Search results matching tags 'teacher' and 'education'

OTES Day 1

Anonymous — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 03:13:06 GMT

For specifics about the framework, be sure to see Dwight Carter’s (@Dwight_Carter) blog after his three-days training.

Today was my first of 3 OTES days, and I’m still feeling pretty good about that “left side” (or the performance piece) of the Ohio Teacher Evaluation System framework. (The “right side,” or the student growth side, is another story entirely.)

What I want to look at in this post is the actual rubric for the performance evaluation. Again, I think those who are saying “NAY” the loudest are probably uninformed about the requirements and have probably not looked at that performance rubric.

Keeping in mind that MOST teachers will “live in” the proficient range and “visit” accelerated, I want to focus on that proficient column. In the training, we were asked to underline key descriptors of proficiency for each standard.

Looking at this standard, I started underlining words/phrases like: “develops measurable goal,” and “aligned with standards” and “explain importance.” I quickly realized that underlining these phrases gave me no real insight into a “proficient” teacher.

In order for me to understand the qualifiers of the different areas, I had to actually compare proficient to accelerated. The differences between the two in Focus for Learning are: 1) The goals must be rigorous to be accelerated, 2) the goal is differentiated to be accelerated, and 3) the teacher can explain how the goal fits the progression of learning to be accelerated. I think having teachers (and admins) really look at these differences and define them clearly can make the evaluation process more transparent–it’s clear to the teacher what s/he must do and the admin is more clear about the expectation.

I also had a couple of thoughts about how to ease teachers into this framework…

While watching the video with the pre-observation conference, I kept thinking of my early interviewing experiences when I was first entering the profession. The teacher seemed nervous; she seemed like she was trying to answer questions about her lesson plan on the spot (the evaluator had had an opportunity to review the lesson plan in advance). As an admin, I NEVER go into any meetings with any individual teacher or group of teachers without giving them as much info about my intent as possible in advance. I want them to have time to process, to come with their own questions, to really think about the conversation. I think teachers should have this same opportunity with these pre- (AND post- if possible!) observation conferences. The teacher could have had more time to think about her answers if she had received the questions in advance, and the conversation could have been much richer instead of interview-like.

And….there was always a way to “ace” and interview. I distinctly remember keywords I made a note to say at each interview, and I always felt like if I said those keywords and if they were the right keywords, I stood a chance. (What were they? Oh, the classics: differentiation, belief that all students could learn, communicate with parents and community, collaboration with colleagues, data-driven, intervention, etc.) I may not have internalized what those words meant or what they looked like in practice, but I knew I needed to say them.

I kept thinking in the OTES video that all the teacher needed to do was say the right words, but what if the evaluator asked the wrong questions? What if she didn’t probe enough to get the teacher to say the right thing? So, I asked the question, “Am I evaluating someone based on their ability to answer my questions? Am I looking for those keywords and checking them off?” The response from the trainer (and other attendees) was that it is the teacher’s responsibility to come to and prove they know their stuff, not the evaluator’s role to drag it out of them.

Ok, fine. I can accept that, BUT admins (myself included) need to make sure teachers have a very clear, very definite, transparent understanding of the expectations. If, using the rubric information above, the difference between transparent and accelerated is the “goals must be rigorous/challenging” then the admin and teachers need to know what that means, and the teacher needs to know how to demonstrate that in the lesson plan and/or pre-conference.

Additionally, when trying to evaluate the videos (Side note–WHY ARE WE SCRIPTING?!?!?!?!?! Why are we not just VIDEOTAPING so we can actually pay attention to what is happening? I know, it can be a contractual issue, but if I was getting a performance evaluation, I’d be DARNED if I didn’t want to see myself the way the evaluator saw me!) I found myself focusing so much on how the lesson COULD be and what COULD be different. For example, I thought, “Oh, she’s using a transparency. Well, she could use an app or Smart Board tools and get better results.” But…the students were getting the lesson, they were decently engaged (mildly automaton-like), and I had to keep refocusing myself on what was actually in the lesson, not comparing her to other lessons. Even using the rubric, I kept straying to “If she would’ve done this….” but the focus has to be on what was actually visible.

