Parents and Curricular Choices

Recently, the New Hampshire legislature adopted a new policy that allows parents to take their children out of classes when material is being taught that they don’t agree with. Any additional expense will be the responsibility of the parent, but funding is not the case in my opinion.

This is a prime example of what I call “helicopter parenting,” where parents hover around their children to make sure that they don’t learn anything objectionable, that they don’t get in trouble or have to be responsible for their own actions, and so that their children always have someone to help bail them out of their problems.

Let’s use intelligent design vs. evolution as an example. My fundamental disagreement with this type of policy comes into play here: a student is not being forced to choose one method over the other, nor are they being forced to public talk about their disagreement or opinion. Being presented with both sides of an argument is absolutely essential when it comes to students being able to think on their own and form their own opinions. If only one side of an issue is presented, it is absolutely impossible to make any sort of rational choice: you can’t disprove something that you know nothing about.

Keeping with this specific example, intelligent design vs. evolution, teachers who teach both are more often than not keeping their own personal beliefs and opinions out of the discussion, which should absolutely be the case. This allows students to hold their own discussion without feeling pressured to conform to one side or the other. “Helicopter parents” are unwilling to give up that control over their children and allow them to think on their own and to become their own person.

The topic of parental influence over teacher’s curricular choices is a hot-button topic and is unlikely to go away any time soon. It is important to keep an open mind and realize that, regardless of your own personal beliefs, allowing your children to hear different viewpoints will prepare them for what most of us like to call “real life,” where everything isn’t colored within the lines. Do yourselves and your children a favor: cut the umbilical cord and allow them to think and mature on their own. It can be difficult to give up control, but we need to remember that teachers and administrators (more often than not) do know what they’re doing.

Coming to terms

Generally, this blog is utilized for information on current educational issues in the country. Today, however, is a post of a different sort. Please allow me to deviate from the norm so that I can post some feelings, thoughts, and emotions out there in a method other than Facebook.

By now, the country and the world have heard about the recent alleged events that have unfolded, centering around Penn State University. Allegations of child molestation, sexual assault, and perjury pervade the news and the minds of all of us here in State College, and the town has become anything but “Happy Valley.” Right now, myself, my fellow students, faculty, staff, alumni, and citizens are undoubtedly full of a lot of emotions that can be conflicting or confusing. Please allow me to release some of mine here.

Frustration – I am frustrated at the lack of leadership shown by all levels of school officials at Penn State. It has been four days, and not one school official has stepped up to the plate and said anything, other than a short generic email sent from the Board of Trustees. Penn State’s public relations department has done a deplorable job in controlling the media hellstorm that has been set loose upon this University, and it is incredibly frustrating to see no one other than Joe Paterno speaking to the public about any of this.

Anger – I am angry. Everyone is angry. I’m angry that something like this could have happened for so long with no intervention. I’m angry at Jerry Sandusky for his alleged disgusting and despicable actions. I’m angry at Tim Curley and Gary Shultz for failing to take action other than banning Sandusky from bringing children to campus. I’m angry at Joe Paterno for not doing something more when he had the time. I’m angry at Mike McQueary for not alerting the police to a situation that he witnessed firsthand. I’m angry that students are ashamed of their University…be ashamed of its leaders, not of the University itself. I’m angry at people who are hastily generalizing: generalization is the counterpart to misinformation.

Sadness – I am incredibly saddened for the alleged victims and their families. I can’t possibly imagine what they’re all going through, and this media firestorm cannot possibly be making it any easier. I am saddened that people have to reflect the actions of several people onto an entire University and community who have done, and continue to do, immense amounts of good for so many people. Walking across campus over the last few days has been nothing short of somber and depressing, and for good reason.

Pride – I am still proud of Penn State, for all that it has done, and all that it continues to do. I am proud of THON, which has raised millions of dollars to fight childhood cancer. I am proud of our No. 12 ranked football team, whose players continue to graduate at the top of the Big 10. I am proud of our graduates, who have helped make Penn State the No. 1 school for employer recruitment. I am proud of our national champion volleyball team. I am proud of our consistently top-ranked programs in the sciences, arts, technology, and engineering. I am proud of our students, who continue to serve the community and the country and who continue to make me proud to say that I am a Penn Stater.

I am humbled and proud to call this University my home. No one and nothing can change the way that I feel. My deepest condolences go to the victims and their families, and I remind myself each day that we are more than football. We are more than Joe Paterno. We are more than this scandal.

We Are. Penn State. Forever.

From Principle to Practice

In a recent discussion with Dr. Michael Bezzina, director of the Centre for Creative and Authentic Leadership at the Australian Catholic University, we pressed into the issue of teacher removal, and on what grounds teachers can and should be removed. One of the common threads that was brought up countless times was the idea of getting “ineffective” teachers out of the system, which sounds like an obvious suggestion. Unfortunately, putting this idea from principle into practice is anything but obvious.

