If You Desire...

...a rich curriculum
...up-to-date ideas
...the most recent innovations
...people who care about your children
...success
...those who have your son's and daughter's best interests at heart
...the very best

Then you/we will find ways to support our teachers!!

Thanks,
Dick

Today It's More than the 3 R's

It used to be as easy as 'readin, riting, rithmatic.' Not so these days!

It's not a matter of the above being right or wrong. There are more ways of teaching other than the tradition 'stand and deliver.' There are more tools of the trade...Chrome books, white boards, black boards (chalk boards anyone?), google docs and on and on. Then again teachers are expected to map, have common assessments, create course/school curriculum alignment and more.

Add to the above IEP's, 504 plans and the fact that multiple levels of students may be in a single classroom with multiple paraprofessionals. Today there are way more emails and texts of students and parents to respond to. And of course there are those dastardly standardized tests along with rising expectations.

Like it or not, it's the way of a teacher's world.

So, just one thing from this end this morning. I want to express my thanks to America's teachers!!

Dick

Yes, It's So!!

You can add all the software you want. Administrators can create any management style they so desire. Teachers can create as many rules as they see fit. You can have the world's best books and Chrome books. But at the very root of the success of American Public Education is the teacher and it's been that way throughout our history.

A bright instructor, one is an expert in their field, one who can empathize and inspire at once, one who has a command not only of material but a command of how to, so to speak, deliver it is simply indispensable. America's teachers know when to change the pace and when to adjust a lesson. They are people who quite literally have always impacted the lives of their students.

At the very core of American education lies a superb teacher.

Dick

Curriculum Equity vs. Excellent Curriculum

No, I'm not trying to play word games with the post title. What do you as a teacher, student, parent, administrator or community member really think is best to achieve...equity or excellence? I'm serious. Given what should drive top notch learning and teaching, if presented with a choice, do you want your child to have parity with another classmate or do you want your son or daughter to receive an excellent education?

This is an important question to answer and I don't intend it to be rhetorical. And this is a question and in some cases a demand made of educators. I'm sorry to say that equity seems to be winning the day.

Dick

Top Down in Education

Trickle down is a hierarchical construct which may work in some instances in the field of education. On the chance this may occur it ought to be known that those implementing programs or policies from above will have had to get buy in from building staff. And that point seems to elude those who essentially give a directive without buy in or consultation.

Let me say this, those who are in the trenches day in and day out understand what makes students, athletes, other teachers and the classroom tick. They have a pulse on needs, moods, and the dynamics that occur daily. These are, for lack of a better way of saying it, the real experts. They possess the knowledge and savvy necessary to make things work. Their responsibilities are many and for the most part our public educators are terrific.

So to all those policy makers at the top of the education pyramid make it a point that you build sound student programs and policies from the ground up. If you do everyone will reap the rewards. To do otherwise you're simply creating unnecessary problems for everyone.

Dick

Curriculum Equity

Aligning curriculum or achieving curriculum equity, though it sounds like a great idea, exists in a vacuum. It doesn’t exist from one class period to the very next, day to day, from one teacher to another or from one school to another, let alone from one student to the next. And though a particular course or courses between schools may give the same assessment, provide for a common exam or share the same objectives that doesn’t mean equity has been arrived at.

One has to dig deep into teaching and learning to understand just how difficult it would be to arrive at so called curriculum equity. One can teach beginning Calculus, if there is such a course, during 1st period and turn around and teach the same material on the same day during 3rd period. And the results are likely to be drastically different. Why? Because those first period students might well be a bit sleepy or a little less than fully prepared. The teacher may have just hurried to class or may be teaching this lesson for the very first time. Those third period students may have 5 fewer students in the class and they might have had a second period study hall to be prepared for their third period Calculus class. This same 1st period teacher may have learned what did/didn’t work in first period and made adjustments for their 3rd period class. Also, the composition of one class, aside from a difference in class size, may well have a difference in the number of students who get support services not to mention the background they possess as they enter Calculus. This isn’t some fiction. Ask any teacher and they’ll explain the same dynamic I’ve just cited.

More important than curriculum equity is the idea of curriculum excellence, providing challenges to students. And those challenges aren’t necessarily prescribed in the same course outline or program of studies. They are predicated on many environmental, teaching and learning factors, a small portion to which I’ve alluded to. The same book, online exercise or homework assignment doesn’t achieve equity. The challenge of educators is far more important. It’s one born in helping students find meaning, being inspired, staying engaged and progressing.

