Yesterday’s New York Times carried the news that Secretary Duncan will require states to share comprehensive data on student achievement in order to receive the second phase of their educational stimulus aid. As far as I can tell, this differs from NCLB’s requirements in a significant regard: states do not need to show that they have made any progress- they just need to share the numbers, good or bad. Thus the requirement is not an “unfunded mandate” in the way that NCLB is, nor does it carry the punitive element of that legislation.
The story points out that this data will likely bring to light cases in which states have “dumbed down” assessments in order to meet NCLB standards, and that many teacher evaluation systems are, for all intents and purposes, shams. I wonder whether this data will be a catalyst for change (sunlight, as they say, is the best anesthetic), or whether state officials will once again find ways to doctor the numbers and understate the struggles their schools are facing.
The article closes with a quote from South Carolina’s Governor Mark Sanford, who plans to decline some of the stimulus money. He says that he does not dispute that his state’s schools are in a dismal state, but does dispute “whether spending an ever-increasing amount on education will fix the problem.” I wonder whether South Carolina’s state superintendent would take a similarly dismissive stance toward the stimulus money; I also wonder whether Governor Sanford would feel the same way about money for highway construction or law enforcement.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/02/education/02educ.html?_r=1&ref=education
(Bonus for Maryland educators: the accompanying photo shows Duncan with Governor O'Malley at a Prince George's County elementary school)
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Incentives and Retention
I had never considered what issues might exist for small districts in attracting and retaining teachers. Of course it makes sense that smaller school districts might not be able to pay teachers as much as larger school districts. A bill is currently in Congress that would increase incentives for teacher, both new and veteran, in small but high-priority school districts. The schools have to be small, with less than 1,000 students enrolled and have a student population of which 80% must be eligible for free or reduced lunch programs.
With the new bill, $1,000 would be paid to new teachers and $3,000 would be paid to veteran teachers (4 years or more in the district). These small schools need to offer something to compete with higher salaries of larger districts. I think that the retention bonus is something that could potentially attract teachers.
Baltimore City offered signing bonuses to teachers in qualifying schools or in specific disciplines, like science and math. There are no teacher retention bonuses in Baltimore City that I am aware of. However, just like these small school districts, retention is an issue that needs to be addressed. I wonder if it would be feasible to implement something like this in Baltimore City and what affect it could have on teacher retention.
http://www.thnews.com/article.php?id=7892
With the new bill, $1,000 would be paid to new teachers and $3,000 would be paid to veteran teachers (4 years or more in the district). These small schools need to offer something to compete with higher salaries of larger districts. I think that the retention bonus is something that could potentially attract teachers.
Baltimore City offered signing bonuses to teachers in qualifying schools or in specific disciplines, like science and math. There are no teacher retention bonuses in Baltimore City that I am aware of. However, just like these small school districts, retention is an issue that needs to be addressed. I wonder if it would be feasible to implement something like this in Baltimore City and what affect it could have on teacher retention.
http://www.thnews.com/article.php?id=7892
The new technology is pretty, but...
As a teacher at Frederick Douglass High School, I have seen my school in the media frequently this year-- sometimes in a positive light, sometimes in a not-so-positive light. With negative statements about my school coming from high levels of state government, it's refreshing when the media has something positive to say about the work we are doing. However, I sometimes wonder whether we are receiving praise for the wrong things. Students and teachers do amazing things every day, but these are frequently overlooked in favor of events that are, well, flashier.
Now, don't get me wrong-- the new computer lab that has been donated to our school is gorgeous, and I am extremely grateful to Verizon and to those who worked tirelessly to solicit the donations and to assemble the finished product. However, it was disheartening for me and for my students when we were told that we were not allowed to actually use the lab. My ninth-graders had written outstanding research papers, and it was very frustrating for them when I told them that they would not be able to type them, even when the technology was clearly in place. Currently, neither students nor teachers are allowed to use the lab, and nobody will respond to inquiries regarding when or if this policy will change.
Why is there such fanfare over something that in no way affects the lives of the students at Douglass? This past Friday, the students put on an incredible production, the Live Blacks in Wax. The students portrayed various characters from history, and they researched and wrote the parts themslves. Ella Fitzgerald sang, Debbie Allen danced, Will Smith rapped-- the students showcased their talents in exciting ways. Faculty members performed and designed the elaborate costumes and sets. It was a true community effort, and it passed unnoticed by the people who have been so critical of our school. I would like to see less focus on the glitzy technology and more focus on what really matters-- the awesome things students are doing here every day.
Now, don't get me wrong-- the new computer lab that has been donated to our school is gorgeous, and I am extremely grateful to Verizon and to those who worked tirelessly to solicit the donations and to assemble the finished product. However, it was disheartening for me and for my students when we were told that we were not allowed to actually use the lab. My ninth-graders had written outstanding research papers, and it was very frustrating for them when I told them that they would not be able to type them, even when the technology was clearly in place. Currently, neither students nor teachers are allowed to use the lab, and nobody will respond to inquiries regarding when or if this policy will change.
Why is there such fanfare over something that in no way affects the lives of the students at Douglass? This past Friday, the students put on an incredible production, the Live Blacks in Wax. The students portrayed various characters from history, and they researched and wrote the parts themslves. Ella Fitzgerald sang, Debbie Allen danced, Will Smith rapped-- the students showcased their talents in exciting ways. Faculty members performed and designed the elaborate costumes and sets. It was a true community effort, and it passed unnoticed by the people who have been so critical of our school. I would like to see less focus on the glitzy technology and more focus on what really matters-- the awesome things students are doing here every day.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
I can has technology training plz?
On Monday, Frederick Douglass High opened a brand new computer lab, created with donations from Verizon. Apparently this was an important enough event to draw Dr. Alonso, Sheila Dixon, and Governor O’Malley.
Don’t get me wrong – I think this new computer lab is great. It is becoming clearer and clearer everyday how important it is to teach technology literacy to our students. It is something that needs to be taught in every class, in every discipline.
But how are teachers keeping up with the explosion of technology? What professional development is being offered to keep teachers ahead of the curve? What professional development is being REQUIRED to keep teachers knowledgeable about technology?
At a faculty meeting just a few weeks ago I mentioned using blogs to access interesting lesson plans and ideas from other teachers. Another teacher at my table told me she really liked my “blobs” idea. Clearly, we’re dealing with a digital and generational divide.
But just because I’m young (and hip, or so I’d like to think) doesn’t mean that I’m the Internet or computer expert. Where is the PD on effectively using blogging in the classroom, on podcasts, on things that I haven’t thought of because I’m not an Internet expert?
High school math teachers were offered the following choices for the next professional development day:
HSA Algebra Benchmark Analysis
Pre-Ap Topics for AP Vertical Teams in Mathematics
I can has technology plz?
Don’t get me wrong – I think this new computer lab is great. It is becoming clearer and clearer everyday how important it is to teach technology literacy to our students. It is something that needs to be taught in every class, in every discipline.
But how are teachers keeping up with the explosion of technology? What professional development is being offered to keep teachers ahead of the curve? What professional development is being REQUIRED to keep teachers knowledgeable about technology?
At a faculty meeting just a few weeks ago I mentioned using blogs to access interesting lesson plans and ideas from other teachers. Another teacher at my table told me she really liked my “blobs” idea. Clearly, we’re dealing with a digital and generational divide.
But just because I’m young (and hip, or so I’d like to think) doesn’t mean that I’m the Internet or computer expert. Where is the PD on effectively using blogging in the classroom, on podcasts, on things that I haven’t thought of because I’m not an Internet expert?
High school math teachers were offered the following choices for the next professional development day:
HSA Algebra Benchmark Analysis
Pre-Ap Topics for AP Vertical Teams in Mathematics
I can has technology plz?
Attendance and Suspension
Attendance is a nuisance for any teacher in Baltimore City, and it is a huge contributing factor to many of the problems that students and teachers have. Getting to the root of this problem is ten-fold, concerning complicated issues such as perceptions about the value of school, parental involvement, and motivation. The Open Society Institute-Baltimore writes on their website, "One of the single most stunning statistics that illuminates why Baltimore is unsuccessful in educating its students is this: Every year, 20,000 students are repeatedly absent from class." This is a staggering number, but not a surprising one, if you work in the system. Student achievement would be significantly impacted if attendance was improved. However, OSI also writes "The OSI-Baltimore Education and Youth Development Program believes that the key to increasing achievement in Baltimore is to slash the numbers of students who are suspended, truant or otherwise absent from class." While I agree that there someone should be able to come up with a more effective way to discipline students, I do not agree that reducing suspensions hold the key for increasing achievement. However, OSI makes a good point when they question why schools would create for themselves and for students the same problems that we are trying to combat in terms of attendance...Trying to get kids to come to school, then sending them back out. Students get suspended at my school when they don't have their uniform more than once or twice. This is clearly a trivial cause for suspension, but what other options does the school have, after they use up the few that they do have?
