Mark W. Guay 11/15/13 Mark W. Guay 11/15/13

On Student Discussion and Unemployment: Students Become What They Repeatedly Do

This post, first published in The Huffington Post, critiques the value of entrepreneurship in education. It argues that the behaviors taught in the traditional school system may lead to unemployment spikes.

When hanging out the other day with my friends Pavlov and Aristotle, they got me thinking about what behaviors students regularly repeat through the years of schooling. They mentioned it might have something to do with those struggling with unemployment.

Pavlov mentioned that animals have involuntary responses to external stimuli if a behavior is repeated enough.

As animals, we humans too build habits based on our behavior. We're not that much different from Pavlov's dog. Pavlov learned that if he rang a bell every time he fed his dog, the dog would salivate. After a certain time, if Pavlov continued to ring the bell even if he offered no food, the dog would still salivate. The body and mind involuntarily learned behavior.

The same goes for us humans. After years of following a bell system in school, just watch a group of students before the class bell rings. They get antsy. If the bell system fell one day, students would begin to stir around the same time the bell typically rings. And after years of being asked questions by a power figure or filling in the bubble on a multiple choice test, students have learned there is only one way to think and one correct answer.

Aristotle replied to Pavlov, "We are what we repeatedly do."

And the one thing that students repeatedly don't do very often is communicate effectively with peers. Socrates, the inventor of the discussion-based Socratic circle, would be pissed.

Here's the one thing <a href="http://de.slideshare.net/fionnae/socratic-circles" target="_hplink">Dr. Nystrand and others found out</a>: about 94 percent of classroom discussions in an eighth- and ninth-grade classroom were completely monologic, meaning the teacher spoke practically all the time. The rest of the discussions were primarily structured as teacher asks question then student answers.

So, what are the behaviors here and what are the repercussions after 13 or so years of repeating this?

1. Students behaviorally learn to listen for information from a superior source and then only respond to a superior -- typically in a "there's only one answer to the question" kind of way. This is vey similar to the behavior learned from a multiple choice style test where there is only one correct answer.

2. The current system does not allow students to get enough opportunities to grow their discussion engine beyond <a href="http://seenive.com/tag/thoughtsduringschool" target="_hplink">#thoughtsduringschool. </a>

Does this learned behavior lead to a waiting for superior syndrome where students graduate from high school in a lackluster autonomous state and look to a superior for guidance, like a boss assigning a job?

After graduation, the boss replaces the teacher and when unemployment reaches an all-time high in an economic crisis, people are left saying there are no jobs. This leaves two options:

1. Go on unemployment.

2. Create your own job.

The latter presents a series of roadblocks one cannot even fathom until he takes the leap to be entrepreneurial. For one, working alone rarely works out and building a team out of peers (many times a motivational necessity) requires a network and the know-how to communicate effectively, ask the right questions and organize a team to create something remarkable.

Of course, this is not the only reason many people are unemployed, but perhaps this presents one angle rarely looked at.

So, if there's no job, for many there's only unemployment. When you're not taught to think outside the multiple choice answers, it's tough to think outside bubbling in a response <a href="http://clicktotweet.com/9uQUd" target="_hplink">(tweet this!).</a>

Let's dig deep to explore the future.

<strong>The Structure Will Change</strong>

The brick-and-mortar school system has a new operating system (OS) -- options which include blended-learning environments, online schooling and flipped classrooms all over the world.

For anyone who has ever been a building principal or teacher, it makes perfect sense why you wouldn't want students talking all the time in the traditional school. Building a Socratic-style classroom under the restriction of a mandatory school system with cramped rooms, hormones and uncomfortable seating presents a series of reasons why seasoned teachers may turn to more monologic class discussions. Who willingly brings on a migraine?

Now, students can engage in Socratic dialogue through the safety of web forums, the flipped classroom and blended-learning environments where students learn online then meet in person for group work and Socratic dialogue.

