Growth Mindset Through Intervention
Scinto Home Learn More Inspiration About the Author
The man, the myth, the legend,...........................................ok, just the man, Benjamin L. Scinto
I came into education by accident. Attending the prestigious Chico State University and studying the highly marketable field of Anthropology (said no one ever), spending my Winters and Summers on Catalina Island, I needed to find something to do that kept me in that comfortable zone without being overly challenging. Bingo bango, I stayed at Chico to become a teacher. I always had an affinity for helping neighborhood kids, despite my own lacking in focus, drive and academic acumen, and I was also highly envious of those students who were celebrated by adults. To this day I credit my high school girlfriend for changing my life’s course, not because of her omniscient machinations, but because of my pure jealousy. Whatever the reason, it worked. I returned to my alma mater to teach, first Freshman English and then World History and Student Leadership. This “promotion” to leadership roles would be a constant throughout my professional experience. Rewind. Growing up in the infamously quaint hamlet of Pittsburg, CA was an education in and of itself. From the positives of cultural awareness and relative smallness to the negatives of daily physical assaults and dearth resources, Pittsburg shaped me and my perspective. This perspective would be challenged throughout my personal and professional journey and further reinforced a belief in limitless human potential, nurtured through curiosity and made possible by removing both internal and external barriers to success. Fast-forward. I now find myself situated in a most ideal place for an educator. My site has achieved notable successes both in assessment (AP, CAASPP, ACT, SAT) and learning environment (99 percentile in School Climate Index), validated through external sources, e.g., AP Honor Roll and U.S. News and World Report, and supported through tremendous resources. I have gained personally from our work, giving me a larger platform to echo my message. That said, I recognize my own limitations and need to know more and better, hence my involvement in the Innovative Learning program supported by NapaLearns. It might not be much of a surprise, but the administrator is usually the last to complete homework and is the notorious contrarian in the group. I assure you however, this is not a result of me being an administrator, I have always been this way. My second image says it all. My first time at attempting an MA at Sonoma State I was working as a VP and training for an Ironman, as well as some other personal commitments; something had to give, hence no MA. Now I find myself a high school principal with three other commitments: 5 yo, 3 yo and 7 month old boys. What did I cut out? Well, I can tell you it ain’t calories. Why important? I’m a workhorse who likes to achieve with and for others and individually. I am also obsessively curious which is what ultimately led me to Touro University and the Innovative Learning program. With regard to TPACK, I maintain both depth and breadth in the areas of pedagogy and content, but am relatively inept when it comes to instructional technology. As a history teacher in the late 90’s and early 00’s, my tech was a slide reel from the History Alive curriculum - not the most revolutionary. That said, I now aim to change my life's course once again.
Reflections on Ben's Journey
I came to the Innovative Learning program out of an acknowledgement of both my ignorance and curiosity. Having spent the last 14 years as an administrator, I have been less of a practitioner than I feel is essential to be a true instructional and transformational leader. That said, I have always had the mindset that it is within my purview and skillset to do something about it, thus I am here. Also, recent learnings, e.g., Jo Boaler's Growth Mindset conference at Stanford, have peaked my interest and led me down a path of wanting to know and do more relative to my role as administrator and subsequently, my driving question. In terms of the interplay with the aforementioned and my overall educational philosophy, that is a challenge to detail given the extent to which my beliefs have been uniquely shaped by my experiences, both personal and professional, consciously and subconsciously. If asked to distill my philosophy down to its most rudimentary level, I would say I continually and strategically work to improve the student academic and social situation; that teachers are the ones who have the greatest impact and that we must afford them the time and space to make learning happen.
How does this and everything else swirling around in my head influence my TPACK journey? Luckily, or humbly speaking, my content knowledge is grossly limited, rendering the effect minimal in that domain. That said, I have worked to grow my technological knowledge within this program while maintaining a relatively strong background in instructional practices. This program has been the proverbial shot-in-the-arm in terms of what I needed most.
How does this and everything else swirling around in my head influence my TPACK journey? Luckily, or humbly speaking, my content knowledge is grossly limited, rendering the effect minimal in that domain. That said, I have worked to grow my technological knowledge within this program while maintaining a relatively strong background in instructional practices. This program has been the proverbial shot-in-the-arm in terms of what I needed most.
Lasting Learning from the Innovative Learning program
Were I forced to choose my greatest and lasting takeaway, it is clearly the newfound understanding that I must chart my own path; that a checklist to or model of the end product will not always be provided or available. I must recognize my place in the educational world's space-time continuum and seek to create new learnings, unscripted and limitless in their possibility, hence, innovative. To that end, I am reminded of two simple, yet truly wise quotes from Marshall McCluhan's Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man where he penned, "Nothing follows from following, except change" and "If it works, it's obsolete." It would be silly to keep writing after that mic drop! Click his pic for the text.