As with the corporate world, teachers get extra days off that we can take for personal time. I really try to minimize these days unless it is something important. I feel that it is a good thing for me to be there versus leaving the kids with a sub. However certain things come up where you need to take the time off. This weekend is one of those times. This weekend I will ride 154 miles for MS research in Texas. I usually participate in a ride from Houston to Austin, but this year my wife and I are taking our bicycles to Dallas this year for a tour of North Texas and a sore butt. I share this with the kids because there are so many people that are impacted by this disease. So, I will ride this weekend to help raise money. This has given me an idea. Why not raise money for Education by holding rides for people that are preparing for this ride or others? There are a lot of charities including the Ronald McDonald house that raise money this way, and really it would be a good idea to try and raise some money for education this way. I think as we approach the end of the school year and the beginning financial woes of the school system that we have to make money any way that we can. Post your ideas in the comment section. How could we help alleviate this financial crunch if the Texas Legislature will not?
Until next Tuesday, have a great weekend and wish me luck.
Education should be exercise; it has become massage. ~Martin H. Fischer
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
The Meeting
In corporations committees are convened when there is a large task at hand that is bigger than just one person. Schools utilize the same procedures.When you get more than one person in a room, you typically multiply the complexity of solving a single issue. This increased complexity of solving simple problems is to some frustrating and a waste of time. To me it is an opportunity to study the system. I have learned a lot over the past year by being involved in one of these panels. Today I spent my time after school in a panel called the Instructional Leadership Committee. The function of this team is to analyze and look at instructional issues that impact the kids. We look at teacher effectiveness and how well the kids are responding to changes that we make. Our entire purpose is to make the school better. Everyone in that room is in there to help the school be a better place. However, with that comes the group mentality of not wanting to rock the boat. I sit in there sometimes and disagree with what is being said. I am one of a very few that publicly disagrees with recommendations that are made that are not beneficial to the student body. This is because I really think that discourse is the way to improve circumstances. I try and offer solutions but also try and offer a perspective that is reflective of the teachers and students of the school. In today's meeting we rated how we did over the course of the year. Everyone agreed that we had some work to do, but people felt more comfortable talking about strengths than weaknesses. I would argue that weaknesses are where we learn the most from. If we are going to make things better we have to look introspectively at ourselves, and build on that. We do need to look at what we do well, but we also need to be honest about what we do not. As educators we all have differences in how we approach problems. The differences can be our strength or they can be our weakness. Now this small criticism is not overshadowed by what this panel of teachers has done for our campus. Improvements that we have made have really helped out the students of our school. Our special ed kids are more successful at regular ed classes, and our AP program is growing. I would like us to imagine what we could do if we embraced the critical aspects of the school, and rocked the boat a little. If there is anything that we can learn it is that we gain the most when we rock the boat.
Until tomorrow,
My idea of education is to unsettle the minds of the young and inflame their intellects. ~Robert Maynard Hutchins
Until tomorrow,
My idea of education is to unsettle the minds of the young and inflame their intellects. ~Robert Maynard Hutchins
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
A coach that teaches versus a teacher that coaches
Life is all about priorities. Do we buy the car, focus on family, or the career? In teaching it is also about priorities. For some teachers those priorities are whether they should put in the extra effort for the next day or not. For others it is whether they should teach at all.
In every profession there are the people that are just in it for the wrong reasons. In teaching we have a stereotype that coaches are not good teachers. These coaches put in no effort and leave their kids without the skills for the next year. I have met several coaches that these stereotypes do not apply to. They balance both well and teach as well as coach. Part of the problem that we have is that these coaches are overshadowed by the ones that do not. Today was one of those days where the two types of coaches clashed. Both are math teachers. One has just recently stopped coaching to spend more time with his family. The other is a baseball coach. These two were paired together to help administer the TAKS test today. One of the coaches said that they were not going to distribute the test or help at all because his duty was on the baseball field. He then watched movies all day while to other teacher was left to himself. Now I think that we can all agree that the coach sitting and watching the movie was a jerk, but it shows how some of them think. He later went on a rant in front of other teachers about the "academic" people and how they were a problem.This infuriates me. Teachers are being laid off right and left from other districts, and next year when my number is up, it very well might be me before him, as he has over three years under his belt. I am not saying that he should not coach, but someone like that should not be a math teacher. Our system is broken when someone like that keeps his job while others do not. People point the finger at teachers a lot of the time and say that we do not put in the time. Well some of us do and some of us don't. He puts in the time after school on the baseball field. I put in the time in the physics room. The end result is that he gets paid more for being a coach. The system is broken, and it is up to us as the people to fix it.
Until tomorrow,
An educational system isn't worth a great deal if it teaches young people how to make a living but doesn't teach them how to make a life. ~Author Unknown
In every profession there are the people that are just in it for the wrong reasons. In teaching we have a stereotype that coaches are not good teachers. These coaches put in no effort and leave their kids without the skills for the next year. I have met several coaches that these stereotypes do not apply to. They balance both well and teach as well as coach. Part of the problem that we have is that these coaches are overshadowed by the ones that do not. Today was one of those days where the two types of coaches clashed. Both are math teachers. One has just recently stopped coaching to spend more time with his family. The other is a baseball coach. These two were paired together to help administer the TAKS test today. One of the coaches said that they were not going to distribute the test or help at all because his duty was on the baseball field. He then watched movies all day while to other teacher was left to himself. Now I think that we can all agree that the coach sitting and watching the movie was a jerk, but it shows how some of them think. He later went on a rant in front of other teachers about the "academic" people and how they were a problem.This infuriates me. Teachers are being laid off right and left from other districts, and next year when my number is up, it very well might be me before him, as he has over three years under his belt. I am not saying that he should not coach, but someone like that should not be a math teacher. Our system is broken when someone like that keeps his job while others do not. People point the finger at teachers a lot of the time and say that we do not put in the time. Well some of us do and some of us don't. He puts in the time after school on the baseball field. I put in the time in the physics room. The end result is that he gets paid more for being a coach. The system is broken, and it is up to us as the people to fix it.
Until tomorrow,
An educational system isn't worth a great deal if it teaches young people how to make a living but doesn't teach them how to make a life. ~Author Unknown
Monday, April 25, 2011
The calm before the storm......
Tomorrow starts TAKS testing for my school and countless others around the state. Today at the end of class I showed a motivational speech. To be honest it was 40 different motivational speeches in 2 minutes. This was after the TAKS pep rally that we had this morning in which a lot of teachers, including myself, made a fool out of themselves. It is this time that we move from content specific instruction to motivational techniques to help kids psych themselves up for the test. As we move into this time where we test, teachers are under a lot of stress. This is unlike anything else that I have encountered before. The stress for everyone involved is significant. Administration has to worry about what the school looks like, the teachers look at how it effects their students, and the student worries about if they are going to graduate. The end result is a picture of the the student. We know what they know on that day, but are missing the video of what they learned for the year. This picture could be good or bad, as everyone has good and bad days. It is what we have, and what we will cross our fingers for. I hope everyone has a wonderful TAKS testing week.
Until Tomorrow,
It is today we must create the world of the future.' Eleanor Roosevelt
Until Tomorrow,
It is today we must create the world of the future.' Eleanor Roosevelt
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Hopping Mad
Sometimes a short week can feel like a long week wrapped in a smaller package. This week was one of those weeks. Despite the fact that we were only at school for four days it was tough to get to the end of the week. By the end of the day today it was tough to get the kids to do anything. I had a moment at the end where I was ready to throw most of my last class of the day through a wall.
