Be A Mentor

            The spirit of the holidays is about giving.  As we celebrate the holiday season (Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa) and make plans to improve ourselves and our community for the upcoming year New Year, consider mentoring or tutoring at your local public school.

            Public schools need your support.  We all know how hard public schools were hit with budget cuts, school closures, reduction of staff and cuts to music, art and other programs to support struggling and non struggling learners.  Despite these cuts, school staff continue to work hard to provide the best education they can.  Your help can lessen the affects of these cuts by being a mentor in a public school.

            As a mentor, you are giving students an opportunity to get back on track or to enhance their academic skills.  By providing students with an approach to learning that differs from the normal routine that occurs in the classroom, a mentor can help re-engage (or increase engagement) students by helping them regain (or retain) their confidence in their ability to master academic content.

            A mentor also provides students with an opportunity to be connected with an adult who can offer life lessons and explain to students why education is important to their present and future adult lives.  A mentor can share personal life stories that could help students with decision making, self-esteem and navigating the pitfalls of adolescence.  By offering students another perspective of what they can aspire to become, a mentor can be that adult who students aspire to become when they grow up. 

            Please consider being a mentor.  Find out if your organization or your friends can adopt a school.  Schools need mentors to work with struggling and non-struggling learners with reading, math, science, art, music and technology.  These are key areas where schools struggle to provide time and support to both struggling and non-struggling learners.  Adopting a school doesn't mean you have to give money, it requires your time, expertise and commitment to impacting the lives of students.

Enjoy the Holiday Season!

The Real Losers of the Lottery

            Last week’s Powerball lottery was half a billion dollars, the largest lottery amount ever for a lottery.  News agencies across the country showed people eagerly waiting in line to purchase Powerball tickets and telling reporters what they would do if they win.  Despite the extraordinarily high odds of winning, people continue to believe they will win winning the lottery and transform their lives.  Unfortunately, only a few people win each drawing.

            For those who don’t win, life goes on.  However, the real losers of the lottery are public schools.  A majority of the states that have lotteries also have financially struggling public schools.  Surprisingly, these states also have had record lottery sales.  If this is the case, why do these states have financially struggling public schools?

            As a way to generate an additional funding stream, states adopted the lottery to fund public education and entitlements for the elderly.  If a portion of lottery proceeds are given for public education, public schools in states with lotteries should not be struggling financially.  Unfortunately they are struggling financially and no one is asking why?

            The financial struggles of public schools are detrimental to the educational growth of children.  When schools lack the ability to purchase the latest curriculum materials or have enough materials give each student; children lose. 

When schools cannot retain teachers due to an inability to offer competitive salaries, smaller class size, non-academic supports or provide substantive professional development; children lose.  When schools cannot upgrade their buildings to incorporate technology to enhance the curriculum and to prepare children for a technological society because the building is antiquated and unable to support the wiring; children lose.  When schools cannot offer enrichment programs such as art, music and other extracurricular activities; children lose. 

Lastly, when schools cannot transform children’s lives, we ALL lose.

When schools cannot do the job they were created to do children lose.  The lottery was supposed to be the solution to the financial struggles and provide the funding so public schools can provide children with the world-class education they deserve.  As record profits are being made by lotteries, the financial struggles of public schools become more dire.  This should not be happening when we understand who the real losers of the lottery are.

A Lesson from the Past

            This weekend I went to see the movie “Lincoln.”  In my humble opinion Lincoln was very good and a movie and it should get a couple of Oscar nominations and possibly a couple of wins.

            The great part about “Lincoln” was its portrayal of the internal conflict over federalizing the abolishment of slavery, what this action meant for the present and future of a young United States and the future of an oppressed people.  “Lincoln” portrayed the emotion and fortitude of a President who had to bring together and heal a nation torn by an ideological chasm.  This portrayal was not the type of Lincoln children are taught in school.

            As I reflected over the movie while eating dinner, my thoughts drew upon my love of history and how this love was supported and flourished during my high school and college years.  I recalled the passionate teachings of my history teachers and how they made history relevant.  There was one specific teacher in high school who during the summer break traveled to various states and countries abroad making documentaries that he would show us during the school year to enhance the curriculum and to expose us to places and countries outside of our world of Santa Monica, California.  History became more than just dates and events, it was something that we could visualize and sometimes touch during the times when the teacher would bring artifacts from his trips.

            In college, my professors provided us a sense of our heritage by placing the African and African-American experience in the context of history.  We were taught the rich heritage that was left out of our high school history texts and we were taught to view history through a critical and multicultural lens that encompassed the contributions of people of color.  Our textbooks gave us the historical perspective from the conquered and the oppressed giving voice to the Native American, the African slave and women.  We also learned how people of color throughout the world continued to thrive under oppression and eventually overcame their oppressors.  Lastly, we were reminded that we are living history everyday and our directive was to make history no matter how large or small and to write the history so that our children would understand the tremendous contributions and achievements people of color have made throughout the world.

            This is how history should be taught.  History (or any subject) should not be taught in a manner that is stale or irrelevant.  History is a living and relevant subject that has the ability to teach children social justice, equality, compassion and develops the tools to become the agents of change the world needs.  Teaching history in this manner also develops the decision-making skills by showing how to consider all aspects of problem and to consider the impact on the people in the final decision.

This is how children should learn history.

