Comments for D. Trinidad Hunt

Comment on What is the Impact of our Curriculum? by Trinidad Hunt

Trinidad Hunt — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 23:36:06 +0000

@Ashley
I’m sorry I’m so late in replying. I went to wish my 92 year old mother Happy Birthday. She lives 2500 miles away and I was on the road for 10 days.
Thanks for the great thoughts and ideas on group work. I usually develop a rubric for the students based on what I want them to improve in… Rubrics on items such as collaboration, thoughtfulness, patience in listening to their partners on the team, helping team members etc.
I find that rubrics help students make distinctions about really appropriate and less appropriate social and emotional behaviors. I’d love to see the assessment you’re developing… Maybe we could collaborate.
Trinidad@TrinidadHunt.com

Comment on National tests – Yes, No or Maybe? by Trinidad Hunt

Trinidad Hunt — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 02:11:02 +0000

@Amy
Thanks for the thoughtful comment. I think there is a lot to be said for keeping calm in the eye of the storm and teaching students to do the same. Teaching our young people to view it as another opportunity for feedback is exactly what I would do. However, the inclination today is to measure ourselves by the scores we get on such tests.
It’s still more than interesting that Einstein was viewed as slow and Da Vinci was not interested in school. There are many examples throughout history of the men and women who did not do very well on tests but whose lives and contribution were extraordinary.
One of my dear friends and schoolmates was kicked out of school in his final year. He went on to become a best selling author of childrens’ books. His art work and writing made him a well known figure in his field.

Comment on National tests – Yes, No or Maybe? by Amy

Amy — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 14:50:18 +0000

Thanks for emailing it to me. I agree with the document wholeheartedly.

I guess as far as National Testing goes though, it only has the value the adults (teachers and parents in particular) in the community put on it. I have always told my students and my own children to just do their best, it’s an opportunity for impartial feedback. We never prepared our students for the tests in the past. I (as a curriculum leader at the time) was under the impression we were discouraged to do that.

This year with the Australian government introducing ‘League Tables’ I am hearing about students spending weeks of preparation for the tests, even in primary schools. Tonight on facebook I read a comment about children being upset by the tests.

This is the madness. As parents and teachers we are able to make the governments insistence on statistics and feedback (which could be responsible if handled correctly) just another learning experience, but we are becoming fearful. We are anxious to have our child/school look good… for strangers. I think that is the insanity.

When I was choosing a school, I didn’t look for academic results. I wanted a place that felt like a safe, positive, learning community that valued diversity. If schools focussed on becoming that, the results would follow.

I believe we should just say no where it counts, in our homes and classrooms. Let our kids know that test is just another opportunity for feedback… no big deal.

Comment on What is the Impact of our Curriculum? by Ashley

Ashley — Thu, 20 May 2010 20:44:57 +0000

You may have mentioned this in a previous post, but maybe we should begin by reserving a portion of students’ grades for group work. You can make this group work concrete, such as quizzes or projects; however, I believe that is essential that we begin communicating to our students that success depends on how well they work and acutally collaborate with others towards a finished product. At least this is a simple start, with more of a positive focus.

I’m still working on assessments and other ways to measure EQ and SQ.

Comment on Meeting Real People by Melanie Osborne

Melanie Osborne — Mon, 17 May 2010 13:33:57 +0000

Wish I was there…….you are so close I can almost hear you…maybe even hear you whistle!!!!
Love
Melanie

Comment on National tests – Yes, No or Maybe? by Trinidad

Trinidad — Thu, 13 May 2010 00:18:34 +0000

@Joh I agree in full. It seems to me that we are educating for intellect and we are missing the full spectrum of the child’s development. As human beings we have multifaceted qualities and characteristics. To be a happy fully functioning adult requires far more than the development of ones intellectual capacities. It necessitates a balance between ones emotional and social competencies.

I had a brilliant young scientifically oriented student say to me in a stunned voice recently… “I never fully realized that my success as a scientist would be enhanced by my ability to relate to and connect with my peers in the scientific community. No teacher ever said that or made me aware of it.”

At the end of the session it was his great ‘AHA’ and he left vowing to round out his development in the social emotional areas because, he said, “I now understand the importance of relationship even as it pertains to my success as a scientist.”

You are correct, Joh. The tests are not touching the real heart of the matter when it comes to the success and happiness of our young people as they move into their adult lives and professional positions.

Comment on National tests – Yes, No or Maybe? by Joh

Joh — Mon, 10 May 2010 11:10:04 +0000

Thanks for emailing it to me. I agree with the document wholeheartedly.

I believe we should just say no where it counts, in our homes and classrooms. Let our kids know that test is just another opportunity for feedback… no big deal.

Comment on National tests – Yes, No or Maybe? by Joh

Joh — Sat, 08 May 2010 03:46:09 +0000

Hi Trin,
I’ve been enjoying your blog and read every post. Always gain some insight . I am unable to open the whitepaper. Could you email it to me. I do have thoughts about standardised tests and would like to contribute to the conversation.

Comment on How Can We Turn Our Back? by Trinidad Hunt

Trinidad Hunt — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 02:03:19 +0000

@David First things first. Don’t put up with it.
1st line of defense: talk to the teacher.
2nd line of defense: go directly to the principal.
At the same time: go to your parents.
Then use humor – Make a joke of it.
Look straight ahead and keep walking.
Surround yourself with friends. Don’t walk in halls alone.
Then we can talk about mental tools.

Comment on How Can We Turn Our Back? by Trinidad Hunt

Trinidad Hunt — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 01:27:43 +0000

In another organizational case that I was called into, the woman who had been bullied said that the methods were so sophisticated and covert that the behaviors and words were never done in front of any of her coworkers.
She had been pushed to the brink of a psychological breakdown and had been receiving workers comp for taking time off for depression when I was called in. Thank heaven she was an adult who the adult thinking capacity to work through it. She eventually got the perpetrator fired.
Children don’t have the resiliency skills that adults do. We have to be their voice and champion their cause or they have no voice. Phoebe had no voice. Let us be the voice for thousands of others who are suffering in silence out there right now.