Everyone is tired at the end of the week. The allure of the weekend is calling your name, but as most people know it will come and work has to be done. Today, I had a kid decide instead of working or paying attention she was going to write a comic with her friends the entire time. She has given up on school in April of her senior year. This frustrates me because I really want them to be successful and I am putting in a lot of work to get a program together to get them ready for their AP test that is coming up in May. When I asked her to stay after class she gave me an attitude and refused to even look me in the eye. Basically rolling her eyes at me the entire time, angry that I would ask her to keep it together. I explained that she had to take the test and she should be ready for it. Failure was not an option. She shrugged and refused to look at me, so I told her to just get out. I did not want to deal with the crap that she was wanting to dish out. It is rare in an AP class that we get someone that acts up like that. The unfortunate part is that if she does not take the AP test then she will have to take my final, and my final is an AP test. She is a kid that is on the fringe grade wise. If she messes up now she may not get the credit. She cares about the credit, but is not willing to put in the effort. Everyone has bad days, but kids that think they can skate at the end of the year are in a world of fantasy. The truth is that I do care. I had another teacher tell me that I had been labeled as mean for making the kids work and trying to raise the bar higher at the end of the year. I refuse to lower the bar. Just because we got close to the finish line does not mean that we can just say good enough. As someone that cycles a lot I know that the end of the race is the hardest. I take pride in the fact that I push myself and them to the next level. The easier thing for me to do is to put on a movie or the rest of the year and hand out grades, but that it not what I am going to do. I am so happy for a three day weekend.
Until Monday,
Education seems to be in America the only commodity of which the customer tries to get as little he can for his money.
Max Leon Forman (1909-1990) Jewish-American writer.
Everyone is tired at the end of the week. The allure of the weekend is calling your name, but as most people know it will come and work has to be done. Today, I had a kid decide instead of working or paying attention she was going to write a comic with her friends the entire time. She has given up on school in April of her senior year. This frustrates me because I really want them to be successful and I am putting in a lot of work to get a program together to get them ready for their AP test that is coming up in May. When I asked her to stay after class she gave me an attitude and refused to even look me in the eye. Basically rolling her eyes at me the entire time, angry that I would ask her to keep it together. I explained that she had to take the test and she should be ready for it. Failure was not an option. She shrugged and refused to look at me, so I told her to just get out. I did not want to deal with the crap that she was wanting to dish out. It is rare in an AP class that we get someone that acts up like that. The unfortunate part is that if she does not take the AP test then she will have to take my final, and my final is an AP test. She is a kid that is on the fringe grade wise. If she messes up now she may not get the credit. She cares about the credit, but is not willing to put in the effort. Everyone has bad days, but kids that think they can skate at the end of the year are in a world of fantasy. The truth is that I do care. I had another teacher tell me that I had been labeled as mean for making the kids work and trying to raise the bar higher at the end of the year. I refuse to lower the bar. Just because we got close to the finish line does not mean that we can just say good enough. As someone that cycles a lot I know that the end of the race is the hardest. I take pride in the fact that I push myself and them to the next level. The easier thing for me to do is to put on a movie or the rest of the year and hand out grades, but that it not what I am going to do. I am so happy for a three day weekend.
Until Monday,
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
What is in the box?
It is interesting how you can engage kids without a lot of effort. I have talked this week about dark matter and the fact that it is hard to study something when you cannot see it. To illustrate this point, I put different objects in several cardboard boxes and had the kids go around and try to guess what was in them. The cool thing about this was the amount of participation that I had. Quite a few kids that are usually not interested in most of the things that we do were tripping over themselves to participate. I called this little game "What's in the Box," a reference to the movie Seven. It was this lab that really set the bar for the rest of the day. I have talked a lot about kids being engaged and wanting to learn. Little things like this are beacons of light in a teacher's day. The sad part is that I do not have time to create lessons like this every day. Sometimes that fleeting inspiration comes and helps me to create something good. If this happened more I would be in heaven. This work that I put into this class and into others takes years to perfect. It is imperative that we try and work together to create curriculum that works. The same old worksheet routine is old and tired. We have to continue to innovate to be successful. This is true in the corporate world. The innovators lead the pack. The Bill Gates and the Steve Jobs of the world have to innovate to survive. Companies that fail to innovate fall into a rut that eventually results in their losing their effectiveness and their place as number one. Google expands and invests in their future while yahoo fell into a rut. I think that this is the reason that our education system has come down so far over the past 50 years. We have created a static system, where that moment of inspiration is fleeting. If there is something that I have learned about this entire process it is that the system really makes innovation hard. I think a solution to this is innovation sessions. The future of education is not worksheets, but instead sharing those moments of inspirations. I would love to work with some of the teachers at school to be something better than what we are. I think that if our system has any chance of surviving, the future will be in the collaboration of teachers sharing ideas and working together for the common good. Programs that embrace this have been successful. The problem is all the extra stuff that we have to do to get to the innovation.
Until Tommorow,
"Good teachers are those who know how little they know. Bad teachers are those who think they know more than they don't know."
-- R. Verdi
Until Tommorow,
"Good teachers are those who know how little they know. Bad teachers are those who think they know more than they don't know."
-- R. Verdi
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
The fight begins
House bill 1 has passed the house and has moved on to the senate. The house bill is considered too harsh by most senators. A new bill is being crafted that is a compromise between the original bill and the senate bill that is a little easier on the cuts. The main problem is social programs. Medicare and medicaid costs have increased to the state, and the house is unwilling to put those programs first. I would like to senate to consider one thing. All the programs have their merit. When we look at it what is important? If we take money away from education then the costs for welfare and medicaid goes up. The burden on the state increases. The means that people cannot afford to retire and the result is more people on the medicare program. That being said, the current programs that the state has in place cannot simply just go away. We have given our word to support all of these programs. Has the state bitten off more than it can chew? The answer is yes, but are there other programs that could be sacrificed instead? I think so.
I help sponsor a club at school. Today I went with the officers and the other school sponsor to Wal-mart to purchase items for the club. At the end of our shopping trip we stopped off to pick up a sandwich. I covered the cost of one of the kid's sandwiches. He had no money and said that he really had not eaten lunch. I did this because he is a good kid, and because he deserved the chance to eat. The problem with the state is that they view the entire system as an institution. They forget that this system is made up of people. Those people depend on you for services, whether that is education or health care. If we do not honor those commitments, what does that make our society? We like to look at the numbers and make cuts, but what about the kids that need it and the retirees that depend on medicare services. The state needs to buy the education system a sandwich. It needs to take into account that we are all working hard for the betterment of society. If it decides that it is not important than it needs to come up with other options. That is the least that our senate could do. Give us another option in everything, or fix the system that we have.
For those that are interested here is the article that talks about the senate and their views.
Until tomorrow,
"Education costs money, but then so does ignorance."
-- Sir Claus Moser
I help sponsor a club at school. Today I went with the officers and the other school sponsor to Wal-mart to purchase items for the club. At the end of our shopping trip we stopped off to pick up a sandwich. I covered the cost of one of the kid's sandwiches. He had no money and said that he really had not eaten lunch. I did this because he is a good kid, and because he deserved the chance to eat. The problem with the state is that they view the entire system as an institution. They forget that this system is made up of people. Those people depend on you for services, whether that is education or health care. If we do not honor those commitments, what does that make our society? We like to look at the numbers and make cuts, but what about the kids that need it and the retirees that depend on medicare services. The state needs to buy the education system a sandwich. It needs to take into account that we are all working hard for the betterment of society. If it decides that it is not important than it needs to come up with other options. That is the least that our senate could do. Give us another option in everything, or fix the system that we have.
For those that are interested here is the article that talks about the senate and their views.
Until tomorrow,
"Education costs money, but then so does ignorance."
-- Sir Claus Moser
Monday, April 18, 2011
The needs of the many....
Today is the day where all teachers can breath a little easier, at least those in my district. Today grades were due and the fifth grading period came to an end. Thus begins the last grading period of the 2010-2011 school year. This comes as a little bitter sweet for me. I look out across those faces and think that they are not quite ready for the real world. The harsh realities of college and the workplace for all of them are looming closer and they are the gazelle awaiting the lion.
The requests for us to slack off have increased by quite a bit now that they know the fifth grading period is over. Why do anything? Well the answer is quite simple. AP tests are coming up, and TAKS is right around the corner. For my Astronomy class, who does not have TAKS or AP tests, the answer is even more simple. College and life does not allow you to slack as you near an end. Life does not let up, and neither do I. Perhaps this is an idealistic way of thinking that the kids will never truly appreciate, but none the less I will stay the course.
