January is designated as National Mentoring Month. This month highlights mentoring and the positive impact these volunteers can have on young lives.
During this month, Duval County Public Schools' honors individuals who have chosen to become mentors to our youth and recognizes them for making the future brighter for our young people. Being a mentor is easy: You just need to be able to listen and to offer friendship, guidance and encouragement to a young person on a consistent basis.
While National Mentoring Month brings national attention to the benefit of and the need for mentors, locally, it is critical that we recruit mentors to help attain our goal of increasing academic achievement for all Duval County Public Schools' students. Our whole community - individuals, businesses, government agencies, schools, faith-based communities and nonprofits - must work together to increase the number of mentors and assure a more successful future for our young people. Our strategic goal is 20,000 mentors by 2020. Help us reach this goal for our students.
According to research, when students have mentors they have better attendance, a better chance of going on to higher education and better attitudes toward school.
It's proven that the positive influence of role models can have a lasting impact. Program evaluation results show that after one year of being matched with a mentor, students:
Show a significant increase in their future orientation
Are more committed to living a drug and alcohol-free life
Show greater attachment to their family, friends and other adults
Show an increase in self-esteem
To learn how you can become a mentor, contact our Community and Family Engagement Department at 390-2960.
Ed Pratt-Dannals
Superintendent
Showing posts with label schools. Show all posts
Showing posts with label schools. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Hello, my name is Al Brennan, I am the principal of Forrest high school and I hate teachers (revised)
Principal Brennan didn't actually say that, and I doubt he feels that way, too. Sadly, that's what numerous teachers heard when he told them at the welcome back staff meeting that if they didn't park in their designated spots he would have their cars towed; if they didn't turn in a classroom key, he would say they stole it (and words to the effect that he would prosecute them) and that if they were one minute late they would be disciplined. “ I wouldn't dream of talking to my students that way, and if I did I would rightfully get in trouble”, a teacher friend of mine said.
Principal Brennan has also taken to monitoring (or having monitored) his teacher’s social networking sites, telling teachers that they can’t have students on their pages and taking umbrage to some of his staff’s status updates. I have better things to do than look at my student’s pages, and I would hope people entrusted to run schools would, as well.
It's common practice for teachers to start the year strict with their students; that way, they have room to lighten up as the year progresses. It is also not uncommon for a principal, reappointed to an unfamiliar school, (and Mr. Brennan will be Forrest’s third principal in three years), to lay ground rules and expectations - but, like teachers shouldn’t, principals shouldn’t come off like bullies, either. Teachers try and protect their students from bullies, and should they expect any less?
I am not saying bosses can’t be bosses. I am saying the teachers that are most successful are the ones that get the kids to buy into what they are teaching; the ones that get the kids to want to work for them. The teachers that bully and browbeat their kids are usually the ones that are least successful, and so to will be those principals and administrators that act in the same fashion. In education, the message is important, but how you convey the message determines if people are going to hear it or not.
Sadly, this is where we find ourselves in 2010. Principals are told to shake things up, as teachers and principals have both become the scapegoats for the district. On one hand, teachers have gone from valued colleagues to someone who can be browbeaten, intimidated, marginalized and, worse of all, disrespected, while being put in positions where success is hard to achieve. Then, on the other hand, principals (thirty seven of which were reassigned last year), are also put in almost unattainable positions as they are told they can’t discipline, and to move as many kids along as possible. This, whether they are prepared for the next level or not, and the less than forty percent of students who read at grade level at the neighborhood high school, would seem to indicate that many are not. So much about doing both jobs successfully is about fostering positive relationships, and when both groups are put under such impossible pressure and in opposite positions, it’s really a tribute to the fine professionals we have that things aren’t worse.
The chasm between the administration and teachers is widening everyday, and that can't be healthy for the Duval County school system. If you want more proof , look at how the superintendent declared a financial emergency just days before the school year began in order to stop teachers from getting their step increases. Many teachers took it as the district flexing their muscles as if to say, ‘look who the boss is’. Mr. Superintendent, our bosses, both yours and the teacher’s, are ultimately the children of the district and we should be doing whatever we can to make sure they are successful, and putting both principals and teachers in impossible positions is doing the opposite of that.
Andrew Carnegie once stated “you can take my buildings and resources, leave my workers, my greatest asset, and I'll be back on top”. The school district, in contrast, treats many of its teachers and principals as if they are disposable, while at the same time playing them against each other. The sense of comraderie and teamwork between the two groups is quickly dissipating and the esprit de corps that had both groups believing they were in this together has been replaced by ‘it’s the teacher’s fault’ and ‘if this principal doesn’t crack the whip, we’ll find another one that will’, by the county’s administration and school board.
If we want to have a truly successful school system, it's going to require a partnership between teachers and their administrators. I think teachers are the district’s number one resource and should be treated with dignity and respect. I believe the better teachers are, the better they will be for their students, as well, and I also believe if they are supported - put in positions where success is attainable, and not overwhelmed with task after task - then the district will prosper. Ater all, if the teachers didn't show up one day, then school would slam to a halt; but if a principal didn't show up, school would merrily chug along.
I also think schools need leaders - people that teachers can come to when they need help and someone students can look up. A principal is like a quarterback of a football team, or like the rudder of a ship. Quarterbacks probably get too much credit and too much blame when a team flounders, but they are still the ones who keep the ball moving. A ship may still be able to float without a rudder, but at the same time its sense of direction will be seriously impaired.
I wrote above that Mr. Brennan hates teachers, but let me make emphatically clear he did NOT say that in so many words, that’s just what several members of his staff felt after their welcome back staff meeting, and how they once again felt when he monitored their social network sites. He did not say that and I sincerely hope he does not feel that way, because if he did, then the faculty, staff and students at Forrest High School are all in store for a very long year.
In actuality, however, this piece has very little to do with him and the problems at Forrest High School, which are being repeated at numerous schools throughout the district. It is more about the deteriorating relationship between teachers and administrators because of the impossible expectations put upon them and the impossible positions they are put in. It’s about how the district is fostering a contentious relationship that, unless changes are made, will inevitably collapse upon itself.
