The teacher's lounge

The Yin and Yang of technology today

2009-07-12T18:51:00.004-04:00

I have been pondering for a while on the global, societal changes that have accompanied the explosion of communication technology in the last few years. It's the harbinger of life in the 21st century. Technology has always forced humans to make societal changes. Usually we are running to keep our ethics up with our technology. I have sometimes posed the question to students about our love affair with the cell phone...even though we can't imagine NOT having a cell phone, what about the numbers of fatal accidents that have occurred because of our addictive use of the cellphone? This summer there was a tragic train accident related to an engineer text messaging while in control of a speeding train. There are literally thousands of vehicle accidents caused by inattention due to cell phone use. Teenagers are the worst culprits without the maturity to recognize the potential danger of inattention and with inexperience to successfully react when the danger presents itself.
Another societal problem that has attracted recent media coverage is cyber-bullying. With the anonymity of text messaging, instant messaging, e-mails and social networking sites, youngsters are not safe anywhere from the viciousness of their peers. "Sexting" has become every paerents nightmare and a minefield for legal action. Probably 99.9 % of my students have cell phones and even though they are not usually using them for nefarious purposes they are unable to wean themselves off the cell phones during the school day. For many, this results in lower attention, thus lower school performance not to mention the issue of academic honesty. One of my students this past year was hovering on the brink of passing or failing and needed at least a 70 on the final exam to pass the semester and thus avoid repeating the semester in summer school. During the exam I noticed the student repeatedly looking down and to the side away from me. Then I saw the cell phone flashing. The student got a zero for the exam and failed for the semester. Since this particular student often resorted to using the cell phone to snap pictures of notes and other material I could only assume that the cell phone was the 21st century version of the notes written on a student's hand under their sleeve.
Now, I'm not saying that cell phones are evil incarnate. Their usefulness has been proven over and over again to call in emergency services. I myself have felt some comfort in knowing that my teen-age children had a cell phone to use if they found themselves in an awkward or dangerous situation. The camera function has really been helpful in capturing everything from a potential purchase for a family member to spur-of-the-moment once in a lifetime snaps of my grand-daughter. However, even though cell phones have been around for at least a decade as an ubiquitous assessory I have yet to sit in a movie or meeting and not hear one ringing as an unwelcome disruption. Why can't we get our behaviours on a par with the wonderful technology we have achieved?
I used to think that YouTube was the height of self-admiration and the most useless collection of people doing stupid things, or their children doing stupid things, or their PETS doing stupid things. I stand corrected. I am glad to say that I discovered a plethora of superb short clips that I can use in my World History class and most are from very credible sources like the History Channel. However, I have also found some wonderful clips of Japanese drummers and Irish dancers. I have been delighted to find some informative clips of other teachers using techniques in class that I'd like to try. YouTube has also done it's part in allowing people to share poignant moments such as a child's first jump off the swimming pool diving board or their tribute to a fallen hero whether it be a soldier or Michael Jackson.
But this isn't all about the issues of cell phones in school. This summer when the election took place in Iran and the Iranian government tried to squash the voice of the irate Iranians who felt the election had been fraudulently skewed in favor of Ahmadinejad, Twitter and Facebook prevented the veil from falling over the events in Iran. Although the election results still stand I believe that the people of Iran have been empowered. They KNOW their own government tried to keep them from sharing the people's feelings amongst themselves and with the world. They will continue to agitate for democratic reform and personal liberty. In this age of Twitter, Facebook and YouTube we will never again have governments that can commit genocide in secret like Stalin or Pol Pot. Revolutions against oppression such as Tianenmen Square will be out there for the world to observe. Politicians need to be keenly aware of the cell phone camera when slipping off to Argentina to rendezvous with a mistress, and law enforcement officers should maintain professionalism when arresting a citizen in case a video camera held by a passer-by captures a brutal, unnecessary assault.
As always, our ethics and social conventions need to adjust to the ever increasing eye we have on the world.

Point to ponder...

2009-03-14T12:50:00.002-04:00

Yesterday was a teacher workday. No, let me correct that, some of it was work time but at least half, as usual was "meeting time". We all grumble as we trudge to the cafeteria for the obligatory faculty meeting and then trudge to a classroom for a department meeting. Usually the department meetings at least have the potential to be more interesting because teachers usually feel freer to bitch about whatever is bothering them (for example the faculty meeting :) ) and because the announcements are usually more relevant. However, some of our time had to be dedicated to our "book club" meeting. The new administration required that all teachers read a book about educational leadership and have regular book club meetings about it. I think I am safe in saying that no-one read any more than the one chapter they were assigned to present to the group. And at each meeting there was no mistaking the "sorry, guys, they are making me do it" look on the presenting teacher's face.But I will say that one thing came out of yesterday's book discussion that I think is worth pondering.
The presenters posed the question "if you could do anything you wanted to motivate achievement in students, what would it be?" No money or rule restrictions, just an open brainstorming session. One idea that had been floated before was raised again. Meredith re-iterated the idea that if responsibility = privileges then if the school allowed increased privileges when a student showed responsibility and the student would lose those privileges with a lack of responsibility that we might be able to increase performance and reduce behavioral concerns.
Interesting concept. So let's say a student has no behavioral record for conduct or unexcused absences would be allowed to leave the campus for lunch. Wow! We already have a program in place for allowing seniors to exempt final exams if their grade is high enough and they have a reduced number of absences. Or possibly study hall for students with a grade below 75, free time in the computer lab or even outdoors for those whose grades are B's or above. Parking spaces are already tied to performance. I think there is a real possibility to motivate the vast number of students here. Of course, there are those who will not be moved no matter what carrot you put in front of them, but we may at least make that number smaller. Worth thinking about.

My "Priceless" list- with apologies to MasterCard

2009-03-03T21:27:00.002-05:00

Watching those MasterCard commercials that look at the costs of some things and then describe the ultimate result as "Priceless" I was prompted to think of the things, besides obviously my family, that are priceless to me... So,here they are...in no particular order.

The book of Valentine poems I've written for my husband over the past 34 years that chronicle all the ups and downs of my married life.
All of the incredible amount of details that I've managed to collect on the family geneaology over the past 30 years that are kept in the antique steamer trunk. It has been a labor of love and I can only hope I will live long enough to write a narrative that puts it together into something readable.
My occasional opportunities to sit and watch the nature going about their everyday existence in my back yard. It is soothing and puts all the problems in my world into perspective.
Seeing the look of surprise on children's (and sometimes adults!) faces when I show them the goodies baking inside the Dutch oven on the hearth at Smith Plantation.
The predictable patterns of life that reassure me such as the daily phone calls when I'm driving home from my husband, setting the holiday table at my mother and dad's house where the china and crystal are like old friends, the chimney swifts whose nestlings in my chimney every year drown out my favorite t.v. shows, and the Christmas ornaments I unwrap that evoke memories of family vacations and momentous events. There are so many that glue together the fabric of my life.

