Saturday, October 22, 2011
Homework
I'm on the fence about homework. It's necessary for APUSH because students need to read to gain extra information that I do not have the time to discuss in class. However, for WHII I'm not sure which direction I want to go. I have been assigning vocab which requires the textbook, so that hopefully students are reading and getting some information, however not many kids complete it. Vocab should be their second or third introduction to a word, because I try to include all of the words in class somewhere, but still students don't do it. I'm not sure where I want to go with this. Give it up, change it, or continue on the path.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Yesterday was fantastic. I got my classroom keys, I got my parking sticker, I found a clicker for my car (it was tough surviving without a car clicker, remember, my old one is in the sewer system in Marshall VA), and I got to set up my classroom. Today, not so great. We had meetings, meetings, meetings, and then another meeting, and by the end of all of it my head was spinning and I was overwhelmed. I feel like I have soooo much to do before school starts, and not enough time to do it, not to mention, I'm missing a bunch of things necessary for teachers from my classroom, ie. a filing cabinet! Never mind the extra bookshelf that I need, books can go on the floor, but I would really like a filing system so I know where things are. The guy in charge of furniture said it might be a month before I get one from the purchase order. Really? How about you just order a new one for every teacher that arrives at the school. You can never have too many filing cabinets (unless you fill the whole room and there's no room for students, but that's another problem you have). So I get home, and I have bookclub, which I suggested the book for, so I should go. Well turns out it was only myself and the club leader, which was ok, but not a great discussion being only two people after we had exhausted all the questions we had, and that voice in the back of my head kept nagging that I had a million-billion other things to do. After that on my way home, I notice that I have an email from College Board, that my syllabus that I have to submit for review in order to have an official AP class, was denied. Would be understandable if I wrote the entire thing myself, however, I USED THE SAME SYLLABUS AS TWO OTHER TEACHERS WHO GOT IT APPROVED! (That's totally acceptable for teachers in the same dept to use the same syllabus.) Really College Board? On top of everything else I need to do before next Tuesday when munchkins who might be taller than me arrive at my classroom door, I have to take time to re-do my syllabus? I'm just a little bit frustrated and overwhelmed.
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Irene
We had a visit from Hurricane Irene last night, and other than some high winds and lots of rain, nothing happened. Granted, there are trees down in other areas, but I don't think we even lost power, or at least not for a long time and we were all asleep.
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Recent Happenings
On Friday I got to head out to my new school where I'll be working in the fall and see my classroom, as well as drop off a bunch of books and supplies that I have. The rooms were being cleaned so the halls were filled with desks, chairs and bookshelves, causing a maze to work your way through down the hall. My classroom was much more of a rectangle than a square with one large whiteboard in the front and a large TV by the window (a window! yay!) and then on either side of the door I have a second smaller whiteboard and a large bulletin board. The good thing about the rectangle is that I can run a huge timeline across the wall that we can add things to throughout the year. My boxes got put in storage because of the cleaning, where they'll stay until late August when I can set up my room.
I drove around Vienna a bit after that to check it out and see what's there before heading to get some errands done. On Saturday I went to the gym with my roommate and ended up joining for a couple reasons, 1) it's 2 blocks away, 2) they offer yoga and pilates classes, 3) Teacher discount!, and 4) I need to start working out so that I'm not dying half way though dance class and practicing bad techniques. I have a fitness test tomorrow morning, the results of which I expect to be awful from my lack of working out over the last 4 years.
We had our housewarming party last night, grilling in the back yard with a pong table, cornhole and a very large jenga set, which proved to be a huge hit! It was made out of foot long 2x4s, simply genius. A lot of people came, each roomie had invited 10-20 people and it was great to meet friends of roomies. I'm hoping to meet lots of new people in the next month, as well as hang out with some old friends too!
I drove around Vienna a bit after that to check it out and see what's there before heading to get some errands done. On Saturday I went to the gym with my roommate and ended up joining for a couple reasons, 1) it's 2 blocks away, 2) they offer yoga and pilates classes, 3) Teacher discount!, and 4) I need to start working out so that I'm not dying half way though dance class and practicing bad techniques. I have a fitness test tomorrow morning, the results of which I expect to be awful from my lack of working out over the last 4 years.
We had our housewarming party last night, grilling in the back yard with a pong table, cornhole and a very large jenga set, which proved to be a huge hit! It was made out of foot long 2x4s, simply genius. A lot of people came, each roomie had invited 10-20 people and it was great to meet friends of roomies. I'm hoping to meet lots of new people in the next month, as well as hang out with some old friends too!
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Learning to use Photostitcher
Photostitcher is a program that comes with Canon cameras on the CD you get and I just learned how to use it to create panoramic photos. Enjoy!
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| Upper lake at Gleninchaquin Park, Ireland |
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| Ring Fort remains, Bonane, Ireland |
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| Bantry House, Ireland |
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| View up Gragan Valley, Co. Clare, Ireland |
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| Iron Age, Ring Fort, Inishmore, Ireland |
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| San Gimiano, Italy, 2008 |
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| San Gimiano, Italy 2008 |
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| San Gimiano main square, Italy, 2008 |
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| Circus Maximus, Rome, Italy 2008 |
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| Rome, Italy 2008 |
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| Colosseum, Rome, Italy 2008 |
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Life after Ireland
When I got back from Ireland, I had a new house that my roommate Chrissie had found. We still had to find 3 people, but it's in Clarendon 4 blocks from the metro, so the location should make it easy to find people. I also had 6 interviews set up in Fairfax County for teaching jobs! What ended up working out was: we found 3 other people and moved in July 1st. I had an unofficial offer with Madison HS to teach AP and was asked to attend the summer workshop, which in doing so was my unofficial acceptance. I got the official job offer on Monday July 11th. I got a TB test (negative) and filled out some forms to get my background clearance on Monday and then attend an orientation about benefits the following week. I've been reading textbooks everyday, planning to teach World History II and AP USH in the fall. Things are going well!
