Bricks Without Straw Part II

Data gathering...on a normal day, attendance is taken and loaded online by 10 am. Students who miss school on a regular basis receive a series of attendance letters. Letters 1, 2, 3 and 4 are sent to parents and with this 4th and final letter comes a PINS reference (person in need of supervision). Everything goes downtown to Central Office and the PINS information goes to Child Protective Services. The child is then watched or tracked, but in many cases...nothing ever happens to end the truency. One child in our school missed the first eight days of school this year. This child missed 40 days his/her first year of school, 50 days the second year, and 20 days the third year. Another student missed three full weeks of school last month and now attends irregularly. A common sense question might be posed at this point. What was the purpose of all those letters for these two children? Why bother to report this to anyone? Nothing happens. It seems that an awful lot of paperwork is generated for nothing to happen. The paper trail often leads nowhere.

Data gathering...Child Protective Services is an overworked agency and no doubt those who work in CPS are well intentioned and motivated to change the lives of these children for the better. However, CPS workers do not always meet with teachers. Teachers are mandated reporters and of any group, often have the most thorough knowledge of a child. Teachers track children for a number of years. They know that a child needs glasses and they know family members. They know who is in jail and who has been released. They know who has what allergy and who has diabetes and who is underwashed and over hungry and who has chronic head lice. Teachers know important things! Teachers document everything with emails and communicate with parent liasons, Central Office personnel and nursing staff. Teachers are frustrated when they deal with stacks of paper and documentation and speak to many people and observe that when the shuffle is all over and the dust and feathers settle...nothing happens. Personal knowledge and common sense are apparently not enough to be considered part of the solution. So the little girl with the black eye stays home a few days...and returns. The child who is profoundly emotionally disturbed comes back to the classroom and sleeps the day away while the teacher exhausts every measure to get him/her into day treatment. Paper trails begin almost daily...and end with???

Data gathering...for field trips, there is a three page permission letter for parents to fill out EACH time. Each time there may be new phone numbers, new addresses, new information about doctors and new information about who may or may not pick up the child. When paperwork is not returned, the children are left in other classrooms for the day, unable to attend the field trip.

Data gathering...report cards are completed four times a year and appear to be subjective. What does it mean when a student "talks about books"? How does one measure that empirically? Report cards attempt to measure things such as..."reads every day" or "writes every day". How vague! Reads what every day? Writes what every day? And does that reading indicate a thorough mastery and comprehension of the topic? Is the student simply de-coding? Is the student writing well? Do we consider penmanship? Grammar? Paragraph indentation? Good cognitive processing? Fluency? Logic? Is it in English only? Is it in Spanish only? Is it in both languages? What if a child reads an appropriate level book for his or her grade...say a B level book...but it is now June and the child is meant to be reading at a level M or higher? Is it an appropriate book? Yes. Does it meet the standard? No.

Consider this...there are 72 entries on a second grade report card. Some second graders can't count to 72. All of this report card information is entered online and the district system does not always mesh with home computers. The teacher either stays in the school building until late hours...or heads off to the various university libraries to use their computers and printers...until late hours. 72 entries? Really?

Data gathering...a teacher fills out large numbers of office referrals for students who need to be removed from the classroom and sent to the office or the ATS (alternative to suspension) room. There are no real consequences for bad behavior. Students who end up in the ATS room come with work that the teacher has sent, but no real instruction happens. They are babysat. There are numerous phone calls home. Many phones are disconnected. Notes are sent home. Notes are ignored. Parent liaisons visit homes. Social workers talk to students and families. Students return. Bad behavior continues. But data has been gathered!

Data gathering...DRA's (running reading records) occur three times annually. They are entered on paper and online. There are Terra Nova (district) tests given annually. AIS plans are due 4 times a year. There are IEPs to be written. There is ESOL testing in April, (testing for students who are not English speakers in the areas of listening, speaking, writing and reading). The ELA exam begins in third grade and is given annually. There are teacher generated tests for material which is supposed to be covered during the year. New teachers are required to manage and keep certification by completing 175 professional development hours every 5 years. A district computer system can drop grades and enter information incorrectly. The teacher I interviewed estimated that he/she spends anywhere from 8-15 hours weekly on paperwork...both academic and non-academic. Data is gathered but is anything learned?

Can the reader understand how the idea of merit pay for teachers might be controversial? How would a teacher prove merit? How would a teacher be able to defend him/herself when after having taught all the material he/she was still unable to get children to move onto the next grade because they were absent fifty times? Or they missed tests? Or they moved two or three times? Or they spent numerous days in the ATS room with no instruction? Or they were beaten up over the weekend? How would merit be evaluated? Let me suggest that it would undoubtedly involve more paperwork...and data gathering.

