little variables over time can have such power.

photo: Apple Podcasts

Specifically, a couple of different ideas came to mind:

*How often I would talk about this concept with my students over the year, in terms of building habits.

*Some of the different ways I have leveraged 'compound daily habits' in my life, and ways I am still striving to be more consistent.

I was a classroom teacher for 22 years. Over the course of that time, many things changed and evolved. I've used blackboards, whiteboards, smart boards, projectors; used overhead transparencies and taught mobile without a classroom for years at a time; proctored standardized tests with paper-pencil bubble fill-ins to digital versions of tests with built-in calculators and text editors. At the start of my career students still passed around folded notes, and now they just Snap each other during passing time and from bathrooms. There have been multiple presidents, world-wide conflicts and wars, financial crises, a global pandemic, the rise of social media, and the shift from a pre- to post-9/11 way of living. That's a lot of change and evolution! There's a reason the saying "the only constant is change" exists. And yes, the kids are always changing as well. There's always new challenges and obstacles. Kids growing up now face different things I did, and my parents did, etc.

That said, some things remain a little more unchanged...or timeless. I think one of those things is the power of compounding. And one of the ways I always tried to teach and explain this to my students over the years is through the habit-building around academics: daily reading, a consistent time and place to do one's homework, using their planner every day, writing down due dates for upcoming tests and projects, showing up for class on time and with all of their necessary items.

To some, this may seem a bit dated or even 'corny,' but I have to say that many years of anecdotal evidence would suggest otherwise. Here's what I mean by that...I never had students who did those daily 'little' things on a consistent basis and didn't do well. Never. I don't mean always straight-As, 100% in everything type of stuff. What I mean is they were consistently on top of things, felt confident and competent, and - maybe most importantly - when things did get tough (cause they always do in life for all of us), they had a system and support structure they knew they could rely on to get them through! The same holds true for a musician, athlete, etc...confidence really comes from preparation and consistency. Quite often i would have students over the years who knew this from their sports or from their musical participation (or both) but hadn't yet made that connection to their school work. (As a 6th-grade teacher, this isn't uncommon...they're just getting up to that age where these mental connections are starting to occur)

Within my own life and work I am constantly working on maintaining, re-establishing, or creating new, compounding habits to bring about key change. Everything from working out to daily reading-writing-mindfulness to movement to telling the important people in my life how much I love them. That's all probably another entry for another time :)

For now, it's about leaning into that mindset to drive change through daily, compounding small actions. It can be hard to forecast or stay the course because as the podcast said, the secret ingredient is time. Patience and steadfast dedication sometimes don't feel like 21st-century attributes, but can be invaluable in the process! Modeling any of these things for our young learners can be profoundly impactful.

**Note: I think this is part of the reason why James Clear's Atomic Habits is so powerful...it's speaks to some real universal truths. If you haven't read it yet, I mean c'mon!

photo: James Clear

Lessons

Or: How Coaching Always Seems to Lead to Meaningful Learning

Every single day, I find myself in new situations presenting opportunities for learning, discovering a new approach, or even seeing a new perspective. That is probably one of - if not the best - aspect of my job as a Peer Coach. Because I am able to work with almost 100 different colleagues, there is never a shortage of thoughts, insights, backgrounds, skills, reflections, wonders, ideas, struggles, and achievements to enrich my overall experience.

It's often said experience is one of the best teachers...and I can only agree, based on what a typical week looks like in this role. On a near-daily basis, there are chances to engage in thoughtful planning and goal-setting with colleagues; have deep, rich, and thoroughly reflective conversations on pedagogy, student learning, and professional development; and look for ways to connect district initiatives with school culture, teacher evaluation, and student learning.

Some of the work, collaboration, planning and reflection happening so far this year has centered on:

*Working Genius --> understanding and utilizing for individual growth and development, as well as maximizing the power of team and building a positive climate and culture.

*Culturally Proficient School Systems --> identifying and removing barriers to help bring about positive change, making success a reality for all students through our collective efforts.

*Robert DILTS logical levels of learning and change --> working to always 'coach to the level up,' helping colleagues align identity and beliefs with capabilities, behaviors and their environment. And also, making connections between this and Cognitive Coaching "Frames of Mind" and the Bridges Transitions Model...always driving people and groups toward their goal.

On top of all this would maybe be the most meaningful - and often best - learning that happens all the time in this role: seeing the amazing teaching done by colleagues each and every day! It's humbling and inspiring at the same time.

Olympics, Co-curriculars, and Developing the Whole

Something the Olympics captures so well every four years is the passion, joy, and purpose that comes with participating and competing in all of the various sports. People from all over the world, from all different walks of life, competing at the highest level. Watching the raw emotions and reactions for the athletes as they chase their dreams is always a very cool experience - one that always gets our family invested. 

