What is a "good" teacher?

Am I a good teacher? This is a question I have asked myself since the first day of my teaching career. As the very real possibility of my program getting cut due to a state budget deficit looms, I am again looking to answer this question. I was not teaching during the last big teacher lay offs. I have never experienced the RIF (reduction in force) process. I'm hearing it is not fun. The fact that I can essentially fire someone else because of my seniority- the biggest factor in establishing one's place in the pecking order- makes me very uncomfortable.

Teacher quality is taking a lion's share of the blame for the lack of achievement of American students. President Obama wants to weed out bad teachers by linking performance evaluations to student test scores. Old news. Where does this leave those of us who don't teach math or language arts? How do I, or my administration, measure my success without the aid of test scores? Unable to find an answer to that question, I've decided to see how I measure up against the latest press.

Teacher preparation is taking a hit in the news. Education programs at the post secondary level maintain high enrollment and are cheap to run. Arne Duncan, US Secretary of Education, wants undergraduate teachers to spend more time in classrooms and master the content they teach. I received my undergraduate degree in Biology from the University of Maine Farmington- a "teacher college." I took all the education degree requirements including a 15 week practicum in a local classroom during my sophomore year. UMF did prepare me for pre-NCLB teaching. Professional development and continuing education has updated my skills to analyze data and utilize technology.

State license requirements are also under scrutiny. The State of Maine requires all entering teachers pass the Praxis I, general math and language arts, exam. I'll have to admit I found it easy. As a parent I would be very disappointed to learn any of my children's teachers had not passed this exam. By the time I applied for math certification, the Praxis II was required for your content. This exam was more difficult but I still passed by a respectable margin. I would like to see my state adopt more rigorous certification requirements even if it means more applicants will initially be denied certification.

At this time I feel I am a good teacher, I'm open to becoming a better teacher. Contrary to recent news that an advanced degree has little to no impact on student achievement,my participation at VCSU has certainly caused me to reflect on my teaching practices. I'm still unsure of what I'll do if a RIF is initiated. I'd be interested to hear from anyone who has been in this situation.

Northeastern may be the Big Winner

Northeastern university made a good decision recently. They cut their football program. After examination of the budget Northeastern's Athletic Director, Peter Roby made the tough choice to simply cut an entire sports program because it was too expensive to maintain. Bravo; common sense in tough times. College costs are rising, 439% since 1982, that is 4 times the rate of inflation. How much of that can be attributed to maintaining or upgrading sports facilities. Yes, a winning college team may bring in financial revenue, but how many teams are truly competitive at the top level? Are colleges investing an equitable amount into improving labs, theaters, or health centers? With two children heading to college back to back I'm neck deep in the financial aid process. When I visit a college with my son, I make an appointment with the financial aid office. The first question I ask is what is my child going to receive that is worth $30,000 a year? If the answer is "we have a great football team," then the college is not for him.
State university systems were always considered a less expensive option than a private college. State budget cuts are felt at these institutions as well. The University of California Regents recently announced a 38% hike in tuition. The University of Maine system predicts a 5% increase for 2010, on top of a 10% increase for the current school year. This prediction however does not factor in our Governor Baldacci's announcement a day later calling for an immediate cut of 6 million dolars.
We are often focused on k12 education. We all know budgets are only going to get tighter. Class size will increase and facilities will go without needed repair. I wonder; we constantly push for reform that will allow for every student to graduate and go on to college. But, with tuition rising exponentially, will our students be able to afford college?

Sparking Interest

President Obama kicked off his latest educational initiative, Educate to Innovate, this week. He plans to bring corporate America together with scientific organizations to promote science and math education. Obama will bring scientists to visit the White House to make them equal to the star athletes that visit. Time Warner, Sesame Street, and the Discovery Channel all plan to incorporate science orientated programming. A National Lab Day is in the works and gaming companies including Sony are joining the effort.

This all sounds exciting except for the fact that the efforts will be focused outside the classroom. My disappointment was voiced in the New York Times article ; Mark Schneider, a vice president of the American Institutes for Research, made the point that while the effort was headed in the right direction, "it is missing more than half of what needs to be done," he continues, "it has nothing to do with the day to day teaching."

