The empty seat.

It is not about reform.
It is not about failing schools or AYP.
It is not about charters and privatization.
It is not about graduation rates or subgroups.
It is not about NCLB or Race to the Top.
It is not about parents or teachers.
It is not about federal, state or local laws and policy.
It is not about curriculum, pedagogy or instructional time on task.
It is not about unions or lobbyists or Congress.
It is not about Duncan, Rhee, Ravitch or an IEP.
It is not about intervention, tutoring or getting teachers to last.
It is not about reading levels or math scores.
It is not about an AP scores or SATs.
It is not about lessons, homework assignments or a grade.
It is not about common core, merit pay or  best practices.
Some days remind us to set it all aside and for awhile to remember...

Schools are about the lives of young people. 

TU turns 200.

"So these guys know their stuff huh?"

You're reading the 200th post from the TU.  To celebrate this occasion, the President of the United States himself, Barack Obama will be visiting our hometown, Charlottesville, VA to mark the occasion.  City and County schools are dismissing early because of traffic concerns, but teachers have to work the full day, so we won't be able to attend the event.  Considering the President has found this event worthy of commemoration, we would be remiss if we did not take time to acknowledge the significance of our 200th post while Obama fetes us in absentia.  We thought it might be "special" to at least share a few of our personal observations:

"Down those stairs, that is where real teachers work"

Lindsay:
It would seem that 200 times we have had something to say.  We've had around 44,000 hits but it remains to be seen whether anyone is listening.  I pity the lost soul wandering the internet that stumbled onto our blog by accident.   One thing I have learned from that traffic is that an image can produce far more hits than anything of substance I write.  So we keep going, even if only for ourselves.

Over the past 2 years I cannot recall how many times a colleague shared a thought with me and I said..."yeah I know, we wrote about that last week/month."

The blog is part of our still evolving "master plan."  This remains a closely guarded industry secret but I can say it is cutting edge, revolutionary, and strategically dynamic.  It will probably change the world more than sliced bread.

"Shake and Bake"...that's me the funny one with the bread sponsorship.

When asked what exactly the blog is about, I usually respond with something cryptic like" Yes."  That baffles people and either confirms their suspicions about my low intellect, or gives them reason to suspect I am brilliant.  The two reactions are indistinguishable. 

Teaching Underground continues to be a labor of love and is a window into what I , Steve and countless other dedicated professionals have the privilege to do. With the occasional foray into deep philosophical discussion we succeed on the blog and in the classroom by keeping things very simple.  Keep a sense of humor, work hard, try to get better, find fulfillment in what we do, and above all try to do what is right.

Turner:
We started in October 2010.  I thought we'd run out of stuff to say by Christmas.  Now that I think about it, maybe we did and we just endlessly repeat ourselves.

I really appreciate friends who mention they've read a post or personally mention the blog, but I've been surprised at how many people we've never met subscribe to and/or comment on our site.

I'm still motivated by a driving desire to communicate.  Public education is not failing.  Struggling in areas, but not failing.  Too many parts of the media, both political parties, the business world and even some education insiders have written a false narrative of the state of public education and we need to reclaim the true story of education.

Considering there's no monetary compensation for working on the Teaching Underground, our only source of reinforcement comes from readers.  Thanks for all the follows, likes, and comments, that's what keeps us going, so if you haven't "followed, liked, or commented" consider doing so.  Share this site with others.  It makes us happy.  And when we're happy, we're better teachers.  Better teachers make better students.  So if you care about children, you'll support the Teaching Underground.

The Digital Bandwagon

Tim exits his mom's car and flips open his phone to begin textting. His Ipod blaring as he weaves his way through the halls barely avoiding collisions with others whose eyes are also glued to tiny screens. He rounds the corner and enters my room. He puts his phone away and removes his ear buds and plops into his seat. He takes out his Netbook and frantically checks his E-mail and Facebook before the bell.  He next logs in to begin the lesson for the day using Edmodo and begins working pausing occasionally to check twitter feeds. So Tim has done a lot this morning but he hasn't done one thing, spoken directly with anyone.  Is Tim your son in my class? Probably not as things aren't that bad but we better keep an eye on Tim and his classmates.

