Hiatus limbo
Since I've been neglecting this space anyway (I write a few other places and this one kind of got pushed to the back burner) I'm officially suspending posts here. I'm not going to erase it yet because I may come back if my schedule for the spring eases up a bit. I'm also turning off comments for now.Technorati tags: Hiatus limbo~blog~education~sensations
Making Schools Rank
How do you decide how good a school is?
By one measure, Boone High School is a "B" high school. Ask our principal, most of our teachers and many graduates, and they'll rank it (subjectively, although every method is subjective to some degree) as an "A+". Ask some of the disaffected youth that are current students and we'll probably be ranked (again, subjectively) about even with one of the lower rings of hell. And, of course, there are the highly publicized articles in the Washington Post and Newsweek that tout their version of The Best High School List.
This method of ranking schools, championed by Jay Matthews of the Washington Post, is based on the number of students that participate in Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) classes. This has gotten so much attention that many schools across the country are placing (misplacing?) as many students as possible into AP and IB just to try to improve their position on The List.
To his credit, Mr. Matthews welcomes informed debate and recently published an email exchange with Mark Crockett, described in the article as "a very savvy and energetic social studies teacher at Western Albemarle High School near Charlottesville, Va., [who] has been among my favorite, and most critical, e-mail correspondents for some time." It's well worth taking the time to read their exchange (if it's still online or you can find a copy elsewhere).
Both sides site research and delve far more deeply into the issues than I plan to here. Much of their debate concerns whether high school experiences such as AP and IB classes and taking AP tests are valid indicators of a student's later success in college. And that, in my opinion, is where the true subjectivity and deepest weakness of The List lies.
Now, let me be clear that I am a firm believer in the need for challenging all of our students and holding them to high standards. (I don't always agree with how that gets interpreted and implemented in our schools.) I also believe that everyone that wants to pursue higher education should have the foundation skills and every opportunity to do so. However, I do not believe that preparing students for college is the primary job of high schools -- preparing young adults to be productive members of society is our primary goal. For some, that will mean four-year or advanced college degrees, for some it will mean two-year degrees or technical training, for some it will mean military or civil service. There is NO one-size-fits-all answer that meets all the diverse needs of our students or our society.
Sometimes a single statement can reveal a great deal about an individual's bias and (lack of) understanding. Granted, I may be reading far too much into this and you should read it in context to fairly judge for yourself.
Jay: Compared to a lot of other things we need to do, such as improving teaching in the inner city, opening up access to AP for all motivated students IS pretty simple. You just announce that henceforth, the only requirement for an AP class is a willingness to work hard. No minimum GPA, no teacher recommendation. Motivation rules, and if you don't work hard, you are dumped back into the regular class.
Wow, the unfortunate choice of the phrase "dumped back into the regular class" seems to clearly indicate an elitist attitude that parallels the choice of success in college as the determining factor in the value of a high school. And anyone that thinks students can be moved that easily between classes during the school year is grossly ignorant about the complexities of class schedules. It makes one wonder how far that ignorance extends....
Technorati tags: Making Schools Rank~blog~education~sensations
Saving your Summer?
A few months ago I learned that in the state of Virginia school districts must have special permission from the State Board of Education if they want to start the school year before Labor Day. This is often referred to as the King's Dominion Law (after the King's Dominion theme park) because the tourism industry lobbied to get the law enacted so they would have (cheap) teen-age labor available through Labor Day. Since tourism is so important in Florida, I was surprised that Virginia has had that law since 1986 and we don't. Not yet. Save Our Summers (SOS) is a Florida-based grass-roots effort to enact just such a law. And, as expected, they have support from our big tourist attractions.
Several counties in Florida have moved the start date up to the beginning of August. Orange County (OCPS), where I teach, did this several years ago. There are certainly some things not to like about starting the school year at the beginning of August, but here are three things I really like about it: we have the same number of days in both the fall and spring semesters, the fall semester ends before winter break in December, and we get two full weeks for winter break. Oh, and our students are out of school before Memorial Day, which obviously is less important to parents than Labor Day although I'm at a loss to explain why.
Some counties justify the change to allow more time to prepare for the state-mandated assessment (FCAT). The FCAT is administered in late February or early March and how well students perform is a primary means of assigning a grade and certain funds to each school. While it seems logical that a few extra weeks to prepare might help improve test scores, I haven't seen any research yet that proves that. And, despite claims made on the SOS website, I haven't seen any research that refutes it either. Neither do I have proof that giving semester exams immediately before winter break is better than giving them two weeks after the break as we used to do, but I still prefer the current schedule.
