Edu Blah Blah Blahg

Total extra hours Nov 14 to Nov 20, 2011

2011-11-21T01:24:00.002-05:00

19.2422 hours

grading: 4.7339 hours
lesson prep: 4.9808 hours
switching out teacher workstations: 2.116 hours
literacy letter: 7.4116 hours

The literacy letter is the best example of where I could work smarter, not harder. For starters, I don't know what to have other people do, or how to get them started, or when to have them help. I've been doing what was right in front of me without looking far enough ahead to plan for help. Hopefully, by tracking my time I can plan next year's letter better.

Total extra hours Nov 4 to Nov 11, 2011

2011-11-13T23:12:00.005-05:00

18.98 hours total

7th grade spelling curriculum: 3.98 hours
I'm planning and conducting model lessons for the 7th grade teachers in addition to writing the curriculum.

Computer Applications grading: 0.47 hours
I've been stealing a lot of class time to grade their assignments this week, while they have worked on projects.

Honors English 8: 8.75 hours
I had a couple of grading and planning binges. Moving to the new core, and emphasizing mastery grading over completion grading is a lot of work.

Literacy Letter: 3.07 hours
I worked on this during the school day as well. It's done, and all that's left is the printing and stuffing. Hoorah!

Tech Services (mobile lab maintenance): 2.21 hours
There have been many unhappy laptops lately, and I think it might continue. There's got to be something going on with the software updates . . .

Updating school website: 0.48
My goal of having that site run itself gets a bit closer each year.

School Community Council: 1.12 hours

In "Studying Teacher Moves," Michael Goldstein offers some good sense about what we know and what we need to know about effective teaching. Not just effective teaching- efficient teaching. The passage that seems most relevant to my life is:

A second issue is that researchers don’t worry about teacher time. Education researchers often put forward strategies that make teachers’ lives harder, not easier. Have you ever tried to “differentiate instruction”? When policy experts give a lecture or speak publicly, do they create five different iterations for their varied audience? Probably not.

The return on investment for teacher time and the opportunity cost of spending it one way rather than another is rarely taken into account. In what other, valuable ways could teachers be spending the time taken up with building “differentiation” into a lesson plan? They could phone parents, tutor kids after school, grade papers, or analyze data. Much research implies that teachers should spend more time doing X while not indicating where they should spend less time.

That's the question that keeps ringing in my head: exactly what am I allowed to stop doing? Or just do less of?

How to teach the common core: English 8, Reading Informational Text standard 9

2011-11-12T17:00:00.008-05:00

8RI9 Analyze a case in which two or more texts provide conflicting information on the same topic and identify where the texts disagree on matters of fact or interpretation.

Adapting to the new core has been a good challenge. Teachers in my school have always pushed informational reading strategies, but I feel this takes it up a level. Reading to find whether a conflict is grounded in differing facts or differing interpretations of fact is an essential skill for any literate adult. It's also a skill that takes some time and instruction to develop.

First, I made sure my students understood the difference between fact and opinion. In my classroom, an opinion is described as an interpretation of facts, so I consider "interpretation" and "opinion" to be interchangeable. Let me reframe the standard to make it a bit simpler: find texts with conflicting views on the same subject and determine whether the conflict centers on fact or opinion. Depending on the texts, it could be either or both, so students should have multiple opportunities to practice this skill.

Here are the texts I have used so far:

The Holt Literature textbook has two great pieces for this purpose: a Union Pacific Railroad poster selling the Nebraska plains to the pioneers, and "Home, Sweet Soddie" by Flo Ota De Lange. Students read and compare both in order to answer the question, which is more objective? Students should recognize that the poster is cherry-picking or reframing the facts to make the opportunity sound more appealing. This is a case where the conflict arises because the authors are presenting different facts.

Students have been told a lot about why they should or should not use Wikipedia. Argue the proper use of Wikipedia after reading three articles that provide conflicting viewpoints.

"Snared in the web of a Wikipedia liar" from New York Times
"In an effort to boost reliability, Wikipedia looks to experts" from Wall Street Journal
"Is Wikipedia a Victim of Its Own Success?" from Time Magazine

Students should note the timeline of the articles presented: the "Wikipedia liar" article is from 2005, and the more recent articles focus on the change Wikipedia has made to boost reliability.

Examine out-of-context quotes about Abraham Lincoln, or any US president. (Link to my overhead about Lincoln here) I use this as an anticipation guide/lesson starter for a discussion of how a limited scope of facts leads to bias.

The supplementary materials for the Holt Literature book also have two articles about Captain James Cook. One is praises Captain Cook, and deliberately glosses over some of his violent actions towards his crew and native islanders. The second is more objective, although it presents pretty much the same information. I had students highlight facts and opinions, and then explain which treatment was more objective and why. I asked them to specifically analyze how the first article used or rephrased facts to support his interpretation of Cook as a hero.

For their final mastery assessment, I'm having students read articles about Benedict Arnold**. One, ""Without Arnold, Revolution Would Have Been Lost" by Bill Stanley" argues that Arnold is more hero than traitor. The other, "Hidden History of the American Revolution: Part IV: The Traitor" from Boys' Life clearly paints him as a traitor, and only an incidental hero. This is, I feel, a perfect example of texts presenting the same facts with conflicting interpretations. Here is the entire assignment I gave my students: http://www.nebo.edu/dfjhs/anderson/assignments/benedictarnold.

**I focus on history texts because they complement the 8th grade Social Studies curriculum.

Link to English/Language Arts Common Core here: http://www.corestandards.org/the-standards/english-language-arts-standards

Good idea: use bellwork as formative assessment

2011-11-03T22:32:00.004-05:00

In my Computer Applications class this year, I have changed my bellwork from writing to completing small tasks. I've been very happy with the results. Each bellwork task serves as a small formative assessment for the day. The bellwork shows me they can remember what we just learned, or have mastered a prerequisite skill for the day's assignment.

Every single one gets checked daily. It takes around 8 minutes at the beginning of class, and it saves re-teaching time later in the lesson. I pick one skill from the assignment that is essential, or I predict may need re-teaching, and make sure students can do that first thing. Checking every bellwork every day means that no student, no matter what dire academic straights he or she is in, can get through the class period without showing that they know something.

Examples:

Today we worked with Audacity. For bellwork, students opened a 30 second piece of music and changed the pitch 40%.

When we worked with Adobe Fireworks, I made single-tool tasks for the students like
Remove the tree from this picture with the rubber stamp tool.
Use the effects menu to change Bob Hope to match the background colors.
Cut the penguin out using the lasso tool and paste in 5 more so he has company.

When we worked with Flash, students would create simple tweens.

Starting class with these small tasks has, I believe, ensured that students are ready to learn. It has been valuable feedback for me as a teacher, and I get it right at the beginning of class.

The best thing that happened today

2011-11-03T22:02:00.003-05:00

A young man in my Computer class was doubled over laughing- could barely catch his breath. We've been working with Audacity, and he thought he sounded hilarious in playback. His group was making mistakes, and they ultimately couldn't find where they had saved their project. But they didn't seem too worried. They shrugged, he laughed, and they said they would try again tomorrow. That was really the only solution left to them, and I'm glad they arrived at it themselves!

What a great attitude! I smiled all the way around the computer lab, picking up and putting away.

The other best part about this Audacity project: I didn't come up with it. I borrowed it from another teacher: Tonya Skinner. (http://lessonplans.btskinner.com/multimedia.html) I don't know Tonya, but she was gracious enough to post a bunch of projects online and I ran into them right when I really, really needed an Audacity project. I am profoundly grateful, Tonya. Bacon was saved today.

Assuming there is some value in tracking my extra hours worked, what is the best way to present it?

2011-11-03T21:25:00.002-05:00

I've been meaning to keep better track of how I spend my extra time at work. I'd like to find out where most of my time is going, and if I can use it more efficiently (I'm assuming the answer that question is yes). I think tracking your time is a good exercise for any teacher, and I think it would be fantastic to see a whole school do it. Any qualitative researchers out there need a project?

I'm using TimeClock app from Spotlight Six for recording and iChart for publishing. There may be better options for both, and I have a lot to learn. I recorded more data than just the when, and I'm wondering how to make that part of the chart as well.

&amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;lt;span&amp;amp;amp;gt;iChart:Oct 25 to Nov 3 2011&amp;amp;amp;lt;/span&amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;lt;span&amp;amp;amp;gt;null&amp;amp;amp;lt;/span&amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;lt;span&amp;amp;amp;gt;Tags: null&amp;amp;amp;lt;/span&amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;lt;span&amp;amp;amp;gt;Powered By: &amp;amp;amp;lt;a href = 'http://www.icharts.net'&amp;amp;amp;gt;iCharts | create, share, and embed interactive charts online&amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;lt;/span&amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;gt;

Student surveys: What was the easiest thing you learned to do?

2010-08-08T19:54:00.003-05:00

You'll see Flash show up big on both the hardest and easiest charts. I think students really took to it, or really didn't. I'll need to make Flash more accessible and interesting next year.
Fireworks was an obvious answer. It is easy, and we all love working with it.

Student surveys: What was the hardest thing you learned to do?

2010-08-08T19:50:00.002-05:00

Yep, definitely spend better and more time with Dreamweaver.

I worry that I should drop the hardware unit because it is so very difficult for students to learn the parts inside the computer- even the abbreviated list I give them. However, even at the end of the semester students counted it as the most valuable learning. I'll keep it. I think it will work better now that I've reframed the instruction around the question: "How do you know you're getting a good computer for your money?"

Student surveys: What was the most valuable thing you learned?

2010-08-08T19:43:00.003-05:00

This confirms two things I already planned on:
1. Spend more time with Dreamweaver, and have students create a more authentic product.
2. Don't bother with the PowerPoint project anymore. It's taught in their CTE classes.

What should be the standard for an "A" grade?

2010-08-08T18:26:00.005-05:00

As I've been preparing for a new year, I returned to the end-of-semester evaluations my Computer Applications students completed. I've been analyzing the responses about which learning was easiest, hardest, and most valuable. I've also been looking more closely at their answers to this question:

What grade would you give yourself in this class? Why?

Out of 40 informative responses (ones that went beyond a one-word answer), only 2 students felt they earned a "A" grade based on their final product, or the amount they learned. The rest unanimously felt that an "A" should reflect effort.

I worry that my grading is too harsh. Then I worry that it's too easy. I look at my students' responses and feel that perhaps I am being too hard on them. They seem to be pleading, "I did my best! I did my best! Don't give me a bad grade!" Then I look at their grades and feel that I've been giving A's away like candy.

I could also interpret the responses & grades as meaning that the students are working hard for their high grades. Students' grades are entirely made up of projects and products. Those projects and products are graded based on a set of requirements (a rubric). There is no grade for effort, except that it takes effort to meet the requirements.

I think there is an paradox in students' response to this. Students wish to be graded subjectively, on a perception of effort and hard work, if the end result is an A. And yet subjective grading is unfair. Students also wish to be graded and treated fairly by their teacher. Do students still value fairness when the end result is not an A?

I think there is a paradox for the teacher in this as well. Teachers wish students to feel and be successful. Success is motivating for students. A student may give his or her best effort, and yet not meet the A standard. In many students' minds, this is not success. The student then may lose motivation, and reserve future efforts. Do teachers still value students' best effort when the end result is not an A?

So what should the standard for an "A" grade in my class be? And how can students come to view that standard as fair and achievable?

Final grades for the 40 students represented below were:

27 A's
3 A-'s
1 B
2 B-'s
1 B+
1 C+

The final letter grades for all my Computer Applications students:

A 53
A- 7
B+ 5
B 11
B- 3
C+ 2
C 9
C- 2
D 7
F 2

Here are the 40 responses. I did not edit the responses for spelling and grammar, as you will see.

1. just for the effort even though they didnt turn out right every time haha!
2. I worked hard and did my best.
3. I turn in all my work and do a pretty decent job.
4. i tried hard to get my asignments in on time and make sure it was my best work.
5. i dont think i havent not turned anything in
6. i am being a good boy!!
7. i have tried really hard
8. I gave my best effort and completed the assignments to my best ability
9. i worked hard even though i thought the grading was a little harsh.
10. I turned everything in ontime and havent got in trouble once.
11. i tryed my best even thoe you say its not
12. i tried my hardest and really worked at them
13. i like to pay atantion in class
14. i know i could do better but i still did most of what i could do.
15. I try my hardest and try to turn everything.
16. i do all my work, but sometimes i talk with friends....
17. i think i did pretty well on everything except part of the photo story
18. I tried my hardest at everything and I dont think that I fooled around at all.
19. I tryed my hardest i tryed to get all my stuff in
20. I listened to directions
21. i always tried my hardest
22. i was quiet and payed attention
23. I turned everything in and tried my best.
24. I am always to class on time
25. I always try to do my best on my assignments.
26. i have done my best and i think that is pretty good and well i have been absent that is all
27. I worked hard and turned in my assignments
28. i try hard
29. i try my best to get a good grade
30. i turn almost everything in.
31. I have helped people
32. I have done all my assiments.
33. I tried my best to turn everything in and worked my hardest on the projects.
34. I turned in all my assignments in on time
35. I completed all of the requirements.
36. I have worked hard and done the best I can do.
37. i worked really hard on things but i probably missed some of the requirements that were supposed to be in the project
38. ive done my best and tried my hardest to turn in everything
39. i do every assignment, but dont comprehend all instructions 100%, and for a long time, turning in assignments was confusing so i would make a bazzilion copies in a million places
40. I know how to do almost everything that we have learned except for the memorization of the internal parts.

Mike Morley's Answers

2010-06-28T11:32:00.001-05:00

NOTE: Rep. Morley e-mailed these to me on April 1. The delay in posting is entirely mine.

Thanks, Brooke. Here are my responses.

Mike

What do you think is working in Utah public schools? What isn't?

Overall, I think Utah public schools do a great job meeting the needs of their students, particularly in comparison to our neighboring states. Utah high schools graduate over 90% of their students whereas Nevada is less than 50%.

The responsibility for educating children belongs to parents. In order to meet the needs of their children, parents need choices. Most children do very well in traditional district schools. Some, though, do better in another setting and parents are in the best position to make that decision.

Districts can get so large that it is hard to be responsive to the needs of all students. It is difficult to educate students who are very gifted, those who have special, and all students in between all in the same setting. No school option can be everything to every student.

Is it important to have highly trained and certified teachers in our schools? If so, what can you do to make that happen?

I believe it is important to have highly trained and skilled teachers. I am not aware of evidence that certification of teachers ensures teacher competency. The public school system required that teachers be certified, but I support multiple methods to achieve or ensure competency.

What are some education thinkers, policymakers, or institutes that you particularly agree with or routinely use for information?

I have never served on the Education Committee. I have served on an interim committee looking at merit pay for teachers and found it very interesting. However, in terms of public education decisions, I seek information from all available sources. I then make decisions in keeping with my conviction that parents are primarily responsible for the education of their children and that they should be empowered to make those decisions and given as many appropriate tools as possible to meet their responsibility.

Will you meet with major stakeholder groups in education such as the Utah Education Association and PTA?

I have always been open to meet with every stakeholder. I have never turned down a meeting request from the UEA, PTA, other parent organizations, Parents for Choice in Education, the State Office of Education, school boards, local school administrators, or those advocating for charter schools or alternate educational curriculum. I will continue to meet with any and all who are willing to meet with me.

What is the role of the legislator in mediating problems between education stakeholders? (parents, students, teachers, community leaders, district leaders, etc)

Legislators are policymakers and are responsible to craft sound public policy. One of my guiding principles is that small government, closest to the people, is the best government. I believe that applies to school districts as well. Therefore, in most cases, I favor allowing stakeholders to work out problems among themselves with the legislature taking action only when absolutely necessary.

Over the last three years have the charter schools in Nebo District, specifically American Leadership Academy, shown that parent choice creates a better school and a higher-quality education? For either yes or no, how so?

