I left my position as a special ed teacher dealing with emotional impaired kids...a job that I absolutely loved and totally miss...it has been a very rough couple of weeks since, but I had no choice. I was in an environment that focused on exclusion rather than inclusion...not in the traditional sense, but rather more dependent on punishment rather than understanding.
I know my kids were tough, but honestly, that is what made them so much fun to work with...there was no cutting corners or getting by, they demanded the best from me and I always tried my best to meet their expectations. I never missed a day, unless I had some sort of professional development, simply because I always looked forward to working with them. Right now, one is in jail, another may be on his way, the rest either don't show at all, or rarely, and their education suffers.
I truly had no choice because I know myself and I know the environment I was in was bad for me...I am a collaborator and a fixer, and I love learning. I didn't fix my kids, they did that themselves, but I did create an environment of honesty, truthfulness and self-responsibility that promoted positive educative outcomes....they responded...but I am saddened everyday to not see their faces and learn with them...The are tough and they push every button they can, but in the end, they are all great kids!
I miss them...
Saturday, May 30, 2015
Wednesday, May 20, 2015
Why do kids cheat? Could it be they have not been adequately prepared for what is being asked of them?
Obviously, a large portion of being prepared falls on the shoulders of the student, but still, has the educator done enough...has the correct environment been created that the student feels safe enough in to seek additional help if they don't understand, comprehend or basically feel that they can in fact search out...help?
In the new and very fast paced world of public education, huge amounts of pressure are placed on these young adults. You have to learn it now and we will be moving on to something new tomorrow...you have to get good grades or you will be ranked low....and possibly not get into a "good" college...or even the educator that is teaching from the exact same lesson plans they have used for the past 20 to 30 years...
Through the years of elementary, my kids were taught how to do basic math in several different ways...chicago, new etc styles were the rage...does anyone remember lattice math...ugh, I still have nightmares...then off to middle school and they start to bring it back to the old styles and finally high school where adding meant to lined them up and added them together...no special tricks...just do it...
I remember using encyclopedias and they were great. However, to get more information, deeper meaning, you had to actually read a book or six and then write a paper. Today, everything is at their fingertips and on that powerful computer called a cell phone. The kids know they can find anything on there, as do the educators, so they allow them to use it, look it up and then answer questions...except on tests. Now they must memorize it and write it out to prove they know it. Is that truly what is important about learning...rote memorization? Does a student truly need to know the melting point of minerals, or should the student know where and how to find that information when the actually have reason to need it?
I would argue we are setting the kids up to fail with our current system then allowing them to use the tools that will help them be successful and penalizing them in the end. No wonder kids don't like school...we have set them up for failure and they know it...
Obviously, a large portion of being prepared falls on the shoulders of the student, but still, has the educator done enough...has the correct environment been created that the student feels safe enough in to seek additional help if they don't understand, comprehend or basically feel that they can in fact search out...help?
In the new and very fast paced world of public education, huge amounts of pressure are placed on these young adults. You have to learn it now and we will be moving on to something new tomorrow...you have to get good grades or you will be ranked low....and possibly not get into a "good" college...or even the educator that is teaching from the exact same lesson plans they have used for the past 20 to 30 years...
Through the years of elementary, my kids were taught how to do basic math in several different ways...chicago, new etc styles were the rage...does anyone remember lattice math...ugh, I still have nightmares...then off to middle school and they start to bring it back to the old styles and finally high school where adding meant to lined them up and added them together...no special tricks...just do it...
I remember using encyclopedias and they were great. However, to get more information, deeper meaning, you had to actually read a book or six and then write a paper. Today, everything is at their fingertips and on that powerful computer called a cell phone. The kids know they can find anything on there, as do the educators, so they allow them to use it, look it up and then answer questions...except on tests. Now they must memorize it and write it out to prove they know it. Is that truly what is important about learning...rote memorization? Does a student truly need to know the melting point of minerals, or should the student know where and how to find that information when the actually have reason to need it?
I would argue we are setting the kids up to fail with our current system then allowing them to use the tools that will help them be successful and penalizing them in the end. No wonder kids don't like school...we have set them up for failure and they know it...
Thursday, April 30, 2015
So the school year is in full swing, almost done, I have finished the first semester of my graduate degree is special ed and I have not had much time to dedicate to my blog.
