New Athenian Academy

It’s a new year, and with it comes a new crop of educational bills in the state legislature.  Recently our local paper, wrote an editorial against school voucher programs.  Embedded in article were a summary of a few of the new bills.  I picked a few of the more interesting ones to discuss today:

(For those of you who forgot your HS government class, HB stands for “House Bill” and SB stands for “Senate Bill.” The number after is simply the proposal number.   Bills are numbered in sequential order as they are submitted.)

HB 1002

Expanded authority of the state to establish charter schools.  Currently only major cities and universities have the authority to establish charter schools. For Indiana that specifically means the city of Indianapolis, Ball State University, Evansville-Vanderburgh School Corp. and Lafayette School Corp.  No other entity has gotten into the charter school process.  Indiana has about 50 charter schools in existence.  Fort Wayne holds two of those charters, managed by Imagine Schools.  My friend works at one of the charter schools and she likes it.  It’s nothing amazing, but it’s something different from the traditional public school model.  I don’t think charters are the answer to all our school problems, but they are an option.  I really don’t have a problem with expanded the charter school system.  It’s an option…

HB 1003

Proposed school voucher program including private schools.  Read my thoughts about the School Voucher Debacle.

HB 1247

Students could graduate high schools in three years and use their state tuition and apply to secondary schooling.  I like this idea.  Who decided that students must be in a high school setting for four years?  Many students need four years to get their basic education and mature as a young adult.  Some other students don’t need that time.  At my old school, students routinely graduated early.  They finished all their credits and either took college classes or outright graduated a semester or two early.  I enjoyed my four years of high school, but that’s not to say they everything needs that.  Some students should be advanced and continue on to college early.  As for the money issue, the state is already giving money for college for students.  Why not not?  It’s a shifting of funds, but probably would not be a huge amount.  I imagine that most high school students would still stay in the building for four years.  This proposal would only affect a small part of the general population.

SB 575

Would restrict collective bargaining authority for teachers.  Overall I don’t quite get this whole teacher union thing.  I believe that unions had their time and place in American society.  However, presently we need to reexamine their need and purpose in our educational system.  Are they a necessary tool in our box?  I’m not quite sure what the alternative is, but I know that a change is needed.  This bill may or may not make a difference.  I’m very ambivalent on this one.  I’ll have to follow the debate on this a bit more to get a better idea of my opinion.

Any other bills out there catching people’s attention?  It’s a busy legislative season…

Recently the local newspaper wrote an editorial about the school voucher debate (I prefer to call it a debacle, not sure where the real debate is).  The article was… interesting…  I don’t really know what to take from the article other than the newspaper is against school vouchers.  So where does that leave us?  Not really sure where that leaves us. I would like to take a minute to summarize the article and share my opinion. Stay with me, it’s going to get a little ranty… (look I just made up a word)

Let’s start back at the beginning: school vouchers or school choice was proposed by Milton Friedman (economist from the 1950s, remember your U.S. History class’ chapter on the origins of the Cold War, yeah we talked about him).  In a 1955 essay, Friedman stated “Let the subsidy be made available to parents regardless where they send their children–provided only that it be to schools that satisfy specified minimum standards–and a wide variety of schools will spring up to meet the demand.”  Okay so the idea is nothing new.  But we (the American public) have never been as serious about the idea until now.  (I know this idea was put forth in the 1970s, but it didn’t really get off the ground, so I’m going to focus on today).

Currently, the Indiana House Speaker is coauthoring a bill to create a school voucher program.  And many are calling foul.  The article puts forth two back issues with the proposal: no positive results from existing programs and no public call for.  I am not going to get into the religious aspects of the proposed program or the politics behind the program.  Instead I want to look at the purely educational.

