Stories from School: Practice meets Policy

Paramount Duty

By Tom

By the time my third graders graduate from high school, this state will finally have to pay the full price for their education. 

At least that's one way to look at the recent ruling by King County Judge John Erlick on a landmark lawsuit brought by a consortium of parents, local associations, district superintendents and teachers against the state of Washington to make them fully fund education. Glossary in hand, Judge Erilick looked at what the state is currently doing and reread the State Constitution where it says that "it is the paramount duty of the state to make ample provision for the education of all children residing within its borders." He sided with the plaintiffs.

The lawsuit provided the backdrop for legislation passed last year in which lawmakers redefined basic education and pledged to fully fund it by 2018. Erlick recognized this effort, along with the current fiscal crises in which the state finds itself. Nevertheless, he ordered the state to figure out what it costs to educate Washington State's children and then pay it.

But he didn't say when.

So it's unclear what'll happen next.  The state could appeal and hope for a different ruling; one that will get them off the hook. Judge Erlick could acknowledge reality and let the state take its time figuring out how to pay for basic education as it's been redefined. Or he could impose a swifter timeline, ignoring the fact that the state currently can't even pay for basic education under the old definition.

Or somebody really smart could come along, take over Olympia, and figure out how this state should pay for the education it wants with the money it doesn't have.

Call me a cynic, but my money's on 2018. Most of the lawmakers in Olympia today will be long gone by then.

Along with my third graders.

Crime and Punishment

By Kim

One of the key concepts of good parenting is making sure that punishment for an infraction fits the crime and that a lesson is learned. I’m not so sure that the same considerations are made in the school system. This year has been extreme, but I just lost my 8th student on a forty-day suspension for smoking marijuana during the school day. The suspension is convertible to twenty days, if the student agrees to and completes drug counseling.   Now, the truth is, for most of my students, four to eight weeks off of school is more of an enjoyable vacation than it is a punishment, and it obviously hasn’t worked very well as a deterrent for other students, either. Ironically, getting in a fight – assaulting another person – only gets five to ten days.

The fact is, most of the students who get caught smoking weed on campus are not our top students, nor are they highly motivated to succeed. Thus, kicking them out for half a quarter in the best case (and a full quarter in the worst), almost guarantees both failure and loss of credit. This, in turn, greatly ups the chance that this kid will drop out. So what are our options as educators? In-school suspensions have not proven effective at helping kids keep their grades up, either. Partially because it can be so difficult and time consuming for teachers to create alternative assignments to those being missed in the classroom that rotate around lectures, discussions, or group projects. My small learning community is in the process of developing an alternative to out-of-school suspension. Kids will still be allowed to attend classes, but they will lose their passing times and lunches to teacher supervision. Additionally, they will be required to attend a one-hour detention Monday through Friday, which will include two days of study hall and two days of drug counseling. Our hope is that we will take away enough of the fun part of school from the kids that they will want to toe the line, while ensuring that they still have a chance to pass their classes and graduate on time.

What other alternatives are out there for long-term suspensions?

My Worries about Virtual High Schools

 By Mark

I came of age with the internet. I'm fond of telling my students that when I had to do my senior project I had to use these things called a card catalog and the Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature. I had to actually touch materials to use them in research. I had to learn keyboarding on a manual typewriter with ribbon and correction tape...and I'm only in my early 30s.

But by my first year at university, the internet had exploded. Since then, I have learned that I am what is known as a "digital native," perhaps because my father brought home a PC Jr. when I was about six.

I'm all for utilizing the "Web 2.0" as a resource for education, even though I find the moniker kind of obnoxious. I'm on my computer essentially every minute that I'm not with a student or caring for my family. I know that the wired universe (or better stated, the wireless universe) demands new skills sets of our students and "multiple literacies" unheard of twenty years ago. 

I begin to grow uncomfortable, though, when people start to talk about classrooms which exist wholly on the internet--especially on-line schools for teenagers.

Should Math and Science Teachers Get More Money?

By Tom

Last week the Seattle Times ran an editorial supporting differential pay for math and science teachers. The reasoning goes like this: college graduates who major in math or science can make more money in the private sector than in education. If we offer them a bonus to teach, we'll get more math and science teachers. More math and science teachers will lead to better math and science education.

