A Passion for Teaching and Opinions

Eliminate High School sports? (Updated and moved because it is gettting more looks)

2008-11-12T23:06:00.000-08:00

Updated 11/12: I'm moving this up because it's getting some comments as of late. Sorry for not posting, but school and life is very busy. Teaching takes priority from blogging. I'm sure you understand.

Mr. McNamar at The Daily Grind has offered up an interesting post; why not eliminate high school sports? His reasons:
1) Budget cuts.
2) The climate is anti-coach.
3) No accountability by administration.
4) Entitlement.
5) Parents

Up until about 4 years ago, I would have thought that Mr. McNamar was nuts. I learned more about real life from my basketball team than I did in any classroom I was in. I've used basketball to acquire my love for work, my passion for competition, and my love for seeing kids succeed. It was an excellent thing for me.....many years ago.

Now I'm half-way (maybe more) towards Mr. McNamar's argument. Don't get me wrong, I totally believe that athletics should be a part of high school, just not in the current state at my school. Athletics should be Advanced Placement Physical Education, and it should be treated that way. However, it's not. Instead, sports are treated like a separate entity that lies within the property lines of the campus. Coaches are supposed to act like teachers, but aren't treated as such. Coaches work longer days, but aren't paid as much. Coaches are more one-on-one with parents, but aren't given the same support.

I disagree with the idea that the money isn't there. Make it "there". Physical education is monumentally important and I can think of plenty of things to cut that I feel are not nearly as important as the health of the body of a child. But McNamar's numbers 2 through 5 are pretty much dead on.

2. The climate is anti-coach: Every parent knows everything there is to know about the sport because they coached little league, or they coached their son for years. Therefore, the coach must know nothing. And since the coach actually does this for a living, the coach must be stupid and must be removed because Daddy is living through their child.

3. There is limited accountability: We wouldn't allow a parent to come into a classroom and cuss out a teacher. Why do we allow parents to do so at athletic events? There is a format to follow if you have a complaint against a teacher, but a coaching complaint goes right to the top, for some reason. And worse, the administration actually listens. I'm still waiting for someone to say, "Your son doesn't get playing time on the Varsity team because he's not as good as the 8 guys ahead of him. We have full faith in the coach. When the child earns it, he will play. Have a nice day." A recent article in the San Francisco Chronicle explained that teachers in California were leaving in droves. Why? General support. Get this: Coaching is worse.

4. Entitlement: This is a problem everywhere in education, but it is magnified in athletics. One athlete once called every recommendation I gave him "criticism". When I asked him if he had been praised all his life he said, "Pretty much". Memo to all kids out there, nobody "owes" you anything.

5. Parents: They feel way too empowered, and are screwing up high school athletics.

Which leads me to the idea of going the European route. Drop high school athletics and let the parents get a club together, all the while letting them create this oh-so-impressive program that they feel they can whip out of the air. That way they get complete control and can hire and fire anyone they want at will. Sure, the real students that need the sports won't really get exposed to them since the club will cost a fee (what, you think the district is going to fund you? They won't be funding us this year!), and you will have to drop over half the programs because you really can't find qualified coaches (the high school can't keep coaches), but you'll find some way to figure it out. Don't forget Title IX type laws, ADA laws, or the fact that athletics isn't just about "The Big Three" (baseball, basketball, football). You need to offer those sports that don't make any money as well. You know, golf, diving, tennis, freshmen sports.

But sadly, I'd vote on something like this because coaches are not treated like teachers, yet are held to the same standard. Unfortunately, parents are less irate about Johnny failing Government, than Johnny not getting at least 5 minutes a game on the basketball court. Until schools take, and I mean take, back control of athletics, it just isn't worth it.

Prop 8- ELIMINATES RIGHT OF SAME–SEX COUPLES TO MARRY

2008-10-31T15:25:00.000-07:00

I don't see how any civil libertarian can possibly agree with not letting gays get married. First of all, marriage shouldn't be a Constitutional issue at all. In fact, it shouldn't be a government issue except that the state makes it a government issue when they decide to attach government benefits and drawbacks from being married (including the need to get a license). In a rational world, same-sex couples could be married and a church that would not want them married would simply say "no", and that would be that. They would be married somewhere else, maybe by someone who is not religious. In reality, that's how it should be, but it's not. Government has decided to get into the business of legislating marriage and it has decided that a certain group of people should not get all those benefits and drawbacks of that legislation. No, "Domestic Partnerships" do not present the same exact benefits of marriage. Therefore, California was at one time practicing the art of segregation, very interesting coming from the progressive capital of the nation.

Then comes the term "activists judges". A truly idiotic statement. Arguing that the California State Supreme Court went against the correct mandate of the people (Prop 22 in 2000) in allowing gay marriage is like saying that the Earl Warren courts were going against the correct mandate of the people in the South, those that practiced the popular theory of segregation. Was that an infringement on the Constitution of the United States? Isn't it the job of the court system to interpret whether or not the government is affording equal protection to its people? It is, and if people don't like it then they should be demanding that the government get the hell out of marriage.

Then comes of the issue of the classroom, where the proponents of this measure think that gay marriage will create some kind of environment where teachers will make off- handed comments like "You really should consider being gay" or something like that. Seriously, this argument disturbs me. Proponents use the examples of bad teaching as the rallying cry for this argument. Two idiot teachers made a field trip for a group of elementary school kids to their wedding, and for some this means that all teachers will now sign up for gay wedding visits for student field trips. The question should be how those two teachers could tie it to curriculum (which you really can't at that age), not if they went to a gay wedding (which parents signed permission slips for). And that "state standard" that pro Prop 6 people are flashing around is an elective Health standard that says that Sexual Education issues will discuss "monogamous relationships and healthy marriages". Yeah? And? What, all of the sudden Health teachers around the state of California will be saying, "The only healthy marriage is a gay marriage"? What a bunch of crap. Truth is, if the question "Is a gay marriage a healthy marriage" were to come up in the classroom, the answer should be, "Are the couples doing the things we discussed that promote healthy marriage?" If the answer is yes, then what's the problem?

Is it that the people are gay? You mean gay = unhealthy relationships? Are you serious? Are you drunk? You're telling me that straight = healthy relationships? Are you really living in the real world? I've had thousands of students that would be prime examples of that theory going straight into the toilet. Ask any kid whose family got a divorce or a kid beaten by his parents or kids that are miserable because of unhealthy relationships. Being gay has nothing to do with good parenting.

In the end, Prop 8 is a 1980's "I'm scared of fags" style attack on a fundamental principle within our society, equal protection. I find it interesting that a group of people that so value the protections of the Constitution, all of the sudden run away from it when something in society shakes up the status quo, and then insist that government has no place in dictating the policy of the scared masses. It was those same masses that had no problem with slavery, no problem with Chinese exclusion, no problem with segregation, no problem Japanese Internment, and no problem with pointing gays away from Constitutional protections because of their sexual orientation. It's disgusting.

I am however jubilant because either way, the Constitution will win the day. If this Proposition passes, I will enjoy the trail this measure takes to the steps of the Supreme Court building in Washington D.C., the same place where similar people told little Linda Brown that segregation wasn't a Constitutional issue, and that she already had her own institution to which she could attend. The result will be the same. Segregation will be shot down, the Constitution will win the day, and the nation will be better for it.

VOTE NO.

How I'm voting

2008-10-31T14:31:00.000-07:00

Take it for what it's worth.