Currently watching Michael Collins about the formation of the Irish Republic.
Heading to Gettysburg tomorrow with M, L & P and my parents are meeting us there!
Currently watching Michael Collins about the formation of the Irish Republic.
Heading to Gettysburg tomorrow with M, L & P and my parents are meeting us there!
Ireland Week 2: Post 3
Our last day we visited Muckross Abbey and then Ross Castle, the last restored tower house in Ireland.
We also had a fantastic dinner at Packie's in Kenmare, a place that Gma and Gpa had eaten at on a trip 15 years earlier. The food was just as good!
Ireland Week 2: Part 2
From Kenmare we saw a ring fort from the bronze age.
The stone circle in Kenmare.
The Ladies' View of the Lakes of Killarney, so named by the ladies of Queen Victoria.
Muckross House
Torq waterfall near Muckross House.
Another stone circle on the Beara Peninsula.
Gleninchaquin Park
Waterfall at Gleninchaquin Park
View down the valley on the Beara Peninsula from the top of the mountain we hiked
Sheep!
Family picture
The farm where we stayed.
Ireland Week 2
We headed south to Bantry from Doolin for our next stay. Bantry is famous for a failed French invasion during the 1700s. There's a beautiful old estate house that is owned by the grandson of the last Earl of Bantry. They run a B&B out of the servants quarters and that's where we stayed for one night.
After our day in Bantry, we headed a bit north to Kenmare where we rented a house with kitchen and laundry for the next 5 days. Kenmare became our base of operations.
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| Bantry House |
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| View of the house and the bay |
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| Bay Side of the House |
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| Billiards after dinner |
Ireland Week 1
We spent the first week of our Ireland trip in Doolin at a bed and breakfast called Cullinan's, which was great. The day we arrived we went to see Bunratty Castle, a restored 15th c. castle. Our first full day we went on a hike around Doolin, finding a 12th c. church in ruins and a megalith, stone ruins from about 3000 BC.
The next day we headed further south to our next destination, Bantry.
We also found walls with sheep holes.
We went to the Burren a bit that afternoon, a national park. On the second day we went over to Inishmore, the largest of the Aran Islands. We rented bikes and biked over the hill and down the hill, had lunch and then A & D went up to the Stone Age fort and M & I took the easy route back.
The next day we went up to Ballyhaunis, Co. Mayo where the Caufield side of the family is from. We took the route along the coast and stopped along the cliffs. That night we went to MacDermott's one of the local pubs known for music. We had a great dinner then watched some of the soccer game before the band played some great music.
A's Graduation - Finally
A short recap of A's graduation weekend, 1.5 months later. Gma, Gpa and I drove up to SC on Thursday, had dinner with M & D, fresh yummy pasta, and then headed up to Ithaca on Friday and had dinner with A. We then went to a siblings party and Dino's for the evening. Saturday we packed up A's room a bit, had a great brunch at Tracy's and then went to the reception on the Art's Quad and dinner at A's friend Andy's house with a bunch of other grads and their families. We hung out for a bit at A's house Saturday night and then I headed back to our rental house. Sunday A graduated in the football stadium with everyone and then walked across the stage with the Civil Engineer group. After some quick food we went on a wine tour to 2 wineries over on Seneca Lake and then dinner at the base of the lake. Monday we drove down to Dulles Airport.
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Coucous Salad
Last night M & D had some friends over for dinner. We made grilled chicken with an herb marinade and each of the couples brought a dish to share. Mrs. P brought this recipe, which was fantastic!
Ingredients:
2 cups cooked couscous
6 green onions, chopped
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
1 cup cucumber, chopped
1/2 cup chickpeas (garbanzo beans) pre-cooked or canned
1 cup chopped fresh parsley
3/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp salt
dash pepper to taste
Preparation:
Combine the couscous, onions, tomatoes, cucumber chickpeas and parsley in a large bowl.
In a separate small bowl, whisk or blend together the remaining ingredients and pour over the couscous, tossing gently to coat.
Enjoy!!!
Thursday, June 23, 2011
John Cleese reports Threats
Start your week off with the latest news from the continent and beyond:
The English are feeling the pinch in relation to recent terrorist threats and have therefore raised their security level from "Miffed" to "Peeved." Soon, though, security levels may be raised yet again to "Irritated" or even "A Bit Cross." The English have not been "A Bit Cross" since the blitz in 1940 when tea supplies nearly ran out. Terrorists have been re-categorized from "Tiresome" to "A Bloody Nuisance." The last time the British issued a "Bloody Nuisance" warning level was in 1588, when threatened by the Spanish Armada.
The Scots have raised their threat level from "Pissed Off" to "Let's Get the Bastards." They don't have any other levels. This is the reason they have been used on the front line of the British army for the last 300 years.
The French government announced yesterday that it has raised its terror alert level from "Run" to "Hide." The only two higher levels in France are "Collaborate" and "Surrender." The rise was precipitated by a recent fire that destroyed France's white flag factory, effectively paralyzing the country's military capability.
Italy has increased the alert level from "Shout Loudly and Excitedly" to "Elaborate Military Posturing." Two more levels remain: "Ineffective Combat Operations" and "Change Sides."
The Germans have increased their alert state from "Disdainful Arrogance" to "Dress in Uniform and Sing Marching Songs." They also have two higher levels: "Invade a Neighbor" and "Lose."
Belgians, on the other hand, are all on holiday as usual; the only threat they are worried about is NATO pulling out of Brussels.
The Spanish are all excited to see their new submarines ready to deploy. These beautifully designed subs have glass bottoms so the new Spanish navy can get a really good look at the old Spanish navy.
Australia, meanwhile, has raised its security level from "No worries" to "She'll be all right, mate." Two more escalation levels remain: "Crickey! I think we'll need to cancel the Barbie this weekend!" and "The barbie is canceled." So far no situation has ever warranted use of the final escalation level.