Principal Brennan has also taken to monitoring (or having monitored) his teacher’s social networking sites, telling teachers that they can’t have students on their pages and taking umbrage to some of his staff’s status updates. I have better things to do than look at my student’s pages, and I would hope people entrusted to run schools would, as well.
It's common practice for teachers to start the year strict with their students; that way, they have room to lighten up as the year progresses. It is also not uncommon for a principal, reappointed to an unfamiliar school, (and Mr. Brennan will be Forrest’s third principal in three years), to lay ground rules and expectations - but, like teachers shouldn’t, principals shouldn’t come off like bullies, either. Teachers try and protect their students from bullies, and should they expect any less?
I am not saying bosses can’t be bosses. I am saying the teachers that are most successful are the ones that get the kids to buy into what they are teaching; the ones that get the kids to want to work for them. The teachers that bully and browbeat their kids are usually the ones that are least successful, and so to will be those principals and administrators that act in the same fashion. In education, the message is important, but how you convey the message determines if people are going to hear it or not.
Sadly, this is where we find ourselves in 2010. Principals are told to shake things up, as teachers and principals have both become the scapegoats for the district. On one hand, teachers have gone from valued colleagues to someone who can be browbeaten, intimidated, marginalized and, worse of all, disrespected, while being put in positions where success is hard to achieve. Then, on the other hand, principals (thirty seven of which were reassigned last year), are also put in almost unattainable positions as they are told they can’t discipline, and to move as many kids along as possible. This, whether they are prepared for the next level or not, and the less than forty percent of students who read at grade level at the neighborhood high school, would seem to indicate that many are not. So much about doing both jobs successfully is about fostering positive relationships, and when both groups are put under such impossible pressure and in opposite positions, it’s really a tribute to the fine professionals we have that things aren’t worse.
The chasm between the administration and teachers is widening everyday, and that can't be healthy for the Duval County school system. If you want more proof , look at how the superintendent declared a financial emergency just days before the school year began in order to stop teachers from getting their step increases. Many teachers took it as the district flexing their muscles as if to say, ‘look who the boss is’. Mr. Superintendent, our bosses, both yours and the teacher’s, are ultimately the children of the district and we should be doing whatever we can to make sure they are successful, and putting both principals and teachers in impossible positions is doing the opposite of that.
Andrew Carnegie once stated “you can take my buildings and resources, leave my workers, my greatest asset, and I'll be back on top”. The school district, in contrast, treats many of its teachers and principals as if they are disposable, while at the same time playing them against each other. The sense of comraderie and teamwork between the two groups is quickly dissipating and the esprit de corps that had both groups believing they were in this together has been replaced by ‘it’s the teacher’s fault’ and ‘if this principal doesn’t crack the whip, we’ll find another one that will’, by the county’s administration and school board.
If we want to have a truly successful school system, it's going to require a partnership between teachers and their administrators. I think teachers are the district’s number one resource and should be treated with dignity and respect. I believe the better teachers are, the better they will be for their students, as well, and I also believe if they are supported - put in positions where success is attainable, and not overwhelmed with task after task - then the district will prosper. Ater all, if the teachers didn't show up one day, then school would slam to a halt; but if a principal didn't show up, school would merrily chug along.
I also think schools need leaders - people that teachers can come to when they need help and someone students can look up. A principal is like a quarterback of a football team, or like the rudder of a ship. Quarterbacks probably get too much credit and too much blame when a team flounders, but they are still the ones who keep the ball moving. A ship may still be able to float without a rudder, but at the same time its sense of direction will be seriously impaired.
I wrote above that Mr. Brennan hates teachers, but let me make emphatically clear he did NOT say that in so many words, that’s just what several members of his staff felt after their welcome back staff meeting, and how they once again felt when he monitored their social network sites. He did not say that and I sincerely hope he does not feel that way, because if he did, then the faculty, staff and students at Forrest High School are all in store for a very long year.
In actuality, however, this piece has very little to do with him and the problems at Forrest High School, which are being repeated at numerous schools throughout the district. It is more about the deteriorating relationship between teachers and administrators because of the impossible expectations put upon them and the impossible positions they are put in. It’s about how the district is fostering a contentious relationship that, unless changes are made, will inevitably collapse upon itself.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Scr*wed
Scr*wed
She lifted up the computer and slammed it down on the cart. It was quite an impressive feat for somebody so small in stature. “Whoa, what’s going on Sunshine?” I asked, seeing she was obviously upset. “Oh, I don’t know…” she started, (I think holding back a tear); “it’s either being lied to straight to my face or being treated like a child”. I sighed and put my hand on her shoulder. The teacher in front of me wasn’t just one of my best friends at my school but one of the best teachers the school had to offer, as well, and it hurt me to see her so upset. “Okay, okay - take a deep breath and tell me what happened”, I asked. As she started to tell the story I realized she was just the latest domino to fall from a line that started two years ago.
A week before the ‘08-‘09 school year began, I got a call telling me I would be moved from my Trainable Mentally Handicapped (TMH) classroom to a Varying Exceptionality (VE) classroom to teach Science. I wasn’t happy about the move, because (and to be frankly honest) I am not a Science teacher and it’s a subject I don’t particularly enjoy. However, partly since I am a team player but mostly because I wasn’t given a choice, I said “okay”; though, as the conversation came to an end, I did ask to be moved back to TMH if an opening became available.
A few months into the school year, a TMH teacher left and they hired somebody that had been the V.E. Science teacher at a high school just seven miles away. I was frustrated but I reasoned maybe they didn’t want to move me during the school year. Last summer, hearing about another opening in TMH, I lobbied hard to be moved back but instead they went with a woman whose only previous experience had been in a VE classroom. I felt resigned to my fate.
Another year goes by and another opening becomes available, and once again I make it known that I want that position – but, once again they hire somebody else, going with a recent college graduate with no teaching experience. When I complained to a colleague, she pointed out that the whole VE program was transitioning to Inclusion, and, since I had been the VE Science teacher, a colleague proposed, and not unreasonably - so that who else would they have do that, but me.
That, however, is when the dominoes started to fall.
