Kids?

Every teacher has them—the students who just will not sit down or still, no matter how nicely or frequently you ask. They want to move around, they want to wiggle, they want to talk, they want to be loud. There’s also the group of students who just want to talk, and talk…and talk. About 60 minutes into the 80 minute period, they’re at their limit, and so is the teacher. It is about that time that I have to take deep breath and remind myself: THEY’RE KIDS!

They’re kids and, 9 out of 10 times, they’ve had no chance to move or talk all day. They come into school where they’re rushed into the cafeteria. Then, they sit through 3 back-to-back 90 minute classes, in which they are preparing for high-stakes exams, which they need to pass in order to graduate. In between those classes, they are rushed into the next room—no time to talk, no time for water, no time for locker chats. After they’ve sat through 4 ½ hours of learning, they are finally given a break. That break consists of 24 minutes, during which over 200 students are expected to get into the cafeteria, get their lunch, eat it, clean up, and get all of their socializing out of their system for the day. Once those 24 minutes are up, they’re rushed up for one more 90 minute class (again, preparing for a high-stakes test) and a 50 minute advisory period, for which they do not get a grade, and often, do not have a true objective. When during the day is it OK for them to just be kids? Yes, they need to learn. Yes, they need to be given structure and clear expectations for behavior. However, at 24 years old, I think even I would grow antsy by about 20 minutes into the third 90-minute class (hence why teachers with this schedule often dread the class before lunch).

Growing up in New Jersey, I had gym four days a week from 6^th grade through 12^th grade. I also had 2 electives and a 45-minute lunch built into my schedule. My high school students only take 1 semester of gym during their four years at the school. That’s it. Electives? Just like gym, they’re only built into the 9^th grade curriculum. Some students in the 10^th through 12^th grades still participate in these electives by getting a pass to be excused from their advisory class and go join the 9^th graders, but these slots are limited and these students are a minority.

It is with all of this knowledge that I plan my lessons each day. I try to break up the period into shorter segments, and make sure students have cooperative activities, station work, or a hands on project to be working on at least a few times a week, so they can talk and move around a bit (within reason, of course.) However, this type of instruction can only be so effective. Their brains need a break. 4 ½ hours of learning without any sort of break is too much. Yes, the 90 minute periods give teachers more time to present tested material to students. However, how effective are those 90 minute periods in reality, if many students zone out or lose interest halfway through the class?

High Stakes=High Stress

For 10^th grade teachers across Baltimore City, there is a little, black cloud hovering overhead. That cloud is better known as the Maryland High School Achievement tests. Throughout the year we are reminded of the importance of having our students pass these tests. Pressure from administration, state officials, and parents alike looms around every corner. While we are repeatedly reminded that, according to educational research, teaching “to the test” is ineffective, we are reminded even more so that our numbers of students that pass the test will be used to judge our teaching ability.

That lurking shadow of that little, black cloud grew a bit larger when it was announced that, beginning with the class of 2009, all students in Maryland MUST pass their H.S.A. tests in order to graduate. Now, not only are schools feeling pressure from the state to ensure that all students pass the HAS exams, but they are feeling the additional pressure of coming up with the time, materials, and teachers to help students who have not passed complete Bridge projects. These projects are tedious, time consuming, and make no allowances for students with special needs. Those involved with them, hate them. They are often used as ‘threats’ for students who seem disengaged from preparing for the HSAs: “You better focus so you can pass the HSA or you’re going to end up spending your afternoons and Saturdays doing Bridge projects for the rest of your high school career!” Wouldn’t all of the extra time, effort, and resources being spent on Bridge projects be better spent enriching curriculum and other programs in the school, and ensuring change so that we can provide our students with the best education possible and help them reach their full potential?

How is all this extra stress, brought on by the demands of HSA and Bridge requirements, helping our teacher, students, and schools?

The Real Financial Crisis

Economic dominance is intrisically linked with educational dominance. Hence, we could be looking at a real fall in the near future in the United States. This is the ultimate point of Thomas Friedman's April 22nd New York Times Op-ed entitled, "Swimming Without a Suit". The title comes from a quip by Warren Buffet, "only when the tide goes out do you find out who is not wearing a bathing suit." Oh how true, economic success like the rising tide can cover a multitude of sins, but all does seem to become rather clear in a recession and the naked state that our education is leaving many of our students' in and the effects on everyone at the beach are becoming all too clear.

