End of an Era

Today marks the end of an era.  No longer will I have the moniker “The Detention Dude”.  I am stepping down from a position that I have held for the past  six years: after school detention monitor.  It marks the end of a reign of terror on students and drudgery on me.  As expectations of student behavior continue to decline along with enforcement of existing policies and rules, I found it increasingly difficult to maintain a positive attitude.

I am passionate about the importance of the education profession and the role public education plays in our society.  I am also passionate about the role the family plays in a child’s behavior and education.  However, I believe this generation has forgotten this key component.     

I don’t want to beat a proverbial dead horse, but we are giving away our culture of academia and allowing it to be replaced by a culture of chaos.  It is difficult, if not impossible to enforce rules subjectively and have any sense of order.  However that seems to be the case not only with our schools, but with our society as a whole.  I digress…..

When we mistakenly try to be accepting and accommodating to every different culture and sub-culture that enters a public school’s doors, we are effectively lowering the bar.  We now tollerate behaviors and performance levels in public schools that only a generation ago would have been unheard of , let alone tolerated.   No matter what the behavior that student has the right to a free public education….no matter what the academic performance the student advances.

Hopefully I am wrong about this and removing myself from the detention crowd will provide evidence of hope.

Just call me “Plain Ole Dude”, RT.

Demosthenes may have had a point.

When it comes to public education Demosthenes may have had a point.  If one of his students made a grammatical error, he would strike one of the parents.  Now just think about this for a minute…..actually holding parents responsible for their child’s behavior and education?  Unheard of, it is the government’s and it’s educational system responsibility to provide a free education to all of its citizens.  No child left behind right?  I mean parents just need to make sure that their children make it to dance, piano, soccer, cheerleading and every other extracurricular activity on time.

Believe me when I say that I have felt Demosthenes’ pain.  As a mathematics teacher I have heard parents say countless times (okay I could count them but I haven’t) “oh, I wasn’t any good at math either” as an excuse for their child’s poor performance.  Come on, give me a break.  In 7th grade math we are not talking Calculus or Trigonometry here folks, we are talking everyday math skills and a little pre-algebra.  These same kiddos who don’t know their multiplication facts, know the lyrics to hundreds of songs.  It has just not been made a priority at home.  Have you ever heard a parent say; my child can’t read, but that’s okay cause I never learned to read either?  I haven’t either. 

The vast majority of todays teachers are highly qualified and are there because they feel called, oh and the high pay.  We are one of the few nations that try to educate the masses and provide this service free to tax payers and non-taxpayers alike.  I often wonder if because education is basically a handout, it is not valued as it should be.  I mean, if it is truly free then why should one have to work for it at all.  It becomes a right.

No Child Left Behind should be rewritten to incorporate language, guidelines, and consequences for parents of poor performing students.  Then maybe we would see a dynamic change.

Where’s the Tylenol. RT.

Is it just me?

As I walked down the school hallway and heard Bruce Springsteen’s Born in the USA playing on the morning announcements as an intro to the pledge, I wondered if the irony was lost on everyone but me.  The demographics of this district’s website report that there are over 40 different languages spoken in the homes of its students.  This would imply that not all of the students were “born in the USA”.  The district’s ethnicity summary reports that Hispanic is the largest and fastest growing “minority”.  It goes on to report that all “minorities” combined equal 49% of its student population.  Now what message are we sending to these students and others?  Many were not born in the USA, yet we expect that they stand and show respect for the flag during the pledge?  This, after pointing out the difference between us and them through the words of Bruce’s anthem…  I don’t get it.

Now don’t get me wrong, people who know me wouldn’t exactly call me touchy-feely, but I do think we need to realize the impact of our uttered words.  Those words can be in written, spoken, or song form.  We need to be a lot less egocentric and a little more altruistic in our thoughts, words, and actions.  Wait a minute, that is beginning to sound like a Jewish rabbi I have read about.  And you know what happened when people started following Him.

Enough said, RT out.

Dan Newberry is messing with my Saturday evening…

Okay, I apologize in advance, but here I go again…

There I was sitting on the couch quietly enjoying a Saturday night at home watching college football with my lovely wife and then there it was;  a political ad for Dan Newberry running for state senate saying how he will improve education by implementing “higher standards for schools, and higher goals and expectations for education.”  Give me a break…..

When was the last time Mr. Newberry or any other state senator was even in a school, let alone a classroom.  Do they not realize that Oklahoma already has some of the highest criteria and testing standards for teachers.  I don’t know about your state, but in Oklahoma the state senate has been writing educational mandates and forgetting to fund them.  What qualifies these state senators to do this.  Do they have Bachelors, Masters, or Doctorates degrees in education?  I don’t think so. 

