Surprised by Medea in Tenth Grade English Class

I’ll admit it: I didn’t think Medea was appropriate for the tenth grade curriculum, especially for the at-risk kids that I teach.

If you will recall, Medea is a Euripides play about the demi-goddess Medea who marries Jason (of the golden fleece). They have two kids and look to be on the way to happily ever after, till Medea facilitates the murder of Jason’s wicked uncle Pelias, whereupon they are driven from the island of his birth.

They end up in Corinth and there, Jason realizes that he will never be satisfied with happily ever after. He decides to marry the daughter of the king and claim royalty even though he couldn’t have it at home. Problem is, Jason’s already married to Medea, but in this mysogynistic society, he can get away with turning his back on his first marriage (and kids) and get into a second one.

Or so he thinks. . .but remember, Medea is magical and in the ancient myths, gods and goddesses don’t have to play nice. So Medea ends up killing the king of Corinthand his daughter (Jason’s new love) by poison. Then she takes a sword and stabs her two young sons to death. Goddess-wise, she escapes unscathed.

Well! If that isn’t a good story for tenth graders!

To top it off, although we had a nice translation of the play, it’s still rather formal for rural, at-risk fifteen-year-olds, or so I thought. I was wrong! To be sure, I skipped over many of the long chorus sections, comparing them (roughly) to the songs that are played behind some CSI and Law and Order stories, to tell the story in music. And after all, the Greek choruses were all about singing and dancing, not just reading aloud.

The kids wanted to read the parts. They all claimed parts and read them if not with full expression, then at least with genuine feeling. The bell rang. Next day, they all leaped into their parts again.

When Medea stabbed her children, they almost couldn’t stand it, but it was such a splendid lesson in curbing yourself. Kids at risk have a hard time curbing themselves. Reading about Medea who went way over the line helped them realize what it looks like to others when they cross the line.

I’ll admit it: I was delighted and shocked that they understood this play and really got the message–and that they enjoyed it. I generally mistrust the recommended curriculum (bad admission, I know), but at least in this case, whoever the curriculum-recommenders are got it right and I was wrong.

Nice way to be wrong, though.

Teachers are the Key

Here is a pretty shocking statistic.

More than 40% of teachers today are disheartened and disappointed in their jobs according to a study just released by Learning Points Associates.   It is hard to be an inspirational caring teacher if you don’t want to be there.

The study showed that seven in 10 teachers cited testing as major drawback and 61 percent also  cited lack of support from administrators and nearly 75% cited “discipline and behavior issues” in the classroom.

This is a very challenging situation for policy makers because the solution to the education crisis in our country is the teacher.  Last week Michelle Obama wrote an article in US News and World Report that was titled “Teachers are Key to a Successful Economy.” I couldn’t agree more.

The Gates Foundation also came to the same conclusion after spending years focusing on small schools.   They are now focusing on teacher effectiveness.

As a long time teacher at Palo Alto High and someone who has seen multiple education fads come and go, I think thought leaders have finally come to the right focus —  the teacher is the key.  No matter what books are provided, no matter what curriculum is required …  the key is how the teacher feels about what she is teaching and how she treats her students.

I am sure everyone can remember a teacher they liked, but they can also remember a teacher they disliked because the teacher seemed to dislike students. Students know when a teacher doesn’t want to be there; they know it just by being in the classroom.  It’s not fun. At one point these teachers probably liked students and teaching, but they now somehow feel trapped in a job that no longer provides the same pleasures it once did. These teachers actually don’t dislike students; they dislike what they are required to do– teach to a test, like NCLB tests, year after year and work with ineffective administrators.

Over the past eight years teachers nationwide have been teaching to the NCLB test which is why many of them are disheartened and burned out.

No matter what the administration dictates, when a teacher closes the door and is the classroom alone with the students, he/she is in charge.   If the teacher is well-trained, then the students will learn more.  If the teacher is happy to be there, then the students will be more content in the classroom.   The teacher sets the tone; the teacher provides the activities; the teacher plans the day. Happy students work harder.  Happy teachers teach better.

It sounds like an old adage, but what we need to do as a nation is to support teachers in the classroom and modify the NCLB Act which is now up for Congressional renewal.  Supporting teachers is key to our success as a nation. Support means supporting increases in teachers salaries, respecting  the role of teachers in society, donating money to school foundations, volunteering to work in the classroom, and modifying the NCLB Act to so tha teachers are not motivated to teach to the test.