Sometimes I watch kids moving through the school day, and I am sometimes struck by a certain tension. I have a student who was just locked up for about 3 months. Yesterday was his first day back, first day out of a cell. He came in, was brushed aside for a schedule, and walked around for a couple of hours until he was caught doing something ridiculous, and sent to an administrator. I was surprised he lasted those few hours. When kids miss a ton of school, for whatever reason, it is not surprising that they are going to mess around- they have no idea what going on, and it seems that many of them are not accustomed to sitting for instruction. This kid was a poster child for an at risk student before being locked up- spotty attendance, behavior problems, multiple suspensions. OSI writes, "Alarmingly, neither the Baltimore community nor its schools have responded consistently and aggressively to stem the epidemic of student absences and school exclusions. The failure to do so has contributed mightily to the high rates of school failure, dropout, drug and juvenile justice involvement that plague our city." There was some talk in the beginning of the year about fining parents whose children were absent too often. I am not sure that this is the most reasonable answer, especially if you have ever met a 17 year old with a mind of their own, but certainly serious aggression is in order.
Sometimes I watch kids moving through the school day, and I am sometimes struck by a certain tension. I have a student who was just locked up for about 3 months. Yesterday was his first day back, first day out of a cell. He came in, was brushed aside for a schedule, and walked around for a couple of hours until he was caught doing something ridiculous, and sent to an administrator. I was surprised he lasted those few hours. When kids miss a ton of school, for whatever reason, it is not surprising that they are going to mess around- they have no idea what going on, and it seems that many of them are not accustomed to sitting for instruction. This kid was a poster child for an at risk student before being locked up- spotty attendance, behavior problems, multiple suspensions. OSI writes, "Alarmingly, neither the Baltimore community nor its schools have responded consistently and aggressively to stem the epidemic of student absences and school exclusions. The failure to do so has contributed mightily to the high rates of school failure, dropout, drug and juvenile justice involvement that plague our city." There was some talk in the beginning of the year about fining parents whose children were absent too often. I am not sure that this is the most reasonable answer, especially if you have ever met a 17 year old with a mind of their own, but certainly serious aggression is in order.
Student Relationships v. Data
Brooks writes that Obama wants to track data by teacher level to see how students are or are not performing with one teacher’s instructional methods. This is supposed to weed out the “bad” teachers. Brooks writes that “most important, it would increase merit pay for good teachers (the ones who develop emotional bonds with students) and dismiss bad teachers (the ones who treat students like cattle to be processed).” This is a hard thing to determine in my opinion.
There are teachers in my building who have very different management styles and methods for how they to talk to students. One could argue that as long as someone has the data showing that the students are learning then who cares whether you use sarcasm in a classroom or a belittle student, kids are learning. If the focus is going to be on data than that teacher can’t really be punished for meeting that academic standard. If, on the other hand, education reform decides to focus on the whole child, then perhaps the focus shouldn’t be on academic performance, but on progress.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Here's My Data...Now What?
The one thing uniting virtually every conversation about educational reform in recent years has been the emphasis placed on data. The reason for this is two-fold: 1) provisions in No Child Left Behind require schoosl to quantify results and 2) a consensus is emergin that using data to inform instruction increases teacher effectiveness. Perhaps this is why we just received a $6.5 million federal grant to build a new data collection system in Maryland.
As we move toward state/national standards, the method of reporting results will inevitably become more standardized. It not only allows the Maryland State Department of Education to analyze statewide data more efficiently, but also helps to track an individual student after he/she transfers districts. My immediate reaction is that a commitment to data is the correct approach, and any effort to streamline reporting should be welcomed.
Loookin at this issue more broadly, I think that statewide collection systems might finally cut down on the amount of misreporting that takes place within districts like Baltimore City. It is more tempting for a principal to fudge the numbers if the district's system is not easily navigated by outside observers, but this is not the purpose of using data. Only through an honest assessment of student achievement can we begin to isolate programs/schools that work.
In the end, though, this database of test scores means nothing if it is not then used to inform classroom instruction as much as it is public policymaking. As state officials begin designing the system, I hope they are mindful of hte full potential of data application, which is two-fold: 1) we can hold our schools accountable for specific student outcomes and 2) we can think more critically about what actions are resulting in the data that we see--and then be pro-active in seeking solutions.
Data is not something to be celebrated or condemned and then put away; it is a means to an end. That end is student achievement, but we will only get there if we invest (and train) our teachers to use their data wisely and regularly make adjustments that move students forward. In this light, it might also be a wise investment for Maryland to help failing schools apply their data in the classroom, not just report it and go back to business as usual.
National Standards
On Saturday morning, Dr. Alonso addressed the second year MAT graduates at Hopkins. Despite being ill, he spoke very well, and I really keyed into the his comments on National Standards for education. He talked about how the movement in the past decade has been for national accountability through No Child Left Behind, but that it has been very open to the states to set their standards and form their own assessments. To some degree this makes sense without question - schools across the country are essentially being compared, it is only fair for them to be compared based on the same criteria. However, it is a constitutionally defined issue: education is a state's right. Therefore, each state should have the authority to define what the children in that jurisdiction should know and be able to do. So how do we balance the constitutional issue with comparing cities and states and schools on an equal level? Does this mean we need a constitutional amendment claiming education to be a federal responsibility? That would cause a mess of funding issues - states are not going to want to pay for what they cannot control... Or does it mean that we need to do with national comparisons since the tests and standards are not the same.
Another issue this brings up is America's place in the global market. Studies like the TIMSS keep being published comparing the United States to other countries around the world. Those competitors have a unified national curriculum, so when finding average scores of the country they are actually representative of what all children know or at least have been taught. When trying to give a similar assessment to students in the United States, it is harder to generalize because there are 50 different sets of standards trying to be compiled into one analysis. If there were a national curriculum and national assessments, it would become much easier and clearer to compare the United States, as a country rather than as 50 independent entities, to other developing countries that are united, at least educationally, under one policy.
Another issue this brings up is America's place in the global market. Studies like the TIMSS keep being published comparing the United States to other countries around the world. Those competitors have a unified national curriculum, so when finding average scores of the country they are actually representative of what all children know or at least have been taught. When trying to give a similar assessment to students in the United States, it is harder to generalize because there are 50 different sets of standards trying to be compiled into one analysis. If there were a national curriculum and national assessments, it would become much easier and clearer to compare the United States, as a country rather than as 50 independent entities, to other developing countries that are united, at least educationally, under one policy.
My school is closing… so what now?
Quite a hot topic around BCPS in the past month has been the proposed closings and restructuring of many of city schools. I think this sends a message to all schools that if you don’t get your act together, we mean business. I don’t necessarily disagree with the decisions being made. As a teacher of one of those schools proposed to close, I truly believe that it is the best possible decision. However, I can only speak for my situation.
Bottom line is that there are many reasons a school should be closed. Dropping enrollment and extreme acts of violence coupled with a failing record and an administration that just isn’t cutting it, spells DISASTER!
I don’t know if a new administration could really wipe the slate clean and set the record straight. The students have gotten comfortable with the status quo and it would take an extremely strong leader to uproot their corrupt ways. One concern I have is just shipping these conditioned students to different schools going to make a real difference in the life of the students. One thing I know is that it only takes a couple of students who are not interested in learning to disrupt an entire class. I can see some of my current students spreading out to terrorize other schools. I guess the hope is that they will enter schools where things are going moderately well and the students will be reigned in.
Another concern I have is for the good students who see our school as a better place to be than some of the options being presented to them. They can’t reason why they should be sent to another school where violence is also a problem and AYP is also not being met. Dr. Alonso had made the claim that he wants all of his schools to be a place where kids would want to be, great goal! I know that many of my students look forward to the closing of our school, but some dread being sent back to the schools they worked very hard to escape.
I also feel the timing, although necessary for due process to take place, was terrible. The week before the big test these students were basically told it doesn’t matter how you perform you are going to be shut down. I had several students boasting the notion of saving the school. Others I had to convince would need to try their best so they too can get into the best school possible. Either way the message from
Monday, March 30, 2009
Bringing the Harlem Children's Zone to Baltimore?
This evening I attended a talk by Paul Tough, the author of Whatever it Takes: Geoffrey Canada’s Quest to Change Harlem and America at Johns Hopkins University. The Harlem Children’s Zone, Canada’s $60 billion dollar program that serves children in 97 city blocks in a high-poverty New York City neighborhood, takes a holistic approach to provide a comprehensive education and support services to children from birth to college. The HCZ initiative, recognizing that the achievement gap is present at as early as 12 months of age, teaches parenting skills, provides health and social services, and, for those students lucky enough to win admission to one of the charter schools, works intensively to provide students with both the cognitive and the non-cognitive skills necessary for graduating from college and becoming successful members of society.
