Spring Break Reflection

I finally watched "Waiting for Superman" on this first morning of my spring break this year. Originally, I started this post thinking I'd reflect on my teaching so far this year, mention a few regrets that I had, and postulate about how it would be different next year in my classroom. But as the movie wrapped up, and I found myself dissolving into a tearful pile of sadness for the students who weren't selected to the schools of their choice, all I wanted to do was create a place for those students to go. I would teach them. I would help them rise above their surroundings. I would be their "Superman" if only I could have my own school. It's not just about those six kids though. There are millions just like them who want and need the same opportunity. How can we call ourselves a world power if we can't provide a quality education for our students in our own country?

There were a couple things that really stuck out for me.

• It ultimately costs less to send a kid to a private school from k-12, than fund them later in prison for four years.
• No excuses, no shortcuts. (a motto I'd like to have in my class from now on)
• The first few years I was no good. I was better than a lot of other teachers, but it wasn't until my third year that I really started to hit my stride.

Ultimately, the educational system is the same because of the adults who stand in the way of change. More money doesn't work. Laws don't work. Reforms that don't move past the unions, don't work. "You can't have a great school without great teachers," but how can you fill up the classrooms with great teachers if you have ineffective ones taking up the space? How can you get rid of the teachers who do a severe disservice to students through their practice, when you have a too-powerful union in the way? Why is tenure automatic and interminable? Why can't unions agree to give up tenure to protect all teachers equally? Newer and possibly great teachers would have the same risk of being laid off as a veteran teacher that refuses to teach. Doesn't that sound a little bit better for the students? I'm rambling, I know. But at least I'm getting my thoughts down before I lose them in the chaos that is my mind.

I can do this. I can change this system. I am capable. And I think no differently than so many others, just like myself. But together, we have to stare straight in the face of so many obstacles. Obstacles that tell us that as teachers that we're not capable of changing the system. We're not powerful enough to do anything that will make a difference. But how is that true, when there are so many successful charter and prep schools, that operate with quality teachers, real accountability, world class standards, and high expectations?

They've foregone tenure, contracts, and the protections that these grand entities "promise."

Sounds like a plan to me.

I find myself wondering if what our educational system needs is not just an overhaul of the public schools, but an influx of competition from schools that are working. Maybe then the union can be overthrown, revamped, and made more appropriate to this century. Teachers unions aren't here to protect all teachers as they proclaim, they are there to protect the worst. The use that our country had for them fifty (+) years ago is a very different use than we have for them today. We need the unions to transform themselves to accommodate for the needs of the educational system today. Perhaps when unions/NEA/AFT are transformed, then schools can be transformed.

The film ended with this:

Our system is broken

and it feels impossible to fix

but we can't wait.

How resoundingly true are those words?

So Thankful

I am so deeply grateful for many different people, in just the past few days.

1) the friends on Facebook who reposted the link to my blog to share the open letter to other pink slippers. Its amazing that you were willing to broadcast the thoughts I had to people I have never met.

2) Sandy Coronilla of the Voice of San Diego who was willing to listen to me and use my side in her article, "San Diego Teachers: Will Work for Benefits"

3) The Voice of San Diego who linked to my page on the Morning Report page. Just scroll down to "People Don't Like Teacher Layoffs"

4) The teacher who emailed me regarding my Four for Four post, and was so encouraging. He mentioned the need for new leadership, and the current inability for teachers to trust either side of the debate. He couldn't have said it more clearly. I hope he forgives this anonymous requote. He was incredibly succinct:

Do I trust the union to look out for my best interests? Not really. On the other hand, if concessions were made, do I trust the district to reinstate concessions that they have asked the union to make if (or when) the money becomes available (as it has for the last 6 years)? Not really.

What's really needed is new leadership from both sides -- top-level changes with the superintendent and his assistants, a clear, concise and understandable district finance and budgeting system (not the convoluted and mysterious one that's used now), and new union leadership, getting rid of the people whose backs go up every time the district puts out a press release.

In closing, I am thankful. I am thankful for all of you who have supported me in following my passion- changing the face of education. Thank you for encouraging me, and for spreading my humble words around. I am so grateful. If you have any suggestions for, or interest in, standing up for ourselves against the kids in the sandbox of politics, shoot me an email. I'd love to hear from you.

Contact: jryanteach@gmail.com

twitter.com/jryanteach

Open Letter to Other Laid Off Teachers

Let me start this off by saying that this letter is far from done. What I say to you is far from finished. And quite frankly, my perspective on the pink slips that our employers send us each year changes (sometimes radically) from year to year. That being said, the following is reflective of my perception this year.

I am sorry. Not because you were pink slipped. Not because you are lost in the wide chasm that gapes between four warring entities. And certainly not because you're wading around uncertain about your future in (any) classroom. But I am sorry. I'm sorry that it feels like a personal slap in the face from someone who doesn't value the integrity and tenacity with which you teach. I'm sorry that it seems like it's too hard to put a smile on your face when you have to face other teachers who were spared the same fate that you were dealt. And I'm sorry that we are all pawns in someone else's chess game.

