An Incredible Thing Happened Today...

Today was the last meeting of my fifth grade math club. During this last meeting, a student came up to me and thanked me. He said that he really enjoyed being part of it, and had a great time. I then thanked him for being part of the club, and I thanked him for allowing me to get to know him, as I did not have him in fourth grade. We both smiled, and it was a sincere smile for both of us. It was a bit bittersweet, as we both genuinely enjoyed getting to know each other. It was an incredible moment that I will hold on to in order to get through the tough times.

This is why I teach.

It Is What It Is....

Sometimes it seems that no matter how hard we try, we can't make our point. Teachers layoffs are happening all over the country, while mandates and standards are putting more and more of a strain on our education system. I wish that I had better news to speak about, but sadly, I do not. Perhaps in another few months things will be better, but for now I can't see the education system improving as a result of losing so many great educators and putting even more pressure on those of us that remain.

You teach? Seriously?

Turning on the television or news website and the latest "media attention" seems to be teachers. Several state and local government leaders have targeted unions as the evil force against the suffering middle class and, if you want to get to the more specific scourge, educators. Teachers make too much money. Administrators make too much money. They all have part time jobs. They don't work hard. They only take the job to have summers off. They are untouchable once tenured. Seniority ensures that we will always have terrible teachers and newer, more capable teachers will never have a chance to get into the profession. Each of these stereotypes (and outright lies) are disgusting, yet too many people allow them to continue. The only reason to perpetuate these (in the media no less) is to encourage (manufactured) jealously and push attention to this issue and distract us from other (really) important issues. It's either this or what is happening with Charlie Sheen. Politicians such as NJ Governor Christie, NY Governor Cuomo, and NYC Mayor Bloomberg come to mind as those seeming to try to build up the "tough guy" image by attacking teachers.

How can we stop this? If you look for a list of professions that absolutely require a postgraduate degree, there are not many. I'm not talking about how having an MBA helps in the business world. I am talking about needing the degree to get and keep your job. Is that not enough to be treated as a professional? Taking the education of our children seriously and making it a priority begins with giving educators the respect that the profession deserves.

Tenure: Right or Wrong?

Ordinarily I would shy away from subjects like this, but in these economic times when the public needs not only a scapegoat that they can blame, but one that they can vote on. Tenure has become one of the things debated, and I recently had a discussion with a buddy of mine on a recent train ride to the city...

Now here is an intelligent person that often makes informed decisions, yet I find that in this area of conversation he was misinformed. If your life and career was outside education, think to the setting of your own experiences. First of all, let's assume that you went to public, not private school. Next, I assume that your school experience was quite a few years ago especially if you're talking about elementary education. Things have changed and I don't mean just computers. Federal and State mandates are placing more into our curriculum. Educators and administrators are also placing more in to meet the demands of the 21st century. Many teachers introduce even more material simply because they are passionate about a subject or perhaps there was a teachable moment and his or her students wanted to do 'more'.

In any event, the classroom has changed and we have had to change along with it. This is a good thing in many aspects, but it has its disadvantages too. In any event, Mirriam Webster defines tenure as "a status granted after a trial period to a teacher that gives protection from summary dismissal". This means that your boss cannot fire you simply because he or she wants to. It cannot be done hastily, and there must be reasons for your dismissal. Police officers have this same right. It is not a 'job for life'. It is not an entry card into the lazy, do-nothing hall of fame. It is simply protection against hasty termination. Add to that the fact that the person has to prove themselves for at least three years.

Working in the private sector has plenty of advantages, but the one thing that is not afforded by most is that same due process. If your boss doesn't like you personally, or he/she wants to move you out of a position or job to bring someone else in, all he or she has to do is terminate you. There is little that you can do short of bringing a civil suit. Due process offers you protection from this. It must be proven that you have not fulfilled your responsibilities or broken the rules. Isn't this something that private sector employees would love to have? In the corporate world, you are just a number. In a school, you are a member of a family. Yes, there are some businesses that are like a family, but they are disappearing as more and more companies care only about the bottom line.

I hope that schools are never run as businesses. Yes, we are in the business of educating children and helping them to grow into the best that they can be, but this is not a cookie cutter factory that produces widgets. This is not a financial institution that invests money for its customers. This is not a vendor that sells products to its customers that use pretty packaging and a slick advertising campaign.

We are teachers that are given the gift and responsibility of playing a role in the lives of the students that enter our classrooms day after day. We face challenges from their lives, our own lives, state and federal curriculum mandates, state and federal funding (or lack thereof), proposed tax caps (Cuomo are you kidding me???), district initiatives, time constraints, public perception (New York Newsday just loves to blast schools and the police - tune the hate out!), and other things.

