Supend Something

Study after study, not to mention personal experience, show how little suspensions do as a discipline device.

• Studying Suspensions Costenbader and Markson (1997) examined the responses of 252 students who had been suspended during their school career. Sixty nine percent of those surveyed felt that suspension was of little use, and 32% predicted that they would be suspended again.
• Suspending Kindergarteners --is this reasonable? Is this? USA Today's article on topic
• Shocking Stats a report by the legal defense and education fund of the NAACP on Florida's suspension track record: "statewide there has been a 14% increase in the number of out-of-school suspensions issued in the last five years, leading to an astonishing 441,694 out-of-school suspensions in 2004-05."
• NYC Suspension Issues: "citations for less serious offenses in those schools, such as misdemeanor assault, have risen 72 percent, up from an average of 8.6 to 14.8 citations per day. These citations all carry suspensions as well."

If the purpose of school to educate students, and the purpose of consequences in school is to change behavior, then Baltimore city needs to drastically rethink and rework their policy towards “punishing” misbehavior. Two suggestions immediately spring to mind.
Start by changing out-of-school “vacations” as they are sometimes referred to in my school (though always sarcastically, few students like suspensions—they complain of being bored) to in-school suspensions. This would require a secured room and at least one fully certified teacher to run it. Students could be sent to in-school suspension for any of the typical suspension reasons—from out of uniform violations to fighting. The room, silent, with required (and rigorous) work developed by the teachers to be done independently, could be a place to calm down students that need space, and refocus students that begin treating school like the mall. Make in-school suspension work due before students can leave, so that it turns into immediate detention. This isolates students that are not capable of handle classroom environment at the moment (for whatever reason) without cutting them off from school entirely, sending the message they neither belong nor are wanted in the school, and leaving them to their own devices for days at a time.

Another change could be in scheduling. Arrange study-hall periods in the days, starting with middle school. Extend the day to provide the time, and give students that follow the rule this time to “chill out” if they desire—listen to music, draw, play cards, eat lunch leisurely, finish projects, work on computers. Students that violate school rules can lose privileges, and face time doing “work” for the school in the office or classroom, or have to report to tutoring classes. Suspension should be a drastic problem; Baltimore city needs more useful interventions to act as brakes, before students crash headlong into suspension. But since options are limited, providing a structured sense of privileges that could be lost might work in the same way.

Not So Cheesy perhaps.

Possibly inspired by Jean Anyon’s Radical Possibilities, a book whose dense prose makes a reader want to reference it at all points, because reading it was so hard it has to be worth something, I’ve been considering outside-the-classroom solutions to the problems I see playing out within my school. Although not quite as out of the box as an Anyon proposal, I think revising school transportation could make for positive, immediate improvement in Baltimore.
“Cheese buses” so often mocked by my students, used to riding the public MTA, bus tickets in hand, make sense for many schools. And the public buses do not. Students arrive off buses in tumbling, rowdy masses. There is little consistency in timing—students take whichever bus they want. Drivers do not always stop of students; students fight on buses. Students often have to walk far to good routes, if they miss the first round of buses—the only ones that stop at my school. This limits chances for extracurricular activities or even after-school detention and after-school tutoring. The current bus system limits schools’ abilities to reach students and families, engage them, set up interventions outside of suspension, and offer much needed help.
Yellow buses, with specific routes at a certain time, are responsible only for students. School rules can then follow students onto the bus. There can be accountability for drivers and school officials—because students can be assigned to buses; they are recognized and known by their driver and by the school. “Late buses” could run longer routes to drop off students staying for extracurriculars. Student safety is better assured, since their families and teachers know where they are going and how they are getting to school. There is less of a chance of taking a bus ticket down to the inner harbor. There is less of a chance of drivers refusing to pick up students. Rules can be firmly applied. And the city-buses do not have to cope with the student influx during rush hours in the morning and even afternoon.
There is doubtless a cost-issue. But I find these arguments somewhat tiresome at this point. More than the price of students’ education and safety? Establishing school only buses—starting with elementary and middle schools, moving up to high schools if the program shows merit—and restart schools days.

Motivation for Teachers

After talking a lot in class about teacher retention and high quality teachers and looking at Title II for my change project, I decided to look into the different incentives that are out there for teachers because I do believe if implemented correctly and to the right teachers, retain rates could be higher for BCPSS. Although incentives vary from district to district, here are some of the incentives out there for teachers:

Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools in Winston-Salem, NC
· -1,200 Supplement Salary Advance
· Model New Teacher Support Program
· Waiver for Connection of Utilities
· Waiver/Reduction for Security Deposits for Apartment
· Waiver for Cable Connections (Time Warner)
· No Money Down Home Buyers Program (Bank of America)
· First Time Home Buyer Program (City of Winston-Salem)
· Customized Banking Services (BB&T)
· Free Investment & Retirement Planning
· Free Health, Dental & Life Insurance
· All teachers assigned a Laptop computer
· Teacher Staff Development Incentive Pay
· Equity Plus Bonus
· Tuition Reimbursement (up to $100 twice a school year)
Taken directly from http://mts.admin.wsfcs.k12.nc.us/employ/recruit.html
Chapel Hill- Carrboro City Schools in Chapel Hill, NC:
· $1500 signing bonus for certified teachers in 2007-08
· Tuition reimbursement (up to $500 per person per year)
· Housing Assistance (no deposit of first month’s rent for 1st year teachers)
· Support Programs (Mentoring, Novice and New Teacher Orientation, New Teacher Support Groups)
Information taken from http://www.chccs.k12.nc.us/CHCCSPage.asp?DP=Emp&ID=7
Chicago Schools
· Rookie teachers in East Aurora District 131 get a $150 bonus for higher district-wide test scores
· In Forreston individual teachers could either win a raise plus a $1,000 bonus or be denied both based on their principal’s evaluation
Information taken from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4155/is_20000629/ai_n13861607
Baltimore City Public Schools
· Teacher Next Door Program (HUD housing for teachers at cost)
· 3 incentive packages totaling $12,00 for new teachers in 2007-08 (a teacher can qualify for 1, 2, or all 3), but they must sign a 2 year contract and attend monthly new teacher training meetings
· $1,000 signing bonus from Maryland State Department of Education (if teachers come directly from college or graduate school and have a GPA of 3.5 or better; and they must remain employed for 3 consecutive years or reimburse the State)
· BCPSS tuition assistance (will pay up to 75% for up to 12 credits of coursework per year leading to a Master’s degree and up to 50% for up to 12 credits of coursework per year beyond the Master’s degree)
· New teachers get lap tops and $200 gift cards
Information from http://www.baltimorecityschools.org/Careers/FAQs/index.asp
While I am all for teacher incentives, because I do believe people may work harder for student achievement or stay longer for tuition assistance and bonuses, I do not agree with the fact that most school systems offer the majority of these incentives for new teachers. Like we have discussed in class, BCPSS seems to have no problem bringing teachers in each year, but they have a major issues keeping them past their 2 or 3 year contract. I believe that having incentives for veteran teachers and for those who stay beyond 2 years, who prove to be more beneficial than shelling out thousands of dollars each year to give new teachers lap tops and signing bonuses. The problem with providing incentives for teachers already in the system is that most of the incentives would be fairly arbitrary. Specifically, bonuses based off of test scores and principal evaluations are not necessarily accurate. The principal could show favoritism or discriminate against those he/she may have personal issues with. While test scores are evident of student achievement, how can one be sure that the English teacher is responsible for the students’ success on the HSA, if the students write BCR’s and ECR’s in other classes, as well as are responsible for comprehending and analyzing what they read. Perhaps it was their history or science teacher that actually helped them pass or maybe it was their 9th grade English teacher as opposed to their 10th grade English teacher that they had when they took the test. I feel that school systems do not want to take the time to figure out how to make incentives work for all teachers, especially teachers who stay, so they just give them to new teachers coming in because it is easy; however, it is not working to keep those teachers around. BCPSS, as well as other districts need to have a team strictly devoted to teacher retention. This group of people should take time to interview teachers and administrators about the things they want/need to be convinced to stay in the system. Once they have this information they can work to figure out ways to incorporate these things into incentive plans and bonuses for teachers and administrators. I truly believe that if something like this was done and worked at, we could get more people to stay.

Last thoughts on change in Charm City (Part 2)

My last post expressed my apathy towards change in Baltimore. But in my last discussion of change I want to take a more hopeful stance. We all say that change occurs when we all get on the same page.

THAT'S WHAT WE HAVE TO DO!

It is clear that we as educators can no longer afford to do what local and national government does. That is identify a problem, write a report and do nothing. We, as educators, take action at any other point. In our classroom, we modify lessons to reach a goal. We must change our tactics to start change.

A friend asked a question to a group of friends, "How many of you have ever been bitten by an elephant?" No one raised their hand. Then he asked, "How many of you, have been bitten by a mosquito?" Everyone raised their hands! It's the small things that make a difference.

We can talk all day long about what can't change, but let's start with what we can control. Here are some ways that I think change could start:

• Become active in your union. If we all actually joined the union and became vocal, we could ensure that the union lived up to their responsibilities.
• If you sweat the small stuff, take action to change it! (It is small.)
• Things will not change over night.
• If you have concerns, take proactive steps to remedy them. Try mediation with that administrator that bugs you.

To teach is to care. We have to keep the hope that all is not lost in Charm City.

Going International

As the year comes to a close and I begin reflecting on how much I taught my students, how much they truly learned, and how I would change my plan for next year, I begin to think about the big picture. Our world is changing and the U.S. is more focused on international relations. We are constantly buying and selling to certain nations and establishing security measures to protect us from others. As we educate "our future leaders" we must ask ourselves how well we are preparing them for the world?! Most of my students HAVE to take Spanish and don't have an option of various languages like Arabic or Chinese that might be beneficial and guarantee them a job in the future. Many of my kids cannot tell you much about other countries, except maybe about a holiday people celebrate or a language they speak there. Our students are lacking global awareness at the basic level of geographic recognition to understanding of the importance of international trade to a country's economy. An article I read describes the future high school graduate as one who will need to:

1. Sell to the world.
2. Buy from the world.
3. Work for international companies.
4. Manage employees from other cultures and countries.
5. Collaborate with people from all of the world in joint ventures.
6. Compete with people on the other side of the world for jobs and markets.

So I ask you, do you think YOUR students are ready for these tasks? I am sad to admit that mine are not. Just like teaching a student to read is not just the language arts teacher, teaching basic knowledge of globalization isn't the job of just the social studies teacher. Everyone at school must be on board and begin to create plans to increase global awareness.