I believe that the introduction of charter schools, and particularly American Leadership Academy as the only K-12 charter school in the Nebo District, has provided another choice for parents. Whether it is a better experience depends on the student and the parents. Some advocate that it has been a better experience while others have returned to district schools and feel their needs are better met in that venue. What charter schools do is provide another option for parents to educate their children. I believe charter schools have strengthened the overall educational product just by providing another option.

Are you in favor of having Nebo District gradually assume the funding for the five charter schools within its boundaries? Why or why not?

I would prefer to see a formula-driven system funded directly from the state. I think there is a natural and healthy friction between charter schools and district schools, but I am concerned that friction would be aggravated by having funding come directly from the individual districts. However, if it is to come through a property tax assessment, transparency is vital.

2008 per-pupil expenditure for charter schools in Nebo district boundaries...

It is interesting to see that the larger charter schools are funded at a considerably lower per-pupil rate than are the smaller charter schools and the district schools. In the case of American Leadership Academy, the per-pupil expenditure is nearly $1,000 less than district pupils while the discrepancy between Reagan and district schools is roughly $1,200.

I need to understand why that is the case. I had assumed that charter schools were funded at a flat per-pupil rate.

If districts did take over more charter school funding, and the cost of building the charter schools is included in that funding, wouldn't that mean that property tax money would be directly channeled into your business as a major builder of Utah charter schools? What would you do about that conflict of interest?

Let me first state that I discontinued any charter school development in Utah three years ago because of the negative public perception. Going forward, any of these solutions would not affect me directly. However, if charter schools were funded in the same fashion as district schools so that there is no need for private investors or risk capital, it would seem to me that charter schools would then have to change their procurement method to be more similar to district schools.

Excellent explanation from Utah Education Issues

2010-03-29T00:42:00.001-05:00

I gave my 2 bits about charter school funding in the last post, but Utah Education Issues has the full story.

As to Senator Stephenson's rationale for the charter funding changes, I believe he is very disingenuous with his phantom student explanation on the Senate Site. State funds are distributed from state income tax revenues to districts on a per student basis called the WPU. Lose a student, lose the allotment of WPU. Those funds are already given to each charter school and are not the subject of this change and Stephenson knows it. Local property taxes, in contrast, apply only to the residents of a specific school district and are implemented after a vote by those residents in a general election. They are collected to fund specific building projects or as a certain percentage to fund local schools, and make up a chunk of each district's funding over and beyond WPU. Local education property taxes are not collected by nor distributed via the specific number of students.

Questions for the candidates, especially Mike Morley

2010-03-28T21:36:00.007-05:00

Here are the education questions I'd like to ask the 2010 candidates for state office:

What do you think is working in Utah public schools? What isn't?
Is it important to have highly trained and certified teachers in our schools? If so, what can you do to make that happen?
What are some education thinkers, policymakers, or institutes that you particularly agree with or routinely use for information?
Will you meet with major stakeholder groups in education such as the Utah Education Association and PTA?
What is the role of the legislator in mediating problems between education stakeholders? (parents, students, teachers, community leaders, district leaders, etc)

Questions specifically for Mike Morley:

Over the last three years have the charter schools in Nebo district, specifically American Leadership Academy, shown that parent choice creates a better school and a higher-quality education? For either yes or no, how so?
Are you in favor of having Nebo District gradually assume the funding for the five charter schools within its boundaries? Why or why not? (Link: http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700015624/Districts-to-fund-charter-schools.html?pg=1;) ( http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700015789/Utah-Legislature-Charter-school-funding-provision-removed-from-education-budget.html?s_cid=rss-30) Do you think Nebo District can handle the cost? How?

2008 per-pupil expenditure for charter schools in Nebo district boundaries

American Leadership Academy: 5,040
CS Lewis Academy: 7,467
Liberty Academy: 6,050
Merit Prep: N/A
Reagan Academy: 4,710

Nebo school district per pupil expenditure for 2008: 5,909

(financial data from USOE Financial Reports http://www.schools.utah.gov/finance/other/AnnualReport/ar2008.htm) And remember- the district is already scrambling to cover new growth beyond what's absorbed by charters.

Another very important question for Mike Morley:
If districts did take over more charter school funding, and the cost of building the charter schools is included in that funding, wouldn't that mean that property tax money would be directly channeled into your business as a major builder of Utah charter schools? What would you do about that conflict of interest?

Testing schedule anxiety

2010-03-03T20:54:00.005-05:00

I think I have a workable CRT testing schedule.

It'll take us four weeks using four computer labs to get all 1200 or so kids through their tests in three subjects. And I've accommodated the five field trips during that time period, plus the local stock show.

I don't see how the end result is worth the hassle. Testing every student every year in three subjects? What happens to all that data? Do the students' score really change that much from year to year? If they get a 4 in 8th grade, what's the likelihood they'll get a lower score on subsequent tests? How can spending this amount of time and money be justified when the data is not immediately useful to teachers and students?

I understand that I'm supposed to look at the test results and say, "Oh look, my fourth period didn't know how to read a dictionary and my fifth period didn't know how to use a comma with an appositive." That's not what happens. The testing data doesn't come back in time to make a meaningful difference in my instruction. It's my own assessments that guide instruction.

Some may say the test exists because teachers' assessments may not be accurate or standards-based. Nope, they may not be. That means you have a problem with incompetent teachers. CRTs don't solve that problem. In fact, they make them worse by making the education profession even less appealing, and using up the money that would have attracted better teachers.

Some say that the state needs accurate data about student achievement to make decisions. I can see that. I just don't think they need as much data as they're taking. Why three subjects every year for every student? Why not test sample populations, or only test one subject per year? Education practice does not change so rapidly that you'd miss anything by only collecting data every few years.

Here is what I wish would happen:

CRTs no more
test only sample populations when needed
teach to common standards (I hope the new standards are similar to the current standards. Our current English standards in Utah are very, very good.)
Every school and teacher responsible for assessing student mastery of those common standards
the school would be accountable (to the state and to the community) for creating accurate and transparent assessments

That would tank the whole AYP system of course, but I wouldn't count that as a loss.

It helps to have a form letter

2010-03-01T19:06:00.002-05:00

I've spent about two hours contacting parents about behavior issues today. I have a group of knuckleheads in my sixth period sending each other nasty comments on Moodle, which has an instant messaging feature. Fortunately, our Moodle admin at the district could send me a copy of what they were saying to each other. Which means I could send a copy home.

In most discipline cases, I prefer to e-mail parents. It's easier than trying to call because it's a 1 in 3 shot that I'll actually get someone on the phone instead of their answering machine. Also, an e-mail allows me to explain better. In this case, it has the added bonus of allowing me to send attachments.

Here's the form letter I worked up for today's need. I modified it for each student, but I plan on using as a template for future emails.

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Parent:

Your son, Johnny, has been sending inappropriate online messages to other students in class. We have an online classroom, Moodle, which we use to complete all of our classwork. One of the features of Moodle is the chance to “instant message” other students in class. I frequently check the students’ messages, and when I checked Johnny’s today I found him using foul language and making suggestive remarks. I’ve attached a copy of the conversation so you can see what I’m talking about.

I have talked with him about it, and I’ve emphasized that it cannot happen again.

Tomorrow, I’m going to have Johnny complete a paper assignment about online etiquette and safe computer use. He will no longer be allowed to use instant messaging at all. He will also need to consistently show good behavior and earn back the 25 citizenship points he lost today.

If Johnny continues to use inappropriate language or ignores my instructions for not using the messaging, the next step is suspension from this class for one period and referral to the principal.

I know you are concerned for Johnny, and I know that you're working to help him succeed. I need your help now. Please discuss this with Johnny so we can see better behavior from him.

Please contact me if you have any questions, or would like to discuss this further.

Sincerely,

Brooke Anderson

Somebody's in trouble . . .

2010-03-01T01:00:00.002-05:00

My substitute Friday had a lousy sixth period. Apparently a I had two students refuse to work or follow instructions. One student I know and the other gave her a false name (although I gave her a seating chart. . . ) So what to do?

The major problem I see with this behavior is how downright mean it is. Why would you torment someone like that? The substitute teacher is only there for one period, and I expect students to treat the sub like gold, particularly because the sub is the only one in the room who doesn't really know what's going on.

So, how do I get these misbehaving kids to recognize and correct their misbehavior?

I thought about kicking them off the computers for a week and sending them into other classrooms. That doesn't really teach them anything except, "Don't make Miss Anderson mad at you." A good lesson, but not enough.

Also, they wouldn't be able to complete any class assignments that week. That approach creates as many problems as it solves.

Instead, I'll get the whole class involved. I'm sure it was a lousy a day for everyone if the sub was frustrated, and I'd like the misbehavers to feel some peer pressure to improve. I'll start by asking the kids to list all the reasons why being a sub for our class is hard. Then, I'll have them list what they should do when a sub is here. Then, the kicker. I'll have the class brainstorm what should happen to students who misbehave. I'll write the whole list on the board, and tell students that I'll use their ideas to remedy the misbehavior from Friday. Then, I'll have the kids write me a letter explaining what happened Friday, what they were doing, and what they think should happen to the misbehavers. Also, I want to ask them who was especially helpful and have them brainstorm rewards for those students.

Cross your fingers for me, but I really think this will work well.

I'll get an immediate chance to assess the learning, because I'll be gone again on Wednesday. After Wednesday, I hope to reward my students for outstanding good behavior.

I've been stewing about this since Friday, and I found this solution at http://www.jimwrightonline.com/pdfdocs/subtchr.pdf Great ideas.

Fact, belief, bias, and opinion

2010-02-28T12:03:00.002-05:00

In 8th grade English in Utah, the core curriculum requires we teach students to

I enjoy teaching students to comprehend informational text because it opens up such a wide range of possible topics. Usually, I ask the students to find their own texts about an issue that is pertinent to them.

With my Honors classes, I extend the requirements to cover distinguishing between fact, opinion, belief, and bias. We create a matrix, and plot the characteristics of each. The longest part of the discussion is when we debate fact vs belief: facts and beliefs are both "true," but only facts are provable. I think this is the part of the curriculum that pushes their thinking the most, because they have to define the concept of "true."

Next year, I will definitely incorporate this segment from NPR: "Belief in Climate Change Hinges on Worldview." It's not about climate change so much as about fact, belief, and bias.

"People tend to conform their factual beliefs to ones that are consistent with their cultural outlook, their world view," Braman says.

"Basically the reason that people react in a close-minded way to information is that the implications of it threaten their values," says Dan Kahan, a law professor at Yale University and a member of The Cultural Cognition Project.

I think reading this article, coupled with creating the matrix, would be a great opportunity to develop the students' metacognition- can they think about their own thinking?

Students in my Honors class tend to be more knowledgeable about current issues because they have these conversations at home, but they aren't necessarily more open-minded. In my class, we discuss the value of being open-minded. I tell my students, "Basically, I want to push your walls of your brain wider and make some room for other ideas, not just the stuff that's already in there." They tell me, "You're making my brain hurt." Well, no pain, no gain, kids.

I designed one brain-pushing activity to point out to them the ratio of fact to opinion in persuasive writing. I took 2 editorials about nationalizing health care (one by Newt Gingrich and one by...some other guy) and spaced out all the sentences. Then, students cut the sentences into strips. They sorted the strips into 2 groups: fact and opinion. The students worked in partners and had to think very hard about the statements to decide. Some statements were a mix, and some students chose to cut those strips in half and count them as a half. In the end, we tallied the facts and opinions from each piece. I felt particularly proud that the tallies were identical for most groups in the room. They knew the difference. Those that had significantly different tallies got some more instruction.

Although not everything I have taught this year worked out so well, I feel that I made a difference in this instance. I think my students are more willing, and therefore more able, to listen open-mindedly. They'll learn more that way. I'm not sure how the instruction affected their views on certain topics, like health care and global warming, but I've observed them being slower to make statements and quicker to ask questions when we discuss controversial things. I believe that's an important part of teaching.

Anne Frank and my 8th graders

2010-02-24T19:23:00.003-05:00

I enjoy teaching the story of Anne Frank- as I'm sure many teachers do. It's inspiring and so immediate for the 8th grade students because she was their age. We read the play version in class, since it's available in our textbooks. And we don't just read it, no sirree, we perform it!

I've chosen scenes or segments of scenes from the play for students to do a "performance reading." Each student chooses a part (or is assigned if need be) and is given a copy of the script for that scene. Students are not required to memorize and block, but they are required to make their reading aloud superb (here's the rubric). We analyzed what makes a good performance reading in class, listened to audiobook snippets as models, and rehearsed. Now, whenever we get to a performance scene in the play, students are ready and able to read it aloud for us, with fluency and feeling.

This is one of my favorite things to do all year. I love listening to the students' performances. We keep it light, and sometimes the boys do funny voices and perform the part of Mrs. Van Daan. Why not? I value the story of Anne Frank because despite the gravity of the situation she was caught in, she found ways to love life. And 8th graders, despite any reputation they might have as hard to teach, eat the inspiration up. It's why I love teaching 8th graders!

I blame Howard Stephenson & Merlynn Newbold

2010-02-24T18:41:00.005-05:00

I had a rotten, horrible, no-good 10 days. I blame these two.

These two passed a law last year that said we had to have an online writing assessment in 8th grade (and 5th and 11th).

The test isn't scored by the computer- at least not completely. It's still human-scored, but it has to be administered on the computer.

Enter Measurement Inc. They won the bid to create the test (read: they are the cheapest, which in the educational software world doesn't bode well). The test was ready to go 2 weeks before the testing window opened.

Since the test wasn't ready to go until 2 weeks prior to the testing window, no one could be trained until 2 weeks prior to the testing window. As a bonus, some necessary people didn't even make it to the training. For an unfamiliar test, our school wound up with too few people who knew what was going on.

The test had to be administered in one sitting. Which means I created a testing schedule that pulled students out of their other classes in order to test. I also needed to let teachers know which students were missing each period. A logistical challenge, but not the hardest part.

The hardest part was getting people to proctor the test. The teachers themselves couldn't stay, because they had other classes waiting for them. We got people with student teachers to proctor. The hardest part was making sure the proctors knew what to do. I wish I could say we were more successful with that.

Also, the students couldn't log themselves into the test. Teachers had to log on to the computer using a dummy login, then log each student into the test using the same username/password combo for the whole school. Then, you had to choose the student's name from the drop-down list of 400 8th grade students. Even with 10 people working together, logging in 100 kids at a time was chaotic.

If a student wasn't there, and the teacher had already logged them in, their test had to be stopped & restarted within 60 minutes. If it wasn't, tough luck. We had over 20 students who were simply out of luck because the test proctor hadn't restarted the test in time.

We had one lab where most of the computers froze, and neither the students or teacher could pause, stop, or restart the test. Turns out, one piece of software in that lab was interacting badly with the testing software. Didn't see that coming, but I will look for it from now on.

Hmm...what else? Beside the general feeling of stress that pervaded the students and teachers? What else makes this such a lousy experience?

This data, from what I can tell, goes nowhere.

All the work and stress, and for what? To find out how well my students write? I already know that. To find out what someone else thinks about how well my students write? I don't care about that.

In the end, we took the test for Howard Stephenson and Merlynn Newbold. They mandated an online writing assessment in 8th grade.

I get that online testing would be great if it saved time and effort and you got results fast. None of that actually happened.

I blame those two.

Mark Madsen must love his guns . . .a lot

2010-02-23T22:06:00.004-05:00

In case I, or anyone else, had forgotten, here's a reminder: we'd be better off not electing Mark Madsen to the Utah State Senate again. He doesn't care about public schools. He's an extremist. And, as Ed Darrell at Millard Fillmore's Bathtub points out, he's offensive.

