#5The Teacher Report: 7 Crazy Things People Say to Teachers (and How to Respond)

The Teacher Report: 7 Crazy Things People Say to Teachers (and How to Respond)

Love #5.

Years ago, after I'd spent a half hour showing a parent how her darling had failed a 10-question multiple choice test, item by item, she looked at me and said (with a straight face), "So tell me, does he really have to know all this?" Forgive me, but there's only one good answer to that: "Actually, as long as you don't mind him living in a cardboard box under the expressway, he doesn'thave to know any of it."
What do you think?

Latinos' School Success: A Work in Progress

Latinos' School Success: A Work in Progress

Glad to see it being acknowledged, but really, isn't all school success a "work in progress"?

Texas man without hands barred from roller coaster

Links to the articles below. Now, I recently visited a Six Flags park. There were many disabled patrons out an about. Even more than those, were the patrons riding without the use of their brains.Ever seen the ones who clearly are not using the gray matter? You can see it in their behavior. they don't buckle up, or they undo the belt after the ride starts moving. Nobody stopped them from having a good time. Hmmm.

Texas man without hands barred from roller coaster - WALB.com, Albany News, Weather, Sports

http://overheadbin.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/06/12/12184692-man-without-hands-not-allowed-to-ride-roller-coaster?lite

Why I Decided to Become a Private School Teacher - Teacher in a Strange Land - Education Week Teacher

Amen, Nadia. I'm almost ready to do the same. For now, I'm looking for a new job in a different subject area.

Why I Decided to Become a Private School Teacher - Teacher in a Strange Land - Education Week Teacher

Notorious P.H.D. - Teacher in a Strange Land - Education Week Teacher

Notorious P.H.D. - Teacher in a Strange Land - Education Week Teacher

Coming to a school district near you- the devaluing of higher education!

Notorious P.H.D. - Teacher in a Strange Land - Education Week Teacher

Notorious P.H.D. - Teacher in a Strange Land - Education Week Teacher

Coming to a school district near you- the devaluing of higher education!

Technology transforming public education?

Larry Cuban's new post is about integrating technology in the classroom. He describes a few approaches, and then points out:

What technology enthusiasts, however, forget, neglect, stumble over—pick a verb–are the multiple purposes of tax-supported schools in a democracy. They and many others futurists err—my choice of the verb—in equating access to information with becoming educated. Even worse, these very smart people ignore the crucial and historical purposes public schools have served in a democracy.

 Wow. Talk about hitting the nail on the head. We all feel like we are so well-informed, educated even, because we have access to all this information at our fingertips. But what good is that if we don't know what any of it means, or how to use it? Without the ability to evaluate the information and its usefulness, it's just so much noise and clutter. Much like the piles of data that may or may not inform decision-making, piles of information may or may not become an education.

Not just college students

This applies to the middle school kids I teach, too.
http://www.startribune.com/local/156812385.html

On the dangers of using data

Here's a really nice explanation by Jonathan Gray's Data Blog on the Guardian, spelling out five cautions for use of data in decision-making.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2012/may/31/data-journalism-focused-critical

And here's an example of why data is bullshit. You can't measure this program with an end of year test. In fact, there are lots of things you can't measure that way.
  http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/future_tense/2012/06/maker_faire_and_science_education_american_kids_should_be_building_rockets_and_robots_not_taking_standardized_tests_.html

And when you ignore data showing that what you do doesn't work, here's what can happen. http://www.startribune.com/local/156812385.html

On grade inflation

From today's online edition: http://blogs.ajc.com/get-schooled-blog/2012/06/04/are-colleges-handing-out-as-like-after-dinner-mints/?cp=2#comment-204147
Includes an excerpt from this MN article: http://www.startribune.com/local/154595855.html?page=all&prepage=2&c=y#

Of course, some folks hand out As like candy. It's the nature of the beast. I took grief over grades, as if I had some control over the quality of the work done, or not done, as the case may be. If evaluations will include student serveys, as we've been told, it will be even worse.
Here's more on the subject: http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/07/14/the-history-of-college-grade-inflation/
The first graph is most telling, I think. Around 1970, As began to climb and Cs dropped off in a trend that continues today. The private/public comparison is also quite interesting.

"Free To Choose" (1980) a TV Series by Milton Friedman: PBS TV Series "Free to Choose" by Economist Milton...

There's a pbs program called Free or Equal that references Friedman and Smith frequently. I don't totally agree, as I don't believe either Smith or Friedman could have ever imagined the WalMart economy, where the (mostly p/t) workers can't even afford to buy the products they make/sell. What a contrast with Henry Ford, who set out to make a product that his employees would be able to buy...

BTW, I love the Blog This! button.

"Free To Choose" (1980) a TV Series by Milton Friedman: PBS TV Series "Free to Choose" by Economist Milton...: The legendary PBS TV series "Free to Choose" (1980) by Nobel Prize-winning economist Milton Friedman is now availabl e on Google Video for fr...

Parent gets back at school official with porn site

Parent gets back at school official with porn site

Wow, this must be helicopter parenting on crack. Your kid's dvice goes missing, so you retaliate with identity fraud. When caught, you try pinning it on the kid. How about dealing with the real problem?

is it really a surprise?

Seems to me this is just more of the same parenting problems we see every day. Parents who are unable or unwilling to set and enforce limits for their kids.  Kids who want to tell the adults how it's going to be.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/30/us/new-digital-divide-seen-in-wasting-time-online.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&partner=rss&emc=rss&adxnnlx=1338466978-dK6/IDL/ahSiUMU5r02cbw&pagewanted=all

No More Whack-A-Mole: My Conversion to Collaborative Learning

No More Whack-A-Mole: My Conversion to Collaborative Learning

Some good ideas here.

I think any teacher would love to teach a group like this kid

He has written for the column before, and is saying nothing that I haven't said repeatedly over the years, but especially this year. When I say it, kids roll their eyes and announce that I'm "retarded" or "lame". My favorite is "childish", spoken at high volume by a student stomping his/her feet while walking across the room.All expert opinions, I suppose? A close second is "that don't make no damn sense!"

If I could have had one class populated with kids like this one, there would have been something to look farward to..
http://blogs.ajc.com/get-schooled-blog/2012/05/14/a-call-for-students-to-be-more-responsible-for-their-learning/?cxntfid=blogs_get_schooled_blog

STAR Testing: The Farce Begins Anew | Teach4Real

Abso-bloody-lutely!!!

STAR Testing: The Farce Begins Anew | Teach4Real

No Impossible Demand Left Behind

Replace Cuomo with Deal, Bloomberg with your favorite local (elected) official, and this works pretty much anywhere:

No Impossible Demand Left Behind

Yong Zhao Interview: Will the Common Core Create World-Class Learners? - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher

Yong Zhao Interview: Will the Common Core Create World-Class Learners? - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher

Zhao hits it on the head, as usual. But is anyone listening?

It's not over

(written in late April)

Guess what?

School's not over.

I know we've finished our standardized testing, but school's not over.

We still have some work to do. School's not over.

There is still time to bring your average up, by doing all your work. School's not over.

We will not be watching movies for the next 3 weeks. School's not over.

You can't sit back and do nothing for the next 3 weeks. School's not over.

If you don't finish these assignments, you won't be happy with the final grade. School's not over.

Please don't insult my intelligence. I can read the calendar, and school's not over.

Spare us all the fairy tales about what some other teacher is doing for fun. School's not over.

I don't really care if you have early vacation plans. School's not over.

If all of this is a problem for you, please find some way to spend your time that doesn't involve yelling or swearing. School's not over, and that kind of behavior will get you into trouble.

Wasn't it Yogi Berra who said, “It ain't over till it's over”? Well, it ain't over. Yet.

So, that's what it takes

The quietest my students have been all year. Something actually held their attention. a video about teen crime. They were quiet (mostly), attentive (mostly), and engaged. Wish I'd known to whip this out months ago. Should have known they were waiting for me to introduce some role models.
Yes, I'm being sarcastic. It's a reflexive act these days, to preserve my sanity.