Bricks Without Straw

Friends at a recent luncheon complained about the mounting piles of mandated paperwork for classroom teachers. Just listening to the requirements made me tired. Indulge me in a bit of a rant.

Every year the average classroom teacher is told they must gather more and more data about their students. Every year the individuality of each learner is, (to a great degree) ignored. There is not enough time to understand the way that individual students learn when the teacher is swamped with tracking breakfast distribution and taking attendance. Teachers are interrupted by practice state tests, real state tests, running reading records, discipline referrals, report cards, benchmarks, attendance letters, medical alerts, sentry calls, assaults and arguments, lunch, specials, individual student therapy and counseling, the PA system, professional development meetings and managing the bus loop. If it sounds confusing, it is. If it sounds like chaotic assembly line education, it is.

Teachers are required to complete academic intervention plans for each student if he or she needs extra help. In a class with 25 students, it is possible to have 10 deemed "at risk". The teacher creates a separate learning plan AND implements it for each of these students. How anyone teaches 15 students (as a group) and 10 (individually) is a puzzle. Whether or not a teacher can do it well, is also questionable.

Paperwork for special education referrals, committees on school climate, referrals for child protective services, and school based planning committee meetings all add to the noise in a teacher's head. Don't forget the following: speech pull outs, English as a Second Language pull outs, the alternative to suspension room, field trips, case workers, student observers, student teachers, lunch money, ADHD, austism and children who are not taking their meds. The sentry gets called a lot. There are English Language Arts exams and Terra Nova exams and testing to see who can exit English as a Second Language the following year. There are those students who can test in a group and those who have to be tested individually and those who won't be tested at all because they will leave the district or change addresses.

Teachers wear out, and they keep hearing that inner voice which reminds them that none of all this extra stress has anything to do with the child's education. The teacher is asked to be the Mom, nanny, nurse, food giver, pencil supplier, coat buyer, social worker, counselor and therapist, testing specialist, and encourager. The district is required to test and gather numbers for the state. It seems in many ways, that the teacher and the district are asked to raise the child. But only in a paperwork sort of way.

How did we get here? We have adopted an uncritical acceptance of whatever "educational experts" or politicians throw our way. Each generation suffers from its own illusion. One of our illusions has been that data gathering and test taking is enough to produce well adjusted and educated children. In actuality, all this educational bureaucracy means that we do nothing thoroughly or well in our schools. Everything is half-baked or a mile wide and an inch deep. As our district is looking at a graduation rate this June of somewhere in the 40% range...I would humbly suggest that perhaps we are off track. We have assumptions which are so deeply ingrained that no one dares to attack them. Many think that testing, data gathering, and number crunching (all subject to funding, interestingly) produce a good education. I challenge that assumption. Most teachers I know would challenge that assumption. Let us not be afraid to call something bad when it is.

A Quest For Civility

Just a discouraging thought on a gray and windy Friday afternoon...I entered the girls' bathroom this morning before I went to class. On one of the stall doors was written the following paragraph (and I shall omit the nasty venom)..."B-'s of the year"...then the names of six girls were scrawled on to the door..."F- you all B-'s"...and then, "Bye...F- you H-'s"...I looked at those words for awhile and thought about President Obama's comments this week on the need for civility in our nation. Whatever one's politics, we can all surely agree that civility in this country has taken a beating. I find it profoundly upsetting when I see the nastiness being passed down to the next generation. I observe incivility when I greet students in the hall and they ignore me. I hear it in the language used by many of the fifth and sixth graders as they attack each other with cruel, obscene names and taunts. I see it when students conduct themselves in ways which indicate no respect for authority, rank, age, experience, gender or race.

"There is a sense that something is different now, that something's broken...at times it seems like we're unable to listen to one another, to have at once a serious and civil debate...government can't solve all of our problems...talking about values like responsible fatherhood and healthy marriage is integral to any anti-poverty agenda". President Obama...in a recent speech...

We need to have a serious, national debate about civility in schools...bad, cruel, obscene language is not about authority, rank, age, experience, education, gender or race. It is incivility, plain and simple. It degrades. It uglifies. It brings our students down. It brings our teachers down. It brings our nation down. Worried about standards?...test scores?...funding?...new methods and strategies?...Perhaps we should worry more about the uncivilized people who will be taking care of us and running the country in 25 years.

A Wounded Friend Exits Stage Left

In this New Year, a wounded, angry and despairing friend from past days lashed out, and with cruel and mean-spirited words, ended our twenty-seven year relationship. He is not the man I knew. He is not the man I loved. He dissolved into a personal fog of frustration, bitterness and denial. I witnessed the slow disintegration of a personality. When we were eighteen, he filled the room with laughter and goofy humor. He provided delicious meals, excellent parties, fast cars and reliability. Now there are only mocking words, deceptive comments, manipulative actions, unrepentant denial and anger...anger.