Apparently, he wanted to honor gunmaker John Browning on the Martin Luther King Jr holiday. John Browning may be a Utah pioneer, but Mark Madsen had 365 days to choose from, and I think he very clearly chose the wrong one.

The craziest thing to me is that the two seemed to be equally important to him. John Browning and MLK? Are you kidding?

A much snarkier version of the Browning/MLK holiday story is available from Salon.com under "This Week in Crazy."

E-time is working

2010-02-10T21:21:00.002-05:00

E-time, our school's remediation period that I highlighted in another post, is working out pretty well. We are still discussing the problems that come up, like teachers who are brimming with more students than they can remediate in 25 minutes, but overall it's been a real help.

As proof, we looked at our percentage of failing students from last year and compared it to this year. 27% of our current ninth graders had at least one D or F on their term 2 grades last year. Among that same group of students, only 9% had any D or F grades at the end of term 2 this year. 27% to 9%. I think that means we're seeing results.

Among those 9%, though, are the kids that are failing multiple classes and remediation isn't helping them much. They don't care about having to go to remediation. One of the next big tasks is to find a way to remediate the hard-core failing students. Our best idea right now is to create a school-within-a-school, a single classroom where those students would stay all day until they can earn their way back to regular school. Now we just need figure out how to staff it.

I like this iterative, problem-solving process, though. It's messy, which I know some teachers don't like, but I think we're definitely doing better by the kids.

Helpless McDoNothing

2010-02-10T20:36:00.003-05:00

I placed this student, let's call him Helpless McDoNothing, right next to me on the seating chart so I could help him. I knew he would have problems keeping up. Some kids just have a really hard time finding their way around technology, particularly when they don't use it at home. I have someone sit next to him that can help him. I modify his assignments to make them more manageable. I check on him every few minutes to offer encouragement and tips. Nothin' doin.

Helpless McDoNothing spends his classtime cultivating his greatest skill: throwing pity parties for himself.

He stopped and started an assignment no fewer than four times today. Each time, he would open the assignment in MS Word, I'd get him started, he'd do a little, and then quit and close the assignment. Without even saving it. I'd make him start over, then he'd quit. Each time, he'd put his head down, and whine, "I can't do it!" I'd point out to him, "You just did it." He'd just put his head down and whine. He gave up, not because he couldn't do it, but because it was hard to do. Not too hard, just run of the mill hard.

And then he whimpered.

It was the whimper that did it.

Helpless McDoNothing is about to enter the World of No "Can't Do."

From now on, he can't use the phrases "It's too hard," "I can't do it" or anything else that sounds even remotely whiny. He can say, "I need help. How do you do this?" to me or to someone else. He cannot put his head down. He cannot moan or whimper. Every day he'll have an 4" strip of paper placed at his desk. If he whines, procrastinates, or refuses to ask for help, I'll cut an inch off the strip. I won't even have to say anything. At the end of the period, whatever length he has left he can turn in for a Starburst candy. Four inches = four Starbursts. After a while, I can have him go longer and hold out for more.

I know, I know- candy as a reward. I'm not thrilled about it. I actually almost never give out candy in class- maybe 2 or 3 times a year. My prize of choice is praise. After that I usually give free time, or a fun experience, or a pencil or eraser when an object is needed. I got the candy idea from meeting with a Resource teacher and the school psychologist. And it surprised me coming from them. With Helpless McDoNothing, given his problems and circumstances, we agreed that flat-out bribery was still on the table.

It is about time he unlearned his helplessness.

On the local dialect

2010-02-09T00:37:00.004-05:00

This morning on the announcements I heard, "Congratulations to the boys basketball team, who won Payson yesterday [some number] to [some number]."

I stopped, turned to my students and said, "Isn't that great? We won the Payson basketball team! They are our prize! I wonder if they'll fit in the trophy case. I hope they don't mind being bronzed."

Some of my students were utterly flummoxed. Some got the joke.

It's a bit of the local dialect I've never learned to live with, saying "we won them" instead of "we beat them" or "we won the game." I can't keep myself from pointing out the absurdity every time I hear it.

Some day, improper English, I will win you!

See, it just sounds ridiculous when you say it that way.

This post struck just the right chord today

2010-02-03T21:42:00.002-05:00

"Of course unions have prevented reform over the years. But that, in and of itself, doesn't make them evil. You see, not all reform is good. "

"When I see a bad teacher remaining in a school, I blame the principal more than the union."

From Corey at Thoughts on Education Policy.

We all know what makes a great teacher...so why aren't we all great teachers?

2010-02-03T19:59:00.011-05:00

The Atlantic Monthly just ran an excellent analysis of What Makes a Great Teacher. The author is pretty star-struck by Teach for America, but the major elements of great teaching are principles every teacher knows by heart:

1. High expectations for students
2. Always look to improve your effectiveness
3. Make families and students part of the process
4. Focus on learning above all else
5. Plan, plan, plan- always have a plan
6. Begin with end in mind
7. Work hard. Real hard.
8. Frequent formative assessment
9. Foster student collaboration and peer coaching
10. Gradual release of responsibility- I do, we do, you do
11. Manage the classroom through routines

Like everyone else, I know what I'm supposed to be doing, I just don't always do it. Great teachers are doing all of these, all the time. But the catch is #7. As the article puts it: "the extreme hours that Teach for America teachers put in—for two years—are not sustainable for most people over the long term. "

Which is the problem. Some people (like my old professor) believe the solution is to simply turn teaching over to the young, and plan for massive turnover. Some people use this as an excuse to shrug their shoulders at burnout and underperformance (like my admin). In the article, they make a rather interesting assertion

But if school systems hired, trained, and rewarded teachers according to the principles Teach for America has identified, then teachers would not need to work so hard. They would be operating in a system designed in a radically different way—designed, that is, for success.

I really don't know what that system would look like. The article summarizes the DC schools teacher evaluation, but not in enough detail that I could really imagine it at my school.

I'm in my 9th year, and I'm still struggling to get home before 7 PM every day (I get to work at 7 AM, by the way). I'm really, really interested in the "not needing to work so hard" assertion. I've taught longer than most TFA grads ever will, longer than the teacher featured in the article seems likely to. I can tell you firsthand it's untenable. The system can't be based on every teacher working 70 hour weeks.

So maybe a better system isn't recruiting people for short-lived teaching glory. Maybe the better system is to plan for long-term effectiveness by cultivating these skills in career teachers. Like I said at the beginning, there isn't a teacher out there who doesn't know, at least on paper, that principles 1-11 are essential to good teaching.

The article also points out key supports given to TFA teachers: mentoring, expert evaluation, and customized training. That system of support doesn't need to stay with TFA- that would be extremely effective with all teachers.

Claus von Zastrow breaks down the TFA love/hate phenom and seems to agree. Or, I should say, I agree with him: "TFA strives to learn from its mistakes over time--to improve its services and keep empowering its teaching force. What's not to like about that?"

In the next round of federal education reform, Race to the Top, a major emphasis is placed on teacher evaluation. But is teacher development also emphasized? That could be the factor that determines if Race to the Top is a hero or villain in the history of American education.

Take a percentage, not days

2010-01-31T13:23:00.003-05:00

In an effort to cut costs for this school year, Nebo district cut teacher prep days. It seems this was a common strategy around the state. The teachers asked our union to negotiate for a percentage cut, but . . . well, that didn't happen. Some members of the school board would rather cut teacher days than student days because in their minds, cutting teacher days doesn't affect the kids. That's a false assumption- and I would have hoped anyone in education could have seen that. The less time teachers have to prepare, the less students are educated. Period. If you're cutting days, you may as well have the students stay home sometimes, because they're getting less anyway.

But why not revisit the percentage cut? Lose no days, but lose some salary. It also winds up being more fair. If you cut days, that winds up affecting the teachers more, because they have fewer paid days in their contract than administrators.

I know the fear behind the percentage cut is, "What if we never get that money back?" But I'm actually more afraid of not getting the prep days back.

Why Gov. Herbert's "no tax increase" should worry Utahns

2010-01-30T19:23:00.009-05:00

We're facing an education budget deficit- no news there. The state of Utah has to have a balanced budget by law, so either we find some money to fill the gap, or Utah's kids are going to get less of an education.

Ed programs and agencies in Utah operate on a shoestring budget as a matter of course. We have the lowest per pupil spending in the nation- by a lot. We don't spend a lot on administration. We don't spend a lot on professional development. We don't even spend enough on the Schools for the Deaf & Blind. What can we cut? I've been listening to the Public Ed Appropriations Subcommittee meetings online and I'm hearing very little that's hopeful. Everything points to a lower-quality education for our students, and unpaid hours for our teachers and education personnel.

Some of the cuts being considered?

No summer camp or residential programs for the Schools for Deaf & Blind. Are you kidding, Utah? Surely we find a way to fund the programs that help our disadvantaged children.

Cutting teacher salary and benefits. We already pay Utah teachers less than almost all other teachers in the nation, and ask them to make do with less funding overall. A further backslide is unacceptable.

Pat Jones had it right: "When it comes down to it, if we want to hold education and other programs harmless, we will need to find other revenue sources."

There was talk at the initial meeting about offering districts some flexibility to cut busing to high schools in non-rural areas. That could work, but the state legislature would have to pass a bill allowing it. One unexpected benefit from our busted budget could be increased flexibility in spending. So much education spending is prescribed or restricted by state law, and districts will definitely need the flexibility.

How about cutting online testing? How much are we spending on that? And is it worth more to us than teachers, school nurses, special education, and having a full school year? I bet we could drop the tests for several grade levels, in several subjects, and teachers, students, and parents wouldn't care.

I know a lot of people are already proposing this, even (gasp!) Howard Stephenson: restore the food sales tax. Since sales tax doesn't go towards education funding, the legislature would also need to make sure the revenue gets spent on education, or to offset education spending. Sadly, Stephenson proposes restoring the food tax but cutting income tax. Income tax is totally dedicated to education. His proposal would cut education funding even further with no guaranteed supplement. So much for Howard Stephenson helping the schools out in their time of crisis.

How about limiting the child deductions people can take on their state income tax so families who send more kids to school also pay more for school? I don't think that would ever fly in Utah.

In the end, we've got find some way of holding education funding harmless in these tough times. We already run an efficient system, which is good, but it means we have no wiggle room. If we want a real economic recovery, we can't sacrifice our future workforce. Gov. Herbert, with his "no tax increase" promise seems to be willing to make that sacrifice for the short-term benefits it offers. That's just not acceptable, Utah.

Action research, relationships of trust, and the 2x10 experiment

2010-01-26T15:03:00.008-05:00

I'm currently participating the Wilhelm Secondary Literacy Institute. We met initially for a week in the summer for intensive training, and we've been following up throughout the school year. It's a lot of homework, but it's some of the best learning I've ever done. One of the core requirements is to engage in action research: choose a research question, gather data, code and interpret the data.

I immediately started asking the question, "How can I help my students like me and my class more?"

This is no fluff question. I don't mean how I can be friends with my students- which is a trap so many young teachers fall into in an attempt to be accepted in their own classroom. I'm talking about building relationships of trust with my students. I want each and every student to feel safe in my classroom because they know I'm rooting for them. Student engagement, and ultimately learning, depends on their engagement with their teacher. If a student knows you like them, that can solve or head off many problems.

There are some exceptional teachers in my school, and their students always know they are welcome and liked in their rooms. Their classroom management is excellent. Parents appreciate their work. They make the school better. People trust and respect them. Most importantly, their students thrive.

Of course, we can all think of the flip side too. I've definitely had the experience where a student was convinced (rightly or wrongly) that I hated them. The learning for those students was basically shut down at that point.

Two quotes come to mind. One was from my job interview for current teaching position, “Is it important that your students like you?” As it turns out, for my principal, the entire interview hinged on that question. Another was from my mentor, “Your students may not remember what they learned in your class- but they will always remember how you made them feel.”

One problem: I've always considered that ability to relate to students an inherent ability, not a learned one. For the teachers I'm thinking of in my building, it's definitely an inherent skill. For me, it's not. It's not like I go around giving kids the stink-eye, but I don't get to know most of them on a personal level.

One of my professors at the U of U last semester, Laura Hunter, said that I should know my students' lives- who rides vs who walks, who has two parents at home, hobbies, background, etc. She says I should know this by simply talking to and getting to know my kids. I think this is a very tall order for a secondary teacher (170 students!). However, I'd like to do what I can to know my students better because I think that is the key to building great classroom relationships.

So my little bit of action research will be to try the 2 x 10 experiment. I'll spend 2 minutes a day, for 10 days, talking to a particular student in each class- just chatting. I can do some pretty simple data collection- my own observation of student attitudes- which should satisfy the requirements of qualitative research.

Jeff Wilhelm has done a lot of work concerning student motivation- and the many ways a teacher can increase student motivation. His books- Action Strategies, Strategic Reading, and Reading Don't Fix No Chevys- are well worth the read.

The DWA . . . DOA?

2010-01-22T23:17:00.009-05:00

As a result of some 2009 legislation, my students will take the Direct Writing Assessment this year instead of next. According to the law, it must be online. We don't have the money to keep using My Access, so we'll be using a site called Utah Write. Our old friend Howard Stephenson sponsored the bill for the senate, Merlynn Newbold for the House.

Renae, a Jordan District LA teacher, has a pretty good summary of it. Two things to remember:

1. The switch from 6th/9th grade to 5th/8th was made to ensure that students would definitely be tested in an elementary school and junior high school. Also, because 6th/9th grade were getting over-tested.

2. The test was not modified to reflect the 5th/8th core. It's still a test designed for 6th/9th graders. This is a big deal, because the test has a persuasive writing prompt. Persuasive writing is not taught in 8th grade- the 8th grade core focuses on narrative and memoir. We're going to test the students' future knowledge this year.

Either the test prompt has to change, or the curriculum will be changed to suit the test. Or, it could get moved back to 6th/9th grade. I suggest none of that.

Let's save some money and forget about the DWA for 5th and 8th grade, at least for a little while.

It's data that isn't going anywhere. It's nice to have, but no decisions get made as a result of the DWA. It doesn't count towards AYP as far as I know. It's machine-scored, so I don't think the scores are accurate enough for making placement decisions. Besides, it's not even testing what I teach, so I'm not really sure what purpose the data serves on the ground level. To let me know how well my students write? I already know that.

Online writing assessments like My Access and Utah Write can be valuable formative assessment tools. They get students writing in multiple drafts with quick feedback. They were never intended, at least among any teachers I've ever spoken to, as summative assessment. And yet that's where we're placing our faith and money- online summative writing assessments. Looking at the applications, I'm not sure that's our best investment right now.

Can someone finish the sentence for me? The DWA is important for 5th and 8th graders because . . .

Spelling Bee

2010-01-21T17:02:00.002-05:00

Gelid: extremely cold; icy

I had never heard of the word before studying the pronunciations for the spelling bee words. Our School Spelling Champion hadn't either and bless her, she still got it right. Don't let the length fool you- that's a tough word. It would require a pretty good knowledge of spelling patterns to accurately predict the spelling of that word.

After I declared her spelling "correct," our winner gave us the "Miss America" reaction- she dropped her jaw, widened her eyes, and her hand shot to her mouth as she repeated, "Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh!" It was adorable.

The School Spelling Champion will go on to the Utah Regional Bee, then (if she wins!) the Scripps National Bee in Washington, DC.

I've put the bee together for three years now- and I feel even more strongly about it than when I began. It's a great opportunity for kids to shine. Plus, it gets them studying spelling. We didn't have very many kids interested in participating the first year we held it, but this year 70 out 85 qualifiers participated. It was an unprecedented turnout. (So much so I'm embarrassed to say we didn't have enough chairs for the spectators- sorry!)

