#16 Merry Christmas or Happy Winter?

Our nation is closely attached to our religion and freedom of practicing whatever faith you may. How free are we if we cannot tell someone Merry Christmas for fear of being sued? One Connecticut school told Fox News it has banned Christmas from it's walls. No longer will its halls be decked with balls of holly. No longer will it refer to the Christmas season as Christmas. The celebrations at Walsh Elementary School in Waterbury, Connecticut simply will not have decorations or Christmas parties in their classrooms. They will, however, continue to sing songs of Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa.

I've been teaching for twelve years now. In total, I've had maybe five students who didn't believe in practicing gift giving or anything remotely Christmas because of their faith. That leaves about 415 other students I've had who do. Those five children's families either chose to pull their children out at the end of the day during the "party" or simply allowed them to participate knowing we weren't preaching God's Word in the classroom. Never did they pull their children out of school for a "Christmas" party.

I think it's sad that such a majority of people I've encountered have become so overly sensitive that they can no longer practice their faith freely. I'm not a preacher, I'm a teacher. The problem seems to be that the teaching profession preaches tolerance so often while obviously being hypocritical in the area of allowing student expression in the classroom. Can we sincerely feel offended by somebody offering us a "Merry Christmas" in good nature? When someone is actually offended by those words, aren't we as teachers to blame for not sincerely promoting freedom of religion and speech and good will?

One thing is for sure, I hope people feel the good will I plan to deliver in the way of many Merry Christmas greetings this December. I will not suppress others from saying Happy Hanukkah to me and will receive it with joy. One thing that would almost be offensive to me is "Happy Winter!" Give me a break. Are we even moving away from Happy Holidays now? Is that too controversial for people? It's madness.

Well, have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

#15 Retention- Teachers Assassinating Youth

What happened to the days of being punished for a lackluster performance? It seems the only retention that occurs these days in the classrooms are people who are pregnant. We definitely have lost our ability to utilize the best motivational tool of all, retention from advancement in grade level. It seems like only yesterday that a student who didn't perform well enough in their academics would be held back a year to enable them later in life. These days, we have so much psychobabble happening when it comes to the impact retaining a student would have on that individual, we don't demand the best. With everyone being their own Dr. Phil or Oprah, it seems we've gotten nowhere with some students. They aren't motivated to succeed. I believe it's directly related to not holding them personally responsible and setting the goals and expectations at a manageable level that any hard working person can achieve.

A colleague of mine was telling me today that Newsweek had once run a story about how the greatest indication of whether or not a person was going to be successful later in life had little to do with their actual letter grades in high school or college. Instead, it was more directly related the the level of coursework and the ability to complete it with any amount of success. Basically, he'd rather his children take advanced placement coursework and earn a C on the report card than take the "dumbed down" class and earn an A. This is what he said the article, written in a time Newsweek wouldn't include psycho-babble nonsense instead. Why can't people realize that we're losing old fashioned value of hard work ethic in this country?

What are we telling students who don't even want to maintain a C average in their "dumbed down" coursework if we push them through to the next grade level? I think we're telling them they're doing enough and smart enough to compete in a society. I think we're lying to them indirectly and ruining their chances as positive influences in today's marketplace. Social norms are going to slap them in the face because teachers and schools can't kick them in the pants. Professional teachers have been told for years that it would just be too much for the child to endure if they were held back a grade level. What is that all about? Why can't a student who doesn't make the grade be held back any longer? Why should Johnny, (I know, Johnny gets a bad name when we refer to him so often for ANYTHING) be advanced to the next grade level if he chooses to clam up and not complete school work? Why should he be told it's ok?

I know why he is told he can move to the 7th grade. It's societal guilt. People think, "Johnny's parents are divorced," or "Johnny is bigger than the rest of his class already," or "Johnny's motivation will fall desperately out of control and he'll drop out at 16." Well, I think that while all those things might be true or possible, we cannot change the rules or set the bar even lower for a student who doesn't perform. If the difference is he completes high school and "earns" his degree because teachers have just let him slide through, how's that going to help him be better off in the marketplace than he would be if he chooses to drop out because he repeated 6th grade? So he hasn't been motivated since 6th grade and he tests at maybe a 7th grade reading level, how is that different than just pushing him through the system and out the door with a degree he didn't earn?

Well, it's up for debate I'm sure. I just am about fed up with our school system that is searching for so many options and spending so much money on technology and motivational activities each and every day and all we need is to retain a few kids who are nothing more than lazy bums. Retain a few of them, and they'll prove to be more influential in our society in the future by helping motivate their peers who don't want to be in their shoes. Maybe it will even motivate them to start using their God given talents that they are squandering in the first place. If they don't change after that, call a paramedic because they are dead in the water. If they are moved through the system, call the police, because teachers have assassinated them.

