This past year, I found myself rather frustrated with the fact that my fifth grader was coming home with 1-3 hours worth of homework 2-4 days of the week. As a teacher I realize that education doesn’t end the minute a student leaves the school and that homework is necessary to encourage thought and further education. However, as a teacher in a junior high I was aware of other obligations my students had and was careful not to assign more than approximately 20-30 minutes worth of homework, and it wasn’t more than once or twice a week. If the students were diligent during the class period, oftentimes the homework was completed before they left for the day.
But as a parent, how much homework gets to be too much for your student? Parents are now calling for less homework assignments. This grassroots movement has taken place throughout the nation as parents speak out against hours of homework that many see as “busywork”. The argument is that too much homework takes away from family time and is detrimental to the time students need to be creative and active.
Because of the attention being focused on homework amounts, many schools are adopting a standard of ten minutes per grade level, for example, a student in 7th grade should have no more than 70 minutes of homework. While in the higher grades homework levels have remained roughly the same over the past 50 years, the amount of homework given to younger grades has gone up. I certainly don’t remember doing the amounts of homework when I was in 5th grade that my son is doing! I was instead running around the neighborhood playing games with neighbor kids or hanging out at the local youth center playing soccer. There were actually a few nights when my son would get home from football practice and would do homework from the time he got home until he went to bed. Is this what we expect of our young children?
It shouldn’t be, and in fact, some schools are looking at homework and experimenting with cutting homework altogether except for studying for tests. One school, two years into the experiment, hasn’t had any backslide in test scores or in the classroom. Students are less stressed at home as well. In another case, a parent was told by his 13 year old’s pediatrician that his son should exercise more. The parent’s response? And when would he do that? He too chose to tackle the homework load that his son brought home each night, instigating a new policy for homework in the Toronto School District.
Developmentally, are children really able to sit still for that much longer after being in school all day? It was difficult for my son, who is considered to be a great student by his teachers. If it is difficult for him, what about students with ADD and ADHD? Are we being fair to them by expecting them yet again to sit still for 1-2 more hours doing school work? Children are starting to burn out earlier and earlier. Many say that we are just preparing them for “real life”, but are we? What about responsibilities at home that are going on the wayside because they don’t have time to complete the chores that their parents need them to do?
This is an issue that we as educators (and some of us, parents) need to be mindful of. Sure, we expect a lot out of our students and we want them to succeed in the real world. But, are we just setting them up for stress and burn-out earlier in life?
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Bullying...more then words.
School Bullying…Let students know that YES, it is starting to be considered a CRIME.
No one asks to be bullied. Kids don’t wake up in the morning hoping for someone to pin them down in a locker room and call them names. But yet it happens every day in schools nationwide. And name calling is the least of it.
In the past school year alone, 32 percent of students ages 12-18 experienced bullying. That number is up from previous years and it just represents those cases that are reported. Sometimes it is calling names, making fun of someone, laughing at someone. And sometimes, it is physical…pushing, punching, kicking…sexually assaulting. One of the most horrifying cases of school bullying occurred in Tampa, Florida. Four teenage boys held down a teammate in retaliation for a bad play during a flag football game. They raped him repeatedly with a broom handle and a hockey stick. They told him that if (the game mishap) happened again or if he told anyone, the abuse would happen again. It wasn’t until school officials began questioning those four players about a fight after a game that the truth came out. And the brutality is happening elsewhere.
California-a member of a debate team is wrapped in plastic and tape by other team members.
Ohio-a basketball player is attacked by three teammates while waiting for the team bus. They punch and kick him; one team member exposes his genitals and rubs them in his face.
South Florida-Two teens are charged with stalking and battery after an attack and “pretend” rape in a school locker room.
Why is this happening? One kid made a bad play on the football field. Another was younger than the other teammates. Bullying doesn’t have a rhyme or reason. It can happen because of a person being shy or different. Or simply because of the color of someone’s hair. And with the new technology, bullying has taken on a whole new face…on Facebook, MySpace, and other internet sites. Many may remember the case in Missouri in which a girl committed suicide after being taunted by a “boy” she thought liked her. The “boy” turned out to be the mother of a classmate of the girl. She set up a fake MySpace account, got to know the girl by pretending to be a boy who liked her, and then began to trash her. Suicide because of bullying has a name. Bullycide.
This past year a student in our school began cyber-bullying students over a social network. While it was brought to the notice of the staff, we weren’t given enough information to be able to watch for any activity at school. How can we as teachers be effective in stopping bullying? We need to be kept in the loop information-wise so that we can help battle this problem. But we also need to be sure to take a stand against bullying.