All of this got me thinking over the weekend...there are immeasurable benefits to being involved with sports and activities. Specifically, I thought about students in school, and how much co-curricular involvement benefits and enriches students' lives and experiences in school. 

Joy - there's been so much joy and fulfillment for these Olympic athletes. More often than not, people at the absolute peak of their powers are smiling before, during, and after their game/match/event. Some have even talked about using joy as their focus and fuel for these games. If they're competing solo, they're always smiling and showing their pride in performance; knowing that four-plus years of hard work and dedication have led to that particular moment. When they're competing as part of a team, the joy is always infections when good things happen, and are always quick to pick each other up and offer support when things go wrong. 

Passion - the energy is simply unmatched! To borrow a phrase from the SEC: it just means more. A lifetime of work, sacrifice, and investment have been put into pursuing a dream and in general becoming better and better as an athlete and person. There's always a sense of urgency - contrary to a regular season game from the NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL, there's no "next game" or "next week" or even "next year." For many of these people, the option of "four years from now" isn't a viable reality. 

Purpose - it gets a little bit overused, but the notion of competing for your country and your collective Team (Team USA, Team Canada, etc.) is really a galvanizing element. So many athletes talk about that being such a driving force to propel them to greatness. The number one ranked golfer in the world - Scottie Scheffler - was visibly emotional after winning the gold medal. For someone who is typically quite stoic it gave a pretty good indication of how much it meant to compete and win for his country. 

For students in schools, being involved in different co-curricular activities can bring all of these things to their experience. I'm intentionally not just saying 'sports,' knowing for some students that might not be their interest or passion...but there are a lot of ways for kids to be involved beyond the world of sports. The arts, music, theater, academic clubs, engineering/robotics teams, debate, and many more. When students are able to explore their passions, develop skills, build confidence, and work towards a goal, they end up experiencing some of what these athletes in Paris are experiencing: Joy, Passion, and Purpose...plus another thing far too many kids lack: a sense of belonging! Thus, my push and plea for any school and/or district out there - Create spaces and opportunities for students. Officially, unofficially, within the school day, etc. Learning how to win, lose, set goals, make friends, resolve conflict, and persevere will enrich the student experience and create learners who feel a strong sense of belonging and community.

Summer and Learning

Like most summers, this one has been as fast and furious, filled with activities, adventures, and new experiences. Throw in some different weather variables (looking at you, torrential rains) and the uniqueness of two graduating high school seniors, and it's easy to see why I look at the calendar today and notice it's already the end of July!

This got me thinking quite a bit about the upcoming school year. Well, that and the Back-to-School Sale advertising that started promptly after July 4th. Over the last 20-plus years in education, many parents and students have asked about what to do over the summer to either "keep up" or "make strides" before the next school year. 

For all these years, my answer has remained basically the same... live a full summer, experience as many things as you can, go have fun with your friends and find new adventures, be active, be curious, and read as often as you can, in as many different ways as you can. 

The last part I always tried to emphasize to kids and parents alike. I feel like a trap to fall into is thinking that 'reading over the summer' means constant novels and literary works. This can be intimidating for many kids who squirm at the thought of having to try and "get through" and big, thick book with lots of small print. There's certainly much to be said for these types of books, and sure enough many students devour them all summer long. That said, there's a lot of value in reading articles, game summaries, movie reviews, national park brochures, song lyrics, and so many other types of written work that can spark thinking and reflection. Whenever parents asked about improving their student's writing, I would often recommend encouraging them to write as OFTEN as possible, even if it wasn't long or complex writing every time. Writing their own movie/show review, or their own summary from the baseball game they went to the night before, or a personal narrative essay about their week at camp all give students a chance to exercise those muscles. 

Because kids can be exposed to so many experiences and events during a typical summer, I never fully believed in learning loss. We're designed to always be learning from our experiences, with our minds making connections. Instead, I would always think of it (and communicate when asked) as more of a 'how much learning' could be had over the summer...how much growth could be experienced. THIS is where consistent reading, writing, and reflection can really come into play in impacting many students' journeys.

 So, as we head into the final weeks of summer. Do not worry if you feel like you (or your student) hasn't been 'learning' enough so far. Use these weeks to make great memories, have fun adventures, get as much family time as possible, and positively encourage them (or yourself) to read, reflect, think, and maybe even write (old school or digitally) as often as they can heading into the new school year. 

A Different Look

Something nagging at me for quite some time has been this sensation around the school experience not feeling and looking much different now than it did during February of 2020. While I know that there are differences - such as increased technology use & options and the proliferation of online/virtual academy offerings - most of it still feels like it always has...and I'm not necessarily sure that's a good thing. 

