Michelle’s Blog

Maybe you’ve heard about the book, The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference, by Malcolm Gladwell. 

If not, read the information below from wikipedia:

Tipping points are “the levels at which the momentum for change becomes unstoppable.”  Gladwell defines a tipping point as a sociological term, “the moment of critical mass, the threshold, the boiling point.”  The book seeks to explain and describe enormous and “mysterious” sociological changes that mark everyday life.

Well, there is a website called The Point, www.thepoint.com.  This is a website one could use to begin a campaign to seek change.  The campaign organizes group action.  I have only recently heard of this website, but think it is fascinating! 

Here is a blurb about what they do from their website:

“The Point is a website for organizing group actions. We help people congregate around the issues they care about and combine forces to make things happen. Campaigns (group actions) on The Point are all based on the “tipping point” model – participants take action to solve their problem, but only once a critical mass of people have committed such that the combined force will “tip” the issue. The Point helps you know in advance whether your participation will make a difference.”

What if we used this as a tool for organizing change we’d like to see in our schools and community?!

 Check it out and let me know what you think?! 

As with a lot of chapters and topics in this book, I really liked learning about the history of assessment.  I didn’t realize that the SAT was so close in nature to an IQ test. 

Here are some points from the chapter I highlighted:

(1)   Aptitude tests such as the SAT and ACT claim to predict future school success, but they do not claim to measure accurately what students have learned (224).  (I didn’t know that the SAT was designed to predict future success!  How scary since many people who never even went to college have become successful, and many people who didn’t score a 1500 or 1600 on the SAT are successful as well!)

(2)   Policymakers are inclined to be ignorant of the problems inherent in standardized testing or to make excuses for why these flawed instruments are better than alternatives (225).

(3)   Scholars now generally believe intellectual competence is a far richer and deeper collection of abilities than the technology of standardized testing can measure and explain (226).

(4)   Stephen Gould believes these tests tell more about students’ economic status and culture than about what students have learned at school (227).

(5)   Darling-Hammond argues that the tests actually crowd out students’ opportutnities and motivation for making knowledge meaningful and useful.  Such questions [on the standardized tests] do not measure whethere students actually understand and can do science at all (228).

There are too many standards and too much emphasis on the “high-stakes” standardized tests.  To my knowledge, students in 3^rd and 5^th grades can be retained if they do not perform well on the end-of-year tests.  I know for some of the students in 1^st grade we have identified as possible retainees we are waiting to see how they do on the CRCT.  At least we are going to consider other pertinent and probably more relevant information in our decision.  According to the Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing, students’ test scores as well as other pertinent information should be used when making decisions about a student’s continued education.  Another standard that I thought was very important and relevant to me as an ESOL teacher is that the test scores of students with limited English skills should be interpreted in light of their limited English skills.  I don’t even understand what that means because I do not believe we do that at all.  The scores are treated the same no matter what the students’ background is.  Thankfully, my students do have some accommodations, although next year, they will be expected to read everything themselves.  This year the reading comprehension passages will be read aloud to them. But what does an “interpretation of test scores in light of their limited English skills even mean?”  How closely are these standards monitored?  Who actually follows these principles? 

This is my first year with standardized testing as a teacher.  I hate it!  I have refused to “teach to the test” but yet have felt anxiety from the test throughout this year.  Will I really be looked upon as a “bad teacher” if my students have low scores?  I know how much they have learned and grown, but maybe their scores won’t reflect that.  ….I’m curious to see how my students perform.  I’m curious to see what happens when the scores come in.  

I’m also curious to know if it’s possible to teach in a way that is truly child-centered, authentic, and meaningful to students while also preparing students for the CRCT.  How much or how little “teaching to the test” is necessary or appropriate?  Next year, I’d like to incorporate “CRCT skills” into my reading and language arts activities, and math lessons.  It’s hard because a lot of the “skills” I just don’t think are necessary for 1^st graders to know.  But I do my students a disservice by not teaching them because of the CRCT.  I’m not sure right now where the balance is.  This year I believe I was too much “anti-CRCT” and thought I was “protecting” my students by not teaching to the test.     

I came across this really great slideshow about technology in today’s world of globalization.  We, as educators, are challenged to ask ourselves, “What are we doing to get our kids ready for the techonological world of today?”

Everyone should check it out!

