The sun is shinning and it is hot out there. Texas has been suffering from a drought for months now. Signs all across the state say that there is an "Extreme Wildfire Danger." While this physical predicament is tough on our lawns and causes fire crews to be on high alert, I think that it is a good metaphor for the education drought that has consumed Texas over the course of the year. Fires are spreading rapidly only to be put out one at a time. Congress thinks that these smaller fires can be contained by trying to soften the education budget deficit, but the solution to the problem is rain. Rain and a lot of it solves both problems. I am not a parent, but I do teach kids and have a vested interest in helping to create a better life for kids that come through my classroom. There are two types of kids that come through the door. One is motivated, and the other is not. The motivated ones want to learn, the non motivated ones do not. In my experience the motivated ones have been pushed by their parents and teachers to be better, while the unmotivated ones were left behind and forgotten. This may be just science, it might be just math related, or it might be school in general. This last week the senate passed the bill to allow an increase in class sizes. I am not going to quote research, but instead quote my experience as a teacher. My first year I taught 9th grade. I had two very similar level classes, and one was a larger 22, while the other topped out at 14. When I see kids from the 22 there are fewer of them that have pushed themselves to be better, while the class of 14 has really pushed themselves to take harder classes and do better in school. Smaller class sizes matter. Teachers can spend more one on one time with students and gain a better relationship with their classes. The more children that we have in classes the more kids get left behind. We are creating an education deficit. An entire generation of kids that are not prepared for the future. By missing the mark on education and lowering our standards even further we have created an environment that has increased the competitiveness of China and India and pushed us even farther behind. This drought started with money, but it will end in knowledge if we do not take the proper steps. Some of this comes from the News media. They are more worried about rating then informing the population of the state about the real troubles that are out there. The news media loves to do the scary tease. They will tell you to check back at 10 for a story that could effect your child or even kill you. 10 kids die from using a diaper pad wrong and the world is in an uproar. 10 kids get left behind in schools and the media just passes on by. Where is the coverage of this story? This affects children from all over the state, and creates an even tougher obstacle to reach success. It jeopardizes the dream that we all share. People stop using cribs that are bad for their babies, but fail to speak out for their child's education? This to me seems to be something that cannot possibly be true. The solution is written in the Texas Constitution. The Constitution has a complete section on education that opens as such "A general diffusion of knowledge being essential to the preservation of the liberties and rights of the people, it shall be the duty of the Legislature of the State to establish and make suitable provision for the support and maintenance of an efficient system of public free schools." My question to the people with the power is are you fulfilling this simple mandate? The drought is here. This drought is seen first hand in the drop in funding that all schools are receiving, and the lines of teachers looking for employment. Legislature make it rain. Give the state the proper education that it needs so this drought of money does not become a drought of knowledge.
Well everyone that is it for this month. I apologize as I said I would try to do one once a week, but with school functions and tutoring I have not been able to keep it up. I will see everyone in July with hopefully a good report on the state of education.
Until then,
Did you know America ranks the lowest in education but the highest in drug use? It's nice to be number one, but we can fix that. All we need to do is start the war on education. If it's anywhere near as successful as our war on drugs, in no time we'll all be hooked on phonics. ~Leighann Lord
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Thursday, June 2, 2011
It's the end of the world.....
So we have reached the end of another school year. The sound of text book pages turning has been traded in for the sounds of the pool, and classrooms all across the state are going dark. I have come up with several things that encompass what has happened in education. These all have good and bad points to them, so in honor of the start of another summer here are my wins and losses for the 2010 to 2011 school year. Take a look and be sure to comment below if you think I missed one.
Budgets:
THE WIN: Teachers all across the state united for the benefit of education. Save Texas Schools and other groups rallied together to try and bring about Positive change.
THE LOSS: The reason they were coming together was the state wanted to cut our budget by almost 8 billion dollars. The positive part is that we only got the education budget cut by 4 billion.
District rules to help passing rates
THE WIN: Districts all across the states improved passing rates and helped more kids to graduate
THE LOSS: Districts like mine passed rules that helped reduce college readiness by allowing make-up tests and credit recovery for seniors. This helped to loosen already lacks guidelines on credit and push kids through instead of helping to prepare kids for the real world.
The education profession began to look like the private sector.
THE WIN: Teachers lost that smugness that said "I can work in a profession that is set for life." They for once had to sweat it like all the big wigs of banks that needed federal funding did. Districts all over the state lightened the bad teacher load they had on them.
THE LOSS: Oh yeah, lost good teachers too. A profession that was gaining teachers that had engineering degrees and wanted to make a difference were lost in the shuffle.
Rick Perry gets rid of excess administrators and staff that school is heavy on.
THE WIN: Say goodbye to the three administrators that you have in your classroom every day because the ratio of administrators is so high we are bursting at the seams. Luckily we have superman Perry to come and clean it up, and then blame it on the local districts for causing the problems
The Loss: Oh wait, you do not have 3 to 4 administrators that look over your shoulder every second, well then here is your pink slip, sorry Perry's bad.