I have said it before and I will say it again now; I believe all US and state senators need to spend time in public schools substituting for at least a continuous week and be held accountable for the student’s mastery of the curriculum which they have taught.  Then maybe they would have a small glimpse of and slight insight into the real problem with education: the brokeness of our society and the plight of the American family coupled with the loss of the “culture of school.”  This would allow them to make education related decisions based on real time data and not their own past experiences.

Dan, I hope to see you and other law makers in the hallways and classrooms of my school soon.

Just the way I see it, RT

Dallas going pink…

The Dallas, Texas public school district is reportedly issuing “pink slips” to nearly 1,100 employees this week due to an $84 million shortfall.  Approximately 550 of those will be classroom teachers.  The students in the classrooms of those 550 teachers will have to be absorbed into other already crowded classrooms.  Now that’s an academically sound move…..      

If we can afford $700 $750 billion to bailout the crooks on Wall Street and the bankers who let their greed run amuck, surely we can afford another $84 million to bailout a school district as large as the one in Dallas.  Who knows, maybe the district could even implement an ethics curriculum and avoid another mess like we are in now.

Seeing pinkish red, RT

My Second Window of Opportunity

My second window of opportunity (WOO) presented itself during my middle school career.  I don’t remember the exact grade (I think 9^th), but I do remember the class and the teacher.  It was a Biology class with Mr. Shoemaker at the helm.  We were deep in the middle of the long awaited fetal pig dissection.  I mean this was truly part of the middle school rights of passage; the subject of adolescent legends.  We had been long awaiting this day since grade school and it had finally arrived.  I can still remember the smell of the formaldehyde as the pigs were distributed to the eagerly awaiting groups. 

 

The task at hand was simple: carefully open up our pig, then identify and remove the specified list of organs.  Easy enough.  Things were going great as we removed each organ, labeled it, and tossed any unnecessary parts out the open window next to our lab table.  We thought we had finished until we realized that we had everything we needed except for a spleen.  We frantically referred to our fetal pig dissection manual, but to no avail.  Either our fetal pig was born (well you know what I mean) without a spleen or we had misplaced it.  You can’t imagine our panic we realized our faux pas.

 

The window was about the same size as the one through which I had staged my “great escape” earlier in my academic career, but unfortunately I was substantially larger.  As my lab partners formed a human screen between the open window and Mr. Shoemaker, I contorted my body through the open window.  Do you have any idea how hard it is to find a fetal pig spleen in the midst of a dormant Bermuda covered school yard?  Well, probably not.  Let’s just say providence was with me that day.  So it was with spleen in hand, I deftly made my way back through the window and was able place the rogue spleen in its rightful place among the other labeled organs.  No harm, no foul.

 

Mr. Shoemaker seemed a little puzzled as to why there was some dried grass clippings on our spleen, but didn’t push the subject.

 

  Like I have said before, WOOs don’t come along everyday, so when they do you had better jump on it or out it.

As always, RT

Gum Rule

I would like to share with you my thoughts on what is wrong with Public Education, seeing that everyone else seems to be doing so.  It is my belief that all of the woes of public education can be traced back to one issue: The Gum Rule. 

That’s right the Gum Rule.  The gum rule or more specifically the NO GUM ALLOWED AT SCHOOL RULE has always been part of the Board Approved Student Handbook.  Yet on any given day in any given classroom there they are:  Gum chewers, rule breakers, rouge chomppers blatantly flaunting their disregard of the Gum Rule!  When and if this violation of board policy is addressed, consequences are rarely applied.  

Now, let me interject here that I earnestly believe the kiddos in the US are anything but stupid.  With that being said, what lesson do you think they are learning from “getting away” with breaking the gum rule?  You guessed it!  “That the rules and their consequences don’t apply to me.”

This mindset is often transferred to other rules of conduct and academics.  Teachers and administrators are often overwhelmed with trying to encourage, enlighten and educate students not to mention dealing with “big” issues such as fights, weapons, and drugs; that violations of long standing rules of decorum and civility are being over looked and not addressed. 

Academically, if a student chooses not to study and pass, oh lets say their math class, there is no consequence. Even though they have been told that they will not be able to go on the next grade they know they will.  Why?  Because research has found that retention does nothing to improve the educational success of the student.  In reference to conduct; school hallways are becoming mosh-pits that would make visiting sailors blush.    

I reiterate:  What lessons are we really teaching our students, because folks, they are learning them well!!  We are not losing the battle for the culture of education; we are willingly surrendering it without a fight!

Hey, don’t call me a legalist.  I don’t even agree with the Gum Rule.  I encourage students to present reasonable and articulate dialogues to have the Gum Rule removed. However, I will follow and enforce it as long as it is a rule.    However, by not adhering to and enforcing the gum rule and any other rule/policy/law, we as adults are being poor role-models.   Who is watching you?

Looking the other way, RT.