The first year I received my slip, I went home crying. And not just on the day it was delivered. I went home crying a lot. My self worth was in a bottomless pit, continually sinking. I felt that if only they knew how hard I tried to plan awesome lessons, and how much I tried to do for my students that went beyond the call of any normal educator. I wasn't foolish enough to think I was being let go because of my pure skill as an educators- my skills were obviously not up to par after just seven months of being alone in my own classroom. I lamented that I was worth nothing to anyone. That I wasn't going to be able to get another job, if one of the largest districts couldn't afford me. I effectively scarred my husband into thinking that I couldn't handle rejection. In hindsight, I couldn't. Not that year. I had never been fired, or let go, from any job I'd ever held. I had even managed, up to that point, to secure every job for which I'd ever applied.

I went through my days, mostly in a fog of uncertainty, stress, and depression, and poured myself into what I could do to make myself more valuable to the organization that saw me as useless to them. I waited that entire summer, applied for over 60 posts back in the district, and finally got a call in late July for an interview. That one call, the one in which I couldn't even pronounce the school's name correctly, repaired me. It allowed me to feel worth something again.

But if this is how you're feeling right now, stop. A new job is not what it should take for you to feel like a "good teacher" again. It worked for me, unfortunately fortuitously, but it cannot be that way for you. It's unhealthy. You can't take this situation personally. If it was personal, every single one of us would still have a job, and plenty of others would have been forced out of the profession years ago. You are an amazing teacher, with more tenacity than most, because you're still teaching. You're still going, every day, to your school sites and giving up of your entire selves to your students and their needs. Don't let this game that others are playing affect your view of who you are. They do not determine your abilities as a teacher, you do. Your students do. You passions do. People who have never met you, and who haven't set foot in your classroom, and who don't fight for you as much as they fight for others' salaries, insurances, and pensions, do not determine your teacher-ness.

My second year getting a pink slip was hard. As cliche as that sounds, it was hard. I still felt rotten, but I think I was starting to understand that it wasn't personal. I was upset, because I thought that if the parents of my students knew, then maybe they would help. That if other teachers at my site knew, and liked me enough, then they would help. That if anyone who had any more power than a second year teacher knew about me getting a pink slip, they would help. They would tell someone. They would help me, knowing how well I did at my job (yes, started getting more confident in my abilities), that they would tell someone that I was so amazing and then the district would have to keep me. It would be crazy not to! But that didn't happen. I didn't tell my students. I went up until the final days of school, avoiding questions from students about what I was going to teach next year, or whether I could move up to seventh grade with them. At the end, I finally told them that I was one of the teachers that had been let go, but that it "didn't mean anything" because I had come back last year. It was a lie, and it felt like a lie to tell them. But as a teacher, we lie to our students. We protect them from the truth that there are people out there who aren't out there for solely their own good. That there are people who think that their 6th grade English teacher isn't worth keeping around, but basing that on something other than her ability to teach them. Try explaining the logic behind the pink slips to an 11 year old. Needless to say, I made it through. I was recalled and by sheer determination, I returned to the same site for a second year.

My third year getting a pink slip was a rocky year. I'm not saying I was depressed, because I wasn't. I knew it wasn't personal. It wasn't about my teaching. It also wasn't that hard. After several months of not knowing (March-Julyish), longer than the prior years, I had resigned myself to apathy. I let myself think that since I had been "comfortably" recalled in the past, it would happen again. I say comfortably sarcastically- I hope that was clear...I ignored the notice when it was delivered. I spent all summer in crafting heaven. I tried to start an Etsy shop (and failed). I spent way too much money at Michaels for someone who wasn't bringing in a paycheck. I made baby gifts, clothes, pillow covers, jewelry, twisted wire thingys, wine glass charms, and countless other objects that never sold, but kept me occupied.

I avoided the news. I fielded questions about what my status was. While I had attended plenty of board meetings in the spring- mostly for the entertainment value, once I was off my school site, I checked out, thinking that if things were to work out, they would without my interference. And they did, to a certain point. I made it back (again, remarkably) to my same site. This time, I was to move grade levels, since the overage of multiple subject layoffs affected the make up of our middle school. I moved to 8th grade and added another credential on the advice of others wiser than I. Doing so helped me move up the layoff lists and eventually earned

my position back.

This year, my fourth year, its different. Completely. I didn't expect for it to be so different. I'm not sad. I'm not apathetic. I'm not indifferent. What I am is mad. I'm angry. I'm finally embracing the frustration that is completely justified by the actions of my union, of my district, and of my state. But mostly, I'm focusing my anger towards the one entity that could have easily avoided the majority of these pink slips. My union could have spoken up. My union could have sat down and spoken to the district about options. Simply discussing solutions would have have abated some of the frustration that a growing number of teachers in the district are feeling.

I go to school every day and do my absolute best in my classroom. I refuse to allow the actions of a few misguided individuals affect my students' experience with me. I am sick and tired of overly-dramatic emails from the two sides that more closely resemble a playground argument than effective politics. The leadership of the union is the most frustrating of all. It is arguably the worst feeling when the same group that effectively voted you off the island by neglecting to protect you is writing scathing emails blaming everyone else. It was the union that refused to protect ALL its members. It was the union that takes $103 from every member, every month and uses it to pay for politics that this growing number of teachers doesn't agree with. They use our dues to pay someone over $237K a year who ends up on administrative leave. Great, so someone who makes $40K annually and is fired, year after year, is supporting leaders who aren't supporting them back.