#14 When In Rome... Oregon Schools and Concealed Weapons

Happy Thanksgiving! So, I'm here at the sister's place in Portland, Oregon. The topic came up, a Medford teacher is fighting for her right to bear arms in the high school she teaches. This seems like a good idea, if you live in Alaska and are worried about bear or wolverine attacking the kids while on a hiking expedition, right? Well, she's earned her concealed weapons permit which grants her the right to carry her 9 mm Glock in practically any public facility in Oregon. Her beef is with her school district since they don't allow weapons to be carried by teachers. Should she have a beef?

I don't know. I wouldn't say the threat would be too great that her ex-husband would come in with his concealed weapons permit carrying self and ensue shooting her and the students, but that's a concern she has. Her ex says it's her trying to get everyone believing she should have full custody of their daughter. She also has voiced concerns about all the shootings in schools in the past. She practices regularly with her weapon, and it is her right she earned to carry. How safe would you feel if your English teacher was packing heat? Why do we feel safer when some police officers are packing heat? Are they somehow better because society deems it acceptable for a police officer to pack heat but nobody else?

I'd say if it was a perfect world, we wouldn't have guns for anything other than hunting for the food we need to eat. However, being there is war, there is violence, and people can be hurt by a full range of things in our society, I'd say owning a gun is low on the totem pole. My thought is that if every teacher were permitted the right to carry a gun, which isn't going to happen, more people would second guess going into a school and killing dozens and hurting dozens more. They probably would realize their chances for getting to hurt so many wouldn't be worth the risk of losing their own life. The parents of kids hurt from such violence would probably make a hero out of the teacher who packed the final blow to stop the violence from reaching more bystanders. There is no perfect scenario. There are so many variables. It seems to me the argument can be made either way very well. It will come down to which group has the most money to support the cause.

Would you feel safer if she had a gun or didn't? Would you have regrets if your child was harmed from a disaster at school and she wasn't there with her gun?

You can read about her story here. Have a Happy Thanksgiving! Thank God you don't really have to concern yourself with owning a weapon to protect yourself today... if it's true.

#13 The Real Pandemic

The pandemic isn't H1N1 these days in schools across the nation. It's weak administrations who cannot stand firm in school rules and/or homework policies. Parents transformed the way their children are being educated across the United States. Strong willed helicopter parents have invaded our schools at the administrative levels. Unfortunately, the trickle down effect adversely affects their own children and the future of America in negative ways.

I've been reading the book, Crazy Like a Fox- One Principal's Triumph In the Inner City by Dr. Ben Chavis with Carey Blakely. After being inspired from a previous blog this year, I did some investigation into this school's success. I've even gone so far as contacting the current principal. I'm still in the early stages of the book, but it is clear that this man is a minority of all minorities. He's a man who doesn't listen to the haters. He doesn't allow parents to run his school. He is a man who has set a foundation in a school that will surely last lifetimes. His school, nearly extinct, went from below a 300 API scoring school to over 900 in eight years. He did something controversial, he affected students in lasting ways and even turned around an entire neighborhood.

Dr. Chavis really found a school in need. He also found a neighborhood that was disgusted with the school and the kids on their block. They created an environment perfect for crime and the previous administration and staff did nothing to support positive learning or excellence. Previous to his administration, the American Indian Public Charter School in Oakland, CA was a place where drugs, sex, and crime were commonplace. We're not talking about high school, either. It's a middle school. The school was on the verge of dissolving and the neighborhood couldn't wait. How did he turn it around? In part setting the bar high. By using the old 1950 standards of discipline and school policies for today's age. You'll have to read the book to learn more, however. This is just the tip of the iceberg. The book is an inspiration and a hope for a better future for all education.

The following passage from the book is a memo Dr. Chavis sent the parents of his school on March 16, 2006 in response to the school rules and policies.

Dr Chavis' memo:

"I respect parents who support our staff and accept the consequences when their child breaks the rules. You are preparing your children to be successful in school and life. You can stop reading this now!

Why do some parents of AIPCS students have selective memories? If your child brings a cell phone to school and it is taken by a staff member, you will not get it back until the last day of school. You have the option to withdraw your child from AIPCS. We will return the cell phone and accept students who will follow our rules.

Is there anyone in their right mind who believes I am going to change the rules of American Indian Public Charter School because of a sad story, an argument, or a cussing out? I grew up with a whole family of crazy Indians and I can act like a fool with the best of you. I'm always nice to people who are nice to me.

Why do some of you love to threaten that you are going to the school board to get me fired? Will you please get me fired? I have already retired in Arizona and get a monthly check. I would love to spend more time with my wife, children, and grandchildren and collect another check.

Once again, I respect families who reinforce to your child the importance of following the rules."

It's obvious from this memo, that Dr. Chavis is a man who stands firm in his commitment to instill values in children that go beyond academics. He understands that schools are responsible for pushing academic excellence. This is a man I'd love to work for any day in a school district. He demands great things from his teachers and students and expects parents to back him up at home.