Blowing Smoke

Monday, February 4th, Governor Henry delivered his State of the State address to a joint session of the Legislature. By all appearances it was well received as it was interrupted over twenty times by applause.  With that being said, I would like to focus on two of his points that impact teachers and education:

1.  Governor Henry stated that he wanted to give teachers a pay increase averaging $1200.

2.  He further stated that he supported State Superintendent of Education Sandy Garrett’s proposal to add 5 instructional days to the school calendar.

Why wouldn’t this get applause?  All of this sounds great at first glance, but……

Let’s give teachers that $1200 pay raise, I know they deserve it and would appreciate it!  Only thing is when you combine that with 5 extra contract days it is no where near a $1200 raise.  Let’s take a look at the net affect of these two proposals on an average (some say above average) teacher’s salary.  You do the math: $36,500 divided by 181 contract days equals $201.66 per contract day.  Add 5 more days at $201.66 per contract day or $1008.30, subtract that from the $1200 “raise” and it is actually only a $191.70 pay raise.

Come on Governor Henry and Superintendent Garrett you can’t have it both ways.  Either give teachers a raise that includes compensation for the extra 5 days or don’t call it a raise.  Being asked to work 5 days without pay just doesn’t set right.  Maybe I am just arguing over semantics here, but it still smells like smoke!    

A hill to die on….

“Is that the hill you want die on?”

How many times have you heard that line when dealing with a dilemma deemed doomed  in your work place, school, or even your church.  You believe in your heart that you are on the right side of the issue.  You have researched, sought advice, and maybe even prayed about this situation, but the temporal  powers that be don’t align with your view.  To take a stand could mean social isolation by colleagues, ridicule by superiors, loss of status or even possibly loss of your position/job!  I know I’ve been there before and I imagine most of us have.  How many times have we taken that stand and faced the odds versus how many times have we sacrificed our beliefs in retreat?

If we don’t stand, fight, and possibly die on that hill for a cause we believe in….what are the alternatives?   To compromise our beliefs and remain on the hill at the price of our soul or to flee into the valley only to be enslaved by our regret.

So, the next time you hear: “Is this a hill you want to die on?”  Remember this……………  

Christ died on a hill for His beliefs…that you and I were worth saving!

What is worth saving to you?

Thanks again, RT

   

Blessed or Stupid in America?

Another school year is screaming to an end and I feel like I am Slim Pickens from the movie “1945″ riding that speeding missile to its inevitable end.  State testing, district testing, semester testing……. only three weeks left to finish the curriculum and do test preparations.   Ah, alas it will soon be  time to reflect on the year’s victories as well as defeats.

Sounds easy right?  Make two columns; one for successes and one for failures.  I am blessed to work in a district full of committed, talented, highly motivated and highly qualified teachers.  It is a district with a high tax base and stellar record for passing bond issues.  These allow for state of the art technology, new construction of schools, remodeling of schools, and sports facilities that are the envy of many colleges.  But this is not enough!  If money were the issue, the US would have the highest scores in the world.  Unfortunately, we don’t, so what is the problem?

The biggest problems facing public education in America are student  accountability, apathy and parental influence.  However with that being said, students have learned some lessons very well.  Ask any “hall smart”  fourth through eighth grader what happens if they fail a class, nothing!  You might be surprised to know they are correct.  Based on “research”, administrations have decided that it does no good to retain a student to provide another opportunity to learn grade specific concepts.  They believe it is better to send them on ill-prepared to the next grade level.  Students know this and are too immature to know the snowball effect this will have on their education.  Administrations, who should know better, are now faced with the fact that these same students they have let slide through the cracks are being required to pass end of instruction exams for a high school  diploma.

This lack of accountability has caused apathy among students to run rampant.  The argument has been made that today’s students don’t look at education as important as those of past generations.  This comes from them being able to find anything they need on the internet.  Sadly, this is mistaking information for an education.  We need  thinkers and problem solver.  We need artists and those with a passion for creating.  We need scientists who can find a way to contain and regulate anti-matter as a fuel source.  Apathy is not the way to achieve this!  A passion for and a value of education is required.  And parents….that is where you come in.

Parents, if you are best friends with your child, something has gone terribly wrong.  Namely your parenting.  Children need love, support, encouragement and safety to thrive, but they also need boundaries, consequences, and humility.  The latter three often make parents unpopular.  Deal with it!  When a doctor prescribes your child medicine, don’t you see to it that they take the medicine whether they like the taste or not?  Don’t you follow through with required check-ups?  Don’t you employ preventive measures?  Sure you do, because you know it is in your child’s best interest.  Why is it then, that so many parents ignore their child’s education?  If part of the third grade curriculum is to learn the times table, why don’t you make sure that child knows theirs even if it takes practicing at home?  We are talking about your child’s as well as our nation’s future here.

People we are so very blessed to live in a nation that provides a free education to all of its inhabitants, citizen or not.  What a gift!  Maybe the fact that it is free is the reason we as a society can’t see the value.  It is human nature to not see the value in what we have until it is lost.  

Blessed or stupid? 

You decide, RT.