Elements of a Dedicated Teacher

                        “I have come to a frightening conclusion

I am the decisive element in the classroom

It is my personal approach that creates the climate

It is my daily mood that makes the weather

As a teacher, I possess tremendous power to make

a child’s life miserable or joyous

I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration

I can humiliate or humor, hurt or heal

In all situations, it is my response that decides whether

a crisis will be escalated or de-escalated, and a child

                        humanized or de-humanized[i]

            The following quote summarizes the critical role the teacher plays in the educational engagement of a child.  While there are some who believe poverty is responsible for educational engagement, a dedicated teacher has the ability to help children engage in school despite turmoil in their personal lives.

            Outside of the home, children spend most of their time in school with a teacher.  A dedicated teacher has the ability to inspire children to value education by helping them believe they are capable of learning.  A dedicated teacher has the ability to create an environment in the classroom that is conducive to learning, is based on differentiated learning, and a place where there are high, but reachable expectations.  More importantly, children understand the classroom is a place where they will learn academically and increase confidence in their ability to learn.

            A dedicated teacher also understands they are a presence that can be perceived as positive, indifferent, or negative to the children they teach.  Understanding that children look to the cues of the adults to gage their behavior and their engagement level, a dedicated teacher understands how their demeanor will affect their ability to teach.  A child’s academic engagement for a single class or day can be based on how they are greeted by the teacher when they enter the classroom, how the teacher addresses (or doesn’t address) children who appear to be in a bad mood, or how the teacher has their classroom set up influences a child’s engagement level.  Lastly, the energy level the teacher demonstrates about a certain subject or lesson plan and how much interaction is allowed by the teacher (as opposed to children sitting and listening) will affect a child’s level of engagement.

            Finally, a dedicated teacher understands the failure of the child is unacceptable.  Understanding that the blame should not only be given to the child or the child’s circumstances, a dedicated teacher views a child’s failure as their failure.  A dedicated teacher understands that a child’s failure is a result of the inability of the teacher to teach the child the material on their level and raise the child’s level.  These are the elements of a dedicated teacher, which all teachers should strive to be.

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[i] Dr. Haim G. Ginott (1975), Teacher and Child: a Book for Parents and Teachers, New York, NY: MacMillian.

Making Wrong Assumptions About Public Education and Public Schools

            Yesterday I received a “voter report card” from MoveOn.org.  The report card informed me that during the last five general elections, I voted only once compared to my neighbors who had voted in more than one general election. 

            What annoyed me about this voter report card was that it did not consider or possibly know that during the 2008 election, I lived and voted in Indiana.  In the 2000 election, I voted in Pennsylvania, but I lived in another part of the city.  However, with limited information, MoveOn.org made assumptions about me that were not accurate.  This got me thinking about the assumptions made about public education and public schools.

            There are a lot of assumptions made about public education and public schools.  Assumptions about the effectiveness of public education, assumptions about the teachers who work in public schools, and assumptions about the students who attend public schools are often generalized to all schools, all teachers and all students. 

Since most assumptions are based on an individual’s perception, speculation or interpretation of information, what an individual reads, listens to, or engages in discussion, the information is filtered and processed via their socio-economic lens and assumptions are made.  Since, a majority of the information comes from non-objective sources, the individual fails to understand their assumptions are based on partial information.

            Assumptions by themselves are innocuous.  However when assumptions develop or influence educational policy or affirm stereotypes of urban and suburban schools and students, assumptions can be very harmful. 

            One such example is the assumption of the underachieving urban, public school student.  The assumption that urban, public school students are poor, born out of wedlock, undereducated and involved in criminal activity has been detrimental to these students as they apply for jobs.  Unemployment and underemployment is extremely high among urban, public school students because the assumptions made about them have influenced the decision to hire them.  Another example of how assumptions have been detrimental is when these students apply to college, these assumptions have hurt urban, public school students who are denied acceptance into top tier colleges because colleges view their schools as academically inferior and they do not believe these students have the skills to graduate in four years.

Finally, what is most disheartening is the assumptions are likely to follow these students into their adulthood.  Because of where they live and where they graduated, these students are likely to become underemployed or unemployed adults.  These students should not be judged on assumptions, they should be judged on their ability and potential. 

The Mississippi School to Prison Pipeline?

            A federal civil rights lawsuit was filed against a Mississippi school district for operating a “school-to-prison pipeline.”  The suit claims that district officials are jailing students’ days at a time for minor infractions without a probable cause hearing.  The suit further claims that students’ are arrested in school, handcuffed and sent to a youth court and denied their constitutional rights for minor infractions.  Infractions such as talking back to teachers or violating the dress code have students’ being transported 80 miles to a youth detention center in another county[i].

            With the majority of student offenders being African-American and students with disabilities, many of the students are placed on probation for these minor infractions.  Being placed on probation for infractions such as wearing the wrong color socks or undershirt, tardiness, use of vulgar language and yelling at the teacher is a harsh penalty for such an insignificant offense.  What is even more concerning is that harsher penalties can be placed on these students for future school violations.  A violation in school could lead to a probation violation and possible incarceration in a juvenile detention center[ii].

            While there are some who would claim that what occurred in the district was a result of Zero Tolerance policies, those claims would be false.  Zero Tolerance policies were not intended to place students’ in the juvenile justice system for minor infractions.  Zero Tolerance policies were intended to curb major violations (drugs, weapons, etc) that affected school climate by removing student offenders through expulsion.  What has allegedly occurred in the school district in Mississippi appears to be an intentional attempt to criminalize African-American students.

