Buddy, your bucket has got a hole in it

The news today of the Affordable Care Act being affirmed by the Supreme Court found me sitting in front of my computer for an inappropriate amount of time digesting the news. Being that it is the end of the month and I still had a few of the 10 free page views allowed from the New York Times, I decided to geek out on their blog roll.

One of the continuous sections was Voices, a lame attempt to get the common person's "word on the street." In it I found a rather irritating reaction from Frank Trecroci, the principal of a private school in Kenosha and Racine, Wisconsin. On their website, it states that:

In August of 2000 the school was awarded a 1.2 million dollar grant from the state of Wisconsin to create a “model early childhood center of excellence” for children and families within the community. 

In August 2009 The Renaissance School established a relationship with Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA) in Zion, IL.  Childcare is provided on an as needed basis to the children of families attending the treatment center. 

The Renaissance school also has themselves embroiled in a school voucher debate in Kenosha and Racine. According to the Racine paper The Journal Times, Frank wants to expand the voucher program to lure more students out of public schools, and into his private program.

Obviously private schools have a built in advantage of choice and parent engagement. Of course they will receive better scores than public schools which serve every child. But, at the voucher meeting where teacher layoffs were to be discussed, Frank had the balls to say "And we would love the opportunity to hire any Racine Unified teachers that have been laid off." 

The coup de grâce, Frank doesn't provide his staff with health care, he makes them purchase their own. He poaches students from the public system, depriving them of money. When cuts must be made, he "welcomes" laid off teachers into his private program, for less money, and no health care. How does this help the families and children of those teachers?

When asked for his reaction by the NYT to Obama's victory at the Supreme Court, he said "I'm horrified." Frank described how many of his students families were going bankrupt due to medical bills. He was "horrified" that his students had no coverage, but provides none for his staff. Frank went on to describe how this will cause an extra $10,000 in health expenses to be spent on every teacher, causing cutbacks and perhaps layoffs.

First, who pays $10,000 for health insurance? Now that you are asked to be responsible like EVERY schools district and support their staff with health benefits, your first reaction is to be "horrified." I'm horrified at your leach like behavior.

Frank's comments exemplify everything that is wrong with the privatization of education. Private/charter schools will get young teachers to come in for low pay, no benefits, low budget, and take engaged students, get results, and then point at the public school and ask "what's their problem?" I believe that if private/charter schools want to be able to exist, they must mirror the services for students and staff of their public counterparts. They cannot "counsel out" troubled, ELL, and SPED students, or expel them to the public schools. They also cannot deprive their underpaid and overworked staff of a moderate standard of living.

Until we hold people like Frank to the same level as public servants, the privatization train will continue to roll through every district until we have thoroughly re segregated our society.

Hope for my undocumented students

The news from the Obama administration today is very hopeful. As one of my undocumented students said, "it is an awesome start." Today, Obama has done something right for education. He has offered work visas to good students, age 16-30, who have been law abiding citizens of this country, and who are more American in culture than Latin. I think ICE will be overwhelmed with the number of young talented Latin students who apply for the work visa amnesty.

I have written about my undocumented student before, and my opinion now is no different. These students are our country's future, and they must be embraced and brought out of the shadows. Many of them are more deserving than American born students. The last step that needs to occur is providing undocumented students the rights to in-state tuition for college, so they have the same opportunities as their peers. Currently 12 states, including California and Texas allow undocumented students to attain in-state rates. Wisconsin has revoked their law (what the hell is going on WI?). Most recently, Colorado, a state with a growing Latino population, and an important battleground state in the upcoming election, has followed Texas and California by granting students an adjusted in-state rate.

These students have earned and deserve the right to be law abiding citizens like everyone else. Obama talks of bending the arc of history, of changing the course of history and doing something new. Finally, he is living up to, in at least one way, his rhetoric. 

Living in the neighborhood

I used to be of the opinion that living in the same neighborhood as my students was a dangerous and overwhelmingly negative thing. Talking to people at my old school who lived in the neighborhood of the school, they would tell me it causes some lifestyle changes, and threats. For example, my current principal lives in the neighborhood, and some students have vandalized their home.

In my mind I was never too concerned about students vandalizing my home. The students have never actively disliked me. Students either greatly enjoyed me as a teacher, or were indifferent. The role of a teacher does not lend itself to creating enemies. Annoying a kid sometimes, sure, but never hostility.

For my first few years of teaching I was also enjoying living downtown. Being able to walk down the street to any store of my choosing, sit on the patio of a bar and enjoy a pint or three, or revel with friends late into the evening on the front porch. Privacy was important in those moments, and living in the neighborhood of my school would not project the same image to students that I worked hard to create in the classroom. 

Get off my lawn you damn rapscallions!

This was heavy on my mind when I purchased a dwelling, within the boundaries of the school. Ever since, I have been seeing my students all over the place. And, them seeing me. Every one of those encounters has been positive, or humorous. Whether it be at the grocery, the big-box store, the park, or on the street, the students are really happy to see one of their role models living in their community. A common question is "Mister, you live around here?" "Yes, over there on the other side of_______" (vague pointing).