The English are feeling the pinch in relation to recent terrorist threats and have therefore raised their security level from "Miffed" to "Peeved." Soon, though, security levels may be raised yet again to "Irritated" or even "A Bit Cross." The English have not been "A Bit Cross" since the blitz in 1940 when tea supplies nearly ran out. Terrorists have been re-categorized from "Tiresome" to "A Bloody Nuisance." The last time the British issued a "Bloody Nuisance" warning level was in 1588, when threatened by the Spanish Armada.
The Scots have raised their threat level from "Pissed Off" to "Let's Get the Bastards." They don't have any other levels. This is the reason they have been used on the front line of the British army for the last 300 years.
The French government announced yesterday that it has raised its terror alert level from "Run" to "Hide." The only two higher levels in France are "Collaborate" and "Surrender." The rise was precipitated by a recent fire that destroyed France's white flag factory, effectively paralyzing the country's military capability.
Italy has increased the alert level from "Shout Loudly and Excitedly" to "Elaborate Military Posturing." Two more levels remain: "Ineffective Combat Operations" and "Change Sides."
The Germans have increased their alert state from "Disdainful Arrogance" to "Dress in Uniform and Sing Marching Songs." They also have two higher levels: "Invade a Neighbor" and "Lose."
Belgians, on the other hand, are all on holiday as usual; the only threat they are worried about is NATO pulling out of Brussels.
The Spanish are all excited to see their new submarines ready to deploy. These beautifully designed subs have glass bottoms so the new Spanish navy can get a really good look at the old Spanish navy.
Australia, meanwhile, has raised its security level from "No worries" to "She'll be all right, mate." Two more escalation levels remain: "Crickey! I think we'll need to cancel the Barbie this weekend!" and "The barbie is canceled." So far no situation has ever warranted use of the final escalation level.
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
In the last month
Wow, it's been a long time since I last posted so a few updates are due.
-I made it to the 4th round with DCPS of their central office selection process, taught a 30 minute lesson at a middle school in late May and haven't heard anything since.
-Went to Ithaca NY for my brother's graduation from undergrad at Cornell (a whole other post is due)
-Went to Ireland for 11 days with my bro, parents and grandparents (multiple posts due)
-Found a house in Clarendon with a great girl and we're looking for roommates! Paid the security deposit yesterday and signing the lease tonight
-Had an interview with Holmes MS (FCPS) yesterday that I thought went really well, and I really liked the school. They'd be a great fit for me if I get offered a position.
-I got a summer job working with the Smithsonian Mysteries in History camp from July 5-8 which will be great fun and a good experience!
-I have 2 more interviews set up for this week, one with Poe Middle School, and another with Twain Middle School
-I'm starting Irish dance classes tomorrow night with the O'Neill-James School!
Phew...there's a lot going on and things are looking up!
-I made it to the 4th round with DCPS of their central office selection process, taught a 30 minute lesson at a middle school in late May and haven't heard anything since.
-Went to Ithaca NY for my brother's graduation from undergrad at Cornell (a whole other post is due)
-Went to Ireland for 11 days with my bro, parents and grandparents (multiple posts due)
-Found a house in Clarendon with a great girl and we're looking for roommates! Paid the security deposit yesterday and signing the lease tonight
-Had an interview with Holmes MS (FCPS) yesterday that I thought went really well, and I really liked the school. They'd be a great fit for me if I get offered a position.
-I got a summer job working with the Smithsonian Mysteries in History camp from July 5-8 which will be great fun and a good experience!
-I have 2 more interviews set up for this week, one with Poe Middle School, and another with Twain Middle School
-I'm starting Irish dance classes tomorrow night with the O'Neill-James School!
Phew...there's a lot going on and things are looking up!
Friday, May 20, 2011
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
True Notebooks
DEAR FRIEND
Hello there old friend
At the moment I'm kind of down
It seems as though this is the end
I haven't had the chance to see you around.
I've been sitting here bereft,
Along, locked down
But now I have a window
And see you every night.
Times are hard, but I'll be all right.
Gun towers, barbed wire is all I see
No matter how far I travel
I glance up, and there you'll be.
It's good to have a friend like you
At times you help me shine through.
I still have a long journey to go
But I'll be free again
I'll use this time to grow
In not just one way, but all
There's a lot for me to learn
So I'm gonna start like a baby, with a crawl.
Though the road may seem
Long and far
Eventually I'll make it
Dear old friend, North Star.
-Kevin Jackson
Hello there old friend
At the moment I'm kind of down
It seems as though this is the end
I haven't had the chance to see you around.
I've been sitting here bereft,
Along, locked down
But now I have a window
And see you every night.
Times are hard, but I'll be all right.
Gun towers, barbed wire is all I see
No matter how far I travel
I glance up, and there you'll be.
It's good to have a friend like you
At times you help me shine through.
I still have a long journey to go
But I'll be free again
I'll use this time to grow
In not just one way, but all
There's a lot for me to learn
So I'm gonna start like a baby, with a crawl.
Though the road may seem
Long and far
Eventually I'll make it
Dear old friend, North Star.
-Kevin Jackson
Well Said Notebook
"Sorry but I don't need any part-time people in my life. You're either with me or you're not, you can't just come & go as you please."
Yup.
Yup.
Monday, May 16, 2011
#sschat
I just spent the last hour watching a twitter chat, and occasionally participating in it, all about social studies, particularly tonight, the topic of debate. And I took 3 pages of notes. I couldn't figure out where to take notes digitally fast enough flipping back and forth between the notes and the chat, so I grabbed my "classroom ideas" notebook and started there. A couple ideas that I really liked and want to implement:
- During the 1st week of school, set up all technology and accounts with students, do they need google accounts or edmodo or schoology accounts? (two new online educational groups, similar to blackboard for students)
- Post debate vocab words on the board for students to see, such as "my opponent" and "the negative side" as well as good verbs to use, and then teach those words at the beginning of the year, and watch as students begin to use them in their debate
- Have a participation card system, or talking chips, to monitor or increase participation. Either have green/yellow/red cards for students, or students only get x number of chips to speak x number of times.