Confessions

Okay, I admit it. I'm a failure as an educator. It must be true, after all, the experts are telling me so: my students (who can't hear any instructions over the sound of their own conversation), their parents (who haven't tried to teach anything since potty training- maybe), my assistant principal (who has been out of the classroom long enough that she won't cross the threshold of my room). These are the experts, aren't they?

Bless me, for I have sinned. Let me count the ways:

I followed through on everything I said. At least, when not undermined by the powers that be.

I kept homework to a minimum. I gave you time to work on it in class. Terrible of me.

I created opportunities to work in groups. The nerve.

I offered projects with choices. So sorry.

I gave clear directions for assignments, and even put them on the board for the benefit of those who wouldn't hear what I said. Gosh, what was I thinking?

I set clear expectations, and held you to them. I had no right to do that.

I kept up with grades, to the best of my ability. It's a lot of work. I should have done something else.

I was honest with you. I never lied to you, not about your work or your behavior. I guess that was rude?

I enforced the rules of the school and the district. That's right, I didn't make up any of that shit.

I took all the abuse you dished out, even the second and third helpings. Thank you.

I never retaliated for childish things you said and did, even when I dearly wanted to.

I listened to you cussing and bit my tongue.

I looked at your work, gave it back to you for improvement, and checked it again.

I provided study guides for every test. Sorry about that.

I asked you to reflect on your progress and your studying. I should have done it for you, I guess.

When you didn't turn in your work, I allowed additional time to turn it in. What was I thinking?

When you still didn't turn in the work, I offered the chance to work on it after school. I shouldn't have.

When you plagiarized your work, I didn't record a grade of zero. How dare I?

When you came the day before grades were due, asking about getting your work in, I accepted it.

When you brought in missing work the day after grades were posted, I made the corrections.

When you tried to get out of class, I didn't let you. Who gave me that right?

When you lied to another teacher to get out of class, I sent you back. I should have let you lie.

I watched you talking rudely to your parents.

I watched you talking rudely to your classmates.

I watched you talking rudely to your teachers.

I stayed up late working on lessons and activities. My bad.

I stayed up late looking for new ideas. Definitely a screw up.

I stayed up late grading your papers. Huge mistake.

I listened to you insulting all of your teachers. I apologize.

I listened to your parents insulting all of your teachers. I apologize again.

I kept your parents informed about your progress. I should have let you take care of that.

I talked to you about changing your habit of not studying for tests. I was out of line.

When you picked a fight, I tried to keep your classmates out of harm's way. I shouldn't have done that.

When you were suspended, I dug up your work that you would miss so that you could still get credit.

When you were on academic probation, I gave you the assignments that were missing. Multiple times, even after you told me off, told the other teachers off, told the principal off, I still brought it to you.

I tried to be the authority figure in the room. I should have been your friend instead of your teacher. I should have given you everything you demanded, instead of setting limits and boundaries.

I guess you're right. I have no business in the classroom. After all, you are the expert, aren't you?

Feeling like a kid,

wishing for the end of the school year. So I can hopefully move on to someplace where they believe in supporting the faculty, instead of leaving teachers to face unruly students with no backup.
a student who's been referred twice has had no consequences. Another student who was late to class says he won't be serving his detention and was demanding to see an administrator. He walked out of the room without permision and I reported it to the office. Did anyone follow up? Of course not. That's ok. I'm keeping notes for the day when this inofrmation is needed. Probably soon, from the looks of things. It's sad that our kids think they've got it right and the rest of us old farts are wrong. It will be even sadder when they start their first job with this mindset.

So, what kind of relationship should this be?

I keep hearing about 'relationships' between students and teachers that turn into criminal cases. My students have made it abundantly clear they want no part of me, and that's okay. Friendship is not why I'm here. however, lately I dread goinf to work because of how hard it is to just get the job done. Lessons are prepared, materials are ready, and provided, and there is no equal consideration from students. Try to enforce some expectations, and it becomes a major issue. try to get some help, and end up twisting in the wind.

I'm tired of being the odd man out, and also tired of walking around with a target on my back. Between students who threaten to harm a teacher and those who actually try it, with absolutely no consequences, it's become impossible to give the simplest of directions with any expectation of follow-through on their part. I've tried to point out that when a student is out of control, and we request intervention, it creates a dangerous scene to be ignored. What happens if that student who needs an intervention turns physically aggressive? They already know help isn't coming, and they've figured out that they can get away with anything they want. Parents freely refuse to allow teacher discipline like detention and isolation on team. Mind you, these are steps in the school discipline plan, not stuff we pull out of thin air. Any wonder they also believe they can interfere with administrative action? So, after a couple of positively miserable and crazy weeks dealing with behavior in the absence of support from either parents or administrators, culminating in a student attempting to knock me over, I finally wrote a letter laying out my concerns. It's not something that was fun, or easy, to do, but after the doorway incident, it was time to document the problems. Sooner or later, one of us is going to be injured by a child, and there's no way TPTB should be able to say they didn't know there was a problem.

Well, at least there was a response. It took the form of an invitation to meet with the boss and discuss the issues, with assurance that we can find “solutions”. So, today, I got an earful about how if I just had a better 'relationship' with the students, it wouldn't be so difficult. The most specific advice to come out of it was 'there are things you can do' differently, but no examples were offered in spite of requests for such. We need to be more positive, more encouraging, get to know the kids and let them know us. I'm not sure why that excuses not following directions and completing assignments. I do know how much they roll their eyes anytime I mention a personal experience or connection to our curriculum topics. Is it any wonder one would withdraw from that and stop offering those personal tidbits? I'm also not convinced it absolves them of responsibility for cursing each other and us, nor for assault. But, apparently, if I can just be sufficiently warm and fuzzy, all will be well. So, I'll put on a smile and give it the old college try. We'll see how it turns out. However, it rankles that this is painted as being entirely on me as both cause and solution.

Here's what I'd like to know

How, exactly, is all of this nonsense enforced? Why can't all of us do something like this to ensure work completion, civilized behavior, and general responsibility? I've yet to teach in a school that can actually require kids to complete homework, much less keep their hands to themselves or take proper care of schoolbooks. 
And, if flaming hot chips are addictive, sign me up, for heaven's sake. I could maybe enjoy a legal buzz.

BTW, where's the research showing that this approach is effective? Double-blind and all that.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/chicago-high-school-makes-190000-student-fines-bad/story?id=15758891#.T0QLTvXX_3A

Knew it would happen eventually

Yesterday we dismissed early for parent conferences. Kids were rowdy, and occasionally downright rude. At dismissal, I opened the door, and was nearly knocked down by one child who had been particularly vocal and aggressive. It was only a matter of time, the way things have been going, and there's sure to be more of the same if changes aren't made.

supporting the home language

Or, as some phrase it, "heritage languages".
I've seen way too many instances of kids who were afraid to speak in school because of a clear message from teachers or administrators that their language was not welcome. I even had someone in my school's office (teasing, I hope. I chose to take it that way.) say that I shouldn't be speaking Spanish with a parent in front of others. I just smiled and told her I'd set the ACLU on her...
Here's a nice rundown for encouraging parents to use the family/native/heritage language at home with the kids. http://blog.languagelizard.com/2012/01/11/supporting-bilingualism-4-reasons-parents-should-speak-heritage-languages-at-home/

ever have one of those days?

Wow, you can really tell that the full moon is nearly upon us. Paper flying everywhere, noise level beyond reason, sore throat from trying to be heard, and the most ridiculous of demands.
My apology to a parent was sent to the boss, labeled as 'sarcastic'. Guess there's no point trying to keep folks informed.
In the middle of all this, I have a set of graded tests that need to be recorded in the online gradebook, and never got to them... tomorrow's another day, I guess.