An added bonus is that it allows me to harass them to finish their homework, ask them a question, follow up on a concern, crack a joke or bond with them, or talk to mom/dad/grandma. In their mind, it also legitimizes my place at their school as a member of their community, and for some, almost a neighbor. It was great to use this with students when they start to misbehave.

"Deon, do I have to pick you up in the morning to make sure you get here on time?"
"No, Mister..."

The classic "I know where you live," but used appropriately and humorously is enjoyed by my students, and their peers. There are two boys in my first period that used to give each other the look of terror, of "Oh no, Mister is going to come to our house, we better get to work" while other students would laugh at them.

Now, I've realized living in the boundaries of my school isn't bad at all. In fact, I greatly enjoy seeing my students, and being seen outside of the school environment. It helps me be a more effective teacher because students want to see you as part of their neighborhood, not as someone coming from outside their world. It really only causes one change in lifestyle.

Keep the beers down low, gentlemen

Test Scores: Beating Expectations

Standardized tests, and all-district exams usually struggle in two important ways, validity and reliability. Meaning, is the test a valid way to assess and measure our students, compared to what they have been (or need to have) been learning. And, Is the test a reliable measure of what the students did learn. For example, if we taught the students how to take multiple choice tests, deduct unlikely answers from probable, and teach exactly the content covered on the exam, yes they would be valid and reliable. However, when the students need intensive shock therapy on writing and reading, no the exams are not valid, nor reliable.

The district exams seem to be unable to make up their minds. Those exams contain a mixture of both multiple choice (memorizing), and short essay. The lines given for the short essays are spaced for a third grader, and are only 5-6 lines long. Not what I would call a short essay. The problem arises when you intently teach students how to write a short essay (10-12 lines) using and citing evidence, and working them away from a culture of lowered expectations and trivial skill usage, to an exam on which they will be judged that expects little of them. The students try to revert back to old and comfortable habits. Students who could write you a proficient short essay in class are suddenly writing 4th grade sentences again.

At my prior district, they at least formatted their district interim assessments in a way that was somewhat challenging. Those focused on skills of interpreting documents, and using them in a short-lengthy essay in addition to your background knowledge. Much like a DBQ. I was in the habit of crushing those with 100% of my students, or near to it, proficient and advanced. At the new district, the results I achieved are below.

My goal for this year was to beat expectations. Those expectations were to be slightly worse than the district average. That was our tradition as a school, and our students are more often unsat or exams. For example, my students started the year on their pre test (BOY) at 57% unsat (fail), and only 4% proficient. District was at 50% unsat, and 7% proficient.

Although I have great disdain for the test, I do take great pride in knowing my students crushed the district on the final exam. Most importantly, my students' growth was far beyond expectations. District average had a 56% growth in terms of moving students out of the unsat category. I had an 82.5% growth rate, in terms of moving students out of the unsat category. I started with more unsatisfactory students, and had drastically higher growth, and ended the year with more proficient students as a percentage of the student body. On top of that, I was the top scoring teacher, beating out my co-worker.

What can we take away form these results, in terms of how we can positively influence our students? I have always focused on skills: reading, writing, analysis, synthesis, interpretation, graphing, and academic language. Using those skills to teach the content gives the students what they need, the ability to be critical thinkers, and read/write proficiently in social studies content. When you get bogged down in teaching content removed from skill, in order to teach to the test, you put on blinders and forget importance. If skills are taught, the test tends to take care of itself. Knowing that it is these results that drive the judgement of my admin, I will continue to teach those skills, and continue to crush the district. We are a turnaround school, and hopefully continued growth from my coworkers and I will help our school survive the many threats now coming at us. More details on that in the future.

ASVAB

You're in a room with 75 freshman, sitting in rows in a lecture hall. It is the afternoon, after the students have had a fresh sugar injection from lunch. There is an above average clowner:serious student ratio. Upon arriving, the students are told they didn't "have to" come today. But, don't tell them you have to try to keep them there because then it counts for the school as a legal contact day. Tell the students we didn't know what to do with them while the Juniors took the ACT, and this was the counselor's uncreative answer this will help them be college and career ready.

Your job, give the students the military ASVAB test, which has no connection to their studies, is riddled with multiple choice questions the students don't know, and broken up into 8 grueling sections, with no break. Try not to show agreement with their complaints at being given a military test. Do not let the students take a bathroom break, get water, use their phones or iPods. The test mimics the stresses of military life. They don't give these in middle class suburban schools, those students get real college prep. Try not to cringe or speak out when the test administrators from the military give directions like an autistic 8 year old, but scream like a drill sergeant in a student's face when they start to act out, you're just an observer.

Work the room, use those relationships, build new ones to keep it all from exploding. Only two hours left. Hey, where's those other teachers that were supposed to be here too? Lesson planning.

But hey, it was worth it. Seven students in the freshman class passed, not.