Results

The article highlighted the two longest running choice programs (Milwaukee and Cleveland).  Studies done have show no positive results from the choice programs.  Well, that’s entirely possible.  Too many variables go into getting positive results in schools; school choice alone may not be any better than the current system.  But it might also not be any worse.  What are our criteria for success?  What exactly are the terms?  Every time I read a study looking at school achievement, I want to know the specifics…. Taking many psych, poli sci, and soc classes has taught me that people can create horrible studies and people can skew results just about any way they want.  So again, what are the specifics?  Unfortunately even the best educational studies are inherently flawed.  We are dealing with human beings (and in this case, children) who don’t like to behave as you would think they would.  Like I always teach my economic students, all the theories in the world may notbe enough when you throw messy humans into the mix.  We just love to mess things up… So I am a bit suspect of the results (or lack of results) for school voucher programs.

Public Outcry

The article points to a few polls that have shown little to none public interest in a school choice program.  But here’s one thing I’ve learned from studying America, we are a fairly apathetic bunch.  Only a small part of the population will ever speak up with their opinions.  The rest is content to sit back and take whatever they get.  Oh sure, people complain, but that doesn’t mean that they will ever offer a solution or get off their butts to do anything about it.  Instead, we are content to let “other people” take care of things like education.  Again I am suspect that this reason means anything…

Conclusions (or not…)

Reading my responses, it seems like I am pulling for school vouchers.  But in reality, I am not for school voucher programs, but I’m not against them either.  I see them as another option to attempt to reform our school systems.  Like I ranted in a post a couple of weeks ago, I just want a change.  I want us to try something, anything.  Because keeping everything the same, doesn’t seem to be working.  So I guess I have no problem with Indiana attempting some version of the school vouchers.  It would be an interesting change. And who knows, maybe it really would make a difference?  Arguing about it stops any change and reform.  Maybe we just try it in an area or on a limited basis.  So I’m not going to write a huge editorial letter supporting the program, but I won’t bash on the lawmakers who support it either.  Just something to think about…

I ran across Karl Fisch from the Fischbowl in a random search for education blogs.  I recommend the blog for anyone interested in education and new ideas.  For this series, I thought I would respond to some of Karl’s ideas. Some of the original blog posts are old, but great ideas and still relevant.

From the June 13, 2006 post entitled “Blogging with Next Year’s Students”:

What if in the future we had in place a process where you could start blogging with your students before class even started?

I know, I know, there are all sorts of reasons not to do this (many of which I would agree with), but if I limit myself to just thinking about the positive aspects of this then, well, wow. What a great way to start getting to know your students before class even starts, and for them to start getting to know each other. What a great way to emphasize this “life-long learning” stuff we’re always talking about with our students. What a great way to communicate to your students that we are serious about their education and they should be too, and that they have to be active participants in the class if they want to get the most out of it. What a great way to get them thinking about some of the “big picture” ideas (or “essential learnings” if you prefer) that you’d like them to focus on in your class.

I started thinking about this idea after writing my post Social Networking and Spreading Ideas.  I have a personal blog besides this one and am starting to gain a following.  A couple of months ago, two of my former students started their own blog.  Recently one of them wrote a blog mentioning how she as enjoyed getting to know one of her former teachers (guess who) from a different point of view from sitting in a classroom.  I love that students are blogging, sharing ideas, etc.

So why not have teachers blog to their next year’s students and current students and former students?  Create an online community to share, to informed, and to inspire….  I’m loving this idea.  I really think Karl Fisch’s idea would benefit students and schools, create a real community even before the people involved meet.  I remember having “summer reading lists” and “summer assignments” back in elementary school.  How much better would those assignments be with the aide of a blog?  A shared online space for comments.  Getting closer to the school year, students could find out what was expected of them in the coming year.  Students could suggest, question, comment on the syllabus or topics or expectations.  Students could get involved in the entire process of learning and shape their future classes to reflect their previous knowledge, strengths, weaknesses, etc.  it could be used in so many ways.  I would love to see this as a teacher.  I would love to see this as a parent, encourage that “life long learning” idea that I am trying to instill in my children.  I would love to see this as a student, knowing what I would going to be doing in the coming year.

I know there are many problems with this idea, but I am going to ignore those problems in favor of a dream.  A dream of students, teachers, parents, and community members all working together to help guide students on their educational paths. Just an idea….

I ran across Karl Fisch from the Fischbowl in a random search for education blogs.  I recommend the blog for anyone interested in education and new ideas.  For this series, I thought I would respond to some of Karl’s ideas.