By investing in a 20-city replication of HCZ, Promise Neighborhoods, President Obama has made progress towards his campaign promise to combat poverty through education reform. The recently released 2010 budget includes support for Promise Neighborhoods, a significant vote of confidence in the program and a step towards enacting large-scale change. Baltimore has moved to bring HCZ to the western part of the city—in late 2008 Alonso and other city representatives visited Harlem to see the program in person. While Baltimore has schools that offer a more holistic approach to education than traditional academic programs (e.g. the recently-opened Maryland SEED school), the “full wrap-around service” provided by an HCZ-style system has the potential to effect real change in breaking down generational poverty in the city.
As a teacher who spends most of her hours focusing on her students and classroom, it is refreshing to contemplate the big picture again. My students, eleventh and twelfth graders, function far below grade level, and many struggle with the basic literacy skills that they should have attained in the elementary grades. While we should continue to seek effective ways to educate students such as mine, we need to focus our attention on the youngest generation. By providing early and intensive education, support, and enrichment, we can propel our most at-risk children to success before they have the chance to fall behind.
By investing in a 20-city replication of HCZ, Promise Neighborhoods, President Obama has made progress towards his campaign promise to combat poverty through education reform. The recently released 2010 budget includes support for Promise Neighborhoods, a significant vote of confidence in the program and a step towards enacting large-scale change. Baltimore has moved to bring HCZ to the western part of the city—in late 2008 Alonso and other city representatives visited Harlem to see the program in person. While Baltimore has schools that offer a more holistic approach to education than traditional academic programs (e.g. the recently-opened Maryland SEED school), the “full wrap-around service” provided by an HCZ-style system has the potential to effect real change in breaking down generational poverty in the city.
As a teacher who spends most of her hours focusing on her students and classroom, it is refreshing to contemplate the big picture again. My students, eleventh and twelfth graders, function far below grade level, and many struggle with the basic literacy skills that they should have attained in the elementary grades. While we should continue to seek effective ways to educate students such as mine, we need to focus our attention on the youngest generation. By providing early and intensive education, support, and enrichment, we can propel our most at-risk children to success before they have the chance to fall behind.
Fair School Funding in Maryland and the Stimulus Package
I recently finished Savage Inequalities by Jonathan Kozol and upon completion of this book took a moment to examine the differences between school funding in Baltimore City and Howard County. What I found initially seemed a step in the right direction to ensuring that all students, regardless of where they are born, would have an opportunity to receive an education of equal quality.
What I discovered was the Baltimore City received roughly $2205 less per student than the students attending school in Howard County, a difference of 20% less money in Baltimore City. Although a disparity, it seems a far cry from the doubling in per student funding that was occurring in Kozol’s 1991 release of Savage Inequalities.
Then I stopped and took a moment to do the math. Baltimore City services 92,358 students. So 92,358 students times $2205 per student, just what does this equate to… $203,649,390, yes that $203 million and change A YEAR! This startling realization really got me thinking what we, the Baltimore City Schools, could do with this extra $203 million a year. I’m not a math teacher, but must admit my love of numbers and this opportunity to discuss them.
Given the fact the current estimates in Florida is that it costs roughly $23,000 per student to construct a new high school we could theoretically build brand new high schools for approximately 8,800 students. Or, we could refurbish many of our aging buildings with new windows, paint, lockers, books, and other necessary supplies. Alternatively, we could also invest in technology to bring working computers, LCD projectors, and lab equipment to provide our students the skills they will need to succeed in a world that will continue to think and act more globally. On the other hand we could invest in smaller classes by hiring more teachers, not only in our tested subject areas, but also as a means to expand our curriculum and provide greater choice to our students to match that of more affluent districts. A quick Google search turned up the following class list from Santa Ana, California 4 English listing for each grade level, 3 levels of math offerings in sophomore and junior years, with senior level statistics, college algebra, and calculus, 6 classes of world history including Advanced Placement, Economics, Psychology, Sociology, Environmental Sciences to Chemistry to Biology, to Advanced Anatomy and Physiology, Dance, and Aerobics. This, I’m sure isn’t even the most comprehensive list you could find with some searching.
Given the difference this $2205 per student makes, it only heightens the responsible use of the over $100 billion dollars President Obama and Congress recently approved for education spending as part of the recent highly publicized economic stimulus package. According to the roll out plan for that money $20 billion is earmarked for school modernization, $100 million for school construction (I wonder if that’s really enough, considering it can cost in the tens of millions of dollars for one middle school), $13 billion to help special education programs, $13 billion for Title I programs and schools, and a whole host of other schools. I just hope its time we get a fair chance at the pie here in Baltimore, for our students sake.
What I discovered was the Baltimore City received roughly $2205 less per student than the students attending school in Howard County, a difference of 20% less money in Baltimore City. Although a disparity, it seems a far cry from the doubling in per student funding that was occurring in Kozol’s 1991 release of Savage Inequalities.
Then I stopped and took a moment to do the math. Baltimore City services 92,358 students. So 92,358 students times $2205 per student, just what does this equate to… $203,649,390, yes that $203 million and change A YEAR! This startling realization really got me thinking what we, the Baltimore City Schools, could do with this extra $203 million a year. I’m not a math teacher, but must admit my love of numbers and this opportunity to discuss them.
Given the fact the current estimates in Florida is that it costs roughly $23,000 per student to construct a new high school we could theoretically build brand new high schools for approximately 8,800 students. Or, we could refurbish many of our aging buildings with new windows, paint, lockers, books, and other necessary supplies. Alternatively, we could also invest in technology to bring working computers, LCD projectors, and lab equipment to provide our students the skills they will need to succeed in a world that will continue to think and act more globally. On the other hand we could invest in smaller classes by hiring more teachers, not only in our tested subject areas, but also as a means to expand our curriculum and provide greater choice to our students to match that of more affluent districts. A quick Google search turned up the following class list from Santa Ana, California 4 English listing for each grade level, 3 levels of math offerings in sophomore and junior years, with senior level statistics, college algebra, and calculus, 6 classes of world history including Advanced Placement, Economics, Psychology, Sociology, Environmental Sciences to Chemistry to Biology, to Advanced Anatomy and Physiology, Dance, and Aerobics. This, I’m sure isn’t even the most comprehensive list you could find with some searching.
Given the difference this $2205 per student makes, it only heightens the responsible use of the over $100 billion dollars President Obama and Congress recently approved for education spending as part of the recent highly publicized economic stimulus package. According to the roll out plan for that money $20 billion is earmarked for school modernization, $100 million for school construction (I wonder if that’s really enough, considering it can cost in the tens of millions of dollars for one middle school), $13 billion to help special education programs, $13 billion for Title I programs and schools, and a whole host of other schools. I just hope its time we get a fair chance at the pie here in Baltimore, for our students sake.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Counseling for Students in the Face of More School Violence
When did we begin to think of a stabbing outside of a school as a mundane incident? In the face of more violence in our Baltimore City Schools we seem to do nothing as a school system or society to prevent or mediate the increasing level of conflict and violence that young urban students face.
Within our schools, most administrators’ hands are tied by the bureaucratic code which does not allow them to discipline serious first time offenses. It is only after a student has repeatedly done something wrong that he/she can face more severe disciplinary action.But what type of message does this send to the student body at large and the multitude of students who do follow the rules every day. It shows those students that there are no consequences for their bad choices or violent actions. It tempts the student who is angry over what may be a minor incident to act out because there are no visible limitations. Furthermore, when those dangerous, disturbing and rather violent incidents do occur, like the stabbing outside of one school or the riot inside another, the news and media often get the details wrong or ignore it entirely. Meanwhile the school often tries its best to make the incident disappear as quickly as possible, and the students and teachers receive little news of what steps are being taken, or counseling. These actions ultimately, are what can make a student feel as though his/her life has little value within our society.
In any other school system, a student’s death, serious injury, or a violent action would be addressed within the entire student body. Students should have a safe space to speak and reflect on the incident and their own actions. School reform will ultimately take many different forms some will be of an administrative nature, others will be more academic in scope, but we cannot forget that our students have young, impressionable minds and they are not as immune to the violence around them as many would like to believe. Schools have the potential to shape a person’s character;I do not think that we should ignore this side of our many responsibilities. We must find spaces to discuss these issues and we cannot continue to treat incidences of rebellion and violence as “normal”.
