No Apologies

It's that time of year again -- the time when people razz me about getting to lay around and do nothing all summer and get paid for it. I hear it from people I know who are kidding, and I hear it in the media from total strangers who have never worked in the field of education but think they know everything about it because they've been to school themselves. Well, I am here to tell you I refuse to apologize for having a summer vacation that I have earned and really isn't much of a vacation at all.

I say I have earned this vacation because I worked hard for the past 180 days with the kids in my classroom. I have taught and re-taught. I have created lesson plans, assignments, and assessments of various types. I have contacted parents. I have disciplined students. I have coached kids in track. I have graded papers and tests and quizzes. I have listened to and evaluated speeches and presentations. I have attended team, department, staff, building-level technology, district-level technology, leadership, school improvement, and anti-bullying committee meetings. I created and presented Internet safety presentations for students and parents. I prepared my students for standardized tests. Just to name a few things. How I wish I could say I accomplished all those things in my seven hours in the classroom each day, but much more often than not, like most teachers, those activities went way beyond my classroom time. I did a lot of hard work this school year; I deserve my summer vacation.

Which leads me to explain that it's really not much of a vacation. I am taking one planned trip this summer. The rest of the summer will be spent focusing on three things: helping a colleague prepare to take over teaching computers next year (as well as her sub when my colleague goes on maternity leave); writing curriculum for the high school prep/transition class I am taking over next school year; and starting my course work for my ESL endorsement. So no one should be fooled into thinking I will spend the next three months sitting around and forgetting all about school. Summer is when I look forward to doing school work unencumbered by school. I can work at my own pace and uninterrupted. I can work at home or the library or on my patio. I will spend my summer working -- just not in a classroom with students. I'm not abnormal; this is what most teachers do.

So feel free to tease me about enjoying my summer vacation. I will. Because I enjoy what I do and I'm working on it all summer. And I deserve every reward I get from teaching -- monetary or not.

Cyberbullying

Technology has created a way for children to harass and bully each other in damaging and inescapable ways. In order to effectively deal with the problem of cyberbullying, I believe that ALL of the following people need to work collectively. If one group is not on board, then cyberbullying will continue to be pervasive in the culture of teenagers.

· TEACHERS: Teachers need to learn what cyberbullying is and address it as needed if the topic is brought up in class. Teachers need to listen to students who come to them to report instances of cyberbullying. Teachers need to know what rules and laws are in place regarding cyberbullying as well as what kinds of resources are available to help students who are victims of cyberbullying. Teachers need to be willing to document cases of reported or observed cyberbullying and never, ever assume such behavior is typical of children and teenagers and students just need to learn to deal with it.

· SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS: School administrators, like principals, assistant principals, and deans, face the same responsibilities that teachers do when confronted with cases of cyberbullying. In addition, school administrators need to establish clear and enforceable consequences for cyberbullying. They also need to be willing to contact law enforcement when needed to send a strong and clear message that cyberbullying is simply not tolerated.

· VICTIMS: Victims of cyberbullying should never be expected to just deal with the problem on their own. Rather, they should be taken seriously and see that their harassment is being taken seriously and it is being dealt with. They should receive counseling as necessary in order to learn strategies for dealing with cyberbullies.

· BYSTANDERS: Those students who see cyberbullying taking place need to be assertive in assisting victims by standing up for them and reporting cyberbullying when it is observed. Too often bystanders are unwilling to stand up for those they see being victimized because they are afraid of incurring the same disdain inflicted upon them by cyberbullies. Bystanders need to understand what cyberbullying is and be educated about what they can do to help squelch cyberbullying.

· PARENTS: Parents need to be involved in what their own children do online and with their cell phones. This should include having an account on a social networking site like Facebook or MySpace, and "friending" their own children. It is also advisable to check histories on cell phones and computers. In addition, parents should have access to and passwords for email addresses, instant messaging accounts, and social networking sites. When parents see something their child has done that is inappropriate, it should be demanded of the child to remove the offending material and/or the parents should take it down themselves. Being passive about what children do online can lead to disastrous consequences. Just ask the parents of Ryan Halligan, Megan Meier, and Phoebe Prince. It is irresponsible to let our children run unattended on the Internet.

