Category Archives: Current Affairs

The Inevitable Cuts

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Current Affairs, Education, Games, Life in the Classroom, Social Issues

G4ZHay  By Mark

So let's face reality. Something's got to give. 'Tis the season of budget cuts.

We can rail all we want against the flawed system of funding for public education–we can complain about cutting this and that and those as well–but there comes a point that tough decisions must be made.

I recall last year Washington Governor Christine Gregoire posted a website with the bold challenge "You Balance the Budget," where she openly shared the state's budget and the state's needs and challenged the taxpayers to find a solution. I don't have that audacious a charge, but I do have a question:

Since we have to cut somewhere, let's be solution-oriented: What can schools afford to cut?

Go ahead and say "nothing," and then rejoin us in the real world. Since sacrifices must be made, let's line up the lambs. What do you suggest should be first to go when it is time for schools to cut spending? How do you suggest that schools prioritize what stays, what goes, what is sustained and what is starved?

My Worries about Virtual High Schools

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Current Affairs, Education, Life in the Classroom, Parent Involvment, Web/Tech

School-desk  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.

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A Word from the Other 6.8 Million of Us

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Current Affairs, Social Issues

OEH2UI  By Mark

One teacher in Portland, Oregon, is making the news for all the wrong reasons. She recently plead not guilty to possession and delivering of methamphetamine.

While that's been splashed all over the news in the pacific northwest and other parts of the country, I wanted to take a moment to acknowledge the other news about teachers. You know, the good news. Not the one teacher out of the 6.8 million teachers presently working in the United States (according to the U.S. Census) recently indicted of meth possession. Not the one who did this in Texas or that in Arizona or the ones being threatened with irrational jail time over failing test scores in Detroit, but the other millions upon millions.

I thought, how hard could it be to find stories about all the great and wonderful things that teachers do every day? What a great idea for a post, I thought, find all this news from the last year about teachers doing great things, and post links to the stories on the blog! How hard could that be? 

Pretty dern hard, it turns out. And that is a problem I'd like your help with.

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No Logos.

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Current Affairs, Education, Education Policy, Social Issues

HaO6x8  By Mark

I'm presently working with my sophomores to examine news and web articles for the rhetorical triangle of ethos, pathos and logos. In doing so, they've become fantastic critical readers by asking these three questions: What is this article assuming about its audience? What questions is this article not answering? and What is being left unsaid?

That latter two questions came to mind when I was emailed a New York Times article detailing the potential closure of four "failing" schools in the NYC school system under Mayor Bloomberg. The gist was this: four schools had failed to meet growth expectations over the last few years, and therefore the future employment of teachers and administrators was in jeopardy and students were likely to soon be relocated.

The question that seemed to be unanswered to me: How exactly will closing schools solve the problem? 

Let's think about the logic of that…

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Unemployed Parents = Lower Achieving Students

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Current Affairs

Unemployment-line
By Tracey

Maybe having a parent around all the time won't help you in school.  Yesterday's NY Times article, Parent's Unemployment Stress Trickles Down to the Children suggests that it won't, especially when they're feeling stress about being unemployed.  I was struck by this statistic which came from a research study from the University of California, Davis. Fifteen percent of children whose parents lose their job are more likely to repeat a grade.  This is among children of parents with a high school degree.  Another study mentioned in the article reported that the children of single mothers who were unemployed were more likely to drop out of school.  With the unemployment rate at 9.3% in Washington (Sept. 09), this impacts all of us.  

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Governor Gregoire Honored by NBPTS

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Current Affairs, Education, National Board Certification

Sw_RainierAboveTrees_sa03188 News tidbit: Washington's Governor Christine Gregoire has been recognized by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards with a leadership award for her support of educators and NBPTS certification in the state of Washington.  Read here for more details.

Considering the tremendous growth in numbers of NBCTs in Washington, as well as the increased support for NB Certification from OSPI, WEA and CSTP, this recognition of Governor Gregoire ought to also be seen as a recognition of the efforts of many teachers, administrators, and policy makers in cultivating teacher-leadership and even more effective instruction in the state of Washington.

Speaking of policy leaders, make sure to check back later this week to see our guest bloggers, Senator Rosemary McAuliffe (1st District) and Senator Eric Oemig (45th district) Chair and Vice Chair respectively of the Early Learning and K-12 Committee.