Within our schools, most administrators’ hands are tied by the bureaucratic code which does not allow them to discipline serious first time offenses. It is only after a student has repeatedly done something wrong that he/she can face more severe disciplinary action.But what type of message does this send to the student body at large and the multitude of students who do follow the rules every day. It shows those students that there are no consequences for their bad choices or violent actions. It tempts the student who is angry over what may be a minor incident to act out because there are no visible limitations. Furthermore, when those dangerous, disturbing and rather violent incidents do occur, like the stabbing outside of one school or the riot inside another, the news and media often get the details wrong or ignore it entirely. Meanwhile the school often tries its best to make the incident disappear as quickly as possible, and the students and teachers receive little news of what steps are being taken, or counseling. These actions ultimately, are what can make a student feel as though his/her life has little value within our society.
In any other school system, a student’s death, serious injury, or a violent action would be addressed within the entire student body. Students should have a safe space to speak and reflect on the incident and their own actions. School reform will ultimately take many different forms some will be of an administrative nature, others will be more academic in scope, but we cannot forget that our students have young, impressionable minds and they are not as immune to the violence around them as many would like to believe. Schools have the potential to shape a person’s character;I do not think that we should ignore this side of our many responsibilities. We must find spaces to discuss these issues and we cannot continue to treat incidences of rebellion and violence as “normal”.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Are We Reforming for the Right Reasons?
The latest trend in urban reform seems to be a push towards school choice. There are a great number of charter schools, transformation schools, and other schools that are being formed as an alternative to the traditional public school system. Even Alonso's new plan for Baltimore includes closing certain schools so that alternative schools may expand or so that new ones can be created. Is this expansion into the private sector research driven or is it being promoted by a select few? I have seen the results of the students in these alternative schools and they look great (even though they are not required to report anything so they are only putting out the data that people want to see). I have heard the teachers from these schools talk about how wonderful they are. What I have not seen is a study done on the performance of the schools that have students who were refused entry into one of these alternative schools, the ED students or students with extensive IEPs. How do the public schools look when all of these alternative schools take the best and brightest teachers and students? Maybe it is too early to tell since this is a recent movement or maybe this data has been looked over in favor of how well the few students in these schools are performing compared to the much larger number still in public schools. I have also seen parent and public comments on this recent trend. One parent responded to an article in the Baltimore Sun about Obama’s education plan claiming that his plan “…should involve improving the school curricula by including courses that help students meet the worldly demands of our highly technological society.” instead of “…giving parents who don’t know what they are doing a choice of schools.” A board member of the American Civil Liberties Union responded to an editorial supporting the BOAST bill by saying that, “[Private schools] are not obligated to educate low-income children, special-education children, children with disabilities or children presenting any educational challenges.” She also states that, “Vouchers for private and religious schools are part of a political and ideological crusade, not a plan for education reform.” This last statement made me wonder about the path we are taking towards reform. Is this trend of reform through vouchers, charters, or other forms of choice what is best for all students, as should be the overarching goal, or is it for the select few?
Perception Versus Reality
As teachers in Baltimore City, we constantly hear about the ever-present violence that occurs in our schools and the communities around us. Whether as a blurb in the newspaper or a clip on the evening news, we unfortunately hear about fights, riots, stabbings, and shootings. The reports always highlight what went wrong, but never what possibly went right.
Last Friday, at Northwestern High School, an unfortunate series of events took place during the first lunch period. A community conflict that had erupted earlier in the week boiled over and was finished in the cafeteria. This fight was quickly contained and the instructional day continued with only minimal interruption. If you had been watching the news or reading the paper over the next few days, none of the positive actions by the staff were reported. The caption from WJZ news that evening said “Police Swarm School After Dozens of Girls Brawl.” If you knew nothing about Northwestern High School, but you saw that caption, you might think that these events were commonplace with an ineffective staff.
Left out of the story, was the swift reaction of staff and administrators to contain the fight. Left out was the fantastic performance of other students who did not allow the fight to destroy the rest of the school day. Left out were all the gains that have been made in the atmosphere of the school. While I am not an apologist or attempting to cover-up what took place, I would ask that a fair picture of the progress made in our school be presented. As a teacher at Northwestern, I can say that had this happened last year, the day would have been a waste.
Though one would have assumed that I would have been saddened by the events last Friday, I actually left the school that day extremely proud of my students. With a room full of upperclassmen, my students stayed on task, finished their work, and maintained a lightheartedness that made the extra hour in our room seem like no time at all. My students went to lunch during the second period, and as I walked them down to the cafeteria, I was amazed that it looked as if nothing had happened. Students maintained their composure and went about eating their lunches.
I use the events at Northwestern to comment on how we view violence throughout our school system. Unfortunately, for many of the communities surrounding our schools, violence and gangs are commonplace. As teachers and school staff, we are extremely limited to what we can control outside of school. Additionally an unenforceable cell phone ban and weak discipline code, leave administrators at a disadvantage. We know that strong consequences are not going to eliminate school violence; there must be a systemic change of culture. In most cases, a change in school culture can take approximately four to five years to take full effect. If we know that systemic cultural change takes so long, can we really blame faculty and administrators for setbacks along the way? More resources must be placed in schools for anger management, counseling, and conflict resolution. While our ultimate goal as educators is to make events like last Friday a thing of the past, we must acknowledge the reality that they may happen no matter what. Rather than unfairly place blame, we should celebrate swift action and competent management in the face of crisis.
Last Friday, at Northwestern High School, an unfortunate series of events took place during the first lunch period. A community conflict that had erupted earlier in the week boiled over and was finished in the cafeteria. This fight was quickly contained and the instructional day continued with only minimal interruption. If you had been watching the news or reading the paper over the next few days, none of the positive actions by the staff were reported. The caption from WJZ news that evening said “Police Swarm School After Dozens of Girls Brawl.” If you knew nothing about Northwestern High School, but you saw that caption, you might think that these events were commonplace with an ineffective staff.
Left out of the story, was the swift reaction of staff and administrators to contain the fight. Left out was the fantastic performance of other students who did not allow the fight to destroy the rest of the school day. Left out were all the gains that have been made in the atmosphere of the school. While I am not an apologist or attempting to cover-up what took place, I would ask that a fair picture of the progress made in our school be presented. As a teacher at Northwestern, I can say that had this happened last year, the day would have been a waste.
Though one would have assumed that I would have been saddened by the events last Friday, I actually left the school that day extremely proud of my students. With a room full of upperclassmen, my students stayed on task, finished their work, and maintained a lightheartedness that made the extra hour in our room seem like no time at all. My students went to lunch during the second period, and as I walked them down to the cafeteria, I was amazed that it looked as if nothing had happened. Students maintained their composure and went about eating their lunches.
I use the events at Northwestern to comment on how we view violence throughout our school system. Unfortunately, for many of the communities surrounding our schools, violence and gangs are commonplace. As teachers and school staff, we are extremely limited to what we can control outside of school. Additionally an unenforceable cell phone ban and weak discipline code, leave administrators at a disadvantage. We know that strong consequences are not going to eliminate school violence; there must be a systemic change of culture. In most cases, a change in school culture can take approximately four to five years to take full effect. If we know that systemic cultural change takes so long, can we really blame faculty and administrators for setbacks along the way? More resources must be placed in schools for anger management, counseling, and conflict resolution. While our ultimate goal as educators is to make events like last Friday a thing of the past, we must acknowledge the reality that they may happen no matter what. Rather than unfairly place blame, we should celebrate swift action and competent management in the face of crisis.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
The False Specter of Teacher Quality
School reformers have been banging the “teacher quality” drum for a number of years. Their endless wailing over the topic will fail to bring the change they are hoping for. Teacher quality is widely held to be one of the largest determinants of student success. However, the term is hopeless confused. A teacher’s quality of instruction results from a complex interplay of factors internal and external to the teacher including talent, skills, school climate, resource availability, class size, and most significantly, leadership.
The school reformers ignore the external determinants of teacher quality and purport that a teacher’s quality is largely within their own control. While the days of a one-room schoolhouse with the teacher acting as the principal, secretary, and social worker are gone, reformers trumpeting “teacher quality” conceptualize the teacher’s classroom as an island, disconnected from the complex organization characteristic of modern schools.
A quick search in Education Week confirms the focus on teacher quality over principal quality. The phrase “teacher quality” appears over seven times as often as “principal quality (216 articles vs 14). Many influential leaders in education, including Michelle Rhee, the Superintendent of DC Public Schools embrace this narrow, inaccurate perspective on teacher quality. She has pledged to “purge incompetent teachers by any means necessary” (Ripley, 2008). Perhaps what’s most misguided about Rhee’s approach is her behaviorism-like understanding of teacher competence. Oddly, by her own admission, she started off teaching doing a very poor job. She became competent. A teacher’s abilities in the classroom are not fixed.
Teachers can also appear more competent when they’re external environment is conducive to success. In a school beset by behavioral problems, poor organization, abysmal communication, and a dearth of an instructional vision, how can a teacher’s competence be evaluated? There are too many negative, external factors affecting that teacher’s success to blame students’ low achievement on the teacher alone.