Take a look around at adult learning today and you'll see Socratic discussions popping up through local meet-ups, cooperative working spaces and even the blended-learning-style community colleges.

So, what could we have more students talking about?

<a href="http://www.startsomethingthatmatters.com/" target="_hplink">Starting something that matters. </a>

<a href="http://www.thefutureproject.org/" target="_hplink">Dreaming big.</a>

What do you think? What do students repeatedly do and what behaviors have we learned?

Mark W. Guay 11/13/13 Mark W. Guay 11/13/13

3 Reasons Why the School Principal Needs to Tweet

This post takes a look at social media in schools and argues that schools need to not only teach social media, but serve as a model on effective use.

I envision every school principal with smartphone in hand, anxious to send out the next tweet. And here's why:

Now, more than ever before, schools have their own media channel - the ability to say what they want and show the world how amazing they are.

It's saddening to read mainstream media's portrayal of the school system full of burnt-out teachers, military principals, and factory-like education. This, just simply, is not true. That's like saying all ships that cross the Atlantic sink like the Titanic, because you never read about ships that make it successfully.

This is changing, however. Mainsteam media is dwindling and more and more users are reading and watching what they choose. This includes a selection of blogs, Youtube channels, and social-media handles (i.e. Twitter, Facebook, Vine and Pinterest).

It's time now for school districts to take the power and become their own media channel using all the free media channels out there to promote the positive-learning center school leaders know their school to be.

This isn't for everyone. Trust me, any school leader that's afraid to make waves and try something new will not like this idea. Not at all. But any school leader that cares for their students and recognizes that the world students are growing up in is vastly different from the one she grew up in, recognizes that the education system needs a facelift and she has the power to make it happen. Now, she has the ability to tell the world how great her school is.

Great schools (online, blended, and traditional) act as nurturing centers that foster creative development and high-quality art, math, and science skills; and school is the medium to advance human development and better society. The internet took our society into hyper speed and successful schools will quickly follow.

In case you're not convinced:

3 Reasons Why Principals Need to Tweet

1. Students Need Social-Media Role Models.

Are you sitting down? If not, quickly do so before you click and read what students' thoughts are during school: #thoughtsduringschool

Parents, I'm sorry you had to see that. Yes, students really are saying these things and apparently don't care or don't' realize people like me (and you) are reading them. Pardon the lack of amygdala development, but students need a role model that shows them how social media is an incredibly powerful tool. It's a media channel - FOR FREE. It's the ability to get your message out there. It's the ability to be the change you want to see in the world, regardless of how much bank you have (yes, I said that). (Click to tweet)

2. What About the Budget? No Cost Necessary

Forget the budget. Launching a Twitter and Pinterest handle, along with a Facebook page, costs zilch - nada- nothing. Just the amount of time it takes one to figure out how to do this which is a whole lot less time than it takes to master Warcraft.

3. What can you do with a Tweet, Pin, and Like?

Here's the formula:

Step 1: Assign a school leader to write a blog post each week that tells the story of something amazing happening in the school (a.k.a. the good news). This could be a student who ran 95 yards for the touchdown or the school club that put together its first community walk to raise awareness for Lyme disease.

Step 2: Create a Twitter, Pinterest, and Facebook page. Include a link to the school's main blog to direct readers to it. Below are the benefits of each social media platform.

Twitter: Craft 3-5 daily tweets that stay on the positive. You can get really serious and include interesting facts to feed the students' minds (i.e. Einstein quotes or "on this day...") Or, you can crack a joke here and there and be human. Or, you can ask students and parents to wear a white ribbon to honor "insert event here".

Pinterest: Pictures, baby! Hand this over to an exemplary student and upload pictures of student photos, paintings, or the school's garden. Free publicity to get your students' amazing work out there. Talk about promotional opportunities.

Facebook: Use this like a blog if you don't run a blog on the school's server (though you should), but disable comments. You don't need any trolls pretending you're not awesome. Post pictures of the school leaders and teachers smiling. Students smiling. Or, you can enable (though monitor) comments and engage the school and community in a discussion. Post questions like Socrates would ask and encourage comments. Offer small prizes for incentive. If your community is smart, they'll start calling you for promotional offers, giving you Starbucks' gift cards to give to the students with the best responses.