What constitutes an “ineffective teacher”? Forms like PDE form 427 attempt to evaluate teachers in such ways as “Appropriate interactions between teacher and students and among students” and “significant attention to equitable learning opportunities for students.” The problem with language like this is that it doesn’t provide any concrete methods for evaluation. Words like “appropriate” and “significant” are incredibly subjective, and any good lawyer can easily fight a teacher’s removal based on such language.

Dr. Bezzina mentioned that standardized tests as a method of teacher evaluation have not caught on in Australia nearly as much as they have in the United States, but that high-stakes testing instead puts enormous pressure on students, as they are the primary factor in determining where a student will attend college. But again, Australian policy when it comes to teacher removal is just as vague as American policy. There needs to be a logical, simple, and universal process for addressing and possibly taking corrective action against ineffective teachers. Whether that be requiring detailed lesson plans, classroom visits from administrators, student feedback, or other methods: at the moment, there truly seems to be no “one-size-fits-all” method.

What teachers really want to tell parents

This article came to me through CNN and was written by Ron Clark. I couldn’t have put it any better myself – one of the major reasons I hesitate to get involved in education.

——————————

This summer, I met a principal who was recently named as the administrator of the year in her state. She was loved and adored by all, but she told me she was leaving the profession.

I screamed, “You can’t leave us,” and she quite bluntly replied, “Look, if I get an offer to lead a school system of orphans, I will be all over it, but I just can’t deal with parents anymore; they are killing us.”

Unfortunately, this sentiment seems to be becoming more and more prevalent. Today, new teachers remain in our profession an average of just 4.5 years, and many of them list “issues with parents” as one of their reasons for throwing in the towel. Word is spreading, and the more negativity teachers receive from parents, the harder it becomes to recruit the best and the brightest out of colleges.

So, what can we do to stem the tide? What do teachers really need parents to understand?

For starters, we are educators, not nannies. We are educated professionals who work with kids every day and often see your child in a different light than you do. If we give you advice, don’t fight it. Take it, and digest it in the same way you would consider advice from a doctor or lawyer. I have become used to some parents who just don’t want to hear anything negative about their child, but sometimes if you’re willing to take early warning advice to heart, it can help you head off an issue that could become much greater in the future.

Trust us. At times when I tell parents that their child has been a behavior problem, I can almost see the hairs rise on their backs. They are ready to fight and defend their child, and it is exhausting. One of my biggest pet peeves is when I tell a mom something her son did and she turns, looks at him and asks, “Is that true?” Well, of course it’s true. I just told you. And please don’t ask whether a classmate can confirm what happened or whether another teacher might have been present. It only demeans teachers and weakens the partnership between teacher and parent.

Please quit with all the excuses

The truth is, a lot of times it’s the bad teachers who give the easiest grades, because they know by giving good grades everyone will leave them alone.
Ron Clark

And if you really want to help your children be successful, stop making excuses for them. I was talking with a parent and her son about his summer reading assignments. He told me he hadn’t started, and I let him know I was extremely disappointed because school starts in two weeks.

His mother chimed in and told me that it had been a horrible summer for them because of family issues they’d been through in July. I said I was so sorry, but I couldn’t help but point out that the assignments were given in May. She quickly added that she was allowing her child some “fun time” during the summer before getting back to work in July and that it wasn’t his fault the work wasn’t complete.

 

Can you feel my pain?

Some parents will make excuses regardless of the situation, and they are raising children who will grow into adults who turn toward excuses and do not create a strong work ethic. If you don’t want your child to end up 25 and jobless, sitting on your couch eating potato chips, then stop making excuses for why they aren’t succeeding. Instead, focus on finding solutions.

Parents, be a partner instead of a prosecutor

And parents, you know, it’s OK for your child to get in trouble sometimes. It builds character and teaches life lessons. As teachers, we are vexed by those parents who stand in the way of those lessons; we call them helicopter parents because they want to swoop in and save their child every time something goes wrong. If we give a child a 79 on a project, then that is what the child deserves. Don’t set up a time to meet with me to negotiate extra credit for an 80. It’s a 79, regardless of whether you think it should be a B+.

This one may be hard to accept, but you shouldn’t assume that because your child makes straight A’s that he/she is getting a good education. The truth is, a lot of times it’s the bad teachers who give the easiest grades, because they know by giving good grades everyone will leave them alone. Parents will say, “My child has a great teacher! He made all A’s this year!”

Wow. Come on now. In all honesty, it’s usually the best teachers who are giving the lowest grades, because they are raising expectations. Yet, when your children receive low scores you want to complain and head to the principal’s office.

