Top Ten Reasons Having a Teacher is Better Than Taking a Class Online

Full disclosure, I’m a bit of a nerd! (Well, maybe more than a bit.) I love learning new things, I enjoy putzing around on computers, I like getting stuck and I like solving problems. And online learning is great... convenient, relatively cheap, and available on almost any topic. Whether YouTube, Lynda, Kelby, EdX, Coursera, Udemy, a MOOC, or another source, there’s a great deal of information in cyberspace to which we now have access. I’ve taken my share of online courses, even finished a few, and I’ve posted online lessons for my students, but as both a student and a teacher (of adolescents and adults) I’ve found that there are some real limitations.  Here, then, are my top ten reasons that being in a classroom with a live teacher beats online learning:

10.       You have an obligation to show up

It’s easy to put off the next lesson in an online class... “I’ll get to it when my life is a bit less busy” we tell ourselves. But does that day, or evening, ever come? In a classroom we have to be there, on time, and attentive, to learn what it is we hope to learn. Showering, getting dressed, driving to class, all gives us “skin in the game” when it comes to learning. For those few among us who don’t procrastinate this may not be an issue, but for most of us having that “appointment with learning” enforces the external discipline that most of us need.

9.         You have colleagues from whom you can learn.

Having a community of colleagues with whom you can share ideas, projects, frustrations, and successes helps cross-pollinate our own learning. Often the student in the seat next to us knows something about the topic at hand that extends or enriches what the teacher is presenting. A good teacher will take that idea, question, or thought and run with it, making the learning that occurs deeper and richer.

8.         You have colleagues with whom you can become friends.

That same classroom community from whom we learn can become our network, our acquaintances, and often our friends. Having those connections is enormously important in the professional world, where the person you know is often the person asked to do the job. Having connections that extend beyond the classroom is one of the true joys of education.

7.         You can have your questions answered. Immediately.

The questions my students ask require me to revise my syllabus on a daily basis to cross off the tangents we have gone off on and rearrange the order of learning. Having a question answered or a problem solved when it arises is something that no online course can offer. Even with forums and message boards one usually has to wait some period of time for a response. With a teacher in the same room you can get immediate help and guidance.

6.         You can fail and still be encouraged.

Failure is the most important lesson... learning what doesn’t work involves having a greater understanding of what does work. There’s a tendency to give up when a task seems too difficult, and without a guide by the side (rather than a sage on the stage) we can too easily go back to email or Facebook or something else that’s a lot easier. A good teacher will encourage, ask questions, and steer the task into more fruitful avenues.

5.         There’s someone who knows what motivates you.

A good teacher won’t let you slide, or just go through the motions, in completing projects, writing papers, or any other aspect of doing your best possible work. They know your interests and passions, and can structure assignments accordingly. Online you’re on your own, or with 10,000 other students, and no one is really paying that much attention. Do it, don’t do it, it’s all the same to the computer. Just so long as your credit card clears.

4.         You have an obligation to produce.

In a class you owe it to yourself, your classmates, and your teacher to produce interesting work. Online... not so much.

3.         You find your areas of ignorance.

We know what we do know, we know some of what we don’t know and want to learn, but what about the things that we don’t know that we don’t know? You may want to learn something specific that you don’t know about, but what about the things you haven’t considered? In a classroom you’ll find all sorts of things from your fellow students as well as the teacher that you’d never have otherwise considered.

2.         You can discover possibilities.

Your classmates and teachers will open your eyes and mind to ideas that you may have never considered, leading you into new directions and unanticipated insights.

1.         You can be inspired.

The work of your teacher and classmates can help you to raise your game to new heights and to create better work than you ever thought possible.

Listening to a piece of music on your iPod is not the same as listening to that piece of music in a concert hall. Viewing art alone online is not the same as engaging with the work in the company of others. Emoticons are not facial expressions and CAPS aren’t vehemence.  No one can touch you or shake your hand or pat you on the back online. You don’t hear other’s laughter, joy, or frustrations. You can’t see the twinkle in their eyes or hear the enthusiasm in their voices.

Online instruction is like an encyclopedia, it’s there to give you information, and it sometimes does that very well. It will increase the breadth of your knowledge.

