“Teacher Turnover: How Long Will They Stay”

Seeing as we are all either on our quest to becoming a teacher or already are teachers, I found this article to be relevant and very interesting. It seems as though the profession of teaching has an extremely high attrition rate, meaning that many leave the profession after only a short while in the teaching field.

The article is mainly statistics gathered from a survey of the Prince George school system in Washington. Over 4,000 teachers participated in this survey; the questions in the survey pertained to how teachers felt about their jobs and how satisfied they were in their particular school.

To my surprise, these teachers did not seem very satisfied with their job at all. One of the most shocking statistics I came across stated that:

“66.6% [of teachers in the Prince George’s School system]– Agreed with the statement, “If I could get a higher-paying job, I’d leave teaching as soon as possible.”

It’s simply shocking to me that 2/3 of teachers seem so indifferent about teaching that they would just leave it at a whim. To me it’s simple: I’m obviously not going into teaching for the money, I am going into this profession because it is something that I would truly love doing. I think that when you are not passionate about your profession, it carries over and shows in everything you do. More than any other profession, it is almost necessary for teachers to be passionate about their work because there are hundreds of impressionable lives literally in the palm of your hands.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wpdyn/content/article/2008/11/30/AR2008113001927.html?nav=rss_education

“New high school graduation requirements in action”

“Extra help? It’s available before, during or after school. Homework question? Try the teacher’s online hotline. Borderline grades? Mandatory math club awaits. And when all else fails, including the student, school districts are offering second chances through summer school and online courses”.

It is great to see that schools are truly doing everything they help to help struggling students keep pace with their coursework. The reason for all the needed help is due to the fact that Michigan has raised their expectations of high school coursework and has changed high school graduation requirements.

Now “ every student [is]required to complete four years of math and English, including algebra, geometry and algebra II, and three each of science and social studies, one failed class can derail graduation”. The content of those required courses have also become harder because of Michigan’s new content expectations—something we may have learned as juniors and seniors are now being taught to freshmen in high school.

The main reason for all the changes being made are due to state officials believing in students needing “more rigorous high school work in order to succeed in postsecondary education, leading to higher earning potential and a better-educated Michigan workforce.”

The main problem with the new high school requirements is that many students just can’t keep up, despite all the extra help that is being offered. Some students feel as though they were not adequately prepared in middle school for the shift to an extremely rigorous coursework load, others just think it’s too much work, too little time. Because of these issues, some schools are either “adding time to the school day or shifting to a trimester schedule” so that students will have more class time with teachers and hopefully keep up with their work.

I think the new graduation requirements are a bit tough on most students. Under the new high school requirements, a senior student can do well in every class up until senior year, fail one math class and not be able to graduate. The concept seems a bit harsh to me. I’m all for pushing and motivating students to work hard, and expect a lot out of them, but when one class can determine your entire life in high school, then there’s something wrong with that! I think Michigan should raise the bar on high school graduation requirements, but I do believe that there are limits and reasonable expectations that should be considered as well.

http://www.educationreport.org/pubs/mer/article.aspx?id=9457

“How to stop bullying in our schools”

Dr. Jack Grenan, a former high school principal, assistant school principal, high school and middle school teacher, college professor and psychologist developed a classroom policy that aims at stopping bullying from taking place in schools.  His approach can be carried out by teachers with a simple 6-step procedure.

First, having a sign on the door stating bullies are not welcome, or something to that effect to get students attention from the start. Second, this former teacher explained to students that

“as a child, I could not do much to stop bullying, but that as a teacher, ‘I am in charge and will NOT accept bullying!’ “.

Dr. Grenan then asks students to think of a time when they were younger and were bullied or teases, and recall how they felt at that time. He explains that almost all students can recall an experience, and some are even willing to share their personal story. He then reinforces the fact that most everyone has been bullied at one point or another, and can relate to the pain that is felt when they are bullied, ie: wanting to cry, run away or stop going to school because of the bullying. Dr. Grenan then asks students a simple question: “If you know how badly a person who is bullied feels, then why would you do this to another student?” Finally, he explains to students that anyone who intentionally hurts another person’s feelings is acting like a bully and that sort of behavior is not tolerated. He also states that is someone is acting like a bully, then they are most likely insecure about something in their own life, and offers to get them help.