The article has impressive solutions to teaching students about the world, but many of them sound like charter schools or smaller high school concepts that require lots of money and resources. I'm not suggesting we need a fix-all solution to this problem, but just more attention given to the fact that our students need to be prepared for the issues in their future.



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Last thoughts on Change in Charm City (Part I)

What I am left to consider after our discussions about change is one thought. The only way that change will occur is if in the minds of students, teachers and parents it can happen. Sadly, I don't think that is the case. It seems that our actions (or the actions of a few) speak much louder than the words that everyone speaks about how much out system needs to change.

Whenever, I have an open discussion with my students about school. The first comments is inevitably that the school is run poorly, that they don't enjoy learning yet at the same time, they refuse to be respectful (as a whole), come to school, and or attempt to put 100% percent of themselves into school? It's not that they don't realize the need for a change but that they can not see the possibility of it occurring.

Parents want their children to be successful. They want a school system that they can be proud of, yet they do not take action. It's not because they don't think that there is a problem but the sense of possibility for change does not exist.

Teachers either fall into two categories/l motivated or unmotivated. One category of teacher will go above and beyond to make learning happen, the other will do their job. But in both category pessimism exist. When teachers don't see a school system that can be better, it is doubtful, in my mind, that change will ever occur.

So where does that leave us? Change happens. We can force it to occur by getting all the stakeholders on the same page and beginning to take small actions to change our schools.

beginning to believe these changes will never happen

We talk again and again about the changes that need to take place in our schools and about the possibility for success if people would simply follow through with the sometimes great ideas for change that they actually have. My principal recently asked me to be in charge of our Title I funds (the grant received from the city) and to select (with her assistance) and purchase supplies for my school. I was sent to North Avenue to be trained on E-School Mall (the online catalog and purchasing tool that schools use to order and purchase supplies), received my training, a log-in, the works. Except what has happened since? Nothing. What was a great idea – put a specific individual in charge of the funds, someone who is at the very least computer literate (the last “treasurer” was not) and who is dedicated enough to the school so that they will take this task seriously.

Have I heard anything else about the funds? Has the principal yet asked me to begin this new additional job as school treasurer? Of course not. I was originally told that the money had to be spent by the end of March. It is now May and I never heard another thing about it. So did my principal’s idea for change actually end up hurting my school more in the long run? What happened to the funds that could have been used and should have been used for my school?!! The grant supposedly ran out in March and no one seems to care about this fact at all. Yet another example of how ideas for changes that could potentially aid our schools have fallen short. And it’s because those in charge are failing to follow through and implement the changes they conjure up.

Unionized

Where oh where is our union? It wasn’t until after we had our class on unions that I realized the potential of unions and an unfortunate missing link between BTU and its union members. This year I realized the importance of the contract, but then what can really happen when a grievance is filed? This year I had the chance to experience the support of the union because of an issue at my school. The union rep was extremely supportive and the school rep was well. We had a brief exchange, yet no grievance was filed in the school. I guess my principal caught wind of the wheels turning attempting to pacify my dissatisfaction. Although BTU was the friend I needed in a time of distress, do I feel part of a union? Not really. Now that re-negotiations are in effect what will happen next year. We were all aware of the issues addressed in most of the BTU debates with the city: longer work day, fewer planning hours, and cutting back on sick days to name a few. The Baltimore Sun even calls the renewal issues ‘insulting.’ (http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/education/bal-md.ci.board25apr25,0,1917976.story?coll=bal-local-headlines).

I feel secure with the union by my side as a teacher, but doesn’t it maintain a bare minimum for those teachers who barely slide by? In other professional settings do dress code issues, beginning and ending hours, and minimum responsibilities determine how well an employee executes their practice? At times I am ashamed by the actions of other teachers in the school district, but can do nothing about it because of their protection by the union. The issue that angers me the most is the teachers who stroll in 30 minutes after their students enter their classroom. They receive nothing but a slap on the wrist, and continue to practice this unprofessional decorum. The union protects all teachers under its contract, but there needs to be some accountability for those teachers that abuse the system. I say this in anger because I deal with a teacher who decided to one day fail to return to work. Her students have been my responsibility for over two months. What is the union doing about teachers like that?

Keep 'em in school!

It's beautiful outside these days. I'm just as guilty as my students for daydreaming and wishing I was anywhere but inside the school. I do not, however, miss day after day from work without an excuse like my students do from school. I don't understand how it is possible for students to miss an excessive number of days and still receive credit and be promoted into the next grade level. Kids not coming to school and then returning the next day without an excuse or reason regarding their absence is common. I've never seen anything like it until I arrived in Charm City. My attendance is exponentially dropping and I'm nervous that my students will not be in class enough to learn the material for the final exam and/or be present for their REQUIRED HSA exam at the end of this month. I feel that motivation for student retention during the last months of the school year is something we all should work on. At JHU, we've discussed ways to retain teachers, but what about retaining students for the whole year? Other than receiving a fabulous free education from yours truly, what else do they have to look forward to?