A good class, on the other hand, is like art - you have to engage with it, bring something of yourself to it, and what it means to you will change over time and vary from person to person. It will increase the breadth, and the depth, of your knowledge, leave you a  bit wiser, and foster within you a richer human being.

Congratulations Class of 2014!

Welcome to the 50th Commencement exercises of the Nora School, formerly Washington Ethical High School, Washington Ethical Society School, and the Eberhard School. Contrary to popular belief, I did not speak at the first commencement in 1964, as I was only in 2nd grade. But turning 50, or as I like to call it, approaching middle age, is a real milestone, particularly for a small scrappy school like Nora.

Graduates, like The Nora School you have reached a milestone. Like the Nora School, your journey here has included a few near death experiences. Like the Nora School, you’re in great shape to face the future with optimism and with the necessary skills and tools.  Like the Nora School, you can look back with the pride of accomplishment and forward with the excitement of what is to come. And like the Nora School, you need to keep exploring and learning and challenging yourself so that life remains an exhilarating  journey.

Today marks one of the few times in your lives that everyone will get together just for you.  Birth, graduation, marriage, death are the biggies, and you probably won’t be there to enjoy the last one, so you’d better enjoy this!

You are here because of the work of many people, most notably your parents and teachers.  The members of our Board of Directors support and guide the school behind the scenes, giving generously of their time, treasure, and talent. I would like to recognize them now.

And finally, you need to thank your parents, as they have supported you far longer than we have, and, despite what they’re hoping, will continue to do so.  I would like to recognize those whose dedication to you included changing your diapers, reading your bedtime stories, and paying your Nora School tuition.

Soon to be alumni, I am hopeful that you will take away from today, your last day at Nora, the same precepts I discussed with you on your first day at Nora.  It may seem long ago, but on your first day, and on each first day thereafter, you went around to get lockers, photo ID’s, and to write down your goals.  You also spent time with me discussing the school rules, which can be boiled down to four simple sentences that will stand you in good stead throughout your lives.

Show up on time.  Do your work.  Take care of your health. Treat others with respect.

Look back on your time at Nora and honestly assess to what extent I was telling you the truth.

Did you show up on time?  Did that make your life easier or harder?  What are the consequences in the next part of your life for showing up late? What does it say about being a person worthy of trust?

I can tell you that there are tremendous benefits to showing up on time, being a person of your word, having others see you as reliable.  The Noble Truth of Buddhism is echoed in the first sentence of Scott Peck’s The Road Less Travelled:  “Life is Difficult.”  I don’t think you’ll find many people here today who would disagree with that statement, but I’d like to follow it up with a question, “Now What?”  OK, life is difficult, now what?  You still need to show up. If you have to show up, you’d might as well show up on time.  It makes life slightly less difficult.

Do your work.  Same questions.  How was life when you did your work?  How was your life affected when you didn’t take care of business?  What happens in the world when you drop the ball?  What happens when you follow through?  And what kind of work will you do?  As you do whatever work is before you as you go through your life, whether schoolwork or office work or mechanical work or the work of raising a family, is the work, and are you, making the world a better place?

What are you consciously doing to ease someone else’s burden?  Might I suggest that next week you cook dinner for your family,  or perhaps do the laundry? Making the world a better place can happen in small as well as large ways. In fact, if everyone were to work on the small ways our world would be a much better place.

Take care of your health.  Stay sober, because it’s hard to have any lasting success if your brain is messed up. Exercise and eat healthy food, because you’ll feel better, have more energy, and be a happier person. Monster Energy drinks, ho-hos, and giant Slurpees as an occasional treat are one thing, as part of your daily diet they’re not so great. Take care of your health.

Treat others with respect.  Yes, I know it’s the Golden Rule, but there’s a reason it’s called Golden.  Treating others with respect doesn’t only mean your friends, or people you get along with, it also means those who rub you the wrong way and get on your nerves.  This doesn’t change outside Nora, there will always be people you find annoying. One of them might be your roommate next year!  This is where your room for growth lies. Paula Weymiller says that the person who annoys you the most is like a little angel sitting on your shoulder, telling you to grow up, and that you have the most to learn from that little angel and that annoying person.  In the words of Plato, “be kind, for everyone is fighting a hard battle.” Treat everyone with respect.

I think you’re ready to move on.