When I heard my friend wanted nothing to do with me, I did the adult thing and discussed it (minus names and details) with my group of second graders. Their input was helpful. After listening with rapt attention one little girl piped up and said "Missy, I will be your friend..". I think that was all I needed...a second grader's simple thought process and a promise of friendship. The affirmation of an innocent second grader is much more meaningful ...much better than the searing disappointment of watching a friend self-wreck.

"I have three kinds of friends: those who love me, those who pay no attention to me, and those who detest me". The author of that statement gets it right. But I suspect that although this friend detests me...I fear it more likely that he detests himself. God bless him...and keep him...far from me.

To Empty A Drawer

This blog is dedicated to my friend Ilene who encouraged me to write about my silverware/junk drawer. She suspected there needed to be a drawer intervention and she was correct. This list is for you, Ilene and as I report what I found in the drawer, item by item, there is a warning for the reader. The list is long and rather obscure and strange. Perhaps it is a reflection of the drawer's owner. The reader is free to decide.

I dug out a notebook stuffed with cut out snowflakes and shopping lists, photos of me in Hawaii, Central Park, Berlin, at my Columbia University graduation, and at my Houghton College graduation. There were photos with family members, a photo of me with my Father taken somewhere in Iowa, a college senior photo of me posing dramatically (in black and white), photos with nieces and a nephew and siblings, a photo in Ephesus, Turkey and one of me in the bathtub (as a four year old, not recently).

The right hand section of this drawer held newspaper articles, lyrics to songs, Christmas stickers, and a CD of my Father's organ music performed at the Princeton University Chapel. There was a church directory, a kitchen aid instruction booklet, a Christmas card and a Starbucks gift certificate, two cork screws, a bottle of glue, two rolls of tape (one scotch and one painter) and a bottle of scented gingerbread oil. There was a calorie counter book (crunched up), three packs of gum, seven cookie cutters, a container of nails (all sizes), a container of staples, an EMPTY container, a lighter, a can opener, four green stones which belong at the bottom of a fish tank and a stone decorated to celebrate St. Patrick. Why can't I open this drawer easily?

There was a cassette tape of a speech I gave in 1993 at a Houghton College staff chapel and a cassette tape of a Turkish singer I liked. Her name is Nilufer. Look her up! There are two cassette tapes of Christmas carols performed by the Royal College, directed by David Willcocks. I do not own a cassette player. Oh yes, there was an actual silverware bin in the drawer...turns out I am missing several pieces of silverware and there is a very old beer opener. I do not drink beer. I found a pink notebook, a note pad of stickey notes, an unopened Verizon instruction book (bound in plastic) for things I apparently never use...two dry erase pens, two crayons, two pencils and a pen. Nearing the end...please hold steady... There was a measuring cup with no handle... this was jammed toward the back of the drawer next to two empty decorative boxes, three mini mother-of-pearl framed photos, six spools of thread, two batteries, two adaptors, eight paper clips and a mini lightbulb. There were two buttons, a lone penny and a rubber band. There were ten little rubber suction cups to hang things on glass and the top of a plastic jug...(no matching jug). I feel as if this drawer is a true reflection of my teaching style...a little bit here and a little bit there...and a whole bunch of missing pieces...and good intentions...

There were four plastic clips and another tiny jar of scented oil...I am not sure what the scent was. There was a pamphlet about my stainless cookware, yet another notebook, a photo of my Father in his 20's, a magnet, two more plastic things for hanging, a card with my silverware Oneida stainless identification number on it, thirteen sewing needles and finally, a scripture card on Love. There. By the end of this month, I hope to wash the drawer out and load the silverware back in, (in the clean bin). What I will do with the other mismatched items remains to be seen...maybe they can be placed in a sock drawer somewhere...perhaps I shall give them all to my friend Ilene...the entire box. Happy New Year...Ilene.

First Floor Flood and a Silver Princess Coat

As our students exited our building in a stream of multi-colored coats, jackets, scarves and mittens...I watched them thump and clump down the hallway and remembered an incident last year involving first floor flood waters. Last year we were temporarily located for the year's duration in an old Bausch and Lomb warehouse/factory on Saint Paul street. Day one...water rained through the ceiling of the room where our first staff meeting commenced. Throughout the year, bathrooms overflowed and certain sinks malfunctioned. The occasional bat, mouse or rat made an appearance, the elevator broke down and the stairwells stayed fairly miserable and very cold...littered with squashed ketchup packets and torn up carpet pieces.

