By Mark

You've probably read about it: The Washington State Supreme court stated in an 85-page opinion that the State of Washington has not met it's constitutional obligation to fully fund its public schools. (Here's the actual majority ruling in the case, officially McCleary v. State.) 

So now what? The court intends to "keep a close eye" on the legislature. I guess I need help understanding what this means and how this serves as an example of the system at work. So, the state has until 2018 to comply. If they don't comply, then what?

The same kinds of rulings are appearing elsewhere, as pointed out in a blog I read frequently, where accomplished teachers in California talk state and national ed policy. I learned there at InterACT, through a post by David B. Cohen, about Lobato v. State of Colorado wherein the court similarly ruled that the state had failed to meet its obligation. Cohen's post is worth a read, as he distills out the critical language in the Colorado court's ruling. Like many of us, Cohen is still watching Colorado, since its state school board has now voted in favor of appealing that court ruling. 

I'm sure more certain information about "what next" will manifest soon. (Actually… who am I kidding, the waters are certain to get a whole lot muddier before they get any clearer.)

What do you know? What are your thoughts? What is the next line in our conversation about this important ruling? My first step: put those student essays down for a few minutes to pore over our State Court's opinion; I hope to find some compelling language…we'll see.

By Mark

I am lucky enough to teach half of my work day in a program which provides my 45 English 9 students each with desktop computer for their using during my class time. We do research, write compositions, use tech toys like prezi and PowerPoint and animoto (and blogs), and we aim squarely for the kind of discerning 21st century multiliteracy that is all the rage, and supposedly the necessity.

I project my computer screen to help facilitate instruction from bell to bell. I use my doc cam and my smartboard. I keep my students informed on my class website where I post video clips, youtube links, prezi lectures, and assignment resources.

I tell myself that all this makes my life easier. I know that I'm lucky, of course, and I am not complaining, but I wonder about the role and place of technology in education. And I wonder if maybe I'm faced with too much of a good thing.

Continue reading →

By Mark

In the last few days, it seems I've received easily a dozen Outlook meeting requests–those convenient little emails which, once clicked the right way, immediately update your calendar and thereby run your life.

Lately, though, every single time I hovered over the "accept" button, I was greeted by another dialog box warning me about this new appointment: "Conflicts with another appointment on your calendar."

Microsoft Outlook is trying to tell me something.

I think it is trying to tell me I need to start "declining" meeting requests. I wish the dialog box were more direct: "Say no."

So, I sat down and made a list of my school-related obligations not directly related to the teaching of my classes.

Continue reading →

By Mark

Assuming no ugly run-ins with Occupy Portland protesters, a number of my fellow teachers from Clark County will be finishing the Portland Marathon this weekend.

My seniors will be finishing their own marathon in a few short months. The finish line, that stage at graduation, is at the end of a run that is strenuous and filled with hills, potholes, and the occasional broken shoelace.

As I struggle to give meaningful feedback on the piles of student writing which keep appearing on my desk, it is growing more and more apparent that we are truly nearing the end of the race. Or perhaps, rather than using the metaphor in terms of distance (since in a real marathon, the distance runners travel is the constant) I ought to consider it in terms of time, since in education, time is the constant and distance is the variable.

In the asphalt marathon, when the runners start they are generally all bunched together. Sure, there are the ones in front who have arrived with preparation, tools and training, good nutrition and certainly some natural talents and dispositions that lend themselves to success in such a grueling race. These ones immediately take off, widening the gap within seconds. 

Then there are those toward the back–perhaps the hobby runners, less rigorously trained, perhaps less physically sound, but running nonetheless. 

Take a snapshot in the first five seconds, and the distance from the front of the pack to the back of the pack is not all that great.

Come back in two hours, though, and take a picture.

Continue reading →

By Mark

The first week of school as I introduced a vocabulary unit to my seniors, I sparked a conversation that inadvertenly revealed the attitudes toward education we have bred into our students.

I was talking to the students about the upcoming vocabulary unit, and asked them to put themselves in the teacher's shoes: what kind of assessment would be best to prove to the teacher that the students really understood the words.

At first, the answers were disheartening: make us match words with definitions, make us do a multiple choice test where we pick the word to fit the given definition. Then I posed this to them: what good is that kind of test?

Their reply: it shows we've memorized the definition.

And my reply: "What good is that?"

Their return: it shows we know what the word means.

And I asked, "Does it really?"

Continue reading →

By Mark

I teach high school English. At our inservice meetings this past week, last spring's HSPE scores were unveiled. Our 10th graders passed the reading HSPE at a rate of 91.7%, above the state average of 85.1%. Bolstering our pride even more, 75.3% of our 474 tested sophomores earned an L4 score, the highest bracket of scores. Out of all 474 students, only six scored L1 ("well below standard"). While we certainly still need to keep finding ways to support those kids who don't yet have skills up to standard, those numbers are pretty good. Data doesn't lie, right?

Something to celebrate, right?

Nope. The data, when read properly, actually proves that we failed. We failed miserably.

Continue reading →