Author: Sweat to Inspire

Educator and Parent

The Educational Disconnect?

Posted on by Sweat to Inspire

Over the past few weeks I have been thinking about educational training and a perceived disconnect in education between pre-service teacher education programs and teachers on the job working in school districts.

It all started when I was attending #COLChat2Action conference, when I saw a tweet asking why College of Education professors were not in attendance getting the same “training” service teachers were recieving. After thinking for a few minutes, rarely have I run into college professor in the same training sessions as in-service teachers. I know Troy Hicks and David Coffey are two incredible professors who I have run into many times at teacher training sessions as presenters and attendees. Are they the exception to the rule?

A bit latter I was sitting by Lisa Madden, a curriculum consultant for the Genesee County Intermediate School District, who felt there was a general disconnect between schools of education and school districts. Obviously some professors work hand in hand with districts but overall entire colleges of education don’t. Lisa reflected that intermediate school districts often feel like remediation programs for schools of education, retraining teachers who learned and practiced “bad” habits.

This week I read Tom Whitby’s post: “The Two Worlds of Education“, which made me think more about this issue. Maybe there are “Three worlds of education”:  connected educators, unconnected educators and those in educational programs. As I reflect on my own educational experience, I feel that many of the practical day to day aspects of teaching were not addressed in my school of education program. I feel my program did the best they could but now I see a better path. Even if this is just a perceived disconnect, it needs to be cleared up.

Shouldn’t all of these educational worlds line up? Why aren’t university schools of education embedded into school districts? Pre-service teachers need to see the ins and outs of teaching. College professors need to stay “fresh” by being in the classroom regularly. Intermediate school districts could pool their resources with schools of education to provide the best “training”. All educators need to be on the same page since we all have the same goal:

EDUCATING STUDENTS!

#MSchat and @AMLE Twitter event 8-14-14 8 pm ET

Posted on by Sweat to Inspire

#MSchat and AMLE are partnering up to bring another splendid Flipped Twitter event to the Twitter-verse, and I would love to have you all to join the conversation.  Much appreciation to Dru Tomlin from AMLE for providing great material for us to chat about and moderating the chat!

 

Here are the details:

  • What is it? Twitter Event at #mschat about Motivating Students in the Middle Level! 
  • What else?  Our conversation will be motivated by the “Motivating Students with Teachable Moments” article in the August edition of AMLE Magazine: http://www.amle.org/Portals/0/pdf/amle_magazine/fi/AMLEMag_Aug2014.pdf. In fact, as you can see, the entire AMLE magazine is available for AMLE Associate (FREE!) members. 
  • When?  Thursday, August 14th from 8-9pmET
  • Where? #mschat

Hold it right there David C. Banks!

Posted on by Sweat to Inspire

This morning a friend sends me a link to David C. Bank’s post in the Daily Beast entitled:”Why Middle Schools Should Be Abolished“. I was shocked an educator would write such a thing about any school level, let alone middle school which I hold dear to my heart. As I read the post, David does point out some challenges/needs for educators in the middle level but is focused on throwing out middle schools and combining them with High schools or elementary schools. He missed the opportunity to focus on the students needs and write about the need focus in the middle school level!

Here are a quote from the article really stuck out:

“One challenge is the ill-prepared teacher” – This is very true. Most states don’t have middle school certification programs. Teachers with elementary and high school certifications can all teach in middle school programs. States need to create a third level of certification so teachers are trained to teach this level. This does not mean the students should be lumped in the higher or lower level. I received a master degree in Middle Level Education Programming. All teachers in the middle level need to read “This We Believe” the position paper by the Association for Middle Level Education.

 

Later in the article David said “A teacher’s ability to relate to his or her students is not icing on the cake of serious academics—I believe it is the whole cake.” I totally agree, middle school is about relationships. (Well all school should be) Where is this not happening? I want to go help these schools become better rather than cut them out of the educational process.

I feel David is pointing out a larger problem that exists in our country today. Many Middle Schools are Middle School by name only. The function more like Junior High Schools. YES, there is a difference. If you read This We Believe, it is clearly spelled out. Middle Schools focus on team teaching. Making sure ALL students educational needs are met. Spending time with curriculum in all areas of learning: Physical, Emotional, Intellectual and Social. Dues to educational budget cuts around the country Middle School programs have been cut drastically.

Our society tends to focus on early intervention and college readiness. School districts feel judged by these programs so have spend the few dollars they have beefing up these programs. In my school district for example we have employed 11 staff members to help out with reading recovery and early reading intervention programs. These staff help the K-3 programs be successful. Our high school also has hired extra staff to help counsel students and prepare them for college success. This leaves funding short to middle level programming which David points out needs improvements.

I feel it is malpractice to propose abolishing an entire level based solely on achievement gaps and personal experience. David have you actually taught in a middle school? Have you read This We Believe? Please do if you haven’t. Don’t throw out the middle level for the reasons you state. It is an important time for our students. Insist that staff is trained properly. Middle Schools that are TRUE middle schools are Highly successful. Just look at the schools to watch list here in Michigan to see some great middle schools at work.

David I charge you to reexamine you post and see the need to make sure all middle schools are TRUE MIDDLE SCHOOLS. We shouldn’t abolish anything.  Hopefully other Middle School bloggers will also take their time to respond to your post and change your mind!

 

Student data and teaching ….

Posted on by Sweat to Inspire

You hear it all the time, in all the media “Student data shows need for better teaching.” It is the mantra of many educational reformers today. I have struggled with this argument for years. When I talk to friends outside of the education field they buy into this argument. If students don’t perform well on a test then it is “the teachers fault”. Seems logical from a business perspective. When a business makes a product, they desire them all to come off the assembly line the same. If a sales man isn’t making sales or a company isn’t selling its product, then the person or company is at “fault”.

