Joyful Biology

Monty Python, Matt Damon, & Teacher Powered Schools By Megan Olivia Hall When it comes to film characters, I’d say I most identify with Dennis the Constitutional Peasant from Monty Python and the Search for the Holy Grail. Well, Dennis and his nameless mother. You remember the scene where King Arthur comes upon two peasants mucking around in the fields , and they engage him in a political debate? My favorite line: Dennis: I’m 37! I’m not old! Just kidding. Although I do like it when Dennis says this. I just turned 37 and was starting to feel old. Problem solved by Dennis. Here is my actual favorite line: Dennis’s Mother: I didn’t know we had a king. I thought we were an autonomous collective. Like Dennis’s mother, I embrace the delusion that I’m working in an autonomous collective. I’m not – I teach within a very large, very hierarchical school district – my work is in no way autonomous. By the grace and mystery of the universe, my teacher colleagues and I occ...

I #loveteaching because teaching is real. When we teach, we are accountable to our students and their families in a way that can’t be measured, but can be felt. I’m connected to my students and their future lives by every kind word, every carefully worded note of feedback, every call home — even the grades I enter in the digital grade book mean something real and visceral, serving as the steppingstones to college and professional livelihoods. There’s a story about my husband that’s told within our circle of friends. Before he met me, my husband went on a blind date with a woman working on product development for a major food company. As they ate their dinners, she told him about working nights and weekends. My husband, who is no stranger to 60- and 80-hour weeks, finally exclaimed in mystification, “But…they’re just snacks!” Our long hours in teaching are driven by the compelling connection with kids and their lives – every extra bit that we do can make a real difference. Some...

"Reflections While Gardening" is published on the National Network of State Teachers of the Year (NNSTOY) website .

The Gallup Student poll measures “the hope, engagement, and wellbeing of public school students in grades 5 through 12 across the United States.” Brian Busteed, Gallup Education’s Executive Director, told attendees at the Education Commission of the States National Forum yesterday that in their 2013 poll, Gallup learned that student engagement drops through the secondary years. This alarming statistic was accompanied by another, perhaps more chilling data set: educators are similarly disengaged. Of all professionals, teachers are the least likely to say, “At work, my opinions seem to count.” Finally, Busteed delivered the correlative piece that brought it all together: Students who strongly agreed with two statements, “My school is committed to building the strengths of each student,” and “I have at least one teacher who makes me excited about the future,” were thirty times more likely to be engaged in school than those who do not. That’s a 3,000% increase in student engagement. ...

As a teacher in a Title 1 school that prides itself on our 100% college acceptance rate, I'm immersed in a teacher culture obsessed with college access for all. What makes it possible for a student to be the first in her family to go to college? What experiences break down barriers and open doors? Last week, Inver Hills Community College provided my AP Biology and Accelerated Biology students with an experience that broke barriers like Chuck Yeager's rocket-powered aircraft. Inver Hills Community College provost Christina Royal greeted us in a lecture hall, where students heard a private 90-minute talk on the history of major genetic findings. Professor Bob Iwan gave a an engaging talk that allowed time for student questions. Best of all, Professor Iwan gave the students note catchers that tracked his PowerPoint with critical thinking prompts. Our history-obsessed students got a lot to think about - why was Gregor Mendel so meticulous in his scientific methodology? Ho...

Last May, I was stunned and humbled when 2012 Minnesota Teacher Jackie Roehl announced me as her successor. A bleary 36 hours of media blitz followed, and when the dust settled, I found myself on a ship that had set out to sea. Now, ten months later, the ship is starting to head back home – I’ll announce my successor May 4th – and I return changed. Becoming Minnesota Teacher of the Year happened gradually, in fits and starts. My first speaking engagement at St. Mary’s in Winoma was a wake-up call – it was the first time I’d stood before college students with the responsibility to inspire them into the teaching profession. A lull followed – and I almost forgot I was on the ship. But then I hit a storm. After I spoke out about poverty, teacher character, and democracy at our statewide teacher conference this fall, the Tea Party picked up my speech and reacted bitterly. Education Minnesota helped me to respond to media attention in a way that kept the conversation supportive of p...