I had an idea about how we could kick these kids in the butt. To prepare them for the inevitable. My idea was simple. Get the Seniors to take a day of college level classes and then test them over it. I approached my principal about this, and his response captures the issues that we face. He said that even if we bring someone in to give a lecture that it would have little effect this late. We would be going through an exercise that would not help them if they are having trouble passing their classes. Of our about 400 seniors that are set to walk in May, 68 of them are at risk of failing.
Think back to your senior year. For quite a few people it was a time of enjoyment and low requirements placed on them by school and by their parents. You were to get to college or to your next step. Parents remember the low stress times of their senior year. They tell their kids that this should be a year of fun and exploration. That mentality does not really work anymore. Kids have to take more and more now to graduate. Four credits are required in each core class now, and that means that the former requirement that had seniors take government, economics, and English their senior year is a thing of the past. It has turned into a requirement that sees them take 5 required classes to graduate out of the seven that they have to take. This is the first year that this has been required and it has been a tough transition. The paradigm shift has resulted in one of the highest senior failure rates that we have had in a long time. We have seniors that do not understand these requirements. The represents a problem. We must press on, and prepare them for the future. The end of their senior year is coming, but their adult life is just beginning. My hope is that the kids that are failing understand that there is currently a way out, and that way out is work and determination.
There is not an easy solution to this system. My solution is not a popular one. As Spock said "the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few or the one." These kids have to learn a hard lesson so those that come after them can learn it. They may have to go to summer school, but better learn the lesson in the safety of high school than be the gazelle in the lions mouth.
Until Tomorrow,
"Education would be so much more effective if its purpose were to ensure that by the time they leave school every boy and girl should know how much they don't know, and be imbued with a lifelong desire to know it."
-- Sir William Haley
The requests for us to slack off have increased by quite a bit now that they know the fifth grading period is over. Why do anything? Well the answer is quite simple. AP tests are coming up, and TAKS is right around the corner. For my Astronomy class, who does not have TAKS or AP tests, the answer is even more simple. College and life does not allow you to slack as you near an end. Life does not let up, and neither do I. Perhaps this is an idealistic way of thinking that the kids will never truly appreciate, but none the less I will stay the course.
I had an idea about how we could kick these kids in the butt. To prepare them for the inevitable. My idea was simple. Get the Seniors to take a day of college level classes and then test them over it. I approached my principal about this, and his response captures the issues that we face. He said that even if we bring someone in to give a lecture that it would have little effect this late. We would be going through an exercise that would not help them if they are having trouble passing their classes. Of our about 400 seniors that are set to walk in May, 68 of them are at risk of failing.
Think back to your senior year. For quite a few people it was a time of enjoyment and low requirements placed on them by school and by their parents. You were to get to college or to your next step. Parents remember the low stress times of their senior year. They tell their kids that this should be a year of fun and exploration. That mentality does not really work anymore. Kids have to take more and more now to graduate. Four credits are required in each core class now, and that means that the former requirement that had seniors take government, economics, and English their senior year is a thing of the past. It has turned into a requirement that sees them take 5 required classes to graduate out of the seven that they have to take. This is the first year that this has been required and it has been a tough transition. The paradigm shift has resulted in one of the highest senior failure rates that we have had in a long time. We have seniors that do not understand these requirements. The represents a problem. We must press on, and prepare them for the future. The end of their senior year is coming, but their adult life is just beginning. My hope is that the kids that are failing understand that there is currently a way out, and that way out is work and determination.
There is not an easy solution to this system. My solution is not a popular one. As Spock said "the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few or the one." These kids have to learn a hard lesson so those that come after them can learn it. They may have to go to summer school, but better learn the lesson in the safety of high school than be the gazelle in the lions mouth.
Until Tomorrow,
"Education would be so much more effective if its purpose were to ensure that by the time they leave school every boy and girl should know how much they don't know, and be imbued with a lifelong desire to know it."
-- Sir William Haley
Friday, April 15, 2011
Dazed and Confused
In the classroom we have to deal with a lot of distractions. External factors affect adults lives and we deal with it, but they can shut down a kid's life. It is why when something big happens at school or outside of school it is the only thing that kids want to talk about. Today marked the end of another week, and with that weekend comes distractions and comes the day that most people love and hate. Friday is the day where we get to leave school for the weekend, but it is also one of the hardest days to get kids to focus. It is a long day, and by the end of it most teachers resort to some form of beverage.
This week outside of school a group of senior boys had sex with an 8th grade girl. The supposed incident was caught on film. The entire thing had me infuriated. Why would seniors feel the need to do that? I do not have all of the details, and do not have any names, nor would I list them if I did have them, but why would you do that? An 8th grade girl is 14, barely a teenager. When I was a senior I was going after senior girls or juniors, not 8th graders. The kids at the school I went to called you a loser if you were a senior and dated a sophomore, and a pervert if you dated a freshman. It was not done, and if it was you sure did not put it for everyone to see. The administration in the school does not take this lightly, and really should not. They are very serious about making sure that it is handled correctly even though it did not take place on campus. This is just another incident in dealing with kids on a daily basis. Sometimes those very kids that I blog about trying to get a better education destroy any chances that they have for one. Society has a lot to say about this sort of crime. It is definitely something that we have to protect against as a society. Older children can take advantage of younger kids. My hope is that the kids that do this are put away for a long time. Behavior like this is inexcusable, and removal of these kids is a priority of teachers and administration.
Until Tomorrow,
Experience is a good school, but the fees are high.
- Heinrich Heine
This week outside of school a group of senior boys had sex with an 8th grade girl. The supposed incident was caught on film. The entire thing had me infuriated. Why would seniors feel the need to do that? I do not have all of the details, and do not have any names, nor would I list them if I did have them, but why would you do that? An 8th grade girl is 14, barely a teenager. When I was a senior I was going after senior girls or juniors, not 8th graders. The kids at the school I went to called you a loser if you were a senior and dated a sophomore, and a pervert if you dated a freshman. It was not done, and if it was you sure did not put it for everyone to see. The administration in the school does not take this lightly, and really should not. They are very serious about making sure that it is handled correctly even though it did not take place on campus. This is just another incident in dealing with kids on a daily basis. Sometimes those very kids that I blog about trying to get a better education destroy any chances that they have for one. Society has a lot to say about this sort of crime. It is definitely something that we have to protect against as a society. Older children can take advantage of younger kids. My hope is that the kids that do this are put away for a long time. Behavior like this is inexcusable, and removal of these kids is a priority of teachers and administration.
Until Tomorrow,
Experience is a good school, but the fees are high.
- Heinrich Heine
Thursday, April 14, 2011
License to Teach
In April of 2009, I took the content test for all science. This one test covered physics, chemistry, biology, earth science, and environmental systems. I worked for an entire month for 40 hours a week to study for a test that was quite challenging. The chemistry part was not what I was worried about, the physics and the biology were where I spent the most time. I had not had algebra based physics since high school, as the physics I took in college was all calculus based. Biology was never my strong point, so I had to learn the entire subject over again. The last time I opened the biology text book was 9th grade. Still, I studied and took the test. A few days later when I received the score I was delighted to see that I had scored what amounted to an A on the test. I showed those numbers with pride in each interview that I attended. What I found was that the only thing that matters was that I passed. Mastery of specific content was not important.
I took this test really seriously and studied my butt off for it. It was after I got into education that I really started to understand the process. A great example of this process was two math teachers that work at my school. One math teacher took the test and did quite well. The other teacher took it 9 times before passing. This highlights one of the fundamental problems of education. We have teachers out there that are not suited for the job. This concerns me in several ways. The first way is that any teacher that struggles with the content cannot be a good teacher of the material. The second way is that a school would allow a teacher to serve for this long knowing that they struggle with passing a content test. I understand that things happen, and that for some people the first test goes wrong because they prepared wrong, but wrong 9 times is just saying to me that the teacher should not be in that subject. How can I defend an institution that allows this to happen? How can I sit there and ask people to stand up for education when we have teachers that are not qualified to teach the content?
ANAR has an entire section devoted to teachers and what the requirements should be. In the report it states that "Persons preparing to teach should be required to meet high educational standards, to demonstrate an aptitude for teaching, and to demonstrate competence in an academic discipline. Colleges and universities offering teacher preparation programs should be judged by how well their graduates meet these criteria." This small statement says a lot. Content knowledge is important. I came in without any sort of education degree. This gives me an advantage, but it also gives me a slight disadvantage as I lose out on some of the more important theory. I got a crash course in education, and while it is not perfect, I really work hard to try and make myself better every day.
