I would like to make a plea to those on the fence regarding Issue Two in Ohio this 2011 November election. This is not for those already secure in their stance. Save the arguments for Facebook please.
This is for anyone who is not sure where they stand on this or are interested in the details behind my stance.
I am an educator not a firefighter, nurse or police officer. I cannot discuss this Issue in their terms. I want this to be genuine and sincere and honest. So I am going to discuss my opinion based on my experience in education that spans over 14 years.
I will not cite numbers that can be spun in numerous ways or articles with other people's opinions and I will not refer to any union flyers or commercials. This is directly from me and my experience and I would like to think my area of knowledge.
In addition, I write from the perspective of a father. I have a daughter with special needs. Education is critical to any hope of her being independent. Emergency Medical Squads have been critical in her well being and possibly her survival.
The economics behind the bill that has led to Issue Two can be debated and has been debated endlessly. There are valid points on both sides, but I want to explore what is beyond the economics although they are inevitably linked.
At its core, this bill eliminates collective bargaining. Collective bargaining is used to negotiate our salaries and benefits but it is also used to negotiate countless other things for and by the teachers. These things include class size, updated textbooks, resources and technology in the classroom, assistants and support staff, planning time, teacher training, instructional time, among others including a voice to work with the school board to advocate for these things and the good of the students.
There have been studies that have shown class size does not affect student achievement significantly and others that show it does. The reason is that teachers' instructional strategies and effectiveness play a large role and the two are intertwined. If the class size is small but the teacher just passes out worksheets and teaches rote memorization, then student achievement is not going to increase.
But I want to stick to my own experience. I have taught in Ohio my whole career. When I began teaching, my class exceeded 30 and I had no help whatsoever. In my years since, I have had smaller classes. My students test scores an grades have been significantly better in the smaller classes. This could be due to my improvement and growth as a teacher, but even that is tied to the smaller size in that I was able to do small group instruction much easier. This led to more individualized instruction for the students that needed it and opportunities for others to work independently.
Our unions push to keep class sizes low.
From the perspective of a father, I have witnessed my daughter in a large class and in a small class. She struggled tremendously in the classroom with a large number of classmates. With her deficits, it is crucial that she gets as much one on one attention that she can. She is now in a much smaller class and has been thriving within her disability.
It is extremely important to me that the door isn't open to increase her class size and lose the momentum she has gained.
Another example is the support staff that my students have the benefit of the past two years. I teach a split classroom. This mean I am teaching two different grades at the same time. It is very challenging and at times, I feel like I am losing my mind. But with the support staff that has been in my room, we have been able to effectively keep things differentiated and provide direction attention. My test scores have been better than any other year without the support in my room.
I always say one of the best things about my daughter's school is their support staff. She is able receive even more specialized assistance for her specific disabilities as a result.
Our unions collectively bargain for support staff.
In my district, our unions have worked with the board to provide a system of evaluation and support for first year teachers. This program provides classes and a "mentor" to observe and give feedback to beginning teachers to help them through the growing pains. This helps support new teachers who can have an overwhelming first year in an urban district like mine.
The union worked for this.
Our union has worked with our district to create useful and relevant professional development in a format that is fair and effective and ultimately leading to better instruction for the students.
I wanted to avoid getting into economics but it should be stated that I know of at least two districts in the Columbus area that NEGOTIATED pay freezes or decreased step increases. A district in Stark county has had pay freezes for four years in a row. Healthcare and retirement contributions by workers already are 15% and 10%. We have saved Ohio $1 Billion already and will continue to do so without stripping collective bargaining. I know things are tough, but don't thin we are not making sacrifices too. We aren't all of the middle class but we are part of it.
We can magnify bad teachers. We can pick out individual examples of inequities between private sector jobs and public sector jobs that need to be fixed. Let me clearly state I understand this. (Although people that don't want to admit that I do will ignore that last sentence and claim I didn't write or say it)
But it is not worth stripping collective bargaining all together just for this items that can be fixed within collective bargaining. This goes beyond the economics you keep hearing and seeing in these commercials. It goes deeper and affects education negatively.