            The filing of the federal lawsuit stated that incarceration was used as a “medium for school discipline.”  The filing also claimed the district made children wait more than 48 hours for a hearing and made students to admit to formal charges without first being advised of their Miranda rights[iii].

            Schools are not supposed to be in the business of criminalizing behaviors that are minor in nature.  Any district that would do so, demonstrates that it does not have the best interest of children. In a state that traditionally ranks among the poorest economically and educationally, to consider minor behaviors as criminal demonstrates the school district does not understand (or cares not to understand) the circumstances of its students.  To assume that wearing the wrong colors socks or shirt, coming late to school, using vulgar language, or yelling at the teacher is a justifiable reason to be arrested, incarcerated, given a record, and placed on probation demonstrates that district officials and school staff view students with a negative, punitive lens.  Instead, the lens should view these minor infractions in the contexts surrounding the lives of students’.  

            Being a state with one of the highest poverty rates in the country, consideration should be given to students’ who are late due to having to wake up, clothe, feed, and take a younger sibling to school.  Consideration should be given to students’ who may wear the wrong color shirt or socks due to not having the money to wash their school clothes.  Finally, consideration should be given to students’ who yell at the teacher because there is trauma in the home.  Students’ come to school upset having internalized their anger to the point where they yell at a teacher.  This is not criminal behavior; this is the reality of life for many students’ who are affected by circumstances beyond their control.  The district should be finding ways to support its students’ not create criminals.

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[i] www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/25/federal-civil-rights-lawy_n_2018947

[ii] Ibid

[iii] ibid

Race Based Achievement Standards

            One of the things that sets our public education system apart from the rest of the world is the belief in education being the “great equalizer.”  The ability of any individual, regardless of their circumstance through education can attain the American Dream.  While this belief has not always been implemented throughout our history, there are individuals that have overcome obstacles and their circumstances through education to become productive citizens and trailblazers. 

            With the historic election of President Obama, the idea that anyone can grow up to be President has become true again.  Unfortunately, there are some educators in Virginia and Florida who have adopted achievement standards that are based on race and ethnicity. 

Several weeks ago, the Boards of Education in Virginia and Florida adopted race-based standards for students attending public schools.  These standards mandate that by 2018: 

1) 90% of Asian students, 88% white students, 81% if Hispanic students & 74% of “black” students are to be reading at or above grade level.  2), 86% of white students, 92% of Asian students, 80% of Hispanic students and 74% of black students are to be at or above their grade level in math[i].  Surprisingly, these standards were adopted with virtually little national attention or public outrage. 

            There are several questions that need to be asked.  The first question is why would educators who are supposed to believe all children have the ability to learn, develop racially based standards that expect less of certain students?  Additionally, why would these educators make the “black” students perform substantially less than Asian and white students?  Are their reasons due to personal bias or misguided beliefs in racial stereotypes?

The second question is what did educators plan to accomplish by developing racially based standard?  Did these educators feel they were helping “black” families and youth by developing a lower standard?  Did these educators hope to provide skewed data of the achievement standards by increasing the expectations of Asian and Hispanic students to cover the lower expectations of “black” students?  Would these educators attempt to show that minorities are improving or meeting expectations to receive additional state or federal funds?  Will the achievement scores of “black” students even be counted?

Third, what message is this policy sending to teachers, students, parents?  Will teachers and administrators view this policy as a reason to focus more on the academic achievement of Asians, whites and Hispanic students to the detriment of “black” students?  Will “black” students find themselves invisible again?  Will the lowered expectation of black students solidify a superior/inferior mentality among “black” and non “black” students?  Lastly, what message are parents of “black” students receiving from these new racially based academic standards and what are they prepared to do about it?

Finally how is this legal?  This policy is obviously discriminatory and goes against the constitutional rights of American citizens.  Furthermore, these “blacks” are taxpayers who expect their public school system to provide their child with the foundation to obtain the American Dream.  There should be no reason for educators to have lower expectations for any child, particularly a child from a specific race or ethnicity. 

At time when our country needs ALL children excelling academically to reclaim our position as leader of the global market, we cannot afford to go back and fight another Civil Rights campaign. Let’s put an end to educational Jim Crowism before it begins to spread!

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[i] www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/12/echoing-virginia-florida_n_1959151

The Positive Side of Public Education

                There are a number of challenges with our public education system that have been well documented and debated.  While many of these challenges are systemic and sometimes self-inflicted, there are a number of positive things happening in public schools.

                The first are teachers and administrators.  Although they are blamed for a majority of things wrong in public education, a majority of teachers and administrators are dedicated individuals who love children and strive to provide them with the best education possible.  These dedicated individuals come to work early, leave late, work from home, and spend their own money on supplies and things students may not be able to afford (food, clothing, prom tickets, etc).  Additionally, these dedicated individuals write recommendations and offer guidance and advice on a number of areas where youth struggle to make the right decisions.

                Second our public education system provides students with opportunities to grow and develop social, physical and intellectual skills.  Through teams sports, art and music programs, and clubs, students have an opportunity to learn valuable skills, develop and enhance their talents, and find their voice through teamwork, sacrifice, and service to their peers and school.  By participating in school sports, art and music and clubs, students develop the leadership skill develop social and political awareness and activism.  Students also learn commitment and discipline, learn health and fitness, learn to pay attention to details and they learn how to balance education and social life.  Lastly, participation in team sports, art and music programs and clubs build self-esteem, instill confidence, keep students engaged in academic achievement, and gives students aspirations for post-secondary training.