Dr. Grenan explains that his method is a more hands-on approach to stop bullying. Throughout the year, his students became more sensitive to teasing and were able to better communicate with one another when issues of bullying arose. He also claims that his method allows parents or teachers a way to assist both victims and predators in bullying situations.

I think this method would work well for younger students who are being bullied or bullying other students. However, I do not think this method would work well for older students. Some high school students are so completely selfish and in their own world that no matter what method a teacher tries, they will still continue to bully other students.

I think that being bullied can cause traumatic experiences for the person who is being bullied. As a result of being bullied, students can develop low self-esteem, inflict pain on themselves, or in extreme cases even try to commit suicide. As a teacher, I would hate for any of my students to be a victim of bullying, for that reason I believe that I would have to do whatever is in my power to stop bullying before it starts.

http://www.educationreport.org/pubs/mer/article.aspx?id=9683

“Panel OK’s new special education rules”

Earlier this year, questions of whether or not new special education rules would pass legislation. Objection to the new rules were mainly made by parents of special education students, rather than education department officials. Much of the disagreements were concerning children with severe cognitive or severe multiple disability disorders:

In the past, children in those programs were automatically guaranteed an extended school year. Federal rules, and Michigan’s new rules, now say that decisions on offering extended year services must be made on an individual basis by the child’s education planning team.

Instead of a 230 day schedule, students are now offered a 200 day schedule. Some parents seem to think that by lessening the number of days in scheduling, students are being denied services that are needed.

Another issue parents were concerned about was the “severe discrepancy” process that was formally used to identify students with learning disabilities.

Students were identified as learning disabled was to determine if there was a “severe discrepancy” between their ability, as determined by testing, and their actual achievement. Students with a large discrepancy were often referred to special education. However, critics said that model often misidentified children as needing special education when the real reason for the achievement lag was poor instruction.

Michigan’s new rules do not allow schools to solely rely on the “severe discrepancy” process to identify students with learning disabilities, and that scientific, research-based methods must be used. The “severe discrepancy” process can still be used, however only as a “safety net” to classify students into the special education category.

To me, it seems as though many of the issues parents were having was simply based on the language of the rules as written in the standards. Many of the standards were not directly stated in the Michigan’s special education rules; however those are in federal regulations. Clarifying some of those issues and federal regulations in Michigan special education rules would probably result in less confusion and unnecessary arguments between parents of special education students and the special education panel.

http://www.educationreport.org/pubs/mer/article.aspx?id=9739

“A Plan to Cut the High School Dropout Rate”

New Jersey Governor, Jon S. Corzine, has setup a yearlong plan to increase high school graduation rates. The idea of the plan is to keep students in school, as well as off the streets where activity could lead to violence.

The Governor stated that:

“the aim is to ensure that kids are headed in the right direction and not falling into the trap of a life of crime. Staying in school is one of our best crime prevention tools, and it requires the collaborative efforts of all of us to make it happen.”

This campaign is part of a nationwide effort to reduce high school dropout rates. Although New Jersey has one of the lowest dropout rates of the nation, attempts to keep students in school are still necessary. As the article stated, high school dropouts are more than likely to become an inconvenience on society, and are more often than not likely to end up in jail, on welfare, or without heal insurance.

“According to the group’s research, dropouts from the class of 2007 will cost the nation more than $320 billion in lost wages, taxes and productivity over their lifetime”.

Different strategies will be used in order to aid in decreasing high school dropout rates. One strategy is to reduce truancies by providing support programs. After school programs will also be in place promote educational and school-related activities. The campaign also aims to promote stronger family ties, seeing as family support is viewed as a key to student success.

I think this is a great step to increasing student graduation rates. This type of program is especially needed in areas where student gang involvement is high. This program encourages students to stay in school and off the streets. I believe that community support and involvement would also encourage students to stay in school; it will give students the impression that something bigger than themselves- the whole community- is rooting for them. Encouragement and motivation seems to be a great solution to any problem!

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/26/nyregion/new-jersey/26educnj.html

“Districts look for ways to meet special ed HQT standards”

Currently, Michigan is in the process of reassessing the qualifications for teachers of special education. The U.S Department of Education found that about half of the core classes offered to special education students was offered by non-highly qualified teachers.