A far more important contributing factor to student achievement is strong school based leadership. Reformers need to begin campaigning for better leadership within schools. Good leaders recruit good teachers, improve mediocre teachers, and work to fire the hopelessly underperforming teachers. They also tend to the external factors that contribute to teacher success. By directing their efforts towards school based leadership, reformers would be helping to increase student achievement.
The school reformers ignore the external determinants of teacher quality and purport that a teacher’s quality is largely within their own control. While the days of a one-room schoolhouse with the teacher acting as the principal, secretary, and social worker are gone, reformers trumpeting “teacher quality” conceptualize the teacher’s classroom as an island, disconnected from the complex organization characteristic of modern schools.
A quick search in Education Week confirms the focus on teacher quality over principal quality. The phrase “teacher quality” appears over seven times as often as “principal quality (216 articles vs 14). Many influential leaders in education, including Michelle Rhee, the Superintendent of DC Public Schools embrace this narrow, inaccurate perspective on teacher quality. She has pledged to “purge incompetent teachers by any means necessary” (Ripley, 2008). Perhaps what’s most misguided about Rhee’s approach is her behaviorism-like understanding of teacher competence. Oddly, by her own admission, she started off teaching doing a very poor job. She became competent. A teacher’s abilities in the classroom are not fixed.
Teachers can also appear more competent when they’re external environment is conducive to success. In a school beset by behavioral problems, poor organization, abysmal communication, and a dearth of an instructional vision, how can a teacher’s competence be evaluated? There are too many negative, external factors affecting that teacher’s success to blame students’ low achievement on the teacher alone.
A far more important contributing factor to student achievement is strong school based leadership. Reformers need to begin campaigning for better leadership within schools. Good leaders recruit good teachers, improve mediocre teachers, and work to fire the hopelessly underperforming teachers. They also tend to the external factors that contribute to teacher success. By directing their efforts towards school based leadership, reformers would be helping to increase student achievement.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
What is the point?
In today's Baltimore Sun is it reported that there is an estimated 8% of Maryland high school seniors at risk for not graduating. 4,660 students out of 53,500 (with 1063 of those students coming from our very own Baltimore City) are in the process of struggling through Bridge Projects in order to graduate on time. http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/education/bal-hsa-resultsbyschool-table0325,0,6258495.htmlstory When I say "struggling," I mean the teachers and Department Heads are the ones struggling.
During one of our Professional Development days, the math teachers were all sent to be trained on how Bridge Projects work. In my school, only the Department Head and one other teacher deals with advising the projects, so until this PD I was unaware of what this process included. To my surprise, the PD was not filled with useful tips on how to get the students motivated to do the projects, but rather was a session on how teachers can give students the answers to the "project" (really it's just an extended work packet) without legally giving them the answers. We were told that as an adviser, we should be giving students the exact questions with different numbers, work the problems out, as well as write out any explanations needed. This can be used as a "reference" for the student as s/he completes the project.
Frankly, I don't see the point of this project. The student's are still not mastering the skills they clearly need. They are merely being taught how to copy off another page properly. I understand the concept of modeling for a student, but how does this assess whether or not the student understands the concept being tested? Students taking the real HSAs do not get problems worked out for them. I feel as though the state is trying to find a loophole from failing the 8% of students. If you are going to have a standard such as HSAs, do so. Stick by it. Fail 8% because they are not ready to leave high school, because they have not accomplished the skills the state has deemed necessary for graduating. Do not just let them pass by completing some make-up work packet the students copy off of their teacher. What is the point of that? What is stopping them from removing the middle man and have the teacher just write it out themselves while signing the students name? The responses on these projects aren't the words or thoughts of the student, but rather the teacher. There is no actual understanding being demonstrated.
So someone please tell me, what is the point of these Bridge Projects? Help students understand material? Or a way for the state to avoid failing mass numbers of students and looking like an educational failure?
During one of our Professional Development days, the math teachers were all sent to be trained on how Bridge Projects work. In my school, only the Department Head and one other teacher deals with advising the projects, so until this PD I was unaware of what this process included. To my surprise, the PD was not filled with useful tips on how to get the students motivated to do the projects, but rather was a session on how teachers can give students the answers to the "project" (really it's just an extended work packet) without legally giving them the answers. We were told that as an adviser, we should be giving students the exact questions with different numbers, work the problems out, as well as write out any explanations needed. This can be used as a "reference" for the student as s/he completes the project.
Frankly, I don't see the point of this project. The student's are still not mastering the skills they clearly need. They are merely being taught how to copy off another page properly. I understand the concept of modeling for a student, but how does this assess whether or not the student understands the concept being tested? Students taking the real HSAs do not get problems worked out for them. I feel as though the state is trying to find a loophole from failing the 8% of students. If you are going to have a standard such as HSAs, do so. Stick by it. Fail 8% because they are not ready to leave high school, because they have not accomplished the skills the state has deemed necessary for graduating. Do not just let them pass by completing some make-up work packet the students copy off of their teacher. What is the point of that? What is stopping them from removing the middle man and have the teacher just write it out themselves while signing the students name? The responses on these projects aren't the words or thoughts of the student, but rather the teacher. There is no actual understanding being demonstrated.
So someone please tell me, what is the point of these Bridge Projects? Help students understand material? Or a way for the state to avoid failing mass numbers of students and looking like an educational failure?
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
The teacher-in-chief speaks - The Economist 14-03-09
In the March 14, 2009 edition of The Economist I read an article entitled “The teacher-in-chief speaks” that can be viewed at www.economist.com/world/unitedstates/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13279059 . This article was about Obama’s speech and all of the issues we have discussed so far in class from rigors of standardized testing, merit pay, teacher quality, charter schools, and vouchers.
I think this all are serious issues that apply to the Baltimore City Public School system and cannot be ignored. I know that my school receives Title I money from the government, but how that money is used is not often in the students best interests. Baltimore City Schools have a large amount of Federal money thrown at them, but miss manage it and use it for things that ultimately do not promote closing the achievement gap.
I think that in order for the BCPSS system to change, the reforms at the Federal level must be stronger and have a longer lasting influence than those of the past administrations. There is momentum being built to close the discrepancies between state standards as well as getting bad teachers out of the classroom. Baltimore City needs supports in place to keep the good teachers who demonstrate student achievement in the classroom while working to eliminate the teachers that do not perform to expectations.
The Missing Piece
When thinking about changes that need to be made in order for our students in Baltimore City to success I can’t get past the family and community involvement piece. This is my second year teaching and I feel much more equipped to initiate parent communication to get parents to volunteer, come in for a conference, or discuss good and bad behavior. From the beginning of my teaching career in Baltimore City I have been pleasantly surprised with my interactions with parents and family.
Recently though, I find myself frustrated with unanswered efforts to communicate with parents and families. I am a tutor with an after school program run at my school and several of my students are in the tutoring program. I have a student who displays negative behavior daily and she is in the afterschool program. She and I have a special relationship and she was showing improvements from spending extra time with me not only for academics but behavior. I offered to drive her home after the program so she could stay and I had been doing this for a few weeks. Her sister and mom came up today and ever so kindly told me they didn’t want me driving her home anymore. It really hurt my feelings. It hurt me even more to see my girl walking out the door with her mom almost in tears because I couldn’t drive her home. I felt all my efforts to help this student went down the drain with this small act.
I don’t ever want a parent to feel that I am overstepping my boundaries on their parenting skills. It is obvious that this child needs a lot of extra attention and help. I just wish that this specific parent and others like her would more readily realize the good intention of teachers in the city. In a perfect world teachers and parents would work together without any feelings of animosity. For now, I’ll make do with what I’ve got.
Recently though, I find myself frustrated with unanswered efforts to communicate with parents and families. I am a tutor with an after school program run at my school and several of my students are in the tutoring program. I have a student who displays negative behavior daily and she is in the afterschool program. She and I have a special relationship and she was showing improvements from spending extra time with me not only for academics but behavior. I offered to drive her home after the program so she could stay and I had been doing this for a few weeks. Her sister and mom came up today and ever so kindly told me they didn’t want me driving her home anymore. It really hurt my feelings. It hurt me even more to see my girl walking out the door with her mom almost in tears because I couldn’t drive her home. I felt all my efforts to help this student went down the drain with this small act.
I don’t ever want a parent to feel that I am overstepping my boundaries on their parenting skills. It is obvious that this child needs a lot of extra attention and help. I just wish that this specific parent and others like her would more readily realize the good intention of teachers in the city. In a perfect world teachers and parents would work together without any feelings of animosity. For now, I’ll make do with what I’ve got.
Monday, March 23, 2009
What about the administrators?