The editorial went on to chastise WEA President Mary Lindquist for opposing this idea, pointing out that the teachers' union doesn't understand the free market system, and prefers to cling to the ideology "that everyone in the group is paid under the same rules. No favoritism." the private sector apparently embraces the free market system in which hard-to-find human resources command a premium, while dime-a-dozen people command...dimes.

I have three problems with this idea.

What Will Be On The State Assessment? I Don't Know.

      

By Kristin

I spent a lot of time today trying to learn a little more about the High School Proficiency Exam (HSPE), the new state assessment that my students have to pass in order to graduate.  I even called our building's test coordinator, but she hasn't "been trained yet" for the HSPE and knows nothing. 

    My own district and the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction in Washington have published nothing but the test schedule and the reassurance that "it's a lot like the WASL," our old state assessment.  "Like" is not good enough.  Running the 800m is a lot like the 400m since they both involve running on a track, but I would prepare my athletes differently for each one.  Running may be running and reading may be reading, but how you're going to be asked to demonstrate mastery affects how you approach the assessment.

    For all I know, my milers will be told on the starting line that they're running the 400.  Are their scores going to accurately reflect their skills?

Teach the Curriculum or Teach the Child?

 By Tracey

Do you every get emails like this from your principal?

I would like to find time to visit with you and Mr. P (the other 5th grade teacher) about your desire not to send students to the specialist for math interventions. I would like to understand your rationale and to hear your plans for addressing the needs of your students. It is my expectation that when teachers aren’t happy with how things are going, then a team approach to addressing specific concerns makes more sense, especially when it comes to math. By team, I mean the math specialist, math coach, assistant principal and myself.

I got one of these just last week.  In fact, I got this exact email.  I'll admit I was a bit jittery when it first arrived in my inbox.  As I read it again now, I see the professionalism and concerned tone of my principal. I like my principal, and I think we have good rapport.  But the fear of being called down to the principal's office has never quite gone away.  

What does a D mean?

by Brian
 

I just finished grading final tests and recording semester grades for my math students.  I've been teaching for 25 years now, and I have a confession to make:  not every kid who got a D from me could really pass the final in Algebra or Geometry.  But what they lacked in ability they made up in effort.  They did every assignment; they corrected every test.  They came in before and after school for extra help. They may not have understood the subject very well, but I guarantee it went through their brain.  My rationale is this:  they're not going to take that D and get into the University of Washington, but they're going to take the credit that goes with it and continue to try to graduate from high school.  I never meant that D to be a guarantee that my students had mastered the curriculum. It meant that their performance was below average, but that they had made a bona fide effort.

But I guess the State Board of Education caught on to me.  

It's not (just) about the bonus

 By Mark

Let me begin by clarifying the title of this post: I am beyond appreciative that Washington is one of the states in the union which recognizes the achievement of National Board Certification by awarding an annual bonus to NBCTs. I am eternally grateful for that bonus...and I feel, no I know, that I earned it. I know I am an infinitely better teacher than I was because the process helped me reflect, analyze the effectiveness of my instructional decisions, and examine with a more critical eye whether my students are learning what they need to learn.

But let me trace the ripples caused by the Washington legislature's decision to reward my efforts (and the efforts of hundreds of other NBCTs). While some may see that as just a change in my paycheck, it is much, much more than that.

The first ripple? Earning the bonus meant I could quit my job. My night job, that is. Oh, and my weekend job, too.

A Dim View of Homeschooling

By Tom

Several years ago my principal and I spent a lunch hour on a home visit to see one of my students. He had been absent for a week, after telling us that he was going to be homeschooled.

This boy had come to me after a previous bout of homeschooling, essentially two years behind his peers, but was just beginning to make steady progress.

We were not happy to hear that he would be homeschooled, and feared for the worse. He lived with a single mom who lacked basic parenting skills and we were legitimately concerned that with her as his teacher he could essentially become a third grade drop-out. So we set out to change her mind.

Trust Issues.