Please, take a step back and get a good look at the landscape. Before you challenge those low grades you feel the teacher has “given” your child, you might need to realize your child “earned” those grades and that the teacher you are complaining about is actually the one that is providing the best education.

And please, be a partner instead of a prosecutor. I had a child cheat on a test, and his parents threatened to call a lawyer because I was labeling him a criminal. I know that sounds crazy, but principals all across the country are telling me that more and more lawyers are accompanying parents for school meetings dealing with their children.

Teachers walking on eggshells

I feel so sorry for administrators and teachers these days whose hands are completely tied. In many ways, we live in fear of what will happen next. We walk on eggshells in a watered-down education system where teachers lack the courage to be honest and speak their minds. If they make a slight mistake, it can become a major disaster.

My mom just told me a child at a local school wrote on his face with a permanent marker. The teacher tried to get it off with a wash cloth, and it left a red mark on the side of his face. The parent called the media, and the teacher lost her job. My mom, my very own mother, said, “Can you believe that woman did that?”

I felt hit in the gut. I honestly would have probably tried to get the mark off as well. To think that we might lose our jobs over something so minor is scary. Why would anyone want to enter our profession? If our teachers continue to feel threatened and scared, you will rob our schools of our best and handcuff our efforts to recruit tomorrow’s outstanding educators.

Finally, deal with negative situations in a professional manner.

If your child said something happened in the classroom that concerns you, ask to meet with the teacher and approach the situation by saying, “I wanted to let you know something my child said took place in your class, because I know that children can exaggerate and that there are always two sides to every story. I was hoping you could shed some light for me.” If you aren’t happy with the result, then take your concerns to the principal, but above all else, never talk negatively about a teacher in front of your child. If he knows you don’t respect her, he won’t either, and that will lead to a whole host of new problems.

We know you love your children. We love them, too. We just ask — and beg of you — to trust us, support us and work with the system, not against it. We need you to have our backs, and we need you to give us the respect we deserve. Lift us up and make us feel appreciated, and we will work even harder to give your child the best education possible.

That’s a teacher’s promise, from me to you.

A new semester, new thoughts

Thank you all for your patience as I transitioned yet again from one semester to another. Summer seems to have come and gone so quickly, and it’s time already for another new academic year to begin.

This semester’s blog posts will focus primarily on legal aspects of education: court cases, current events, and the like. Please feel free to add your own commentary below each post – I welcome a lively discussion or debate!

Be prepared for posts to resume again shortly. Again, many thanks for your patience during this transition.

Dewey, Freire, and Pedagogy for the Oppressor

The ideas of diversity and an equal opportunity for all within the American education system have been held as goals for many decades. Despite several tremendous strides when it comes to equality in our schools, we are still a long way away from the overarching goal of achieving equal opportunity for all.

The reading by Rick Breault entitled, “Dewey, Freire, and Pedagogy for the Oppressor” responded in several ways to the oppression that is created in any democratic society. He relates the process of creating an oppressive environment to the sociological and psychological aspects of the population – many of his observations can easily be translated to the educational environment. Breault suggests that “If the curriculum were organized according to the ways in which new Americans built what is the modern United States, students might develop a more positive view of diversity” (Breault p.4). This idea of assimilation is central to the history of America, and can also be a great vehicle for creating an environment and curriculum free of oppression.

Breault also notes that his observations rest upon several important assumptions. One of these is the assumption that children are more prepared for interacting with diversity than their adult counterparts. How correct is this view in reality? We all tend to believe that children are born without prejudice and with open minds and hearts: but is there any evidence to back up these claims? Breault suggests that children have shared goals (such as play) and shared culture (childhood) which makes them more apt to bond with one another regardless of differences (Breault p. 5). Can this be true of older students who also share a common bond of learning?

Students are often argued to be the main catalyst for societal change due to the fact that they are often more attuned to social injustice. In addition, they are also more concerned with leaving the world in a better condition than they found it. Because of the progressivism often associated with students, diversity and assimilation efforts are often aimed at them from elementary school through college. College students often have experiences that mold and shape their views of the world and, Breault argues, they also have the same experience with diversity. For example, if a student has had positive experiences with diversity (a best friend of a different ethnicity, parents from different racial backgrounds, etc.), he or she will often be much more open to new diverse experiences.

As a whole, diversity and equal opportunity should have a prominent place in any school curriculum. While America struggles to balance cultural assimilation and maintaining unique cultural identities, our school systems continue to be at the forefront of the cultural diversity and equality movements. Like Brown v. Board and many other monumental civil rights acts, the struggle for equality often begins in our school systems. Breault suggests several ways in which diversity and its expression can be hindered, as well as methods or vehicles through which it can be fostered and grown. As complex a topic as diversity can be, it is essential that our students learn to live and work with people who may be quite different than themselves.

