Interesting Take on School Choice

I just read a fascinating article* by a young teacher about the interview process she endured in finding a job. Though Alison Stachniak had always worked in mainstream public schools, she'd also thought school choice sounded like a good idea. Now, because public schools are cutting back on hiring, she started looking at charter schools for employment. (Remember: Charter schools ARE public schools, but can receive funding even when public schools don't.)

What she found opened her eyes about the complexity of such options.

First of all, when you read the article, you will notice as I did that this is no ordinary teacher. Judging by the harrowing process she underwent to find a job, and her thoughtful decision-making process, you'll wish this woman taught YOUR kids. (And she happens to share my own belief that kids should feel valued and understand why rules are necessary, not just follow them blindly so the school can look good.)

But her experience was sobering. Why? Mostly because these charter schools (which, remember, receive PUBLIC funding), didn't always equal better education.

For instance, at one school she initially thought promising, student test scores--not their projects or papers or photos of kids learning--were prominently displayed at the front entrance. That school served Latino families from rich cultural backgrounds, but it discouraged children from speaking Spanish and did not build on those cultural connections to engage students. On paper, especially given the emphasis on test scores everywhere right now, this school would seem like a fine place to learn AND teach. In the end, though, it would not be a happy position for a teacher like Ms. Stachniak, who wanted to serve a school that was "good for children."

Here's a quote I like:

My purpose in writing is not to imply that these other charter schools are not successful. I am certain that they provide many students with an outstanding education. I do, however, encourage educators and parents to look closely before making a choice about a school. I also encourage educators and policymakers to question the charter school movement as a panacea for public school problems. How successful are charter schools on a large scale in improving the quality of public education? Are we really providing equal opportunities in educational choice when some parents simply do not have the educational, socioeconomic, or linguistic means of choosing the best school for their child?

I see this personally as I watch my son adjust to private school. Is he being valued as a person? Is memorization being emphasized over creativity and critical thinking? Does the school foster personal growth over quantitative achievement? I cannot yet answer these questions, but I will need to eventually. At any rate, just because it's a well-regarded private school doesn't mean it's better. And this is true of any educational setting.

By the way, if you don't read the article (and I hope you do), after completing her grueling interview process, Ms. Stachniak was offered a job at the charter school where she really wanted to work, a place where every student spends five hours/week working in the school garden, and are given an authentic voice in their education. Congrats to her AND to the school that hired her.

*NOTE: The article cited here is only available to Ed Week subscribers. Please email me for a copy.

Mondays Suck When You Don't Like School

My daughter didn't want to go to school today. She says she's "bored." She cried. She says she misses her best friend, who's in the other class. She says she doesn't get to draw enough, or play enough. "All we do all day long is read, read, read."

My son looks small and vulnerable in the back seat of the car at 7:30 AM. "I miss my friends," he says quietly. "That's all I want. My friends."

I know how he feels. I know that feeling of being new, of feeling tentative, of not having an ally. I wonder if we made a bad decision. Can the education at Private School be so different than that at Public School? Isn't the social thing most important at this age? And maybe it was my daughter we should have sent this year! Should we have? She's so artistic and creative and sensitive. What was I thinking? And why does she hate reading so much? Is there something wrong with her? With them? No, it's The System. Maybe I'll just drive myself to both schools, pick them up, and say, To hell with the whole thing. I'll teach them at home.

I second-guess myself into tears. I wish I smoked.

I Fell in Love Today...

...with the new music teacher at my daughter's school.

Well, I didn't know she was the new music teacher when I had my first experience of her.

Monday, my husband and I did the annual First Day of School Escort in full tearful parental regalia. But on Tuesday, as a matter of habit, I just rolled up to the front for the drop-off. She was feeling tentative, now that big brother is not accompanying her. I could have kicked myself for not realizing that.

As I pulled away, I noticed there were maybe five adults (school staff) standing on the front steps. Not one of them even glanced her way...Which is okay. I mean, it was a moment. I'm sure they had greeted, smiled at, noticed, other apprehensive tiny children entering school that morning.

But not my daughter. Aaaaargh!

Then, today, as I dropped my girl off, I saw a woman I'd never seen before actually opening the doors of cars as they pulled up! Saying hello! Using kids' names (including my daughter's)!! Smiling at them (her)! Who was that? I wondered. I made a mental note to find out and deify her.

So at dinner tonight, my daughter was all talk of her new music teacher. My ears perked up. Music is one of the delights of my life, and my daughter has music in her bones, but it hasn't been a great experience for my kids at school so far. There have been a lot of personnel upheavals in that department over the past four years, and I had my fingers crossed all summer that the new hire would set that right.

So tonight my daughter says, "I like my new music teacher."

Me (straightening up in my chair): You do?