Consider the numbers,as provided in the above stated article, if the US had closed the international achievement gap between 1983 and 1998, yes we were aware that we were behind even back then, we would have increased GDP by 1.3 trillion to 2.3 trillion. For all of you paying attention to current events, that amount would successfully pay off the deficit that many people think will be the end of us. Furthermore, for those who are more concerned with the domestic side of things, had we closed the racial achievement gap between blacks/latinos and white students in that same time period then GDP in 2008 would have been $325 billion-$500 billion higher. The same holds true for the gap between low-income students and their more affluent peers. Yes people, we could have avoided this whole recession, or made it far less painful, through education investment.

Interestingly though, there are still people out there who don't think education is part of economic stimulus. Well, follow this basic line of reasoning for a second: Knowledge is Power and Power is Money. Yes, it is seriously that simple. President Obama did commit funding to education as part of the stimulus and that is certainly a start. As well, applications for Teach For America and other alternative certification programs in the neediest districts are up. We have failed our education system into a recession, one hopes that it is the recession that also makes us aware that are economic system relies on education. Since we can't depend on high tide being present all the time, we better give every child in this country a bathing suit or they, and we, are going to drown trying to cover up the multitudes that our education system is leaving naked.

Fixing the Numbers

I recently read an article in the New York Times that discusses an incredibly dodgy practice that denies struggling students education while increasing the graduation rate and test score statistics for schools. The process of “discharge” as it is called is a practice whereby students leave the New York City public school system before graduating. The practice of discharge seems to be somewhat different from the process of dropping out because on record it is made to appear that students who are discharged have transferred from New York City public schools to another school system, rather than showing that in reality they have failed out or dropped out of school. Critics of the practice assert that low achieving students are being coerced to drop out of school and no such transfers are taking place. Moreover, critics have become more alarmed as of late because of a tremendous spike in the percentage of 9th grade students who are reportedly being discharged from New York City public schools. According to a spokesperson from the City Education Department of New York City, these findings are “of serious concern, as the goal of the public school system is to provide all students with the support needed to persist and successfully graduate from high school. Schools may be responding to accountability incentives to discharge students earlier in their high school careers.” Clearly, the practice of discharging students does not work to service the needs of those whom the system is designed to help.

This practice of discharge reminds me of some of the more insidious practices that occur in Baltimore City. All too often I have heard about certain students with behavior problems becoming the recipients of special “incentives” or cutbacks that are really designed to benefit a school’s record. For example, there are the myriad of cases of undocumented suspensions—or “cool off” days—that are designed to hide the true number of suspensions a school has. Additionally, there are the “half days” that certain students who pose behavior problems (not documented by an IEP however) are allowed to serve in order to allow schools to keep certain students out of the building while maintaining attendance percentages. While these practices might not appear as worrisome as forcing a student to resign from their school career, not holding students accountable for their actions and failing to maintain high expectations for student behavior will, in the end will, produce a student population that is not capable of meeting rigorous graduation requirements.

How to Support New Teachers

This past week the Washington Post published an article entitled “For New Teachers, Early Support Can Sustain Career.” This article discusses the various things than can make an impact on a new teacher. Specifically it looks at the merits of things like mentoring, performance and signing bonuses, training sessions, and teacher inductions. These programs are particularly prevalent in low performing schools in DC and the surrounding area. They can also be found in Baltimore City.

This article was so poignant to me because it touched on a lot of things I have thought about over the last two years. As a new teacher in an under performing school, I have faced numerous challenges. During my first year, I was particularly lucky to have a Department Chair that was incredibly supportive. She mentored me and helped me get through my most difficult moments. Without her help, I’m not sure if I would have made it through my first semester.

One line from this article rang very true to me:

“Good induction and mentoring programs have proven worth. But some programs are underfunded, with mentors who have multiple jobs or are ‘spread very thinly among many buildings,’ said Jennifer King Rice, an associate education professor at the University of Maryland.”