I'm always so pleased to see kids and parents coming out in force to support an academic competition like the spelling bee. A bee is an intense experience: each child has to stand up in front of everyone to spell words that just get harder and harder each round. If they make even a little error, they're out. Sudden-death spelling. I, as the pronouncer, can only give each contestant so much help. I can hear the spectators behind me groaning with the pent-up anticipation (frustration?) sometimes. I appreciate people's kind support of the students, despite the nerves.

And now it's done for another school year. Whew!

A new showcase for student work

2010-01-16T01:00:00.002-05:00

I've redone the CSS for my Computer Applications site and posted most of the work from last semester. I like it much better than the last design- it's simple.

I'm excited to show my new students the site and have them click around. I hope they'll see what's possible and be eager to start learning.

Stupid in Texas

2010-01-16T00:29:00.004-05:00

"I don't see anyone wanting to say that this is a Christian nation or anything like that," McLeroy said. "The argument is that the principles on which (the nation) has been founded are biblically based." (from Yahoo News)

Whatever, Mr. McLeroy. Don McLeroy wants Genesis taught in science class, and thinks that scientists are all atheists, and thinks that atheists are all evil (and are going to destroy America). I'm sure he thinks the bright side to all that is that the Second Coming will occur even sooner.

And what on earth would he know about history? The principles upon which our nation was founded are biblically based? WTF? If that were the case, we'd still have a king. And no separation between church and state. Jehovah really seemed to like the whole prophet-king model of government. Representative democracy, not as much.

The Founding Fathers weren't basing their right to govern from the Bible, which gave King George his "divine right." They based their government on the rights of man. On humanism.

Mr. McLeroy, how about you "render under Caesar the things that are Caesar's"? Leave the science curriculum to the scientists, the history curriculum to the historians, and education to the educators.

Because Haiti is on all of our minds

2010-01-13T21:55:00.004-05:00

And because no heartbreaking natural tragedy is complete without a white conservative Evangelical Christian saying how it is all in God's plan.

The Haitians "were under the heel of the French. You know, Napoleon III and whatever," Robertson said on his broadcast Wednesday. "And they got together and swore a pact to the devil. They said, 'We will serve you if you will get us free from the French.' True story. And so, the devil said, 'OK, it's a deal.' " (from CNN)

Haiti made a pact all right, but not with the devil. With the Wilson Administration. Haiti was another of America's failed attempts at nation-building.

Pat Robertson's remarks are deeply shameful. And just as bad, they're deeply ignorant. Sorry to add to the pile of outrage; I probably shouldn't pay him any attention. It makes me angry thinking that he probably has no knowledge of the sad history of US dealings in Haiti. Why blame a failed 20-year occupation for a lack of political and economic stability when you can just blame the people it was imposed on? Would Haiti be in such terrible shape if it weren't for America's failed attempt at nation-building there? Obviously re-writing history wouldn't have stopped an earthquake, but what about creating hospitals, roads, emergency services?

Perhaps I'm being unfair in implying that Wilson's paternalistic politics are responsible for Haiti's current state. After all, a major focus of the occupation was building a better infrastructure. But I don't think it's too great of a stretch to say that Haiti was worse off after the occupation ended.

Haiti is already poorer than any other country in this hemisphere . . . by a lot. And that's not the worst of it. According to Gapminder, the country that has seen its GDP per capita backslide from $1840 in 1952 to $1201 in 2007. (http://graphs.gapminder.org/world/)

Our actions, and the actions of our predecessors, have unintended consequences. The least we can do when meddling in the world is be cognizant of our own history.

The most we can do is give. I am tired of these ignorant old men who think they speak for God.

Go to the Google Relief page for an easy overview of donation options:

http://www.google.com/relief/haitiearthquake/

The simplest option seems to be to text "Haiti" to 90999- that will donate $10 to the Red Cross relief efforts there.

Update: a link to Open Culture's post, "Jared Diamond Explains Haiti's Enduring Poverty"

My new ADDIE project

2009-12-15T18:28:00.002-05:00

It's a darn good thing I just took a class in instructional design & educational technology. My VP approached me a couple of days ago and says he wants me to work out an online learning system for homebound students.

I think before I took this class, I would have charged this assignment with guns blazing, ready to use the coolest, latest piece of tech I'd found. Then I'd get overwhelmed. Then I'd have been inevitably frustrated with a disappointing result.

Now, I realize how much time for analysis I'll need- and how much I can take. I'll need to analyze who are current homebound students are, and what online learning they would be amenable to. I'll examine past homebound students and see what their needs were. I'll reach out and try to find successful models elsewhere (any help, internet?). I'll look at hardware, time issues, which teachers have the necessary skills, just to name a few things.

I'll have to develop a training plan for the teachers and test it out myself. Field trials would be a must in this case.

I think I can do this. A wise teacher once told me to "eat your elephant one bite at a time." Well, this new project is definitely an elephant. And I think I know how to dig in and get started.

Skimping on design

2009-11-24T19:01:00.003-05:00

I can't tell you how many parents have told me that they assume the teachers just use the same lessons year after year. I think you don't appreciate the delicate and organic process of instructional design until you're thrown into it.

Hmmm... maybe delicate was not right way to describe this process. Maybe it's more like making sausage- you really don't want to know what goes on behind the scenes.

At any rate, it's complicated.

I feel like teachers are required and expected to skimp on the process, though, even as people demand a higher-quality product. If we know analysis and planning are the key to instructional design, where is the time for analysis and planning in a teacher's work week?

Criticisms, complaints, and computers in the schools

2009-11-17T20:39:00.006-05:00

In "Integrating Computers in the Schools: A Review of Criticisms" the authors (Kennon Smith, Barbara Bichelmeyer, John Monson, and Brian Horvitz) make an extensive list of the downsides of educational technology.

My inner curmudgeon was thoroughly satsfied, despite the fact that some of the concerns are downright silly. (i.e. Adults won't be able to control what students think if they are exposed to too many ideas. I'll file that under "not an issue.")

Why was it so nice for me to read about all the problems associated with integrating technology in schools? I am the computer specialist for my school. I firmly believe in the power of educational technology to aid teaching and learning. I am striving to innovate my own little corner of education. I am already familiar with the problems, and it's a relief to hear someone else validate my concerns. If you don't understand the problems associated with integrating technology into education, then you fully don't understand technology or education. I trust people more when they know where the problems are.

So here's my top ten list of criticisms from the article (reworded by me, of course):

1. It's changing the kids brains! They won't think like we learned to, which means they won't think as well as we do. One source in the paper criticized computers for potentially making kids too logical, and not as creative. Has anyone seen that actually happen? I see technology, especially online technology, making kids more scatterbrained and less likely to follow logical reasoning steps. (And the experts at Frontline's Digital Nation back me up).
2. Unequal access and unequal outcomes. I think think access is becoming more equitable over time- especially with changing cultural attitudes towards women. That being said, there's a lovely quote on our wall at school, "Nothing is more unfair than the equal treatment of unequals." Not every students needs the same level of technology, and there is definite threshold where the learning curve for the tool outweights the benefit.
3. Lack of professional development. We've all been there: you were mandated to use certain technology- and not really trained how. In my school, new projectors are all the rage. But many teachers (including me) use the digital projectors to show pretty much the same things that were previously copied onto transparencies. Change in media did not create a change in method. Only time and training can do that.
5. You got the computers, but not the maintenance. Or the peripherals. Adding to what I said about the projectors, the admin was curiously reluctant to buy more cables and splitters to hook them up to the teachers' computers. Where's the sense in that?
6. People are worried about what the kids might find on the interwebs. Nothing that they weren't already looking for, my dear. I know, I know, there is a lot to protect kids from and I'm grateful for internet filtering. I would never reccommend not filtering. Filtering is secondary, though- reactive. Parent and teacher expectations, and student judgment, should be the first line of defense.
7. Online gradebook? Fantastic! Students can check grades 24/7. And now they expect them to be updated 24/7.
8. Foolhardy legislators are eyeing your job and thinking, "Hmmm... a couple of computers with those learning games and you wouldn't even know she was missing..." When the people in charge of your job don't really understand your job, hilarity ensues. Or tears.
9. Everything is bigger & better when it's online- especially testing. Especially your migraine when the network goes down during the test.
10. Your not-so-tech savvy boss wants to keep tabs on everything. I have to submit all media for approval before using it in class. Yet I'm trusted to choose printed text on my own. This does not make sense to me.

Whew! I feel better now.

But what's to be done with these criticisms? I view them as an implementation dip (Michael Fullan explains so well what an "implementation dip" is). Some will resolve themselves as our culture changes. I think the need to control ideas and information will be one of the first things to go. I hope that is followed closely by rushed technology adoptions.

I liked the targeted approach our district tech services dept took a few years back. Teachers could apply for any classroom technology they wanted, but only if they were willing to commit to the time and training, and they could justify its use. Instead of spreading the technology thin and hoping for the best, they worked with individual teachers. This cultivated a core of very tech-savvy teachers throughout the district. Other teachers, in my own personal experience, have been more willing to try what they see these teachers doing.

Ultimately, in order to make technology educational, we have to be smarter. We ALL have to be smarter: the kids, the teachers, the administrators, the parents, the legislators- everyone. I think that's a good direction in which to be pushed.

Bad design

2009-11-17T17:34:00.003-05:00

Bad electrical design: The sockets for rows of computers are in the floor, and pretty unprotected from contact. A student kicks one accidentally, an entire row of computers shut off.

Bad drawer design for a school: Our counter drawers are a couple of inches away from being able to store posters. I think that's a big oversight in a school- teachers have lots of posters. Why not a drawer to fit them?

Speaking of visual design

2009-11-11T21:49:00.004-05:00

This week's class reminded of an assignment I had given my 8th grade students a few years ago. We were studying media literacy at the time. I was teaching them how images could be persuasive- how you can make people look noble or cowardly, good or bad, warm or cold- using certain visual techniques. I assigned my students to create their own graphics in Fireworks for the person they were researching in Social Studies. At the time, I vowed to never give the assignment again- the process was too lengthy and the outcome relied on design skills I hadn't really taught them. All the same, I like looking at their graphics. Here are some of my favorites:

Having reviewed the principles of design, I'm more likely to give this assignment again. Perhaps to my English students if we can compact the other curriculum. More likely to my Computer Applications students. I think I'll teach them the four basic principles outlined by Robin Williams in The Non-Designer's Design Book: contrast, repetition, alignment, and proximity. They'll love the acronym.

An integrated theory of learning

2009-11-10T19:04:00.002-05:00

The debate about behaviorism v cognitivism v constructivism is a false debate. An effective teacher must be able to slip in and out of all three theories as needed.

Behaviorism works. We know it works best when teaching discrete, low-level skills. As an instructor, I have to teach those skills as pre-requisites for higher-order skills. In class the general feeling seemed to be that you can't value constructivism over behaviorism because they are both useful. True, they both are. But behaviorism and low-level skills are definitely not where you want to stop.

Cognitivism also works and is good. But again, is that really where we want to stop? If we want students to be creative problem-solvers (which must be our goal for the future), how can we not base our instruction around creation and problem-solving?

Constructivism has developed a reputation as disregarding previous theories or lower-level skills. I feel that does not reflect the true nature of the theory. It is meant to supplement those theories, not supplant.

I feel that we (instructional designers) have moved beyond all three theories- to a post-constructivist paradigm that values problem-solving and authenticity, but focuses on the acquisition of needed skills and schema first.

One of my favorite teacher texts has been Project Based Learning Handbook from the Buck Institute. It walks the reader through the steps of instructional design but with a practical focus towards creating middle school/high school curriculum. And they give lots of examples.

Principles of Visual Design

2009-11-10T16:48:00.004-05:00

Visual Principles

View more presentations from Diamond Fork Jr High.

PowerPoint helps:
What is good PowerPoint design? from Presentation Zen
Really Bad PowerPoint from the all-knowing Seth Godin
Prezi: the presentation wizard

Get good stuff here:
Chart Chooser from Juice Analytics
The Stock Exchange: Database of royalty-free stock photography
kuler: a database of color palettes from Adobe
The Color Schemer: great color palettes for web design
AccessColor: test your text contrast

Examples and Inspiration:
dy/dan: In my opinion, king of info design among teachers. He has a great segment on his blog- What can you do with this?
A Periodic Table of Visualization Methods
Data Visualization: Modern Approaches from Smashing Magazine
So Many a Second
Note and Point
Visual Complexity
Information Aesthetics
The Crisis of Credit
Our very own Kevin's Cell Size and Scale

web 2.0 tools:
Wordle: a favorite tool of mine- it creates word clouds
The Visual Thesaurus

Your mission: Meet with your group, design a visual element for your instructional design project. Tell me what you did in the comments.

Clark: "Thus we reinvent the wheel constantly but inadequately"

2009-11-03T17:03:00.002-05:00

As Clark says, "We too often act as if we believe that each new delivery technology requires a new theory of learning and performance. Thus we 'reinvent the wheel' constantly but inadequately."

I see happening all the time with literacy instruction. People assume that because the medium of literacy instruction changes, the results will improve. That somehow students will learn better from adaptive software than by reading sight cards. This was especially apparent in the rash of computerized reading programs available in the late 90s such as Read 180. This was also the intent of much of the “research-based strategies” push behind Reading First. And that is why Reading First failed- like countless other reading programs that rely on medium versus method. The medium for literacy instruction doesn't matter one bit. It is, as Clark suggests, replaceable.

I think literacy programs are a prime example of “different methods called by similar names… developed and implemented in idiosyncratic ways.” We know the cognitive processes behind literacy. It would be incorrect to assume that those processes would change or improve as a result of a certain medium. The only way to change or improve literacy instruction is through method.

2009-11-03T17:02:00.002-05:00

Web 2 0 Presentation

View more presentations from Diamond Fork Jr High.

Youtube playlist for Web 2.0 presentation

2009-11-02T22:52:00.001-05:00

Beetle-swahbat: Writing objectives

2009-10-20T19:52:00.004-05:00

When I first began teaching at Spanish Fork Middle School, my principal emphasize a simple pattern for writing objectives: BTEL-SWBAT. By the end of the lesson, students will be able to...

He'd ask us to write objectives and turn them in, he'd check lesson plans for them, etc. Then, I started the reading endorsement and learned to tweak that pattern to include the conditions of learning. Given __, students will be able to __....

Then we got a new principal who emphasized measurable objectives: Given __, students will be able to __, as measured by ___.

Now returning to school to learn (again) how to teach, I learned to focus on the verbs involved: categorize, evaluate, sort, predict, etc. The objectives I write now are much simpler, but they have all the necessary parts: conditions, actions, measure. I don't think I would have been impressed with the simplicity as a newbie, but now making the objectives simple but specific makes perfect sense.

Why don't we discuss Howard Stephenson more in our IDET class?

2009-10-04T21:07:00.004-05:00

In our Instructional Design & Educational Technology class we focus mostly on theory, but theory is not reality. Why not provide some local examples instead of speaking about implementing ed tech in general terms? We have some great situations to learn from in our own backyard, as pointed out by UtahTeacher's latest post:

ProCert is not qualified to evaluate the quality of material in a given textbook and does not pretend to provide that service. Paying them thousands of scarce education dollars for an initial screening is inefficient and wasteful. Howard Stephenson has obviously not taken the time to familiarize himself with how textbooks are actually chosen in schools and districts, and is thus “throwing money” at a gimmick that someone successfully pitched him.

Go read it. It's an education.

Who is my SME, exactly?

2009-09-24T13:12:00.006-05:00

Abbie Brown and Timothy Green outline three different ways to conduct a task analysis in The Essentials of Instructional Design. Each method seems just fine, but I got stuck on one point. Who would be my SME?

SME= Subject Matter Expert

In education, we're often counseled to make student tasks as authentic as possible. Science classes should teach kids how to think/act like scientists. History classes should teach kids how to think/act like historians. This "real-world" rebranding of core classes has some people on fire to get SMEs in the classroom and kick out certified teachers. I can see what they want, although I disagree with their predicted outcome.

