I, too, Fix Education

With great respect for Langston Hughes, and because I am not much of a poet, I have adapted his powerful poem "I, too, Sing America" for the feeling of neglect many of today's teachers feel as everyone but us seems to be charting the course of public education.

I, too, Fix Education


I, Too, fix Education
I am the classroom teacher.
They write me off for lack of degrees
When reformers come,
But I teach,
And smile strong,
And connect.

Tomorrow,
I’ll join the dialogue
When reformers come.
They won’t presume to
Say to me,
“ You are status quo,”
Then.

Besides,
They’ll see how important I am
And recognize—

I, too, fix Education

Cougar

"Im holding on too tight. I've lost the edge," is how Cougar says it. And I can't help but wonder whether or not Cougar and I have something in common.
I like Bill Gates and all his foundation is doing for public education. But I'm growing tired of the theory that students succeed based on the ability of their teacher. Good teacher matter, that is true. But sometimes, good teachers make no difference at all because students are people and not data points. I believe in merit pay. I believe in school reform. But I don't know how to solve the bad student cohort problem.
Last year, I taught my Honors, College Prep, and Fundamental level students in much the same way. All three groups outperformed their peers on state exams. This year, my two college prep classes are performing at, or below, the Fundamental level students from last year.
Did I suddenly become bad? Have I lost the edge? Do I need to turn in my wings?

Nicholas Kristoff should teach

Yet another really smart opinion person (Nicholas D. Kristoff) has something to say about education, because, you know, if you went to school, you are an expert. Kristoff wrote about the value of a "great" teacher, while also showing the negative effects of a "bad" teachers. So, here is a somewhat satirical response, which the New York Times should publish:

Imagine receiving your 10th grade English class list a week before school starts and it is filled with repeat 9th grade students who are known for their boorish behavior. What should you do.

Quit!

You can’t really do that, but an astonishing amount of evidence suggests that the difference between a well-mannered, responsible group of students and group of lazy, disrespectful students has long-lasting results. Having a miserable group of students raises your chance of depression by 9 percent, and you will be 20 percent less likely to enjoy your profession. Each year of such a class will cost you $1,100 in deductibles and copays for counseling, as well as $400 for copays on anxiety and anti-depressant prescriptions. Amazingly, a great class of students will save the average teacher 3% per year, thus allowing them to purchase more student materials that the school district no longer pays for.

The study, by real teacher and not elitist theorists holed up in a university, discovered that if a great class in not coming, teachers should take a sabbatical. The benefits to the teacher’s health and family far exceeds the public need to babysit unruly children.

Astonishingly, a “bad” group of students has the same effect as repeatedly bullying and humiliating an individual five days a week. Parents would never allow that to happen to their child, so the reasons why we allow our teachers to endure such viciousness remains unclear. Researchers found that teachers who are asked to deal with such abuse should receive a $100,000 bonus and be awarded educational sainthood.

Our decaying societal values of courtesy, respect, and hard-work is the most significant disease in America’s overall well-being. And this frustration is exacerbated by politicians and media outlets who don’t have the intestinal fortitude to confront the issue. Those big voices have all types of Woebegone theories and more than ludicrous pontifications, but are ignoring the most basic reality facing failing schools.

This experiential research should force intelligent people to think before they speak (or act for that matter), because who better to illustrate the truth about the daily grind of teaching.

Quite simply, the teachers. Or in another way to answer the same questions, not people who don’t teach. The reality is that money isn’t going to make teachers happier, or that reducing class sizes will make them happier either.

One of the truths about school reform is that great teachers are willing to accept responsibility for both their success and failure, but those in charge of school reform, or just write about it, have not put equal responsibility on the students and families who seem to think being lazy and disrespectful is an acceptable approach to education.

Imagine a world in which the top 5 percent of discipline problems in a school could be replaced by average students. Estimates indicate that each class period would gain 7.5 minutes of actual instruction time, amounting to 22.5 more hours of real learning in a healthy environment per year.

Now that would be worth pontificating about.

