The Week that Was

It has been a busy week.  The UVa situation has continued to spin and one parallel that haunts the future of K-12 Education is how decision makers and those affected by those decisions often see the world through a different lens.  The disconnect too often leads to frustration, confusion, even anger from both groups of people.  Maybe the higher ed folks could benefit and learn from a look down into the same schools that provide them with most of their clientele.  We are more often forced to bridge that gap and work together.  As we all travel forward and reshape education of the future we must remember that we are all actually here for the same thing. 

What should and often does unite everyone in K-12 is the mission of serving all our children.  This road usually gets bumpy and some people even get run over.  But we are in it together and we forget this at our own peril.  Our sometimes conflicting views should be a source of strength.  One difference that does exist is that division wide employees usually work 12 months and teachers 10.  Consequently decision makers might focus on ideas and developing long term improvement goals but doing so in a degree of isolation.  While most teachers spend summer throttled down recovering from the past year allowing time to energize for the one that is approaching.    Many teachers use this time to retool and better equip themselves as professionals.  Some take classes, some plan units and I have spent the past the three days at a division-wide conference.  Curriculum Assessment and Instruction(CAI) brings county teachers from all levels and schools together and tasks them make long term visions a reality.

The last time I attended CAI 4? years ago these conversations were cenetered around talk of SOLs and AYP in an effort to define quality instruction.   SOL talk was noticeably absent this year and we were developing different things.  The goal this summer was to create and polish Performance Assessents to measure a range of the county's "Lifelong Learning Standards. "  These then provide additional and more balanced ways to see where kids are with skills and content and how they are progressing, beyond objective quarterly assessments and the SOLs.
That was where our efforts were focused for three days and I had the privilege of spending time  working closely with teachers and leaders from other schools, something that is rarely afforded during the busy school year.   There we all were trying to turn theoretical ideas into tangible things.  At times it was frustrating, confusing, difficult but also rewarding,worthwhile and even funny.  We  voiced differences and concerns and navigated in a positive direction.   Some of the products no doubt will exceed expectations and other may fall short. But for 3 days there was a unity often lacking in the us vs them world. 

Make a large donation, name a building.

This bring us back to the situation at UVa where us vs them might not go far enough in describing the polemical debate taking place over Teresa Sullivan's ouster.  We touched on the money and online education trail that are potential aspects and this week also saw major UVa donor Paul Tudor Jones weigh in supporting her removal.  Then the interim President stated he does not support the boards removal of Sullivan This was followed by a lengthy and long overdue public response by Board of Visitors rector Helen Dragas that included the Pseudo apology "we did the right thing, the wrong way.  For this, I sincerely apologize."  Bloggers were quick to link this to a PR firm now working with Dragas and the Board have been working with.  Meanwhile no sign of stabilizing of the states portion of funding which is now around a meager 5-6%.  So what is really at the core of any disagreements?

 And now news that the Board will be meeting on Tuesday to potentially "reconsider" its decision and re-instate Sullivan, assuming she would accept.  Like I said, busy week. 

These are not so much symptoms of change or a failure of leadership.  They are side effects of the tensions among the players that shape the world of education.  What appears to be missing t UVa and often across our nation is common and collegial conversations about what is good for students and then moving forward.  Those lower down can suffer from short sightedness from focus on the real work of education.  Those higher up often farther removed and lack understanding of what things mean on the ground.  In defense of teachers and those lower down any missteps there are far less disruptive and damaging.

The CAI conference closed with some reflection on and discussion of leadership, charges as we move start the year,  door prizes(thanks!) and even some dancing.  We now break for the summer before moving the challenge will be moving everyone that did not attend forward.  I will steal a quote from the closing presentation at the conference which I think is fitting.  In the meantime we'll keep an eye as things across town continue to unfold.

"I could tout my degrees, grade-point averages and certifications, but if I didn't have a genuine love for students, I would be nothing in the classroom."   

Jennifer Walker 2008 Ohio Teacher of the Year.

June, July, and August: And Other Common Teaching Myths

1) You only work nine months out of the year and you get paid all year.

Most teachers are on a two-hundred day contract.  They may accept payment over a ten month period or opt to spread the ten month pay over twelve months.  The option is either a smaller monthly paycheck or two months a year without pay.

2) Teachers are over/underpaid.

