Coming across "The Awkward Truth of 'Make America Great Again'" was like a mini-epiphany. What exactly are these presidential campaigns referring to when they want to "go back"? As a history teacher, I am more than familiar with the myth that our history is not as tidy and simple as we (or textbook companies) kid ourselves to believe.
For whomever preaches about how good the past was, they are ignoring how bad it was for something else. It would be easy to take a jab here at white American men, but that's unfair as that segment is as divided now as ever. Benefits come with a cost - even if some say white American women "benefitted" from staying at home expecting men to be the breadwinners, it "cost" those same women the benefits of pursing a professional passion, ability to travel, or shape the very political climate that surrounded them.
The harsh fact is that American culture NEVER matched "Father Knows Best" or Reaganism. We have never been a socialist utopia either. All along the game has been winners and losers and forgotten marginalists. So whatever campaign slogans arise, they are simply that: slogans, not a way of life. And whatever candidate finally makes it to the White House will [hopefully] quickly learn that give and take with everyone is how anything is accomplished because each term will create winners and losers.
A truly successful term will lessen the forgotten marginalists and not forget our history.
Saturday, April 30, 2016
Nostalgia of What?
Sunday, January 17, 2016
Millenial "Work"
It's a bitterly cold weekend evening in a new year as I sit soaking up unlimited web surfing without [much] interruption (a rare guilty pleasure of mine) because my parents are entertaining my children and there is a two hour school delay tomorrow so bedtime is a general idea tonight. Fire up the bookmarks, Google search, apps!
In my roaming I came across some awesome ideas (projection smartphone/watch) while prepping for a busy week of school improvement plans and re-accreditation, planning digital citizenship activities, finding new organization tools for student demos, planning grant applications, researching upcoming conferences, explaining to my mom the utter failure of standardized state testing, etc that sometimes my mind boggles at the warp speed at which technology is changing possibilities of "work". Even in my free time, I'm multitasking like a ninja. Did I mention I'm also watching cable news, checking weather, and messaging fellow tech dept-ers?
I love generational studies (Millenials Who Manage has a few excellent chapters) and it's no surprise that technology is the triggering culprit in generational conflicts. My Boomer parents don't even understand what I'm doing on my device right now other than randomly typing ("blog" is beyond them). They nodded politely when I explained my plans to Google Hangout my morning meeting since I'm out of town. They quizzically contemplated that I planned 2 round trip tickets, rental car, and Las Vegas hotel in less than three minutes after my dad saw a commercial for a ticket site.
Millenials do a lot of work, like other generations, but it looks very, very different - perhaps a bit ADHDish. I have so many cool things I want to look into and try out that I actually have to make to-do lists to remember all of them (and then I can't wait to share them with people).
Previous generations might find that overwhelming but Millenials (and whatever we name the kiddos' generation) are just enjoying a quiet Sunday night.
Friday, December 26, 2014
2014 in Review
What a difference eight months make! In the whirlwind of moving across state to hit the ground running in a new district that is rapidly redoing a 1:1 initiative, launching a Twitter account, attending conferences and PD, and trying to keep my head above water on all the educational technology tools exploding (including drinking the Google Kool-aid), this tech trainer must never miss a healthy breakfast.
And the more I rethink how every educational tool is used, the more I think the traditional factory model is more and more irrelevant. Time, location, and separated subject areas should not be singular items - if every student has a device, has internet access, they have learning capacity. This makes me rethink how a classroom is even set up. This month my tech dept cleared out truckloads of old unused equipment - things that are likely to never be used again because new technology has meshed one-trick-ponies into single devices.
If we are expecting students to do more group work (when naysayers expect those under 30 to not have any social skills), then single desks in a grid is that antithesis of social learning! I keep thinking of college lounges......with lots of charging outlets!
If we are expecting students to demonstrate what they know, then MC/TF/fill-in-the-blank assessments are weak feedback methods - this is the equivalent of cross examining a witness instead of letting one testify. In a data-driven world, isn't qualitative information always better? I love to see students teach others what they have learned since I usually end up learning something new in the process.
If we are expecting students to problem solve creatively, why tell them to use specific tools instead of letting them "think outside the box"? I never thought of Twitter as anything other than shortened Facebook posts. Now it's my PLN!
As I have more and more of these types of conversations with my colleagues, I feel positive that American education made some progress in 2014. So here's to a new year of continuing to shake off the shackles of confining habits for more dynamic learning environments.