Next year, EOC's
THE WIN: We get a test that is specific for our course. This test will help identify the good and the bad teachers and help to increase the overall level of our kids.
THE LOSS: We get a new test to administer that will cost the district money. Did I mention that the districts are a little short on cash?
Education became leaner overall this year
THE WIN: Education frivolous spending will be reduced in the next year, and much of it was reduced over the course of the year.
THE LOSS: Fine arts got the shaft. District funds all over were cut toward the end of the year and we started to feel the pinch early on.
(For those of you that don't know 'lean' is a buzz term in industry. Corporations love it. This refers to a company that keeps its personnel numbers low to allow for better utilization of capitol. Translation: Less people, more work for everyone, no more pay)
Teachers were there for kids and reached them when others could not
THE WIN: We mattered. The future of some of these kids has been laid out for them, while others are just left to float along. Teachers worked with kids to push them to be their best. We got out there and really turned some kids around, and made a better year for them.
THE LOSS: None!
Overall this was an eye opening year for me. I learned a lot about the differences between seniors and freshman. It was a good year. The thing that I really learned was how much work we have to do as educators to get future generations ready for the real world. Senators and Congressmen are out of touch. They have spent their lives in private institutions or in the wealthy public schools. We as a society have to emphasize education if we want to move ahead. The other option is for our country to move closer to obscurity.
So thus ends my year. It has been a good one, but now as a teacher I look towards the next one. Ideas pop into my head, and I will begin planing in July for the next school year. I take the lessons that I learned at the end of this year and apply them with a little time to decompress to next year's plan. As for the blog, I mentioned last week that it will become a weekly thing in the summer. I will try to keep everyone up to date on what the legislature is doing, as well as what else is out there looming on the horizon. Have a great week and enjoy the summer!
Until Next Week!
Education is what remains when we have forgotten all that we have been taught.
George Savile, Marquis of Halifax (1633-1695) English statesman and author.
Budgets:
THE WIN: Teachers all across the state united for the benefit of education. Save Texas Schools and other groups rallied together to try and bring about Positive change.
THE LOSS: The reason they were coming together was the state wanted to cut our budget by almost 8 billion dollars. The positive part is that we only got the education budget cut by 4 billion.
District rules to help passing rates
THE WIN: Districts all across the states improved passing rates and helped more kids to graduate
THE LOSS: Districts like mine passed rules that helped reduce college readiness by allowing make-up tests and credit recovery for seniors. This helped to loosen already lacks guidelines on credit and push kids through instead of helping to prepare kids for the real world.
The education profession began to look like the private sector.
THE WIN: Teachers lost that smugness that said "I can work in a profession that is set for life." They for once had to sweat it like all the big wigs of banks that needed federal funding did. Districts all over the state lightened the bad teacher load they had on them.
THE LOSS: Oh yeah, lost good teachers too. A profession that was gaining teachers that had engineering degrees and wanted to make a difference were lost in the shuffle.
Rick Perry gets rid of excess administrators and staff that school is heavy on.
THE WIN: Say goodbye to the three administrators that you have in your classroom every day because the ratio of administrators is so high we are bursting at the seams. Luckily we have superman Perry to come and clean it up, and then blame it on the local districts for causing the problems
The Loss: Oh wait, you do not have 3 to 4 administrators that look over your shoulder every second, well then here is your pink slip, sorry Perry's bad.
Next year, EOC's
THE WIN: We get a test that is specific for our course. This test will help identify the good and the bad teachers and help to increase the overall level of our kids.
THE LOSS: We get a new test to administer that will cost the district money. Did I mention that the districts are a little short on cash?
Education became leaner overall this year
THE WIN: Education frivolous spending will be reduced in the next year, and much of it was reduced over the course of the year.
THE LOSS: Fine arts got the shaft. District funds all over were cut toward the end of the year and we started to feel the pinch early on.
(For those of you that don't know 'lean' is a buzz term in industry. Corporations love it. This refers to a company that keeps its personnel numbers low to allow for better utilization of capitol. Translation: Less people, more work for everyone, no more pay)
Teachers were there for kids and reached them when others could not
THE WIN: We mattered. The future of some of these kids has been laid out for them, while others are just left to float along. Teachers worked with kids to push them to be their best. We got out there and really turned some kids around, and made a better year for them.
THE LOSS: None!
Overall this was an eye opening year for me. I learned a lot about the differences between seniors and freshman. It was a good year. The thing that I really learned was how much work we have to do as educators to get future generations ready for the real world. Senators and Congressmen are out of touch. They have spent their lives in private institutions or in the wealthy public schools. We as a society have to emphasize education if we want to move ahead. The other option is for our country to move closer to obscurity.
So thus ends my year. It has been a good one, but now as a teacher I look towards the next one. Ideas pop into my head, and I will begin planing in July for the next school year. I take the lessons that I learned at the end of this year and apply them with a little time to decompress to next year's plan. As for the blog, I mentioned last week that it will become a weekly thing in the summer. I will try to keep everyone up to date on what the legislature is doing, as well as what else is out there looming on the horizon. Have a great week and enjoy the summer!
Until Next Week!
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