[slideshare id=33834&doc=shift-happens-23665&w=425]

 Here are some other webpages:

http://shifthappens.wikispaces.com/Suggestions+for+Using+the+Presentation

http://www.dangerouslyirrelevant.org/

www.thefischbowl.blogspot.org

Engaging with Families and Neighborhoods 

With my school’s charter, I do believe we have some programs in place to encourage parental involvement and participation in school events and their students’ learning.  Each year parents sign a contract in which one they agree to volunteer for 10 hours.  Activities such as eating lunch with their students, helping out on parent volunteer days, attending field trips, parent-teacher conferences, PTA meetings, etc. count toward these hours.  The 1^st Friday of the month is parent volunteer day.  Teachers set aside work for parents to do.  Parents have the entire day to volunteer and can choose from a variety of projects teachers leave.  Other great opportunities offered to parents are the two evening programs: English classes and Parent University.  Parent University meets once a week for a couple of hours both in the Fall and Spring.  Meals and child care are free.  We also have a PTA Parent Liasion and an ESOL liaison.  The ESOL liaison is a huge  part of the communication between families who speak Portuguese and Spanish and the school.  She makes phone calls, helps parents fill out forms and understand notes, and translates conferences, notes, etc. 

            As we continue to engage these families in our school, I wonder about what else we could be doing including bridging all of our cultures.   “The lesson we draw from Jane Addams’s work is that connecting with low-income families is a virtue that includes, but is greater than, providing services for the less fortunate” (398).  This quotation makes me think about what Paul Gorski calls the “savior syndrome.”  By only providing services for low-income families we are supporting a deficit theory.  “There’s something wrong with these people and they need us to help them, fix them.”  Several times in this chapter, teachers mention their visits to the students’ homes.  I remember in my senior college of undergrad thinking about how I wanted to make home visits.  I even shared this in my interview to teach Kindergarten at Spalding.  At the beginning of every year I always think about making home visits.  I have never really tried to do it but think it could provide some insight into each student’s background and family.

This school year has shown me the kind of school culture and environment I crave.  Being in this program in which there is a culture that is supportive, challenging, open, vulnerable, knowledgeable, intellectual, etc. is an example of the kind of place I wish Spalding was more like.  “School cultures help shape the way people see, how they feel, and what they think is possible” (340).  I wonder how other teachers would characterize our school’s culture.  I know this year especially has been exhausting and challenging not only from the demands of school but also because of personal matters.

One of the critical features of a school’s culture as described by Lipton and Oakes is “a press for learning and social justice.”  Yes, of course, my school and the teachers who work there would say that student success and learning is our top priority.  I sometimes wonder about all of the distractions at my school that get in the way of ensuring our students high quality teaching.  With our charter’s renewal due next year, we have been rewriting and revamping our charter.  I can’t help but wonder if the things we are trying to innovate and implement is where our focus should be.  Yes, technology is important and we are so fortunate to have access to Promethean Activboards and LCD projectors, video cameras, computer labs, etc.  But when we fail to critique our instructional practices and when we fail to critically examine our curriculum, is learning really our top priority?  I sometimes think our school’s (principal’s) goal of attracting and recruiting more neighborhood families distracts from the press for learning and social justice.  We shouldn’t be spending all of our money for improvements in technology and for boosting our attractiveness as school if we are not also critically examining the other academic areas as well. 

            Last week, in our Writing Workshop professional development class I found a blog on the internet that spoke about the “network of conversations” and how important conversations between teachers are for seeking change and professional growth.    In the Focus Point on Deborah Meier and creating small schools, the authors write, “continuing dialogue, face to face, over and over, is a powerful educative force.  It is our primary form of staff development.”  I so crave an environment at my school in which dialogue is occurring.  I have had one-on-one conversations with teachers and am not starting to see if it’s possible for all of us to rally together and approach our principal with ideas.  I have approached my grade-level and asked if we could meet to discuss our goals for next year and to just ask them questions as we reflect on this year and prepare for next.  The meeting has not happened yet because of the CRCT coming up.  Once it is finished I am planning on asking again to meet!

This is the blog entry where I found the quotation about “a network of conversation”

 From  a blog entitled, “A Network of Conversation” http://inspiringreaderswriters.blogspot.com

Recently I read the article, “The Conversations Inspired by the Questions We Ask” by Karen Szymusiak. I was intrigued by this quote –“I hope to encourage more than a single conversation with me. I want to initiate a network of conversations throughout our school — teachers talking to teachers and teachers talking to children about the practices that matter most. It’s these conversations that can lead us to lasting change and professional growth.”
As I highlighted it, I thought, this is what I want to help create . . . this is what I want to be a part of: A Network of Conversations. It makes sense that as educators we begin to share our thinking, our teaching, and most importantly our journey with others in our school.  