The Tampa, Florida case? Witnesses (yes, there were witnesses who did nothing!) said that the boy being raped screamed. Why wasn’t he heard by a coach or other staff? Why were they so far from their students that they could not hear a young man screaming?
We as educators, as those charged with the well being of children, need to always be mindful of what is going on with our students. Yes, we are only human and we will miss things. But talk to students. Let them know that if they are being bullied or know someone who is to please talk to someone. Please, be aware.
No one asks to be bullied. Kids don’t wake up in the morning hoping for someone to pin them down in a locker room and call them names. But yet it happens every day in schools nationwide. And name calling is the least of it.
In the past school year alone, 32 percent of students ages 12-18 experienced bullying. That number is up from previous years and it just represents those cases that are reported. Sometimes it is calling names, making fun of someone, laughing at someone. And sometimes, it is physical…pushing, punching, kicking…sexually assaulting. One of the most horrifying cases of school bullying occurred in Tampa, Florida. Four teenage boys held down a teammate in retaliation for a bad play during a flag football game. They raped him repeatedly with a broom handle and a hockey stick. They told him that if (the game mishap) happened again or if he told anyone, the abuse would happen again. It wasn’t until school officials began questioning those four players about a fight after a game that the truth came out. And the brutality is happening elsewhere.
California-a member of a debate team is wrapped in plastic and tape by other team members.
Ohio-a basketball player is attacked by three teammates while waiting for the team bus. They punch and kick him; one team member exposes his genitals and rubs them in his face.
South Florida-Two teens are charged with stalking and battery after an attack and “pretend” rape in a school locker room.
Why is this happening? One kid made a bad play on the football field. Another was younger than the other teammates. Bullying doesn’t have a rhyme or reason. It can happen because of a person being shy or different. Or simply because of the color of someone’s hair. And with the new technology, bullying has taken on a whole new face…on Facebook, MySpace, and other internet sites. Many may remember the case in Missouri in which a girl committed suicide after being taunted by a “boy” she thought liked her. The “boy” turned out to be the mother of a classmate of the girl. She set up a fake MySpace account, got to know the girl by pretending to be a boy who liked her, and then began to trash her. Suicide because of bullying has a name. Bullycide.
This past year a student in our school began cyber-bullying students over a social network. While it was brought to the notice of the staff, we weren’t given enough information to be able to watch for any activity at school. How can we as teachers be effective in stopping bullying? We need to be kept in the loop information-wise so that we can help battle this problem. But we also need to be sure to take a stand against bullying.
The Tampa, Florida case? Witnesses (yes, there were witnesses who did nothing!) said that the boy being raped screamed. Why wasn’t he heard by a coach or other staff? Why were they so far from their students that they could not hear a young man screaming?
We as educators, as those charged with the well being of children, need to always be mindful of what is going on with our students. Yes, we are only human and we will miss things. But talk to students. Let them know that if they are being bullied or know someone who is to please talk to someone. Please, be aware.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
College or Career? Are We Pushing Our Students in the Right Direction?
As educators, we are all thrilled to hear the college choices of students as they near their graduation from high school. But how do we react when students tell us they aren't going to college? Do you pressure them to rethink their goals, saying that employment is difficult without a college education? While I do tend to strongly advocate college to my students, I am mindful that there are students who aren't cut out for college. So, why not promote careers that don't require a college education? Many blue collar careers make very good money with some making more than $50,000 a year.
Instead of encouraging all students to head for college, maybe we should encourage some students to look at career options that do not include traditional four-year college. Not every student is cut out for the college path with roughly 39% of high school graduates entering college, and college dropout rates have risen. For years now the education system in Europe has given students choices in their secondary education. Students choosing the path towards a college education take classes that prepare them for that experience. Students who are aiming towards a vocational career are given the opportunity to take classes that are geared towards more “blue collar” trades. High schools in Louisiana may soon be giving students a similar choice, offering “career diplomas” earned by taking classes that prepare students for jobs, career training, or community college. While some may see this as contradictory to the aims of the nation’s education system and No Child Left Behind, I believe that this system is realistic in that it is acknowledging that not all students are going to go to college. This is a system that could very well work to keep more students in school as it would ready students for employment that does not require a college degree.