In Summary:
1. Let teachers (and admins) find the differences in the qualifiers to create a common definition
2. Don’t put teachers on the spot to talk about their teaching–send questions in advance
3. Make sure teachers know what they need to show/demonstrate in the conferences
4. Christina Hank does not support scripting.
5. Focus the evaluation on what that teacher is doing/knows, not how s/he compares to others

MyWeb4Ed on Symbaloo – Thousands of Educational Resources and Growing Daily

Anonymous — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 04:47:32 GMT

MyWeb4Ed is now a Symbaloo Premier account and has a page dedicated to the growing collection of educational resources. This site will give you literally thousands of resources for almost any topic from Bring Your Own Device resources to Videos 4 Professional Development. Keep this one handy as it grows daily and will continue to [...]

Merit Pay for Teachers? We Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Bribe!

Anonymous — Sun, 10 Jun 2012 01:43:23 GMT

And you know they would! Merit pay, how realistic is it that our pay could actually be tied to test scores? Very realistic! What is merit pay? Noun :extra pay awarded to an employee on the basis of merit (especially to school teachers) What “think tank” thought up this idea, maybe the same one that [...]

Abusive Parents

Anonymous — Sun, 27 May 2012 13:22:22 GMT

Time for one more post before the scalpel does its work:)

“A youth, when at home, should be filial, and,
abroad, respectful to his elders. He should be earnest and truthful.
He should overflow in love to all, and cultivate the friendship of the
good. When he has time and opportunity, after the performance of these
things, he should employ them in polite studies.”

The quote from Confucius illustrates the perfect child and perfect student; it doesn’t mention the parents because, in his days, teachers were venerated and respected by all (not quite the same today).

English: teacher and its importance (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

No, I am not talking about parents beating up their kids physically and emotionally; there are plenty of those. The subject of this post is a topic almost never mentioned in educational blogs: Parents who abuse the school, the district, and the teachers. The fear of lawsuits and of losing one’s job make the teachers and school officials bow down and offer the abusive parent whatever he/she wants. It is disgraceful, it is expensive, and it flies against the educational experience of experts who in vain try to convince the mother or father that they know best.

“I want that teacher in English, that one for science, that coach for P.E. and, (believe it or not), that special ed teacher, nobody else. Oh, I forgot, I want him/her in band (even if the poor darling is tone-deaf), and I want him/her in advanced classes (even if the student suffers from very low I.Q.). I also want a one-on-one aide to accompany my kid from class to class (no special reason, the kid is perfectly capable of walking to the classroom by him/herself). “

Tragically, most schools and quite a few teachers will give in to ridiculous demands, thus affecting the student’s academic progress, even if timorous educators still give him/her passing grades to get rid of the pernicious mother/father. Of course, this type of parent interference with our profession is not widespread, fortunately; but it illustrates in part the weaknesses of public education, when politics and outside influence invade the teaching process.

I can understand and share the trauma of parents whose kid is being abused by the lone bad teacher; it happens too often and they, the parents, must make sure they report such situation to the respective authorities. But when parents abuse teachers verbally and make silly demands that have no basis in reality, it’s time to scream foul, it’s time for principals to show some backbone and it’s time for judges to dismiss these frivolous lawsuits against school districts that cost thousands of dollars every year, money that comes out of funds that should go to improving education.