                There are a number of positive thing occur in public education every day.  A majority of students’ are hard working, enjoy school and graduate.  While there is a tendency to always focus on the challenges in public education and on the small, disruptive group of students’ who are responsible for some of the challenges, the positive things in public education should not be overshadowed, devalued, or dismissed.  With the lack of resources provided to public education and the non-educational challenges (poverty, illiteracy, and neglect) that arrive t its doors, our public education system does a good job despite the challenges it faces on a daily basis.

When Education is Not About Children

            Recently, the former Superintendent of the El Paso School District was sentenced to 42 months in prison for participation in a conspiracy to improve the tests scores of the High schools in his district.   By removing low performing students from classrooms, the superintendent inflated the district’s test scores by preventing hundreds of sophomore students from taking state accountability exams[i].

            By inflating the test scores, the district was rewarded with additional federal funds and the superintendent received personal bonuses totaling $56,000.  The district’s overall rating improved from “academically acceptable” to “recognized, which is the second highest rating a district can receive[ii].

            What is disturbing about this scandal is that the superintendent was investigated by the Texas Education Agency and was cleared of any wrong doing.  It wasn’t until the local news paper requested records under the Freedom of Information Act and a ruling by the Attorney General that the conspiracy was uncovered.  To add insult to injury, the superintendent was also found guilty of misleading the district so that his girlfriend could receive a no-bid contract for $450,000 and six additional individuals are under investigation for aiding the superintendent.

As more testing scandals are being uncovered in districts across the country, lost in all these scandals is the damage that has been done to children by the leaders who are responsible for their education.  None of these leaders seemed to care about the children.  These leaders only cared about test scores, increasing their stature and obtaining bonuses.  After being caught and the scandal exposed, not one superintendent has apologized to the children they defrauded.

As the educational leader of a district the superintendent is the face of education.  The superintendent encourages students to do their best, follow the rules and graduate.  Unfortunately, when the superintendent is caught in a scandal, the children are lost in the sensationalism of the scandal by the media.  Lost in the story are the victims; the children.

How much damage is done to children when they learn of these scandals?  What message are children learning about how their educational leader values their education?  Lastly, how do these scandals impact students’ beliefs about cheating or being dishonest in order to obtain rewards?

            If we want our children to become adults of integrity, we have to make sure the adults who in the district are adults of integrity.  This can only be done if the bonuses and accolades that come with improving tests scores are removed.  Superintendents are paid enough money, so they should not be rewarded for doing what they were hired to do.  Any reward should be given to the school to be used for the children who worked hard to increase the test scores.  Additionally, principals, teachers and parents should be recognized for supporting the efforts of children to increase test scores.

            It is time to get back to the mission of education which is to prepare children for their future adult lives.  While testing does have a place in the mission of education, testing should not be the determining factor of success.  Test scores should not be incentivized because there have been too many instances where the monetary incentives and accolades have tempted superintendents to do things that are not in the best interest of children.

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[i] www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57527018/ex-texas-school-chief-gets-3.5-years-for-test-fraud

[ii] ibid

The Educational Handicap of the American Student

            The United States of America is the most innovative country in the world.  However, our public education system is potentially stifling future innovation, which could harm our national and economic security.  Innovation is being stifled because our public education system continues to remain mired in its past glory days when high school graduates were among the brightest and hardest worker in the world. 

Our public education system continues to reflect an antiquated ideology of a long expired industrial age.  With behemoth school buildings that hold up to a thousand or more students (depending on the grade), buildings that mirror industrial factories and classrooms that represent a cold and sterile factory floor, the buildings do not reflect the image of students’ being prepared for a global economy.

The curriculum of our public education system also continues to reflect the antiquated ideology of an expired industrial age.  Students are being taught in a manner that inhibits critical thinking, discourages alternative ways of thinking that go beyond the prescribed method of instruction and suppresses students’ ability to question or challenge prescribed answers.  Additionally, the curriculum continues to provide instruction in a manner that is fragmented and disconnected.  The sequencing of courses and the randomness of electives fails to provide students’ with a continuum of learning that allows the content of courses and electives to connect with what was previously learned and what will be learned in future courses or electives. 

Lastly, the public education system is disconnected from the world of work.  Absent are “applied” courses that demonstrate how the core subjects” math, science, reading, and writing are utilized daily in the workplace.  The failure of the public education system to directly illustrate to students’ how the core subjects have real world applications, deprives students of the ability to understand what they are learning and how it will determine access to future occupational opportunities.  Additionally, the lack of technology instruction in schools prevents students’ from being able to access technology in a manner that has applications in the real world.  It is this lack of technological instruction that is the most damaging to students,’ to innovation and to economic and national security.

Failing to move beyond the expired industrial ideology and connect learning and technological instruction to the world of work, students’ have become disengaged in their education and fail to fully achieve their academic potential.  Thus students’ become educationally handicapped and unprepared to compete in a global economy.  The inability of the educationally handicap to compete in the global economy weakens our country and threatens our economic and national security.

Who would have thought the real threat to our country is our public education system. 

