Every great mistake has a halfway moment, a split second when
it can be recalled and perhaps remedied.
 
                                                       Pearl S. Buck


 
I've been reading the book Why We Make Mistakes by Joseph Hallinan.
 The text has my all-time favorite subtitle - How We Look Without
Seeing, Forget Things in Seconds, and Are All Pretty Sure We Are
Way Above Average.  That subtitle neatly summarizes the root cause
of all problems in my life.
 
Anyway, in the book Hallinan shares the remarkable story of how
anesthesiologists cut their fatality rates forty-fold over two
decades ago.  Ponder that statistic for a moment.  It's not 40%,
but 40 times - from one death every 5,000 patients, to the current
death rate of one every 200,000 - 300,000 cases.
 
Through a comprehensive review of procedures, anesthesiologists
made three changes that dropped death rates so dramatically.  The
first change was the simplest.  There were two models of machines
used to deliver gas to patients.  While the machines had a similar
appearance and function, one had controls that turned clockwise,
and the other turned counterclockwise.  You would think the
profession would have caught such an obvious source of errors
sooner.  Once both machines were designed to have controls move in
the same direction, the error rate dropped significantly.
 
The other changes took more time.  Short checklists were developed,
similar to what pilots use before taking off.  The checklists
included every important step in pre-operation procedures, and
doctors were required to use them.  Finally, the most humbling
change for the anesthesiologists may have been the most crucial one
- everyone in the room was encouraged to speak up if they saw
anything amiss.  Doctors aren't necessarily accustomed to being
challenged by nurses.
 
What are the lessons here for literacy leaders? We often lump
teachers together as one group when we think about their needs, or
we consider each teacher as unique.  When it comes to what isn't
working with professional development, maybe there is a third way
to categorize teachers when thinking through logistics.  We're
often dealing with two different educator "models" because of
generational shifts.  There is a large group of late-career
teachers, the baby boomers, who may have empty nests and often
thrive in the early morning.  There is another large group, of
early-career teachers, who are just the opposite.  They may have
babies or young children at home, and because of this may be
chronically sleep-deprived.  
 
How is your school adjusting its professional development offerings
to meet the needs of these two different groups?  For example,
Jennifer Allen in Waterville, Maine always offers at least one or
two early morning study groups.  The empty nesters love meeting at
7 a.m. (even on a Monday!) because that is prime time for their
energy levels.   Early career teachers usually prefer after-school
study groups that end promptly at 4 p.m., so that they can pick up
their children on time from daycare.
 
When I read about the checklists used by the doctors, I thought
about the raging debates over which protocols are best for meetings
and professional learning communities.  Perhaps the agenda or
format isn't nearly as important as simply having one, as well as a
timekeeper at each meeting to make sure the group hits every item
on the list.  A checklist or protocol that doesn't vary much from
meeting to meeting also ensures when the facilitator has to miss a
gathering, the group still moves forward with clear expectations.
 
Finally, when's the last time you asked for input from your
students or colleagues about something that isn't going well? Is
there time set aside regularly to discuss and reassess plans,
checklists, and protocols openly?
 
This week, we've got a new piece from Shari Frost on the importance
of an open mind, plus more as always.  Enjoy!
 
Brenda Power
Editor, Choice Literacy
 
 

Free for All

 
Shari Frost vows she will never use an eBook reader.  Yet when she
receives one as a gift and loves it, she finds herself reflecting
on the importance of keeping an open mind when it comes to working
with children, teachers, and trying new things.  "I Do So Love
Green Eggs and Ham" is a wonderful article for thinking through
what beliefs you have that may be barriers to improving your
teaching and relationships with colleagues:
 
http://www.choiceliteracy.com/public/911.cfm
 
 
 
Looking for some last minute links to summer reading booklists?
Elizabeth Kennedy has compiled a 2009 Top Ten List that has many of
the best links all in one spot:
 
http://tinyurl.com/of6h7v
 
 Whether you're closing out the school year, or already looking
ahead to next year's launch, you can never have too many good
teacher appreciation quotes on hand to share with colleagues.  The
Quote Garden has posted a lovely collection:
 
http://www.quotegarden.com/teacher-apprec.html
 
 
If you're buried under a mountain of assessment data, you might
enjoy the new Choice Literacy Summer Workshop "Making Assessments
Work for You."  Offered in Portland, Maine on July 7th, the event
highlights protocols for helping teachers move from assessment data
to designing classroom instruction. The DVD provided to
participants includes sample study group meetings and demonstration
lessons developed based on assessment data. You can download a
workshop description and registration form at this link:
 
http://www.choiceliteracy.com/maine09.pdf
 
Our new Intermediate CAFE and Intermediate Daily 5 DVDs featuring
The Sisters (Gail Boushey and Joan Moser) are on sale this month -
purchase both by June 30th and save $99.  View footage from both
programs at this link:
 
http://www.choiceliteracy.com/products/item27.cfm
 
 
For Members Only

 

Teachers of young children often face the difficult choice of using
leveled books that aren't necessarily engaging, or children's
literature that isn't as easy to peg for readability.  In our
latest booklist, "Not Available in a Six-Pack,"  Franki Sibberson
is on the hunt for wonderful children's literature that can easily
supplement or replace those lowest level "six-packs" of texts:
 
http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/904.cfm
 
What's the perfect gift for a new teacher in your school?  How
about not gifting them with all the teaching "junk" you never use?
Those faded cute bulletin and wall borders are our profession's
version of the fruitcake that gets passed around because no one
wants it.   This week's video from the Choice Literacy Archives is
part of our continuing series on reorganizing and cleaning out
classrooms. Gail Boushey and Joan Moser ("The Sisters") help young
teacher Amy clean out much of the junk she inherited as a new
teacher:
 
http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/852.cfm
 
 
If you have been busy this spring and haven't had a chance to visit
the site often, you'll be interested in two new member features
we've designed to help with your personal professional development
this summer, as well as planning pd sessions for colleagues all
year long -
 
 
The Clusters Department includes links to all our professional
development clusters.  Articles and videos are grouped by topic
with reflection questions provided, for use over four or five
learning sessions.  There are currently 30 clusters available -
enough to keep you busy all summer and beyond:
 
http://www.choiceliteracy.com/public/department71.cfm
 
Finally, if you haven't started using the "My Favorites" feature,
you're missing out on a terrific tool for organizing and sorting
the articles on the site for future use in professional development
settings.  A brief tutorial on "My Favorites" is available at this
link:
 
http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/846.cfm
 
That's all for this week!

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