One bitter cold Friday, a random set of pipes somewhere on the first floor gave way and in a fit of wrath, wet the first floor with a vengeance... flooding out a large portion where all the kindergarten rooms were. A general slosh of water seeped into the heavy floor rugs and around the table and chair legs and into the cubicles and closets where childrens' coats were. One moment one of the teachers stood talking with students and noticed waters rising in one corner of the room. The next moment, everyone scrambled to lift books and bookbags and children to higher ground and away from the rising stream. Children, purses and bookbags were quickly rescued. There was not enough time, however to retrieve a number of winter coats, which soon found themselves submerged in murky cold water.

The school was fresh out of industrial sized drying facilities. Sending children home in soaked coats and mittens was not optional. A surplus collection of donated coats was quickly located. All well and good.

In English we say "Beggars can't be choosers". The German way of saying this phrase is "In der Not, frisst der Teufel fliegen"...translated..."In an emergency, even the Devil will eat flies"...we reached "fly" status that afternoon as students were stuffed, vacuum packed, pushed and coerced into coats which did not quite fit...either too big, too small, or worse...too gender specific. One poor little male tike exited the building wearing a silver lame' (clearily female) princess coat. His facial expression was priceless. It was a combination of disgust and resignation. How could he complain? There was nothing else to wear. One teacher told me they convinced him to get into the coat because he would look like a robot...or something from Star Wars. We don't think he bought it, but we suspect he knew, should he run into a challenge on the bus (most likely) that he had an excuse. "I'm NOT a girl...I'm a robot"...doubtful outcome...

I wonder what the parents thought as they received their child home. "I sent my boy in a gender appropriate coat to kindergarten this morning...in the afternoon I received a boy child dressed in a princess/silver lame' robot coat..." Hmmmm...doubtful outcome...

The Mandate to Simplify One's Life

Simplify. Walk through the city in the evening, led only by the light of street lamps and the glow of the moon. Choose your favorite pair of jeans and wear them every day for an entire week...no apologies, no excuses and no explanations. Refuse to deal with any school deadline for at least one week. Leave the television on one channel. Don't change channels at all, no matter how great the temptation. Listen to one student each day with fixed attention and for an extended time. Do not explain yourself...at all. Chew each piece of food well and contemplatively. Stop wasting time trying to fix people who do not wish to get better. End relationships which are negative and draining. Begin new relationships.

Do not get on the scale for at least one month. Hide the scale. Pay all your bills late this month. When blowing out a candle, stay and watch the smoke completely disappear. Think about where it goes. Do not dust or vacuum for a week. Stare into a person's eyes until both of you are slightly uncomfortable and then...speak. Let words linger unspoken on your lips, for five seconds longer than you think you can stand to be silent. Refuse to argue about anything. Walk away from angry people.

Let your gas tank go below E. Watch an entire program on television without getting up to do laundry, answer the phone, use the bathroom, eat or to use the computer. Refuse to move for sixty minutes. Stop doing ten things half-baked and instead do five things really well. Drink your coffee black...no calories, no fuss. Send someone a card...not an email. Get out of your car and take the time to pick up all the change that gets dropped at the drive-through window at McDonalds. Refuse to acknowledge the honking cars behind you. Speak slowly. Breathe deeply. Stare at someone who is being rude until they are flustered. Stop going to McDonalds for one month. Do not listen to the news. Do not listen to anything the Department of Education says. Do not read any emails from the Department of Education.

Drink one glass of wine and savor it. Watch the snow fall against the bedroom window. See how long you can go without doing laundry. Donate to Haiti. Pray on the way to work. Pray on the way back from work. Drive in complete silence. Drink cocoa so slowly that you will not burn your tongue. Do not criticize anyone. You may find yourself being silent for days. Buy yourself flowers. Give them away. Love each day and contemplate how rich your life is. Count five people who have difficulties greater than yours. Bless your students daily. Bless your co-workers daily. Bless yourself daily...and be thankful.

Wear the same pair of woolen socks for one week. Eat a large bowl of cabbage. Refuse to take any medications for one day. Light white candles to chase away the January darkness. Call a friend. Bake cookies for someone you do not like. Refuse to wear panty hose. Bite your nails. Walk for 90 minutes in the cold. Do not read the directions. Do not listen to your car mechanic. Ignore the check engine light in your car for one week. Buy a lava lamp and watch the wax go up and down. Take a scalding hot bath. Use at least a half a bottle of expenseive body lotion after the bath. Attempt to reconcile with an enemy. Go to bed much earlier than you ever thought you could. Thank God for a simple day. Understand fully that this day is gone forever. Rest.