Prop 1A- SAFE, RELIABLE HIGH-SPEED PASSENGER TRAIN BOND ACT.
-In the end, all the bond issues on this ballot are regarding the appropriate use of government funds. Yes, the California Budget is in an absolute shambles. Yes, this project is going to cost $19 billion over 30 years. Is it an appropriate use of funds in these times of economic turmoil? Of course it is. It is an absolute travesty that the state jumps into the this century with little or no idea of how to create a "next gen" urban planning transportation solution. Current plans emphasize widening freeways, creating toll roads, and building more airports, things that reflect a late 20th Century approach. California needs high speed rail, just like the North Coast needs the SMART train, the Bay Area needs BART to loop the Bay, and San Francisco needs a real subway. These projects drive the state into the next generation of transportation, urban planning, and job development. If you have a problem with government oversight, then fine, make it happen. There are plenty of examples of California transportation projects being done on the fly with good results, a good Governor could make it work. VOTE YES.

Prop 2-STANDARDS FOR CONFINING FARM ANIMALS.
-The market is already impacting the sale of all kinds of free range meats and eggs, and I think that these standards are already starting to be imposed as market driven conditions. The EU has banned pork crates (confining pigs) by 2012 and the largest pork producer in the U.S. has already agreed to phase out the same practice. While I don't agree with the treatment of CAFO (Confined Animal Feeding Operations) meats, I don't see the backbone of the needing to be impacted by more government regulation that will be gone soon enough. In the meantime, eat free range meat (it tastes better) and by eggs locally (ours are from a farm for less than grocery store prices). VOTE NO.

Prop 3-CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL BOND ACT
-While I'm sure the idea of helping children is attractive, let's remember that some money will be going to for-profit corporations to build on an already screwed up medical infrastructure. Radical change in the health care system is needed and providing government funding to a broken wheel (that keeps coming back) is not the solution. VOTE NO.

Prop 4- WAITING PERIOD AND PARENTAL NOTIFICATION BEFORE TERMINATION OF MINOR’S PREGNANCY.
-I've been in a serious argument today where a colleague insisted that if you agreed with this proposition that you must be either religious or against abortion. I'm neither. I don't see why abortion must be such an black and white topic when reasonable people can see the necessity of certain regulations on a medical procedure. Hell, a minor isn't supposed to get a tattoo without parent permission, why make a sudden exception for an abortion? Incest/Parental sexual involvement is extremely minimal in abortion cases, so you can toss that out right now. The only thing I can really find against this is the idea that people that promote this law want to end abortion, which I disagree with. Sorry, I think parents should have the right to be involved in their kids lives. VOTE YES.

Prop 5- NONVIOLENT DRUG OFFENSES. SENTENCING, PAROLE AND REHABILITATION
-A jive ass way to legalize marijuana and allow society to ignore the problems that drugs present to the community. Take it from a person that lives in a town seeped in a drug culture, rehab is an excuse, not a solution. And while I agree that we need to figure out a way to get non-violent offenders out of jail, I don't think the method is allowing addicts to take run of the community. From someone that lives in a region where this kind of thing is promoted, VOTE NO.

Prop 6- POLICE AND LAW ENFORCEMENT FUNDING. CRIMINAL PENALTIES AND LAWS.
-If this law were carved up into other propositions, I would have voted for some and rejected others. I agree that stronger laws for victim intimidation and meth possession are needed, but the funding aspect concerns me. Why the specifics targeting the anti-gang aspect? Sounds like a lot of prison money to me. VOTE NO.

Prop 7- RENEWABLE ENERGY GENERATION
-This initiative is so murky and unenforceable that it is scary. First of all, we need to realize that there is no way that major utilities will be able to produce 20% of their energy by 2010, especially in a state where environmental impact studies alone won't allow them to build anything for at least two years. Also remember that Californians love to enact the NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard)argument and will fight against any project that potentially kills property value. So the companies will be penalized. And while the law states that the penalty can not be shifted to consumers, I say "Good Luck" to that. It is near impossible to prove that a price increase, especially in something that is in so high of demand, is a direct result of a fine. This has disaster written all over it. VOTE NO.

Prop 8- Get's its own post

Prop 9- CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM. VICTIMS’ RIGHTS. PAROLE.
-California is actually pretty up to date and pretty strict on parolees. I think that his avoids the real problem regarding crime (how do we deal with repeat offenders) while potentially increasing costs in our criminal justice system. I wouldn't mind if the victim has more say in certain parole hearings, but this is an example of trying to pass a series of laws on a population that really doesn't understand what its voting for. VOTE NO

Prop 10- ALTERNATIVE FUEL VEHICLES AND RENEWABLE ENERGY.
-Another example of how some of it works well for me, while the rest doesn't make a whole lot of sense. I wouldn't have a problem with the state spending bond money to become the next-gen capital of alternative energy. Hell, the possible economic returns for California could be enormous. But to offer millions for rebates on cars? Feed a subsidy to consumers who are already changing their driving habits (ask Ford or GM) is idiotic and a waste of money. Plus, why give people money to buy automobiles when we want them to figure out a different method of transportation? Doesn't make sense. VOTE NO.

Prop 11- REDISTRICTING.
-With all due respect, pretty much any other form of drawing districts would be better than the gerrymandered methods currently in place. The only reason that you might be against this is because of the idea that elections have consequences, and that the ability to draw congressional districts is one of those consequences. I would agree except that I think the districts should be a much more accurate representation of the region, not some manipulated geographic entity that benefits the winner. Drawing districts should not be difficult. 650,000 in an area, period. Plus, the current state legislature can't find its own ass anyway, so taking responsibility from them is a good thing. VOTE YES.

Prop 12- VETERANS’ BOND ACT OF 2008
-This is a pretty small sum of money that is actually only used if the California Veterans program can't pay to help veterans for the purchase of homes and farms. Note, the California Veterans program has totally paid for itself in the past with no direct impact on taxpayers. I see no problem with getting veterans some support (they more than deserve it), helping the economy in the process, and having a little cushion if a program that has worked in the past falls a little short. VOTE YES.

Blessed are those that witness a classic under the Friday Night Lights

2008-10-24T23:45:00.001-07:00

I was lucky enough to witness the single greatest high school football ever on this very night.

It was between the Rancho Cotate Cougars and the Ukiah Wildcats, and it was an instant classic. There was highlight after highlight, with elements of sportsmanship, athletic ability, and a monster work ethic sported by both teams.

While we didn't come out of this one victorious, I felt honored just being able to stand on the sidelines and witness these kids in the healthy spirit of competition on this Friday night.

Thanks guys!

Dude, where's my refund?

2008-10-24T17:40:00.001-07:00

Three weeks ago I filed for my $20 refund from the California Teacher's Association. My wife filed within five minutes of me. Yesterday my wife received her refund check from the CTA.

I have yet to receive mine.

Hmmmmm.............

The Conundrum

2008-10-23T21:28:00.000-07:00

I haven't written for a week for two reasons.

One, I've been really busy. Imagine that from a teacher.

Reason number two has to due with the primary subject of this post. Around last Friday I experienced the scratchy throat. It was followed by the minor cough that became congestion by the middle of last week. By Wednesday the congestion had drifted into my chest and I was in a full blown coughing fit. Now a week has passed and I still have a deep chest cough, but the energy is better and I can function.

Every year teachers are exposed to the little nasty bugs that kids bring in with them from out in the nether-world. Teachers must have some of the greatest immune systems on the planet because we go through any number of virus and bacteria infections. Every year I run through two series of colds, one in October and one in the spring (which might be more allergy driven). I've been seriously sick a few times. My first year was a two day nasty flu bug, and my second year was a flu that turned into walking pneumonia. I was out for a week. Since then I get a 24 hour bug here and there, but I don't usually get too out of it. Which brings us to the conundrum.