Dick

You Can't Dictate Excellence

State testing, the drive to get a 30 or higher on the ACT, pushing nearly all students to attend college, and the quest to make sure everyone has the same education - as if that's even remotely possible - are harmful. They're harmful because these go called goals don't address the needs of many students and they run counter to the long history of a comprehensive public education.

The above, in an of themselves, might be fine for a certain number of students but they are by no means worthy of a huge cross section of America.

The long arc of public education in America was full of diverse points of view, an interesting group of master teachers, and curriculum programs that challenged students. It has long sought to engage students, get them to understand different points of view, question a great deal...ideas, their teachers, and their own understanding of what was taught and more.

Oh sure, we had assessments, lesson plans, final exams and more. But all of these were driven not by standardized tests, standardized or aligned curriculum or the drive to get as many to students to college as possible. They were driven by inquisitive teachers and students, driven by the need for a deeper understanding of the known and unknown, the quest to find real meaning in the material and oneself. And perhaps above all they were driven by ingenuity, creativity, and the ability to address the real needs of students as they marched on.

Thanks for reading my blog,

Dick

Making a Difference!

As a person who taught for over 30 years and got to a point where I had a Master's degree plus well over 60 graduate hours I both feel blessed to have that background and grateful that it led me to a path of teaching. That being said this path may not be suitable for many young people.

I believe it is critical that a school sees to that its students get a well rounded education of the highest quality. This is far more important than touting the fact that 80% or 95% of its students went to college or went into farming or went into the military. All of these career parts are valuable and serve our country well but they aren't the end well of a person receiving a great education.

Part of the strength of our country relies on different people making a difference by living life to it fullest, taking care of those who they care about, earning a living by engaging in something that makes them happy and allows them to make a positive and profound impact.

There's more than one way to get this done and a great public education allows this to take place.

Have a good weekend!
Dick

More Harm to Education

Yesterday I lamented the loss of 'elective' courses. Well friends, this is done at the peril of everyone. There is at least a two general reasons why it's foolish to harm the electives. One has to do with the value of the electives, the other with respect to the harm it causes our country.

It is well documented that a child's growth is aided substantially through Music and the Arts. Like climate change this is no longer up for debate. So limiting or eliminating such programs goes against the very mission of education.

Raising a child, preparing meals, being able to do some essential work around your home and more are also critical tangible skills and they are tasks that an individual learns in school. We don't have to hire people to do such work. They are skills that schools have been long been adept at providing. Again, bidding good bye to these programs makes no sense.

And why is this taking place? Is there really too little money in the midst of a relative economic boom? Or is the obsession that everyone goes to college a driving force? We will tackle these questions and examine the harm caused to our country by putting valuable 'elective' programs on the chopping block.

Those in charge might well want to take stock of what they are doing!

Dick

Hurting Education and Harming Students

The long standing tradition of public schools offering a broad and inclusive curriculum has long been undergoing a wreaking ball. Like a building being dismantled so to are we witnessing - I hasten to add - the harm being done to our students and the entire education system. Don't take my word for it, take a look at the trend.

Forty or fifty years ago we had strong tech programs throughout the country. I live in the Chicago area and we had 4,000 students at Chicago Vocational. Even larger numbers of students attended Lane Tech. You could find this same attendance pattern at other schools throughout urban and rural America.

Just two days ago the Ames, IA school system announced that they would no longer offer Family and Consumer Science classes (formerly Home Economics). Ames also happens to be home to Iowa State University which offers one of the best FACS programs in the country.

This is but a tip of the iceberg!!! And all of this is taking place when the citizens of the country are asking where are the carpenters, the mechanics, agriculture workers, the welders, the seamstresses, the plumbers, the cooks, the electricians. Of course that only a part of the problem. FACS and other so called 'electives' are the very courses needed to survive.

Do I think we are heading in the wrong direction in many respects? YES, sadly yes

Dick

Questions for New Governor and Mayor

With JB Pritzker taking over the Governorship and a new Chicago Mayor due to be elected this spring there are some pressing issues and concerns that need to be tackled in partnership with the board and other education constituents.

For one, the 5-year moratorium on school closings is up and a report conducted by CPS indicates a good number of schools are being underutilized. Will the new leadership view this as a reason to close additional schools? While they are examining at this possibility, what will they do with schools that are overcrowded. And there are schools that ARE overcrowded.