Her: Yeah! She was that one in the front today, the one who talked to me.

Me (lump forming in throat): Really? Was she as nice inside the building as outside?

Daughter, smiling hugely: Oh, yes! And Mom! We didn't do any of that music stuff today! We sang!

How Patronizing Can You Be?

Well, actually, very.

As teacher Brian Crosby points out in his excellent blog, Learning is Messy, parents, teachers, and children don't have a clue about what works in education. Or, that's what NBC appears to believe; its new show, Education Nation, features ideas from business people, entrepeneurs, and politicians about how to improve our schools. Not a teacher among them. And while perhaps some of the folks presented there ARE, in fact, parents, there are no children here, either.

Ouch!!!!

During my tenure at Instructor magazine, we used to have vehement discussions about Chris Whittle's Edison Project, which attempted to apply a business model to school improvement. My beef was that the board was stacked with people from publishing (my boss at the time ended up there), finance, and politics--but not one person who had taught for any length of time (or at all).

The Edison Project started out with admirable good intentions. Whittle simply wanted to make education better (and do it at a profit). No doubt everyone on board believed in this mission wholeheartedly. But it's foundered over the past ten years (though it's now publicly traded and Whittle has earned millions from it). No doubt some of these problems reference Whittle's naivete about, for instance, the stranglehold of teacher's unions. But if he'd had REAL teachers on board from day one, wouldn't he have figured that out earlier, and found creative ways to work around it?

At any rate, it's pretty obvious that teachers need a lot of input in what happens in their schools. However, I'm particularly interested in how children can have a say in the schools.

No one would argue that young kids can or should be the ultimate deciders when it comes to how they are taught. But their input should be routinely and rigorously solicited, respected, and, when it seems wise, implemented. If nothing else, I believe it would give kids a sense of ownership and power. And I can't help but feel that's half the battle.

Right now, I'm trying to figure out how this could be done and if I can help it happen.

Is Differentiated Learning a Farce?

If you live in Montclair, have a kid in school or attend BOE meetings, you know the term Differentiated Learning. It's considered a core component of our district's approach to teaching.

I always like the basic idea behind this "theory" of learning, which posits that everyone learns, well, in different ways. For instance, if you need to draw diagrams and sketches to understand something, you may be a VISUAL learner. If you take things in just by hearing them, e.g., through traditional lectures, you may be an AUDITORY learner. The theory also encompasses all that stuff about right-brain vs. left-brain dominance.

I like the idea because we are all different, because it stresses an individualistic, personalized approach to education.

And it could be the dead-wrong one. In fact, according to researchers quoted in an article in the NYTimes today:

The contrast between the enormous popularity of the learning-styles approach within education and the lack of credible evidence for its utility is, in our opinion, striking and disturbing.

Gulp.

(BTW, this same article includes some wonderful new research about study skills, research that also debunks much of our common "knowledge" of how people/kids learn and memorize.)

What bothers me about this is not that the whole theory might be wrong, but that I wonder if anyone in a position of power in our schools will be brave enough to investigate the claim, to dig into the research deeply and honestly, and figure out how we can adapt to the science.

A Private/Public Family

I'm back!

Truth is, I love to blog, just like I love to journal. And now that I'll have a kid each in public and private schools, I thought it could add an interesting slant to my erstwhile "reporting." (Or, rather, kvetching and overanalyzing.) Besides, CARY AFRICK, councilman extraordinaire, loves my blog! What other affirmation do I need? (Well, I wouldn't mind the New York Times site picking it up and a lot more people actually reading it and comments all over the place and...)

So, yes, we made the decision. The Boy is going into 4th grade at our local private school (that's where their middle school starts, so it's a good natural entree.) The Girl, going into 1st, is staying in public school. She'll have the excellent first grade teacher Boy had, then by 4th grade will be at the private school (if all works out).

Anyway, re: the very very very hard decision...

Not least reason: MONEY. (Cue that Pink Floyd song with the cashier register ringing.)

Second not least reason: TAXES. (Cue same song.) Like, why are we paying such taxes with one kid in private school?*

Third not least reason: The boy. Has friends. Familiar with his old school. Mad at me.

So, why are we doing it?

Class size. Laptops. Science lab.

Class size? Self-explanatory and most vital reason. (14 vs. 27+)

Laptops? No, no. I'm not a sucker for bells n' whistles. It's just that when the school says it will insist students carry their laptops from classroom to classroom, just as they would their notebooks and texts...When they will spend good time teaching the kids how to use the computers, including some very interesting programs...Well, then I know it's not about bells n' whistles.

Science lab? We all know you can have a shiny science lab and a sucky science curriculum. But I like the special attention science gets. To me, studying science is like learning to read. Absolutely essential.