Grading policies, part 1

Many years ago, when I averaged grades for progress reports, (we did it manually back then. At least i had the benefit of a calculator.) I realized that one of my middle school students had a very low average. I think it was a 17. He had turned in almost no work, and all I had to work with were two papers. I think one was classwork and the other was a quiz. Poor dear, this was my first encounter with the I-don't-give-a-shit attitude. I went right to my principal and asked for feedback. She asked only one question: Has the student had the opportunity to succeed?(her emphasis, not mine) Well, of course he'd had the opportunity; he hadn't missed a day of school, he'd had the same opportunity as his classmates. More, actually, since he was repeating the grade. So he was getting a SECOND opportunity to show what he was learning. But, he refused to lift a finger. I was confused by the principal's question, until she followed up with a barely veiled directive to record a grade no lower than, I think, 60.
I was stunned. Literally could not form words. Here was a kid not doing a thing for himself, and I should had him a grade. That bothered me. It bothered me even more when I sat down to finish progress reports, and saw that some of my struggling students had done their bery best and were earning.... (wait for it)....
63. or less. This seemed to me a slap in the face of students who had actually done something for themselves, were at least making an effort, and here was their 'reward'. Almost the same grade they could get by doing aboslutely nothing.
Well, here we are, many years later, and a school district in the southern part of this state has codified a grading policy (now they describe it as a proposal, but that's not what a lot of their teachers and parents understood last week) that requires students not receive zeros, and failed tests must be re-taken. So, I don't have to do the work till I'm damn well good and ready, and I don't have to study for the test until I've seen what's on it, then go home and study for the 'retake'. The newspaper item is below, followed by  many, many comments. Read 'em all. It ain't pretty. Also a couple of news links from the community in question:
http://blogs.ajc.com/get-schooled-blog/2012/02/03/no-zeros-in-school-any-longer-but-arent-there-well-deserved-zeros/
http://valdostadailytimes.com/local/x2009900343/School-system-grades-policy-gets-national-exposure
http://valdostadailytimes.com/opinion/x1669710198/School-policy-fails-expectations

Am I being overly sensitive?

After being out for one day, I returned to my classroom to find it's been completely rearranged by the substitute, who also did not give my quiz. This was apparently sanctioned by the powers that be. I'm confused. Who gets to decide seating in my classroom, and why bother leaving assignments if they are considered optional? What the hell?

Update: apparently the written assignment (current in my curriculum, per the district map) was also treated as optional. Now I'm really confused. What is the purpose of spending time preparing assignments if they can be ignored?And don't let me get started on how the kids are behaving about this. I feel completely stomped on right now.

It's like a murder investigation on TV. Follow the money. Who benefits most from the crime?

http://www.educationnews.org/education-policy-and-politics/millions-of-dollars-made-from-teacher-evaluation-programs/

teacher "autonomy"

http://blog.masteryconnect.com/?p=330

So, where does this "autonomy" exist? I haven't seen the like in several years. And with parent trigger laws corpping up all over, there will soon be no autonomy. Getting an education will be more like ordering fast food. You know where that's gotten us.

Way to go, Matt Damon!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFHJkvEwyhk.

Love it he pulls no punches and tells the 'journalists' exactly what he thinks. Didn't accomplish much, unfortunately

TIME Magazine's 12 for '12

Ugh
More like 0 for 12, if this is the best we've got.
Sad that the focus is on education activists, rather than educators. There really is a difference. There is only one practicing educator in the group. John Hunter's global game is wonderful, but won't be scalable, because it's not testable. Matt Damon, though I appreciate his passion in speaking up for us, is not offereing anything new. And we all know that state supes don't have to have any ed chops. In my state, it's an elected position, so whoever gets the most attention is likely to get the votes.

http://ideas.time.com/2012/01/13/school-of-thought-12-education-activists-for-2012/?iid=op-article-morephotos

Dear Michelle Rhee

Valerie Strauss' response to Rhee's commentary on the Harvard value-added study

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/dear-michelle-rhee-about-that-teacher-evaluation-study/2012/01/20/gIQA0iVSGQ_blog.html?wprss=ans

My response:
Dear Michelle Rhee:
What are you thinking?

Value-Added, Again

Here are some points from the Shanker Blog about 'performance incentives' for teachers (because, you know, they worked so well for Wall Street):

Unlike uniform salary increases, financial incentives are:

• based on an economic model that assumes teachers make career decisions in response to money;
• not guaranteed from one year to the next, unless they are awarded as permanent raises, and thus may not appeal to teachers if they are risk-adverse;
• potentially insulting to teachers (particularly incentives that are performance-based) because they can be taken to imply that teachers are withholding improvements to student learning and performance for higher pay;
• possibly ineffective (particularly those that are performance-based) if teachers don’t know what more they can do to increase student performance or meet other outcomes to which incentives are attached;
• and bound to raise delicate questions of fairness between teachers and of trust between teachers and districts.  

(emphasis added)

it's a Brave New World in Arizona

In addition to pulling the plug on a well-repsected ethnic studies curriculum, they are now banning books. BANNING BOOKS! I personally hope every family in Tucson goes out and buys/reads each of the horribly dangerous books that TUSD is removing from schools, at the insistence of a state government afraid of its own shadow. Some of the banned titles include: The Tempest and Rethinking Columbus.
Salon has the article here: http://www.salon.com/2012/01/13/whos_afraid_of_the_tempest/singleton/
And the Tucson Citizen: http://tucsoncitizen.com/three-sonorans/2012/01/13/did-you-know-even-shakespeare-got-banned-from-tusd-with-mas-ruling/
Here's another article: http://rt.com/usa/news/arizona-history-mexican-studies-845/


BANNED BOOKS WEEK 2012:  September 30 through October 6

Huffington Post piece on book banning: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/roberta-stevens/yes-there-is-still-book-b_b_738679.html
For a little background on book banning in education, start here:  http://712educators.about.com/cs/bannedbooks/a/bookbanning.htm

Justice Brennan's comments in the case of Texas v Johnson, 1989:

"Recognizing that the right to differ is the centerpiece of our First Amendment freedoms, a government cannot mandate by fiat a feeling of unity in its citizens."

“If there is a bedrock principle underlying the First Amendment, it is that the Government may not prohibit the expression of an idea simply because society finds the idea itself offensive or disagreeable.”

You remember the kids with those names...

I've seen the apostraphe used as a naming accessory in every conceivable position (D'Lexus, anyone?). I've taught Shitavia, Jontavia, Tikeria, Bubba (no, NOT a nickname), Antarious, and Jawosky, along with all their friends. I've learned to pronounce names whose spelling bore no resemblance to the spoken word.I've marveled at parents who give the child a name, and then call him/her by the middle name exclusively, as well as those who call their child something that isn't even on the birth certificate. Fortunately, the lady named Marijuana Pepsi was never in my class; it would have been too much.
Here's a study on the effects of "difficult" names:  http://motherjones.com/mixed-media/2012/01/new-study-bad-baby-name-choices-destroy-lives

Have you read these articles?

The first is about the lovely study last fall which concluded that teachers are overpaid. Since I'm having significant difficulty these days keeping my head above water (never mind building up savings), I just don't understand how they reached their conclusion. But then, as a teacher, it's well established that I'm not very bright, so it must be WAY over my head. Here's the link:  http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2012/01/11/17richwine.h31.html?tkn=WZQFDKeM7aBYfNlR9oUH6TYmsAoXCQk0u%2FiS&cmp=ENL-TU-NEWS2

The second is about the recent study which shows that students who have an excellent teacher in 4th grade are a whole 1.25% more likely to attend college and less likely to get pregnant as a teenager, by the same percentage. The study also concluded that the future salary impact of just one excellent teacher during grades 4-8 is a whopping 1% at.... age 28. So, I guess the take-home lesson here is that I can blame my financial situation on NOT having had one of those great teachers. Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/12/opinion/kristof-the-value-of-teachers.html

So, now, the question is: Am I a teacher because I'm a dummy, or because I had dummies for teachers?

MONDAY UPDATE 1/16/12: It turns out that all is not as clear as it seemed. Not a surprise. The data used for this earth=shattering study is over 10 years old. In other words, pre-NCLB, Will it hold true in he madness of AYP, RTTT, EOCT, HSGT, ABC123? Read more here: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/16/education/study-on-teacher-value-uses-data-from-before-teach-to-test-era.html?src=recg

The arithmetic of Duncan-style school "turnaround"

They used to call it "reconstitution". You know, the one where they fire all the teachers and make them reapply for their jobs, but rehire no more than half of them anyway, leaving the rest to twist in the wind. So, this is the story of a Chicago school that was closed and then reinvented as a "turnaround". Look carefully at the numbers used to justify first the closing of this school, and then the status change from unaccaptable to improving:  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/matt-farmer/chicago-collins-academy-turnaround_b_1159465.html

So, how do you make schools "better"?