Extending the School Year (finally)

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Current Affairs, Education, Education Policy, Life in the Classroom, Social Issues

Stopwatch_Full

By Mark

The press was briefly abuzz recently when President Obama mentioned his ideas for extending the school year. While this seems to be far from a concrete policy decision, it reopens a discussion to which we seem to return every so often. 

Is Obama out of line? Aside from the cute arguments of fifth graders who want their summer break, why do people resist this concept so vehemently? If we can't change this, how can we change anything else about our faltering education system?

I love my "three months paid vacation and a month off at Christmas" (as if), but am for extending the school year. What are your thoughts?

Why Major Education Reform Will Always Fail

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Current Affairs, Education, Education Policy, Social Issues

Crocs By Mark

We have some new leadership in my building that is making me very optimistic. One of the movements being promoted by our leadership is the concept of PLCs, or Professional Learning Communities. We've had these in our building for a while, but the current push involves analyzing student data to assess past practice and inform future endeavors.  Makes good sense, prompts a good deal of collaboration, and seems to be ready to push teachers toward improving practice. If it sticks, I see good things on the horizon.

Not too long ago I talked to a retired teacher whose building in a different state had attempted PLCs in her last few years of teaching. "We dumped that pretty quick," she explained. When I asked why, she explained that it didn't seem to be doing any good. When I asked her how she knew that, she couldn't really answer the question, but she knew that she and her colleagues didn't really like it. They said their principal called it "reforming" their school culture…they knew it was just another passing education fad.

This small is example is all you need in order to see why major education reform will always fail.

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The Obama Speech: How Should Schools Handle Hot Politics?

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Current Affairs, Education, Education Policy, Life in the Classroom, Science, Social Issues

Campfire_j By Mark

Let me be clear from the outset: I'm not here to argue about whether Obama's speech is good, bad, ugly; propaganda, motivation, or mind control. There are too many unproductive shouting matches going on about that elsewhere on the web. Missing from those shouting matches is reasoned discussion of what I think is a more important question with a much larger impact on what I do as a teacher.

The controversy about the broadcast of Obama's "work hard" speech has precipitated some interesting responses from school districts across the country, ranging from the superintendent of schools in Tempe saying all teachers shall show the address and parents are "not allowed" to opt out, to districts like mine who instructed teachers to get parent permission before showing the speech. These policies have an impact on classroom instruction–much more of an impact than the speech itself–because it brings up the question about how schools should handle politically charged and divisive content, and what the school's role is in mediating that content for students.

Many an educator who attempts to make content relevant will want to connect to current events. Whether its genetic engineering, military endeavors, alternative energies or health care, it is easy for a curriculum to turn into a volatile tinderbox, because these topics and others have clear political implications.

How should schools handle hot political topics?

Compulsory Education: Do we need it?

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Current Affairs, Education Policy

Picture 4

By Travis

It is September and for most families, that means school. I can imagine the thousands of children who have their backpacks filled with pencils, paper, and folders. Going back to school was a high point of the year for me.

But this raises the question: Should we have compulsory education? Should a state force children who do not want to go to school, to go to school? In Massachusetts, it became law to do so in 1852.

Now, I understand that this topic may just be too crazy for polite conversation. However, I urge you to consider what compulsory education does to schools. In essence, it turns schools into jails. There are cells; a warden or two; guards; and a schedule. 

If only students who wanted to learn, who wanted to further their skills for those better paying jobs and greater appreciation of life, came to school, those would be classes. Take out the trouble makers. They don't want to be there anyway and by being there, ruin it for the rest. 

Eventually, the school would pull more students in as they realize how little their preparation for life is. Parents will now become more involved, encouraging their student to go to school, going to great lengths to get them there (whether it is for a better life, or a need to get them out of the house at least the parent is more involved).

But what if it doesn't? What if very few students showed up at school because they did not have to and their iPods and games and friends were more enticing? Would these students loose out on an education and we would have a several generations of ignorant, unproductive citizens? 

Then again, would that be so bad? I could hire low wage workers paint my fence or sweep my sidewalk. 

But what effect will this situation have on the children of the low wage workers?

In theory, I don't think that school should be compulsory, yet I do not have a better way to apply this in the real world. There is not a practical application.