Nothing is as attractive or as marketable for schools as digital technology. My neighboring local district is spending more than $2 million to provide each student in 6th-12th grade with Windows based tablets. The adoption accompanied by a flashy new acronym, the Blended Learning to Advance Student Thinking(BLAST). Most schools are increasingly investing in technology as a key improvement strategy.  One to one is coming. 

One to one is the educational jargon meaning that each student has his or her own computer. School divisions, and thus public taxpayers, are pouring funds into equipping students with the latest and greatest digital resources. Smartboards, Promethean Boards, LCD projectors, laptops, Ipads, Computer Labs, Instant Poll Clickers, Software Applications and Information Management Systems and the dizzying amount of unseen infrastructure needed to make them function are sucking up cash like a vacuum. But as decision makers barely pause to reflect on these investments it might be prudent to consider them a bit more.

I think having access to such tools is great for both kids and teachers. Where would I be if in the 1980's Apple IIe hadn't appeared and allowed me to learn LOGO?   (Probably in the same place)  Technology is a great asset in education.  I love computers and what they allow schools to do.    What they are not is a guarantee that learning and education will improve. Soldiers in the military can be more effective with the best weapons. Teachers too can multiply their impact with new tools. But both must know how to integrate them to do their job. Another way of thinking about it is you don't just pass out bazookas. (OK a bit of a stretch but I liked the phrasing) Schools should both pilot technology and also prepare the majority of teachers to utilize such tools. If they don't then they are eye candy and do little to substantively improve what's already happening.   

Technology adoption is more complex that it appears. Worth remembering is that these tools don't stay "new" for very long and as an example that little Apple IIe far outlasted its usefulness.  Equal access across divisions with disparities in funding might expand gaps in resources. The big business side of the adoption process shows when company salespeople court officials and saturate them with information like a DC lobbyist.

Contracts have become big money, and often cut out of the loop are the ground level educators. We (in our division) experienced this firsthand last year with a little disaster called Gradespeed.  Another complicating factor important to remember is that in addition to large up front costs there are also a continuing expenses as long as the school supports a product. Wear and tear, maintenance, infrastructure upgrades, required support personnel all can be unseen costs. What happens 3 years down the road when kids complain that computers are too slow because they take .3 seconds longer to connect?

Technology constantly changes how we operate.  It can motivate some kids in ways other approaches seemingly cannot.   Many are pushing hard for state of the art technology to completely transform our classroom.  As it does we might be wise to remember we can pay in other ways for this blind faith in technology.  A recent NY Times article stated "Even as students are getting more access to computers here, they are getting less access to teachers."  Not a good thing.  

There is a reason we still drive our own cars instead of using onboard computers.  There are social consequences since these things that are meant to connect us can isolate us as well.   Within the classroom, I know once a kid has a computer on their desk nothing you say matters. With the young sometimes technology contributes to a decline in civility.    Many wonderful teachers in the classroom struggle to keep pace with the changes and I pride myself on integrating the newest technology into my instruction, sometimes not pausing to consider the unintended consequences.

• Am I spending more time on the computer and less time interacting face to face with students?
• Are kids disconnecting from each other?
• Are we blurring the line between real engagement and entertainment?
• Does the outcome justify the expense?

There's much to consider with this panacea.

With this in mind it might be interesting to watch this story unfold and think a little more deeply about all that it affects.

Creativity and World Peace in Fourth Grade

I teach in the same school district as John Hunter, but I won't pretend to name drop, I have never met him so I can't pretend that we are any sort of colleague aside from shared geography and profession.  A documentary film (created by Charlottesville local, Chris Farina) features Mr. Hunter and a unique learning experience he created.  The film is titled World Peace and Other Fourth Grade Achievements.  I have not had a chance yet to view the film, but Mr. Hunter recently addressed the TED Conference in California and the response has been overwhelmingly positive.  I've embedded the video of his talk below, it is around twenty minutes long, but definitely worth the time.

This film and the creative work of John Hunter continues to draw praise from an increasingly wider audience.  Both the specific content and method of the game and the educational philosophy communicated by Mr. Hunter in his various appearances resonate with a variety of audiences; the public seems to really get him, and understand the value of his approach to education.  I would almost venture to say that most people (myself included) would identify him as an asset to public education and a quality teacher.  One only has to read the myriad comments that abound on the internet to conclude that he has made an impression.

