They did it! The kids actually did it!
In August, when a crazy colleague and I decided that we wanted to have our kids do social action projects as their end of the year projects, we really had no idea how to do it. We knew what we were hoping they'd do, we knew we wanted them to try to influence public policy and their communities outside of the school walls. We knew that we didn't just want them to join an effort already underway, that they needed to START something. We had some models to follow, and had spent the summer thinking through the process, but to actually do it is something completely different.
When we started explaining to the kids this spring what they were supposed to do, it was hard to even get them started because we weren't entirely sure what it would look like. We gave them some examples (and then had to suffer the consequences when half the groups decided to try to deal with litter/trash/recycling at local parks or beaches), but we really wanted them to get creative. We wanted them to look around their worlds to find things that needed changing.
Without a doubt, this was one of the most challenging projects I've ever attempted.
And they knocked my socks off.
We had a group decide they wanted to increase service on a bus route in their community. They rode the bus and talked to the passengers and got them to sign a petition. They took that petition to a meeting at the Metro offices downtown with the man who is in charge of the bus routes.
We had a group trying to deal with overpopulation of stray animals who interviewed (and recorded the interview!) with a woman from the city who oversees the shelter program to learn more about how the spay/neuter programs work.
We had a group get a bunch of balls and sports equipment donated and take them to a local elementary school that had NOTHING for the kids to play with.
We had a group decide to educate their community about yesterday's primary election. They wrote their own voter guide with simplified information about the propositions and went out in their community to talk to people and educate them about voting. They sent their pamphlet to the Secretary of State's office, and got a 3 page long personal email back from Debra Bowen herself.
I have never seen my kids as excited as I've seen them in the past three days.
I've never been as proud of my students as I am right now.
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
All Children Can Learn
*Disclaimer: The writing of the following post was accompanied by two (large) glasses of wine...if I ramble, it's not my fault.
When you decide to become a teacher, one of the core beliefs you are required to believe is that "All Children Can Learn."
I think somewhere deep down, I still believe it, but that belief is tested each and every day. I stopped being an idealistic new teacher who thought that I could reach all my kids years ago (for that matter, I'm not sure if I ever really was that crazy).
What they forget to tell you about are two groups.
Group A: Kids who won't learn.
Group B: Kids who are so far behind they can't learn what I'm there to teach them.
As we come to the end of the school year, these are the two groups that keep me awake at night. Actually, that's a lie. They've kept me awake since the beginning of the year.
I had a couple of really frustrating conversations/encounters today that I just can't seem to shake.
This year we have a trio of n'er-do-wells that I've tried my best to help. For the sake of anonymity, we'll call them Jacob, Washington, and Warren. They've been friends since 9th grade, and a pain in the side of each and every teacher, administrator and staff member that has had contact with them since.
Jacob and Warren are actually really bright. In terms of pure intellect, I'd put them up there with some of the top kids in our current senior class. Washington has more problems, but isn't a dumb kid by any means. Unfortunately, they've all decided that the rules just don't apply to them.
They're all failing classes. They're all on Academic Probation. But they won't show up, and when they do show up they're all so vulgar and rude that I end up kicking them out. I know they have crappy home lives. I know they have tons of baggage that they bring with them to school. I know that they CAN learn. Jacob and Warren are two of the less than 20 kids I have that read at grade level. They just do everything in their power to avoid any actual learning. They're late to class. Jacob has managed to turn in EVERY paper all year late. You let them go to the bathroom, they end up playing basketball in the gym. They come to school high. These are kids who SHOULD pass. They COULD pass. The only thing getting in their way is themselves.
The flip side is Walker. Walker is one of the hardest working kids you could ever imagine. As one of my co-workers brilliantly said, he's Forrest Gump. He does everything asked of him. He follows instructions exactly as they were given (which, more often than not, makes you realize that you need to be more precise in giving instructions). But he reads and writes at a 4th grade level, if I'm being generous. He's going to graduate high school reading at a 4th grade level. He came to talk to me today because he'd read a book and then failed the online test for it. It was a 5th grade level book. He could only answer 4 out of the 10 questions correctly.