I have long been a fan of the European education system, in more aspects than just this one. The students who don’t wish to take advanced mathematics and science, knowing that they aren’t on the college path, could instead take classes teaching them customer service skills, techniques of their desired trade, and management skills. Would we be doing students on a career path a disservice by not requiring advanced courses? I don’t believe so. I believe we are doing students who are looking at a trade profession a disservice by not putting the same emphasis on the preparations for their path that we give college bound students for their path.
So the next time a student tells you that they aren’t college bound, don’t get discouraged. Instead, discuss what their plans are and encourage them on their path should it be going right into a career or attending a two-year school to learn a trade. As long as they have a plan, chances are they will do just fine.
Instead of encouraging all students to head for college, maybe we should encourage some students to look at career options that do not include traditional four-year college. Not every student is cut out for the college path with roughly 39% of high school graduates entering college, and college dropout rates have risen. For years now the education system in Europe has given students choices in their secondary education. Students choosing the path towards a college education take classes that prepare them for that experience. Students who are aiming towards a vocational career are given the opportunity to take classes that are geared towards more “blue collar” trades. High schools in Louisiana may soon be giving students a similar choice, offering “career diplomas” earned by taking classes that prepare students for jobs, career training, or community college. While some may see this as contradictory to the aims of the nation’s education system and No Child Left Behind, I believe that this system is realistic in that it is acknowledging that not all students are going to go to college. This is a system that could very well work to keep more students in school as it would ready students for employment that does not require a college degree.
I have long been a fan of the European education system, in more aspects than just this one. The students who don’t wish to take advanced mathematics and science, knowing that they aren’t on the college path, could instead take classes teaching them customer service skills, techniques of their desired trade, and management skills. Would we be doing students on a career path a disservice by not requiring advanced courses? I don’t believe so. I believe we are doing students who are looking at a trade profession a disservice by not putting the same emphasis on the preparations for their path that we give college bound students for their path.
So the next time a student tells you that they aren’t college bound, don’t get discouraged. Instead, discuss what their plans are and encourage them on their path should it be going right into a career or attending a two-year school to learn a trade. As long as they have a plan, chances are they will do just fine.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Cell Phones…Yet another instance of schools having to parent?
These days, it seems that schools are stepping in for parents more and more. School handbooks mandate what students can wear. Administration is dealing with more and more behavior issues. Educators are trying to find ways to encourage students to learn and succeed. These are all issues that should be handled by the parents, but all too often these issues fall on the shoulders of administration and teachers. And, now we get to add yet another area we need to “parent” our students on. Cell phone usage. A recent survey by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children shows that “1 in 5 teens have sexted”, or sent sexually provocative pictures using their cell phones. While most of these teens have sent these pictures to people they know, 11% have sent these images to complete strangers! With the advent of this abominable practice, schools are being looked at to provide education about sexting for not only students, but their parents as well. I would assume that common sense would kick in and encourage parents, who at some point must read/hear/see the news stories, to talk to their teenagers themselves! Why is this responsibility falling on the shoulders of the school personnel? The majority of sexting takes place outside of the school. What does occur within the school is repercussions of the sexting, taunting and sharing of the image among classmates. When a student is caught in a sexting situation, one of the first questions to the parent should be if they have talked to their child about sexting and if not, why not? Isn’t that parental responsibility? Shouldn’t parents be held more accountable? Why, when something happens, are fingers pointed at the school and statements made about the school not doing enough to educate their students on the ramifications of sexting?
Another issue that parents need to be held more accountable for is students using their cell phone to cheat on tests. Twenty-six percent of students recently surveyed admitted to storing information in cell phones for assistance with test questions. Twenty-five percent stated that they used their cell phones to text message test answers to friends. This is all in spite of school bans on cell phones and the fact that cheating is wrong. But yet, only 23% of parents think that their children do use their cell phone is school when in fact 65% of those students surveyed admitted to it. Yes, this is an issue happening is school and is yet another area that school staff is now having to monitor. However, cell phone policies are stated in school handbooks. Why can’t parents, who are most likely the ones supplying students with the phone, monitor their child’s cell phone usage and discuss the rights and wrongs of such usage with their child? Lack of responsibility? I’m thinking so.
I am a responsible parent. I have discussed proper cell phone usage with my 11 year old son who does have a cell phone. I do believe my son to be a good kid, but stuff happens. He knows that I can and will check his text messages and his usage. Some may say that I am invading his privacy. My kid, my house, my cell phone, my right. Period. I am not going to make school personnel my scapegoat.