Tuesday, April 29, 2014
Information OverLORD
I deal with a lot technology for my job. I like teaching people how to use it (hence my job). My premise is technology is a tool and once you know how to wield your tools, you become powerful. When I get push back from people that "don't like technology" I am always flabbergasted.
Except when it comes to Twitter.
Given my background, I admit it seems weird that I do not have a Twitter account. It's not that I haven't contemplated it - I've been flip flopping like a tennis match. But the more I think about it, the more I simply can't bring myself to do it.
Lordy, lordy, I am in information overload!
I don't dismiss the value of Twitter but I already have information streaming to me in a variety of forms on a variety of devices; Twitter might push me over the edge. I don't think I can handle hashtag hell right now. Chalk it up to "Spring Forward" as I call it (when the world fast forwards to lightning speed during the months of April and May).
I completely understand the push back now. I don't blame people for wanting a mental break from constant streaming of information. Although I don't understand the desire to hide from technology completely, at least we have the ability to pick and choose our tools.
Twitter will just have to wait to be included in my tech toolbelt.
Monday, April 21, 2014
Can't Argue with "Stupid"
A Yahoo article aptly titled "The Stupid War on the Common Core" posted today is also aptly located in the politics section.
Why?
Because education is never about education, it is ALWAYS about politics....
It is a stupid war for a variety of reasons and the most vocal arguers probably don't understand the arguments in the first place. Yes, the US has fallen embarrassingly behind on standardized tests scores compared to other countries. Yes, the US is drowning in standardized test time throughout the school year. Yes, students are ill-equipped to perform in today's economy. Yes, students, teachers, and parents are miserable because of these things.
The most right-wing argument is that a "common" set of standards amounts to a federal "takeover" of schools. One must realize the Takeover Ship sailed long ago - we have standardized tests, minimum numbers of days that "count", regulations on how educators are prepared and licensed, laws upon laws on handling behavior and funding, what constitutes a public school, etc, etc, ETC! Is anyone naive to think that local means much anymore?
But the purpose of standards is to draw a line in the sand pointing out what teachers should teach and what children should know by a certain age in specific subject areas. As a former teacher, this in itself seems silly - how else are you going to teach a subject at all and NOT cover these things? It seems so blatantly obvious to me that I consider "standards" to be an explanation about what teachers do for those who have never taught.
In 2014, are we really arguing over WHO gets to write them officially? Are we really arguing that American children are not ready to do some material because it is "too hard" while, in the same breath, gawk at how advanced foreign students are and complain they are taking our jobs? Are we really arguing that it is better to let fifty states come up with their own verbiage on what to teach rather than to agree and collaborate on something truly strong?
The real argument should be not what or when we teach something (because at the end of the day, I think we can all agree that all these things need to be taught in the K-12 spectrum anyway), but how we assess what is learned. We aren't giving the exact same tests to every student across states. We're testing them into oblivion all school year. We're are flinging money around doing it. Textbook companies and assessment companies and lawyers are the only ones benefiting.
All the arguments about teacher accountability tied to standardized tests based on common standards are also hokum. We're punishing educators for things beyond their control. Humans do not make progress exactly the same and American culture has a serious parenting crisis. Are we really arguing that teachers and schools should be financially and professionally penalized when they are purposely undermined by parents and students themselves? We wouldn't apply this thinking to doctors because patients don't necessarily follow doctors' orders. And many other people are involved in health recovery but no one is screaming accountability for them. So why can't we pay educators according to their specialty and experience?
So instead of acting like selfish children who didn't get to do things their way, let's work together to write solid benchmarks as components an American education (based on things that have already been written years ago). Every student must work their way through this program of study if you will - age and grade level are no longer important; some eight year olds might end up working on the same standards as thirteen year olds. There is no "social promotion" - you simply have to prove your are able to do the requirements of the program in order to receive a diploma (because a high school diploma no longer carries any real significance anymore). And there are no ridiculous multiple choice tests. Either you can apply these standards skills in a real setting or you can not. Can you say growth portfolios?
So it's time to step up our performance and apply our skills in real-world settings. It's time to stop the mind-numbing standardized testing year-round based on "standards" that keep being rewritten under a different name.
God forbid anyone learns anything useful, right?
Leia Mais…
Tuesday, April 8, 2014
Why Aren't All Presentations Like This?
I just love presentations that are visually stimulating....and by god, clear! (There is no doubt that I am a visual learner!) This animated talk by Ken Robison offers some healthy thought and makes one wonder why in the world do we still conform to the factory model for education???
