Hello all,
For my last blog I bring up a dangerous topic. Please refrain from verbal abuse or throwing virtual rotten vegetables. Summer is nearly over. Most of you will say that it is only half done. After July 4th my perception is a season stuck on fast forward. Every week I turn my head and its Wednesday, then I blink and its Saturday. For fall coaches like myself, planning our two-a-day practices is on the to-do list.
A new school year is just around the corner. The prior four quarters and thirty-six weeks are yesterday’s news. The time has come for us to roll up our sleeves for the long haul. It takes me quite a while to accept that proposition. My last school year was my best yet. Yet, teaching is like the northern weather, we all know its unpredictable. My batteries aren’t quite recharged, hopefully in another month they will be on full go.
After this week I won’t have this online resource anymore. I want to take advantage one last time. I have a few questions I hope you won’t mind answering. What are some things that you do to get motivated for another school year? Do you have a to-do list or a checklist? I am wondering if there is any good advice to start the year on the right foot.
I am a huge movie buff. I think I was Minnesota’s first Netflix subscriber. Just watched Slumdog Millionaire. What a great story! I have Doubt and Seven Pounds just waiting to be watched. You name it I have probably seen it. Except for the horror movies, not really my cup of tea. I wouldn’t touch the Drag me to hell with a ten-foot pole. My all-time favorite is Shawshank Redemption. “Get busy living or get busy dying.” One day I am going to Zihuatenejo, Mexico and go deep-sea fishing with Andy and Red. You know the Pacific has no memory. Sorry, anyway.
I stumbled upon a review of the top teacher movies while perusing through Education Week. Rent one or two of these films. The teachers are inspiring. They are guaranteed to get you in the mood to school up some young people.
Pay it forward. Haley Joe Osmond plays Trevor McKinney. He is a middle school student and son of an alcoholic single mother, Arlene played by Helen Hunt. Kevin Spacey plays Trevor’s social studies teacher Mr. Simonet. Both Arlene and Mr. S are victims of abuse. This is a major theme of the film. Mr. S assigns Trevor’s class a community service project. Trevor comes up with a truly great idea. It is called pay it forward, doing three good deeds for somebody else and passing it on. Trevor’s movement spreads nationally. This is a great story about unselfishness and altruism.
Who can forget Mr. Holland's Opus? Richard Dreyfuss plays a musician and composer who takes a job as a music teacher to pay the bills. Teaching is going to be a temporary fix. His lifelong goal is to create one brilliant piece of music. Early in his career he struggles as a teacher. However, he eventually ends up making a huge difference in the lives of his students and family. I love the end. The music program gets cancelled. He is retiring and thinks his teaching career was futile. His former students, including the governor, return to play his piece “An American Song.”
Dead Poets Society, another classic. Robin Williams plays an English professor named John Keating. I think it was my junior high art teacher’s favorite. Her motto, like his, is “carpe diem.” He challenges his students to “seize the day” and live life to the fullest. Robin Williams is believable as a teacher, right? Mr. Keating definitely bucks the status quo.
I am involved in athletics so I must list Coach Carter. Samuel L. Jackson plays a basketball coach who believes in academics first. Almost as good as Snakes on a Plane. It appeals to me because many people get into coaching to teach young boys to be men. Coach requires that his players sit in the front row of classes, earn a 2.3 grade point average, and behave themselves. He locks up the gym and risks their undefeated season when they fall behind. Despite outrage from parents, players, and other teachers he sticks to his guns. Love it.
Okay this one isn’t about a traditional classroom teacher, but what the heck, The Karate Kid. I know, corny as can be. Ralph Macchio plays a bullied boy named Daniel Larusso. A martial arts master named Mr. Miyagi, played by Pat Morita, mentors him. Daniel Son is often confused by Mr. Miyagi's lessons. Miyagi has him doing all sorts of chores, like painting his fence. What the heck is “wax on, wax off?" Daniel Son learns discipline and self-control. In the end, Daniel Son faces his tormentors in the All Valley Karate Championship. The unforgettable scene is when Daniel Son knocks out Johnny, even after Johnny injured him with an illegal move. Great story about adversity, perseverance, and determination.
Alright, I had some fun with this blog. Check out one of these films if you like. There are lots more that I didn’t mention. I forgot Dangerous Minds, Hoosiers, Summer School, and Freedom Writers off the top of my head. Please reflect on one earlier questions. That would be greatly appreciated. Keep your ears to the ground. The cavalry is on the way.
Have a great summer. Arek
There shall be eternal summer in the grateful heart. Cecilia Baxter.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Let’s get the community involved – Lucky Number 7
The great farm labor organizer Cesar Chavez said it best. “We cannot seek achievement for ourselves and forget about progress and prosperity for our community... Our ambitions must be broad enough to include the aspirations and needs of others, for their sakes and for our own.”
The popular essayist Rev. Samuel M. Crothers added another great quote. “The present movement for using the schoolhouse of a city for the promotion of neighborhood life is one that has a long history – as long as democracy. The ideas of connecting schools and the community can be traced back over one hundred years. We can thank the progressive-thinking minds of Jane Addams and John Dewey. Jane Addams founded Hull House in Chicago’s rundown 19th ward. The settlement house was as a beacon of hope for impoverished immigrant workers. Hull House offered health care, kindergarten, playgrounds, college classes, day care, job training and an assortment of other services and programs. Addams even made Chicago take out its trash as Chicago’s one time garbage inspector. The great philosopher John Dewey adopted the settlement notion of social change to the public school system. It turns as education has changed throughout history, community involvement has always been instrumental in its success.
I have learned to be more aware of my surroundings. I am much more observant of factors that influence the teaching and learning process. That is certainly one thing I have learned entering the masters program.
I have devoted a number of my blogs to societal ills that make learning problematic. It is human nature to blame and point fingers. All too often I blame other societal aspects for educational difficulties encountered. There is truth to many of my allegations. However, schools have to accept some of the blame. Not all.
Seven periods in a school is not enough time to educate our youth. Family, neighbors, and the church play a pivotal role in socialization. Teachers cannot transmit civic and character virtues. We must be supported by our local instructions. Why then, do we close our doors to the community?
Concurrently, the problems of the community don’t disappear when the bell rings. Poverty, violence, parental neglect, and addiction all affect the teaching and learning process. Teachers have to wear many hats. Other roles include parent, babysitter, and counselor, nurse to name a few. How great would it be to just teach?
I haven’t been teaching that long. And, I realize that every school district is different. I have noticed that many school districts are becoming safety obsessed. It has to be a nightmare for an administrator after horrific events such as Columbine, Red Lake, and Virginia Tech. American life in general is safety obsessed. We should treat this on a case by cases basis. Our food, water, transportation, and consumer products should not intentionally harm us, rightly so. However, some fears are blown out of proportion. I think our society is fairly safe from a terrorist act. Another will eventually happen. Yet, we should not sacrifice our inherent rights and liberties in exchange for a false sense of security. It is the Fourth of July isn’t. Patrick Henry said, “Give me liberty or give me death.” Another social studies teacher tangent, SORRY!