Step 3: Keep it up. It takes time to develop the benefits from having an online presence. However, through time, the community and your students will start seeing how to use social media wisely and will have more reason to believe in the school system (Click to tweet). Parents may even start responding to the Facebook posts and become more involved with their children's education.

So, go ahead and get started. Enjoy the likes, the retweets, and the re-pins. You have nothing to lose besides progress.

What do you think? I'd love to hear your thoughts, so please leave a comment below.

Mark W. Guay 11/12/13 Mark W. Guay 11/12/13

3 Reasons Online Reading Trumps The Paperback

This blog post examines the benefits of digital reading (a.k.a online reading) for all readers, struggling or not. Trust me, I love a good paperback, but hyperlinks and other technology has evened the playing field for readers of all levels.

Take a look in my office, my kitchen, and my living room and you'll notice bookshelves lining the walls, aged paper-texts stacked tightly filling the shelves.

So, when it came time to take a look at online reading, I stood last in line and let others cut ahead. Then I saw my students read from the smartphone, Kindle, Nook, and laptop, and began to notice the incredible benefit online reading has to struggling learners.

Ditch the nostalgia of a good paperback and the feel of soft edges for a thin piece of plastic and you may be amazed at what you'll find. Take what Brad found, for instance.

As a senior in high school, Brad still clung to Goosebumps as his go-to independent reading book. When 1984 or "The Wasteland" came across his desk, his eyes glazed over and Sparknotes became the go-to. Then, I saw him read 1984 on his smart device. Instead of growing confused with the new Orwellian lexicon, Brad grew used to highlighting a word to find its meaning, listening to how the word sounded, and even surfing the web to learn more about the contextual analogies Orwell makes to tyrannic government control.

When it came time for Socratic discussion, Brad had more enthusiasm and context than some of the stronger readers who clung to the paperback.

So, for anyone struggling with a dense paperback who wants to grow as a reader, here are a few reasons to make the shift to online reading.

3 Reasons Online Reading Trumps The Paperback

1. Real-time Vocabulary

In the words of Hamlet, "Words, Words Words." And for a man who spoke far too many, Hamlet knows the value of a growing vocabulary (click to tweet).

It's downright silly to expect young readers to quickly learn the vocabulary of texts that use words way different than the lingo of the reader. So, for things like Shakespeare, real-time vocabulary really helps the struggling reader gain a clue at whatever Shakespeare was talking about. Quite funny when you think that one reason we love discussing his work is becuase we don't really know what he was talking about half the time.

Even if the text uses more current wordage, dense texts that challenge readers to grow cognitively use words that are like Greek to English readers. A quick highlight, click, then definition, helps keep struggling readers following along. If readers get caught up in the language by not knowing what a word means, they lose the ability to engage in a great book's more important aspects like challenging themes that provoke the mind to go, "huh…mmmm…interesting". This is how we get the gears rolling.

2. When in Doubt, Google it

Forget the tight-fist of Big Brother, if students want to know information they can just google it. For instance, many great authors use deep cultural analogies that may fall out of common cultural knowledge with each passing generation. When this happens, online readers can quickly Google images to show the slave shackles on Amistad or check Wikipedia to learn about Malleus Maleficarum if they picked up Aleph by Paulo Coelho

3. Online Active Discussion

Okay, so I don't yet know of a program that will do this, but I envision online reading software that will allow students to discuss a text together through Cornell-style notes (a.k.a. double-entry journal). Kind of like when students can comment on a Google document, students will one-day be able to deconstruct a literary piece like 1984 without needing a separate notebook.

Let me know what you think by leaving a comment below. Nothing beats reading Dracula in paperback by candlelight, but if readers don't get my Big Brother references, please quickly google Big Brother ( or just click on the hyperlink).