Leia Mais…
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
Snow Days?
This season's eastern US winter has been rough for everyone, especially schools that seemed to be closed more often than open. By law those days must be "made up" to the usual equivalent of 180 "days" of about 6 instructional hours. Traditional practice has been to simply tack them on at the end of the school year - or perhaps use up those "built in" days sprinkled like precious gemstones throughout the calendar.
But in favor of the almighty Assessment, staff PD days and built in days have quietly vanished and "balanced calendars" crept in. I, for one, am all for a more logical calendar seeing how American students are rarely needed on the summer farm anymore and brain research shows more frequent mini breaks keep us fresh compared to long breaks.
But "balanced" is a relative term in education - does it seem that the fall semester has more breaks than the painfully long period between the start of the spring semester and spring break? And it just happens to fall during the roughest weather season of all? We still need to work on that concept.
Cue in the Virtual Day! Probably one of the most innovative solutions American K-12 education has ever tried! With more schools going 1:1 and households having internet access nationwide, students can still do learning without being physically present in a brick-n-mortar school. And this can count as an official school day!
Oh the possibilities - less school traffic on the roads, less exhaust fumes, less school overhead costs, more sanitary interaction, flexible hours for students/staff to pursue other beneficial community activities, targeted and independent learning, dynamic and engaging material, time/responsibility learning.....I'm giddy.
I hope this trend continues and grows. Perhaps around-the-clock, around-the-calendar, anywhere-in-the-world schooling will become ubiquitous in American education. We should work smarter, not harder - surely we can't be any less efficient than before. :)
Thursday, January 16, 2014
Apps Gone Wild
So Apple is finally having to repay all the unauthorized app purchases made by children using their parents' Apple IDs and credit cards on file. I'm not sure who has the most blame here: parents, children, or Apple. Mostly because the entire situation is ENTIRELY AVOIDABLE.
In my job, we rolled out 500+ ipads to staff and walked them through Apple ID creation....with no credit card requirement for this very reason (hint you must do it on a mobile device with a free app to trigger this roundabout). So Apple does provide a way to avoid putting your credit card on standby even if it may not be well-promoted. And every store on the planet sells iTunes gift cards so you can purchase apps, music, etc in limited amounts. But the 15-minute window for not prompting a password to purchase should be closed immediately.
Parents should not be sharing their passwords with their children....particularly if those children do not understand the concept of monetary exchange. Do you give them your PIN number, too?! I am in my 30s and it wasn't until a few months ago that my parents even let me hold their debit card in my hands (to purchase their own groceries mind you).
There is also a little trick called Turning Off the Wifi. Can't purchase something you can't connect to. And if your children are normal, they are probably tapping away not truly paying attention to what they are tapping so without wifi they can't "accidently" tap a purchase right onto your credit card.
Lastly, children should be taught that if they are using someone else's stuff, they shouldn't be dinking around with personal things they might find. You might borrow someone's computer but do you start making changes to their documents? Do you start downloading new programs to their desktop? Did that curtesy stop when devices got smaller?
Let's just call it a $100 million dollar lesson for everyone....even though we all should have known.
Monday, July 2, 2012
Brick-n-Mortar Walls Come Down
By chance I came across a few articles this morning regarding virtual learning (See virtual teacher and scared of tech) I have strong thoughts on this having experience in virtual/distance/independent learning myself as both a student and a teacher. Like anything else, change brings fear....fear that something new isn't rigorous enough, fear that human teachers will be obsolete, fear that the petty social structures of brick-n-mortar institutions will disappear. The thing is all of these fears could happen....and some of them, quite frankly, should. Of course, I've never been one to support tradition simply for the sake of tradition. If teachers are really good and intentional with supporting content by whatever delivery methods available, the delivery methods are irrelevant - we don't have to talk to their live face between 8am and 3:300pm Monday through Friday during nonagricultural growing seasons. When you say it like that, doesn't sound completely moronic??
Leia Mais…
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Absenteeism
"High Absenteeism plagues IPS' New Intercession Program" - I have to comment on this when I have more time to put coherent thought into it and not just preach from a soapbox. Needless to say, I'm fired up!
Leia Mais…
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Finally
Finally someone offers concrete solutions to failing education. It's time for real solutions not political fighting.