I was afraid to tell people about my decision. Surprisingly, about 80 per cent of the people I told confided they, too, were sending a kid to some sort of private school. Or were thinking about it. Or wish they could.

And I'm also a little mad. Why can't our public schools be better?

* More later on my so-called mutinous thoughts re: school vouchers, an issue that seems to have died with Ally McBeal and Pogs.

New Blog, Old Dream

I have been writing in all my spare time for approximately three weeks.

That is the longest time I've attempted to actually BE a writer.

On my middle-grade chapter book, I have 60 pages.

(Up to now, the most I've ever written on any book is 20 pages.)

(Except the ones I've written on commission, which sorta don't count.)

I even have a class and group with whom I meet in NYC every week.

I decided it'd be interesting to chronicle my growth as a REAL writer, whatever the results may be.

My new blog is Writing @ Number 20.

Thanks for reading The Bell. Maybe I'll be back someday...

Ideas for the 21st Century

My brilliant college friend, Dana, is doing a PhD in public policy, and sent me this bit about the realities of education in the 21st century. It was written in 2002, but it is still fresh.

Here are some insights that spoke to me:

Every student should leave school with high levels of curiosity and persistence, the real key to lifelong learning...

And:

Demand for quality, effectiveness, and service is increasing. People expect it in every aspect of their lives, including their schools.

And:

Nanotechnology--technology at the molecular level--will very likely drive the economy of the future. Who will develop these new technologies? It will be the students who are now in our schools.

Our superintendent, Dr. Alvarez, seems like an ideas person. But I don't know that for sure. And what about our principal and board members? And teachers themselves, the ones on the front lines, who have everyday influence over, and insight into, kids--what they want, what they need? Are the people who really matter thinking about this stuff?

Some of the blogs on my roll, below, feature such teachers. But it would be so awesome to hear from local educators on this stuff.

The recent BOE brouhaha (elected vs. appointed), the current intense debate over where our tax money should go (e.g. schools vs. senior care centers), the new nominating procedure for future BOE members...Well, that's all important.

But I want to hear ideas--from the people who can implement them. Wouldn't it be cool to have regular roundtables featuring teachers from various levels and schools in M-clair, focusing around one issue or question?

For instance, what's it like to teach third grade in the age of NCLB? What do middle school teachers see as strengths in our adolescent students? If our high school teachers could make one wish about their day-to-day professional lives, what would it be?

It could be interesting.

Maybe Low-Tech Schools Aren't So Bad!?!

By now, you've undoubtedly read the stats from a newly-released study about kids and media. You know, the one that reveals if our kids aren't asleep, they're online?

Of course, 7 hours per day in front of a screen is an average. Around here, I am vigilant about electronic time--but not hysterical. I say to myself, "Maybe it's not a bad thing." As you know, I think technology can be educationally helpful. But my kids are young, they are developing social skills, and I want them to know nature, be physically fit, and, by golly, figure out that books are their friends. In spite of that, my son got a laptop for Christmas, has a DS and a Wii; ditto for my daughter. (They share the Wii.) The other day, for about half a playdate, my son and his friend played Internet games on his computer.

They are wired kids. WE are a wired family, and becoming more so each day. I do try to point out to my children that I rarely play games on my various gadgets, but use them to work, write, make social connections, and find info. I think if/when my kids start doing the same with theirs (as opposed to only playing games), I'll actually allow more time with electronic media. (Don't get me wrong: I think gaming is great. To a point.)

So now, I am rethinking my insistence that schools use more technology, more effectively. Maybe a technologically lean school is a GOOD thing after all. As numerous articles around this data have pointed out, schools are the one place kids are NOT necessarily wired up. I've had this thought before as I've watched my kids become ever more electronically enamored. I'm actually even reconsidering my ideas about cursive and handwriting! A little.

I was in my children's school today. My son's class had been using laptops, but a few minutes later the kids were eating lunch in the "cafeteria" (gym) with just one another for entertainment. At home, they might be watching TV with that sandwich. Gulp.

Link to My Mouthful on WNYC

My comment is about 16 minutes into the show.

http://www.wnyc.org/shows/lopate/episodes/2010/01/13#

Problems With Commenting Feature!

I just realized I've had a nice healthy handful of comments in the past few days, but they are NOT showing up on the blog. (I am receiving the usual notification of them through my email account, but they are also supposed to show up simultaneously on the blog.)

I checked my settings, and they are set to show comments without moderation, so I don't know what's going on...

Please keep commenting, and I'll figure it out...

(And any suggestions would be welcome. My IT department consists of me, myself, and I.)

Need Help With a Blog Issue...

Does anyone out there know how to get rid of the annoying UNDERLINE on each of my post titles?