Pit Bulls and Clockers

Pit Bulls and ClockersLast year I went to visit a child’s house during the first week of school. I was greeted by two pit bulls. One was happy to see me, and one was not. I was content to stay on the other side of the door. When a first grader invited me in, I asked for an adult who removed the dogs from the scene before I entered the house. During the course of the year I ran into those pit bulls on several occasions. Perhaps the biggest pit bull was the child’s father, who died a violent death this past summer, a victim of the combative life he allegedly led.

The clockers incident occurred this past week in a new neighborhood, at a new school. They ignored me when I drove by, but immediately eyed me as I parked my car. The car caused confusion because it was clearly not a cop car. It was evident though, I was in a neighborhood in which I did not belong. My Black friends have told me when canvassing neighborhoods for political campaigns, I can appear very cop like, meaning; folks don’t answer their door when I knock.

The clockers stood as I approached the house. I spoke first, “Relax fellas, I’m just a teacher, looking for Joanne Doe’s house.” It calmed them right down. They cheerfully directed me to a house just on the other side of their domain. Here there were no pit bulls, and at first there was no answer. It was obvious though, that I was clocker approved, and shortly the door opened. The aged woman answering the door was reluctant to invite me in. I persisted, and got my conversation resulting in a conference the next day at school.

In the long run, despite my best efforts, the willingness to face up to Pit Bulls and Clockers, I doubt my labors and good intentions had any effect on the outcome these children will face. They have bigger obstacles in life than getting bad grades and poor behavior reports in school.

The fact is people who live in Spain learn Spanish, and people who are born to English speaking parents in America learn English. What we all learn, is how to survive in our environment. For these two children, one raised in violent environment, one raised in a drug environment, they have learned what their parents taught them. My job is to undo that. It should be easy. The people who taught them first, whom despite their shortcomings were loved by their children, are both dead.

Thanksgiving & Year-round Schooling

When I was in the classroom, just a few years ago, I always looked forward to Thanksgiving. Sure, it represents the first significant (and well-deserved) holiday break from school, but that wasn’t the only reason. For me, Thanksgiving represented the psychological half-way point of the school year.  Once Thanksgiving passes, it seemed to me, the year starts to really fly by and before I knew it, Spring was upon me.  I realize, of course, that Thanksgiving is a fair bit shy of the actual, chronological midpoint, but it always seemed like half the year was over upon its colorful and self-indulgent arrival.

But it occurs to me that this feeling could change in the event that the resurgent talk of year-round schooling becomes a reality.  What gets me about all this talk is that the proponents of year-round schooling – most often people not in education – act as though extending the school year will, by itself, increase student learning and improve sagging student achievement.

I’ve read the recent NAEP report and I know we’re not doing so well, overall, as a nation in an increasingly flat world.  But more of a bad thing is not a good thing.  It’s just…well….more of a bad thing.  That’s like going to a really bad restaurant which serves really bad food and somehow feeling good about the experience because the portions were really large.

I would like to know from my readers what you think about year-round schooling.  And while you’re responding, tell me:  Does Thanksgiving feel like the psychological half-way point to you?  dven.

The Pendulum is Broken, the Nation is at Risk

I write this while watching Stephen Spielberg receive the 2009 Liberty Medal Award being given at the National Constitution Center here in Philadelphia. In his speech he saluted other artists and made note of the rhythm and art in historical documents such as Lincoln’s speeches and the Constitution itself.
The irony of course is teachers have no freedom to teach. We must follow the core curriculum and subjects like Social Studies are hard to find in today’s communist school system embraced by American politicians.
In Philadelphia administrators belief they can dictate academic results. Principals are now held accountable for how many children eat breakfast. Now doubt teachers will soon share the same fate regarding how many children do their homework.
These administrators have gone into the home, and instead of empowering parents, they have assumed parental responsibility.
How is our nation free when parents do not have the responsibility and opportunity to feed their children breakfast?

Flu vaccines are only given with parents consent, but breakfast is a forced feeding.
The fact is the pendulum has broken; our schools have exceeded their authority, and the nation is at risk.

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/breaking/20091015_For_free_flu_vaccine__Phila__parents_must_give_consent.html

http://www.philly.com/philly/education/20091008_Breakfast_at_school_now_is_on_the_principal.html

Love and Community…in the community

We live in a small town, and if you teach long enough, you begin to know people of all ages: students, former students, parents, siblings.

My husband teaches college music, choirs and Intro to Music. It is pretty miraculous to walk around the community with him, because faces light up everywhere and people rush over to talk to him. They always remember a particular lesson, or a particular song, or a particular performance. They just about burst with love and respect for him.