With all this being said, you could imagine my surprise when I read an article in the Washington Post about the delegation from Prince George's County authoring HB 571 prohibiting students from receiving their driver's license if they've had 10 or more unexcused absences for the school year. Students would be required to show attendance records at the DMV when applying for their driver's license. Initially I thought that this was a fabulous tool to motivate students to get to and stay in school. But after some thought, I feel that this is an incentive for Maryland teenagers who are motivated by thoughts of driving around with their friends, blasting the radio, and asking mommy for the credit card to fill up the gas tank. Most of my students could care less about receiving their driver's licenses for a variety of reasons. So now I'm wondering which school districts the legislators were targeting at improving student attendance rates. It seems to me that BCPSS was NOT the district they wanted to help. I would bet tons of money that BCPSS has the worst truancy rates in all of Maryland...if I'm wrong, then we at least have to have one of the three highest truancy rates! The bill has passed both the House and Senate and is waiting for a signature from O'Malley. Supposedly, O'Malley had "no opinion" on the bill back in March and my guess is that he knew deep down that it wasn't written to help the students of his former city.

So here were are again. My students were overlooked by the rest of the state of Maryland and will be allowed to continue to do whatever has been done for years in this system. Although I don't have the right answer now, I suggest that we need to develop motivational tools for student retention quickly or they're all going to be at home enjoying the weather instead of in school learning about it.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/15/AR2007031502112.html

Apathy?

According to Wells, A Suggestion for the Schools, the level of apathy in schools and business has increased over time. I for the most part agree with this person. Any teacher can remember a moment, or several, when there was a student that had such potential, but did not want to apply him or her self to an activity or learning the subject material. Even more so, there are times when entire classes of students do not seem to care about current events or issues that may affect their lives. Wells associates this higher sense of apathy of our students to a movement towards entertainment. According to Wells, kids just want to be entertained. He comments that if things do not resemble the Jerry Spring show, then there will be no interest from students. I for the most part agree with this point as well.
One major solution that Wells offers is the need for teachers, students, administrators, and parents, to build meaningful relationships. This is where I come to find myself at a loss. I, like many other teachers, would greatly enjoy meaningful relationships with all of my students and their parents. However, we must be realistic. Not every parent will be involved with the education process of their child. Even more so, it breaks my heart to say this, but sometimes some students will not be reached in a way to build a meaningful relationship. Besides those relationships, there are the ones that are made between teachers and administrators. Well, depending on your school these relationships can be hell for some teachers. I am not sure how Wells intends for people to build these relationships, but nonetheless I doubt they will truly be possible.
Wells suggest that people a school must provide three key elements in order to help ensure academic success and a decrease in apathy. First a sound academic foundation, so that the basics are taught, you know the basics, like reading and writing. Second, schools must offer some kind of vocational training for its students. Third, it is necessary to provide the students with videos, pamphlets, and other resources that will help them better understand the material. The overall goal to decreasing apathy is so that students are successful in academic or vocational skills. I agree with Wells, but I feel that he over simplifies his solutions. He does not take into account the adversity that teachers, at least urban teachers face on daily basis. Overall, the issue is apathy and it does exist in our school system. The question remains, how do we fix it?

Teacher Incentives

Today's class discussion led to some interesting questions regarding teacher bonuses and incentives that currently exist in BCPSS. As we discussed, the current incentives are uniquely targeted at new hires. For example, certified teachers who commit to teach in a Title I school by June 1 get a $5000 bonus; teachers of "high needs subjects" who commit by October 1 get a $3000; etc. This system raises the question-- what could be done to encourage teachers to stay? As Amy pointed out, a few things are being done; they are just poorly advertised. The Teacher Next Door program, for example, gives teachers a fifty percent discount on homes in "Revitalization Areas" if they agree to live there for three years (http://www.md-re.com/teacher_next_door.php). Additionally, the tuition reimbursement policy offers incentive for teachers to spend either one or two more years beond their graduate degree in order to receive reimbursement. Although currently very loosely enforced, if properly administrated this program has tremendous pull to aid in teacher retention, particularly in losing teachers to neighboring school systems.

While these financial incentives are certainly significant, class discussion pointed to non-financial incentives as key to boosting teacher retention. For example, guaranteeing subject selection or number of classes taught per day to teachers after a certain number of years in the system. These seem to be the kind of advantages that may come automatically and without mandate with tenure at other school systems. Is it possible to mandate such a thing? Would this be part of district policy or in the BTU contract? Is this enough? It seems that stability and structure take precedence over monetary bonuses. It seems BCPSS should look into it!

Can we hopemore not less?

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/baltimore_city/bal-te.ci.shoot24apr24,1,7450738.story?ctrack=1&cset=true

Keyonna was one of my students last year. I won't get all flowery with my language but she was a student teachers enjoyed having in their classrooms each day. Last year, she was not involved in gangs. So far, I have gathered that she was not involved this year, either. Her older brother may have been, though. My point is that it would be quite surprising to all involved with the situation if it was discovered that Keyonna did anything to provoke her shooting 3 Fridays ago.

This shooting happened 2 blocks from Calverton. It happened 30 minutes after school let out. As Keyonna was getting shot, I was breaking up a fight involving two of my current students a different two blocks from Calverton, after I had purchased a slushee from a corner store. It was the first time I had broken up a fight off school grounds and I felt extremely uncomfortable doing so. At one point I felt as if one of my other students had to come to my defense when a non-Calverton adolescent approached me. Synthesizing the simultaneous events from that Friday would lead one to conclude that my decision to attempt to stop the fight was a dumb one. And, for the most part, I agree. I knowingly entered into a dangerous situation in which there were unknown variables. A textbook no-no, most handbooks would say it was.

