Category Archives: Autonomy

On Borders Not Being Crossed Quite Yet

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So tomorrow is a social kick off event for the graduate program I’ll be starting in a week. It would be a generally wise decision to go rub elbows with my soon-to-be academic colleagues. I’m told that this whole networking thing is the name o’ da game, after all.

However, tomorrow – at the same time, no less – is the orientation meeting for our school’s iDesign Transition Team. And while I’ve respectfully rescinded my name for Transition Team membership, it will be the beginning of a landmark process of grassroots reflection, planning, and implementation for and by my school’s community. It will be the start of positive progress at our school and my input (like all stakeholders) is welcomed.

So … networking will not be happening this weekend. Sorry future classmates, my students’ interests are still first.

Taking iDivision iNventory

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Well, we’re an iDivision school. It’s official. I’ve already chimed in on this, as has my principal, as has our Network Partners.

There’s a riveting story just under the surface with regards to Manual’s journey into the iDivision fold. I don’t think most of us will be able to really recount these stories any time soon, but maybe one day – when my credential is long past being cleared – we can gather round the proverbial camp fire and reminisce.

In any case, the real work begins in the next few weeks. Our transition team will be established and another wave of teachers, students, parents, and community folk will rise to the occasion. I’m excited about the prospects.

So, to briefly recap before the real work begins, this is what I have as a result of getting into the iDivision (I’m omitting and forgetting a ton of stuff, but this was kind of fun to compile quickly):

3 iDivision t-shirts (two “One Manual” shirts, one in Spanish)
3 “Yes iDivision” buttons
1 “Vote Yes for Local Autonomy” button
3 Local Autonomy/iDivision stickers
1 “I Voted” sticker
2 heavily highlighted/margin-filled copies of “Excellence Loves Company”
2 reams of iDivision fliers and leaflets placed in my box (approximately)
97 emails that have the word “iDivision” in the subject
3 School Board committee meetings attended
5 different weekly meetings held specifically related to getting our school into iDivision
2 Network Partners
One Manual

A Good Time for Music

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Though I have apparently lost the link, I read the other day about a study demonstrating that listening to music helps some students learn. No real surprise there, I know. However, this is the kind of quantitative data that I need to help validate the allowance of music in an otherwise electronically intolerant campus. Now if only I can locate the study … I’ve yet to pin it down for myself, but I’ve been thinking about this electronics policy in terms of Henry Jenkin’s definition of the Participation Gap. As the Black Cloud has had me thinking about online literacy in the past few months, I’ve been meaning to get something more concrete up here, to least help me sift through the pedagogical flotsam I keep thinking about (there have been a couple mentions at the Homeroom, but not in the depth I want to explore).

As I’ve been experimenting with Twitter, I like the musical idea of the Lyric of the Day twitter. I even felt foolhardy enough to throw out the song I was listening to earlier (and the song you should be listening to immediately, if you haven’t heard it).

In related news, on Sunday Rhea and I saw the first Los Angeles performance of the New Orleans group the Hot 8 Brass Band at the REDCAT. If you’ve listened to samples of the group’s sound you get an accurate picture of the general vivacious tone of the evening; as with most concerts the effervescent (dare I say more-than-human?) bigness of live music made the show that much more compelling. Shuffling along the dance floor, I started thinking about the communal cultural practices typically invoked in concerts. In some sense, the call-and-response vernacular of the show suggests the kinds of developmental un-blank slate behavior that Steven Pinker is pointing to in the opening chapters of the current reading group book.

The other big (non-music) news of the evening is that Manual will be getting its official iDivision vote in May. This has been a very long struggle, and while the vote is anything but certain, I’m enthused that it will be happening. I’ll be writing about this both here and at the Manual Arts blog.

Autonomy Posting

Looks like I’ll be contributing to a new blog devoted to Manual Arts’ efforts toward autonomy. Follow along over here (or check the snazzy blogroll).

And for kicks, I’ll repost my first entry over there:

A Word About Collaboration

Over the next couple of weeks, there will be ample opportunities for Manual Arts teachers, parents, students, community members, and administrators to collaborate in the discussions and decisions about what our school will look like within the Innovation Division. As a grassroots movement, it is important to keep in mind that the input of all of our stakeholders is the key to lasting change as a result of autonomy. The two biggest challenges that we are facing in this process are:

1. Individuals wanting things to “stay the same”
2. Individuals that feel that dissenting opinions do not have a forum to be voiced.

I want to address both of these very quickly.

1. Though it has been stated before, it is important to remember that there is no status quo that the Manual Arts community can rely on. We are committed to the High Priority School plan and will be facing numerous structural and curricular changes as a result; teachers’ classrooms will be different and your practice as an educator will be questioned. The Innovation Division allows for these decisions to be localized. Student achievement is at the forefront of this movement; this is about our community focusing on our students.

2. The success of Manual Arts’ partnership with MLA Partnership Schools and WestEd relies on our ability as a community to discuss and recognize the myriad viewpoint surrounding change at our school. Concerns with parts of a proposed plan need to vetted as a community so that we can continue to build consensus. I want to remind everyone that nothing about the plan is set in stone. We are working together to determine what is best for our community and for our students. As a result, it is imperative that anyone with concerns attends one of the regular Local Autonomy meetings or contact anyone connected to the current movement on campus.

To date, this has been a nearly nine-month process towards autonomy and counting! I am excited by the continued efforts of our network partners, UTLA, and the amazing parents, teachers, and students that have made this journey possible. I look forward to the continued dialogue to come. With collaboration, it really can be done!