Teaching on 4/20

There are a few days a year that teachers dread "teaching" on. Among the most hated are Halloween, Valentines Day, Cinco de Mayo, St. Patrick's Day, and 4/20. Each day provides the opportunity for students to misbehave or ask inappropriate questions with an illegitimate but mistakenly accepted excuse.

Shockingly, many parents and people in the schools accept what happens as normal and to be expected. Especially in an inner city school with no systems set up for discipline or consequence kids get away with what would have gotten me expelled when I was in high school, which was not long ago.

On Halloween students showing up dressed as pimps and prostitutes, gang bangers (real), and various masked villains in obvious flagrant breach of dress code. You should not have students coming in their gang colors pretending it is a costume. Cinco de Mayo and St. Patrick's Day brings horrid attendance, and drunk students escorted back to your class by security after vomiting in their last class, and given a sobering meal in the office. Valentines Day can be sweet, but with no consequence, takes over your class.

I am not a fascist enforcer of policy, but I do know that consistent enforcement of basic expectations is necessary to maintain an academic culture in a high school. Also, when teachers are expected to enforce those basic expectations, and are held accountable to the achievement scores, it is criminal to undermine their authority by relaxing rules and allowing an "anything-goes" atmosphere because it would be too difficult to enforce rules on holidays. Support staff exist to support teachers, not teachers to support policies of support staff.

For 4-20, attendance was probably near 65% in the morning, and 50% in the afternoon. I started each class by sarcastically thanking students for understanding how clocks work, that 4:20 is a time that occurs after the school day. My stoned students would giggle wildly, thus giving me the opportunity to speak with them independently later during class, reminding them of expectations. I did mess with a few.

The students that ditched and went to the park were rounded up with bullhorn wielding AmeriCorps volunteers and brought back to class. The leader gleefully told me how great it was they were bringing kids back. I responded with a simple "Oh, so now I have classes full of stoners?" Enforcing rules is tough. Why do it? Teaching is tough, fuck it, movie day.

I know the justice system is not the answer to what occurred yesterday, but there must be standards. If a kid ditches or is stoned, detentions, Saturday schools, no prom, parent meetings, behavior contracts could all be used. It is unfair for me to be held accountable for my results, but cannot control the culture, reading level, or sobriety of my school.

Students in each class asked me what I thought about 4/20. I replied by telling them that it could be a legitimate day of protest over drug policy, but that too many people use it as an excuse to act like an idiot. The 50% of students who were still in class nodded their heads in agreement.

Why did this take 6 months?

Finally! They're ready. My freshmen are ready for 9th grade.

All year I have been working with the students on their writing. I am a firm believer in the power of writing, and the doors it can open for students regardless of what they eventually want to do. In the past, I have had tremendous success all by myself bringing student's scores up, and helping ELL students gain access to writing. Last year my students showed the most growth out of any other teacher.

My work with the students thus far has been very straightforward, but has been agonizingly slow. The students were apt to forget all progress one week after they had learned it.

First, their ability to organize a coherent thought and write it in a non-fiction paragraph using grade and content vocabulary started at about a 6th grade level. The English Department and I worked with the same organizer forcing students to write topic sentences, concrete details, and commentary. After the eighth one, the students only take one period to create an organizer. Still too long, but better than the two hours it took before.  I also have to be blatant with vocabulary, using "Use the following words: smart growth, infill, and spatial inequality"

Next came the sentence stems. Showing students what grade level writing looked like required basic starters, such as:
"For example_______________________"
"This is important because_________________"
"This shows_________ is _____________________"
"The evidence shows______________________"
"As compared to_________________, ____________ is ___________"

And finally, full quote outlines that show students how to introduce, use, and explain a quote from a primary source.

The last and most agonizing step was the annotated reading. The students just wanted to absentmindedly read, absorbing nothing. The annotation forced them to slow down, react to their reading, and then use a graphic organizer for the content, before the writing organizer.

On top of a bunch of other literacy supports and ELL strategies, using reading, writing, verbal, and getting the students to speak using grade level language the students are now ready. Do this for six months, and eventually the students learn how to go through the writing process without the structure and organizers. 

Most teachers would call this far too structured. According to some, students are not demonstrating what they know and can do when given that much support. I would say the opposite, that only with those supports are the students able to show their ability. Yes, it needs to come from them, but if the students can't do that by 9th grade, major intervention is necessary.

Most other Social Studies teachers would never do this because the amount of time devoted to content suffers. I don't care. I've realized some things about teaching hard to serve students. They don't care about content any more than normal students, and they are used to failure. When they can see and feel success at something, it motivates them. At that point the content takes care of itself. Plus, I would love it if my students left as historians, but what is most important is helping to open those doors where they have the ability to choose their destiny, instead of being limited by their abilities. Yes, I do half the work for them to start with, but by the end they are independent and near/at grade level.

I never wanted to teach middle school level English. It is maddening. Half of the battle of motivation and celebrating the small steps we take for granted. The students love it though, and are finally starting to come around. No longer am I just another teacher who keeps failing them. Hopefully the trend continues and the culture in the classroom and school continues to improve. Yeah, I'm barely in the rejuvenation stage, but it feels a lot better than disillusionment.