Apparently, not by setting arbitrary targets and using a system of carrots and sticks to reach them.
Incentives and Test-Based Accountability in Education
Valerie Strauss discussed it back in May. The report is downloadable from the NAP site. Two sentences from the summary:

Test-based incentive programs, as designed and

implemented in the programs that have been carefully studied,

have not increased student achievement enough to bring the

United States close to the levels of the highest achieving countries.

When evaluated using relevant low-stakes tests, which

are less likely to be inflated by the incentives themselves, the

overall effects on achievement tend to be small and are effectively

zero for a number of programs.

Wonder if any of our brave leaders will take note of this report from the National Research Council? Or, will the beatings will continue till morale improves!

Where does someone like this come from?

Vermont fraternity surveys members. Among the questions: who would you like to rape?

Umm, REALLY? Is this the best thing you could think of when you had too much time on your hands? What, TP'ing somebody's yard too much effort for you? Someone suggested bringing back the paddle. It's too late for this group of idiots. http://blogs.ajc.com/get-schooled-blog/2011/12/15/a-frat-asks-its-members-who-would-you-like-to-rape-now-its-suspended/

"Evidence" of TFA effectiveness

Check Valerie Strauss's column: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/teach-for-america-research-questioned/2011/12/12/gIQANb40rO_blog.html#pagebreak

It's quite an eye-opener. These folks who live and die by the 'data' who can't offer up any useful data to justify their program.

Somehow, this isn't surprising...

Ed Sec Duncan has heard about a new report indicating that about half of schools will not make AYP this year. Wow, what a shocker. Not.
http://www.ajc.com/news/nation-world/report-half-of-schools-1260580.html

Almost Christmas

And not a minute too soon. I'm so pooped I may fall on my face.The kids are so wired we could light up the entire east coast.

NCLB's other meaning

I whole-heartedly agree. My district has retained the services of a 'guru' whose specialty seems to be repackaging Marzano's research. So far as I can find, he has published nothing of his own, and we don't even know how long he's been out of the classroom. He surely never taught anyone like my kids. Can you guess where our stimulus $$$ went?

http://trib.com/opinion/letters/no-consultants-left-behind/article_e69a950c-f5de-500f-a669-abbea7cec0cf.html 

Nation's race to the bottom

Here's some interesting political/economic analysis: share

Here's one for all the 'experts' out there

Here's a rap on Accountable Talk that just might begin to offer a view into the world of a teacher: http://www.accountabletalk.com/2011/11/im-public-school-teacher.html

Those who can't imagine all of this, or wouldn't want to experience it, should get the hell out of the way and let the rest of us do our jobs. Quit interfering.

Gotta have your priorities straight

I have just returned from a "Black Friday" excursion to check WalMart's early specials. Holy cow. There was a line to get into the parking lot. People had made their own parking spaces, though by 11:30 a few legit spots had opened up. Some customers must have left to get to Target by midnight...
Inside, the line for a register was beyond anything I've ever seen in my life. Not only that, but there were lines already for the specials to be released at midnight. Military security needs to study Walmart's methods. They have a quite effective strategy for keeping the goodies secure until zero hour. At each of the secret stations, there were dozens in line, snaking up and down the aisles.
It needs to be said, though some will take offense: All these hundreds (thousands?) of customers had arranged their lives, inconvenienced themselves and others, and sacrificed some beauty sleep. But just try and get most of them to come to a meeting at their child's school. It's like asking for the miracle of the loaves and the fishes. You just gotta have your priorities straight.

Wow, you mean it isn't automatically easy?

Sorry, that's my sarcastic streak expressing itself. A new study out of the Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences at the University of Washington and the Learning and Development Lab at Georgia State University suggests that young children's learning is enhanced by their own struggle with a task, and also by observing an adult struggle with the same task. Sounds like it goes back to problem-solving. Here's a link to a description by the researchers: http://www.educationnation.com/index.cfm?objectid=CA44DA1E-FC09-11E0-B00E000C296BA163&aka=0
I think it's interesting, because the adolescents I teach tend to immediately give up when a task becomes or even seems the least bit difficult. I'll have to share this article with them and see how they respond. Wonder what the researcheers have observed with older children.

double standard?

Nina Bernstein of the NY Times, writes in On Colleges Campuses, Athletes Often Get Off Easy about how colleges protect athetes who committed crimes and often sweep their offenses under the rug.
I think we need to look at where this starts: K-12 sports programs. No, not just high school coaches, but also the middle school coaches who dont hold their players accountable for infractions of rules or common decency. Ii've seen numerous 8th grade athletes get away with misbehavior in class or elswhere on campus, with no reporcussions whatsoever. I would not tolerate the kind of nonsense I've observed, but then, that's probably why I'm not a coach. i'd piss off too many parents.

Must be a full moon

Judging by what I saw today, it has to be close. Jeez, I almost turned into a werewolf myself.
It's been a very interesting week so far of listening to kids make excuses for stupid choices, then parents making excuses for their kids' stupid choices, then explaining how none of that BS is going to help. If you haven't taken care of your responsibility, don't look to me. I'm sorry, but I've got enough of my own. I'm just waiting for some flak to come down about insisting that any missing work has to be made up by staying after school to take care of it. That will be the end of it right there. I'm not even supposed to accept late work, so this is a favor for you. Give me grief about it, and I'll cancel it on the spot.

Was thinking about students' names. It dawned on me that there are quiet a few whose names reflect a certain self-absoprtion on the parent's part. Like the one who named her son after herself. Then there are the moms who pick a baby name that rhymes with their own. Ugh. Worse are those who need to share a name with their child, by adding "La" or "Da/De" on the front to make a 'new' name. Please, just give your child his or her own identity. Maybe that would help the process of self-actualization. You know, growing up.

These are the "wisest" people they could find?

I really must object to this characterization. Consider the speaker quoted first, who has probably done the greatest damage of any individual in public education. Don't forget, that exact same comment was previously published, and discussed (to death) during the summer. Couldn't you at least say something new?
Perhaps, rather than wise, these are actually the people who could be roped into this when others were not available for the 'event'? Sort of like a jury is composed of people who couldn't find a way to avoid the dubious privilege...
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18563_162-57321031/rhee-todays-kids-must-understand-hard-work/

The things that have to be explained...

Oh brother. Please save me from parent conferences where I have to explain that the child's grade is low because he/she won't stop talking long enough to complete the assignment, therefore receiving no credit for the no work. Exactly why does this need ot be explained in the computer age, with grades available in real time, on the internet? Please stop asking me silly questions when the answer is right in front of you. The grade stinks because the work was not done. Period. Get over it and light a fire under the kid's rear.

Article on kids' tendency to lose things

I can SO sympathize- my classroom usually looks like the kids' closets exploded, with books, clothes, even shoes, left behind at the end of the day. There is a perception that I am supposed to keep and guard it all. After many clashes over it, I now take it all to our Lost and Found, where novody ever seems to look. Apparently, it's much more fun to give us grief for not babysitting the stuff. Sorry, Charly.

http://momshomeroom.msn.com/articles/4/30970869/?WT.mc_id=msn

I wonder why...

http://www.nytimes.com/schoolbook/2011/10/19/high-teacher-turnover-at-a-success-network-school/


I've never worked in a charter school setting, but I've been in a school where we were regularly reminded that we could/would be replaced anytime. It doesn't exactly inspire you to want to stay very long.

http://www.teach4real.com/2011/09/06/parent-outreach-not-in-an-educational-landscape-of-opposites/

Here is another perspective on 'parent involvement'. I wholeheartedly agree with Matt.

Another piece of the equation

http://www.teach4real.com/2011/09/06/parent-outreach-not-in-an-educational-landscape-of-opposites/

Here is another perspective on 'parent involvement'. I wholeheartedly agree with Matt.

Dear Parents,

I wish you knew a few things. OK, more than a few.
Before taking offense, you must understand that I've been awake since 5:30 this morning. Why? Because I started thinking about an upcoming assignment on which I am collaborating with the Language Arts teacher to develop it into something where the kids can really show what they can do. So, for all my griping, the teaching/thinking about kids part of my brain never seems to shut down.
Now, on to some of the things that I wish parents knew. BTW, all but 10 of these have come up in the past 7 days.

