Category Archives: Stephanie Cline

What is School For?

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A few days after I had written my blog about finding balance with homework and life, my son shared a great Prince Ea video, “What is school for?” This video resonated with him and completely supported some of the themes we have been addressing in this blog. Prince Ea makes a case that we are heading in the right direction as we continue to reinvent how we teach, inspire and guide our students. What skills are they learning that can be applied in their daily lives? Should making the grade be their ultimate goal?

Although many things resonated with me while watching the short video, one idea stood out. Prince Ea, stated “If schools put learning instead of memorizing and testing as the top standard then the letter ‘F’ would not stand for ‘failure’. It would stand for ‘find another answer.’ ” Yes… find another answer. The grade should not be the “end-all-be-all”. Intellectual curiosity, critical thinking and problem solving are gateways to future success and opportunities. Providing opportunities for students to foster these skills is worth investing our time and energy in.


If you end up checking out the video “What is school for?”, you will see a link to an interesting website. The “Innovation Playlist” on this website includes ideas, information and resources that can inspire and push us out of our comfort zone. We want our students to dare greatly, to not be afraid of failing so… why not us?
#inspireddaily


Homework: Finding the Balance

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Recently, I have been thinking about the amount of time our students spend on homework and whether their learning increases because of this extra work. This reflection has led me to make changes in how I approach my lessons and forced me to question the value of so much “outside work” for students. 


 As a parent of three high schoolers, I see the difference in stress on students based on their workload. One of my children is taking two AP courses, 1 honors and enrolled in an advanced math course. He wants to be well-rounded and is passionate about the arts and sports. What his workload has done has made him prioritize and focus on what he is most passionate about. Yet, it keeps him up for hours-on-end, multiple days in a row, with no time other than to just “do school”. The fact he has stayed up well passed 4:00 am on multiple occasions completing homework and has already been sick twice within the first 4 weeks of school is an indication that this is not healthy. This begs the question of what is the purpose of homework and is it getting the outcomes we really want? 


 At the end of the day, We want our students to graduate high school with the skills and tools to thrive in the outside world. We want them to be able to prioritize, set-goals, to be wisdom seekers and actively pursue their passions. How can this possibly happen when they are over scheduled, overworked and stressed out most of their days? What skills are we really teaching them by allowing this to happen? 


 I think as educators, we need to push the pause button and rewind to see how we can make a change. More reading, more note taking, more question answering is sometimes simply MORE. If we want them to have a balanced life beyond school, we should support those choices that allow them to explore their passions, dream, play and thrive. How can we get the same outcomes with less outside work? In what ways can we simplify and help them thrive? When we finally figure that out we too, can rest well.

The Evolution of “I am”

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The Kinesiology Department’s collaborative “I am” project is an example of how wonderful things can happen when two roads converge. Both Ms. Chavez and I shared ideas last year on how we might inspire students to make positive statements about themselves and create an environment that recognizes and honors their differences.

The inspiration and purpose of the “I am” project in my classes was to empower young women to use the power of their words to build self-esteem. I began with sharing a passage of the bible (Job 22:28, NKJV) and challenged them to consider how they can use their own power in positive ways. What they choose to say after “I am” can determine the kind of life they live. “I am strong”, “I am capable” or “I am weak” and “I am stupid”. All have power in their lives and the question is; where do they want to spend their energy?

I challenged my students to use the power of words in their favor; to stop saying I can’t but rather “I can’t yet”.

Their task was to make one positive statement about themselves. Pictures were taken of each student with their positive words. The project is in its second year and I hope that it will continue to inspire our young women to be bold and brave… not perfect.

 “You will also declare a thing,
And it will be established for you;
So light will shine on your ways.”  – (Job 22:28, NKJV)

PE, Phys Ed, or Kin… Why the change?

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Kinesiology is the most recognized term in the physical education and recreation field. It is a term used to describe the art and science of human movement. Including applications of human health such as sports and exercise, strength and conditioning, biomechanics, psychology and physiology. This title more clearly represents the evolution of our department and also aligns more accurately with language used at the University level.