Bullying in America

On CNN, Anderson Cooper held a town hall meeting to discuss bullying in America. CNN felt the conversation was appropriate with October being Bullying Awareness Month. The conversation included psychologists, students who were victims and bullies, and parents. The conversation touched on lack of teacher training to handle bullying, bullying through social media, communication between parents and the school about bullying and bystanders who witness bullying but do nothing about it.

The issue on how to train teachers to educate students about the impact of bullying stood out. As a teacher, I know I am sometimes not the best person to handle a situation that a student may be going through. Dr. Phil and other psychologists on the show support the idea of building bullying into the curriculum. The idea being, that by training teachers to handle and discuss issues with bullying and addressing the issue school-wide, will make students more aware of the effects that negative comments have on other individuals.

While this idea sounds great, what happens when students are out of school? With cell phones and the Internet, bullying now extends beyond the school walls. Some children now deal with bullying 24/7. So while, the schools may be able to fight against verbal harassment at school, it is going to take a broader approach to deal with bullying overall. It was very disheartening hearing parents talk about their children who felt that the only escape from bullying was suicide. Hopefully, during National Bullying Awareness Month, we can begin to have discussions with our students about bullying.

In my classroom, I plan to incorporate conversations on bullying into the weekly discussions I have on Fridays with my classes. I teach middle school, and bullying is very present with this age group of children and is detrimental to their self-image if not handled quickly.

The Solution Is Simple?

After seeing “Waiting for Superman,” I walked away with hopes, but also with new concerns for Baltimore City Schools. As the credits rolled and my eyes cleared, I read the final comments that scrolled across the screen. While I believe these words were meant to inspire, I was mostly concerned. One comment that caused my head to tilt in confusion and forced me to reread was “The solution is simple.” After almost 2 hours of watching and just over 1 year in the classroom, one of the last conclusions that I have come to is that “the solution is simple.” While there are a number of undeniable take-aways that I feel most of the audience would agree on, I do not think the simplicity of this injustice is one of them. In fact, one of the strengths of the film for me was that it addressed the complexity of the issue, as well as its urgency and importance.

I walked out of the theater thinking about one of the most touched upon topics of the film, charter schools. There is no question in my mind that charter schools have made a significant and undeniable contribution to Baltimore City and are critical to solving the education crisis in our city. However, I am deeply troubled that charter schools will become the solution to this complex problem. It is my fear that the public and those who work in education will latch onto charter schools as their “superman.”

As the film highlights, there are charter schools that are changing the lives of students. It also makes it heartbreakingly clear that there is not enough space for each student who deserves such an education. It also points out the fact that not all charter schools are fulfilling their promise of a great education. We cannot ignore these facts in search of a simple solution.

This injustice is huge. It affects millions of students, their families and our city and nation. One of the challenges to solving the problem is that we must solve this problem to scale. I believe charter schools will be a major contributor to the solution and should continue to grow to reach more and more students. However, we cannot rely solely on one approach. There is no one quick fix. Not every school will be, should be, or can be a charter school. It is necessary, as we work to provide every student with a quality education, that we do not forgot the other schools. As a teacher in a neighborhood school that is not succeeding as it should, I feel there is a lot to be learned from many charter schools and their successes. However, my students should not be pushed to the side because there were not the “lucky ones” or because they have not had the opportunity to attend a charter school. Many neighborhood schools are not succeeding, but rather than divert our focus, we must change these schools for the students that attend them. I firmly believe neighborhood schools can have success and I see it happening in our city. My students deserve the best and they can succeed. Our solution needs to reach all students, including those who will attend neighborhood schools. They deserve a “superman” too and we cannot forget them.

Take a Chance on Me (Tentative Agreement)

After reading the new BTU tentative agreement, I was reminded of a scene from The Office where Andy sings ABBA's single "Take a Chance on Me" in order to court Angela. The lyrics "...Gonna do my very best and it ain't no lie/If you put me to the test, if you let me try..." are especially appropriate considering that the agreement is a form of merit pay.

In sum, the tentative agreement is huge change from the "traditional" step progression of the last few years. Under the step system, teachers receive incremental pay increases based on years of experience and their level of education determines the bracket in which their step falls. However, under the proposed system, teachers' pay is determined by Achievement Unites (AUs). AUs are earned by a scaled evaluation, professional development, graduate courses, and in some cases professional services. It also splits teachers into 4 categories, new hires, professional teachers, model teachers, and lead teachers, each with advancing pay scales.