Though we had a true "mentor" at my school, she was spread much too thin and had far too many responsibilities to effectively support the new teachers. Far too many of my colleagues, both in my school and at other schools, were not nearly as lucky as I was in terms of a helpful department chair. They simply were not given the help that they needed. While Baltimore City required us to attend a two-week long new teacher orientation, it proved in some ways to be more harmful than helpful. Those two weeks took away valuable time we could have spent in our schools. Many new teachers in many schools simply got no help at all.

As a new teacher, there is nothing worse than feeling alone. I applaud these school districts for recognizing there is a problem and working on solutions. However, more needs to be done. There has to be a sustained effort among schools to ensure that their teachers, particularly new teachers, feel supported. Collaboration should be required. New teachers should be given a smaller workload; at least until they feel they have gotten their feet planted firmly on the ground. While more money is certainly not a bad thing, studies have shown that rather than cash incentives, that money should be used to hire more mentors or to lighten the teaching burden. I’m glad the issue of teacher retention and potential solutions are being raised. The continued success and support of these programs may go a long way to closing the achievement gap in our lowest performing schools. If new teachers, especially those in alternative certification programs, are expected to succeed, these kinds of programs must also succeed.

NCLB Failing to Close Racial Achievement Gap

After reading a recent article entitled “‘No Child’ Law Is Not Closing Racial Gap” in the New York Times I had to think about our own schools in Baltimore City. The article, in an offhand way, stated that NCLB had failed in closing the achievement gap between white students and minority students. Accordingly, students of both white and minority backgrounds were making progress in achievement, yet the gap between the two is staying the same. This article angered me in some ways because I couldn’t help but think about the situation of inequality that has long been plaguing inner city schools. Clearly that achievement gap will not close when we continue to provide unequal educational opportunities for minorities. When we think of the fact that our inner cities are comprised mostly of minority students, it is hard to imagine that we will find any means to close an achievement gap between races. If our society continues to believe that it is alright to underfund and discriminate minorities and schools comprised mostly of minority schools, of course that gap will continue. We have fashioned a system which seems very bleak at moments more often than not. While various forms of reform have pushed for change, we see schools that are continuing to get bogged down in a vicious cycle of old instead of being freed and rejuvenated by new. What has been found is that what many believed is right—all students can learn. We have seen improvement in achievement straight across the board in all races. On the other hand, what really needs much attention as well, inequality among schools, has been proven to have fallen on the wayside. The statistics are not surprising, rather they are what I had expected. How can we expect change when the opportunity has not been given and the resources and means to do so are non-existent?

‘No Child’ Law Is Not Closing a Racial Gap

On April 28, 2009 the New York Times published an article titled “‘No Child’ Law Is Not Closing a Racial Gap.” The article, based on data recently released, said that there has been an increase in test scores, but that increase has been equal for both whites and minorities. The article also talked about the improvement in test scores in the elementary to middle school range, specifically grades 3-8, but not in high school. It also commented on the affect of supplemental services to improve reading and math scores in the lower grades. There was acknowledgment given to the factor of culture and the pressure it places on student to not be too smart.

As a middle school science teacher I have seen my students reading and math scores gradually increase, however, their ability to perform on grade level for science has suffered as a result. I have students who had no science in elementary school because of the intense need to focus on math and reading. This drastically under prepares the students for high school science as many of the high school science teachers ask me what I teach the students because they come to their classrooms lacking essential skills. I think that while NCLB does benefit math and reading in the younger years of education, it must be re-evaluated at the high school level and content level to be more effective in closing the gap and producing well educated students.

How Should We Judge Alonso?

Manipulating reports and statistics is an old and unsurprising practice. Yet, the practice in education circles is ramping up, as politicians and superstar district heads turn into statisticians to hail signs of their success. Frequently, data is incorrectly used to state that teachers, not economic conditions, are the “root cause” of test score disparities. Perhaps this is true, but reports thus far have been either conflicting, inconclusive, or poorly designed. The proliferation of “data,” brought on by NCLB, has increased statistical abuse, while more meaningful data is left by the wayside.

Though many teachers are skeptical of any multiple choice and limited response standardized test, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (aka The Nation’s Report Card) has a solid reputation for delivering trusted results. It is proctored by trained examiners and tests students throughout the country, allowing localities across states to be meaningfully compared. The MSA, on the other hand, is given only in Maryland and changes from year to year, sometimes drastically, making it difficult to measure the true success of a student or school. Though politicians will always try to discount unfavorable results, NAEP is currently the best measurement we have to gauge student progress over time.