When should the teacher not show for school due to illness?

Contrary to those idiots that seem to think teachers live to be out of school, absence of any kind is much harder work. Consider that I need to prepare a sub for three different preps, hope that I get a sub that has some semblance of ability to follow directions (most don't), and then clean up the damage when I get back. I've had one, maybe two subs that are worth anything since I've been at the high school. One still subs on occasion and the other became a full time teacher. Both managed to get things done, one doing over an entire week with Seniors......in May! However, there are times when the benefit of being at home outweighs the cost of educating the little tykes. When will I stay home? Simply, when I don't see myself as able to do my job effectively.

That means if I'm throwing up, I'm not going to school. I made the attempt during my second year that I was going to ignore my up-chucking ways and fight through it, only to end up puking my guts out 20 minutes before class with my colleague making fun of me to no end (good fun). I ended up going home anyway, worse for wear. But that's because I'm pretty much unable to perform my duties as teacher, almost anything else still qualifies me to go into classroom and give it a run.

Where do "mental health days" fit into that? Well, I don't really take mental health days because they end up not being relaxing at all. First you have to prepare for the day that you are gone and then fix all the garbage that occurs when you return. In all, the day becomes a bigger pain in the ass than it had intended to be. Add to that that by the time you have a few years under your belt, the need for mental health days should go away. You become more organized, use your prep more wisely, and become to understand that real teacher hours aren't necessarily contract hours. And that's ok.

So go away sickness go away, even though it will help build that immune system for another day.

The Lost Kids of Willows

2008-10-19T23:29:00.001-07:00

I have a small piece of my history that resides in Willows, some of it good and some of it not so good. It isn't that connection that makes me feel so sad about what has happened to that town over the last three years. It isn't the fact that I'm a teacher that makes me feel like my heart drops through my stomach every time I hear about the tragedies that have befallen Willows, California. It's just simple humanity that drives me to near tears when I think about the course of events that has impacted this little town about two hours east of Ukiah.

Those of us in Northern California have probably heard about the deaths of Stephen Furtado, and Jenny and Billy Carrigan. Stephen and Jenny were murdered, and Billy was killed in a car accident while trying to drive back to the town of Chester, California upon hearing about the murders. Stephen Furtado was a student at Willows High School. What many don't know is that Willows has had a very tough few years with student deaths, tough enough to make even the strongest hearted break down and ask, "Why?".

ESPN got a hold of the story and Michael Weinreb wrote an excellent article about trials of Willows High School during recent memory. I recommend the article for two reasons. First, it is an extremely well written article by the national media about a local town.

Second, it makes you want to hug a kid and tell them that you care.

The Lost Kids of Willows

The Annual Homecoming Rant

2008-10-17T16:06:00.001-07:00

Well, I just watched the final parade floats roll down Low Gap Road in the yearly ritual that is the last day of Homecoming. While I'm happy that the kids on the floats are happy, and it's nice to see the community come out in support of the high school, my thoughts are not in a place of tranquility and splendor. I'm more frustrated than ever.

This culminating event of Homecoming occurred on the same day that the Ukiah School Facts Sheet was put in our boxes. You know, the one that says that our school has only 34% of the graduates meet the UC/CSU course requirements (the county average is 67%). The one that says that only 13 out of every 100 Juniors and Seniors passed Advanced Placement exams last year (state average is 26 out of 100).

This culminating event of Homecoming occurred two days after Department meetings about pacing, trying to keep up with all the information required by STAR Testing. This while students completely lost all academic thought for the entire week to focus on Homecoming.

This culminating event of Homecoming occurred six weeks after we were notified about our academic performance results, and how we pretty much under-performed in most areas.

Yes, it was kind of tough to get excited about a weeks worth of distraction when the numbers show that you are not getting it done.

For those that are not familiar, Homecoming at Ukiah High School is one of the biggest events in the entire community. For an entire week, the different classes pull together and try to out do each other in a variety of categories. Included are a school skit, a float, a parade, a backdrop for the gym, a mural for the quad kiosk, a variety of rallies, students dressing in school/class colors, and overall spirit and participation. Each event is judged using Spirit Points, with the class gaining the most Spirit Points winning the coveted Spirit Bell. It is pretty much all encompassing. Here are the stages of Homecoming:

Stage One: Planning and Set up
-About a month before Homecoming week, a theme is announced for all the classes to follow. This year it is "musicals". Classes get together and choose a class color and musical that they will pattern Homecoming week after. In this case Seniors=Grease, Juniors=Wizard of Oz, Sophomores=Willy Wonka, and Freshman=Lion King. They also choose colors. In this case Seniors=Black, Juniors=Orange, Sophomores=White, Freshman=Yellow.
-For about two weeks before Homecoming week, students argue about ideas and some start showing up ragged to the first or second period of class. Making of the floats and prep for skits has already started. Some start missing first period all together during the week before, and others miss after-school extra-curriculars to help with Homecoming stuff. Teachers watch this happen and hold their breath while hoping for the best.

Stage Two: The Week
-Monday: The craziness actually starts around 5 a.m. when groups of students show up and cover the campus in posters and banners that represent their theme. By First Period, everyone shows up in class colors, immediately criticizing anyone not wearing same color. I wear khakis and a white dress shirt every day, which means that I'm supporting the Sophomores, I guess. The energy in the morning is totally unfocused as students discuss the weeks events. A lunch there is a rally, and student attendance drops after lunch like a rock. Another thing that you notice is that any students involved in student government or rally issues will miss half of the classes for the week. All are excused. Students end the evening by putting up backdrops in the gym until 10 p.m.
-Tuesday: Student show up around 5 a.m. again, this time to put up the mural on the kiosk. Students are ragged because they have been working on the float, skit, and mural during the evenings. During Second Period, there is a rally for the football game and to enhance school spirit (actually, it is pit the classes against one another to see whose louder). After the rally, the students crash and it is difficult at best keep them engaged in anything.
-Wednesday: No school day activities, but now the news reports come in that classes have started going after each other. One class toilet papers another's float. In response, the second class eggs the first classes float, which happens to hit parents working on the float and that's not good. Skit practice occurs tonight in the gym until 10 p.m.
-Thursday: Class colors again, but now we start seeing groups of students going from class to class yelling out class slogans. Seniors will park outside of Junior classes and chant "Seniors!", and in response the Juniors might make a conga line through a Senior classroom. There is another lunch time rally and again the post-lunch attendance goes South. You also have students getting irritated with teachers that are getting frustrated with the lack of attention in class, and discipline rises.
-Friday: Final day has class colors. Students that are running for Homecoming bring candy and treats to school to woo voters and classrooms become garbage dumps. Another rally during Second Period where the classes present their skits to an overflowing gym. Post rally students are completely gone. All the energy is out of them and many others skip class to prepare the float for the parade, hang with friends that have post skit rush, and prepare hair and make-up for the Homecoming Parade. Post-Lunch attendance is 40%, as most student go to the parking lot and line up to get on the floats. The parade takes off at 3:30, the game is at 8, and teachers are tired as hell.

Stage Three: The Aftermath
-Students will now miss a number of days next week from their immune system taking hits after staying up late and eating crap for the last two weeks.