Vote No on Issue Two PLEASE! And then let us fix what needs to be fixed by continuing to speak out.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Friday, October 21, 2011
All Time Favorite Albums
I was thinking today how the idea of the "album" has been lost of late.
These days I buy my music one song at a time from iTunes and I've lost the joy of shopping in a store for an album. Then enjoying it (or not) as a whole work of art.
So feeling a bit nostalgic.........
In no particular order.
1. Actung Baby by U2
2. Full Moon Fever by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
3. Green Album by Weezer
4. Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd
5. Mommy's Little Monster by Social Distortion
6. Garbage by Garbage
7. Come Find Yourself by Fun Lovin' Criminals
8. Low End Theory by A Tribe Called Quest
9. Smash by The Offspring
10. Core by Stone Temple Pilots
11. Psalm 69 by Ministry
12. Ausgeflippt by Hanzel Und Gretyl
13. Audioslave by Audioslave
Live Albums
Live at the Roxy by Social Distortion
Pulse by Pink Foyd
Greatest Hits
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Sublime by Sublime
Enter the 48 Chambers by Wu Tang Clan
Purple by Stone Temple Pilots
These days I buy my music one song at a time from iTunes and I've lost the joy of shopping in a store for an album. Then enjoying it (or not) as a whole work of art.
So feeling a bit nostalgic.........
My personal favorite albums of all time.
In no particular order.
1. Actung Baby by U2
2. Full Moon Fever by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
3. Green Album by Weezer
4. Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd
5. Mommy's Little Monster by Social Distortion
6. Garbage by Garbage
7. Come Find Yourself by Fun Lovin' Criminals
8. Low End Theory by A Tribe Called Quest
9. Smash by The Offspring
10. Core by Stone Temple Pilots
11. Psalm 69 by Ministry
12. Ausgeflippt by Hanzel Und Gretyl
13. Audioslave by Audioslave
Specialty Albums:
Live Albums
Live at the Roxy by Social Distortion
Pulse by Pink Foyd
Greatest Hits
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Honorable Mentions:
The Wall by Pink Floyd
People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm by A Tribe Called QuestSublime by Sublime
Enter the 48 Chambers by Wu Tang Clan
Purple by Stone Temple Pilots
Saturday, September 17, 2011
10 Most Hated
For those of you who are too serious and stuffy about the things I post on Facebook or in my blog and can't seem to allow sarcasm or hyperbole without some sort of judgemental comment about my judging or supposed negativity, stop reading now.
For the rest of you, I keep hearing plenty of hate from anti-OSU people here in Columbus or just about anywhere on the Internet even when the topic or thread has nothing to do with us. Obviously, it is because we are so freaking successful and our fans are pretty freaking obnoxious about it.
Of course we like to call it passion. You say tomato, we say tomato.
So in honor of all the sports hate that seems to be the trend these days, I give you my top ten list of most hated sports "stuff."
10. Glamour City Bias
From Colin Cowherd to just about any fan that doesn't live in the midwest, sports fans around the country adore the teams who play in sunny, warm cities or cities with big lights and plenty of superficial glam. The players are becoming more and more the same as they sign with these teams leaving smaller markets out to dry. Economics play a large role in this too. But in the name of my hate list, I will disregard that.
9. Notre Dame
Originally I couldn't stand Notre Dame because they were so good and I was tired of them. It was a hate rooted in envy. Then they started to suck. Now they have sucked for almost 20 years. In the middle of this span of suck, people still talked about them as though they were relevant when they weren't. Any other school playing like they did would not even register on ESPN's "other notable games" segments. But they continued to make headlines. So my hate was less out of jealousy and more out of fatigue and annoyance of the obvious bias.
They used to be higher on this list but have sunk near the bottom because I am starting to think I would like for them to be good again. They do have a rich tradition and they have done their time in suckdom. So now is a good time to return to true relevance and add to the lore of college football's history.