Teacher Swap

A few years back ABC ran the reality show Wife Swap. A recent article summarizing the new Celebrity Wife Swap caught my attention only because I didn't realize the show was still being aired. But as is typical of me, I looked to make a self-to-text connection. And so I did. The result is a new reality show: Teacher Swap. I've suggested teacher reality shows before--Hell's Classroom and a cheap knock-off of Survivor. But this one, I really think could happen.
According to all of the research, and so many newspaper articles, great teachers raise test scores. We all know that teh best test scores exist in the most affluent towns in Connecticut.

Therefore, I propose we swap teachers from affluent suburban high schools with teachers from poverty stricken urban schools. This social experiment would certainly be as entertaining as Celebrity Wife Swap, wouldn't it? Watching entrenched suburban teachers have to respond to the types of student behaviors experienced in urban schools or the complete lack of materials or space would be both heart-wrenching and humorous. Seeing despondant urban teachers, who have been abused by politicians and media outlets, suddenly rediscover the joy of teaching while enjoying engaged students who are eager to learn would be both instructive and satisfying.

Of course, society doesn't want to see this. It is much easier, much neater to blame the urban teacher for low test scores and high suspension rates. If America will watch shows like Celebrity Wife Swap or The Real World, couldn't someone please make Teacher Swap a reality show?

Blame it on the teach...

Okay, confession here is needed. I believe that there are some mediocre teachers, some pathetic teachers, some good teachers, some great teachers....
But could we please stop with tired blame the teachers mantra?
Connecticut superintendents want to eliminate teacher tenure in favor of five year contracts. In the past, I've railed against tenure. That won't change. Tenure protects some bad teachers. The new proposal works as follows "At the end of every five-year increment, a teacher who is not meeting expectations could be dismissed." Great.
But, come on, really? How can a group of supposedly well-educated individuals sit there and propose changes to the way teachers are treated in regards to success and failure, and fail to hold themselves accountable?
Where is the proposal that a school district which fails for two years must replace its superintendent? The fact remains that too many education leaders are nothing more than mindless sheep, unwilling to think critically for themselves...and more than likely, unable to cut it in today's classroom.

Somewhere over the Rainbow

I am in crisis. I am questioning my ability as a teacher. I am questioning my desire to teach.

At first, I thought it was a funk. However, four weeks in to the year, and I am seriously considering what else an English teacher is qualified to do. So, I took the advice of someone important to me and tried to rediscover why I teach. Therefore, I sent the following message to nearly a dozen former students:

So, this feels weird sending, but here's the background. I'm having a hard time deciding if teaching is still for me. A colleague told me to think back to the many students I have enjoyed teaching. Your name came up on my list. I thought you might like to know that.

--Mr. McNamar

Sending the message felt good. Certainly I did not send it to all of my memorable students, but in the end, I was reminded of why I teach.

Theo Epstein Must Be an Education Reformer

Yesterday, the Boston Red Sox and two time World Series winning manger, Terry Francona, parted ways--in other words, Theo Epstein fired him.
But how does this make Epstein like many in today's education reform movement? The manager of a baseball team, like the teacher in a classroom, can only work with what he is given by others. Francona had flawed players from the beginning, despite the high payroll. So when the Boston Red Sox faltered, leadership decided to fire the manager, despite his history of success. It couldn't have been their fault, and they can't get rid of their players (guaranteed contracts).
The players, like our students, have the guarantee to be on the team. For them, their willingness to put forth the appropriate effort to succeed rests squarely on themselves. If a pitcher under contract chooses to allow himself to get out of pitching shape, he can't lose his money. If a student chooses to not do his homework, he can't lose his opportunity to be educated. In the case of Francona, he became the scapegoat for the mistakes of the players and the mistakes of team management. In the case of the teachers, we become the scapegoat for the mistakes of our students and the mistakes of central office.
Epstein did what so many education reformers do, he blamed the wrong person. The team was flawed, yet he expected his manager to fix it. But in the case of a baseball team and a classroom, the product is not inanimate, it is living and breathing, and most of all, it is willful.
So, despite Francona's long history of success with motivating players and managing the game well, Epstein looked at the failure of this cohort as evidence that Francona must be the problem. His research, much like the research in education, focused only on numbers and data points. It ignored the human element.