Ever since reading Paul Gorski’s articles and hearing him speak, I have tried to be more attuned to my own beliefs and possible stereotypes about poverty.  I am also aware of the teachers at school and what I see outside of school in our community. 

First, I really appreciated Gorski’s opening remarks about the importance of humility and cognitive dissonance.  I agree with him that before any conversations about social justice can be had the involved parties need to enter them with humility and be open to cognitive dissonance.

Since his speech, I have reread his article entitled, “Peddling Poverty for Profit: Elements of Oppression in Ruby Payne’s Framework.”  Many of his topics and points from his talk were also in this article.  One significant area Paul spoke a lot was about stereotypes.  Although I am quick to say and believe I am not racist, the stereotypes about poverty that were mentioned are some that do enter my mind when I think about poor people.  It’s not to say I measure all people I meet who are less fortunate than me by these stereotypes, but they are present enough to make me wonder what other stereotypes are “hidden” from my consciousness.  My intentions are not to be stereotypical, but now I wonder if I am.  It seems like these stereotypes about poverty are so widely believed and present in our society that they permeate the Truth until they are a “believeable” truth.  How else would these stereotypes be able to be “hidden?”  Maybe that’s why Ruby Payne is easy to believe and trust because nothing she says conflicts with what we’ve always heard or believed.  I don’t like that, and appreciate Gorski for speaking out and challenging us all.

When Paul was defining deficit theory and was talking about paternalism and the “messiah mentality” and “savior syndrome,” I realized that I have fallen into this.  It’s hard for me to separate these “mentalities” from the desire to help others in need.  During my first year of teaching, I had a student who came from what I observed to be a pretty impoverished background.  Her clothes were dingy and dirty.  She didn’t have help with her homework.  I believed back then that her mom or other family members were unable or willing to help her with her schoolwork.  In the spring when we had our spring carnival on Saturday afternoon, I remember arranging with her mom to pick her up and take her to the carnival. For whatever reason, I felt so bad that she would not be able to go because her mom didn’t have a car and was working.  Although my intentions were good, was I acting out of this “messiah mentality?”  Is this what Gorski means when he talks about paternalism?  What would have been a better idea or way to help?

 At the end of the article and Gorski’s talk he provides us with practical strategies for authentic anti-poverty education.  These are small first steps we can all do.  The one that stands out the most to me is about making parent involvement affordable and convenient by providing transportation, on-site child-care, and time flexibility.  At my school, where we have many families who are without transportation or are unable to meet during school hours, etc., I believe there is more we can do to help parents participate in their child’s education.  But around the school it is very common to hear teachers stating that these parents who don’t show up for conferences don’t care and are unsupportive.  Hopefully there will be a time when I can address these issues and suggest solutions that are more authentic.     

I first remember hearing Ruby Payne’s name in my Masters program.  I don’t really remember specifically what was said about her.  I knew that she spoke about poverty.  I don’t believe she has ever done any workshops at my school and nor have I heard anyone at my school talk about her.  I am glad this author and others like Paul Gorski are speaking out and critically examining her beliefs and claims about poverty.  It’s a reminder to me that I can’t blindly accept people and ideas because they’re “popular.”  Ruby Payne and her organization is one example that reinforces the fact that we need to critically question and examine all “good” and new ideas.  The author states that aha! Process, Inc. publishes Ruby’s books which means “her research does not have to be verifiable, reproducible, valid, or reliable in order to get published.”   This alone is an alarming fact.  It makes me wonder about some other buzzword names and ideas that I accept because they are popular and widely accepted. I even think about this in respect to curriculum and programs. 

Before this year, I remember hearing others in my school ranting and raving about a good idea and just accepting it.  Or we would have professional development on behavior management, writing strategies, etc.  I normally went into those like a sponge ready to soak up whatever they were sharing.  Now, I am not so naïve.  I question everything.  For example, a few people from my school went to a workshop/presentation by Lee Jenkins.  I read parts of his book last year, Permission to Forget, and at the time agreed with his ideas and even supported them.  But this year when the administrators and teachers got back from the workshop and were ranting and raving about his strategies, I began to question who he was and why his ideas kept coming up over and over as suggestions for improvement.  This reminds me of what Ruby Payne does.  She does not question or speak about the systemic problems of class and poverty.   But rather tries to provide a simple, quick fix for “helping” the poor.  Just like implementing a few strategies here and there into our school will not help teachers to learn and grow as professionals, or increase student learning.  We need to question our instructional practices and examine our philosophies of teaching and not try and simply cover them with a quick-fix band-aid.