This week I have stated that I am looking at only solutions that we could make now to help promote a better education system. The solution to this is simple. We need to limit the number of times that people can take the test. In Oklahoma, there is a three test limit and then you are banned from taking that test. We need to have people show that they are qualified to teach a subject. We need to show that as teachers that we are willing to participate in professional development. I am required to attend training every year. I attended two weeks of training last summer, and am committed to keep going to push myself to be the best I can at my job. I would also call on universities and colleges everywhere to work with teachers to provide advanced study in their disciplines. Masters degrees in their content area should be prized above all others. We as teachers need to have a passion for our content area and for teaching. As teachers it is our job to increase the knowledge of each student that comes through the door. If we struggle with our content area can we actually do that?
Until tomorrow,
"Who dares to teach must never cease to learn."
-- John Cotton Dana
I took this test really seriously and studied my butt off for it. It was after I got into education that I really started to understand the process. A great example of this process was two math teachers that work at my school. One math teacher took the test and did quite well. The other teacher took it 9 times before passing. This highlights one of the fundamental problems of education. We have teachers out there that are not suited for the job. This concerns me in several ways. The first way is that any teacher that struggles with the content cannot be a good teacher of the material. The second way is that a school would allow a teacher to serve for this long knowing that they struggle with passing a content test. I understand that things happen, and that for some people the first test goes wrong because they prepared wrong, but wrong 9 times is just saying to me that the teacher should not be in that subject. How can I defend an institution that allows this to happen? How can I sit there and ask people to stand up for education when we have teachers that are not qualified to teach the content?
ANAR has an entire section devoted to teachers and what the requirements should be. In the report it states that "Persons preparing to teach should be required to meet high educational standards, to demonstrate an aptitude for teaching, and to demonstrate competence in an academic discipline. Colleges and universities offering teacher preparation programs should be judged by how well their graduates meet these criteria." This small statement says a lot. Content knowledge is important. I came in without any sort of education degree. This gives me an advantage, but it also gives me a slight disadvantage as I lose out on some of the more important theory. I got a crash course in education, and while it is not perfect, I really work hard to try and make myself better every day.
This week I have stated that I am looking at only solutions that we could make now to help promote a better education system. The solution to this is simple. We need to limit the number of times that people can take the test. In Oklahoma, there is a three test limit and then you are banned from taking that test. We need to have people show that they are qualified to teach a subject. We need to show that as teachers that we are willing to participate in professional development. I am required to attend training every year. I attended two weeks of training last summer, and am committed to keep going to push myself to be the best I can at my job. I would also call on universities and colleges everywhere to work with teachers to provide advanced study in their disciplines. Masters degrees in their content area should be prized above all others. We as teachers need to have a passion for our content area and for teaching. As teachers it is our job to increase the knowledge of each student that comes through the door. If we struggle with our content area can we actually do that?
Until tomorrow,
"Who dares to teach must never cease to learn."
-- John Cotton Dana
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Nation at Risk
In 1983, president Reagan asked then secretary Bell to look into the education system, and make recommendations that districts could adopt. The resulting report was called "A Nation at Risk." It highlighted the problems in the education system of the time, and really looked hard at what we were doing for education and what we could do to make it better. The recommendations from this report were controversial at the time, but they operated within the current system. This is contrary to other methods that basically scrapped our entire education system. I will do my best to try and explain a few of these recommendations that we could implement in the coming years to make sure that our kids are getting the education that they need.
I am really looking forward to summer break. Most teachers really enjoy the time that we get off in the summer. Some decide that they will work in summer school, and others like me use the time to sit back and relax a little before we work on our curriculum for the next year. That is the nice thing about summer. The bad part is that kids are not receiving any instruction, and study after study shows that there is a loss of knowledge that happens when a kid leaves for the summer. That is why the next year math teachers bang their heads against the wall wondering how the students forgot how to factor, or lost the ability to divide. The report gives some very specific guidelines on what should happen with time spent in school. The most successful schools are those that have a longer school day with a larger number of days spend in the classroom. The NAR report suggests that there should be "7-hour school days, as well as a 200- to 220-day school year." This recommendation calls for a movement to a year round schooling pattern. A true 7 hour day of instruction, and the report is fairly insistent that the time does not include class changes. If you took that into account, we would need to lengthen our current school day by 1 hour. Districts would have to increase the number of days in the classroom by about 20. Research has shown that this pattern for schools is the way to go. Breaks are still there, but instead spread out through the school year in smaller chunks. This would minimize the knowledge lost, and would maximize the time spent for students to prepare them for their further studies.
I do not want anyone to think that I would be happy about giving up my two months of bliss. Especially now when I am tired and ready for a break. I think that we have to look a little beyond ourselves. This may mean that we have to make sacrifices. I believe that if you give people the option and begin to work together to fix the problem, that people will come to take that challenge. Will we loose some teachers in the transition process? The answer is yes. But this loss would be met with people that legitimately want to be in the classroom and help students succeed. The future of our school system rests with law makers. Secretary Bell was a forward thinking man. His recommendations were made for 1983, but they still resonate today.
Until Tomorrow,
"Learning is what most adults will do for a living in the 21st century."
-- Perelman
I am really looking forward to summer break. Most teachers really enjoy the time that we get off in the summer. Some decide that they will work in summer school, and others like me use the time to sit back and relax a little before we work on our curriculum for the next year. That is the nice thing about summer. The bad part is that kids are not receiving any instruction, and study after study shows that there is a loss of knowledge that happens when a kid leaves for the summer. That is why the next year math teachers bang their heads against the wall wondering how the students forgot how to factor, or lost the ability to divide. The report gives some very specific guidelines on what should happen with time spent in school. The most successful schools are those that have a longer school day with a larger number of days spend in the classroom. The NAR report suggests that there should be "7-hour school days, as well as a 200- to 220-day school year." This recommendation calls for a movement to a year round schooling pattern. A true 7 hour day of instruction, and the report is fairly insistent that the time does not include class changes. If you took that into account, we would need to lengthen our current school day by 1 hour. Districts would have to increase the number of days in the classroom by about 20. Research has shown that this pattern for schools is the way to go. Breaks are still there, but instead spread out through the school year in smaller chunks. This would minimize the knowledge lost, and would maximize the time spent for students to prepare them for their further studies.
I do not want anyone to think that I would be happy about giving up my two months of bliss. Especially now when I am tired and ready for a break. I think that we have to look a little beyond ourselves. This may mean that we have to make sacrifices. I believe that if you give people the option and begin to work together to fix the problem, that people will come to take that challenge. Will we loose some teachers in the transition process? The answer is yes. But this loss would be met with people that legitimately want to be in the classroom and help students succeed. The future of our school system rests with law makers. Secretary Bell was a forward thinking man. His recommendations were made for 1983, but they still resonate today.
Until Tomorrow,
"Learning is what most adults will do for a living in the 21st century."
-- Perelman
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
For the Shorties
I am looking at what small things that we can do as educators and as a community to help promote education and create a stronger group of students. Yesterday I talked about my epiphany. The world seemed to be a little more ordered, but a kid has a lot of influences that extend outside of the realm of school. Poverty and parent involvement are the two that come to my mind. School districts have been struggling with both of those for a while. It is a known fact that people that come from poor neighborhoods typically do worse in school. One of the reasons is parent and community involvement.
My parents were involved. They were great in supporting me, and in pushing me harder and farther. My dad was especially trying at times. He taught me in pushing me that I was capable of more than I thought. Their education level has a lot to do with that, and their comfort level with the material. Most parents are comfortable with the alphabet, or even simple math, but throw in calculus or physics and they shut down. There is not a magical solution to a parent not being able to provide the support at home for harder level classes. Not everyone has the ability to aid in their child's studies when they reach a certain point. Most schools are utilizing funds for tutorials to increase student scores in standardized testing. We are going to need to go beyond that in order for children to be successful, so the answer may lie with mentor programs. A mentor program takes a child and puts them with an adult in the school setting. This is a person that can talk to them and be supportive of their education efforts. Even if they cannot help them with the material they can find someone that can. It is these programs that are going to be instrumental in crafting a better student.