At the beginning of the year, Walker told me that he wants to be a doctor. He's since changed his plans to wanting to be a nurse. If this kid ever walks into my hospital room as anything more than an orderly, I'm checking myself out AMA. Can he learn? Yes. Can he improve his reading and writing 8 grade levels in one year? No.
Do I believe that all children can learn? Yes. But they have limits. They don't all learn at the same speed. They don't all have the same aptitude. No, they all can't be doctors. But where do we draw the line? If we decide not to leave anyone behind, we all have to go as slow as the slowest. If we're racing for the top, someone's at the bottom.
I'm really starting to question the school choice movement. I'm starting to question charter schools. In theory, they're great. Smaller schools where we can really tailor our instruction and school plan to our students' needs. The problem is that not all schools are right for all kids. There's no such thing as a one-size-fits-all school. Unfortunately, because charter schools are public schools we have to play by the public school rules with a totally different mission. We're supposed to make all our kids college ready, but we have to accept special needs students no matter how severe their issues. We aren't allowed to have a competitive admissions process, but we're supposed to get all our kids prepared for a competitive admissions process. It would be one thing if the parents understood enough to understand that the "math and science school" isn't the right place for their talented artist, but most of the parents just hear "it's a good school" and decide that means it will be a good school for their kid. It just doesn't work out that way. We're really good with some kids. We're really not good with a bunch of other kids. And unless we're good with everyone we get, we risk our existence. But what are we supposed to do when we have kids who just flat out refuse to learn. Kids who refuse to take advantage of the opportunities they're given. Kids who won't be "college-ready" no matter how hard they (and we) try.
I found out this week that our after school online credit recovery program costs $1000 per student. We have to offer it free to the students, so the organization that runs our after school program has shelled out $20k for our most needy students to have a chance to graduate. And they won't show up. We aren't allowed to tell them that the program costs anything (let alone $20k), we aren't allowed to make them pay the school back for the wasted money, we have to just sit back and watch them fail at $1000 a pop.
How many extra chances can we possibly give?
When you decide to become a teacher, one of the core beliefs you are required to believe is that "All Children Can Learn."
I think somewhere deep down, I still believe it, but that belief is tested each and every day. I stopped being an idealistic new teacher who thought that I could reach all my kids years ago (for that matter, I'm not sure if I ever really was that crazy).
What they forget to tell you about are two groups.
Group A: Kids who won't learn.
Group B: Kids who are so far behind they can't learn what I'm there to teach them.
As we come to the end of the school year, these are the two groups that keep me awake at night. Actually, that's a lie. They've kept me awake since the beginning of the year.
I had a couple of really frustrating conversations/encounters today that I just can't seem to shake.
This year we have a trio of n'er-do-wells that I've tried my best to help. For the sake of anonymity, we'll call them Jacob, Washington, and Warren. They've been friends since 9th grade, and a pain in the side of each and every teacher, administrator and staff member that has had contact with them since.
Jacob and Warren are actually really bright. In terms of pure intellect, I'd put them up there with some of the top kids in our current senior class. Washington has more problems, but isn't a dumb kid by any means. Unfortunately, they've all decided that the rules just don't apply to them.
They're all failing classes. They're all on Academic Probation. But they won't show up, and when they do show up they're all so vulgar and rude that I end up kicking them out. I know they have crappy home lives. I know they have tons of baggage that they bring with them to school. I know that they CAN learn. Jacob and Warren are two of the less than 20 kids I have that read at grade level. They just do everything in their power to avoid any actual learning. They're late to class. Jacob has managed to turn in EVERY paper all year late. You let them go to the bathroom, they end up playing basketball in the gym. They come to school high. These are kids who SHOULD pass. They COULD pass. The only thing getting in their way is themselves.
