Countering Counter Culture: Theories and Ideas by Irv

Chicago Teachers Strike: Ted's Ed Plan

2012-09-12T09:40:00.002-07:00

A few days ago the news broke on the teachers union strike in the city of Chicago. I've read and watched on TV several different approaches to this story. Some have declared it is all about money. Chicago teachers want more and more money. Other reports, such as USA Today, report that its more about testing. Regardless of the media coverage it has become very evident that the entire U.S. education system is in need of an over-haul. All sides are partly correct. Below I outline exactly what will make our educational system competitive and functional.

Ted's Plan for the U.S. Educational System

MILITARY BASED UNIFORMS
Yes. I said it. "Military". "Uniforms". Words that most associate with a reduction in freedom, or communism. Under my plan, all grade levels will wear the uniforms of one of the branches of the United States military.

9th Grade = Army
10th Grade = Marines
11th Grade = Navy
12th Grade = Air Force

This is all about discipline. As a former teacher of 14 years in an inner-city, and what I call a Suburban-Inner City school, I can tell you that the behavior of our children, especially middle and high school, is close to barbaric at times. Blow jobs in broad daylight, on school grounds, neighborhood fights, gang fights, assaults upon teachers, vandalism, and much more. These are daily occurrences that get swept under the rug by administrators. We have to get control of our youth. Leaders can not expect teachers to prepare students to pass difficult exams, to be Einsteins (will explain later) and forced mathematicians and scientists with chaotic behavior. Despite inappropriate relationships by teachers with students, the arrest rate and violent, incivil behavior is at an all time high and eclipses our so-called, "bully," problem. Uniforms help to discipline. Removing popular culture in the form of clothing is a teachers aid. Plus we need to send a strong message to children and teens that adults are in control and as students they are there to learn, not engage in chaos. The costs would be low, but this is also another form of funding for our military. And the fun is not removed from school. There will still be prom, homecoming, games, etc. Students can even earn rewards during their senior year that allow them to wear jeans, t-shirts, etc. The gate-keeping for this form of school control must encompass a strong system of non-recruitment. Students are not recruited for the military. These are just uniforms. Teachers don't have to be former military and students don't have to join the campus JROTC.

Student behavior is the number one impediment to learning in the school environment. The non-teaching American see's teachers as complainer's, whiners for more money, yet these individuals receive no administrative support from student threats, violent acts and incivility.
(see HBO - Hard Times At Douglas High) For many teachers and students, the classroom and school environment and culture is hell. And many politicians and administrators have the nerve to say, "well you just need to get tougher." LOL, LMAO, REALLY?!!! And when that teacher gets tough, even defends him or herself, they are then put on suspension or fired. The entire system is not just flawed, its a joke. No other industry operates where employees and management physically fight, yell at each other and curse each other out every single day. Name me one company where managers are threatened by employees constantly and that employee is allowed to come back within 30 minutes, with no consequences? Why should a person who wants to teach have to work in that environment and why should they be the scapegoat for the solutions to altering that environment when they are not given the support or tools then reprimanded when attempting to do so?

CTE AS CORE CURRICULUM
Career and Technology Education has to become the primary focus of all schools including elementary and middle-school. The 3 R's; Reading, Writing and Arithmetic are always the foundation of learning, however these 3 R's must be merged into a universal system under CTE. Every school should be a magnet or academy school, offering various hi-tech to low-tech programs. And these programs can be operated and modified depending on district size. Readers should recognize the immediate impact these approaches have that I'll state now. Early exposure to the unknown, to the out-of-the-box, will almost totally remove many of the long held blockades to educational success such as, "Being smart means acting white." Why? These activities open the mind. They allow for a diverse background. And kids will grow up with these experiences so that by the end of their senior year in high school they view math, science, history and english as second nature. Under my plans teachers are no longer called teachers, but lab technicians. More on that later. I recommend two approaches: The Experiences Track and the Long Form Certification Track. Ugly names but good. Both programs are supported by federal Perkins funding, two local business, two local non-profits and school taxes.

THE EXPERIENCES TRACK
Every child should have deep and strong exposure to technology, science, the arts and much more, beginning in kindergarten. However, it needs to be relative. The Experiences track is where students, beginning with kindergarten, participate in a unique experience that is beyond what American students normally participate in, that leads to a broader mindset (see HBO - Little Rock Central: 50 Years Later). For example; Each school year has a fall and a spring semester. The fall semester is the visualization stage and the spring is the experience stage. The CTE program in this example is scuba diving. All freshmen in this senior class are learning scuba diving and must take the multiple classes where they learn about marine biology and all the concepts, such as Charles Law, Henry's Law, and others. In addition, they learn how math and scuba diving are related through ideas such as depth, pressure and differences in the U.S. measurement system and the metric system. Scuba Diving exposes them to planning, budgets, chemistry, physics, math and much more. All of this is put into practice at the district natatorium, local community pools and high school pools.

So what happens in the spring? This is the experience session. All through the spring the students actually go on diving trips. The put into practice what they have learned. Hands-on experience. Doing and applying. This is just one example. The experiences program is about this type of learning happening every school year from kindergarten until graduation and it is a part of the overall school/district curriculum. That curriculum includes all the three R's as well as team building, planning, manufacturing, distribution, and exhibition with exposure to the various careers that can be obtained with scuba training. Furthermore, students will obtain the opportunity to become certified upon graduation. Here is a listing of what a childs Experience Program would resemble from kindergarten to high school. These are just ideas or suggestions for programs.

