Learning vs. Getting Good Grades

     In this corner, with hundreds of years of experience, The Edict of Education, the Natural Ability of Every Newborn Child; let's hear for Learning!

     And in this corner, gaining strength and popularity over the past few decades, the Beauty of College Applications and the source of Bragging Parents Everywhere; let's hear it for Getting Good Grades!

     Education faces a lot of battles.  One of the daily battles is Learning vs. Grades.  Teachers are on the side of learning and students (to be fair) are on both sides.  Some do their best to learn; and some are just doing it for the grade.

     I (sometimes) refer to this as "playing school". Some students just play the game.

1. Go to school.
2. Do what you are told to do.
3. Read the book.
4. Do your homework.

And Learning takes a back seat to just getting the grade.  Teachers are very familiar with this battle.  The best teachers engage their students--no matter the subject--and sometimes students discover that they like a subject that used to be just a "grade".

     In this battle, as is often the case in public education, it is the teachers who come to the rescue.  It is the teachers who instill a love for a subject.  Still, I would argue that we want support from parents too. 

     School can (certainly) be fun; but school shouldn't be a game to be won or lost.  All students can learn and all students can see the value of learning with the right incentives and with the help of caring adults--at school and at home.

     We know that students can graduate high school just by "playing school"; but those same students often struggle in college.  A recent report from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) found that only 42% of students that went to college immediately after high school ended up earning a bachelor's degree within eight years of graduating from high school.   Another 11 percent had earned a Master's degree.  (See report here; go to page 3, third bullet)  What happened to everyone else?  And students that began college more than 13 months after high school had even worse results.

     So keep fighting the battle of Learning vs. Getting Good Grades.  Learning is the heavyweight champion of public education.

Common Core and Our Desire to Give the Best to Our Students

     During my 25 years in education, I've seen ideas come and go; I've seen programs come and go; and I've seen movements come and go.  I used to think that the education system was constantly dreaming up ideas that were initiated with great fanfare and then were let go as failures.  But I've come to realize that education is not a static thing; certainly National Education is not a static thing.

     A lot of thought and research and debate goes into new initiatives and I think that it is fair to say that educators are constantly thinking about students and the best way to help students.  Education is also constrained by limited funds and (sometimes) limited research.  Also, big problems that require big solutions are often very complicated.  But it is not an excuse to "do nothing" just because the task at hand is difficult.

  After the landmark report "A Nation at Risk" came out in 1983, our education system did their best to respond to the issues that were raised in this report.  Some problems have been addressed and some remain.

     We have to remember that time does not stand still.  The world is changing and that means that our schools have to change also.  The form of that change can be numerous and diverse; but change it must.

     I am living and working through the transition to the Common Core standards.  Once again, this is a big change that is responding to a big problem in a big way.  Change can be scary at times, but this change is very, very necessary.  I am confident that I will look back at this second decade of the century and say that I was part of the beginning of something big.  And I am proud to be involved in this change.

     This isn't the end of change.  Programs and ideas will continue to come and go.  Each one will do its part to help our students and to improve on the last change that occurred.  I've come to believe that change is good and it should be embraced.

Special Ed. Makes Public Schools Special

     When I started teaching, I knew my content (mathematics) very well and I learned a few things about managing a classroom of students from my teacher prep classes in college.  But I knew nothing about Special Education.

     Fortunately, I had some great Special Education teachers in the building where I taught.  They helped me to better understand students with learning disabilities and how to teach them.

     I've since come to learn that Special Education is one of the true jewels of Public Education in America.  Special Education teachers and supervisors work everyday to find the best way to help students who find it difficult to learn in the same way as their non-disabled peers.  It is a tough job; no two special education students are the same.

     So thank a Special Education teacher today!

I Shouldn't Be Here

     I am enjoying my 25th year working in education this year.  I've been a middle and high school mathematics teacher, a high school mathematics chairperson and district teacher specialist, I've worked in the research and accountability office, and am now a supervisor of secondary mathematics--overseeing the mathematics program for 20,000+ students in my school district.  Still, had things worked out the way they were "supposed" to, I should have never done any of this.



     You see, I grew up in a lower-middle income family--which is an overtly nice and formal way to put it.  I have a brother and two sisters; all born within a six-and-a-half year timespan.  I was among the first generation to benefit from the Free and Reduced Meals program.  I was in 10th grade in 1980, and the National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES) did a national survey of students in my class back then.  They followed up with us ten years later and this is what they found:  Only about 5% of the students in my economic family situation graduated from college.  (Good news: NCES did the same study with the 10th graders from 2002 and found that 14.5% of the low-income students from that class ended up with a college degree by 2012.  That's better than 5%, but still much too low.)



     So, had I followed the path that most of my peers did, I should have never went to college; I certainly should have never graduated from college.  Which means, no teaching job, no promotions, and certainly no Master's degree later on.  Hence, I shouldn't be here.