Initially, Michigan had reported that 99% of all core classes were instructed by highly qualified teachers. However, the U.S Department of Education later found that a portion of the teachers who taught special education courses did not meet those standards.

“The state was required to conduct a recount after the federal department learned that Michigan considered special education high school teachers “highly qualified” if they had passed an elementary-level content examination. That’s not enough to demonstrate their knowledge of the subjects they teach, federal officials said. Michigan now has until June 2009 to comply with federal standards or face potential loss of funding through the Elementary and Secondary Education Act”.

The heart of the issue lies within teachers at the high school level. Of the districts affected, 46.5% of teachers were not considered highly qualified. I found this to be rather upsetting. How is it that we want our students to learn, if the people who are supposedly teaching them are not even qualified to do so? As a prospective teacher of English, I find this matter to be very disheartening. I am glad however that Michigan has until June to clean up their act!

http://www.educationreport.org/pubs/mer/article.aspx?id=9758

“Parent Satisfaction Higher in Private Schools”

A survey taken of the 2006-2007 school year found that

82 percent of parents whose children attended a private, nonreligious school and 81 percent whose children attended a private religious school described themselves as “very satisfied” with their schools, compared to 55 percent of parents whose children attend an assigned public school and 63 percent of those whose children attend a public school of their choice.

This finding shows that parents are more satisfied with private school over public schools and more satisfied when their child attends the public school of their choice.

The survey is based upon telephone interviews with parents regarding various topics, such as parental involvement, communication and satisfaction with teachers, and discipline. The survey also found that parents are more satisfied with smaller schools, probably because the smaller the school, the more likely their child is to receive direct or immediate attention. Smaller schools tend to provide a better community atmosphere for students.

According to the study, parent dissatisfaction grows as the child does. Parents of younger children are more satisfied then parents of older children. For example, parents are more satisfied with their child’s school in middle school, rather than high school. Gender does not seem to be an issue concerning parent satisfaction, however race is. Parents of black students are typically less satisfied than parents of white or Hispanic students.

I choose to include this article because I feel that it is very important to get a sense of what parents’ impression about the school their child attends. If parents are more satisfied sending their children to private school it is important to know why. It is also important to questions why parents of white and Hispanic students are more satisfied than black parents. Being aware of surveys like this can help teachers understand parents’ expectations of the school their child attends, and improve their methods accordingly.

http://www.educationreport.org/pubs/mer/article.aspx?id=9813

“With a Wish and a Click, Web Site Helps Supply Schools”

The article “With a Wish and a Click, Web Site Helps Supply Schools” explains how to do just that. The web site DonorsChoose.org is “a New York-based nonprofit organization that allows people to donate to schools directly”. Since being founded in 2000 by a social studies teacher in New York, the organization has raised over $23.9 million in donations for schools all over the country. It is fairly simple to have supplies donated to students. Teachers must first submit a request for items they need for verification. After being verified, the donation process beings. When there are enough donations, the supplies are purchased by the web site and immediately sent to the school. Upon receiving the supplies teachers must photograph the students using the items, and send thank you notes to the donors.

The purpose of this web site is for low-income communities to receive a little bit of help in the education department. I think this idea is truly brilliant. Students in lower-income communities are already faced with so many more issues than their peers in more well-off communities; they should not have to deal with lower standards in their schools as well. It’s good to hear that there are ways to improve standards in lower-communities so that students’ educational learning does not also have to be sacrificed.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wpdyn/content/article/2008/09/24/AR2008092401690.html?nav=rss_education

“Banned Books, Chapter 2″

I came across a rather interesting article titled “Banned Books, Chapter 2” in the Washington Post. I was curious to see which books exactly were being banned from high schools.  It turns out the banned books were under the category of “Conservative Christian” books, as the article refers to it. Conservative Christian students and parents banned together in an attempt to display a collection of books, they believe, were being banned by the librarians.

The books they were attempting to donate all had to do with homosexuality, and were “intended to add a conservative Christian perspective to shelves that the students said are stocked with “pro-gay” books”.  Librarians were refusing to admit the books because they did not meet the school systems standards of appropriate reading material.  For the collection to meet the requirements of the school system they must “support the diverse interests, needs and viewpoints of the school community,” and be accompanied with two positive, recognized journal reviews.  None of the donated books met these standards, partly because the books lacked research and were mostly based on scripture. Another reason why the school system did not want these books in their libraries was because of the concern in making gay students feel inferior. The Conservative Christians on the other hand, believe that their books would be a good balance to the already “pro-gay” books included in the high school library.

