Waiting for Superman

Did anyone watch Oprah on Monday, September 27?  She screened the movie, Waiting for Superman, with her audience and had several superintendents and Charter school advocates as guests.  I agree that the educational system in the US needs help... BUT! 
First, Let's get a few things straight.  FACT: The US ranks 24 out of 29 countries tested last year in math.  BUT... when we compare our test scores to those of countries like India there is something you need to hear along with that fact.  India only educates the students that value education and can afford to be educated.  They, like many other countries, and unlike the US do NOT make education mandatory.  Therefore when they (in India) do national testing, they are testing their best and their brightest, only.  We in the US test everyone.  Every student between 3rd grade (a level that state mandated testing begins) and 12th grade is tested.  The rules have gotten really strict over the years, too.  States only qualify for state and federal money if all tests are complete and since no child left behind every child, with every disability's, test score must be counted to continue to get funding. So the US ranks low, because we include every brain surgeon and every dim bulb.  Every kid that tries really hard and every kid that fills in the dots and takes a nap.  So how relevant are these rankings?  How would the US look on that list were we to test only the kids that really wanted to take the test? 
Secondly, CHARTER SCHOOLs are not the answer!  Oprah seemed to think if everyone was in a charter school, with a GOOD teacher, then every kid would be a rocket scientist.  NO.  The kids in charter schools that are successful are there because their family values education.  Mom reads to the kids.  Dad checks their homework.  Someone goes to Parent Teacher Conferences, EVERY TIME!  If we were to take every kid, from every failing school and plunk them into a charter school, Guess What??  You would get the same population getting the same test scores.   What I ask Oprah is, where is the parent responsibility?  Where is the student responsibility? 
Third, if I hear the words "bad teacher" one more time, I think I will have a stroke!  While yes, there are teachers that are protected by unions and stay in classrooms longer then they should, I think "bad teachers" are way down the list of who's to blame for our current situation.  The Oprah show made is sound like you could throw students off the roof and the union could make it impossible to fire you.  I don't know how it is everywhere else but in Missouri the state dictates how teachers are disciplined.  They have to go through "phases" (awareness phase, correction phase, etc).  No set time is connected to each phase.  How long each phase lasts depends on the severity of the infraction and at the discretion of the administrator.  Tenure means nothing if you have done something wrong or aren't teaching properly.  So maybe the rest of the country needs to take the lead of the state of Missouri when it comes to Performance Based Teacher Evaluations. 
Finally, with the technology and resources that every school (yes, even inner city, public schools) have in 2010 maybe we should be looking at what has changed over the years with respect to students:  their family situations.  Tell me what you think! 

Upon request: "than or then"

While you are at it, oh mistress of the English language, could you please reiterate the very simple yet critical difference between the words "then" and "than". I've seen every form of text from email to newsprint to corporate websites that misuse/interchange these two words as though either is acceptable in either one's place.

By Joe on ...and they're off, or is it 'their', or 'there'??... on 9/15/10

  

Thank you for your comment, Joe.  To answer the above comment from Joe:

You bring up another of about 1000 ways I see students and adults butchering the English language on a daily basis!  All of them make me cringe.  The "then/than" mistake ranks pretty high.  Most people don't distinguish between the two word - how this happened, I don't know.  These two words are NEVER interchangeable.  The rules are:

Than is used in comparative statements. 

EXAMPLE:  He is taller than I am.

Then is used either as a time marker or with a sequence of events.

EXAMPLE:

I took all of the exams in the morning, and then I spent the rest of the day catching up on sleep.

Just like other grammatical and syntactical mistakes, rushing through what you are writing is to blame!  I am surprised that no one brought up "effect/affect" - clearly the definitions of these two words have been erased from our scope of knowledge, too. FYI:

Affect with an a means "to influence," as in, The rain affected Amy's hairdo.

Affect can also mean, roughly, "to act in a way that you don't feel," as in, She affected an air of superiority.

Effect with an e has a lot of subtle meanings as a noun, but to me the meaning "a result" seems to be at the core of all the definitions. For example, you can say, The effect was eye-popping, or The sound effects were amazing, or The rain had no effect on Amy's hairdo.

...And don't even get me started on commas!!  By the way, I don't even enjoy teaching grammar but I understand the need to learn, and more importantly, remember it!