Things I wish you knew...

How many hours I spend at home in the evenings and on the weekends working on ideas for new lessons and activities that might be more interesting to your children.

How offensive it is when you assume that I am singling out your child for disparate treatment, and that grades or behavior reports are part of some vendetta instead of an honest report of what happened.

The supplies in my classroom are my personal property. They were not provided by the school or district. I bought them, out of my pocket, over several years.

The reading material in the classroom is entirely my personal property. When those books are lost/destroyed/stolen, it affects the rest of the students. Rather than allow that, I will pack up books and any other materials that are not treated properly.

I hate holding detention. It's just as much a punishment for me as for your child. Unfortunately, your child needs to make up for the time of others that he or she wasted during my class. By the way, my detention days are scheduled around my other obligations. You do not get to decide when I can hold detention.

It brings me no joy to see poor grades next to anyone's name. It's disappointing, after long hours of hard work, to see evidence that the time was lost.

When you ask for a special appointment to meet before school or after school, you are infringing on my private time. I don't get paid by the hour; there is no overtime pay. When you ask me to meet with you before school or after hours, you are expecting me to rearrange my schedule to accommodate you.

A child who refuses to follow directions or complete assignments is not having a personality conflict. The child is having a tantrum. That's what it was called when she was 2 years old, and it's no more appealling now that she is 12.

When classwork is assigned, that means it is expected to be done in class. It does not mean students can talk and relax and then 'do it for homework'.

Multi-tasking is not efficient. When your child says that he/she can hold a conversation with a classmate and still get the work done, it is a fiction that you should not believe. I have seen with my own eyes that it's not working out. That's why there's an F on the report card.

If several teachers are telling you the same thing about your child's schoolwork or behavior, you should consider the very real possibility that the problem in this equation lives with you. We are all telling you the same thing because your child really is acting that way.

When there is a project to be done, I am careful to give written instructions for what is expected and how it will be graded. We review those instructions in class, in detail. Before your tell your child to do something else, you should find out what my instructions were.

There is a reason assignments have deadlines. That's when it needs to be turned in. By not taking care of work in a timely manner, your child sacrifices the chance to earn those points. I can do nothing about that.

I do not control when grades have to be finalized.

There is no requirement that I have to re-grade work. If I offer the opportunity to make corrections, be glad for it. If I don't offer it, that's just life.

When someone else does the work, don't ask me to accept it for a grade. It's unethical.

When you want something from me, or expect me to do something, it's just bad manners to insult me in the same message or conversation. And it doesn't exactly inspire me to agree.

I have a boss, thank you. That's the person who gets to tell me what to do. I'm not telling you how to raise your child, though I certainly have thoughts on that topic.

I'll make a deal with you: I won't criticize the décor in your house as long as you don't criticize teaching methods. Things have changed since you and I sat in the student desks.

When 12 kids are running off at the mouth and my instructions can't be heard, I will have to raise my voice. That's not yelling. That's just reality.

Please educate your child as to the meaning of the words 'yell', 'shout', 'scream'. He seems to believe these words apply anytime I don't give in to his whims.

Your child does not get to slander me, or other teachers, while I sit by and smile politely. My contract as a teacher does not require me to tolerate that; yours as a parent does.

The custodians at this school are not your child's personal servants. You kid still has to pick up after himself.

You know those lockers? They are the place for your child to store her belongings, not my bookshelf, not the desks that other kids need to use, and certainly not my floor. Stuff that's left behind is not my responsibility.

Conference night is not fun for me.

Curriculum night is not fun for me.

Stomping feet and throwing pencils off the desk, by students or parents, does not impress or intimidate me.

If I need to call you about a behavior issue, this is certainly not the first time it has happened. This isn't being petty. I've already talked to your kid; now it's time for you to step up.

When you wait till the end of the grading period to come in and see what issues have come up, it's a mystery just what you expect from me. I've been working on these things for weeks; where've you been?

I don't really care if you approve of the assignment.

I don't care if you like the tests.

Yeah, your son really does need to know this stuff. (Was actually asked this question once.) Unless, that is, your dreams for him include living in a cardboard box under the expressway.

I don't care if you like the school rules or discipline policy. I might not like them, either, but that's beside the point. I have to follow the speed limit whether I like it or not, and the kids have to follow the rules, too.

There's a place for people who don't follow the rules. It comes with ugly jumpsuits and big metal bars.

You know that cute outfit you bought your daughter last weekend? Not school appropriate. If you would see it at a club, it shouldn't be seen at school.

If there are supposed to be glasses on the face, that doesn't get you a pass on your assigned seat. It means you should put them on so that you can actually see.

If you are wearing the glasses and still can't see, maybe it's time to go back to the eye doctor.

If your child is not involved in sports, and isn't driving, why does he need a cell phone?

My last name is not Walton and I don't stock school supplies.

Interrupting my class is rude, no matter who you are.

The rest of the world is not interested in the patterns on your son's underwear, and neither am I. Buy him some pants that fit properly, for heaven's sake.

The boys at my school don't need to know the landscape of your daughter's cleavage. Please buy her some clothing that will cover the twins.

Applying cosmetics in class is inappropriate.

Personal hygiene starts with soap and water. Please don't teach your child to use body spray as a substitute.

If the kids have to leave their clothes in my classroom, I should be able to drop off my laundry at your house in exchange.

When your kids are sick, please keep them at home. I am not a nurse, I can not give medication, and I can't afford to get sick and lose time from work.

That school supply list we sent home? It really does mean thaat those things will be needed for class.

When you allow your child to speak to me rudely, it tells me something about you. When you allow your child to speak to YOU rudely, in front of me, well, that speaks volumes.

Teachers don't get discounts on stationery and school supplies. We pay the same price you do. Either get your kid some paper and pencils, or send me some money and I'll go shopping.

Sometimes, it really IS the child's fault.

If you have all the answers, please come in and take over my classroom. I could really use a break. If you don't care to do this, leave it to those of us who have a clue what we're doing.

Even as I vent all my frustrations on this page, I've been awake since 5:30 (it's Sunday morning) thinking about ways to make an upcoming assignment more engaging (better) for your children.

Wow, I've been gripe-y lately

How's this:
The best laugh all day was provided by the student who brought me a textbook that's been vandalized. Our brand-new, super-expensive textbook. There is a message in it wishing me and my team leader would die, because, in the opinion of the esteemed writer, we are bitches.
I feel flattered to be keeping such company. Really! :-)
Poor child couldn't understand why I laughed...

It's been a hell of a week

You know those days that are so awful that you're ready to quit? That's the kind of week we've had. Thoroughly depressing, soul-stealing, and demoralizing.
I really love teaching. The problem is there isn't enough of it happening. Most of the time is spent on things other than teaching. So, here's a therapeutic little excercise I started working on. Almost of of this is from the past 2 months, most of it this week alone...

Things they never told us in teacher school:

Students aren't in school to learn. They actually come for breakfast, lunch, and socialization.

The students aren't well socialized, in spite of all the socialization. In fact, some aren't socialized at all.

Not only will the kids complain about assignments, they will flat out refuse to even attempt the work.

Parents will justify this behavior, trying to convince you that the kids are right to refuse.

Then the parents will expect an explanation from you as to why their kids don't have all As.

Forget all those wonderful, detailed lessons and units you learned to create. There won't be time to use any of them, because you have to get ready for standardized tests, benchmark tests, interim tests, progress monitoring, formative assessments, common assesments, etc.

Forget about planning engaging lessons. The kids don't give a shit, and administration will keep you too busy with meetings to do any planning.

Speaking of planning, whatever time is not taken up with meetings will be spent on the phone, with parents who are unhappy with you, your team, your school.

Students will tell you off, cuss you out, and demand a written pass to leave class so they can go have sex in the boys' bathroom. Because, you know, there's nothing more romantic than the stench of piss when you want to get it on.

Don't spend all day reading your school email, but make sure you read that unimportant email from the self-important administrator as soon as it is sent. Sooner than that would be even better.

You know the old saying, “the customer is always right”? Well, students and parents are the 'customers', and you are now in the customer service business.

