TOPICS:

What is "eduspeak?" ... beyond the definition [immediate right ].

"Teacher tales" ... off the cuff and candid stories from classroom teachers from around the country.

The Subbing Life: ... substitute teaching in the California public school system.

Kid thoughts: ... what the kids would like us to know about how we run their schools.

Book Preview: ... "Fixing American Public Education" By Larry J. Hall.

"When I think back on all the crap I learned in high school
It's a wonder that I can think at all.
And though my lack of education hasn't hurt me none,
I can read the writing on the wall."

—Paul Simon, singer-songwriter, public school survivor
Recorded in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, 1972-73

Eduspeak: 'The use of acronyms and abbreviations to further the cause of American education.'

—The Clarence C. Barker Aggravated Collegiate Dictionary.
pvtob books ©2008

Decisions Made in the Best Interests of the Students
By. Fred Munch

Posted August 28, 2008. 12:05 p.m.

In an attempt to level the teaching load, they [our administrators ] are changing student schedules. Some teachers have as many as 160 students while others have 100 or under. School has been in session for almost one month and they are just now doing this. It was this way when they did the schedule this summer. Why they waited this long to correct the problem is anyone's guess.

Naturally, the coaches have the smallest numbers because they don't teach as many classes. As a new dept. chair, I asked my principal why that was and he said, "That's the way it has always been." So rather than add a class to the coaches, they are adding more students to the few existing classes they "teach".

So, rather than doing the right thing for kids and teachers they are doing it "half assed" which is typical for public ed. RARELY ARE DECISIONS MADE THAT ARE IN THE BEST INTEREST OF THE STUDENT. It is normally based on what is best for the admins and then maybe what is best for the teacher but RARELY is the student the first priority.

One of my students was transferred to a coach's class yesterday. A parent/principal meeting protesting her child's schedule change was held before school today. The parent said that she was very pleased with what was happening teaching-wise in my classroom and she did not want her child transferred. The principal caved as they usually do to parent pressure and the student's schedule was not changed.

Most parents DO NOT realize how much power they have. Parents of middle and upper class kids know this but the working class is clueless. And many times the working class doesn't have the time or opportunity to take off work and meet with admins to fight for their kids. Plus they are intimidated by teachers and admins and don't feel comfortable in the school setting. That is why this school building is 50 years old, has a leaky roof, no consistent heating and air, and mold covering the heating/ac vents. It is a sick building.

For example, a new high school was built on the white middle class side of town in one calendar year. This building I work in is being replaced but will take two years to construct and it took two years of talking to get it approved. Meanwhile teachers and students are out sick at an abnormally high rate from breathing moldy, humid air.

—fm

__________________________

Technology in the Classroom — does it work?
By Larry J. Hall

Posted: August 28, 2008. 8:30 a.m.

I do occasionally look for something inspiring about teaching on the internet. Really. But, most of the time i'm disappointed, then down right inferiated. Case in point:

I'm minding my own business, in my local latte shop this morning, slugging down a half caff and wandering Google when I come across the website of the "Educational Policy Institute." Or, the EPI. And, what a grand website it is, too. Full of all kinds of fancy graphics, some nothing short of majestic -- read "expensive" -- special effects, and obnoxious, repetitive music. I actually think that my personal Hell would be to be required to sit in front of a website such as this, for eternity, required to find just one small thing a teacher could use in the classroom. But, I digress.

The website looks great, on the surface. I went to their "Our mission" to see what the hubbub was, Bubb. Here's a brief overview of their mission:

"To expand educational opportunity for low-income and other historically-underrepresented students through high-level research and analysis ... (and) providing educational leaders and policymakers with the information required to ..." bla, bla and yada, yada, yada. Yawn. Heard this all before, have you?

Bored, I returned to their home page and looked over their "cover." Right in the middle between the "about us" on the left and an image of their president on the right, was a newsprint-like format with two or three "stories." One of them was: "Computers vs. Old-Fashioned Teaching: Which Is Better?" Gee, what a question, I thought. I never would have even thought ...

Interesting stuff. Down to the " -30- " note at the very bottom of the "story." Idiots. They're trying to impress you, the only problem is that newspapers never print it. It means that your are at the end of a press release. It is a note to the news editor from somebody who wants the information in the paper that there is no more information following.

But, let's get back to their "story" about whether or not computers are good or bad for kids. Well, what do YOU think?

This is the kind of crap that teachers are deluged with. The trouble with it is that some administrator will come across this while surfing the net, think it's a wonderful story, and print it off and put in his/her teachers' in boxes. Or, he/she will send it to all his/her department heads to be distributed sometime during the day. The teachers will get it, dutifully put it in the "to read" stack, and promptly forget all about it. But, the administrator will feel like he/she's done a good deed for the day and will now be ready to take a break and go visit the DO. Or, hit a few balls at the driving range.

And, oh God, it gets worse [or, better, if you're a paid education bureaucrat]. If you were to click on the photo of the president of EPI it will take you first to the ABC News website. Ah, there's a story about computers in the classroom: do they work? Do they improve learning? Let's look. Well, not really. But, there's a government study you can read, so you clink on that link and ... viola! ... there's still another link telling you that there's been a federal, government, department of education study [go ahead, guess how much THAT probably cost. You click on that link because, if you're a teacher, then of course you're just dying to see if those old, outdated computers that are lining your classroom walls are getting the job done. And, BANG! There's a summery on the ... get this! ... the website for the "Institute of Educational Services" which is, you guessed it, a branch of the US Department of education.