The flip side is Walker. Walker is one of the hardest working kids you could ever imagine. As one of my co-workers brilliantly said, he's Forrest Gump. He does everything asked of him. He follows instructions exactly as they were given (which, more often than not, makes you realize that you need to be more precise in giving instructions). But he reads and writes at a 4th grade level, if I'm being generous. He's going to graduate high school reading at a 4th grade level. He came to talk to me today because he'd read a book and then failed the online test for it. It was a 5th grade level book. He could only answer 4 out of the 10 questions correctly.
At the beginning of the year, Walker told me that he wants to be a doctor. He's since changed his plans to wanting to be a nurse. If this kid ever walks into my hospital room as anything more than an orderly, I'm checking myself out AMA. Can he learn? Yes. Can he improve his reading and writing 8 grade levels in one year? No.
Do I believe that all children can learn? Yes. But they have limits. They don't all learn at the same speed. They don't all have the same aptitude. No, they all can't be doctors. But where do we draw the line? If we decide not to leave anyone behind, we all have to go as slow as the slowest. If we're racing for the top, someone's at the bottom.
I'm really starting to question the school choice movement. I'm starting to question charter schools. In theory, they're great. Smaller schools where we can really tailor our instruction and school plan to our students' needs. The problem is that not all schools are right for all kids. There's no such thing as a one-size-fits-all school. Unfortunately, because charter schools are public schools we have to play by the public school rules with a totally different mission. We're supposed to make all our kids college ready, but we have to accept special needs students no matter how severe their issues. We aren't allowed to have a competitive admissions process, but we're supposed to get all our kids prepared for a competitive admissions process. It would be one thing if the parents understood enough to understand that the "math and science school" isn't the right place for their talented artist, but most of the parents just hear "it's a good school" and decide that means it will be a good school for their kid. It just doesn't work out that way. We're really good with some kids. We're really not good with a bunch of other kids. And unless we're good with everyone we get, we risk our existence. But what are we supposed to do when we have kids who just flat out refuse to learn. Kids who refuse to take advantage of the opportunities they're given. Kids who won't be "college-ready" no matter how hard they (and we) try.
I found out this week that our after school online credit recovery program costs $1000 per student. We have to offer it free to the students, so the organization that runs our after school program has shelled out $20k for our most needy students to have a chance to graduate. And they won't show up. We aren't allowed to tell them that the program costs anything (let alone $20k), we aren't allowed to make them pay the school back for the wasted money, we have to just sit back and watch them fail at $1000 a pop.
How many extra chances can we possibly give?
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Playing The Hand You're Dealt (or, why I could never be a classroom teacher forever)
It's no secret to anyone who's talked to me in the past few months that this has been one of the most challenging school years of my career.
A friend recently told me that his girlfriend had told him that it's a waste of time to try to figure out what made the kids the way they are and that instead you just need to do your best with the hand you were dealt.
I can't do that. I wish I could, but I can't.
I understand the wisdom of it, but it just goes against everything in my nature. I've decided that people can be broken into two camps: those who do the best with what they have, and those who aren't willing to accept what they have and think it could be better. Said another way, there are those who do their best within the system, and those who want to fix the system. I'm solidly in the second camp.
I keep being reminded of one of my favorite quotes from Game of Thrones: “The common people pray for rain, healthy children and a summer that never ends. It is no matter to them if the high lords play their game of thrones, so long as they are left in peace.” I think it's really true. Most people make do and do their best with what they have. They keep their heads down and for the most part do what they have to do.
I work with a bunch of great (probably better than me in a lot of cases) teachers who do just that. They do their best with the kids they've been dealt each and every year. They don't look around their classroom and see the problems they're dealing with as the end result of a broken system that has fucked everyone in it over.
I do.
Yes, some of the problems were created by me. Others are the end result of school-wide policies that sounded good on paper and are turning out disastrous in practice. Others are the end result of NCLB or IDEA or any other of the myriad edicts from on high.
This is why I'm fascinated by politics. Far too many people ignore the political scene because they have too much else to deal with. They have a job to do, kids to raise, dinner to get on the table, and see little connection between the squabbles between politicians and the realities of their lives. They're focused on doing the best they can within the small sphere they live in.