In addition to revealing the “real” Ruby Payne, this article reminded me how important and valuable critical examination of all ideas and people are.  I am a trusting person and am always open to new ideas and desiring to hear the “good” ones.  This is a lesson for me to do my research and really examine what it is I support.   

        After reading “Classroom Management” and after our discussions about Respect and White Teacher, I can’t help but think about a new program/strategy that has recently developed at my school.  About 2-3 weeks ago teachers received an email from our Assistant Principal stating that the bullying and fighting in the hallways was an ever-increasing problem, and that the administration’s solution would be school-wide Hips and Lips requiring all students to place one hand on their hips, and one hand/finger over their lips.  I received this email later on at home, and immediately began typing a response back to him respectfully sharing my opinion about this so-called solution.  In my response I told him that Hips and Lips would only be a “band aid” to the underlying issues.  I believe the issues go beyond poor transitions in the hall, and fighting.  These issues in the hallway are mostly caused by the 3^rd-5^th grade students.  The 4^th and 5^th grades have developed a reputation the past few years for being rowdy, disrespectful, and overall, full of behavior issues.  I have to wonder if some of the teachers in these grades (1) need to do more to establish a “caring, respectful, and democratic” classroom, (2) have students who have not been taught respect in their homes and therefore don’t know how to be respectful, and (3) are using some sort of discipline system that is similar to “assertive discipline,” and uses extrinsic motivation and rewards.  

 I also wrote in my email that if Hips and Lips was going to be an expectation for the students, then it would also need to be an expectation of teachers (which is obviously ridiculous!  I would never be able to walk around with Hips and Lips and not talk to the teachers passing by.)  But then, isn’t it also ridiculous to expect our students to walk around with “hips and lips?”  I remember stating that if we want our students to respect us, we need to respect them.  This idea of mutual respect was a part of the chapter including some of the vignettes written by teachers.  Mauro Bautista wrote, “Students, like adults, appreciate being treated with respect.  In turn, they will treat you with respect” (267).

Needless to say, I received an email which politely said that the admin. team could not think of any other solutions to address these hallway issues, and that all teachers would be expected to implement Hips and Lips.  (I refuse to believe there are no other alternatives!)  I also thought about how the teachers would be empowered if they had been able to provide input and feedback to the admin team in regard to these issues.  (Apparently, they did talk with the teachers in the older grades and it didn’t help.  So why not discuss these issues with the whole faculty?)  And it would have empowered the students if the teachers went to them for input, feedback, and development of a plan.  My principal touts that at Spalding we are a family.  How can we be a family when a majority of the voices are left unheard and disrespected?!

It has been an eye-opening experience and now I am more alert to other ways I might be showing disrespect to my students, and other ways my school or other teachers are disrespectful.

After reading both the article “Pedagogy of the Absurd” and Chapter 4 entitled Subject Matters, I have a clearer understanding of the issues involved with education reform.  Until these readings I only knew (from experience and our EdS program) the “teacher’s” side.  I have been “bred” through my recent schooling both as an undergraduate and graduate student to believe in constructivism, to create an environment in which ALL students feel respected and valued (multicultural education), and to stay abreast and implement current theories, research, and strategies.  In the program especially, as I have learned more about pedagogy, curriculum, & progressive education, it completely baffles me and frustrates me why my principal, districts, counties, states, and our country would continue to call for outdated (“traditional”), developmentally inappropriate programs & curricula that does not align with current research about children and learning.  It seems obvious that what we are doing is causing more harm than good.  The evidence is everywhere – teacher burnout, decline in the amount of time allotted for recess, specials, etc., increase in testing to name a few. 