Kindergarten - Still and Video Production
First Grade - Robotics
Second Grade - Fishing
Third Grade - Camping & hiking
Fourth Grade - Web page design
Fifth Grade - Archery
Sixth Grade - Carpentry
Seventh Grade - Plumbing
Eighth Grade - Electronics and solar panels
Ninth Grade - mobile app development
Tenth Grade - Scuba diving
Eleventh Grade - Equestrian
Twelfth Grade - Kite building

LONG FORM CERTIFICATION TRACK
The only difference between this approach and the Experiences Track is that the Long Form Certification is a program that follows each class from kindergarten to the end of their high school senior year. An example is Book Publishing. Beginning with kindergarten, students are provided DSLR cameras. They learn how to load their cards into the cameras, turn it on, take photos, etc. The basics. Each student will use computer programs to put their photos in a photo album. The students are then guided by their instructor on how to layout the photos, upload the final to a service like BookBlurb or Apple iPhoto so their parents can buy the final product, a coffee table book. Each grade the number of photos decreases and the writing increases. Yet for every year, they are still uploading and having their final product published. It will then become a graduation requirement that those in the Book Publishing track must have a 100 page novel published. What are students learning? Pre-Visualization, planning, development, creating drafts, taking photos, using Photoshop, managing an online store and configuring prices, tax, manufacturing, distribution, marketing, and exhibition. On the middle school level all students are participants in the making of the yearbook. All of the photos are taken by them. All of the written content is their work. On the high school level, all of the novels are sold using the Amazon.com online self -selling tool, CreateSpace.com. Partial proceeds go back into the schools campus operating budget and the remainder is kept by the students and placed into a college, military or family medical fund. Even and IRA.

School district will be allowed to provide a variety of Long Form and Experiences Programs on their campuses. This is about re-invention. And teachers won't be teachers, but lab technicians. Under my plan every teacher will have a degree in a non-teaching field. They have to have or be working in that field. They must minor in teaching. Imagine long form mobile app programs where students graduate and have eleven or more app development credits. Imagine a bicycle engineering program where graduating seniors have a resume detailing the bikes they designed since first grade and how each year their designs were on showcase and sold and places like Wal-Mart and many mom and pop bike shops. These programs are about re-programming. Imagine not having African-American and Hispanic kids with tunnel vision solely focused on sports and music careers or seeing prison and dropping out as legitimate roles in life. When you crush those very negative mindsets you then have a stronger test taker. A stronger academically prepared student. A prime example of this program that is already in place, but was destroyed by the economic downturn is the Texas mandate called Achieve Texas.

My plan is close to the Japanese Academic and Non-Academic route, but I focus on the merging of the two. Politicians, consultants, post secondary educators and popular culture...all have caused the collapse of education in America. All but the popular culture have worked to force every American child to go to college. They want everyone to be Einstein. They want all to be great math specialists. Impossible. Not everyone is up for that rigor. With the Bush No-Child-Left-Behind approach, I watched elementary school parents and children cry because they were told their child couldn't go on to middle school because they didn't meet the standard of the state wide math test or science test. That is ridiculous. We are adding to the drop out rate with that approach. These same kids, who may not perform well at all on standardized tests, are excellent in performing the tasks they have learned in a CTE class. They can demonstrate how to repair a segment of a car motor. They can demonstrate how to create hi-end special effects for video production. The infrastructure of our country needs welders, carpenters, masons, electricians, a/c repairmen, etc. If you are stuck in the desert of Death Valley, because your car failed, who do you want repairing your vehicle; Dr. John Doe with 8 degrees in philosophy and a genius in qualitative analysis or Mack Doe who is a multi-year certified mechanic? We are facing a lack of common sense among the ranks of politicians, educators and consultants. They are a major threat to our system and they had been since the federalization of American education after the launch of the Russian Sputnik in the late 1950's.

Both programs are funded by the businesses, religious groups, and non-profits. Think of it as adopting a class. Those entities follow those kids from kindergarten to 12th grade graduation. Of course there are incentives from the government.

TEACHER AND STUDENT SECURITY
I'll start with the safety of students. In particular, I'll focus on the rise in the abuse of students physically and sexually at the hands of teachers. This is not acceptable. The crime of teachers having sex with their students should increase and life time bans should be nation-wide. But in terms of behavior, the teacher is always wrong in this situation, yet we need penalties for these students that, "come-on," to teachers. Adults aren't the only sexual predators. There are many students, especially in high school, who see someone they want and they pursue that person whether they are a teacher or not. Teens that are sexually active must be held accountable for their bad behavior sexually as much as the manipulative teacher.

In terms of abuse towards teachers, I am recommending we institute a Security Risk Management Certification. K12 educators already have legal aid, which on average is around eight dollars per check, that provides up to a million dollars of legal protection in the case of a lawsuit. But what I recommend is that teachers that take part and become certified in Security Risk Management training that protects them from being outright fired or put on suspension for defending themselves against violent students. That training includes martial-arts and law enforcement take downs plus restraint as well as vocal techniques for calming potentially violent students. Teachers will also have the legal support to engage in coordinated take-downs with campus law enforcement without the fear of lawsuits. As a teacher today YOU ARE NOT SECURITY! A teacher can not put their hands on a child or student who is engaged in a fight or altercation with another student or with the teacher. As insane as it sounds, you can't do it. The reason we have so many poor performing teachers is morale. Many went into the business to make a difference, but the kids beat them down daily. Just look at all the stories online and on the news about bus drivers being mistreated. Kids today are a big handful. They are not Leave It To Beaver kids. I apply this same Risk Management to bus drivers. Most of this behavior in the schools is kept under wraps by the administration. Most work to keep these incidents out of the press.