 By Mark

When I have that student who keeps coming to me for advice, asking questions I know he knows the answers to, I always tell him "trust yourself."

When I stand in front of my classroom and tell them the book they are about to read may just be the best experience they've ever had in school, I implore them to keep an open mind, play along, and "trust me."

In my classroom, one of the words that comes up constantly is trust. I want them to trust the guidance I offer and trust that I always have their best interest as students in mind. I want them to trust themselves as thinkers and readers and writers so that they can grow and soar constantly. I tell them I know that asking them to trust is a tall order. It involves deep personal risk and the turning over of not just confidence, but in some cases, a relinquishing of power. 

In education, I think that almost any mess we find ourselves in can be traced back to a fundamental failure of trust.

When students don't trust their teachers, the kid won't go seek help or advocate for his own understanding. The kid flounders, is perhaps left behind.

Children Are Like Popcorn?

 Rena
 

This statement was delivered at a recent Washington State School Directors Association conference in Seattle.  Dr. Yong Zhao is a distinguished professor at Michigan State University and recent author of the book Catching Up or Leading the Way:  American Education in the Age of Globalization. Yes, he is comparing students to food.  He went on to say that some pop early, and some pop late.  I was not enamored by this remark and prepared myself to write this piece about this individual and all the things I did not like.    

I'm rare.

By Tom

There came a point in my life when it became clear that I wasn't going to play centerfield for the Baltimore Orioles. It was time to choose a different, perhaps more realistic, career. I considered many: ophthalmologist, milkman, veterinarian, funeral director, even psychologist. But as a college student I took a part-time job as a lifeguard. As such, I was also required to teach swimming lessons. Although I quickly lost interest in guarding lives (too boring) I fell in love with teaching. I enjoyed the kids, the mental challenge of planning and executing lessons and I loved watching my hard work produce tangible and immediate results.

The fact that most of the hot girls on campus seemed to be majoring in elementary education sealed the deal. I was going to be a grade school teacher.

I've been teaching third grade for nearly 26 years now, and I still love doing what I do. But the fact of the matter is, I'm rare. Less than twenty percent of Washington's elementary teachers are male. It's actually not something I dwell on very often; as teachers we spend the vast majority of our time as the sole adult in a room of children. You stand out whether you're male or female. But at a recent workshop on reading instruction I looked around and counted two other guys in a room filled with over a hundred women.

So instead of learning how to better teach reading, I sat there wondering: Why are there so few men teaching little kids? Should there be more? How can we get more? When's lunch?

Drumroll, please...

by CSTP staff

Great news! Stories from School: Practice meets Policy was named one of the BEST EDUCATION BLOGS for 2010 by Washington Post bloggers Jay Matthews (Class Struggle) and Valerie Strauss (The Answer Sheet).

Congratulations SFS bloggers Brian, Kristin, Luann, Mark, Rena, Tom, Tracey and Travis. We knew you rocked before, but it is nice to know that others agree!

And one other shout out to SFS friend and education blogger extraordinaire Nancy Flanagan. Nancy brought her wisdom here and helped SFS bloggers find their virtual voices back when SFS was just an idea. Nancy's blog, Teacher in A Strange Land, debuts at Teacher Magazine on Monday. Be sure to check in with her there.

Here's to 2010!

Work Study or Child Labor?

 By Tracey

I have a high school student who comes to my classroom and spends the day helping me out.  She comes twice a week, every Tuesday and Thursday.  She's in my room all day, from the start of school at 8:40 to 2:00, sometimes 3:00.  She's very kind and pleasant.  Last week she changed the bulletin board paper out in the hall.  She's in a program that matches students with mentors in careers they want to pursue.  She came to me in September, asking if she could interview me about being a teacher.  And before I knew it, she was showing up twice a week asking if she could stay and help.  I'll admit, it's nice to have the help.  I have her help me with logging in homework, filing papers, and organizing the classroom library.  But, what is she really getting in return?  Three fifths of a 9th grade education and some paper cuts? That's my worry.