Mentor programs are great, but they still leave the parent's out. At my school parents spend a lot of their time at work. Teachers that have had success motivating their students and getting parent involvement often throw together a parent night. Every school has an open house, but often these are sparsely attended affairs with only the motivated students that show up with their parents in tow. Programs that are really successful go beyond this and push for parent nights on weekends where kids, parents, and teachers can get together to talk about what is being done in class. In the Movie "Waiting for Superman" several programs that target inner city children have been successful with a community outreach program, even going so far as to offer programs that help further the education of the parents. This outreach is a needed program in any district. Schools have to go beyond the usual open house and offer a way for parents to be involved in their child's education. This involvement will breed a better student. My school has put forth a mentor program, and through programs like AVID are trying to get parent's night on the way. We have to extend further out though. It is not the AP or the Pre-AP kids that need the support and the outreach, it is the academic middle and lower rungs that need our help.
Tomorrow, we are going to go back to the future with a talk about a report that came out in 1983 called the Nation at Risk report. This report is probably the antitheses of No Child Left Behind. It lays down some radical thinking, but does a good job in making recomendations that are within the scope of our current system.
Until Tomorrow,
"Who dares to teach must never cease to learn."
-- John Cotton Dana
My parents were involved. They were great in supporting me, and in pushing me harder and farther. My dad was especially trying at times. He taught me in pushing me that I was capable of more than I thought. Their education level has a lot to do with that, and their comfort level with the material. Most parents are comfortable with the alphabet, or even simple math, but throw in calculus or physics and they shut down. There is not a magical solution to a parent not being able to provide the support at home for harder level classes. Not everyone has the ability to aid in their child's studies when they reach a certain point. Most schools are utilizing funds for tutorials to increase student scores in standardized testing. We are going to need to go beyond that in order for children to be successful, so the answer may lie with mentor programs. A mentor program takes a child and puts them with an adult in the school setting. This is a person that can talk to them and be supportive of their education efforts. Even if they cannot help them with the material they can find someone that can. It is these programs that are going to be instrumental in crafting a better student.
Mentor programs are great, but they still leave the parent's out. At my school parents spend a lot of their time at work. Teachers that have had success motivating their students and getting parent involvement often throw together a parent night. Every school has an open house, but often these are sparsely attended affairs with only the motivated students that show up with their parents in tow. Programs that are really successful go beyond this and push for parent nights on weekends where kids, parents, and teachers can get together to talk about what is being done in class. In the Movie "Waiting for Superman" several programs that target inner city children have been successful with a community outreach program, even going so far as to offer programs that help further the education of the parents. This outreach is a needed program in any district. Schools have to go beyond the usual open house and offer a way for parents to be involved in their child's education. This involvement will breed a better student. My school has put forth a mentor program, and through programs like AVID are trying to get parent's night on the way. We have to extend further out though. It is not the AP or the Pre-AP kids that need the support and the outreach, it is the academic middle and lower rungs that need our help.
Tomorrow, we are going to go back to the future with a talk about a report that came out in 1983 called the Nation at Risk report. This report is probably the antitheses of No Child Left Behind. It lays down some radical thinking, but does a good job in making recomendations that are within the scope of our current system.
Until Tomorrow,
"Who dares to teach must never cease to learn."
-- John Cotton Dana
Monday, April 11, 2011
epiphany
Today was a long day. As most of you are aware I am training for the MS150 this year from Frisco to Fort Worth. This 150 mile bike ride helps to raise money for MS research. With this large ride looming over my head I had a weekend that included a serious 65 mile ride yesterday. I was exhausted this morning and fought the urge as all people do to go to work. I reported for work and survived through the day. In my AP class I gave a test, and that test taught me more in a few minutes than I have learned in a long time.
Tests are something that all of us remember from school. My district requires that we give three tests per grading period. Each class I teach has a slightly different testing dynamic. In AP the tests are given do not have any multiple choice and have only a free response section. The last few weeks I have been talking about how if they are having trouble with the subject matter that they need to come in and get help. Today before the test I was inundated with kids that needed help. Each asked really basic questions. These were questions that we cleared up the first week. So after giving the test and seeing them slave away at it, I had a conversation with one of my AP students. She is an A student, and told me that she studied by looking over the packet that I had given them. It was this that gave me my epiphany. I have issues with Pre-AP kids that are having trouble passing. Each one says that they study and each one is frustrated with the process. The answer is that these kids are missing a fundamental thing that helped me to succeed in high school and college. They are missing the tools to study. I can work all of the examples that I want, but if they do not go home and study it does nothing except confuse them later. Our calculus class has the same problem. This was a big thing for me. I did not have to be taught how to study. When I was having trouble with a subject my mom or dad would give me something that they would use to help them study. When I got to college I used those techniques and developed some of my own. This little thing has helped me to realign my thought for next year and for the rest of this year. I need to help them prepare outside of class.
This really sounds like a dumb statement, but it is one that as a good student I had never really come across. When a take a look at the best teachers at our school and those that I had in the past, I see those that helped prepare outside of class. As an educator I spend so much time inside my own experiences that sometimes I forget that the kids need the entire process. This week I am going to focus on ways that we can improve the entire experience of our education system. It starts one teacher at a time, and results in lives that are changed for the better.
Until tomorrow,
A mind once stretched by a new idea never regains its original dimensions.
- Anonymous
Tests are something that all of us remember from school. My district requires that we give three tests per grading period. Each class I teach has a slightly different testing dynamic. In AP the tests are given do not have any multiple choice and have only a free response section. The last few weeks I have been talking about how if they are having trouble with the subject matter that they need to come in and get help. Today before the test I was inundated with kids that needed help. Each asked really basic questions. These were questions that we cleared up the first week. So after giving the test and seeing them slave away at it, I had a conversation with one of my AP students. She is an A student, and told me that she studied by looking over the packet that I had given them. It was this that gave me my epiphany. I have issues with Pre-AP kids that are having trouble passing. Each one says that they study and each one is frustrated with the process. The answer is that these kids are missing a fundamental thing that helped me to succeed in high school and college. They are missing the tools to study. I can work all of the examples that I want, but if they do not go home and study it does nothing except confuse them later. Our calculus class has the same problem. This was a big thing for me. I did not have to be taught how to study. When I was having trouble with a subject my mom or dad would give me something that they would use to help them study. When I got to college I used those techniques and developed some of my own. This little thing has helped me to realign my thought for next year and for the rest of this year. I need to help them prepare outside of class.
This really sounds like a dumb statement, but it is one that as a good student I had never really come across. When a take a look at the best teachers at our school and those that I had in the past, I see those that helped prepare outside of class. As an educator I spend so much time inside my own experiences that sometimes I forget that the kids need the entire process. This week I am going to focus on ways that we can improve the entire experience of our education system. It starts one teacher at a time, and results in lives that are changed for the better.
Until tomorrow,
A mind once stretched by a new idea never regains its original dimensions.
- Anonymous
Friday, April 8, 2011
Rio
Well the weekend has come once again. I have had a long week as I am sure that most of you have had. This week was a big week for education. We had a house bill that was passed to cut our funding, and an article was posted that suggests that the future of education funding may lead to law suits, and there was a school shooting in Brazil. These shootings are scary for parents and for teachers. This is a big deal that it has happened outside the US. The article, which I will include below, talks about a man that came into an elementary school in Rio and just started shooting. What is the world coming to, now we have to be worried about gun man kids and random guys that kill children? I am astounded by the people that think that others are the problem. The people that kill others instead of doing us all a favor and killing themselves first. What could 12 kids have done to a man that would cause him to take that sort of action? The answer is nothing. School shootings are something that everyone puts in the back of their mind, but is constantly there.
