Going Washington Postal and other True Facts

What is it with the Washington Post? No matter what damning evidence emerges - the fake Baltimore miracle, or now Erasuregate – the Post Editorial Board, like a loyal dog, continues to stand by Michelle Rhee’s “reform” of D.C. schools. The Post editors have this harebrained idea that only she stood for reform and that there are people who are against reform. Call me naïve but is there any sentient being who does not want and see that DC public schools need to drastically improve!! Good, now we can all agree that WE ALL WANT REFORM!

Now that we have that out of the way we might get to how we can improve DCPS. (I am going to try to stop using the word “reform” since I feel it has lost any real meaning.)

I have a few ideas. One of the greatest challenges I see is a lack of quality leaders at the school level. Okay, I'm talking about principals and assistant principals (AP's). There, I said it. When you look at my building and see who works late and puts in the extra effort, it ain't the AP's! Maybe they're getting so much done during the day they don't need to work late? It's true, I don't know what's going on in those offices. And please, I'm not advocating that everyone always work late but you get my point.

But really, what is administration doing all day? Shut down the offices, get out into the halls, deal with students, and problem solve instead of hoping the problems walk on to another part of the building. Of course a principal could push these kinds of ideas but that would take strong leadership from the Principal. Clearly I'm ranting about my particular school. I wonder how it is at other schools? I’ve heard that my school is not unique in this area.

To sum that up, a lack of dynamic administrative leaders is a real problem. But does DCPS seem to value and support the school leaders, thus encouraging quality people to seek admin positions? Heck no, not in the last five years or so.

This month I realize why I never started a blog before. Frustration becomes paralyzing. There are so many things to bitch about where does one start? Ridiculous practices repeated over and over? Students' lack of motivation? A continued effort to push kids through to graduation just to have numbers?

By this time of the year, if one is honest, you have to admit the wheels have come off the wagon and the whole damn thing is broke down. There's a crisis going on and people just want to GATHER DATA! Man, if my house is burning down I don't need data, I need water!

Dear DCPS, you can stop gathering data. I'll give you some facts: 

 

Fact 1: Attendance sucks and truancy is a serious problem. What is the leadership of DCPS doing about it? I don't see any strategy. And if I can't see it as a classroom teacher, then it's not happening.

Fact 2: Parental involvement is dismal. What is the leadership of DCPS doing to change this? If I can't see it as a classroom teacher, then it's not happening.

Fact 3: Teachers are not supported. Just one example: no resources other than a textbook and a workbook. Why can't we get supplemental materials at different reading levels? Books that the classroom teacher can choose?

Fact 4: Student misbehavior is accepted. How do we build a culture of academics when students are allowed to disrupt class or walk the halls? Downtown doesn't want to deal with the mess so pressure is put upon the school to “keep a lid on it.” Yet we don't have an In-School Suspension program?

I would like to start a radical new school reform movement, it's called COMMON SENSE. I wonder if it will fly?

DC Edu-Speak Light Bulb Jokes

It's almost Friday and it looks like I've made it through another week.  To celebrate I am going to lighten things up with my own "educational humor."  And yes, I know that is an oxymoron.

I believe I got this idea from an Xtranormal video on Mr. Teachbad's blog (see link under "Blogs to Check Out") and decided to add my own.  Please add your own creations if you wish.

How many …........... does it take to change a light bulb?

1. How many Master Educators does it take to change a light bulb?

Just one but they've never done it in DC.

2. How many teachers does it take to change a light bulb?

They can't, until a Master Educator tells them how.

Or …

3. How many teachers does it take to change a light bulb?

One, but at the moment we're out of light bulbs (and copy paper, and printer ink, and ….)

4. How many Assistant Principals does it take to change a light bulb?

Just one, as long as it's in their office.

5. How many SROfficers (police) does it take to change a light bulb?

Two, but it has to be on the first floor, preferably near the lobby.

6. How many Principals does it take to change a light bulb?

One, just as soon as they get done talking about how bad their teachers are.

7. How many Security officers does it take to change a light bulb?

They're not allowed.

8. How many Chancellors does it take to change a light bulb?”

“Those incompetent, lazy, union teachers broke the light bulb.”

9. How many School reformers does it take to change a light bulb?

“First we need to reinvent the light bulb.”

10. How many Instructional coaches does it take to change a light bulb?

Three because it must be done in a cooperative group.

The Cartoon Version of Rheeform on Youtube

 A funny and accurate cartoon based on the unfunny actions of our former "chancellor."  Watch and weep.  (Not sure who made it, I received it via email listserve.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pt9ZdTUVeus

Mental Health: the Missing Piece of the Puzzle?

 

I used to think my students were being dramatic when they listed as one of their goals “to make it to the next year alive.” The senseless killing of a Cardozo senior (the second murder touching the school community this year) has made me focus on the world many of our students live in—a world that is ignored, misunderstood, and certainly not addressed by the educational leaders and talking heads.

Test scores. Sure.

What's as sad as the death of a young person is the reaction of his or her peers. (I'm not talking about friends, simply peers in the same school or environment.) So many teens take it in stride that it is truly shocking. Trying to discuss such an incident is depressing. Many of the young people feel that there is nothing that can be done, it's just the way things are. Instead of developing the ability to empathize and mourn, many build walls and harden their feelings. It's a coping mechanism that only leads to an incredibly unhealthy environment.

Which leads to the topic of mental health. I am not one to think that schools need to solve all of society's social ills but let's be real, if we ignore the mental health of our students, can the academics really prosper?

What do we do to promote mental health in our schools? Not much from what I see. The Special Ed system is notoriously broken. We have no program for peer mediation. (It has never received the support it needed, it was always just given lip service.) Perhaps the worst thing we do is let kids behave badly in the school with no consequences. (We have an astounding lack of alternative schools and a policy from downtown to handle things at the school level---while not funding or setting up an In School Suspension program!) They learn that they can get away with just about anything. If you think that doesn't follow them outside of the school you are deluded.