Anyway, I am troubled by this safety-obsession in our school. School violence will continue. However, the probability is miniscule. I would equate it to the chances of being struck by lightning. Many administrators have taken the prison warden approach. More locks, though of course not more guards or cells. At least I hope not at your school. Schools are locked up, off limits to students, staff, and the community. I think this is a major travesty. I teach in a very small town. Across northern Minnesota economic decline is leading to alarming depopulation. Small family farms are consolidating into larger and larger operations. Small town public schools are the heart of these small towns. Alumni should want to return to be a part of their school’s events. A good example is small town athletics. You can’t beat high school. The immense pride of a cheering crowd, proud parents, and hard working athletes is unbeatable. I want a school open to the community. It is a public building. The school should be used, not locked up. Citizens that pay school-funding property taxes should enjoy the fruits of their sacrifice. The weight room and gym should be open for adults to exercise and compete in leagues. The library and computers should be available for public access. Fosston is a town with a low socioeconomic status. Computer access is not available to those that can’t afford it. Conference rooms should be available for public forums and group meetings. Classrooms and teachers should be available for afternoon afterschool programs. Once the school goes, the town dries up. McIntosh, a neighboring community of Fosston, knows all too well. Or, if the school is off limits a similar reaction is possible.
Parent teacher conference attendance disappoints me every year. I want to see more people at athletics and other extracurricular events. I am not satisfied in our community involvement.
I am leaning towards parental involvement as a topic for my action research. I think that the lock and key obsession has disastrous effects. It projects a very negative message towards the community. The community’s perception of the school is one of guarded defensiveness. I have seen firsthand the negative feelings that result from feelings of distrust inadvertently generated by an administrator with good intentions.
Stop here if you don’t want specifics on Community Learning Centers. I knew relatively little about them, read a lot, and provided lots of examples.
I am interested in your input. How much is your community involved in your school? If so, in what ways? If not, what do you think is stopping involvement?
The summer issue of American Educator is partly responsible for this blog’s topic. The American Federation Teachers (AFT) puts out this quarterly journal of educational research and ideas. This issue focuses on Cincinnati, Ohio's community learning centers (CLCs). New York City also has 21 community schools. They are nationally located, in various shapes and sizes. Fosston and Cincinnati are very similar. We share many things in common; the only exception is the size of the population. As a result I think many things that the CLC’s too apply in small town Minnesota.
An on-site coordinator leads CLCs. Their salary is independently funded, reducing the risk of yearly budget reductions. To start a CLC a core group of parents is identified. These are the leaders of the community. CLC officials do the legwork, shaking hands and interviewing people that are willing to lend a hand. Parental involvement starts very small. Parental involvement gains steam and becomes contagious. Community partners fall in love with students. Young people gain the necessary support to learn, mature, and grow as learners and people.
The site coordinator and parents aim to establish partnerships and resources with the community and relief-based organizations. Teachers do not have extra duties, nor is there extra budget expenditures. This itself makes the coordinator job a full-time one. Winston Hills has a program called Adopt A Class. Local businesses partner with an individual class. Proctor and Gamble, a local television station, a law firm, a construction firm, and a police precinct were some of the organizations that adopted classes. The businesses send representatives to their respective classes to talk shop and even tutor students. Students can also visit these companies. Volunteers from an architectural firm have elaborated the importance of science in the classroom. These representatives have replaced athletes and entertainers as role models. A local bank paid for school supplies, field trips, snacks, and testing week letters of support for Priscilla Copas 3rd grade class.
Subsequently, a Winston Hills parent organized a job fair. Representatives of local businesses set up job information and interview stations. Sixty people attended, and over one-half that applied for jobs were hired. Coordinator Annie Bogenshultz said it was the first time we had sixty outside adults in the building at once.
First of, CLCs are open to the public. Winton Hills, a Cincinnati CLC is open seven days a week until eleven p.m.
CLC’s offer afterschool activities. Students that do not participate in extracurricular's have options. They are not exposed to trouble on the street. Neither are they vegging out on the couch in front of the TV or video game console. In addition, parents can work longer without worry, or arrange day care. After school programs are geared towards elementary students. They offer constructive computer time. Tutors are available for students that have fallen behind on work, or aren’t up to math and reading standards. Ethel M. Taylor Academy high school students can hang out at the recreation center. Extended learning areas are located in the cafeteria, gym, and library. These communal spaces are used by the GED program, and adult education courses. Grown-ups can learn everything from cooking, yoga, or ESL. Taylor students are even served 5 p.m. dinner. Some CLC’s operate year-round. Fun activities augment content-based learning. Taylor students may put in requests for afternoon activities. Examples included ballroom dancing, CRP, and Spanish. The local news station sent over a meteorologist to teach a lesson on weather weekly. Oyler students chose DJ class, drumline, sign language, karate, Mad Science, and theatre. The key is that students are empowered to learn because they have choices.
CLS develop partnerships with clinics, hospitals, and dentist offices. There offices are on the school grounds. Students’ health needs are taken care of. They need not arrange transportation or have to miss extra class time. WinMed is the name of the Winston Hills Medical Health Center partnership. They have a Fast Track program in which parents can permit a school nurse to take a child to a health clinic. St. Aloysius provides mental health services to students and parents. Crisis intervention has saved lives.
The CLC director sometimes coordinates social services. The CLC coordinator helps often-undereducated families cut through bureaucratic red tape. Mental health, childcare, tutoring, and mental heart services are a few examples. Oyler Community Learning Center dispenses food pantry Power Packs every Friday. These are boxes of nutritious child friendly food. Low-income students depend on these donations to prevent a weekend of hunger.
CLCs students report improved academic performance in reading and math. CLS schools report better attendance and fewer dropouts. Students are healthier; mentally, physically, and emotionally. Parents are more active in their children’s education. There is a stronger interconnectedness with the community
The popular essayist Rev. Samuel M. Crothers added another great quote. “The present movement for using the schoolhouse of a city for the promotion of neighborhood life is one that has a long history – as long as democracy. The ideas of connecting schools and the community can be traced back over one hundred years. We can thank the progressive-thinking minds of Jane Addams and John Dewey. Jane Addams founded Hull House in Chicago’s rundown 19th ward. The settlement house was as a beacon of hope for impoverished immigrant workers. Hull House offered health care, kindergarten, playgrounds, college classes, day care, job training and an assortment of other services and programs. Addams even made Chicago take out its trash as Chicago’s one time garbage inspector. The great philosopher John Dewey adopted the settlement notion of social change to the public school system. It turns as education has changed throughout history, community involvement has always been instrumental in its success.
I have learned to be more aware of my surroundings. I am much more observant of factors that influence the teaching and learning process. That is certainly one thing I have learned entering the masters program.