CONCLUSION
I believe I have some solid ideas and plans for our educational system. However, if the same destructive pattern continues, we will not have schools in the future. An American child will wake up each morning, turn on their HD TV with Wi-Fi, log into their school districts online courses and take classes via pre-recorded or live video. They will submit assignments and homework to a bucket, hit send. There will be no physical contact with a teacher and in some cases a teacher will be replaced by, not just a pre-recorded video, but an automated or artificial intelligence robot. These TV sets will have Xbox Kinect like technology that will allow the live teacher or artificial intelligence (AI) monitor the students performance, answer questions and survey their movements during physical education time. Tax payer dollars will cover the administration building and previously built schools will be sold and used for malls, corporate headquarters for businesses, country clubs, etc. No more contact with teachers. No more gang fights on school property. No more blow jobs in hallways and outside the school. No more investments in police, principals, sporting facilities. All gone.

I'm a believer in Horace Mann who believe in academics for all; rural, urban, all backgrounds and ethnicity. It just makes for a better, well rounded citizen. But not this insanity.

The never exposed wild happenings in high school

2011-12-14T09:06:00.000-08:00

COMING SOON!...Two very controversial topics

First _The never exposed wild happenings in high school & teaching bad black kids.
This article will spotlight & discuss some of the most interesting events while I was a high school teacher:
1 - oral sex by students in broad daylight
2 - intercourse during the school day, in a boys restroom
3 - poisonous snake brought to school and thrown on students
4 - student brings a gun to school. Showcases it on the bus
5 - lesbian gang fights in the restrooms
6 - food fights with urine filled powerade bottles
7 - kids threatening teachers
8 - cursing in the hallways, in class & around adults
9 - neighborhood rivalries ending in fights
10 - the roamers

Second_Teaching Black Kids is hard. Is that Racist?
I'll examine behavior & learning issues coupled with teacher frustrations with this under the rug discussion.Can only a black teacher teach black kids and what happens when a teacher of another race vocalizes behavior specific to black students?

Reboot: College is a SCAM!

2011-12-02T08:13:00.001-08:00

This is a response to my previous report on colleges being somewhat, a scam. So, I thought I would calm down, study, and reflect upon this issue. Let's go back to the early days of education. All the way back to Timbuktu, Asia and the Greeks to answer the question...What is Higher Education?

   Currently, an associates, bachelors, masters and doctoral degrees are milestones that modern society has deemed as indicators of success as well as entry tickets to life-long careers. Yet there is no guarantee. The thinking is, if an individual makes an investment, financially, physically and mentally, into the pursuit of higher education, that it will result in employment. An idea that isn't perfect, but has worked pretty well for quite some time, especially in the west.
   It has come to my attention, after deep thought, that there are two ways to approach graduating from college. First, being great at time management is all you need, in my opinion, to make it through college and graduate. Can you turn your work in on time? Can you network effectively? Can you enjoy the social licorice that is available while just passing? If you can do those things, which most have, then you will obtain the prize of a degree. You may not have the highest GPA, but you will get out. However, the second approach is embracing the very foundation of the purpose of college, which is a principle theme of the ancient Greeks, Confucius and even biblical text; Intellectualism through the pursuit of knowledge.
   The embracing of information beyond the simplistic, that challenges your ethical and moral positions, is a safe definition for intellectualism. Learning as much as you can, and applying that knowledge intellectually should, over time, bring you to a state of wisdom. The essence and goal of every college is to prepare graduates for THINKING. Can you think, contemplate, analyze, critique, intellectualize? Early students who sought intellectualism embraced history, anthropology, mysteries of the planet, religion, biology, math and much more. Many have debated the existence of an Egyptian Mystery System, yet despite the findings, many agree that the Mystery System was a methodical pledge process whereby initiates absorbed 360 degrees of knowledge; math, science, biology, philosophy, medicine, God, etc. Today, we have found that no one person can be a master of 360 degrees of knowledge. There are very few who can excel or become geniuses in math, science, and other areas of academia all at once, but this is extremely rare. But the pursuit of knowledge beyond one's ethnicity, birthplace and gender is critical to interpersonal communication, nation building and advancement of the species.
   Contemplate these two statements; Mathew 6:33, English Revised Version, "But seek ye first his kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you," and, The Ancient Greek aphorism "Know thyself." For many, the first saying simply means that in order to meet and acquire God, a person must seek him through the acquisition of information and to learn from what they have acquired to improve their lives and the lives of those around them. And the second, for many, represents a deep and personal journey of discovery through historical studies and opening themselves to exploring the unknown in order to understand the self. Ideas similar to these have been the backbone of human discovery and achievement. The desire to know the origins, function and impact of lifeforms, races and cultures has led to an almost planet-wide collective consciousness. Despite how I have romanticized intellectualism, what is it's place in American institutions of higher learning?
   I believe Emerson and Thoreau would be highly critical of my writing style but would enjoy the content of the discussion. Intellectualism, in America, could probably be characterized as something reserved for unique portions of the American collective; the wealthy, politicians and educators. During slavery, the post industrialization period, it was irrelevant whether or not every man, woman and child were educated. Obtaining a skill was by far the primary goal. But by the late 1920's the country's position on education evolved to a philosophy that all men, women and children should be exposed to the arts, sciences, math, and religion. That is very important, especially in our highly technical society, which requires serious critical thinkers who respect various disciplines.
   Graduates today that decide early on to embrace the intellectual side of college benefit from their experience and degree far more, in my opinion, and in many cases, than those that followed an automaton experience of just meeting deadlines, being on time...basically going with the motions. The intellectual embracing student is well-rounded. They can hold and sustain a discussion with anyone coming from a different career field, country or ethnic background. These well-rounded, intelligent students can use their inference skills, as an example, to discuss issues relating to micro-biology without majoring in it, due to being well read, continuing to read above-and-beyond the call of duty and staying informed of current events. The well-rounded, intellectual student should be the goal of K12 and post secondary education.

