From near to far, far to near, funny things are everywhere...

Camino Nuevo 8th graders

Test post from my phone...

This is the most recent group shot of the "leadership" group of 8th graders at Camino Nuevo Charter Academy in Los Angeles. They rock.

Yes, Virginia

A Richmond Times-Dispatch article from Sunday made me happy. In support of Charters in Virginia. 

Yes, I know Virginia has a stellar record for Education.  Fairfax County alone is one of the best school districts in the nation in terms of quality.  And counties surrounding Richmond and other NoVa towns are similar.  But there's still the gap.  There's still the lower to middle class families that can't choose because their options are still limited to overcrowded, underfunded inner-city options. 

Virginia has only 4 charter schools in the whole state.  There are more than 4,000 throughout the country.  Areas of our state like Petersburg, inner-city Richmond and much of the western part of the state deserve to give options to the kids that fall through the cracks. 

Even in Alexandria city, the English-language learners that attend premier programs like Child & Family Network Center and receive wonderful early childhood education move on to area middle and high schools and fall down.  This is because even middle of the road high schools in decently funded areas of Virginia cannot wholly serve the English-language learners well.  They are missing the supports, the funding. 

One Forbes article states:

On the opposite end of the spectrum, Alexandria City, Va., which sits just six miles outside of our nation’s capital, spent $13,730 ($11,404 adjusted) per pupil, but its high schools registered only a 73% graduation rate, with 65.0% of the seniors participating in the SAT for a mean score of 963.

According to John Porter, assistant superintendent, Administrative Services and Public Relations for the Alexandria City Public Schools, their graduation rate is reflective of a large number of foreign-born students who may take longer than the traditional four years to graduate. He also noted that their performance measures are rising, along with their expenditures. Per-pupil spending in Alexandria City is now over $18,000. Others on the bottom of the list include Glynn, Ga.; Washington, D.C.; Ulster, N.Y.; and Beaufort, S.C.

Check out these rankings for spending...Alexandria at the bottom of the list. 

Seems to me a little competition wouldn't hurt.  I'm only somewhat obsessed and completely enamored by some of the work being done at places like KIPP, CentroNia, Camino Nuevo and Harlem Village.  I want that for our Virginians, regardless of zip code. 

A weak argument for medication

This article basically says ADD and ADHD kids on meds test better.  And since tests determine everything, I guess that's the argument for putting  kids on meds.  Interesting. 

I wonder when someone will decide to look at other, possible more impactful outcomes.  Like - interpersonal skills, leadership skills, critical thinking skills, the ability to advocate for yourself?  The kinds of skills kids need to succeed in life, especially if they have attention problems. 

So what if kids test better. I mean, I guess that's nice because it'll help these kids with high school and college admissions. But this is nothing new.  A medicine that is designed to focus you will surely help you sit through an exam better. 

Ultimately ADD and ADHD adults need a skillset that testing well does not promote. 

9 in 30

A do-gooder video put out by the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

NOTE - I tried embedding the video but it's really slow to load.  So click here. 

The people I hear complaining about those that take advantage of the system...they never even knew these 9 people. 

If our public schools are failing 9 out of 30 kids, what's the big problem with a little freedom to change the system to meet the needs of its popluation?  We don't have that freedom in public schools...but we do in charters...

No Cow Left Behind

Why are schools (and not other industries) treated to harsh and unwavering testing?

No Cow Left Behind: A Cautionary Tale

By Alexandra Miletta and Katherine Morris

In green pastures across the heartland
Dairy farmers could tell with a glance
If their cows were unusually skinny
No prognosis was left up to chance

In time there were remedies
Recipes tested
Farmers were trained
New diets suggested

Despite some progress
The farmers were concerned
And did their best to uncover
What the cows had learned

About eating proper doses
And grazing in the field
So that they'd be healthy
Their stoutness revealed

Then the government issued a warning
"Our cows are underweight!
The ones in Europe and Asia
Get fat at a faster rate!"

Experts jumped into action
Dairy farmers were urged to comply
With new strict diet guidelines
And discouraged from questioning why

A law was passed to move things along
"No Cow Left Behind!" was its name
Norms were issue by age and weight
To ensure all cows' growth was the same

Food was measured in exact proportions
Cows must be fed in troughs and rows
Thus ignoring the farmers' wisdom
For how a scrawny cow grows

The law had another component
To measure the cows with precision
The scales must be digitally calibrated
To accomplish our fattened up vision

The farmers were told to get cows on those scales
Whether they liked it or not
And to measure the girth of their bellies
To gather the data they sought

The cows, reluctant and unhappy,
Attempted to stand on those scales
They ate the bland diet we fed them
But hated that stale hay in bales

They remembered the fresh grassy pastures
Where they used to munch and play
And longed for the freedom of choosing
How to spend a warm summer's day

Then one night at the dinner table
Two farm children wondered aloud,
"Why don't we feed our cows better food?
And not pack them into a crowd?

We should let them run around
Enjoy the fresh air outside
They we'll see how those bellies
Begin to get really wide!"

So they tested their theory
Prepared tasty concoctions
With inventive ingredients
And culinary options

One day it was oatmeal
With wheatgrass and soy
Dinner was crunchier -
Roasted peanuts and bok choy

The cows on that farm
Just feasted for weeks
On exotic combinations
Like chocolate covered leeks

The children discovered
A foregone conclusion
The cows' weight loss crisis
Was just an illusion

The cows were depressed
Not too skinny or thin
A variety diet
Was the way to begin

To lift up their spirits
Give them lofty ambitions
The children painted cow portraits
In full color renditions

They sent them to Washington
With detailed description
But the question remains
Will the politicians listen?