I can't predict if Educate to Innovate will be successful, Obama hopes to close the achievement gap between American and Asian/European students in STEM areas over the next decade. I hope it does. In 1986 government officials were more realistic when they chose to fund Project 2061. That project produced the book Science for All Americans, and a revised set of Benchmarks against which to measure scientific literacy. those participating in Project 2061 has declared at least 25 years would be necessary to put America back on top in the world of innovation. The project is in its 23rd year.

I'd like to say our inability to excite students to learn math and science is a problem of funding. Sally Ride identifies funding as falling short. Maybe it's teacher preparation and deficits in content knowledge. The Education Commission of the States makes that argument in their August 2009 report on the progress of educational reform. I don't know. I do know that young children love to explore the world of science and my middle schoolers report hating science. My "gut feeling" is we've taken the fun out of science. After elementary school science often becomes a pen and paper class that requires the memorization of the periodic table and the characteristics of phyla. If we're lucky, national Lab Day will promote the return to experimentation as a method of learning science. Sony's donation of PlayStations will get students interested in programming and a renewed interest in discovery will follow.

Who Owns Your Lesson Plans?

How often have you "borrowed" a lesson, part of a lesson, or a rubric from the internet? have you ever breathed a sigh of relief when time was tight and the math teacher down the hall was willing to slip you a copy of an enrichment activity? Do you give credit where credit is due? do you include a foot note recognizing that you are using someone else's hard work? You should. Teachers work long hours to develop interesting lesson plans, take notes and ,modify those plans until the lesson achieves the goal of student learning. Now school districts are looking into who owns those lesson plans.
Teachers who have the ability and expertise to develop creative and effective lessons have found the plans are marketable. Sites such as Teachers Pay Teachers provide supplemental income to overworked and underpaid teachers. The recent trend to sell lesson plans online has however caught the attention of the financial office and they want a piece of the pie. Robert N. Lowry, deputy director of the New York State council of School superintendents states in the article, "To the extent that school district resources are used, then I think it's fair to ask whether the district should share in the proceeds." I don't agree.
Defending the teacher's side of the arguement I'd have to say I use very few of the district's resources to develop lesson plans. I do use my home computer, printer, ink and yes-paper. I wouldn't dream of bringing home even 1 slice of the school's paper to print my lesson plans. From the district's view; yes, they pay for a portion of my continuing education. If you're lucky, your school maintains a professional library of current resources and journals. Yes, I could stay at school and use the facilities they provide. I can't cook dinner at the same time though, or take a break to help one of my kids with their homework.
I have sat and listened to my administrators give accolades to a colleague for a lesson I wrote. I still am hurt and feel my work meant nothing to this colleague. Joseph McDonald was quoted in the article saying , "the online selling cheapens what teachers do and undermines efforts to build sites where educators freely exchange ideas and lesson plans." I think paying a small price for a lesson shows how much we value each others work, how much we appreciate finding a great lesson for 3 or 4 dollars and freeing up a Sunday afternoon. If you have a completely original and effective lesson plan that might pay for a dinner out- go ahead, you deserve it.