Free To Be Ourselves

Anonymous — Fri, 04 May 2012 17:57:52 GMT

An old photo of the teachers of the Sharon School (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In the teachers’ lounge in our high school, there is a big sign that has a short and vibrant message: 20 days left! We can do it! Every day, some good and agitated soul changes the fatidic countdown. A layman may wonder at this attitude by teachers and ask why we keep working at a job we dislike so much. One cannot find an equivalent case in the world of business, perhaps because they don’t have two and half months vacation time. The truth is that we love our job (except for a few misguided minds) but the daily demands of catering to hundreds of energetic juvenile human beings are taking a heavy toll on our nervous system.

Nervous Overload

If one has not had the experience of being in a classroom for 7 hours straight, every day for 200 days, it is difficult to imagine what gargantuan efforts are needed to both control and guide these youngsters toward learning bliss (no sarcasm here; learning means opening up new worlds of knowledge and I can’t imagine a more pleasant activity than to share the discovery with kids and witness the aha moment). A good analogy would be comparing a teacher to the mother or father of a very large family; parents must also be teachers at home although they don’t have the benefit of a long annual rest period. On the positive side, progenitors don’t have to deal with bureaucrats or meddling principals who seem happy to invent more paperwork or unnecessary meetings respectively.

Pros and Cons

In addition, we have to deal with irate parents who justly or not descend on the ‘poor’ teacher with offensive words and worse gestures because their poor little ‘daarling’ is not passing the class (OK, we also have the courteous and smart parents who recognize our plight and work with us, but they are the minority). Plus, we have to bear the unbearable testing weeks during which we are unable to teach, a strange paradox that may occur quite frequently if we count all the instruction time lost. Did I mention low wages (compared to private industry) and the fact that we are paid 10 months, not 12? Many of us work in drab environments, with unclean toilets, and eat fatty food on the run because we often work during the lunch hour so as to attend to the needs of retesters and kids who seek special help. Some of us stay until 6 or 7 P.M. to comply with loads of paperwork and come Saturday mornings to finish grading, or participate in extra-curricular programs.

This above all to thine own self be true (Shakespeare)

OK, enough whining! We still love every minute and wouldn’t do anything else. We are free inside the classroom. free from the prying eyes of a nosy boss in the office, free to laugh out loud with stomach shaking glee, free to enjoy the fresh and invigorating energy of 25 juvenile fans, free to speak our mind and explore the wonders of the world of knowledge, free to be ourselves and claim our place in the universe (wow, carried away, for sure).

Are We Still At Risk?

Anonymous — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 23:09:00 GMT

While the national conversation about education would never be the same, stunningly few of the Commission’s recommendations actually have been enacted. Now is not the time for more educational research or reports or commissions. We have enough commonsense ideas, backed by decades of research, to significantly improve American schools. The missing ingredient isn’t even educational at all. It’s political. Too often, state and local leaders have tried to enact reforms of the kind recommended in A Nation at Risk only to be stymied by organized special interests and political inertia. Without vigorous national leadership to improve education, states and local school systems simply cannot overcome the obstacles to making the big changes necessary to significantly improve our nation’s K-12 schools (Wikipedia)

A Nation At Risk shook the educational world in its foundations and 25 years later, things are not much better as stated by the quote above. It expresses quite sensibly that the problem is not academic or financial, but political (O surprise!). I may not agree 100% with the financial part as I witness severe cuts in our school budget that hurt several programs; we need more money as I have said in this blog several times as long as that resource is cleverly applied. There is however a point to be made that our educational system needs a complete overhaul; just like a car, we need a new engine, a machine that takes our schools into the 21 century and away from the 20th.

Still Stuck in the 20th Century

We have indeed doubled our investment in adjusted dollars since 1985, whether from state coffers or the national treasure. Yet, in real terms, our modern teaching environment in public schools would not look out of place 27 years ago. Meanwhile, other countries such as China, Korea, and Singapore, have made a giant leap forward. What prevents us from doing the same and show the world that we are still the superpower in all fields, whether military, financial, commercial, entrepreneurial, manufacturing, scientific, or educational? Experts mention several factors that hinder our progress in the classroom: bureaucrats, politicians, teachers unions, and businesses with close commercial ties to the school system. I would add one factor that will earn me new enemies: the parents and society in general.

