Learning for Real

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Live a Great Story

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On day one, I presented the incoming company members with the directive, Live a Great Story.live-a-great-story

I simply asked, “What does this mean to you?” Their responses, so authentic and introspective, launch our year-long journey of discovery.

“Write my story.”
― Eugene

“I want to live my life like a story, make it beautiful and amazing. I want my life to be as clean as the Earth after rain. I want to make good decisions and be a good example.”
― Evelyn

“Follow your heart. Nobody can tell you what you can or can’t do. If you make a mistake, it’s okay. The good thing instead of giving up, is that you learn from your mistakes.”
― Belinda [Read more…] about Live a Great Story

Bigger Than Our Barriers

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Back in September, Take Off the Mask Kids Opera Company was invited to present its original opera on The Millennium Stage at The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC. We knew then that this would be a once in a lifetime opportunity and that we must work hard and persevere to deliver our collective message to a broader audience.

After the opera, Jasmine Momyer eloquently shared from the stage her final words as production manager.

“When we are confronting our barriers… It will hurt. It will take time. It will require confidence. It will require love. We will need to make healthy decisions for ourselves. We will need to keep our minds fresh and clean and our hearts pure. It will require sacrifice. We will need to push our bodies to the limit. There will be temptations to give up. But I promise, when we reach our goal, it will be WORTH IT!! Confront your barriers.”

In these final days of school, we can say that we indeed have confronted our barriers, we have reached our goals, we have learned many life lessons and we are now ready to teach others what we have experienced.

The opera on June 8, 2016 was streamed live for the world to see. We share it with you now.

What I Want For My Kids

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After a particularly difficult session in art class one day, where class behavior failed to meet the company’s expected protocol, I asked a question. What seemed to be a simple question, led to introspective thought about the future. “How many of you think you will have children when you grow up?” Almost every hand in the circle went up. A second question followed. “When your children go to school, do you want them to behave as you did today in art class?” The faces said it all. The company responded with a resounding NO. This launched a discussion about what we see in ourselves and what we want for our own children.

When we help children see outside of themselves, they recognize that they indeed affect others in a profound way. They realize that they, themselves, are the role models for future generations.

The Human Knot

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Our individual and collective barriers oftentimes get tangled up in enormous knots which seem impossible to overcome and disentangle. But we must remember that if we collaborate, if we communicate effectively and if we trust in one another, we can break free of the knots that bind us and hold us back.

Watch as company members and parents work through a human representation of this powerful metaphor.

Pitch Perfect

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To sell an idea, promote a product or further a mission, one must craft the perfect sales pitch. Getting someone to purchase something he really does not need or want, takes persuasion, persistence and probable cause. Our company mugs are lovely, but who needs another mug? It’s what the mug represents, the purpose for funding and the delivery of the sales pitch that will make or break the sale. Want to buy a mug?

I Get It!

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For years, teachers have engaged in taking running records to assess reading progress. Teachers analyze mistakes, determine strategies to help students correct mistakes and create an instructional plan of next steps to help students become proficient readers. When used correctly, this tool can provide great insight into teaching and learning in a profound way.

The first week of school, my former colleague, Ellen Bloom, came to my class to teach students how to monitor their own reading progress by administering running records. Why should the teacher be the sole proprietor of the assessment tool and the process through which students learn to be better readers?

As students learn to monitor their own progress and the progress of their peers, they better understand themselves as readers and for the first time, can unlock the meaning to the printed words on the page. The words come to life. It all begins to make sense.

Since Ms. Bloom’s visit in September, my students have persevered in their efforts to become proficient readers. They coach one another and provide unsolicited assistance and support for fellow readers. When we turn over the responsibility of learning to our students, they do not disappoint.