Mardi Gras - A Smash Hit!

Now that the jazz has ended and the Mardi Gras decorations are put away for another year, I wanted to give you the final count on the whopping success of the Feb. 22nd Hinsdale Central HS Jazz Concert.

And what a success it was for this fourth annual event! We collected four instruments and collected, are you ready for this?, a staggering $1605.00 in donations and admissions. That is quite a sum!! This will surely benefit the Banneker Elementary music program. All of this in addition to a wonderful evening of smooth jazz.

To one and all; parents, musicians, the Waggonner Family, patrons, cheerleaders and those who attended to the event...a heartfelt thank you.

Dick Flesher

The Challenge Remains the Same

Given the public cry for school reform, it is too easy to lose sight of the task at hand. The challenge remains the same...to help young people to grow.

Too often the short term, often mandated, school initiatives revolve around state test scores, standardized testing, and getting to college. I realize these are very real programs encountered along the way but they don't get to the core of our real task as educators, to see to it that we help students grow.

As people in the business of teaching we know darn well that getting students headed in the right direction means we have to engage students in profound and meaningful ways. It means that we have to see to it that we create a spark, that we help foster a real urge to learn. Along the way, as teachers, we find ways to instill in young people a sense of self-discipline, a self discipline that is used in the classroom and elsewhere.

Teachers realize, through their teaching, that they have a calling to find ways to make students responsible for their actions whether positive or negative. Not an easy task, for sure, but one that has lasting lessons for the learner.

Our profession calls on us to provide provocative and meaningful lessons so that students learn to ask questions, to consider options, and to find solutions. Is there anyone out there reading this that doubts the importance of acting on these lessons throughout life? I truly doubt it.

Yes, 'the challenge remains the same,' to spark an interest in learning, to help create an environment where self-discipline and responsible behavior are nurtured, and to encourage students to question/consider options and find solutions to problems.

When we find schools willing to take up these challenges, and others, we love to support them!

Many thanks,
Dick

More on Class Size

Yesterday, as you may recall, I had some negative things to say about the Time magazine article that said class size didn't matter if a poor teacher was in the classroom. My warning for readers was to not generalize a need for larger class sizes.

Here's a bit more on class size. It matters, has always mattered, and it matters in 2011. Here's why. We have more students, in many classes, who have to have adaptations made in the curriculum they receive. It is often mandated by law.

Yes, a class in Geometry may have an Austistic student and two Educational Services students who have severe learning disabilities. Do you think provisions have to be made, right there on the spot, for them while the teacher attends to 25 other students. Of course!!!

By the way, if you are a parent and want your child to get individual attention to do suppose they are going to get it in a class of 43 Chemistry students or a class of 50 Advanced Placement U. S. History students? On the surface, it's a silly question because we all know how you will answer that question. No way! Why?...well, you want your student to receive personal attention that's why.

Large class sizes are harmful to all students. By the way, let's not worry so much about a poorer teacher. A great teacher will also suffer with huge numbers in his or her classes. Let's find ways to help students and teachers, alike, a way that doesn't include increasing class sizes.

Many thanks,
Dick

Really!!

A recent Time magazine article

When It Comes To Class Size, Smaller Isn't Always Betterhttp://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2056571,00.html?artId=2056571?contType=article?chn=us

proclaimed that smaller class sizes aren't always better. I'm paraphrasing but the author of the article stated that a class small in size won't perform better with a lousy teacher. No kidding!! This isn't a revelation by any stretch. A poor teacher is likely to be of little help if he/she has ten students in class.

Sadly, too many readers, given some of the current anti-teacher sentiment, are likely to jump in and advocate for larger class sizes, taking the misguided information in the article to say 'it doesn't matter how many are in the class.'

It's always been known that a great teacher performs well in lots of situations. However, when a terrific teacher has a reasonable number of students in class the research has shown that students perform best under those conditions.

No doubt, obtaining and nurturing teachers to become top-notch is the top priority of administration and it ought to be a major concern of parents. But don't allow the generalized argument that smaller class sizes don't always matter. If people stick to such a short sighted point of view, it's just a matter of time before a vast pool of people demand larger class sizes throughout the country. That is indeed ill advised.

Many thanks,
Dick

How Did We Ever Manage?

Yes, I'm quite serious about the title of this blog. Isn't it amazing that we were able to teach children and keep the country afoot for all these decades without state testing?! How on earth were we able to do it? It really must have been a stroke of luck that we made such progress, for millions of citizens, without state exams.

I'll tell you how we managed. Teachers and schools managed because they knew how to educate children, plain and simple. Whether 100 years ago, 50 years ago, or 20 years ago educators did what we know, right now, works in the classroom today.

Here's what works (in no special order since they are equally important): setting high standards for students and teachers to strive for and meet, teaching of the highest quality, providing a well rounded curriculum (forget cores somehow being more important then electives), and developing students to their fullest potential. That doesn't mean we prepare them for college or work per say. It means we prepare them for the challenges they face, college and work, perhaps, those being two possible challenges.

It worked then and it will work today.

I am tired of test scores somehow being equated to a teacher and/or child's success or failure. The day a test score, essentially in an of itself, dictates such success or failure is more than a sad day.

It's time we stopped looking for a 'fix' or simple explanation of how schools (educators and students) perform. It's way more complicated than that...it always has been. The factors I discussed above are far more critical in determining successes than test scores. Quit being told differently!

How did we ever manage? Well, quite well thank you!

Thanks,
Dick

Help Banneker, Help the Girl Scouts

I have another way that people eager to help children can assist us. I have a group of three 8th grade junior high school students who are eager to get some girl scout uniforms to young girls who attend Banneker Elementary in Chicago. They are collecting uniforms to fulfill their Silver Award Project requirements.

There are approximately 35 girls in the Banneker girl scout troop and each one is in desperate need of a uniform. The age of the girls range from 6 to 13. As Ms. Lee, the Asst. Principal as Banneker says, "the girls have worked extremely hard to earn merit badges but they have nothing to place them on." Let's see if we can give them a bit of help!!

Here's how you can help. If you have a daughter who is no longer in the girl scouts and you are willing to part with the uniform, you can donate it to our cause. I will either pick it up (if you live within 25-30 miles) at a time that is mutually convenient or you can mail it to me. I will gladly pay the mailing cost. Just let me know that you want to send one our way. My email is rich219@comcast.net.

Just another way to help a group of our volunteers willing to step up and assist students in need. What better way for you to pitch in and help!!!

Many thanks,

Dick

Making Progress

As many of you know, our goal for our annual donation program called 'Drive to Thrive' has made great strides during the first three weeks of the program. The goal for 2011 is $10,000 and we are well on our way towards meeting that amount.

As of today, March 1st, Schools Count Corp has raised $3,800. Quite a total indeed!

Remember, your donations will provide all sorts of school supplies to over 30 schools in New Orleans and Chicago for the 2011-12 school year. The vast majority of the schools we will assist in the coming year are Chicago Public Schools.

Given the terrific discounts we receive at Kits4Kidz, along with supplies we collect in our 'Go Green' program, we are able to provide binders, notebooks, pencils, colored markets, filler paper, folders, pens, and more for just $6!! Remarkable indeed.

We are always welcoming new partners and volunteers to our charity. To be a part of our annual drive please let me know and I will be sure to get our charity information to you. Simply email me with your name and address and I will get our most recent newsletter to you today. My email is rich219@comcast.net.

I look forward to hearing from you!

Many thanks,
Dick