Yet, there is something fundamental about me as a teacher and I believe about you as teachers that is not textbook: Our love for our students and our commitment to do anything for them whenever they need it. My instinct when I saw one of my students bleeding from the nose was to pull her free from danger and get her home to safety. I do not want to predict what I would have done had I been at the park near Keyonna, but I imagine my response would not have been entirely by the book. The teaching profession requires us or develops in us the compassion for others only demonstrated by handfuls of our world's citizens; it is the interwoven father, brother, best friend, teacher complex (please allow me to use the masculine demonstrative) that motivates me each day to promote achievements of all sorts from my students. But that same complex that makes me feel most helpful simultaneously leaves me feeling utterly hopeless about my profession and the future of my students as my two year Teach For America commitment comes to a close.

The gang activity and violence that has invaded my school (and Meaghan's and most likely others) this year has been crippling. One of my favorite students from last year is the one who sprung the "crisis mode" at Harlem Park. He was kicked out of Calverton earlier this year for choking a student with a bicycle chain. He scored Advanced on the MSA. His father and uncle were murdered on the same day by the others' rival gang's members, each gang believing the relation to the student responsible for the other relation to the student's death. When he transferred to Calverton after being kicked out of West Baltimore, he asked for all the work from the previous semester, just so he "could know what was going on in class." He was with Keyonna when she was shot and, as a result of that and other things, I am sure, was shot at the next day and now has people looking to kill him each day and all I have experienced and know to be true about gangs and my students tells me to stop hoping he will survive the summer.

What can we do to restore our hope? I found out "word of mouth" about Keyonna from another teacher. A short letter was sent home with students for parents. A third of these letters ended up on my classroom floor. The administration offered no help to students, no advice to teachers, in how to cope with the tragedy or advise future actions. School and local police did not give any workshops on prevention or recognition of gang violence. Counselors did not give counseling because their administrators are requiring them to work on cumulative records instead of with students and their problems. And so, again, dealing with the heart of the matter was, again, left to the teachers. It is the teachers who see the stars on their desks and break up the fights between a divided class of sixth graders. It is the teachers who are, again and again, invested in the (de)construction of their students' lives but who are, again and again, left with nothing but their hearts to both protect themselves and save their students.

If I still had the hope that one of my students would stop, midpunch, and realize that she knew of no legitimate reason as to why she was about to hit another of my students, would I still step in? If I still had the hope that the cruiser parked a block away would both notice and respond to break up the fight that at first involved two but has the potential to involved twenty, would I still step in? If I still had the hope that fights like these were just playground fights and would not escalate to something involving more than fists or including people more than schoolmates, would I still step in? Is it my hopelessness then, more than my heart, that motivated me to step in? That, I hope, should depress more than just me.

Changing of the Gaurd

In the process of writing my changes paper about Title II of NCLB I found an interesting article. I found it interesting for three reasons. First, I felt it represented the feelings of many of those individuals that have been part of the “established” system for many years. Second, I found it interesting because the thinking that it stirred in my head. The third reason is the article helped me to once again realize that challenge of creating effective reform when faced with the large number of people that are invested in the current system that isn’t working.
The article title Highly Quantified Teachers: NCLB and Teacher Education is written by Doug Selwyn, who is an instructor in a teacher preparation program. Selwyn supports his arguments almost entirely through interview with teachers. He basically argues that the NCLB definition of “highly qualified” does exactly the opposite of what it intends, namely reducing the number of effective teachers in the classroom, reducing the diversity of the teaching pool, and forcing the least qualified teachers into schools that are suffering the most. Furthermore, Selwyn’s frustration is almost solely placed on NCLB’s requirement that teachers take a test to show that they are competent in their subject area. All of his comments about requiring exams for teacher certifications, and while he never directly says it, he seems to indicate that an individual should not have to take a test to become a teacher. In reading this I felt that Selwyn’s view--this feeling maybe sterotypical and I would be happy to be proved wrong if anyone has an data--represented what those in the “established” educational system felt. There is no place in teacher preparation for tests to determine if an individual can be a teacher.
As I said, the second reason I found this article interesting is because it got me thinking. I got me wondering, doesn’t Selwyn understand the reasoning behind why their the requirement to show proficiency in a teachers content area? Now I must admit that I don’t know if test is the best way to show proficiency, but in any system, a written exam would be part of it. I wouldn’t want my children being taught by a teacher that couldn’t prove they new what they were teaching. Think about how many things have been taught to students over the years incorrectly because teachers didn’t fully grasp the material. Think all of the misconceptions that have been fostered. Heck, just in science I can think of a handful--What color is blood? Why is the sky blue? What causes the phases of the moon?

Another aspect that troubled me about the article, was Selwyn’s total focus on NCLB. After-all NCLB is a pretty week bill since it doesn’t actually dictate what the test is that teachers must pass, or what level of proficiency is passing, those decisions all fall to the state. While I agree the NCLB definition of lacking, don’t put all of the blame for the current troubles on that definition. States have complete autonomy in how teachers show they have mastered the subject areas content, so get off of your little booty and make some changes at the state level. In other articles I have read, several states are doing just that, and they are seeing great results.

The third reason for being really interesting really lies at the problem of creating effective change. If Selwyn’s views really are representative of the “old guard,” which would undoubtedly be the views of the majority, then making and investing people in the changes and innovations that will create an effective system for the 21st will be very very challenging. Not to pet my own scientist-ego too much, but I think a large part of it boils down to a lack of understanding of data, how to interpret data, and how it should be utilized. If everyone in the US really understood what the result of a standardized test told us, no one would ever think to make it the sole measure of performance for students or teachers. Likewise, everyone would realize the usefulness of that data, and how it can be used to areas that are in need of improvement as well as areas that excelling.

