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Hour of Code 2022
12 Plays1 year ago
Hour of Code is an event run by Code.org
Mary speaks about a Deep Racer event in this episode. Students can get access to resources for learning Deep Racer at no cost at the Deep Racer Student League website. Details about Deep Racer can be found at the Deep Racer site.
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Transcript
Introduction to the Podcast
00:00:00
Speaker
Hello basement programmers and welcome to the January 2023 episode of the basement programmer podcast. This is Tom from basementprogrammer.com and I'm joined today by Mary Cottillo, the principal of the Blackstone Millville Regional School District Middle School. Now, as always, the opinions expressed in this podcast are our own and do not necessarily represent the opinions of our employers or any other organizations we may be associated with.
00:00:27
Speaker
Welcome Mary and thank you for being on the podcast. Thank you for inviting me. I'm very happy to be here.
Mary's Career Transition
00:00:36
Speaker
So Mary, just for just to start off with some introductions, can you give us a little bit of a background who you are and where you came from and what brought you to being a middle school principal? Sure, so I have kind of a cool origin story for becoming an educator.
00:00:56
Speaker
I was working in publishing and I wasn't really sure that it was the right thing for me, but, you know, I was an undergraduate English and theater major. So, and after being a theater major in college, I decided I was kind of done with that. And with an English degree, what do you do? You go into publishing. I happened to be four months pregnant with my first child on 9-11.
00:01:23
Speaker
And I, yeah, I was, um, our building was being evacuated. I was standing on the corner, waiting for my ride to pick me up. And I remember thinking, what am I doing with my life? And I knew that I didn't want to keep doing what I was doing. And so two months later, I took the hate, the, um, the entails to become a teacher. And, um,
00:01:50
Speaker
I was hired without having the license you know the license hadn't come through yet they hired me on a waiver took a big took a huge chance and it definitely was what I wanted to do I. And I wasn't really sure what grade I wanted to do either, so I got hired in middle school I thought let's give this a shot and I loved it.
00:02:11
Speaker
And I've since learned that there are sort of two people in the world, two types of people in the world, middle school people and not middle school people. I am a middle school person. I love my middle schoolers. They make me laugh every day. They challenge me every day. They are just really, really cool people. So yeah, I taught eighth grade and seventh grade English for about 13 years.
00:02:40
Speaker
and had an opportunity to try out administration as an assistant principal. And really liked that. I made a lateral move being an assistant principal in Franklin to being an assistant principal in Mansfield. And so it was, while it was the same title, the Mansfield School was more than double the size of the Franklin Middle School. And it also gave me some opportunities
00:03:07
Speaker
to do, I worked with the mentoring and induction program, and I sort of trained all of our first year teachers in Mansfield, and I also was the 504 coordinator there, so that gave me some cool visibility. I was in Mansfield for three years, gained a lot of experience there, and finally thought after six years of being an assistant, I'm ready to branch out and try my own school.
Joining Blackstone Millville
00:03:38
Speaker
And Blackstone was super appealing because of the size of the community. I loved that it was a small, you know, it's Blackstone Millville. So even with the two towns, the size of the middle school for the two towns is the same size as the middle school I was in in Franklin. And I really liked that size. Having done the smaller middle school and the larger middle school, I really appreciate the small size.
00:04:11
Speaker
And yeah, so that's what brought me to Blackstone Millville. So far, so good. It's exhausting. It's a lot of new learning for me.
Challenges and Passions in Principaling
00:04:21
Speaker
I don't know that much can prepare you for being a principal, but you know, at the end of the day, it comes down to just making decisions that are right for kids and wanting to be there and doing the best for the kids. And so that I can do, you know, the rest like budgeting and
00:04:39
Speaker
school improvement planning and school committee meetings like that. I'm learning as I go, but I know I know middle school and I love middle school so so far so good. Well, that's great as a as a member of the Blackstone Millville community. I'm thrilled to have you helping with our with our middle schoolers so. They're awesome. So what is it that really attracts you to the middle school that that age group?