Another issue that parents need to be held more accountable for is students using their cell phone to cheat on tests. Twenty-six percent of students recently surveyed admitted to storing information in cell phones for assistance with test questions. Twenty-five percent stated that they used their cell phones to text message test answers to friends. This is all in spite of school bans on cell phones and the fact that cheating is wrong. But yet, only 23% of parents think that their children do use their cell phone is school when in fact 65% of those students surveyed admitted to it. Yes, this is an issue happening is school and is yet another area that school staff is now having to monitor. However, cell phone policies are stated in school handbooks. Why can’t parents, who are most likely the ones supplying students with the phone, monitor their child’s cell phone usage and discuss the rights and wrongs of such usage with their child? Lack of responsibility? I’m thinking so.
I am a responsible parent. I have discussed proper cell phone usage with my 11 year old son who does have a cell phone. I do believe my son to be a good kid, but stuff happens. He knows that I can and will check his text messages and his usage. Some may say that I am invading his privacy. My kid, my house, my cell phone, my right. Period. I am not going to make school personnel my scapegoat.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Watch out for "The Dark Side"...
Ask your students to raise their hands if they have a Facebook, MySpace, or Twitter account. Chances are good that many of them do. I myself have a Facebook account, used to keep in touch with former students, former classmates, and family. While I am careful about what I put up on my site, many do not err on the side of caution. Social Networking has dark sides and everyone needs to realize what they are.
We’ve probably all heard the story about the girl who was followed home by a stranger after a ball game. (If not, here is the link to the story) It turns out that while she hadn’t given information such as a name and address, she had given just enough information in a chat room that an undercover police officer was able to find her. We preach to teenagers about not giving name, address, and phone number to strangers, but what about other information? I used to teach in a small North Dakota town. Many of my former students have various online accounts and share details of their lives, like where they work. With access to the town name and the name of the business, it is easy to find these kids. While teenagers in cities probably don’t have this problem (how many McDonald’s are there in say, Minneapolis?) saying you work for the local burger shack in a town of 800 makes you pretty easy to find. These teens have been correct in not giving names, addresses, phone numbers…but they have made themselves just as easy to find.
The newest rage, Twitter, allows the user to keep friends and family up to date about one’s daily life, including job prospects. According to one example in the article The Dark Side of Social Networking by David Gewirtz and found at EducationNews.org, one such user was excited about a job offer and posted about it on Twitter, along with their complaints about the job, such as a long commute and not liking the work itself. The decision to take the job was made for her when her prospective employer saw her Twitter post and deemed her unfit for the position. Who wants to hire someone who has publicly denounced the work aspect of a position they have been offered? And yes, I said publicly. While the Twitter was most likely aimed towards family and friends, anyone could subscribe and that is what the prospective employer had done.
Therefore, due to the availability of today’s technology to put you “out there in cyberspace”, privacy and safety are seriously lacking. People using these online networking programs should be concerned not only for their safety, but for their future career prospects and reputations. Excited about a job prospect but need to hash out the pro’s and con’s? This is best done over a soda in the privacy of your living room with your friends, not over Twitter for prospective employers to see. Also, having a great time at last weekend’s party is fine, but keep the photos of you running through the sprinkler topless to yourself. Once those hit the Internet they can be hard to stop, and applying for that teaching job or that position with the well-known law firm just got more difficult. Or better idea yet, keep your shirt on.
We’ve probably all heard the story about the girl who was followed home by a stranger after a ball game. (If not, here is the link to the story) It turns out that while she hadn’t given information such as a name and address, she had given just enough information in a chat room that an undercover police officer was able to find her. We preach to teenagers about not giving name, address, and phone number to strangers, but what about other information? I used to teach in a small North Dakota town. Many of my former students have various online accounts and share details of their lives, like where they work. With access to the town name and the name of the business, it is easy to find these kids. While teenagers in cities probably don’t have this problem (how many McDonald’s are there in say, Minneapolis?) saying you work for the local burger shack in a town of 800 makes you pretty easy to find. These teens have been correct in not giving names, addresses, phone numbers…but they have made themselves just as easy to find.
The newest rage, Twitter, allows the user to keep friends and family up to date about one’s daily life, including job prospects. According to one example in the article The Dark Side of Social Networking by David Gewirtz and found at EducationNews.org, one such user was excited about a job offer and posted about it on Twitter, along with their complaints about the job, such as a long commute and not liking the work itself. The decision to take the job was made for her when her prospective employer saw her Twitter post and deemed her unfit for the position. Who wants to hire someone who has publicly denounced the work aspect of a position they have been offered? And yes, I said publicly. While the Twitter was most likely aimed towards family and friends, anyone could subscribe and that is what the prospective employer had done.