And he is always amazed to walk around town with me, because I teach at-risk kids part of the day, and “regular” students part of the day. The public-school kids may or may not smile and me, but the youth-in-custody kids always rush up with hugs and news and lingering conversations. If they are with family or friends, they always introduce me as their detention teacher (gutsy, don’t you think?).

We know that test scores don’t measure love. We know that our administrators may not value love.

But we also know that what transforms people in and out of the classroom IS love. . .love for students, love for our subjects, love for living in this world.

Mr. Obama, Tear Down That Wall

President Obama has won the Nobel Peace prize for changing the climate in global peace talks. Nothing tangible has yet been accomplished, and the day the announcement was made he was huddled in the “Situation Room” deciding how many more troops to send into Afghanistan, but none the less he is the winner of perhaps the prestigious award on our planet. Changing the climate is indispensable to progress.

A few years ago, Tiki Barber, the New York Giants all time leader in total yards gained, retired from football. Many fans wondered how the Giants could replace him. The next year the New York Giants, did something they never did with him, they won the “Super Bowl.” When asked how they accomplished this feat, players cited team chemistry. More than one of Tiki Barber’s former teammates expressed the belief that Barber had been a negative influence in the locker room. When Charlie Manuel was hired to manage the Philadelphia Phillies, the media in Philadelphia panned him. Some questioned his intelligence and his knowledge of the game. All he did was turn the team around, and last year they won World Series. The players and even reporters said the difference was team chemistry.

Improvements occur and championships are won when chemistry happens.   

Education needs to learn this. Researchers like Greenberg, Harris, and Berkowitz have demonstrated it, yet education is the only profession where the leaders in the field have no say in policy. In Philadelphia, our School Reform Commission is made up bankers, lobbyists, and lawyers. The only educator on the panel, widely seen as the most knowledgeable and effective, was booted off by a politician for asking too many tough questions that the bankers and lawyers couldn’t answer. Despite outcries from the public, the one professional educator on the panel was removed.

It is perceived “strong” principals are what schools need: Principals who can fire teachers. When a principal’s positive evaluation depends upon writing negative teacher observations, no one wins.

Of course the district wants to rid itself of experienced teachers at the top of the pay scale. Young teachers see this, see the odds against their career being successful piling up, and leave the school district in droves.

When animosity builds up between administration and teachers, it makes it harder to attract the best new teachers who have multiple offers.

When Arne Duncan responding to a question by high school student at a community meeting asks the young man over again and over again, what’s your G.P.A., what’s your G.P.A., what’s your G.P.A., it builds walls of mistrust. (for related blogs see http://home.phillystudentunion.org/index.php?option=com_myblog&show=attack.html&Itemid=31 and/or  http://www.thenotebook.org/blog/091811/guest-blog-behind-fence)

Randi Weingarten and President Obama seem to agree that education reform must not be done to teachers. The students have a similar saying, “nothing about us without us.” The time has come for education leaders to put the pal back in principal, to replace dictatorship in schools with cohesiveness, and to eradicate the wall of mistrust built by Rod Paige, George W. Bush, and fortified by Arne Duncan. To paraphrase Ronald Reagan, Mr. Obama, tear down that wall.

Giving Up: A Teacher’s Particular Despair

My husband has been teaching college about 25 years, and when I took a position in the school district, leaving the college, he told me: You will lose your sparkle, your desire to change things, your energy, after a time. And I said: I don’t think so! I am making a difference. . . and now, serving as district arts coordinator, I can help with the arts even in the elementary schools. And he said: OK.

I’ve only been teaching nine years in this district (though more in the college, before, and more in alternative schools, before that), and I am still district arts coordinator, but I must admit: his predictions came true this year.

Because of the curriculum? state standards? faculty meetings? evaluations? No Child Left Behind? students? faculty issues?

None of these.

It’s because I was involuntarily changed from an assignment I adore (youth detention, the assignment I left the college to take), to one that I’m simply good at (the alternative high). Mind you, there’s nothing wrong with the alt high; au contraire, it’s a lovely school. It’s just that I did supreme work in lockup and I feel I do so-so work in my junior high mornings and alt high afternoons.

More than that, with the involuntary change of assignment came double faculty meetings, including extra accreditation meetings, English pedagogy meetings, and other meetings that I can’t remember or name but which fly at me weekly. (My junior high principal says, You need to understand Cathy [me]. She’s rather non-linear.) What he means is that I do best when I’m not always having to remember meetings and commitments and stuff that lines up endlessly. He trusts me implicitly as an art teacher because he visits my classroom frequently–AND he sees the excellent artwork my kids do. He’s willing to let me be a little nonlinear.

