On the Shoulders of Giants

Boys and School

I was talking with a colleague today about the particular challenges many boys face in school. So many boys underperform in school, especially once they enter adolescence. I've seen this firsthand in the mostly white suburban school I attended in the 90's. I've seen it in the two urban public schools i worked in here in NYC serving students of color. And now I see the same pattern to some extent in the unusually diverse Brooklyn charter school where I currently teach.

I'm convinced that it has to do with the passive nature of school as we know it today. Boys just have a bigger problem complying with the demands of a school day that asks them to perform in a passive role so much of the time. Following directions, waiting for permission to speak, answering questions, sitting down quietly, etc.  This is especially difficult as boys work through the identity issues of adolescence.  Is it also hard for girls? Yes. But I don't think the requirements are as diametrically opposed to the demands of their identity formation.

Just one more reason to create a more student centered classroom where kids can make decisions for themselves and become agents of their own learning. It's not easy to do within the current construct of school, but far from impossible either.

This article by William Draves provides some good statistics and information about boys and lists out the theories that have been put forth by others about why boys have underperformed in school over the last 20 years.  He discounts most of them, deciding, like I have, that schools are the problem, not boys or their families.  He gets a little more specific--schools don't provide boys with the skills needed in today's workplace, and the integration of technology is the key to turning around boys' performance in school. 

I don't disagree with him on these points, but I don't think technology is the only way to fix the problem.  In my opinion, the reason technology seems to "work" is that students feel like they have more cntrol over their learning when using technology--and it is probable true.  However, there are many ways we should be exploring to give students more control over their learning.  Improvisational theater is one, for example...

Getting Frugal

It's been a wonderful year in teaching for me. I've had the amazing experience of working with the same group of students for a second year now, and I just love this group of kids.  I also have wonderful supportive colleagues, administrators, and co-teachers. It's hard not to want everything to flow perfectly, and to work as hard as it takes for that to be true as much of the time as possible.  

But it's also December.  I've had some kind of nasty, shape-shifting cold for nearly 3 weeks that had me sleeping 16 hours the night after Thanksgiving dinner.  It's getting colder and darker.  And of course, grades are due soon.  I love the work of teaching, but I'm on the brink of exhaustion and I have to begin conserving time and energy so I don't hit burn out anytime soon.  

I've got an experiment in the works. For the next week (and probably longer), I will leave school no later than 5:00, and I will not bring any work home.  Some other things might have to change in response: I might have to arrive earlier, I might talk less with colleagues on preps or after school, not take on any exciting new endeavors, and perhaps I'll find other ways to be more efficient with planning and grading.  But I'll get the work done and have enough time in the evenings to relax and take care of myself--which I sorely need, and which will help me come to school each day with the enthusiasm my students expect and need from me over the next month.

What do you need to get frugal with between now and the winter break?

 

[image credits: almostfrugal.com cecilialevy.blogspot.com]

 

Teacher Pay Debate

Earlier this month, a research paper coming out of the Heritage Center for Data Analysis by Andrew Biggs and Jason Richwine claimed that teachers are overpaid compared to similarly educated counterparts in other professions.  The researchers added benefits to teacher pay--benefits most teachers never see because they are deferred until retirement age--and counted only teacher's on-the-clock hours, and NO summer hours.  [See comments by researcher, Jason Richwine, and myself below.)

The conclusions are extremely flawed.  Responses to the argument are now being posted at The Debate Club, including those of Linda Darling Hammond and Barnett Berry. (If you click over, make sure to hit the "up" arrow for the arguments you agree with.) Shaun Johnson posts an interesting response at the Huffington Post called, Who's Overpaid, Teachers or the Wonks Who Write About Them? Nancy Flanagan posted her response, Because I'm Worth It?, in which she compares the working conditions she experienced as a teacher with those of a position she took briefly at an education policy organization (a worthwhile read).  She also suggests that this research serves to distract the public from the real inequities of our education system.

My own take: The research is flawed and ridiculous to anyone who has experience teaching or knows much about the job, it's requirements and demands.  There's a longstanding misunderstanding and undervaluing of the work of teachers, rooted in sexism. When historical oppression is at work, there is often is a fine line between a viewpoint and a prejudice.

What is passing as a "debate" in the education world looks more to me like some researchers manipulating data to support their prejudicial standpoints.  There are many other discriminatory notions that can be supported by misleading data.  I'm surprised and disappointed that this biased work is accepted as research in 2011. I guess the silver lining could be the opportunity to expose an area of prejudice that remains hidden in fog in our country.

 

[image credit: psychologyinspiration.com]

Keep Your Eyes Wide Open

I just wanted to provide some additional space for a comment left on my recent post, Teacher Leadership's Gaining Momentum: Where Are We Going?  In it, I share my observation that formal teacher leadership roles are becoming more common and more mainstream, which is quite a big change from where we were even 8 years ago when I started teaching. I ask where teacher leaders are taking the profession and schools?  Obviously we are not all doing the same work, nor do we all have the same priorities as we approach our work, so the question cannot be answered easily.    

In the comments section, a reader, Joetta Schneider, provided these important thoughts for teacher leaders as we shape our roles:

"Yes, it is important to think about "toward what are we leading?" At our school, teachers brainstormed what they thought would be best for students. We then looked at research and found ideas that we could use in the transformation of our school.

I feel as though there are many new corporations developing to take advantage of monetary opportunities in education, and teachers need to beware of quick fixes. Many times these are tied to politics. At our school we are steadfastly resisting packaged answers, because we feel we have the best interests of our students in mind, unlike many government and political entities. It was a rude awakening to us to find out that deals were being made behind the scenes involving selling out our students (and teachers.) I would advise others: "Keep your eyes wide open and do not make hasty teacher-leadership decisions. Always keep the sacred trust of your students' best interests at the forefront of your leadership decisions." We won't sell out our vision for our students, nor will we sell out the teachers who trust us to build their vision for change at our school. We will choose our partnerships carefully." 

Her comment reminds me of a conversation the Teaching 2030 writer's team had when we were working on our book.  We were talking about the myriad changes we imagined that would come to public education with technology and shifting infrastructures.  Renee Moore brought up the issue of equity of access to high quality education as we blend face-to-face and online learning environments.  

Then, late in the day, Shannon C'de Baca said, "In all of these changes, someone has to sort it all out and make sure that we are going in the right direction; that what we call progress benefits all children in their learning.  Someone has to be the keeper of the flame."  We began to imagine teacher leaders as the keepers of the flame, the protectors of public education for all.    

Joetta's right--money and corporate interests can complicate and confuse things, often providing quick fixes that seem to answer persistent funding and salary issues in schools and in teachers' lives.  As teacher leadership roles open up and we stand closer to the many other interests that guide decisions made for our schools, it's important to keep our eyes wide open and make sure we lead toward what we know is best for our students.

 

[image credit: http://future.teacherleaders.org/]