More School? Are you serious?

As I have done every morning of my Spring Break, I woke up this morning and sat down to read my e-mails. Yet this morning I receive a link to the following article titled “Education Secretary says kids need more school” (http://www.9news.com/news/article.aspx?storyid=113300&provider=top&catid=188)
Now, as a teacher and a parent, I have a few problems with some of what is presented in this article. First of all, our students in Florida cannot seem to make it to school for 7.5 hours a day for 180 days a year, but we’re going to talk about longer days for more of the year? I understand the global competition that our students and children are facing, but those other countries have one major thing that our country has lost . . . the image that education is important! Our students are being brought up in a society where the highest paid individuals are athletes and entertainers and the importance of education is on the back burner. Sure there are medical professionals and scientists who earn decent money, but it is pale compared to star baseball players . . .and who wants to work in a lab your whole life when you can play a game your whole life and make more money doing so!

Our society has put so much emphasis on material possessions and income that we have lost the love for learning. Look at how much cheating goes on in school because students need a good GPA to receive the sports scholarships that (they think) will lead them to stardom! Yet, as much emphasis as society puts on money, in Florida our education system has none! The article states how “Colorado, along with other states, is prepping to apply for some $5 billion worth of federal education grants coming through the economic stimulus package” and how “The principal at the high school Duncan visited announced to the students and teachers that the school has already received its portion, about $200,000. “It’s here!” principal Kristin Waters cried, to cheers from the staff.” Well, that’s great for them, but here in my home state we are losing teachers and support staff, being told we can’t have substitutes, and praying that our dry erase markers and copier ink cartridges don’t run out before we get some relief! We’re not seeing the start of stimulus money . . . as a matter of fact, we are not even seeing the full budget that was presented for the current school year!

More hours, more days in school? We can’t even afford the hours and days we have now! Mr. Duncan, I think you need to come visit state number 50 on the per pupil spending list . . . start your reform here! Our teachers are the best because we are still able to meet standards with less (and less, and even less) every year! We are losing art, music and PE . . . we can’t go on field trips . . . some counties are even talking about cutting back their graduation ceremonies! So how can we even consider more time in school, who will pay for the electricity, the extra supplies and teachers’ salaries (since Florida teachers are already some of the lowest paid in the country, there’s no way teachers will agree to work more without more pay!) Let’s look at the whole picture and not let competition with other countries start to drive our education system like it does everything else . . . selfish pride has no place in the educational system of America!

We Have Failed . . .

We have failed as educators . . .each of us who has taught long enough that our students have reached the age of 18 . . . we have failed!  We have failed to teach our students to be independent thinkers.  We have failed to teach our students to stand up for their beliefs and rights.  We have failed to teach our students that they have responsibilities and must be accountable for those responsibilities.  We have failed to teach our students that their actions not only affect themselves, but also have an effect on others around them. 

 

We have failed to teach our students how to use credit wisely, how to buy a house responsibly, how to save money for hard economic times, and how to suffice on delayed gratification.  We have failed to teach our students that you must work hard to make a living for yourself, that government assistance is meant to be temporary for the rough and unpredictable occurrences in life, and that insurance is not meant to take the place of common sense. We have failed to teach our students that a successful marriage takes a lot of hard work and compromise, that children do not raise themselves nor should they, and that both marriage and children are a lifetime commitment, not some extracurricular activity that we can choose to quit when it gets too tough or starts taking up too much time! 

 

We have failed to teach our students to ‘do unto others as you would have them do unto you’, to listen more than they talk (that’s why God gave us two ears and only one mouth), and to live within their means.  Lastly, we have failed to teach our students that our country was founded on virtue and “supplication to that Almighty Being who rules over the universe” (source:  George Washington’s First Inaugural Address at http://www.britannica.com/presidents/article-9116981 ), that our country became powerful because of the hard work, sweat, tears, and blood of numerous immigrants looking for a better life, and that our country’s founders intended “to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity.”

 

Maybe, as educators, we need to rethink the three “R’s” of education and begin teaching the three “R’s” of being an American citizen:  rights, responsibilities, and respect!

 

 

 

 

Can the funding problem get any worse?