Food fight! Blog 12

Last week 25 students were arrested following a food fight at a Chicago middle school. the food fight, however it started, escalated to the point where the school's resource officer had to call for back-up to get the situation under control. three students were injured. Twenty-five students were pulled from school and charged with misdemeanor reckless conduct charges. Was it necessary to arrest these students? I reluctantly say yes for a variety of reasons.
Parents of the arrested students are angry that their kids will possibly have a juvenile record. the parents feel a record will have negative effects on the students' ability to get jobs or gain entrance into college. Well, yes, your child made a made choice and there will be consequences. the local fast food spot probably doesn't want to hire a teenage employee with a history of throwing food. Students competing for college spots and financial aid shouldn't lose out to a student who purposely, and accurately, threw an apple at someone else.
We also have to look at the worst case scenario. It may have started with a cookie, moved to an apple, but it was reported that someone threw a cafeteria tray. Now one student is out of ammunition; what's left- the cafeteria chair? three students were injured. One may assume these injuries were minor because the press made little of them, but you can't rule out the possibility that someone could have been seriously injured.
Perhaps the biggest reason that it was necessary to bring in law enforcement was the fear of litigation. I learned a new term while researching this blog; defensive teaching. I think this is a good example of how schools have to view situations as potential lawsuits. I can see the headlines if arrests were not made; "Student sues over fear of cafeteria," Cafeteria worker awarded worker's compensation for inhospitable work environment," and yes, "Teacher sues district for dry cleaning bill resulting from food fight." These may sound silly but in our litigious society I think anything is possible.
Some of the comments, (warning language in some comments could be offensive) found online call the food fight a "right of passage." I don't remember ever having or hearing about a food fight while in school. Others felt the discipline was too extreme and the school should have handled it in house. the fact that schools have resource officers says a lot about the ineffectiveness of detention or suspension to discipline students. of course there were comments bashing the teachers on duty. Although I make the claim, I really don't have eyes in the back of my head. I have lunch duty with one other person and 85 or so students. We can't catch everyone who is contemplating throwing food.
It's sad to say but I do agree the arrests were necessary. perhaps the court will throw out the charges, maybe not. I'd be interested in other opinions, should the school have handled this in house or was it inevitable that the courts would get involved?

Who are we racing against?

Over the last few weeks the Race to the Top Grant program has repeatedly caught my attention. On the surface I don't like this program. This program is designed to pit states against one another for federal funds. The fact sheet on the program released by the White House emphasizes five areas to focus educational reform.

First on their list is for states to design and implement rigorous standards and high quality assessments. The government proposes states work together to meet this goal. Why would states work together if they are competing for the money? The criteria calls for attracting and keeping great teachers in American classrooms. Snuggled in between improving teacher preparation and retaining great teachers is a phrase connecting teachers salaries to student achievement. In fact if a state does not allow for teacher compensation to be linked to student achievement, the state will not be eligible to compete. Where are the parent's in this formula? Will the government withhold benefits to parents who don't contribute to a student's success?

Supporting data systems to improve instruction falls next on the government's list of priorities. I don't know what you're states are doing, but Maine is already using data for longitudinal review of test results. The next point is possibly my favorite; "Using innovative and effective approaches to turn around struggling schools." It goes on to explain how states need to put low performing schools top of the list for aid. Am I naive, do any states just forsake low performing schools? While I'm on the topic, could the government suggest some innovative approaches? Frankly, we teachers are running out of ideas. Finally to make the top 20- only 20 states will actually receive money; a state must demonstrate and sustain school reform. Evident in this passage is the promotion of charter schools.

I just can't see how turning education reform into a competition for money is the right thing to do. What will be next, administrators playing capture the flag?

Teachers, parents, and students

Earlier this week I had an awkward moment with a parent. A mom who has been trying to help her child be more successful openly admitted that she was struggling with the worksheet. She had called to pick up a copy of the book, but I don't use a textbook. I hopped online and printed off some information I thought would be helpful. The assignment was to calculate the area of a circle.

The encounter got me thinking. Teachers often send home work expecting the student can get help from a parent; how often are parents unable to help because of their own educational background? Let's face it, teachers complain about a lack of parent involvement- parents complain that teachers don't teach their child. Miami-Dade County Public Schools is doing something to improve the teacher-parent relationship and by extension help students. Miami's Parent Academy has been holding free classes for parents such as "Help Your Child Succeed in Math" and "Teaching Behavior Skills" for the last few years. Philadelphia School District operates the Parent University, blending parenting skills and adult education courses. In Arlington, Virginia, Latino moms attend a class that guides them through school procedures and provides techniques for helping students with homework.

We all know the benefits of involved parents. It appears we have been remiss in teaching some parents how to be involved. I think if more school districts took the extra time and money to set up programs such as these mentioned drop out rates would decline and behavioral problems decrease. We would finally stand a chance at changing the attitude that education is optional.