If all of these stakeholders take on a role in combating cyberbullying, then we will have the benefit of seeing it diminish and hopefully establish a culture of tolerance and respect among children and teens. It is when the majority of one group does not come on board with addressing cyberbullying that everyone else's efforts fall flat. Cyberbullying can become socially unacceptable if everyone is willing to take a stand and take part of the responsibility for combating this social ill that is plaguing our children and teens.

I Love School!

Today I was accused, with a sneer, of all things, of loving school. I am still trying to figure out why that is a bad thing, why it is viewed negatively by some. Of course I love school! Not only do I love school for myself (because I love learning new things), but I also love school in terms of teaching. I love my job. I get great enjoyment and satisfaction out of spending my day with junior high kids. They are enthusiastic and energetic -- what's not to love? I would hope that all teachers love school. If not, why be a teacher? I have always said that nothing will make a kid hate school more than a teacher who hates school. I believe that teachers who hate school are actually causing harm to kids -- it poisons children's minds and attitudes toward learning. So excuse me for not just showing up to work every day, doing the same old things the same way I have for years, sitting around on my tenured rear end, boring my students, whining, complaining, and collecting a paycheck. I happen to love school!

Save Them From Their Own Immaturity

Something Rick Wormeli said in his workshop last week resonated with one of my colleagues: students need to be saved from their own immaturity. This rang true in my mind this week as I listened to fellow teachers who were upset with students who refused to do homework. I realize I am blessed to teach gifted students who rarely have missing work (although teaching that population does have its own unique challenges). But as I listened to my friends become more and more upset with the kids who refused to do their work, I wanted to tell them that it is their job to save those students from their own immaturity. Junior high kids aren't mentally or emotionally equipped to completely manage their own educations. It is a disservice to our students if they don't do the work and we don't hold them responsible for it, even the kids who simply don't have the chance to do it at home because they have so much other emotional baggage to deal with at home. In fact, THOSE kids need us to save them in a whole different way. We teachers need to be the ones to guide our students in the right direction. We need to make every effort to ensure our students learn, if that indeed is what we want them to do (hopefully it is, since we are teachers). It may be painful for us or inconvenient for us; we may have to deal with a student we don't particularly like or a difficult parent. We may have to stand over a student and direct him or her. We may have to reteach and reteach again. Maybe we have to give up some of our lunch time or plan time. But if we don't save the kids from their own immaturity, we send the message that what we asked them to do doesn't matter; it wasn't that important to begin with (also a message from Rick Wormeli). If we send kids that message just one time, they will assume everything in our class is unimportant and will see no point in performing or learning. If we really want our kids to learn the important things we teach, shouldn't we do all we can to assist in that learning, even if it is uncomfortable for us for a time?

Differentiated Learning

I just spent the last two days a a workshop presented by Rick Wormeli on differentiated instruction. I am happy to say that after 20 years of teaching, I found myself inspired to make changes to the way I teach and evaluate my students. At the time in my career where most teachers find themselves settled in and maybe picking up the label "old timer" and maybe shaking their heads at the younger ones coming in, I am finding myself renewed. After listening to Rick Wormeli speak and explain how we need to redefine what a grade means; how we need to get our students to recognize that the work we give them has value and not allow them to skip our assignments; how we need to use an abundance of formative assessment to be confident students are ready for a formative assessment AND we don't have to count ANY of that formative assessment as a grade (and in fact, we SHOULDN'T count any of it as a grade); how we need to avoid the use of zero (on a hundred point scale) for a grade for work not turned in because a zero on a hundred point scale is devastating; and, among so many other things, how we should allow students to retake tests and quizzes for full credit if we really want them to master the standard, I find myself wanting to totally overhaul the way I do all my assessment in my classroom. I used to be adamantly opposed to the thought of differentiating instruction; I felt it was unrealistic in terms of logistics, akin to having 100 IEPs, but Rick Wormeli showed me how right it is and that it can be done. He showed me that it can't be done overnight, though, and it is important to start with small steps and build up from there. So that is what I plan to do when I get back to my class -- start small. I am going to find one thing to start doing and go from there. I refuse to be one of those teachers stuck in a rut, doing things in the same order and the same way year after year. I was trying to keep things fresh before hearing Rick Wormeli, but now I feel like I have a compass pointing me in a good direction and I am excited to try all the new things I learned!

Longer School Year?