This week my media specialist forwarded the following article to our e-mail.  The article is entitled “Cash strapped teacher sells ads on tests”.  (See link at http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/12/03/teacher.ads.on.tests/index.html)  Is this what education has finally come to?  We have already sold our football fields and gymnasiums to the soda companies who provide new scoreboards or improved tracks in return for advertising.  We’ve sold our students’ health to the fast food companies who are offering donations to the school in exchange for allowing them “space” to sell their products.  Many of our schools look more like the food court at a mall versus a place of learning!  Many states have instituted lotteries to (supposedly) add funding to education, yet, over the years, regular spending has been replaced by lottery dollars; education funding is now dependent on the gambling habits of our residents.  Anyone else see a problem here?

Now, in defense of Mr. Farber, he clearly is in a pickle . . .his students have been successful with his methods and he should not be forced to change his methods because of funding issues!  I find his solution extremely creative and successful . . . however, I truly fear that these drastic measures will become the norm, and not the exception.  I must also say, I was alarmed that Mr. Farber has 167 students.  Here, in Florida, we are functioning under a class-size amendment that limits the number of students in our classes.  Most high school teachers will have less than 125 students!  Of course, this requires counties to provide more teachers and more classrooms, which cost a lot more money than providing supplies for an additional 42 students per teacher.

One thing I really do not understand is why so many of our counties are cutting back at the school level on supplies and additional employees (we lost 1 secretary, 1 counselor, and 1 teacher this year, even though our enrollment increased) but the county office personnel list seems to increase every year.  Now, my current county is pretty decent with its spending . . .but the first county in which I taught has its offices in the heart of downtown, on the intracoastal waterway in a building dubbed the “Crystal Palace”.  I have needed to request information from that county and, after being passed through a dozen different people who claim it “is not their job”, I usually give up!  Can we not find a way to streamline our paperwork to cut down on these positions to free up funds for our classrooms, where the money has the most effect on student achievement?  And I am not naive, I know that leads to more unemployment, etc., etc.  But, certainly, changes need to be made. 

I know, we can ask all of our stakeholders to help defray the costs of education by asking local businesses to advertise on our school buses to cover gas costs, asking local residents to sponsor quotes on each page in our textbooks, asking parents to pay a minimal amount for “student dues” each year . . .oh, wait, our stakeholders DO help defray the costs of education . . .we call it TAXES!!!  Let’s use them correctly and put them where our country needs it most!

Give Thanks!

Finally, finally, finally . . .the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards released scores today.  Praise God . . . I am now, and for the next 10 years, a National Board Certified Teacher.  And, although this phase of the journey is complete, I don’t feel at all that the journey is over.  Achieving this certification is just the beginning.  I feel, now that my teaching has proven to meet such rigorous standards, that I have the responsibility to share what I have learned over the years, and through the certification process, with others!

 

First, reflection of our teaching is the key to continued success in the classroom.  The National Board Process hinges on the continuous reflection and revision of our attitudes, assignments, rules, procedures, etc.  Society does not remain constant, and neither can our teaching.  Even after completing the certification process (and subsequent retake) I still find myself continuously reviewing my choices in class—was the lesson successful, were my students engaged, could I have raised my expectations or were my expectations out of reach?  Sometimes I reflect so much that I find myself running out of time to prepare the next lesson; needing to always find balance in what is required of me.

 

That takes me to my second lesson . . . balance.  So many times as educators, we allow one part of our life (usually the classroom) to take over.  How many of us work in schools where teachers are out ill (it seems) at least once a week, or suffer from chronic illnesses that hinder their energy in the classroom?  To be successful in the classroom, we must have life experiences beyond the classroom!  I find the best way to balance life is from God’s perspective . . .God comes first, family comes next, and career comes third!  If my faith and worship are in the right place, then my family and all its issues and concerns will fall into place and be taken care of, which leaves more than enough time and energy for school.  When this order gets reversed, everything falls apart and nothing gets taken care of appropriately!

