The status quo

What do you don when you identify a problem, bring in to the appropriate person's attention, then get slapped for seeing a problem?

This is not the first time this has happened to me.  I doubt it will be the last.  However, I realize that apathy is the biggest problem in education today.  Too many teachers don't care because the students don't care and the administrators either don't see the real problem or are too busy worrying about whether or not they will be blamed for the problem in the first place.  

I don't believe we should live the mantra, "If it's not broken, don't fix it."  I would rather we all lived with the belief that we can help and all we need to do is ask how.  The time is now to get up and demand that we not accept what is there because it's always been there.  Now is the time to ask ourselves if the greatest number is being served.  We need to ask ourselves if we can make the things that go well better and if there are things we do that don't work at all. 

Obama has led by example.  Why can't we follow his lead?

My town has a dirty secret

As  a result of being laid-off and facing the prospect of having no money when unemployment runs out, I put my name on the substitute list at the local middle school.  I also figured I could use this experience to "pad" my resume so it doesn't look like I am a lazy teacher.  This week I was called  in to sub for 6th grade math and 8th grade social studies.  I am stunned.

My memories of having a sub are of having fun but not becoming out of control.  I was a good kid in school so I didn't even get in trouble, but I have no memory of kids behaving so poorly that you couldn't hear the substitute or they blatantly disregarded what the sub was saying.  I don't remember subs throwing students out of the class.  I don't remember getting in trouble with my teacher when s/he returned because of the note the sub had left because of behavior.  My class never was addressed by administration because of its collective behavior with a sub.  All of the above happened this week.

Substitutes have no work to do so when there's a free period, they go to the faculty room to read or, in my case, knit.  There I was able to hear from the faculty about how badly the 8th grade had been behaving this week.  I also heard the teachers talk of past students and what kind of class they were.  this is not new to me; I taught for 12 years.  However, I am surprised that despite the teachers' acknowledgment of the poor behavior, the principal defended her students.    Furthermore, she suggested that she was familiar with the perceptions surrounding the school and flatly denied that my point had merit.  She too speaks to people in the community.  I am annoyed because there's a difference in the information and opinions shared between being a principal and being a former student-former parent-current parent-former high school substitute-current educational professional.

Hmmm.....

I live in a town with a dirty secret that no one wants to address.  Because our local community opens its high school to two other communities, our students, in high school, meet with students from West Point and Garrison.  When I attended the local high school, I suspected that because I was a local, I was not considered to be as strong a student as those kids from Garrison and West Point.  This was significantly more obvious when I used to sub at O'Neill before Tyler was born (for those who are counting, that's 10 years ago).  The exception was for the star athletes of popular sports.  I am convinced that the reason Julia fared so well at O'Neill was because her teachers thought she was a West Pointer.  

My friend is an aide at O'Neill now.  She backs me up.  Another friend has a child at O'Neill; when the child was at the local middle school, she was the top of her class.  Now that she's at O'Neill, she has struggled with the more difficult classes.  When someone, years ago, suggested that the kids from Highland Falls were not smart, my friend bristled.  However, comparatively speaking, there is truth in that message.  And, now that my friend's daughter has met these difficulties in high school, she agrees.

So, what does all this have to do with substituting?

Students represent a community in some way.  Good teachers have an impact on the behavior and learning of their students in the classroom, but it speaks more about the nature of the students when we see them out and about.  when they are not under the eagle eye of their teacher.  The community in which I live is an embarrassment.  The students are not just rude, but they illustrated very little intelligence and critical thinking.

When O'Neill sees the tumbleweed of poor behavior blow from the middle school and makes a snap judgement about those students, is it any wonder that the kids from Highland Falls are treated as they are? 

New Jersey

Jon Corzine is considering ways to deal with the crunch.  So, he's asking state workers to give up two days -- one  in May and one in June -- to help cover the costs.  Now those workers are pissed.  Are they unaware that some people are unemployed?  Seriously, how bad is it to lose one day's pay per month?  I would give up the time if it meant I could keep my job.  

We have all been asked to sacrifice in this time of economic woe.  I think it's not too much to sacrifice -- one day a month.  Some of the people Rod used to work with were forced to take two weeks vacation because the plant shut down.  Those same people are now trying to make ends meet on a 4 or 5 day work week.  That's tough on them.  It's the 6th day where they would earn overtime.  Now they're not even close to covering that gap.  I feel for them, yet they are employed.  Those I've spoken to haven't lost sight of that.  

I pray something comes up for me next school year.  I need employment to help this family.  Still, if I find nothing, I am grateful that Rod has a safe job and he has medical benefits.  Things could be worse.