Sometimes someone will ask,"If the house catches on fire, what would be the one thing, besides your family, that you would save?" Well, maybe the Valentine book, everything else is already with me.

She's BAAAAACK!

2009-02-21T13:08:00.003-05:00

WOW! I thought I had lost my blogging privileges! I had put off blogging for a while and when I tried to go back I got an error message that inactivity had shut down my blog. Then, today, out of the blue I received an e-mail to confirm my e-mail address as the blogger and I found my blog intact! YAY! It was quite nostalgic to go back and read those earlier blogs. Bittersweet really. Those stories are still little pinpricks in my heart. And I realize with chagrin that nothing is any different today. I even have a few new ones.

So here's a new one with a slightly different twist....

Two years ago, my first year in the high school, I had a sophomore female student I'll call Serena. She was an exotic looking beauty but very interested in maintaining her street-wise persona. At first I thought she was blowing off doing homework or studying because she didn't want to lose her street "creds" by being too smart. Over time, and after I tried to decipher her essays, I realized that she couldn't really read above an elementary level and writing wasn't any better. I went to the counselor and suggested that we work towards having her tested. After soothing me with promises to "look into it" I came back after the winter break to find that Serena had been transferred to another teacher! O.K., it's not my problem anymore. I thought that at least the counselor would follow up on my suggestions.
Cut to this year, Serena shows up in my class in the fall to repeat the semester she failed with me before. I was surprised but anxious to hear what had happened since I last had her in class. The answer? Nothing. As soon as she was out of my class the issue was dropped like a prom dress. I checked in with some of the other teachers she had been assigned to since she was in my class and found that they had also questioned her literacy. Then I checked on her results for the High School Graduation Tests (passing is required in order to graduate) and her grades. She had failed every graduation test but she had a B average for her overall gradepoint average! I went to the counselor who seemed exasperated that I was back in there questioning the system. After all, Serena is a senior now. I asked if her mother was aware that she may not graduate if she doesn't pass the graduation tests."Don't know" answered the counselor. AAARRRGGHH!
We have a new principal this year and at an early faculty meeting she was pointing out how important it was for us to focus on improving performance for three groups , blacks, Hispanics and Special Ed. students in order for us to make the Adequate Yearly Improvement goal for the No Child Left Behind federal mandate. This seemed like the perfect situation to present to the principal as evidence that there was a flaw in the system.
Within a few days of the faculty meeting I went to see the principal. I gave her the facts of Serena's case. Although I agreed with her that as a senior, there was not much sense in trying to test Serena now (although colleges also recognize IEP's) there were students I currently have in class, Shanille for example, who would be following the same path. We discussed the situation of students having a B average but failing the graduation tests. Grade inflation seemed to be an explanation. I left with the principal's assurances that the issue would be addressed.
To cut to the chase...nothing happened. I expected to hear something about it at the next department meeting. Nope. After I inquired of the counselor if there was another meeting scheduled about Serena, the counselor unwillingly scheduled one. Only myself and a Foods teacher showed up. Right off the bat the counselor stated that the principal had made it very clear that no senior should fail. I said that I could certainly make anyone pass, I control the grading but it did not seem right to just pass a student who so obviously lacked the skills necessary. I left the meeting angry and disillusioned.
So Shanille has a 14 grade average in my class. We had one meeting (same counselor as Serena), nothing was accomplished and no other meeting has even been called to evaluate his progress.
I fervently hope that my new grandchild possesses the innate skills to succeed in school. If not, I fear she may become one more of the students who languish in schools unnoticed.

A week ago I read in the paper that Principals will receive a $10,000 bonus for raising the graduation rate and testing results of students from the previous years performance.

Update!!!

2007-04-21T23:57:00.000-04:00

Two years ago I posted a blog about two students whose parents seemed determined to help their child escape getting an education http://theteacherslounge.blogspot.com/2005_09_01_archive.html

I never knew what happened to the students after they left middle school......until this year. I happened to transfer to a high school a little closer to home and was having lunch one day when I happened to overhear two teachers talking about a student who was literally never at school but the parent expected them to send all his work home and give him passing grades. Curious, because the story sounded familiar, I asked who they were talking about. I almost choked when they said his name! It was the same student whose mother had been keeping him out of school for "medical" reasons throughout 8th grade! She would never produce any actual doctor's confirmation of a dibilitating illness and when we started to insist too loudly she pulled him out of school to "home school"him. Yeah, right. Well, my new school thought he had been home schooled so didn't have any reason to not go ahead and register him until the appropriate tests could be done to see if he could pass the standard tests to place him in high school. I went straight to his counsellor and gave him the details of my experience with him and then I e-mailed the teacher at my former school who had the unenviable position of being his homebound teacher. Within 24 hours the high school principal was given the necessary background and called in Fulton County attorneys. They gave the mother a specific deadline for medical records to be submitted or threatened her with arrest for keeping her child out of school. She waited until the last 12 hours before the deadline and then pulled him out of school to "home school" him again! Not falling for this a second time, the attorneys told her they would be checking to see if he was enrolled in the online classes he had to take to do high school and if he wasn't registered they would have her arrested! I'd love to hear the end of this but probably never will.
The other parent who pulled her son out of school when told he would have to repeat 8th grade apparently kept him home for a while and then enrolled him in 10th grade at my current high school! I happened to see him in the hall and once again, went to the counsellor to see if he knew the whole story. He didn't. All he knew was that she had brought him to school to register a few weeks after school started and he hadn't received any transfer records. Well, it seems that he just stopped coming to school shortly after they asked for the records and wouldn't answer the phone when the school called. Finally the school just withdrew him. I's love to know where he is today too!

Ah, Spring!

2007-03-30T21:22:00.000-04:00

It's hard not to get excited in the spring from when you start seeing tightly curled green leaves poking out from under the brown, dead leaves of winter to the moment you notice a flurry of activity going on at the bird nesting box in the back yard. I absolutely LOVE driving to and from work every day and admiring the towering trees that serve as scaffolding for literally a cascade of lavender wisteria. Although the fine golden dusting of pine pollen that covers the world and everything in it is an inconvenience, it just draws your attention to the riot of color popping up all over the place. Spring makes you think of baby bunnies, baby birds and all the hope and aspirations that new innocent life brings to the human heart. I couldn't help but contemplate this when two unrelated events coincided in my life today. It gave me pause, and compelled me to reflect a little on the visceral reaction that parents have when it comes to their children. You really can't explain this to the non-parent. In fact, they cannot even quite grasp the depth of raw feeling that wells up inside the parent and it will probably take them by surprise when they first scan their own progeny.

Today, two seemingly unrelated events occurred: my son's good friend posted a picture of his brand new baby daughter on his blog space and just as I got into the car after school I received a call from the parent of one of my students. Let's take the first event.... the baby picture. Absolutely adorable little scrunched up face surrounded by a pink frilly bonnet. I talked to her proud daddy last night and he alluded then as well as in his blog about how totally amazed and awed he is by this incredible production of his and his wife's. As every parent, he sees only potential and perfection. We hope our children reflect the best of our qualities and somehow escape embodying our failings. As a new parent you spend many long periods of time watching this beautiful creation and imagine all the wonderful achievements that will come. Every parent silently vows to do everything within their power to give this new human being all the things necessary to reach their full potential.