A good friend of mine works in a public charter school in urban Connecticut. While the name of the school escapes me, what does stick are the stories. Test scores are low, violence and crime within the school building is up and students and some staff are apathetic, to say the very least. Thought to be a highly progressive charter, the high hopes for success in this school are not coming to fruition. Progress is not being made, and teachers and students are growing increasingly dissatisfied. Most interesting, though, is that the school does not have a single administrator. In fact, the school was established in a feeble attempt to prove that administrators are an unnecessary toxin. The theory, however, has failed.
From Barack Obama to Andres Alonso, all we're hearing about is reform, reform, reform. If the teacher is bad, find him or her a new profession. If the students are not meeting standards, point to the person standing at the head of the classroom. As a disclaimer, let me say that I am a firm believer in the theory that teacher actions are the number one influencer of student actions, and that, yes, if the test scores are low, then it is very likely the fault of the teacher leading, or for that matter not leading, the classroom. However, so to play the role of the devil's advocate and spice up the conversation, I ask: what about the administrators?
Of a group of teachers surveyed in one of my classes at Hopkins, an overwhelming, borderline alarming, number of "good teachers" departing the Baltimore City school system at the end of this school year are crediting a lack of administrative support for their reason for departure. Where is the discussion about administrative reform? If a classroom is successful because a teacher is a good leader of that classroom, wouldn't/shouldn't a school be equally successful under equally strong leadership?
Allow me to provide an example: I am a teacher in the Baltimore school system, and am in my, approximately, seventeenth month of teaching. Allow me to be the first to say that I still have a LOT to learn. I welcome observations, and have, on multiple occasions invited any one of the four vice principals, the resident principal and principal, into my classroom to both see the great things happening, but also offer constructive feedback so to improve my performance. Never has an invitation been answered, which I have simply assumed is because their schedules are too busy to accommodate a pop in, and that is fine. But, for my formal observation this spring - one of two scheduled opportunities to rate and officially document my performance - according to district expectations, I am to have a pre-observation meeting, an observation of my teaching and a post-observation debrief and strategizing session. Last week, as assistant principal walked into my room at 2:55 pm, minutes before the final bell was to ring and in the middle of the closing of my lesson, to tell me that she "knows what you're capable of based on what I've seen you do in the classroom before, so you don't have to worry about any of that pre or post observation stuff. I'll just drop in for a few minutes for the actual observation."
She's never seen me teach before. Ever.... ev-ver. But, she's charged with the responsibility of providing me a comprehensive and accurate rating of my teaching performance? I would think that me, a teacher of less than two years, would be prioritized and taken through this observation cycle to provide me with the feedback necessary to develop me into one of these "good enough" teachers we hear so frequently are needed in our failing schools. Quite honestly, I could be a miserable teacher who puts on a good show for observation day and has students who like me enough to not say anything about it. I bet that, based on this skimpy (dare I call it..) "formal observation", I would be rehired to teach next year - my third year - therefore guaranteeing me tenure and virtually never fire-able. Isn't that exactly the problem? Bring on the firing squad - MAKE me prove that I'm good enough.
In an OpEd posted on the New York Times site, Nicholas Kristof calls Michelle Rhee's takeover of the DC school system "education's ground zero". He cautiously praises her for her firm stance on the educational platforms on which she stands on difficult issues, like incentive pay for teacher. But, in the discussion about incentive pay, Kristof writes, "But teachers worry, not unreasonably, that their performance is difficult to measure, that they will be judged by incompetent principals." I ask, then, where is the discussion about reforming school leadership? Isn't it time that weak leaders be made aware that their performance is under the public microscope, too?
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Another Look at Obama's Speech on Education
As a teacher in Baltimore that tries very hard to pay close attention to educational policy and its likely influence on my classroom, I can’t shake Obama’s recent speech on education out of my head. He offered lots of action, but in the end, very little positive substance – or perhaps the bad has drowned out the good. So first, the aspects that appear to be on the right side of what Baltimore schools, and schools in general need: support of early childhood, support and funding for National Board Certification, and a substantial increase in funding IDEA Part B (in the stimulus). Obama also vaguely acknowledged the need for better assessments, though his Education Secretary praises the basic model of testing that currently prevails.
The bad: much of his speech reinforced the high stakes, low quality assessments that have become ubiquitous in public education. They provide incomplete and inaccurate information which is used to make important decisions. Everyday I witness the harms of high stakes testing on the children who need our most support. The MSA and other tests like it reduce the educational experiences of children and turn schools into test-prep factories.
Parts of Obama’s speech were factually inaccurate. He stated that the United States had “fallen to 9th” in the world, whereas in reality the U.S. had to make substantial gains to rise to 9th. On the same test in 1995 the United States was ranked 23rd out of 41 countries. Maybe international comparisons are significant benchmarks by which to gauge our success. But this misuse of data rings of the Bush era when misleading scare tactics became common-place in order to promote the administration’s agenda.
Obama also spoke of the merit pay meme, which will likely come to Baltimore in some form sometime soon. People can have reasonable disagreements and ardent debates about merit pay. But one thing is clear, in survey after survey fully certified teachers that leave the profession state that the primary forces driving them out of education were infringements on their creativity and autonomy within the classroom, not low pay. This is not to say that teachers should not be paid more, but rather that merit pay is simply not successful at what it purports to do. Here are the educational historians David Tyack and Larry Cuban: “The history of performance-based salary plans has been a merry-go-round. In the main, districts that initially embraced merit pay dropped it after a brief trial.” More on why merit pay has not historically worked is available here. In short, merit pay would exacerbate the problems that manifest with high stakes testing, leading to an even less-rich educational experience.
Many in education circles that I am a part of poorly formulate the measure by which we should judge Obama’s policies. We need to go beyond just asking ourselves, “Is he better than Bush?” Yet, even by the Bush measure, we have cause to worry.
There's much more to be said about Obama's educational policy initiatives, but this is already too lengthy. Before these policies become reality in Baltimore, we need to take a hard look and go beyond talking about rigor in the classroom. We also need to be rigorous in the evaluation of proposed initiatives. Too much has been discussed and promoted without careful examination. Simply being pro-reform, regardless of the particular reform, will not serve the children of Baltimore.
I will end with quoting one educational pundit Gerald Bracey talking about another: “Diane Ravitch, never once called a bleeding-hear liberal and assistant secretary of education for George H. W. Bush, recently said that, from what she's seen, Obama is a third term for George W. Bush and Arne Duncan is Margaret Spellings in drag. She was not doling out compliments to either man.”
The bad: much of his speech reinforced the high stakes, low quality assessments that have become ubiquitous in public education. They provide incomplete and inaccurate information which is used to make important decisions. Everyday I witness the harms of high stakes testing on the children who need our most support. The MSA and other tests like it reduce the educational experiences of children and turn schools into test-prep factories.
Parts of Obama’s speech were factually inaccurate. He stated that the United States had “fallen to 9th” in the world, whereas in reality the U.S. had to make substantial gains to rise to 9th. On the same test in 1995 the United States was ranked 23rd out of 41 countries. Maybe international comparisons are significant benchmarks by which to gauge our success. But this misuse of data rings of the Bush era when misleading scare tactics became common-place in order to promote the administration’s agenda.
Obama also spoke of the merit pay meme, which will likely come to Baltimore in some form sometime soon. People can have reasonable disagreements and ardent debates about merit pay. But one thing is clear, in survey after survey fully certified teachers that leave the profession state that the primary forces driving them out of education were infringements on their creativity and autonomy within the classroom, not low pay. This is not to say that teachers should not be paid more, but rather that merit pay is simply not successful at what it purports to do. Here are the educational historians David Tyack and Larry Cuban: “The history of performance-based salary plans has been a merry-go-round. In the main, districts that initially embraced merit pay dropped it after a brief trial.” More on why merit pay has not historically worked is available here. In short, merit pay would exacerbate the problems that manifest with high stakes testing, leading to an even less-rich educational experience.
Many in education circles that I am a part of poorly formulate the measure by which we should judge Obama’s policies. We need to go beyond just asking ourselves, “Is he better than Bush?” Yet, even by the Bush measure, we have cause to worry.
There's much more to be said about Obama's educational policy initiatives, but this is already too lengthy. Before these policies become reality in Baltimore, we need to take a hard look and go beyond talking about rigor in the classroom. We also need to be rigorous in the evaluation of proposed initiatives. Too much has been discussed and promoted without careful examination. Simply being pro-reform, regardless of the particular reform, will not serve the children of Baltimore.
I will end with quoting one educational pundit Gerald Bracey talking about another: “Diane Ravitch, never once called a bleeding-hear liberal and assistant secretary of education for George H. W. Bush, recently said that, from what she's seen, Obama is a third term for George W. Bush and Arne Duncan is Margaret Spellings in drag. She was not doling out compliments to either man.”
HB 630: The Key to Restoring Respect in Schools?