- Preparation is key for debates going well, both for students and teachers. Give them graphic organizers for their topic-research, they list the pros and cons of their side, guess the pros/cons of opposite side, come up with x number of points supporting their argument.
- Possibly have a judges panel. If using students, they create a checklist of key points for both sides, write a debrief of the debate, and can award points for good supports. Can also invite parents or community members to judge.
- Debates aren't just about winning/losing. Have the entire class try to come to a consensus at the end of the debate. Can set an amount of the class if necessary...100% v. 75%. Maybe in DC the lesson of the debate can be that students can come to consensus, why can't congress? (Another debate topic: Is it good or bad that Congress doesn't often come to a consensus? AP Govt class there)
- Post-debate everyone must write/debrief to make it effective. Have to summarize their points, and the opposing points (tell them ahead of time so they can take notes if they want to, or make them), and then critique both sides, maybe have some self assessment, add forgotten or just thought of points, ask further questions for further study. Maybe write a letter to another student in the class, discuss whether they would switch sides, etc.
For the past week I've been pretty bored, I don't think I'll ever be a stay at home mom once the kids are in school because I'd go crazy. I need something to do. I was getting pretty frustrated with not knowing where I'm going to be in 3 months (obviously the DC area, but doing what? living where?) because I'm a planner and I would love to be able to plan my classroom and the year starting now. That plus the unsureness of the job market has made it even more tough to stay positive, but participating in the chat tonight (even by just watching it) really made me want my own classroom and want to do whatever I can do get it. Did I mention that I made it to the 4th round of the first process for DCPS? Oh yea. I teach a 30 minute lesson to middle schoolers Thurs the 26th at Sousa Middle School (in Southeast). If I pass that I get to talk to principals. Hopefully about then the NoVa schools will be kicking into gear too.
Monday, May 2, 2011
Education: Promise for the Future
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BjcS-bHeC0
The reason why we need to spend more money on education, not less. From a NYT op-ed:
The High Cost of Low Teacher Salaries
By DAVE EGGERS and NÍNIVE CLEMENTS CALEGARI
San Francisco
WHEN we don’t get the results we want in our military endeavors, we don’t blame the soldiers. We don’t say, “It’s these lazy soldiers and their bloated benefits plans! That’s why we haven’t done better in Afghanistan!” No, if the results aren’t there, we blame the planners. We blame the generals, the secretary of defense, the Joint Chiefs of
Staff. No one contemplates blaming the men and women fighting every day in the trenches for little pay and scant recognition.
And yet in education we do just that. When we don’t like the way our students score on international standardized tests, we blame the teachers. When we don’t like the way particular schools perform, we blame the teachers and restrict their resources.
Compare this with our approach to our military: when results on the ground are not what we hoped, we think of ways to better support soldiers. We try to give them better tools, better weapons, better protection, better training. And when recruiting is down, we offer incentives.
We have a rare chance now, with many teachers near retirement, to prove we’re serious about education. The first step is to make the teaching profession more attractive to college graduates. This will take some doing.
At the moment, the average teacher’s pay is on par with that of a toll taker or bartender. Teachers make 14 percent less than professionals in other occupations that require similar levels of education. In real terms, teachers’ salaries have declined for 30 years. The average starting salary is $39,000; the average ending salary — after 25 years in the profession — is $67,000. This prices teachers out of home ownership in 32 metropolitan areas, and makes raising a family on one salary near impossible.
So how do teachers cope? Sixty-two percent work outside the classroom to make ends meet. For Erik Benner, an award-winning history teacher in Keller, Tex., money has been a constant struggle. He has two children, and for 15 years has been unable to support them on his salary. Every weekday, he goes directly from Trinity Springs Middle School to drive a forklift at Floor and Décor. He works until 11 every night, then gets up and starts all over again. Does this look like “A Plan,” either on the state or federal level?
We’ve been working with public school teachers for 10 years; every spring, we see many of the best teachers leave the profession. They’re mowed down by the long hours, low pay, the lack of support and respect.
Imagine a novice teacher, thrown into an urban school, told to teach five classes a day, with up to 40 students each. At the year’s end, if test scores haven’t risen enough, he or she is called a bad teacher. For college graduates who have other options, this kind of pressure, for such low pay, doesn’t make much sense. So every year 20 percent of teachers in urban districts quit. Nationwide, 46 percent of teachers quit before their fifth year. The turnover costs the United States $7.34 billion yearly. The effect within schools — especially those in urban communities where turnover is highest — is devastating.
But we can reverse course. In the next 10 years, over half of the nation’s nearly 3.2 million public school teachers will become eligible for retirement. Who will replace them? How do we attract and keep the best minds in the profession?
People talk about accountability, measurements, tenure, test scores and pay for performance. These questions are worthy of debate, but are secondary to recruiting and training teachers and treating them fairly. There is no silver bullet that will fix every last school in America, but until we solve the problem of teacher turnover, we don’t have a chance.
Can we do better? Can we generate “A Plan”? Of course.
The consulting firm McKinsey recently examined how we might attract and retain a talented teaching force. The study compared the treatment of teachers here and in the three countries that perform best on standardized tests: Finland, Singapore and South Korea.
Turns out these countries have an entirely different approach to the profession. First, the governments in these countries recruit top graduates to the profession. (We don’t.) In Finland and Singapore they pay for training. (We don’t.) In terms of purchasing power, South Korea pays teachers on average 250 percent of what we do.
And most of all, they trust their teachers. They are rightly seen as the solution, not the problem, and when improvement is needed, the school receives support and development, not punishment. Accordingly, turnover in
these countries is startlingly low: In South Korea, it’s 1 percent per year. In Finland, it’s 2 percent. In Singapore, 3 percent.