From January 8, 2006′s post entitled “Asking Hard Questions of Colleagues”

Ron used to say a lot – “Care enough to confront.” He was referring to students, but I think the same thing applies to our colleagues. I think we need to respect our colleagues enough to ask hard questions of them… I don’t think it’s okay anymore (if it ever was) to just say “I’m going to close my door and do whatever I want.” It’s not enough to be successful as individual teachers, we need to be successful as a staff if we want our school to be successful – and if we want our students to be successful and achieve to their potential.

Staff collaborations is a difficult topic to approach.  We don’t want to push our colleagues into anything they are completely against and yet we want to push everyone to do their best.  There needs to be accountability on both sides of the door.  I agree with Karl Fisch that we don’t want to strive for adequate, but amazing.  The amazing part usually involves a little uncomfort, but that’s all a part of growing.

Unfortunately, this doesn’t happen in many schools, including the one I was working in.  Out of a staff of about 30, I would only place about 20 teachers in the “good” category, 5 in the “adequate” category, and the last 5 in the “horrible” category.

How do we change those stats?  I think most schools have the wrong idea.  They give teachers directives without any discussion.  They pass mandates instead of collaborating on ideas.  They don’t offer any support for any mandates.  They fire the wrong teachers in the first place.

What are the answers?  I don’t claim to know everything, but I do have some ideas.  Let’s start with the firing process.  Schools need to determine the direction of the school and then try to find candidates who are or want to be a good fit.  Once you have a school-wide, faculty should fall into place.  After hiring, bring teachers into the planning process for the direction of the school.  I have no problem when schools want to make changes for the good, but I do have issues when teachers are blocked out of the process.  Teachers have a better idea of how plans will go over inside the classrooms than most system admins.  Finally, teachers need to support each other, not push each other away.  We need to hold each other accountable for our teaching.  The point is not to pick on teachers for their failings and obstacles, but to encourage each other to be better teachers.

Remember… we are here to see students achieve, but we can’t do that without achieving ourselves.

A recent article in Time caught my attention: a discussion by many school systems to sell ad space within their building.  This brings up a very controversial topic.  Today, I’m going to add my own two cents.  Stay with me, this might begin rambling…

For

As documented everywhere, systems are losing money.  States and local entities are cutting school funding across the country.  But school attendance is not decreasing.  So where do schools turn to make up the money.  One option is fundraising (the word that all parents dread; a discussion is forthcoming on the topic).   Another option is ad space.   Schools are full of blank space just waiting to be filled with advertisements for the next new pen design.  Why not use the space for something that going to make the school some money?  According to the article, a system in St. Francis, Minnesota recently committed 10-15% of the lockers to ad space, making up part of the budget deficit.  The logic is “plant an ad, save an art class.”  I get the idea.  As to the arguments about students being bombarded with ads all day long, who are we kidding?  Children are exposed to ads everywhere they go.  We need to teach students to be discerning viewers when it comes to ads, no matter where they see it.  Selling ad space can be a way for systems to deal with the future budget shortfalls.

Against

What type of ads do we allow?  I realize that there is a difference between advertising for a office supplies and the latest video games.  There is a question of appropriateness in the products placed.  The article did mention a San Diego district refusing space to a for-profit college citing a bad message about debt to the students.  There needs to be a process by which the school board and principle evaluates the potential ads.  That then brings up the next question: Where do we draw the line?  Once we put an ad on the lockers, do we then open up the desks, the walls of the gym, the school supplied folders or planners, etc.  Where do we stop?  It might just be a slippery slope to covering everything.  Finally there is the ultimate question: What does selling ad accomplish in the long run?  The answer is unknown.  Selling space is a band-aid to the ultimate problem of budgets and decreasing funds.  We need to address school funding; look back at the basic structures.  Where does the money come from?  Where should it come from?  How do we provide extraordinary schooling for all students in the future?

Ads may be the temporary solution for cash-strapped systems, but let’s hope it isn’t the permanent solution.