The VE History teacher balked at becoming an Inclusion teacher, and even though he had no TMH experience, requested he be moved there; and for some reason, they said “yes”. Then, just like that, to make room for him they moved the recently-hired TMH teacher to a VE English/Math/Learning Strategies position, even though she has no training in those areas, and she must now get dual certifications along with taking the Teacher in Training program. It’s worse because her being moved there sealed the fate of the person who had held the position for many years and who was universally recognized to have done a good job. She had been forced to transfer by mistake and was actively trying to return. (Numerous teachers throughout the county have “mistakenly” been forced to transfer in the last few weeks).
My friend, who was highly qualified for the History inclusion position and who couldn’t decide whether she hated being lied to or being treated like a child worse, immediately let Administration know, again (as she had done the year before) that she would like the History inclusion position - but, instead, they hired somebody who doesn’t have any experience working with the school’s VE children. Now - he may come in and be a Wunderkind, (God’s Gift to Teaching), but that is beside the point - of which there are several:
First - you take care of your own. Experienced teachers shouldn’t be uprooted and moved around and they should be given first opportunity of what to teach. They know their strengths, weaknesses, and desires. Sure, there are always going to be times when the needs of the school supercedes these things, but every effort to find middle ground should be made.
Second - a school’s paramount job should be to put both teachers and students in positions to succeed. In this line of dominoes, we have several teachers who are now “out of field” - teaching subjects they never did before – while, at the same time, we have teachers who would be better suited being forced into teaching subjects they either don’t know nor have an aptitude or desire to teach.
Third - you follow your own rules. If you need to be highly qualified to work at a school, you don’t fire somebody for not being so and then hire somebody else who is not. You also can’t preach about the importance of certification and then hire people without it.
Finally - schools should practice what they preach. If I want my kids to be polite and respectful, I am polite and respectful. If I want my kids to be organized, I have to be organized. If I want my kids to act fair and care about school, I can’t act in a capricious, rash or random manner. It’s the third day of pre-planning and many teachers still don’t know what they are teaching, nor have they seen class lists. One colleague walks the halls constantly on the brink of tears because after years of dedicated service, they switched the classes she was supposed to teach and banished her to a portable. Another teacher said to me, “Chris, I really think they are trying to make me quit”.
When the dominoes fell and my umpteenth request to return to a TMH classroom was again ignored, I resigned myself to make the best of things, as I am sure my colleagues will. I believe we will all roll up our sleeves and do our best for our children, and I likewise believe we will all have a measure of success - but, at the same time, like they probably do, I can’t but help feeling a little scr*wed.
I know it sounds like I am airing dirty laundry, but people should be excited and enthused about returning to school - but those two feelings seem replaced with confusion and despair. Maybe I am speaking out of turn, but doesn’t somebody have to say “if you put teachers and students in positions where they can be successful, you will have better results than if you don’t” and doesn’t somebody have to mention that teachers aren’t just pawns on a chess board to be moved around and sacrificed? Instead, teachers are the most important resource a school has and they should be made to feel important and valued instead of left wondering if Administration is trying to make them quit…or what they hated more, being lied to or being treated like a child.
Scr*wed
She lifted up the computer and slammed it down on the cart. It was quite an impressive feat for somebody so small in stature. “Whoa, what’s going on Sunshine?” I asked, seeing she was obviously upset. “Oh, I don’t know…” she started, (I think holding back a tear); “it’s either being lied to straight to my face or being treated like a child”. I sighed and put my hand on her shoulder. The teacher in front of me wasn’t just one of my best friends at my school but one of the best teachers the school had to offer, as well, and it hurt me to see her so upset. “Okay, okay - take a deep breath and tell me what happened”, I asked. As she started to tell the story I realized she was just the latest domino to fall from a line that started two years ago.
A week before the ‘08-‘09 school year began, I got a call telling me I would be moved from my Trainable Mentally Handicapped (TMH) classroom to a Varying Exceptionality (VE) classroom to teach Science. I wasn’t happy about the move, because (and to be frankly honest) I am not a Science teacher and it’s a subject I don’t particularly enjoy. However, partly since I am a team player but mostly because I wasn’t given a choice, I said “okay”; though, as the conversation came to an end, I did ask to be moved back to TMH if an opening became available.
A few months into the school year, a TMH teacher left and they hired somebody that had been the V.E. Science teacher at a high school just seven miles away. I was frustrated but I reasoned maybe they didn’t want to move me during the school year. Last summer, hearing about another opening in TMH, I lobbied hard to be moved back but instead they went with a woman whose only previous experience had been in a VE classroom. I felt resigned to my fate.
Another year goes by and another opening becomes available, and once again I make it known that I want that position – but, once again they hire somebody else, going with a recent college graduate with no teaching experience. When I complained to a colleague, she pointed out that the whole VE program was transitioning to Inclusion, and, since I had been the VE Science teacher, a colleague proposed, and not unreasonably - so that who else would they have do that, but me.
That, however, is when the dominoes started to fall.
The VE History teacher balked at becoming an Inclusion teacher, and even though he had no TMH experience, requested he be moved there; and for some reason, they said “yes”. Then, just like that, to make room for him they moved the recently-hired TMH teacher to a VE English/Math/Learning Strategies position, even though she has no training in those areas, and she must now get dual certifications along with taking the Teacher in Training program. It’s worse because her being moved there sealed the fate of the person who had held the position for many years and who was universally recognized to have done a good job. She had been forced to transfer by mistake and was actively trying to return. (Numerous teachers throughout the county have “mistakenly” been forced to transfer in the last few weeks).
My friend, who was highly qualified for the History inclusion position and who couldn’t decide whether she hated being lied to or being treated like a child worse, immediately let Administration know, again (as she had done the year before) that she would like the History inclusion position - but, instead, they hired somebody who doesn’t have any experience working with the school’s VE children. Now - he may come in and be a Wunderkind, (God’s Gift to Teaching), but that is beside the point - of which there are several:
First - you take care of your own. Experienced teachers shouldn’t be uprooted and moved around and they should be given first opportunity of what to teach. They know their strengths, weaknesses, and desires. Sure, there are always going to be times when the needs of the school supercedes these things, but every effort to find middle ground should be made.
Second - a school’s paramount job should be to put both teachers and students in positions to succeed. In this line of dominoes, we have several teachers who are now “out of field” - teaching subjects they never did before – while, at the same time, we have teachers who would be better suited being forced into teaching subjects they either don’t know nor have an aptitude or desire to teach.