McKinsey polled 900 top-tier American college students and found that 68 percent would consider teaching if salaries started at $65,000 and rose to a maximum of $150,000. Could we do this? If we’re committed to “winning the future,” we should. If any administration is capable of tackling this, it’s the current one. President Obama and Education Secretary Arne Duncan understand the centrality of teachers and have said that improving our education system begins and ends with great teachers. But world-class education costs money.
For those who say, “How do we pay for this?” — well, how are we paying for three concurrent wars? How did we pay for the interstate highway system? Or the bailout of the savings and loans in 1989 and that of the investment banks in 2008? How did we pay for the equally ambitious project of sending Americans to the moon? We had the vision and we had the will and we found a way.
Dave Eggers and Nínive Clements Calegari are founders of the 826 National tutoring centers and producers of the documentary “American Teacher.”
This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:
Correction: May 1, 2011
An earlier version of this article misstated one finding from a McKinsey poll of 900 top-tier American college students. The poll found that 68 percent would consider teaching if salaries started at $65,000 and rose to
a maximum — not a minimum — of $150,000.
The reason why we need to spend more money on education, not less. From a NYT op-ed:
The High Cost of Low Teacher Salaries
By DAVE EGGERS and NÍNIVE CLEMENTS CALEGARI
San Francisco
WHEN we don’t get the results we want in our military endeavors, we don’t blame the soldiers. We don’t say, “It’s these lazy soldiers and their bloated benefits plans! That’s why we haven’t done better in Afghanistan!” No, if the results aren’t there, we blame the planners. We blame the generals, the secretary of defense, the Joint Chiefs of
Staff. No one contemplates blaming the men and women fighting every day in the trenches for little pay and scant recognition.
And yet in education we do just that. When we don’t like the way our students score on international standardized tests, we blame the teachers. When we don’t like the way particular schools perform, we blame the teachers and restrict their resources.
Compare this with our approach to our military: when results on the ground are not what we hoped, we think of ways to better support soldiers. We try to give them better tools, better weapons, better protection, better training. And when recruiting is down, we offer incentives.
We have a rare chance now, with many teachers near retirement, to prove we’re serious about education. The first step is to make the teaching profession more attractive to college graduates. This will take some doing.
At the moment, the average teacher’s pay is on par with that of a toll taker or bartender. Teachers make 14 percent less than professionals in other occupations that require similar levels of education. In real terms, teachers’ salaries have declined for 30 years. The average starting salary is $39,000; the average ending salary — after 25 years in the profession — is $67,000. This prices teachers out of home ownership in 32 metropolitan areas, and makes raising a family on one salary near impossible.
So how do teachers cope? Sixty-two percent work outside the classroom to make ends meet. For Erik Benner, an award-winning history teacher in Keller, Tex., money has been a constant struggle. He has two children, and for 15 years has been unable to support them on his salary. Every weekday, he goes directly from Trinity Springs Middle School to drive a forklift at Floor and Décor. He works until 11 every night, then gets up and starts all over again. Does this look like “A Plan,” either on the state or federal level?
We’ve been working with public school teachers for 10 years; every spring, we see many of the best teachers leave the profession. They’re mowed down by the long hours, low pay, the lack of support and respect.
Imagine a novice teacher, thrown into an urban school, told to teach five classes a day, with up to 40 students each. At the year’s end, if test scores haven’t risen enough, he or she is called a bad teacher. For college graduates who have other options, this kind of pressure, for such low pay, doesn’t make much sense. So every year 20 percent of teachers in urban districts quit. Nationwide, 46 percent of teachers quit before their fifth year. The turnover costs the United States $7.34 billion yearly. The effect within schools — especially those in urban communities where turnover is highest — is devastating.
But we can reverse course. In the next 10 years, over half of the nation’s nearly 3.2 million public school teachers will become eligible for retirement. Who will replace them? How do we attract and keep the best minds in the profession?
People talk about accountability, measurements, tenure, test scores and pay for performance. These questions are worthy of debate, but are secondary to recruiting and training teachers and treating them fairly. There is no silver bullet that will fix every last school in America, but until we solve the problem of teacher turnover, we don’t have a chance.
Can we do better? Can we generate “A Plan”? Of course.
The consulting firm McKinsey recently examined how we might attract and retain a talented teaching force. The study compared the treatment of teachers here and in the three countries that perform best on standardized tests: Finland, Singapore and South Korea.
Turns out these countries have an entirely different approach to the profession. First, the governments in these countries recruit top graduates to the profession. (We don’t.) In Finland and Singapore they pay for training. (We don’t.) In terms of purchasing power, South Korea pays teachers on average 250 percent of what we do.
And most of all, they trust their teachers. They are rightly seen as the solution, not the problem, and when improvement is needed, the school receives support and development, not punishment. Accordingly, turnover in
these countries is startlingly low: In South Korea, it’s 1 percent per year. In Finland, it’s 2 percent. In Singapore, 3 percent.
McKinsey polled 900 top-tier American college students and found that 68 percent would consider teaching if salaries started at $65,000 and rose to a maximum of $150,000. Could we do this? If we’re committed to “winning the future,” we should. If any administration is capable of tackling this, it’s the current one. President Obama and Education Secretary Arne Duncan understand the centrality of teachers and have said that improving our education system begins and ends with great teachers. But world-class education costs money.
For those who say, “How do we pay for this?” — well, how are we paying for three concurrent wars? How did we pay for the interstate highway system? Or the bailout of the savings and loans in 1989 and that of the investment banks in 2008? How did we pay for the equally ambitious project of sending Americans to the moon? We had the vision and we had the will and we found a way.
Dave Eggers and Nínive Clements Calegari are founders of the 826 National tutoring centers and producers of the documentary “American Teacher.”
This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:
Correction: May 1, 2011
An earlier version of this article misstated one finding from a McKinsey poll of 900 top-tier American college students. The poll found that 68 percent would consider teaching if salaries started at $65,000 and rose to
a maximum — not a minimum — of $150,000.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
High School Students Working
After learning that several of my students work until 2am several days a week, I decided to look up the rules concerning student working...