People like Jim Jones, who is the first commenter on this student's recent letter to the Voice of San Diego, needs to realize that not all teachers are in it for the politics, or the money. That we aren't all lacking tenure, and that we are capable of being people who don't blindly follow the union's rules. But I won't get into a bicker match with a man who clearly doesn't educate himself in empathy. Ah, one of the many reasons I haven't signed up with the Voice to comment yet. It's sure to be a can of worms for someone as wordy as me.

Fellow Pink Slippers, I close this letter for the time being with some words of encouragement. We can be a different kind of force to be reckoned with. We can stand up to the union, to use them the way they should be used. They need to make it a priority to protect ALL members, and not just those with seniority. We can stand up to a system that continually fails our students. We can stand up for ourselves in front of a public that sees us as better-benefit, higher-salary thirsty teachers. We have been painted that way for far too long. We don't care about our pay- if we did, we would be who we are. And I don't say "do what we do," because teaching is not a verb. Teaching is a lifestyle, an identity. We didn't enter it for the money or the health benefits (ha- we work in living petri dishes of influenza for goodness sake!). We do it because it is in our blood.

Let's stop letting other people decide how we think, what we collectively want, and when we're good enough.

Stand up with me and let your union know that not engaging in solution-seeking dialogue is unacceptable.

Stand up with me and be fulfilled in the knowledge that you are worth more than what someone else decides for you.

Stand up with me to ignorance, assumptions, and bullshit bluffing and pressure our leaders to realize that education is more than a talking point on a campaign trail or budget push. Its not just the cliche "future." It is every day for the rest of your life. It is every time you encounter someone who had remarkable abilities but because they couldn't afford a charter or private school education was stifled until all that was left was what the district could offer them: 40 students in an English classroom where worksheets are the norm because the overwhelmed teacher didn't have time to plan something brilliant because she was too busy grading the 240 student essays from a month ago.

Contact me:

twitter.com/jryanteach

Email: jryanteach@gmail.com

Four for Four

If I was in the business of baseball, I'd have retired and been inducted into the hall of fame by now with that average. Dag-nabit, I picked the wrong career.

I've been questioned lately about my commitment to teaching. Colleagues ask, "It's so hard to be laid off every year. Why do you still do it?" Others exhibit the same frustration with it that I have, but end up frustrating me even more because their frustration is misplaced. It's not the district's fault they have to lay off 1656 of us educators (and countless other valuable employees!). At least, they shouldn't have to stand alone in shouldering the blame. So please, if you know me or even if you don't, if you're ever 'on the record' or talking to me in a conversation, please do NOT lay sole blame on one entity. I have plenty of others you can lament about.

SDEA has, on countless occasions now, refused to sit down (literally) at a (literal) table and (literally) talk (yes, just talk...literally) to the district about (possible) concessions. Come on people, this isn't the Treaty of Paris, and the district isn't the American victors here. No one is "winning" anything at this point. We're all losing, and it's most certainly NOT about who's losing more.

I recently gave an interview on my opinions regarding concessions. Below are some of the major points:

While I believe that the union should DEFINITELY be making concessions, on a personal level, I don't even agree with the idea of an obligatory union on principle. Some may say I'm jaded by my experience so far, seeing as though I'm a new teacher, and am often asked to sacrifice the most for the common good. I am laid off each year so that my more senior counterparts can retain salary or benefits. I definitely think that the Union should be at the table, making concessions, along with the district, however I don't think that all teachers are being considered in these concessions.

I could tell you how hard it is for me personally, but being laid off isn't personal.

Being laid off isn't personal, but it should be.

That being said, having a husband who has been laid off at the same time as I have been has been hard. Making the smallest salary in the district and paying the highest price for it (being laid off), has been hard. But teachers like myself don't teach because of the salary or benefits. We do it because it’s what makes us think we are making something of a difference in this world. It gives us a greater purpose.

And every time we're given a pink slip, it feels a dismissal from someone who doesn't understand the sacrifices that the teacher made just to make it through the last three years of layoffs. It often feels like my voice as a new teacher is ignored by the Board and the Union both.

It feels personal, but I want to make sure that other wounded teachers hurt because it's not personal. It's just not. It's all about the inadequacies in the system, not within our teaching.

Here's a shot with me and my TWO layoff notices. Yes, the district packs two thick envelopes, has one delivered to me at school, then another sent via certified mail to my home. This is the first time I've ever been home to accept it! Wowza!

Three for Three

Three for Three

These are my thoughts regarding my recently received third consecutive pink slip. That statement alone gives cause to pause and consider the epicenter of my concerns set forth within this piece.

It is an unusual phenomenon, I once thought, for a passionate educator to receive three years worth of pink slips in retribution for three years of service. In fact, I met a teacher with a multiple subject credential today who said that she received her eighth consecutive slip. I cannot confidently say that this makes any modicum of sense, considering the quality of work that a teacher deemed passionate would produce. On the other plane of this educational juxtaposition is the thought that for a person to earn more prestige (in the public education institution the definition of prestige is contentious), surely they must have produced more attributable work. In my most recent experience, I find this to be an either marginally or blatantly false assertion.

Often, when a recent college graduate finds themselves applying to and beginning their credentialling programs, they do not expect to make any type of sustainable salary. Indeed, it is arguable that the majority of teachers do not begin teaching because of the salary, the benefits, the prestige, or the vacation time. Some do, please do not misunderstand what I am saying. However, I firmly believe that there are three main reasons that a person goes into teaching: because they either can’t figure out anything else to produce with their college degree and becoming “qualified” to become a teacher is a mundane process, or because in this environment, no other private company would hire them, or because they are passionate about children and the process through which children must mature.