Parents? Front and Center

President George W. Bush signs Executive Order 13230, creating his Presidential Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans and directing the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans to provide staffing and support. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The parents are and must be held co-responsible for the present state of affairs. Many kids come to school not to learn but to receive their entitlement, whatever that may be. They expect to be coddled, cajoled, and rewarded just for showing up, if they feel like it. Some mothers write phony excuses because the little darling wasn’t feeling well that day. Other parents get upset at the teacher for scolding their misbehaving angel or giving him or her too much homework. Some doctors write prescriptions for students for anxiety attacks; when I was a kid, my anxiety was cured with a good spanking and teachers had authority respected by parents.

Yes, I know; many parents support us and give their children a good education with strong values; the problem is they constitute a minority in public schools. The moment a parent comes barreling into a classroom (just a figure of speech of course), anxious to pick a fight with the teacher, he or she loses all power over the kids if they give in to the ridiculous demands. I heard a teacher once ask me ‘are the parents high profile’; we were discussing the student’s poor grades and the teacher was telling me that he did not want any problems with them and that the kid would pass his class no matter what. Imagine that! An expert in education willing to let a parent dictate what to do with the students.

Pressure and Stress

Of course, not all the instructors are like that; but the case illustrates the tremendous pressure teachers are subjected to by bureaucrats, parents, school boards, and even politicians who talk about education just to get some votes. I work with excellent teachers for the most part (there is always a fly in the ointment), and as I listen to their complaints and suggestions I imagine a world in which we actually pay heed and make the changes they recommend. Wow!

Following the Legislation

Anonymous — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 19:36:35 GMT

New Report Card Ratings…

On March 23, I updated you with everything I learned at the Common Core conference with Deputy Superintendent Sawyers. Pair that with the info from the February post I did after the Fordham conference with Stan Heffner for a more complete picture of recent happenings in Ohio education.

The big item of discussion the last couple of weeks has been the potential new state reporting system…Let me trace the developments (to be updated as the issue continues to unfold):

March 23: Sawyers says plan is for report card to be in effect this fall.

April 12: Stan Heffner says Ohio may delay the new reporting system by a year because state and federal approval might not happen in time.

April 18: Ohio’s teachers ask for delay in new reporting system given all the other chaos happening in education right now, but Gov. Kasich’s spokesman says, “We want them (the new rankings) in yesterday. No one is backing away and saying we need additional time. We are not seeking a delay. We want to see this go into effect this year.”

April 22: Three superintendents in NW Ohio hold a panel discussion with a local news source to discuss the pitfalls of the rating system. Superintendent Diana Savage (Bryan City Schools) says her district has worked hard for its excellent rating, ”and now schools are going to look like they’re not performing as well, when really it’s the rules that are changing or the tests that are changing.” And Dr. Keven Miller of Ottawa Hills says the entire initiative was “just a massive roll out.”

New Evaluations…

If you haven’t already done so, join the 1300 other people (including myself) who will be attending The OH Statewide Educator Evaluation Symposium by the Ohio Department of Education (@OHEducation) on May 25. I’m sure I’ll be tweeting, so follow me @ChristinaHank.

IRA…

The International Reading Association conference in Chicago runs from this Monday through Wednesday, and I’LL BE THERE!!! Look for posts after the conference. I’m also the official Stenhouse Publisher’s tweeter for Kelly Gallagher’s session!

Peter

Anonymous — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 12:36:16 GMT

Peter (not his name) is 15, with nary a stubble on his pinkish cheeks, and yet he is already a genius with computers. Some teachers don’t even bother with tech support, a very slow and inefficient service; they interrupt a class and ask for him, the teen who can fix anything electronic, whether hard- or software. The incredible story is that he was diagnosed with a severe learning disability and belongs, ipso facto, to special education. I suspect a touch of autism also, though his assessment doesn’t mention it. After all, aren’t we all a bit autistic, a word that means “love of self?”

