The way you do things matters as much as what you’re trying to do. From Martin Luther King:

One of the great philosophical debates of history has been over the whole question of means and ends. And there have always been those who argued that the end justifies the means, that the means really aren’t important. The important thing is to get to the end, you see.

So, if you’re seeking to develop a just society, they say, the important thing is to get there, and the means are really unimportant; any means will do so long as they get you there? they may be violent, they may be untruthful means; they may even be unjust means to a just end. There have been those who have argued this throughout history. But we will never have peace in the world until men everywhere recognize that ends are not cut off from means, because the means represent the ideal in the making, and the end in process, and ultimately you can’t reach good ends through evil means, because the means represent the seed and the end represents the tree.

–Martin Luther King, Christmas Sermon, 1967

This morning we went down to a theatre to see a performance of monologues sponsored by Philadelphia Young Playwrights. Taliya Carter, one of our amazing students, had submitted an entry that was selected as a winner along with seventeen others.

There was a power in this performance. One, the willingness, really the courage, of students to grapple with complex, challenging events and emotions was on full display. Their creativity and thoughtfulness was truly amazing.

There was also power in the theatre, in the authenticity of the production, in the fact that this work flowed out of the hard work of high school students but it was staged in such a professional way.

All that to say I got to have this conversation with a student as we walked back to the subway:

“Do you think I could do that?”

That’s why we do this. We want students to see the world and to see a vision of the world and to see if they couldn’t create something themselves. If you’re asking that question of yourself, you’re probably going to be okay. If you’re in a school where kids are asking this question, your school is going in the right direction.

In 1985 or so, I was standing in a McDonald’s near my high school. While I was waiting for my order, one of my former teachers asked me if I was Michael Clapper. I recognized her. I had been in her class the previous year and had been a, um, troubled, student. Still don’t know why I was struggling and it’s probably a tribute to the class that I can recall what we read — a biography of Lenin, a biography of Ghandi.

Still, after her gentle inquiry about how I was doing I’m pretty sure I said something like “I’ve got it figured out.” I know that she said something like “I’m glad you’ve got it figured out.”

About a week ago I was sitting with a student. I was trying to point out a series of not-so-great decisions. I was trying to gently explain there’s no on-off switch in real life. I was trying to express my worry for next year — will she be able to survive in a setting where there aren’t lots of adults looking out for her?

She said something like “I got this. Really, I got this.”

***
Joan Didion, On Keeping a Notebook

I think we are well advised to keep on nodding terms with the people we used to be, whether we find them attractive company or not.

Me at sixteen. Sigh. I wish I really had figured it out. I hadn’t. But I remember that part of me well enough not to browbeat my student, to pause, to nod, to say “I hope you got it.”

And there’s a kind of bittersweet feeling, to know that all I can do is try and keep the faith in this student, in the opportunities we’ve provided, the experiences we’ve created, the advice we’ve offered, the community we’ve tried to make with her, alongside of her, and sometimes just near her.

One of the great parts of our model is that we spend so much time with students that each of them glows with potential. You’ve had the chance to see them in so many different spaces and under so many different conditions that you can feel how alive they all are with possibility.

Trying to do two things this quarter:

1. With each presentation, I want the students to reflect on what the student learned this quarter. Through their description of their work, their work process, and their accomplishments, can we feel what new knowledge and skills they gained through their projects.

2. The second part was to write about what we learned from them. For example, as I listened to TC, IJ, and BC I was forced to think about a number of things:

This happens every time I do exhibitions but I’m hoping the students can document (and feel) it too.

Dear Friends,

It feels like third quarter went by in a blink of an eye. Like we started and then boom, it was over. Here are my reflections for third quarter:

One, the students who are enjoying the most success (and I want this to be all of you) seem to have or are developing a clear sense of how the work we do across the morning relates. In other words, how did the work on a composter relate to the work we did in circle relate to the work we did in book group relate to the work we did in project block two relate to the work we did on our trackers? Are these all separate activities? Or should you think about them as closely related? Better yet, how do you see the value in each of these sections for your future plans?

For example, having a clear understanding of oustanding will serve you well in any project you do. So will thinking about the origins of your decisions in service of an essay contest, considering how you best do work, and the difference between a task and a deliverable? (These were all circle conversations). The design process we took on during the Compost Project certainly applies to your individual pieces. Reflecting on how I set up a schedule might allow you to think about you best schedule yourself. And within a project, think about how all the different deliverables relate to each other. Forging these connections might be the most valuable thing you can do for yourself as a student, a worker, and a person.

