Category: Educational Reform

Where do we go from here?

Posted on by Sweat to Inspire

As a veteran teacher I have been thinking non-stop about the next step in education lately. I pursed a career in teaching because I love working with young minds and molding the future. I enjoy the challenges of working with a new crop of minds to motivate each year. I now feel pressures like no other. I feel disrespect daily from the media, community and students. When I talk to colleagues I hear overwhelming concerns about where our profession is heading. Stress levels seem to mimic the ones I saw in my father, a cardiologist, when I was a child. I chose the teaching profession over being a doctor because I wanted to have time to spend with my family. My father never had that time. However now I feel like I am losing my family time to my other kids. The 125 or so students who I have at school. I need to plan more than ever before to make sure I reach all of them. It seems society forgets that teachers are parents too.

As I read about different “Ed Reforms” I grow concerned. Most ideas come from people who have not spent much time in the classroom working with students. The ideas come from business, think tanks, and short-term teachers who climbed up a ladder and never looked back at classrooms. These ideas do not have research or proven methods behind them. Teachers will have to burden the costs of implementing them. Whether it be a financial cost, time cost or professional cost. Race to the top has created ranking systems that have no merit in a work place where there are too many variables for student achievement. A teacher could be ranked highly effective in one school but if they were moved to a different school they would be ranked ineffective.

The United States education system needs to change for sure but not the way we are doing it now. Right now we seem to be looking for a silver bullet that fixes everything at once. We want to blame “bad” teachers and “praise” great school programs. (Read blame union teachers/praise charter schools if you will). If we continue down this road, the winners will be businesses that profit off of the change, the losers will be the rest of American Society.

There is a model that seems to work. Look no further than the medical professions for assistance. Doctors train as interns for 2,4 and sometimes 6 years. Studying under the TOP leaders in their profession. Their teachers actually show, hands on how to perform in the field. Medical students start by watching the best work , assist and then have a hand at showing what they learned with the best watching on. This is completely different from how we train out teachers. We throw them in a student teacher placement with who ever will take them, and then tell them we will come see them teacher every few weeks. No wonder some teachers are bad, they received bad training, blame the school of education they attended.

If a professor is teaching college students how to teach, they need to be active in a school teaching. Not all day but a class or two. If someone is going to be recognized as an expert in the field of education, they need to be actively teaching in the field. We can’t have experts observe and report out, they need to do, so students can see them practice what they are preaching. I know teachers work hard to become the best in their field so they can consult. Is it best for students to have the best teachers sitting on the sidelines? Would we want a surgeon who heard an expert speak one day? or the surgeon who watched, assisted and was critiqued by the best?

Let’s fix education!! But let’s make sure we do it right by listening to the teachers and giving them what they need.

Common Core = College Core, should there be another path?

Posted on by Sweat to Inspire

Like many educators I have spent time this summer looking over the “new” common core state standards. (In science they are called the Next Generation Science Standards) Overall I like the idea of having common standards between states, because up till now each state has had different standards. Comparing states educational systems has been very difficult. Some states have created rigorous standards, like Michigan where I teach, yet others have just left minimal requirements. Colleges have complained about students arriving with poor skills. Often so poor the students need to take remedial classes in record numbers. While I processed all of the information, I felt it would be tough as an college admission officer not familiar with all the different state standards. As a new college student I would be depressed if I was placed in nothing but remedial classes as a freshman. Core standards are needed. BUT are they needed for ALL students?

As I pondered these ideas, I started to notice articles about “Where the jobs are now.”  Sure you can find stories about unfilled STEM jobs that the Common Core will address. I noticed stories about jobs, I never expected: truck driver shortages and factory shortages. Does the common core help fill these vacancies? NO. What do we do with students who want to fill these positions? I believe the if the common core is the only avenue for them they will drop out! Is that what we want? I hope not.

We should not be telling our youth that the only path is College. Today more jobs do not require a college degree than jobs that do! Sure, I want to encourage everyone to get the best education they can, but there are many routes to success that don’t pass through college. As educators we need to be up front and honest with students. Tell them their options. Start them all off on the College Core path, IF and when it becomes evident that the path is not right, there needs to be another one for them to travel down.

When you ask a 5 year old what they want to be most will say: “Doctor, Lawyer, Fireman Police Officer, Nurse, or Teacher” as they gain knowledge about the many more professions it changes many times over. We need to offer core educational requirements that lead to ALL occupations: Musician, Artist, Cook, Truck Driver, Etc…. To do this we have to do away with 1 common core and create many cores that are as well defined as the common core. The common core is great for college bound students but not all students will go down that path.

Educational Technology Leadership- Keeping pace with tech change

Posted on by Sweat to Inspire

How do districts keep up in this age of ever changing technology tools and shrinking school budgets?

Everyday I hear about a new tool to use in the classroom or a new technique on how to use the technology. Where I work we have seen our budget shrink every year for the past 7. Our Technology Director position is now filled by the business manager and we have 2 tech support people for 3,200 students and 7 buildings.