Not Everyone Who Goes Into Education Achieves Excellence

The first teacher, the one who was indecisive about the direction their studies and passions would take them, is the teacher who may not completely fulfill the role of the teacher you truly want with your students in the classroom. They are the teacher with passions outside of their classroom that may detract from their instruction, rather than add. They may be the teacher who loves studying the way the ocean lives and thrives but when put into a classroom with students, children add a different dimension and no longer does the teacher want to teach. An apathetic or over-out-spoken child drains the teacher of their energy within the classroom. It causes them to shrink back and stow away their passions within them and instead focus on classroom management and simply making sure that the students do not believe them to be weak or eccentric. They hide their terribly bright, well-intended passions from the students, frightened of the perception that they are not as worthy as they once considered themselves to be. It is a teacher with a weakened self esteem that most falls victim to this scenario, and it is this teacher that takes away from our institution.

We must protect our schools from this sort of teacher. This is not to say that this individual is an enemy. Their lack of knowledge is. We must provide more applicable, practical, hands on, in classroom instruction for these teachers. We must teach them how to control and manage certain types of children without detriment to that child’s learning. This can be in credential classes, or it can be during open arms sessions between experienced teachers and new teachers. We no longer have the luxury of believing that new teachers are meant to be seen and not heard, as a former coworker of mine still believes. We must listen to the concerns of the new teacher so that we can pinpoint the problem and directly control the situation of the societally-labeled “problem child.” A mentorship is one option to root out the problems that the first year teacher brings or experiences. There are others, including raising the bar on our teaching programs. A fully online experience does not provide the same caliber of readiness that a classroom-integrated program does. Go figure.

Unfortunately for our schools and our children, individuals make it through the credentialling program, acquire their teaching certifications, obtain a job at a school, and are even trusted with 9 months of between 24 and 180 individuals’ education. These students, in a secondary setting, sit in this individual’s classroom for between 1 and 2 hours a day, for 180 days. That is 180-320 hours out of any given school year. If the child has only one of this sort of teacher, the numbers stand as I’ve set forth. However, if the student is assigned to multiple teachers like this, the enormity of the situation has much more gravity and potential for destruction. Imagine the chaos inside the walls of these classrooms. In essence, in the doom and gloom scenario of the ill-prepared teacher, lives are altered forever.

Calling for More Rigor. Again.

Yes, I call for rigor. Seasoned teachers scream for it. University programs can’t give it properly. The ways that teachers are taught vary from school to school, state to state. We need a formal system that prepares our teachers for the jobs they’ll actually get. They won’t get the white kid sitting in a class, fingers laced, and notebook at the ready. No. They’re about to be thrown into a classroom (or six) of 42 diversified children each with their own baggage and needs. Some will lie for attention. Some act out, seeking negative attention because they desperately need to know where the boundaries are- something they’ve never experienced at home with their fractured relatives. The new teacher needs to know not what issues every single prospective student will bring with them to class each day, but rather how to reach out to them appropriately so that this gaping gap is finally closed. Closing that Achievement Gap is not possible without the teacher willing to work outside of their training. Then again, we pay them next to nothing to do just the basics of their job.

Why, in this country, do we allow our children the least of what we collect? Yet, we expect our teachers to bear the brunt, to work the extra without the support? And teachers do it. They stay late for the kid without a ride, they provide after school tutoring, they encourage students to go beyond what anyone else ever told them they were worth. Teachers are lied to by students, parents, and central office personnel. They are taken for granted by school boards, community members and the federal government through budget cuts, slander in the press, and a lackluster approach to rights and appropriate expectations. We give them a week of appreciation, the obligatory Christmas gift, and perhaps they are honored as teacher of the year. Some give absolutely everything they have to give, including their families, their marriages, and their own children. But, they aren’t paid for any of this. They do it because it’s what makes them think they are making something of a difference in this world. It gives them a greater purpose. And every time they're given a pink slip, it is an outright, well-aimed slap in the face from someone who doesn't understand the sacrifices that the teacher made just to make it through the last three years. My cheek, and the thousands of other cheeks, still sting from the blow dealt by the powers that be (right now).

I recently posted a piece I composed about our views on education, and I find it appropriate to close this commentary with those thoughts:

What if... October 2010

What if kids were not freely handed the opportunity to forget what they learned all year over the extended summer vacation?

What if teachers left the profession the very moment they felt disconnected to the students, and didn't waste classroom space just to wait out retirement and pension?

What if the government truly realized that they wouldn't exist without funding education properly?

What if we treated schools like palaces instead of less than prisons?

What if instead of making little changes here and there, we made monumental, gigantic changes to the HeartCore of the institution?

What if we made the teaching profession fierce, and paid teachers six-figure salaries?

What if we made schools incredibly expensive for the government and absolutely free of charge to the citizens, just like national defense? (thanks West Wing)

What if we held a whisper of a moment in our guilty, tired, sodden hands--stopped throwing stones at the sinners, finally ceased our incessant bickering over blamegame roles, metaphorically annihilated those that seek to uphold corruption over education--and actually transformed our dialogue-anger-depression-madness into action?