Third - you follow your own rules. If you need to be highly qualified to work at a school, you don’t fire somebody for not being so and then hire somebody else who is not. You also can’t preach about the importance of certification and then hire people without it.
Finally - schools should practice what they preach. If I want my kids to be polite and respectful, I am polite and respectful. If I want my kids to be organized, I have to be organized. If I want my kids to act fair and care about school, I can’t act in a capricious, rash or random manner. It’s the third day of pre-planning and many teachers still don’t know what they are teaching, nor have they seen class lists. One colleague walks the halls constantly on the brink of tears because after years of dedicated service, they switched the classes she was supposed to teach and banished her to a portable. Another teacher said to me, “Chris, I really think they are trying to make me quit”.
When the dominoes fell and my umpteenth request to return to a TMH classroom was again ignored, I resigned myself to make the best of things, as I am sure my colleagues will. I believe we will all roll up our sleeves and do our best for our children, and I likewise believe we will all have a measure of success - but, at the same time, like they probably do, I can’t but help feeling a little scr*wed.
I know it sounds like I am airing dirty laundry, but people should be excited and enthused about returning to school - but those two feelings seem replaced with confusion and despair. Maybe I am speaking out of turn, but doesn’t somebody have to say “if you put teachers and students in positions where they can be successful, you will have better results than if you don’t” and doesn’t somebody have to mention that teachers aren’t just pawns on a chess board to be moved around and sacrificed? Instead, teachers are the most important resource a school has and they should be made to feel important and valued instead of left wondering if Administration is trying to make them quit…or what they hated more, being lied to or being treated like a child.
Scr*wed
Sunday, August 15, 2010
The Bare Minimum
I spoke to the Northeast Florida rotary club the other day. If you don’t know what the Rotary club is, it’s a business/civic group. They like me are concerned about the direction education in Jacksonville is heading. They like me believe that economy, crime and civility or lack thereof all has their roots in education and they like me are nervous.
Even though I was invited into talk about education issues, I started by talking about the city. I talked about how two interstate highways intersect here and how we are on the ocean and have a major river, a port, an international airport and one of the best park systems in the country. I talked about the Jags and how we are close to entertainment hubs. I talked about how we have lots of room for growth and how much of the infrastructure is already in place to do so and I finished by talking about how we are a pro business city, in a pro business state and we don’t have an income tax. I then asked them why we aren’t turning businesses away and why aren’t we picking and choosing top businesses to come here. I told them I believed it was because of our education system and the work force they are putting out.
I then gave them a few stats, like half the kids in high school can’t read or do math on grade level. That seventy percent of graduates that go to Florida State College at Jacksonville have to take remedial classes. How as the cities population continues to grow it’s school system continues to contract because families are turning to private schools and home schooling something that is only happening here in Jacksonville and nowhere else in the state. Then I mentioned how nobody on the current school board had taught in a Duval County classroom in over a decade and asked if they could see a relationship between all of this.
I then talked about teachers, what I think more so than buildings and technology are the districts number one resource and how I believe the better they are, the better they will do for our children. I wasn’t talking about education and training either because as a group they are extremely well trained and capable. I was talking about not over loading them with task after task many of which only had a peripheral relationship with education. I talked about supporting them and removing kids that were maladaptive and not putting them in unattainable positions and then blaming them when they came up short. I talked about not disrespecting them which is how many felt when the superintendent surprised them just days before they were to report with him breaking the contract. There’s nothing wrong with having lofty goals, teachers are all about accountability, and teachers know they are tough economic times. They just want to be treated like the professionals they are and to be put in a position where they and their children have a chance for success, something sadly to many teachers and students throughout the district are not.
I then took some questions and one of the questions was, what could we do to make things better? I took a deep breath and sighed before I responded. Well there are a lot of things that we can do but aren’t but why don’t we start with something that doesn’t call for reinventing the wheel or breaking the bank, why don’t we start with insisting the school board does the bare minimum, which we aren’t even close to doing now. They seemed a little puzzled as I paused.
We need to give students a snap shot how the real world works. If they come to school behave and work hard they will be rewarded. If they come to school and act up or don’t try then there will be consequences. Now children don’t receive true consequences for their behavior and often it worsens and we also push so many along without the skills they need to be successful. While doing so we teach other kids lessons like their behavior doesn’t matter and it’s okay not to try, lessons they shouldn’t learn anywhere let alone in schools. Then every year we graduate a significant amount of children who aren’t prepared for anything. If we did the bare minimum we could save some of those kids, maybe a lot of those kids. Lets start with the bare minimum and then go from there. That’s what I told them they could do to help.
I then asked them, don’t our city, its teachers and our children at least deserve the bare minimum? They thought so and so do I. In reality we need so much more to be truly successful but hey we got to start somewhere.
Even though I was invited into talk about education issues, I started by talking about the city. I talked about how two interstate highways intersect here and how we are on the ocean and have a major river, a port, an international airport and one of the best park systems in the country. I talked about the Jags and how we are close to entertainment hubs. I talked about how we have lots of room for growth and how much of the infrastructure is already in place to do so and I finished by talking about how we are a pro business city, in a pro business state and we don’t have an income tax. I then asked them why we aren’t turning businesses away and why aren’t we picking and choosing top businesses to come here. I told them I believed it was because of our education system and the work force they are putting out.
I then gave them a few stats, like half the kids in high school can’t read or do math on grade level. That seventy percent of graduates that go to Florida State College at Jacksonville have to take remedial classes. How as the cities population continues to grow it’s school system continues to contract because families are turning to private schools and home schooling something that is only happening here in Jacksonville and nowhere else in the state. Then I mentioned how nobody on the current school board had taught in a Duval County classroom in over a decade and asked if they could see a relationship between all of this.
I then talked about teachers, what I think more so than buildings and technology are the districts number one resource and how I believe the better they are, the better they will do for our children. I wasn’t talking about education and training either because as a group they are extremely well trained and capable. I was talking about not over loading them with task after task many of which only had a peripheral relationship with education. I talked about supporting them and removing kids that were maladaptive and not putting them in unattainable positions and then blaming them when they came up short. I talked about not disrespecting them which is how many felt when the superintendent surprised them just days before they were to report with him breaking the contract. There’s nothing wrong with having lofty goals, teachers are all about accountability, and teachers know they are tough economic times. They just want to be treated like the professionals they are and to be put in a position where they and their children have a chance for success, something sadly to many teachers and students throughout the district are not.