8. Mark May
Any fellow Buckeye fan knows exactly why he has made this list. He entered Buckeye Hater lore back in 2002 when he and Trev Alberts led the charge of over rated claims in the national media regarding the undefeated Buckeyes. Apparently, wins meant less than the style of play or point differential in wins. They repeatedly heralded Iowa as the better Big Ten team even though Iowa wasn't even the better Iowa team!! They lost to Iowa State early in the year.
But my Buckeyes showed him and every other doubter that year that the slow and outdated Big Ten team was the elite as they physically beat down the glitzy and overpaid U to win in the best football game I have ever and will ever watch.
7. The Mythical Torture in Chicago
Growing up a fan of Cleveland sports, nobody and I mean NOBODY has any right whatsoever to tell us about sports misery or pain. Yet, Chicago with the dominating 85 Bears, the glory years with the Bulls during the Jordan seasons and the recent titles from the Blackhawks and White Sox continue to act as though that Cubs streak trumps everything.
Two words: SHUT UP!
6. Detroit
The Tigers. The Pistons. The fact they exist in that state up north.
5. Cincinnati Bengals
I don't include the whole city because they share my state. Many are Buckeye fans. And I like the Reds. Always have. But the hillbilly Bungle fans, in particularly from south of the river in Kentucky and small towns that dot southern Ohio, are some of the most annoying and laughable fans I have ever come across. The thing is, they may be the only football fans whose pro team sucks more than mine. Well, the Lions may trump us both but I already listed Detroit.
4. Miami
As recently as 15 months ago this probably wouldn't even be on the list let alone appear in the top five ahead of in state rival Cincy. But one man managed to shoot this city and everything it represents up this high. He magnified the other little things I can't stand about Miami as well.
There are only two teams (both will soon register on this list) that I get more joy out of seeing lose. There is no way they can lose too badly or painfully. Watching the Mavs destroy their chances at a title last season was wonderful. Watching the NBA lockout continue is beautiful even if it is cutting my nose off despite my face with the Cavs suffering a lack of a season as well. Longer lockout, less of him.
The Marlins broke my heart in Game 7 of the World Series in 1997. The U is one of the most annoying programs on Earth. So freaking flashy and loud and obnoxious. Not to mention filled with thugs and low character individuals that make a glorified garage sale for tats seem like child's play. Fortunately, my Crimson Tide took them out in 1991 and, as mentioned in #8, my Buckeyes took them out in 2002. So I have had some pay back.
But in the end, they represent the hatred I listed in #10 with their South Beach attitude and party lifestyle.
I hate that superficial crap.
Of course I am in the minority and the people I need to feel the same as me in order for my teams to win, don't see eye to eye with me in this either. So once again, the envy factor kicks in even though I have no urge whatsoever to live that way myself and love my life in the midwest.
3. Pittsburgh Steelers
I have a deep rooted disdain for this team. While many Top lists you read are prisoners of the moment and rank recent buzz worthy entries higher on the list than they really belong, I give longevity a good bit of weight. It takes a franchise changing reason (see #4 over #5) for a recently hated team to beat out teams I have hated for a long time.
The Steelers are everything I wish my football team would be but isn't. They are a tough, bad weather, well run organization that consistently wins and remains relevant.
Man I hate them.
The mere sight of those uniforms or that Hines Ward smile makes me want to puke.
2. Baltimore Ravens
They took my most beloved team. What more needs to be said? Then they go and win a Super Bowl while my team that we fought to have back has pretty much sucked ever since. They have stolen the rivalry with the Steelers because we suck too much to make it worthwhile to the Steelers. It is similar to the OSU v. Michigan rivalry.
Is Art Modell still alive? Because I don't like that guy. But I won't say anything too negative about a man in his position in life if he is.
Also, they are an in division rival like Pittsburgh and Cincy so the natural competitive hate exists there too. I don't respect this organization like I do the Steelers though. It is not a respectful hate. It is straight up hatred hate.
Drum roll please.......
Think you know?
