Learning to Read

In my new job as a stay-at-home mom, I am amazed daily at how fast my daughter (now 1) learns new things, repeats the sounds I make, analyzes her toys, and every other little thing she does.

One of her favorite pastimes is reading. One might think that a 1 year-old couldn't possibly know how to read yet, and I know she doesn't, but it's amazing to watch her as she pretends to read. She has a few activities with books. The one that came first was to take all the books off the shelves and bury herself in them. She then learned to turn the pages as I read books to her. Now that she's more mobile, she will grab books and bring them to me with a grunting "please read this to me" sound and gesture. When we finish, the pattern repeats. Go get book. Bring to mommy. Grunt and hand her the book. Mommy reads the book and puts her down to get another. With books that she has read many times, she points to pictures. In exciting books with busy pages, she squeals and squeaks and points (usually to dogs, her animal of choice). Lastly, before and after she naps, she reads in her crib, turning the pages and talking to herself.

It seems to me that she is on her way to become an avid reader. When she's upset, reading calms her down. When we go to storytime at the local library, she becomes lost in the books. I wonder what crazy thing she'll learn next that will amaze me.

Changing Directions

I originally wanted to flesh out my research on tracking here, but in the last two years I've changed my topic. I'm still interested in tracking and will come back to it from time to time, but my current focus is on teacher education programs. The issue in my head is that the first year of teaching is hard for everyone and the second year is exponentially easier. First year teachers spend way too many hours outside the classroom and don't feel adequately prepared once they're there. Students take advantage of first year teachers. Parents don't want their children to be taught by first year teachers. Principals know that along with hiring a first year teacher comes a higher level of need for direct supervision and coaching along with difficult conversations around every corner. So I'm going to take a look at what teacher preparation programs actually prepare teachers for and figure out what should they be doing so first year teachers are more prepared. There should be some lessons that teachers learn in their first year that are learned during their own education. Some of it needs to be learned on the job, as with every job, experience is key, but there are key standards for effective teaching that just aren't being addressed in teacher preparation programs.

And we're off...

Without Algebra?

Can you have a life without Algebra?
I don't think so. I am not an engineer (performed horrifically in all science-based classes), a math teacher, or an economist, but I use Algebra every single day. Let's forget about what our careers are for a moment, and think about the Algebra that you need in your daily life. Good luck without Algebra. I could go on, but I'm not going to. Too many of the tasks that we do in daily life need Algebra that I find it unbelievable for someone to say it's unnecessary.

What is the purpose of going to school?
To learn all of the skills for the career path you plan to follow? Decidedly not. If it was, we would need to force 5 year-olds to choose a career path, and not change until retirement. Students are in elementary and secondary school to learn what they need to know in order to contribute to society. This could be by following a specific career path, but it is not necessarily so. I would be equally dissapointed with the high school graduate who does not know have a basic understanding of Algebra (remember, schools only ask that the students pass, not that they master the material, and for good reason) as I would be with the one who isn't able to write a cohesive paragraph.

3- Why ARE all of these LA students failing Algebra?
What are the expectations of the LA schools? Are they setting the passing bar too high? What are they doing to ensure success for the students? When such a large number of students are failing, it's time to look to the school and come up with some solutions. Now, I know that the LA schools have a lot going against them, but there's always something you can do.

The Most Difficult Job In A School

This post from The Education Wonks got me thinking about teacher/substitute licensure. My general belief is that in the balance between knowledge of content area and pedagogy, high school teachers lean towards content, elementary school teachers lean towards pedagogy, and middle school teachers have that perfect combination (completely unbiased, right?). More and more, I believe that a minimum of content area knowledge should be required for any subject, but that high school teachers (and even college professors) need to spend more time studying pedagogy, and ways to reach their students.