Sputnik 1

   1957. Sputnik was launched by the Russians. This is the beginning period of forced intellectualism in U.S. education for both K12 and the post-secondary level. Due to fears of a Russian invasion and take over due to the perception that they were a much more advanced country technologically, sparked American leaders at the time to focus on the nurturing, and development of future scientists to keep our country ahead of all others. The federalization of secondary education resulted in massive government investments in secondary school systems, overhauls of curriculum and the implementation of rigor beyond what had been seen before. The pacing and focus has dramatically shifted to an environment of high-stakes, hyper testing today. The Einstein-ing of American children. The overwhelming desire to make every child another Einstein involves higher, but very unrealistic expectations, beginning on the elementary level through graduation from the senior class. The result is increased cheating on standardized tests, an increased drop out rate which is close to 48% nationally, poor retention of educators and a shortage of educators nationally, coupled with a bombardment of consultants and illogical legislative mandates by politicians.
   How has this affected the primary focus of the university and intellectualism? Is my assertion correct that colleges and a college education is a SCAM? Every university in the U.S. has complained that students can not write. They have all examined and studied why the graduation rates of many of the various ethnic groups are so low. Enrollment is high, but retention and graduation is fleeting for many. The current generation, texters, are viewing college as too expensive and a waste of time compared to the pursuits of athletic, music and entertainment careers. There is a large collective push against intellectualism. It's origins beginning with popular culture; music, TV, radio, the internet. There are anecdotal cases all across the country of kids arguing with teachers on the K12 level about, "being smart," and intelligence. I can remember teaching a media production class and using the word, "plethora." A complaining student then stated, "you didn't have to use that big word. You could have just said A-lot." And of course I agreed, but I also stated, "school is an environment of intellectualism and all of use should be using our larger, more advanced vocablulary, when in an academic setting."

Acquiring knowledge and going to college. This can be difficult for young people when school is looked down upon. Our culture creates terms like, "nerd," and, "dork," to describe those who are smart. Our entertainment culture, movies specifically, add to this denigration; Animal House, American Pie, etc. And the behavior of children in secondary school is so appalling. Those are the students enrolling and applying to colleges, acquiring large college loans, spending a large amount of their personal income, only to never graduate.
   The SCAM factor comes into play because society pushes a college education to a generation(s) that is becoming more and more resistant to it. And there are no jobs, coupled with rising tuition and fees that don't appear to be receeding. Paying someone to make you a better thinker sounds good, to us intellectuals, but should it cost, in many cases, over $9,000 a semester? And that's cheap! Many colleges & universities don't even have faculty that have ever physically worked in the fields they teach in. They can provide the intellectual foundation, but not the hands-on, real world experience that is sorely needed in this hi-tech era. How can schools justify charging so much for students to be taught by those who think only theoretically and can only engage in research? And despite these radical changes in our populations approach the university systems trend is to invest millions in the hiring of those with PhD.'s for research in order to sell books to students and generate income. Example-If I want to be an actual Forensic Pathologist for a police department, can a PhD that worked their entire career in theory, and never for a police department as a forensic pathologist, truly prepare me for working in the field? Shouldn't I be working under an instructor with over 20 or 30 years of field experience who may only have a bachelors or masters? Or a mix of both? Where is the balance? The madness for many universities is that they don't even seek parity or a balance of research doctorates and industry veterans. Many schools are outfitting their entire departments with research doctorates. All I can say to that is...SCAM.
   To conclude. Intellectualism and hands-on training. Good for the mind. Good for the country. Great combination. But intellectualism and knowledge by itself is not enough on a planet where technology is king and the future publicans can't afford or see the benefit of paying for it.

College is a SCAM!!

2011-11-09T09:27:00.000-08:00

Here is my take on college...a scam. Ok, not entirely. I have a BFA and an MA and I made them work for me. No regrets. However, since 1994 I've had a dual career in television production and K12 CTE education. Because of that, I've partnered with local universities in the Houston, TX area and some in other states. I can only speak of my area, Mass Communications/Radio/TV & Film. Small to mid-sized colleges appear to be, "ripping-off," students. I've seen apathetic conditions with no outcry. What are those? Small to mid-sized and some large universities, despite the economic downturn, are experts and geniuses and acquiring funding. Once they get the funds they put in marvelous and spectacular broadcasting and film production facilities.

What is laughable and a crime is that the trend for post-secondary grants and private sector funds never goes toward hiring. And I mean hiring professionals who have worked in TV and film that can actually teach the students. I can't tell you how many of my students from high school, where I was the director of an advanced media program, are dissapointed with their college because they were sold on the eye-candy, but once they arrived on campus they received a rude awakening...NONE OF THEIR PROFESSORS EVER WORKED IN TV OR FILM! LOL WTH?! And most universities justify this. A kid coming out of a high school media program is light years away from the professors teaching them. It is absurd. Laughable even. Until you realize students are spending hard earned monies to attend schools where they are only learning by using YouTube training videos. Many never get past their high school knowledge level (in their major).

The current U.S. system of colleges is blindly focused on hiring mostly PhD's for research, but that severely harms your hybrid areas of academia such as TV and film production that falls into the area of trade as well as academia. A friend of mine is a PhD at the University of Nebraska and he admits this flaw, yet most of his colleagues are aware of it and also aware that the schools are light years behind in their thinking. These days a college grad needs theory and hands on, applied science, practical training and knowledge. The combination of Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Dubois.

Finally, why won't schools hire professionals with the skills and at least a Bachelors? Tenure. Those professors that are tenured would raise a massive stink if a filmmaker was brought in with the skillset and paid a comparable salary. Of course this works in California, home of Hollywood. But everywhere else...forget it! This is when civil disobedience is needed. Students should be complaining like crazy that they are not learning. Even staging sit-ins. They are wasting their money and time. But the, "protest," mind of our collective has been diminished and most of us in the states operate as cattle.