 

Finally, to quote an old cliché, if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again!  This was true in my quest to obtain National Board Certification, and it is true in my classroom everyday.  I have students who are not motivated and I must try a new strategy everyday until I find one that works . . .then, just because it worked one day, does not mean it will work the next, so I just keep trying new ideas!  I have lessons that, as well thought out as they may be, do not yield the desired results from my students, so I just keep trying to improve the lessons!  I have classroom arrangements, student incentives, extracurricular activities that fall flat and fail, yet I have to get back up and try, try, try, try again!

 

So, for others out there who also celebrate being National Board Certified, congratulations . . .what an amazing feeling for an amazing accomplishment, give thanks for your education and perseverance!  For those who have tried but fall a few points (or many points) short of certification, don’t give up . . .try, try again, and give thanks for the opportunity!  And for everyone . . .we live in the most unique nation, and have chosen the most dynamic of careers with the potential to change the lives of people from around the globe, and for generations far beyond our existence . . .so give thanks for your freedom, family, friends.  Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name.  1 Chronicles 29:13 (NIV) 

Tenth Grade Graduates?

This week my principal forwarded a very interesting article titled “Should Kids Be Able to Graduate After 10th Grade?”  (http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20081107/us_time/shouldkidsbeabletograduateafter10thgrade)  Her subject line on the e-mail was “food for thought” . . . and, boy, she was right.  I started thinking, what if we allowed our students to graduate upon passing a mandatory state test?  Would this be good or bad for our current system?  Here are a few of my thoughts . . .

First, in Florida, many of our students dual enroll their junior and senior years because they can take college classes for free and still receive high school credit.  From a monetary point of view, allowing these students to graduate early and then enroll in college means that the state will not have to waive their tuition and the college can benefit financially.  My school had a student last year who graduated simultaneously with his high school diploma and AA degree from the local college, and the state picked up his tuition and books just because he was dual enrolled.  Now, certainly, this student would receive financial awards from other sources just because of his academic record, etc. but then the funds would be available at the state level for other school necessities.

Likewise, allowing students to graduate at 16 would help alleviate many class size issues.  My school is in a very rural area where we are still functioning as a Junior-Senior High (we are a 7th through 12th grade school).  We have around 1400 students that we hold in 3 main hallways and over 40 portables.  Our district has been so generous as to plan to begin building a separate junior high in 2017!  Allowing a number of students to graduate earlier would free up some space for population growth over future years.

Of course, there is the issue of parental rights.  If we are still responsible for our children until the age of 18, then is it feasible to have them attending college?  Then again, many states only have mandatory attendance laws for school up until the age of 16 anyway . . .wouldn’t it be better to give the kids a chance to graduate versus dropping out because they are tired of attending?

I certainly agree with the author that to make such a drastic change would require adjustments at every level, and the tests would need to be grueling!  Maybe this is the motivation that our students (and parents) need to keep pushing toward higher level learning.  Many teachers want to teach their students at a higher level and want to push them to higher expectations, but get discouraged when the students are not motivated to learn at that level because they can always learn it again their junior or senior year.  Let’s not allow school to become a “hang out”, let’s teach our students and move them on to the next level!

Need a good joke?

Well, I apologize for my tardiness in posting the past few weeks . . .frankly, I was having problems in deciding on a topic. So, I am back, which means I have found a topic (and frankly a few in the past week alone) that I feel is worth writing about. Again, I approach the A+ funding in Florida. Just as a brief history lesson for those who may not be familiar with our Florida program, the A+ program is the way the state tries to coerce schools (I mean, reward schools) for adequately preparing their students to pass the FCAT (I mean, teaching according to the standards so students will be successful in life). Schools are rewarded monetarily based on the achievement of their students on the FCAT test, in addition to a few other categories.

So, two weeks ago the faculty and staff scrambled to create budgets with our assigned $116,000 (give or take a few dollars). We were reminded that school supply budgets were again cut this year another 5%, after the 10% cut the supply budgets took last year. Enrollment counts are down because, with the lack of school funding, many parents are opting for private schools or homeschooling. So, we created 12 different proposals that were then narrowed to 2, then narrowed to the “winning” proposal. This proposal was supposed to be approved by the School Advisory Council (SAC), then sent to the county for final approval before being submitted to the state committee. Our principal forwarded this proposal, which inadvertently did not include our four administrators as bonus recipients and our county director said, even if SAC approves the plan, he would not.