1. The Whole State of Michigan
With Detroit already taken care of, let me focus on the university in Ann Arbor. I can't stand the maize and blue. I hate those helmets. I will never forget the heartbreak they put me through in the 90s while I was a student at THE Ohio State University ruining multiple title hopes and rubbing our face in it every time. Desmond Howard and his Heisman Pose. Charles Woodson. Tim Biakabutuka ( I don't even care if I spelled his name right because I can't stand him or that team) causing an argument between me and my dad.
This past decade of dominance over them is not enough. The epic victory in 2006 is not enough pay back. I never want to lose to this school.
Ever.
In addition, the stupid Fab 5 in hoops. Hate them too.
But we can't forget the other school in this horrid, hideous state over in East Lansing. They may not have a long list of reasons for me to hate them, but 1998 is all it takes. That was heartbreaking enough to almost make the list on its own merit as its own entry. That walk back to my apartment that evening was a LONG, painful experience. The rare season in the 90s that the other school didn't ruin our title hopes, MSU made sure to pick up the slack.
I'm shaking right now just thinking about it.
Honorable mention: Micheal Jordan, John Elway, USC, Boston and Colin Cowherd.
For the rest of you, I keep hearing plenty of hate from anti-OSU people here in Columbus or just about anywhere on the Internet even when the topic or thread has nothing to do with us. Obviously, it is because we are so freaking successful and our fans are pretty freaking obnoxious about it.
Of course we like to call it passion. You say tomato, we say tomato.
So in honor of all the sports hate that seems to be the trend these days, I give you my top ten list of most hated sports "stuff."
10. Glamour City Bias
From Colin Cowherd to just about any fan that doesn't live in the midwest, sports fans around the country adore the teams who play in sunny, warm cities or cities with big lights and plenty of superficial glam. The players are becoming more and more the same as they sign with these teams leaving smaller markets out to dry. Economics play a large role in this too. But in the name of my hate list, I will disregard that.
9. Notre Dame
Originally I couldn't stand Notre Dame because they were so good and I was tired of them. It was a hate rooted in envy. Then they started to suck. Now they have sucked for almost 20 years. In the middle of this span of suck, people still talked about them as though they were relevant when they weren't. Any other school playing like they did would not even register on ESPN's "other notable games" segments. But they continued to make headlines. So my hate was less out of jealousy and more out of fatigue and annoyance of the obvious bias.
They used to be higher on this list but have sunk near the bottom because I am starting to think I would like for them to be good again. They do have a rich tradition and they have done their time in suckdom. So now is a good time to return to true relevance and add to the lore of college football's history.
8. Mark May
Any fellow Buckeye fan knows exactly why he has made this list. He entered Buckeye Hater lore back in 2002 when he and Trev Alberts led the charge of over rated claims in the national media regarding the undefeated Buckeyes. Apparently, wins meant less than the style of play or point differential in wins. They repeatedly heralded Iowa as the better Big Ten team even though Iowa wasn't even the better Iowa team!! They lost to Iowa State early in the year.
But my Buckeyes showed him and every other doubter that year that the slow and outdated Big Ten team was the elite as they physically beat down the glitzy and overpaid U to win in the best football game I have ever and will ever watch.
7. The Mythical Torture in Chicago
Growing up a fan of Cleveland sports, nobody and I mean NOBODY has any right whatsoever to tell us about sports misery or pain. Yet, Chicago with the dominating 85 Bears, the glory years with the Bulls during the Jordan seasons and the recent titles from the Blackhawks and White Sox continue to act as though that Cubs streak trumps everything.
Two words: SHUT UP!
6. Detroit
The Tigers. The Pistons. The fact they exist in that state up north.
5. Cincinnati Bengals
I don't include the whole city because they share my state. Many are Buckeye fans. And I like the Reds. Always have. But the hillbilly Bungle fans, in particularly from south of the river in Kentucky and small towns that dot southern Ohio, are some of the most annoying and laughable fans I have ever come across. The thing is, they may be the only football fans whose pro team sucks more than mine. Well, the Lions may trump us both but I already listed Detroit.