When you stand your ground, about anything, the student will have a shit fit, demand to call home, and proceed to lie about whatever happened, or didn't happen.

Remember potty training? Well, you are about to experience it again, with adolescents.

No matter how specific your directions, someone will always find a way to 'minsunderstand' or 'not hear' them. That will be you fault, of course.

When you set a deadline, that's just the opening bid. Students will answer with a counter bid, usually along the lines of 'whenever the hell I feel like turning it in'.

The word 'No' is not the end of the convesation, it's the start of negotiations, at least in some circles. Unfortunately, those aren't the circles I run in. You can see how this becomes an issue...

A parent with a question will never ask you directly. Instead, it's much more fun to call the school and accuse you of everything under the sun.

The students will assume you don't like them and deliberately give them low grades. It couldn't possibly be related to the quality of the work they turned in.

The parents will assume you don't like their kids and deliberately give them low grades. It couldn't possibly be related to the quality of the work they turned in.

When work is turned in late, you will be expected to drop everything and grade it immediately, and make sure it gets a perfect grade, even if it's completely wrong. If you don't, see above.

Parents will not make the effort to enforce any discipline or expectations with their kids. It's too much work to just say 'No' to one child. It's much easier, apparently, to sit down with a roomful of adults and give them shit instead.

When students are talking (or yelling, or singing) too loudly for you to be heard, don't raise your voice. That's rude.

When you ask students to make corrections to their work for a better grade, they will tell you there is nothing wrong with it, and refuse to correct it. This is your problem.

When a student plagiarizes their work, there is nothing wrong with that, because they typed it themselves. Right?

When a student turns in work that a relative did for them, that's okay, too.

When a student won't follow any instructions or do any work, that's a personality conflict. It's your problem.

When a student calls you “bitch” and gets suspended, you will still have to provide his assignments and take phone calls from his parents while he's out of school.

When the students don't like your test review, it will be your fault if they earn a low grade on the test.

Don't have a life. You have to be available for questions, phone calls, and emails 24/7. This means that when you miss that 8 pm email, there will be 3 nasty follow-up messages before 6 am.

If students don't tell you they are having a problem with a classmate, it's your responsibility to know about it anyway, because their parents don't know what class it's happening in.

If you call a parent from your phone without blocking your ID, be prepared for a couple of weeks of creepy phone calls from him at all hours.

Any time a parent says, “you won't have any problems with my child”, it's a lie.

If it's followed by the words, “call me any time”, don't. They don't really want to hear from you. Ever.

Work that is turned in without a name on it should still be graded and recorded. Use your crystal ball to figure out who the hell did it.

Administrators will generally throw you under the bus. Those that don't are probably driving the bus.

When you are in the middle of grading papers, that's not important enough that you should expect a child to wait till you're done for a response from you.

When the child interrupts your lesson to ask a personal question that is none of anyone's businees, you should answer it. Otherwise, you'll be considered rude.

School and district policies will change. You will probably not be informed of these changes until after you've stepped in it. That's your problem.

Children will try to intimidate you to get what they want. After all, it works at home.

Sports are way more important than schoolwork. Get over it.

Sports are also more important than discipline. What's the matter with you?

Don't you dare not cave in when a student expects an extension to get work done that should have been properly done already. There will be blood...

If you really enjoy your subject matter, keep it to yourself. Nobody else gives a rip.

If you have personal photos that are related to an upcoming lesson, forget about it. By the time you organize them to show the kids, you'll wish you hadn't.

Don't ever assign television for homework. Suddenly they aren't allowed to watch 'that kind' of program. Jersey Shore, on the other hand, now that's quality entertainment!

That assignment you thought would be a slam-dunk, easy grade for everybody? Mission impossible.

Nobody outside of this crazy profession wants to listen to all of this. They can't believe any of this shit actually happens; hell, you wouldn't believe it yourself if you didn't personally witness it every day.

OMG, what a week, and it's only Tuesday

Got stuck meeting with a parent till past 6. Explained the school discipline plan and how our multitudes of phone calls and emails are all part of that process. Had to quote chapter and verse, and still get a round of "can he have another chance?" Good grief, it's the 8th week of school, how many more 'second chances' can there possibly be? Meanwhile, the phone calls I really needed to make went un-made. Wow.
Then there's the darlings who continued talking instead of working on their assignment, even with the principal sitting right by them. They bragged about it, too. Unreal. I'm completely out of ideas, except to work their fingers to the bone.

Experience?

Here's a news item that appeared today: Many teachers have little or no experience.
Funny, here are informed researchers saying that it's a problem. Where were they when our esteemed Secrectary of Education stodd up and announced his preference for new teachers over veterans, as if battleground experience is irrelevant? And then we wonder where those experienced teachers have gone...

Just what I didn't need

So, it's been a ridiculous day, starting with helpless parents of helpless students, moving on to a conference with the parent who is allowing her child to mianipulate her and withhold his grades from her, capped off by an idiotic battle for a basic desk tool that my students will never be allowed to use again. Then I read Jay Matthews' column, here, and my blood is boiling. Exactly which teachers in this piece had 'low expectations' of their students? Exactly who are the people we keep hearing about? Fifteen years, four districts, five schools, and I've yet to meet one of these individuals practicing the 'soft bigotry of low expectations'. If anything, what we keep hearing is that we are demanding too MUCH of the students, not too little. One of today's parent's actually questioned why I included a few questions on my test from previously taught and tested material. Oh, I don't know, maybe because your 8th grader will be tested on ALL of this in the spring before we can talk about high school? Ya think?

Gotta wonder about people

We've spent a lot of time this week on behavior issues. We have classroom disruptions, hallway wandering, physical aggression, and general failure to follow simple directions. It's very difficult to teach under these conditions. So we've been making parent contact. Some parents have been called more than once this week.
I recognize that some of them have created a situation where they are now powerless to change the behavior of the child, but the school plan requires parent contacts to begin the discipline process. Plus, I'm hoping that by getting on it now, I won't be still dealing with so much later. I've discussed all of this with the principal, including my latest round of calls yesterday, so that he is prepared for anyone who might object. We also have conferences set up for next week. It's absolutely exhausting, but necessary.
Here's the sad part: we are moving through our calling list, and starting to encounter the parents who actively defend their children's behavior and failure to complete assignments. I'm used to the ones who make the right noises and don't follow up. But it's always upsetting to hear a parent tellimg me they don't see what big deal is, or that this is petty. I have to stop myself from inviting them to come teach my class and see just how well it goes with their own child acting like they do. We even have one who will not allow her child to complete missing assignments after school. Great choice.

Day 13 of the new year

Oh, brother, it's been a wild and wacky start to the school year. Why is it that fourteen-year-olds, who've been in classrooms since preschool in most cases, still don't understand what is acceptable classroom behavior? One day I hope to find the answer to that question, and then make a fortune with a solution for it.
Today, the thirteenth of the school year, one of the least-behaved students on my team thought he'd be friendly and 'hug' me. Needless to say, after putting up with his shenanigans all day, I was not amused. At all. Forgot to mention that I've already asked him not to touch me, as has another teacher. Glad this day is over.

Almost back to school time

With one more week off before I report to work, I've been reading through the investigator's report on the Atlnta cheating. It's not inspiring at all. And, as much as I want to say that couldn't happen in my district, I can't. There are principals in the district who would create that climate where people will do anything to keep their jobs. Fortunately, I dont work for one of them, but I feel for those who do.
The things described in the report make me fell a little better about my habit of not looking over the kids' shoulders during testing, though we were supposed to do that, to make sure they were on track and not skipping items. I also don't do any of the cleanup erasing any more. I show them what I'm talking about, then leave it to them. After the CT SAT cheating investigation, I stopped doing any erasing.
More on this whole debacle later.

New Science Framework released

I haven't read it yet, but I will be going over the document carfully, since it will serve as the basis for Achieve to develop National Standards for Science.

Outrages

Kathie Marshall had a guest piece in the Washington Post recently. In it she outlines 13 things she's outraged about. It got me thinking about what my own list would look like. While I work on that, I'd like to know what others find outrageous. What sparks your outrage?

On the subject of teacher layoffs

Here's a judge's opinion, in a long-running case, of current layoff proposals.