Assuming the average teacher has a 200-day contract and earns $50,000/year, that comes to $250.00/day.  If a teacher works an 8-hour day and nothing more it works out to around $31.00/hour.  So lets say average teacher hourly pay is $31.00 per hour.  Look at how it compares with a few other professions: (source: http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat.htm)
Accountants/Auditors- $33.72
Insurance Underwriters- $ $32.46
Dental Hygenists- $33.54

Twelve month administrative employees probably have about 241 days of expected work. (365 minus weekends and four weeks of vacation)  If the average Superintendent salary is $125,000, that’s over $500/day.  If they work at least twelve hours a day, that makes an hourly wage of $43.00/hour.  At ten hours a day it is over $50.00.

3) Unions make a big difference in the quality of education.

Some states have strong and vibrant unions, others prohibit traditional unionization through right-to-work laws.  Yet even in right-to-work states anti-union rhetoric rears its head. There are enough of both in the United States to make comparisons, and so far, no good evidence to show that unions have much of a positive or negative impact on student learning.  Placing blame on unions diverts attention from the real areas of education in need of change.

4) Those who can’t, teach.

I almost hate even writing that tired cliché, but even if people don’t say it, they think it.  In order to move up the “ladder” as a teacher, one must take course work and spend time on activities that pull them away from their work in the classroom.  In other professions, competence and mastery results in greater autonomy, benefits, and even promotion.  Teachers may show great competency and mastery for decades and leave the profession with the same amount of respect and authority they started out with.  A more accurate statement would be “those who really want to teach, the ones who don’t eventually get out, one way or the other.”

5) Anyone who can, can teach.

Teaching requires more than a particular knowledge or skill in a given field.  In well respected Universities, the most esteemed academics in a given field share their knowledge with motivated students who have already shown an ability to learn.  Those same esteemed academics may struggle greatly with a group of young students who are lacking an intrinsic motivation for the material.  An excellent instructor with minimal knowledge of biology will get much further with a group of fourteen year-old at risk students than Charles Darwin himself would have unless he developed his skills as a teacher.



Myths aside, I enjoy the weeks I have in the summer to spend time with family and friends, or just to take care of day-to-day things like doctor’s appointments and car oil changes.  I may even spend a little time preparing for the year to come. 

It’s not as easy as some may think, but all-in-all, teaching can be a satisfying and rewarding profession.  In sixteen years, I’ve always looked forward to my time off starting mid-June, but I’ve also been excited as well come the beginning of August when thoughts of a new school year draw near.

Here at the Underground, 2011-2012 came in with a bang, but with 177 days down and three to go, soon it will fade into history.  Thanks to our followers and best summer wishes to all.  We’ll keep posting from time to time this summer and we hope that you’ll keep reading.

Leap Year 1996- True Story

I was about six weeks into my student teaching experience.  Twelfth grade U.S. Government, so most of my students were either already eighteen years old or almost there.  As class began, we paused for our daily viewing of Channel One.

I don’t know if Channel One is still around or not, but if you’re not familiar with it, sometime in the 1990’s schools could subscribe to this service.  In exchange for wiring each classroom and providing a television, schools would broadcast a short “news” program each day that students had to watch.  That’s just set-up, here’s the story.

At the end of the broadcast on February 29, 1996, the hosts of the show gave an on camera “shout out” to a friend on his birthday.  They said that it was a special birthday because even though he’s sixteen years old, this was just his fourth birthday.

I was happy at least that the class was paying attention, but one of the student’s didn’t get it.

“What are they talking about Mr. Turner?”

“It’s leap year, so this kid was born on February 29.  We’ve only had a February 29 four times since then so even though he’s sixteen, he’s only had four actual ‘birthdays.’”

“What?  How has he only had four birthdays?”

“I’m sure he’s had birthdays, but if his actual birthday is February 29, then it only happens every four years.”

“Why is that?”

“Leap Year, we add a day to February on  leap years.”

“For what?”

“Do you know what leap year is?”

“No.”

That’s the story.  Remember, eighteen years old, regular education classroom, senior in high school.  I’m not poking fun or belittling this student, but sixteen years later, I still have a vivid memory of this event.

At the time I remember thinking “you can’t teach that.”  Leap year is simply a fact that exists.  I don’t remember when, how, or why I learned it.  If it hadn’t been taught in school, I would imagine that after experiencing leap year at ages 6, 10, and 14 that I would have been expecting it at age 18. 

I started to wonder why this student didn’t know about leap year.  Is there a standard somewhere in the elementary school curriculum?  If so, can we pin-point the right teacher to blame for his lack of knowing about leap year?  If there is no standard, should we create one to make sure this sort of thing doesn’t happen in the future?

At the time, I thought this: if an 18-year old hasn’t had the natural curiosity at some point in his life to wonder why this year has more days than normal, then how can I be expected to generate enough curiosity to make this student care about the government that directs his life in so many ways.  I didn’t have any problem blaming this student for his deficiency of knowledge.  If he doesn’t care enough to learn, how can I be expected to teach him.