4. Miami
As recently as 15 months ago this probably wouldn't even be on the list let alone appear in the top five ahead of in state rival Cincy. But one man managed to shoot this city and everything it represents up this high. He magnified the other little things I can't stand about Miami as well.
There are only two teams (both will soon register on this list) that I get more joy out of seeing lose. There is no way they can lose too badly or painfully. Watching the Mavs destroy their chances at a title last season was wonderful. Watching the NBA lockout continue is beautiful even if it is cutting my nose off despite my face with the Cavs suffering a lack of a season as well. Longer lockout, less of him.
The Marlins broke my heart in Game 7 of the World Series in 1997. The U is one of the most annoying programs on Earth. So freaking flashy and loud and obnoxious. Not to mention filled with thugs and low character individuals that make a glorified garage sale for tats seem like child's play. Fortunately, my Crimson Tide took them out in 1991 and, as mentioned in #8, my Buckeyes took them out in 2002. So I have had some pay back.
But in the end, they represent the hatred I listed in #10 with their South Beach attitude and party lifestyle.
I hate that superficial crap.
Of course I am in the minority and the people I need to feel the same as me in order for my teams to win, don't see eye to eye with me in this either. So once again, the envy factor kicks in even though I have no urge whatsoever to live that way myself and love my life in the midwest.
3. Pittsburgh Steelers
I have a deep rooted disdain for this team. While many Top lists you read are prisoners of the moment and rank recent buzz worthy entries higher on the list than they really belong, I give longevity a good bit of weight. It takes a franchise changing reason (see #4 over #5) for a recently hated team to beat out teams I have hated for a long time.
The Steelers are everything I wish my football team would be but isn't. They are a tough, bad weather, well run organization that consistently wins and remains relevant.
Man I hate them.
The mere sight of those uniforms or that Hines Ward smile makes me want to puke.
2. Baltimore Ravens
They took my most beloved team. What more needs to be said? Then they go and win a Super Bowl while my team that we fought to have back has pretty much sucked ever since. They have stolen the rivalry with the Steelers because we suck too much to make it worthwhile to the Steelers. It is similar to the OSU v. Michigan rivalry.
Is Art Modell still alive? Because I don't like that guy. But I won't say anything too negative about a man in his position in life if he is.
Also, they are an in division rival like Pittsburgh and Cincy so the natural competitive hate exists there too. I don't respect this organization like I do the Steelers though. It is not a respectful hate. It is straight up hatred hate.
Drum roll please.......
Think you know?
1. The Whole State of Michigan
With Detroit already taken care of, let me focus on the university in Ann Arbor. I can't stand the maize and blue. I hate those helmets. I will never forget the heartbreak they put me through in the 90s while I was a student at THE Ohio State University ruining multiple title hopes and rubbing our face in it every time. Desmond Howard and his Heisman Pose. Charles Woodson. Tim Biakabutuka ( I don't even care if I spelled his name right because I can't stand him or that team) causing an argument between me and my dad.
This past decade of dominance over them is not enough. The epic victory in 2006 is not enough pay back. I never want to lose to this school.
Ever.
In addition, the stupid Fab 5 in hoops. Hate them too.
But we can't forget the other school in this horrid, hideous state over in East Lansing. They may not have a long list of reasons for me to hate them, but 1998 is all it takes. That was heartbreaking enough to almost make the list on its own merit as its own entry. That walk back to my apartment that evening was a LONG, painful experience. The rare season in the 90s that the other school didn't ruin our title hopes, MSU made sure to pick up the slack.
I'm shaking right now just thinking about it.
Honorable mention: Micheal Jordan, John Elway, USC, Boston and Colin Cowherd.
Monday, September 12, 2011
My Grandma
I have always been one to wear my emotions on my sleeve and display my feelings publicly. It may or may not be the right way of doing things, but it is what I do and I have conceded to fighting it. So naturally with the passing of my grandmother, I feel the urge to share my thoughts.