Transforming the Education Debate

            This afternoon on MSNBC, there was a continuation of the Education Nation series.  Today’s topic was teacher evaluations. The town hall style meeting was held in New York with the audience consisting of educational advocates, various grade teachers, and individuals from higher education.  As I watched the broadcast, what started as promising discussion, quickly became a rehashing of the same ideas from previous Education Nation discussions.

            The broadcast did not shed any new ideas that would get our educational system back on track to producing world class students.  The reason for this that everyone views education through a narrow lens.  This lens is based on the educational experience of the individual and whatever personal, social or political agenda he/she have.  When all these individuals come together, their competing agendas take precedence over what is best for the children. 

Most people believe our educational system is not broke; it just needs to be “fixed” or “reformed.”  The band-aid approach of reform that has done to our education system is not sustainable and “wears off” after a couple of years.  More importantly, the band-aid approach has discouraged any meaningful discussion by inhibiting the voices of parents, students, and in many cases teachers from having their concerns and or ideas heard over the noise of senseless banter of the competing agendas.  This is evident in many of the discussions on educational reform by those who postulate positions on how to improve education that are out of touch with the realities in the field.  Until the narrow lens on education is widened, the language and ideology that dominates education will remain the same.  Thus, the problems plaguing education will continue and our children will fall further behind. 

            It is time to widen the lens, end the band-aid approach and change the language of fix and reform to transformation.  Our educational system continues to fail because the ideas that have been implemented are based on fix and reform.  Utilizing a transformation approach will dramatically change the direction of the discussion and the language used to create effective and sustainable change of our educational system.

A transformative approach seeks to establish a continuum of learning that assists struggling learners, supports advanced learners, prepares students to compete in a global economy and ensures our country remains an economic superpower.  By establishing a continuum of learning, the achievement gap should be greatly diminished because struggling students would have the academic support needed to get back on grade level.  Additionally, a transformative approach would also greatly diminish the engagement gap that affects teachers, parents, and students.  A transformative approach would invest in teacher trainings, provide multiple opportunities for parents to become actively involved in the education of their child and create enthusiasm for learning among students.  Lastly, a transformative approach would build a genuine parent/school partnership.

            Finally, a transformative approach will attract partnerships with institutions that habitually do not involve themselves with our educational system.  Being skeptical about the commitment to education and the preparation for the global workforce have inhibited our students from benefiting from the expertise and resources partnerships have to offer.  A transformative approach will allow potential partners to view a partnership as mutually beneficial to their institution and the country.

            If we truly want to provide our children with a world-class education we must change the approach.  The fix and reform ideology that dominates our current approach to education must be replaced with the ideology of transformation.  A transformation ideology changes the direction and discussion of our approach to education.  A transformation ideology will end the competing agendas by being inclusive of many voices to create effective and sustainable change of our educational system.

The Missing Elements of the Teacher Evaluation Debate

                The Chicago teachers strike has brought the debate on teacher evaluations to the public.  While the teacher evaluation debate appeared to be discussed only among those in the educational realm (teachers, administrators, educational advocates and some politicians); the rest of the country did not seem to care about the evaluations of teachers given the current state of the economy. 

            Many are wondering why there is such upheaval over how teachers are evaluated.  The primary reason is that states are receiving pressure from educational advocates and politicians to have a section of teacher evaluations on the standardized test scores of their students.  Teachers are not in favor of student test scores being a part of their evaluation due to the socio-economic factors that affect learning.  Teachers do not feel it is fair for them to be evaluated on the test scores of their students when some students lack school readiness, have poor attendance, reading and other academic deficits, and lack parent participation to increase academic achievement.  Additionally, teachers do not feel it is fair to be held accountable for the ineffective instruction of a students’ previous teachers.

            The teachers have a strong argument against having part of their evaluations include the test scores of their students.  However, there needs to be an effective evaluation system that is fair to teachers and is able to isolate ineffective instruction to support struggling teachers or to terminate them if necessary.  While teachers agree to improving the teacher evaluation system, their ideas don’t offer the necessary change required to develop an effective evaluation system.  The current evaluation system where the principal conducts classroom observations is no longer adequate.  In order to effectively evaluate teachers, states will have to look at alternative ways to determine teacher effectiveness.  Instead of evaluating teachers based on test scores, states should consider these alternatives: 1) evaluation of lesson plans and 2) evaluations from parents and students perspective. 

            The evaluation of lesson plans is an effective way to evaluate a teacher.  Lesson plans are written by the teacher and demonstrate the level of content knowledge and instructional practice.  Additionally, lesson plans also demonstrate if the teacher provides instruction to the various learning styles (auditory, visual, etc) and if he/she is utilizing specifically designed instruction (SDI) for students with disabilities.  Finally, since many lesson plans are due weekly or monthly to the principal, a principal is able to assess over time the quality of instruction students are receiving.

            The final alternative, parent and student evaluations will likely be the most controversial and contested.  The purpose for suggesting they are part of the evaluation of teachers is that parents and students are an underutilized and ignored knowledge resource in education.  For those who care about improving the teaching and instruction of our children, they need to hear what parents and students have to say about their experiences with the individuals responsible for grading, assessing, and promotion of children.  There will be some who will claim that having parents and students evaluate them is unfair because parents and/or students may give them a poor evaluation due to receiving poor grades, being disciplined or suspended.  As with any evaluation whenever you are evaluated by your subordinates, there will honest evaluations and evaluations based on retribution.  However, only a small weight percentage is assigned to the overall evaluation and a majority of the time the positive and negative balance evaluations balance out to provide an informative representation of a teachers’ strengths and areas of improvement.

