7 posts from June 2008

Teacher Sacrifices Job: Profiles in Schoolhouse Sainthood

I guess this teacher is fired for (trying) to teach The Freedom Writer's Diary. Hey, I liked the book, and the movie even had me shedding some tears, but I'm not about to take a year and a half unpaid vacation because I think I should get to teach any book I think will be interesting to students. 

School board says you can't teach the book, teacher does it anyway, teacher gets fired. What do you expect? Man, she went down for this book like it was the only engaging read she knew about. 

I've read the book, and I think it's pretty lame that the board voted against allowing it to be taught, especially in the case of classes that had 100% of their permission slips turned in. Sure the kids could have learned and benefitted from reading the book, but the teacher could just as easily done a little research and extra reading, and found an equally engaging text for the kids to read. Now, she's left those kids with the lesson that it's ok to do whatever the hell you feel like, and long as you think it's right. Then you can go on tv and cry (literally) about it. 

Drama on all sides. How hard would it have been to approve the book as long as each class had 100% permission slips turned in? No, I guess it's better for the board to parent the parents, and for the teacher to make a stupid stand pissing away her job and reputation for a 1st amendment right (please) to teach The Freedom Writer's Diary. 

And  then she says she won't come back and teach unless they let her teach that same book. Is this her religious text or something? Someone needs to act like a grown-up.


Post a comment Tags: teaching, reading, free speech, literacy, censorship, crybabies, freedom writers diary …

Why do you go to church?

This was tucked into my front gate today.

Free
Free

Something just isn't right here. Well, I guess you could compare it to the time in the Bible when the disciples passed out fliers telling everyone in the countryside to head out to the wilderness for an all you can eat fish and loaf buffet. Come for the food, stay for the message. Maybe it was the other way around.

Notice the underscore in particular: "the most exciting Church in Town." Random capitalization aside, it seems to me a bad idea when churches try to compete in the entertainment market. I mean, eventually people are going to figure out that they're at church, and if you're out to give yourself a good time, there are a lot of other places that you can go (and you don't even have to deal with boring sermons, getting dunked, having a thimble of grape juice that people pretend is wine, weird rituals, or parishioners possessed by the spirit). True, most places make you pay to be entertained, and this place is hooking you up with cameras, gas, and Wal-Mart gear. Let me tell you, I'm very tempted.

And I'm sure the heart of this congregation is in the right place, but I can't recall any biblical examples of Jesus bribing people to come listen to him (besides the fish buffet, and remember, there's an outside chance I might be mixed up on that one). Every other biblical example I can think of involving conflation of spiritual and physical commodities doesn't end well. There's that guy Simon who is so amazed by Peter's spiritual gifts that he offers to buy them. Peter tells him "Hey, I'll give you a 30 day trial run--all you have to do is head on over to the local fellowship with me. You know, because as the flier says, you must be present to redeem your prize." Ok, so Peter basically told him to take his money and die, but that just sounds so, I don't know, not seeker friendly.

Then there were the temple vendors, selling animals outside the temple so that people had a convenient set up to make their sacrifice purchases. Yeah, I think Jesus put a lot of folks out of business that day. 

I know these situations aren't exactly analogous, but I think they demonstrate a pattern that suggests spiritual commodities cannot even begin to be compared with MP3 players, digital cameras, Wal-Mart cards, and gas cards. Well maybe gas cards are in the same category, but only in the last 6 months. 

I do recall one of the disciples telling a disabled beggar: "Silver and gold have I none, but such as I have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ, rise up and walk." 

It may have been a long time ago, but you would think Jesus would be enough nowadays as well.



4 comments Tags: spirituality, faith, church, materialism

But I thought NCLB was ruining education.

According to many, who are hell bent on maintaining that NCLB is destroying school, I guess it still is. But at least these folks need to deal with studies like this one, which suggests that scores are improving, and the achievement gap is shrinking. 


I'm not a big fan of massive federal intervention into public schools, but I still can't wrap my mind around why so many people have a problem with tests that show us where the problems are. I guess if those tests really were ruining schools and kids, maybe, but imagine this: Scores are rising under NCLB. This does not mean NCLB is the cause, but it does show us that increasing scores can coexist with NCLB. And, as some have pointed out, we really wouldn't even be able to identify nationwide achievement gaps and proficiency levels without some sort of standardized testing measures, which have been "mandated" (OMG that word is SO scary. MANDATED. Now education will perish, and students will not be able to think critically), by Bush's "unfunded" (<--isn't that a little dishonest? I mean, "un-" does mean "not," right?) legislation. So NCLB points out the problems, and it turns out that studies show that the problem is getting a little bit better.