I've been privileged enough to work for five different administrations in twelve years at two different districts. Privileged because it's given me a chance to see people who represent the teaching staff and students well, while keeping the helicopter parents at bay. The other half of the time, however, I've been disgusted with administrations who merely faint at the sight of a parent stomping into the office on a war path. For some crazy reason, there are principals and superintendents who actually believe parents should have control of a classroom. Teachers get micromanaged by parents and weak administrations. Students suffer in more ways that academics. They lose the ability to learn how to submit to authority. They are the future generation of haters. The future in larger prison populations. Why can't some administrations stand firm and resolute and in partnership with teachers to educate on more levels than academics? Dr. Chavis, save us!

#12 Calling All Subs, We Need Backup!

There are many districts throughout the country finding themselves overwhelmed with substitute possibilities. With the economy in shambles, our nation's educated went back into the marketplace and fell back on the fact that anyone can be a substitute teacher for a buck. There actually isn't a desperation for substitute teachers like there were just a year ago. Our superintendent urged us to not take our employee days off if we could help it. There were too many substitute teacher shortages and often they'd have to fill in with office personnel or administrative staff to help out in areas that couldn't be covered. If it was an elective schedule like music or P.E. that was lost, they let it go, even with the union breathing down their necks saying they can't break the contract like that. This year, it's quite the opposite. Instead of substitutes being overwhelmed with phone calls from schools and trying to decide where they wanted to go for the next two months, we have substitute teachers who rely upon the job as their only form of income advertising their desire to help to the entire teaching staff. They're sending personal "business" cards, resumes, and letters to full-time teachers to have them be the choice to fill the vacancy for absence.

I'd say that the schools of our nation could possibly serve as the "frog in the pond" for our nation's economic standing pretty well. When the schools are suffering, so is the nation. When people are turning to the schools for jobs, it's like they've exhausted almost all other means besides working at McDonald's or God forbid, Walmart. Oh no!

What has it meant for districts who are also cutting jobs even though the stimulus apparently saved so many? We have more and more loonies on the loose and people who have no business being in the classroom entering, and it's not a joke. Fortunately, for my classroom, our district has a list of about 12 absolutely amazing substitute teachers we call upon regularly. There are few times, if we give them time, that we cannot get them to help us out. Thank goodness we're not in an area that doesn't have the small school mentality or community group that keeps an eye out for the loonies.

Another thing to consider, according to this article Round Rock, Texas has over 1,200 substitute teachers in the pool this year. That's more than double what they're used to having. Not only that, they had 5,000 apply for 322 jobs. That is just about as bad as me not getting to even apply for a teaching position north of Seattle my first year out of college. Many places there had 500 applicants for a 4th grade position that hadn't been advertised publicly. The boss there told me that they're overwhelmed and unless I have a doctorate or straight A's from Harvard, I need not apply. That was in 1997. I wonder what it's like now.

With all the people just trying to stay afloat these days, and more pressure on education and the business sector from above, I wonder how it will turn out in 10 years. Will we come out ahead of the educational and business world, or will we be set back 50 years and more backwards than the hillbilly? I'd say we need backup now, but definitely don't need any more substitutes.

#11 Holistically Accepted

Teach to the test. That's the command many districts are giving these days. Get our student prepared to test well and appear successful under the scrutiny neighboring schools, counties, states, or even countries judge our education standards. Will it be effective enough for admission to our universities? What happens to the students who come from districts that eliminated all extra-curricular activities, music, P.E., and even interest groups? Do we think they'll make the cut in the new challenges universities are expecting our students to complete and show evidence of completion?

To gain admission into various institutions throughout the nation, the requirements vary. One thing that seems to be changing and becoming more common place is the inclusion of an essay or further involvement in extra-curricular activities or community organizations. No longer can a student be admitted under the review of high GPA, SAT, or ACT scores. According to this article at New York Times, public universities around the nation are utilizing a holistic or comprehensive review of student applicants. What do we think the trend will be after the budget crisis is eventually averted if it ever is? Will higher learning be an untouchable for more and more students? Currently, California is bankrupt. Our schools have cut music education, physical education, and extra-curricular activities for years for various reasons. The trend in schools out here is to focus mainly upon reading, writing and arithmetic. I worry that this will adversely affect the next generation's ability to perform at the higher learning level.

I think it's a smart move on the part of the universities around the nation. Why not know they have students who will have more of an impact upon their peers beyond being book smart? Promotion of students who are more well rounded will provide higher learning that is well rounded. There are many students who may be meant for the classroom for life, but can they practically apply their book smarts to the street and job world? Not everyone can. With this shift in admissions process across the nation, we'll find more people are going to need to get their noses out of their books enough to move to the next level.

Join community organizations, seek out districts and schools that promote diversity in curriculum and activities. Make yourself the jack of all trades and become holistically accepted.

#10 Fastest Growth In the West...East...North...South...

Students who cannot speak English are quickly moving into Middle America and rural communities everywhere. Are we prepared? How many students do you have at your school and what are the plans implemented for the future? This interactive map details each county in America and the percentage of English Language Learners in each. You might be surprised to find that North Dakota has one county with the largest percentage of ELL students in all of America, Rolette County with 82.2%.