I know, I sound like a complete killjoy. I'm really not. I like that the students have fun. I like that the community comes around the school and supports it. And I like that aspect of opportunity for student involvement. I think Homecoming is a cool idea, but it should not encompass weeks of school time, and totally distract an entire week of teaching. While the school should be the symbol of academic excellence in the community, it is instead a symbol of social interaction that comes with Homecoming. Homecoming, while touchy-feely and goal oriented, actually promotes the wrong message to students at this time in their academic careers; academics takes a back seat to the social priorities. What's worse, the community supports this (while then bashing the school when the academic numbers come out). While the support is great, the better support should be this energy going into STAR testing week, or into after-school programs for disadvantaged youth, or into making the school/community a better academic atmosphere.

Here are some amendments to Homecoming Week that I'd like to see:

1. Eliminate the skit altogether. It is time consuming, it interrupts all of Friday, and it involves a small element of the student population. It short, it serves no purpose at all.

2. Eliminate either the back drop or the kiosk mural. Both are totally redundant and simply take up time.

3. Eliminate class colors. These do nothing but pit kids against each other. Instead, have one day for each classes theme to dress up, with Friday being Purple and Gold Day. No animosity, serious creativity. Have costume contests be included in the Spirit Points.

4. End all 2nd Period rallies. Having pep rallies during classroom instruction time is beyond me. If you are going to have rallies, make them at the end of the day or after school. I understand the desire for inclusion, but those that don't want to go end up not going to the 2nd period rallies and feel more left out because it should be school time. Rallies should never be mandatory and never be during instruction.

5. Extend the attendance Spirit Point category for a full month before Homecoming. Make it worth more.

6. Add a Community Service category to Homecoming. Have judges, administration, and student leadership sit down and figure out a list of project that can be done to benefit the community, and then the classes can chose and complete a community service task. Points can be awarded for originality, importance to community, efficient usage of community resources, creating connections between the community and the high school, and next-gen enhancement of Ukiah ('Green Projects', technology use, application of global awareness). The potential is enormous. And no, money is not a limitation. I've seen the dollars spent on the current Homecoming situations, and the money is there.

In the end, it's the standard hypocrisy that I see in society that is being reflected in the current incarnation of Homecoming, and that is the general frustration. I love seeing the kids happy and excited, but the message is wrong and in the end, teachers will be the one's taking the brunt end of test results and media throw-downs. I would love to explore merit pay, but I have serious reservations with my performance being judged if the atmosphere is not working to be more conducive to academics.

So for next year, how about we ditch the idea of a "better" Homecoming, and look towards a more "productive" one.

Surprise. KIPP suffers from the same problems as everyone else.

2008-10-05T22:07:00.001-07:00

I've been interested in the KIPP (Knowledge is Power Program) model of schools for a few years now, actually since reading Joanne Jacobs (link right) book Our School, which has a philosophy much like KIPP schools. I liked the book overall, although I had problems with the image it generalized with regards to public school teachers. KIPP has long been the darling of various media outlets and charter advocates because it manages to get students with low socio-economic status to score very well on standardized tests at the primary grade levels, and the program helps motivate kids towards a college prep environment. What those same advocates don't like to admit is that the KIPP program suffers from the same problems as public schools; secondary school student achievement, discipline, and teacher retention. A study was released recently that evaluated the KIPP program and came up with some very interesting results.

1. 5th and 6th grade KIPP kids are doing much better than public schools on the tests. In fact, statistics show that up to 40% higher scores were received at KIPP, proof that this is a serious improvement that should be looked at by other institutions.

2. Student attrition before the end of 8th grade is an incredible 60%. This answers quite a few questions regarding whether the mighty KIPP can all of the sudden hold sway over the elephant that is the Great American Teenager. It also explains some of the secondary test results, which may be inflated because some of the lower level students are gone by high school.

3. Teachers are usually from high end colleges. Personally, I find little difference from a teacher that has a degree from Stanford versus someone that has a degree from Sacramento State. Subject matter competency only goes so far when dealing with high school students and learning the in's and out's of a classroom isn't something that any college will prepare you for.

4. Teachers are leaving KIPP. Up to 50% of all teachers leave KIPP for some other function. Teachers also report an average 65 hour work week. Welcome to the profession. I spend about 45 hours a week actually in my classroom, and that doesn't include basketball, Model UN, or grading papers evenings and weekends. I would agree with 65 being the regular hours. During basketball season, I pull way more than 65.

5. KIPP schools are struggling to operate at current funding levels. That's interesting because when public schools state that they are struggling, it's called whining.

6. KIPP students go to school 9.5 hours a day. Public school students aren't forced to attend classes above the required credits, and parents often don't want them to. Students, especially high school level, are encouraged to get a job when they are of age. Most Seniors don't attend school more than 4 hours at Ukiah because they don't feel that they need to when they are finished with credits.

The teacher retention piece is what is fascinating to me because when you read the report, you find that the young teachers who are quitting are simply saying that the workload is much too demanding to take on year after year.

The time is really challenging. I am coming up against a wall of how much I can give. It is getting
to be too much. This is not a place I plan to leave anytime soon. I just need to find a way to
balance my life. I definitely plan to see it through as far as possible. It is dear to me. I just need to
figure out how to make it work.

That comment comes from a teacher in the report. It is not something that is unfamiliar to me. I've heard this from young teachers everywhere that feel like they are giving up their lives to a profession that won't allow them to live otherwise. And while I think higher pay is part of the answer (simple economic reasoning), the real issue is more along the lines of "is MORE teaching actually EFFECTIVE teaching". The study showed that teachers at both KIPP and public schools spend the same amount of time in classroom instruction, but that KIPP teachers end up doing more outside of that instruction environment. Yes, test scores for some grade levels is up. But is it really working? Teachers and students are leaving in substantial numbers. Is that necessarily success?

Hopefully society wakes up sometime and realizes that it needs to work on the whole system of education, not just create a "different" model that does some things better, yet fails in other areas and disregards some of the essential issues within the problem. Why not work on making education better for everyone? Simply shifting valuable education funds to something else is definitely not working. You know what does work? Good academic institutions that have good leadership from the top down, regardless of whether or not they are charter or public. I've been watching Michelle Rhee's reorganization of the Washington D.C. schools with interest, and I see it as a prime example of someone who is coming in, making the tough decisions and actually working towards creating a fine academic institution. When the teacher's union comes in-between the implementation of progress, she ends up making them a professional offer that any good teacher couldn't refuse and puts the pressure on the union to concede, or decides that accountability is necessary and starts to clean house. Oh look, a competent administrator who wants to pay teachers a lot of money, kick out teachers that suck, and expects that with that money comes actual education. Looks real nice to me.

And it isn't even a charter school.

Calm down already

2008-10-05T20:22:00.001-07:00

It is sad that around Campaign season, the American people all of the sudden go into partisan brain-dead mode.

While we are in the midst of a very important election, one that will determine which direction the country will choose going into the meat of the 21st Century, people are using the time to make idiot observations and insane innuendos that really have nothing to do with leading the strongest nation on the planet. I see less and less real discussion on how to attack the issues that matter (real economics, the war, national security, education, health care), and more focus on moronic hyperbole that makes the world image of the American voter drive all other global citizens straight into the arms of their local dictator, socialist dreamer, or any other scheming politician.

Is Obama too black? Is McCain too old? Is Obama a Muslim? Is McCain a Christian fundamentalist? Is Biden a degenerate mob-corrupt lackey? Is Palin plain stupid? Can Obama say "Change" one more time so my ears bleed? Can Palin see anything other than Russia from her house? Does Obama know anything about foreign policy? Does McCain know anything about Economics? Will Barack Obama create a socialist police state bent on ending our Constitutional freedoms? Will John McCain create a fascist police state bent on ending our Constitutional freedoms?