My mother has a gift. She can write some of the most meaningful pieces of reflection, tributes or most anything that captures people's emotions. Her tribute to her mother today was touching and beautiful.
There are any number of things I could take from it that I would love to share but the one thing I have thought about all day was one sentence about how the great grandchildren will remember her mostly as a warm, loving person who would hold them and tell them how beautiful they are. Even after she couldn't change diapers or feed the babies a bottle, she still loved having them around.
This reminded me of how my mom and mother-in-law, both grandmas themselves, not only accept duties of changing diapers and feeding my children, they welcome and even request it. I always ask myself, "do they REALLY want to do this?" I worry that maybe I shouldn't be burdening them with these tasks. They did their time. I must be making them feel as though they should be doing these things.
Now, after hearing my mother's tribute, I feel as though from now on, I will: LET GRANDMAS CHANGE DIAPERS AND FEED BABIES....if they request to.
In addition, I received several comments from good friends on Facebook sending their warm wishes to my family. I read things like, "Grandma's rock." or "Losing grandma's sucks." A colleague of mine told me it is hard losing a grandma no matter how long she lived or how much it may have been her time. There is no "right" time to not feel sad.
Yep, those comments pretty much capture the feeling I have had this past weekend.
Finally, when my father's mother passed away three years ago and we went to lay her to rest back in her home state of Alabama, we played "Sweet Home Alabama" by Lynard Skynard several times over the days we were there and it has become a symbol of my grandmother ever since. I went through a period of time when I was thinking about her a good bit where I coincidentally heard it on the radio numerous times. I said it was sign that she was communicating to me from another realm.
For some reason I felt compelled to listen to "Spirit In The Sky" by Norman Greenbaum this weekend as I thought about my recently passed grandmother and what do you know, but I stumbled upon it on the radio today as I was thinking about her.
It was perfectly appropriate. So now, I have a song for each of my grandmothers to remember them by. The best part is that these songs are ones I came up with on my own naturally. I didn't seek them out, but they found me. Just how it ought to be.
This one's for you, Baca:
If any family happens to read this and would like to share their own memories or thoughts, I would love to read them in the comments.
My mother has a gift. She can write some of the most meaningful pieces of reflection, tributes or most anything that captures people's emotions. Her tribute to her mother today was touching and beautiful.
There are any number of things I could take from it that I would love to share but the one thing I have thought about all day was one sentence about how the great grandchildren will remember her mostly as a warm, loving person who would hold them and tell them how beautiful they are. Even after she couldn't change diapers or feed the babies a bottle, she still loved having them around.
This reminded me of how my mom and mother-in-law, both grandmas themselves, not only accept duties of changing diapers and feeding my children, they welcome and even request it. I always ask myself, "do they REALLY want to do this?" I worry that maybe I shouldn't be burdening them with these tasks. They did their time. I must be making them feel as though they should be doing these things.
Now, after hearing my mother's tribute, I feel as though from now on, I will: LET GRANDMAS CHANGE DIAPERS AND FEED BABIES....if they request to.
In addition, I received several comments from good friends on Facebook sending their warm wishes to my family. I read things like, "Grandma's rock." or "Losing grandma's sucks." A colleague of mine told me it is hard losing a grandma no matter how long she lived or how much it may have been her time. There is no "right" time to not feel sad.
Yep, those comments pretty much capture the feeling I have had this past weekend.
Finally, when my father's mother passed away three years ago and we went to lay her to rest back in her home state of Alabama, we played "Sweet Home Alabama" by Lynard Skynard several times over the days we were there and it has become a symbol of my grandmother ever since. I went through a period of time when I was thinking about her a good bit where I coincidentally heard it on the radio numerous times. I said it was sign that she was communicating to me from another realm.
For some reason I felt compelled to listen to "Spirit In The Sky" by Norman Greenbaum this weekend as I thought about my recently passed grandmother and what do you know, but I stumbled upon it on the radio today as I was thinking about her.