00:05:07
Speaker
I think selfishly, middle school is such a wonderful time because teachers teach for a variety of reasons. But one of the most rewarding things is when you see that light bulb go on and middle school students are really developing the ability to critically think. They're no longer vessels that you just pour things into and they're really beginning to make connections
00:05:37
Speaker
to see things from different perspectives and understand how things work. And so it's super, super rewarding when you can see it happen. You can see a child make a realization. And that I think happens more in middle school than any other age. And honestly, if I had to identify it, I would say seventh grade is the age. In seventh grade, man, you would get light bulb moments
00:06:04
Speaker
daily from kids, and it would be awesome. And not every kid at every time. You really have to be on your game. You really have to be able to differentiate and get to know students. I think my greatest skill in life is relationship building. Do I love English? Yes. Can I teach English? Yes. But what I really excel at is building relationships with kids and people. And that is
00:06:31
Speaker
what middle school is all about. That's the bread and butter of middle school. You know, you get to know the children. You let them know that there's nothing you can do that I'm not still going to like you at the end of the day. I'm here to help you. I'm here to help you grow. I'm here to help you learn. And I think middle schoolers desperately want to be treated like adults, even though their brains are still developing and they aren't there yet, but they will respond
00:07:00
Speaker
if you talk to them like they're people and give them the support they need as developing people, if that makes any sense. I just think they're the coolest combination of silliness and possibility. Yes, I love your answer. And as somebody who actually struggled in school,
00:07:26
Speaker
You know, teachers and, you know, obviously principals and administrators in the school, you make all the difference in the world. You can make a huge difference in a kid's life. So I, as, obviously as a former student, but also as a parent, I'm in awe of everything that you folks do, so. We have wonderful staff at Hartnett, really, really, truly kind, caring people. I think it's a great place to be.
00:07:57
Speaker
for sure. Along the note of struggling in school, I think if my sixth and seventh grade teachers knew what I was doing, they would pass out. Not a great student. Yeah, I said a couple times that it's really not cut. It's really kind of unfair because our group of volunteers we come in and we get treated like rock stars a day. But
00:08:23
Speaker
It's you folks that are there every day coming in and doing the job for real. And it's really, like I said, it's really all inspiring to view it from the outside. So hats off to you, I gotta say. Thank you. Thank you very much. We appreciate that.
Innovative Events: Hour of Code & DeepRacer
00:08:43
Speaker
So last month we ran Hour of Code at your school. Now,
00:08:48
Speaker
I've personally run Hour of Code at that school about four or five times, but it was your first experience. So what was that like for you? Oh my gosh, absolutely overwhelming. The stuff that was going on was inspiring. So there are lessons happening in all of the science classrooms. All of the kids are getting, you know, people who do this for a living coming in and showing them how to code.
00:09:17
Speaker
which is, you know, I think our kids are starting to learn about coding. You know, it's, it's working its way into the curriculum. Now we have a separate class where students learn coding. But to see people who do this as a career, I think is really helpful for kids. They have a hard time conceptualizing how something they learn in school can be used in the real world. And that is,
00:09:45
Speaker
You know, that's a middle school question through and through. When am I ever going to use this, right? Every middle schooler asked, when am I ever going to use this? So to have people who come in and can answer that question is invaluable. And then all of the demonstrations of the really cool robotics and programming and coding that really captures the kids' imagination.
00:10:10
Speaker
You know, it looks like fun and games here. We're going to get this little robot arm to pick this thing up and go bowling. And, you know, it's just that I think is helpful too, because it's the, um, it's the carrots that gets them to go forward and learn a little bit more. And then at the end of the day with our deep racer extravaganza, I love whenever you can get a whole school together to experience something as a community.
00:10:40
Speaker
And that was just wonderful chaos. It was loud. And the kids, the high schoolers who came to run the Deep Racers were wonderful. And the guy who introduced himself is Shaggy. The kids are still talking about Shaggy. So it was absolutely, not only did it serve,
00:11:05
Speaker
It ticked a lot of boxes, right? So there's like this entertainment factor that kids are getting out of class to see these cool tech demos. There's the educational factor. They're learning how to do some coding in class. And then there's the community building factor where you're getting everybody together to participate in this really cool science based activity. I mean, it was just it was phenomenal. So for the for the middle school principal who's never heard of this thing called Deep Race or how would you how would you describe it?
00:11:35
Speaker
So first of all, if you are lucky enough to have a Tom in your life, definitely take advantage of that. That's my first piece of advice. If someone comes knocking on your door saying, hey, do you want to partner for Hour of Code? The answer should be yes. Figure out the details later. So DeepRacer, as I understand it, is their cars. They're like almost remote-controlled cars. They're like these little robots.