I imagine that most people would find one of the preceding two paragraphs offensive—either blaming the system or blaming the student.  I think both of them are flawed.  When teachers blame the student for failure it becomes an excuse to give up.  When politicians and ed reformers blame teachers for failure it becomes an excuse to ignore more critical problems.  In either case, introducing blame sets up an adversarial system that encourages admiration of problems without moving forward into realistic solutions.

Luckily I found this the other day.  So in the spirit of Kahn Academy, there shouldn't be an excuse for anymore American children to not understand the concept of leap year.  All they have to do is log on and watch:

  

Victory or Defeat

The current General Assembly of Virginia is considering a law to eliminate third and fifth grade Standards testing in Science and Social Studies. (Senate Bill 185)  The bill comes from a Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee report on "Promoting Third Grade Reading Performance in Virginia."

This legislation could be a positive move toward acknowledging the pitfalls of so much standardized testing of students, but unfortunately the tone of the legislation points to other motives.  The rationale stated for this change is that eliminating the focus on Science and Social Studies testing, teachers and schools can focus more on the basic skills of reading and math.

Sen. John Miller (D) is quoted as saying "I think it's more important that the students be able to learn to read history textbooks than just to test them."  True, that without a foundation in reading and math, students will later struggle with History and Science.  But, current legislation creates such "high stakes" for testing that elimination of Social Studies and Science testing will certainly lead teachers and schools to de-emphasize these subjects.

Research shows that students who fail the third grade test are fifty percent more likely to fail in fifth grade.  Officials doubt that Virginia will reach the goal of a 95% pass rate under the current framework.  So what are the pass rates?  Currently, rates are between 80% and 86% (83% in 2010).  This means that 15%-20% of Virginia students are not reading at an acceptable level (as measured by standardized tests for which schools and teachers, not individual students are held accountable).

What about the 85% who do learn how to read in 3rd grade and will continue to improve into 5th grade?  In a one-size-fits-all (maybe even one-test-fits-all) system, those students are likely to suffer through redundant and unnecessary additional practice in order to make sure reading and math scores are acceptable, instead of widening their learning into other subjects.

Here's a solution.  Test the third graders in math and reading.  Then, instead of punishing their teachers or schools, provide the resources needed to help these students achieve while also providing them and their peers a well-rounded education.  I am glad that third and fifth graders may have two less tests to take in the coming years, but I fear that my children will attend elementary schools that have become well-oiled math and language arts factories geared to produce the best test scores before sending their students on to the next testing machine.

*this bill passed the Senate on January 24, 33-7

The Commonwealth of Virginia, Brought to You By Paramount

Here's the sound bite: "Tweety Bird and Scooby Doo shouldn't be making the educational decisions in Virginia."

I don't know, maybe we should give it a try, but for those who don't know-- for many years, Virginia law has prohibits schools from opening before Labor Day without a special waiver.  The law is affectionately called "The King's Dominion Law" referring to the pressure from Virginia tourism for government support by keeping a supply of tourists and employees available in the summer months.

This year, Gov. McDonnell wanted it repealed.  The bill was killed in the Senate.  It still has a chance in the House, but it would have to then go back to the Senate.

One thing I appreciate about this law is its honesty.  No one argues or puts up the front that it is good for students.  The tourism industry clearly states that it's about them, and money.  No legislators voting to pass on the repeal try to justify what's good for the kids, this is "sunshine government" at its best.

On the other side, over half of Virginia school districts already start before Labor day despite the law.  Repealing the law would free districts of the burden of applying for waivers and also allow more flexibility in the school calendar, perhaps opening the door to year-round alternatives.

Either way, it looks like Scooby wins the day.  Hey Florida, how much clout does Mickey have?

The 2012 Teaching Underground State of the Union Response

While the rest of the world is watching a Republican rebuttal to President Obama's 2012 State of the Union Address, the Teaching Underground believes that a teacher response is appropriate.  So as has become our annual custom, (since last year) here's our take on the President's remarks.

The President started off on the "good foot" with his choice of honored guests to join the first Lady in attendance tonight.  Sara Ferguson from the infamous Chester School district in Pennsylvania will join Michelle Obama for tonight's oration.  Ms. Ferguson teaches in a school district where teachers and their union decided to teach without pay.  Yes, the evil union decided that serving children was more important than their own sustenance, by continuing to do their jobs even though state and local government did not have the funds to pay them.  As with most teachers, we certainly will stand for fairness and appropriate working conditions, but the message to the public-- don't confuse our zeal for what's best for the students with self-interest and greed.