I have devoted a number of my blogs to societal ills that make learning problematic. It is human nature to blame and point fingers. All too often I blame other societal aspects for educational difficulties encountered. There is truth to many of my allegations. However, schools have to accept some of the blame. Not all.
Seven periods in a school is not enough time to educate our youth. Family, neighbors, and the church play a pivotal role in socialization. Teachers cannot transmit civic and character virtues. We must be supported by our local instructions. Why then, do we close our doors to the community?
Concurrently, the problems of the community don’t disappear when the bell rings. Poverty, violence, parental neglect, and addiction all affect the teaching and learning process. Teachers have to wear many hats. Other roles include parent, babysitter, and counselor, nurse to name a few. How great would it be to just teach?
I haven’t been teaching that long. And, I realize that every school district is different. I have noticed that many school districts are becoming safety obsessed. It has to be a nightmare for an administrator after horrific events such as Columbine, Red Lake, and Virginia Tech. American life in general is safety obsessed. We should treat this on a case by cases basis. Our food, water, transportation, and consumer products should not intentionally harm us, rightly so. However, some fears are blown out of proportion. I think our society is fairly safe from a terrorist act. Another will eventually happen. Yet, we should not sacrifice our inherent rights and liberties in exchange for a false sense of security. It is the Fourth of July isn’t. Patrick Henry said, “Give me liberty or give me death.” Another social studies teacher tangent, SORRY!
Anyway, I am troubled by this safety-obsession in our school. School violence will continue. However, the probability is miniscule. I would equate it to the chances of being struck by lightning. Many administrators have taken the prison warden approach. More locks, though of course not more guards or cells. At least I hope not at your school. Schools are locked up, off limits to students, staff, and the community. I think this is a major travesty. I teach in a very small town. Across northern Minnesota economic decline is leading to alarming depopulation. Small family farms are consolidating into larger and larger operations. Small town public schools are the heart of these small towns. Alumni should want to return to be a part of their school’s events. A good example is small town athletics. You can’t beat high school. The immense pride of a cheering crowd, proud parents, and hard working athletes is unbeatable. I want a school open to the community. It is a public building. The school should be used, not locked up. Citizens that pay school-funding property taxes should enjoy the fruits of their sacrifice. The weight room and gym should be open for adults to exercise and compete in leagues. The library and computers should be available for public access. Fosston is a town with a low socioeconomic status. Computer access is not available to those that can’t afford it. Conference rooms should be available for public forums and group meetings. Classrooms and teachers should be available for afternoon afterschool programs. Once the school goes, the town dries up. McIntosh, a neighboring community of Fosston, knows all too well. Or, if the school is off limits a similar reaction is possible.
Parent teacher conference attendance disappoints me every year. I want to see more people at athletics and other extracurricular events. I am not satisfied in our community involvement.
I am leaning towards parental involvement as a topic for my action research. I think that the lock and key obsession has disastrous effects. It projects a very negative message towards the community. The community’s perception of the school is one of guarded defensiveness. I have seen firsthand the negative feelings that result from feelings of distrust inadvertently generated by an administrator with good intentions.
Stop here if you don’t want specifics on Community Learning Centers. I knew relatively little about them, read a lot, and provided lots of examples.
I am interested in your input. How much is your community involved in your school? If so, in what ways? If not, what do you think is stopping involvement?
The summer issue of American Educator is partly responsible for this blog’s topic. The American Federation Teachers (AFT) puts out this quarterly journal of educational research and ideas. This issue focuses on Cincinnati, Ohio's community learning centers (CLCs). New York City also has 21 community schools. They are nationally located, in various shapes and sizes. Fosston and Cincinnati are very similar. We share many things in common; the only exception is the size of the population. As a result I think many things that the CLC’s too apply in small town Minnesota.
An on-site coordinator leads CLCs. Their salary is independently funded, reducing the risk of yearly budget reductions. To start a CLC a core group of parents is identified. These are the leaders of the community. CLC officials do the legwork, shaking hands and interviewing people that are willing to lend a hand. Parental involvement starts very small. Parental involvement gains steam and becomes contagious. Community partners fall in love with students. Young people gain the necessary support to learn, mature, and grow as learners and people.
The site coordinator and parents aim to establish partnerships and resources with the community and relief-based organizations. Teachers do not have extra duties, nor is there extra budget expenditures. This itself makes the coordinator job a full-time one. Winston Hills has a program called Adopt A Class. Local businesses partner with an individual class. Proctor and Gamble, a local television station, a law firm, a construction firm, and a police precinct were some of the organizations that adopted classes. The businesses send representatives to their respective classes to talk shop and even tutor students. Students can also visit these companies. Volunteers from an architectural firm have elaborated the importance of science in the classroom. These representatives have replaced athletes and entertainers as role models. A local bank paid for school supplies, field trips, snacks, and testing week letters of support for Priscilla Copas 3rd grade class.
Subsequently, a Winston Hills parent organized a job fair. Representatives of local businesses set up job information and interview stations. Sixty people attended, and over one-half that applied for jobs were hired. Coordinator Annie Bogenshultz said it was the first time we had sixty outside adults in the building at once.
First of, CLCs are open to the public. Winton Hills, a Cincinnati CLC is open seven days a week until eleven p.m.
CLC’s offer afterschool activities. Students that do not participate in extracurricular's have options. They are not exposed to trouble on the street. Neither are they vegging out on the couch in front of the TV or video game console. In addition, parents can work longer without worry, or arrange day care. After school programs are geared towards elementary students. They offer constructive computer time. Tutors are available for students that have fallen behind on work, or aren’t up to math and reading standards. Ethel M. Taylor Academy high school students can hang out at the recreation center. Extended learning areas are located in the cafeteria, gym, and library. These communal spaces are used by the GED program, and adult education courses. Grown-ups can learn everything from cooking, yoga, or ESL. Taylor students are even served 5 p.m. dinner. Some CLC’s operate year-round. Fun activities augment content-based learning. Taylor students may put in requests for afternoon activities. Examples included ballroom dancing, CRP, and Spanish. The local news station sent over a meteorologist to teach a lesson on weather weekly. Oyler students chose DJ class, drumline, sign language, karate, Mad Science, and theatre. The key is that students are empowered to learn because they have choices.
CLS develop partnerships with clinics, hospitals, and dentist offices. There offices are on the school grounds. Students’ health needs are taken care of. They need not arrange transportation or have to miss extra class time. WinMed is the name of the Winston Hills Medical Health Center partnership. They have a Fast Track program in which parents can permit a school nurse to take a child to a health clinic. St. Aloysius provides mental health services to students and parents. Crisis intervention has saved lives.
The CLC director sometimes coordinates social services. The CLC coordinator helps often-undereducated families cut through bureaucratic red tape. Mental health, childcare, tutoring, and mental heart services are a few examples. Oyler Community Learning Center dispenses food pantry Power Packs every Friday. These are boxes of nutritious child friendly food. Low-income students depend on these donations to prevent a weekend of hunger.