My high school played Rolette in football. I remember every one of their teammates had beards or mustaches as freshman and they were built like college football players. Needless to say, we didn't fair well against them in football. I am surprised to find they only have 500 students out of 3000 who speak English as their primary language. I don't say that because I'm shocked that non-English speaking students beat us so badly every year, but because I never noticed it in speaking with them before, during, or after games for three years. My current county has 24% ELL students, and it's hardly an issue except when we have parent/teacher conferences and we need translators. Parents of ELL kids are typically further behind than the kids. If anyone is in Rolette, or knows what language it is 82.2% speak there, I'd be interested to know.

What is your county doing in preparation for ELL students? What is the percentage of students who are ELL in your county? Some in California are starting bilingual schools, ESL classes, teachers who have SDAIE training and SB-395 qualifications. It all means we can teach non-English speaking students anything, even without knowing their primary language. My district doesn't hire teachers who aren't qualified to teach ESL or ELL students. Many districts around the nation do not have the percentage of ELL students as we do in California schools. Will the ELL programs in rural and Middle America be the next failed government program, or will we have a simple and slow take-over of English language in the United States? At the rate of growth since 1996, if it were to continue, we'd be a non-English speaking nation in a matter of 60 years and we'd have an increased achievement gap so large it'd be difficult to close. Surely, NCLB will be obsolete and invalid long before that since schools will simply not be able to meet the requirements set forth.

But seriously, how does Rolette County, North Dakota beat the percentage of Imperial County, California for the most ELL students? Is the math wrong? Did the New York Times report inaccurately?

#9 Seventeen-Year-Old First Grader

As the day breaks, mother would tell him three times to get up and get dressed. It wasn't until the waterfall flowing down from the cup of motivation she held, did it dawn on him she meant business. After getting dressed and eating breakfast, she'd help him get his things together and see him off to school. The school day started with calendar and phonics. It would progress into story telling time and then math using apples and oranges the teacher brought. When it came to reading, he'd let his mind wander and hide any frustrations he had by staying quiet. When is first grade ever going to end?

Could this have been the story of Antonio Rocha's life? I don't know. But if tested by the Mythbusters, I'd say it'd be "plausible." The reason being, he was a 17-year-old young adult who could not read past a 1st grade level. That is until he sued New York City school to pay for tutoring. My guess is that it took the dawn of a new day, one with bleak job opportunities for an illiterate person, to light the fire in this boy and his family.

Have you ever been embarrassed as an educator that the system has let one slip through the cracks? What if you had taught him at some point and found out he couldn't read as a 17-year-old student? I could speak for anyone who taught him and say I'd be a tad embarrassed. But should we really be embarrassed? Why did he move from one New York school to another throughout his education? I know that new students who enter even the best schools do not get fully assessed immediately upon arrival and are assumed to be literate anywhere above 4th grade level, typically. This is especially the case when students, parents, or former schools do not update the new teachers and district of the progress or lack of progress this new student has had over the years. Sometimes those cumulative folders take three weeks to arrive at the student's new school if they ever do at all. By that time, people like Antonio are moving on to another school or district, only to avoid the truth if not anything else.

Fortunately, or maybe not so fortunate, Antonio works for the U.S. Postal Service currently and has the fundamentals of reading. Who's to blame in his lack of education? Well, if the New York City School District actually moved him around from 11 schools on purpose, for whatever reason, I'd say they are to blame. The advocacy group and Antonio's lawyers would agree with that probably. The story isn't told. However, if it was his family who moved him around and he didn't confront his teachers year-after-year about his illiteracy, I'd say the family is to blame. Who's responsibility is it really?

If I hadn't taken initiative and figured out exactly what I supposed to complete or what I was exempt from completing, I'd never have taught. Nobody helped me figure out how to teach in California after having my education in North Dakota and a certificate in Washington as well. When I once considered living in Connecticut, the same held true. I actually had to inform the Connecticut State credential department exactly how the "and/or" statement written into their requirements meant I didn't have to actually complete that 5th year of studies, which would have set me back over $85,000. It took my persistence and three phone calls to clear it up. Why don't more people take initiative and take responsibility for their own actions or inactions? Why did it take Antonio Rocha finally, after having the bleak prospect of unemployment lines or digging ditches, want what was granted to him for free, education? Do you think the school systems should be held liable for peoples' lack of will power, drive, and determination to be successful?

Even with all that considered, the embarrassment would come over me like a wave had I taught this boy at some point. What kind of teacher allows his student to slip through the cracks? Did the teachers Antonio have ever actually require him to perform anything in their classes? How does this sort of thing happen?

#8 Dough Shortfall- Free Lunch Anyone?

Bachelor life lends itself to loving the hot lunch program. I've eaten school lunch with my class everyday for the past 11 years without fail. Families across the nation have been feeding their kids via the school lunch program for years, as well. Some don't pay. Schools all over America are serving free and reduced lunches. The National School Lunch Program was taken another step further in a town only 17 miles away from my current district. In Visalia, CA, instead of serving children of families who haven't qualified for the program and don't pay a cheese sandwich, they give them a full lunch. They do so in order to combat stigmas that may come with not having the money to pay for lunch.

