Category: Community Based

Community Based Activities

Dear MTV: Stop making my job so hard!!

Posted on by Sweat to Inspire

Dear MTV-

I used to like watching your channel, back in the day when the “M” stood for Music. It was entertaining to watch the musicians add visual images to their sounds. It was educational to watch MTV news and hear about the music industry ins and outs. Now, I am left wondering what the “M” means. It certainly isn’t music.

I am now no longer a casual viewer, since I can’t hear the latest music. Your airwaves are filled with uneducated reality shows. Don’t get me wrong, there are some reality shows with educational and entertainment merit. But MTV your shows make my job harder everyday.

I am a middle school teacher. You cater to my students’ demographic (a word they don’t know yet).  Jersey Shore, Teen Mom and other “reality shows” give my students the wrong idea of what it means to be successful in life. Jersey Shore depicts young adults partying and living a life of no worries. Student feel they can follow in their footsteps and not have to worry about becoming educated. Teen Mom glorifies teenage pregnancy. Student think it is okay to have sex, get pregnant, have their parents take care of the hard stuff and still be “kids”.

Why are you choosing to model all the WRONG behavior in our country? Their are so many good stories that could focus on the value of education. TV networks today seem to take entertainment too far. Teachers like me are fighting all the negative influences on our youth. If you haven’t noticed we are loosing the battle according to international testing numbers.

Students spend almost as much time in front of a TV as their teachers. We need your help. Producers, like yours need to find ways to project a positive image of educations and moral values. MTV used to have a variety of shows that helped shape the moral fiber of youth. Now the channel seems filled with shows that display bullying, poor choices and highlight characters lack of education. It appears MTV has chosen to highlight “How to succeed despite your efforts and education.” Seems like a simple formula, become outrageously stupid (Like the JACK ASS boys) and you will be extremely rich because MTV will pay you.

If we, the United States community are going to turn the ship around, we need our media outlets to change. MTV along with other media outlets need to focus on positives. How to work hard, educate yourself despite your situation, and show respect. This will be the only way teachers, like me have a chance in succeeding.

All I want for Christmas

Posted on by Sweat to Inspire

This past week has been a whirlwind on my emotionally, sparking my brain to fill with thoughts about the world today.

Last weekend, I received word from the Michigan Education Association (Teacher’s Union) that the Michigan legislature was going to take action on Right to Work bills before them on Tuesday 12-11-12. As a local union leader this was upsetting that such a divisive issue would be voted on quickly, without public debate, during a “lame-duck” session. I made plans to head to Lansing to voice my concerns, also contacted my legislators to share my feelings. Feelings of anger and resentment filled my brain on Monday.

Tuesday came and I awoke early. Abandoning my students for the day to head to Lansing in protest. I arrived early in the morning and sat in the gallery of the Michigan Senate as thousands filled the lawn.  I listened to chants, protest cries and eloquent speakers voice opposition to the bills. Concerns and objections fell upon deaf ears, as bills passed mostly along party lines to an instant signature of the Governor, who previously state he did not want to see a “right to work bill” on his desk.

Disheartened by the lack of a democratic process, on Wednesday I returned to my classroom. Students arrived early stating they “missed” my presence (having missed 3 days in two weeks). The teacher from across surprised me with a large Starbucks cup filled with a sweet tasting latte. She stated “for all your efforts on our behalf.” For the first time I felt valued as a union leader. My students appreciated my return as well. Asking why I had to miss school and begging me not to miss again. My heavy heart was lifted, good will exists in the world. Coming home that night I noticed a friend on Facebook, paying it forward with her children by handing out lotto tickets to strangers in the parking lotto of the local supermarket.

Thursday I was greeted with another gift from a co-worker, this time lunch. Wow! what had I done for two days of gifts? Pride of working with a caring staff overwhelmed me. It was catching on with our students too. Walking around the building I noticed the boxes for our holiday food drive were filling up. By this point in the week, many staff members had come up to me to voice appreciation for my efforts and the value of the MEA.