Therefore, due to the availability of today’s technology to put you “out there in cyberspace”, privacy and safety are seriously lacking. People using these online networking programs should be concerned not only for their safety, but for their future career prospects and reputations. Excited about a job prospect but need to hash out the pro’s and con’s? This is best done over a soda in the privacy of your living room with your friends, not over Twitter for prospective employers to see. Also, having a great time at last weekend’s party is fine, but keep the photos of you running through the sprinkler topless to yourself. Once those hit the Internet they can be hard to stop, and applying for that teaching job or that position with the well-known law firm just got more difficult. Or better idea yet, keep your shirt on.
Monday, June 8, 2009
Do we need the Common Core State Standards?
On page 91 of our class textbook, Teaching Strategies: a Guide to Effective Instruction, the author criticizes state education standards, stating that “State standards cover a wide range of topics, concepts and subjects. Most appear to be randomly generated…” (Orlich, 2010) There are currently fifty different sets of state education standards being used in this country, each state having their own idea of what their students should learn and when. Oftentimes the standards are vague and nebulous, leaving educators to determine just what the standard entails. In addition, standards do not indicate how to progress from one area of learning to the next, instead just stating what a student must accomplish. Another issue with the standards of many states is the fact that they leave no leeway. Each student is to meet every standard.
As a country, why haven’t state education departments collaborated together to regulate education standards? Wouldn’t it make sense that all of our students be educated similarly, learning the same materials during the same grade, regardless of what state they live in? It is quite possibly because up to the advent of No Child Left Behind (NCLB), states felt that education should be a state issue, not a federal one. With NCLB being introduced, it became obvious that the federal government was not going to sit back and allow states to control how the nation’s youth were educated. The process wasn’t working and change needed to be instituted. Granted, NCLB was probably not the best format for improvement of the nation’s educational system, but its launch made apparent the need for accountability in schools. With this accountability comes the need to define exactly what is proficient in terms of skill mastery. Each state has had its’ own guidelines for proficiency. It has since been determined that in order to define proficiency, each state needs to be on the same page. Hence, the development of the Common Core State Standards Initiative in response to this need.
Currently, forty-six of the nation’s fifty states are on board with the initiative with Alaska, Missouri, South Carolina and Texas not having joined in. The thought of the majority is that with having uniform educational standards, it will be possible to have a solid idea of how American students rank academically. It will also allow a standardized testing program rather than the fifty different programs that are used by each individual state, saving money.
Will this initiative save the nation’s educational future? While I believe it has promise of administering aid to the issues plaguing education, I do not believe it is the only answer. I believe that additional state and federal programs are needed to reduce class size, allow for additional staffing in special education classrooms, and promote parent involvement in education, just to name a few areas of concern. The Common Core State Standards Initiative could be a good program if developed correctly with input from those in the education field. The initiative, in hand with other helpful programs, may just help rebuild our education system.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2009-06-01-state-standards_N.htm
As a country, why haven’t state education departments collaborated together to regulate education standards? Wouldn’t it make sense that all of our students be educated similarly, learning the same materials during the same grade, regardless of what state they live in? It is quite possibly because up to the advent of No Child Left Behind (NCLB), states felt that education should be a state issue, not a federal one. With NCLB being introduced, it became obvious that the federal government was not going to sit back and allow states to control how the nation’s youth were educated. The process wasn’t working and change needed to be instituted. Granted, NCLB was probably not the best format for improvement of the nation’s educational system, but its launch made apparent the need for accountability in schools. With this accountability comes the need to define exactly what is proficient in terms of skill mastery. Each state has had its’ own guidelines for proficiency. It has since been determined that in order to define proficiency, each state needs to be on the same page. Hence, the development of the Common Core State Standards Initiative in response to this need.
Currently, forty-six of the nation’s fifty states are on board with the initiative with Alaska, Missouri, South Carolina and Texas not having joined in. The thought of the majority is that with having uniform educational standards, it will be possible to have a solid idea of how American students rank academically. It will also allow a standardized testing program rather than the fifty different programs that are used by each individual state, saving money.
Will this initiative save the nation’s educational future? While I believe it has promise of administering aid to the issues plaguing education, I do not believe it is the only answer. I believe that additional state and federal programs are needed to reduce class size, allow for additional staffing in special education classrooms, and promote parent involvement in education, just to name a few areas of concern. The Common Core State Standards Initiative could be a good program if developed correctly with input from those in the education field. The initiative, in hand with other helpful programs, may just help rebuild our education system.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2009-06-01-state-standards_N.htm
Thursday, June 4, 2009
What will NCLB and AYP mean for my school?