       But as these two reading stated, the issues at hand are much bigger than curriculum and schools.  They involve politics, economics, history, and social reform.  These issues require us as teachers, the ones who are “in the trenches,” to not only speak up in our circles of educators and in the world of research, but to enter the world of politics.  We have a loud voice when we talk to each other – we read books, we attend professional development classes and conferences, we use the internet to share ideas, etc.  But we have no voice, no identity, or credibility in the world of politics.  Ever since I began teaching and realized how “absurd” education is, somewhere in the back of my mind the desire to enter the area of politics and try my best to unravel education was formed.  (In our last reading from Freire, the fear he mentions is the exact fear that has kept that desire small, stagnant and in the back of my mind.  My knowledge of politics right now is nonexistent!  I don’t even know where to begin.)  After reading Chapter 4, “Subject Matters”, it is clear that those with a “voice” have spoken and have tried to seek change, the battle between traditionalists and progressivists.  But what is scary to me is that I had no idea what the details of these issues were.  I had no idea about the depth of these issues (they go back to 1776).  Even my knowledge of the professional organizations such as IRA, NCTM and NCTE was shallow.  But knowing the history of the academics debates has been an “aha” for me.  As much as I would like to change as a teacher and to do what is right for my students, I can’t do the things I want because of these issues that are much bigger than me and my school.  My desire (idealistic) as it is, is that teachers would become more knowledgeable about all areas of education, best practices, multicultural education, curriculum, research, history, and politics.  I like how at the end of both readings there is hope in teachers who challenge conformity and continue to do what is right for their students. 

I have attached a link to an article I found in my quick Google search to understand “privatization of American education.”  I came across this word in the article, Pedagogy of the Absurd.  Since reading both these excerpts and perusing these other two articles, I have a new interest in Education policy.  Who knew that I entered this program wanting to know more about instructional practice and research and now I want to know more about education policy and reform.

http://www.inmotionmagazine.com/pnpriv1.html

 This was another article I read.  Not really sure about the writer or who he is.  Not sure if I agree with what he says, but nonetheless interesting to read.  

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=21639

I appreciate what Freire writes about fear.  It comes at a timely point in my life when big changes in my life could incur and fear might be associated with them. I reflect back on my past and examine those times when fear did paralyze me or at least alter my path.  I wish I had more conscious of and readily followed Freire’s “3-step plan” for overcoming fear.  It’s logical and practical.  Freire’s 3-steps to overcoming fear are: (1) Ascertain whether there are real reasons for that fear.  (2) If those reasons do exist, one must match them against the available possibilities for overcoming them successfully, and (3) if an obstacle cannot be overcome right away, one must determine what steps to take toward becoming better capable of overcoming it tomorrow (pg. 50). 

Currently, I have a big fear of switching schools.  Change is never something I look forward to.  But once change has occurred I normally adapt and am better off than before the change.  I should be encouraged by those situations where change resulted in something positive in my life.  Right now my fear is high because the world outside of my school seems large and is unknown.  If I could research schools and learn of their programs, beliefs, and visions, I think my fears would decrease and might possibly be replaced with excitement. 

Another interesting part of the Freire’s chapter is at the end when he writes about studying and reading.  I especially like the quotation, “the reading of a text is a transaction between the reader and the text… it is a composition between the reader and the writer in which the reader ‘re-writes’ the text…” (pg. 54).  Everything that he writes about reading and writing, and text comprehension, reminds me of my desires for my students as they are beginning their reading livelihoods and learning how to think about and interact with words while they read and while they write.  I am also reminded of how we as a cohort “re-create” and “re-write” text through different modes – reflection journals, blogs, book groups, class discussions, etc.  Freire states, “What I know I know with my entire self: with my critical mind but also with my feelings, with my intuitions, with my emotions” (pg. 54).  Especially as elementary-age teachers, our students demand our care, our emotions, our feelings, our patience, and our love.  By engaging in conversation with others about articles, books, etc., we are able to comprehend what we read without letting go of ourselves.  Each of our experiences are unique and valuable.  Who we are should be a part of our comprehension as we read and write. 

Freire also writes about reading being a “dialogic experience” where discussion among readers leads to group comprehension (pg. 55).  Again, this is evident in our program.  It reaffirms one of the reasons why I decided to pursue this degree and enter in this type of program.  I knew that my learning experiences would not be solely individual, but that together as a group we would be challenged and enlightened.  There are only a handful of other teachers I know outside of this group who engage in the conversations we have, and seek knowledge the way we do, and reflect in the manner we do.  I hope that I would find an environment similar to this once the program finishes.  I don’t want to simply accept the status quo.  I want to be ready to challenge it.  Reading and writing are two avenues to prevent this possible complacency; two activities in which overcoming fear is necessary.  So, thank you, Freire, for inspiring me to confront and overcome my fears.