My district has been known to be one of the few programs in the county to make a profit on the lunch program under the direction of our former "Soup Nazi." She was wonderful in more ways than one, but the kids who didn't pay got celery and peanut butter. That's hardly a high class cheese sandwich. It definitely curbed people from sending their children to school unprepared or without money. We have nary a need to consider using a collections department like Visalia does. They even are considering using small-claims court to get back some of the losses. According to this USA Today article, Visalia schools have gone from a $5,000 shortfall from unpaid lunches to $24,000. That's a lot of dough. They'd probably be able to make a lot of bread with it don't you think?

Would you suppose that without that school lunch program, these kids would seriously never have any food to eat? Why is Visalia so worried about everyone fitting in at all costs? Obviously, for some kids starvation isn't far from the truth unfortunately. However, given the fact that it would be reason to have your child taken away from you for child abuse, I highly doubt people are starving their kids to the extent they cannot afford one meal a day. Meals at regular price are a mere $1.50 for a full hot-lunch program. Multiply that by the 180 days of school, and you're looking at $270 for 9 months of lunches. If you take the time to make lunches at home, even less money. I'm certain that the reason why schools lose so much on their lunch programs is because a hungry child pulls on the heartstrings of every person. How are you going to deny a child food? Or worse, how are you going to make it be known they didn't have money to pay for lunches? Isn't that as bad as kids not earning their way onto sports teams legitimately?

In economics, a program will not be able to sustain itself if it doesn't generate a profit as Forbes details in this story. How far should we be taking the funding of schools and feeding the nation? Is the system getting taken advantage of in Visalia?

#7 T.M.I.- Information Overload

The human brain is said to be capable of holding more than 200 gigabytes of information. Have you ever felt like it's too much? File cabinets overflowing, shelves and closets spilling out once opened, and computers, media, and internet invading our lives and minds are endless. How about cars in the driveway because the pack rat has won and the garage is full? Can you keep all the information straight that you learned as recently as a week ago? How about yesterday's meal, can you remember what it was? If you're like me, you've found your limit on more than one occasion. After years of always wanting the next best thing, or know more information than the average person, I've come to realize there is such a thing as T.M.I. or even too many things. Am I suffering from academic overload? Are my students falling prey to T.M.I. as well?

First of all, let me say I appreciate educational resources and having such a "problem" as we have at my current school district. We have video boards running announcements all day. Our school subscribes to things like Edline.net, Edusoft.com, Unitedstreaming.com, Accelerated Reader and Math. Soon, we'll have distance learning with N.A.S.A. and any other programs available for two way distance learning. We have to manage more information than I've ever dealt with as a human being. If you understand California schools, even affluent districts might legitimately complain about having few resources. The first year of teaching taught me how to evaluate my needs and learn how to conserve. We actually did not have math text books and literally didn't have desks for every student in our classrooms. Teachers were allotted 9,000 copies per year at that school, while others were given 3,000. Ditto machines were the norm and we could make as many copies with that beast as our little hearts desired. Resources at the "best school" in the district were vastly limited at HESD.

That first year experience really fed the pack rat in me. Teaching twelve years of various subject matter, I've been known to keep things I may only use once. As a teacher, do you repeat lessons often? The lessons I teach are similar, but rarely are they identical. Whether you're still working for the same district, school, or boss, you might find yourself changing grade levels and subject matter every few years. Since the beginning of my career, I've taught 4th, 5th, and 6th grades. Throw 7th and 8th in the past few years, and I've taught every subject imaginable and even have an Early Childhood Education background. When did I decide that too much information was too much? This past year is when I let it all go. I figured out a few years ago that the belongings I stored in a storage unit for $80/month was not worth much more than $400 in total. Should we do the same with educational resources? Do computers and internet breed mutant pack rats within us all? Have I posed so many questions, your head is swimming?

If you feel like you're swimming in too much information, you're not alone. With the internet holding endless tidbits, useful and not, we can be overwhelmed. After collecting information for years, I personally hold more than 2,000 gigabytes of information on various hard drives. Granted, I have also been involved with video and music editing, I do have more than 50 gigabytes of information related to school. My tech department loathes my academic overload. I might be one of few. Looking on our network, I see that other teachers may have a mere 600 MB! That means I have more than 50 times the documents, files and pictures than some colleagues.

Does lack of information limit our ability to learn? Do you suppose too much information limits our ability to learn?

#6 The "New Old School"- AIM High...Brute force?

Punishment for chewing gum, Saturday school for missing regular days, students must complete all homework and classwork given by teacher, no cell phones... are these descriptors of an old school from the 50's? Or is this a new school of the 21st century? In California, it's what I would call the "New Old School." Where is this school you might ask? It's in Oakland, CA, one of the toughest school districts in the nation. Sure, it's not East L.A., but it's not a walk in the park either.

