Not the Way it's Suppose to be

Prepare lessons, grade papers, meet students before/after school, attend in-service sessions, go to grad school, teach class, prod students, inspire others, keep kids on task and more. This is a big part of the life of a teacher. As I approach writing this morning's blog I am reminded of the harm wrought on innocent people.

Teachers and other school personnel now have to be on guard. No, it's not some of juvenile pushing and shoving that can happen in the hallways that teachers and hall monitors have to attend to. Nor is it the rather innocent barbs that are traded between kids. No, staff now have to be sure to conduct safety drills in the event of some heinous crime perpetuated on a group of people who just want to teach and learn. Teachers have to be ready to conduct 'lockdowns' in the event some horrible crime is committed in the school building.

It's enough to make me sick to my stomach.

Schools were and ought to be safe havens.

Dick

I'll Keep Today's Message Simple

When it comes to schools in America...
Say YES to books, teachers, computers and learning
Say NO to guns

The 5 Essentials - More of the Same

The Illinois State Board of Education has posted the results of the '5 Essentials' on its website. The five essentials are; effective leaders, collaborative teachers, involved families, supportive environments, and ambitious instruction. It goes without saying that schools that score high in these five areas are doing more for a child's education.

I tire of everything being ranked! Kids, schools, teachers and more. We, here in Illinois, have PARCC tests, other standardized exams, the ACT's and SAT's, the 5 Essentials and more. What's next the 10 most critical things a teacher is to say to each student each day? Don't laugh.

Education is sadly becoming standardized and homogenized to too large of an extent. It's as if we all have to be in the same place at the same time on the same day!!! Working with a variety of students isn't that neat and clean. It just doesn't work that way.

The rankings are a pecking order of sorts and it certainly doesn't take certain environmental and neighborhood factors into account. I am certain there are plenty of schools with 'low' ranking statistics that are doing their very best despite many obstacles. In fact, they may very well be putting forth more effort and progressing at a higher rate than schools ranked ahead of them.

I learned long ago that quantifying something isn't the end all or all that it's cracked up to be.

Dick

Giving Tuesday

It seems appropriate that today is Giving Tuesday since the weekend was consumed with a good deal shopping and yesterday being Cyber Monday. What better way to transition from spending during the holiday season to another type of spending. Giving Tuesday certainly falls within the realm of the holiday spirit.

Our charity lives the spirit and ideal of giving. Make no mistake about it, we look at our mission of giving as a way to help others improve their lives. It is merely the spoken words of giving/helping; rather, it's finding those students with the greatest needs and providing them with tangible products, supplies and resources to aid their work in school.

There is no time like the present to say I'm willing to help, I want to make a difference and I'm willing to GIVE! Please contact me if you want to be part of the Giving Spirit.

Thanks,
Dick

How Would Students Respond?

James Comer, founder of the Comer School Development Program, knows something about educating the 'whole child.' One of the critical components of Comer's belief of students processing focuses on the idea that every interaction that teachers, and others in the school setting, have with students matters and that these greatly influence how a child feels, acts, and responds.

I mention this point because the absence of positive interactions can have consequential results just as surely as the presence of them. As adults we interact hundreds of times each day with a large score of children in so very many ways. Likewise, each student has many interactions within the school day.,

All of this is not new for the vast majority of educators. Why do I mention this? I believe that placing a higher priority on one-to-one positive interactions is far more critical to a child's learning and growth than the overdone amount of standardized testing we are currently engaged in.

Here's a question for you. How do you suppose children would 'feel, act, and respond' to the onslaught of standardized testing? Put another way, do you suppose students would prefer a positive in-class teacher-student lesson (whatever that might entail) over a standardized test?

As teachers often say to students, "please pay attention!"

Dick

Signs of Hope and Despair

In the past two months I have been in the Syracuse, NY area, Minneapolis/St. Paul and Chicago (specifically Mokena since this where our home is located). Different regions of America but all with a sadly similar fate for low income people. What I have witnessed and read about over this period is the number of people (of course, including school aged children) who are relying on the goodwill of others in terms of food and other forms of aid.

Heck, I just noticed in today's Minneapolis Star Tribune where nearly half of the North Carolina state troopers are reporting a need for food stamps or other forms of help. Many of these state troopers are also having to take second jobs.

In many of the locales people of good conscience are helping out via food pantries, meals, food kitchens and the like. How very kind of such organizations to step up and help others.

In terms of Schools Count Corp., and our mission, these cases of people 'going without' have great implications in terms of how students perform in school. Certainly how children do in their classes is but one hurdle in their daily lives. But 'going without,' whatever that entails, is going to have a profound impact on the kids.

Yes, there is hope due to what charitable groups do on behalf of other but, at the same time, the growing number of people living in poverty and having too little to make it in life also reveals far too much despair.

But one thought to share with you on the subject. Far too many people talk about the minimum wage. Forget discussing a minimum wage, it is far more important and more critical to address the notion of people having a living wage. Until that happens we'll continue to see more people reaching out to others for assistance.

Dick

Thanksgiving

There is probably no better term to express one's sense of belonging/family, appreciation for what others have done for a greater cause and for being able to celebrate all that we are grateful for than the word Thanksgiving. It encapsulates how we live, evokes memories of a time long ago and it is a celebration of the now.

So whether it is a warm day in the South, a sunny but crisp day in Chicago or a rather dark and wintry mix somewhere in the Rockies, it is a day to be thankful for all of our many blessings.

Please accept my thanks for bestowing so many of your very own blessings towards the work of Schools Count and the many thousands of children we work with each year. Your kindness and generosity is something that I admire and am so very grateful for. May this holiday allow you the time to enjoy family and friends.

Happy Thanksgiving,
Dick