I tried to edit the blog's layout, but it does not seem to allow for this. (One may use any color mash-up available to humankind, but not much else.)

I also tried fooling w/ the code, but, again, there's no tag for post underlining...

Any help would be appreciated...

Thanks!

Angst, When I Should Be Icing Cupcakes...

My spectacularly beautiful daughter celebrates her birthday at school tomorrow, with our family on Sunday, and then next week w/ her friends...

And I'm having trouble getting my groove on.

Right this moment, I'm doubting our schools especially keenly... Having read more about The War on Children, then experiencing it firsthand...well, it's getting to me.

Also doubting MYSELF as an educator right now because not one but TWO of my former students have protested their grades, and at least one of them might be right. (The reason I'm not teaching the course this semester? How can I teach about best practices in assessment when I can't apply them within the rigid confines of the traditional grading system @ MSU?)


Wrestling with whether I really should still BE part of the system or even a critic of the system. What good does it do? And who am I to say?

Then again, maybe icing cupcakes, like chopping wood, carrying water, and doin' the hokey-pokey, IS what it's all about.

NYTimes Review of "The War on Children"

Must see this film..

I Pipe Up on WNYC, Talking About Lockdown Drills

About an hour ago, I was on the Leonard Lopate show on WYNC*. He was interviewing Cevin Soling, the producer of the documentary "The War on Kids." I haven't seen it yet, but I've read Soling's views, and think he's onto something. (More, below.)

Anyway, at the moment I turned on my radio, Lopate, Soling, and another guest, Dan Losen (author of The School to Prison Pipeline), happened to be talking about the zero tolerance policy of many schools--how students can be (and have been) suspended for bringing squirt guns and Advil to schools, etc. (This has happened here in Montclair...yet was unable to prevent the huge fights that broke out at the high school in the past few months.)

I picked up the phone right away. I just had to pipe up about our district's recent "lockdown drills," wherein students practice getting under their desks in the eventuality a "guy with a gun" comes in and shoots them.

Apparently, these drills have been taking place over the last few years. I either have never heard about it, or didn't realize what, exactly, they were. Nor do I understand their purpose. If I had, I would have been duly alarmed. As I am now. As my son and a classmate pointed out casually, "What happens if we're NOT in our classrooms when the guy with the gun starts shooting? We didn't practice anywhere else! What if we were in the bathroom."

(I wrote a letter two days ago to Dr. Alvarez asking for more info. Haven't heard back yet.)

Anyway, the irony seemed too rich NOT to call. Apparently, the screeners agreed.

But I am going to look into, and hopefully write about, Mr. Soling's work. He posits (and you'll hear on the podcast) that it's not about these sort of ridiculous overreactions regarding weapons and drugs. It's ABOUT THE KIDS, the fact that children have so little say in their schooling, how, in many schools, obedience and control take the place of learning, critical thinking, democracy, collaboration, etc. etc.. Soling believes (and said as much on the show, though he was rather dismissed by Lopate) that it's about "civil rights"--CHILDRENS' civil rights.

* You can go to the web site, but I don't think the podcast's been downloaded yet. Let me know if you're able to get it! The show was on between 12 and 12:30 PM.

New Year, New Brains, New Literacy

Check out Alison Gopnik's NYT review of Reading in the Brain by Stanislas Dehaene.

I zeroed in on it particularly because, in two weeks, I'll be starting my studies in reading and new literacies at MSU.

Here's one excerpt of the review that is particularly applicable to our schools:

Each new generation of children grows up in the new environment its parents have created, and each generation of brains becomes wired in a different way...

These changes are especially vivid for 21st century readers. At this
very moment, if you are under 30, you are much more likely to be moving your eyes across a screen than a page. And you may be simultaneously clicking a hyperlink to the last Colbert Report, IM-ing with friends, etc. etc. We are seeing a new generation of plastic baby brains reshaped by the new digital environment...There is every reason to think that [the brains of current and future children] will be as strikingly different as the reading brain is from the illiterate one...

So, when you walk into a Montclair elementary classroom, why does it so
clearly resemble, both physically and pedagogically, the classroom I attended in the 70's, and the one I taught in during the 80's?

How are we addressing the demands and realities of brains wired for, well, being wired?

Students shouldn't be spending a lot of time on "handwriting," and filling in
worksheets and doing research reports whose topics are dictated by the
teacher, from primarily old-style reference sources, with little
collaboration and only the most superficial application of revisioning
skills. (And always handwritten.)

At least by third grade, kids should be using Google and Wikis and social networking effortlessly, naturally, in the classroom, and should know basic programming and maybe even some aspects of game theory.

As Gopnik points out, "We parents have to watch our children glide irretrievably into a future we can never reach ourselves." And watching as that future happens is the minimum we must do. First, we must admit it is here.