In English class, should we teach students to think/act like writers? Would a professional writer be able to help me design instruction? I seriously doubt it. The problem with an expert writer would be the problem with any expert- they just don't understand what makes them good. I think this problem is compounded in an English classroom. With a skill so deeply ingrained as reading- most of us can't even remember learning how to read- breaking down the beginning and intermediate steps is a critical task. A task that would leave an expert reader or writer stumped. If you read well, can you really understand what it's like for a child who doesn't picture anything he reads about? How boring reading would be to that child?

I think it would be almost impossible for a SME to break down the tasks of reading and writing well enough for a child who wasn't inherently talented at them. I would think in the field of English teaching, only a master literacy teacher would qualify as a SME, not a writer or some other professional.

Sifting through 7 million

2009-09-22T18:01:00.002-05:00

Last night in class, the subject of ineffective teachers came up. Given enough time, any discussion about education will revert to a discussion about who to fire.

Not to defend bad teachers, but exactly who is lining up to replace them? First-year teachers who are also, by the way, ineffective?

Malcolm Gladwell had some interesting thoughts on the subject. His basic argument is that we should flood ourselves with new, cheap teachers and just let them sift out. Try out 4 teachers to find one good one? Is that practical given the numbers? He compares this process to finding a quarterback for pro football. Really, are there 7 million quarterbacks?

It's hard to bring in large numbers of newbies. Their energy can be great, but it's often consumed by the act of keeping their head above water. I dunno. Mine certainly is not the only set of experiences to consider.

Hm.

I read about this somewhere else first, but I forget where. Somewhere on my blog roll.

Big changes for the better

2009-09-21T22:46:00.005-05:00

"While top-down change doesn't work, we still need the force of top-down mandates. . . . Top-down mandates and bottom-up energies need each other" Mark Fullan in Change Forces: The Sequel.

I've been meaning to blog about this earlier, but it seemed like a topic that needed extra care, so I kept putting it off. No longer!

This year our school instituted a major change: E-time. Basically, we have a 25 minute class period between 3rd and 4th period that we use to give students either enrichment or remediation. A student who is passing all classes earns 25 minutes of fun time (like organized recess). A student who is failing gets to go back to his or her own teacher for remediation. I'll say that again, so you don't think this is study hall: if a student is failing your class, he or she comes back to YOU to get extra help. On a day to day basis.

The logistics are explained more fully here. I am more impressed with how the change came about.

We already had 25 minutes built into our schedule for a "homeroom"-type class. Every other junior high used a study hall model and I'd say it wasn't effective. We used the time to watch Channel One, and that wasn't really effective either. Our principal pretty much said that we were moving to some kind of study period, so we needed to figure out what we wanted it to look like. That was the mandate. We knew change was coming, and we knew what he had in mind.

He got the department heads and a couple of faculty lynch-pins together to work out the system's design. We used Lakeridge Junior High as a model. Then, it became the committee's project, and they really took off with it. They presented their ideas to the faculty and held a vote. Most of the faculty was convinced it was worth trying. Over the summer, they worked out the logistics, how to present it to students & teachers, a schedule- the works. That was the energy.

For such a major change, it's gone remarkably well. Even the teachers who don't like it are playing along because pressure is coming from colleagues, not administration. The first week was crazy, and the seventh graders were really confused. We're five weeks in, though, and it's running smoothly. I stick my head out into the hallway and there are no stragglers. My enrichment room is full. My kids come to remediation- and actually have a good attitude about it. We're making it easier for them to do well, and most kids are willing to take advantage of that.

As a professional, I am so pleased to see this work. Especially considering my last post on the matter. I need to believe that my school can evolve and become better. I think it has.

If you're in IDET, read this post

2009-09-21T08:23:00.001-05:00

The real-world problems and possibilities of teaching "21st century skills" are laid out here nicely by the Science Goddess.

Grading for mastery

2009-09-19T00:30:00.004-05:00

Look at Ben Chun's argument for not weighting your grades. I get this. I always get a little perturbed at students and parents who can't figure out grades (I know- I'm going to hell). To me, it's just slices of pie. The fewer grades, the bigger slice. That's why when you only have 5 grades, doing poorly on one will really kill your grade.

Am I missing something here, Schiffman?

2009-09-19T00:12:00.002-05:00

From "Instructional Systems Design: Five Views of the Field" by Shirl S. Schiffman:

ISD [Instructional Systems Design] is more than a simple method. It is a field requiring a wide range of psychological, sociological, interpersonal, and managerial skills if it is to be skillfully and creatively practiced. That is not to say that classroom teachers and others cannot master and benefit from basic ISD procedures. However, professional instructional systems designers must be prepared to design for different system constraints, populations, content areas (often unfamiliar ones), and forms of media and technology.

I thought being a successful classroom teacher was the same thing as being an instructional designer. "Psychological, sociological, interpersonal, and managerial skills"- isn't that the teacher's toolkit?

My unit template

2009-09-18T23:30:00.002-05:00

I collect unit planning templates. At first, they all seemed different, but now I can see how they are mostly similar. That's why some sections have multiple names; people label them differently, but they're basically the same. I adopt a little bit from each template that I find. My current unit template is below. It'll probably change by the end of this year.

Title

Essential Question?

Grade:
Class:

Rationale: This is where I plan out the W’s of my unit- who, what, when…. This would be the analysis that comes before the planning. Who is the audience? What do the already know? Why do they need to be taught this? How long will this take? What do I need to remember to do?

Unit Objectives & Standards: What will students be doing? I usually take objectives from the state core and use them as my unit objectives. Somewhere between 3 and 5. I break them down into daily objectives and use that to plan the lessons. I still abide by SBWAT- The Students Will Be Able To- to help me phrase my objectives clearly.

The Big Ideas: This section was recently updated to include what I learned from the Jeff & Peggy Wilhelm. I try to pinpoint the skills and concepts I want students to learn.

Prerequisite knowledge:

What concepts & ideas should students already know in order to understand the instruction? What do I expect their base knowledge to be?

Prerequisite skill:

What should students already be able to do or make?

Conceptual Knowledge:

(What you want the students to know)

The what: mostly this is concepts & vocab

Procedural Knowledge:

(What you want the students to do)

The how: this is usually where I decide the products students must create in order to show mastery

Pre-Assessment & Frontloading:

How will I assess prior knowledge? Could be an anticipation guide, discussion, exit slip, pre-test…
How will I introduce students to the learning? I usually plan one day as an “anchor” lesson- a day that reveals the essential question we will keep returning to. This is a lesson where I shoot for emotional investment. I want students to keep this day in the back of their minds and refer back to the ideas we discussed.

Post-Assessment or Culminating Product: How will I finally know they’ve got it?

This is project-based learning. The summative assessment is almost always a student-created product. Choosing a good final product also helps me go back and revise my objectives. I’m forced to think- what do students really need to know? I bounce back and forth between this and objectives quite a bit when planning.

Lessons / Activities / Scaffolding:

I copy and paste my objectives here, then parse them into daily lessons.
If I create worksheets or use links, I always hyperlink them within the document so everything is in one place.
I’m always changing this stuff around- sometimes as I teach it I think of a better way.

Resources:

I list any books, websites, or media that offer ideas for the unit. I often include things that I find and just want to check out later.

Plot redone, backwards

2009-09-18T00:12:00.002-05:00

I sometimes forget how excited 8th graders can get over stories. Reading stories, discussing stories, and especially writing stories. The ideas are fun to listen to- often silly, but fun. Just today I heard a story outline involving a giant jelly doughnut, another involving a character with a mysterious acronym for a name (creative!), and one about the earth's struggle to rid herself of mankind. None of this fun would have happened if I hadn't redone my plot lesson.

I decided it wasn't enough for students to be able to list the stages of plot, or even to analyze the plot of a story. Those are both good steps, but in the end, I'll know my students really understand plot if they can create one. I decided my end goal was to have students outline the plot and conflict for a story they would create.

I analyzed my learners. Seventh graders hit elements of fiction pretty hard. Sure enough, my 8th grade students needed only light review of plot stages and types of conflict.

I worked on the steps. I first asked students what made a great story. I took all their responses (generated in small groups) and pulled out everything they had said about plot. I showed them how what they were really talking about was plot. I had students apply the classic plot diagram a story we read together, a story read in a small group, and one they knew on their own. I broke up story events and had students tell me where they would fit in plot- and why. We spent extra time on conflict.

It all led up to today. Students were tasked with creating a plot outline. It shook up their knowledge a bit- we needed to review conflict one more time. I spent a lot of time helping students differentiate between the rising action and the climax of their story. Overall, it was fun and the students were engaged in creating their stories. We used an online plot diagram from ReadWriteThink.

I've seen their work and I'm pretty comfortable that they know plot. I'm going to wait about two weeks and have them apply this knowledge, sans review, to a new text. That will probably be the real test.

Crowdsourcing my school website

2009-09-15T19:35:00.003-05:00

I'm not sure what I expect from throwing this problem out here, but it's more productive than banging my head against a wall.

Here's my school website. It used to be fine. Then I screwed up something about my formatting.

Why is my right-hand content column underneath my left-hand column?

I've floated right-column. I've increased the left margin. My CSS checks out with a validator. I've checked my div tags (I'll check them again).

Here's my CSS
You'll need to right-click and view source to see the relevant HTML

Any ideas?

My students have no idea what to do with this.

2009-09-15T18:44:00.009-05:00

"What's an icon?"

"Open the 'my documents' folder- what?"

"Um . . . Word isn't on this computer."
Me: "Go to Start, then Programs . . ."

In IDET class, my professor posed four questions at the heart of instructional design:

Is instruction the answer?
Where are you going with this?
How do you know when you get there?
How do you get there?

So. Many of my computer students lack basic computer schema.

Is instruction the answer? I'm actually not sure. Is this better left as acquired/ experiential knowledge, or should it be explicit instruction? Considering the age of my students (7th graders), I'm opting for at least some explicit instruction.

Where am I going with this? I want students to be able to quickly and easily navigate their computers. If they need to open a program, that should be an easy task. If they need to create a new folder, that should be an easy task. I want students to keep their files organized and get used to doing so. I want them to know the difference between when they've saved something and when they haven't. I'm aiming for fluency.

How will I know when I get there? When students don't need me to show them where to go and what to do. How do I assess that except through observation? Perhaps I can pick a few discrete skills and assess those- can students identify common file types? Can they cut and paste using only their keyboard? Can they follow a file path? I can create a simple, immediate assessment for that. The rest I'll need to observe.

How will I get there? I will take five days- probably not consecutively- and focus on these discrete skills:

Working with files, folders, and windows. I'll assess this by having students rename, then drag and drop files into a new folder.
Keyboard shortcuts- I'll give my students a list of the basic shortcuts, then have them practice by rearranging items in a list without using their mice. Then, in a week or so, we'll have a no-mouse day.
File types- students should know how to ID the different file types they will create in class. They should know that .doc is Word, .jpg is a picture, etc. That's just easy matching.

After that, the students can act as experts. Students are excited to share their own tips and tricks they've figured out. I think a good way to start compiling their collective wisdom will be to set up a class wiki. Then I can pull out students to give short presentations to the whole class.

It's like stepping out of Florida and into Alaska

2009-09-09T17:11:00.006-05:00

My classes at the University of Utah have been a renewing experience. I enjoy returning to the theory of education, and allowing it to reshape my practice. In the back of my mind, however, I'm keeping tally of how theory differs from reality. In class, we talk about art walks using iPods, podcasting our classroom, and all of the tech tools that will make instruction engaging and effective. It's exciting.

But then I leave class, and read something like this from a Daily Herald editorial about the cost of new schools and fitting them with technology: "...adolescents, by and large, are going to be miserable in school no matter what the building looks like. "

Brrr... that's just cold.

Beginning with the end in mind

2009-09-08T17:34:00.007-05:00

“Follow effective action with quiet reflection. From the quiet reflection will come even more effective action.” Peter F Drucker

I'm reviewing principles of instructional design for a class I'm taking at the University of Utah. This week's reading included Understanding by Design: Chp 1 by Grant Wiggins. I don't think I've read a nicer introduction to backward design.

In a nutshell, Wiggins is telling us to:

Decide what results you want (in terms of a final product or assessment).
Write your rubric and determine the standards that product must meet.
Break that rubric down into smaller parts- consider what students already know, and what you need to teach them.
Plan your daily instruction accordingly.

Keep in mind:

You may not cover everything (choose your "big rocks")
Don't do an activity unless it meets your learning goal (no incidental learning)
This will take a lot of time up-front
Your plans will change- hopefully for the better

Wiggins provides a template for instruction that I've included below, simply because I like to collect instructional design templates:

Stage 1- Desired results

Established goals:

Understandings: Students will understand that . . .

What are the big ideas?
What specific understandings about them are desired?
What misunderstandings are predictable?

Students will know...

What key knowledge and skills will students acquire
as a result of this unit?
What should they eventually be able to do as a result
of such knowledge and skills?

Essential Questions:

What provocative questions will foster inquiry,
understanding, and transfer of learning?

Students will be able to . . .

Stage 2- Assessment Evidence

Performance Tasks:

Through what authentic performance tasks will
students demonstrate the desired understanding?
By what criteria will performance of understanding
be judged?

Other evidence:

Through what other evidence (e.g. quizzes, tests, academic
prompts, observations, homework, journals) will students
demonstrate achievement of the desired results?
How will students reflect upon and self-assess their learning?

Stage 3- Learning Plan

Learning activities

What learning experiences and instruction will enable students achieve the desired results? How will the design
W = Help the students know WHERE the unit is going and WHAT is expected? Help the teacher know WHERE the students
are coming from (prior knowledge, interested)
H = HOOK all students and HOLD their interest
E = EQUIP students, help them EXPERIENCE the key ideas and EXPLORE the issues
R = Provide opportunities to RETHINK and REVISE their understandings and their work
E = Allow students to EVALUATE their work and its implications
T = Be TAILORED (personalized) to the different needs, interests, and abilities of learners
O = Be ORGANIZED to maximize initial and sustained engagement as well as effective learning

Because you DO need a sense of humor when designing instruction

2009-09-04T21:13:00.005-05:00

Patricia Smith & Tillman Ragan give possibly the best visual synopsis of the design process in their book, Instructional Design:
This mirrors what goes on in my head pretty well.

Constant rounds of assessment & planning make instructional design a pretty messy process for me- but it's a good mess.

I hope that Smith & Ragan weren't lying when they said, "those [teachers] trained in systematic instructional design tend to engage in these activities more consistently, thoroughly, and reflectively than their untrained colleagues."

That's precisely what I'm looking forward to in my instructional design class.

Helen Philpot, you are my idol

2009-09-04T18:45:00.000-05:00

"President Obama graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law School. For all my Republican friends out there, magna cum laude is a Latin term meaning “with great praise”. Please turn to your Stepford wives and tell them it’s not something you can order on the all-you-can-eat menu at The Olive Garden. . . . You should be honored to have him speaking to your children about staying in school and studying hard." from Margaret & Helen

No one tells it like an angry Grandma.

Don't pay any attention to the man behind the podium...

2009-09-03T20:35:00.003-05:00

Today we received an email informing us that we will not be showing the President's address to students as it would prompt too many parent concerns and interfere with scheduled curriculum.

We are required to say the pledge, listen to the anthem, watch a movie about the Constitution, etc- but the President wanting to address our students? Nope. We're just not that interested.

Are you too sick of/for school?

2009-09-03T18:32:00.004-05:00

Our school nurse gave us the criteria for staying home from school- students and teachers alike. Among them are:

Nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain
unusual drowsiness (there goes 1st period)
swollen glands around jaw, ears, or neck
runny nose
persistent cough

... the list goes on. It ends with "symptoms which may suggest an acute illness." It makes me think we may never see our students this year. I think we teachers can improve the list further with some key additions:

sassiness
laziness
foul-mouthedness
smelliness
gassiness

Hmmm... what are we forgetting? Some kids may still show up to school.

