A group of researchers recently suggested that teachers show their true colors at the inception of their careers. Teachers who were initially placed in the lowest 20% (in terms of effectiveness) were likely to still be in that same percentage 3-5 years later. In addition, Allison Atteberry, a research associate in the Center on Education Policy and Workforce Competitiveness at the University of Virginia reports, “Teachers who are initially highest-performing are by far the most likely to be in the highest quintile in the future.”

No one expects teachers to be at the top of their game the first year of their careers. That would be like expecting a first year intern to perform brain surgery. But what this study does suggest is that the potential for greatness is indeed present at the start of teaching careers.

And my dear college professor, Captain Willy, would agree. Before he even observed us teaching, he said that he not only knew what kind of teachers we would be, but also how good we would be. He believed that the key to being a talented teacher was having a dynamic personality. I’ll never forget when he said, “My plumber would be a great teacher.” While some might scoff at this idea, there is merit to this belief. If you meet a teacher at a cocktail party, you do not see him at work, but you do see his personality, interpersonal skills, sense of humor, and level of dedication. All of which contribute to being a top-notch teacher, and all of which cannot be taught.

Perhaps you cannot teach someone how to be a teacher. You either have it, or you don’t. I guess that theory pokes a gaping hole in the adage, “Those who can, do. Those who can’t, teach.”

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Check out the aforementioned article: Best and Worst Teachers Can Be Flagged Early, Says Study

Our education system largely focuses on breadth. Most schools aim to plow through as many units as possible, test students upon the completion of each one, and move on to the next whether they understand it or not. And most of the time, this is not the fault of the teacher. The main culprit here is standardized testing. Teachers feel the need to squeeze everything they can into every single day of the school year in order to give their students a better chance of making the grade. Suddenly, education becomes a meaningless race to nowhere.

Imagine if I gave you 25 new vocabulary words on a Monday and gave you a quiz on Friday. You would probably cram the night before and hope to end up with an A. But 4 weeks later, how many of those words would you be able to define? When we focus on breadth, we sacrifice retention. And without retention, it all becomes meaningless.

But what if we altered our lens and focused on depth. Rather than getting through all 10 units in the textbook, what if you made it through 6, but dove deep and had meaningful hands-on learning experiences with each of them?

I’ll never forget a conversation I had with my dear friend, Ryan, about the best books we’ve ever read. I was shocked when he declared A Tale of Two Cities one of his favorite books. When I scoffed in disbelief, he righteously defended the book explaining that his 6th grade English class spent the entirety of the school year reading it and studying the French Revolution. He said it was one of the best educational experiences he’s ever had.

So how about we measure our educational journeys by fathoms rather than miles? Let’s see how deep our kids can go.

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It’s actually quite a novel process. Spend 5 minutes with each contender, cut through all the small talk, and decide if you want to see them again or not. And the messy part is taken care of by your gracious host. None of the awkward “I’m just not that into you” business. Such a great idea I’m surprised Carrie Bradshaw never tried it.

It seems to work for people, so let’s try it out with books. After a friend of mine gave me the idea, I decided that my ninth grade English class, which is composed of all boys mind you, would be my guinea pigs. I pitched the idea to the librarian at my school and was immediately met with enthusiasm. Being the Wonder Woman that she is, she organized the entire event.

When we entered the library she had 10 different books laid out with questionnaires for my boys. It was an initial survey of their “dating history.” How many books have they read? What books worked for them? What books didn’t? What are their deal breakers? What’s their type? Romantic? Sci-fi? Mystery?

Once the boys had a foundation laid, they got to spend 2 quiet minutes with each book examining its cover, reading the enticing summary, previewing a chapter. Then they had to write down one comment about their first impression and rate it using this scale:

1) Worst date ever
2) Would date again
3) She’s/He’s the one!

Surprisingly, after a few initial jokes, the boys were totally on board with the idea. And they were having fun with it. About halfway through the session, one of my students picked up the sequel to a book that we had just finished reading and said, “Hey, isn’t this the sequel to Ender’s Game?” After telling him it was and not to be rude to his date, he said, “So what do I write in the comment area? Dated her sister?”

At the end of the session, all of my kids had at least 3 books that they would date again. Some of them found “the one.” Many of them realized that after seeing what was out there, they returned to their initial pick before they attended the speed dating session.

So the moral of the story? Don’t waste time reading a book you’re not really into. Don’t immediately commit to a book; date a few before you make your decision. On the other hand, you don’t always need to choose from 10 books. Sometimes you may just need one…if it’s the right one.

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-unsorted mail
-unmade bed
-cluttered counters
-piles of laundry

This concept is also applicable to our second homes, our workplaces. Seemingly minor signs of disorder can negatively affect our abilities to be capable and productive [insert job title here]. In the chaotic life of a teacher, there are bound to be loose ends in our classrooms. But what are the loose ends that will cause you to unravel if they’re not tied in a pretty bow? Here are my classroom “broken windows”:

-ungraded assignments (especially essays)
-a cluttered desk
-messy/outdated bulletin boards
-burgeoning unchecked email

So what are your broken windows at home and in the workplace? And more importantly, how long will it take you to call a repairman to fix them before they cause a larger problem?

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1. Bring Fruit Back into the Loop
When you roll up to a fast food window and order a burger, the immediate response from the teller is, “Would you like fries with that?” This tactic, called suggestive selling, has proven to increase sales by up to 50%. So why not do it with the healthy stuff? Rather than having fruit at the front of the line, where it is quickly by-passed for the alluring smell of greasy pizza, place it right next to the register and have the cashier simply ask, “Would you like fruit with that?”