What if, indeed.

What if...

What if kids were not freely handed the opportunity to forget what they learned all year over the extended summer vacation?

What if teachers left the profession the very moment they felt disconnected to the students, and didn't waste classroom space just to wait out retirement?

What if the government truly realized that they wouldn't exist without funding education properly?

What if we treated schools like palaces instead of less than prisons?

What if instead of making little changes here and there, we made monumental, gigantic changes to the HeartCore of the institution?

What if we made the teaching profession fierce, and paid teachers six-figure salaries?

What if we made schools incredibly expensive for the government and absolutely free of charge to the citizens, just like national defense? (thanks West Wing)

What if we held a whisper of a moment in our guilty, tired, sodden hands--stopped throwing stones at the sinners, finally ceased our incessant bickering over blamegame roles, metaphorically annihilated those that seek to uphold corruption over education--and actually transformed our dialogue-anger-depression-madness into action?

Four Weeks In; Reflection on Differentiated Communication

To be honest, this year is more than I expected, and not what I thought it would be. I have instituted several online tools to meet the 2.0 needs of parents; I've also found not all parents want 2.0. I found myself guilty of attempting to reach the masses, but instead I fell short and provided a severe lack of differentiated communication. What I mean by this is, simply put, most parents are offline. Just as students need me to plan my lessons so that each child receives the best instruction, parents need communication in multiple forms. Here is a brief overview of the tools I employed, and how well they "worked" (or didn't):

GoogleDocs
Objective: To create an excel spreadsheet that contained sortable contact information that could be used for virtual communication about individual students, or mass communication about classroom needs or events.

Implementation: I created an online form for parents to fill out, providing their name, student's name, how best to reach them, and an extra space for them to fill out additional information about their child. I posted a link to this on my website, as well as in my oblig sig on my email. I also opened up the laptops on back to school night and had parents fill this in. (I had papers out as well, just in case the tech died...which it did.)

Pros and Cons: While some parents filled it out successfully, most at B2SN opted for the paper version, especially once the computers began to fail. I ended up taking those sign in sheets and entered the information myself- very time consuming, but still worth it for me to have the sortable list I envisioned at the get-go. Unfortunately, some parents still haven't been reached to fill out the form, so it's not a 100% attainable method of collecting parent information. But then again, what is? I am still waiting on phone call returns and info packets to be brought back from home.

Twitter for Homework
Objective: For students to "follow" so as to receive daily tweets about homework, or reminders for class. Also for parents to follow for up-to-date information in case students were absent.

Implementation: I posted a link to this on my website for an auto-updated gadget so that if parents access the site, they can see on the homepage (and on the "tonight's homework" page) that the homework is listed in an easy to read format. This is also written in the syllabus and in students' planners. I update it daily and haven't missed a day yet- something of an accomplishment, to be sure.

Pros and Cons: I created the site. I'm up to four followers. Enough said? I guess not. In researching the demographics behind twitter users, I found that many students don't have a twitter. Most users are between my age and 35. I could be wrong with the specifics, but I'm correct in saying that not only do my students not have twitter accounts, but nor do their parents. This is a frustrating dilemma considering the ease with which I use it and the convenience that it affords me. In reflection, I'll continue to use it. Parents are coming around and actually creating twitter accounts just to follow me, and I assume that many are seeing the updates on the home page of my site, since the "most visited" page is that very one. I'll continue to ask parents as well, to see what their reaction to it is. One stark difference between last year and this, related or not, is the homework completion rate. Perhaps parents are holding kids more accountable because of their access to this tool, or perhaps I'm just getting into my teaching groove, so to speak. More on that in a few weeks, I suppose.

WordPress- Class Site
Objective: To create an online arena where all class information is posted, distributed weekly for subscribers, and a place where pertinent school information is available.

Implementation: I began building the wordpress site over the summer, and am still creating new pages, adding content, and accumulating resources for parents. I also linked this site to the school web page and to our "team" web page where other teachers' materials are also posted. I sent the link to several community members, parents and other teachers before launching to see if it was easily navigated and clear in its content. If you would like the link, please email me at mrsryansclass1@gmail.com. I can send it to you, so long as you're legit.

Pros and Cons: So far, I have yet to see a downside to this tool. While it reaches only about 50-60 views a day, accounting for only half of my students, I can't see who is viewing it yet. So it may be parents, students, or even other teachers borrowing content and resources. I hope it is indeed parents, since I have received 11 subscribers and several emails about certain content they would like to see on the site. But this all boils down to differentiated communication. Am I reaching all parents? Are their other tools that I could be using more effectively? Or others that I could use in addition to these?


Final Thoughts:
Any input from my readers would be greatly appreciated. Any ideas for more tools that are easily used in class? Or tools that could be added to better reach non-tech parents? How about more person-to-person tools? By the time I next post on technology in the classroom, I'm hoping to have used a wikispace or evernote or stixxy with the students to see what works best for online collaboration and journalling. Please follow me on twitter.com/jryanteach for more updates, tools and resources.

Social Media Use in the Classroom

This is my pre-flective post regarding this topic. I haven't used social media in my classes before, and have only heard cautions and hesitations from colleagues and others. I step into this new year with great forethought in regards to my technology implementations. I have read several articles, hundreds of tweets, and have researched on my own the benefits and drawbacks. I am only beginning to understand the benefits of social media and other online tools, so I don't pretend to be an expert in the field. I am, however, intrigued to see where this heads. I will include a class web site, a twitter feed, google documents, and perhaps a wiki space as well. As soon as I can figure out a way to effectively use Stixy.com, I'll include that too.

