Brilliant or Insane?: holidays

Saturday, February 1, 2014

Best of January 2014

In case you missed anything here at Brilliant or Insane last month, here are a few of the hottest posts.

This year I'm serious about my New Year's Resolution: eliminate traditional grades in every school. This post has received more views than any other, proving that people believe this is an important issue.

via: digitaltrends.com
The Game of School. Reed Gillespie joined Brilliant or Insane as an education expert. This post demonstrates his experience and insight. There will be plenty more from Reed in 2014.
Facebook, YouTube and Twitter just might be the best teachers on Earth. People love Infographics, and this one, created by Adobe, sparked plenty of interest.
Are you talking about Martin Luther King? A brief video led to this question about the late civil rights leader on the day we celebrate his birthday.
Overcoming the weekly grades mandate. The first in a 5-part series on eliminating grades turned out to be the most popular.
Who says Twitter isn't for elementary students? People are always amazed by the video in this post of first graders using Twitter for learning.

Thanks for making January our best month ever.

Stay tuned for much more, including more new contributors and a beautiful new design, which we'll roll out in a few days.

Monday, January 20, 2014

Are you talking about Martin Luther King?

Today is a holiday. If you are like many people around the country and don't have the day off from work, you may not have realized it.

It's not Christmas or Thanksgiving or even the 4th of July. Today is, however, indeed a holiday.

Students around America recognize it as Martin Luther King Day -- a day they don't have to go to school.

Ask the young ones why they are home, and you may be answered by shrugged shoulders. Ask the older ones of the significance of Martin Luther King, and many will mumble something about a famous black man.

The video above is a segment from King's "I've Been to the Mountaintop" speech. He ended this particular speech, as he often did, reminding his audience that they would one day reach the promised land -- a biblical allusion that in this case was about freedom and equality for all races.

One day later, Martin Luther King was shot dead.

Are you talking about him, or is today just another day off?

Wednesday, January 1, 2014

This year I'm serious about my New Year's resolution: Eliminate traditional grades in every school

In the last few years, I've been pretty good with New Year's resolutions. One year, I promised to have a golf handicap in the mid teens. With plenty of practice and a little coaching, I made it happen. Another year, I lost 10 pounds.

My 2014 resolution is far more daunting than shaving a few golf strokes or cutting out fast food. This year, I'm promising to change education forever.

I'm going to encourage teachers everywhere to stop grading their students, using points, percentages and letters.

It may be crazy, but. . .

Sure, this may seem like an inconceivable, ridiculous, completely crazy idea.

After all, wasn't flying a plane inconceivable? Wasn't the microwave a ridiculous idea? I mean who in his right mind would eat something exposed to radiation? Wasn't the Smartphone a completely crazy thought? Could an internet-ready computer and high-functioning video camera really be placed inside a four-inch mobile device?

If these outrageous inventions could become realities, revolutionizing travel, eating and communication, why can't assessment be changed?

The plan

Any successful resolution or goal needs a plan. Here's how I intend to stop traditional grading in its tracks in 2014:

Share this 5-step blueprint for eliminating grades with teachers nationwide often.
Enlist the help of educators in my Personal Learning Network. This must be a widespread grassroots effort.
Create open forums with parents and school leaders about the value of SE2R feedback over traditional grades (more on this later).
Write about the power of feedback and the failure of grades. There's plenty of prose coming on this subject.
Get the publishing lobby to buy in. I've been hard on education publishers, like Pearson, who capitalize on education reforms, like the Common Core. What if a powerhouse publisher decided to put its resources behind narrative feedback? Imagine the possibilities.

So, in 2014, I'm going to war, and my enemy is traditional grades.

Are you ready to join the fight?

Wednesday, December 25, 2013

Dear Santa, don't forget results-only learning

I would be the last person to say anything negative about Santa Claus, but I must admit that I'm a bit unhappy that one of my top gifts was not left under the tree. I did not win my fantasy football league championship.

His reasons for this omission are unclear, but I'm giving Santa a chance to redeem himself. This is a big one, I realize.

Santa, please give educators results-only learning for their schools this year.

I'm doing my part, promoting my book, Role Reversal, and visiting school districts nationwide and in Canada, encouraging educators to eliminate traditional teaching, in favor of student-centered, results-only learning.

Every little bit helps, though. We can transform teaching and learning in classrooms everywhere, if educators understand that lecture, homework, tests and grades are destroying our kids' thirst for learning.

I know it's a lot to ask, but give me a hand, Santa. Please put results-only learning under every educator's tree this Christmas.

Oh, and leave a note, asking them to share it with all of their peers.