Christ, do we really sound this stupid? Unfortunately yes. And worse, we haven't become educated enough to know when both sides spur it on. Yes, Obama can handle major foreign policy decisions. Not only will he be well informed, he's going to have some very good military minds to help him out. Same with McCain. The senior Senator from Arizona knows plenty about Economics, both in experience (head of the Commerce Committee many times) and in people that will be advising him.

We are more partisan now than in any time in our nation's history. Do our established democracy a favor and don't play into the partisanship. Regardless of what you might think, the world will not end if either McCain or Obama becomes president. Both put a good face on the office of the Leader of the Free World, and both would do a better job than the current occupant. Don't be a prejudicial fool by calling McCain voters ignorant religious zealots that care only about pulling the country downward. And don't be paranoid moron by watching kids sing about Obama and thinking that the children will the next SS in the Obama Socialist Army. Use your brain and help the country.

And you can start by reading about the Biden-Palin debate.

God, I Hate Formal Lesson Planning

2008-10-01T22:13:00.001-07:00

I'm sitting here right now making a formal lesson plan for the Teaching American History Project, and I'm being reminded why I hate making these damn things. The actual lesson plan asks for so much hoop jumping crap that a teacher that is excited by an idea eventually becomes totally exhausted by writing down pages of information that is just not necessary. Good teaching is good teaching. Writing down every single English Language Learner instruction model is not necessary. It provides nothing to making the lesson plan actually work. Neither does writing down every single Social Studies Standard, Language Arts Standard, or any other government mandated crap that does no good to teaching the lesson.

Those rookie teachers that start from the Day One need to know that in the beginning, having all your own instructions for the lesson (the actual application of the lesson) is the most important thing. It helps give you a point of reference and a sense of direction when you begin to teach your class. The rest is "standards and practices" telling you that they need evidence that you know what you are teaching. For now, start with details for the content part of your lesson. Eventually you will find that you don't need it and everything will flow. For instance, I haven't had a formal lesson plan in about 6 years, but I still plan my ass off for the semester because it makes my teaching better. However, writing down every standard known to man does nothing for my teaching except make me wish I wasn't doing it. Seriously, if teachers had to make daily formal lesson plans, I probably wouldn't be here. There comes a time when the cost of making them outweighs any benefit they give. Credential program instructors should know that.

Ok, back to it. Let me read through those Language Arts standards...........

CTA goes for your wallet, and you need to ask them not to

2008-09-28T21:52:00.001-07:00

Last year I watched in horror as the site reps in my local union voted to raise the union dues on our membership without taking it out to a vote. Furious, I let them know in my own diplomatic way that I thought they were doing a strong injustice to hard working teachers by basically stealing from them. They response I got was, "It's in the bylaws".

Last week I received a message from our union about a little money grab that the CTA is now a party to, one that fills the coffers of the organization while slyly making it necessary for you to ask to be removed from this "voluntary donation". The CTA is "voluntarily" collecting a $20 "donation" from CTA members that don't opt out of the contribution by a paper form that your union should have or by going to the CTA web site. Be warned, you need to sign up for the CTA site with your CTA card number and go through a variety of confirmation process before you click "Refund" under the voluntary donation link on the web site.

Anyone else see a major problem with an organization whose expressed message is to protect you, but instead uses manipulation to take money from its membership? I don't know about you, but I didn't receive any message at all, including a ballot, that stated that a dues increase was going to be taken from me.

Go sign in to the CTA and get your money back.

The T-Shirt

2008-09-25T14:53:00.001-07:00

You can count on a student to push the boundaries of the First Amendment every so often, and here is the latest example of the argument between the golden amendment and the right's of the public good.

Apparently Daxx Dalton, a fifth grader at a school in Colorado, wore the above shirt to school (the one on top), got into scuffles with kids, was asked to turn it inside out, refused, and was suspended. The father then called the school officials a bunch of "liberal loons" and is going to sue the school. The edublogosphere is going nuts over the topic, which I caught at Joanne Jacobs (see blogroll). I can't really post a response there because some of those commentators are so out of touch with reality that it is scary. Let's analyze the issue a little more objectively, shall we?

The issue would fall under the court decision Tinker vs. Des Moines, which basically says that a school district can't infringe on a student's freedom of political expression unless it threatens the learning process at the school. What does that mean exactly? Well, it isn't something that can be nailed down. However,the precedent is there that would defend the right's of the student to wear the shirt. In 2003, Bretton Barber wore the above shirt (the one on the bottom) to school and had a similar situation occur (although without scuffles) in which the kid was suspended for refusing to get rid of the shirt. Barber won his case in federal court. In fact, most of the these cases are going towards the student's right to political expression. So the issue of whether or not the shirt is legal is pretty simple.

The main difference, and the real issue of the shirt, is whether or not it disrupts the learning environment, something that can be interpreted in a very broad spectrum. Obviously it created a problem, but there actually has to be intent to cause a disturbance and a history of that image/symbol/shirt causing a problem on campus. This comes from a myriad of court cases regarding the Confederate flag, which is allowed in some schools and banned in others based on the intent and history stated above. While you could probably easily could prove intent, the history part is much more foggy and will be difficult to justify. In this case, the kid still has the right to have the shirt.

I would argue that neither the kid nor the school district is the real problem here. The problem is Tracy Barber (mom of Brett), and Dann Dalton (dad of Daxx). Both have managed to show that parents can be complete jackasses when it comes to the simple idea of common sense. Fine, the shirts are legal, but neither shirt has a real place at school and neither were worn for any reason except to create a commotion that distracts from learning. Bretton Barber's shirt is not anti-war, it's a little kid who is trying to stir up controversy because he hasn't learned how express himself in an academic setting. Daxx Dalton's shirt is much worse. It's a father taking advantage of his 5th grade son to promote a political agenda because the father doesn't have the testicles to to protest for himself in a public forum. That shirt isn't more disturbing because of the message or that it's Obama, it's disturbing because the kid is a tool of an absolute moron.

Look, you're not going to get a bigger supporter of First Amendment rights than myself, especially in the classroom. But along with those rights comes something that I try to impress on kids, responsibility. While both shirts are acceptable under the law, the parents failed to act in a manner that promotes the responsible protection of the First Amendment. Instead, both made a mockery of it.

Yes, it's teaching

2008-09-24T22:29:00.001-07:00

During the first week of my teaching credential program, I walked up to one of my college professors to ask that I leave orientation about 30 minutes early because I was going to coach my Bidwell Junior High School team in our own tournament. She made the comment, "Now might be the time you need to choose whether you want be a coach or a teacher." I hung my head, missed the game, and sat through orientation.

About a year and a half later, I teacher at Ukiah High School came up to me and said, "You need to focus on your reputation as a teacher, not a coach. If you get the reputation as a coach, you'll never be well respected." I nodded in quick agreement and made a half-hearted effort to keep the two separated, which could explain why I wasn't a very good coach for a few years.

Both these people were dead wrong and fed into the stereotype that coaches can't be effective in the classroom because they are too busy trying to get jocks to win useless athletic games. Very rarely is it taken into account that a vast majority of school populations participate in athletics, or that athletics themselves actually increase a student's academic performance. I would go beyond both facts and present to you this thesis; coaching is more about good teaching than classroom teaching is.