It was perfectly appropriate. So now, I have a song for each of my grandmothers to remember them by. The best part is that these songs are ones I came up with on my own naturally. I didn't seek them out, but they found me. Just how it ought to be.
This one's for you, Baca:
If any family happens to read this and would like to share their own memories or thoughts, I would love to read them in the comments.
Saturday, September 10, 2011
The Shaping of Huey: Part One
There have been a number of events over the past week that have caused me to reflect on my life and what has shaped me as an individual.
There is no single event or experience or person that has made me who I am, but a collection of all of the above.
I would say this is true for most of us.
So I am beginning a series of posts writing about the things that have played the largest roles in shaping the person I am today. I anticipate there to be more events and shaping in my future.
One thing I have learned so far is that life and people are not static but fluid. We change over time. Our opinions, preferences, points of view and even values all change. We learn and we grow.
Although it is trite, I recall stating that I hated The Doors and would never understand how people enjoy their music. Today, I can't get enough.
But The Doors haven't shaped me at all.
My first entry is: My Mother
Mom's are often given credit for their roles in their children's lives. You see football players on the sidelines mouth "Hi Mom" to the camera, not "Hi Dad." You hear award winners thank God and then their moms. One of the first people kids cry for is their mom.
Specifically, my mother has shaped my live in two prophetic moments.
First, when I was entering college she told me I should teach. She added that I should teach in an urban setting.
Her words were driven by observations she made and her knowledge of who I was and my passion as a social entrepreneur. All three of her children have traveled very different paths in our professions as adults. She knew mine was in public education. I wanted to make a difference and she knew this was where it would happen.
So as I continued to tackle the decision of going into journalism to be a sports writer (writing....as anyone following my blog would know...not one of my bigger strengths and a reason why I started blogging in the first place; to work on my writing), education or some other line of work I hadn't thought of yet, education won out and it was probably because I had that conversation in the back of my head.
Sometimes I wonder if this was more of a case of where I was unable to make a decision for myself. Maybe I was just trying to please my mother in some sort of subconscious, Freudian inner struggle for acceptance.
Other times I feel as though it doesn't matter. During times of confidence when I feel pretty good about myself because I heard from an old student, I get invited to a graduation or a parent of a former student showers me with praise, I feel like the cause of this path means little because the result has been so good for more people than just me.
Secondly, during the height of my daughter's health problems and the confusion that was swirling around everybody when I had to make sure she was getting the care she deserved and we were getting answers we needed, my mom (and dad) told me how impressed they were with my composure. She said something that has stuck with me to this day.
At first, she was stating what I already knew. But hearing the words out loud seemed to be more striking than just thinking them myself. She reminded me that my daughter was so young, so fragile and was counting on me without even knowing it. I was her advocate.
Her advocate.
That is the word that hit home.
I was somebody's advocate. Suddenly it hit home how important I was. There was this person whose livelihood was squarely on my shoulders.
It was one thing to say that. Think that. Brag about it when you become a father.
But that word: advocate. It struck me.
Since then I have been been on the borderline of obsessive with the well being of my child. It has even been to the point that I have had to pull back a bit and allow her mother to take on some of the responsibility.
Among the numerous things that have shaped who I am, my mother has played a large role. Genetically, she has given me my passion and I would like to think my smarts (it is all relative though I suppose).
It is her words though, that have shaped major decisions and played major roles in who I am today and what I do and how I often think and approach things.
Part Two: Linden Elementary School
There is no single event or experience or person that has made me who I am, but a collection of all of the above.
I would say this is true for most of us.
So I am beginning a series of posts writing about the things that have played the largest roles in shaping the person I am today. I anticipate there to be more events and shaping in my future.
One thing I have learned so far is that life and people are not static but fluid. We change over time. Our opinions, preferences, points of view and even values all change. We learn and we grow.
Although it is trite, I recall stating that I hated The Doors and would never understand how people enjoy their music. Today, I can't get enough.
But The Doors haven't shaped me at all.
