Journey to the Healthiest Version of Me: Teaching

Raising High Achieving Children

8:20 PM

Perceptions of Education

Student achievement is declining. Students in the United States are not ready to compete in the 21^st Century. We are failing our children. Various politicians and many others mention these comments, on quite a regular basis. In addition to the ridicule that public education undergoes, almost daily, from public figures and the media, it is done by teachers and school districts themselves. When people of public education talk it sounds something like this, No Child Left Behind is the worst thing that has ever happen to our kids. We have to teach to a test now. Testing is not teaching.

Are all of these statements true? Are we, as a Nation, failing children? In fact, we are not. When looking at college enrollment information, the number of students scoring well on Advanced Placement Exams, and Mathematics and Science Achievement of U.S. Fourth- and Eighth-Grade Students in an International Context (TIMMS Scores), just the opposite is true (cite this source). The United States is advancing student achievement.

Closing the Achievement Gap

While most would like to think that all teachers chose education because they love children, this is not always true. With most professions, employees fall somewhere on a normal Bell Curve. That means that the majority of teachers are just average. Our Nation doesn’t have time for average. Our kids don’t have time for average, especially student from low socio-economic statuses. With focused standards, assessments and accountability put in place we are moving that curve so that less teachers are average and more are effective.

Just like the business world, teachers and school districts need accountability. The needs of teachers need to be identified. They need professional development and then they need to held accountable for using that professional development. Upon the Congress’s passing in 2001, the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) was put into place. Former President Bush, upon the implementation of No Child Left Behind stated (cite this),

“Accountability is incredibly important for the school systems. People shouldn’t fear accountability, they ought to welcome an accountability system as a useful tool to make sure no child is left behind.”

It supported a standards based education reform. The standards were used at a state level, not a national level. Teachers would now be required to adhere to the state standards, which makes sense because this was not the case years ago. Teachers taught what they wanted. If they liked dinosaurs they taught dinosaurs. If they didn’t like teaching grammar, they didn’t. With NCLB, this could not happen anymore. Teachers did not dictate what would be taught, the state would. All students in sixth grade, in Arizona, would be required to learn the same things that the rest of the state would learn at that grade level.

Teacher qualification requirements were also put into place. Teachers are now, under NCLB, expected to be Highly Qualified in the subject areas they teach. For someone who is not in education this makes total sense. One should know the subject matter for what they are teaching. From an educator perspective, knowing subject matter is not the only part that makes an effective teacher. Both are true and if both are true, what is the harm in putting that stipulation in place? Will it hurt kids to have their teachers have to pass a Highly Qualified exam in order to teach them? It will not.

Annual testing and annual academic progress were also put into place with NCLB. All states are now required to, not only, test students in a standardized way each year, they are also required to report the data. Teachers argue that one, multiple choice test does not show what kids know. It is certainly not a perfect system. It doesn’t encourage higher order thinking skills. However, it is a measure and an accurate one at that. Most students who are high achieving students meet or exceed on the test. Student who know the state standards do well. Those who do not know the standards do not do well. Yes, there are outliers…the sick kid, the one with text anxiety, the one who had a bad day, but for the majority this is an accurate measure of what students know and do not know.

High School Graduation Rates

Since the implementation of NCLB and the requirement that all students must pass their state’s standardized test in math and reading to graduate high school it would seem that more students would drop out of high school. Years ago, students who took and passed the necessary courses were given a diploma. It was found that the United States was graduating high school seniors who could not even read at a 3^rd grade level. Passing the standardized state test became a requirement in 2006. Because of this higher expectation placed on students dropping out of high school would have been much easier for a student who was reading at a 3^rd grade level. Instead districts, principals, teachers and students banded together to meet the expectation head on. At a time that the number of ELL students in America has more than tripled, the graduation rates have actually increased.

College Enrollment & AP Scores

In 1991 28.6% of high school graduates enrolled in college. In 2009 that number jumped to 36%. That is quite a jump, especially in a time where prices for universities are soaring and parent involvement is at a great decline. Our schools must be doing something right. According to _____ the average number of students with an Advanced Placement Exam score at 3 or Above has gone from 96 in 1998 to 162.4 in 2007. Again, evidence that the implementation of standards, accountability and assessment have been good for our kids.