I then took some questions and one of the questions was, what could we do to make things better? I took a deep breath and sighed before I responded. Well there are a lot of things that we can do but aren’t but why don’t we start with something that doesn’t call for reinventing the wheel or breaking the bank, why don’t we start with insisting the school board does the bare minimum, which we aren’t even close to doing now. They seemed a little puzzled as I paused.
We need to give students a snap shot how the real world works. If they come to school behave and work hard they will be rewarded. If they come to school and act up or don’t try then there will be consequences. Now children don’t receive true consequences for their behavior and often it worsens and we also push so many along without the skills they need to be successful. While doing so we teach other kids lessons like their behavior doesn’t matter and it’s okay not to try, lessons they shouldn’t learn anywhere let alone in schools. Then every year we graduate a significant amount of children who aren’t prepared for anything. If we did the bare minimum we could save some of those kids, maybe a lot of those kids. Lets start with the bare minimum and then go from there. That’s what I told them they could do to help.
I then asked them, don’t our city, its teachers and our children at least deserve the bare minimum? They thought so and so do I. In reality we need so much more to be truly successful but hey we got to start somewhere.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Schools can't be run like a bussiness
Run it like a business seems to be the cry people outside of education both yell and try to sell. I wonder what business schools should it be run like? Should they be run like a bank or a mortgage company, probably not they have had their fair share of problems recently. What about like a car company or an international oil conglomerate, probably not either right as they have had their problems too. I recently read a statistic that said 20,000-business fail a month, which of those should we run education like? The truth is we can’t run a public school system like a business and even though it sounds good to some, saying it is impractical does a disservice to things that are truly impractical.
No shoes, no shirt, no service right? Well what about no school supplies no service? If I kicked out every kid who didn’t bring a pen or pencil to my class, some days I would have had an extra planning period. If I gave away one pencil or pen I gave away a thousand. And don’t get me talking about paper and books.
Businesses can fire employees that are don’t do their work or who sleep while at work. Schools can’t, if they did they would be getting rid of some of their best workers.
Businesses can fire employees and then get a restraining order against workers who threaten or throw things at the boss. Teachers are required to welcome them back after a brief time out.
Do businesses call disruptive and disrespectful employees parents and ask them to do something to get them under control? I didn’t think so.
As far as I know the winners of popularity contests don’t run most businesses either.
Now are their business strategies the school system can employ? Definitely. How about we don’t put teachers in nearly impossible situations and blame them when they don’t succeed. How about we foster creativity and autonomy and support our teachers when they are faced with other disrespectful and disruptive students.
We could follow our own rules as laid out in the code of conduct instead of ignoring it. We could also maximize our workforce by putting everyone in the classroom. Duval County literally has thousands of certificated employees who don’t work directly with students. Then how about over-time, wouldn’t it be nice for teachers to get paid for the hours they actually worked, though if we did that now schools would truly go broke.
Good businesses also have their best employees be managers instead of promoting friends or people that can pass a test and just because you can pass an Ed leadership class or two does not magically transform you into a leader. Good businesses also have a coherent and realistic plan; unfortunately all we have is a mission statement and it's not very realistic.
The closest business I can think of to teaching is being a bike builder, except teachers are suppose to build the bike while riding it while missing some of the pieces, oh and more often than not it's raining while this is happening as well.
Schools shouldn’t be run like a business they should be run like what a loving parent would do if they had a very sick child. If the parent loved the child there isn’t anything they wouldn’t do, no stone would be left unturned, no bush would go unbeaten and no expense would be spared. They would do whatever in their power they could to help their child get better. They wouldn’t say, lets tackle this illness like a business. If they did they might cut their losses and move on.
No shoes, no shirt, no service right? Well what about no school supplies no service? If I kicked out every kid who didn’t bring a pen or pencil to my class, some days I would have had an extra planning period. If I gave away one pencil or pen I gave away a thousand. And don’t get me talking about paper and books.
Businesses can fire employees that are don’t do their work or who sleep while at work. Schools can’t, if they did they would be getting rid of some of their best workers.
Businesses can fire employees and then get a restraining order against workers who threaten or throw things at the boss. Teachers are required to welcome them back after a brief time out.
Do businesses call disruptive and disrespectful employees parents and ask them to do something to get them under control? I didn’t think so.
As far as I know the winners of popularity contests don’t run most businesses either.
Now are their business strategies the school system can employ? Definitely. How about we don’t put teachers in nearly impossible situations and blame them when they don’t succeed. How about we foster creativity and autonomy and support our teachers when they are faced with other disrespectful and disruptive students.
We could follow our own rules as laid out in the code of conduct instead of ignoring it. We could also maximize our workforce by putting everyone in the classroom. Duval County literally has thousands of certificated employees who don’t work directly with students. Then how about over-time, wouldn’t it be nice for teachers to get paid for the hours they actually worked, though if we did that now schools would truly go broke.
Good businesses also have their best employees be managers instead of promoting friends or people that can pass a test and just because you can pass an Ed leadership class or two does not magically transform you into a leader. Good businesses also have a coherent and realistic plan; unfortunately all we have is a mission statement and it's not very realistic.
The closest business I can think of to teaching is being a bike builder, except teachers are suppose to build the bike while riding it while missing some of the pieces, oh and more often than not it's raining while this is happening as well.
Schools shouldn’t be run like a business they should be run like what a loving parent would do if they had a very sick child. If the parent loved the child there isn’t anything they wouldn’t do, no stone would be left unturned, no bush would go unbeaten and no expense would be spared. They would do whatever in their power they could to help their child get better. They wouldn’t say, lets tackle this illness like a business. If they did they might cut their losses and move on.
Friday, August 6, 2010
More porridge please: A Glimpse at the inner workings of the DCPS district
I was called into a training yesterday, it’s my summer so they can’t make me go but the subject was one I think is important. Though it would be disingenuous of me to say the fact they promised to pay me my hourly wage wasn’t a big, very big inducement.