CLCs students report improved academic performance in reading and math. CLS schools report better attendance and fewer dropouts. Students are healthier; mentally, physically, and emotionally. Parents are more active in their children’s education. There is a stronger interconnectedness with the community
Thursday, July 2, 2009
A problem in perception?
The world is watching the situation in Iran. Demonstrators continue to fill the streets to protest President Ahmadinejad’s suspicious re-election. A flood of cell phone multimedia nearly caused the crash of Twitter and Facebook. Iranian’s Guardian Council has been unable to censor reality. The government’s harsh crackdown on demonstrators has been fruitless. CNN reported web traffic to increase fivefold. Neda, the young women murdered by Iranian authorities, is a symbol of the unrest. Historians already believe oppressed Iranian women and the disenfranchised will rally around her tragic, public death. The American perception of Iran is outdated. I am a social studies teacher. I will accept a share of the blame. We see Iran as a terrorist country. President Bush categorized it as an “Axis of Evil” nation. The firebrand Ayatollah Khomeini and his anti-American rhetoric come to mind. Blindfolded U.S. diplomats held at gunpoint for 444 days by radical Iranian students. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad claimed the Holocaust was a myth and Israel should be wiped off the map. U.S. society and culture depicts a stereotypical image of Iran. Just watch the movie 300. The Greek Spartans are noble, brave, and selfless. The Persians are a barbaric horde of monsters bent on world domination. The Persian civilization actually was a tolerant Middle Eastern empire that codified the human rights ideology. Modern Iran is full of young people, over half the population thirty-five and younger. They enjoy dancing, wine, cell phones, and the Internet. Many of them want to wear western style clothing. Their Islamic government kept them alienated from the West for quite some time. Not that case anymore. Unfortunately, America limits Iran to its Islamic-cleric led rogue state government. We witness Iranian’s agitating for freedom. They want to be part of the international community of nations.
This is a long-winded history teacher introduction. In my defense we are witnessing history in the making. Our perceptions of one another are changing.
I will never compare America and Iran. I believe everyday Iranian and American people have lots in common. Middle Eastern geopolitics has cast us on different courses. Western colonialism, petroleum, and Cold War containment has drastically altered the course of the Middle East and every nation in the region. We are different in too many ways to list. America is the original cradle of democracy. The U.S. has been freedom’s watchdog for as long as people can remember. The Bill of Rights protects personal freedoms and civil liberties that cannot be denied by the state. The first amendment safeguards freedom of speech. However, it does not always guarantee the truth. Lies, allegations, and falsehoods come with the territory. People are always interested in twisting information for person and collective gain.
There are inaccurate perceptions here at home. Are American public schools failing? Overwhelmingly yes, say politicians and bureaucrats. Is this actually the case? The issue has created fierce division.
President Clinton’s Secretary of Education Richard Riley once said, "we need to stop dumbing down our children, and reach up and set high expectations.” A Horace Mann League listed “negative perceptions about public educators” as the number one factor detrimental to the success of public schools. Teachers are getting a bad rap. Apparently, we are the ones to blame for a problem that may or may not exist. A 1995 Berliner and Biddle study learned that a majority of Americans would send their children to private school if they could afford it.
Here is some insight from the social studies word. Public schools have been criticized throughout U.S. history. The Soviet launch of the Sputnik satellite created a “Space Race,” Suddenly, we were lagging behind the superior Russian science and math programs. Today, the information age has created a hyperawareness. Computers and technology have us continuously connected to our society. The passing of pop icon Michael Jackson is a great example. Instantly, our ears are to the ground, waiting for the bad news. American parents fear their children are falling behind a cheaper and more educated Chinese and Indian workforce. Bill Gates Sr. said on a NPR radio interview that the conditions of American public education are very, very poor. ABC News reporter John Stossel angered teachers by airing a 20/20 program titled Stupid in America, How Lack of Choice Cheats our Kids out of a Good Education.
The onslaught of standardized tests results from this criticism. People want evidence that American youth are learning. I believe the testing movement is further degrading teacher’s instructional quality. The stage is set for a self-fulfilling prophecy. My previous blog mentions the law of unintended consequences. This distortion of truth has created perfect conditions for this phenomenon.
What are some of the other consequences, intended or unintended, of all this negative publicity?
Americans must be exposed to the good news. There is plenty of it.
CNN learned Americans favor are willing to give up some control of their school district in exchange for federal funding. The Minneapolis Star-Tribune poll determined that three-fourths of Minnesotans opposed cuts to K-12 spending.
Berliner and Biddle noted that Americans have more than double our population enrolled in college. One-fourth will graduate with a bachelor’s degree, the highest in the world. Over eighty percent of Americans have attained a secondary education. That is higher than Japan, Britain, and France. A Gallup poll survey found that seventy-six percent of parents are completely or somewhat satisfied with their kid’s public school.
Chapter nine of our textbook tells us about testing. The National Science Foundation learned U.S. States represented twelve of the top twenty international thirteen-year old math students. According to the National Center for Educational Statistics, American thirteen-year olds hold fourteen of the two fifteen sciences rankings worldwide. The Programme for International Student Assessment pegged American readers among the world’s highest scores. The Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) found the U.S. reading literacy second best among thirty-five nations. The Comparative Indicators of Education in the United States and other G-8 Countries: 2002 compared Canada, France, England, Germany, Japan, Italy, Russia, and the U.S. American fourth grade math and science students were second only to Japan. Fourteen-year old Americans led the G-8 in total civic knowledge and civic skills.
I also think a lack of cultural understanding plays a part. U.S. students are frequently compared to Asian students. They are told how much more polite, hardworking, and successful these students are. Japanese and Korean students outperform American students science and math tests. Asian math and science students have led the world for decades. However, students from these countries compete fiercely for entrance into every level of schooling. They spend more days in school. We spend more hours. Families spend their own money on cram schools and tutors. Japan, Germany, and Switzerland all spend more money on education. The stakes are unbelievably high. Of course they would score higher on these tests.
I have to address the opposition. Somebody should always play devil’s advocate. You can do anything you want with statistics. And there are plenty of those to go around as well. According to national tests, one-third of American students could do reading and math at their current grade level. One-fourth of American students drop out.
I have provided a lot of tests and statistics to peruse through. Long story short, researcher David C. Berliner said, “The fundamental premise behind the No Child Left Behind Act is that the public schools of the United States are falling. But that is a half-truth at best.”
Here the brass tacks and the bottom-line. The truth needs to come out. American teachers are doing a great job. American students stack up with the rest of the world. We are losing educators at a crisis rate. Of course, there are exceptions to every rule. The truth will set you free. Nonetheless, we should always strive to improve.
This is a long-winded history teacher introduction. In my defense we are witnessing history in the making. Our perceptions of one another are changing.