Impossible in my new assignment. As I said, my non-instruction commitments have burgeoned, and more than that: I’m tired. I have an hour added to my day as well, since the alt high starts earlier and ends later than detention. I am allowed some travel time, but no prep on this schedule, and the travel time does not equal the prep.

Whine, whine, whine. Be happy you have a job in this economy. All of that is true enough, and at the same time, my husband’s predictions came true, not because teaching has taken it out of me, but because this particular style of administration has worn me down. My sparkle is dulled. My step is slowed. My hopes are lightly crushed, served up slightly bitter.

Does it have to be this way? I don’t think so, given more principals like my junior high principal, who knows how to value his faculty and how to lead gently and humanely. Why not? Even with budget cuts and all the attendant stresses, why not indeed?

Sound off: Teacher Salaries

I recently learned that a typical Supreme Court Justice earns about $200,000 a year.  Judge Judy, on the other hand, makes about $25,000,000 a year.  What is wrong with this picture?!!

The average teacher in public K-12 education earns $54,000 a year.  I won’t even venture a guess as to what the average non-college educated, professional athlete makes in a year.

What would happen, do you suppose, if the average teacher salary in the U.S. was, say, $100,000?  How much greater would the pool of new teachers be?  How and in what ways might this transform our educational system?  How much better would our public schools be?  How would this impact our current, abysmal national drop-out rate, or our society as a whole?  How much more competitive would the U.S. be in the global economy, the same one in which we are slowly and steadily losing ground and falling behind?

There are those who would argue that young people who go into teaching do so for the other more important and significant rewards of impacting young lives. I would not disagree.  But anyone who has been in education for as long as I knows that we don’t always attract the best and the brightest to our field.  Could it be that if young people were paid competitive salaries to teach – salaries comparable to those offered by business or even medicine – we would attract more talent, while at the same time preserve the more nobel aspects and motivations for entering our profession?

I know, I know.  This is a pipe dream.  But something must change:  approximately  50% of our present teacher work-force will retire in the next decade.  Who will replace them?  dven.

More on Interruptions and Instruction: Notes from Claudia

My friend Claudia Bigler from Box Elder High School in Utah (remember I mentioned her last week? about research on interruptions and instruction?) has kindly contributed a blog with comments about her ongoing research project. Here it is, and thank you, Claudia!

“Research-Based”:  Which Research Do We Listen To?

 My high school instituted a new program this year; a counseling-type class called “Bee One,” (our school mascot is the Bee.)  Some of the proposed goals are to promote unity, and to give all members of the student body contact with an adult in a non-academic environment.  In order for this to happen, the schedule is altered one day a week, shortening classes to create an additional period.  It may be a good idea, but it gives us another day of altered schedule.  Our school district currently has two professional development days per month, when students come to school two hours later.  This now brings us to 6-7 days of altered schedule per month, without adding alterations for assemblies or other special events. 

 In this teacher’s opinion, good as the ideas may be, the disruption costs us far too much instructional time.  Students have a tendency to see altered schedule days as “throwaway” days, and getting them to focus is much more difficult.  Altered schedule days now represent approximately one/third or more of class days! 

As a teacher of a “non-tested” subject, I find the professional development days onerous, and often non-applicable.  When I raised this concern with an administrator, I was told that “the research shows that teachers do much better when they get together and talk about things.”   There is, however, a very impressive body of research that show that instructional time is a key to school success. 

 From a quantitative perspective, one of the most rigorous reviews of the research on school-level factors was conducted by Jaap Scheerens and Roel Bosker (Scheerens & Bosker, 1997; Scheerens, 1992; Bosker, 1992; Bosker & Witziers, 1995, 1996). They identified eight school-level factors. Perhaps their major contribution to the previous work was that they were able to rank order these factors in terms of their impact on student achievement.    (Quoting from Marzano)

 The school level factor rated in first place was time.

Veteran educators have seen many educational buzz words come and go, and the current one is “research-based.”   Could it be that the label of ‘research’ is being used to justify questionable educational decisions?  It seems as if decision makers “pick and choose” which research to address, and like theologians, can quote chapter and verse to make it legitimate.   Does anyone really know which research is most important—which should supercede which?

 I don’t have a research study to prove that professional development is ineffective, or that Bee One teachers need different training.  I do have the experience and instincts of a veteran teacher, which tell me that there are already too many days when students don’t want to work.  Please don’t create any more.