How do we keep up? Our district does the best it can by trusting the teachers to become experts in various technology skills and then share the skills back with the leadership and fellow teachers. We also utilize our Intermediate School District and the technology support that they provide to the all 21 districts in the county. Districts can’t afford to have a resident expert in all technology. We have been struggling to keep pace with change. Some of our administrators are not technology-savvy and do not feel comfortable using all of the tools at hand.

So do administrators have to be technology-savvy themselves in order to be effective technology leaders in their organizations?

Simple answers is NO. Administrators have to create a culture of learning and sharing among staff. Administrators have to trust their staff on leading them in the right direction. They also need to develop strong questioning skills to ask the staff about the technology to be reassured that the district is moving in the correct direction. Shared leadership helps districts keep pace with the technology change. Districts can’t afford to have a resident expert in all technology. They have to have trust in their staff to become experts in select technology. Then build an atmosphere of respect so staff feel comfortable training each other. The moment someone becomes an “expert” in a product, a newer, better, version is being released. If one person was trying to keep pace they would never have time train staff. Challenge yourself as a leader to share our leadership with your staff.

Two final thoughts-

1: Leaders have to embrace technology and learn if they want their staff to do the same. They don’t have to be savvy or the expert but they need to learn.

2. A great leaders isn’t the smartest person in the room but the one who surround themselves with the smartest people. If you know you have knowledge deficits try to find people to help fill in the knowledge void.

 

#EdFix

Posted on by Sweat to Inspire

For the past 2 years or so the political world and educational world have be colliding due to the state of our educational system. Many are touting new ideas to “Fix” education. Fingers are being pointed at different parties to blame. Businesses are circling like vultures to pick at the billions of dollars spent in the system.

So how do we fix education? Is there a silver bullet/ one size fits all/ quick fix?

Well the answer to the second question is easy: NO it will be situational fixes that take time.

How: well that is the hard one. Why is the system in need of a “Fix”?

Well in my opinion it is due to our culture shifting away from valuing education and knowledge. Our society let education become what it is today. We as a collective value pop culture, material possession and entertainment over education.

Just look at where the money goes and this is evident. This value shift from hard work and education of earlier generations has had great impact on the educational system. Society needs to shift the focus back to education. Here are a few ideas to get started in the shift:

  1. Hold teachers in high regard, respect what they say like you do your doctor or lawyer.
  2. Businesses need to partner with schools to set up programs to assist students.
  3. Address the hidden curriculum, teacher teach so much more that the core. Poverty needs to be addressed.
  4. Have pop-culture reflect education as a “must needed value” instead of  stars sharing that they made it despite dropping out. Or showing education locations as a “party” back drop.

 

To truly fix education we need to change society to value education!

Not all evaluations are equal …

Posted on by Sweat to Inspire

As the school year is coming to a close many of district administrators are busy working on teacher evaluations. In Michigan, all teachers now have to have a yearly evaluation. By law a significant part of this evaluation has to be based upon  student achievement data. Has the state given guidance into what data to use and how to use it? Not really. The MDE was supposed to come up with an evaluation model by the end of March. At the end of March, they realized how hard this model was to create and have decided to Pilot a new model in 13 districts state-wide to make sure it is fair.  Meanwhile in all of the districts in the state, evaluations are being done using what each district feels will work best.

So all of the state’s teachers are being evaluated on as many different models for evaluation as districts. These districts will report one of 4 rating for each teacher; 1. Highly Effective 2. Effective 3. Minimally Effective  4. Basic. This is reported in the rep report to the state which is a public record. If this get published think of the chaos.

A teacher ranking “Highly Effective”  in one district could rank “effective” or lower in another district. We will be comparing apples but they are different types of apples used for different thing.

Districts and the state need to report publicly the formula used for creating the ratings. Or better yet, the state needs to void all of the ratings until a universally used system is put in place. This way the public won’t get confused.

An open letter to any elected official who is willing to listen

Posted on by Sweat to Inspire

Dear Officials:

First an foremost thank you for taking the time to listen to an educator. Most of us feel unrepresented in this time of school reform.   As you create laws and pass sweeping changes that affect my place of work I would like you to keep in mind a few things.

1. Please listen to educators- the ones who have been in a classroom at least 10 years.

2. IF you feel you need to cut money from schools remember that it means I will have less to pay for student’s meals, snacks and supplies. That is where most teachers extra money goes back into the underfunded classrooms.

3. IF you feel teachers need to spend more time with paper work and training, it will mean I will have less time to coach, tutor, or design high quality lessons. Teachers already work at night and during weekends to keep up with the demands on their time.

4. Address the hidden curriculum. Sure I know we need to teach math, science, social studies and language arts. We should not have to teach: social skills, manners, internet safety, hygiene, etc. Poverty makes in necessary for teachers to teach these needs. Funding needs to be available to help in these areas. Or reform business so poverty is gone.

5. Remember your teachers, you have an education because of them. Teachers make the future and need to be supported and not attacked.

 

Again Thanks for listening.