So, finding this out the day of our monthly SAC meeting, our principal scrapped the plan and stated that SAC was to create the plan. She created a “suggestion” for the SAC to work with and sent it on to their meeting. Surprisingly, the SAC plan matched the “suggested” plan, 100%! This was then returned to the teachers for a final vote. All because the final plans must be submitted to the state by early November.

Good thing our school is not one of those with a group of squeaky wheels, because this process was done completely wrong! According to Title XLVIII, Chapter 1008.36 (http://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=Ch1008/Sec36.HTM)

(4) All selected schools shall receive financial awards depending on the availability of funds appropriated and the number and size of schools selected to receive an award. Funds must be distributed to the school’s fiscal agent and placed in the school’s account and must be used for purposes listed in subsection (5) as determined jointly by the school’s staff and school advisory council. If school staff and the school advisory council cannot reach agreement by November 1, the awards must be equally distributed to all classroom teachers currently teaching in the school.
(5) School recognition awards must be used for the following:
(a) Nonrecurring bonuses to the faculty and staff;
(b) Nonrecurring expenditures for educational equipment or materials to assist in maintaining and improving student performance; or
(c) Temporary personnel for the school to assist in maintaining and improving student performance.
Based on this statute, our district representative has NO say in the distribution on the funds. The only agreement must be made between the staff and SAC. If the administration was left out, it is no different than secretaries, or custodial, or cafeteria workers being left out. The Statute clearly states that, in the event an agreement cannot be reached, the fund will be equally distributed to all classroom teachers . . .what could be more exclusive than that!

I think I finally agree with one of my coworkers who has said repeatedly . . . “we should send the money back with a note telling Tallahassee how dumb this entire program is and that schools should be funded properly [in the first place] not given these crappy reward programs that are a true joke.”

State of Florida’s A+ War

Let the war begin . . . No, I’m not talking about the presidential election . . . I’m talking about the war that occurs once the State of Florida releases A+ funding to its schools. This year the funding has been cut from $100 per student to $85 per student tested on the FCAT. But the decrease in funds is a minimal issue for most schools who now must come to an agreement as to how to allocate those funds . . . this is truly war.

Many teachers don’t feel that non-instructional staff should get a share because they don’t “directly impact student achievement”. Many non-instructional staff argue that without them, the teachers wouldn’t be as successful. The parent groups want all the money to stay in a fund that they can control through “grants” to the teachers or non-instructional personnel. Administrators, of course, are just trying to keep the peace.

I always find a little humor in the discussion when the teachers say we need to keep the funds with the instructional personnel so that it can directly impact the classroom, but then agree that teachers should be able to take the money as a bonus! Hello?!? If they are taking the money as a bonus, it is not directly impacting the classroom!

Personally, I think that everyone on campus has a right to share in the A+ money. Now, I wouldn’t necessarily say that the sharing needs to be done equally. For example, teachers (if they are using the money at school) would rightfully need more than, let’s say, a cafeteria employee. And, yes, the impact is more direct from the teacher. The office staff can use their funds for additional supplies that will help them run more efficiently, which helps us all!

However, it seems many people become very greedy at this stage of the game. If you have never experienced this process, in many ways, you are blessed! I appreciate the state’s funding bonus, but it really can put a barrier between the departments at the school, and a strain on the school’s success as a whole. My solution . . .give the $85 to each student who received the passing scores in the first place . . .the impact doesn’t get any more direct than that!

The Anti-Bully Movement

As the daughter of a public school teacher, a graduate of a public school system, and now a teacher with the public schools in my eleventh year, I am no stranger to the myriad of programs focusing on community issues that darken our doorways. We’ve all sat through a “Just Say No” assembly and the “Save Our Students” assembly and the “Make a Difference” assemblies . . . have things really changed? Now the new issue is “No Bullying”. On the surface, the concept is a good one–try to convince students that bullying is wrong and that bullying can truly have a negative impact on the life of a child, therefore, they should not bully. However, the way this movement is sweeping into our schools, we are actually creating more bullying.