Of course, there will be some bumps along the way. We aren't as perfect as parents as we promise ourselves we will be. Our child has flaws and characteristics that will not mesh with our plans for them. It's incredibly hard for a parent to take the dreams and hopes that have been carefully nourished over 10-15 years and see them fall or fade away. Sometimes a parent can gracefully accept that their child chooses a different path, but sometimes, the path the child takes is not through choice but that doesn't make it any easier for the parent.

That brings me to the second event...the phone call. My student is 17 and has pretty much failed school all his life. He is in a sophomore class but should be at least a junior or senior. When he first arrived in my class I found out that he has been bounced back and forth between schools and parents and also, the piece de resistance, he has an I.Q. somewhere between 70 and 75. Typically, an I.Q. under 70 is considered mentally handicapped. After eleven years of pretty much abysmal failure in school and all the social ramifications of that, he is extremely withdrawn and hopeless. The differences between him and his classmates is not lost on him. As it happens, he is seated in front of a gifted senior who takes mostly Advanced Placement classes. This senior is in a sophomore class because he transferred from another state and has not yet taken World History, a required course for graduation. The differences between these two classmates couldn't be more striking.

Anyway, the father is frantic that his son graduate from high school. In the e-mails he sends me and in his voice when he calls, you can clearly detect the urgency and concern through the badly spelled, grammatically incorrect communications. I know when he calls there will be a hopeful tone in his voice. He doesn't want to bother me but could I tell him how his son is doing? Is he doing any better this week? He asks him every day if he has any homework but when I hear this I know he is silently telling me, "I'm trying so hard, Mrs. Jolle, to be a good parent, please don't think I'm not trying." I know he is trying, but I don't have the heart to be yet another teacher who tells him his son is not able to do the work, that he is not smart enough. So I try to be honest but sensitive to his feelings...yes, he has done his homework and he took the test. He failed the test with a 53 but that is better than the zero he got on the last test. I can almost hear his shoulders slump as clearly as I hear the soft background sound of him exhaling very slowly as if all the air is going out of him along with his hope that this week would be different. I have this quick flash thought that seventeen years ago this father looked at his newborn son with all the hope and pride that my son's friend is looking at his daughter with today.

The bird nesting box in my back yard is occupied by a pair of nuthatches that are industriously feeding a clutch of nestlings, readying them for the day when they will venture forth and the parents work is done. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that all the fledglings will successfully fly out of that box and into the big area beyond. Spring is all about hope.

The Truth about Learning Disabilities and ADHD

2006-06-27T09:29:00.000-04:00

The scene opens in the counseling office at the school (elementary, middle or high) and the parents with their anxious worried faces wait to hear from the all-knowing counselor some explanation for their child’s (most likely a son) low grades. Around the table the parents are outnumbered by an array of teachers, an assistant principal, a special education teacher and the counselor. There may also be a school psychologist and an Instructional Support Specialist. The verdict is both a blessing and a curse. After asking all of the teachers for an extensive survey of the student’s performance the school suspects there is something preventing the boy from gaining success. He seems to be very bright but he won’t complete his assignments and his book bag is a mess. All eyes turn to the parents and it’s hard to tell if it’s sympathetic or accusing looks. They want to consider Special Education for your child under the umbrella term "OHI" (Other Health Impaired) or perhaps under the diagnosis of "EBD" (Emotional Behavior Disorder). While they wait for the parents to state which option they prefer, the parents minds are racing....
"What? My sweet, funny, adorable little boy is an Emotionally Disordered child?
No, that can’t be right!"
"What about ‘Other Health impaired? That doesn’t sound so bad. But does this mean he will put into classes with children who drool and breathe through their mouth?’"
" Will everyone look at him and make fun of him? What about his friends?"
"What will this do to his self esteem?"
"We only wanted to help him do better in school, maybe a little extra help, a more understanding teacher."
So the parents have to face the Solomon choice-agree to have their child in Special Education with the labeling and social isolation or choose to reject the only help the school will offer and have the teachers and counselor give you "that look". The look that says "Parent in denial, more concerned about their own self-image than their child’s well being. Tsk, tsk". Parents know only too well how important school success can be to their child’s success in life. It is a heartbreaking choice.
As a parent who has faced this choice twice, I can say that you get down to trying to decide which is the lesser of the two evils. You try to look into the future to see which will be ultimately the best choice. Unfortunately, the crystal ball doesn’t work any better in this situation than it does in others. You take your best shot and cross your fingers. You hope your child will forgive you if you are wrong and you hope you can forgive yourself. But here’s the thing, babies don’t come with warranties or guarantees. They don’t even come with an instruction book. It’s all "learn as you go".
I have the unique perspective of being on both sides of this table. I’ve seen plenty of children who just seemed to be rather inquisitive, somewhat undisciplined children whose parents and other teachers wanted to rush to medicate in the name of ADHD thinking it was the silver bullet that would miraculously change their child into the stellar student. I also had a fourteen year old girl this year who failed every academic class because she simply cannot do the work of an 8th grade student. She has a low I.Q. and learning disabilities. Her mother steadfastly refuses to even consider Special Education classes for fear of the social stigma. The girl failed at least 6th and 7th grades (that I know of) but she was placed in the next grade because in the face of her mother’s opposition to having any help for her child the school administration did not want to retain her when she was receiving no help. That came to an end this year. At this point, the girl did not make even an effort to do any work. Why bother? It was too difficult and she had moved up each year even if she did fail. Well, after one last effort to change the mother’s mind we finally decided it would be a travesty to send her on to high school. Now, instead of the social stigma of Special Education, she has the stigma of retention in middle school while her friends move on to the high school.
The sharp increase in children "diagnosed" with ADD or other learning disabilities has many people asking the questions "Are these REAL disabilities?" "Why are we having so many kids with disabilities now?" Were the same number of kids struggling a hundred years ago and just labeled as "slow" or "trouble-makers" because we hadn’t identified the behaviors yet? Or is something in our current culture contributing to the cause? If you look on the internet you can find literally hundreds of articles about learning disabilities with just as many causes. Like many people I am a bit suspect of the methods used to diagnose these disabilities. Some of the disabilities are clearly recognizable like dyslexia but others are more obscure. Auditory processing is really diagnosed with just a compilation of anecdotal evidence. But then, how do you KNOW it’s a legitimate disability or just a kid stubbornly refusing to show any interest in a subject that bores him? My own feeling is that it is more complicated than many people are willing to admit. They want to take a pill and get over it. But, the truth is, people are complicated beings that are the result of genetics, environment and experiences. A child that gets failing grades may have a complex set of causes and it will be impossible to sort out what cause is the "culprit". We all want to find who or what to blame. With learning disabilities, not only is it impossible to nail down the actual disability (if there is one) but clearly impossible to find the one thing to blame for it’s cause. And does it really matter? Well, only in the sense that if we can narrow down some of the causes we might be able to make some adjustments in society to reduce the number of children hampered by disabilities. Heck, if we hadn’t discovered that lead in paint caused mental retardation we would never have switched to lead-free paints.
The one theory that does make sense to me is the one about television