     The reasons I AM here are many.  One of the biggest is simply public education.  My K-12 teachers never told me I couldn't go to college; they never told me I couldn't do whatever I wanted to do.  The ability of my parents to pay a greatly reduced price for lunch for four children was an incredible benefit to my family.  Who knows how much less my parents would have been forced to provide for us had this not been an option?  We always say that education is the gateway to successful, productive citizens.  There is no doubt in my mind that public, free education made a difference in my life.

What Did You Do on Your Winter Vacation?

     We always ask students, "What did you do on your summer vacation?"  I am going to share with you what I've done (so far) on my Christmas vacation.  To me this is a very typical Christmas break; but I wonder if others would read this and think otherwise.

     My wife and children (13 and 16 years old) got our Christmas tree on December 21st.  A tad later than we usually get it, but it was Saturday and we were all together.  We get our tree from a local Boy Scout group at my church.  They are always very nice and they put it in that net thing and tie it to the top of my van.

     My brother-in-law came from North Carolina to stay with us during Christmas week -- which was very nice since we don't see him that often.  My in-laws also live with us, so Christmas Day was a nice family affair with extended family.  On the day after Christmas, we had our "more" extended family Christmas party with about 15 people.  This sometimes turns into an eating-all-day thing; but also lots of smiles and laughter.

     In a couple of days we are traveling to visit my brother and his family in New Jersey.  Once again, food and laughter and family.  Lots of people joke about the down side of spending time with family, but I never feel that way.  I enjoy visiting with family members.  I've never experienced the oft-cited stress related to these events.  I especially like it when the cousins get to see and play with each other.  They enjoy it and I hope that they will stay in touch when they are adults.  (Trying to set a good example.)

     Professionally, during down time over the vacation, I am reading a book about teaching students who grow up in poverty.  It seems we are always trying to find a way to reach these students and after 25 years in education, I am still trying.  I know it can be done and as a country, it must be done.  Public schools have a moral responsibility to educate all students.  I want to do my part, and (if possible) I want to help others to do this too.

     Vacation is a time (for me) to think about what I've accomplished and to look ahead at the challenges that still call out for a solution.  Problem solving is a big part of work (and art) of education.  I know that I value time to think and time to study and time to consider possible solutions.

It's Not What You Say, But How You Say It

     We've got some great teachers in our public schools.

     Some are great because they are warm and caring.  Students like these teachers and they want these teachers to be proud of them.  Students will do just about anything their warm and caring teacher tells them to do, because we all do want to do things for people who care about us.

     Some teachers are great, because they work hard to get to know each and every student.  They learn how each student learns and they understand how each student struggles with their learning.  These teachers are able to find a way to present content to students in a way that the students will understand.

     And, of course, some teachers have both of these attributes--(1) They are warm and caring, and (2) they understand how each of their students' learn.

     Our best teachers know that they cannot make things too easy on their students, because the goal isn't to make students happy (or to merely "get-the-right-answer").  The goal is that the students are learning.  The best teachers know that learning comes with a little struggling--sometimes with a lot of struggling.  And the best teachers are able to allow their students AND to encourage to keep going and not to give up when the struggling occurs.

     "Teaching" is only part of a teachers job.  The main part of a teachers job is making sure that the students are learning.  Some teachers view the "teaching" part as the only part of their job.  These teachers are good at making lesson plans and following through with procedures.  They are good at assigning HW and keeping track of grades.  They are good at doing what they are supposed to do--what they are told to do.  But merely "teaching" and ignoring the amount of student learning that is (or is not) taking place will never be enough to raise their students' abilities.

     The best thing about public education is teachers who do everything they can to help their students to learn.  Thank you to our hard-working teachers.  No job is tougher or more rewarding!

Thanks Twitter for All the Good News about Education!

Twitter is filled with Good News about Education

I've been on Twitter for about 20 months, and throughout that time I've learned more and more about what I can do and what I can learn from Twitter.  I use Twitter as a professional, and I like to follow other teachers and educators from around the world.

Since beginning this blog, I've been on the lookout for positive stories about education.  My Twitter feed is a treasure-trove of such stories.  On a daily basis I read about students and teachers doing amazing things in their schools and in their communities.  I see pictures of teachers learning new strategies to help students in their classrooms; and I see pictures of students engaged in learning in a variety of settings.

Of course, I also gain a lot of ideas from reading the posts from the people I follow.  Sometimes they direct me to articles or blogs on particular topics.  Other times they direct me to hot-button topics that lead to great discussions.

As always, we don't want to ignore the problems of public education in America.  I am very aware that the way I use Twitter tends to encourage "the positive".  It is what we call The Echo Chamber--only follow people who agree with me.  I know that the people I follow (while diverse) do not represent all points of view.  I wouldn't say that I exclusively hear positive things, but most of the people I follow (including me) tend to follow the rule "If you don't have something nice to say, don't say anything at all."  This doesn't lessen the truth about the good things I read on Twitter; but it is necessary to recognize there are lots of stories that I am not reading.

My point is that it is very easy to only hear the negative about public school education in America and it is important for educators--and especially non-educators--to know that there is a lot of good going on everyday in our public schools.