I'll let you know how it goes. Until then, happy end of summer.

Megan Fox is Hot For Teachers

Siftables

Please watch this AMAZING video ...I especially love the music bit at the end. This will seriously blow your mind. I cannot wait until the day that it is possible to have these as a class set. Wow.

A reflection on my inquiry; a compilation of thoughts and posts.

As a result of my Masters Inquiry Project, I have found myself to be remarkably changed. I am a professional learner, constantly yearning to gain more understanding of my students’ and their abilities. I seek to employ more effective methods in my own teaching, as well as share these insights with the colleagues with whom I collaborate. I do not feel that the classroom is a place for quiet, simple, traditional learning. Rather, I wish for my students to learn in constantly evolving ways. I desire for my students to add to my teaching abilities as much as I add to their basin of knowledge. I also expect my students to informally determine how I teach, sometimes dictating different teaching styles within a single class period. This inquiry helped me build upon this ability to be responsive, flexible and collaborative.

I believe that while I used the CST results as a preliminary data set for the analysis of my students’ achievement levels, I do not agree with lawmakers and policy determiners that this test is the only way in which students can be or should be assessed. If a teacher merely looks to this score to determine what to focus on each year, within each class, she is at a loss for differentiation. I am not a perfect teacher; I am far from the ideal instructor. I am not yet in my career highly effective either. However, using these scores as a determiner of student ability, may reflect on the ability of the teacher. Perhaps this test really is the mark of a good teacher, who does not teach to the test. Perhaps it separates those who lean on the crutch of standardized curriculum, and those who are capable of assessing their students and instilling the same knowledge in different and more effective ways. By using this standard to measure the children, I believe I am doing both my students and myself a disservice. However, when used in conjunction with other assessments—both formal and informal—I am able to truly create a differentiated instructional plan of the district-issued curriculum. In order to use this test more effectively, I did so in conjunction with other assessments and observations so that I could gauge my students’ abilities more precisely. I let it inform my research and rationale; however, what I did not let it do was dictate firm levels of ability for my students. I used it as a baseline from which to start my inquiry.

Lastly, in defense of my use of highly-involved strategies geared at the GATE-identified student, I would like to point out several reasons why I did not make immediate accommodations for my English Language Learners or my students with special needs. Distinguished Lecturer Eric Jensen reflected on GATE education in a lecture delivered at the district’s Office of Education titled “Enriching the Gifted Brain,” in the spring of 2009. He stated that enrichment is always positive, maximizing the capabilities of a student; “Enrichment is not what you do. There are no “enrichment strategies” unless they are contrasted with an impoverished condition.” I feel that this statement implies that for a student to be enriched, they must first come from a less enriched environment. I reflected on my other students, those who were not “gifted.” Jensen suggested that students who are identified as gifted thrive in school-based enrichment programs, because without them, gifted students become bored, disillusioned and are less likely to participate in school. Does this imply that because students are easily bored that we should provide them with more? I have found that through this inquiry, I have determined how to figure out when students are bored, and when they are overly challenged. I learned to truly observe my students and in doing so was able to modify the methods and strategies when necessary. However, I did not simplify the concepts. I felt this would have been a disservice to my students.

Indeed, does Jensen’s concept of providing enrichment then ring true with the non-gifted student who is also bored because he is having difficulty with a class? Should not the teacher then also provide a specific enrichment agenda for this student or class, whether or not the student is gifted? In my opinion, students—gifted or not—deserve a more enriched education. Jensen also provided “evidence” to support his claim that gifted students benefit more claiming that the “brains of the Gifted show far more connectivity between key spatial, language, math and working memory areas than more typical brains.” However, in one of my GATE certification classes, the professor discussed the development of the brain, stating that these synapses, these pathways of connectivity in the brain, are developed as a result of activity (enrichment). Should we not then again ask the question that the non-gifted brain would also benefit as greatly as the gifted one? That is why I chose to keep the concepts at an elevated level. I did not want to modify that piece of my inquiry for the English Language Learners. Instead, I chose to modify the way in which I taught those concepts. I provided more scaffolding within lessons, broke down assignments over more days, and in the future I will be making further modifications to the strategies and tools of instruction, rather than simplifying the curriculum and materials for my students at more basic levels. I know that they will benefit as much as my GATE-identified students did from this study, once I make these modifications to the delivery of the instruction.

The Grindstone

Utter chaos at the grindstone, my dear.
Today is unlike any other.
Bruised faces,
Bashed in separate places,
Please don't tell another!

Man watching from above,
Not seeing any love,
Not expecting any dove.

Incarnadined children at the grindstone, my dear.
Today is like yesterday.
Children wailing,
Their Elder's planning,
Just a normal day in May.

Man watching from above,
Not seeing any love,
Not expecting any dove.

People running around the grindstone, my dear.
Today is not the end.
Sharpening knives,
Ending lives,
Not ever meant to mend.

Man watching from above,
Not seeing any love,
Not expecting any dove.

People preparing at the grindstone, my dear.
Today is the start of revolt,
No one quits,
No one picks,
All ready to go forth.