Yep, you heard me right. Think about something like basketball and let's look at the what the end result, or the (buzzword) OBJECTIVE, is. It isn't winning, and any good coach will tell you that winning is not the end all of athletics. If the coach preaches that philosophy, then the coach isn't a good teacher. That's something that isn't just in athletics. Examples of bad teaching are in plenty of classrooms so get off that high horse right now. The objective is preparing students for the challenges of society on an academic, mental, physical, and emotional level that is higher than standard physical education classes. Consider it Advanced Placement Physical Education, only the students put more time and dedication into these classes than the students in the classroom.
Now let's look at the planning, something that is vital to good teaching. My outline is set every day, created with a goal in mind and the flexibility to adjust with situations that might require some creativity. Those plans require that I understand student needs, facilitate learning to multiple modalities, evaluate student progress based on multiple assessments, and finally give a culminating assignment. The wonderful part of coaching is that you are doing this lesson every day, with assessment going on constantly, and culminating assignments occurring every time a game happens. Instead of waiting for idiotic, and quite frankly inaccurate, test scores that measure student progress, a teacher gets to watch the progress build in front of his/her eyes, and then compare to other students during game day. It is the most fulfilling assessment there is!

Then you add on all the external benefits of athletics; sportsmanship, character building, team building, perseverance, image......all those things that parents sometimes miss when raising kids, and you have coaches being the ultimate teachers. And again, I get that there are coaches that are the model of John Goodman in Revenge of the Nerds. Those people are bad teachers, just like those other bad teachers that don't happen to coach.

I bring this up because I was back on the court last week and dead tired, yet the kids seemed to give me that burst of energy and that flow that only comes from the knowledge that you know that the kids are "getting it". Then I watched the group of kids that I coached get out there and play some mighty fine defense (something I love to watch my teams do) and it was like I was on a high, back to the good old stomping grounds of the basketball court. Classrooms don't need desks, white boards, and STAR testing questions to be good teaching environments. When schools, and coaches, realize that coaching is simply teaching magnified, then athletics will get a better reputation than it's current state. Classroom teachers need to also see the value in athletics as something beyond the development of physical strength, especially since the student is more likely to do well academically if he/she is in a sport. Finally, community members need to realize that coaching is teaching, and that we get paid even less to put up with much more pressure from parents. While winning in competitive situations is a part of the curriculum of student athletics, the benefit is moot if the teacher isn't allowed to put it in its proper perspective.

Just like in the classroom, we are professionals.

U.S. News and World Report asks for my opinion

2008-09-19T21:21:00.001-07:00

Last week, Eddy Ramirez from U.S. News and World Report interviewed me about how I thought blogs impacted education policy, and why I decided to blog in the first place. That article is now up at U.S. News and World Report.

I like the article and stand by everything I said. One piece of clarification on my comment, "A social science teacher at a rural high school in Ukiah, Calif., the 35-year-old says he has learned more about classroom management and lesson planning from other bloggers than from his school district colleagues." That wasn't meant as a knock at my colleagues, who I've learned much from. The next sentence I gave the reporter after that quote was the explanation that education blogs create the ultimate collaboration environment. Think about it; I have access to hundreds of teachers that have thousands of ideas that I can incorporate into my classroom. Hell, I even use ideas from a teacher that was a former student at my school when I started teaching at Ukiah High! While educators complain about having to interact with teachers in the classroom next door, I interact with my colleagues, and then I use my own time to collaborate with educators who are as passionate as I with perfecting the art of teaching.

While being a part of a weekly news magazine is cool, it doesn't mean anything unless society starts making education are real priority. I blog because I think what I do is monumentally important. Blogging makes me a better teacher. Will it make society make better choices?

An interesting quiz

2008-09-19T19:58:00.001-07:00

Two weeks ago I gave an assignment where students read a section of their textbook, were allowed to place five bulleted facts on a note card, and use that information on a quiz. The results were interesting and bring forth more light on how testing kids and blaming teachers is quite ridiculous.

The first issue was the lack of kids who actually used the note card. I'd say about 20% (and that was the high end) of my classes took advantage of the note card to use on the quiz. This is usually a clear sign that students did not read the textbook. Believe it or not, most students don't take advantage of "cheat sheet" style assistance, even on large tests. I often hear the argument that students won't even bother to read the information in the book unless you offer the cheat sheet. It gets them into the information. I disagree. The students that take advantage are students that don't really need it. And don't tell me that reading text isn't necessary, because I read plenty in college.

The second, and more pressing issue, was the answers given for the question "Name one of the four countries that were included in the immigration to the American Colonies". The correct answers included Ireland, England, Germany, and the Dutch. About a fifth of the students gave me an answer that I hadn't expected, Mexico. I was quite taken aback. Mexico? Didn't everyone know that the Pilgrims came from England? Didn't everyone have those funny little Thanksgiving parties when they were young with funny little hats and fake pumpkins? Well, the obvious answer is no. And this is where the testing gurus don't get it. Many students, even the underachieving crowd that might be lazy and unmotivated, have a deeper understanding of historical events because of years of exposure from everything including those elementary school parties to Schoolhouse Rock. Kids that show up from another country with little or no English, and no historical foundation at all, are expected to already have good knowledge of the United States up through the Civil War by the time they reach 11th grade. To some kids, the connection with the term "immigrate to America" creates a connection to Mexico that has been ingrained in a culture that often labels them "immigrants". It was quite the awakening. The quiz was a clear slap across my face that made me realize that pacing guides will be thrown out the door, irrelevant State Standards are going to get barely more than a mention, and these kids are going to get a foundation course in U.S. History. I've slowed way down and I started with Columbus and I've moved through Colonial America and finished the American Revolution. My first test will be Friday. We'll see if slowing down works. I think it will since I'm seeing students fully engaged and interested.

A Day in the Life of a High School Teacher

2008-09-12T21:52:00.000-07:00

For those that haven't had a taste of a high school teacher.

-Alarm goes off at 5 a.m. As usual, my wife and I lament at the fact that night was not nearly long enough for a good sleep. On the radio is the KNBR Morning Show and I stay in bed and listen for about 15 minutes.

-Shower and breakfast follow. Usually it's cereal, but this morning I fix two eggs and a couple of frozen waffles. I watch the morning news and e-mail a couple of documents to myself at the school. I wear a shirt and tie almost every day. But today I decide to wear khaki shorts and a history t-shirt that says "Ain't No Party Like a Boston Party" with a tea bag on it that has 1773 on the tag.

-Out of the house by 6:25. The radio says that there was an earthquake centered about 18 miles north of town, but I felt nothing. I head to Safeway for a sandwich and coffee. Unfortunately, I had no lunch stuff for today and had to spend the money.

-At school by twenty minutes to seven. I wander into F-6 and turn on the lights while moving towards the center of the room. They are on one of those motion sensors and won't turn on unless you go towards the middle of the room.

-Turn on an episode of Imus in the Morning where I listen to an interview with Tom Friedman while I make two quizzes, one for U.S. History, and the other for International Studies. I also start to look for a video reenactment of the Mayflower and find one from Discovery Channel's website. I'll use it as a prompt today.

-The first student wanders in 15 minutes before class. I'm moving my laptop to the cart that I use for my Smartboard while chatting with the student.

-The first bell rings and I wander outside to greet students and make my presence felt. I enjoy giving a smile early in the morning to the students and will often break out in song. Today it was "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" by Elton John.