As part of this the “old guard” must face a harsh reality, teachers and schools do need to be held accountable, no take that back everyone must be held accountable for the success of our schools, and to do that there must be testing as part of that measure. Additionally the only way to ensure that schools, teachers, and students are on the right track is by collecting and analyzing data. I will be the first to admit that a teach can no a lot about where their students are at just by “feel,” but I also know that you can miss a lot if you are not looking at data.

Lastly, public education really needs to take a cue from the business world. While I know many very experienced teachers would like to argue that education is too different from business that you can’t replicate business practices in a school, I would disagree. In fact to reform our schools we must adopt a business like approach. We must be goal orientated with our goal of producing free thinking and independent citizens of this country. And, we must measure our progress towards that goal. If we aren’t making progress then we need to suck it and make some changes. If we don’t, then we just maintain the status quo and we risk losing a lot more than any business would loose if they go bankrupt. If are schools fail, we loose our future and destroy our students.

How about challenging the students to care?

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/education/bal-ho.summit02may02,0,4426762.story?coll=bal-education-top

Frequently, we as teachers talk about how much we want to do for our students and how their voices matter, but we don't often hear of events such as this one in Howard County. Students were organized by their schools to represent diverse backgrounds and ideas, then sent to a meeting to make their voices heard about different topics related to Howard County youth.

This could just as easily serve the Baltimore City school community and help our students to have a voice, too. A number of my students would jump at the opportunity to get their opinions out there and have schools take into account their opinions. Why not let them? Why does it seem like these opportunities are only available in "the county"?

What most interests me about this summit, however, is the chance for active students to hear about what is going on in other schools. These students attending the summit are active enough within their own schools that they would likely take some of these ideas, about interaction with school administration for example, and apply them to their own school.

If education is about learning and learning from others, this type of summit seems to be an ideal opportunity for individuals, schools, the school system as a whole, and the Baltimore community.

Facilities Gap

One reform issue that has been on mind recently, as the weather turns warm, has been about the facilities where we teach our students. In the spring 2007 issue of Education Magazine, an article appeared discussing the” facilities gap” that exists between urban schools that serve low income students and schools that serve higher income students. For the past two years, I have been focusing on the achievement gap, but this article made me stop and think about my own school and the problems I have experienced because of the fact that the school is in desperate need of basic repairs and modernization.
The article, I suppose, surprised me, because of how well I knew the situations they were describing. For example, teachers and students must deal with drastic temperatures in both the winter and summer, making it difficult to teach as well as to learn as they all freeze or sweat. Also, how many basic repairs are put off or ignored until they become larger, like holes. This I have already experienced in the past, but besides how uncomfortable the school can become, affecting learning, I did not realize that these conditions can affect students’ health permanently. The article made a correlation between the increase of asthma among African American students can be connected to poor conditions in the schools. Asthma is also responsible for numerous absences among students, which again is leading to less quality time in the classroom for actual learning and thus increasing the achievement gap.
The article also demonstrates how poor facilities affect students’ attitudes towards school. The photos featured in the article were taken by students in the Washington D.C. and Baltimore area and was meant to capture the perspective of the students who are expected to learn in this environment. The photos of the graffiti covered bathrooms with no stall doors, the flooded basement filled with trash, and broken windows show how students’ resent and accept these conditions. They are normal, but there is no pride felt for these schools. How can you be proud of your school and believe in its ability to teach you if they can’t keep the basement dry? How can students feel cared for if their school cannot even meet their basic needs of having a safe, healthy, and comfortable place to learn? This is a major issue that has to be addressed in order to create a school environment that is conducive to learning.
Some solutions were addressed in the article for dealing with the facilities gap. The national teachers’ union has began to take action in certain areas to help raise money for school improvement and make sure that repair issues are being addressed. However, this movement has a very limited scope as it depends completely on the power of the local union chapter. The facts are that in many urban environments not enough funds are available for school repair in districts that serve low income students. The money is being spent on improving schools in more affluent areas. In most cases, it is actually easier to get funding to build a new school than it is to renovate an old one. In order for real change to happen, staff, students, and parents need to demand that the states and federal government change their funding policies to ensure that all students can attend schools that are healthy, safe, and comfortable places to learn.

Towson Takeover

It has recently been announced that Towson University will take over several Cherry Hill schools in Baltimore City. Although this is not a new endeavor (Talent Development HS is but one example of a university partnership with BCPSS) it is still a significant structural change for those schools involved. According to one Baltimore Sun article (http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bal-te.md.universities27apr27,1,7679570.story?ctrack=1&cset=true) the success of higher education take over of public schools is questionable. In theory it seems that a university-run public school would be better than a corporate run or privately run school, but this is not always the case. According to the article linked above often times the universities use these schools as testing grounds or “labs,” jeopardizing the education of the students. Other schools – like Rosemont Elementary/Middle – have done a 180 since entering into a partnership with a local university.

Mixed success aside, I am continually struck by the same fundamental issue – why must we outsource our education? Whether we are talking about charter schools or voucher programs or university partnerships, I still fail to understand why we are looking to outside sources to solve the ills of our public schools? We are continually relinquishing control in an attempt to temporarily solve the problems we encounter. Yet we are deliberately ignoring conversations about the fundamental obstacles and inequities in our public education system. Perhaps to an urban mother who wants the best for her child this is not the primary concern, but for those leaders of education policy this conversation is conspicuously absent. Until it is brought to the forefront I do not foresee any long term, positive solutions. And if we continue down this path of outsourcing I wonder if public schools will all but disappear.