Friday arrived and I was in good spirits again. Anticipation of our holiday staff party and the weekend break were dominating my mindset. A causal check of Facebook between classes on my cell phone changed everything. A childhood friend, who lied in Newtown, CT and attended Sandy Hook Elementary posted a comment about a helicopter flying over. I had no idea what it meant. Returning to class, my curiosity was sparked. What was going on. At the end of my fourth hour. I checked the web to investigate further.

The horror that occurred left me (and probably everyone else) shocked. Asking Why? Our staff party all of a sudden wasn’t so festive. Leaving many asking questions that could not and will not be answered. I was uplifted again by the generosity of yet another co-workers gift of beer presented to me at the party. Even in light of the days events she thought of me.

Saturday arrived with busy family activities. Basketball camp for Griffin my 8-year-old son and then a scout trip to Cranbrook Science Center in the afternoon. It wasn’t till evening that I slowed down to think about all that had transpired the day before. I turned on the news to find out more details. Seemed like plenty of white noise, talking about the shooter, his family and speculation on how he obtained the guns. Checking twitter with my phone, I saw a line about not making the shooter an anti-hero and for society to focus on the victims. I liked this and was ready to turn off the news coverage.

But I am so glad I didn’t. The next person I saw on the coverage was Robbie Parker, the father of 6-year-old victim Emilie Parker. I could never imagine the grief he was and still is dealing with. I would have been okay for him to stand their and voice his anger. He did not. He voiced his condolences to all involved in the tragedy including the shooter’s family. Robbie Parker is the shining example of how to look horror in the eye. He loved his daughter Emilie this is so clear. He doesn’t want her death to taint her wonderful life. Robbie Parker is one of the true Heroes in all of this. Modeling how to face tragedy.

After hearing him speak. All I want for Christmas is good will towards all. In this day an age of wanting material goods, the latest and greatest items. We need to return to the Christmas spirit of helping others and the giving of ourselves. Avoid the advertisements that make us desire more “stuff”. Focus on how we can make someone else have a better day.

The saying goes what comes around goes around. Pay it forward so we change our culture, in turn this type of violent acts will cease to exist.

Teachers need to be accountable, but to whom?

Posted on by Sweat to Inspire

On Thursday night, after working all day and attending a union round table discussion about education, I met up with an old college friend at the bar to catch up. He is a vice-president of a small financial services company, lives in an affluent community, and enjoys the finer things in life. After getting past the normal pleasantries and catching up with news about each others families, he asked me Why I was on his “side” off town. As I attempted to explain about the “education reform” movement in the state of Michigan and how it is affecting teachers, he asked “Shouldn’t it be about what parents and students want?”

This question rings true: Shouldn’t education reform be about what the community wants? Not what legislators desire. I agreed with him, since I have never had a parent complain about my instruction and the district where I work typically has strong parental support for what the schools are doing. Parents are always thanking the teachers for the job that they are doing working with their children. “I won’t want you job!’ and “You are a saint!” are comments often overheard at conference time.

“So why are we reforming schools?” Was the question he asked. I answer that it seems to be about accountability and money. Being from a sales background he agrees with these motives. Teachers should be accountable for sure but to what? Now teachers are accountable to their district, community and ultimately to their students. Reformers desire teachers to be accountable to a standardized test. Which is right?

From a business perspective the test is easier to measure and attach funding. Tests are part of a business model. Test producers also sell books, software and “canned programs” to schools. They can make it advantageous to schools to buy their products or use their online programs. In turn these companies can make millions off of educating our youth. Do these results show we have made a true difference using their measures? That can be debated. Many would argue the same or similar results would prevail if we stuck with what we have now.