A Price George’s County Democrat, Delegate Gerron S. Levi, introduced four bills, which she hopes will help restore respect at school. One of which caught my eye, was HB 630, which would mandate that parents and guardians whose children have been repeatedly suspended or chronically absent would lose access to some state tax benefits if they do not attend school/teacher conferences. I am intrigued to think of the ramifications this bill could have on Baltimore City Schools. Lately, I have done a lot of reflecting on my students’ progress in my classroom. While they are being challenged to work hard and achieve at high levels, I often question if I have had a real influence in developing them to be highly capable outside of my classroom. In a school environment where chronic absenteeism is the norm and where students lack appropriate social cues, I wonder if my students could make it in an environment which required them to be punctual, respectful, and hard-working at all times.
One student who I had not seen since the beginning of first semester reappeared in class last week. Although his family had been notified of his absenteeism and he had been on at least two short-term suspensions during the first semester, my principle is bending over backwards to develop a plan for him to graduate, complete three bridge projects in three days (just in time for tomorrow’s submission deadline), take three classes on Novell this semester, and get mandatory make-up work packets so that his first semester grades can be changed. Honestly, this has me heated! When are we going to stop giving chance after chance? We are demonstrating to our students that it is ok to be late, to come to school once in a while, do little to no work, and to be flagrantly disrespectful, because in the end, there is no accountability.
Perhaps HB 630 will restore some of the accountability that has been lacking on the parent/guardian side. As for our schools, it is high time we stop pretending the majority of our students are prepared and ready to go to college or go into the workforce. We need to show our students we care by holding high expectations. All of these chances only illustrate that we are pushovers (many times forced to act this way because of an unsupportive administration). The respect that is lacking can only be restored when we actually demand it and lead by example.
http://www.gazette.net/stories/02262009/lanhnew172109_32481.shtml
One student who I had not seen since the beginning of first semester reappeared in class last week. Although his family had been notified of his absenteeism and he had been on at least two short-term suspensions during the first semester, my principle is bending over backwards to develop a plan for him to graduate, complete three bridge projects in three days (just in time for tomorrow’s submission deadline), take three classes on Novell this semester, and get mandatory make-up work packets so that his first semester grades can be changed. Honestly, this has me heated! When are we going to stop giving chance after chance? We are demonstrating to our students that it is ok to be late, to come to school once in a while, do little to no work, and to be flagrantly disrespectful, because in the end, there is no accountability.
Perhaps HB 630 will restore some of the accountability that has been lacking on the parent/guardian side. As for our schools, it is high time we stop pretending the majority of our students are prepared and ready to go to college or go into the workforce. We need to show our students we care by holding high expectations. All of these chances only illustrate that we are pushovers (many times forced to act this way because of an unsupportive administration). The respect that is lacking can only be restored when we actually demand it and lead by example.
http://www.gazette.net/stories/02262009/lanhnew172109_32481.shtml
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Will Obama's Pillars of Reform Work in Baltimore City?
I was so eager to hear President Obama's first real speech on education since being sworn into office. And I am happy to say that I was not let down. His speech on education reform (given on March 10th) was right on target with his campagin promises and also appeared to be right on target with many other American education reform iniatives. President Obama spoke eliquently as usual and even though he brought many serious issues to light, I still feel hopeful.
His speech focused on five pillars of education reform: early childhood iniatives, better assessments, rewards for outstanding teachers, innovation, and providing education to all. Although all made sense, the one that stood out for me was innovation. He showed particular interest in supporting charter schools and reforming the school year calendar. Are American Schools ready for this? Is Baltimore City School System ready for this?
I agree that the reasons for having summers off no longer apply to most American children. I don't think any of my students spend their summers farming and tending to their families' land. However, this cultural shift would be huge for my students, their families and teachers. Many of my students and their families would have a difficult time with this simply because of the drastic change. Vacations, childcare, and custody issues would certainly come into play. I would predict that the first few years' attendance would be poor. And what about the teachers? Yes, the students would forget less and yes, the shift to the next grade would be smoother. But what about us? Summers off are not only a time for us to recharge our batteries for the next year, but they are also a time for professional development. I would be interested in what a survey of BCPSS teachers would say. I suppose I'm on the fence with this issue...I also worry about the economic cost to BCPSS. Many of the school buildings are not air conditioned properly and the cost to repair these buildings and air condition them would be quite expensive. Not to mention the cost of staffing and transportation.
My second concern is with the charter schools in BCPSS. Many of our charter schools are wonderful institutions and promote exactly what President Obama hopes to see in them: innovation, choice, and support. However, Maryland's charter school law is not strong and it would be unfortunate if our charter schools movement grew too fast. The paperwork involved in shifting students around Baltimore City is staggering. Many students move through three or four schools a year and this includes charter schools. I've been involved in too many situations involving special education students not getting the proper services because the paperwork was lost or had not arrived to a charter school (or other BCPSS public school). The paperwork doesn't ever catch up with the child. Important information is never learned about these students and in the meantime a year of education is lost. My hope is that Baltimore City Schools can make this shift towards innovation slowly and with a lot of thought. We must evolve with the movement instead of jumping right in and learning from some very big mistakes afterwards.
His speech focused on five pillars of education reform: early childhood iniatives, better assessments, rewards for outstanding teachers, innovation, and providing education to all. Although all made sense, the one that stood out for me was innovation. He showed particular interest in supporting charter schools and reforming the school year calendar. Are American Schools ready for this? Is Baltimore City School System ready for this?
I agree that the reasons for having summers off no longer apply to most American children. I don't think any of my students spend their summers farming and tending to their families' land. However, this cultural shift would be huge for my students, their families and teachers. Many of my students and their families would have a difficult time with this simply because of the drastic change. Vacations, childcare, and custody issues would certainly come into play. I would predict that the first few years' attendance would be poor. And what about the teachers? Yes, the students would forget less and yes, the shift to the next grade would be smoother. But what about us? Summers off are not only a time for us to recharge our batteries for the next year, but they are also a time for professional development. I would be interested in what a survey of BCPSS teachers would say. I suppose I'm on the fence with this issue...I also worry about the economic cost to BCPSS. Many of the school buildings are not air conditioned properly and the cost to repair these buildings and air condition them would be quite expensive. Not to mention the cost of staffing and transportation.
My second concern is with the charter schools in BCPSS. Many of our charter schools are wonderful institutions and promote exactly what President Obama hopes to see in them: innovation, choice, and support. However, Maryland's charter school law is not strong and it would be unfortunate if our charter schools movement grew too fast. The paperwork involved in shifting students around Baltimore City is staggering. Many students move through three or four schools a year and this includes charter schools. I've been involved in too many situations involving special education students not getting the proper services because the paperwork was lost or had not arrived to a charter school (or other BCPSS public school). The paperwork doesn't ever catch up with the child. Important information is never learned about these students and in the meantime a year of education is lost. My hope is that Baltimore City Schools can make this shift towards innovation slowly and with a lot of thought. We must evolve with the movement instead of jumping right in and learning from some very big mistakes afterwards.
Friday, March 20, 2009
The Question of Safety in Public Schools
Today was the first day of spring and one of the topics that preoccupied my day was fighting in schools. For a blog about urban reform, this might seem like a minor issue when compared with unequal funding, crumbling facilities, and poor achievement. This said, when I look back at what school was like for me, fighting, especially the vicious fighting that I saw today, was not part of the situation.
I teach at a northwestern Baltimore public middle school that has experienced more than it’s fair share of tragedy from school violence. With the opening of spring and the conclusion of the first part of the MSA tests, I personally witnessed three terrible fights. Also today, eight female students were arrested at Northwestern High School after a fight that involved around 30 girls, and a middle school student at Booker T. Washington was arrested after a fight with a teacher (http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/baltimore_city/bal-northwestern0320,0,1818176.story). In conversations with my colleagues, a number of teachers mentioned that today, being the start of spring, was just the beginning for this kind of misbehavior. The sad part about what they were saying was not just that there is the potential for a great amount of physical violence in the school, but that it is part of an end-of-year status quo.
Some might attribute the violence faced by urban schools to the environment in which students are raised. Guerra, Huesmann, and Spindler (2003) conclude that witnessing violence in the community can create greater levels of aggression in students. While this may be true, accepting violent physical manifestations of higher aggression levels as part of urban public school status quo is both unacceptable and blatantly unjust. Not only might community environment influence the levels of violence of students, but so too does school environment and school climate (Welsch 2000). Personally, I experience a large amount of frustration with unfair or unexplained rewards and consequences. I constantly feel that the administration at my school is unclear and uncommunicative, that there is not a clear definition of unacceptable behavior, and that there is no consistency in response to misbehavior. Not only is the poor school climate fostered by this kind of behavior frustrating for students, teachers, and parents, but it also stands to be the culprit in school violence.