The key to redefining education and making sure that our children are ready for the challenges of tomorrow requires informed decision making. It will not be easy, but I'm pretty sure that the solution is not cutting funds and laying off teaching staff. We all know how tough the economic times are. People are losing their homes, and many of are struggling to pay bills the best they can. Teachers live here too, and we are also facing the same things. The government can write a huge check for banks, but when it comes to education and our children, it seems like the wallet is empty.

I love my job, and I am grateful that tenure offers me protection from wrongful termination after I have proven myself. Perhaps the private sector is jealous of this protection. I think they should try to incorporate it into their jobs instead of eliminating it from ours. I think it would be better for everyone if we were all treated fairly instead of unfairly. What do you think is most equitable?

The Pioneers of the Digital Landscape

One way that I disagree with some educational technology theorists (and some colleagues) is that I don't believe that only our students are digital natives, and we are 'digital immigrants'. I am older than some, but younger than many and I have been immersed in the wonders of a digital life since when I can remember. Does the basis for this label have to be the Internet itself? If so, read on. If not... well keep reading anyway.. Do you have anything better to do right now?

I was 5 when I received an Atari VCS (not the 2600... I mean the original 3 button on each side VCS). Oh, how I loved hat wonderful box even down to the woodgrain trim. I spent many a day defending the Earth from space invaders, asteroids, slaying dragons and blowing up tanks. I remember when my buddy John got Colecovision.. Wow! Donkey Kong at its finest! I remember Intellivision at my buddy Rick's house. Wow.. Video games FTW. I still have that in the basement in a box.

I remember the green and black screen of the Commodore Vic-20 in my school's library. My fourth grade face lit up both from the reflection and the possibilities. Wow! I remember using my Commodore 64 computer with its HUGE 1541 disk drive and 5 1/4 floppies (and my TV). I remember learning BASIC programming at 10 to create my own Dungeons and Dragons type 'choose your own adventure' with all conditional statements. Granted, these were all text-based games, but they were something! I remember using a similar programming language and a computer voice synthesizer to have my computer sing "Happy Birthday" to my Poppy. Ah.. Pop I still miss you. I remember the machine gun like sound of the dot matrix printer printing away.

Yes.. I still have my C64 too.

I remember using my Timex Sinclair (remember those cheap things?) and watching the black and white screen to see if that was any better than my C64. Sadly, it really wasn't, but it was much smaller.

I remember the many handheld video games that I spent more countless hours saving my girlfriend from an evil monkey, trying to score touchdowns and block the pass, and shoot space aliens. This was a great way to relax from just dropping much of my inheritance at the local arcarde.

I remember being in high school learning to type on a computer (C64 again - Bank Street Writer) instead of a typewriter. I remember using Apple IIs, IIcs, and IIes, in computer lab. In college I remember first using the Internet and searching for stupid, immature stuff with my buddy Joe just to get a laugh. We had no idea how it would change everything.

Of course through my graduate studies, technology has been a big part of learning, creating, and communicating. I remember using my 14.8 and then 28.8 modem to download the latest version of Netscape. I would start the download before going to bed and then waking up to see that it had finally completed. Ahh.. the good old 486 days. Things got faster and faster, more and more capable, but the underlying principles (at least to me) have remained the same.

All of these experiences have helped me to never, ever fear technology in whatever form it manifests itself. I don't believe that I am an immigrant. I feel like I was born into a world of technology, and I do not know any different. I don't feel like I was 'digitally naturalized', nor do I feel that students of today are any more apt to embrace technology than I was at the same age. I sometimes hear from adults that 'kids are just so naturally good at it', and that quite frankly is a load of crap. Humans are naturally good at many things, but using an artificial tool is not one of them. They are definitely more exposed than many adults were in their childhood, but that it not an inherent attribute.

What brought about this whole post, one might wonder? I found my old Nintendo Donkey Kong handheld. It was mine when I was in 5th grade. It was part of their "Watch and Game" series made in 1982. It didn't have the battery door, but I have masking tape for that. A quick trip to the store for batteries was in order. I held my breath as I fired it up. It works! I played about 4 games laughing like a 10 year old, and I didn't even have to have my passport stamped.

I can't wait to show it to my students. Happy New Year.

Let's Hear It For Learning!

For the past four years, I have made music videos with my class. They are all rooted in some part of our curriculum. They are fun, but they are a good amount of work. After 4 of them, I can honestly say that they are worth it.
When students now come to me, they know that I like to do them. They are excited about what lies ahead, but I am sure to tell them that they must 'earn' it and that it won't be easy, but it will be worth it. This year, I asked my students what they would like to 'sing and dance' about. Before I tell what what they chose, let's take a look at what previous classes have done...

1) Class of 2007-2008
June 2008
It is based off of the song "Crank Dat" by Soulja Boy, but we used what we were exploring in multiplication.