Man watching from above,
Not seeing any love,
Not expecting any dove...

-May 2001

Another poem I found...

The Babies
(i can only assume this one was about the twins...)

Wisps of hair,
Shining like the full moon,
On a winter's night.

Tagged bellies,
Wrinkled and brown,
Like a sun-ripened prune.

Shrieks and whines,
Unfamiliar,
Like the sound of the wolf pup's cries.

Eyes wide,
All Alert,
As if to say, Where am I?

Little lungs stretched,
Little heart beat,
Little bodies very alive.

Smells of medicines and death and birth,
Not welcome.
Smells of babies and their baby powder,
Welcome.

The realization of love for two small and immobile bodies.
A silent promise of care.
All of this from a toddler.

"Studies" Expectations

A poem I found...

Though they, the expectations, are insignificant to others,
They are of the greatest importance to me.
only by their being met,
can I be totally free.

I hope this class is challenging,
and helps me to forget,
my art of procrastinating-
I'm getting sick of it!

I hope the teacher pressures me
into doing my best.
I hope that shel'll provide me with
the info to pass the test!

I hope the students will respect
my beliefs, me methods, and me.
I hope that they + me,
will someday = we.

I hope that I will respect
my fellow classmates and my teacher.
I'll tackle the problems as they com,
and not dig my hole any deeper.

I hope that I will get a chance
to speak in front of class.
I am good at memorizing-
and I hope this helps me pass.

I hope that I can believe,
in you, yourself, and we,
And I truly believe that then I will be free,
To be I, myself, and me.

January 2001

wow.

collaboration is grand.
grand is collaboration.
collaboration nation.
put your pens up, breathe life into your pages.
make sure to See your coworkers.
they have the resources.
we have the mouths.
mouths to teach. to command. to attempt.
attempt to control.
fail to control.
accept undisinnoncontrol

Enriching the (non)Gifted Brain: Lecture Reflection

Recently, I attended a lecture that proposed extensive enrichment for the gifted brain. I couldn't help but wonder why the nongifted brain was never mentioned. Below is my reflection on the piece:

Reflection on Distinguished Lecturer Eric Jensen
Topic: Enriching the Gifted Brain”

Having just completed my training classes for my GATE certification through the UCSD extension center, I wasn’t expecting much new information from this lecture. However, I was pleasantly surprised when I saw the outline for the lecture. While my classes covered the idea of enrichment in more general terms, Mr. Jensen intended to focus on the topic specifically within the following guidelines: 1) What is Enrichment?; 2)Who is it for?; 3) Does it really work? And 4) How do I optimize Enrichment?

He stated that enrichment is always positive, maximizing the capabilities of a student. It should have a significant amount of time allotted to it as well, both in school and out. A crucial point to note was that there is no “enrichment” program in isolation; it can only exist in a context. He added that there is only an enrichment response in those students from lower conditions to a positive contrasting condition. In other words, a student is only being “enriched” if the activity in which they are engaged is an activity that is more productive and educational that their living situation would otherwise provide. I found this a troubling point, in part because of the implications for more wealthy students. Simply because their parents are well off doesn’t necessarily mean that they are being exposed to enriching situations. They need more enriching activities to have the same effect as a student from a lower socio-economic background. Jensen concluded that section with the following phrase that offered little solution to my reservations: “Enrichment is not what you do. There are no “enrichment strategies” unless they are contrasted with an impoverished condition.”

‘Then who is it for?’ my mind begged the question. Who should get enrichment? Jensen suggested that students who are identified as gifted thrive in school-based enrichment programs, because without them, gifted students become bored, disillusioned and are less likely to participate in school. Does this imply that because students are easily bored, we should provide them with more? Doesn’t this then ring true with the non-gifted student who is also bored because he is having difficulty with a class or unit? Should not the teacher then also provide a specific enrichment agenda for this student or class, despite the fact that the student is gifted or not? In my (new teacher) opinion, most students, whether gifted or not, deserve a more enriched education. Jensen also provided “evidence” to support his claim that gifted students benefit more claiming that the “brains of Gifted show far more connectivity between key spatial, language, math and working memory areas than more typical brains.” However, in one of my GATE certification classes, the professor discussed the development of the brain, stating that these synapses, these pathways of connectivity in the brain are developed as a result of activity (enrichment). Should we not then again ask the question that the non-gifted brain would also benefit as greatly as the gifted one?

So stepping aside from this question, I had another question to ask: Who says that Enrichment works? What is the proof? Jensen provided the following statement: “Exposure to an enriched environment promotes neurochemical, structural and neurophysiological changes in the brain and is associated with enhanced synaptic plasticity and improved hippocampal-dependent learning.” In other words, my students do not arrive at school “preassembled” by their DNA. Instead they are “glued together” through their life experiences—another point that supports my idea that the non-gifted student would benefit just as greatly from a school-centered enrichment program as a gifted student would. Research on enrichment shows that it can: increase new neuron production, improve recovery from a stroke, enhance learning and memory, improve reading and math scores, improve decision making, reduce aggressive behaviors, and help recover from stress disorders, alcoholism, and maternal separation. (Again, why are we only focused on the gifted students?)