Our goal has been to help you to pursue possibilities. The broad liberal arts education that you received at Nora has opened doors to a variety of possibilities, but note that the harder you worked the more possibilities you had. Now it’s up to you to find those passions worthy of your pursuit. Here is where the fun, and the fear, come in.  You don’t have to know your passion right now, most of you will change careers at least once before you’re my age. But right now you’ll get to study and work at things that are interesting to you, and that’s the fun part of moving past high school.

But try to take courses and have experiences outside your areas of interest as you pursue your further education, as you never know what new endeavor might spark a new passion. Be open to serendipity, when a door opens, go through it and see what happens. Don’t be afraid to say “I don’t Know,” and remember that “smart people ask for help.”  You’re smart, ask!

Thomas, behind that peaceful, non-violent facade lurks a peaceful, non-violent man with a quick with and keen insights. When you were in class I would often hear Robin’s laughs all the way from my office.

Carmen, you’ve had to balance more than most in terms of family and school, getting here on time, managing the sports teams, and taking care of your academics. You’ve been a great friend to many of your classmates and an all around nice presence in our community.
                               
Fiona, remember the rules in the book I lent you and stand up for what you need.  You’re a champ on and off the playing fields, and I expect that you’re going to have a great and interesting life in Ghana, Florida, and beyond.

Ronnice, as Norman said, you’ve always been cool enough to be everyone's friend. A quiet but forceful presence in our classes. I hope that you continue to get stronger and healthier as the next few years go by.

Maddie, I’m glad you decided to come to classes at Nora rather than head down to OccupyDC every day. And you’re the first person to actually pull off the tie-dye business for graduation... congratulations!

Adam, the life of the party at every prom for the last four years, you really came into your own with Trey and the band.  It’s been a wild ride at times, but you’ve made it, and now on to new and bigger adventures at Hood.

Tristan, you’ve been one of the all-time stars at Nora, both on the athletic fields and in the classrooms. Philosopher, artist, sportsman, you’ve been a Renaissance man, and we’re pleased to have had you with us for four years.

Thomas, we look forward to the 2016 Olympics as we follow your running career. You’ve been a good friend and a good source of advice to many students over your four years,  just remember my advice that there’s an appropriate time and place for everything. Life, even in the athletic dorms, will be much more pleasant if you remember that.

Sarah, the world needs more people like you, willing to serve others and take on adventures around the world. You’re journeys in Israel over the past two years have brought you an incredible level of maturity and insight, and we wish you safe travels as you return to further your education.

David, behind the bluster there's a wonderful, compassionate heart, and you’ve gained a great deal of self-awareness during the past two years. Remember that it’s not enough to know yourself well, you must take action on that knowledge for it to be worth anything. When you get to Vermont try to expand your horizons and get involved in lots of activities outside your dorm room, I think you’ll enjoy it! Class of 2014, you have worked hard to get here.  You are survivors.  Not only did you survive middle and high schools that were big, impersonal, and bureaucratic, you survived Nora, which is no easy task.  Not everyone can handle it, but you did.

Seth Godin posits that “small is the new big,” and as graduates of one of the smallest schools in the country, you should understand that it’s a big accomplishment to graduate from a small school. It’s a small accomplishment to find a clique of people you get along with in a big school, but it’s a big accomplishment to get along, intimately, with everyone, even with people who annoy you and get on your nerves in a small school.

There is often a misperception that being in a small school like Nora is easy, because the teachers know you and work with you and give you lots of chances, and all of that is true.  But equally true is that going to a small school is hard,  because the teachers know you and work with you and give you lots of chances.   There’s nowhere to hide if you haven’t done the reading, and your math homework always gets checked, and when it’s your turn to present there’s no one to hand it off to.

It’s a small accomplishment to hide in the back of a big classroom and avoid the teacher’s radar and do the minimum necessary to get by, but it’s a big accomplishment to push through your resistance and actually do the work, because you know that in Ave’s Spanish class your missing homework will be noticed.

Your parents hear if you skipped the trip to the Smithsonian, and they know when you’re not turning in drafts of your papers.  Robin notices when you show up late to Physics, and Patrick notices when you didn’t do your Chemistry lab. It’s tough to stand up to that amount of scrutiny, but you have.

You’ve survived not only the classrooms,  but also the whitewater rafting of your sophomore year, the high ropes and goal setting of the junior retreat, and writing your own recommendations and sharing your life stories on the senior retreat.