As I pulled into the faculty parking lot I noticed they had paved the students parking lot. Hmm, I thought, that’s interesting, a thought that came to mind again when I noticed they had retiled several of the floors.
I entered Houston Hall, where many of the meetings are and took my seat surrounded by 25 or so peers, and six members of the seemingly always-expanding district staff. One got up and thanked us for coming and told us, and don’t worry you will be getting a stipend for your time.
A palpable gasp went up from the crowd, stipend, um we were told we were getting our hourly wage, we mumbled to each other. The difference for my peers and me is about one hundred dollars. I mentioned it to the senior district person on a break and she, who makes twice my salary by the way, with a slight tone of indignation in her voice that I would even ask, said, oh you are just getting a stipend, I don’t know what you were told. I felt like a Charles Dickens character asking for more porridge and got the same response they did.
I sighed feeling like I was a victim of the old bait and switch and sat through the training, which like most consisted of the trainers reading a power point and showing us a video. By the way two of the district people never said one word, two barely spoke and just two put the presentation on. While doing so they shared three success stories that took place during there thirty plus years of teaching to illustrate how what they were selling worked.
My point of this is we wonder why we have problems as a district. We plead poverty but spend our money on cosmetic changes and a huge district staff, whose effectiveness is seriously in question. Then not only do we treat our teachers poorly but we put them in nearly impossible to succeed positions as well. I say this last part because the training might as well been called; dooming teachers and kids through quickly put together not that out plans, but more on that later.
As I pulled into the faculty parking lot I noticed they had paved the students parking lot. Hmm, I thought, that’s interesting, a thought that came to mind again when I noticed they had retiled several of the floors.
I entered Houston Hall, where many of the meetings are and took my seat surrounded by 25 or so peers, and six members of the seemingly always-expanding district staff. One got up and thanked us for coming and told us, and don’t worry you will be getting a stipend for your time.
A palpable gasp went up from the crowd, stipend, um we were told we were getting our hourly wage, we mumbled to each other. The difference for my peers and me is about one hundred dollars. I mentioned it to the senior district person on a break and she, who makes twice my salary by the way, with a slight tone of indignation in her voice that I would even ask, said, oh you are just getting a stipend, I don’t know what you were told. I felt like a Charles Dickens character asking for more porridge and got the same response they did.
I sighed feeling like I was a victim of the old bait and switch and sat through the training, which like most consisted of the trainers reading a power point and showing us a video. By the way two of the district people never said one word, two barely spoke and just two put the presentation on. While doing so they shared three success stories that took place during there thirty plus years of teaching to illustrate how what they were selling worked.
My point of this is we wonder why we have problems as a district. We plead poverty but spend our money on cosmetic changes and a huge district staff, whose effectiveness is seriously in question. Then not only do we treat our teachers poorly but we put them in nearly impossible to succeed positions as well. I say this last part because the training might as well been called; dooming teachers and kids through quickly put together not that out plans, but more on that later.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Drop outs, only a small part of the problem
Kids’ dropping out of school is a huge problem and not just for the dropouts themselves and it was rightfully identified as such in a recent Times Union editorial. Dropping out not only handicaps the future of the children that do so but also likewise damages society. However the following isn’t about those kids it’s about the significant amount of students who somehow mange to pass the “minimum standards” and graduate ill prepared for college, the workforce or life.
Florida State College at Jacksonville reports that seventy percent of recent graduates have to take remedial courses. Business owners also report having a hard time finding qualified workers from the pool of recent graduates. If local dropouts are costing Jacksonville millions of dollars how much money are they costing us? In a way school is even more tragic for them. They stayed all the way through and then aren’t ready for anything.
One of the biggest reasons kids drop out is the counties insistence on a one size fits all curriculum that has every child on a “go to college track.” Do you know what the difference in classes between a kid with 130 IQ, who loves school and wants to be a doctor and a kid with an IQ of 90, who hates school who wants to drive trucks, is? The answer is there is none, both children are expected to take and pass the same classes to graduate.
We have serious problems with our education system in Jacksonville, problems that are not going to get better unless the powers-that-be entertain the thought that different children have different desires, needs and abilities. Dropouts sad to say are only a small part of the real problems we have here.
Chris Guerrieri
Florida State College at Jacksonville reports that seventy percent of recent graduates have to take remedial courses. Business owners also report having a hard time finding qualified workers from the pool of recent graduates. If local dropouts are costing Jacksonville millions of dollars how much money are they costing us? In a way school is even more tragic for them. They stayed all the way through and then aren’t ready for anything.
One of the biggest reasons kids drop out is the counties insistence on a one size fits all curriculum that has every child on a “go to college track.” Do you know what the difference in classes between a kid with 130 IQ, who loves school and wants to be a doctor and a kid with an IQ of 90, who hates school who wants to drive trucks, is? The answer is there is none, both children are expected to take and pass the same classes to graduate.
We have serious problems with our education system in Jacksonville, problems that are not going to get better unless the powers-that-be entertain the thought that different children have different desires, needs and abilities. Dropouts sad to say are only a small part of the real problems we have here.
Chris Guerrieri
Monday, July 5, 2010
Recent Headline
An 18 year old was charged with a fatal shooting in Arlington.
Another teen 16 was part of a gang that murdered a man over a drug deal and stuffed his body in the trunk of a car.
Three teens, ages 15, 16 and 17 recently killed a man for three dollars.
This on the heels of last springs killing of pizza delivery woman Sarah Hotham being murdered by three teens age 18, 17 and 15.
When I read these tragic headlines about teenage murderers I can’t help but think, after I stop shaking my head in disgust, how were these kids in school? My guess is they weren’t the best and some undoubtedly were the worse. That and after a moment of reflection, that I also wouldn’t be surprised if their school experience led at least one of them if not more down the tragic and disastrous paths they took.
Schools are often a place where you meet your best friends at, the ones you go to the movies with, to the mall with and sadly these days where some children decide to kill with.
When schools don’t give children consequences for their behavior they learn however they act is acceptable and believe you me this is a lesson they will keep a lot longer than how to break down a sentence or how to do a quadratic equation. When other children see those students receiving no real consequences they learn that bad behavior is acceptable as well. This causes many to start, repeat or imitate bad behavior. Schools in effect are teaching numerous kids, even kids from decent homes with involved parents that bad behavior is okay. It’s an unfortunate fact but when schools ignore bad behavior they accept and teach it.