When a school shooting happens it forces us to face that fear, to see how we would react. The natural reaction, like with terrorism, is to regulate the freedom that people have away. While we must balance our freedom and our safety all to often instances where we feel threatened cause us to be even more willing to give up the freedoms that we hold dear. I do not know what a solution is. The easiest thing to do would be to give up our right to protect ourselves. To erase guns from every corner of the country. Brazil may just vote to do that. Big brother could watch our every move and when we start fitting a certain profile could haul us in to have a conversation, but any one of those options can still fail. This is an unfortunate risk of living in the world that we live in. All I can do is make sure that I am as careful as I can be, and that I watch for signs of kids struggling so maybe I can be there. A student that you see every day is a little easier to spot, but some stranger is a scarier case. I wish those in Brazil the best, as those 12 families have lost their children and a large part of their life.
Brazil Gunman kills 12
Until Monday have a great weekend,
Education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance.
- Will Durant
When a school shooting happens it forces us to face that fear, to see how we would react. The natural reaction, like with terrorism, is to regulate the freedom that people have away. While we must balance our freedom and our safety all to often instances where we feel threatened cause us to be even more willing to give up the freedoms that we hold dear. I do not know what a solution is. The easiest thing to do would be to give up our right to protect ourselves. To erase guns from every corner of the country. Brazil may just vote to do that. Big brother could watch our every move and when we start fitting a certain profile could haul us in to have a conversation, but any one of those options can still fail. This is an unfortunate risk of living in the world that we live in. All I can do is make sure that I am as careful as I can be, and that I watch for signs of kids struggling so maybe I can be there. A student that you see every day is a little easier to spot, but some stranger is a scarier case. I wish those in Brazil the best, as those 12 families have lost their children and a large part of their life.
Brazil Gunman kills 12
Until Monday have a great weekend,
Education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance.
- Will Durant
Thursday, April 7, 2011
TESTify
This week started TAKS review for my Pre-AP classes. Regular science classes have been doing this for 2 weeks already. We have a lot that we have to cover in the eleventh grade. My classes do about 2 weeks of biology review and then do one week of chemistry before the test at the end of the month. The fact of the matter is that we have to prepare even the Pre-AP kids. Pressure is up for kids to not only pass the test but them to make a commended score, which is basically a 90%. This push for bigger and better scores has made it harder for us to spend time on things other than TAKS. Regular classes in science and math spend 5 weeks reviewing every day, some Pre-AP classes spend 5 weeks before the test getting ready for it.
As teachers, we have an expectation for our students to score well on tests that encompase 3 years worth of knowledge. When they reach 11th grade the pressure is on the kids and the teacher to make sure that our passing rate is high enough to keep the school where we need to be. The pressure for educators is that if we fail, if our kids fail, we could get the school taken over by the state. This is not going to happen for most schools or districts. Instead we fight for the Recommended or the Exemplary title. These are titles that the state gives you if you have a certain number of kids that pass the test. School districts want them because they look good. Teachers and parents want to be associated with a school that meets one of those standards.
With these pressures that exist for the district, the student, and the teacher, it is easy to understand the need that we place in the review. As much as I do not like doing it; I understand the need and the work that has to go into preparing these kids. I asked one of the children that I teach "how was the review yesterday." She said that it was "easy but something I needed." When it comes to graduation kids take this test seriously. The threat of not graduating provides that coveted motivation. Tomorrow I will soldier on, reviewing for the next few weeks until we take the test and I will hold my breath and wait.
Until tomorrow,
Much education today is monumentally ineffective. All too often we are giving young people cut flowers when we should be teaching them to grow their own plants. ~John W. Gardner
As teachers, we have an expectation for our students to score well on tests that encompase 3 years worth of knowledge. When they reach 11th grade the pressure is on the kids and the teacher to make sure that our passing rate is high enough to keep the school where we need to be. The pressure for educators is that if we fail, if our kids fail, we could get the school taken over by the state. This is not going to happen for most schools or districts. Instead we fight for the Recommended or the Exemplary title. These are titles that the state gives you if you have a certain number of kids that pass the test. School districts want them because they look good. Teachers and parents want to be associated with a school that meets one of those standards.
With these pressures that exist for the district, the student, and the teacher, it is easy to understand the need that we place in the review. As much as I do not like doing it; I understand the need and the work that has to go into preparing these kids. I asked one of the children that I teach "how was the review yesterday." She said that it was "easy but something I needed." When it comes to graduation kids take this test seriously. The threat of not graduating provides that coveted motivation. Tomorrow I will soldier on, reviewing for the next few weeks until we take the test and I will hold my breath and wait.
Until tomorrow,
Much education today is monumentally ineffective. All too often we are giving young people cut flowers when we should be teaching them to grow their own plants. ~John W. Gardner
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Satisfaction
Once and a while something comes along that reinforces why you become an educator. What I would like a kid to know when he leaves is not just the subject but also to understand the importance of education and hard work. I have a student that is all talk. He loves to give excuses on why he cannot do the work, or why he should not have to. Recently his attitude has started to change. The thought of college has begun to creep into his head, and that panic that sets in for some about what the future after high school brings has begun. He has started to grow up. Today he was late to class, but when he got there, without any prodding from me, he began to do his work. While his friends talked, he kept on doing what he was suppose to. This one small step means a lot to a teacher. It is also something that is pretty unique to the profession. I cannot say that my time in the corporate world gave me any satisfaction greater than what it means to know that you are making a difference. People change, they mature, but it is a teacher's job to help to mold them into someone that can be a productive member of society. For this kid, who is pretty smart, he has a chance to do something good with his life. His getting down to work shows me that he is capable, which I already knew, but also that he is willing.
Some of you reading this may not understand the beuty of a kid that has been trouble starting to get serious. I can honestly say that I did not understand until I started teaching either. The closest thing that I can say comes when dealing with a difficult client or coworker. You work with them, and try to get them to understand your point of view. When they do, if that ever happens, it is this beacon of light in your day. With kids this is a struggle every day. We have a serious motivational problem in public schools. Some kids view classes as filler time between working or partying. The hardest that that I have to do is to see a kid that is college capable throw themselves out of the running because they chose something else over education. Sometimes education of general education kids feel like a battle. We are moving our forces against those that would have them be satisfied with minimum effort. When we battle a kid every day, and have that kid start to fight for our side it is a great feeling. Education is a battle for one kid at a time. Sometimes when we get negative this small victory is all we need to pick us up.
Until Tomorrow,
"You teach best what you most need to learn." -- Richard David Bach
Some of you reading this may not understand the beuty of a kid that has been trouble starting to get serious. I can honestly say that I did not understand until I started teaching either. The closest thing that I can say comes when dealing with a difficult client or coworker. You work with them, and try to get them to understand your point of view. When they do, if that ever happens, it is this beacon of light in your day. With kids this is a struggle every day. We have a serious motivational problem in public schools. Some kids view classes as filler time between working or partying. The hardest that that I have to do is to see a kid that is college capable throw themselves out of the running because they chose something else over education. Sometimes education of general education kids feel like a battle. We are moving our forces against those that would have them be satisfied with minimum effort. When we battle a kid every day, and have that kid start to fight for our side it is a great feeling. Education is a battle for one kid at a time. Sometimes when we get negative this small victory is all we need to pick us up.
Until Tomorrow,
"You teach best what you most need to learn." -- Richard David Bach
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Days like this....
Van Morrison had a song called "days like this." Sometimes when I have a less than stellar day it finds its way out of my subconscious and I start singing it in my head to help lighten the mood. I had two kids get in a verbal conflict and one use the n-word all before 8 am. It was one of those days that I really need to sing that song.
I have said before that teachers serve several roles inside the classroom. The first is to actually educate the subject matter. The second is as a manager, or a peace keeper. It is the second role that most teachers have trouble with. Some classes have an entire mind of their own. You can have a group of kids that just clash personality wise and create havoc for you in your classroom. My first period is a good bunch of kids, but we have several kids that just clash on a personality level. This keeps the tension high sometimes, and make my job as an educator harder. I do what I can to create an atmosphere that is conducive to learning, and try to keep the groups at bay. Sometimes this boils over and becomes something that is hard to control. I had asked first period to work on getting a list of tasks done when a student that is usually not a bad kid walk over and accused the other student (African American) of taking his paper. He then uttered his last words that he would speak in my class for a while when he said "[n-word] please back off." Now obviously I am editing this blog, but he just said it like it was nothing. This trows off everyone and create a point of contention for people to then talk about and egg on. I have to remove him from class for langauge and then calm down the masses that are choosing sides on whether he should be allowed to use the word or not. Either way between getting him to the office and getting the conversations under control the entire class was a wash.