As for arguments about whether to lay off new teachers or old dinosaurs like me, check out this open letter.

WHY TEACHERS LIKE ME SUPPORT UNIONS

1. There are too many megalomaniacs out there in administrative positions who use their authority like a weapon, instead of a tool. I've met them.

2. I teach in a "right to work state". My contract isn't worth the paper it's written on. We had statewide teacher furloughs last year. You may have seen it in the news.

3. I'm a child of union members. I'm well aware that some union officials are less than ethical (OK, corrupt). Eliminating unions is NOT the solution. Take care of the problem properly. Until I moved to this state, I had no idea there were still places in the USA where employees have virtually no rights. I feel like chattel.

4. By protecting the working conditions of the teachers, unions also protect the learning conditions your child faces every day. How well would you learn if the megalomanic in the front office were free to harass teachers during class with no restrictions on this behavior? I can tell you, I'd be wetting my pants, because if they can treat adults that way, I (the student) don't stand a chance. What about you?

More to come- it's time to get ready for another day in the classroom.

Performance Evaluations

Here's some food for thought on teacher performance evaluations, from New Jersey, where they are evidently looking at "value-added" models. NewJersey.com

From the article:

THE Teacher Effectiveness Task Force report issued March 3 by a panel appointed by Governor Christie recommended basing teacher evaluation significantly on student test scores.

My question is this: what evidence is there to support this model? We know by now that the LA Times results are questionable, the Vanderbilt study found performance pay to be ineffective, most of the brilliant schemes to pay kids for grades have been abandoned. So, in this world where we are supposed to be 'research-based' and use the 'data', where is the research to support these plans? And, "I believe it will work" is NOT good enough.

Oh, come on, FSU!

Mighty FSU is afraid that little Salem HS using the name Seminoles might 'cause confusion'? Those must be some fans of questionable sense and intelligence, if they think a ball game in Conyers has anything to do with FSU. Here's an article on the subject.

some people don't have much sense

Went to a park in the area. It's a remarkable place, a granite outcrop and former granite quarry that also happens to be home to a variety of specialist species. The diamorpha is up and starting to bloom, the senecio is blooming, carolina jessamine is blooming like crazy. Gorgeous. and then the trash left behind. I actually picked up a disposable shop towel and brought it back to toss in my trash. Here's a picture of someone's drink cup placed in easy view of the main trail into the preserve. Slobs! Would it really cost you to take it with you? I don't want to look at your trash!

Okay, I give up- what's with 8th graders?

i have found no answer to the riddle that is the 8th grade student. They are insanely immature, try to act like they are adults who know all, argue like kindergarteners, and dress like exotic dancers. But you'd better not MESS WITH THEM, or they will make you absolutely miserable. BTW, "messing with them" pretty much covers any expectations or limits you may have for them. Don't think they're going to do anything you want; you'll be sorely disappointed.
Yes, I agree that there are some who don't fit the above description. Unfortunately, the ones who seem to take up all of my (and colleagues') time do. I've stopped trying to understand. I just want to get to the end of this school year.

I can SO understand the sentiment

Here it is from SusanOhanian.org
I had one of those days on Friday. Actually left one of my collaboraive classes out of sheer frustration at the ridiculous scene before me. And the rudeness of one of my kids, who constantly whines for my help but that day decided to impress his peers, just pushed me over the top. Rather than stay and risk my mental health and/or employment, I just gathered my things and walked out of the room without a word.

On the fallacies of standardized testing

Here's Carol Cross's argument, on her blog and in Valerie Strauss's column. I thought she made her point quite well, but apparently some readers, both at the blog, and at the Washington Post, didn't really understand her satiricxal take on the situation.

Minor vindication

In the classroom, that is. A couple of days ago, I had a visitor who came to observe my class. This is not my principal, or assistant principal. This is someone from the district. Here's the background: I'm teaching a research-based, scripted reading program for students with learning diabilities. The visitor is the person who introduced this program to the district. In a sense, it's her baby. She trained me on it, and I'm using it for the first time (she has not taught this program herself). As is often the case, I see that there is a bit of a mismatch between my students' entty skills and the ideal for this program. So, I have made some adjustments to accommodate my kids, that I believe help them to get more out of the experience. In the observation, I was slightly shredded for not following the tested procedures, etc. We discussed it, and I felt bad for slacking off. The very next day, my kids are finishing up their practice assignment, and with some feedback, every single one of them completed it to my satisfaction (I'm pretty demanding), including the one I've been most concerned about. It jsut clicked for him, and he's zooming now. It was a great way to start the morning.

What a week I've had today

I don't know about anyone else, but it really bothers me when someone wants to critique my work based on fleeting glimpses. This person has not once set foot in my classroom in the three years I've been at this school, and wouldn't have my job for all the money in the world. This person lies to us regularly about district initiatives (such as, telling us some new task is mandatory for all the middle schools, then we find out from other schools that they aren't expected to do it), and uses intimidation and threats to inspire us to work more/harder/whatever. I'm so tired of jumping through manufactured hoops and resolving manufactured problems. It would be nice to be able to actually teach for a change.
Oh, and I was informed today of a student who threatened to hit me, and how it's my fault because of how I talked to him. I was not told who or when, but I could make a good guess. It's time for a good night's sleep and a vacation. Every day I'm more sure that this is the wrong place for me, but it doesn't look like anything else will come up soon. We're looking at more cuts, so transfer options will be limited at best.

Merit pay and "Value-added"

If you're familiar with the LA Times and their front page piece about how value-added measures can be so great for kids, and teachers, take a look at The Answer Sheet for 2/7/11. Then, take a look at this TED Talk on motivation by Dan Pink. It's very interesting material to think about. Basically seems to thoroughly validate the Vanderbilt study of merit pay from last year. Plain English: it doesn't work.
What do you think?
BTW, if anyone knows of an electronic edition of "Paying for Better Teaching: Merit Pay and Its Alternatives" by Lipsky, et al, 1984, I'd love to have the link. So far I know that it's available from Amason and paperback book swap.

Why am I teaching?

That was the question posed today by a student. First, let me set the scene (I can hear Estelle Getty as Sofia Petrillo on Golden Girls "Picture it!")
This is an inclusion class. Here, we call it 'collaborative', where I come into a class (actually a series of them, like running a relay) for half the period to support the content teacher in reaching the SWD. More on this model another time. Also, I've been a participant in a grant-funded project that aims to beef up teachers' pedagogical content knowledge in math and science. Some of the higher-ed folks involved in that have visited this class to observe me, so the kids know about it. They were impressed.
In this class, I arrive for the second half of the lesson. Today there was a test, and as kids finished up, they had instructions to start working on a project that was postponed from last week due to winter weather and heinous road conditions. So I come in, sit down at a student table, take out some stuff I need to work on, and use my mojo to keep an eye on the kids as they work and move around. Fast forward to me answering questions for two students, and a third one, sitting nearby, interrupts (as usual) and says loudly (as usual), "If you're so smart, why are you a teacher?" Before I can figure out how to respond (since I'm choking on my tongue at this point), my collab partner says, "Why would you ask something like that?" The student answers with "Well, I was just wondering why she's here when she's so smart?" Oooh-kaaay. Maybe the answer is that it's because I should have my head examined? Not sure how to take this. Should I be flattered, or insulted? Still don't know, after a couple of hours. It's good that the kid can recognize an intelligent (or maybe just educated) person, but, DAMN! Out of the mouths of babes, I guess.

Snow Day times 5!