But lets not let mere data get in the way of a foregone conclusion (NCLB IS BAD. Say it three times to yourself, and repeat every hour on the hour). As one commentator notes (the boldface will belong to me):
The real questions should be: Are our schools improving in terms of the education that they provide? And, are our children more engaged, more passionate, and more capable learners? 
Facts be damned. Let's ignore the data, and ask "real questions." Questions that allow us to ignore evidence- based discussion, and continue to pontificate on nebulous ideas (more engaged, more passionate?) which are extremely difficult, if not impossible, to measure objectively.

Answers: No. If you spend six years prepping kids for tests, their scores will likely improve, and in this case modestly. But that is not the same thing as producing more capable, more involved (in what?) and more motivated learners.
No I guess it's not. But I'd sort of like to see evidence that highlights how all of the excellent test-takers we are creating are incapable. How does one discover that a nation of students is good at taking tests, but incapable? One way is to assume the truth of what you're trying to prove.

NCLB has hollowed out the core of public education and made it into a series of pencil and paper tests that mean nothing (are these different than other "pencil paper tests" that every teacher I know gives? Is there some sort of quill pen/parchment test we should revert to? Or maybe we need to be more engaging, and give them a downloadable test with an HTML code that kids could embed on their myspace pages?) and leave children with few options upon which to build a successful life.
Wow. These tests must really suck at measuring what students are supposed to learn. And they must be really powerful. I mean imagine, a couple of pencil paper tests given one/two weeks out of the year, and we've managed to rob children of almost all of the options upon which they can build successful lives! Imagine what Islamic extremists could do if they got their hands on a couple of these one-size-fits-all standardized weapons!

Hey, if the tests suck that bad, write some new tests. If the test measures the standards, then what's the big deal? I don't hear everyone crying about standards, so make a test that tests the standards, and we should be in business. If the test "means nothing," then it can't be measuring the standards at all, and yes, it should be discarded. But seriously, how many of these jokers have actually examined the standards, and then examined the test questions that test these standards? Some of the questions are indeed lame, but quite a few of them are right on the money. 

Or, the NCLB resistance could be right, and we're creating minions of victims, powerless to make their way in life. And we're doing it all with pencils, paper, and bubbles. So sneaky. Well, the pencils are supposed to be sharp. Must be symbolic.


2 comments Tags: nclb

Summer School Smackdown

For the first time since I've been teaching summer school, both jr. highs in our district are sending their academic rehab to the same place. We've got the classic north vs. south, Greaser vs. Soc, haves vs. have-nots thing going on in our city. At least the kids think we do. If you live below a certain street, you're ghetto, poor, probably in a gang, not smart, whatever. If you live north of the magical pathway, you must of course be rich, white, snobby, and have an affinity for Hollister and Abercrombie and Fitch. 


These stereotypes make for good discussion during the year, and hopefully a few moments of actual education. I mean we are in school. One time, I had a student complain that everyone at the rich/white/snobby school "says we're ghetto." Another girl chimed in, quite helpfully: "That's cuz we is." 

For the summer, I've got them all under one roof. So far they're getting along, working together, and participating together. Hopefully they're getting a chance to see that kids are kids. Ghetto knows how to cross the street, and so does rich, white, and snobby. There's definitely a demographic difference between the two schools, but I think most of these kids have been surprised at what they've seen this first week. There's a little bit of everything scattered throughout both jr. highs.

Week one, however, was not without its drama:
  • Two kids disappear in the middle of the day. Bunch of drama for administrator. Ha, reminds me, two years ago we had a kid that would just hide in the bathroom. When he finally showed up, kids decided to tell me: "Hey we saw that kid in the restroom every day!" I guess they couldn't let me know because that would be "snitching."
  • Two kids hucking trash cans at each other during my morning duty. I'm not at my best in the mornings as it is, but when I've only been out of bed for 40 minutes, I'm not in the mood to monitor a couple of prepubescents practice their Burrtec skills.
  • Next day, I had trash can hucker #1 transferred to my class because he "relates better to men." He's actually been alright.
  • Bus refuses to make stops because of unruly students. Returns to school. Teacher has to ride bus, and principal has to follow in car. 

It's been busy, but class itself has been solid. Three more to go.

4 comments

Tagged

1. What was I doing ten years ago?

  • I was wrapping up my senior year in high school, getting ready to start school at Cal Poly Pomona, and starting to get extremely nervous about trying out as a walk-on for the baseball squad. I spent most of that summer installing doors and windows and heading out to the beach in between times. 