Please note that I am not saying that the people who kill teens in DC are necessarily DCPS students, but on the other hand, the vast majority were at one time.

I heard the term “wrap around services” thrown about during the Fenty administration. I never saw a change at my school as far as social services go. If the Gray administration is serious about education and the youth of this city, we will see something different. But I won't be holding my breath. It's so much easier to ignore these realities, blame teachers (as our last leader liked to do), and offer “professional development.” In the end, as usual, the students don't get what they really need.

The impact of Impact

Recently, I had a chat with some colleagues who I don't run into that often. The subject of Impact came up. Essentially it was stated that the impact of Impact has been to create a great deal more stress for teachers, crush morale, and in general, to make you feel like you are not a good teacher. (And that it has not necessarily led to better teaching.) Ouch.

I hesitate to even open this Pandora's box but it can't be ignored. Before Impact, teachers could be stressed and frustrated by not seeing enough of our students succeed and the myriad other problems that accompany our job. That was bad enough. Now we have someone coming in to tell us that the problem is our teaching.

Let me also say, as so many others have, I'm all in favor of identifying poor teachers and ousting them if they are beyond help. And our old method of evaluation left much to be desired. However, detecting the effective teacher from the ineffective is not all that difficult. If you are paying attention and talking to students, it will be revealed. If you, as an administrator are moving around the building as part of your day, and even popping in some classrooms just for fun, it will be pretty clear who needs help or might need to find another career. I'm not saying that that is a foolproof method but it's a pretty good one. And I'm not saying Impact is without merit and should be written off completely.

What I am saying is that the pendulum has swung too far in the opposite direction. In my experience in DCPS, we went from a lack of oversight in the classroom to the current model which is extremely subjective and wholly unrealistic. Now, anything less than perfection (as defined by someone with little or limited experience with our student population) pretty much paints you as mediocre. The phrase “out to get you” comes up repeatedly when describing Impact, and it's not healthy.

[I may develop a posting of “master educator suggestions” that I've heard, and would be quite humorous if they weren't true, and if these suggestions weren't accompanied by denigrating Impact scores. But I digress.]

Anyway, the oppressive threat of Impact that has led to teachers feeling more constricted, less creative and playful, and less satisfied with their jobs leads me to ask the question: If I were a student, what kind of teacher would I want? One who feels like the current downtrodden DCPS teacher or one with the time and energy to still explore life, feels confident, and feels supported by their administration and school system? The second scenario may seem far fetched, but so what? We can dream can't we?

The Irony and (lack of) Critical Thinking

Sometimes the concept of irony comes up in my classroom. It's not an easy definition. But you know it when you hear it. A recent staff meeting made it all too clear.

The Irony

As a teacher you dare not make mention of the challenges the students bring to your room. If you are worth a damn your engaging instruction will be enough to lure them in, keep them coming, and they will achieve dammit!

But when pressed about safety issues and hall walkers in the school, we are treated with a lengthy description of the challenges our school faces because of all the transfers from other high schools and the numerous “shelter house” and recently-incarcerated students we take in throughout the year.

And somehow, my percentage of failing students is supposed to be a reflection of me as a teacher? But I can't refer to the same challenges? Hmm...

I'm so confused now I don't know if this is irony or hypocrisy?

The Critical Thinking

The number one thing principals don't like discussing is the safety or control of their building. Somehow we made this a topic recently. But rest assured, the data, yes, “the data” which we love so much in DCPS says that our school has fewer arrests and serious incidents than most of the other high schools. And while “rigor” in my classroom is held to a standard far above the abilities of my students, the level of rigor for management of our schools is pathetically weak. Seriously, it was basically said that as long as we're not having gang fights and muggings we are doing pretty well.

Now, as a person who has studied statistics (and I think most of us in the room were supposed to at one time) I was wondering why someone would tout our fewer arrests as a feather in our cap? Clearly the question screams—are our numbers low because our building is so calm or is it that we aren't catching or prosecuting kids who commit serious misbehavior? (Or is smoking weed in the building not serious anymore?)

The bottom line was that we were supposed to be happy that we don't have the mayhem that goes on in other schools. Sorry, that's not rigor.

How do we solve the pervasive DCPS problem of poorly controlled schools? I have at least one or two common sense ideas I will get to next time. What are your ideas?

From Little Things, Big Things Grow

Where to start? Where does one begin the story of working within the surreal world of DCPS? On top of that, these days the larger world of “school reform” has become a wacky alternate universe populated with so many “experts” who have spent little to no time in a classroom. So, with no idea where to start I'll just begin, slowly.

Every once in a while, while surrounded by varying levels of insanity, a crystal clear thought appears. Today this was mine. Why does a school adopt a rule it can't enforce? I was told that, when training a dog, never give a command you can't follow through on. Don't try to teach your dog to come unless you have him on a long leash and can enforce the come command.  Otherwise, the dog can choose to ignore you.

So, if you can't turn away out-of-uniform students at the door, why bother having the rule? As has happened for the past several years, there are students out of uniform every day. (Usually the “bad boys” and “bad girls.”)

If this rule is ignorable, what others are? That's how it starts. I think this is akin to the “broken window theory” of crime.

Teachers are told to uphold the uniform policy, somehow. We can't turn students away at the door but somehow we are supposed to enforce the policy.

This might seem a rather mundane problem to start with but it is prophetic.

This is how the foundation of a school is chipped away. One small chip at a time. Multiply this over and over and you see how the adults lose their authority.

(For the record, I lean toward liking a uniform policy but my real desire would be to just have a policy that is clear and properly enforced.)