00:12:04
Speaker
And the kids using coding program them to follow a track, program them to respond to certain commands on like an iPad type device or like a Kindle type device. And so the way it was set up in our gym, we had the kids in risers and we had a track set up on the floor. The track is like, imagine a tarp with
00:12:32
Speaker
Remember those carpets you had for your kids and they would run their toy cars on it? Well, blow that up so that a car may be a foot by 9, 10 inches is running along that track. And there are barriers around it and the kids stand outside the barrier and program and have the device in their hand telling the car what to do to make its way around the track.
00:13:01
Speaker
And the challenge, of course, is you have to program it appropriately ahead of time so that when you say turn left, it actually turns left. When you say turn right, it turns right. And they control the speed and they run the car around the track and they're competing for the best time.
00:13:22
Speaker
So, of course, the students with the middle school. So the high school students are running the cars and the middle school students are watching and learning and getting excited and hopefully wanting to do it themselves and cheering for the the high school students that they want to win. And, you know, we learned a little bit going through this the first time we had to get kids out of the risers, the lower level risers to be able to see.
00:13:47
Speaker
But that was also cool, too, because then the kids aren't just part of the audience. They're on the floor, too, and they're able to talk with each other and see up close. And so we were kind of swapping kids in and out to come down close to be able to see. And the kids higher up in the risers had a good view. And so there was movement, which we all know is great middle school. Yeah, it was wild. It was lots of fun.
00:14:11
Speaker
So if you have any feedback from the students and or the other teachers and staff, except for, you know, we took over the whole school and. Well, first of all, you guys have been doing this for a couple of years, so it was one of the things that was sold to me when I was applying. They're like, we do this really cool Hour of Code thing. They come in and yeah, I mean, it's really this relationship is something that the school is very proud of.
00:14:41
Speaker
and something that they look forward to every year and talk about and plan for. So it was something I knew to expect was coming down the pike. So first of all, there's that. It's something that I think the school uses almost as like a piece of their identity. We do Hour of Code. And now I forgot what the question is.
00:15:07
Speaker
Oh, just about the feedback from students and staff. Yeah, from staff and students. So the staff love it. They think that the volunteers who come in are kind and supportive and help the kids and nothing but positive feedback about the volunteers who come in and teach the classes. At the end, they were like, so that was kind of crazy, but it was cool.
00:15:36
Speaker
you know, getting the kids in the gym and cycling through the racers. They enjoyed it. You know, it was, I think we would, we might run things a little bit differently next time knowing how it goes. But we adapted and we moved the kids in and out and the teachers are great at that. You know, I like to say the F word in middle school flexibility. So they, you know, they were flexible and they moved their kids.
00:16:04
Speaker
So positive feedback all around from the teachers and the kids are so cute. They're like, when are we going to get to use those? When do we get to do that? Because remember, they saw the high schoolers do it. So now they are chomping at the bit to get their hands on those deep racers and to do the coding and get that up and running. And I know the goal, right, is to set up like a league where they can compete with other schools. So they are they are absolutely raring to go. Can't wait to get that going.
00:16:32
Speaker
That would be really cool. I would love to see it. And if you do have those competitions, you have to invite me. I would, we absolutely will. I love the idea of a competition that isn't athletic. You know, that's something that, you know, we've got, we have marching bands in BMR, but even that you have to be coordinated for. I don't know what they're doing. This is,
00:17:01
Speaker
This is a competition for the students who are more cerebral for the ones who are using their math and science skills. And I just love that it's an opportunity to engage those kids in something outside of the schoolhouse, take them to another town and have them meet other kids and compete with other kids. So I can't wait to get going on that and figuring out how to make that work.
00:17:27
Speaker
So what would you say to average IT professional sitting out here who might be listening to the podcast about getting involved with Hour of Code?
Role Models in Tech for Students
00:17:37
Speaker
So first of all, I don't know if you guys realize how cool you are. The kids think you're like super, super cool that you know from their perspective you come in and you like build robots, right? You're doing all of this future work.
00:17:56
Speaker
So the kids look at you and think, you know, like there's Tony Stark, like they think they think you guys are so super cool. So if you need an ego booth, come to middle school because we'll make you feel awesome. And I do think it's nice for all of us, just like I was talking about the kids to get outside of their community and connect with other people.