Michael Moore

Rod and I watched Sicko,  Michael Moore's documentary about the healthcare -- or lack of it -- in the United States.  Frankly, I found the stories to be sad and alarming.  I know the ultra conservatives find much at fault with Moore's reporting and attitude.  Some may even call him anti-American, but I can't help but to feel he is a national treasure.

In Sicko, Moore compares the healthcare system (for those who have it) in this country to the systems in other countries.  He went to Canada, France and England.  They have a socialized medical system that gives care to all.  While people in this country complain that a socialized system would only cause logjams in the system making it difficult to get a timely operation, the people he interviewed simply refuted those sentiments.  Furthermore, he took some 9/11 heroes to Cuba to receive treatment.  They did.  They were also treated better in Cuba than they had been stateside.  Obviously, this could be a Castro ploy to end the embargo.  Nevertheless, it offers much for us to think about as Obama begins to make policy.

Sicko may have offered a skewed view of the system, but it struck a chord in me.  My mother worried all her life about healthcare.  But when she and her husband needed it most, they were not covered for the medicines they needed.  They also were not employed making it impossible to change care.  I recognize that the movie leaned to the left, but I don't think this rich country should have the infant mortality rate it has (and I am not talking about irresponsible birthing of octuplets).  Nor should it be ranked 34th in overall healthcare. 

I eagerly await Moore's next movie.  In fact, I am considering purchasing Bowling for Columbine and now Sicko as reminders of what we need to do to make this country what it can be.

Keeping Connected

Because my friends do not phone or write, they want me to join Facebook.  I finally caved and set up an account.  Here's my secret:  I am not tech savvy enough to fully enjoy this adventure.  I suppose, in time, I will get used to it.

I am currently reading a book called The True and Outstanding Adventures of the Hunt Sisters by Elisabeth Robinson.  It is told in a series of letters written by the narrator (naturally).  I wonder where the art of letter writing has gone.  People simply don't do it anymore.  The trade journals indicate that on-line and text writing helps students become better writers, I don't see it.  Perhaps I just need to get used to the new technology.  If I could just figure how to post pictures properly....

Nepotism

Nepotism is ruining American education.  

Trade journals such as the English Journal, Phi Delta Kappa and Educational Leadership make a living publishing research about what works in schools.  We have a problem in this country with education, and there is a real interest in finding what works in schools.  Unfortunately, no one has taken the time to uncover how administrators fill open positions with former school graduates without understanding what makes learning work.  I recognize that this would be difficult to truly uncover, but I have heard some stories in the past week that make me feel as though my chances of finding a job, despite my qualifications, are slim to none.

The first example is of a 3rd grade teacher who was recently hired in the local school district.  When I ran into her this summer, I congratulated her on her new job (she had previously been working in the Bronx).  She told me she was surprised she was hired in front of leave replacement teachers in the district.  In fact, the only reason she went on the interview was to get practice with her interview skills.  She is from this community; she was hired by her former teacher.  Perhaps she was the best candidate, but I have suspicions about how this hiring works.

The second example is even more damning.  Again, this took place in my home district.  A special educator was "let go" because the position was no longer available.  Then, when the special educator found a new job, the position was magically available again and a local girl was hired without an interview.  The local girl in question was a recent college graduate who had told her supervising teacher that she had the job.  No calls were made regarding the girl's qualifications either.  This is fishy.

I live in a community that generally does not have good test scores.  The focus here is on sports. Why, then, hire the same people that we are trying to rise above?  

Do you want the secretary's niece getting a job in front of a teacher with a more proven track record?

Test Preparation

As a former middle school teacher, I know that many students do not know how to study for tests.  The schools where I worked required me to distribute test outlines to allow students to know what material will be on the test.  This was a good step for me as teacher because it helped me frame what the test would look like.

Public schools, however, have their stance off balance.  My son knows quite a bit about the New York State ELA test (which he has been taking this week); however, he does not possess the skill necessary to study for a simple health test.  I suspect something has gone terribly wrong in public education when the student knows about the state test but does not carry away any knowledge that will help him in the future.

State tests have their place.  Still, it's the skills that need drilling, not the test itself.  Students lose about a week a year to tests.  Wouldn't it be nice to simply give the test and not have to prepare for it?  Or, if schools are concerned about the success of their students, shouldn't a more broad and applicable method of study be used? 

If a student has trouble with the ELA test because he needs help with writing, then more work on writing should be done.  This work should focus on and be framed by the skills needed to succeed as a writer: organization, spelling, depth, focus, audience, voice.  The information I receive as a parent is that my son may not receive as score of 3 as a result of his written performance.  That is meaningless information.  Further, it does not address my child's abilities head on. 

It's time to prepare students for real situations and get the tests aligned to skills.  When the test drives the curriculum, we all lose.