Homework- am I doing this right?

2009-09-02T21:44:00.005-05:00

Great post on homework from The Science Goddess. I can agree with anti-homework people on one thing: busywork is worthless. I cannot agree that all homework is busywork. It should be practice, as pointed out in the post.

I'm ruminating on our reading requirements in English. We typically require 2 hours per week of independent reading- texts of the students' choice. It's graded through a simple form handed in weekly. Practice reading on the independent level is essential for maintaining and gaining fluency. But how could we do it better? I never considered not having it affect a student's grade. Hmm...

I do not require independent reading in my honors class, because these students have mastered independent reading. I do, however, have the students participate in book groups. Those have typically not gone as well as I intend, mostly because I haven't set them up well. More to consider . . .

Making my grading work, pt 2: Motivation

2009-09-01T19:35:00.004-05:00

In my first post about improving assessment and performance in my computer class, I boiled my problems down to two things:

1. Students need to have more ownership of the learning (a problem of motivation)
2. Students need to be able to assess themselves (a problem of management/design)

I'll talk about self-assessment and management later- I have enough on motivation and ownership to begin.

My students have to be learning for themselves, not for me. The most common comment at Back to School night is, "Oh great, now he can show me how to use a computer." That gives my class a purpose. I want students to use this knowledge immediately as they get home.

Problem is, my class is still to "schoolish" (As in, learn it because you're supposed to and there'll be a test)- particularly the first unit on hardware. I'm revising my hardware unit to include a real-life application (I know- duh). I will put students into the role of a computer buyer. They must apply their knowledge to tell me what computer they would buy and what parts they would look for. Then they will be learning for themselves (I hope!)

So far hardware is going well; I introduce the "real-world" assignment tomorrow.

A big part of our success so far has been that I started easier. I used to hand the kids a list of 20 parts to learn and just went over the list again and again in every possible way. This time they started with finding only 4 parts: the processor, RAM, motherboard, and hard drive. It was easy. It was accessible. Best part- I could check every assignment as it was handed to me and provide immediate feedback.

That immediate feedback is key. It's been so motivating for the students to get their papers checked. And they seemed to be enjoying the process and challenging themselves. I got more than one high-five when I finally told a student, "You got it!" They tried and tried until they got it right, which wasn't overwhelming because they only learned 4-5 parts at a time. Bingo.

What I learned about motivation:
1. Set up the assignments to provide immediate feedback.
2. Connect the learning in the real world.

I know. . . duh.

The Daily Herald doesn't like that new-fangled writing program

2009-08-14T17:18:00.004-05:00

My Friend and Fellow Teacher wrote this a while back in response to an article in the Daily Herald about My Access- a writing program. It's still a topic of debate amongst parents, so I think it's still timely enough to post:

I'd like to add a Buffalo Chip to the Daily Herald writer who censured public schools for using the My Access writing software. All professionals (yes, public school teachers are professional) understand that it should not replace teacher grading, but rather is a useful tool. I use it in my class frequently to help students revise and edit their writing. Does it have flaws? Yes. Are there ways that students can alter the validity of the score? Yes. Was your description of the program grossly simplified? Yes. Do I use it as a final grade? No. I do, however, use it to motivate my students. Students get immediate scores from the program, something I cannot possibly provide with 30 or more students in a class. When using My Access, my students are active wrtires, raising their hands frequently, asking me how to improve their writing. What a fabulous, realistic learning opportunity! [As for the student you reported was adding big words and other nonsense to improve her score, I should think her parents would be more concerned about her misusing valuable learning opportunities rather than blaming the computer program.] I find it interesting that the writer did not bother to find out (or report, as the case may be) whether that one teacher was using My Access as a tool for teaching writing or as a final assessment. If the former, shame on Daily Herald. If the latter, shame on that one teacher. Please leave the rest of us out of it.

It's a classic example of fear and misunderstanding of technology. Technology doesn't replace teaching, it can only be used as a tool by the teacher.

Following the stimulus money

2009-07-27T17:57:00.003-05:00

I was curious about how the stimulus would affect Utah schools, so I browsed the USOE website and found the preliminary allocations by district. The money breakdown seems to correspond to the size of the district. Nebo district is allocated to receive $14,817,126 in stabilization funding for 2009-2010. That breaks down to about $557 per student. The two charter schools in our district, American Leadership Academy and Ronald Reagan Academy, have pretty similar allocations per student: $549 and $516 respectively. Just for the heck of it, I calculated the per student for Summit Academy in Draper, the next highest total charter allocation behind ALA. It is slotted to receive $760 per student.

The whole process has me curious. The USOE ARRA website isn't done yet, but I'd like to know if that money will be used to hire more teachers (I hope! I hope! I hope!). Anyone know where I can look to find out more about how the money is being used in my district?

District enrollment numbers came from the USOE school directory.
Charter enrollment numbers came from GreatSchools.net.

Belief and science- can students tell the difference? Can adults?

2009-07-23T22:46:00.003-05:00

I've had several students over the years tell me in more or less these terms, "Well, I talked about it with my parents and we agreed- we just don't believe in global warming."

What do you say to that?

I'm thinking of handing them this, a book chapter entitled Anthropogenic Climate Change by Stefan Rahmstorf. It's concise and very readable.

Thanks to The Loom at Discover for leading me to it, but I only got that far by reading Pharyngula's latest update.

Something to think about...

2009-07-23T21:30:00.003-05:00

Ryan at I Thought a Think gives a pretty good snapshot of questions raised by using test scores to evaluate teacher performance. I often wonder about merit pay and how many teachers are expected to earn the bonus. Are proponents of merit pay expecting to see a bell curve with only a few really good teachers and most being average? What happens if more teachers than expected qualify for a bonus?

I like the idea of giving the school the bonus, instead of the individual teacher. I think in Utah we could work that into the Trustlands program. Trustlands money is already awarded on a grant basis, with each school being given an amount each year to work with. The school community council decides how the money is spent from there.

Something to think about ...

Making my grading work, part 1

2009-07-14T18:18:00.005-05:00

I teach an elective computer class for seventh graders. The class is a series of projects using different software, i. e., making posters with Word, games with PowerPoint, stop motion films with MovieMaker, webpages with Dreamweaver, etc. The grades for the class are entirely based on the projects, plus some of the students' learning logs.

The projects are fun and engaging, but students' grades are often lower in my class than their other classes. (Of course, students sometimes get their highest grade in my computer class.) I've put a lot of thought into why students don't earn better grades and here's what I've come up with:

1. There are fewer graded assignments. Their grades are their projects, so at the end of the term students may only have 7-10 grades. Fail to turn in a project and you're sunk.
2. Lack of fluff. There are no participation or effort grades. No points for simply having turned something in.
3. Students don't realize what they're missing. Even though I hand students rubrics and checklists for each project, students with low grades sometimes claim to have completed everything on the list even when they haven't. They're not lying; they simply can't see the difference between what was required and what was produced. If I personally point out what the project lacks, then they can see it.
4. Students do not go back and revise their work for a higher grade. Many students will accept the low grade rather than revise the project for a higher grade. Some have to redo when their parents become involved, but they put it off until a parent asks the question for them, "How can I improve this?"

Points 1 & 2 I do not consider to be flaws. Students' grades are an accurate reflection of their work, and I reject grade-padding outright. Points 3 & 4 point to deeper flaws in my grading- and my class as a whole. It's not that the students were graded lower than their work deserved, but why did they not create better work in the first place? Why did they not take more ownership? Why were they not better at assessing themselves?

Why did I not make accurate self-assessment, ownership, and motivation to excel more central to my classroom?

These are the problems I'm currently working through as I prepare for next year. I have some ideas and a good place to start.

National Standards done bass ackwards

2009-07-08T03:32:00.005-05:00

Apparently the National Governor's Association has given a bigger seat at the "National Standards" table to the test-makers rather than to the teachers.

The people writing the standards are the companies behind the Iowa test, the SAT , Achieve.Inc along with "two college professors, a retired education consultant, and members from school improvement groups such as the Washington-based America’s Choice." Where are the teachers?

The teachers are the ones who actually have to use the standards. If you can't trust the teachers to write the standards, you can't trust them to teach to the standards, and then where are we? If the NGA and CCSSO have that little faith in the teaching profession I'm amazed that they even bothered.

The National Council of Teachers of English and the National Council of Teachers of Math should have been front-and-center in the decision-making process, especially considering both groups have already written national teaching standards.

I can't imagine how this could have been less of what I'd hoped for.

Oh, Finland, why do you have to be so good?

2009-07-08T03:16:00.003-05:00

From Education Week- an article about Finland and Singapore's insight into American education:

Finland tests representative samples of students primarily as a way to gauge
trends in school performance, and teachers routinely assess students’ progress
in class, in order to improve instruction, he said.

Wow- it's like someone in Finland actually knows how to use statistics. It's too bad the people who crafted NCLB don't.

I'm liking what I hear, Mr. Duncan

2009-07-08T01:38:00.004-05:00

As I read over the remarks from Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, in a speech delivered to the NEA, I was impressed. It's a clear, albeit general, view of where we stand right now. It isn't marred by talk of pet ideals- like remarks about reshaping education with the "invisible hand of the market." I thought he hit every note. If I were there, I would have cheered. The Los Angeles Times paints the teachers in attendance as very reluctant listeners. I hope that stems more from wariness of top-down reform than objection to his proposals.

My highlights

We enlisted the help of 24 of the best teachers in the system to design a pilot performance compensation system. We also sat down with the union and bargained it out. It was based on classroom observation, whole school performance and individual classroom performance, measured in part by growth in student learning. The rewards and incentives for good performance went to every adult in the school—including custodians and cafeteria workers—not just the individual teachers. Where you see high-performing schools—it's the culture—every adult taking responsibility and creating a culture of high expectations. One of my biggest concerns over performance pay is that many systems don't reflect the real ways in which teachers and schools work to improve. Having a plan crafted by teachers, where the responsibility and reward is shared by the professional community, does much to alleviate those concerns.
2,000 high schools produce half of the dropouts in the country. Their kids are years behind grade. They are perpetuating poverty and social failure. ... We need to go into a room—states, districts, unions, administrators, foundations, think tanks, charters, non-profits, parents, and elected officials—lock the door—throw out the rule books—and start with a clean slate. Yes. Some schools have special problems the rest of the country does not share and they need special solutions. I support the freedom to search for those solutions. I do have experience in Utah, though, of having some politicians try to reshape an already-effective school system in the image of a broken one. I appreciate a policymaker who understands that Utah is not DC and Spanish Fork is not Milwaukee.
Principals run multi-million dollar budgets, they hire, train and manage scores of people, and the best of them are also instructional leaders who are trained in classroom observation. It's a lot to ask of anyone—and we need 95,000 of them in America. This is the problem you have to solve first. Performance plans rely on evaluation, which relies on principals. Few principals meet all these requirements. That's not an insurmountable obstacle, though. It's an opportunity for a faculty to make up for what a principal lacks. Teachers should serve as a first resource in all of this decision-making, and can take on responsibilities of training and observing. As Duncan went on to say, "Great principals lead talented instructional teams that drive student performance and close achievement gaps." [emphasis added]
But if we agree that the adults in these schools are failing these children then we have to find the right people and we can't let our rules and regulations get in the way. I know a lot of people practically foam at the mouth at the thought of being able to fire teachers. Teachers aren't opposed to firing bad teachers- we know they make it harder for everyone. We're just very leery of people who claim to know who the bad teachers are. Usually they're people who don't spend a lot of time in our schools, if any time at all.
I see data first and foremost as a barometer. It tells us what is happening. Used properly, it can help teachers better understand the needs of their students. Too often, teachers don't have good data to inform instruction and help raise student achievement. We need to track testing data by student, not by year. I should be able to see a student's assessment's history and make instructional decisions for that student at the beginning of the year. Our current system doesn't do that- it's too crude. Teachers shouldn't be made afraid of using the "data barometer." Anyone in education understands that your data is going to make you look bad sometimes and make you look good sometimes, and not necessarily because of anything you've done. The redeeming value of the data is how it's used to set and revise goals; teachers should be expected and allowed to do that.
It's time we all admit that just as our testing system is deeply flawed—so is our teacher evaluation system—and the losers are not just the children. When great teachers are unrecognized and unrewarded—when struggling teachers are unsupported—and when failing teachers are unaddressed—the teaching profession is damaged. I can see in my own faculty and school how we are working to address these flaws. But it's a hard and long walk. I fear that it will take more years than people are willing to give it. Perhaps with each success we can buy more time to improve.
America's teachers are yearning to be partners in reform and change. They want teaching to be a respected profession that has high standards for performance, rewards excellence, provides opportunities for advancement, and promotes real collaboration. I can't stand it when people assume that teachers only want to make their jobs easier. Teachers are willing to set high standards for themselves as long we know we're not in a "sudden death" culture.

I get frustrated when the momentum of education politics works against the momentum inside the profession itself. Secretary Duncan's outline for education aligns very closely with where I see my profession heading.

State Senators Bramble and Stephenson want to teach you a lesson about procrastination

2009-06-22T19:06:00.005-05:00

Curtis Bramble and Howard Stephenson both want people to vote no on the Nebo bond. They want to teach Nebo district a couple of lessons:

1. Don't vote in June when you can vote in November. You can't expect people to pay attention to stuff like bonds in the summer. Better to surprise the unaware and uninformed voters in November. By voting in June, the outcome may rely on the people who care enough to get out and vote. That's just un-American.

2. Don't spend money on informing the population about a June special election. (They criticized Nebo district for spending $65,000 on setting up the election. So either they want voters to vote no and make sure that money is wasted or they wanted Nebo district to spend less on get-out-the-vote efforts. Refer back to #1.)

I can understand where they're coming from. They want the elections to conform to their expectations. District officials did not choose a June election to try and slip the vote under everyone's radar (as if public schools could!). June is simply sooner and in terms of building schools, sooner is better, especially in the current economy. At no point did the senators say Nebo district didn't need the money or the building. And they didn't dispute the money taxpayers could save by building when prices are so low. In fact, they said, "We are not opposed to Nebo School District bonding for additional schools. Not at all. Along with the Tooele, Alpine and Davis, Nebo School District is among the fastest growing districts in the state. They will undoubtedly need additional buildings to accommodate this growth."

To recap: they don't disagree with the pressing need for the bond. They're pitching a fit about a June election. One issue is of vastly more importance than the other, gentlemen. A sit-down with district officials before or after the election would have been more in order. Campaigning against the bond seems like an over-reaction, and a needlessly divisive one at that. Why not spend your effort getting the vote out instead?

PS- here's the link to the voting press release

Vote at these locations:

Residents of Elberta, Genola & Goshen will vote at Goshen Elementary (60 N. Center,
Goshen).

Residents of Santaquin will vote at Santaquin Elementary (25 S. 400 West, Santaquin).

Residents of Mapleton will vote at Mapleton Junior High (1200 N. 400 East, Mapleton)

Residents of Salem, Elkridge, & Woodland Hills will vote at Salem Hills High (150 N.
Skyhawk Blvd., Salem).

Residents of Payson, West Mountain, & Spring Lake will vote at Payson High (1050 S.
Main St., Payson)

Residents of Springville will vote at Springville High (1205 E. 900 South, Springville).

Residents of Spanish Fork, Birdseye, Covered Bridge, Benjamin, Lakeshore, & Palmyra
will vote at Spanish Fork High (99 N. 300 West, Spanish Fork).

Compare/Contrast views of slavery from the Civil War

2009-06-22T18:52:00.003-05:00

A couple of posts ago I stated my goal to have students use primary documents while studying the Civil War. I put that together into 2 webquest-ish writing assignments. I had two classes read and write about common views of slavery and two classes read and write about Lincoln's views of slavery.