Today at lunch in the toxic teachers' lounge, some of my colleagues were complaining about President Obama's desire to lengthen the school year. They were saying that there is no way they would do it, that they will get out of this profession before anyone makes them work a longer year than they already do. Mind, you, these are the same teachers who complain when they lose instructional time due to standardized testing. I don't know a single teacher who would ever say, "Oh, yes, I have plenty of time to teach my kids everything they need to know." Well, my co-workers, you can't have it both ways. You can't bemoan the loss of instructional time and then balk when someone proposes to give you more time to work with the kids.
I personally am in favor of a longer school year, whether that comes in the form of a longer work day, a longer calendar year, or both. However, just adding time isn't enough to make learning effective and meaningful. In order for that extra time to make a difference, the following things must occur:

1.) Teachers must commit to being consummate professionals and do some serious self-examination to determine their own effectiveness in the classroom. Any teacher who is sub-standard should get out of the classroom or dedicate him or herself to becoming a relevant educator. Extra time in the school year will not be meaningful without effective educators in the classroom.

2.) Administrators must be supportive of their teachers. It is going to be an adjustment to move to a longer school year. Principals are going to have to show some tough love for mediocre teachers and push them to become better in order to effectively use that extra student contact time. Relevant professional development will have to be offered. Planning time will have to be offered because teachers are going to have to plan differently. There will be a learning curve involved for teachers to best develop an effective strategy to use that extra time with their kids well.

3.) Students are going to have adjust to more time in school, and we are all going to suffer along the way until they do :-) Seriously, though, a longer school day and/or year will be an adjustment for many students. Teachers need to strive to make learning relevant for their students so they don't think that this is just some form of torture. My experience has been that if what the kids are learning can somehow be used now as opposed to being important for "when they get to high school" or "needed for when you get a job", they are more willing to learn. Notice I said MORE willing -- not willing. Relevancy is so important, especially for adolescents who really live in the here and now.

4.) Parents are going to have to buy into the benefits of a longer school year and be willing to accept the strings that will come attached to the potential for their children to learn more. There is quite a backlash against homework right now. A longer school year probably won't eliminate homework, but it could increase the amount of homework. Kids might step up their game to gain "mental health days" to stay home from school. Parents will have to show some tough love and make sure their kids go to school when they can and resist the urge to coddle them. Yes, kids need time to be kids, but that can happen outside of school AND during the school day. Parents will also see an increase in the taxes they pay because the cold, hard truth is that a longer school year is going to cost school districts money, and that revenue is going to have to come from somewhere. The most common "somewhere" is from the pockets of taxpayers.

This summer I read the book Work Hard. Be Nice by Jay Mathews. That book outlines the vision of Mike Feinberg and Dave Levin, the vision that becomes the KIPP program. KIPP shows that a longer school year can work. The school day is longer for students and teachers at KIPP schools. The school week is longer, too -- there ARE some Saturdays that school is in session! The school calendar year is longer, with school taking place for a few weeks during the summer. However, it is not just added time that makes KIPP so powerful. It is the commitment of all involved educational stakeholders that makes the added time worthwhile. Students, teachers, and parents are all committed to a meaningful education. Take one look at the contract that each of these groups must sign. It is that dedication that gives the extra time depth and worth. Without a deep level of committment from everyone, a longer school year will be pointless.

Kids Evaluating Teachers?

There was an editorial in our local paper this week written by an 8th grader criticizing teachers. The gist of her writing was something I believe is quite true: nothing will make a kid hate school more than a teacher who hates school. I don't deny for one moment that a teacher's attitude toward his or her job impacts the kids in the classroom with that teacher. I also don't deny that there are plenty of lousy teachers out there right now doing irreparable damage to students. However, this girl seemed highly critical of any teacher who didn't entertain her. She focused a lot on how the good teachers are the ones who make learning fun for her and the bad teachers are boring people who make their subjects boring. How I wish it were as simple as being an entertainer.... If anyone can help me make grammar entertaining, tell me. However, I think she believes entertaining equals effective, and that is simply not true. Some subjects are never going to be fun, but a good teacher covers the topics effectively and makes the learning meaningful to the students. I don't believe an 8th grader is qualified to say what does and does not make a good teacher. She is qualified, however, to speak about what makes a fun teacher. The tone of the article was quite condescending, and while I believe she has a right to freedom of speech, I fear what happens when people read her musings and accept them as truth. No adult should engage in discourse on what makes an effective educator with a child.