Ted A. Irving, M.A.
Sam Houston State University Alumni Board of Directors
Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.
Houston Fulbright Association
2002 Hightower HS Teacher of the Year
2003 Houston ABSE 2ndary Teacher of the Year
Former NAACP Gloster B. Current Leadership Award Winner
2002 Texas Regional Emmy Award Winner
2006 Japan Fulbright Memorial Fund Teacher

My message to Bloomberg Businessweek in response to their Education Fix. Issue Oct 17-23, 2011

2011-10-26T23:00:00.001-07:00

No disrespect to Bloomberg or its education panel, but this country has to move away from always seeking the corporate and national association directors for answers to the education plight. Corporations are a part of the solution, but not the answer to determining why our schools are failing. Why did your magazine not seek out real teachers and administrators in the trenches for responses? Instead you chose distant higher ups to add to the blame-game on the wounded profession. When was the last time either of them (the suits) were in a class room? It's like pulling together a team of farmers to consult and pontificate on the decline of journalism. What?! For real information, besides talking to teachers, you need a three year investigation done by strapping wireless microphones and hidden cameras on the body of those you interviewed (Fix This Response: Education) while working as substitutes to document charter, private, and public schools from all ethnic areas and economic demographics, for a three year period . Or try to accept and digest what I have to say.

Discipline, behavior problems, hyper-high stakes testing, and the power of popular culture are the major forces behind the failure of American schools. Stop blaming the failure on poor teaching. Why do you think there is a shortage of teachers as well as low retention. People can only take so much and the school environment is atrocious. The average teacher these days stays in the field 3 to 5 years. That is a turn-over rate close to the fast food sector. Yet, most in society are blind to this phenomenon or either don't care. Our government, and this is no surprise, has no vision for education, nor do education administrators. We are relying upon politicians and educational consultants to guide the industry. As a former teacher of 14 years, I had to get out! It's abysmal and my sentiment is not just anecdotal. What I"m talking about is rampant throughout the country.

First, behavior is so bad it's a national embarrassment. How many of the executives on this Education Panel by Bloomberg go to work and have to be cursed out by employees (students), chase employees wandering hallways, bust employes having sex and others videotaping it with cell phones, break up gang/neighborhood click fights, report bathroom destruction, argue with kids about the need to learn, look over their shoulder as a way to prevent getting jumped by angry employees, etc. etc.? And when they do act, the administration threatens firing them. Hands tied! This is under the radar because teachers are afraid to speak out due to retaliation by students and administrators, and administrators are experts at covering up these issues to block lawsuits and being labeled racist. Corporate execs may have great solutions, but they are clueless as to the real happenings in schools.

Second, hyper-high stakes testing. Ludicrous. We need more financial support for CTE (Career & Technology Education) programs so that American children can graduate with a license or certification in a trade or technology along with their diploma. We have to stop pushing this, "Everyone must be Einstein & go to College," scam. This began in 1957 with the launch of the Russian Sputnik. That is when public schools became federalized out of fear and we still follow that false ideology. Our system of education has been great. Every man, woman and child, regardless of economic status and ethnicity can enjoy the intellectual stimuli from art, science and philosophy, but we have moved to far away from that, forcing students to think, "college."

How do we create a balance and bring back sanity? CTE (Career & Technology Education) programs need to be infused from elementary through high school. Example, remove all testing for English. Start every 1st grader with a digital camera and guide them on coffee table book creation. Let them document whatever, design a picture book or coffee table book using bookblurb or an equivalent. Have them use simple wording for that grade level. Then use book blurb, Apple's book publishing software iPhoto or Amazon.com/CreateSpace to publish the books and allow each kids family to manage the accounts and sell the books. This program must follow each kid, each grade level, and the written material must advance, until when they reach their senior year in high school when they know they must have their novel written and published to graduate. They will learn english, how to write, how to market, how to design graphics and how to distribute.Learning on the job. Learning how to become a producer first, then a consumer. The same can be applied to engineering, broadcasting ,etc. Start a bicycle engineering program that follows kids from elementary to high school so that by the time they graduate, they will have designed a light frame bike, trademarked it, got it copy written and even have a company partner work to get the bikes built. We are a visionless country that lacks the will to engage in innovation. As a collective our only course of action is to blindly follow politicians and consultants. Wow! Where are our 1st through 12th school districts with cell phone app development, marine biology, photovoltaic construction, etc.?

It's time to remove the government from all public schools and usher in an age of corporate partnership education. Give it a try. It has to be better than what we have now. And as painful as it seems, education can not compete against popular culture; prison culture, hip hop, music, etc. It is failing and a counter to the counter culture is needed fast so we can remove teachers from the public enemy list.

In the meantime, enjoy these PSA's I produced, shot and edited entitled, "The Countering Counter Culture PSA Series." This first series is aimed at the African-American collective.
PSA #1 - Reading is for White
PSA #2 - BANNED
PSA #3 - Acting Black
PSA #4 - The new black language. Rated R. Use headphones!!!