Granted it's information from eHow, but they have references so it looks legit. I was wrong that 16-17 year olds are limited to a certain amount of hours. So in my conversation with them tomorrow, I'm going to inform them that school comes first and they need to be able to get their work done (I'm not assigning anything without a reason) and stay awake in class, even if that means limiting their working hours. I think the law needs to be changed limiting 16-17 year olds from working past midnight, and limited to 5-6 hours per day if they are full time students. If they're not in school, they can work as long as they like. These are supposed to be part time jobs, not full time. Maybe that's just my opinion, but you're not learning anything when you're so tired from working until 2am that you fall asleep in class.
Jobs & Hours Teens Can Work
- If you're 12 or 13, you can not work as a newspaper carrier work during school hours, before 4 a.m. or after 7 p.m. If you're working with your family in a farm or orchard you can only do so outside of school hours and with your parent's permission.
If you are 14 or 15, you are limited to 3 hours of work during a school day and 18 hours during a school week and are required to take a 30-minute break after working five consecutive hours.
If you are 16 or 17, you have no restrictions on your work hours.
Granted it's information from eHow, but they have references so it looks legit. I was wrong that 16-17 year olds are limited to a certain amount of hours. So in my conversation with them tomorrow, I'm going to inform them that school comes first and they need to be able to get their work done (I'm not assigning anything without a reason) and stay awake in class, even if that means limiting their working hours. I think the law needs to be changed limiting 16-17 year olds from working past midnight, and limited to 5-6 hours per day if they are full time students. If they're not in school, they can work as long as they like. These are supposed to be part time jobs, not full time. Maybe that's just my opinion, but you're not learning anything when you're so tired from working until 2am that you fall asleep in class.
Sunday, April 10, 2011
ISTJs
It's scary how well it fits me, so I decided to post the entire thing from http://www.personalitypage.com/ISTJ.html
Portrait of an ISTJ - Introverted Sensing Thinking Judging
ISTJs are very loyal, faithful, and dependable. They place great importance on honesty and integrity. They are "good citizens" who can be depended on to do the right thing for their families and communities. While they generally take things very seriously, they also usually have an offbeat sense of humor and can be a lot of fun - especially at family or work-related gatherings.
ISTJs tend to believe in laws and traditions, and expect the same from others. They're not comfortable with breaking laws or going against the rules. If they are able to see a good reason for stepping outside of the established mode of doing things, the ISTJ will support that effort. However, ISTJs more often tend to believe that things should be done according to procedures and plans. If an ISTJ has not developed their Intuitive side sufficiently, they may become overly obsessed with structure, and insist on doing everything "by the book".
The ISTJ is extremely dependable on following through with things which he or she has promised. For this reason, they sometimes get more and more work piled on them. Because the ISTJ has such a strong sense of duty, they may have a difficult time saying "no" when they are given more work than they can reasonably handle. For this reason, the ISTJ often works long hours, and may be unwittingly taken advantage of.
The ISTJ will work for long periods of time and put tremendous amounts of energy into doing any task which they see as important to fulfilling a goal. However, they will resist putting energy into things which don't make sense to them, or for which they can't see a practical application. They prefer to work alone, but work well in teams when the situation demands it. They like to be accountable for their actions, and enjoy being in positions of authority. The ISTJ has little use for theory or abstract thinking, unless the practical application is clear.
ISTJs have tremendous respect for facts. They hold a tremendous store of facts within themselves, which they have gathered through their Sensing preference. They may have difficulty understanding a theory or idea which is different from their own perspective. However, if they are shown the importance or relevance of the idea to someone who they respect or care about, the idea becomes a fact, which the ISTJ will internalize and support. Once the ISTJ supports a cause or idea, he or she will stop at no lengths to ensure that they are doing their duty of giving support where support is needed.
The ISTJ is not naturally in tune with their own feelings and the feelings of others. They may have difficulty picking up on emotional needs immediately, as they are presented. Being perfectionists themselves, they have a tendency to take other people's efforts for granted, like they take their own efforts for granted. They need to remember to pat people on the back once in a while.
ISTJs are likely to be uncomfortable expressing affection and emotion to others. However, their strong sense of duty and the ability to see what needs to be done in any situation usually allows them to overcome their natural reservations, and they are usually quite supporting and caring individuals with the people that they love. Once the ISTJ realizes the emotional needs of those who are close to them, they put forth effort to meet those needs.
The ISTJ is extremely faithful and loyal. Traditional and family-minded, they will put forth great amounts of effort at making their homes and families running smoothly. They are responsible parents, taking their parenting roles seriously. They are usually good and generous providers to their families. They care deeply about those close to them, although they usually are not comfortable with expressing their love. The ISTJ is likely to express their affection through actions, rather than through words.
ISTJs have an excellent ability to take any task and define it, organize it, plan it, and implement it through to completion. They are very hard workers, who do not allow obstacles to get in the way of performing their duties. They do not usually give themselves enough credit for their achievements, seeing their accomplishments simply as the natural fulfillment of their obligations.
ISTJs usually have a great sense of space and function, and artistic appreciation. Their homes are likely to be tastefully furnished and immaculately maintained. They are acutely aware of their senses, and want to be in surroundings which fit their need for structure, order, and beauty.
Under stress, ISTJs may fall into "catastrophe mode", where they see nothing but all of the possibilities of what could go wrong. They will berate themselves for things which they should have done differently, or duties which they failed to perform. They will lose their ability to see things calmly and reasonably, and will depress themselves with their visions of doom.
In general, the ISTJ has a tremendous amount of potential. Capable, logical, reasonable, and effective individuals with a deeply driven desire to promote security and peaceful living, the ISTJ has what it takes to be highly effective at achieving their chosen goals - whatever they may be.