On to the speech.  The President's remarks are in italics, my comments follow each section.

Near the beginning of the speech, Obama proclaims that we are "A country that leads the world in educating its children." We don't hear that rhetoric on a national stage very often, I for one appreciate the sentiment.  Here's what followed in the President's speech regarding k-12 education:

At a time when other countries are doubling down on education, tight budgets have forced States to lay off thousands of teachers. We know a good teacher can increase the lifetime income of a classroom by over $250,000. A great teacher can offer an escape from poverty to the child who dreams beyond his circumstance. Every person in this chamber can point to a teacher who changed the trajectory of their lives. Most teachers work tirelessly, with modest pay, sometimes digging into their own pocket for school supplies – just to make a difference. 

1) Mr. Obama, most of us who follow the education news know of this $250,000 of which you speak, but haven't we done enough to discredit this study?  This "fact" would do much greater good if its purpose was to increase the respect and professionalism of teachers, but instead, this study has prompted an attack on the teaching profession.  Instead of promoting the importance of teachers, this study is being used to push for "getting rid of the bad ones."

2) A teacher can indeed offer an escape from poverty, but a good teacher will never be a guarantee of this escape.  How many people can point to a coach, pastor, relative, or other concerned adult in their life who made the difference in motivating them toward greater things?  We need to remember how influential we teachers can be, but our public needs to be aware that education alone is not the solution to poverty.

3) Most teachers do work tirelessly and today, instead of just a pat on the back, we would like "a place at the table."  Our goals are not self-promotion, greed, or an easier job.  We deal with children daily and believe that our expertise can lead American education policy in a positive direction.

Teachers matter. So instead of bashing them, or defending the status quo, let’s offer schools a deal. Give them the resources to keep good teachers on the job, and reward the best ones. In return, grant schools flexibility: To teach with creativity and passion; to stop teaching to the test; and to replace teachers who just aren’t helping kids learn.

So now we get to the real meat of the issue.  What kind of deal do we offer schools?  Give them resources to keep good teachers on the job... and replace the one's who aren't helping kids learn.  How do we find these teachers, that's right, testing.  Isn't that the metric used by the researchers to determine the "good" teachers that increase classroom lifetime income by $250,000?  Rewards and threats of punishment, that's so 20th century Mr. Obama.  How about we give teachers the flexibility to teach with creativity and passion, to stop teaching to the test, BECAUSE "most teachers work tirelessly--just to make a difference." Trying to make a difference is the opposite of "defending the status quo."  

We also know that when students aren’t allowed to walk away from their education, more of them walk the stage to get their diploma. So tonight, I call on every State to require that all students stay in high school until they graduate or turn eighteen.

That’s why my education reform offers more competition, and more control for schools and States.

Just a few words, but that's what President Obama says to the nation about American k-12 education in 2012.  He received a warm response from the crowd for these remarks.  On the whole, they appear rather benign, but in today's political climate, government education policy seems to be driven by one major idea-- identify good teachers and reward them, remove obstacles for getting rid of bad teachers.  Identify those teachers by test scores that provide absolute measures of success regardless of outside factors.


If you think there's more to it than that, I'd love to hear your thoughts, these are just some intial thoughts on the President's comments.

Thanks for reading, that's the 2012 Teaching Underground teacher's response to the annual State of the Union Address.

Week One in Review

Three down, one hundred seventy-seven to go.  But who's counting?


Here's what I will remember from the first week of 2011-2012:

1) Mold-  We've had several visits from the folks at building services this week.  After Mr. Lindsay reported mold growing on his desks and I found a little on mine they've been keeping tabs on our climate.  I don't know what it means, but sixty percent humidity and seventy-nine degrees doesn't sound like the ideal for a classroom.  Perhaps we could invite our science classes down for a little hands-on learning.

2) Administrators-  They started Monday morning by cutting our "nuts-and-bolts" sessions from forty-five minutes to one-half hour each.  Thanks, it made for a nice start to the week and a little extra time in the class.  I guess I don't need to forward "What Teachers Want From Administrators" to any of our principals.

3) Earthquake- I'm glad we didn't have students yet.  The earthquake was a reminder of how fragile our world can be.  Our principals had to admit to students and staff today that we really don't know exactly what to do with an earthquake.  There isn't a policy, procedure or drill.  Sometimes life just doesn't work with a manual and hopefully the halls of education are a place where we can learn how to function in an ever changing world.

4) Wednesday- Some people find it silly to start school in the middle of the week.  After feeling the exhaustion of the first day of school, the three-day week to start sounds like the best idea ever to me.  I forget every summer how tiring teaching can be, and a short week to ease back in is just perfect.