-The bell rings and I enter AP Comparative Government. No absences. I get a good response from the t-shirt and I go right into the news (Newshour with Jim Leher news summary). The kids get a good laugh about the Department of the Interior trading sexual favors to the oil corporations. I prompt the period with the "Greed Is Good" speech from Gordon Gecko in Wall Street. We then discuss what "self-interest" means to a market economy, and then move into a power point about the evolution of the market economy. Good questions and fairly good energy for a Friday. Before they leave I give them a reading from Atlas Shrugged, and they are required to read it and type three questions for a Socratic Seminar on Monday. The bell rings and I head back outside.

-While outside I talk to a variety of students who stop by and discuss basketball, Algebra, and other important topics. When the bell rings I head for my first U.S. History class. Two absences. I tell students to take out paper while the morning announcements are read. As soon as they are done, it's quiz time. They have four minutes to answer 6 vocabulary questions that are on the projector board. When they are finished we grade them as a class immediately. I note the number of perfect papers on the board, where the other U.S. History class perfects are also listed. The number is lower than past quizzes (they get 3-4 a week), but the over all class grade is rising. News, and questions about the President's issues in Pakistan. Another student wants to discuss Iraq, but I deflect the question because we have to move on. I try to play the Mayflower video on the project, but it won't work. I take about 20 seconds to refresh, but it refuses to play. No matter, I drop it and we move on. I string a butcher paper timeline on the side of the classroom and have the students create their own timeline. We add a couple of events we have already discussed and then move to a power point about the colonizaton of the United States. Full participation and good questions. No homework for the weekend and the bell sends them off.

-Break time. I head to the middle of the building in our communial area and talk nothing in particular with collegues.

-Third period beings with my second U.S. History class. Five absences. Silent reading for the first 15 minutes of class and I nose into The Stand by Steven King. I haven't read it in years and I find it engrossing. Silent reading ends and we do the quiz. Again, low perfection but better overall grades. News and a couple of questions, timeline and U.S. colonizaton. Again, good questions and good discussion. The bell rings and they are out of there.

-I head outside and watch students mill about. The bell rings and I head inside for International Studies, who immediately start a vocab quiz. Only one absence, and since today is Club's Day (Club's have boothes to make money during lunch), that's great. We grade immediately and the grades are much better than the first one. News and many more questions. We are beginning to discuss the United Nations and I prompt with a seven minute video of Ali G during his schtict at the the U.N. It's funny and the kids get a kick out of it. We then discuss the main premise of the of the U.N. and the conflicts with national interest. We end with discussion of what Model U.N. is and a preface of Stanford MUN. Interest is high. Note, a student added today to bring my International Studies numbers to 30. That is very good news. Students are respectful, but ancy to leave for Club's Day at the end of the period. The bell sends them off and I head to the communial area for lunch.

-Actually, I head out to the quad and buy a cookie from the International Club, who promptlly raze me for not buying more (all in good fun). I head back to the building and eat while checking my e-mail on my iPhone. Another teacher comes in and we talk about the weekend. Then another teacher comes in and joins in. A fourth comes in and brings up politics. We have a serious disagreement and lunch ends on that disagreement.

-Fifth period begins the third U.S. History class. 10 people are absent at the beginning. I beginning the quiz and four come straggling in during the quiz. We grade it and the grades are the best of the day. News and U.S. colonization power point. With 15 minutes left in the period, the kids are giggley and pretty rambunctious. Club's Day has worn some people out, a football game is tonight, it's Friday, and Homecoming is now becoming steadfast in people's minds. The kids are actually fairly respectful with only a slight exception and I end the discussion about 3 minutes early. I let them go about a minute early. Sue me. The kids were great for a vast majority of the period on a day when they have been given a half dozen distractions.

-My prep is sixth. I head on over to the admin building and chat with office personel, make some copies, and have a meeting with an admin about my teacher evaluation later this semester. After about 20 minutes I'm back in my classroom. I turn on the podcast of the KNBR Gary Radnich/Tony Bruno face-off and start creating my agenda for next week.

-I start updating my AP Comp Gov Engrade calendar for next week. I become interested in finding a command economy-to-market economy video and find a Frontline World video on the evolution of capitalism in Russia. I watch it and create question for next week. I finish the calender and start grading student blogs posts. Some are good, others need work. The varsity coach comes in and we discuss the forthcoming year, including our concerns about funding.

-At around 3 p.m., the teacher that disagreed with my about politics at lunch comes in and we talk more politics for about 15 minutes. We disagree again.

-After grading blog posts, I check my role sheets and add/delete students onto the online Engrade system. Then I add some assignment grades to the gradebook and add information to the white board agenda in the classroom. Finally I search for music and cartoon prompts for next week.

-Before I head out the door, I grab Lies My Teacher Told Me, Legends-Lies-Cherished Myths of American History, and A People's History of the United States. I want to find some stories to give to the my U.S. History kids next week. I then pack away two Choices Series lessons; one on Manifest Destiny, and one on the United Nations. I leave school at 4:30 and listen to my MP3 player on the short drive home.

-I get home and update the new firmware on my iPhone, which makes a huge difference in 3G signal strengh. I then download a bunch of podcasts which consist of Fantasy Football and wine lovers shows.

-Wife gets home and we talk and start dinner. We both make dinner and chat about the day. In the background is the ESPN Fantasy Football podcast. I'm lucky, my wife knows my fantasy players and we chat about something other than work.

-Dinner is fajitas and we talk about work during the meal. Afterwords we watch mindless Tivo'ed shows and sip wine. She heads to bed early and I read The Stand in the bathtub, trying to get the day out of my head. After the bath I watch the Giants beat the Padres, switch to Houston Hurricane Ike coverage, and blog to you.

As you can tell, the day is still in my head.

New assembly, same message, nice guy.......except for the video game thing

2008-09-10T21:03:00.001-07:00

I swear to God that there must be some formula for safe schools, anti-bullying, be nice assemblies. On my eighth year of teaching, I've seen some rather odd people come in and give messages that are supposed to get through to kids, but usually only last a few days. MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Drivers) brought in a huge video program that was pretty to look at and trendy, but it was pretty flat with the message. A couple of years ago the school went through Every 15 Minutes, which is the controversial program that recreates a fatal car accident, but the message was didn't seem to hit home at all. Last year it was Rachel's Challenge and the massacre at Columbine. Students were so depressed that they couldn't wait to get out and get a wiff of fresh air and sunshine. Then there are the stand-up guys. Men and women who use a comedic routine to pass along a message. In one moment they hold the attention of students, and then pass a valuable message that kids listen to and internalize. I've seen a couple pass through the school, and yesterday's Mike Pritchard was one of them.

I have to admit, the guy is actually pretty funny. His sound effects and family anecdotes are a nice touch to a subject that can easily get depressing. Mike definitely had the attention of the kids and successfully got his message across. But the always present question is whether or not it is actually going to be effective. And is it worth class time to listen to.

I don't like assemblies. I find it kind of ironic that we need to cut down instruction time while under pressure from a society that seems to be screaming for better test scores to simply attend a meeting where the message is constantly, "be nice". Fine, so the time cut is minimal in the grand scope of things. However, we need to include the time to debrief the students (teenagers love to talk about it on the day of), or in the case of an event like Every 15 Minutes, it could take a week to get over all the emotional stirrings and class disruptions. My question would be this; can't an atmosphere that is consistent and professional actually help solve a lot of these problems? If every teacher brought forth an air of professionalism, explaining that the school is an institution where in everyone will be afforded respect, then the problems would be less likely to happen because the environment is less conducive for that to happen. Of course, maybe I'm being naive. Or maybe having a single person address 800 kids for 35 minutes and expecting results is naive. At least he was funny.