Many kids no longer look up to their teachers. We’re not the role models we were a generation ago. Now they look up to the kid who is always in trouble and I use the word trouble loosely. They are the cool ones to followed and revered and teachers are green or worse for not understanding why. It’s the norm to talk back, question and argue with adults, to curse in class or to dress however they want.
Students look up to those kids who always seem to get away with whatever they do or are unfazed by punishments. I have had kids come back from jail and captivate their peers with their stories. Jail sounds fun, are actual words I have heard from some students.
Teachers at many schools now days either accept a lot of bad behavior or just look the other way and hope for the best. There are so many battles we choose not to fight because there is usually a bigger battle coming or because we don’t get any back up when we decide to make a stand. What have you done we are asked or quizzed to prevent the bad behavior, almost as if kids aren’t supposed to know cursing, threatening, arguing, yelling, not doing their work or sleeping in class is okay to do.
Did you stop class and call the parents? What are you doing wrong? The student said this, what do you have to say about that? Are things I and others have heard from administrators. Though what I have heard from students is worse.
Besides expletive riddled tirades I have also heard, you’re the one who’s going to get in trouble if you write me up or nothings going to happen me or good I don’t want to be here anyways. These are all common responses from students to warnings that if their behavior doesn’t improve their presence will no longer be allowed. The inmates are practically running the asylum
I think I must have led my school in referrals last year writing about fifty but I could have written a thousand. Of the fifty referrals I wrote and like I said I wrote a lot more than most teachers, I would guess at least a third were ignored by the administration as I never received a copy of them back and of the rest for the most part their punishment was to finish the period in ISSP. I know teachers who have stopped writing referrals whose only defence is to accept or hope kids sleep in their class or are absent. There is a whole segment of students where for them doing work, being respectful or paying attention is optional.
I don’t know how schools fix families or neighborhoods. I don’t know how schools are supposed to make children who weren’t raised with a sense of whats right and wrong develop one but at the same time with all my heart I believe that schools must give children a snap shot of how life should work. They must say if you work hard you will be rewarded but if you act up there will be consequences and remember for a consequence to work it must be meaningful, it must make sure the child does not want to repeat the behavior. If it doesn’t do that it’s just an inconvenience and I believe an inconvenience that can lead to worse behavior, and in some extreme instances maybe even murder.
Education arguably plays a role in every facet of our city and when I read the headlines form above I become very concerned for Jacksonville. These kids should be trying out for football or preparing for prom but instead they are out committing murders. I am not calling for extreme measures. I am not saying lets blow up the system. All I am saying if we want things to improve lets do at least the minimum of what we are supposed to.
Could we have saved one of those kids above? Could we have saved one of their victims had we done just what we’re supposed to be doing? Worse however is how many more kids are we going to loose and how many others are going to loose their lives if we continue to do things the way we are? You don’t need to answer that last question, I am sure if nothing changes the headlines of the future will let us know.
Another teen 16 was part of a gang that murdered a man over a drug deal and stuffed his body in the trunk of a car.
Three teens, ages 15, 16 and 17 recently killed a man for three dollars.
This on the heels of last springs killing of pizza delivery woman Sarah Hotham being murdered by three teens age 18, 17 and 15.
When I read these tragic headlines about teenage murderers I can’t help but think, after I stop shaking my head in disgust, how were these kids in school? My guess is they weren’t the best and some undoubtedly were the worse. That and after a moment of reflection, that I also wouldn’t be surprised if their school experience led at least one of them if not more down the tragic and disastrous paths they took.
Schools are often a place where you meet your best friends at, the ones you go to the movies with, to the mall with and sadly these days where some children decide to kill with.
When schools don’t give children consequences for their behavior they learn however they act is acceptable and believe you me this is a lesson they will keep a lot longer than how to break down a sentence or how to do a quadratic equation. When other children see those students receiving no real consequences they learn that bad behavior is acceptable as well. This causes many to start, repeat or imitate bad behavior. Schools in effect are teaching numerous kids, even kids from decent homes with involved parents that bad behavior is okay. It’s an unfortunate fact but when schools ignore bad behavior they accept and teach it.
Many kids no longer look up to their teachers. We’re not the role models we were a generation ago. Now they look up to the kid who is always in trouble and I use the word trouble loosely. They are the cool ones to followed and revered and teachers are green or worse for not understanding why. It’s the norm to talk back, question and argue with adults, to curse in class or to dress however they want.
Students look up to those kids who always seem to get away with whatever they do or are unfazed by punishments. I have had kids come back from jail and captivate their peers with their stories. Jail sounds fun, are actual words I have heard from some students.
Teachers at many schools now days either accept a lot of bad behavior or just look the other way and hope for the best. There are so many battles we choose not to fight because there is usually a bigger battle coming or because we don’t get any back up when we decide to make a stand. What have you done we are asked or quizzed to prevent the bad behavior, almost as if kids aren’t supposed to know cursing, threatening, arguing, yelling, not doing their work or sleeping in class is okay to do.
Did you stop class and call the parents? What are you doing wrong? The student said this, what do you have to say about that? Are things I and others have heard from administrators. Though what I have heard from students is worse.
Besides expletive riddled tirades I have also heard, you’re the one who’s going to get in trouble if you write me up or nothings going to happen me or good I don’t want to be here anyways. These are all common responses from students to warnings that if their behavior doesn’t improve their presence will no longer be allowed. The inmates are practically running the asylum
I think I must have led my school in referrals last year writing about fifty but I could have written a thousand. Of the fifty referrals I wrote and like I said I wrote a lot more than most teachers, I would guess at least a third were ignored by the administration as I never received a copy of them back and of the rest for the most part their punishment was to finish the period in ISSP. I know teachers who have stopped writing referrals whose only defence is to accept or hope kids sleep in their class or are absent. There is a whole segment of students where for them doing work, being respectful or paying attention is optional.