Relating this to substitute teachers, it's impossible to ask that a teacher never be absent, so something needs to be done to get replacements. Realistically, you're never going to always have substitute teachers who have the content and pedagogy knowledge that the full-time teachers have. So what should the minimum requirements be? A college degree. I think that's about all you can ask for. I'd love to say that you need a person with at least 1 year experience in a classroom (as an aide/teacher), but there aren't enough subs to go around already, so we really can't be expecting that much experience. This should be the place where aspiring teachers gain experience. As schools, what we can do is welcome substitutes into our building, so they want to return, already knowing some of the students. We can even invite substitutes to take part in professional development activities. If schools spent the time to train their substitutes, you might get more repeat subs, which helps them know the students. And that's half the battle.

State Testing

It’s been awhile since I’ve posted, and now that it’s school vacation week, I’m getting a chance to sit down and write. Now that second semester has started, and schedules are in place, the next big task on my plate is state testing schedules and special education accommodations. There are still educators who feel that a boycott of the state tests is called for. What purpose would that have? Every issue in schools should boil down to one question, “What’s in the best interest of the students?” Now, there are ways to make changes and influence people, but boycotting the test is not one of those ways. Not that I don’t think the tests are flawed, because they are, however, there are benefits that the school can receive from state tests, if it so chooses (like instant data for analysis and program development).

Moving onto the special education piece of the puzzle always makes me wonder exactly how much the students actually benefit from all of the services that we are required to give versus how much the services unlevel the playing field. There are some obvious services (like scribing a test for a student with physical disabilities, or a smaller setting for a student who has a more serious ADD diagnosis), but others seem unnecessary, and at times would alter the results of a test. Check this document posted by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to find all the accommodations available.

How Many Leaders Does It Take?

Crisis situations are usually few and far between in most schools. It seems to be more important, in that case, to have a group of adults leading the school that are confident and know what to do in a crisis situation. The question remains to me to be how many adults should lead a school through a crisis? My school had a relatively small crisis yesterday, and there seemed to be too many leaders, and not enough listeners. Here is the brief situation, so you know what we're dealing with. The principal was out of the building. One assistant principal was in his office (on the same floor, but about 50 feet from the main office), the other assistant principal was in her office (up one floor from the main office). A pipe burst creating a waterfall in the main entryway, and it leaked down to the floor below. The fire alarm went off, and the nurse (whose office is next to the main entryway) announced that no one need leave the building. About 30 seconds later, she announced for an evacuation. Once outside, the crisis team was in communication with their walkie talkies. A small conference was held with four crisis team members to create a plan for dismissal (as the pipe burst only ten minutes before the end of the school day). Another teacher who overheard the conference then whistled to get all students' attentions, and made an announcement, which was not the same as the decision come to by the crisis team. All students arrived at their homes safely, and the world still turns. The question still, however, remains for me to be how do you encourage teacher leadership, while still needing teachers to follow?

Teacher Ed Programs VS Working in the Profression

On the application, or during my teacher education program (HGSE, '00), I did not experience any purposeful excommunicating of students who do not hold the majority view. On the application, there was no method for the admissions department to know what my views were, only my reasons for wanting to attend graduate school and my academic record. During the program, there were plenty of opportunities for students to express their political opinions, as well as opportunities to hear the opinions of those who were leading the program. For someone like me who is more politically "open", there was no point in time where I felt that I had to take a stand and side with one group or another.

Since I left graduate school and entered work in the public schools, I have felt pressure to hold similar political views to the majority of the profession. During my time in the classroom, in faculty meetings, and eating lunch in the teachers' room, there have been many occasions when a subject came up where I did not feel comfortable voicing my thoughts/opinions. I was more often than not in the minority. Much of the time, I simply wanted to hear other people's thoughts on the topic. I have not, however, experienced issues being discussed on an intellectual level, rather on a personal level (or often the party line). Where I understand many teachers' desires to discuss political issues on a personal level because of the public and political nature of their jobs, I feel that we would have better discussions, and be seen by the world outside the profession as a more respected group, if the conversations surrounding the issues were more of a rational nature than a personal one.