You set up your own senior community service, late though it may have been for some of you, and you presented your best academic work to the faculty in your Senior Portfolio presentations. You learned to balance two of the most precious gifts of adulthood: freedom and responsibility.

The freedom part is easy, every teenager gets that.  The responsibility part is a lot harder.  Not all that many adults get that, as witnessed by the various crises on Wall Street and on Capitol Hill.  Learning when to have fun and when to work, when to sleep in and when to get up, finding where the boundaries are, and which ones it was safe to cross, these are things that your parents and teachers have to juggle every day.  

You managed, if imperfectly, those four lessons with which we start every school year, it’s almost time to master new lessons, one’s that you’ll create yourselves.

A few days ago we lost a giant of American literature, Maya Angelou. As the retrospectives flowed, one of her quotes stood out to me particularly, because it reflects that to which we aspire at Nora. She said "If you are always trying to be normal, you will never know how amazing you can be."

This resonated deeply with me, because I know that as teenagers we all  desperately want to “fit in” and not stand out,  to be “normal” and cool, because that’s the message our culture is constantly sending.

But “normal” is boring, and “amazing” isn’t. One of the things that’s kept me at Nora for so many years is that you and your fellow students learn to become a lot more comfortable in your own skins, to be who you are rather than what the culture, or other kids, tell you that you should be. My colleagues on the faculty and Board are authentic human beings, not afraid to say “I don’t know” or “I need help.” And they’re anything but normal and boring, they’re amazing, just like you!  Becoming authentic, and being comfortable with that, can be the work of a lifetime for some, and you’ve got a head start on that. This is perhaps more important than all the Calculus and Art History and Academic Writing that you’ve learned over the past four years, because with that self-confidence you can tackle all the rest. You are amazing, and I hope you leave with some confidence in that. Here are a few more pieces of advice

Continue to learn and grow. The world is an amazing place, so get out and explore it. If you have a chance to travel, take it. Growth doesn’t just happen, you have to be intentional about it.

Be self-aware, because you must first know yourself in order to grow yourself. I hope that our mindfulness practice this year will help in that regard. Along those lines, take time to reflect. Think about where you’ve been and where you’re headed, allow the growth you’ve experienced over these past years to catch up with you.

Be disciplined... motivation will get you started, in college and in life, but discipline is what will keep you growing.

Seek out positive people, because growth thrives with like-minded folks. It’s easy to be cynical and toss of put-downs, but those are the people likely to hold you back and ultimately their company will wear pretty thin.

Stretch yourself, go beyond your comfort zone. You’ll have lots of chances to do that in the next few years, take them. Leave college with no regrets for what you didn’t do.

Find good mentors. You’ve had them here, you’ll need them in life.

Help others realize their potential.  For 30 years of our 50 year history our school lived in the basement of the Washington Ethical Society, who’s motto is “By bringing out the best in others we bring out the best in ourselves.” Reflect on that, and be mindful of helping others on their journeys.

So I say good-bye, my friends, hopefully only until our next reunion. You’ve learned a lot at Nora, take take lessons and keep on learning and growing.

Congratulations.

Why we meditate at Nora

Several students have come to me to ask why we’re spending time each week in mindfulness meditation during morning announcements and going through the .b mindfulness program. Their concern was a helpful prompt to more fully think through and articulate why I think this is an important program and a valuable use of time, and I’d like to share those thoughts here.

Learning to practice mindfulness will not train you for a specific job, but neither does a lot of what we do in school. While not everyone who studies Algebra will become a mathematician or engineer, and not everyone who studies biology and chemistry will become a nurse or doctor, it’s important that you have a broad base of knowledge about the world in which you live. Your own mind is a big part of that world, and in fact constructs reality from the information it receives from the world. Having some insight into how your mind works, how it affects your body and your emotions, learning to be aware of that effect in times of stress, and having some tools to manage that stress is eminently practical on whatever path life takes you.

Meditating in a group setting is an important exercise in creating community. While you may not choose to meditate, I ask that you not be looking at or making faces toward other people, as that is disrespectful of their space. You can focus your mind on other things: conjugating verbs, remembering last night’s readings, solving the quadratic formula, but you owe it to your friends and other members of your community to offer others the opportunity to practice without distraction. Being part of a community means sometimes taking the lead, sometimes following, and always being respectful. While I hope that you will practice meditation beyond the little bit we do in school, and increasingly be mindful in all your actions, at the very least by the end of this course you will be aware of this tool and hopefully return to it when you need it.

