#18 - Diverse Reflection

As I look back over this class and all of the reading and discussion that has taken place I realize that as a society we have a lot of growing to do. As I listened to the book reviews of my classmates I realize how we, as humans no matter what information is given to you, you only see what you want to see. (or should I say what you are ready to see) So many of these intelligent people gave very interesting presentations, but, in my opinion, they did not see the 'heart' of the stories in which they read. Acceptance is such a vital part of being an educator and it frightens me that so many educators lack this quality.

I understand that we are products of our environments and sometimes we can only accept what is important to us and nothing more than that. But what if we all decided to walk a mile in someone else's shoes just for a brief moment? I wonder how many of us would be running back to walk in our own? But the real question is when we get back in our shoes, what would we do to try and help the one's whose shoes we could not endure to walk in? In this class we have looked at so many of the wrongs but have not really ventured into what could be changed/altered? Not just in the lives of those who suffer but in our own perceptions? What could we change about ourselves that would benefit those around us? I guess that should be the ultimate question of the course, huh? Now that you have the information, statistics, and truth what are you going to do to change you?

To answer this question on a personal level I am going to hang up some of my own stereotypes that I have. Judging the parents of my students is a big issue with me due to the fact of how they chose to approach certain situations. I am going to listen to their reasoning first and try to offer a friendly suggestion if it gives them an easier solution. Then I am going to try to be more tolerant of my colleagues, who lack patience with our students. Leading by example is the most effective way to lead someone to change. Last, I am going to be more open to new relationships with people who do not look like me. Upon my return from living abroad I have to admit that I have been a bit stand-offish with people of different races due to the fact of my ill experiences of those who chose to live in ignorance. Upon this revelation within myself, which was very difficult to admit, I realized that by making this change maybe someone would get a clue, as did I, that people are just people. We all desire the same thing no matter where we come from, acceptance. . .

#17 - Compensating for age

How old is too old. . .especially when you are dealing with middle school children? The dilemma I see in urban schools is children who are too old age wise for the grade level that they are intellectually placed in. Each year I see a group of kids who are left back for the 2nd or 3rd time in the 7th grade. (mainly due to excessive absences that lead to lack of 'completed' work & instruction) So now they are 14 and 15 years old in class with 11 and 12 year olds. So now you have a host of behavior issues and hormonal frustrations that NO teacher should have to deal with. What is the solution? Socially promote eventhough they are not academically ready? Estabilish alternative schools for these students so that they can get 'caught up' academically with other students who are in the same situation/age? Or push them all out at 16 to such institutions like Dallas Can Academy? How and who is to decide?

Let's look at option one, social promotion. . .well that is what has gotten education into the situation that it is in now. Passing students just because they are too old to be around the younger one's. The injustice in this is that we are setting these kids up for failure, which in most cases, lead to drop out because they are academically unfit to handle the course load in which they are placed in. Let's say we put them in remedial classes to help move them up academically. . .they still are not ready for the standardized testing, because there isn't a 'remedial' version of these test and 9 times out of 10 they don't qualify for special education because they are not in school enough to gather enough data on. Also there are not enough teachers on the secondary level who have been trained to teach the basics of reading. That is a skill that you learn if you are studying to be an early child hood or elementary teacher, not secondary. The expectation is that by the time you get to 7th grade you should be fluently reading. . .but so many times you have groves of students who do not have basic reading skills.

I read that a large urban district is building a school that caters to older students who are on 2nd through 5th grade level, you must be 14 years old to attend and must complete the program by 19. This is a good alternative, but the curriculum is set to be intense. . .no room for absences at all. The only hole that I see in this plan is that it will work for native speakers, but what will happen for those where English is their second language? This is a subgroup who will be left to fall in the cracks. Research shows that it takes 2 years to pick up conversational language, but 5 to 7 years to learn academic language. Again ELL students are at a disadvantage.

Last to push students to such campuses like Dallas Can would benefit them tremendously, but by the time they get there they are already frustrated and fed up with education as a whole. To my understanding there are legal reasons as to why programs of this magnitude cannot accept them any earlier. . .hence the previous option. Also grant funding has been cut to these programs making it harder for them to service the students and keep enough personnel on staff. Its a pitiful situation when programs like these are so needed. Sometimes it feels as though you have to go back to the drawing board all over again. Education as a whole is failing in regards to the 'age' situation and we are sending these people without a halfway decent education and they are a strain on our economic system in the long run anyway. . .so why not invest the money in their education so that can lighten,or better yet, contribute to carrying the load in the long run. . .I know, I know, too much common sense. . .

Blog #16 - Does location matter?

So many times you hear the statement that "It doesn't matter where you come from, but where you are going." Although the phrase does have some truth to it, where you come from does dictate your mindset and how well you receive those things/people that are different from you. I have mentioned many times the location in which I work, a low SES area where the children are raising themselves. Parental voice rarely comes into play unless there is an opportunity to cause havoc for the school or the teachers; or quite disturbingly to voice to the student what they won't accomplish in their life because the parent didn't.

As a coach I see this sad and twisted mind game on the court and field. I have students that have amazing athletic ability. . .and with a little guidance from me and additional outside help, they flourish in their first year of volleyball. So much so, high school coaches continue to watch game after game to monitor their progress, as well as offer them full summer scholarships to volleyball camps throughout the state. Over and over again, I see my students defeat themselves on the court. They are better players in everyway imaginable, but in the back of their mind somewhere they don't believe they have what it takes. I have to remind them that if they didn't high school coaches wouldn't take the time to invest in their skill. Nor with the opposing coaches come to them and ask if they would like to transfer to attend their schools. Nevertheless, they refuse to believe in themselves.

This mind set doesn't stop just in sports, but if bleeds over into academics as well. These students are quite intelligent and have 'street' sense beyond their years. But when it comes to high risk testing, no matter how they succeed on the practice exams, they never come up to their full potiential on test day. My campus has gone so far as to have a dry run of the test two months before the actual test. (the mindset to have it that early is to show the students that they have all of the skills, strategies, and knowledge to do well prior to the exam) The campus is in full testing mode and everything even the lunch procedure is drilled for the entire day. A week later everyone gets their test scores and they look awesome for the whole campus and we purposely don't grade them on a curve. Unfortunately when they take the actual exam, the scores are 10 to 15% lower than the practice exam. As teachers and administrators we walk away scratching our heads wondering what in the heck happened. The students always say the same thing, I thought I did my best or at least I tried. It is a phenomenon that throws me for a loop every year. But the saddest to this whole scenario is that the students always believe the latter score versus the earlier one no matter how many times you try to encourage them that they are better than that, they take to heart the negative; and the parents reinforces it.