In this part of the country, a winter storm struck last Sunday night. It was followed not by the usual warm weather that melts our snow quickly, but by days of FREEZING weather. Local authorities did not prepare adequately for these conditions, despite a week of warnings(?!), so roads have been a mess all week. No safe roads, no buses. No buses, no school. So I've been blessedly able to catch up on laundry, and even get a head start on readings and assignments for my online course. To the point where the articles are read and I have actual NOTES, instead of reading on the fly to respond to the questions for the week. It's kind of cool.
At least school officials had some sense and started announcing closings. On Sunday afternoon. When I got my first call, it hadn't even started snowing in my area- I was out shopping. The next day, the call came even earlier. For 5 days in a row, school was closed. That's pretty remarkable around here, barring a Category 5 hurricane (over 100 miles inland). What impressed me, however, was being notified THE DAY BEFORE.
Let me put this in perspective. Perhaps, in other parts of the country, it's not like this. Around here, when school is cancelled, the decision is typically made in the early hours of the morning. So, if the calling-tree doesn't work right (very common for people to 'forget' to call the next guy), you have no choice but to get up at the normal time and stare at the morning news, waiting for your district to be listed as 'closed' for that day. Then, you can go back to bed. If you can sleep. If you don't have school-age kids who are also up and hoping for an announcement. Some time back, there was even a district that made the decision AFTER buses started rolling. That means the elementary school kids had to be brought back home, since they are picked up earlier. It suggests a lack of consideration for the reality that the people affected by the decision may need some warning in order to re-organize their day.
Which is way I was impressed to get a call on Sunday afternoon. Even though I was thinking this would fizzle out, it was nice to be considered and notified in advance.

Work? day

Well, it was just as I feared. The whole day was taken up, and I didn't get to talk to my partners at all. In the afternoon, when the schedule said 'work in your rooms', I had a training session to prepare for what I'll be teaching in one of my classes. The upside? There was enough time to prepare materials so I can start right away.

I'm typing this at 3 am because my alarm rang at 1:46 instead of 6:15. Haven't even dozed since. Gonna be a great morning I'm sure.

New Year!

I left off 'Happy' because I'm reserving judgement as to whether this will be a happy one. I'm really not looking forward to going back to work, just because I know tomorrow will be full of meetings and wasted time. Students return the following day. All I really need (for me) is a couple of hours to organize my desk and get things ready to teach. Less, if I don't bother with the desk. Instead, I will spend the day in a strange purgatory. We'll see how productive it really is. For instance, will my planning group get any time to plan? Will I be able to meet with my collaborative partners (all 4 of them) to figure out a game plan, especially for the behavior issues? More likely, the time will be preplanned for us, because goodness knows we can't be trusted to determine for ourselves how to use the time. there's my snarky side coming out. That happens from time to time, especially right before and right after a waste-of-time meeting.
I've spent a nice chunk of my time during this holiday reading some of the books that seem to form the basis of the superintendent's new initiatives. So far, he's harped on 'professional learning communities'. Only thing is, the way he's describing it, it sounds like another meeting, with set agenda and (almost) predetermined outcomes. Progress monitoring and data collection also keep coming up in his communications.
My small class will have to decide once and for all which book they want to read next. I've offered 3 possibilities. It's only fair; I chose the first 2 books we read, and they choose the third. I've also told them why I'm offering these particular titles and which one I think would be good right now. We'll see how it goes.

Education: teacher testing

A groundbreaking study has found that the tests we teachers are required to pass have little value in determining whether a candidate will be a good teacher. Wow. Quick, call the papers. Oh, wait, someone already called USA Today with the shocking news.
And here I thought there was something wrong with me last year. After I passed one of those content-specific exams (required to add an area of certification), I didn't feel any smarter or more competent than before. I wonder why that was? *smacks head* Duh! (can you see the sarcasm dripping here?)
If you're interested in the article, it's on the USA Today website here:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2006-04-09-teachers_x.htm

What do you have to say? I'd love to hear your thoughts on this.
Have you had to take one of these magic exams that determines your competence?

Education revelation- wow!

News flash! The longer a student struggles with reading skills, the harder it is for that student to catch up. Meaning, 5th graders with reading deficits have more trouble than 3rd graders with similar trouble, when provided similar interventions. Duh!!!
It took a high-level University study of 772 students in 50 schools to discover that it's harder to help older students than younger students.
Isn't this why the phrase "early intervention" exists? Why are we not intervening when these kids are in 1st, 2nd grade? I had a teacher tell me once,"I don't believe in referring". She was talking about referring kids with learning problems for testing and possible help. It makes no sense to me to wait till a kid is illiterate in middle school before deciding this needs to be addressed. What do you think?
Here'e the link: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06097/680249-298.stm

Separation of church and state education

NY Times again. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/29/education/29bible.html?ex=1144468800&en=697d0d416b3e79bb&ei=5070

The rest of the country just noticed Georgia's new bill (passed, not signed yet) that creates 2 new high school electives, with the Bible as a mandatory primary text. Supplementary material is allowed. Well, that's a relief.
One statement stands out. The one about how kids are illiterate of the Bible. Huh? Maybe I missed something, but Georgia is the most churched state I've seen. You can't walk down the street without tripping over a couple of churches. You get people bragging about how much time they spend in church-related activities. And the Bible isn't part of that experience? Seems there's something very wrong with that equation.

Education choice and NCLB

Ok, so there's yet another article indicating that very few eligible students are taking advantage of the tutoring or transfer options available under NCLB for those in low-performing schools. What, like this is a surprise? The tutoring contractors are spread thin and are unknown quantities (research-based techniques notwithstanding). Plus, that puts responsibility back in the hands of parents, where it should be, but my experience is that many do not want it. Unfortunately theirs are the children who most need someone to advocate for them. The article ran in the NY Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/06/education/06educ.html?ex=1301976000&en=f58c78796bd4840f&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss). Best part is the Margaret Spellings quote at the very end. Puh-lease! Does she really believe that?

The Philadelphia Enquirer is running another one on the gender gap in reading. Once again, there's no news here, nor surprise. Any elementary school teacher could tell them that boys are less invested in reading as a skill and pasttime than girls. As to why, is it possible that classrooms are not more 'accepting' of boys' learning behavior because we teachers (largely female) just can't relate? I sure don't. Article here: http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/14247197.htm

Comments welcomed.

The Baltimore Sun ran an op-ed piece last week, written by a teacher. Link here: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bal-op.teacher27mar27,0,1082198.story?coll=bal-oped-headlines This teacher points out for the first time that I've seen, that we routinely put in extra hours beyond the official workday.Yes, there's "planning time", but mine was cut in half this year. Half the time to do more work than before. And most of that time gets eaten up with meetings, parent conferences, and calling home to tell parents what's going on.So, when do I "plan"? After hours. Sometimes it's staying an extra couple of hours to prep a lesson for the next day, type up lesson plans, nail down details of a project, grade papers, etc. Sometimes it's a few hours of research at home to get something ready that I want to use.Right now, as I write this, I should be working on some paperwork that needs to be turned in on Monday. This is my spring break, by the way. I'm NOT on a beach, NOT relaxing. Instead, I'm stressing about the crap that isn't done yet.Oh, and grades are due in when we get back from break. If that's not an assumption that we'll work on it during our break, I don't know what is. I've never actually kept track of the extra hours I put in, partly because I don't want to know, but also, I'm afraid of what the numbers might show. I can report that last week I stayed at least an extra hour from Monday till Thursday. How about all of you out there?

Why do they do it?

I'd love to know why it is that parents insist on doing their childrens' schoolwork. Do they get some feeling of accomplishment out of doing a 6th grade assignment? Please, enlighten me. I have been engaged in battle lately with a parent whose child refuses to complete any assigned work. Consequently, he has a failing average. In the past week, I've been promised the missing work to be done in in-school suspension, done at home, faxed in, dropped off. So far, not one single piece of paper. It's obvious to me that the child is manipulating the mother into doing the work. The problem with that scenario is, simply, that she was not present for the lessons or instructions, and therefore has no idea what needs to be done. Of course, the child couldn't possibly give an accurate account of what work is pending. Did I mention this student is 14 years old and due to start high school in the fall?

job-hunting

I've been looking for a teaching job in a different field from the one I'm in right now. That, basically, means going to a different school, possibly a different district. My current principal has shown no interest in my staying put. She could move me into one of the open positions in my preferred discipline, but chooses not to, even though there is now a public posting for exactly the job I want. Three of my colleagues are moving on, and they are all in the same subject area, the one I want to take on. In the years I've been here, there have been at least 5 teachers hired from the outside in this subject, and a few internal reassignments. I've never been considered for any of these opportunities. When I raised the subject last year, I got a brush off. Bottom line, they feel it would be harder to hire for the job I'm in now, rather than replace someone else. In the process, however, it will become necessary to fill BOTH areas. I'm determined to get out as soon as I can.