I will never compare America and Iran. I believe everyday Iranian and American people have lots in common. Middle Eastern geopolitics has cast us on different courses. Western colonialism, petroleum, and Cold War containment has drastically altered the course of the Middle East and every nation in the region. We are different in too many ways to list. America is the original cradle of democracy. The U.S. has been freedom’s watchdog for as long as people can remember. The Bill of Rights protects personal freedoms and civil liberties that cannot be denied by the state. The first amendment safeguards freedom of speech. However, it does not always guarantee the truth. Lies, allegations, and falsehoods come with the territory. People are always interested in twisting information for person and collective gain.
There are inaccurate perceptions here at home. Are American public schools failing? Overwhelmingly yes, say politicians and bureaucrats. Is this actually the case? The issue has created fierce division.
President Clinton’s Secretary of Education Richard Riley once said, "we need to stop dumbing down our children, and reach up and set high expectations.” A Horace Mann League listed “negative perceptions about public educators” as the number one factor detrimental to the success of public schools. Teachers are getting a bad rap. Apparently, we are the ones to blame for a problem that may or may not exist. A 1995 Berliner and Biddle study learned that a majority of Americans would send their children to private school if they could afford it.
Here is some insight from the social studies word. Public schools have been criticized throughout U.S. history. The Soviet launch of the Sputnik satellite created a “Space Race,” Suddenly, we were lagging behind the superior Russian science and math programs. Today, the information age has created a hyperawareness. Computers and technology have us continuously connected to our society. The passing of pop icon Michael Jackson is a great example. Instantly, our ears are to the ground, waiting for the bad news. American parents fear their children are falling behind a cheaper and more educated Chinese and Indian workforce. Bill Gates Sr. said on a NPR radio interview that the conditions of American public education are very, very poor. ABC News reporter John Stossel angered teachers by airing a 20/20 program titled Stupid in America, How Lack of Choice Cheats our Kids out of a Good Education.
The onslaught of standardized tests results from this criticism. People want evidence that American youth are learning. I believe the testing movement is further degrading teacher’s instructional quality. The stage is set for a self-fulfilling prophecy. My previous blog mentions the law of unintended consequences. This distortion of truth has created perfect conditions for this phenomenon.
What are some of the other consequences, intended or unintended, of all this negative publicity?
Americans must be exposed to the good news. There is plenty of it.
CNN learned Americans favor are willing to give up some control of their school district in exchange for federal funding. The Minneapolis Star-Tribune poll determined that three-fourths of Minnesotans opposed cuts to K-12 spending.
Berliner and Biddle noted that Americans have more than double our population enrolled in college. One-fourth will graduate with a bachelor’s degree, the highest in the world. Over eighty percent of Americans have attained a secondary education. That is higher than Japan, Britain, and France. A Gallup poll survey found that seventy-six percent of parents are completely or somewhat satisfied with their kid’s public school.
Chapter nine of our textbook tells us about testing. The National Science Foundation learned U.S. States represented twelve of the top twenty international thirteen-year old math students. According to the National Center for Educational Statistics, American thirteen-year olds hold fourteen of the two fifteen sciences rankings worldwide. The Programme for International Student Assessment pegged American readers among the world’s highest scores. The Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) found the U.S. reading literacy second best among thirty-five nations. The Comparative Indicators of Education in the United States and other G-8 Countries: 2002 compared Canada, France, England, Germany, Japan, Italy, Russia, and the U.S. American fourth grade math and science students were second only to Japan. Fourteen-year old Americans led the G-8 in total civic knowledge and civic skills.
I also think a lack of cultural understanding plays a part. U.S. students are frequently compared to Asian students. They are told how much more polite, hardworking, and successful these students are. Japanese and Korean students outperform American students science and math tests. Asian math and science students have led the world for decades. However, students from these countries compete fiercely for entrance into every level of schooling. They spend more days in school. We spend more hours. Families spend their own money on cram schools and tutors. Japan, Germany, and Switzerland all spend more money on education. The stakes are unbelievably high. Of course they would score higher on these tests.
I have to address the opposition. Somebody should always play devil’s advocate. You can do anything you want with statistics. And there are plenty of those to go around as well. According to national tests, one-third of American students could do reading and math at their current grade level. One-fourth of American students drop out.
I have provided a lot of tests and statistics to peruse through. Long story short, researcher David C. Berliner said, “The fundamental premise behind the No Child Left Behind Act is that the public schools of the United States are falling. But that is a half-truth at best.”
Here the brass tacks and the bottom-line. The truth needs to come out. American teachers are doing a great job. American students stack up with the rest of the world. We are losing educators at a crisis rate. Of course, there are exceptions to every rule. The truth will set you free. Nonetheless, we should always strive to improve.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Graduate or Drop Out
Hi everyone
I pose a different question to you this week. Colin Powell, one of my favorite Americans, was in the news last week. I wish General Powell would have ran for the 1996 presidential campaign’s Republican ticket. I think he would have made a fine a president. He is a highly decorated Army officer with experience in Vietnam, command in Desert Storm, and former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. I believe Gen. Powell’s resignation as President Bush’s secretary of state was due to the former’s violation of Powell’s own doctrine of warfare. Colin Powell experienced Vietnam and has set clear and strict parameters if a nation’s is going to consider war. Anyway, enough history teacher admiration of Gen. Powell’s past achievements.
Colin and Alma Powell founded America’s Promise Alliance. The group studied America’s fifty largest school systems. It found that fifty-two percent of students in those schools graduate on time. Fifty-seven percent Hispanic and fifty-three African-American students graduate with a regular diploma. Nationally, seventy percent of students graduate on time, regardless of race. Alma Powell said that every twenty-eight seconds a student drops out of school. General Powell recently shared those figures on the CNN program Black in America 2. Gen. Powell said, “The minority dropout rate is catastrophe. It is true that our nation’s minorities drop out a much more exaggerated rate than Caucasian. I stress the importance of race; yet want to consider this issue irrelevant of skin color. I believe socioeconomic status also plays a considerable role. Bagley, a neighboring school, consistently loses twenty percent of a kindergarten class to drop outs.
Finishing high school is one of the minimum standards of success. I share the difference between dropping out, high school graduation, a college education, and professional’s on the first day of school. The U.S. Census estimates an extra ten thousand dollars is earned yearly for the high school graduate. Students will have nowhere near the earning potential each rung down the ladder. Children’s Defense Fund president Marian Wright Edelman believes quitting school can lead down the “pipeline to prison.” The U.S. now has the world’s highest per capita prison population.
I am a psychology teacher. I teach about a concept called hyperbolic discounting. It is postponing the day of reckoning. It is a defense mechanism similar to denial. Think of the ant and the grasshopper story. A person simply refuses to recognize the enormity and risk of their behavior. Or, they skew or rationalize their choices to fit what they believe. One of my favorite experiments gives people a choice. Would they rather have fifty dollars today, or one hundred dollars a year from now? One hundred is double the amount of money, yet most choose the immediate fifty. Cigarettes cause lung cancer. People know this fact. Do they simply discount the future for the pleasure, acceptance, or whatever reinforcement they get from smoking. Does this concept explain why students drop out? Or, are they ignorant of the facts. A handful of Fosston students drop out every year. My question is why, when it leads to such potentially disastrous consequences.