2. What are five things on my to-do list for today?
  • Last minute prep for tomorrow's summer school class.
  • Shop around and buy painting supplies for a church painting project.
  • Finish the second of two library books.
  • Go to the gym.
  • Go to the park with Jackson.

3. Snacks I enjoy:
  • chips/salsa/guacamole
  • popcorn and M&M's
  • cereal with ice cream and peanut butter

4. Things I would do if I were a billionaire:
  • Buy a house on the coast, and one in the mountains.
  • Ride every winter resort on the planet at least once.
  • Horde it away in tax shelters like a greedy capitalist pig.
5. Places I've lived:
  • Pomona, San Bernardino, Phelan, Wrightwood, Rancho Cucamonga, Grand Terrace (all within a 30 mile radius, all in Southern California).
6. Jobs I have had:
  • door and window installation
  • snowboard instructor
  • college writing center tutor
  • AVID tutor
  • high school/jr. high English teacher
  • adult night school English teacher (serious drag)
  • mountain safety (basically cruise the hill on a snowboard and get paid)

6. Bloggers I am tagging:


1 comment

Manufacturing Victims

I was told, by a talented professional (one I respect) that I need to make this summer an enjoyable experience for all of the students because they have experienced nothing but failure, and they have "been beaten down all year."

I had to swallow back some words on that one.

To assume from the beginning that students have been "beaten down" is assuming the truth of what is unproven, and it's teaching kids that the causes of failure reside in some diabolical entity outside of the individual. This, in my opinion, is a doctrine that fosters weakness, dependence on the benevolence of others, and absolute terror of taking risks.  Plus it's offensive to the teachers, unless there's some other insidious force out there beating students down. Best case scenario, teachers are just watching serenely as a third party proceeds to beat the incoming summer school class with a foreign object for the duration of the year. Not saying it wouldn’t be mildly amusing. Anyway. 

 

The ironic part: singling failing students out as victims is, in a way, a form of victimizing them. It robs them of the chance to take responsibility for their actions, it robs them of the chance to experience and learn from consequences, and it increases the likelihood that these victims of the beat-down stick will continue to succumb to various external forms of "oppression" for the rest of their quivering existence. 

 

The way I see it, quite a few of those requiring summer school have pissed away opportunity after opportunity throughout the year, have disrupted the learning environment for other students, and have detracted from the general quality of education by sucking a teacher's resources (namely attention and focus) away from the content of the class. Teachers are devoting time and resources to figuring out how to help a group of students, who, for the most part, are not interested in helping themselves. And sometimes they're (students) downright hostile. So, after a year of wasting educational resources (not to mention thousands upon thousands of taxpayer dollars), we are to spend MORE money on summer school programs to get them caught up. And, we need to make it an entirely new and refreshing experience, because they've been "beaten down" all year long? This, all at a time when the "California doesn't care about its kids" budgetary woes plague our state. I hear a lot about how politicians are ruining it for the innocent children. How about a blurb regarding how fund-sucking, learning environment poisoning, authority (expletive-ing) individuals hurt the education of the majority of our state's students? No, I haven't heard much about it either.  Just send more money. That’ll take care of everything.

 

Believe it or not, I actually enjoy teaching summer school. A lot of these summer school students are good kids. I develop a positive relationship with most of them, and I expect to do the same this year. Hopefully, they’ll turn things around and hop on the path for a successful 8th grade year. I firmly disagree, however, with assuming that my incoming summer school students are victims of some insidious pimp slap from the past.


And, if they weren't before, this notion of treating people as if they are too utterly inept to take ownership of their actions will give students a back-handed beat down that they probably won't feel until a couple of years down the road. Then it’s really going to sting.

 

 

 

 

Post a comment

All-time-low teacher moment

It would have been the time I was attacked by lumbering high school senior (he was kicked out of my adult school class for multiple behavioral issues, found out he wouldn't be walking, and then sprinted back into the classroom, heaving tables and chairs aside in a concerted effort to tear me limb from limb). Yeah, that would have been my all time low, except I wasn't there that night, and that little adventure belonged to my substitute. 

Here's mine:

Due to a legal technicality, I will be reading (at our promotion ceremony) the name of a student who has straight F's for the entire year in math, English, and history. In science the student has several D's an F, and a C. The student has passed PE and some other electives. The student has been a behavioral problem throughout the year. Tomorrow, the student will hear the words "Congratulations, we did it."


In the word of one of my colleagues:

(expletive).

1 comment Tags: education, discipline, promotion, teacher moment