Looking back, it makes perfect sense that much of the last couple of years has been about surviving and keeping things afloat. At this point 24 months ago I'd had training with and some time to develop virtual "snow day" plans and lessons. Conversations with colleagues at the time around what appeared to be the slow elimination of snow/cold days, and lamenting the loss of that youthful 'right of passage' in MN, all seem antiquated and innocent now. Within weeks everything was paused and emergency training was happening to help 'blow out' our single-day plans into weekly, monthly, and beyond(?) planning. Everything went quiet for a few weeks, we immediately lost daily contact and interaction with our students, and then basically scrambled to finish out the rest of that school year.

Last year was quite exhausting at times, teaching in-person and virtually at the same time, and for some of the year only seeing half of my kids in person at a time. For many students who experienced being suddenly cut off in the spring of 2020, their detachment grew into a second, entire school year. Establishing and maintaining relationships with kids felt just as important as covering content, and mental health surged to the forefront of almost everyone's high priority list. 

While this year has felt thankfully much more 'normal,' there are a couple of thoughts that have kept coming back to me: 1. so much was lost that is still being made up for...MOST of which is social, emotional, and mental. 2. things certainly weren't perfect in school pre-pandemic, so why don't we do more in terms of using this as an opportunity to make things how we want them to be - to try and make some reasonable lemonade from perhaps the largest, sourest lemon ever given?

I don't have all (or any?) of the answers, and this certainly isn't a space for a full dissertation on the topic, but here are some things I'd love to have present in an 'ideal' school going forward. Keep in mind this comes from a middle school lens, so some of these things may look different at the elementary or high school level...

*Starting each day with a quick homeroom/advisory/home base check-in. 10 minutes max. Social connection, topical mini-lessons, sign up for activities, advice/support/communication, etc. 

*Dedicated time every day for kids to go to an activity of their choice...non-academic and hopefully incorporating some body movement! Fitness center, rock climbing, yoga, dance, walk & talk, intramural sports. Have staff lead things they're passionate about or simply lend a helping hand...get the blood pumping and minds clear before learning!!

*Grading or reporting that is directly tied to standards, and students' mastery and proficiency of those standards.

*On that note, students create and build on portfolios showcasing their learning, projects, work samples, reflections, goals, etc. Instead of conferences...or perhaps as a part of them - students using those times during the year to share their portfolios and lead discussions around all of the facets. 

*Interdisciplinary opportunities where students have flexibility in how to use larger chunks of time, instead of being locked into periods or blocks in specific classes. 

*Access to content being based on proficiency rather than what grade a student is in.

*Partnerships with community members and businesses to provide students the chance to make school-real world connections, intern, learn about possible careers, use their voice in the greater community, and learn about different viewpoints and issues just beyond the school walls and their social spheres. 

*Recess. Don't laugh, I'm serious. Kids need it.

*On that note, a mid-day block of lunch-recess-office hours-flex time. Every kid would either be eating, enjoying some much-needed recess time, or meeting with teachers in a one-on-one or small group flex setting to focus on specific needs, get help, work on enrichment, etc. 

*A focus on volunteerism throughout the year...this could connect with the community partnership if wanted, but either way have that as a component all students understand is a part of their time during the school year. 

*Built-in ways for online/virtual academy students and in-person students to connect within classes and curriculum, but also for larger events and purposes and different points throughout the year. No need for these to exist in silos!!

This is all quite a bit, but now seems like as good a time as any to really stretch our thinking about what might be possible for schools, and more importantly what could be possible for our students!

Good Intentions, Best Practices, and Unintended Consequences

Grading. One of the most complex, sometimes hotly contested topics within education. Almost everyone has strong feelings on the matter; each stakeholder group has a different perspective; and there are always new arguments to be made for any side. Over the last twenty-one years during my teaching career there have been plenty of inflection points, leading to a change in practice and/or philosophy. 

As a school, we have worked very hard over the years to refine grading practices so that a student's grade in a course is a true reflection of their mastery of the course content. Eliminating things like 'extra credit for bringing in Kleenex,' or heavy participation points - which can really hinder students who are either shy and/or have difficulty with the language as ML students, have proven to be positive, best-practice changes over the years. Additionally, taking a hard look at the mathematical breakdown of grade distribution and making a slight alteration has helped too...instead of the "F" range being from 59% - 0%, the "F" cut-off is 50%. In other words, if a student has done the work, taken the test, completed the performance, written the essay, etc. they can't score worse than a 50%. This has helped limit the number of times a student's grade completely plummet, thus maintaining a stronger, more positive mindset. 