Politicians are a different breed. Underneath all the gridlock, all the animosity, all the inaction are a group of people who looked at their world and said "I can do better." Whether they actually manage to is a different story, but I firmly believe that no one has ever run for office because they looked around and thought "Yep, the world is exactly how I like it, nothing should change."
I like the big picture. What's going on in the little picture can usually be directly connected to the big picture. It's all well and good to pray for rain and healthy children, but the games the high lords play affect us all.
At some point, I know I'm going to leave the little picture of my classroom. I don't know where I'll go from there, but I know I'm going. Maybe I'll stay home for a little bit, but someday I want to play the big game. Administration? Maybe. Policy PhD? Maybe.
I can do better.
Monday, May 14, 2012
Consumerism
I'm not a crazy granola-crunchy, attachment-parenting, worried about everything hyper-liberal mom (no, Time Magazine, I'm not "Mom enough," but thanks for asking). I'm not some psycho mama-grizzly from "real America." I'm just a mom somewhere in the middle trying to do what's right.
I try to be a conscientious consumer, but day after day I'm finding it harder and harder. Maybe part of it is that I'm trying to balance too many things all at once. Maybe part of it is that I have too much time to stand in the grocery store paralyzed between the various choices.
I want to help my budget at home = buy cheap
I want to help the national economy = buy American
I want to shield my daughter from unnecessary chemicals = buy organic
I want to shield the planet from unnecessary fossil fuels = buy local
And that's just a start.
I have trouble getting Lily to eat protein that isn't soy based. One of the few forms of meat she'll eat is spaghetti and meatballs. So, last week I headed out to go buy ingredients for spaghetti and meatballs.
Because my husband is diabetic, I have to buy the Dreamfields pasta that I can only reliably find at our local Vons.
I've been trying to avoid canned tomatoes when possible (I'm not afraid of all plastic bottles, but having read up on the whole BPA in canned tomatoes issue, and given the amount of tomato sauce we rely on, it seems like something to avoid when possible), so I wanted to buy the kind in a box. Those are only available at the Italian deli down the street.
I also prefer to buy grass-fed beef, since it's usually leaner, has more nutritional value, and, when it comes right down to it, tastes better. There are two stores nearby that sell it, but at one the beef is imported from Uruguay, and at the other the beef is imported from Australia. Hmm...what do I care more about? Nutrients or carbon footprints?
In the end, I gave in and headed for Vons since the diabetes is the most pressing of the various issues. I ended up buying Bison from Colorado instead of the beef (not sure if it's actually a better choice nutritionally, but at least it's not coming from halfway around the world). I bought prepared marinara sauce in a glass jar instead of buying the canned tomatoes so that I could make my own. In the end I didn't feel overly guilty about any of the various purchases, and Lily ate her spaghetti and meatballs happily.
Even so, the amount of thinking and planning and compromising that went into just that one meal seemed crazy. Not to mention that buying the special pasta and the ($8/lb!!) bison and the prepared marinara sauce means that our basic spaghetti and meatballs dinner was really fairly expensive. Fortunately, our family is financially in a place where we can afford to make those choices, but for far too many people it's just not possible.
I have friends on all sides of the shopping ideology spectrum, from those on limited budgets whose only real concern is finding food cheap, to those who don't really cook and rely on frozen pizza and prepared meals, to those who are fanatical about certain issues (the gluten-free, vegan, all organic, farmer's market only, crowd). I try to split the difference and make the best decisions I can without driving all over town, spending a fortune, or going insane.
Part of me honestly doesn't understand why it's so hard. I have to imagine that I'm not the only one trying to be economically, environmentally, and nutritionally sound while also being practical and living my life. I just want to be able to make good choices for my family, my community, and my planet all at the same time.
I try to be a conscientious consumer, but day after day I'm finding it harder and harder. Maybe part of it is that I'm trying to balance too many things all at once. Maybe part of it is that I have too much time to stand in the grocery store paralyzed between the various choices.
I want to help my budget at home = buy cheap
I want to help the national economy = buy American
I want to shield my daughter from unnecessary chemicals = buy organic
I want to shield the planet from unnecessary fossil fuels = buy local
And that's just a start.