Teachers should be accountable to their students. Students’ individual needs have to be addressed and accounted for on a daily basis. NO standardized test can measure all the “teaching” that goes on in the classroom. Communities and locally elected school boards have to monitor and decide if schools and teachers are doing what is necessary. Each community will be different, just like each child is different in the classroom. Society cannot us predetermined benchmarked norms to decided if a school is effective. That would be similar to measuring a parents effectiveness based on how the child meets development standards.

Society needs to stand up to the corporate take over of our education system. School boards are elected for a reason: to hire leaders that will create schools that meets the communities needs. We cannot let a publishing company mandate what every school district needs. It is funny that GOP leaders don’t want this to happen in health care (Obamacare) but support it with education!

Where have you gone Heathcliff Huxtable?

Posted on by Sweat to Inspire

As I scan the sit-com options for today’s youth, a show with positive educational role models is lacking. Think back through my TV viewing life, the last “popular” show that really showed positive educational values has “The Cosby Show”. The show featured two educated parents struggling to raise their 5 children. Many of the episodes focused on family values and education. Sadly, “The Cosby Show” has been in re-runs since the spring of 1992. Where are our youth to find positive role models in today’s media?

For starters, many have pointed out that today, many kids don’t watch traditional “network” television. If they do, shows like Two and Half-Men, Big-Bang Theory and Modern Family dominate the sit-com genre. Values and education are a bit lacking in all of them. Dramas seem to be more about crime and punishment these days that education. Even the reality shows are devoid of values in fact the often offer quick fixes to life’s problems than promoting a hard-working lifestyle.

Many boys today look to sports for role models. 20 years ago players seemed to be loyal to teams and worked hard to succeed. Now we have superstars who want to team up so they can get an easy run to the finals instead of being loyal to their fans. Or we have a league commissioner who feels that teams need to put on a great show instead of valuing the health of their players. Sports seem to focus on the money that players and owners make instead of how to be good citizens. Sure, our athletes do have foundations and do work to improve society but it is not the focus of sports coverage.

Today’s youths seem to consume most of their media on-demand. You-tube is very popular as well as Netflix. Who is guiding them to shows that will have positive impact? No one, most children watch TV by themselves and seek entertainment that excites them. Educationally valuable shows and clips are all over You-tube and Netflix but so are clips and show that model poor behavior. The bad seems to have more draw to our youth when they are left to their own choices and not exposed to educational programing.

I personally find it ironic that almost all programing for our preschool children has positive educational value. Check out shows like, Barney, Clifford, Curious George or WonderPets. But once our children become school aged, their options dwindle down to shows with zero value for education or character development.

Has the loss of Heathcliff Huxtable affected our youth? Well, I would say our youth need to see good models and champions of strong values, education and hard work. “The Cosby Show” provided those models that seem to be missing in today’s society. I hope media programmers find the errors in their ways and provide us with another strong role model soon. Our youth really need more than politicians words saying “family values and education are what we stand for!” When we are absent of a true highly visible role model in American Society today.

Conference Reflections

Posted on by Sweat to Inspire

After spending a day last week talking to parents about how their children are doing in my class at school. My conversations seem to focus on grades and behavior and not on learning. Sure, the grades are a reflection of learning and the behavior affects the learning. I did not seem to have questions about learning directly. When conferences were finished I left with questions of my own.

  1. Why are parents fixated on student grades instead of student understand?
  2. Why do some parents want more homework, others less?
  3. In general What is the purpose of school?

To start our educational system has created a culture of grades. We have a system where “A” is what parents want, “B” is okay if the student tried hard, “C” is bad and we have to take some action, “D and F” mean parents will yell at the child right in front of the teacher. Does this grading system work anymore? No, first it does not talk about what a student knows or doesn’t know. Second, it creates a ranking and expectation system. Parents will look at how many A’s are on the report card and rank their child above students who have fewer. Parents will begin to expect the same grades from year to year, without thinking about their child’s ability, passion and work ethic. The learning expectations change each year and with each teacher. Science jumps from biology to physics to geology. Social Studies jumps from state to state, continent to continent, geography to history. Math and language arts are more progressive but they have jumps also. Schools need to move away from grades and focus on what a student knows and doesn’t know. Colleges would have a better idea if a student was a candidate if they knew the knowledge levels not the letter grades of applicants.