Middle schools...

With in the next year many of the Baltimore City middle school will start to be phased our or close all together. With the closing of many of the 6 to 8 middle schools and moving towards the k to 8 model, many problems will arise because of this. First I feel that with many of the middle schools closing on the Eastern side of Baltimore that the students will be forced into either large 6 to 8 middle schools or they will be forced into a long commute to get to school. Switching from 6 to 8 middle schools and instead keeping the students in k to 8 schools will cause many problems. As a teaching in a 6 to 8 middle school, I can understand keeping 6th graders part of elementary schools, I however cannot see how 7th and 8th graders would function with an elementary school. My first concern is that if they are in an elementary type setting, the wide range of ages will cause problems. As it is, in my middle school we have some eighth grade students as old as 15. These older students are idolized at my school, they are not only the most popular and “coolest” students, and the other students want to be like them. These are also the students who have promiscuous reputations and convince the younger girls to go along with what they do. My other concern is that the disruption and behavior issues that the middle school students cause will be copied by the younger students who look up to the middle school students. This could be a positive things, having the younger students have a positive role model, however at this age many of the students behavior is less then positive. It would also open the elementary schools up to more violent behavior. I also have to wonder if the school system has thought about what they are going to do with the students who have been arrested. There are few students at my school who have been convicted of sexual molestation. This leads me to my next question, what is going to happen to the few 6 to 8 middle schools that are left? I feel that they are going to become a place where the behavior issues, violent, students who have been kicked out of the k to 8 schools will go. As it is now, many of the large middle schools have to take students who have been kicked out of other schools. I have had 3 new students in the last week, all from other smaller middle schools who are now being placed at my school because they were “disruptive and behavior problems” at their old schools. While I know it is not the policy of the k to 8 schools to kick students out, I cannot see how these schools are going to be successful with eight graders who run around the halls creating disruptions all day.

Middle school seems to be blamed for many of the problems with in the education system of Baltimore City. Some of these problems are inherited from elementary schools, some of these problems are the students going through developmental changes, some are problems from being ignored as a group. As a middle school teacher, I feel that the whole aspect of middle school is ignored. In Hopkins classes, we rarely discuss middle school issues, spending most of the time on high school. In many of the professional developments I have attend most of the focus is on elementary or high school, never middle school. Middle school as been referred to as the Bermuda triangle of academia, largely because it is ignored and many don’t understand middle school students. Until Baltimore city spends the time and resources to really understands their middle school students many of the problems will continue and become worse. Most of the problem in middle school is that we are in a constant state of change, nothing seems to be the same from week to week, or year to year. The one thing middle school students need is consistency. Baltimore city has not taken the time to understand how important a consistency is for middle school students.

BTU: The True Insult

I also saw the article that Ms. Smith commented on (“Contract for teachers ‘insulting’”) from the April 25 Baltimore Sun, and the headline jumped out at me as much as it did for her and so many other young, energetic teachers. For the past two years, I would say that my relationship with the Baltimore Teachers Union has been less than desirable or remotely productive, and reading this article disenfranchised me even more from the organization that I am forced to pay over $60 a month to yet whose operations am still excluded from.

Yes, BTU, we are thankful for everything that you’ve done to ensure great benefits and pay for our teachers. But that’s about it. The promises to improve our working conditions, foster relations with district officials, and decrease our workload are hollow and unnecessary. BTU may have wide-reaching power throughout the city, but the organization is so defunct that no real change is going to happen. If it were, then the promises and stipulations of our BTU contract (which, by the way, I’ve never gotten a copy of because my building representative refuses to talk to me) would ALREADY be upheld.

Regardless, I don’t mind. If my current working situation had bothered me that much then I would have complained before now or quit. However, this type of reaction is inconsistent with my personal philosophy and purpose as an educator, and so I pursue. The fact that union head Marietta English calls the district’s new demands “insulting, degrading and downright disrespectful” frustrates me even more.

If what the district is asking for in a new contract will improve my school culture and increase student achievement, then I’m going to do it regardless of if my contract calls for it or not. THAT is my real purpose as a teacher in Baltimore City. I’m at school each day longer than most other teachers, I have never come close to using all of my sick days (in fact I think it’s ridiculous that we even get so many), I have taken on far greater responsibilities than lavatory duty, and I write a structured lesson plan every day even though no one but me has ever seen them. These are the things that I feel I do to make myself be the best teacher I can be, and it’s absurd to think that BTU is making a dramatic scene about something that should have been required years ago.

Marietta English, the fact that you are lowering your standards for excellent teachers and enabling the bad ones by using BTU as a crutch is the TRUE insult.

I don’t mean to make it sound like only bad teachers support BTU – there are plenty of great ones who do and there are plenty more who don’t – but I see the organization as propogating a gap in our mission as teachers. I’m sure that if I were teaching for 30 more years, I would feel equally disenchanted and bitter with the system, but maybe that’s the root of the problem. Yes, I’m retiring from teaching in about a month, but I’m calling it quits because I can foresee this passion slipping away in the next year or so.

Maybe it’s time for BTU to stop worrying about how many hours we work and how many days we can take off, and start worrying about the fact that we are allowing a generation of children to slip by as uneducated products of Baltimore City. The responsibility comes back on us as teachers… and should come back on BTU as well.