Title: Short Attention Span Linked to TVSource: USA Today Author: Marilyn EliasPublication Date: April 4, 2004Page Number: n.p.Database: SIRS Researcher Service: SIRS Knowledge Source http://www.sirs.com

I know, as a teacher, that trying to keep the television addicted students focused and engaged these days is nearly impossible. Some days I think even setting my hair on fire would barely get a response. My husband read an article the other day that said that Nascar was concerned that they were losing their young audience members so they went from doing 9 edit cuts in 8 minutes to 32 edit cuts and that seemed to correct the problem. I’m not quite sure how I can relate that to my teaching. I know that any activity that takes more than 10 minutes is dangerously close to the limit of their attention span. I’ll grant you that part of the problem is what we, as a society, have determined that the young people should learn and also that for many teachers the step up to using technology in their teaching is just too big a step. But I think most adults would agree that the hobby of reading has died with the last generation ,and the current under 30's have limited interest in reading and cannot spell at all.
I found a few interesting articles that are from credible sources about the ADHD epidemic

Title:
New CDC Report Looks at Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity DisorderSource: CDC Press Release Author: Publication Date: May 21, 2002Page Number: n.p.Database: SIRS Government Reporter Service: SIRS Knowledge Source http://www.sirs.com

Title:
An Alternative Approach to ADHDSource: Harvard Mental Health Letter Author: Denis M. DonovanPublication Date: May 2000Page Number: 5--7Database: SIRS Researcher Service: SIRS Knowledge Source http://www.sirs.com

The second one is particularly interesting because they discuss the behavior modification aspect of correcting ADHD rather than just medicating the student. I do a lot of what they suggest in my classroom. In fact, much of what I do for the ADD kids is just good teaching methods no matter what kind of kid they are.
So my summary is this...are we over-diagnosing kids with learning disabilities? Yes. Are we rushing to medicate kids when behavior modification at school and home might work just as well? Yes. However, with that said, my nephew is being tested for ADHD and auditory processing problems. I mean, if a high school freshman is failing 4 out of 6 subjects and has been performing more or less at this level for three years, someone needs to start looking for a cause and a solution. We owe him that much.

2005-11-05T13:15:00.000-05:00

On Friday of this week my student's Colonial Craft projects are due. On Thursday morning I received the following e-mail...

Good am. Blake wanted me to send you a message that he was not creating a funny with his candles. I helped him with them and they came out with a funny shape. I learned how to make them like the olden days in girl scouts and taught him last night. Some of them kind of look like a male body part. We tried to adjust them so it would not be so bad. He told me that they had to be neutral colors after we had started and they had to be dipped in white so they got bigger. I hope you understand. Please don`t count it against him. He learned a lot and we had a good time. Thanks, Mrs. Floyd

By the time I forwarded this to several teachers and told all of my family I had two orders from teachers and one from my 23 year old son!

And now for a bucolic interlude...

2005-09-10T00:10:00.000-04:00

I have never understood the fascination with soap operas, but then again, I'm sure most people would never understand my fascination with nature. I can sit on my porch and watch nature for hours. And believe me, the drama is no less riveting! Two years ago I finished a screened in porch so I could sit outside and enjoy my backyard without being bled to death by the round-the-clock mosquitoes that reside there. We are fortunate that during the summer when the trees are leafed out you really can't see any of the neighbors houses, just green leafy trees and dappled sunlight. Most of the time you can hear the birds but there is frequently the grumbling roar of a leaf blower or the shrieks of the neighbor's children playing. I don't mind. It just reassures me that life in this middle class neighborhood goes on as always. In fact, it sometimes makes me a little nostalgic for the days when my children could be heard shrieking "give that back!" "MOM!!" and "I'm going to KILL you!" Ah, the happy days....I digress...
Most of the drama involves the various critters that happily feed in the nirvana I've created in the yard. I have every kind of feeder that one can put out. It takes about 45 minutes to completely refill everything. Two kinds of suet feeders for the woodpeckers (4 varieties), meal worms for the bluebirds, wrens etc. Seed tubes for the cardinals, nuthatches, titmice and chickadees as well as critter feed on the ground for the towhees, mourning doves, chipmunks, rabbits and squirrels.
Of course, I had to put out three hummingbird feeders strategically placed so they can't see each other. Who knew that the tiny little hummingbird is a vindictive, fierce and lightening fast attacker when he spots another hummingbird? The aerodynamics begin pretty much at first light and continue unabated all day until they can't see each other to attack any more. Jon was amused yesterday by two hummingbirds hovering on either side of a large oak tree trunk feinting first to one side and then the other, just daring the other one to try to get by him! If you stand near the pumpkin patch (my other pet project) you risk being buzzed by two or more hummingbirds in hot pursuit of each other! I find it fascinating that although you really have to be looking to see them since they are so small, you can usually be alerted to their presence at the feeders by the leaves bending under the heavy wind created by their hovering wings.
The other amusement is watching the mourning doves trying to land near the ground feeder. They seem so bulky and awkward and never seem to land anywhere near where they intended so are forced to waddle back to their target. On the contrary, the Blue jays do a straight drop from the boughs above the ground feeder and never miss a perfect landing. A few weeks ago my son, Patrick, and I watched in fascination as a Blue Jay did some incredible flight maneuvers through the trees to evade a pursuing hawk. The crashing amidst the branches as they danced this deadly dance was frightening. the Blue Jay was shrieking wildly in panic the whole time. I have to admit that I was relieved that the hawk finally gave up the chase and went off for easier prey while the Jay sat in a tree panting and cursing loudly (oh, yes, it WAS cursing) for at least 15 minutes.
Having watched the backyard scene for hours this summer I've grown familiar with the calls of the various birds and critters that come by for a feed. I think my favorite is the ladderback woodpecker who sounds exactly like a dog's squeaky toy. The woodpeckers absolutely LOVE the suet feeders and they are actually pretty civil with each other about using them. You can sometimes see 2 or more woodpeckers of various descriptions waiting patiently on a nearby tree trunk while another woodpecker is on the feeder. The squirrels have a low chattering sound when warning each other from getting too greedy at the seed bowl and the cardinals have a distinctive chip, chip call as they fly in as a group. If there is ever a total silence it is usually broken by the high pitched whistle of the local hawk. Everyone gets real quiet and still when it is heard. I've seen him cruise quietly through just to see if any small critter is too involved in feeding to run for cover.
Of course, my favorite critter that was rarely seen and heard was the Screech Owl that nested in the box hung on a tall pine in the backyard. While she (and probably he) were there you would only catch a glimpse of them for about 15 minutes just at dusk before they would swoop off for their night's hunting. No matter how hard I tried, or where I stood I would only see them swoop down from the box and then disappear into the darkness silently. I could never see which direction they flew towards. I was totally fascinated when I realized that there must be a fledgling owl in the box and you could hear the parent coming to feed it when you heard a very low quick pulsing oh, oh as the parent approached. It was like the parent was saying "Get ready, supper's coming". Of course, after the fledgling left the nest the owls have disappeared. I sometimes can hear one calling if I'm letting the dogs out late at night.
The rush and demands of school sometimes really get me crazy and I find that spending some time quietly observing the nature around me helps to calm the nerves and refresh my attitude. I can get as much genuine enjoyment watching a wolf spider spin a giant web on the front porch as most people get from watching a television show. I'm happy that the bald cardinal (mites can really wreak havoc with a beautiful red crest!) found a lady cardinal to hang out with in spite of his pitiful appearance. I was saddened when our baby possum met an untimely end after an encounter with a poisonous snake. I even enjoy finding the empty shells of the cicadas knowing that the familiar sounds of the southern summer come from this incredibly ugly bug.
Well, gotta go refill the seed tubes and check for new pumpkins....