Jungian functional preference ordering:
Dominant: Introverted Sensing
Auxiliary: Extraverted Thinking
Tertiary: Introverted Feeling
Inferior: Extraverted Intuition
Portrait of an ISTJ - Introverted Sensing Thinking Judging
(Introverted Sensing with Extraverted Thinking)
The Duty Fulfiller
As an ISTJ, your primary mode of living is focused internally, where you take things in via your five senses in a literal, concrete fashion. Your secondary mode is external, where you deal with things rationally and logically.
ISTJs are very loyal, faithful, and dependable. They place great importance on honesty and integrity. They are "good citizens" who can be depended on to do the right thing for their families and communities. While they generally take things very seriously, they also usually have an offbeat sense of humor and can be a lot of fun - especially at family or work-related gatherings.
ISTJs tend to believe in laws and traditions, and expect the same from others. They're not comfortable with breaking laws or going against the rules. If they are able to see a good reason for stepping outside of the established mode of doing things, the ISTJ will support that effort. However, ISTJs more often tend to believe that things should be done according to procedures and plans. If an ISTJ has not developed their Intuitive side sufficiently, they may become overly obsessed with structure, and insist on doing everything "by the book".
The ISTJ is extremely dependable on following through with things which he or she has promised. For this reason, they sometimes get more and more work piled on them. Because the ISTJ has such a strong sense of duty, they may have a difficult time saying "no" when they are given more work than they can reasonably handle. For this reason, the ISTJ often works long hours, and may be unwittingly taken advantage of.
The ISTJ will work for long periods of time and put tremendous amounts of energy into doing any task which they see as important to fulfilling a goal. However, they will resist putting energy into things which don't make sense to them, or for which they can't see a practical application. They prefer to work alone, but work well in teams when the situation demands it. They like to be accountable for their actions, and enjoy being in positions of authority. The ISTJ has little use for theory or abstract thinking, unless the practical application is clear.
ISTJs have tremendous respect for facts. They hold a tremendous store of facts within themselves, which they have gathered through their Sensing preference. They may have difficulty understanding a theory or idea which is different from their own perspective. However, if they are shown the importance or relevance of the idea to someone who they respect or care about, the idea becomes a fact, which the ISTJ will internalize and support. Once the ISTJ supports a cause or idea, he or she will stop at no lengths to ensure that they are doing their duty of giving support where support is needed.
The ISTJ is not naturally in tune with their own feelings and the feelings of others. They may have difficulty picking up on emotional needs immediately, as they are presented. Being perfectionists themselves, they have a tendency to take other people's efforts for granted, like they take their own efforts for granted. They need to remember to pat people on the back once in a while.
ISTJs are likely to be uncomfortable expressing affection and emotion to others. However, their strong sense of duty and the ability to see what needs to be done in any situation usually allows them to overcome their natural reservations, and they are usually quite supporting and caring individuals with the people that they love. Once the ISTJ realizes the emotional needs of those who are close to them, they put forth effort to meet those needs.
The ISTJ is extremely faithful and loyal. Traditional and family-minded, they will put forth great amounts of effort at making their homes and families running smoothly. They are responsible parents, taking their parenting roles seriously. They are usually good and generous providers to their families. They care deeply about those close to them, although they usually are not comfortable with expressing their love. The ISTJ is likely to express their affection through actions, rather than through words.
ISTJs have an excellent ability to take any task and define it, organize it, plan it, and implement it through to completion. They are very hard workers, who do not allow obstacles to get in the way of performing their duties. They do not usually give themselves enough credit for their achievements, seeing their accomplishments simply as the natural fulfillment of their obligations.
ISTJs usually have a great sense of space and function, and artistic appreciation. Their homes are likely to be tastefully furnished and immaculately maintained. They are acutely aware of their senses, and want to be in surroundings which fit their need for structure, order, and beauty.
Under stress, ISTJs may fall into "catastrophe mode", where they see nothing but all of the possibilities of what could go wrong. They will berate themselves for things which they should have done differently, or duties which they failed to perform. They will lose their ability to see things calmly and reasonably, and will depress themselves with their visions of doom.
In general, the ISTJ has a tremendous amount of potential. Capable, logical, reasonable, and effective individuals with a deeply driven desire to promote security and peaceful living, the ISTJ has what it takes to be highly effective at achieving their chosen goals - whatever they may be.
Jungian functional preference ordering:
Dominant: Introverted Sensing
Auxiliary: Extraverted Thinking
Tertiary: Introverted Feeling
Inferior: Extraverted Intuition
Lessons learned
This weekend has gone by so fast and I still have a super load of work to get done, but that seems to be the story of my life this semester. And, I've realized that I have trouble sleeping a lot because I'm writing the next blog post in my head or I'm planning lessons, so I've started keeping a notepad by my bed so that I write it down and can tell my brain to "shut up!" and finally go to sleep.
The lesson from last Thursday is that I should never eat the boneless wings from Bdubs (Buffalo Wild Wings), even though I happen to love them. GI wasn't feeling so hot after that, and of course there goes my energy for the weekend because the equation goes like this:
Friday after school I drove up to DC, waved to all the people stuck in traffic going the other direction, then promptly got stuck in traffic myself. Ha. The metro train was going faster than me. Finally got to Georgetown, picked up Annalisa from her open house day at Georgetown, found a parking spot in Georgetown, cursed the people who decided to use SUVs in Georgetown (they really should limit transportation to only SMARTcars) and we went and got Vietnamese for dinner on M St. The restaurant was pricy and the food was ok. Lesson learned = everything in Georgetown is expensive. Having used dinner to also let traffic die down, we then drove down to Alexandria to say at my aunt and uncle's for the night. They have a townhouse in Old Town and during our conversations I learned several things about Faye that I had never known before. 1) She was born in England and then moved to Australia (I thought she was an Aussie through and through, and 2) she was an English major in college, so she and Annalisa had a lot to talk about.