I have trouble getting Lily to eat protein that isn't soy based. One of the few forms of meat she'll eat is spaghetti and meatballs. So, last week I headed out to go buy ingredients for spaghetti and meatballs.
Because my husband is diabetic, I have to buy the Dreamfields pasta that I can only reliably find at our local Vons.
I've been trying to avoid canned tomatoes when possible (I'm not afraid of all plastic bottles, but having read up on the whole BPA in canned tomatoes issue, and given the amount of tomato sauce we rely on, it seems like something to avoid when possible), so I wanted to buy the kind in a box. Those are only available at the Italian deli down the street.
I also prefer to buy grass-fed beef, since it's usually leaner, has more nutritional value, and, when it comes right down to it, tastes better. There are two stores nearby that sell it, but at one the beef is imported from Uruguay, and at the other the beef is imported from Australia. Hmm...what do I care more about? Nutrients or carbon footprints?
In the end, I gave in and headed for Vons since the diabetes is the most pressing of the various issues. I ended up buying Bison from Colorado instead of the beef (not sure if it's actually a better choice nutritionally, but at least it's not coming from halfway around the world). I bought prepared marinara sauce in a glass jar instead of buying the canned tomatoes so that I could make my own. In the end I didn't feel overly guilty about any of the various purchases, and Lily ate her spaghetti and meatballs happily.
Even so, the amount of thinking and planning and compromising that went into just that one meal seemed crazy. Not to mention that buying the special pasta and the ($8/lb!!) bison and the prepared marinara sauce means that our basic spaghetti and meatballs dinner was really fairly expensive. Fortunately, our family is financially in a place where we can afford to make those choices, but for far too many people it's just not possible.
I have friends on all sides of the shopping ideology spectrum, from those on limited budgets whose only real concern is finding food cheap, to those who don't really cook and rely on frozen pizza and prepared meals, to those who are fanatical about certain issues (the gluten-free, vegan, all organic, farmer's market only, crowd). I try to split the difference and make the best decisions I can without driving all over town, spending a fortune, or going insane.
Part of me honestly doesn't understand why it's so hard. I have to imagine that I'm not the only one trying to be economically, environmentally, and nutritionally sound while also being practical and living my life. I just want to be able to make good choices for my family, my community, and my planet all at the same time.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
State of the Union
I had an idea the other day to try to get my students to watch the State of the Union address. I try to get them to pay some attention to the government and what's going on, but things like this can be tricky because if they watch at home, then I have to make them take notes or write summaries, and that adds to my grading. At the end of the semester I just don't have time for it.
So, I teamed up with our government teacher and we offered them extra credit in both of our classes for watching. Then I created Obama Bingo to keep them listening and paying attention. I wasn't sure how many would take us up on it since it was so late (2 and a half hours after school ended), long, and (to them) boring.
We had over 60 kids show up. There are only 90-something in the senior class, so 2/3 is pretty darn good! They played bingo, won some candy, and watched their government at work. At the end I had them write a sentence about what they found the most interesting/surprising/etc. I haven't read most of them yet, but it was clear that they really did listen. I'm totally thrilled!
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Violence
I saw a post recently about how there are often clusters of similar studies in the news media. Lately I've been feeling like there's a cluster of violence related stories. I don't know if this is just because I'm being hyper-sensitive to them, or because there's actually been an increase lately, but either way I find it disturbing.
We're only a few weeks into 2011, but there have already been 3 school shootings, not to mention the shooting of Congresswoman Giffords in Arizona. Add to that the child abduction sign I saw on the way to school today, and the world seems like a scary place.
We had a practice lockdown drill last week, and it was more disconcerting than it was reassuring. On the one hand, it's nice to figure out our problems before we really need the protocols, but I really wish that it wasn't necessary in the first place.