Who knows? Maybe this Christmas, we'll change the world.

Sunday, December 22, 2013

Dear Santa, I want a fantasy football title for Christmas

I have been in the same fantasy football league for 24 years. I have no research to bear me out, but I'm pretty sure that ours is one of the oldest fantasy football leagues in existence.

via: rigor.com

If you understand fantasy football, you know that this is one competitive game. Average people get to manage teams, in much the same way NFL general managers do. We make weekly lineup decisions, just like NFL head coaches. Fantasy football team owners pore over weekly statistics and review match-ups, deciding whom to play in critical games that could ultimately lead to a Fantasy Super Bowl.

That Fantasy Bowl, for most leagues worldwide, is today -- Week 16 in the National Football League. Because some NFL stars will be resting for the playoffs next week, it's best to play Fantasy Bowls the week before. No one wants Peyton Manning cooling his jets on the sidelines, when a fantasy league championship is on the line.

Yes, we fantasy football owners take this stuff seriously. I always say I'm not a competitive person. When it comes to fantasy football, though, I'd sell my soul in a second for a big day this week by CJ Spiller, who has been the proverbial bust this year. All will be forgiven with one long TD run in the fantasy title game, when I need him most.

I have made the Fantasy Bowl this year for a record 6th time in my competitive 12-team fantasy football league. A win will even my championship record at 3-3. The journey began four months ago at our annual fantasy football draft, when I started building my championship team, selecting Jimmy Graham with my first pick. After numerous trades, free agent pickups and a host of tricky lineup moves, my team is on the precipice of another championship trophy.

Now that you know the importance of fantasy football and the lengthy history of my league, you won't be surprised to learn that I've asked Santa for one thing this Christmas -- a Fantasy Bowl Championship.

Monday, December 2, 2013

Are you a Cyber Monday shopper?

Okay, since I believe in full disclosure on this blog, let me begin by admitting that I will shop online on Cyber Monday. I'm wondering, though, is this a good thing?

Since its inception in 2006, Cyber Monday has continued to see increases in online spending. Cyber Monday spending has doubled from year one to year six, and it's expected that consumers will drop a combined 1.5 billion dollars today.

via: examiner.com

With so many people doing holiday shopping from home, one must wonder if the Internet hasn't taken some of the joy out of the holidays.

I used to love to head to the mall with friends and make holiday shopping a social event. Now, I purchase a large amount of my gifts from my home office on my iMac.

Is my concern a knee-jerk reaction to a modern reality? What do you think?

Are you a Cyber Monday shopper, too?

Thursday, November 28, 2013

Happy Thanksgiving! Top 5 things I'm thankful for

When I created this blog, I decided it would be a fun tradition to always write holiday-specific posts. What could be more traditional than Thanksgiving?

Because I have so many good things in my life, this is difficult, but here are the Top 5 things I'm thankful for this Thanksgiving.

5 -- My Personal Learning Network: I learn more from people on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn than I ever have in any classroom. My PLN is composed of people, with a variety of experience and expertise, who teach me something new every single day. Thanks to all of you.

via: slate.com

4 -- People who read my work: I was a classroom teacher for 20 years, but now I write and present full-time. This was a stressful transition, because I can't make a living without people who are interested in my work. So, you see, readers are literally my lifeblood. Whether it's one of my books, a magazine article or this blog, thank you so much for reading. Please continue, and bring friends.

3 -- Teachers: I may be biased because I am an educator, but I honestly believe that teachers do a job that is more important than any other. Teachers protect, inspire and love kids. Without teachers, many children would be doomed to destitution or, worse, prison. Thank you for saving our kids -- the most important job there is.

2 -- ASCD: Since joining the ASCD family years ago, first as an author and now as a faculty member, I have been overwhelmed by the honesty, professionalism and love of education that this company's employees exhibit daily. Thank you to the entire ASCD family for making me more than I once was as an educator.

1 -- My family: This one may seem a bit on the nose, but I'm so thankful to have family that provides unwavering love and support for me and for my work. Without being too personal, when I decided to leave the classroom, I also left a substantial salary and benefits package behind. My amazing wife, Mollie, encouraged the move and is always the first person to save me from my own doubts. My children are a bit young to fully grasp this transition, but when I travel, they race to the door shouting, "Daddy, Daddy," when I return, and there's nothing better on earth than this. Thank you, my precious family. Without you I truly am nothing.

Please share what's in your top 5, and have a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Mark Barnes is an education author and consultant and the publisher of Brilliant or Insane. Learn more about Mark on our Team page. Follow him on Twitter here.