The students were able to see the differences between the viewpoints and accurately compare and contrast them. Check. However, the students reading the Lincoln texts had a much harder time because the texts were longer. I also hadn't done any frontloading about how Lincoln changed his politics over the course of his two elections. We had done an example assignment together about Southern and Northern views of slavery, but that didn't prepare students well enough to tackle Lincoln's speeches.

Next year, I'm definitely doing this assignment again. But I'll probably divide the students into group and do some assisted reading of the texts- like a DRTA.

Congressman Demands To Know Who Left Fish Sandwich To Rot On House Floor

2009-06-15T00:06:00.001-05:00

I would love to use this in a lesson on satire. Do you think 8th graders would get it though? Or would it go over their heads?

I especially want to pick apart all of elements of persuasion- appeals to logos, ethos, and pathos.

So much fun to be had....

Student Council Election '09: May the best mom win!

2009-04-28T17:52:00.006-05:00

Student council elections this year are getting interesting. Students (and parents) are finding every which way around the rather strict campaigning rules that have always guided our student elections.

I say those rules aren't doing jack. Let's take away all campaigning restrictions and let ALL HELL break loose.

Candidates could wear signs around the school, promoting themselves while they pass out bribes. They could write messages on the foreheads, arms, hands, and clothing of others (with or without permission).

Small brothers and sisters could walk around, interrupting classes and passing out candy. If you don't have a small enough or cute enough sibling, you could borrow someone else's.

Ruthless Facebook and Myspace campaigns could crush the dignity of students' opponents. Moms and dads could create fake accounts just to talk up a candidate son or daughter, and spread rumors about everyone else.

Endless texting and emailing of "Vote for ___!" would drive the electorate crazy with annoyance.

I'd get in the game too. For a fee, I would sell space on my whiteboard and possibly space on my clothing.

And don't forget the campaigning AFTER the election. If you lose, you must spread conspiracy theories about how so-and-so hacked the computer system to change the votes. Then, you must make sure that your elected leaders don't get to lead because you constantly tell them how little confidence you have in their abilities.

My god, student government elections are just like the real thing!

I promise not to tell lies about the Civil War

2009-04-27T21:42:00.003-05:00

I'm reading Lies My Teacher Told Me by James W. Loewen and it's influenced me to change at least two things about the way I present the Civil War in my class:

1. Delve into primary documents earlier.
2. Focus on the ideals of the war, and how they changed, specifically stated in Lincoln's second inaugural.

If we shall suppose that American slavery is one of those offenses which, in the providence of God, must needs come, but which, having continued through His appointed time, He now wills to remove, and that He gives to both North and South this terrible war as the woe due to those by whom the offense came, shall we discern therein any departure from those divine attributes which the believers in a living God always ascribe to Him? Fondly do we hope, fervently do we pray, that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away. Yet, if God wills that it continue until all the wealth piled by the bondsman's two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash shall be paid by another drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said "the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether."

My goal as an English teacher is to have the students learn to compare/contrast. I'll plan the next fews days so students are using primary documents to compare/contrast views about slavery, views about the war, why we fought in the beginning vs why we fought in the end, life in the South vs life in the North, and whatever else I gather links for.

I'll post what I put together. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

"Audacious pears! My mouth became happy."

2009-04-26T17:03:00.002-05:00

I love that line. It's from an ode written by one of my students. What whimsy!

Teacher prep depends on what you expect from teachers

2009-04-26T00:27:00.004-05:00

From Barnett Berry at Advancing the Teaching Profession: "Even bright college graduates need the right kind of training and support to be effective — and need to stay in teaching for longer than two years to make a meaningful difference."

The teacher training you invest in depends on the kind of teachers you want / expect. All too often people in my neck of the woods want teachers who are not career teachers, and not trained as teachers. From what I can see, people who view teacher training as detrimental or unnecessary want teachers to enter and exit the profession at a high turnover rate. It's cheaper. It's easier to control the teachers. It brings fresh ideas and energy to the classroom. And of course, there's that new-teacher smell.

I, as a teacher, expect something different than that. I expect a high level of background knowledge in literacy, pedagogy, and the content. I hope for teachers to make a career of it, because so much of the day-to-day operation of the classroom and school is based on people simply knowing what they're doing. New teachers bring energy and fresh ideas, but their ideas need more development. Better still to keep up the training and professional development throughout the teacher's career to foster a lifetime's worth of energy and good ideas.

Teaching poetry: ballads

2009-04-25T22:18:00.005-05:00

The ballads lesson is one of my favorite lessons of the whole school year. I wrapped it up a couple of weeks ago, but I still wanted to post it.

Background for the ballad-uninitiated:

A ballad is a story poem with a strong rhyme and rhythm. Ballads are traditionally songs, or at least song-like. The classic ballad stanza has 4 lines, with the lines alternating between eight syllables and six syllables. In each line, every other syllable is emphasized, creating that sing-song da-DUM da-DUM da-DUM da-DUM rhythm that is so catchy. The second and fourth lines rhyme, but the first and third don't have to. The resulting stanza could be like this one from the Smithsonian:

A ballad stanza in a poem
has lines as long as these.
In measuring the lines we find
we get both fours and threes.

I begin with the PowerPoint (adapted from the Smithsonian's materials). I use the lines from Green Eggs and Ham to teach students rhythm (they clap, stomp to the beat). I emphasize the point that the beat in poetry comes from the accented syllables. To help students count syllables, I have them put their hands under their chins and count the number of times their chin dips down (the "thinker pose"). I point out that pairs of unaccented+accented syllables are iambs.

I go through the sample ballad stanzas so students can get a sense for the form and history of this type of poetry. Ballads are some of our oldest poems, and they're catchy. After all, poetry was originally meant to be sung!

Then the real fun begins. I have students listen to the Gilligan's Island theme song because it is a perfect example of a ballad. Once the tune is stuck is everyone's head, we go back to the ballad stanzas from the PowerPoint and sing them all to the tune of Gilligan's Island. Singing "Amazing Grace" to the tune of "Gilligan's Island" always gets the students to laugh.

Then ask the students, "Why does that work?" Bring them back around to the point that the rhythm is the same in each poem or song. Have students use little graphs to break up the syllables in a couple of ballad stanzas on the PowerPoint. Students should be able to clearly see the patterns of four beats / three beats.

After students have practiced identifying the rhythm of ballad stanzas, I have them write a few ballad stanzas as a class. These are usually pretty silly (and somewhat violent- they're 8th graders), and we check them by singing them to the tune of Gilligan's Island.

Students are then assigned to create their own ballad stanzas. I have the students write ballad stanzas about our own school and put them together into "The Ballad of DFJHS." When students write about teachers I copy the stanza and give it to the teacher.

Smithsonian Global Sound: The Music in Poetry . I need to go back and use even more of this lesson the Smithsonian compiled. It's excellent stuff.

Powerpoint in pptx: http://www.nebo.edu/dfjhs/anderson/docs/ballads.pptx

Powerpoint as pdf: http://www.nebo.edu/dfjhs/anderson/docs/ballads.pdf

Testing our patience more than anything

2009-04-24T00:30:00.002-05:00

We (the 8th/9th English teachers) kicked off the month-long state testing window this week. Kick is definitely the right word- it's exactly what I want to do to a lot (A LOT) of people.

The first day:
1. The computers did not have the right shortcuts to get to the test. D.O. tech guys had to remotely add them. My students are on the wireless network, and it took a while.
2. By the time we got kids logged on correctly, we had just enough time to read the General Directions and log off. A successful day.
3. A fire drill. I kid you not. The admins pulled a fire drill.
4. A training meeting after school to compare notes and guess about what was coming next.

The second day:
1. We weren't sure how students were supposed to exit sections of the test. Two teachers (thankfully!) figured it out and showed the rest.
2. Got kids mostly logged on. Some students still had to log in/ log out up to 12 times in order for the necessary shortcuts to appear. It took awhile.
3. I brought treats (granola bars, gum, water) for my students. They deserved it. They've been champs through the whole thing.
4. Teachers who never use the computer labs shocked! to realize their students don't have passwords to log on to the school computers. Teachers send the kids to the office to get passwords. Offices sends kids to me. At least they're getting exercise.

The third day:
1. It still takes 25 minutes to get the last kid logged on to the test. THOSE. DAMN. SHORTCUTS.
2. I'm bumping students from one section to another as they finish. Must always keep one eye on proctor screen to pre-empt the raised hand.
3. The testing site goes down. Not our school server or network (which we feared), but the site of the test itself. Bonus points to the English teachers for figuring it out quickly.

What will tomorrow bring?

I hate it when English teachers teach spelling like that

2009-03-29T15:26:00.004-05:00

Mad Mama wants to know why her daughter's spelling scores are so low when her seventh grade English teacher gave her really hard spelling words. The perception here is that by giving her daughter really hard spelling words to memorize, that somehow taught her to spell. Nope. May have increased her memorization skills, but not her spelling skills. Those words and their spellings were forgotten long ago.

I have to explain carefully because this is the seventh grade English teacher who ~~feeds parents bullshit~~ walks on water.

Spelling, even in English, is predictable. You have to know the patterns, the rules, the roots and etymologies. Naturally gifted spellers know these things intuitively. To someone who is a naturally good speller, the word "stopping" is naturally spelled with two p's, although they can't usually explain why. Someone who is not a naturally good speller (a good portion of our student body) will spell that as "stoping" until they are taught to double the consonant before adding -ing.

But what if they are never taught that? What if English teachers, instead of looking at what spelling concepts the students still need to learn, simply give lists of really hard spelling words to memorize? The common perception among parents will be, "My child will learn a lot about spelling." The reality is their child still won't be able to spell the word "stopping" with two p's, although they will be very proud of their temporary ability to spell "intermittent."

I hate it when English teachers teach spelling like that. That approach creates in parents a false hope of spelling mastery, and it does very little to further the language skills of students.

What is it like at your school? Do you teach spelling or memorize words? Right now, at my school, we're not doing so well with the teaching of spelling. I'll work on that.

Legislate smarter. Vote smarter.

2009-03-28T11:39:00.007-05:00

Accountability has an excellent post detailing the defeated PTA bill, SB 199. SB 199 is just one recent example of bills written by request, with no fact-checking. As Senator Bramble says, "Dawn Frandsen is really the genesis and it was her experience that has brought this issue to the forefront. This was done at her request."

This is the same rationale behind the Medical Recommendations for Children bill that passed a few years ago. Mike Morley got an e-mail from an upset parent, so he had to legislate the problem.

If any parent has the wherewithal to write a legislator about an issue, they have the wherewithal to solve that problem without a law being passed.

And what are the legislators thinking? I worry sometimes that Madsen, Morley, Bramble, and others view themselves as the morality police of the state. Sen. Madsen certainly doesn't seem to hear facts through the roar if his own indignation. Rep. Morley seems to have trouble drafting consitutional legislation in his mad rush to uphold family values and the Constitution. And Bramble, well... he should apologize, but never will.

From Accountability:

I would encourage more people to get involved as it would seem that our politics are being taken over by overly zealous individuals on the far left and the far right. With that kind of framing of our laws and policies, it's really quite amazing that we're not worse off than we are. We need reasonable people out there making their voices heard and working to control the insanity, so I invite you to get involved!

We're governed by the people that bother to show up. Let's make that work in our favor.

What we need, we don't have. What we want, we're not going to get.

2009-03-27T00:48:00.004-05:00

Currently, we are the only junior high in Nebo district that does not have an advisory period- a 20 minute homeroom period where students are supposed to get extra help with schoolwork if they need it. Ideally, this time would be used as a reward time for well-perfoming students, and remediation time for struggling students.

The intention is great, the problem is implementation. You need 3 things:

a way to sort students into groups (you go to the math lab, you pick an enrichment activity, ...)
people to run curriculum-specific study halls, tutoring sessions, and enrichment activities
teacher buy-in

Usually this winds up being a 20 minute waste of time. No one keeps up with who needs remediation and where and when they'll get it. The advisory periods turn into lame study halls.

Our principal really, really wants to use the advisory period to provide remediation and enrichment. Problem is, we don't have elements #1 & #2. Not even close. Without those, he'll never get #3.

I'm worried (along with a lot of my co-workers) that he'll implement it anyway and just hope for the best.

A lot of faculty members would compromise: they like the remediation without changing the schedule school-wide. The push from the faculty is to offer remediation in place of electives. If a student is failing math, they drop choir and go to a math remediation class until they're back on track.

The problem with this approach is that we don't have the FTEs to have teachers running remedation classes. We're all booked, and we can't hire more teachers.

We're stuck.

But why use paper?

2009-03-24T17:44:00.005-05:00

As I was typing up the self-evaluations, I realized- I don't need paper. It's a computer class.

I set up this Google form. The responses will accumulate in a spreadsheet and I can link to the same form every day.

Much easier.

Open mouths + empty heads

2009-03-24T16:37:00.004-05:00

My 6th period needs better judgment.

They don't get that their behavior is a problem.

Them: "Hahaha...blah..blah..chat...chat.."
Me "Okay, it's time to move on. Upload your practice project."
Them: "What!! But you didn't give us enough time! What are we supposed to do? I don't get it!"
Me: "Why didn't you ask for help?"
Them: "Uhhh..."

A handful of students like this in a class is normal. You make sure they don't sit by their friends. You review the directions with them invidually after you've got the whole class started. You issue periodic reminders to be on task. You stand by them a lot.

More than five and you've got a big problem. I've got eleven big problems in this class.

The entire class revolves around these students and keeping a lid on them. And despite having talked to them, called home, etc, the behavior doesn't change. Every time I warn them to do their work they say they are doing their work. AND THEY BELIEVE THEMSELVES. They don't get why the mean teacher is picking on them. Then they don't get why everyone else has finished when they have barely begun.

I'm trying a few new things to increase the "level of concern" and their self-awareness. First, I'm building in extra days where students who have done well can have a fun bonus project to do while the rest finish their classwork, or do a review. Second, I'm going to start (tomorrow) passing out a daily outline, with time limits and a short self-evaluation: "Did I finish this task on time?" and at the bottom "Did I stay focused on my work today?"

I'm crossing my fingers. And maybe investing in duct tape.

"A work environment that robs teachers of healthy body and spirit is abnormal"

2009-03-23T18:36:00.006-05:00

It's like looking in a mirror. . .

Behind the spread of chronic fatigue among teachers is the problem of increased workloads. The introduction of the five-day school week last year has meant that work that was accomplished in six days must now be taken care of in five, resulting in the congestion of the class schedule. During the hours children are at school, there are effectively no breaks or rest periods. Teachers are on their feet all day, in some cases unable even to get a drink of water between classes. Paper work, meetings, and planning sessions are concentrated in the hours after school, so the job doesn't end during work hours. As a consequence, the preparation of handouts and grading
of papers have to be done at home, and the long hours of work become an everyday matter. Saturday and Sunday are filled with preparing teaching plans and materials for the following week.

. . . except this article is about the increase in teacher suicides in Japan.

I once had a friend tell me that so many reforms are merely trying to "squeeze teachers harder to see if more comes out."

Well, you can only squeeze people so hard.

Teacher Suicides and the Future of Japanese Education
by Hiratate Hideaki

I found everything I needed at Google Reader

2009-03-23T17:07:00.004-05:00

It sounds like a commercial, but it's true!

I needed to facilitate my students' online research and inquiry, as well as some kind of blogging function- minus the blog. Blogs are entirely blocked in our district- even Edublogs, which I would have loved to use.

Turns out, Google Reader has a "Notes" function where students can post to a public page, along with their tagged items. It's perfect for my class because they're just starting out with this technology- it's like training wheels for 2.0.

We'll use Reader to consume and produce, and I hope it will give students a taste for what's possible.

One major regret is that commenting isn't possible on the Google Reader shared page- but I guess that's just one less thing to worry about.

"Are we supposed to write on it?"