2. What’s in a Name?
In Shakepeare’s most famous play, Juliet said to her Romeo, “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose/By any other name would smell as sweet.” Juliet was clearly not in sales. In his book, Mindless Eating, Wansink’s studies show that when you increase people’s expectations for food, it actually tastes better. Rather than slapping on simplistic labels like “corn” or “celery”, jazz it up with transformative names such as “X-Ray Vision Carrots” or “Super Strength Spinach.” For high school kids, utilize names such as ‘’Succulent Summer Corn,” ‘’Crisp Celery and Carrots,” or “Home-style Meatloaf.” Wouldn’t you rather eat off of that menu? And better yet, devise a SNAC (Student Nutrition Action Committee) putting students’ creative talents to work inventing the new labels.

3. Strategic Placement is Key
This is simple enough: place the targeted healthy entree first in the line-up. As the website mentions (and as all parents know), hungry kids will more often than not go for the first thing they see.

4. Make Healthy Choices Convenient
According to Smarter Lunchrooms, “During a busy lunch period, time is students’ most valuable commodity and they will often grab a snack or skip lunch altogether rather than wait in a long line for a full meal, even when they are hungry! Worse, over 70% of students surveyed said long lines were a problem at their school!” So create an express line for healthy choices. Make it quick, easy, and convenient. Think 7-11. Have pre-made sandwiches, salads, yogurt, and fruits ready for pick-up if kids want to circumvent the long hot lunch line.

These all seem like great ideas, but do they work? Check out these statistics from the Smarter Lunchrooms Movement website:
*Moving and highlighting fruit increased sales of fruit by up to 102%
*Naming vegetables and displaying the new names with the foods increased selection of vegetables from between 40% – 70%
*The first of highlighted entrée on the lunch line has an 11% advantage over the second option.
*The number of students consuming “healthy items” increased by 35% after the introduction of a “healthy choices only” convenience line.

I’d say the proof is in the pudding (as long as it’s made with skim milk).

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So what can we do about it? In his book, Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think, Dr. Brian Wansink examines the peculiar and surprising behavioral science of food consumption. Not only does he cite various experiments and studies to back up his claims, but also leaves the reader with “Reengineering Strategies” so we can eat smarter. Here are 4 simple strategies to use with children:

1) Work on your PR skills
You are a salesperson and your kid is the potential buyer. Sell it to them. For example, Popeye always eats his spinach. Don’t you want to be strong like Popeye? Wansink even cited an example from a pre-school in Syracuse, New York, where broccoli was flying off the plates, all thanks to one mom. They discovered that a mother told her son that broccoli looked like dinosaur trees so “when they ate broccoli they could pretend they were long-necked dinosaurs eating the dinosaur trees.” Well, her child spread the word around to his buddies at daycare and suddenly it became cool to eat broccoli. After all, what kid wouldn’t want to be a dinosaur?

2) Be the saying, “Variety is the Spice of Life”
If your weekly dinner menu is beginning to resemble the school lunch menu in predictability and scope, then it’s time to shake it up. Wansink suggests that “the more foods you expose your child to, the more nutritionally well-rounded he or she will become.” Ditch the mac & cheese and try samosas instead.

3) Endorse the Half-Plate Rule
This one is simple enough: ½ of your plate should be veggies or salad and ½ of your plate should be the rest of the meal (i.e. steak and potatoes).

4) Create clear-cut serving sizes
There is an interesting distinction between 3 and 5 year olds. You can give 3 year olds a ton of food, but they will stop eating when they are not hungry anymore. Give that same amount to a 5 year old and he will eat until it is gone. This isn’t that crazy. Have you ever sat down to watch TV with a new bag of chips and when your show is over you reach in and realize that you polished them off? I’m sure you weren’t eating those yummy, cheesy, crunchy Doritos because you were still hungry… Serve children snacks in baggies or tupperware and put the rest of the Costco-sized box out of sight. If they know there’s more around, they’ll ask for more.

So what else can we do? How can we continue fighting the childhood obesity epidemic in our schools? Tune in next week for how we can redesign our lunch rooms…

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I recently read an article that embodied the perfect example of the classic head fake: How Minecraft is Teaching a Generation About Teamwork and the Environment. Admittedly, I’m not completely sold on the whole game-based learning movement. I’ve been skeptical because of the potential effects of video games’ usage and ubiquity (i.e. childhood obesity and social isolation). With that said, this article opened me up to its potential in the classroom.

If you’re not familiar with Minecraft, it is basically Legos on crack. Players must manipulate their environment–cut down trees, or mine stone and ore–to design their own home, or even their own kingdom, from scratch. If you exhaust the resources in your area, you can journey to retrieve more, or create a sustainable system on your own property. You also have the option to work alone or you can choose to work in a team. After all, building a home is much easier with the help of 5 other people. Not to mention the fact that having 5 other buddies serves as a nice added cushion against the monsters that come out at night. (They had to throw in some zombies for good measure).

According to the article, “The Minecraft Teacher uses the game to teach children about working together, solving problems, and even exploring their engineering talents. What are the best ways to build a house? Creativity is encouraged, and there are no wrong answers, however the world of Minecraft does have specific consequences for unethical behaviour – destroying a house leaves you unprotected, and destroying the creations of other players will leave you ostracised…Lessons about the world, its resources, its people and how best to treat that environment, are transferable into friendships with other children who play the game.”

A video game that can teach all of that? Sounds like the ultimate head fake to me.

Watch Randy Pausch’s Last Lecture here.