Ted A. Irving, M.A.
Sam Houston State University Alumni Board of Directors
Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.
Houston Fulbright Association
2002 Hightower HS Teacher of the Year
2003 Houston ABSE 2ndary Teacher of the Year
Former NAACP Gloster B. Current Leadership Award Winner
2002 Texas Regional Emmy Award Winner
2006 Japan Fulbright Memorial Fund Teacher

Academies: A new way of Teaching

2010-06-18T10:17:00.000-07:00

     In regard to the editorial, "Response to Report:HISD's degree path lagging," that appeared in the Chronicle's June 18th edition, educational leaders and politicians continue to follow an ideology that will render our educational system inert. Just examine these statements in the article and quotes such as, "districts need to set a higher bar than geting students to pass the state mandated TAKS test and focus on students taking more Advanced Placement & other higher-level courses..." and, "...the problem stems from school districts and teachers who are poorly trained." Has all common sense and vision been lost? Can our current highly-educated not see that teachers are not to blame? An agenda of forcing all children from kindergarten to 12th grade to operate as and become Einstein as well as have a love and passion for math and science is unrealistic in a country where American popular culture has more power and influence than the benefits of an education. Currently there is no counter to the existing counter culture of popular culture. Furthermore, teachers face daunting tasks while trying to motivate the young of America to pass standardized tests.

     Behavior is number one. Most citizens are clueless about the unimaginable negative behavior of our children that interrupts class time, learning and teacher retention. Teachers don't have an advocate or lobbyists that creates public service announcements that informs society of the interior issues of schools. Instead, teachers are on the public enemy list. This behavior problem that is nation-wide, along with drug use exists regardless of the ethnic makeup and it is being ignored. More attention by state leaders must be on parents and their children. Not teachers. 

     Secondly, to address the lack of vision, a person that stands in front of a class for 40 or 90 minutes and talks, must be challenged. The state of Texas' Achieve Texas program (www.achievetexas.org)is a step in the right direction. Requiring all high school graduates in the state to leave high school with a diploma and a license or certification in a trade is great. But this approach must be expanded to the elementary and middle school levels. Children should be taught by a teacher/lab technician within an academy program that provides them with an out-of-the-box experience...every year until they graduate from high school. Imagine an engineering program on the elementary level where children are building state-of-the-art bike frames made of light weight materials that the students actually ride! A robotics program, archery, scuba-diving, archaeology, etc. 

     Put these programs on the elementary level so that intellectualism, science & math returns as something exciting because students are experiencing it hands-on. And make these EXPERIENCES happen every year. The scuba-diving program; hands on training in the fall and an actual trip to the Caribbean where students actually dive! Combine that with an existing aquatics & marine biology curriculum and you have a powerful member of society with an incredible skill set who passes the standardized exam because he or she is used to the content from their start in kindergarten. Finally, America is 29th in science, 24th in math, our graduation rate places us at number 19, and the drop-out rate is the highest it has been since the early 1900's. And to quote a Nov 26, 2008 Mary Faler online article, "The root of the problem appears to be the values of today’s youth; celebrities are popular, MySpace rules discussions, and Weird Al sings about being “White and Nerdy”.

Ted A. Irving, M.A.
Sam Houston State University Alumni Board of Directors
Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.
Houston Fulbright Association
2002 Hightower HS Teacher of the Year
2003 Houston ABSE 2ndary Teacher of the Year
Former NAACP Gloster B. Current Leadership Award Winner
2002 Texas Regional Emmy Award Winner
2006 Japan Fulbright Memorial Fund Teacher

Questions on Education for Politicians

2010-06-12T20:07:00.000-07:00

Below this post was a list of questions for teacher unions. This post has some updated questions for politicians and education leaders in Texas. This was emailed in mass to quite a few lobbyists, politicians and educators, without any response of course. Take some time and review my questions below. Maybe you have some answers.
________________________________________________________
I've been teaching in Texas for 13 years. As a frustrated educator that feels like a member of the public enemy list and pressured to be a parent, counselor & savior of our youth, I have some serious questions for your role in the education system. I"ve placed some questions below. Can you please answer them to the best of your ability?

_________________________________________________________

1. Why have you not considered having the ACT or SAT companies proctor state-wide TAKS (now STARR) to prevent cheating and alleviate the pressures teachers face with the testing days? Standing all day long and under an FBI state-of-emergency response that causes extreme stress and the threat of job termination, is unacceptable and unfair to students. Teachers could choose either to sign on as proctors and be paid by ACT or SAT or districts could make them work as hall monitors or have teacher prep days. An alternative, give teachers the day off and use the funds that normally pay them that day to pay the ACT or SAT companies. In addition, why are state politicians & TEA not moving towards the state test to just be called, and become the SAT or ACT? Why reinvent the wheel? Is it not the goal of all teachers to prepare students for college (really life in America)? Re-Inventing the wheel seems to be a huge waste of time & funds.

2. What is the problem with a state policy requiring all politicians to serve as substitutes for one week in an inner-city school, suburban school, charter, private and a suburban/inner-city school? This would give them a much better focal point on the issues teachers face, especially behavior and the overwhelming paper work. It may give them a glimpse of parents cursing out teachers and administrators, student-on-student violence and student-on-teacher violence. Of course, politicians are never serious about having a vision that will benefit teachers. And of course, being a substitute for two days is beneath them and won't solve any issues. Pshaw.

3. Has there been a move for more law enforcement on school campuses? I believe all teachers would agree that they would stay on their jobs longer if the environment were more conducive to calm than chaos. This is not just an inner-city issue anymore but one that is happening in the suburban schools. 2 officers per every 1000 just doesn't seem to make sense. Of course, cutting salaries at the top end would be great, but never gets justified. Teachers are not security officers unless the state investigates paying for teachers obtaining martal-arts and security training. And I don't see that happening.