TIMMS Scores

According to Mathematics and Science Achievement of U.S. Fourth- and Eighth-Grade Students in an International Context (TIMMS Scores), United States achievement is higher now, than in 1995 when compared with the rest of the world. In 2007 the scores of students in Math and Science are higher than those of 37 other countries, the same as 5 and lower than 5 countries worldwide. The US is lower than countries on the continents of Europe and Asia.

Our system in not perfect. There are still countries that are surpassing the United States. However, as a Nation our students are more educated than they were in 1995.

Compared to 1995, the average mathematics scores for both U.S. fourth- and eighth-grade students were higher in 2007. At fourth grade, the U.S. average score in 2007 was 529, 11 points higher than the 1995 average of 518. At eighth grade, the U.S. average mathematics score in 2007 was 508, 16 points higher than the 1995 average of 492.

No Child Left Behind made the teaching profession more transparent. More teachers are teaching. More students are learning. Several statistics show that the United States is moving children in a positive direction. Looking to the future of our Nation should be hopeful. We are moving forward.

Teaching

Sunshine and Rainbows

7:33 PM

How is it that your ENTIRE outlook on life can be different from one day to the next?

I've told you I try not to write on bad days because who wants to read some sad sob story all the time.

Yesterday effing blew, a day of teaching that was anything but sunshine and rainbows. I mean, don't get me wrong but 2 things pissed me off so bad that I couldn't recover...
1. One of my students said the following things,

I HATE you.
I can't wait until next year when I get a new teacher.
I will forget all about you the second I walk out the door on the last day and I can't wait.
I wish I had any teacher but you.
Did you hear me yesterday? I said it's none of your business!

Oh yes she did. She said all of these things to the teacher who has been at this school longer than 90% of the staff, the teacher who is unarguably the strictest teacher on campus. Oh yes she did.

And as she said her last statement I thought, "Girrrrrllll, you gotta be outside yo mind to talk to me like that!" Actually, I said that out loud to her and we marched up to the office. To refer her to admin? No...I can make her life way more miserable than them. I marched her up so we could eat lunch together. "Oh, I heard you say all of those things and I know you meant you wanted to spend as much time as possible with me today so I'm going to let you. PS. We'll do it every single time you talk to me like that and I will give you a 100% guarantee that I can outlast you. "

So...after all of those nasty, nasty comments from Little Miss Sunshine, I was feeling a little low. I mean I put on a good front but I totally cried to my teammates about how she hurt my feelings. Get a grip Cartier...she's 12.

Shitty Thing #2

A girl...a grown woman said that following things to me yesterday...

You guys are really negative.
You're really tense. You probably need to get some. (Yes she did say that.)
Why don't you have a boyfriend? Do you like yourself? (She said this with a look like, "I wouldn't like myself if I were you."

Here's what DIDN'T come out of my mouth back to her:

I'm sorry...I don't remember asking for your feedback.
Perhaps you should try using that filter in your teeny tiny brain.
I'm a bitch?? You just said, "I don't want kids because they would ruin my great body," and I'M the bitch. Ok, glad we're clear.
I think your future job aspirations are excellent because you look like a man.

So...after Bodybuilder's comments, I had hit rock freaking bottom. I mean, I know she wasn't my friend and the other one was 12 but...I'm know Bodybuilder was right about some of what she said and who wants to come off in a negative way? So...I'm working on it and let me tell you, I was Susie Freaking Sunshine today at work.

Anyway, my original plan was to do a Top 10 list of why TODAY was 100% awesome but I just started typing and before I knew it, I had overblogged...again.

Next Blog...

Top 10 Reasons My Day Was Awesome....ugh, sucky title. I'll be thinking of a better one. :)

Moral of the Blog: If your day was Asstastic (Asstastic, 1 word.), tomorrow will be better...I'm sure of it ;)