Let me explain . . . my county has a policy written on bullying that states the definition of bullying
is “When a student uses power (physical, verbal, or psychological) in a willful manner that is
repeated over time with the aim of hurting, intimidating or frightening another less powerful person or
group. Examples may include teasing, minor threats, gossiping with intent to cause defamation of character and repeated physical contact.” We also carry a zero tolerance policy related to bullying, meaning that once a report of bullying is given, action will be taken. We show a video at the start of the year (which in my opinion does not discourage bullying, but, instead, ends up giving our students additional ideas of innapropriate names they can call each other). We have “Bully Boxes” located in various locations on campus where students can anonymously report bullying.

I have numerous concerns about this extreme movement. First, the person reporting bullying does not even have to be involved in the bullying! Many reports that come in as bullying may actually end up being off-color joking among friends–questionable behavior but harmless to our students’ safety. Do our administrators have the time to investigate every claim?

My second concern is that the student who reports being bullied is empowered as soon as he or she reports bullying. Normally this is a good thing, but what if the reporting student is actually the one doing the bullying while the other student is actually just retaliating. Depending on the severity of the situation, the school policies can sometimes cause a mountain out of a mole hill! For example, I had a “less popular” student last school year who would make subtle comments about a “more popular” student everyday. The more popular student would come in the room and she might say “oh, he’s here today!” or “make sure you don’t sit near me!” He would answer a question correct and she might say “Wow, you finally got one!” So the one time he decides to make a comment back to her, she blows up and says he is bullying her. How do we handle this? We don’t know what goes on all hours of all days . . . in my class, he wasn’t bullying her . . .if anything, she was bullying him but he lived by the lesson “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me!” Who is the real “bully” and where do we draw the line on comments being considered bullying behavior?

My third concern is about on campus versus off campus behavior. We all know that circumstances off campus will find their way on campus sooner or later, but how much are we allowed to hold against our students? There are a lot of comments being made on My Space and Facebook that can be seen publicly . . . are we, as schools, allowed to use these torts during out of school hours to justify our punishment of bullying behavior on campus? Of course, we would like to see the parents taking more responsibility, but, let’s face it, for many communities this just isn’t so. Can we expect our police departments to handle the off campus offenses?

Can we fix these issues at school and, ultimately, are they issues that need to be fixed at school? Where will society end up when these students become adults and file a defamation of character lawsuit everytime somebody makes a negative comment about them? I agree that we need to be concerned with students “picking on” other students to the point of social exclusion or physical harm, but have we taken the bullying argument too far? Is my daughter, one day, going to have to worry about being suspended for saying someone is a “meanie” or is “conceited” . . .even if these statements are true? School is school . . .kids talk, and some of it is not nice; kids look, and some looks are taken the wrong way; kids are accepted, and some kids are not.

How Do You Spell College Success? M-O-N-E-Y!

Here’s the scenario . . .I am a high school senior wanting to attend a 4-year university. So, I take my ACT, one, two, three times to get the highest score I can and I obtain a 24 on all sections! YEAH! I’ve got the scores I need to keep my university hopes alive and, three months later, when I receive the denial letter from the university, I figure it’s OK because I can start at the community college and make a smooth transition to the university later . . . right? WRONG!

I teach Trigonometry and Algebra II; many of my students achieve ACT and SAT scores high enough to meet 4-year university standards. Unfortunately, because of budget constraints among other issues, these students do not get accepted into their dream schools. Therefore, they fall back on the local community college to continue their education. The problem is that these students are not being allowed to take appropriate college level courses without having to prove themselves (yet again) by passing another college placement test.

For example, one of our recent graduates had a 26 on the math portion of his ACT. He completed through Pre-Calculus at the high school level. Upon enrollment at the community college, he was told he had to pass the computerized placement test to be allowed to take College Algebra. This should be an easy task if he had just completed Algebra II, but this student is 2 full years beyond Algebra II and cannot be expected to recall every fine detail from his Algebra II course! He missed the higher course by 2 questions. Didn’t he prove his true math ability by obtaining a 26 on the ACT math! He should not have to PAY to take another course prior to College Algebra, nor should he have to waste his time. Now luckily, for this student, his English score on the computerized placement test was high enough to register for the college English class, but how many students are not making the right scores.