4. I can not understand the overwhelming pressure from the state in regards to elementary schools and TAKS. The pressure on the little one's is crazy and I don't think TEA or politicians are aware of the harm they have placed upon our children. Why should an elementary child feel college level pressure? Why should an elementary child be told that they are good kids, but since they can't pass a test...one test mind you...that they will have to repeat a grade? And if they fail it twice they repeat, and if they fail it again the next year then what? You have a 10 year old that fails the TAKS two years in a row, you have then created a 12 year old 5th grader who gets pushed into middle school. A child who probably could do the work on paper in front of a teacher or parent but they are not good test takers. This is unacceptable and can not be tolerated even with the new STARR test. No wonder cheating occurred on such a high level in this state. Just because American born kids are not interested in science and math doesn't mean that cramming it down their throats and vigorously looking to make them the next Einstein, is effective and the right method to use.

5. Is Achieve Texas (www.achievetexas.org) being placed on the right level? I would love to see this one good program evolve. Having every kid graduate with a license or certification in a trade plus a diploma is awesome. However, why do kids need the pressure of passing not only the STARR or state-wide graduation exam as well as get pressured to pass certification exams? Have you seen the Microsoft C++ or the Avid Media Composer exam? These are not easy. Why not create a hybrid graduation system requiring students to pass exams based upon their chosen academy with core course rigor included? The other matter is that Achieve Texas should be placed on the elementary level. Why? If our country needs and wants home grown scientists and mathematicians that will move our country into the 22nd Century, then the only way to do it, plus decrease the drop out rate and increase test scores is the provide our children, from the kindergarten level, with EXPERIENCES via academy programs. Stop trying to make learn higher order mathematic & scientific principles without them truly doing it just as they play video games every day. Every year from kindergarten, a Texas child should be in an academy program engaging in actual lab work; Broadcasting Studios, 3D Motion Capture Labs, Biology Dissection labs, Aquatic discovery labs, Mountain Bike Engineering labs, etc. Those are just a few examples. All on the elementary level so that our children grow up with this as second nature and not being exposed to it in a 17th century sit and listen to a lecture format. All ethnic groups will benefit from an EXPERIENCES style approach that is hands on and combined with traditional lecture settings. The two combined will no doubt have an incredible impact upon retention, test scores and spark an increase in home grown American youth into higher science fields. Imagine a high school where freshmen must take a scuba diving training course in the fall and then in the spring they actually go to the Caribbean or Florida and actually dive. You now take aquatic science out of the text book and classroom and place the students in the ocean, hands on, and experience what they have read in the books. What about the sophomore year having kids work as mechanical engineers and each kid designs and builds their own mountain bike and then they are taken to areas around their city and ride! The math and physics needed for that is then re-enforced in the classroom. It becomes clear and relevant! Those are just examples the possibilities of Achieve Tecas. It is now time to make these sacrifices for our country and our youth and to place academy programs on the elementary level so that our children grow up with science and math and it becomes a norm in their lives. There is no vision in education anymore. We must totally redo the educational philosophy and get rid of the lecturer and replace them with the educator lab technician.

Does no one in state government not realize that with the increasing of state testing standards, the dropout rate is increasing? The drop out rate for America is at an all time high. Furthermore, testing is being fanatically pushed in order to somehow spark an interest in more scientists & mathematicians and home grown Americans are not going into higher sciences as a career. The numbers don't add up and the philosophic approach is seriously flawed. I would ask that you consider some of these ideas and truly seek to have a vision for education with vigor and tenacity. If we continue to be cattle then we will get run like cattle.

Ted A. Irving, M.A.
Sam Houston State University Alumni Board of Directors
Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.
Houston Fulbright Association
2002 Hightower HS Teacher of the Year
2003 Houston ABSE 2ndary Teacher of the Year
Former NAACP Gloster B. Current Leadership Award Winner
2002 Texas Regional Emmy Award Winner
2006 Japan Fulbright Memorial Fund Teacher

Are teacher unions useless?

2010-06-12T19:57:00.000-07:00

I recently emailed a barrage of questions to various educator lobbyists and unions in the State of Texas. Below are the questions and responses from one organization.
_____________________________________________________

Dear Alex:

Please see my responses in blue below:

I've been teaching in Texas for 13 years and as you know this is a right-to-work state. I have never believed in the effectiveness of unions. However, as I look to move out of teaching and back into industry, I do have some questions about some items below. Can you please answer them as best as possible.

1. Why are unions not fighting to have the ACT or SAT companies Proctor state-wide TAKS to prevent cheating and alleviate the pressures teachers face with the testing days? Standing all day long and many districts use an FBI state-of-emergency response that causes extreme stress. Teachers could choose either to sign on as proctors and be paid by ACT or SAT or districts could make them work as hall monitors & have teacher prep days. In addition, why are teacher unions not fighting for the state test to just be called, and be the SAT or ACT? Is it not the goal of all teachers to prepare students for college? Re-Inventing the wheel seems to be a huge waste of time.

The idea of hiring an outside agency to administer the test is interesting and could be pushed at the state legislature, but would be tacked on as another "unfunded" mandate. The SAT and ACT will not be good measures of how a school is doing to make sure kids understand the specific state standards for a couple of reasons: 1. SAT and ACT are norm referenced test that will always have 50% above and below the curve. That will tell you nothing about which or how many students passed a minimum standard.

2. Criterion referenced tests allow for each student to meet a specific cut-line score to demonstrate proficiency for the state standards. Administrators don't understand the use of testing right now for the most part and I would hate to have to weigh through a norm referenced test that usually sets urban schools up to be behind the curve in the first place.

2. Why are teacher unions not fighting to get legislation passed whereby all politicians must serve as substitutes for one week in an inner-city school, suburban school, charter, private and a suburban/inner-city school? This would give them a much better focal point of the issues teachers face, especially behavior and the overwhelming paper work. It may give them a glimpse of parents cursing out teachers and administrators, student-on-student violence and student-on-teacher violence.