But I was wondering...out loud here...why is it a good reason to punish an emotionally impaired young student for being tardy by removing him from his positive educative environment and placing him in a different environment in the school where he will not do well? In Johnlandia, we do what is best for the student...feeling defeated right now...
But I was wondering...out loud here...why is it a good reason to punish an emotionally impaired young student for being tardy by removing him from his positive educative environment and placing him in a different environment in the school where he will not do well? In Johnlandia, we do what is best for the student...feeling defeated right now...
Tuesday, March 17, 2015
The most amazing thing happened this morning. The student no one else wanted and was on his way out of the building, most likely to jail, asked me why my TA was upset. I told him what had happened and he was immediately empathetic and walked over and gave her a hug showing great compassion. He asked her i she was alright and then, asked her if she wanted to do something she and I ask our kids when they are upset. "Do you want to take a walk..."
The mood lightened immediately and the results of the hard work paid off...he get's it! I love being a teacher, there is no better profession in the world...period.
The mood lightened immediately and the results of the hard work paid off...he get's it! I love being a teacher, there is no better profession in the world...period.
Sunday, March 8, 2015
http://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/index.ssf/2015/03/ann_arbor_schools_narrowing_ac.html?ath=f0cc6753cfa01bb98d8ee208c1071c32#cmpid=nsltr_strybutton
Data, data, data, and guess what, after 30 years of working at it, a little bit of progress, according to the data...interesting how the article author parses the data to make a political point. The gap is roughly the same between black and white as it is between SocioEconomic Status (SES), poor and not poor. I wish we would focus on the actual problem, which is not race. Interestingly enough, while the Asia population and black population in A2 are approximately the same, there is very little mention of the Asian educational standing.
I have argued over and over the "gap" that we really should be attacking is the one that exists in SES. Students that come from homes where education IS valued but not modeled will struggle in school. If you adjust for SES, the "racial" educational gap shrinks significantly.
Students who come from poorer families are exposed to less words, which are fundamental in both education and testing. They tend to have less food and often rely on the food they get at school for their meals and typically live in areas that are more "toxic" than those of wealthier students and are living in a much more stressful environment.
It is hard to be successful in school when your main concerns are what, if anything, will I eat today, tomorrow, or whenever. It is hard to be successful in education when you don't have an appropriate place, or a place at all to study. It is hard to be successful in education when you are told learning is important but no one in the home models the importance of education. This is not an issue of skin color but rather a condition of poverty. When survival is the first and most important factor in your life it is hard to find value in learning history, or math or english.
In order to really attack and narrow the educational gap we cannot just concentrate on the schools, we have to look to the homes, communities and neighborhood issues that facilitate underachievement of students in lower areas of SES.
Education is pivotal and foundational in our society, we simply must do better!
"Educate and inform the whole masses....They are the only sure reliance of the preservation of our liberty." Thomas Jefferson
Data, data, data, and guess what, after 30 years of working at it, a little bit of progress, according to the data...interesting how the article author parses the data to make a political point. The gap is roughly the same between black and white as it is between SocioEconomic Status (SES), poor and not poor. I wish we would focus on the actual problem, which is not race. Interestingly enough, while the Asia population and black population in A2 are approximately the same, there is very little mention of the Asian educational standing.
I have argued over and over the "gap" that we really should be attacking is the one that exists in SES. Students that come from homes where education IS valued but not modeled will struggle in school. If you adjust for SES, the "racial" educational gap shrinks significantly.
Students who come from poorer families are exposed to less words, which are fundamental in both education and testing. They tend to have less food and often rely on the food they get at school for their meals and typically live in areas that are more "toxic" than those of wealthier students and are living in a much more stressful environment.
It is hard to be successful in school when your main concerns are what, if anything, will I eat today, tomorrow, or whenever. It is hard to be successful in education when you don't have an appropriate place, or a place at all to study. It is hard to be successful in education when you are told learning is important but no one in the home models the importance of education. This is not an issue of skin color but rather a condition of poverty. When survival is the first and most important factor in your life it is hard to find value in learning history, or math or english.
In order to really attack and narrow the educational gap we cannot just concentrate on the schools, we have to look to the homes, communities and neighborhood issues that facilitate underachievement of students in lower areas of SES.
Education is pivotal and foundational in our society, we simply must do better!
"Educate and inform the whole masses....They are the only sure reliance of the preservation of our liberty." Thomas Jefferson
Sunday, March 1, 2015
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