            If the goal is to develop a new teacher evaluation system that is fair and accurately assesses a teachers’ strengths and areas of improvement, adding lesson plans and parent and student perspective into the evaluation process will be vital to obtaining the data needed to improve teacher effectiveness.

What if You Could Only Have One Child?

            What would happen if our country had a one child policy?  Would there continue to be an achievement gap among youth African-American youth and their peers?  Would our schools and parents continue to be at odds, or would they truly become partners in the education of children?  Would our schools continue to be plagued with poor achievement and low expectations, or would our students lead the world in math and science?

            Let me say that I am not advocating for a one child policy.  The following ideas are based on my travel to China in 2002 as an Educational Ambassador. Based on my observations of elementary, middle and high schools, talking with school administrators, students, and parents, I learned several aspects of the one child policy that if implemented, could change the course of educational dialogue and reform efforts.

            In my discussions with parents, I came to understand the true meaning of children being our most valuable resource.  Parents retold stories of how they took the proper prenatal care, spoke positive affirmations, played classical and traditional music, and read to their child in the womb to ensure their child would be born healthy and intelligent.  Parents also discussed the plans they made to help their child get off to a good start academically.  Plans such as beginning academic enrichment prior to formal schooling, paying for tutors or attending Saturday classes and paying for music lessons, were part of many success plans parents talked about.  Parents also taught their child about family, honor and the importance of education.

            Parents understood their role was to provide every benefit possible in order to place their child in the position to become successful.  Extended family and close friends were also included in helping the child to become successful.  The concept of it takes a whole village to raise a child is an idea that was embraced and taken seriously.  The failure of a child is viewed as the fault of the family and causes the family shame.  Therefore, parents and the “village” become heavily involved in every aspect of the child. Nowhere was this more evident than the parents/school dynamic.

            During my visit to schools, I witnessed a true parent/school partnership.  I observed parents volunteering inside and outside the school building.  I observed parents and teachers meeting without hostility, I observed school administrators being a presence in their buildings, observing teachers, talking with teachers, talking with students, and meeting with parents.  While talking with school administrators, their words were not disingenuous or cliché, they spoke of their role with passion and conviction.  The administrators understood they were being entrusted by families with their country’s most valuable resource.  The administrators knew failure was not an option.  They understood that a child’s failure was a reflection of poor leadership and their failure caused shame to the family, to themselves and to their country.

            Imagine if parents in our country adopted the one child ideology for every child.  All of our children would get off to a healthy start because parents utilized proper prenatal care.  Children would be ready for school because their parents would provide early reading, basic writing and math and children would begin school eager to learn. 

            Imagine if our educational system adopted the one child ideology and understood that children are our country’s most valuable resource and integral to the future prosperity of our country.  Administrators, teachers and parents would work together in a true partnership for the benefit of the child?  Administrators and teachers would view the failure of a child as their failure and would do everything to help the child succeed.  There would be no achievement gap, our children would lead the world in math and science, and our country would continue its dominance as an economic superpower.

Unfortunately all we can do is imagine

A Message to Teachers for the New School Year

            As a new school year begins, I would like to speak directly to teachers both seasoned and new.  First, let me thank you for your service on behalf of our most valuable resource, children.  It is important that you never forget this fact and it should inform your pedagogy.  In order for any society to continue to thrive, its children must receive a world class education. 

            With this in mind, remember the crucial role you as the teacher play in the life of a child.  A teacher not only provides educational instruction, a teacher is responsible for the preparation of the next generation of adults who will take their place in society.  The success or failure of each generation will depend on the quality of the education they receive.  More importantly, the country’s future prosperity will depend on the quality of their education.  Although society may not value teachers as much as it should, the services you provide to children are immeasurable and essential to our future. 

            As you embark on a new school year, there are several things I would like for you to consider: first, you should strive to teach your students the same way you would want your child to be taught.  By doing this, you will ensure that your lesson plans, assignments and instruction will reflect a personalized approach that is lacking among many teachers.  By taking this approach, students and parents will recognize you are a teacher who is looking to provide students’ with an opportunity to take advantage of their future. 

            Second, you should remember if students’ are struggling to grasp the materials, it is the responsibility of the teacher to help them understand the materials.  Too many times students are blamed for failing to grasp the materials when the fault may be due to the failure of the teacher to present the materials based on the various learning styles in their classroom.  If a teacher does not present the material to their students’ based on their learning styles, the students’ do not have the opportunity to learn, will fall behind their peers, and lose confidence in their ability to learn which could lead to disengagement. 

            Finally, review your philosophy of education.  If you do not have a philosophy of education, develop one.  A philosophy of education is a blueprint that establishes a foundation of core beliefs from which a teacher will: 1) set goals for the school year 2) set up their classroom, 3) impart instruction, 4) motivate students, 5) manage classroom climate, and 6) conduct student discipline.  Additionally, having a philosophy of education instills confidence in a teacher because it provides structure in the classroom and provides points reference based on best practices that a teacher can call upon when needed.

            You are a teacher!  It is important that you never forget that.  It is important that you understand your true worth to our country, regardless of those who underestimate or fail to value your talents and contributions.  You have been given charge of our most valuable resource and you have been entrusted with the survival of our society.  You should not take your job lightly or take it for granted.  Our future depends on you!