What I find most disturbing about the debate, and I'm being very charitable to characterize it as such, is the level of emotion that groups such as SOS have attached to it. There is a transcript (badly in need of editing, by the way, but you can get the gist of it) of an interview with Sherry Sturner, founder of SOS, by Tucker Carlson that refers to "a disturbing trend growing in America even as we sleep: cutting summer vacations short". And, "This is something out of a horror movie. First they go after Christmas and now there's actually a move afoot to cut short summer vacation. It can't be real."
We have not stolen the summer from our children. I am still employed 10 months out of the year. It used to be from around the end of August until around the middle of June. Now it is from the beginning of August until the end of May. Mr. Carlson is either far too easily horrified or far too desperate for ratings.
Parents in South-Florida's Broward County protested the early start date planned for next year. When the school board voted to keep it as planned, parents shouted and stomped out of the meeting vowing to vote the board out of office in the next election. While I support and applaud their right to vote as they see fit, I find it unfair to claim that the board failed to listen simply because they disagree. Ms. Sturner attended that meeting with a petition signed by local parents. But the board did exactly what it is supposed to do, acting in what they believe is the best interest of the students. They gave far more valid reasons, in my opinion, for keeping the earlier start date than the parents did for wanting it later. (Usually I find school boards are much too quick to bow to parental pressure.)
A very wise friend of mine says that you can't reason someone out of a decision they didn't reason themselves into. When "reasons" are emotional reactions rather than logical conclusions, neither side of the argument makes any progress. The fact that the calendar was different when you were in school is in no way a logical reason for keeping it the way it was. I can't in good conscience give your child the same education you got. They don't live in the same world you did. They deserve much better from us. If moving your vacation plans by a few weeks is part of the price you have to pay, it seems like spare change to me.Technorati tags: Saving your Summer? Part One~blog~education~sensations
Registration 2006
There is one question I sometimes get from students that are considering taking my class that I don't know how to answer: "Is your class hard?" (Or, "Is it easy?") My initial reaction is to always say that it is a hard class. I don't want a room full of kids whining about how hard it is to do the work. If you're looking for an easy class, go somewhere else. Better yet, change your attitude about what you are in school for. If all you ever do is what you've done before -- what you're already good at, you're not learning.
My class is challenging and the students that rise to meet the challenge know that they have accomplished something. But the fact is, some students find my classes to be easy and others feel hopelessly overwhelmed. I think that's true for any subject. The types of students that tend to do well in my classes are usually, but not always, good in math. They are usually visual learners and the ability to visualize is an important skill. Like any skill, it comes more naturally to some people than others, but it can be learned.
On the other hand, all the elective areas are fighting harder than ever to get enough students to fill our classes. I don't want to turn away a potential student. And I work hard to make the material as accessible as I can. Instructions are usually presented orally along with computer presentations that students can review as often as they need. I invite students to come in early or stay late if they need additional help. I know that some students won't finish everything during regular class time and most students don't have the tools or materials to complete the work at home.
Teaching is hard. I don't think I'd still be doing this if it were easy. Think about that when you're choosing your classes.
Technorati tags: Registration 2006~blog~education~sensations
A Moment of Clarity
Since I write a couple other places and there are only so many hours in a day, I've neglected this space a bit lately. But I have a few topics started that I'll try to get online soon.
Back in November I got the news that I successfully completed National Board Certification. It was a long three-year process and I was at the end of my eligibility. If I didn't make it, I would have to wait ten years to try again. For the week before the scores were to be released, I tried very hard to put it out of my mind. After all, I had done all I could do. Still the stress would get to me occasionally.
I had already decided that I would wait until after school to check my score. If I didn't make it, I was afraid the disappointment would make it difficult for me to continue to teach that day. And if I did make it... well, to be honest I wasn't all that optimistic. An odd thing happened that morning though. I was busy running around the room, answering questions, giving instructions -- pretty much a normal day. And I had a moment when I thought, "You know, I'm really lucky. I'm teaching a subject I love in a school that I like a lot. Almost all of the students I have this year are trying, even a couple of them that just don't get it." And for that moment, I really didn't care whether I got National Board Certification.
Still, I'm really glad I did.
Technorati tags: A Moment of Clarity~blog~education~sensations