When thinking about urban reform in Baltimore City Public Schools, a strong judgment needs to be made about administrative policies and messaging of critical information to students. In order to have a chance to affect achievement gains and support the whole student, there needs to be a commitment to the examination of the issue of school violence. Clearly, either the policies in place now or the way in which they are being implemented in some public schools is ineffective. Without providing a safe environment for all students, how can schools hope to be havens for learning and growth?
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Texting Our Way to Safety
In a recent article on wbaltv.com (http://www.wbaltv.com/news/18912265/detail.html), it was reported that Baltimore City police are considering opening an anonymous bullying/violence texting line for Baltimore City students. This idea comes with the news that 1/3 of our students do not feel safe at their school and on the heels of a recent killing at William H. Lemmel, according to the article. Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, the city council president, says the anonymous aspect will allow any concerned party (students, teachers, parents) to not be labeled as a snitch. With an estimated 456 gang members in BCPSS, there seems to be some real danger posed to our students.
The idea of violence in our schools is scary, and I believe we should do all that we can to help our students feel safe in their learning environments. If it means purchasing metal detectors, hiring more school police officers, or putting more than one teacher in the most dangerous classrooms, then I say that we need to find the money. I realize that Mayor Dixon just announced major budget cuts citywide, but in an ideal world we’d have sufficient funds to create the best possible learning environments for all of our students. Students should never have to be afraid to come to school, regardless of where they come from. I think the text line is a good idea, in theory. However, in practice, it doesn’t have a good chance of working. Students are told that they may not have cell phones in school, and while many children don’t listen, countless teachers try to enforce that rule. Opening a text line is a direct contradiction of that rule and would give the students an excuse to whip out a cell phone whenever they felt like it. A student could just say that they felt threatened or unsafe and in reality be sending a text to their friend in the classroom next door. Further, I would be wary of prank texters. I think many teachers in our system are quite aware of the capacity of our students to elaborate on falsehoods just for entertainment value.
On the positive side, gearing a hotline towards students’ interests (we all know how popular texting has become!) could prove successful. If used in an appropriate way and outside of school hours, the proposed texting hotline may become a helpful avenue to increasing school safety.
The idea of violence in our schools is scary, and I believe we should do all that we can to help our students feel safe in their learning environments. If it means purchasing metal detectors, hiring more school police officers, or putting more than one teacher in the most dangerous classrooms, then I say that we need to find the money. I realize that Mayor Dixon just announced major budget cuts citywide, but in an ideal world we’d have sufficient funds to create the best possible learning environments for all of our students. Students should never have to be afraid to come to school, regardless of where they come from. I think the text line is a good idea, in theory. However, in practice, it doesn’t have a good chance of working. Students are told that they may not have cell phones in school, and while many children don’t listen, countless teachers try to enforce that rule. Opening a text line is a direct contradiction of that rule and would give the students an excuse to whip out a cell phone whenever they felt like it. A student could just say that they felt threatened or unsafe and in reality be sending a text to their friend in the classroom next door. Further, I would be wary of prank texters. I think many teachers in our system are quite aware of the capacity of our students to elaborate on falsehoods just for entertainment value.
On the positive side, gearing a hotline towards students’ interests (we all know how popular texting has become!) could prove successful. If used in an appropriate way and outside of school hours, the proposed texting hotline may become a helpful avenue to increasing school safety.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Corporal Punishment... can I use that?
http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/08/20/corporal.punishment/
If you've ever taught 9th graders two weeks before spring break in Baltimore City, admit it... you've thought about harming them.
According to the above article from CNN, over 200,000 US children were subjected to corporal punishment as a disciplinary practice at their schools in the 2006-2007 school year. 13 states "frequently" use corporal punishment as a behavior consequence- Missouri, Kentucky, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Florida.
To quote Liz Lemon on "30 Rock"- "I want to go to there."
All joking aside, I have seriously wondered what punishments might be more effective for my students. The minor consequences don't work- detention, conferences in the hall way, a parent phone call, the omnipotent seat move... We're two weeks before spring break. The kids aren't amateurs. They're pulling out the big guns. And all we can do is suspend them.
Suspensions are a joke. The kids long for them, they want them. They'll have a relaxing few days at home, then pop up and demand a work packet (printed out on my personal printer with my personal ink with my personal paper, of course). For a truly troubled child, no consequence whatsoever can change their behavior. Only relationship building and mutual respect between teacher and student can overcome the barriers- and it's difficult to build relationships with young people who refuse to shut their mouths.
So I'm left to my fantasies... and a great many of them involve corporal punishment. Anyone up for petitioning the state of Maryland to repeal the ban on corporal punishment? Anyone? Get back to me next Monday morning.
Budget Cuts...at the expense of what?
Sheila Dixon today announced budget cuts today; I am assuming this is in response to the tightening economy. Affected departments include the fire department and public works, but I was especially taken aback by her cuts in parks and recreation and public libraries. All except two libraries will now be closed on either Monday or Friday, several pools have been closed and the Easterwood Recreation Center will also be closing. Easterwood, closed from dropping enrollment and needed repairs, is across the street from my school and I know our school has benefitted from having a recreation center.
I respect that our mayor has to cut back on expenses. However, I can’t help but be a little angry. Dixon, indicted for perjury, theft and fraud, seems to be leaving less and less options for the children of this city...in the name of saving the budget. I think back to my own adolescence and how much I benefitted from having structured, safe, public places to go, such as libraries and recreation centers. Our city seems to be giving the message that it is not a civic duty to provide enriching leisure for our children. Where do they go as more and more public places close? What options will we leave them?
I respect that our mayor has to cut back on expenses. However, I can’t help but be a little angry. Dixon, indicted for perjury, theft and fraud, seems to be leaving less and less options for the children of this city...in the name of saving the budget. I think back to my own adolescence and how much I benefitted from having structured, safe, public places to go, such as libraries and recreation centers. Our city seems to be giving the message that it is not a civic duty to provide enriching leisure for our children. Where do they go as more and more public places close? What options will we leave them?
Monday, March 16, 2009
Some thoughts...
As a teacher at a “struggling” Baltimore City middle school, I am apprehensive of Alonso’s move toward the restructuring of failing schools. Right now, Alonso’s theory consists of the idea that failing schools need to be merged with successful schools in order to avoid downsizing and stimulate joint achievement. Is this really possible? I don’t know, but I do think that there are two things in particular that Alonso has overlooked in the past two years: the junior high school model of structuring and poor administrators.
One issue that I have with the restructuring of the city’s schools is the philosophy behind 6-12 buildings. I personally believe that using a junior high school model to bridge elementary school with high school can be much more effective. In my opinion, 6th graders do not need to be in a school with 12th graders. It’s much too large of an age difference between these grades. From my personal experience working in a middle school, merging my school with a high school is NOT going to fix the greater problems that exist within the walls of my building.
Another question that I have behind the whole restructuring debate has to do with the quality of administrators that are leading our schools. Alonso has made it a point to actively cut the extra jobs that have cost our system…but what about cutting the poor administrators that are failing our schools? And just exactly how is he holding them accountable? Over the last two years I have been appalled at the lack of professionalism by some administrators that have had the pleasure of working under. I cannot fathom how some of these people get appointed as leaders of our schools. And this fact is acknowledged by a number of my fellow colleagues at different schools across the system.
In the end, I am no expert on the philosophy behind school structure; all I’m saying is that I think a junior high school model would be more beneficial to our system because it groups students within appropriate grade levels together. In addition, I am not an administrator; I’m merely saying that we have some leaders who should not be leaders trying to run our schools. But I am a BCPSS teacher, actually in the classroom every single day, teaching, trying to avoid the constant instability of this school system.
One issue that I have with the restructuring of the city’s schools is the philosophy behind 6-12 buildings. I personally believe that using a junior high school model to bridge elementary school with high school can be much more effective. In my opinion, 6th graders do not need to be in a school with 12th graders. It’s much too large of an age difference between these grades. From my personal experience working in a middle school, merging my school with a high school is NOT going to fix the greater problems that exist within the walls of my building.
Another question that I have behind the whole restructuring debate has to do with the quality of administrators that are leading our schools. Alonso has made it a point to actively cut the extra jobs that have cost our system…but what about cutting the poor administrators that are failing our schools? And just exactly how is he holding them accountable? Over the last two years I have been appalled at the lack of professionalism by some administrators that have had the pleasure of working under. I cannot fathom how some of these people get appointed as leaders of our schools. And this fact is acknowledged by a number of my fellow colleagues at different schools across the system.
In the end, I am no expert on the philosophy behind school structure; all I’m saying is that I think a junior high school model would be more beneficial to our system because it groups students within appropriate grade levels together. In addition, I am not an administrator; I’m merely saying that we have some leaders who should not be leaders trying to run our schools. But I am a BCPSS teacher, actually in the classroom every single day, teaching, trying to avoid the constant instability of this school system.
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