Read “Contract for teachers ‘insulting’” published in the Baltimore Sun.

High Stakes Testing: A Question of Responsibility

I tend to keep my mouth shut (most of the time) when the topic of high stakes testing comes up. I learned early in my career that people get so heated about this topic that usually it is not worth it for me to share my opinion--because it tends to differ from most.

I grew up in the land of high stakes testing, New York State. However, in all my 13 years of elementary and secondary schooling in NY, I never heard any one refer to the state assessments and Regents exams as "high stakes tests." I also never heard teachers complain about teaching tested subjects or that they felt they were "teaching to the test." Because NY tests nearly every subject, every year in high school with a state exam the tests are just a part of life. Teachers and students take equal responsibility in the fact that students must pass the tests or...well, there isn't another option students will simply pass the tests. Yes, if a student does not happen to pass a certain number of the Regents exams, then he/she will not graduate, but that isn't the thinking in the minds of the teachers or the students. The focus is on passing the test, not what will happen if students do not. Students in MD are only required to pass 4 state exams in high school. In NY, every student was also required to pass 4 Regents exam in order to receive a NON-Regents diploma. However, if a student want the more "prestigious" Regents diploma he/she had to pass a Regents exam every year in Math and Science, along with additional social studies exams. Hell, I even had to pass a state Regents in Spanish. The bottom line being, there was no way around passing at least 4 of these exams if you wanted to graduate. These were difficult and rigorous tests. Students take them seriously, because they have to.

I recently read this short article in The Examiner about how local schools are racing to prep students for the HSA's. I also read a blog previously posted by a fellow classmate about the flaws with the high stakes testing system. I guess, I'm just a bit confused. We constantly talk about accountability--teacher, student, parent, school district. Over the past two years, I have heard many, if not most, of us talk about how we want our students, especially our high school students, to be more accountable and to take more responsibility for their education. I think the new state policy that requires students to pass 4 HSA's in order to receive a diploma is a step in the right direction. I am not a supporter of NCLB, however, I am all for student accountability.

I am scared for the class of 2009 in all of MD, but especially in Baltimore City. I'm shocked that it has taken something like NCLB to truly hold students and teachers accountable. I mean, what was really going on before? We want students to take academia seriously, yet, until recently they only had to "sit for" major exams. Meaning: they had to show up and write their name on the paper and then they were eligible to receive a diploma. If that is all we ask of them, why and HOW could we have expected them to take the tests seriously? I am fearful of what will happen in 2009 for many students in BCPSS and around the state. However, I am more fearful that MD will repeal the decision, and once again, students will be let off the hook. I think 2009 will be a rude awakening for students, teachers, parents, and school districts in MD. Maybe if the students are finally made to understand that they are actually responsible and are being held accountable for their education things will truly begin to change.

I recently asked a 10th grade student at my school (who I taught creative writing to as a 9th grader) if she had passed the Algebra I HSA, and her response was "I don't know." I was shocked, and said, "You know you have to pass that exam to graduate." She replied, "Whatever." This is just one example, but I really feel like many students around the City still do not grasp the severity and seriousness of these exams. If MD sticks with this policy, they will eventually have to.

Is the contract offer really "insulting"?

Union representatives have been negotiating with the School Board here in Baltimore; however, the head of the BTU called the most recent offer “insulting, degrading, and downright disrespectful.” I have mixed emotions about the Baltimore Teachers Union, though generally, I believe that organized labor is a significant benefit for protecting employees. The article in the Baltimore Sun did not give too many details about the contract offer, but apparently some of the offensive aspects included extending the teachers’ work day, increasing health care premiums, cutting back sick days, requiring lavatory duty, and dictating lesson plan formats. The union leaders believe that the offer is even worse because the Board made these recommendations without including a significant pay raise.

I can certainly understand why the BTU representatives would not be satisfied with such changes in the contract. On the other hand, none of these issues are particularly offensive to me. For example, extending the work day does not necessarily sound good to me, but I can definitely understand how it might benefit the students. Furthermore, every single teacher that I consider to be effective spends at least another hour working in some way, so depending on how the time fit into the schedule, some peoples’ days wouldn’t change too much. Currently I do not pay anything for health care, but I could certainly afford a small fee if it were necessary. The issue regarding sick days could anger teachers, which I would understand, but I also feel like we get more than our fair share of sick days each year. With the current 15 days off a year, teachers are really only obligated to work 175 days a year.

The two recommendations that actually bother me are the last ones: requiring lavatory duty and dictating specific lesson plan formats. The requirement of lavatory duty angers me in the sense that I do not believe teachers should have to take on administrative duties. I know that everyone in the school has to do his/her part; I also know that the responsibilities of teachers can become a never-ending list in some circumstances. The problem that I have with requiring specific lesson plan formats is related to my stand against increasing standardization. Though I can understand the desire to improve weak lesson planning, imposing one format will only create resentment and probably do little good in the end.

One final point made by the head of the BTU was that it seemed unfair that the district is putting so much effort into recruiting new teachers, but paying little attention to retaining current teachers. The article points out that substantial bonuses and incentives are available to attract incoming teachers, but nothing of the same is offered to keeping experienced teachers in the classroom. I believe that this judgment reflects a serious flaw that the district needs to address, and that the union might better serve teachers in addressing it.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/education/bal-md.ci.board25apr25,0,1917976.story?coll=bal-education-k12