I met him yesterday, during a state test. After he finished, easily and early, we talked for a while, for we could not dismiss our students for another 5 hours (budget woes did not allow for substitutes). He showed a remarkable clarity of mind and a curious mannerism (hence my suspicion of autism): He looks up at the ceiling while talking to me and then lowers his head all the way to his chin almost dislodging his correcting glasses in the process. He does that frequently, but only when sustaining a conversation; during the test he focused 100%, reading every word several times until satisfied that he understood. He is frail, 125 lbs perhaps, or less. I guessed his height at 5′ 7″ but he can still grow a little.

He is an example of the big mistake made by so many people who associate special education labels with low intelligence; while it is true that such representation applies to at least 30% of these students, most of the other 70% belong to the middle, to the average intelligence group, and as such join the ranks of their non-disabled peers. Peter is of course one of a kind, a teen who excels in a specific area of technology. But I have met others who show remarkable artistic talents, whether in drawing or music. They should not be confused with “idiot savant” cases: People who exhibit genius levels in math or art but cannot sustain a normal conversation and fail to understand their environment. The human mind is still a wondrous mystery; it could certainly be called the last frontier, and once we understand it fully – in at least 50 more years of research, we’ll be able perhaps to guarantee high intelligence to every newborn, together with special skills according to the wish of the parents.

Peter doesn’t possess the strength or size of a football lineman; he has something much more valuable, his unique skills. Our role as special education teachers is to discover other Peters who may have been ignored during their K-12 career. High school is a good place to analyze every one of them; they had time to develop their interests and potential abilities. Before writing off any student with disabilities as a sure failure in life, let us reflect and study every case to maximize their potential.

DVD cover of “Special Education” film. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

We still don’t understand what causes a learning disability; we can see the results in the assessment and they tell us that this student is not performing according to his/her potential in a certain area which may be verbal or math calculations. Is it congenital, a defective gene perhaps, or environmental, or both? Autism is another mysterious disability that seems to become more and more frequent to the distress of so many parents. Theories abound regarding the causal factor, from vaccines – a myth now debunked, to toxic air quality or food components, or simply a part of nature’s experiments in evolution. We don’t know, yet, but we surely will find the answer.

While science does its job, we the teachers must ensure that these special kids are given all the opportunities needed to transcend their labels.

Classroom Discipline 101

Anonymous — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 14:25:18 GMT

A teacher in my school with 18 years of experience has an interesting technique to “enforce” discipline management in her class. Every incoming student has hand-outs on their desk which they must address immediately. No down time, no idle chitchatting before the lesson actually starts and transgressors of this rule are called to order without delay. I have seen other instructors do things differently and suffer the consequences: They sit down at their desk while students are still incoming or they write instructions on the white board with their back turned to the class. Granted, these are high school youngsters who should know how to behave; but a teacher who is not ready to keep them busy from the get go will see their class fall into chaos with frightening speed, especially if the group exceeds 25 teens. It is always much more difficult to recover discipline than to start right away in an orderly fashion.

Without a clear sense of what is expected of them, writing the topics for the whole week on the board is a good way of doing this, juvenile students will inevitably fall into a conversation regarding the merits of the latest musical trend, powder their nose, literally, check their smart phone for messages, exchange jokes accompanied with loud laughter, throw pieces of paper across the room, and generally make a lot of noise that requires strong intervention by the harried teacher. Total time lost: 20 minutes!

Keeping these teens on task is no mean feat; aside from establishing clear rules of conduct and keeping them busy all the time, other personal factors intervene to make the teacher a successful professional: a strong voice, a commanding presence derived from a high self-esteem, greeting students by name as they enter, a well-prepared lesson plan, varied activities for the class, walking around to make sure everybody is on task, words of encouragement to the struggling ones, and, most important, a seating chart. To facilitate learning every student’s name, a fundamental requirement to keep discipline, it is convenient at the beginning of the year to sit them alphabetically; it makes memorizing names much easier. Once this is accomplished, change the order by mixing nerds with slow learners, thus hoping they will work well together.