Unintended Consequences

by Brian
 

The Seattle Times editorial board and a guest editorial team of Dean Allen of Partnership for Learning and Brad Smith of Washington Roundtable recently continued their campaign against State Superintendent Randy Dorn's proposal to delay and rethink the math and science graduation requirements.  The Times says it's a "gaffe". Allen and Smith say: "First, legislators must reject any retreat on graduation requirements in math and science. Once in place, these requirements will help ensure that more students graduate prepared for college and work."

I've been thinking a lot about what's wrong with that argument.  I think I finally figured it out: nothing. They're right.  The students who do graduate will be better prepared for college and work.  But I see the Law of Unintended Consequences at work.  If these requirements are left in place, the ones who graduate will be better prepared, because fewer students will graduate.  Faced with the hurdles of Algebra, Geometry, and Algebra 2 many will just give up.  Is that what we really want?

What we ask of our taxpayers

 By Mark

I've been lucky to teach in a community which over the years has supported bonds and levies to support their schools and infrastructure. In the last ten years or longer, our population has exploded and demanded the building of what seems like countless new schools just to house all the students. However, over the last few elections, the margin of support has gradually eroded with the sliding economy.

We're running a replacement levy this month. Unfortunate timing. Passage of the levy will have zero impact on our patron's taxes--it is a replacement levy, merely continuing the level of funding already being provided so the proportion per $1000 of assessed property value will be the same as last year.

Failure of the levy will mean the instantaneous loss of approximately twenty percent of our district's total budget. I'm new to the budget cut game, but that number is huge and scary.

Okay With Merit Pay

By Kristin

An editorial in the Seattle Times gives a vote for charter schools and merit pay.  "Students are graded according to their abilities," the piece says.  "Imagine paying teachers according to theirs."  Let's take a moment to imagine that.

Merit pay would be great.  I work hard and I care.  I think I'm effective.  I should be paid a little more than the teacher who alternates between movies and packets.  But merit pay is problematic.  When we "grade students according to their abilities," it's based on spending an hour a day with them for nine months.  If someone wants to come give me that kind of attention I'd be so excited I would hardly know what to do.  Just thinking about it gives me shivers, because it would be the end of the mindless societal whining about what's wrong with education, and it would be the beginning of people realizing we cannot continue to impoverish our schools and expect educational miracles.

"Special" Education?

 

Rena

Recently I have been struggling with seeing my young students go down the hall for their specially designed instruction.  I am not convinced that this is the least restrictive and most appropriate environment.  Most educators work diligently at building a community of learners.  Then at some point in the day some students are sent the message, that they aren't quite good enough to remain in the community, and go elsewhere for learning. 

Cursive, Anyone?

By Tom

Back in the mid-eighties, when I was fresh out of college and looking for a teaching job, I stopped by the Everett School District to apply for a position teaching fifth grade. When I checked in with the receptionist I was handed a piece of notebook paper and a pen and told to write an essay. I forgot what the topic was supposed to be, but I remember specifically being told to write in cursive. Unfortunately, I did not see that coming.

Needless to say, I didn't get that job. But I shook it off and went on to become a third grade teacher. That's the grade in which every American student learns how to write a paragraph, how to multiply and divide, how to subtract with borrowing and (ironically) how to write in cursive.

But that might be changing.

Do you Remember when we used to Teach Science?

 By Tracey

One sunny afternoon in the spring, during my third year of teaching, I walked into my classroom to find two strangers.  They were smiley and warm, and apologized for startling me.  They were also elementary teachers.  I could tell this was true, as they wore the uniform – sandals, jumpers, and turtle-neck shirts.  They explained that they were attending a conference nearby.  They went for a walk and stumbled upon my school and my open door.  They were most excited about seeing the word science posted on my schedule for the day.  “Wow,” they explained, “You have time to teach science everyday?  Where we come from they got rid of that.  We’re lucky if we can teach it once a week!”  I think they said they were from Idaho, or maybe it was Iowa?  In any case, I thought that comment was strange at the time, and then promptly forgot all about it until recently.  It was as if these women came from the future, foreshadowing what is yet to come, and warning me of the road ahead. And now here I am, ten years later, remembering their prescient words while feeling lucky to have the chance to teach science once a week.