Another possible front burner issue deals with the recurring concern expressed by many residents of the city who want to see an elected school board rather than one appointed by the mayor. Will the new mayor even tackle this one or ignore it?

The Chicago Teacher's Union pension shortfall is bound to gain some attention. How will this shortfall be addressed by the new city and state leadership?

Not that it's likely to come up but it remains a possibility. Will the new Mayor of Chicago keep the current CEO, Ms. Janice K. Jackson? This hasn't been brought up to my knowledge but time will tell.

Stay tuned,
Dick

Integrate the Arts

The most recent article in ASCD deals with incorporating the arts into the regular school curriculum. The article makes it clear, as almost Arts advocates have been saying for years, that arts integration can most certainly improve student social-emotional learning and ones attitudes toward the arts. 'A recent meta-analysis of arts integration research as seen through ESSA found that the arts have a statistically significant effect on student achievement (Ludwig, et al., 2017).'

So the issue isn't about the importance of the arts, the concern is about how to implement them into the regular curriculum if the arts are separate courses. Sadly, for many, the obstacles can and are daunting.

What the teachers and advocates of the arts see as the problems include; not enough funding, those who will implement the arts feeling that they lack arts expertise, too little planning time to implement the arts into the curriculum, fear of the unknown and more.

If the above problems, and others, can be overcome then the potential to bring the arts into the regular then great things will take place.

Dick

Poverty's Ugly Face

Whether its Buffalo seeing its steel industry eviscerated, Rochester facing job losses at Kodak and Xerox or Syracuse losing much of its Carrier production, the results are always the same...people out of good paying jobs and the growth of poverty. We all know that when a person loses his/her job it affects the entire family.

I can spend time talking about the so called 'blame game' but I'd rather focus on how to forge ahead until some good paying jobs for a large swath of society ever re-emerges.

Many people are working tirelessly to combat the effects of poverty. Some, like Schools Count Corp., are helping children in financially strapped areas. Others provide meals to those without the resources/funds to purchase food. Still other charitable people and NGO's are striving to aid the impoverished who need medical attention.

All of these effort are noteworthy. But from my vantage point there has to be a plan/structure that combines the above entities and other initiatives to fight the effects of poverty. Said in another way, we need to find a cohesive plan that addresses all of the issues that affects people suffering from all the crippling effects of poverty.

Until then, we'll just keep helping the kids.

Dick

Poverty Hits Rochester Hard

Rochester, New York once had 60,000 Kodak employees. It was a thriving company just as was Xerox. Earlier this year Xerox closed ist downtown campus and Kodak has seen it best days given the fact that the company went bankrupt in 2012.

For those who wonder why 50% of the Rochester school children between the ages of 5 and 17 are living in property one needs to go no further than examining the cataclysmic downturn of these two companies. Jobs are Kodak and Xerox provided employees with excellent paying jobs.

That meant that families, including school age children, enjoyed good living conditions; access to healthy food, good housing, great health care, plenty of job benefits, excellent schools and much more. Much of this is now gone in part to be replaced with lower paying service jobs.

No wonder many in Rochester are reeling.

Dick

Welcome Back!!

Thanks for coming back on board after I took a break for the holidays. As the children get back to school it is time to fire up the computer...is that possible? Well, it's great to be back online. It is my hope to get more people on board and to have some of you respond to my blog postings.

While in New York for a week I came across a most troubling story (in (www.syracuse.com) and, at the same time, a truly sad scenario dealing with the rate of poverty among 50 Upstate New York State schools. In essence, according to the 2017 5-year Census Bureau, poverty is rampant in many areas of the upstate region.

The report indicates that many school age children between the ages of 5-17 are really suffering. For example, the Sidney School District (in 50th place) has a school district poverty rate of 30.2%. It gets worse...Syracuse (in 9th place) has a school district poverty rate of a whopping 46%! And the Rochester school district (1st place) has a poverty rate of 52.2%. That's right, over half of the children attending Rochester schools are living in poverty.

Of course the above doesn't mean the schools are poorly run or that children aren't getting a decent education. It does mean that children and their family members are struggling. It also means that finding resources for schools will be difficult given the poverty situations in the various neighborhoods. And the staggering rate of poverty will portend that severe limitations which will surely occur will hamper what the services provided to their students.

In the coming days I'll be examining many of the factors dealing with poverty and what it means for the students going forward.

Thanks,
Dick