Caricature of ancient school discipline

We cannot as teachers rule by fear, at any level; we must earn their respect by being courteous with them, no matter what the provocation. I made the mistake once of yelling at a student who was being disrespectful; I wrote him up and sent him to detention. I then called the parents and discovered that the kid was in a foster home and had been diagnosed with emotional disturbance. Feeling quite stupid, the next day I apologized to him and he did the same. I should have known better than to think that it was personal; it never is. Some of these troubled teens will lash out at authority as a reflex action, as they have been abused so often by the same authority figures. Keeping calm and poised is the best way to deal with injurious epithets from a distraught youngster. Whenever possible, include some light humor and kids will see the teacher as a “cool” guy or lady. It will make the classroom a lot easier to deal with. But we must be careful not to give the impression that we are their buddies; that would erode our authority and lead to dangerous consequences.

The Limits of Punishment

Anonymous — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 21:06:58 GMT

Do not pursue with the terrible scourge him who deserves a slight whip.

Horace, Satires. I. 3. 119.

The recent news regarding the death of a high school football player due to severe physical punishment for arriving late to practice is added to a long list of students who either died or were injured under insensitive coaches. What constitutes punishment for a student, any student, whether athlete or not, is a topic that has not been studied sufficiently by science. As a comparison, I watched the training of an elite military unit which pushes candidates to the limit of their resistance. Sergeants and instructors were very careful to tell each man to drop out if they felt so weak that they might lose consciousness. These soldiers were not being punished; they were trying to qualify for a few spots in a grueling try-out. There was no shame is giving up; not everybody is able to transcend their physical limits. It is a lesson that some coaches apparently haven’t learned. Some of the injured kids were too proud to admit defeat or to tell their instructor that they couldn’t continue.

The Importance of Numbers

Of course, among thousands of teachers and instructors, there will always be some sadists (the Army has a few too), who enjoy punishing teenagers. It could be a classroom teacher who doesn’t give the student another chance after a failed test, knowing full well that the parents will punish him or her severely. Yes, a failing grade is a punishment for some students, not for all. I know a few who simply don’t care and smile sardonically when faced with the report card; they are drop-out risks who urgently need some counseling. But as a general rule, all pupils want to pass because our society, and our educational system, have placed excessive importance on numbers (or letters). Punishing kids with failed grades when we know that they tried their best is simple cruelty and pursues no constructive purpose. What is the difference between a 69 and a 70 (the passing grade) is something no teacher has been able to answer yet. The same applies to 99 and 100, or 79 and 80. I have seen students cry and beg for one little point that would make all the difference between graduating with their generation or not. Technically, that boy or girl could have made a better effort to study; but in reality what we should consider as high school teachers is whether the kid deserve to pass or not. We should examine his or her parameters very carefully and reach a decision based on them, not on a mathematical formula.

The Emotional Damage

Gone are the days when an elementary teacher publicly humiliated me in front of my peers by slapping my juvenile face with a callous hand. Gone are the days of the paddle on the buttocks, at least in our country (England may be the exception among civilized countries). Physical violence should never be used by parents and/or teachers, although I am in favor of a light tap on the behind for recalcitrant kids. The damage caused by any punishment, whether physical of mental, will always cause resentment in the victim, even when it seems justified. Some students might give up, knowing that a zero at the beginning of the semester can never be compensated. Others will suffer emotionally from a blow to their self-esteem. That is not to say that we should reward laziness and irresponsibility by passing these kids anyway. We should however, from the very beginning, guide them toward success and self-satisfaction for a job well-done. Working closely with parents might just ensure that all students reach their goal … graduation.