Lastly, Jensen discussed how one “does” enrichment. There are two ways that enrichment can be provided. “Wide” means development in arts, social, cultural, health, emotional, spiritual and physical areas. “Deep” means targeted development in more traditional cognitive areas of reading, science, math and problem-solving. He stressed that enrichment did not mean more content within a set of curriculum. Instead, it provides the ability for the student to process the content more effectively. Jensen suggested the following seven ways to enrich the brain within a classroom context: social support, activity, managed stress levels, positive nutrition, learning to be engaging, challenging and meaningful, escalating skill-building, and sufficient time for change.
I found these guidelines to be somewhat helpful, but not in depth enough for me to have time to apply them to my classroom as such a late date in the year. I look forward to implementing some of these extremely vague ideas in my classroom next year, providing I get a job.

While there was a significant amount of information that described the idea of enrichment specifically, the one weakness of the presentation, in my opinion, is that we weren’t provided with examples of enrichment. Being a new teacher, I would have liked to have been given more information to add to my ever growing repertoire. Adding several specific activities within the sections that he discussed, or providing a general list of ideas would have been immensely helpful for a new teacher, as well as having value for a veteran teacher looking to add to their perhaps stagnant curriculum.

malalignment....

i firmly believe that the educational system is not built for every student. Not every child is able to sit still, read for an hour, get a five minute break wherein running is not allowed, and then do it again for a 6-7 part cycle each day, five days a week. Then 9 weeks off in the summer? Why? Are we still farming? Do we still need our kids in the fields with us? Or are they now more likely to be hanging out at the seven eleven from eleven to seven each day? its frustrating that the system is so broken and so malaligned to our society's needs and it isn't attempting to look more closely at what works better. And why force students with special needs into program upon program that doesn't work for them. Its downright upsetting to traumatize a student like that. Why move them schools, districts, classes just for another "try" at a program. The idea of their often fragile systems undergoing more stressful activity that my own did at that age is disturbing.

but how do you change that system that is so resistant to change? how do you enable teachers to teach more effectively for each student when you put them in a room with 43 children and not enough desks? what about the ones you "excess" to different environments so that they never get comfortable with whom they work? what about the ones you lay off "because they're new" instead of looking at their ability or potential and weigh it against older teachers who are clearly in the wrong profession, and continuously assert the fact that they hate children? How does any of this make sense?

CST Steam

It really bothers me that the california state tests aren't an effective measure of a child's ability.  I have spent the last six months simply trying to survive teaching the eighth grade, but today is CST day.  And I'm nervous.  Really, really nervous.  As a first year teacher, I shouldn't be as nervous as I am.  I'm not perfect, and I'm not highly effective.  But these students of mine are potentially going to receive the lowest marks they've ever received on this test, and its a reflection on me.  Even though that's not what California says is the point of this series of ridiculous tests.  Its frustrating that I'm unutterably expected to teach to the test, but I'm utterably not.  

A colleague pointed out a poignant thought however, when I divulged my concerns over a cup of impromptu coffee the other day:  Perhaps this test really is the mark of a good teacher, who doesn't teach to the test.  Perhaps it separates those who lean on the crutch of the standardized curriculum, and those who are capable of instilling the same knowledge without being told what to do each day in class, verminitum.  (My feeble attempt at making up latin words: minute by minute).   Did my credentialling program prepare me to be the former or the latter of those groups of teachers?  

I guess I'll find out around the same time that I find out whether or not I am employed next year.  A week before school starts.

Cie la freaking Vie.

One Would Hope 11.9.07

one would hope
that a good book 
and a comfortable seat in the sun 
would help to remind oneself of the times which one must
nay needs to experience with lethargy.

and yet.
the occurrence is not apparent.
the gull should seek the shore 
in the instance of stark tempest.

and yet.
his end is invited through the pleasure
of the welcoming waves.
the flower fades without the sun
yet the hand plants in the shadow of the glorious.

what then?
must the flower accept her fate?
must she wither in the glory of others?
or shall she find her own glory in the excellence of those she loves?

only the sun knows for sure.
and look how he sits with his book, behind the nimbus, propelling the excellent.
and yet.

Of the Child Left Behind 10.11.07

One would think to consider the desire for knowledge

The struggle for freedom

For prosperity

For opportunity

For the same damn chance as every other American—I mean person—in this world.

But not so.

 

One would hope that the beaming foreign faces would sway

—or at least affect—

Even the most ignorant at heart.

But not so, for these consider those

Bright and beaming faces

To be the ignorant ones: 'can't even speak English'

And

'They don't belong here, so send 'em back to their own country'

But not so, for they are here for awhile.

To get an "education"

No child (from this country, and by that I mean the most able) Will Be Left Behind, you know

And all that crap.

So what happens to the child left behind

/to staple newsletters

/to run hall passes

/to put away transparencies

.to stop learning?

What child is this that we say we care about while most other children are left illiterate through bureaucracies that can't get past the red tape to let them learn?

Is it the golden child?

Is it the Future of America?

How is possible for a white, middle class child to be the poster child for the next era?

Is it fair?

To the white kid or the black kid?

Wait, aren't we forgetting someone?

What happened to the kid who came from Russia to West Sac?

Who came from India to California?

Who gave up the passing grades they had,

Caring school,

Accepting peers

In exchange for a system that fails them, that judges them, that suspects them, that cheats them.

Yeah, um, about that…

They got left behind.

Forgotten in the classroom, stapling newsletters "because they do it faster."