 

Problem is education is not a business. Students are not products but individual people with a variety of individual needs. Does our society want all of our students exiting schools to be the same? It seems that way right now with the testing culture that exists in our schools today. Maybe we need to take a step back and look at schools in a different light.

Instead of: 

Student data is to teaching as product sales are to company’s success

The analogy should be 

Student data is to teaching as crops growth are to farmers.

 Farmers grow crops similarly to how teachers help grow youths minds. Farmers look at the climate of the region pick best methods and choose crops. Similarly teachers see the environment students come from and pick lessons accordingly. The best farmer can loose a crop when unexpected events occur. Droughts, insect infestations, and floods are all possible outside influences that can cause a crop to be lost. The best teachers can not show students growth gains when outside events effect their classrooms. Deaths, loss of jobs and other social ills can effect student performance despite the quality of teaching. Farmers can help adjust environmental factors that affect their crops by watering dry fields, applying pesticides and building dykes. Schools systems try to adjust the environments for their students with counseling options but it is often hard to control these factors. 

Even this analogy has a weakness, farmers get to pick their crops for the environment. Teachers have no choice. They have to teach every student that walks into their classroom. Teachers give their “A ” game everyday to create an atmosphere for success and culture of learning.  

Society needs to be careful when using “learning” data to measure the teaching that is going on in the classrooms.  Incredible teachers are leaving the classrooms due the recent trend in using this data poorly. It is time for it to change. 

Summer is for adventure learning!

Posted on by Sweat to Inspire

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Exploring a sandbar

It is summer, how are you and your family learning together? What your kids aren’t in school? You are just enjoying vacation! Well summer is full of all types of learning activities often MORE, yes more valuable than school. Summer offers all of us unlimited self-paced learning opportunities. It is the best time of the year to show your children that you are a learner, and that learning in its purest form is FUN!!  Summer also gives us the opportunity to learn together and show that no matter what your age is you can learn something new.

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Fireworks for the 4th

Since school was finished for us June 17th, our family has had numerous learning experiences. Some of them are simple, my 10 year old son is learning simple lawn mowing, chores and responsibility. My twin 5 year olds are learning to clear the table and be responsible members of our house hold. Since not every family has parents with as much unscheduled time as a teacher, make sure to take advantage of family vacation time to learn. We enjoyed our 4th of July in fabulous Boyne City. The 4th Parade allow them to ask questions about veterans and the political process. The fireworks created an entire discussion about safety and explosives. Spending days on a lake leads to numerous learning opportunities ranging from nature lessons about the ecosystem to boaters safety lessons. All my kids have learned so many boating skills their are too many to count. Gavin pictured on the sandbar above has become a fish and is upset when the weather is not favorable to swimming. Another favorite learning activity is tubing behind the boat. An understanding of physics is emerging in their developing minds. After a ride they want to know why they go faster coming out of a turn. When a wipe out occurs friction is discussed.

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Walking the pier in Petoskey.

As parents we need to take advantage of every opportunity to learn with our children. We can show them the world. Yesterday when the weather was too cold for lessons on the lake, we moved the classroom to Petoskey’s waterfront pier and the Little Traverse Historical Museum. We learned together about the history of northern Michigan. Afterwards walking the docks of the marina to see all the different types of boats Enjoy your summer by getting out and learning with you children. Don’t leave them to find their own entertainment all the time.  Learning is an adventure that schools can’t contain. Learning happens every minute of every day so make the most of every opportunity!

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Tubing on the lake, lesson in physics

Take a moment look around and see what you can learn everyday. School do not hold the key to learn. Learning happens everywhere, everyday. Schools only provide a structure that formalizes learning. Life is a learning experince that never ends!

 

 

 

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Petoskey Museum visit

#michED – more than just a twitter chat

Posted on by Sweat to Inspire

“So, I don’t do twitter, I can’t be part of #michED.” This is a statement I recently heard from a teacher when asking me about my T -shirt. Huge misconception. Yes, #michED has a twitter chat, Wednesdays from 8-9 pm, but it is SO much more. The twitter chat is just the gateway to connections that #michED community brings. The community is about connecting educators from all over Michigan to share the positives in education. The community includes anyone who wants to help promote great teaching and learning in OUR public schools.

The #michED community began at EdcampGR 2012 out of a discussion on how to connect state educators. Out of one discussion a twitter chat was born to connect educators and share ideas. As the active participants grew, the #michED podcasts were born. The podcasts highlight creative instructional practices found through out the state. Brad Wilson has done an incredible job capturing teaching practices in the state. Over the past year #michED has grown by fostering an environment of POSITIVE EDUCATION. Members of the community have presented at state and national conferences. Teachers meet in person to discuss our practice. Teachers collaborate online to make incredible learning opportunities for their students. In May, #michED issued a challenge (3 actually) to all educators in the state:

Hundreds of educators participated. If you are an educator and want to focus on the positive things in education, the #michED community is for you. Michigan Teacher of the year Gary Abud JR. recently wrote about the community in the Detroit News. Twitter is just a tool many of us use to connect over the many miles of this state. If you want to learn how to use twitter to connect to the community here is a great starting point. If twitter isn’t for you it does not mean you can’t be apart of #michED. The community includes all educators from pre-K to college. Join us at Edcamps, conferences, on other social media platforms. Be apart of the positive change we can make in education in the state of Michigan and beyond!! Look for ways to connect with other like minded educators.

I, like all educators in the #michED community, look forward to making the connection with you! Whether it is face to face or via social media. Lets make a better education environment for teachers and students alike, by focusing on the positive change we can make!