Yet this impression comes without any reference to student performance or outcomes.  Our nation seems willing to judge positively this individual teacher based on the creation and implementation of a single (yet substantial) learning experience, statements about his educational philosophy, and observation of his classroom performance.  How is this not good enough for the rest of us?  In an era where teacher effectiveness is measured by student performance and proposals for teacher merit-pay are based on student achievement, we are willing to label Mr. Hunter an excellent teacher without any such evidence.

I believe I know the answer.  In this case, we meet an individual who interacts daily and pours his life into young minds.  We are not considering a massive pool of public employees expected to do a job.  We get a chance to hear the voice behind the instructional decisions and the intentions and motives that drive them.  We are not listening to a filtered mouth-piece trying to synthesize the diverse minds that collectively educate our young.  And finally, we're introduced to students and care about what type of people they grow into instead of worrying about what kind of data-points they're creating for evaluating teachers or schools.

Ultimately, the public is able to see the wonder of human interaction that can take place when adults who care about the future of our children meaningfully engage with them in individual classrooms across the nation.  Peeking through this window of the open classroom and witnessing real education transpire melts away the false illusion that somehow the quality of this experience can be captured and measured through simplistic mass-produced and mass-scored assessement.  World Peace and Other Fourth Grade Achievements has opened that window.  I hope that the American public will take the opportunity to peek inside and recognize this illusion.

Hear what John Hunter has to say and let us know if you agree. (or don't)

Short Story

"A compact, tense story about one of our greatest fears, a gun in school.  Artfully constructed with shifting narratives, the plot races to an ending that is unexpected but strangely believable."

John Grisham

Local readers may already be familiar with the story, but last month, I entered a local short-story contest judged by John Grisham and took first prize.  The quote above is Grisham's response to the story.  The story is about a gun in school resulting in a lock-down.  The story can be found online here:  A Small Brown Box.

If you take the time to read it, I would love to hear your feedback.  Thanks to "the HooK" magazine and its editor Hawes Spencer for sponsoring the contest, to John Grisham for judging, and to all who have read the story and responded so positively.

Here I Am, Stuck in the Middle With You

I read an encouraging article today in our local Charlottesville newspaper, The Daily Progress titled "Expert Seeks Deeper Education Reforms." Dr. Pedro Noguera from New York University believes that we place too much effort trying to get students passing scores on standardized tests. Noguera also says, "we have found ways to insure that with the right strategies we can educate all kinds of people.” I appreciate the use of "strategies" versus "strategy."

I certainly appreciate Dr. Noguera's point of view, but to paraphrase a quote from a previous post, "we're drowning here and he's describing the water." A few solutions are hinted in this talk. He states “the people who make policies have never been educators and they simply don't understand, and even when they see it firsthand, they still don't understand what it takes to get young people excited about learning.”

I agree, but would also add that I don't understand what it takes to get an urban New Yorker or a rural Georgian excited about learning. I'm confident that given the right support and a little experience I could learn quickly, but the expert on exciting these young people about learning are the students themselves, their parents and caregivers, and the teachers who interact with them daily. Until the power to inform educational policy shifts from the distant politician and insulated departments of education to the stakeholders most invested in public education real education reform will not be realized.

The article closes with another quote from Noguera, “when you have students entering high school and reading on a third-grade level that is not a high school problem... that's a systemic problem.” We have learned in various disciplines that system problems have system answers. Top down reform cannot fix a systematic problem. In a hierarchical system, the actors at the top have too much vested to entertain significant change at the top level. What we end up with are myriad changes at the bottom of the pyramid which still support the unchanging structures at the top.

Where does this lead? As a teacher, the title of this post is addressed to my students. We are stuck in the middle together. Academics and educational experts know what quality education looks like and they expect us to deliver. Politicians and district and state level administrators expect us to meet standard measurements of performance delivered in the form of test scores and pass rates. This means that I live in two realities, with my students. We balance the demands of both, but more and more, the weight on the side of standardized testing grows and grows.

Here in the classroom, we are stuck, in the middle. The article referenced above stuck out because it is proof for me that people understand what we need in public education. Yet still, schools and teachers are torn between serving two masters. One master says test scores are the only metric we care about and the other says focus on learning that matters and not the tests. (Someone wise had something to say about serving two masters.)

That's the end of the post, but I can't create a title like this without giving proper credit, so here's a little Stealer's Wheel for your Wednesday afternoon.