The name of the school is AIM High, American Indian Model. The setting is a school in the heart of Oakland, CA. The demographics, 95% Free and Reduced Lunch, 99% minorities, and 85% speak English as a second language. The story includes schools preparing for elimination. Instead of being bulldozed, AIM improved their API scores from 436 to 967 in eight years. It's a story that should be destined for Hollywood. Will it? Blackboard Jungle, Freedom Writers, and Lean On Me are all great movies. Will Crazy Like a Fox- One Principal's Triumph in the Inner City by Dr. Chavis and Carey Blakely make it to a theatre near you?

What's so "crazy" about students, parents, teachers, and administration actually holding each other accountable for progress? If you've just stepped out the the time machine and you're in the 50's, nothing. If you're in an environment rich in gangs, or affirmative action, everything. I haven't gotten an opportunity to read the book, but after viewing this school's website, I've found that their common sense, mission, and model are all positive developments and the direct reason for such dramatic success and the salvation of their school for future generations.

My school district, the new school, has 30% Free and Reduced Lunch, 61% white, and 12% students who speak English as a second language. Our API score dropped below 800 this past year and we're considering program improvement within the next two years if we cannot increase our district scores 25%, which is nearly impossible according to our latest administration. What do you suppose our last four administrations in the past ten years have in common? Homework policies, discipline issues, and educational focus are all elements they have had in common- namely, less and less homework, fewer and fewer detentions, lenient referrals and discipline, and elimination of the importance of music, art, P.E., social studies, and science.

At the AIM schools, the new old school, students have consequences for poor choices. They may have detention, Saturday School, embarrassment, cleaning, etc. I know, the "embarrassment" probably caught your eye the most. Why? Because it works, or because it works? Will they do it again? I would guess not. If a 6th grade student acts up, he is sent to a 7th or 8th grade classroom and told to sit on the floor. They also are given a minimum of 2 hours of homework a night. The teachers must include 90 minutes of both math and language arts homework. Part of their "Ten Commandments" includes "...'affirmative action' for minorities is the most blatant form of racism in the United States... be aware that affirmative action and diversity specialists have made a professional career based on people's color and sex. These individuals are committed to human inequality to ensure they are employed." They also include all subject matter and excel in P.E.

Why do you think more schools aren't being successful like AIM schools? I submit, it is as simple as the difference between the "New Old School" and the new age idealists and doctrines of today's educational system and politics. In what district would you rather work? Your current district, AIM, or another model district? Can America's schools follow The American Indian Model of Education, or are we slated to be overrun and taken over?

I would love to be a part of such a great program, no matter how controversial it may be. Who is the source of controversy anyway? Is it Dr. Chavis and his AIM schools, or the crazy people who don't agree with their reason for success?

#5 Indoctrination or Education?

"Change the world in five minutes - every day at school"? That's a noble idea. I agree, we can all do our part to help the world. Would those minutes best be spent speaking to kids and families our own opinions of what helps the world, or giving them tools to understand for themselves what may help?

As educators, the last thing we want to be found guilty of is indoctrination. At least if you were to ask me, that's how I feel as an educator. Obviously, I have my own opinion on many issues. Some issues are more difficult than others to actually hide from impressionable kids than others. Ultimately, I want them to be responsible for making their own decisions and reaping the benefits or consequences of those choices. Ultimately, a student has been given the tools to think, create, and share their own experiences in life. Ultimately, it's a positive and successful outcome from which they can have a library of life events to draw from in future decisions.

My questions are these: Would we provide students a disservice by pushing fringe ideas and obvious opinion based information? Should we scrap informational ideas such as global warming, origins of life, or other theories forgotten to be theories and turned into fact? When does our system, so influenced by fringe media, become realistically truthful based upon factual evidence? Who's to say evidence points toward fact if it can be interpreted differently and brought forth in a believable fashion? Orson Welles, a genius when he broadcast War of the Worlds? What about Shane Fitzgerald potentially changing history with his false Wikipedia information? Do publishers, media, and journalism have a moral code to follow as teachers must follow?

Most of what we learn in textbooks, we take for granted and fact, not fiction. Once it's been published, it takes a team of research, evidence, and political lobbying to remove it from what has been determined by default as fact. I wonder who is responsible as an educational body to disseminate such information to the students. Any age student can be influenced and thereby corrupted by false information, especially if it's repeated information and they aren't given the opportunity to think beyond the punctuation. Even though a person can bang their heads against a concrete wall numerous times, over and over again, it doesn't make the wall softer, but our minds will be transformed. Eventually, that person's ability to be sensitive to the wall will diminish to the point of being completely numb to the wall. I honestly believe our education system has been banging it's head against the concrete walls of political agendas, personal agendas, and financial agendas for years. Our society and our youth are becoming numb to the effects of false information and simply find published material to be fact. Even information created by some dummy with a dot com is considered fact to the average 6th, 7th, and 8th grade student. Ask them what a trusted source really is and they would probably refer to a textbook, if not their friends' blog or dot com. Most will consider Google to be a source, even though it's nothing more than a tool to find sources. Worse than that, they will compile a report researched solely from Wikipedia.