The shooting at Gardena High is especially bothersome. This wasn't a disgruntled, pissed off kid showing up to mow down classmates. This was a kid who was scared for his own safety who decided to carry a gun for self protection that just accidentally went off and shot a kid in the head. That, to me, is far scarier than the pissed of loner. I can watch for pissed off kids. I can build a positive relationship with my students and watch for changes in their behavior. I can't follow them home and see what it's like once they leave campus. I don't know who is scared they'll be attacked walking home.
I had an incident with one of my freshmen the other day that was equally creepy. I don't know if he was high on something, or just has some serious ticks (autism? OCD?), but whatever was going on with the kid wasn't normal. He spent about 10 minutes in class scratching at his pants and then smelling his fingers. I took him outside to make sure everything was okay, and after taking his iPod just to make sure there wasn't anything strange going on (which there wasn't, aside from the dozen gun-related apps), he started literally bouncing in the hall chanting "i'm not crazy, i'm not crazy." As I said, not normal. It was a far too real reminder that as much as I try to keep tabs on what's going on with my students, there are always things I can't predict.
Most of the time I can forget about all the various threats posed to teachers on a daily basis. Lately there have been too many reminders.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Home cooking
My seniors have been working on a unit about fast food. I really enjoy teaching this unit, in part because it brings together two things that I really enjoy. I enjoy teaching, and I'm rather passionate about food. I like that this unit, while it's supposed to be mostly about comparing opinions and newspaper articles, editorials, etc, also serves as a bit of a soapbox for me to talk to the kids about their eating habits.
Our school switched to an organic, healthy lunch provider and we're heard nothing but complaints about the food every since. A big part of the problem is that there's no education going on about what they're actually eating. Today, as an example, they had chicken teriyaki with brown rice. Admittedly, it wasn't very good, but it was certainly edible. The problem is that the stir-fry part had bok choy in it. The kids in my school are 98% latino. They've never seen, bought, cooked, or eaten bok choy! They think it's spinach, and then when they taste it and it doesn't taste like spinach, they think it's "nasty." I'd probably have the same reaction. We had a whole conversation the other day about brown rice. These kids have grown up on rice, but it's always white rice. We give them brown rice without an explanation and they think it looks funny and isn't cooked right because it's crunchy. I took the time to explain the difference and that brown rice has a firmer texture because it still has the grain casing on it, and the whole room of kids suddenly was able to look at it in a different light. It's not like the conversation took that long, but thanks to the California state standards and other restrictions on us teachers, they've never been taught that.
I'm trying to teach my daughter better, but it's not easy. We took her to Disneyland yesterday for the first time, and I think we did okay feeding her, but it certainly wasn't perfect. I'm especially annoyed by kids' menus. Everything on it was a variation on the Starch-Cheese theme. Macaroni and Cheese. Quesadilla. Grilled Cheese sandwich. We went with the hotdog with a side of applesauce. At least there was bread, meat, and fruit. Milk to drink too. I suppose it could be worse. She loved the hotdog, but liked the applesauce better. So that's good. No Ketchup either. Lily loved Disneyland and had a wonderful time. We got a season pass, so we'll be going back. I just am going to have to be careful to make sure that we don't wind up eating too much junk food while we're there.
This fast food unit has had me pondering the role of a mother even more than I already have been. A big part of why I want to stay home is to have the time to cook healthy meals for my family. It's really hard to do after working all day. On the days that I'm not working, I use naptime to cook, or at least prepare, and clean the house. When I work, I don't have that option. I can keep the baby entertained in the kitchen while I cook for a while, but not for too long. As she gets older, I'm looking for ways for her to help, but for now she's still too little. She's interested in helping, which is a start, but for now she's better at stirring the food out of the bowl than keeping it in.
As I talk about food, fast food, and obesity with my students, the recurring theme we come back to over and over is that it's the responsibility of parents to teach healthy eating habits and provide healthy food. I couldn't agree more, but at the same time, we live in a society that doesn't seem to value this. Dinner and dinnertime used to be sacred. A time for individuals to stop and come together as families. Last week, Adam only got home from work before 9:30 once. I don't want Lily to grow up in a eat-on-the-run family, and it seems sometimes like the only way I'm going to accomplish that is to be home.
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