Two, it’s the beautiful comment made by Mr. Watson the other day in class illustrated by the cartoon below:

There are always things I can do better as a teacher. There are always things we can do better as a school. What I cannot forcibly change is what’s down to you and your work ethic. The best projects this quarter have emerged from the hard work that’s built upon feedback from me, from the the Penn students, from the experts you’ve solicited, from Mr. Hauger and the other faculty around the building. The best projects have revision histories that extend into the afternoon and evening. The best projects occur outside of school with significant help. The best projects made steady progress across the quarter. This what you should aspire to but it’s also what separates outstanding work on the report cards from you can do better.

Three, I know that it drives you crazy but I want to share it with your parents. It’s what we’re calling the 2-50-10 rule. Each week, for each project, a student should be WRITING two pages, READING fifty pages, and INVESTING ten hours. Some of this will occur in class. Some needs to occur outside of class. Please think about this formula as often as you can. We don’t necessarily have formal homework but none of these projects can get done if there is no work occurring outside of school. I frequently ask students to plan their time outside of school via tracker questions and other activities. Work on this!

Four, the philosophical question of how we, as human beings, have to handle things we don’t want to do. Students: this is a question to ask yourself: how do I handle things I don’t like doing? Do I stop and give up? Or do I think about a strategy to get through it, knowing that it will likely serve me well in the future? Sometimes it’s about simple stuff: I don’t like cleaning up but I really dislike having a disorganized work space. (Many students complain about laptops not being charged but every teacher in my room spends 4-6 minutes collecting and plugging laptops in after students have left them out). Sometimes it’s about school: I didn’t like everything I was told to read but I knew that it would be part of the final. Each human has their own strategy for dealing with what they don’t want to do. The more you can develop these strategies at 16, 17, 18 years old, the better off you will be. Students — you should all ask your parents how much of their day is consumed with things they don’t necessarily want to do and what strategies they employ to deal.

Parents, one thing I would ask all of you to consider and reinforce: the School District of Philadelphia prints latenesses and absences on their official transcript. Too many students are showing double digit absences and latenesses. You cannot earn a scholarship ANYWHERE with this many latenesses and you lose elite opportunities with double digit latenesses and absences. As a school, we want the best for all of our students, but there is damage done to the culture of our classroom when students are constantly late as well an significant impact on the entire community’s ability to complete quality work.. In the comments below, you will see a number — it’s out of 121 — and that’s the number of days your child has been present on-time this year. Please have a conversation with them, to praise their commitment or to start figuring out how things can be different.

As always, please feel free to contact me…

Twenty students. Sixteen projects. Five Workshop Skills. Four academic disciplines. One grading system.

I’m forced into managing several things:

*generally defining what makes outstanding work within an academic discipline in a way that most projects could reach. For example, what are the social science skills that might emerge in most projects?

*making sure the students understand these standards for their three deliverables AND can point at the work they’ve done that I might miss. (As DW noted yesterday, Clapper doesn’t see everything.)

Steps for today:
1. What academic discipline is most represented in your project?
2. How does your project measure up to these definitions of outstanding?
3. What do you still need to do?

Started by writing about two things: when does your understanding of outstanding come from INSIDE you and when does your understanding of outstanding come from OUTSIDE of you. I tried to have students identify concrete situations where they formed each. MB nailed me right away by asking near the beginning “wait…aren’t some things both?” That’s what I was after: the idea that as you advance through various forms of project work your own internal standards start to match up with external standards. I also was trying in a subtle (or not so subtle) way to suggest that simply declaring the work outstanding because you did your best won’t work. If I wanted to go to Northwestern and my essay, transcript, and scores did not meet their standards, then it wouldn’t matter how good I felt about my own work or whether I did my best.

A few kids also appreciated the idea that we all have hobbies and things we do for fun whether the standards we set for ourselves don’t really matter. I’m not trying to be a singer in a rock and roll band; I’m just trying to relax and make a little quiet art in my living room each night. I won’t ever be a professional carpenter but I like making boxes.

Some quotes from the conversation and from the sheets:

Ideas of outstanding work come from inside “all the time as long you are being truthful to yourself.” –MT
Ideas of outstanding work come from outside when “others are counting on you, like a group.” –MT

“It’s important to have outside help when you’re doing something that’s going to affect the people around you, your peers.” –DW

This also led to a great conversation about why I’d ask this question now. DW pointed out that sometimes it’s about the bald man and sometimes it’s about your own “work ethic.” When I have helped kids do the hard work of identifying and working towards outstanding work and when is it a great mystery.

Quotes from conversation
“You gotta have the outside when the whole community is depending on you.” –DW
“It comes from inside when it doesn’t affect other people.” –VG
“Inside when it’s on your own (house) vs outside when it’s at school”
“Grades! ”
“Are we reaching for those standards; for those outside standards?” –MH
“We’re talking about this to get on the same page.”