We are educators? I want to be proactive. What can we do? Is there something that we aren’t doing for these kids? The economy today is hard on college graduates. I don’t even like to think about what’s going to happen to these kids. I think prison, addiction, family problems, divorce, absentee parenthood, and stress to name a few.
Minnesota state lawmakers considered a proposal this legislative session that would increase the legal dropout age. It is currently sixteen years of age. The new law would change it to eighteen. Wisconsin is one of the eighteen states that require students to turn eighteen before dropping out. They were right about Brett Favre, are they right about this? State and national figures have spoken out for and against the bill. I am interested in your comments on this proposal. Do you believe that increasing the dropout age would make a difference? Would there be any unforeseen effects? Finally, do you have any other suggestions to slow the rising tide of students that make the bad decision to drop out?
I pose a different question to you this week. Colin Powell, one of my favorite Americans, was in the news last week. I wish General Powell would have ran for the 1996 presidential campaign’s Republican ticket. I think he would have made a fine a president. He is a highly decorated Army officer with experience in Vietnam, command in Desert Storm, and former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. I believe Gen. Powell’s resignation as President Bush’s secretary of state was due to the former’s violation of Powell’s own doctrine of warfare. Colin Powell experienced Vietnam and has set clear and strict parameters if a nation’s is going to consider war. Anyway, enough history teacher admiration of Gen. Powell’s past achievements.
Colin and Alma Powell founded America’s Promise Alliance. The group studied America’s fifty largest school systems. It found that fifty-two percent of students in those schools graduate on time. Fifty-seven percent Hispanic and fifty-three African-American students graduate with a regular diploma. Nationally, seventy percent of students graduate on time, regardless of race. Alma Powell said that every twenty-eight seconds a student drops out of school. General Powell recently shared those figures on the CNN program Black in America 2. Gen. Powell said, “The minority dropout rate is catastrophe. It is true that our nation’s minorities drop out a much more exaggerated rate than Caucasian. I stress the importance of race; yet want to consider this issue irrelevant of skin color. I believe socioeconomic status also plays a considerable role. Bagley, a neighboring school, consistently loses twenty percent of a kindergarten class to drop outs.
Finishing high school is one of the minimum standards of success. I share the difference between dropping out, high school graduation, a college education, and professional’s on the first day of school. The U.S. Census estimates an extra ten thousand dollars is earned yearly for the high school graduate. Students will have nowhere near the earning potential each rung down the ladder. Children’s Defense Fund president Marian Wright Edelman believes quitting school can lead down the “pipeline to prison.” The U.S. now has the world’s highest per capita prison population.
I am a psychology teacher. I teach about a concept called hyperbolic discounting. It is postponing the day of reckoning. It is a defense mechanism similar to denial. Think of the ant and the grasshopper story. A person simply refuses to recognize the enormity and risk of their behavior. Or, they skew or rationalize their choices to fit what they believe. One of my favorite experiments gives people a choice. Would they rather have fifty dollars today, or one hundred dollars a year from now? One hundred is double the amount of money, yet most choose the immediate fifty. Cigarettes cause lung cancer. People know this fact. Do they simply discount the future for the pleasure, acceptance, or whatever reinforcement they get from smoking. Does this concept explain why students drop out? Or, are they ignorant of the facts. A handful of Fosston students drop out every year. My question is why, when it leads to such potentially disastrous consequences.
We are educators? I want to be proactive. What can we do? Is there something that we aren’t doing for these kids? The economy today is hard on college graduates. I don’t even like to think about what’s going to happen to these kids. I think prison, addiction, family problems, divorce, absentee parenthood, and stress to name a few.
Minnesota state lawmakers considered a proposal this legislative session that would increase the legal dropout age. It is currently sixteen years of age. The new law would change it to eighteen. Wisconsin is one of the eighteen states that require students to turn eighteen before dropping out. They were right about Brett Favre, are they right about this? State and national figures have spoken out for and against the bill. I am interested in your comments on this proposal. Do you believe that increasing the dropout age would make a difference? Would there be any unforeseen effects? Finally, do you have any other suggestions to slow the rising tide of students that make the bad decision to drop out?
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Say Yes to No!
Hello all,
My last couple of blogs I addressed bullying, inappropriate use of cell phones, merit pay, and Britain’s penalty system for delinquent behavior. All of these subjects share a common denominator; parenting.
I don’t have children. Hope to have some one day. That would probably require a wife. All kidding aside, I can’t even consider the level of difficulty today’s parents face. However, I believe that every generation’s people are tested in some way. Current parents are stressed out and sleep deprived. Few can get by with a parent at home with the children. Their time, energy, and resources are taxed to the limit. Many powerful forces are pulling parents and their children in opposite directions. Here in the U.S. the culprit is economics.
Giant companies do everything possible do gain face time. According to Eric Schlosser’s Fast Food Nation, global multinational’s main target is a child. Advertising constantly bombards today’s kids. This has created a materialistic ethos among children and teens. Young people are the ultimate consumer. Their age and inexperience makes them extremely vulnerable. Food, fashion, cars, and hand-held technology are a few can’t live without products. An extremely recent Stanford University study backs up our dependence on mobile technology. Dr. Richard Menken, the main author of the report, suggests a near constant daily exposure to “glowing rectangles.” Thirty different types tell us how to think, feel, and act. These boxes define school, work, entertainment, daily rhythms, and communication. Is it me or have our brain’s been replaced by an external machine? The key point is that the deck is stacked against parents. The TV and computer have replaced the family meal. Constant text messaging interrupts holiday conversations with extended family. My cousin was good for over 10,000 messages per month! What’s the use of a “birds and bees” talk when children learn about sex and relationships from cartoons? The following alarming statistics come from U.S. News and World Report . Sixty-five percent of U.S. households have a TV in the bedroom. Twenty-five percent of toddler’s have sets in their rooms. Children average over forty-four hours of weekly screen time. Only sleep accounts for hours of the day, and it’s a close call. All that screen time adds up to over a million messages of various types yearly. Yes, you are reading a glowing screen. I think that’s irony.
Dr. David Walsh is a psychiatrist and founder of National Institute on Media and the Family. He has made it his life’s work to educate and empower parents. Major parent-child issues that he has extensively studied include screen dependence, instant gratification, and self-discipline. I plan on reading his book No: Why Kids of All Ages Need to Hear It and Ways Parents Can Say It in the near future. Maybe when I conquer my ED 630 reading schedule! I am more familiar with the grassroots reaction Say Yes to NO - MN that his book had on my home state of Minnesota. Dr. Walsh has spoken to groups of concerned parents, educators, and businesspeople. Every Minnesota principal has been sent a toolkit. This tour has gone national and his book is now published in several languages.