No, I’m not talking about race or political affiliation or religious convictions or even money… I’m referring to the great divide between elementary and secondary teachers.  Make no mistake, not all teachers are alike, especially when you start looking across grade levels taught.

*Disclaimer: This post is completely my opinion.  Please don’t take this as the honest to goodness truth, but just my own viewpoint of the education world.

Elementary teachers are:

• Motherly/fatherly — makes sense considering they teach 5-10 year olds.  Those kids generally need the teacher to act like a parent complete with expectations, unconditionally love, and discipline.
• Loving — they offer compassion, picking kids up when they fall (both literally and figuratively),
• Gentle — they’re that soft hand guiding the student through life
• Calming — life is great and “you” can get over this obstacle
• Team players — “Let’s all get together to work on this great reading themed bulletin board.”
• Optimists — “we can do this” the world is an amazing place, enjoy it!

Secondary teachers are:

• Difficult — they don’t take no crap and have high, almost unattainable, standards
• Pushy — they’re not the gentle hand guiding, but a hard shove to the next step
• Sarcastic — they aren’t the nicest outwardly, but underneath do love those students
• Aloof — “you’re 16, grow up a bit”; “I am not going to hover over you all the time”
• Not good team players — they tend to specialize in their fields and often have a hard time working together
• Pessimists — or as I call it, realism
• “Parents” — they are parents, but not parents; guiding students, but letting them fail if that’s what they need

Looking at this list, it seems to say that secondary teachers are bad and elementary teachers are good.  Not at all.  They each have their place.  Juniors should be encouraged, but not coddled.  They need more pressure.  I love many of the elementary teachers for the work they do in young students’ lives.  But I also love the firm, yet loving stance of many secondary teachers I know.

I do know that it’s very difficult for elementary and secondary teachers to work together.  The mindsets are so different that they often completely miss each other.  It can be done, but the effort is long and hard.  My experience in a PK-12 school taught me a lot about the differences between two groups.  Routinely, I would hear an elementary teacher tell me “Oh I could never teach high schoolers, they’re scary.”  To which I would always replay, “Oh I could never teacher 2nd graders, they’re scary.”

All I know is… I am a classic secondary teacher.  And proud of it!

For the sake of my sanity, I will only be publishing on this blog 3 times a week.  This semester is looking to be very busy and complicated.  I don’t want to stretch myself too thin by attempting to publish Monday-Friday.  I think my posts will benefit from more reflection and preparation for writing than to just type whatever falls out my brain.  For any who actually read this blog, please comment and/or suggest topics.

Thank you for your understanding! ~ Tobe

Over the break, I read a lot of news articles dealing with education reform.  All agreed that something needs to be done, but disagreed on what.  Now, I am all for healthy disagreement to search for the best possible solution to any problem.  However, in education, I think we need a change now.  I really don’t care what the change is as long as we try something.  Not much of what we are currently doing is working.  Systems need to just make a change.  Try this theory or that program or those ideas from the faculty.  If it doesn’t work, go to something else.  It’s not like a majority of students are getting a great education anyway.  Many of them would welcome a change of some kind.  They understand the system isn’t working.  Why not give them the power to change it?  The same goes for the teachers.  I have read too many articles bemoaning the lake of quality educators out there.  You know why?  Because most of the “quality” educators have been pushed out… too little pay and respect, not enough recognition, too many followers and not many leaders.  It happens every day–a great teacher gives up because there’s no way to change the system.  So why don’t we change the system?  Just try something, anything, and then a few months down the road, reevaluate the new system.  Is it working?  Great!  Spread the work. Does it need to be changed again?  Great!  Try something else.  At least we have an idea of what works and what doesn’t.  It’s a least some direction instead of standing still thinking everything else around us will improve.

This post has turned into quite a rant, but I felt the need to just get it off my chest.  I have become so frustrated with all the “talk” lately.  I may be adding to the “talk,” but I at least feel like my real feelings are out there.  Now to get down to business…

In lieu of the holidays, I am going to take a two week break from this blog.  I need a bit of time to recharge my batteries and read all my blogs and articles.  I will return at the beginning of January with some fresh ideas and comments.  Look forward to sharing my ideas to the blogosphere…