Same song, second verse

2005-09-09T21:30:00.000-04:00

Sorry, but I must vent about some parents again...kind of a follow-up to my earlier post on the Problem With Education today. The parent whose kid was absent all year due to "medical" problems has apparently decided not to enroll him in school at all. At the end of the school year it was decided to place him in 9th grade at the high school. Recently our middle school received a call from the high school (who are now holding the huge file of paperwork on him) inquiring about him because he has not been enrolled for this year. Hmmm.
Along the same lines is the parent who requested a special hearing with the administration this year to protest her son's retention in 8th grade. Now, he had actually been retained in 7th but this same parent moved him to another school into 8th and then a few weeks later moved him back as a TRANSFER into 8th, completely circumventing the retention. As you can guess, the boy, having learned how to work the system from mom, proceeded to do absolutely NOTHING during 8th grade fully expecting to manuever his way into 9th. It really annoyed he and his mom when we insisted that he would have to do 8th grade again. So, once again, he simply didn't show up for school. We have just heard that mom tried to enroll him in 9th at a nearby high school. They accepted him at first until they checked for previous records and realized he is supposed to re-do 8th. I can't imagine what her next ploy will be to get her way!

Chicken Little follow-up

2005-09-04T18:35:00.000-04:00

Last Friday my classes had the Firing Line activity described in my last blog entry. All in all, it was very successful. Some classes did better than others but overall I'm very encouraged with the student's efforts. We managed to cover several topics of technology that potentially do in the the world including global warming, nuclear weapons, biological and chemical weapons, cloning and terrorism. They discussed hybrid cars and life support systems. Many were very well prepared with comments from creditable sources. I required that they have articles printed from Galileo they they had highlighted and annotated. Several had whole folders of information with tabs to show each of the topics mentioned above! Since this is early in the year, I hope this bodes well for future Firing Lines.
Our next unit is on Archaeology and I need a good, pithy, controversial archaeological topic to use....any suggestions? (Mark, I'm talking to you!) I have been using an article about some dinosaur footprints in Alabama http://www.westga.edu/~bpsweb/BPS_Trips/bps_ft_00_01.html

for the past few years but now I'd like to find something more recent.

Calling Chicken Little!

2005-08-28T14:54:00.000-04:00

For the past few years I've been holding on to a small, dirty Post-it with a pithy saying scribbled on it red pen. This particular saying just really grabbed me when I first heard it on Ken Burns The Civil War (which I have watched 5 times a day for every year that I have been teaching!) and I was determined to find some way to use it in class. This is the year and though I'm not certain that brand new 8th graders will be able to adequately respond to it, I'm publishing it here for any other, older types to respond to if they wish. Here's the assignment exactly as I have written it for my students:

Firing Line Assignment
“Some day science may have the existence of mankind in its power, and the human race commit suicide by blowing up the world.” (1862) -- Henry Brooks Adams (1838-1918)

This statement was made by Henry Adams during the American Civil War when many new advancements in military weapons were being made. He brings up a question that people around the world have been debating for the past century.

Do humans have control over science or does it control us?

While we are able to create incredible new inventions such as the microwave oven and the cell phone, no one would deny that these new inventions have changed the way we live. And what about some of the more sinister types of inventions such as the long range missiles and the nuclear bomb? It is often said that our scientific inventions are appearing faster than our ethics (system or set of moral principles) can keep up with them. We have often had to create new laws to prevent people from abusing a new invention to the point that others are hurt. For example, laws to prevent people from using cell phones when they are driving.

Your assignment:
How would you respond to Mr. Adams statement? Do you agree with him that one day our scientific, technological advancements will lead us to “blow up the world”? Or do you believe that humans will always be able to adjust and adapt to new technology to prevent it from being abused?
Once you have decided which position you will take you will need to find some examples to support your viewpoint. You may want to look at military developments and how powerful they are. You may want to look at medical advancements (such as life support methods) or even the increasing level of pollution that may lead to catastrophe with global warming (think about the movie “The Day After Tomorrow”). You will need to find three credible sources that describe either a scientific advancement that could potentially be harmful to a large number of people OR an example of how humans have controlled an invention to prevent it from being harmful to many people.

So, what do YOU think?

Say Whaaaat?

2005-06-16T00:45:00.000-04:00

O.K., just for a change of pace let's reflect on the things that make teaching worthwhile...the funny stuff that kids say or write. The one that I will always remember came during my first year as a teacher and taught me a valuable lesson about test development. I had taught my students all about ancient Rome, the Coliseum, the gladiators, the chariot race arena (the Roman circus) and the baths. I thought a great short essay question would be "If you lived in Rome during ancient times and looked out of your window, what would you see?" One enterprising youngster wrote, in all seriousness, that you would see "dirt, wagons, dogs and kids"!!! I had to give him the credit because he was actually right!
Last year on the American Revolution test a student wrote that the reason the colonials threw the tea overboard into Boston Harbor was because they had too much luggage! The Civil War test is always good for a few chuckles. One question about people who helped bring about abolition elicited Rosa Parks as one of the abolitionists!
On the recent test about Law and Government a student was writing about a new law allowing DNA testing to be done for "convicted felines" so they could get a new trial! For the life of me I can't remember what another student was writing about that included the word "concubine". I just remember it was difficult to find the words to explain to an 8th grader what that word meant.

The problem with education today...

2005-05-15T14:30:00.000-04:00

Like most teachers, I find my biggest frustrations are the parents, not the students. Not to repeat some of my earlier blogs, but I need to reference a few recent incidents....