I don’t know how schools fix families or neighborhoods. I don’t know how schools are supposed to make children who weren’t raised with a sense of whats right and wrong develop one but at the same time with all my heart I believe that schools must give children a snap shot of how life should work. They must say if you work hard you will be rewarded but if you act up there will be consequences and remember for a consequence to work it must be meaningful, it must make sure the child does not want to repeat the behavior. If it doesn’t do that it’s just an inconvenience and I believe an inconvenience that can lead to worse behavior, and in some extreme instances maybe even murder.
Education arguably plays a role in every facet of our city and when I read the headlines form above I become very concerned for Jacksonville. These kids should be trying out for football or preparing for prom but instead they are out committing murders. I am not calling for extreme measures. I am not saying lets blow up the system. All I am saying if we want things to improve lets do at least the minimum of what we are supposed to.
Could we have saved one of those kids above? Could we have saved one of their victims had we done just what we’re supposed to be doing? Worse however is how many more kids are we going to loose and how many others are going to loose their lives if we continue to do things the way we are? You don’t need to answer that last question, I am sure if nothing changes the headlines of the future will let us know.
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Blame Game
I feel like Tonyaa Weatherbee’s heart is in the right place when she urges people to help find solutions to our education crisis and to stop playing the blame game. I just wonder how this is possible because many of the actors who have helped cause our current situation are still in charge and don’t seem to be moving forward with many ideas for improvement. Or the ones they offer are recycled and tired.
One of the things that drives me crazy is when business and community leaders get together and say what the school system needs is more mentors as if somehow that is going to be a panacea to all of educations problems. Mentors are great and do provide a service but do you know what schools need more? The need buses, lots and lots of buses.
Students who fail classes shouldn’t be given the opportunity to stay after school to improve they should be required to do so. Hey little Johnny, want to stay after and work on getting that F in math up? Nope, okay we’ll see you tomorrow.
Then students who act up should be required to get a consequence and for a consequence to be effective it must be meaningful, like say maybe staying after school to work or serve detention. And why don’t both of these things happen more often? Well in high school it’s because we don’t have buses, we don’t have a way of getting these kids home. Here’s a solution business and community leaders get off your butts and either raise money for buses or lobby the Jacksonville Transportation authority to put in bus stops at all the high schools and then to give all public school students who apply for them free bus passes.
Also last time I checked the school district was still being run by an administration who believed in a one size fits all curriculum, passing kids who don’t have the skills to be successful, doesn’t seriously believe in discipline and whose most important function seems to be putting a pretty bow on everything to ensure they stay in charge. How are we supposed to have meaningful change until those things are addressed? Friends all the mentors in the world aren’t going to able to help until we fix those things, buses might help though.
Teachers won’t speak up, the union seems only to be interested in teachers salary and time off, parents either don’t care or are overwhelmed by life, students don’t have self control, the state has saddled the district with both the f-cat and inadequate funding, and nobody wants to step and pay for a first class education system. All we have is blame and Ms. Weathersbee there is plenty of blame to go around.
The really crazy thing is it won’t take reinventing the wheel, blowing up the works or breaking the bank to make meaningful changes either. We start by enforcing the code of conduct; no longer can it be a practically ignored paper lion. Then we don’t pass children who don’t have the skills to be successful at the next level by making sure we have rigor in our classrooms. There should be no shame in failing a grade or even two if once a child graduates they are prepared for what comes next whether it is going to college or joining the workforce. Then we put in safety nets in place like social workers and counselors for our most troubled and desperate students and have both optional and mandatory after school and summer school opportunities. Then we develop alternative curriculums that service more children. We teach trades and skills and we make the arts as big a priority as math and science. We also have different tracks for those going to college because engineers, writers, and social workers all need different skills.
Some of that will take additional money but most of it will just take the will to do what is right. Until then every child who falls through the cracks, drops out, has their needs and desires ignored or graduates without the skills to be successful needs to be allowed to have their blame. Quite frankly they won’t have much else.
One of the things that drives me crazy is when business and community leaders get together and say what the school system needs is more mentors as if somehow that is going to be a panacea to all of educations problems. Mentors are great and do provide a service but do you know what schools need more? The need buses, lots and lots of buses.
Students who fail classes shouldn’t be given the opportunity to stay after school to improve they should be required to do so. Hey little Johnny, want to stay after and work on getting that F in math up? Nope, okay we’ll see you tomorrow.
Then students who act up should be required to get a consequence and for a consequence to be effective it must be meaningful, like say maybe staying after school to work or serve detention. And why don’t both of these things happen more often? Well in high school it’s because we don’t have buses, we don’t have a way of getting these kids home. Here’s a solution business and community leaders get off your butts and either raise money for buses or lobby the Jacksonville Transportation authority to put in bus stops at all the high schools and then to give all public school students who apply for them free bus passes.
Also last time I checked the school district was still being run by an administration who believed in a one size fits all curriculum, passing kids who don’t have the skills to be successful, doesn’t seriously believe in discipline and whose most important function seems to be putting a pretty bow on everything to ensure they stay in charge. How are we supposed to have meaningful change until those things are addressed? Friends all the mentors in the world aren’t going to able to help until we fix those things, buses might help though.
Teachers won’t speak up, the union seems only to be interested in teachers salary and time off, parents either don’t care or are overwhelmed by life, students don’t have self control, the state has saddled the district with both the f-cat and inadequate funding, and nobody wants to step and pay for a first class education system. All we have is blame and Ms. Weathersbee there is plenty of blame to go around.
The really crazy thing is it won’t take reinventing the wheel, blowing up the works or breaking the bank to make meaningful changes either. We start by enforcing the code of conduct; no longer can it be a practically ignored paper lion. Then we don’t pass children who don’t have the skills to be successful at the next level by making sure we have rigor in our classrooms. There should be no shame in failing a grade or even two if once a child graduates they are prepared for what comes next whether it is going to college or joining the workforce. Then we put in safety nets in place like social workers and counselors for our most troubled and desperate students and have both optional and mandatory after school and summer school opportunities. Then we develop alternative curriculums that service more children. We teach trades and skills and we make the arts as big a priority as math and science. We also have different tracks for those going to college because engineers, writers, and social workers all need different skills.
Some of that will take additional money but most of it will just take the will to do what is right. Until then every child who falls through the cracks, drops out, has their needs and desires ignored or graduates without the skills to be successful needs to be allowed to have their blame. Quite frankly they won’t have much else.
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