Schools Where Children Learn

Browsing my paperback book swap site, I saw a book titled Schools Where Children Learn.  I had to stop and consider what might be in that book.

To me, a school where students learn is one that is small enough so the students don't fall through the cracks.  At the Independent schools where I taught, I knew all the students and they knew me.  This enabled me to exchange a personal greeting or reprimand.  Students knew the teachers were watching them -- not in a creepy way, but in a way that indicated that they were safe and it would stay that way.  If I saw a student who should have been in class but was a known "floater" I would say something.  Although that did not always work, at least the students knew the adults had their best interests out front.

I also think a good school is one where people care about one another.  A school where kids feel safe being who they are -- even if they are totally nerdy and weird -- and recognized for their strengths is one where students can focus on the learning that goes on in the classroom.  Is it possible to create a school where popularity is no longer the most important thing?  I doubt it.  But students can learn better when the teacher set the stage for learning and expect all to grow as learners.  Sometimes teachers are guilty of allowing the squeaky wheel to get the grease.  What we need to do is call on the calm and quiet ones too.  Allow all to have equal time.

After the Brown v. Board of Ed. decision in 1954, much has occurred to appear that schools are equal.  but they're not.  I think we should all pay the taxes for schools as we do, but then divvy up the pot so all schools spend the same per student.  That way you can live in your own neighborhood but know that the schools your kids attend offer the same as those who live in more affluent communities. Imagine if poor schools could have access to state-of-the-art science labs and computer labs.  That could really make a difference for the poor children.  Poor schools need money for books.  If children arrive without the background in literacy that more rich students receive at home, it should be available to them at school.  This is not the case either.

I believe we need to spend more on poor districts but I won't argue that.  If we could just give the same to all that would certainly help.  Imagine if teachers got paid the same regardless of the district in which he/she taught.  We might be able to pull really dynamic teachers into those higher need schools.  Perhaps this would be the beginning of building schools where children learn.

Lessons

One of the reasons I was able to tackle the sock is because of the wrap I have been working on since October.  I attend a "knit-a-long" with other women who are working on the same project.  While the colors we have chosen are different, the project itself is the same.  I have learned much with this wrap, but the most important skill, as it relates to socks, is how to pick up stitches.  The wrap is constructed of various pieces made up of different stitches that are added to each other.  With the exception of one block, no pieces were seemed on.

If you look at the pictures of this wrap, first you'll notice the different colors.  Each color represents a different block.  This is a fun project, but I am getting tired of it.  Further, once the warm weather arrives (if ever), I won't really want to have the whole wrap resting on my lap.

Naturally I have more projects to work on.  I will keep a running journal of the experience.

The Sock

Back in the day, my mother told me that socks were virtually impossible to knit.  This from a woman who could knit an afghan and smoke a pack of cigarettes all while watching TV.  I took her at her word.  After all, I have great difficulty concentrating with my knitting.  I cannot do work that has lace patterns or rows to keep track of when I am doing something else.

I am learning quite a bit these days.  Because I have so much time on my hands, I delight in reading about and looking at pictures of knitting.  When I saw  the book Getting Started Knitting Socks by Ann Budd I decided I simply had to give sock knitting a try.  (Actually, I think my mom's words were always in the back of my head.  You know, tell someone they can't do something and immediately they want to give it a go.)  And it worked!

I did make some errors -- none of which are evident in the construction of the sock itself.  My biggest problem is that while I did knit to gauge, I did not measure my foot accurately.  Hence a sock that is too small for my foot.  But Tyler is game and is excited to receive a pair of hand-knitted socks from his mom.  That the color is a soft celery seems not to bother him in the least (though what should I expect from a kid who wears cowboy boots with shorts?).  Anyway, Julia has also expressed interest in a pair of hand-knit socks.  We picked out a pretty color for her socks and eventually I will have that yarn on my needles.

So, the lesson here is that one should not listen to naysayers.  Give a project a try; ask for help if and when it's needed; and enjoy a fun project that's easy to carry and practical to own.

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.