President Obama has signaled the importance of improved assessment. Even Martin O’Malley has demonstrated the need for better assessments and substantive comparisons. In March, Governor O’Malley announced that the state is considering using some of the stimulus funds to have a large sampling of students take the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). PISA is not without flaws, but it will provide a more meaningful measurement for comparison than the MSA or HSA. Its sustained use will help us measure our own students’ growth more effectively.

I truly hope Alonso succeeds, and that Baltimore sees meaningful improvements on assessments, not for the numbers themselves, but for what they indicate. But the MSA and HSA alone are not sufficient measurements to demonstrate success. Given the recent history of districts and politicians misusing assessment scores for political purposes, it is up to the media and an engaged base of parents to hold Alonso accountable. We need to closely scrutinize NAEP data, as well as PISA data, if possible. Perhaps these measurements would still not be enough, but they will allow for a far more informed evaluation of Alonso’s tenure.

What other measurements should be used to gauge Alonso’s success? Real graduation rates and drop out rates? Should all measurement be based on pure student achievement, or are other factors crucial as well?

The Missing Medium for Collaboration

The number one difficult faced by new teachers is the lack of sufficient resources and materials, according to a 2006 survey on new teachers in Baltimore. The problem of inadequate curriculum plagues teachers at all experience levels. While the internet is flush with resources, few to none of the websites designed for teachers offer educators what they're looking for: coherent and cohesive units, complete with assessments, activities, and a suggested lesson chronology.

Teacher's lessons have context: they relate to the lesson before, the lesson after, the state standards, and, typically, a published curriculum. Current websites strip the context from lesson plans and, in the process, strip away much of the lesson's usefulness to teachers. Given the time and energy to dig through internet sites to find a suitable lesson each day, teachers resort to creating their own material, knowing all along that someone has already created it...if only they had access.

Why is there this tremendous void in educational materials available freely on the internet? The problem is three fold 1) There are no simple ways to present the structured information of a unit plan. Units plans are multi-leveled, like outlines. A unit plan has an outline with subnested lessons, activities, and/or assessments. More lengthy unit plans are subdivided into sections or concepts. The organization of the unit plan needs to be displayed visually as in published curriculum, to make it more accessible.

2) There are no websites which add value to the unit plan creation process itself. Current websites expect users to upload curriculum they've created--an often intimidating, arduous task for an unknown audience. Websites need to make the unit plan creation process easier for an individual and a group. An individual needs an easy way to create a unit overview, complete with standards and subdivisions, that is connected to individual lessons. Word processors such as Microsoft Word allow users to create unit overviews and lessons but do not allow teachers to connect the two. A team of teachers collaborating on a unit or a district curriculum department, needs the same creation tools as an individual does plus additional workgroup functionality. For example, teachers need to save their files to the website so they can be edited by any team member. There's only one copy of the file for the team--not multiple copies that are e-mailed back and fourth.

3) Lesson plan website don’t permit teachers to form networks, a la facebook. Teachers often aren’t comfortable creating a lesson plan for the known world to access via the internet. They want to share and collaborate on a lesson plan with their friends and colleagues. A website for teachers needs to allow multiple permissions to be set for units and lessons. There might be a team of teachers who can edit the plans and a group of teachers who can only view and add comments to it. This idea holds tremendous promise for school districts who find the curriculum binders or word documents they use now enable only one way communication. To continually improve, districts need to know which resources work and which don’t. A website allows districts to solicit granular feedback by allowing teachers to post comments about each lesson/activity in the unit plan.

Teachers need such a website to help them raise student achievement. If teachers can concentrate on perfecting materials already available instead of creating materials from scratch, they will have more time to concentrate on meeting the needs of their students. With better resources and more time to plan, teachers would be more effective in closing the achievement gap and ensuring that all children have an excellent education.

A team of teachers needs to be assembled that have experience with teaching and computer programming. Teach for America and other alternative certification programs excel at bringing in people into teaching with diverse backgrounds (such as computer science). However, finding such people can be a challenge. Anyone who wants to be part of such a project can contact myself, Scott Messinger at scottmessinger at gmail dot com. Together, we can enable teachers to raise student achievement through collaboration in new and powerful ways.