5) Students- That's why we do this.  The fresh new faces that greet us each fall.  Full of potential and eager to know what your class is going to be like.  Whatever problems and stresses the profession of teaching brings, from bell to bell is what we live for.  We ended week one at the football game tonight.  We've spent three days with these kids, they've learned what to expect from us.  Tonight we were able to say hello, and watch them interact in a setting more natural than a (moldy) classroom.  On Monday, we'll ask them about their weekends.  They'll tell us about their lives.  And together we'll experience all the ups-and-downs that the next one hundred and seventy-seven days will bring our way.

But who's counting, we'll look back on it in June and wonder how the year flew by quickly.

2012 or 2014?

As the Underground wraps up Spring Break I find my mind wandering and relax watching ALL of the Masters so pardon my lack of focus with this post. But I am reminded the "end" is near.

I recall just last week my classes sped through our unit on Mesoamerica before one of many looming deadlines. We watched one of my favorite videos on the Maya and it included a segment on how the cycle of creation comes to an end and the Mayan Long Count expires on December 21st, 2012. The end of days. It sparked some interesting discussion and we chose to ignore the potential Federal Government Shutdown and its impact. Most people are now familiar with the doomsday predictions for when the Mayan Calendar ends. I found it funny how both political parties are spinning out similar predictions about the effects of a shutdown. What's the connection? Great question(sorry not on the test though).

Flashback 50 years ..."First, I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth. No single space project in this period will be more impressive to mankind..." these words came from President John F. Kennedy in May of 1961. Powerful rhetoric that put the heat on everyone involved to achieve this goal. I spoke recently to man man(who asked to remain anonymous) who after staging moon landings and covering up the JFK assassination said that if we make it to 2013, we might not make it much past 2014. That's the year when the much maligned No Child Left Behind legislation demands that all children be proficient in reading in Math. "Who's the we" I asked. Did he mean schools? He mumbled something about President Obama's proposed revisions to the law and how he and Congress weren't likely to do much better and then pressed a flashy red thing on his pen(did I mention he was dressed in black?).

The 2001 NCLB Act was President George W. Bush's(erroneously referred to in all failing public schools as Bush Jr.) call to action to make our schools better. NO child would be left behind in an ambitious plan reminiscent of the days of the Space Race. Among the authors of this bill were current House Speaker John Boehner and President Kennedy's late brother Ted. The bill did something pretty amazing, it took a well intentioned effort at reform and created a federal act that messed everything up. In fact it makes many of us teachers feel analogous to the Russians during the Space Race. I'll borrow heavily here from Gerald Bracey and his "THE SEVEN DEADLY ABSURDITIES OF NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND"
critique but it went about things the wrong way. Actually many wrong ways...a mistake that continues today. So states and schools have chimed in with their own ominous prediction when most of their schools are deemed "failing" and kids allowed to transfer. While Bracey rants a bit at the end( something I do well myself), pardon him as he illustrates much of what went wrong. Imagine if Kennedy(had he not been killed by the Oswald, the mafia, CIA, Castro, Russians, man on the grassy knoll or all of the above) had punished an entire agency or dept at NASA when one engineer miscalculated something? Somehow we made it to the moon but where is NCLB and now Race to the Top taking us? Another great questions...ask again at the end of class.

As a young teacher in 2001 I paid no attention to the law. Did anyone in schools really? That changed when scores started to matter. Admitting some good has come from the law it is the unintended effects that are frightening. Will it bring the end or at least contribute to the undoing of our public schools as some predict? I am uncertain but I have grave concerns about where we continue to be driven by Federal legislation intended to improve our schools. In my view new reform ideas are even less likely to realize improvement than the old. Where they succeed is making schools focus too much on testing, demoralizing our educators and potentially undoing much of the good we have done educationally the last century. When others ask why I oppose a lot reform they overlook the reality that there are just some things teachers know and understand that others cannot.

Bracey gets this and also talked in a separate post about the "schools suck bloc" and in some small way connects the title of this post, my unfocused rantings and actual events. Schools can only do so much and in that sense they are just like my unit on Mesoamerica. Set some realistic goals, make a plan, and get going. Just don't forget about the people involved. A rocket and a kid are different...though both can go off course without warning sometimes.

I have not fared well in predicting the future but I will say one thing for certain. Kids, schools, teachers, even our federal budget all face an uphill climb at times and we don't need any scary partisan rhetoric or cumbersome legislation making the hill steeper. Is 2012, 2014 or tomorrow the end? Another great question. I have to go back to the last government shutdown and I guess that also depends on what your meaning of is, is.That's for a later post