No Child Left Behind. Four words that can make an educator shudder. Even worse could be three letters…AYP. Educators, school administration, and school boards wait with hearts pounding to hear whether or not their school has met AYP, or adequate yearly progress. Recently, a news release from the Bismarck Tribune (http://www.bismarcktribune.com/articles/2009/05/30/news/state/186327.txt) stated that 115 of the 465 public schools in North Dakota did not meet AYP. According to the following North Dakota Department of Public Instruction link (http://www.dpi.state.nd.us/dpi/reports/profile/index.shtm) my school was not among the winners and has not been for the past few years. What now?
As stated in the following article from the New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/02/education/02educ.html?_r=1&ref=education), President Obama’s education secretary wants to institute thousands of school “turnarounds”. That is, closing schools that do not meet AYP, dismissing the administration and teachers, and reopening them with new faculty the following school year. He did this to schools in Chicago while the chief executive of that public school system and now wants to take on schools nationally.
What does this mean for our school? While there are some changes that could be made for the betterment of the district, I don’t think firing the entire staff and bringing in new is going to be the answer. We have a strong teaching staff, some of which have been there for years. The staff constantly strives for betterment of the student body in the hopes that many will decide that the problems that plague the reservation are not for them. Poverty, alcoholism, assault, drugs, homelessness, abuse…just a few of the issues that some of our students face on a regular basis. We have students who will show up for class intermittently, missing good portions of each of the four quarters of the school year. Yet, our school’s performance is judged based on test scores produced by students who face bigger hardships than whether or not they pass a test that is given to them multiple times a year. Do all of our students face these hardships? Thankfully, no. But the students who have relatively stable home lives are indirectly affected in other ways. Behavior issues in the classroom, for instance. It is difficult for a teacher to complete a lesson and focus attention on all of the students if that teacher is dealing with a student who doesn’t want to be in the class at that point in time and is doing everything in their power to disrupt the learning process.
Comparing this school to the last school I was at (which met AYP), they are two different worlds. Other needs have to be met before we even have the remote possibility of making AYP. Completely removing the staff and bringing in new will not meet these needs whatsoever and will in fact cause strife throughout the community. While we do have a few programs that work to strengthen the community and foster positive parent involvement, we do not have the staff or the finances to fully obtain the results we strive for. There is a need for school counselors as well to become more involved in the lives of the students and help them maintain a path for improvement. So many things need to be done before our school system can hope of making AYP. But will those be overlooked in favor of sweeping out the old and bringing in the new?
As stated in the following article from the New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/02/education/02educ.html?_r=1&ref=education), President Obama’s education secretary wants to institute thousands of school “turnarounds”. That is, closing schools that do not meet AYP, dismissing the administration and teachers, and reopening them with new faculty the following school year. He did this to schools in Chicago while the chief executive of that public school system and now wants to take on schools nationally.
What does this mean for our school? While there are some changes that could be made for the betterment of the district, I don’t think firing the entire staff and bringing in new is going to be the answer. We have a strong teaching staff, some of which have been there for years. The staff constantly strives for betterment of the student body in the hopes that many will decide that the problems that plague the reservation are not for them. Poverty, alcoholism, assault, drugs, homelessness, abuse…just a few of the issues that some of our students face on a regular basis. We have students who will show up for class intermittently, missing good portions of each of the four quarters of the school year. Yet, our school’s performance is judged based on test scores produced by students who face bigger hardships than whether or not they pass a test that is given to them multiple times a year. Do all of our students face these hardships? Thankfully, no. But the students who have relatively stable home lives are indirectly affected in other ways. Behavior issues in the classroom, for instance. It is difficult for a teacher to complete a lesson and focus attention on all of the students if that teacher is dealing with a student who doesn’t want to be in the class at that point in time and is doing everything in their power to disrupt the learning process.
Comparing this school to the last school I was at (which met AYP), they are two different worlds. Other needs have to be met before we even have the remote possibility of making AYP. Completely removing the staff and bringing in new will not meet these needs whatsoever and will in fact cause strife throughout the community. While we do have a few programs that work to strengthen the community and foster positive parent involvement, we do not have the staff or the finances to fully obtain the results we strive for. There is a need for school counselors as well to become more involved in the lives of the students and help them maintain a path for improvement. So many things need to be done before our school system can hope of making AYP. But will those be overlooked in favor of sweeping out the old and bringing in the new?
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