When I think of banned books “conservative Christians” rarely come to mind. I understand that the school system does not want to target minority groups, such as gays and lesbians, however I’m not too sure how I feel about not allowing these books in the libraries. In dealing with any other contemporary moral issue, (for example the death penalty), libraries would have both sides of the argument available to read about, so why not homosexuality? I understand that homosexuality is a sensitive subject, but shouldn’t both sides of the argument be accessible for students?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wpdyn/content/article/2008/10/02/AR2008100203644_2.html?nav=rss_education

A Teachable Moment

Skimming through the various articles in my google reader account, I came across a rather unique one. The title itself is what really made me click on it—A Teachable Moment. “A teachable moment”? I thought, “hmm… Seems interesting enough, I guess”. I guessed right! The article, although a bit long (11 pages), tells an uplifting story of Education in New Orleans, post-Hurricane Katrina disturbance.

It is probably an understatement to simply say that the entire educational system following the storm was a mess. Judging from the article however, the schools had a problem far before the storm took place. Tony Petite, was one of the many children whose family moved after the storm. Up until the fourth grade Tony had spent his entire life in the New Orleans public school system and quickly learned that he was far behind the rest of his classmates. Upon starting school in Denver, Tony realized that he was the only one of his classmates that could not write in cursive. Although this might seem like a minuscule objective, it leads me to think about what else New Orleans educators were leaving out of their curriculum? Tony stated that in New Orleans, “they just sit you in the class, and they just tell you to do this, and tell you to do that. In Denver, they help you, and they show you how to do your work.”

A year later, when Tony returned to New Orleans school system, he was an above-average student. Either Tony’s effort lessened or the New Orleans school system is severely flawed—before he knew it, Tony had failed the 6^th grade. This is just one of the few stories in the article that describes the seriousness of the problems the New Orleans school system is facing. Reading levels are far lower than the grade levels of students, less than 50% of students in the Recovery School District “scored at or above grade level on the state English test” and Louisiana is “among the lowest-performing states in the country”. Plans to change the New Orleans school system are underway. Two of the people in charge of the “Recovery School District” are Paul Pastorek, a former president of the state school board and Paul Vallas, former head of the Philadelphia school system. A year into the project, Pastorek came to some kind of conclusion:

Fixing a public-school system is not at its root a question of curriculum or personnel or even money. It is a question of governance. It is simply impossible … for a traditional school system, run from the top down by a central administrator, to educate large numbers of poor children to high levels of achievement. “The command-and-control structure can produce marginal improvements,”… “But what’s clear to me is that it can only get you so far. If you create a system where initiative and creativity is valued and rewarded, then you’ll get change from the bottom up. If you create a system where people are told what to do and how to do it, then you will get change from the top down. We’ve been doing top-down for many years in Louisiana. And all we have is islands of excellence amidst a sea of mediocrity and failure.”

The New Orleans school system had some significant problems to tackle far before Hurricane Katrina was in the picture. It is a problem that a 4^th grader does not know how to write in cursive, but it is a bigger problem that educators in the New Orleans school system never took the time to teach the students that. I think it’s great that the New Orleans school system is finally doing something about their issues. Valuing initiative and creativity is key in their efforts to changing the way things are carried out. One of the most important things teachers need to do for their students is to simply give them the time and attention they need. What caused Tony Petite to improve considerably in the Denver school was the fact that he was given special attention upon his arrival.

Setting high goals for students is another way to keep them motivated. Ronnie Stewart, an 18 year old senior in the New Orleans school system stated that his former teachers never pushed him enough:

They always showed us the easy way to get through something… How to get around it. That’s why I think so many people are struggling now, schoolwise. Before the storm, we mostly had teachers just really trying to keep us in high school. No teacher was talking to us about college. But now they are. They’re mostly trying to get us out of high school and into college now.

Students do not want the easy way out—they need to be pushed in order to succeed. I believe that no matter how much students complain about the amount of work they do in class, the papers they write, and the homework they have to finish, they need the work to become motivated.

To read A Teachable Moment, click on the link below:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/17/magazine/17NewOrleanst.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&ref=magazine