This moves us to question #2: My parents at conferences always ask about homework, “I have not seen any (or very little) work at home.” Well for staters, I don’t believe in homework, so only work that is not completed in class goes home. Some of my parents get upset and ask for MORE homework. I always ask why, and it is so their child can do better in my class. I don’t understand the correlation, if you want your child to do better, spend time with them. Go over the work we did in class. Have them read. Look up the topics on the internet and discuss. Parents are to be partners in the teaching process. I always offer resources for the parents, few have taken me up on this offer. I have also heard of the parents who want less homework. I would say, that school is the job your child is doing now. If you feel the homework isn’t meaningful then have a discussion with that teacher. If the work is meaningful then do it. Hopefully teachers are only giving meaningful homework but I have seen some work that sure seems busy.

Finally the big question: What is the purpose of school? I often feel I am a babysitter for 12-13 year olds. During their time with me I feel I need to instill in them the values of society and show them how to gain knowledge. Are teachers too overloaded with content nowadays? I was asked that by one parent. Yes, we have more content standards now. Schools have SO much content to teach. Students come in with a wide range of ability and background knowledge. Should schools be focused on content? No, schools need to make an impact. If they try to teach too much content knowledge it is not covered in a way that students can critically think about the content. Covering a broad range of content also creates problems with the disadvantaged students. The speed at which each topic is covered puts them at a disadvantage.

So what should schools focus on? Schools need to focus on knowledge obtainment skills. They need to teach student how they are to learn. Different tools, strategies and processing skills that give students the ability to learn on their own. The old proverb comes to mind:” If you give a man a fish he eats for a day, if you teach him to fish he eats for a life time.” So if you give a man knowledge he only has the knowledge you gave him, if you teach a man how to obtain knowledge he can have all the knowledge he wants.

The purpose of schools is to create independant learners, lets not complicate them by adding to much content that the essential skills of knowledge obtainment are missed.

Raking Leaves

Posted on by Sweat to Inspire

Today was one of those fall days where the winds is blowing and leaves are falling like large snowflakes to the grown. The yard is filled with large multi-colored brittle flakes we call leaves. After dinner, I wandered outside with my rake and started making piles. My 4 year old twins came running out full of excitement and energy. They wanted to help. My first thought was NO. It won’t get done and they will make a mess. But, I can’t resist my son’s PLEASE, with his sister chiming in, in support.

After making sure they each had a rake, well “their” rake. We started making piles. They enjoyed helping me. As the pile got larger, they did enjoy taking turns jumping in and throwing the leaves in the air. What 4 year old or for that matter child wouldn’t. After taking turns, they would rake the pile back up. When it came time to bag the pile they would help by picking up the few leaves that would fit in their small hands in throw them at the bag. The leaves frequently missed their mark, and they would try again. Eager to help out daddy.

 

After helping a bit they wander to a different area of the yard to play. As I continued to rake the leaves I thought about how eager my children, all children are to help out. So often, adults given in to their gut reaction to turn away their help, because it will slow down the process. Adults just want to get the job done, kids like to have fun doing the job.

When I survey my neighborhood, I don’t see many families out doing yard work. It is either a lone adult or a company doing the work, even in the houses with teenaged children.

Are adults taking away prime learning opportunities from their children today? Do we focus to much on finishing the job we forget to enjoy the journey and on that journey teach our children?

I think about my students who are living in situations where parents either don’t have time to teach them the lessons that really matter in life or have to act like parents themselves.

Take time to rake the leaves with a child, It will make your life and theirs more fulfilled. Even if it takes a bit longer!