What is the line between indoctrination and education in the classroom today? Who is responsible to police against indoctrination and how do they go about doing so? I know it happens, and even more often in a college classroom than any other place, but what about student rights and choices? In my opinion, student's rights are violated daily in reading information that even the very best educated consider fact, yet haven't had time to personally research themselves. Who has time to check if the media has provided truth or fiction, indoctrination or education?

#4 Triacontakaiheptad...That Which Is My Class

We've all seen them. They are the fear of every parent, student, and teacher. Like a New Yorker walking down the street, you could go unnoticed in them. If you've been to the front of a mosh-pit during a Green Day concert, you may know how we could feel. Claustrophobia is not only limited to elevators any longer. Classrooms are the location. Numbers are the debate. Not 2 + 2, but triacontakaiheptad, that which is my class size, is not an unusual thing in California for grades above 3rd. When dealing with class sizes number greater than 28, teachers, students, and parents all feel like we're in the situations I mentioned, not environments suitable for learning.

The CSR, or class size reduction, in California has been the debate for years. Our classrooms are overflowing with students. Students who have fewer resources than ever. Classrooms that have more behavioral issues than ever are becoming more prominent. What are we doing in the face of is issue? For my district, we are firing staff and increasing the class size. We hire more instructional aides and increase the class size. What justification do we have for losing teachers and other support staff in exchange for higher class sizes? Budget crunch all over the nation, but more profoundly in California. Do you think the administration cares? If they did, they would not permit class sizes to increase toward an environment of mere crowd control would they? The lure of money per child is often too great for them to deny admission to even inter-district transfers.

Many people in the state of California have become teachers since 1996. The demand increased and the standards for making the cut decreased. With the 2-year technical degrees, or Walmart employees finding a One-Year-Non-Renewable Teaching Certificate came the influx of people who think they can teach. Why wouldn't they want to? California teachers' salaries ranked the highest in the nation. Here, you can find a district, work 187 days a year, and get paid more than someone who holds three jobs and has no health care benefits. Here in California, you can enjoy descent weather year round and have every leisure entertainment known to man at your fingertips. Do you have to really like kids or consider what's best for them to teach here? Can you have 8 more children after already having 6, without a husband or even a boyfriend? Here in California you can.

Do you suppose that morals and values people possess have anything to do with not responding to overcrowded classrooms? When you have become just a statistic and you're teacher can hardly remember who your parents are when they come to that once-a-year parent/teacher conference, if they are the rare parent to attend, do you just grow up not caring? I think they do. Growing up in a class of less than 10 in a public school that had more resources than 10 schools here in California tells me that there is something wrong with the local politics and management. Why did they let it balloon out of control in the early 90's? California seems to be doing a game of catch-up and have forgotten about everything else. Money talks, and the students are all about those dollars. Even so, those dollars aren't going toward school improvement.

It's been said numerous times at our district. I personally agree, even though I have no kids of my own. I would not allow my child to attend a school where the teachers, students, and parents are nothing more than a number. We've become warm bodies to fill the pockets of administrators who make the decisions to make twice as much money, if not three times as much as the educators who deal with mess they create. I work at a small country school outside of a town that is 65,000 large. If my little country district is making people feel this way, how are the city folk feeling with more than 40 students per classroom? I know they don't even have enough text books, desks, permanent classrooms, and even allocate low numbers of copies per teacher. Being at one of the most affluent districts in the county, we have great technology resources and tend to have the highest test scores around. Will that stick after the latest administration decided to increase class sizes beyond any in the history of our district?

Teachers, parents, and students all over California would agree, class sizes do need to stay reduced. Is the rest of the country dealing with numbers like California? Have you had triacontakaiheptad or more in your classroom?

Material World... Material Girl

Gender bias materials may not be something you've ever considered in the classroom. Why is that? Here, you can find an article about the topic. I think the difference in gender is definitely a clear issue. What person wants a difference in treatment for people who are different? When it comes to education, there should be non. I find it ironic, however, that our education system has overwhelmingly included female teachers since the beginning of time, yet there is debate on such an issue. The writer of this article says, "Gender bias in education is an insidious problem that causes very few people to stand up and take notice. The victims of this bias have been trained through years of schooling to be silent and passive, and are therefore unwilling to stand up and make noise about the unfair treatment they are receiving." If that is the case, why do we see an large group of boys not finding success in the public school system? How could an overwhelming majority of female teachers allow such a thing to take place in so many classrooms in America generation after generation?

The reason why this hasn't been an issue is because it's not enough of an issue to really invest valuable time. So we have a few extra sentences awarded to men and hunting as opposed to traditional women's activities? It's history. Seriously, it's history. If we want to rewrite history books, that would be great. Every minority group and political group will want a hand in rewriting books that many do not even subscribe to already. Isn't it just a waste of time?

What about moving forward and being clear to change history books when there is evidence and proof to do so with facts. Shouldn't education leaders move forward and ensure that all literature is written fair and balanced with no bias information? Can we realize that part of world history and even current events include injustices? Women have made great strides in America to be in the positions they are today. I applaud that. Women today are writing their history books for the future. I would be surprised to find any literature currently in print today that wouldn't include equal if not more female representation. I hope that our books we use could use unbiased information in many areas not only gender.