While the .b classes take some time away from class, you’ll only miss one or two classes this quarter. We also miss class time for snow days, community service, assemblies, and field trips. We can make up snow days if this is a real concern, and we can look at whether or not we should be doing a host of activities that are “non-academic” rather than purely academic. Would we really prefer practice SATs on Wednesday afternoons instead of assemblies? Or regular academic classes? Or a study hall? Should we drop Intersession, which is non-academic? There are lots of things that take class time away, but we don’t make these choices lightly.

We choose these “non-academic” activities because we believe that education is about more than just taking tests and learning math. In fact, if getting a job is your only definition of what your education is about, you’re pretty much finished. You’re capable right now of  pushing the “hamburger” button at McDonald’s, but do you really feel that your education is complete? Teachers are available at lunch and after school to give you any help you need. There is no lack of opportunity to succeed academically at Nora, but education and life is about more than just reading, ‘riting, and ‘rithmetic.

We want you to leave Nora with the intellectual bandwith to be able to think critically, to evaluate the thinking of others, to work creatively, to be able to synthesize the creativity of others, and to have the capacity to connect and grow your thoughts with those of others.

Beyond Algebra and US History, education is about fostering curiosity and taking on challenges... hopefully not just while you’re a teenager but for the rest of your life. If you’re lucky your education never concludes, because the world is far too interesting a place to reach a dead end. The thing is, you never really know what you’ll be curious about until you’ve tried it, even if just a bit. If we hadn’t built a darkroom in this school I might never have gotten interested in photography. In any learning community, everyone will be struck by different things that spark curiosity. For some it will be English literature, others science, perhaps learning to play soccer, or even meditation. We want to challenge you, and we want you to be unafraid to challenge yourself. You may have arrived at Nora loving to read but scared of math, but allowing Hedy to challenge you makes you a more fully human being. You may not be able to draw a straight line, but working with Nic you’re able to express some ideas artistically.

We want you to have a life of the mind, which includes having a healthy body to support that mind, to have fun to stimulate your mind, and to have the ability to be thoughtful about your mind, the last of which is the point of mindfulness.

Far too many people engage life in a mindless way... I do not want you to be among them. Living on autopilot is no way to engage the world. Being aware and appreciative of the gifts you possess in the present moment, being able to regulate your emotional life, managing healthy relationships with others, and with yourself, are pretty important goals that overlay everything else you do in life. Whether you’re ready now or need more time, I want you to have this tool at your disposal for whenever life requires more of you than you think you’re capable.

Thanks for the memories!

Thanks to Mara for 14 great years as Assistant Head of The Nora School, 23 years as a fantastic teacher and mentor at WEHS and Nora, and 25 years of friendship going all the way back to Bishop McNamara High School. Good luck in your new role as Head of School at Friends Meeting School!

Intersession version 1.0

Wow! Our first Intersession, the period between Winter Break and the beginning of the second semester, went off without a hitch thanks to fine planning and hard work by our magnificent staff.

Torgeir cuts lumber for a picnic table.

The idea arose last spring as we did our annual planning to see if students would do better academically by having first semester exams prior to the Winter Break.

Michael and Marcellus work on choking rescue skills.

This would align us with what colleges do, useful for us as a college preparatory school, but would shorten one marking period while extending another. The solution (for at least the extending problem) came from Norman Maynard and Thornton Friends School, which had run Intersessions for a number of years.

Chandler painting with oils.

After months of planning we ran five intensive classes: Basic Construction, First Aid and CPR, Chinese Brush Painting and Oil Painting, Music Production, and Classroom DC. Students used power tools to build picnic tables and bookcases, became certified in CPR and first aid, produced several songs and dozens of painting, and traveled around DC for two weeks.

Zachary and Daelyn discuss the music project.

Our post-Intersession survey was unanimous to keep exams before break and continue Intersession, with perhaps a few tweaks. If you have a chance please stop by to have lunch at one of our picnic tables or play ping-pong on another.

Lunch and Ping-Pong at the newly constructed tables.

Nick and Collin talk about ClassroomDC