His actions though are not unique, we have several kids that feel that they can say the word without repercussions. It is not in a racist capacity because it is really in the way that conveys a familiarity with the person. Most of the time it is not said out of anger towards the other person, instead it mirrors the use in rap lyrics. I think that with rap being as prevalent as it is some kids just think that it is cool to say it. What they don't seem to understand is that it is not one of those words that anyone can say. As a society we have set limits on who can say certain things. Most of the kids that use it do not understand that. It is used in the hall a lot when kids of every color are talking to one another. They view it as a word that you would call your friend when he or she is giving you grief or trying to put one over on you. It does not carry to them the negative implications that it carries when I hear it.
It does cause a problem. As a campus we have said that any language is not acceptable, but as a society we have condemned it. It is hard to convey that message when we are not sure of the rules ourselves. My personal feeling is that it is not a word anyone should be using. I do not use it, nor do I think that anyone should, and as a school we have said that it is not appropriate to use in the classroom setting. It is a tricky subject. I had a kid use it in my 7th period the week before. When I told him that he was not to use the word he told me that "I am allowed to use it as I am black, and you cannot be offended." I am all for free speech, but it is getting a little ridiculous when we start branding words as OK for certain people to say and not for others. Where should the line be? I view it as unacceptable language in the classroom. Where do you view the line? What should a teacher do when someone in his or her class uses that word or another word like it? My solution was let the assistant principal sort it out.
Until Tomorrow,
Education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance.
- Will Durant
I have said before that teachers serve several roles inside the classroom. The first is to actually educate the subject matter. The second is as a manager, or a peace keeper. It is the second role that most teachers have trouble with. Some classes have an entire mind of their own. You can have a group of kids that just clash personality wise and create havoc for you in your classroom. My first period is a good bunch of kids, but we have several kids that just clash on a personality level. This keeps the tension high sometimes, and make my job as an educator harder. I do what I can to create an atmosphere that is conducive to learning, and try to keep the groups at bay. Sometimes this boils over and becomes something that is hard to control. I had asked first period to work on getting a list of tasks done when a student that is usually not a bad kid walk over and accused the other student (African American) of taking his paper. He then uttered his last words that he would speak in my class for a while when he said "[n-word] please back off." Now obviously I am editing this blog, but he just said it like it was nothing. This trows off everyone and create a point of contention for people to then talk about and egg on. I have to remove him from class for langauge and then calm down the masses that are choosing sides on whether he should be allowed to use the word or not. Either way between getting him to the office and getting the conversations under control the entire class was a wash.
His actions though are not unique, we have several kids that feel that they can say the word without repercussions. It is not in a racist capacity because it is really in the way that conveys a familiarity with the person. Most of the time it is not said out of anger towards the other person, instead it mirrors the use in rap lyrics. I think that with rap being as prevalent as it is some kids just think that it is cool to say it. What they don't seem to understand is that it is not one of those words that anyone can say. As a society we have set limits on who can say certain things. Most of the kids that use it do not understand that. It is used in the hall a lot when kids of every color are talking to one another. They view it as a word that you would call your friend when he or she is giving you grief or trying to put one over on you. It does not carry to them the negative implications that it carries when I hear it.
It does cause a problem. As a campus we have said that any language is not acceptable, but as a society we have condemned it. It is hard to convey that message when we are not sure of the rules ourselves. My personal feeling is that it is not a word anyone should be using. I do not use it, nor do I think that anyone should, and as a school we have said that it is not appropriate to use in the classroom setting. It is a tricky subject. I had a kid use it in my 7th period the week before. When I told him that he was not to use the word he told me that "I am allowed to use it as I am black, and you cannot be offended." I am all for free speech, but it is getting a little ridiculous when we start branding words as OK for certain people to say and not for others. Where should the line be? I view it as unacceptable language in the classroom. Where do you view the line? What should a teacher do when someone in his or her class uses that word or another word like it? My solution was let the assistant principal sort it out.
Until Tomorrow,
Education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance.
- Will Durant
Monday, April 4, 2011
Dark Days - House Bill 1 Passes
Yesterday House Bill One was passed. For those of you that are unfamiliar, this is the bill that is supposed to help balance the budget for Texas. The bill calls for the budget of Texas to be $164.5 billion. That is a $23 billion dollar reduction in the spending from this year, and of that $8 BILLION of it is being cut from education. Our state representatives are not taking responsibility for it. They feel that it is the senate's job to fix it. They think cutting $8 BILLION dollars from education is an "acceptable loss", but really it is "a slap in the face to Texas children" as the Texas State Teachers Association President Rita Haecker said.
One teacher asked me, after expressing her own frustrations with the education system, a simple question. "You have a lot of grand ideas about accountability, but what do you think has to be done, what can you do as one person?" This resonated with me; it basically was saying talk is cheap, and it is. My response was that we have a responsibility as teachers to maintain the ideals that we put forth. I have said that the most important thing is consistency in teaching, but isn't it also important in life? The only thing that I can do is to promote my ideals, to stand up and let those ideas be heard by the 100 students that I teach per year and the few that read this blog. I cannot do it alone. I told her that I will stand up and write, and help to prepare students the best way I can until I am not allowed to anymore. The scary part about this is even though I received my contract for next year, 2011-20112 may be my last year to teach. I will go down fighting, trying to give them the best education that I can and to prepare them for the world that exists outside the walls of their high school.
We all know that the world is changing. I keep talking about how education needs to be dynamic. The true leaders of our proffession are dynamic. Ron Clark and Harry Wong are great examples. The problem is that beuracracy naturally tries to remain a static system. Keep the status quo. If we add more bureaucracy we limit ourselves even further.
When I got laid off from the petrochemical industry in 2009 I was devistated. I had been immersed in that world and did not know what I was going to do next. Jobs that I applied for were snatched up before my very eyes. Oppertunities seemed to disapear. Then I went to a place that helps find jobs for those having trouble, a non-profit that we have here in Houston. The first week I attended a lecture by a guy that had been in the same boat I had been in. His name was Charlie, and his words effected me. Basically, he said that we build ourselves a box. We create for ourselves a box with sides that limit our vision. The first side is money; "I have to make this much". The second side is retirement; "I have to save and have a good company to make sure at 65 I can start having fun". The third side is experience; "I only know about so much, so I am not going to branch out". The last side is fear; "Anything new is scary and to be avoided". He said that you have to break out of this box. I broke out of it and went to work for something that I truely believe in and enjoy. As a society we have created a box for education. We have lost ourselves. Instead of induvidualism that we use to pride ourselves in we have created a cookie cutter for out kids. We have an oppertunity now to break out of this mold; to get rid of the box.
We must take what we have learned and make it better. Society has a chance now to change it. We cannot back down or surrender ourselves. We must be steadfast in our approach. I told my friend that we have a job as educators, even in the system that we live, to be "beacons of light in the darkness." We must stay with it, but we also have a duty to change it. If our societal goal is not the betterment of ourselves then we are truly lost.
I believe in the system, maybe it is because I am young and not as cynical or jaded as others. I believe in the system because I think that out there somewhere is a representative that will stand up and say, "We can fix this." Perry believes that House Bill One is a step in the right direction. He is right about being fiscally responsible, we should not move beyond our means. He is wrong in thinking that other programs are more important than education. Where would you be without it?
Until Tomorrow,
"Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, the lesson afterward."
-- Vernon Law
One teacher asked me, after expressing her own frustrations with the education system, a simple question. "You have a lot of grand ideas about accountability, but what do you think has to be done, what can you do as one person?" This resonated with me; it basically was saying talk is cheap, and it is. My response was that we have a responsibility as teachers to maintain the ideals that we put forth. I have said that the most important thing is consistency in teaching, but isn't it also important in life? The only thing that I can do is to promote my ideals, to stand up and let those ideas be heard by the 100 students that I teach per year and the few that read this blog. I cannot do it alone. I told her that I will stand up and write, and help to prepare students the best way I can until I am not allowed to anymore. The scary part about this is even though I received my contract for next year, 2011-20112 may be my last year to teach. I will go down fighting, trying to give them the best education that I can and to prepare them for the world that exists outside the walls of their high school.