2009-03-23T16:43:00.005-05:00

Sunny Girl looks at her journal page, and puzzles for a bit. She looks up a me, "Are we supposed to write on it?"

I pause before answering. "You sure are, Sunshine."

"Oh, kay!" And she sets off to work.

Word to the wise: If I call you "Sunshine," it's only to avoid calling you something else.

Confirmation: I'm not crazy

2009-03-21T21:58:00.006-05:00

I loved this post from Clay Burrell, of Beyond School (now of Change.org, I guess): Obama's Ed Speech: Misinformed or Disinforming?

I have long questioned the claims I hear on the news about American schools, because no one seems to cite their sources. When they do, and I read the studies, I often can't find the bold print that says: "Enact [reform] now or we will die poor, ignorant, and enslaved." And now I know: I'm not crazy.

Thanks, Mr. Burell. And to you, FactCheck.org. And you, Caroline Grannan.

Change your rhetoric, change our mind

2009-03-21T17:34:00.005-05:00

As Joanne Jacobs observed today, "Differential pay is much easier to implement than performance pay," even though it's the same thing. I don't know how much easier it will be to implement, but I do think the rhetoric matters. It makes a world of difference to me when I am listening to a policymaker who believes in public education versus one that doesn't. Living in redder-than-red Utah county, I get plenty of chances to hear from policymakers who don't.

Browsing the comments section, the arguments from merit pay believers rely heavily on theory, rather than practice. You see a lot of words like "government monopoly" and "beauracracy" and "market." As a teacher, I know theories are good, but they only take you so far. In the worst instances, theories are used as substitutes for evidence and practical knowledge. After eight years teaching, I'm all about practicality.

I read over Secretary Duncan's remarks to the NSTA, and found several ideas that are teetering on that precipice between theory and practice:

Another part of the problem is that math and science teachers leave the profession in greater numbers than others – because there are better job opportunities out there. Not everyone is as dedicated to teaching as all of you -- and I want to thank you for that.

The theory here is that "if we had just paid them more, they would have stayed." To a certain point that's true- I think we need to keep teacher pay at a level where teachers are not forced to seek out second and third jobs to pay the mortgage (as my co-workers often are). I don't see a need for teacher pay to compete with an engineer's pay- people who want engineer's pay become engineer's, people who are okay with teacher pay become teachers. Anything beyond that is gravy (which is always nice) but may not produce the intended results. I don't think rewarding people with money is effective where they're not motivated by money in the first place.

Take this statement for example:

I want to reward them for going into struggling school districts. That’s where the challenge is. If you’re going to take on a tough job, you should be rewarded.

Young teachers don't go into struggling school districts for money. They don't leave because of money. Money is simply not the reward they (or I) seek. They come in because they want to make a difference and leave when they don't think they can anymore. Usually the job just overwhelms them and they get frustrated at the school, the system, the kids, the parents, the community... I think there's a better way to harness that goodwill than by throwing money at the new teacher. Money doesn't lessen the frustration. I think investing in experienced mentors, more prep time, and more community involvement would produce better results.

Administrators, though, are more likely to be in it for the money- it's usually why they leave the classroom. I'd try performance pay with them first.

Even though I disagree with Duncan's emphasis on incentive-based reform, I'd still rather hear it from him than someone who deep down wishes we had no public education system. The willingness to work with teachers rather than against them matters.

As Joanne Jacobs points out: "Rookie teachers want their pay linked to results, reports NPR, looking at D.C.’s younger teacher corps. Experienced teachers tend to be dubious." Since most of those rookie teachers will be gone in five years anyway, it makes sense to focus on convincing the experienced teachers.

Making the Honors cut as pain(ful?)(less?) as possible

2009-03-19T17:52:00.005-05:00

We just posted our lists for our Intensive (aka Honors) classes for next year. Take a deep breath. Wait for the phone calls.

Last year we made no cuts; we let everyone in who wanted in. We had a few kids (maybe 1 in 12) who were in over their heads, but I didn't think that was a big deal. Other teachers disagreed. They said the students who weren't serious about being in Intensive classes or capable of the work slowed the whole class down. Fair enough. I could see their point. We agreed to have students at least go through an application process. If a student couldn't be bothered to apply, then we were spared changing a schedule later.

Except we cut the number of sections for next year, too- from three to two in each subject. 91 applications for my class. 54 spots.

All applicants were ranked. We set a cut-off point. It's as objective as I can make it.

Some students I feel relieved to see not make the cut. I know they would have struggled tremendously, or the teacher would have struggled tremendously with them. Some students I just feel bad for not giving them something they wanted. They're good kids.

That's the problem. That's the phone call we are all dreading, "But he's a good kid!" There's no argument against that.

Sometimes I feel like we do a little dance with parents: we avoid telling them their child is average . . . that A's can be earned with effort despite lack of proficiency. . . that "smart" and "bright" cover a whole lotta ground.

It's times like this when the music stops. The kids are ranked according to how much they deserve to be in this class. That's the bare truth of it.

When the phone rings, though, I'm sure we'll find a way to dance around it.

It's the end of the year: make it impressive

2009-03-15T21:43:00.006-05:00

To finish out the school year in my Intensive English classes, I wanted to turn the kids loose with the inquiry skills we've been learning, and throw in some things I learned from Chris Sloan at UCET.

Mr. Sloan has his students set up Google reader accounts to track news articles on topics that interest them, and blog about what they're learning. I want to try it too.

The blog part is problematic since students can't access blogs at school. For this year, I think I'll use Moodle- which is quite lame because the blogs won't have a real audience outside our classroom. Oh, well. The Google reader part I'm sure we can set up using their existing school e-mail accounts.

Now to give them a place to start. I'm planning on bringing in short videos about a variety of topics, as well as having students tell me what their ideas.

The first video I brought in was about the roots of the current economic crisis. When I asked the kids what they already knew, I was surprised that they could tell me what was going with AIG, the reasoning behind the stimulus, and that the housing market was down. I do not give these kids enough credit.

Anyway, here's the video. It's golden (but not in a Rod Blagojevich way).

The Crisis of Credit Visualized from Jonathan Jarvis on Vimeo.

Thanks to Ed Darrell Millard Fillmore's Bathtub for letting me know about this video.

Any other ideas for videos to get my students thinking? I've got some I'd like to use, but I could use suggestions.

P4P- Thoughts on my new favorite acronym

2009-03-15T21:12:00.006-05:00

Mr. Berry, over at Advancing the Teaching Profession, directed my attention back to an old ed policy frenemy: performance pay (or P4P- isn't that cute?). His post on President Obama's speech and mention of performace pay packs a lot into a few paragraphs:

Why not ask teachers, who cannot be judged solely according to test scores, to use the data in explaining why their students are doing better or not? Why not ask teachers, like they are doing successfully in Denver and Austin, to assemble other valid data on the effects of their efforts to raise student achievement? Why not ask teachers to design new 21st century assessments, as a part of a new P4P plan, and use the data to inform a more robust accountability system?

I'm not sure the results would give some policymakers what (I think) they want: a clear hierarchy of good and bad teachers. We have a modified P4P plan in our district- a dossier. The state stopped funding it years ago, but the district kept doing their best to find money for it (another story). Teachers choose four assessments related to the state curriculum, gather the data, and explain how the results show student achievement. It was a pretty big payoff at first, but now it's less and less because more teachers do it. That's the thing- what if most teachers already deserve the performance bonus? Is that what policymakers plan for?

One other thing to be careful of, especially given the lessons of the current economy: if you give teachers performance pay for the great teaching they were already doing, what happens if there is a year with no money for performance pay? Do the teachers continue teaching well, their motivation unaffected by the loss of their bonus? Or do they behave as people usually do, and consider the task no longer worthwhile without an external reward?

Currently, great teachers are great without performance pay. I don't mean that as an argument against performance pay, but it's certainly something to keep in mind.

Hope you enjoyed the show! Come back next year!

2009-03-15T18:45:00.007-05:00

I don't love watching school musicals, but I love watching OUR school musicals.

Our school just finished a week-long run of Mulan Jr and it was fantastic. The kids did a great job and poured a lot of spirit and fun into their roles. The teachers behind the scenes poured a lot of time, effort and patience into putting the show together, and then keeping it together.

I think that's what I love about our school musical- I love watching it be put together every year. Every year it seems impossible and every year it turns out great. It's inspirational- and I don't usually do inspirational. It's even better knowing that our drama coach doesn't cut anybody from the play who wants to take part. If you come, you have a place, even if it's just in the chorus line. That means they usually have over a hundred students in the musical- sometimes closer to two hundred. If you have seen our junior high kids singing and dancing in time (and beaming!), then you have seen a modern miracle.

I loved it. I hope you did too.

But to a few of you:

Turn off your cell phones. Really. To not do so reveals either that you're too stupid to understand how they interfere with the mics or too rude to care.

Crying,screaming babies. Do we really need to have that talk?

To everyone else: thanks so much for coming, and cheering loudly, and clapping through all the bows AND the final number, and staying through the thank-yous, and letting us put a dot on your hand for really no reason, and letting us shang-hai your kids for weeks of rehearsals, and sewing billions of kimonos, and being our great community that supports us.

Come back next year!

Cite your sources, Mr. President. How do we know that China out-educates us?

2009-03-10T16:49:00.003-05:00

I think this review of President Obama's recent speech on ed policy is indicative of the feelings of many leaders and politicians:

Obama also wants kids to spend more time in school, with longer school days, school weeks and school years — a position he admitted will make him less popular with his school-age daughters.

Children in South Korea spend a month longer in school every year than do kids in the U.S., where the antiquated school calendar comes from the days when many people farmed and kids were needed in the fields.

"I know longer school days and school years are not wildly popular ideas, not with Malia and Sasha," Obama said as the crowd laughed. "But the challenges of a new century demand more time in the classroom."

"If they can do that in South Korea, we can do it right here in the United States of America," Obama said.

If I could, I would ask President Obama the same question I ask my students, "How do you know?"

When I hear American education stacked up against other countries, the conclusion is usually that we fall far behind other industrialized nations- particularly Asian countries like Korea, Japan, and China Where is this information coming from?

I base my assessment of international Math education from the TIMSS study and international reading education from the PIRLS study. Neither study show us lagging (educationally) behind South Korea, China, or Japan.

What am I not seeing about this assessment of American education? What is the basis for President Obama's conclusion? Are we looking at real disparity, or merely an educational bogey-man meant to scare us?

From the Eagle's Nest: Avoid teachers with education degrees

2009-02-24T19:17:00.011-05:00

Here it is, the post of the day, from the Eagle Forum: Avoid teachers with education degrees

Public school teachers get pay raises from gaining seniority and from getting a
master's degree in education. According to a recent
Bill Gates lecture, those teachers with master's degrees in education
actually do worse on the available performance measures.

Bill Gates never said that. (Link to the TED talk here, and transcript here). Here's what he did say:

Now, the way the pay system works is there's two things that are rewarded. One
is seniority. Because your pay goes up and you vest into your pension. The
second is giving extra money to people who get their master's degree. But it in
no way is associated with being a better teacher. Teach for America: slight
effect. For math teachers majoring in math there's a measurable effect. But,
overwhelmingly, it's your past performance.

And certainly nowhere did he prescribe academic anarchy by eleminating credentialed teachers. Teachers with degrees do not hurt education: quite the opposite. Study here. His data points out that teachers who are already good stay good once they've earned their Masters. I'm very intrigued by his summary of American education- I think it's quite good- but I feel like I can flesh it out a bit more. I certainly need to explain clearly which bits apply to my school and which do not (that bit about principals not being able to visit teachers- hogwash).

Back to the Eagle Forum post. Being an extreme right-wing organization, it doesn't shock me that their core values don't include public education. I think it would shock a lot of people to know, though, that the Eagle Forum has the ear of their elected officials, like Rep. Curtis Bramble. The Eagle Forum seems to be some of the major support behind Bramble's SB 199, the bill aimed at eliminating the PTA. (More about that here)

The comment left at the original post was perfect

I'm a businessman. I have worked in industry for the past thirty years, and
owned my own business the past fifteen. I decided I needed a change, and I've
finally gone back to school for a Master's in Education at the University of New
Mexico. I went into the degree expecting to be forced to learn a bunch of stuff
that had no bearing on teaching. I have been proved wrong. The professors I have
worked with are uniformly brilliant, and my classmates are a smart and caring
bunch. I suspect that the problem does not lie with the education, but with the
practice. I won't know for sure until I'm there.

What do I think of Obama's ed policy?

2009-02-22T14:00:00.003-05:00

I'm not sure yet.

Right now, I'll let Tom Hoffman walk me through the finer points of Obama's school visit.

My favorite quote:

I'm not saying this means I'll love everything Obama does in education, but
for the past few years we've only been hearing about how awesome "no excuses"
reform is and how we just need to crack down and TEACH HARDER. It has been a
long time since a President has praised progressive schools. We need to embrace
this moment and use it.

SB 48- Another undercutting bill

2009-02-22T13:20:00.003-05:00

Why are these "undercutting education" bills so popular in the state senate right now?

SB 48- the "Take a Test and Teach" bill- would grant anyone who passed a content-knowledge test a teaching license in Utah. With as many colleges and universities as we have in this state, we are not hard up for new teachers. We often don't retain new teachers, but that's another story about teacher pay, class sizes, and better offers out-of-state.

Highlighted provisions:

provides that a person may obtain a competency-based license to teach if the person:

files an application with the State Board of Education;
pays the application fee;
has not had a license issued by the State Board of Education revoked, suspended, or surrendered;
successfully completes a criminal background check;
has certain educational degrees or certification;
and demonstrates competency in a subject area by passing a test or completing certain course work or has particular skills, talents, and abilities.

I think this stems from someone's personal philosophy that anyone can walk in a classroom and teach well. It's just not so. It's a daily challenge for even the highly trained and talented to teach well. Teachers need a specialized knowledge of teaching IN ADDITION TO their specialized knowledge of the content. It's not something you'll just pick up along the way as a new teacher either. Teachers need training. More thorough training than they currently receive, even.

I think the other basis for the bill is the frustration that some feel about not being able to fire teachers they want to fire. This bill wouldn't help those situations.

PS- This bill is being sponsored by Sen. Buttars. Consider the source. And again here.

SB 199- PTA Bill

2009-02-22T12:59:00.004-05:00

Yesterday in a meeting at Spanish Fork City Hall, Perry Ewell asked a very good question, which I will try to remember accurately here: "Are we seeing a decline in the number of 'undercutting' bills?" By "undercutting" (I believe that's the word he used) he meant bills specifically meant to target one group that made someone angry. The bills are usually worded to seem innocuous, but are meant to do real damage or undercut one particular group. SB 199 is one of those bills.

The bill is rooted in someone's campaign against the PTA. It doesn't say that in so many words, but that's the clear intent. The highlighted provisions read:

requires an education entity to allow all parent groups equal access to certain opportunities and resources;
and prohibits an education entity from working in conjunction with a parent group that requires the payment of dues as a condition for participation in its group.

Basically, this bill prohibits the PTA from working in the schools. The PTA requires $5 in dues, which is why that provision was included.

The PTA already waives the fee for anyone who can't pay. It's hard to find a more inclusive, open, and genuinely caring group than our PTA. The PTA officers at the meeting pointed out that it was probably someone's beef with national PTA rather than local PTA that was behind the bill.

If that's the case, the bill has even less merit.

Sen. Bramble, what on earth possessed you to sponsor this bill? Why would anyone vote for it? And can we please, please see fewer (or none!) of these "undercutting" bills in the future?

Thanks to Rep. Gibson and Sen. Hinkins who have already stated they will vote against the bill. Rep. Morley didn't say how he would vote.

Ooohh this makes me mad

2009-02-18T00:19:00.002-05:00

http://nyceducator.com/2009/02/how-to-avert-economic-armageddon.html