2) Class of 2008-2009
January 2009
It is based off of the song "YMCA" by the Village People, but we used what we were exploring in long division. This time we added the lyrics to the video.



3) Class of 2009-2010
January 2010
It is based off of the song "Empire State Of Mind" by jay-Z and Alicia Keys, but we used what we were learning through our Social Studies exploration of New York State. Once again we added the lyrics to the video.



That brings us to good old number 4. As I said before, I asked the class what they wanted to do a music video about, and they chose almost unanimously "crayfish". The study of crayfish is our fourth grade life science unit. So there I was... faced with the incredibly daunting task of figuring out how to sing and dance to a crustacean them.

First, we brainstormed vocabulary that we could use for the song. We had a digital word wall on the Smartboard, and we would update it whenever we found something. We chose the song "Tik Tok" by Ke$ha. At 5 am one morning, the chorus came to me. (I know we shouldn't think about work but teachers know this can't be done!) I told my class those lyrics, and they loved it. Later that night, it all just came together. The song was done.

I gave the lyrics to the class, and they loved it. They practiced during snack and recess. They practiced so much at home that I embedded the instrumental version of the song on our class blog to make it easier for them.

Next were the scenes. I experimented with some stop motion photography using a model crayfish I had made our of paper towel rolls and construction paper. They liked that. We shot the singing a few times along with some scenes they came up with. Ultimately, a few hours with Windows Movie Maker and Audacity and it was all together. I am very proud of this song and our class.

4) Class of 2010-2011
December 2010
It is based off of the song "Tok Tok" by Ke$ha, but it is based off of our knowledge of crayfish. The lyics are again there for the viewer.



Will I do one again next year? Only time will tell.. but I am pretty sure that I will. Why? I had fun, and the class had fun. On a side note, the grades on this year's crayfish unit test were MUCH better that past years. Does singing a concept work? Does memorizing lyrics really help? I don't know.. but I can tell you that I remember every word of the Preamble to the U.S. Constitution because of SchoolHouse Rock.

I wonder if I can sing the Common Core Standards...

Metamorphosis is a Magical Time

In my first year of teaching, I taught third grade. We explored butterflies, and one of the most magical part of the unit was actually being a witness to a larvae spinning into a chrysalis. Even though it appeared to be spinning without any reason except to make itself dizzy, it put itself into position for an incredible change. A big change that would alter nearly everything about itself. It would soon emerge transformed into a beautiful and graceful entity ready to dance on the breath of the wind itself.

Not all larvae are able to complete this change. Along with the strength of the larvae itself, one much consider factors in the environment that can help or hurt the potential for survival and success.

As teachers, we face a myriad of new challenges. Some of these are emerging from within our classrooms. Parents and families are struggling through this economy, and more responsibility is falling onto our collective plates. We find ourselves teaching right from wrong, courtesy, societal values, and generally things that good citizens do. I do not shy away from this at all. This is one thing that I take very seriously in my profession. From saying "good morning" to every one of my students, to holding the door for them, to saying "please" and "thank you" and "excuse me", I try my best to model all that I expect and hold them accountable for doing or not doing it.

The other challenge comes from outside our classroom doors. Government agencies are dropping initiatives on the shoulders of schools in an effort to refine eduction. Perhaps instead it needs to be redefined, but that is a topic for another post. Governments, especially our state government, cannot get their act together enough to get policy proposals or budgets completed on time, but they are telling us how to 'make the grade'. Learning standards are being changed so often it is difficult to view progress towards them,. People are calling for teacher accountability based on something that they cannot define, districts are looking for any kind of solid data numbers to appease the quantitative number crunchers that need a line graph to see how our kids are learning rather than really look into our schools and see any qualitative growth, etc.

How can we keep 'our classroom' while playing by their mandates? I don't know. I am exhausted after every day, but I cannot see myself doing anything else with my life. I love what I am. I love being a teacher, and I wouldn't trade it for any other profession out there. My rewards come not from my administrators; they come from my students. Professional awards are good for some, but give me a kid walking in a 8:25 with a smile on his or her face ready to learn, ready to feel empowered and excited to take the journey with the rest of us. That is my trophy, and I get to see 22 of them every day.

Getting back to the butterfly, my optimistic side is hoping that this feeling is akin to the dizzy feeling that the larvae might be experiencing as it builds the chrysalis. It undergoes the task sure that it will survive, and sure about completing the change. My realistic side is tired of all of this spinning and is hoping that the environment is conducive to the growth and change that should happen. My pessimistic side is worried that the environment has grown too cold to support such a beautiful life, and that if the metamorphosis has not demonstrated adequate progress it will be stopped because it is simply not worth the energy.

I hope I get to fly.