We all know that the world is changing. I keep talking about how education needs to be dynamic. The true leaders of our proffession are dynamic. Ron Clark and Harry Wong are great examples. The problem is that beuracracy naturally tries to remain a static system. Keep the status quo. If we add more bureaucracy we limit ourselves even further.
When I got laid off from the petrochemical industry in 2009 I was devistated. I had been immersed in that world and did not know what I was going to do next. Jobs that I applied for were snatched up before my very eyes. Oppertunities seemed to disapear. Then I went to a place that helps find jobs for those having trouble, a non-profit that we have here in Houston. The first week I attended a lecture by a guy that had been in the same boat I had been in. His name was Charlie, and his words effected me. Basically, he said that we build ourselves a box. We create for ourselves a box with sides that limit our vision. The first side is money; "I have to make this much". The second side is retirement; "I have to save and have a good company to make sure at 65 I can start having fun". The third side is experience; "I only know about so much, so I am not going to branch out". The last side is fear; "Anything new is scary and to be avoided". He said that you have to break out of this box. I broke out of it and went to work for something that I truely believe in and enjoy. As a society we have created a box for education. We have lost ourselves. Instead of induvidualism that we use to pride ourselves in we have created a cookie cutter for out kids. We have an oppertunity now to break out of this mold; to get rid of the box.
We must take what we have learned and make it better. Society has a chance now to change it. We cannot back down or surrender ourselves. We must be steadfast in our approach. I told my friend that we have a job as educators, even in the system that we live, to be "beacons of light in the darkness." We must stay with it, but we also have a duty to change it. If our societal goal is not the betterment of ourselves then we are truly lost.
I believe in the system, maybe it is because I am young and not as cynical or jaded as others. I believe in the system because I think that out there somewhere is a representative that will stand up and say, "We can fix this." Perry believes that House Bill One is a step in the right direction. He is right about being fiscally responsible, we should not move beyond our means. He is wrong in thinking that other programs are more important than education. Where would you be without it?
Until Tomorrow,
"Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, the lesson afterward."
-- Vernon Law
Friday, April 1, 2011
Real World
Wow, It is hard to believe that Friday has come and gone yet again. We keep edging closer to the time of the year when everything grinds to a halt due to the dreaded TAKS. For some of my classes this was the last day of regular instruction before review. Today though was business as usual, and was overall a pretty good day. I had projects due today, of which I had probably 30 percent of the kids turn them in on time. This is less than my optimistic 50 percent from yesterday. I was ready for this low turn out and have decided that I am going to give them a little dose of the real world. I had a paper for them to sign that had them acknowledge that if they did not turn it in by next week on the block day that they would receive a zero for the project. I garnished this dose of reality with the fact that why every day up until that day was ten points off a zero on a project typically resulted in a failure for the six weeks. We are going to have a test next week that will help the rest of them get to either passing or failing depending on their mood.
My plan is simple, I have a typed notice that I am going to make copies of on Monday. Basically, it is what you or I would get in the mail if we missed a bill payment. I will hand this to them if they do not have the project on Monday, and give them a final notice on Tuesday for those that do not feel that they need to turn it in. On Block day anyone that has not turned it in will recieve a notice of failure for the project, which will be something that they have to sign yet again. You may be asking why I need to do this? Why go through so much trouble creating notices and doucments to have the kids turn in a project. The answer is simple. I want to be able to stand up and say that I gave them the required time and they choose not to do it. I want to be able to show to the principal that I gave them the oppertunity to turn it in, so he be confident that their failure is just.
Recently through meetings it has come to the attention of most of the teachers at our campus that the people that are truly undermining the state of education are not necessarily the bad teachers, though they do their part, it is the school district administration. We were told in a meeting that no matter what we did to fail the kids the school board could override us and have the kid graduate anyway.What is the point to assign the grade in the first place if you know that your grade means nothing? I realize that there is a lot of pressure from the state on graduation rates. Everyone knows that Texas sucks when it comes to graduating high school, but to put forward kids that do not do a thing is ludicrous.
We work so hard to try and get the kids to care about class, to work hard in school. When a person above you makes a decision to pass a kid it is for the graduation rate, but that concession becomes a growing problem that dominoes. We start with passing one kid that did not deserve it, it moves to the other kids finding out who tell the incoming seniors this, and the entire class starts to think that it does not matter if they work or not since they will graduate anyway. We suffer from senior entitlement already. Seniors think that because they passed the TAKS test that they are owed a graduation. We do owe them something, we owe them the respect not to allow them to put forth less than stellar work. To show them that if you work hard enough you can accomplish something. Without these concepts the students will be lost in the real world. We do not need a a generation of moochers.
A Lighter Note:
So to end the day on a lighter note I just want to say that I there is nothing like a school that the faculty works together well. We may have our differences with some of the decisions that are made that are out of our little school's control, but we come together and really do some pretty awesome things. Today we had a buffet, where everyone in our section brought a part of the meal. It was fantastic. We all sat down and enjoyed good food and some laughs. It really makes me think how lucky I am to be doing something finally that I do love doing. My hope as I write this blog is that I do not loose sight of that or you as the reader does not loose sight of my passion for education. We can always hope fo8r a better tomorrow, but I fell we need to do all we can to make a better tomorrow.
Until Monday,
"What we want is to see the child in pursuit of knowledge, and not knowledge in pursuit of the child."
--George Bernard Shaw
My plan is simple, I have a typed notice that I am going to make copies of on Monday. Basically, it is what you or I would get in the mail if we missed a bill payment. I will hand this to them if they do not have the project on Monday, and give them a final notice on Tuesday for those that do not feel that they need to turn it in. On Block day anyone that has not turned it in will recieve a notice of failure for the project, which will be something that they have to sign yet again. You may be asking why I need to do this? Why go through so much trouble creating notices and doucments to have the kids turn in a project. The answer is simple. I want to be able to stand up and say that I gave them the required time and they choose not to do it. I want to be able to show to the principal that I gave them the oppertunity to turn it in, so he be confident that their failure is just.
Recently through meetings it has come to the attention of most of the teachers at our campus that the people that are truly undermining the state of education are not necessarily the bad teachers, though they do their part, it is the school district administration. We were told in a meeting that no matter what we did to fail the kids the school board could override us and have the kid graduate anyway.What is the point to assign the grade in the first place if you know that your grade means nothing? I realize that there is a lot of pressure from the state on graduation rates. Everyone knows that Texas sucks when it comes to graduating high school, but to put forward kids that do not do a thing is ludicrous.
We work so hard to try and get the kids to care about class, to work hard in school. When a person above you makes a decision to pass a kid it is for the graduation rate, but that concession becomes a growing problem that dominoes. We start with passing one kid that did not deserve it, it moves to the other kids finding out who tell the incoming seniors this, and the entire class starts to think that it does not matter if they work or not since they will graduate anyway. We suffer from senior entitlement already. Seniors think that because they passed the TAKS test that they are owed a graduation. We do owe them something, we owe them the respect not to allow them to put forth less than stellar work. To show them that if you work hard enough you can accomplish something. Without these concepts the students will be lost in the real world. We do not need a a generation of moochers.
A Lighter Note:
So to end the day on a lighter note I just want to say that I there is nothing like a school that the faculty works together well. We may have our differences with some of the decisions that are made that are out of our little school's control, but we come together and really do some pretty awesome things. Today we had a buffet, where everyone in our section brought a part of the meal. It was fantastic. We all sat down and enjoyed good food and some laughs. It really makes me think how lucky I am to be doing something finally that I do love doing. My hope as I write this blog is that I do not loose sight of that or you as the reader does not loose sight of my passion for education. We can always hope fo8r a better tomorrow, but I fell we need to do all we can to make a better tomorrow.
Until Monday,
"What we want is to see the child in pursuit of knowledge, and not knowledge in pursuit of the child."
--George Bernard Shaw
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