I personally don’t think it is fair to make the students take another test at the community college. I understand administering a test to those who come without test scores, for example, the 35-year old mother of 3 who is starting her college career and has not taken a course or test in 17 years. But, recent high school graduates who have spent the past 2 years stressing over achieving the highest possible test scores (not to mention spending $40 per attempt) should receive something for their efforts . . .the ability to start college at the college level.

Of course, here’s the true perspective. For each student who starts at the lowest level of math and progresses one course at a time, the college collects an additional $1000 in tuition and who knows how much in book fees. If these students are also starting at the lowest level in English, the college has doubled its take. How much money needs to be spent to make a student successful in college? As a taxpayer, a teacher, and a parent, I find this behavior offensive!

Lean on Me

My school district started classes this Monday, and, oh, what a great week it has been! This is my eleventh year teaching in the public schools of Florida and I have learned how the education system is truly like a roller coaster. Each year there is a new idea, based on someone’s research, that is the most recent approach for improving our teaching, and ultimately student learning. Every year we go through training on implementing some new program. We also get bombarded with new classroom strategies for using the 50 minute period to its fullest—entrance tickets, exit tickets, bellringers, journal writing, reflection writing, focus questions, etc.

For those of us with a few years of experience, these new ideas can be helpful or a hindrance and we quickly determine, within our classrooms, what will or won’t work this year. We have learned that the entrance and exit tickets are not necessarily written “tickets” by students, but rather short activities that activate thinking among our students and allow us to determine the level of learning achieved. Journal writing has a place in my higher level math classes, but not necessarily every day as some education gurus propose. Because of my classroom experience, I feel comfortable making the decisions as to what will and will not be a benefit in my classroom; choosing which new ideas will or will not be implemented at any given time in any given year. Because of my classroom experience, I also feel comfortable that I can justify my decisions to administration if they were to question my motives.

However, there are large numbers of new educators out there who are walking into the classroom with not much more than a degree and a desire to make a difference. They show up a week before classes begin with a bare-walled classroom (if they are even lucky enough to have their own classroom), a computer grading program they have never studied, a curriculum that reads like a car repair manual, and rule after rule after rule of things they are to do in class. They must create a class syllabus, seating chart, emergency lesson plan, bulletin board, reading library, work area, discipline plan, etc. within a week. And, of course, attend all the new teacher meetings that most schools will hold to introduce the teachers to the library or work room or literacy plan or lunch area or PE facilities (because they don’t have anything better to do with their time the first week back).

A friend of mine begins the first year of her teaching career this school year. She came to church the day before school started exhausted and ill—and she had a lot of help getting her classroom put together and plans organized. Yet, she was still overwhelmed by things she had heard in faculty meetings and professional development classes throughout the week. We sat and talked about how to ease her anxiety by taking one idea at a time and testing out its usefulness in her class. We talked about the weekly lesson plans that need to be done and how she can do those with ease by using available tools (and the fact that lesson plans are a working document and are not chiseled in stone!) We talked about the importance of leaving work at work and still having time for faith, family, and fun!

But it has reminded me of my first year when I felt the same way and had no one to lean on. I taught at a school with over 140 full time teachers . . . why was there no one to help me? There was no way I would ask for help . . .that would mean I was not competent enough to do it on my own! Someone should have known that I needed advice on streamlining classroom procedures to ease movement, or suggestions on dealing with misbehavior, or copying files in the grade program from one class to another so I did not have to recreate it each time! As veteran teachers, part of our planning for the year needs to include helping a new teacher making the transition from the college of education to the career of education. We need these new teachers for their fresh ideas and new insights into our students, but we burn them out before they ever get started!

So, this year, if you are a veteran teacher, find a way to help a new teacher. Help create a bulletin board, share lesson plans, share classroom management tips, send a care package of tissues and hand sanitizer . . . anything that can help make their entrance into this new career easier. And don’t forget about them as the year goes on—we all know it gets harder and harder to keep the students interested! And, as the song says “Lean on me, when you’re not strong and I’ll be your friend, I’ll help you carry on. For, it won’t be long, till I’m gonna need somebody to lean on!” Let’s make a plan to be there for each other, all the time!