* Honesty- I recently came across some student work that was, it seemed to me, obviously copied from each other. The paper had seven questions that were personal opinion type questions. In two different classes I found two female student's papers that were virtually identical in wording. Only one or two synonyms were substituted on the entire assignment. I gave them zeroes and an Honor Code violation form to take home. You would have thought I accused them of dealing drugs! All four sets of parents were up in arms insisting that their daughter NEVER lies to them and had told them that she had not cheated. One parent even demanded to see the videotape of the cheating (Are you KIDDING me?) or to produce the witnesses. After several e-mails and a phone conversation we had to have a formal meeting with both students, both sets of parents, an admistrator, counsellor and me. I had made copies of the work and highlighted all the identical parts. My plan was to simply lay it on the table and ask the students to explain it. Well, after 15 minutes of both parents insisting that their daughter would never cheat I asked the parents how they would explain the identical answers. Neither could explain it but still insisted that their daughter would not lie to them (Oh, dear God, are YOU in for some BIG surprises in a few years!). So, after 30 minutes of making no progress I simply said we had wasted more time on this than it was worth. The zero grade would only change their average by one point so it wasn't worth any more time. I would simply give them an excused grade. Honestly, I hate caving but when you facing that kind of obstinate opposition, you need to see the futility of arguing.

*Too little, too late-
Johnny has been failing most of his subjects all year. We had a conference with the parent and explained that the chances of summer school at the minimum and retention at the maximum was a very real possibility. Johnny continues to fail, never attends extra help sessions, parents frequently doing his homework FOR him and then when we are two weeks from the end of the semester I get a pleading e-mail from the parent saying she has already paid for a vacation this summer and it will really mess her up if he has to attend summer school! Can't he just do some extra credit? I patiently explain to her over the phone that he has a 64 and has to make an 80 in order to pass my class for the year. He earned a 50 on a project because he didn't turn in half of it (she was supposed to be checking his homework religiously) and hasn't passed a test this year. The final exam will count three times so I am not confident he will pass the exam. I don't think it is numerically possible for him to achieve an 80. After telling her in crystal clear terms that she better start planning on cancelling the vacation I figure she'll sit down and prepare Johnny for the inevitable. Nope, a few days later I find myself having to explain the situation to a tearful Johnny as his classmates swirl past on their way out the door. Thanks, mom.

Accountability- On the news recently was a story about a high school teacher who was fired because he gave a football player a zero grade. The student had been sleeping in class, not participating in a class group activity while his group worked on the project. Upon hearing about the zero, the parents and the football coach protested to the principal. The principal ordered the teacher to change the grade. The teacher refused saying if the principal wanted to change it he could but the teacher would not. I might throw in here that the teacher has his grading policies on his syllabus which both students and parents have to sign at the beginning of the school year. So, anyway, the principal fired the teacher for insubordination. Believe me, this is not an isolated incident. As I said in some earlier blogs. This grade changing issue happens all the time.

I can manipulate the system-Of course, the topper is the student who hasn't attended school all year except when there is a party or dance because the mom insists there is a medical problem although we can't get any medical confirmation of this. The big project I assign in September that is 30 pages about the state isn't due until May. I make an offer to students that they can personally visit an historic site and use that page as if it were 5 pages. Basically that means they have the whole school year to visit six places and then their project is only 6 pages. The project was due on Friday. On Tuesday this parent tells the home-bound teacher that they haven't done the project yet. She tells them it must be in on Friday. On Thursday they cancel the home bound teacher's visit (which we the taxpayers are paying for) because the student is "sick". On Friday I receive a professionally bound project with scanned pictures of this student, wearing the same outfit in all pictures) standing in front of various historical locations! Mind you, there are no tickets or receipts showing that he actually went INTO any sites. Some of the pictures are taken quite late at night with moonlight visible so it is patently obvious that mom took him around on Thursday and propped him up in front of the capital building etc. and snapped a picture then sat up all night to type the text for him.
How do you fight that kind of blatent disregard for a child's education?

Is it any wonder that kids are in control and education seems to be achieving less and less?

"Jaywalking"-teacher version

2005-03-24T02:26:00.000-05:00

One of my favorite things on television, besides the History channel and Forensic Files is the "Jaywalking" segment on the Tonight show. Although I laugh as hard as anyone at the inane answers Jay Leno gets from the average American it's also a bit sobering for a teacher. I mean, isn't it sad just how uninformed the average American citizen is? My son's friend, Courtney, was railing against this in his blog, Alotta Usless Jargon, and I have to agree with him.
I grew up in a home where politics and world events were discussed regularly. I thought it was de riguer to at least be conversant with the major global events. I've come to the realization in recent years that my family must be somewhat out of the norm. I came to this realization on Parent night at school. There I was blithely describing the Social Studies curriculum for the parents of my 8th grade students and to keep it interesting I'd throw in a little witticism about some recent news report. Nothing...blank stares on many faces, confused looks on others. O.K., maybe this house is a little dead, I'll try with the next group. Same response. Occassionally I'd get a little embarassed chuckle like they felt bad for me because I had made some obscure reference and obviously wanted someone to laugh because I was pausing expectantly.
Today, however, I had a real doozy. One for my scrapbook. One of the essay questions on my recent Civil War test was to describe the causes of the war. I had spent a great deal of time telling students that although many Americans beleive the war was about freeing slaves, it really wasn't. I gave them all the reasons that most historians point to such as economic factors, sectionalism and westward expansion. One student however had not studied the two page handout I had given them on the causes of the war and consequently lost 18 of the 20 points for that particular essay. He had written that the war was because the North did not want slaves and the South did. I wrote "No, that is not what the war was about" on his test. His father wrote a note back to me wanting an explanation of my comment since he believes the war WAS about slavery and he attached a highlighted printout from Encarta that started out "The Civil War was fought because of slavery". Of course, he had neglected to highlight the subsequent sentences that explained the friction resulted from the efforts of both northern and southern states to establish a majority in Congress. They wanted the majority to be either non slave-holding states (north) or slave-holding states (south). Throughout the article Dad had highlighted any sentence with the word slave in it while ignoring the explanation that followed that clarified the issue as economic or political or idealogical. I typed a page and a half trying to teach Dad about the causes of the war.
Well, in all fairness, if Jay wants to stop me on the street and ask about the Atlanta Braves record I'll probably give a stupid answer too. Sigh.

Rant on the other side...

2005-03-12T00:08:00.000-05:00

And now for something completely different, I feel in all fairness I need to focus for a minute on the teachers part in the breakdown of the educational process. Yes, kids, you heard me right. In spite of the fact that you said I would always side with the teacher when you were growing up, I'm here to tell you that there is definitely some criticism due to some teachers out there. So here's a Bronx cheer for those teachers out there who....