Saturday A and I headed out after breakfast to look at two apartments that we had found in Arlington. We've pretty much decided that we want to live in Arlington because there are more young people and it's closer to G-town for A. The first place, called Ballston Park is right near my friend Sara's house and I had always thought they looked sketchy, but the pictures on the web look so much nicer, and I didn't realize they were the same place. We looked at one apartment, about 850 sqft and figured out that it had never left the 1950s. We also didn't exactly feel as safe in the area as we wanted, especially if A is going to be coming back from class at 11:30pm, and it was a good walk from the metro. We then had lunch, did some work sitting in Panera and then walked around to find names of apartment buildings. Our second appointment was even further from the metro in a community called Arlington Oaks, and again, 1950s syndrome. Plus the current homeowner was looking for the next people, not the central office which raised some red flags in my head. I think we need to look for something that was built after 1980, and I'm going to be stuck up here, but I want laundry in my apartment/house. Deal breaker there. The lessons learned are that we need to raise our price expectations for 2 people (hard for a grad student and a teacher still looking for a job) or we need to find a 3rd person who is a clone of us so that we can find a small house. Hoping for one of those other 20 English MA students... When I got back to JMU last night I did find some houses that would work for 3 people, score! Now to find that third person.
Now for the last lesson of the weekend. I am a very responsible person and when I make plans with other people I make sure that it is going to work out and there are no other plans that could overlap. Because of my personality I expect that everyone else does the same thing. (One of the reasons why I'm an ISTJ (refer to paragraph 5 in the link). However, I'm slowly learning that others do not think the same way, and may respond to my "let's hang out" with "sounds great" but allow for some overlap. I don't think there's a problem with that at all, things come up and things take longer than expected. Sometimes I just wish that other people had the calendar mindset that I do so that I don't end up getting disappointed. Don't get me wrong, there have been plenty of incidents of this happening. I think this weekend just made me realize why I always get disappointed when it does. The lesson for me is that things don't always work out because everyone is different and I guess the lesson for anyone reading this is: when we make plans, make sure to phrase things in a way that if you're 100% on and it's on the calendar and won't change then tell me, but if you'd love to do it but have XYZ going on and it may not work out, that'd be great to tell me too. Especially if I've had any dairy in the last week because I'll be more tired and less understanding. :o)
Phew, lots of lessons, now it's time to go write some lessons for my students.
The lesson from last Thursday is that I should never eat the boneless wings from Bdubs (Buffalo Wild Wings), even though I happen to love them. GI wasn't feeling so hot after that, and of course there goes my energy for the weekend because the equation goes like this:
(BDubs boneless = dairy + my GI system = pain + micro damage in intestines = energy usage to repair = I have no extra energy)
So.... don't ever let me eat breaded anything without checking with the kitchen how they are made, and don't ever let me eat the boneless wings from Bdubs.Friday after school I drove up to DC, waved to all the people stuck in traffic going the other direction, then promptly got stuck in traffic myself. Ha. The metro train was going faster than me. Finally got to Georgetown, picked up Annalisa from her open house day at Georgetown, found a parking spot in Georgetown, cursed the people who decided to use SUVs in Georgetown (they really should limit transportation to only SMARTcars) and we went and got Vietnamese for dinner on M St. The restaurant was pricy and the food was ok. Lesson learned = everything in Georgetown is expensive. Having used dinner to also let traffic die down, we then drove down to Alexandria to say at my aunt and uncle's for the night. They have a townhouse in Old Town and during our conversations I learned several things about Faye that I had never known before. 1) She was born in England and then moved to Australia (I thought she was an Aussie through and through, and 2) she was an English major in college, so she and Annalisa had a lot to talk about.
Saturday A and I headed out after breakfast to look at two apartments that we had found in Arlington. We've pretty much decided that we want to live in Arlington because there are more young people and it's closer to G-town for A. The first place, called Ballston Park is right near my friend Sara's house and I had always thought they looked sketchy, but the pictures on the web look so much nicer, and I didn't realize they were the same place. We looked at one apartment, about 850 sqft and figured out that it had never left the 1950s. We also didn't exactly feel as safe in the area as we wanted, especially if A is going to be coming back from class at 11:30pm, and it was a good walk from the metro. We then had lunch, did some work sitting in Panera and then walked around to find names of apartment buildings. Our second appointment was even further from the metro in a community called Arlington Oaks, and again, 1950s syndrome. Plus the current homeowner was looking for the next people, not the central office which raised some red flags in my head. I think we need to look for something that was built after 1980, and I'm going to be stuck up here, but I want laundry in my apartment/house. Deal breaker there. The lessons learned are that we need to raise our price expectations for 2 people (hard for a grad student and a teacher still looking for a job) or we need to find a 3rd person who is a clone of us so that we can find a small house. Hoping for one of those other 20 English MA students... When I got back to JMU last night I did find some houses that would work for 3 people, score! Now to find that third person.
Now for the last lesson of the weekend. I am a very responsible person and when I make plans with other people I make sure that it is going to work out and there are no other plans that could overlap. Because of my personality I expect that everyone else does the same thing. (One of the reasons why I'm an ISTJ (refer to paragraph 5 in the link). However, I'm slowly learning that others do not think the same way, and may respond to my "let's hang out" with "sounds great" but allow for some overlap. I don't think there's a problem with that at all, things come up and things take longer than expected. Sometimes I just wish that other people had the calendar mindset that I do so that I don't end up getting disappointed. Don't get me wrong, there have been plenty of incidents of this happening. I think this weekend just made me realize why I always get disappointed when it does. The lesson for me is that things don't always work out because everyone is different and I guess the lesson for anyone reading this is: when we make plans, make sure to phrase things in a way that if you're 100% on and it's on the calendar and won't change then tell me, but if you'd love to do it but have XYZ going on and it may not work out, that'd be great to tell me too. Especially if I've had any dairy in the last week because I'll be more tired and less understanding. :o)
Phew, lots of lessons, now it's time to go write some lessons for my students.
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