I agree that there needs to be unbiased materials available to students. My question is, at what expense do we include information? Does that mean we have to erase and decide what history or discovery is not valued enough to go to print as opposed to a woman's historical discovery? Will our textbooks just include the information and expand upon themselves, or delete? My thought is that they will save cost and delete. One bias they tend to have no problem saving ink about is the "theory" of evolution. It's printed as a fact more often than not. I don't have a problem with facts, but I do have a problem with a small group deciding what will be included in textbooks.

Generation Y- Stupid is... technology does.

"Stupid is as stupid does." Our nation's education level is definitely dropping and one variable that contributes to that is the use of our social networking applications. Generation Y is a group of people considered under the age of 30. In Erin Thompson's article, she gives us a reason to worry. The "stupid" I refer to are the people who cannot carry on a functional conversation, let alone write a paper that is comprehendible. When considering unregulated and unmonitored learning, we have the text messaging and the social networking sites. Young adults and teens have found they can speak to each other in their own language and sms messages. I've been on board with these technologies, but one reason why you'll hear me repeat your idea is if you were to send me a text message without taking the time to form a complete sentence or thought. You'll especially hear from me if you write to me in an unintelligible manor on my Facebook site.

These locations also seem to lend themselves to narcissism. If you're a developing student and you have a website and a cell phone that makes you the center of attention all the time, how healthy is that for your developmental years as a young adult? When did you get your first cell phone? For me, a Generation X person, I did not purchase my first cell phone until I was 25-years-old. A colleague of mine just got his first cell phone last week. He is in his 50's, I should mention. Our kids these days are given full use and function of cell phones and computers before they are even 10-years-old today. Their parents, who are Generation X'ers, typically are the ones texting them while they're in class as was the case with our own school staff and her child!

With all the influences in the world today, it's ever more important to have parents command their households and monitor their children. Teenagers think they are adult enough to make choices for themselves, but we begin to fail them when they've actually convinced us they are mature enough to do so. Obviously, some people mature at different rates. I do know 12-year-olds that can think outside of themselves and conduct an adult conversation and/or write thoughts well. On the same hand, I know 26-year-old babies who couldn't conduct themselves in an adult manner in regards to conversations or actions.

We are all individual learners, but I hope that stupid is as stupid does is not the ongoing phrase I think of when I think of Generation Y.

Thompson, Erin (June 3, 2009) 'Dumbest Generation'? Professor blames technology. USA Today. Retrieved September 5, 2009 from http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2009-06-03-dumbest-generation_N.htm

New Year- School's Back In Session

Do we have any new year resolutions? If it were up to me, I'd say California's resolutions should include not only education reform, but reformation of the expenditures and cutbacks. It boggles my mind that we are to continue providing great services to our students and families and be held accountable while we continue the billions of dollars in cuts. Our focus seems to be getting lost in many government programs.

Jack O'Connell, California's State Superintendent of Public Instruction, would most likely stand up for what we all believe. Education is a crucial aspect of all life within a society. I agree with him completely when it comes to his statement made, "We protect our collective economic viability by educating student to their full potential and preparing them to compete in the global economy." Our current population of students has their work cut out for them if they are to be competitive in society today. If we continually downgrade our educational resources and not find creative ways to fund programs, we will surely fail to keep the next generation on the playing field.

As an educator and a citizen of California, my hope is that we can keep class sizes down and test scores high. This will come naturally if we use some good old fashioned common sense. This is something I've noticed people on the West Coast do not naturally earn. Growing up in North Dakota has afforded me the opportunity to see many perspectives and advantages of rural life that many kids in California don't experience. Public school systems in the Midwest tend to be on average much smaller than anything I've experienced in California. In the article written by Greg Toppo of USA Today, you can pick up what I'm laying down. My first year of teaching in Hanford allowed me to see a class list of 45 students with 39 showing up for the first 2 months of school. After they did the class shifts the district does each year, I still was left with 36 fourth graders. Turn back time, when I was attending Lansford Elementary School in fourth grade, I had 9 classmates. This was a large class for me when I was in fourth grade as most were around 6 students, but considering I was now teaching 6 times as many students, I was a bit overwhelmed in my first year! They didn't even have math texts or English, spelling and grammar books! But that's a whole other blog I'll save.

When I consider our test scores, I see the results continually seem to resemble that of a teacher forced to teach more crowd management skills than reading skills. When you have little physical space to walk around your classroom, or even a table from which to work in small groups, you tend to understand the test scores. Public schools in rural Middle America have class-size reduction simply because of population and proper tax distribution of monies.

What has California's solution been for these issues? Cut jobs for everyone. Increase class sizes everywhere.

California Department of Education News Release, May 29, 2009

http://www.cde.ca.gov/nr/ne/yr09/yr09rel83.asp

Greg Toppo's article in USA Today

http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2008-03-24-small-classes_N.htm