Give students huge stapled packets of busywork so the teacher doesn't have to actually, you know, TEACH!
Take off work to go to _______ (college reunions, Disney World, Panama City, what have you) and leave huge stapled packets of busywork for their students OR the same tired movie the kids have seen three times this year already when the teacher was off again on some "emergency" leave to Sao Paulo
Give students firm directions to put all their answers on their own notebook paper rather than write on the old yellowed spirit master ditto they have been handing out since 1969.
Tell kids that although the textbook IS outdated and there is no longer a USSR, they must answer as if the Soviet Union was still operational on the test because the teacher doesn't want to take the time to make a new test, she'd rather just copy the textbook test. (Yes, this is a true story!)
Don't actually grade the massive busywork they hand out because that might take them away from hunting up scrapbooking websites while the kids are completing the massive busywork.
Give students "A's" because they: 1) were good for the sub 2) brought back their signed report card 3) Helped put up the bulletin board or any other mindless, non-academic task
Flip out if a kid chews gum in class or doesn't walk on the blue side area of the hall. This is the teacher who spends every moment looking to catch kids breaking a rule so she can wale on them.
Gives mindless homework every night because she thinks that what teachers are supposed to do.
Take off work for vague reasons even though they know no sub is available so that their colleagues have to take in 4-6 extra kids per class.
Tell students embarassing or compromising or even erroneous information about another teacher in order to become a confidant of the students

And for the administrative types who...

Question teachers with above average failing students but not the teachers with above average number of A's. Isn't grade inflation as bad a problem as a teacher with rigorous demands?

Well, there are certainly plenty of teachers out there with high goals and who teach from the heart. It's the ones that I've described above who are doing nothing to improve the public view of teachers, not to mention the ones who succumb to doing lascivious acts with their students.

O.K., I'm done

Mommyjolle Quiz

2005-03-05T21:04:00.000-05:00

O.K., since the quiz game is all the rage...here's mine

QuizYourFriends.com!

If I ruled the world...

2005-03-05T05:25:00.000-05:00

Just for a minute let's assume that we have landed on a new undiscovered country ( and we haven't kicked out or killed off any indigenous people!) and we have to create from scratch a system to educate our children. We have complete free dom to decide what they need to know to be successful in this new world. The first important rule is to forget eveything we have known about how education has been done before. You see, I think we've been doing the same thing for so long that we haven't been able to let go of long held beliefs about what a complete education should include. Isn't education supposed to prepare children to function successfully in the world as adults? So what do they REALLY need to know?
First and most importantly I think we put too much emphasis on fact learning and too little emphasis on skill learning. I once worked for someone who was fond of saying that he didn't need to know everything, he just needed to know how to find out everything. That has really stuck with me. If you know how to seek out the right person or resource you can pretty much find out anything you want to know. The internet has absolutely brought that reality within everyone's grasp. I remember being absolutely astounded when I first ventured onto the internet highway and was able to view the Louvre in Paris and take a virtual tour. I was even more wowed that I could click onto live action cameras just about anywhere in the world. Not that I think the Grand Canyon wouldn't be more impressive in person than on a 12" monitor but at least I can surf the net for which places I want to see, get other's opinions and recommendations, make reservations for planes, cars and hotels and plan an entire itinerary from my living room. So the first rule for my new education system is ...
make every subject a search and discover mission
followed by...
teach students how to search intelligently and evaluate the crap from the cream on the internet.

I think the current accepted curriculum spends too much student time on learning knowledge they will never use in any practical way. Let's go back to the indigenous tribes for just a minute. If you were to observe the Bushmen of the Kalahari, for instance, you will find that they teach their youngsters hunting and shelter skills. Basically survival knowledge that will help them as adults. We need to do the same things. Certainly the requirements of knowledge for a 21st century adult in North America or any industrialized nation are going to be somewhat more complex but they still boil down to survival. In some instances we actually DO teach some of these skills in the classroom in spite of the fact that parents of our students do not see it as survival skills. We give students group work that requires organization, teamwork, accountability, negotiation, problem-solving and results oriented products. A really good teacher will help teach these skills rather than just throw a project at the kids and then step back to watch the fur fly. Unfortunately, parents get all up in arms over these projects because their child...
A) Did all the work
B) Had a lower grade because someone else did not do their fair share
C) Everybody on the group was mean to them
D) Nobody in the group would listen to their ideas

...and on and on. So in my perfect world the next law of education would be..
Each learning experience will involve a group effort that has results that mimic real life.

Along the same lines, there is not a child I know who hasn't hated Algebra and wanted to know why he/she had to know it. I agree. I mean, I know there are scientists out there who couldn't do their work without it. There are also scientists who cannot sit through an art or music class without wanting to run screaming from the room. At the risk of sounding a bit like a Montessori disciple I think my next rule should be...
Let students follow the path that their interests lead them.
Students who are scientifically oriented will pursue math concepts because they need them to complete their scientific pursuits. Art students will want to know more about form, texture and expression because their interests take them there. Think about the indigenous people again. The indian who was really gifted and creative with basket weaving would simple barter his fantastic baskets for a piece of venison from the adept hunter. And to refer back to the group effort, wouldn't students doing a group project that needed some math skills go and seek out the student who could provide those skills?
There are a whole list of other things that youngsters need to learn in order to be successful. Things like how to understand a contract, how to drive, banking skills, how to complete a tax return (although I keep pushing for an elimination of the IRS!) and so on. I think we could come up with a list of really necessary skills, but they would all start with "Here's how you find the information you need". And if nothing else maybe we could raise kids who had a can-do attitude. They would all enter adult-hood knowing that anything they wanted to know about was at their fingertips..if they just go looking for it.

Daydreamin'

2005-02-19T22:56:00.000-05:00

Driving home the other day after a particularly long tiring day I started to think about what I would like to do if I could just take off from work for a really indefinite period. Of course, like most people I think how it would be great to hop a plane to some neat obscure destination or find a beach to relax on. But that's when reality sets in. When have I EVER wanted to sit on a beach longer than about an hour? And usually I enjoy having coffee and muffins on the beach with my hubby when the sun is just coming up, or relaxing with some fried conch and a lemonade when the sun is going down...but middle of the day when it's sizzling hot? No, I have to be brutally honest with myself at least. If I could take off of work for a month or so with no obligations to meet I think I would be estatically happy to hole up on the geneology floor of the downtown library and delve into the family research. As part of this, I would immerse myself in history books that record the background diorama of my family's past and make lots of charts and notebooks to organize everything in my mind. I want to uncover the nuggets of anecdotes about those ancestors whose names hide the secrets of my past. They sound like a story waiting to be told: Colbert, Thomas, Hallie Llewellyn. It's funny, I never realized what a geek I was until now. Don't try to dissuade me! I once carefully returned the first volume of the Lives of the Queens of England by Agnes Strickland to the shelf where I found it because I wanted to wait until there would be a time in my life when I could really savor it, wallow in it if you will. Well, that time hasn't arrived yet and I put that book on the shelf in '76.
I think my family is starting to get wise to my geek leanings. This year for my birthday, Christmas and other assorted celebrations I received an antique sugar mold (who else would have even known what it WAS?), and antique bakery bread rising platform, and antique silver hand mirror and three different antique irons. Oh yes, and my sons gave me a Williamsburg replica pottery pitcher (Thanks Mark and Laura!) and an antique biscuit break (Thanks Patrick!). I get great warm feelings just looking at them and imagining how they were used. One of the real joys was an absolutely fabulous 19th century wood steamer trunk. My wonderful husband gave me that. I've put all my geneaology research in it. It seems to be the right place. Last summer I spent a good deal of time researching the geneaology and reluctantly put it away when school started.
Anyway, I hope I live long enough to really wallow in my history fetish when I finally have the time to really do it. I indulge myself in an interesting book periodically between grading papers and other responsibilities. I'm concurrently reading The Real Lincoln on the downstairs and 1000 Years Over a Hot Stove on the bedside table. Jeesh, what a geek! And I used to be really cool...really.