 

 

A Great Loss

Late last night I got a call from "the phone chain" at work.  It was a fellow teacher at OHS calling to tell me that Ken Kolwyck, a science teacher in our building, died suddenly.  I wanted to write something here to pay homage to a great teacher, person, and friend.  I will always remember Ken with his yellow smiley face coffee mug in hand, bound for the office each morning at 7am.  He would greet me as I ascended the stairs to my classroom.  He was always in the building early - way before me.  And he always stayed late, helping kids with labs, make up work, tutoring, etc.  He was always the outspoken voice of reason on our staff.  I admired him for always sticking to his convictions, speaking his mind, and understanding this sometimes ridiculous business of education.  He and I spoke often and agreed vehemently that what all students needed was the bar to be raised.  He saw that when he raised the bar in his classroom and held that high standard, his students rose to challenge, every time.  He was a man that always said good morning, always had a smile, was amazingly good at what he did, and will be sorely missed.  God bless and God's speed my friend.

It is that time of year again

I am trying to basque in this short-lived but much loved season: fall.   You wouldn't think that a teacher would name this time of year as her favorite, but... ;)  Every summer the heat suddenly subsides, you miraculously no longer need A/C, and you begin wondering if you will need a jacket.  It is always short lived in St. Louis but it always puts me in the mood to "buy a bouquet of freshly sharpened pencils" - Tom Hanks. 
Fall is kind of a "New Year's" celebration for teachers.  (I have floating in the back of my mind kind of a mental milestone - when I start to loathe this time of year, it is time to retire.) 
My husband and I are starting to take longer walks around our favorite parts of town.  We live in St. Louis Hills and our home base route includes Francis Park, Holly Hills, a nostalgic trek past the football field at DuBourg (go Cavs!).  We do however, like to drive to The Hill and marvel at the tiny, manicured, Virgin Mary-laden yards as we eat an entirely too large gelato.  We also enjoy this time of year walking round Lafayette Park and drooling over all of the century old, amazingly well rehabbed, homes always trying to find the one that looks most like the set of Meet Me In St. Louis. 
Sometimes when we are feeling truly energetic we traverse across Kingshighway AND Gravois and venture to the Carondolet neighborhood - hoping to run into the mayor.  
But the true family favorite walking spot is Forest Park.  We will jump in the van, grab our chocolate lab, Tony, and go to Forest Park on a random Thursday afternoon.  The kids always want to climb trees near our favorite picnic spot by the Muny lower parking lot - great trees and waterfalls you can walk across.  No matter the season they will play on Art Hill - warm weather, somersaults down the hill; cold weather, a sled.  The recently restored Cascades by the entrance to the golf course is our final hike on every visit.  I remember my dad taking me there when I was 8 and taking some nifty fall pictures of me.  Now I take my kids there and tell them about Grandpa taking me there when I was a kid - you tell that story every time, MOM!  And it never fails on our walk back to the van when we all admit reluctantly that it is time to go because it is a "school night" - the discussion ensues of how sad it is that all of their friends that live in the county aren't allowed to go there because it is too dangerous in the city.  To quote my seventeen year old son, "What a bunch of wussies!"

...and they're off, or is it 'their', or 'there'????

So this is my first blog and inspired by the new found time in my life because my husband is working nights and my children are growing older, I though I would start with one of my pet peeves.
There, their, they're - Really, people.  I was reading an email recently and spotted a there-mistake, or as I like to call them in my classroom "therrors".  I try very hard to teach (my children well...) all of my students about common grammar, syntactical, and spelling errors.  But when they goof it up, I remind myself... they are still kids.  So, as I read emails from my friends, letters to the editor in our hometown rag, and emails from my colleagues, I think to myself again, they are kids, what's your excuse?   I like to think that the mistakes I see are just people rushing their writing and not taking their time.  I hope and pray that adults really do know which there/their/they're to use and in their haste they have just mis-typed.  But even that is NO excuse.  I think everyone needs to slow down, take a breath, and take pride in everything they do, even if it is just an email.  I am raising my kiddos to know that even if you aren't good at it, spelling and grammar do count.  Like my dad always said, "take pride in what you do-if you are a ditch digger be the best darn ditch digger you can be."  If you are going to perform brain surgery, certainly I would hope that your effort would be top notch every time you walk into the OR.  Therefore, even if it is just an email or a note about your kids' absence, take the time and the pride to do it right.  It is after all our mother tongue! 
Saving the English language one 9th grader at a time,
Jenn