Community of Leaders

This week’s readings focus primarily on building a sense of community within schools and creating positive, strong, and meaningful relationships between teachers, students, and administrators. Creating a feeling of community among staff members is often related to higher work ethic, more productivity, and a higher quality of work, so it makes sense that schools should want to follow this model as well.

Focusing in specifically on the reading from Improving Schools from Within, Roland Barth makes several points about turning schools into “a community of leaders” where teachers and administrators alike are empowered to lead. Barth states “(l)eadership is not a zero-sum game in which one person gets some only when another loses some…being accorded leadership generates new leadership” (Barth 1991 p. 128). This is an aspect of leadership that I believe is never addressed enough among colleagues and bureaucratic systems, and Barth does an eloquent job of discussing it.

The fact that so many schools are arranged in a clear and strict hierarchical system can be frustrating for those teachers who are longing for more leadership opportunities. Barth’s comment regarding these opportunities, “It is commonly held that if you are a teacher, the only way to become a leader is to leave teaching” (Barth 1991 p.128) is a stark reminder that many teachers are “stuck in the system.” Keeping these ideas of teaching and leading mutually exclusive, as Barth argues, can keep schools from reaching their true potential, and are keeping potentially excellent leaders away from leadership positions.

How can one go about fixing the stigma surrounding teaching, leadership, and community? It can often be very difficult to change the mindset that Barth suggests pervades the minds of many educational administrators and leaders, most notably the fact that “teachers teach and principals lead.” He also suggests that the specialization of today’s teachers doesn’t allow for the principal to be seen as a “master teacher” as was the case in the past. Teachers often know the most about their students and, consequently, are often the best choices when it comes to who should be helping to make decisions about their wellbeing.

Unfortunately, this method can have some unintended side effects, especially if it is implemented suddenly. The most notable consequence can be skepticism and distrust from staff members who feel as though the principal is just trying to appease them or otherwise make their own workload more manageable. It is important, then, to convey the importance of being a “community of leaders,” as Barth suggests. There are no convincing reasons that teachers shouldn’t be a part of the school’s leadership; after all, they lead their own classrooms every single day. Creating an environment where leadership is fostered and cultivated by all staff members, regardless of title or position, can help the school itself to grow and develop into the best possible environment for teaching these very ideals to our nation’s students.

On the whole, there have been tremendous pushes for teachers to grow themselves professionally, through professional development, Act 80 in-service programs, seminars, continuing education requirements, and post-degree programs. Leadership is an essential part of our schools, and should be weighted as equally as the above programs in terms of helping teachers better themselves and to help them provide the best educational environment possible for our students. Through cooperation and collaborative efforts, we really can help to improve our schools from within.

References:

Barth, R.S. (1991). Improving schools from within: teachers, parents, and principals can make the difference. Jossey-Bass Inc Pub.Barth, R.S. (1991).

The “Extraordinary Teacher” Myth

An excellent article about perception of teachers:

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-herman-class-size-20110731,0,3910343.story

School Mascots and Changing Times

Nearly all schools in America have a school mascot; whether named after prominent local traditions, fierce animals, or even weather conditions, school mascots are often rooted deeply in pride and tradition. One of the arguments lately is that some school mascots should be changed because of political correctness (“Indians” or “Lady Raiders”) or for fear of violence.

My strong opinion is that there are much more pressing issues in our school systems than worrying about mascots. These arguments are simply an outward sign of the emerging “political correctness” movement which is driving many people crazy. Mascots help to build community and a sense of pride among students, and help to bridge the gap between school and community.

Should mascots be changed to reflect the political correctness of the modern times? Or should they remain a steadfast symbol of school spirit and pride?

What is the role of school boards in public education?

As we start to move into the primary election season, I see more and more signs and posters seeking community support from a variety of citizens hoping to serve on their local school board. I always blindly accepted the fact that school boards “control” the school and that they are essential to running the district effectively, but as I grow more attuned to the education system, I realize that this may not be the case.

The fact is that many school board representatives have little to no experience in the education system other than their own. Recent school board meetings have shown that members have no idea what actually happens within the classrooms of their district. I cannot help but call to question the effectiveness of allowing our school systems to be run by a group of citizens who have the combined educational leadership experience of a high school graduate.

There is no doubt in my mind that school boards work primarily as a liaison between the school district and the communities which they serve. Community representation is absolutely an essential part of an effective public school system. However, my concern arises when important and essential decisions about the well-being and education of our students are made by those who have never been teachers or spent any real time studying education at all – their only experience being their own time within the system as students.

As school districts become faced with standards-based curriculum and accountability, what role do elected community members have when it comes to program cuts, personnel issues, and other fundamental educational guidelines?