So, what's the conclusion regarding whether or not computer technology in the classroom really, truly reinforces student learning? Well, you read it for yourself. Here you go:

"Test scores were not significantly higher in classrooms using the reading and mathematics software products than those in control classrooms. In each of the four groups of products-reading in first grade and in fourth grade, mathematics in sixth grade, and high school algebra-the evaluation found no significant differences in student achievement between the classrooms that used the technology products and classrooms that did not." [emph. mine. ljh]

Ask yourself: "What does this all mean?" I'll tell you what I think it means. It means that in California alone we have lost over $4 billion in education monies. While the federal government sees fit to "study" the issue of computers in the classroom, most probably through a highly paid private consultant firm, only to come to the conclusion that there was "no significant differences in student achievement ...."

I can't bring myself to write another word. Oh yes I can. The government could have simply asked a parent, or a teacher, saved themselves a ton of cash, and gotten the same answer. "How do the computers work for you?" the government question person asks a teacher. "It sucks," the teacher answers. "The computers are taking up space. Plus, they're out dated. I wish I could get them out of my classroom." "What do you think," the govt. person asks a parent. "I think the old fashioned way of teachers interacting with the kids is the best." "Okay," the government person could say, and calls the people over at NCLB and says: "Hold that requirement that we put more technology in the classrooms." And, the NCLB people would say "okay" and the government saves another billion bucks and sends it to local schools in California and other states.

In my dreams.

—ljh

_____________________

The Failed Vocational Education Charter School
By Larry J. Hall

Posted: August 26, 2008. 12 noon.

Here's one for the Gipper. A few years ago I was part of a charter school (CS) development team. Our plan, in short, was for a vocational education CS for grades 7 through 12. We had an affiliation with a local builders organization, that would provide us with classrooms, bathrooms, an office, use of a multipurpose room with a compline line of technology, and a fully-supplied shop with all the tools we'd ever need. Our team consisted of two college professors, a former CS developer-director, and credentialed teachers; and the support of a number of parents who wanted to send their kids to our school.

Well, in their wisdom, the county ofc. of ed. — to which we were submitting our petition — decided that they were going to develop their own vocational charter school. So, with advice from the state charter schools office in Sacramento, we decided to take our plan to another county. And, that was that. Sort of.

Well, the county started their vocational charter school in the fall of 2007. They negotiated with the same building trades organization, and virtually got the same deal we had lined up. And, for the sake the of the students in the area — this is a post timber industry community — we felt at least vindicated that our county would at least have a voc. ed. CS. One way or the other.

It is now the fall of 2008 and while having a latte with a friend (actually, one of the former members of our development team) in a local espresso shop, I ran into a former vice principal of mine that informed me that the county's vocational charter school had closed.

"Closed? Already?" I shrieked. "Why?"

"Because," my former VP said, "they were having recruitment issues." That's all he knew, he said, and appeared quite nervous talking about it.

See the sidebar* to the right for a little explanation that may further explain his trepidation.

So, the same day I got on the phone to the county. I asked for the superintendent's office, and was handed off to a secretary for the alternative education department. I told her why I was calling, and after a little prodding she admitted that the voc-ed CS was indeed closed, because, she added in almost a whisper: "They were having recruitment and other administrative issues." Then, she gave me the alt. ed. dept. superintendent's email address, and then transferred me to his voice mail. He had just left on a plane to somewhere, she said. I left him a message, that I would like to talk to him about the voc. ed. charter school, and left my name and phone number. About a week later I got a message on my answering machine, and ....

To shorten this, suffice it to say I also emailed him. Told him of my concerns. That I'd like to talk to him when he got back from his trip out of town. About a week after that I got an email from him telling me that he was really, really busy — with school starting again and all — but we could talk soon.

It's been another couple weeks and no word from the sup. of the alt. ed. dept. (excuse all the abbreviations, but I'm attempting to shorten this a bit, like I said). At around the same time, I emailed the state office of education, charter school's division, and said I'd like to get information from them about the closing of the voc. ed. charter school. No reply. Still no reply.

In conclusion: there is no accountability in public education. As I told another former member of our CS team, who also wanted to know why the school closed, "We're being stonewalled."

I've really, really tried to be understanding. And, I didn't approach the county as a fully credentialed teacher, I approached them as a parent: after all, I have two sons who are not happy at their current high school, and their mother and I figured that the voc-ed CS would have been a good alternative for them.

As of this date I have still had no answers as to why the voc-ed CS has closed. And, nobody else I know has any information either. The county is probably hoping I'll just go away, and the state doesn't seem concerned either. Like I said, no accountability.

Stay tuned for an update on this situation.

—ljh

*Said sidebar:

The VP and I had worked at a school, which I won't name in order to protect the guilty, and one of his fellow VPs became the Director of the county's voc. ed. charter school. She was not what I would consider a competent administrator.