The African-American Education Office Part 2

            In part two of the African-American Education Office, suggestions will be given to decrease the achievement gap among middle and high school youth.  In an effort to build a continuum of services from birth to adulthood, the office should focus on the preparing these youth for careers that will make them competitive in the global economy and achieve the American Dream.

            One area the office should focus on is eliminating the technology gap.  In order to compete in the global economy, African American youth must become proficient users of technology and understand how it can be applied in the global economy and advance the marketplace.  African-American youth must learn the science behind writing code to create video games, how an algorithm captures and sorts data for target marketing, or for investing/trading in the stock market.  African-American youth must also learn how technology is used to advance society.  Advancements in the fields of medicine and medical research, automobile and manufacturing industry, and improvements to agriculture are fields which has been greatly impacted technology.  These are also fields that lack a significant African-American presence.

            Another area the office should focus on is teaching career development and workforce preparation skills.  Skills such as critical thinking, the ability to multitask projects, the ability to summarize larger amounts of information into a report, the ability to work individually and in groups, the ability to effectively communicate, and the ability to be resourceful are skills that should be taught in conjunction with resume writing, interviewing, punctuality, reliability, and appropriate grooming and attire.  These are skills that are not being taught in a majority of middle and high schools and are not taught by many parents.  As a result of this lack of knowledge, African-American youth are uniformed about the skills needed to be competitive in the global economy.

A final area the office should focus on is helping African-American youth understand how to match their strengths and interest to a career.  By failing to teach African-American youth proper career development, they have mistakenly believed a job to be a career.  Therefore, when they see their parent, relative, or neighbor talking negatively about the poor pay, long hours, or how they hate their job, the uniformed youth internalizes these experiences as a definition of a career.  This belief is further cemented as the youth witnesses their parent, relative, or neighbor moving from job to job for minimal salary increases.  The message African-American youth are receiving is that a job and career are synonymous.  Another message they receive is that a job is about making money.  They are not receiving a balance where they see people who love their job because it their career.  They are not hearing as much as they should about the passion, joy, and satisfaction one has for their career.  They are also not learning how a career can lead to the American Dream.

In order for African-American middle and high school youth to become competitive in the global economy, the Office of African-American Education must provide access to knowledge about the business applications of technology.  The office must also provide access to career development and workforce preparation.  Providing access to these crucial areas of need, will eliminate the technology gap, provide them with the tools to competitive and increase the presence of African-Americans in areas of the global economy where our presence is lacking.  It is up to the office to help African-American youth not get left behind in the global economy.

The African-American Education Office

            President Obama recently announced the creation of the African-American Education Office.  The purpose of the office is to improve the education of African-American youth by better preparing them for high school, college and career[i].

            The creation of the African-American Education Office is a significant event in African-American history.  For the first time since the War on Poverty, the Office of the President of The United States has taken steps at the federal level to specifically address the educational plight of African-American youth.  Understanding the importance the education of African-American youth impacts the economy, social equality and access to the American Dream, President Obama appears to see the educational plight of African-American youth as a national crisis.  Although President Obama did not elaborate on how the office would tackle the complex and unique multi-layered enigma that affects the educational aspirations and achievement of African-American youth, I would like to offer a few suggestions.

            First, the office must focus on school readiness.  This can be achieved by mandating and funding a full day Head Start program for all families. Head Start programs have made minimal, but sustainable academic gains over several decades.  Proponents of Head Start have been calling for the expansion of Head Start to a full day to increase these gains, but the previous administrations did not fully support the expansion.  Head Start is one of the few programs that mandated parent involvement, which is the second area of focus, parent engagement.

            Parent engagement is crucial to the educational aspirations and achievement of African-American youth.  As their child’s first teacher, a child will learn to love, dislike or become indifferent to learning based on the involvement and encouragement of the parent.  Therefore, the office should develop a strategy on how to provide parents with the tools to create an environment conducive to the enjoyment of learning and creating a culture of high expectation of educational aspirations.  One way this could be accomplished is to emphasize to parents the importance of reading to their children at an early age.  Reading to children at an early age will give them the confidence in their ability to master the concepts of reading and comprehension.  Additionally, parents who read to their children at an early age provide good social and educational capital that aids in school readiness and success in school. 

A final way this could be accomplished is for the office to assists parents with developing a school readiness plan.  There are a number of guides that discuss school readiness.  However, the information is not consistent and in many instances the content may not address the needs of the diversity of the African-American community.  Needs such as how to prepare an African-American male child for school is a topic that is desperately needed since most African-American males struggle in school.  Additional topics such as the difference between home rules and school rules, the differences between aggression and self-defense and appropriate usage of standard language and language used with friends are areas where the office could develop a manual to aid African-American parents with school readiness.

If the office cannot improve school readiness and parent engagement, very little will be accomplished to change the current educational plight of African-American youth.

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[i] www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/26/african-american-educatio_n_1704406

Suspending Students With Disabilities

            A recent study conducted by the Center for Civil Rights Remedies at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) found that students with disabilities are twice as likely to be suspended from school as their non-disabled peers.  Using data from the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, the study found that during the 2009-2010 school year, 13 percent of disabled students in grades K-12 were suspended compared to 7 percent of non-disabled students[i].  The study also found that African-American students with disabilities had the highest rates of suspension than their disabled peers and non-disabled peers of other races.  According to the study, 1 out of 4 African-American students was suspended at least once.  A majority of these suspended students were diagnosed with a learning disability[ii]. 