00:18:23
Speaker
You know, I think adults get a great sense of that too, giving back to something greater than themselves, connecting with something greater than themselves. And people tend to be afraid of middle schoolers, but they're just, they're going to love you. If you have an opportunity to come hang out in the school and show off what you do on a daily basis, you are going to walk out feeling really, really good and hopefully wanting to come back.
00:18:52
Speaker
I love middle school, so I'm biased, but I anticipate that you're going to want to come back. Well, I would second that. Like I said, I've been doing it about five or six times, except for 2020 with COVID. And I keep coming back, so I think it's one of the most rewarding things ever.
00:19:14
Speaker
Also, I think part of that is the school and the staff and the teachers make it super welcoming for all of us. So it's really awesome. And I've never had a single volunteer who has walked away and said, no, I'm never doing that again. Usually they're saying, hey, let me know for next year. So what was your favorite part of the day?
00:19:44
Speaker
You know, I think it has to be, middle school people, I embrace chaos, it has to be the deep racer at the end of the day. I think, I really love opportunities to come together as a community and experience things together. You know, the students had demonstrations in their science classes,
00:20:10
Speaker
But those are all a little bit different and students have an opportunity to see the demonstrations, but everybody takes a little bit something different away from that. Having a common experience in the gym with everyone gives us like something common to go back to. Something to remind students of, you know, when we get to the point where we're recruiting kids for our Deep Racer League, they're all going to know what that is. And
00:20:40
Speaker
I think it's just, I mean, it's just fun. It's just fun to get everybody together. That has to be my favorite part. So did you end up giving any of my volunteers a detention? Only one. No, I'm kidding. No, they were very well behaved. They did a nice job. They listened. They had safe bodies.
00:21:08
Speaker
They followed the rules, no gum chewing, raise their hands. Please, yes. I think we can give them some accolades. Well done. Do you have any questions of me that you'd like to ask?
Tom's Journey with Hour of Code
00:21:24
Speaker
Well, I'm curious. So you started doing Hour of Code because were your students at HeartNet? Is that how you got started coming here?
00:21:33
Speaker
Yeah, so I have two children who are in the school district. My son and daughter, they were both at Hartnett at the time. I think my son was in his last year just transitioning over to the high school. He's a junior now. And my daughter, her last year at Hartnett was last year.
00:21:55
Speaker
So she's a freshman at the high school. And actually I was asked, oh gee, are you going to continue doing this now that your kids are gone to the high school, or is that all we're going to hear from you? And I said, well, hopefully you keep doing this as long as you keep having me. I would love to keep you. I don't want to send you over to the high school. I want to keep you. I think it's just
00:22:22
Speaker
It really is a special thing that we can offer our students. You know, I don't know. It's my first experience with it. And I, I would be very, very sad to see it. And so I hope you do keep coming. Yeah. Well, that's the plan. And, and the, the overall objective of Hour of Code generally is to encourage students who might not otherwise think of careers in technology. And so,
Inspiring Middle Schoolers Toward Tech Careers
00:22:49
Speaker
like you, my thought was middle school is the ideal target because by the time they go to high school, they've already probably got their eyes on thoughts of what they want to do so we can encourage middle school. Yeah. Yeah. I think that's great. I think that makes a lot of sense. It's wild that in middle school we're targeting kids for careers, but I think we have to start young. Yes. Yeah. Yeah.
00:23:17
Speaker
Alrighty, well, that's all the questions I have for you, unless you've got any more questions to me. No, I just I want to say again to you and your team. Thank you. For. The opportunities that you give our kids. You know, we're just a little a little school. Come out in the middle of nowhere, but we have really amazing opportunities to connect with the.
00:23:46
Speaker
the tech world, I feel like we're really lucky. So thank you. Thank you for doing that. Well, thank you. I firmly believe that the thanks is all in you because you let us take over the school for an entire day every year. So I truly appreciate it and truly appreciate how welcoming, like I said, the staff has been. Awesome.
00:24:15
Speaker
We're very happy to have you. Well, thank you very much, Mary, for agreeing to be part of the Basement Programmer podcast. I will get this set up and it's going to go live the beginning of January. So I'll provide you with a link to it. So thank you very much. Thank you. Yeah, thank you. Happy holidays. And you as well.