As a middle school, being the bridge between elementary school (no real grades) and high school (official transcripts, class ranks, college applications, etc.) is an important role to help guide and train kids toward what grades and grading looks and feels like. In many ways, we have made strides with some of these good intentions and best practices. In some other ways, I feel as though we're perhaps setting students up for and even harder time in high school and beyond.

The other day one of my colleagues relayed a very interesting story that has been gnawing at me for the last few days. A couple of her 8th-grade students approached her and let her know that they'd done the math and decided they just weren't going to do their final speech project because, to quote them: "we know the school's rule that you have to give us a 50%." This took me by surprise (it shouldn't have... I mean #teenagers) because:

• it's an end-of-semester final project
• it's directly aligned to specific state standards
• they're approach wasn't "just mail it in, it doesn't matter" ... the approach was a bold proclamation that "we're simply not going to do it."

And this is just another example of how tricky and maddening grading can be in 2022. Not to mention virtual, in-person, hybrid, quarantining, etc. We're in a situation that quite often feels "can't win." Students come from elementary school and many don't have much sense at all how grades work and what they might mean. We all work hard to talk about the importance of the learning process and how our tests, projects, and daily work all align with state standards and learning objectives. But in the end, middle school grades don't really mean anything (or more accurately, they mean whatever the beholder wants them to mean). The trouble is all of this changes DRAMATICALLY once high school begins. Everything counts, grades start to really "matter," and there is not nearly as much opportunity for retakes, trying again, etc. 

We talk a lot about gradual release in the middle school setting...that from entering in 6th grade through exiting in 8th grade, more and more responsibility, ownership, and independence are put at the feet of the students to get them ready for high school. I don't feel as though much of this conversation has been applied to grading yet. I'm not even saying that's the answer. The fact is it's still very much a top-down application of pressure going on --> colleges & universities look at grades, class rank, etc. for acceptance; high schools need to have these systems in place as a result and need to teach/train students around these concepts. Elementary doesn't do grades in a real sense at all (some start to do a little of that in 5th grade to help transition), so middle school ends up being a bit of this wilderness between two worlds. 

If you're reading this you might be an educator, parent, or both. Everyone has thoughts and feelings on this stuff, and I feel like there could be larger conversations with all stakeholders involved!

Coming Back from Breaks

Anytime we return to school after an extended break - winter break, spring break, even the occasional 4-day weekend - it can be tough for students to find their footing, maintain positive momentum from their time away, and create a sense of consistency. 

This is always especially true after winter break, which can sometimes last up to two weeks. With a nice stretch away from the 'grind,' most of us are usually able to unwind, catch up on sleep, relieve a little stress, and find enjoyment in activities outside of school. For many students, there can be much apprehension around returning to the day-to-day business of school, and they can quickly feel overwhelmed like they're back on the hamster wheel.

In my mind, there are a couple of important things students/parents/families can do to help ease these transitions. 

*First, be intentional about how you use your time. One of the most practical pieces of advice I received from experienced Principals, Superintendents, etc. during my Admin program was this: "run your schedule or your schedule will run you." While that made a ton of sense within that context at the time (and still does), I feel it applies to all of us in our everyday lives. It is so vitally important to be "in charge" of your time, as it is one of our most valuable commodities!

• carve out time every day for activities/hobbies/etc. that bring you joy! Maybe this is something you started over a break or it's a lifelong enjoyment...either way, make time for it. Even 30 minutes per day goes a long way.
• write down your commitments --> assignments, practices/games, weekend plans, etc. Seeing everything in front of you can help greatly with managing time.
• ask for help or guidance whenever you're feeling overwhelmed or just need a helpful hand with time management...parents, teachers, coaches can all be great resources. The good news about just any adult you ask is that they've been through it before!

 *Make a point to exercise your mind, spirit and body on a consistent basis.

• read for your own enjoyment 20-30 minutes a day. Not a big reader? Try shorter articles, the sports page, a magazine suiting your interests, etc. Read a wide variety of topics and genres if you can.
• pursue your interests and passions! This goes with the point above, but can even go beyond...look to join a club, do some research, find a cool documentary.
• plan to get yourself outside to play, get exercise, and be active a few times a week! Fresh air, vitamin D, exploring, creating games with friends...all of these have great benefits to our physical and mental health! If you're in middle school or high school and don't have recess anymore and/or only have gym class every other day, this is even more crucial. 
• make and build connections with people...help a parent around the house with some chores and talk while you're doing that. Write a letter to an extended family member who lives in a different state. If you have younger neighbors and you see them outside playing, help them build a snowman!

Bottom line...coming back to the daily grind of school can be tough, especially after a nice, long relaxing break! Be intentional with your time, value your time, and make time for yourself and the things you love to do. Create and maintain a healthy balance in your life and you'll have the outlets needed when things get stressful.