The high rate of suspension among students with disabilities concerns policymakers and civil rights advocates.  Their claimed that school districts with high rates of suspensions also had a higher dropout rate and lower student achievement and test scores, which increased the risk of delinquency and incarceration, especially among African-American students.  According to the study’s author, Daniel J. Losen:

                        “Kids with disabilities make up a very large portion of

                        the kids who are in the juvenile justice system...That’s

                        a very disturbing pattern because kids with disabilities

                        are supposed to be getting additional supports and

                        counseling[iii].”

To support this statement, the study found there were states where African-American students with disabilities were suspended at a rate above 60 percent, with one state having a rate of 92 percent.  Additionally, report also found that the Civil Rights Office of the Department of Education had opened 19 investigations in 15 states to examine school districts where African-American students were disproportionately disciplined[iv]. 

            The UCLA study has brought to the forefront a problem that has been ignored for a long time.  Unfortunately, the study failed to consider the disproportionate suspension of African-American students with disabilities as a flawed systemic ideology, instead the study claims the problem is a matter of policy. 

            The ideology of school discipline in a majority of school districts across the country is embedded in a belief that all students should be held accountable for violations of district policies.  This believe is evident in district zero tolerance policies that provide the same consequences to disabled and non-disabled students.  Even though students with disabilities are provided certain protections, such as they cannot be suspended more than 10 consecutive days in a school year for each violation or when a serious violation occurs, a school must convene a Manifestation Determination team meeting to determine if the violation is a result of the student’s disability under the Individual with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).  This information was surprisingly absent in the UCLA study when discussing the disproportionality of suspensions of African-American students with disabilities.  With such high rates of suspensions, the study should have addressed how many suspended students were afforded their rights under IDEA law?  How many students were suspended more than 10 days during the school year?  How many students were provided with a Manifestation Determination team meeting prior to suspension?  With high rates of suspensions in some districts, there is seems to be enough evidence that schools are not following IDEA rules prior to suspension.

            Lastly, the ideology of school discipline appears to be biased against students with disabilities that are not physically present.  For a long time, the faces of students with disabilities were considered those with physical manifestations such as downs syndrome, cerebral palsy, and students in wheelchairs.  Students with no physical manifestations such as learning or emotional disabilities may appear by some to “know” what they are doing and should be punished as their non-disabled peers.  The UCLA study confirms this in their findings that a majority of suspensions were students who were diagnosed with a learning disability.  Although the UCLA study did not discuss the racial bias against African-American students with disabilities one cannot deny the systemic entrenchment of racial biased in the ideology of school discipline.  It is time to change the archaic ideology of school discipline.

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[i] www.nytimes.com/2012/08/08/education/analysis-examines-disabled-student-suspensions

[ii] ibid

[iii] ibid

[iv] ibid

President Obama’s Master Teacher Corps

                President Obama recently announced plans to create an elite master teacher corps program to help improve student achievement in science, technology, engineering, and math.  Believing that a master teacher corps would aid in closing the achievement gap in the US and abroad, President Obama is encouraging “high-performing” teachers to apply for the corps.

                Teachers who are selected to the corps will be sharing their knowledge and skills with other teachers and educators over a several year period.  While additional information about the program is forthcoming, participants in the master teacher corps will receive an additional $20,000 a year for their service.  President Obama hopes that improving the quality of teachers will improve the quality of education for all students which will spur future economic growth[i].

                The idea of building a master teacher corps is not a new or innovative concept.  The idea was established in response to the launch of Sputnik by the Soviet Union in 1957 when the US was behind in the “space” race.  The establishment of the National Science Foundation was founded to address the quality of our country’s space program and to ensure our educational system is providing the skills and knowledge for future scientist, mathematicians and engineers.  There are also other teacher quality programs in other divisions of the federal government.

                Investing in the overall quality of science, technology, engineering, and math is area where there is high need is necessary to the future of innovation and our economy.  However, equally important is improving the foundation of education: reading. 

                Often overlooked in our zeal to catch up with our international competitors, reading is underestimated in most of our educational initiatives/reform efforts.  Although there are benchmarks and standardized tests that track reading progress, a majority of children in the US read below their grade level.  Before a child can truly develop an aptitude for science, technology, engineering and math, they first should be able to read, comprehend, and synthesize information at their grade level. 

                President Obama should add reading teachers to the corps to help decrease the reading gap by helping children, their families and school districts emphasize reading.  Going beyond the 100 book reading challenges and general book reports, there is a need for classes that specifically focus on the foundational elements of reading, comprehension, and synthesis.  In the early grades, there is a focus on the elements of reading, comprehension and synthesis.  Unfortunately, the upper grades emphasize comprehension and synthesis which is covered under English and Literature.

                Our failure to focus on reading at all levels isolates children from fulfilling their academic potential because they cannot fully participate in the technical content of science, technology, engineering, and math.  Since they cannot fully participate, they doubt themselves and mentally check out or become disruptive.

                By getting more children to master reading, comprehension and synthesis, the achievement gap in the US and abroad should decrease significantly, increase the number of children interested in pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering and math, and spur future economic growth.  Let’s provide our children with a solid reading foundation.

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[i] www.cbsnews.com/2102-250_162-57474469