Damage control

2005-02-04T23:53:00.000-05:00

Lately I've been reminding myself more and more frequently that things usually work out over time and as a quasi-leader of the teachers on my hall I have an obligation to remain objective, calm and not perpetuate any panic or hostility that may arise. I also have to remind myself not to get the urge to run screaming into the sunset myself. Within the past two weeks two teachers have stated their intent to resign at the end of the year. The primary reason for their decision is boiled down to an administration that wants to micro-manage their grading policies and will do anything to keep a disgruntled parent happy. Although both of these teachers are new to the school they are experienced teachers and have high standards for students to achieve. Not unreasonably high standards, mind you. Both of them have had to drop grades, allow zero grades to be made up and basically had all of their authority and credibility with both parents and students pulled out from under them. This has had a chilling and demoralizing effect on the other teachers. At least four other teachers have privately told me that they will seek transfers at the end of the year. Although I haven't really had the situation over grades that they have had, I have had my credibility with students pretty well dented by an administrator who wanted to over-ride me and judge individual situations on a case by case basis. Even students can quickly realize that maybe it's their lucky day, or maybe it's not depending on the administrators current level of tension.
I wonder that he cannot seem to see where this will lead...teachers who have decided to do grade inflation rather than have to go toe-to-toe to defend an assignment rubric or a discipline decision. Students and parents who will routinely circumvent the teacher in hopes of a more favorable decision from the administration will begin to clog the office and slow down the really necessary administrative tasks. My biggest fear is that we will have created an environment where there are no boundaries that are dependable and the perception will become the biggest squealer will get the grease. Changing and dropping grades to suit one parent whose little darling didn't quite make the grade will be categorically unfair to others who through deligent effort achieved an earned success. Even worse, those who don't know how to go about makeing a fuss will lose out on the benefits enjoyed by those with the pushy parents.
I wish parents weren't so myopic. They seem to only be able to see the immediate frustration or disappointment of their child and their knee-jerk response is to do anything to fix it. They seem incapable of seeing the bigger picture...the long term goal of allowing children to make mistakes, suffer consequences and learn from them. What do they think they are teaching a child when they bully the teacher into giving the child an undeserved grade?
I'm not quite sure how to mitigate the growing storm.

Parenting advice 101

2004-11-13T22:23:00.000-05:00

When are the parents of the current crop of students going to learn some basic parenting skills? Herewith my wish list of parental characteristics:

1. Get over the idea that it's quicker if you just do things yourself. They'll never learn to do anything from making their lunch to washing their clothes if you keep on doing it for them.

2. Stop saving them from the consequences of their actions unless the consequences will result in death, permanent disability or an emotional scar that would last a lifetime. By the way, a detention does not fit into any of the categories above.

3. Stop the automatic reflex of answering every question they ask. You can't be there forever by their side. You do them a bigger favor by using guided discovery. Ask them how they think they could solve the problem or answer the question. Keep asking guiding questions until they discover how they can find the answer on their own....a useful skill.

4. Set rules and consequences that are realistic and that you can enforce. They are smarter than you think and very quickly figure out that if there is no consequence that you will actually follow through with then they need not follow the rule.

5. Be aware that all children lie to keep out of trouble or to avoid certain things. Really, did YOU manage to finish all your homework before you got home from school? O.K., nothing has changed.

6. You are the parent which is not the same thing as the friend. That means sometimes you will have to do things the child will not like. Things like say "no" to the week-end party when you aren't allowed by your child to verify that a responsible adult will be there. When the child screams " I hate you. You are ruining my life" you say " I'm not in this for popularity, I'm in this to see that you DON'T ruin your life with poor choices because I love you." Don't be intimidated by threats.

7. Do not think for a minute that the important lessons in life about drugs, sex, alcohol etc. are covered in one big talk so you can check it off your parenting things to do list. It is covered multiple times, over and over in the course of several years in lots of mini conversations. I will always remember my husband picking up a quarter from the floor in store and handing it to the cashier. As we walked away I asked him why he did it and he replied, "because my children were watching." Your examples of your values resonate more than you know.

O.K., I'm done.

Catch-22, Education version

2004-10-29T22:01:00.000-04:00

I grew up believing my parents when they told me that if I didn't get passing grades I would be held back in the same grade for the next year. I even believed the cafeteria lady who showed me two mice she held captive in a large jar and told me that they were former students who hadn't eaten their lunch. My entire upbringing reinforced the idea that every action, or non-action had a definitive consequence. When I sat in a meeting as a new teacher in which we asked parents to sign a form forbiddingly entitled "Retention Conference" I beleived wholeheartedly that if the student did not accomplish the stated requirements that he would indeed be retained the following year.
In the last few years I noticed that there were several students who did not make the requirements for promotion but did not reappear in the same grade the following year. The administration explained social promotion to me. Why keep a child for another year when studies showed that a very low percentage of those children retained would do any better when repeating a grade. In fact, the social stigma of repeating would probably cause the child to become a discipline problem anyway. Well, that makes sense I thought.
Then I met Brian on the first day of a new year. Brian had a dysfunctional family and very little interaction with his father and step-mother. They seemed to be either afraid of his tempers or disinterested in Brian in general. I saw Brian on several occasions at the local mall just wandering for hours all alone. He used a set of back stairs at home to go down to the kitchen for meals but did not share meals with his parents. On the first day of 8th grade I found Brian slouched in his desk staring out at the room of students working on an assignment. After some attempt to get him started on his work he told me in no uncertain terms that he had done nothing in 7th grade and had been placed in 8th grade so he did not plan on doing anything in 8th grade either. He fully expected to be placed in 9th grade. I was sure he was wrong. As I watched him deliberately fail every class I was positive he would regret his choices when he found himself back in 8th grade again. Well, I was wrong, and Brian was right. The following year he was placed in 9th grade.
It has only gotten worse each year. Last year there were several "Brians" who seemed to be determined to do as little as possible. I went to every "Retention conference" (I have often protested the title and asked for it to be changed) and SST (Student Support Team) meeting. I offered extra credit, retaking tests and other methods for pulling a student up to passing, still a few failed 3 or more classes. After hearing politicians firmly state that social promotions are no longer allowed I find it ironic that I see it happen every year. And it's not that I'm out to punish those students who do no work. I am sure that this whole scenario is not lost on the other students who are very aware that a student has failing grades.
Bottom line, I think I'll opt out of a few meetings this year. I'll just do like some of my other colleagues do, give the student a 70 to pass and save my sanity.