Leia Mais…
Monday, July 18, 2011
The Trenches Are Really All The Same
Indiana Senator Tim Skinner and his wife, both teachers, are leaving their profession due to legislative changes. Although the Great Debate is the constitutionality of vouchers for private religious schools, the underlying debate is the professionalism of teaching and the functioning of public education.
No one should deny the fact that "bad" teachers exist; there are "bad" ____ in every field. But no one should also imply that just because some are public educators that they are hard to fire, in fact, it's very simple...rather it's very easy to move them around, encourage resignation/retirement, or hide their incompetencies, just like any other field. (Actually how many principals are fired for being "bad" at their job? Good statistic to try to find ;) Yet, it's blasphemous to compare teaching to "normal" careers, isn't it?
Being an educator has become a circus job: you need stamina to endure the grind, practice year-around to stay agile, and you have to jump a lot of hoops...and hoops...and hoops.
The Skinners point out that older, experienced teachers are in much better positions that the upcoming troops, whose concept of education will definitely take on a different perspective and set of expectations than their ancestors. I'm all for reforming education (it clearly doesn't function properly now), making more schools and teachers available everywhere, competing for students to attend a fitting school for their skills, etc. But we can not keep attacking the people in the trenches or one day we will find those trenches empty.
Thursday, May 26, 2011
What Are We Working Towards?
Today people have shared with me some educational things that have got me going. The first is an article that makes the argument comparing the way the US reacts to military failures versus educational failures. In sum, if the military fails, we don't blame the soldiers, we blame the administration and call for more support, tools, different strategy, etc while educational failures are blamed on "bad teachers". God forbid we ever blame the parents...oh *gasps* the students!
The second is from the creators of South Park about carrot sticks, which ties in nicely with a CNN article about graduating with a [useless] degree and realizing there is no place for you in today's economy except probably your parents' house.
It's a good day for reading,folks!
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
To Voucher or Not To Voucher: It All Misses the Point
Yesterday The Indianapolis Star published an article claiming a majority of Hoosiers say schools are failing. Although this should come as no surprise (really, what constituents are truly happy with public education nowadays), the president of the state teachers' association claims their polls do not find this view. Yet no one denies there are serious problems in public education.
This blog is not the place to expound why there are problems; the internet is filled with such rantings. It is far more efficient at this point to start expounding real solutions and it cannot be anything like what has been tried before.
We can't think of education as a factory stamping kids out from ages 5-18 in lock step. We can't think of localities' property tax rates as the sole form of sustaining education institutions. We can't think multiple choice assessments as proof of success or failure.
Vouchers could be a good thing. But I harbor far more fear that politicians will find a way to politicize them into total useless oblivion, as another failed potential to achieve real reform. It shouldn't be about whether or not the voucher money ends up in a private school if that's where a parent sends their child; it should matter what specific school and how the child performs after studying there. If the student did not make any positive progress, then that was a bad investment - even if the outcome might have been the same had the student stayed in the previous school.
If education is indeed a "free public right" (free being a conditionally-operated term), then the money should follow the student immediately - none of this ridiculous 5-year waiting period currently in place in Indiana. School administrations might be more careful in spending and more aggressive in pursuing effective management methods (behavior policies if anything else!) if "income" were more business-oriented. Losing students left and right? What is it about your "practice" that's turning away "customers"? Have a reputation for allowing ridiculous student behavior? How will you rebuild your school's image? Getting massive applications from students and teachers? What are you doing that is so attractive?
The fact is businesses come and go; so do students, teachers, and administrators. Yet the system they all operate in does not...and the results are getting worse. It's high time the foundation itself is totally rebuilt with new thinking.
It's not like we build skyscrapers out of sticks and hides, now is it?
Friday, February 26, 2010
Slash to the Future
There have been numerous discussions of late about school districts slashing budgets with everything from strings to teachers. And although I can understand the lack of adequate funding (even during non-recession periods), I can't understand how things are determined.
I have yet to hear trully groundbreaking cuts and supportive arguments for line items on the chopping block: yes, teachers aides, a few small extra-curriculars, perhaps some bus drivers and no pay raises for anyone. But teachers should be the very last thing considered to go; they are the key component of the institution.
How infuriating that sports are rarely ever eliminated; a few assistant coaching positions does not cut it (pun intended). If kids really want to play a sport for the enjoyment of it, they can join a local youth league or play with friends. In this budget era, no school can justify paying a head varsity football coach the equivalent of a college semester of tuition (in-state).
Other Suggestions:
One final thought: Try all of the above simultaneously. I know, I know, I'm such a radical. Leia Mais…
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