Another Plug for Teachers

Another plug for Teach for America's basic premise. Another plug for getting better teachers in crappy schools instead of trying to find other ways to fix those crappy schools. Another plug for bettering the school culture. Another plug for less bureaocracy, more teacher-generated creativity (and the permission to do that).

Money helps, but probably only if it is directed at teacher salaries and resources. Get those Columbia and Harvard Education graduates in schools in Chicago, Atlanta, the Bronx, LA.

Instead, they want to teach in private schools for good reason. I know, I went to one of those awesome schools. And I'd happily return to working at a private school, if I thought I could use my social capital to encourage more students to venture outside of those boundaries.

There is no (and I repeat NO) research to support teacher certification being related to effectiveness. Instead, the Department of Ed's latest report says the opposite.

Maybe teacher effectiveness is somewhat personal, related to the "call" or related to the community in which a teacher works (and is dually supported). That only makes it harder to insitutionalize - to mass produce the placement of effective teachers.

So most of all, I agree wholeheartedly with Kristoff's NYT column from last week. The stimulus bill is a massive amount of money.  More than my little head can comprehend. But I can't see how it's bad to put money at education in this time of economic downturn. If it's done in the right way.  If it's focused on TEACHERS.

The alternative would have been thousands of unemployed teachers. How will that help prevent something like this in the future?  There are many things that should stop or at least pause during this recession. Like, living outside our means.  Educating kids should not be one of them.

So when will US News and World Report start rating communities with the most effective teachers, instead of communities with the top schools in the nation? We can't just all move to that district.

Rename NCLB

The question's out there now. Let's rename No Child Left Behind.

See what responses have been suggested thus far.

My favorite is: Mega Sized Multiple Choice Exam Act

 

Because let's be clear...unless the act is wiped and redefined, a new name won't do anything!

Hero's Salary

This Wa Po article from yesterday argues that some school districts are trying to compensate for classroom failures by paying teachers what they're worth. But then hiding that fact in recruitment campaigns. And he wants to know why? 

I offer a hypothesis. Because as soon as school districts start looking for people to enter the teaching profession BECAUSE it's lucrative, we open ourselves up to major criticisms among those that don't believe in government sponsored programs. Because when we look for teachers that are in it for money and not because they believe they can be the most effective teachers, we are looking for trouble. We need the MOST competent teachers out there. They need training, support, respect, passion, to be called to the profession. They deserve every bit of the $100,000 they can make in Ann Arundel County, Maryland. But that isn't why they should be teachers.

When the government becomes more lucrative than the private sector, and this fact is used to recruit people, the suppoort for the program could go down. Probably will go down. Taxpayers might start to get antsy, think they shouldn't be paying taxes to fund such high teacher salaries. Fiscally conservative voters might be outraged.  It's never about how hard it is to be a teacher. It's about how unfair it is for a teacher to make a better salary than a car salesman or a real estate agent.  Teaching is so easy, right? Summers off, play with kids all day.

Ok reality check - I believe teachers have the hardest and most important jobs in our nation. We pay doctors and dentists and other professionals so much money to care for us. To react to problema and to prevent them. To make sure we live long, happy, healthy lives. But it's only logical - teachers are best preventive strategy we have. To prevent poverty, to prevent ignorance, to prevent incompentence, to prevent social ill. To promote intelligence, relationships, ethics, responsibility, patriotism, service, Why wouldn't we want those that are responsible for what we learn and how we use it to be treated with the same respect?

So yes, if we need teachers we should show them the money. But we don't want to lose the ability to offer the money. I am afraid once we start framing the profession by its salary, we set ourselves up to lose bipartisan support for education support.  Our label becomes less heroic. And, sadly, labels matter in politics. 

Whether teachers make $100,000 or live on a Peace Corps stipend, they are still heroes.  For real.

The World We Want

I just came across a film... The World We Want.  The American Film Institute screened it first.  I've been searching for examples of how service-learning works, in real-life. And why it works, not just that teachers want students to do "community service".  But, that they wants students to be involved. Not to feel good, but to do good and see that it matters to their own wellbeing and those around them. That no one lives in a vacuum. 

This is a good example. Youth really were the ones leading these projects. It is just as important (and powerful) to develop communities through effective service projects as it is for the kids involved to see the power they can actually have. 

The film showcases the organization The Center for Civic Education, which runs a subsidiary project -  Project Citizen. It gives children the opportunity to launch a project in the community, based on projected needs (as understood by kids). 

It demonstrates that children can plan and implement these ideas, with only a little support and a kick in the right direction from us.  The projects ranged from clean drinking water in Africa to curbing underage gambling in Russia to a nutrition campaign to stop coronary heart disease in the United States. 

These kids run into problems, just like we do when we have idealistic dreams and little support. While a little cheesy in its message of unity, it's a good watch for anyone working WITH kids and trying to push them in this direction.   

 

I pledge

Ok so yes I'm looking at information all day about service and service-learning. But this advertisement is especially masiso. (that's cool in Spanish).  Enjoy.

It's cool most because I am still amazed at the amount of new information that passes through the internet and media daily that shows just how monumental this election was.  Never before has there been such a campaign to get people involved in public service.