All of us have seen the spoiled, rotten kid at the store. Crying, cajoling, begging, and pleading to get what he or she wants. When a parent says no the child throws a humiliating temper tantrum, or can even be abusive with a parent. I have been probably been that kid before. A lot of us can say we were. There were probably times that my mother was embarrassed, gave in, or was flabbergasted. Knowing my mother most of the time that I acted out I got the cold shoulder. This is just a minor example. Dr. Walsh suggests that this generation is plagued with instant gratification. Dr. Walsh suggests that the media promotes a “more, easy, fast, and fun” mentality. As a result kids have a sense of entitlement. Kids want the latest gadget and aren’t willing to work or wait for it. Many parents pacify their demands in exchange for peace and quiet and a friendly relationship. Many of us have been on the wrong side of this exchange in the classroom. Jimmy’s mom says it’s all the coaching staff’s fault that he isn’t starting on the basketball team. Or Suzy’s dad wants an explanation from her social studies teacher why she failed her history test. Nothing is ever the fault of the student. They can do no wrong. Nobody wants to do homework anymore. What I have noticed is that it isn’t a source of shame to earn an incomplete or fail a test. This mentality has really divided teachers and parents in the classroom. It has soured many young teachers on a career in education. I believe apathy is a career killer. The contrast in investment level between teachers and students creates a lot of dissonance.
All of these instances add up. Dr. Walsh believes that this entire saying “yes” trend has dire consequences. Positive traits such as persistence, perseverance, resilience, and determination are lacking. As this generation enters the real world they are in for a rude awakening. Young people are unsure of who they are. A whole era of young people who were given everything as kids isn’t willing to work for anything as an adult. They are looking for somebody else to clean up their mess. There will be a lot of failure for America’s youth. People will either slip through the cracks or leaders will have to lower their standards. Either way, we all lose.
I think this ideology will be tremendously empowering to parents, educators, and the business world. It gives them assurance that saying no will not cause them to lose their children. Of course it is just one small piece to a much larger puzzle. You have to earn a license to hunt but not to parent. There is ultimately no manual that comes with becoming a parent. Many do a great disservice to their offspring in a few short years. The mutual student and teacher experience will be enriched by a return to traditional values. I hope one day, that my generation of young adults can do right by their kids. I will leave you with Dr. Walsh’s battle cry. “No is not the destination.” “It is the road to Yes.”
My last couple of blogs I addressed bullying, inappropriate use of cell phones, merit pay, and Britain’s penalty system for delinquent behavior. All of these subjects share a common denominator; parenting.
I don’t have children. Hope to have some one day. That would probably require a wife. All kidding aside, I can’t even consider the level of difficulty today’s parents face. However, I believe that every generation’s people are tested in some way. Current parents are stressed out and sleep deprived. Few can get by with a parent at home with the children. Their time, energy, and resources are taxed to the limit. Many powerful forces are pulling parents and their children in opposite directions. Here in the U.S. the culprit is economics.
Giant companies do everything possible do gain face time. According to Eric Schlosser’s Fast Food Nation, global multinational’s main target is a child. Advertising constantly bombards today’s kids. This has created a materialistic ethos among children and teens. Young people are the ultimate consumer. Their age and inexperience makes them extremely vulnerable. Food, fashion, cars, and hand-held technology are a few can’t live without products. An extremely recent Stanford University study backs up our dependence on mobile technology. Dr. Richard Menken, the main author of the report, suggests a near constant daily exposure to “glowing rectangles.” Thirty different types tell us how to think, feel, and act. These boxes define school, work, entertainment, daily rhythms, and communication. Is it me or have our brain’s been replaced by an external machine? The key point is that the deck is stacked against parents. The TV and computer have replaced the family meal. Constant text messaging interrupts holiday conversations with extended family. My cousin was good for over 10,000 messages per month! What’s the use of a “birds and bees” talk when children learn about sex and relationships from cartoons? The following alarming statistics come from U.S. News and World Report . Sixty-five percent of U.S. households have a TV in the bedroom. Twenty-five percent of toddler’s have sets in their rooms. Children average over forty-four hours of weekly screen time. Only sleep accounts for hours of the day, and it’s a close call. All that screen time adds up to over a million messages of various types yearly. Yes, you are reading a glowing screen. I think that’s irony.
Dr. David Walsh is a psychiatrist and founder of National Institute on Media and the Family. He has made it his life’s work to educate and empower parents. Major parent-child issues that he has extensively studied include screen dependence, instant gratification, and self-discipline. I plan on reading his book No: Why Kids of All Ages Need to Hear It and Ways Parents Can Say It in the near future. Maybe when I conquer my ED 630 reading schedule! I am more familiar with the grassroots reaction Say Yes to NO - MN that his book had on my home state of Minnesota. Dr. Walsh has spoken to groups of concerned parents, educators, and businesspeople. Every Minnesota principal has been sent a toolkit. This tour has gone national and his book is now published in several languages.
All of us have seen the spoiled, rotten kid at the store. Crying, cajoling, begging, and pleading to get what he or she wants. When a parent says no the child throws a humiliating temper tantrum, or can even be abusive with a parent. I have been probably been that kid before. A lot of us can say we were. There were probably times that my mother was embarrassed, gave in, or was flabbergasted. Knowing my mother most of the time that I acted out I got the cold shoulder. This is just a minor example. Dr. Walsh suggests that this generation is plagued with instant gratification. Dr. Walsh suggests that the media promotes a “more, easy, fast, and fun” mentality. As a result kids have a sense of entitlement. Kids want the latest gadget and aren’t willing to work or wait for it. Many parents pacify their demands in exchange for peace and quiet and a friendly relationship. Many of us have been on the wrong side of this exchange in the classroom. Jimmy’s mom says it’s all the coaching staff’s fault that he isn’t starting on the basketball team. Or Suzy’s dad wants an explanation from her social studies teacher why she failed her history test. Nothing is ever the fault of the student. They can do no wrong. Nobody wants to do homework anymore. What I have noticed is that it isn’t a source of shame to earn an incomplete or fail a test. This mentality has really divided teachers and parents in the classroom. It has soured many young teachers on a career in education. I believe apathy is a career killer. The contrast in investment level between teachers and students creates a lot of dissonance.
All of these instances add up. Dr. Walsh believes that this entire saying “yes” trend has dire consequences. Positive traits such as persistence, perseverance, resilience, and determination are lacking. As this generation enters the real world they are in for a rude awakening. Young people are unsure of who they are. A whole era of young people who were given everything as kids isn’t willing to work for anything as an adult. They are looking for somebody else to clean up their mess. There will be a lot of failure for America’s youth. People will either slip through the cracks or leaders will have to lower their standards. Either way, we all lose.
I think this ideology will be tremendously empowering to parents, educators, and the business world. It gives them assurance that saying no will not cause them to lose their children. Of course it is just one small piece to a much larger puzzle. You have to earn a license to hunt but not to parent. There is ultimately no manual that comes with becoming a parent. Many do a great disservice to their offspring in a few short years. The mutual student and teacher experience will be enriched by a return to traditional values. I hope one day, that my generation of young adults can do right by their kids. I will leave you with Dr. Walsh’s battle cry. “No is not the destination.” “It is the road to Yes.”