Oh, and stop with the crap about video games creating murderers. The students in my classes, almost unanimously, agreed that the idea that kids that play violent video games are more likely to go kill someone is starting to get tired. I agree. Having cut my teeth on Duck Hunt, I moved on to Wolfenstein, Doom, Duke Nuke'em, Quake, Unreal, and yes, I've played Grand Theft Auto since it first came out on PC's (I just can't pass Vice City yet on PS2). Yes, they are all violent video games. No, I'm not a person that thinks it's ok to go around the neighborhood car jacking people and hitting prostitutes with batons. Are there people that might think like that? Sure. Is it the fault of the video game? Are you kidding? Here's a little statistic for you:

Yes, that is about the time video games became super popular, you know, when violent crime went down. Still not impressed?

That would be the statistics for juvenile arrests due to homicide. Looks a lot lower than the "pre-video game" days.

The Election

2008-09-07T22:00:00.001-07:00

I've been trying to get an idea of what my students are feeling in terms of the two tickets for President of the United States. Believe it or not, many students watched both Obama's speech and Sarah Palin's speech, with lower numbers watching either Biden or McCain, and almost no one watching the other speeches. The results are interesting, although not totally surprising.

Barack Obama's speech got the most reaction from the students. Not much of a surprise there. Most were impressed by his ability to give a speech, though some were not really sure about the ideas of "change". Apparently Obama did not give enough detail to answer the question about "change". Biden was considered "boring" by almost everyone I talked to. Sarah Palin was watched by the most students, but almost all of them had no clue about what she stood for. They all stated that it was about Palin, but didn't address issues at all. Most of the same was said about John McCain, who gathered some respect by the students who watched the speech, but was left with the same questions about issues. I'm guessing that Obama's energy and McCain's party affiliation will make students gravitate towards Barack Obama, and we'll find that out during our mock election on Election Day.

My thoughts are that if you read into the voting records of both candidates, you will find that both lie their asses off about a variety of issues. Barack Obama has yet to take on any real cause at all since entering the Federal government, and one needs to question whether or not he really has a clue about taking a definitive stand on anything. John McCain's message about alternative energy is so contrived that it is slowly making me lose much respect for the man. He's voted against alternative energy so many times that he might as well park the bus outside of the Chevron headquarters in San Ramon and ask for donations. Joe Biden might be the most sensible candidate in the bunch because he'll freely admit that he's a loud mouth, and I like that. Sarah Palin is not only a joke, but a frightening joke. It's a sign that the Republican Party has not accepted the idea that the country is more moderate and instead tries to side-slip that fact by inserting a young woman on the ticket that many of my students think is do-able. I follow politics like crazy, and the first thing out of my mouth was "Who!?!?!" when she was selected.

The Democratic Convention was a contentious affair that was more about the Clinton's than Obama, although his speech was by far the best out of both conventions. Still, all the back room talk was that the Hillary supporters are still pissed at Barack, and the Barack supporters are pissed that the Hillary supporters are pissed. Not good if you want a unified front. The Republican Convention was something out of the mid-1980's. I have to think that Joe Lieberman is looking back at his choice and saying, "I didn't sign up for this". After watching Romney and Huckabee, I was beginning to think that the Republican Party had officially lost it's mind. Every time I heard "Drill, baby, drill", I shook my head in disappointment as the party of strength turned into the party of denial. It has not been a good start for political parties.

I haven't decided who to vote for yet.

It's the energy, stupid.

2008-09-07T16:12:00.001-07:00

The amount of energy and resources that I used in the first two weeks is pretty staggering. But based on the reaction I've received from the A-building and kids, it seems like the energy expended has been worth it. The classes are all going smoothly with minimal classroom management issues and lots of critical thinking going on. I've also got a nice idea about the overall atmosphere of each class as an independent entity. I have good energy in most classes, a flat energy in one, and one class that could prove a little challenging as the year goes on.

Most of the success comes down to the energy that I'm bringing to the classroom. I've really limited the sarcasm that I bring to the environment, especially to the Juniors who have heard that I'm tough. I've replaced it with a lot of smiles and a lot of positive reinforcement, although I'm still quick the discipline when necessary. On Thursday I gave my first referral to a student that I caught texting in class. The reaction that the student gave reaffirmed the referral and I think it sent the message that I mean what I say. That referral has been the only real problem so far.

My new attendance policy (no consequence for slight lateness, start quiz when bell rings) has worked very well. The antagonism of 20 second tardies is not present, and the students that end up showing later are paying for it by missing assignments. They are also usually the one's that won't take the time to do make-up work, which makes it easy to justify grades when mom and dad call and ask about their kid failing the class. My attendance overall is pretty good, although I'm amazed that I'm already getting requests for Short Term Independent Study for kids going on vacation. Note to those parents that actually think API and AYP mean something, neither category takes into account the fact that parents take kids out of school for weeks at a time for vacation. And the second biggest month for parent-driven vacations is May, the month of the STAR test.

I'm also working on me. I'm working on taking very little work home with me to keep the batteries recharged for a longer period during the year. I had to grade some papers today and worked on a power point earlier in the week, but most of my work is being done at school, even if I have to stay late.

So I would give high marks for the start of the year, and the question is about the energy, whether or not I can keep it up.

Java for teacher?

2008-08-26T17:59:00.001-07:00

Money Saving Mom got wind of an item that gives away free coffee to teachers.

Kick off the new school year at Starbucks. Stop by each Monday now through September 29 and receive a tall cup of Pike Place Roast ™, on us. Just present a valid K-12 teaching credential and the coffee’s our treat. It’s a little recognition for everything you do.

Apparently the deal starts on September 8th, and is only valid regionally, so check with your local Starbucks if you want a cup. Also, I'd like to make two observations;

1. A teaching credential? I'm hoping that my NEA membership card will be good enough because I'm not digging into the file cabinet for Pike's Place Roast. Sumatra? Maybe. But not the cheap stuff.

2. Which brings me to the Pike's Place Roast. As a once frequent buyer of the coffee nectar, I'm pretty irritated that the only consistent roast is a weak blend that has little flavor and was created to draw in the McDonald's crowd. Right now it is the ONLY decaf choice, and the only choice of coffee at all in the afternoon. What happened to the Starbucks "experience"?

Musings of the second day of the year

2008-08-26T17:33:00.000-07:00

I'm back at it and it's fun again.

When it comes down to it, students really do make teaching fun, and new teachers need to realize that while it is easy to let the less-than-10%-downer-group get you down, it's the rest of them that really need your attention. What's the days been like?

-The energy is pretty good in all classes but one, and that class just seems to be waiting to see if I'm for real.

-The topic of Georgia and Russia came up in almost every class (we watch the news). I ended up taking 10 minutes to talk about it later in the day, and stumbled right into an example of federalism. It was not only a great teachable moment (students were asking good questions), but I made a wonderful connection with a political theory that kids struggle with. Oh, and there was a little of that Cold War thing.

-I have a Smart Board in class now. I bought a new laptop over the summer for school and hooked it up. My, my, my is that a pretty device. Going from browser to picture to video is now an instant breeze. Was a pain to set up, but worth it when it works.

-One thing that I need to stop doing is that expectation that Juniors already know parts of U.S. History when I talk about issues. I've been teaching Seniors for so long that with Juniors I say some event and get looks of "huh?", when I used to get slight nods of recognition. Different clientele means that I need to tone it back a little bit, which is fine but takes some getting used to.

My goal of not working at home this year is not working at all. I'm already preparing a power point about Colonial vocabulary words at night watching Giants games.