The most tenuous of the terms is the vaugness of the actual evaluation system. Under Maryland's application for Race to the Top and new state law, 50% of a teacher's evaluation is based on "student achievement". The biggest problem is that there is no clear way to measure student achievement as outlined in the proposal. The tentative agreement also grants that evaluations are to be determined. I can only speak for the climate of my school but this seems to be the biggest sticking point of the entire agreement.

The trend in school reform does indeed seem to point towards merit pay and student achievement based evaluations. That said, it is my position that we take a chance on this contract for several reasons. First, there are protections in place for those worried about the evaluations including 50% BTU representation on the team that develops the system of evaluations. Second, the agreement outlines 3 years of implementation that includes a review at the end. If this system does not positively affect student achievement then we will revert to the step system with no loss of any salary increases. Third, those who do evaluations are required to be trained int he new system to ensure consistency. Finally, the agreement outlines system called the School Based Option, which allows teachers more autonomy and decision making at the school level.

Baltimore could really benefit from this contract as it is progressive and a major city of interest when it comes to reform. If Baltimore passes this contract, many other cities would watch in anticipation as to the positive effects of the reform. Baltimore may see a wider selection of teacher candidates and the return of veterans who left the field because of lower pay.

Overall, the tentative agreement empowers teachers while focusing on student achievement. Both are things that most educators would agree are important to a healthy school system. Sometimes you just have to take a chance.

Cult of Personality

Prior to my entry into teaching I was a political science major and studied this idea of a cult of personality. Basically it is the phenomenon where a person's accomplishments are out paced by their reputation. In other words the myth is greater than the person.

I find this an interesting part of Michelle Rhee. I was listening to an interview with her conducted by the Washington Post's Jo-Ann Armao. The first part of the interview discusses whether she is staying, she does not stay firmly either way. However, a quote from this first segment caught my attention. Rhee stated that some in the city feel like "If Vincent Gray really cares about school reform, then he'll keep Michelle Rhee." Rhee goes on to say that this is not her feelings on the subject and she actually states she wants to set it up so good things will continue even if she's not there.

With that said, I think there are some people who feel D.C. Public Schools will slide back without Michelle Rhee. This is where the cult of personality comes in. Michelle Rhee has accomplished a great many things as Chancellor of D.C. Public Schools, however she is just one person. Of course, reform will go on whether she is there or not. Michelle Rhee is not the only person who can make school reform happen and I think often we pin our hopes too much to one single person. I think about this fact when I here people talk about Dr. Alonso. I have often heard people say that if Dr. Alonso was ever to leave all the progress BCPSS has made would be lost. While Dr. Alonso has done a great deal, he is not the only person working for school reform and improvement. School reform is a movement. It requires millions of people; teachers and administrators, school district leaders and parents, and of course, students. Much as the film Waiting for "Superman" states there is no one person or "superman" who can save us, we're all in this together.

Baltimore City Wins National Award

On Thursday, September 30, Baltimore City Schools was announced as the 2010 winner of the Council of Urban Boards of Education Annual Award for Urban School Board Excellence. The award recognizes Baltimore City for the hard work that board members, staff, principals, and teachers have put in to improve student achievement. The award also acknowledges that significant achievement gains have been made, enrollment has been increased, and the city has people rallying around the cause.
I agree that much talk and effort has been focused on closing achievement gaps and increasing student attendance, engagement, and success. I know that from my personal experience at my school, I am surrounded by many talented and effective teachers and faculty members who are deicated to holding students to high standards and closing the achievement gap. People are invested in transforming schools and helping our stdents reach high levels of academic achievement.
In the press release it states that "Baltimore City Public Schools are now thriving." Although I see examples of people committed to making improvements, I do not agree with this statement. When I hear the word "thriving," I think of schools where almost all students are fully invested in their classes and their actions relfect this mindset; I see high test scores and students who have been able to grow academically so that they are on grade level. I hear stories of others' schools, and even in my own school, the situation is not perfect. Fights are still taking place, students are still cutting class, and student are still struggling to meet their full potential and are behind academically. I have only been teaching in Baltimore City for about a year and do not know how conditions were like in the past, so I cannot say that large improvements have not been made. However, I do not think we are where we want to be. I believe that our system can continue to improve and I think that we are starting to move in that direction as Baltimore City employees continue to do great things for their students.