Again, interesting. The closest we have come to that is having outside individuals come in to be principal for a day, but I see the value in having them be teachers. The hardest part about this would be getting a real perspective on what is happening. Too much room for staged days, specific class assignments, etc. that would be the goal of the campus administrator because they don't want to look bad. I would like to encourage more teachers to reach out to their elected officials and have them visit them in their schools so the teachers constituents themselves can walk them through a day. That may be something I can start to push on a pilot here in Houston.

3. Why are teacher unions not pushing for more law enforcement on school campuses. I think all teachers would agree that they would stay on their jobs longer if the environment were more conducive to calm than chaos. This is not just an inner-city issue anymore but one that is happening in the suburban schools. 2 per every 1000 just doesn't seem to make sense. Of course, cutting salaries at the top end would be great, but never gets justified.

I've been on campuses with 4 and 5 cops per thousand. If there isn't a structured, well-defined, school-wide discipline management plan in place it doesn't matter. We consistently fight for school-wide systems, but they must constantly be enforced and worked. That takes involvement of the teachers on campus and a willingness to sound the alarm. Some places that happens and it works. Some places are too afraid to speak out and things spiral out of control.

4. I can not understand the lack of pressure from teacher unions in regards to elementary schools and TAKS. The pressure on the little one's is crazy and I don't think TEA or politicians are aware of the harm they have placed upon our children. We participated in hearings on this very topic held by a legislative select committee on testing. We worked to make sure that parents were there to share their stories, teachers, as well as clergy and other professionals in related fields. We coordinated efforts to ensure that our voice was present in most all stops they made across the state. The TexasAFT pushed over-testing in the last legislative session that resulted in a cap on testing days, which has reduced some of craziness in the higher grades, but they continue to push testing on K and 1st grade that I feel is inappropriate for their developmental stage. I understand it is not enough, but we will continue to fight the issues our members tell us to.

Why should an elementary child feel college level pressure? Why should an elementary child be told that they are good kids, but since they can't pass a test...one test mind you...that they will have to repeat a grade? And if they fail it twice they repeat, and if they fail it again the next year then what? You have a 10 year old that fails the TAKS two years in a row you have then created a 12 year old 5th grader who gets pushed into middle school. A child who probably could do the work on paper in front of a teacher or parent but they are not good test takers. This is unacceptable and can not be tolerated even with the new STARR test.

5. I can't understand why teacher unions are not engaging in major marketing blitzes to defend teachers and push the agendas or similar agendas I have mentioned. No one knows that teachers are in violent conditions. No one knows the workload teachers have. All people know is that today's teacher is a member of the Public Enemy list because a few sick minded individuals snuck into the industry and made mistake with kids. Where are the TV commercials & PSA's. Advertising on Cable and TV is much cheaper than newspaper and radio. In addition, the unions have access to hundreds of broadcasting programs on the high school level that would rise to the occasion given the incentive, to create state-wide public teacher service announcements to counter the negative image of teaching and teachers. At least team up with the Ad Council or PBS. There should even be a push for a national teacher cable channel that produces television programming promoting the teaching profession. There is the golf channel, womens channel, etc. Makes sense.

You do see some of the advertising that you are talking about in other places. I was in NY a few weeks ago and saw the TV ads and heard the radio spots doing exactly that. Frankly, we don't have the funds for it. As you stated earlier this is a right to work for less state and many people try to join when they have an individual problem or when they honestly begin to take a look at what we are doing. The most effective way, however, to get out that message is through training teachers and others in the message. Have the teachers themselves go out into their neighborhoods, civic clubs, churches, etc and talk about the great things they are doing. I've offered on several occasions to assist with this, but no takers.

6. Final question, are you pushing Achieve Texas (www.achievetexas.org)? I would love to see this one good program evolve. Having every kid graduate with a license or certification in a trade plus a diploma is awesome. However, why do kids need the pressure of passing not only the STARR or state-wide graduation exam as well as get pressured to pass certification exams? Have you seen the Microsoft C++ or the Avid Media Composer exam? These are not easy. Why not create a hybrid graduation system requiring students to pass exams based upon their chosen academy with core course rigor included?

I volunteer on the HISD CTE Advisory Committee. We have had this discussion once or twice as it relates to serving two masters on the accountability side. The push is going to be even harder for industry certification. and I see no move to substitute those for passing the TAKS or EOC exams once they are implemented. I don't have sufficient data as of yet to formulate a thoughtful opinion on this particular topic because I do see the need for ensuring proficiency in both academic and industry standards.

Recently, we worked to seat two HISD board members that were willing to tackle this issue head on. Specifically, they wanted to see better industry options for students that elect a work study path through apprenticeships in place of or in addition to formal post-secondary education. The AFL-CIO works very closely with HCC to develop and implement high quality academic learning and job training focused towards mastery of their trade or craft. We wanted to see HISD engage in a meaningful way by demanding that our students be provided work opportunities when the new round of building begins from the bond program. We did our part by supporting the bond, but HISD declined to honor their written agreement to implement the living wage/apprenticeship program. Until we have sufficient support to change the philosophy of the HISD Board by the only means they recognize (changing the person in the seat) we will continue along the path we are currently on.

In summary, our members set our policies and priorities. I welcome you to step up and join us. I cannot promise you a specific outcome, only my willingness to always help our members get their message out. The union is not an office or a staff. The union is our membership and their willingness to take a stand on issues. Without that we have nothings.

Ted A. Irving, M.A.
Sam Houston State University Alumni Board of Directors
Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.
Houston Fulbright Association
2002 Hightower HS Teacher of the Year
2003 Houston ABSE 2ndary Teacher of the Year
Former NAACP Gloster B. Current Leadership Award Winner
2002 Texas Regional Emmy Award Winner
2006 Japan Fulbright Memorial Fund Teacher