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Why won't they pay us more?
The topic today is merit pay for teachers. Clearbrook-Gonvick, school in my area has implemented it. One of my colleagues is a former teacher from that school. While he seemed to believe in the system, he did have some concerns. I think there are many advantages to the way we are paid. Minnesota system of tenure is a great motivator. After three years of teaching and administrative evaluation an educator’s job is fairly safe. However, I don’t believe that our salary structure is completely fair and balanced. The increase in our pay during union negotiating years pales when compared to inflation. Most of the increase goes into rising health care costs.
The Economic Policy Institute suggests the idea comes from the marketplace. People think that in the real world bonuses, raises, and paychecks stem from a job well done. According to the institute, anytime the incentive system is tied to single standard problems arise. The researchers from the institute state that performance based pay cannot be tied to student performance. Personally, I believe it is a two-way street. Students have to be motivted to learn. Parents have to care.
University of Wisconsin economist Scott Adams challenges the assumption that the real world operates on merit pay. He concludes that less than one in ten workers have incentives tied to bonuses. My good friend Mike contradicts this. Mike’s wife Mandy is a vocational rehabitation counselor. Unemployed people come to her for advice and training. If ten people maintain gainful employment for six consecutive months she recieves a small raise. However, she would could be terminated if she doesn’t meet those objects.
Therein lies the problem. What is the major source of teacher motivation? I believe teachers strive to do a good job. They care about their students and want to see them succeed. All want a comfortable standard of living, yet aren’t necessarily obsessed about monetry gain. Although, more dynamic young people would enter and stay in the profession if the salary was more consistent with other professions.
The article listed some fascinating examples of performance objectives backfiring. As a history teacher these got me thinking. There is a sociological term called thelaw of unintended consequences. This phenomen basically suggests that any stimulus will cause an unforeseen response. Alcohol was banned during the 1920s Prohibition era. The demands stayed just as strong and the supply was driven underground. Organized crime filled the vacuum and the streets became more dangerous. The Soviet Union demanded that its shoemakers produce a alloted quota of shoes. Craftsmen produced massive quantities of small children sized shoes to meet their quota. There was then a shortage of adult shoes and the population suffered. The Pentagon marked success in the Vietnam War by a rising bodycount. As a result, commanders on the ground killed civilians and embellished the number of Viet Cong and NVA killed. Finally, the current events magazine U.S. News and World Report ranked colleges according to their admissions difficulty. Failure to appear on the report led to negative public perception. As a result colleges eased their admisson standards and hordes of ill-prepared students qualified. Would merit pay lead to an unintended consequence? What would that then be? The researchers from the institute state that performance based pay cannot be tied merely to student performance.
An addition barrier to implementation is public perception. Many people believe teachers work part-time and should work in the summertime. Countless educators do so. That is the way it is. Would summertime be better spent improving your techniques as a teacher. Of course, recharging the batteries to prevent burnout is another requirement.
The roadblock to merit pay is evaluation. What in the world constitues a good teacher. A well respected teacher knows content, related well to students, is helpful, and connects to parents. Lastly, students have to learn from that teacher’s instruction. Any possible combination of these objectives constitutes a well rounded teacher. Would there be a way to uniformly judge teachers on these standards. Who would then evaluate these teachers; students, parents, peer teachers. I would think a combination of these people would be an adequate group.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Have the Brits figured out parenting?
Hello everyone,
I was perusing through one of my favorite websites CNN Cafferty File and I came across this interesting blog. Jack Cafferty poses this idea; “penalizing parents if their kids misbehave at school” Schools in Britain are fining parents for various behavioral infractions. Moms and dads must take parenting classes if their children are misbehaving. If they refuse to, a fine can be issued up to $1,500. Parents of students that are suspended or expelled and are caught out in public are fined $75. For a student to return to the classroom after an expulsion the parent(s) must be interviewed by the teachers. Conversely, prizes like televisions and IPods are offered to students that follow the rules.
I am a little torn on this issue. When I took my first teaching job I knew that classroom management and discipline would be a large part of the job. I take it as a challenge to instill positive values and morals in my students. Whether or not I am getting through with my message remains to be seen.
However, what I didn’t know was to what extent that I at times would feel like a babysitter. Often times I feel like very little of my time is spent teaching and coaching. In addition, nothing is more infuriating than a climate of disrespect and apathy that is often pervasive in the classroom.
I once read an article in US News and World Report entitled how they do it better. It is a broad list of things that other countries do better than the U.S. The Dutch are pioneers at flood prevention. The Norwegians pay to parent. The Japanese crime rate is non-existent. I do believe there are lots of things to borrow from our neighbors. The fines and classes seem a bit draconian to me. We should find a version of this system that gets parents involved. Up here in northern Minnesota the parent involvement in the high school is minimal. Parent teacher conferences are sparsely attended. Few parents check their children’s grades online. A small number show up for sports meetings and other awards banquets. As an educator I want to be a world-beater, but sometimes feel powerless in the face of insurmountable odds. Is there a form of this Brit procedure that we could adopt? Thanks, Arek.
I was perusing through one of my favorite websites CNN Cafferty File and I came across this interesting blog. Jack Cafferty poses this idea; “penalizing parents if their kids misbehave at school” Schools in Britain are fining parents for various behavioral infractions. Moms and dads must take parenting classes if their children are misbehaving. If they refuse to, a fine can be issued up to $1,500. Parents of students that are suspended or expelled and are caught out in public are fined $75. For a student to return to the classroom after an expulsion the parent(s) must be interviewed by the teachers. Conversely, prizes like televisions and IPods are offered to students that follow the rules.
I am a little torn on this issue. When I took my first teaching job I knew that classroom management and discipline would be a large part of the job. I take it as a challenge to instill positive values and morals in my students. Whether or not I am getting through with my message remains to be seen.
However, what I didn’t know was to what extent that I at times would feel like a babysitter. Often times I feel like very little of my time is spent teaching and coaching. In addition, nothing is more infuriating than a climate of disrespect and apathy that is often pervasive in the classroom.
I once read an article in US News and World Report entitled how they do it better. It is a broad list of things that other countries do better than the U.S. The Dutch are pioneers at flood prevention. The Norwegians pay to parent. The Japanese crime rate is non-existent. I do believe there are lots of things to borrow from our neighbors. The fines and classes seem a bit draconian to me. We should find a version of this system that gets parents involved. Up here in northern Minnesota the parent involvement in the high school is minimal. Parent teacher conferences are sparsely attended. Few parents check their children’s grades online. A small number show up for sports meetings and other awards banquets. As an educator I want to be a world-beater, but sometimes feel powerless in the face of insurmountable odds. Is there a form of this Brit procedure that we could adopt? Thanks, Arek.
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