My first entry is: My Mother
Mom's are often given credit for their roles in their children's lives. You see football players on the sidelines mouth "Hi Mom" to the camera, not "Hi Dad." You hear award winners thank God and then their moms. One of the first people kids cry for is their mom.
Specifically, my mother has shaped my live in two prophetic moments.
First, when I was entering college she told me I should teach. She added that I should teach in an urban setting.
Her words were driven by observations she made and her knowledge of who I was and my passion as a social entrepreneur. All three of her children have traveled very different paths in our professions as adults. She knew mine was in public education. I wanted to make a difference and she knew this was where it would happen.
So as I continued to tackle the decision of going into journalism to be a sports writer (writing....as anyone following my blog would know...not one of my bigger strengths and a reason why I started blogging in the first place; to work on my writing), education or some other line of work I hadn't thought of yet, education won out and it was probably because I had that conversation in the back of my head.
Sometimes I wonder if this was more of a case of where I was unable to make a decision for myself. Maybe I was just trying to please my mother in some sort of subconscious, Freudian inner struggle for acceptance.
Other times I feel as though it doesn't matter. During times of confidence when I feel pretty good about myself because I heard from an old student, I get invited to a graduation or a parent of a former student showers me with praise, I feel like the cause of this path means little because the result has been so good for more people than just me.
Secondly, during the height of my daughter's health problems and the confusion that was swirling around everybody when I had to make sure she was getting the care she deserved and we were getting answers we needed, my mom (and dad) told me how impressed they were with my composure. She said something that has stuck with me to this day.
At first, she was stating what I already knew. But hearing the words out loud seemed to be more striking than just thinking them myself. She reminded me that my daughter was so young, so fragile and was counting on me without even knowing it. I was her advocate.
Her advocate.
That is the word that hit home.
I was somebody's advocate. Suddenly it hit home how important I was. There was this person whose livelihood was squarely on my shoulders.
It was one thing to say that. Think that. Brag about it when you become a father.
But that word: advocate. It struck me.
Since then I have been been on the borderline of obsessive with the well being of my child. It has even been to the point that I have had to pull back a bit and allow her mother to take on some of the responsibility.
Among the numerous things that have shaped who I am, my mother has played a large role. Genetically, she has given me my passion and I would like to think my smarts (it is all relative though I suppose).
It is her words though, that have shaped major decisions and played major roles in who I am today and what I do and how I often think and approach things.
Part Two: Linden Elementary School
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Lifestyle?
I have several thoughts to get off my chest.
I read a comment today that expressed one's anger that "idiots" like me are zombies as a result of this "entertainment age" and confuse gay marriage as a civil right when it is really a lifestyle choice, not a right.
I took exception to this and replied directly. This post is not an attempt to run away and hide expressing my disgust amongst a safe, agreeable audience. I opened myself up for the inevitable backlash by publicly addressing his opinion with my counter.
I get easily irritated by the tired, worn out and short sighted opinions of people like this that seem to think gays and lesbians choose to be gay like one chooses to follow sports or a particular genre of music or career field.
I realize I am not gay. Therefore, my opinion is just that. Those who oppose my view can then question the validity of what I write. But I know, love and associate with enough people who are homosexual to have an educated point of view on this topic.
In addition, I have a line of logic that I believe is strong enough to support my stance regardless of my knowledge or lack thereof in terms of one's motivation or cause of being homosexual.
Let me start with this for an attempt at a point of comparison. I hear a good bit about how it is hard to be Christian these days. From what I understand, it is because it seems as though the majority of our generation questions Christianity. It is very trendy for people my age (although not as trendy as tattoos) to claim they are "spiritual" and not "religious." Religion is poo-pooed on. Christianity seems to be the biggest target.
I agree. That is difficult. It gets old to constantly defend your belief system and something you hold dear. Constantly having to defend your religious theology can feel as though you are being persecuted.
But nobody is dying on a cross here. It is not illegal to worship. Nobody in government is threatening to take your rights. Despite people trying to keep religion out of government decisions, it is not the same as taking your right to worship.
It is separation, not elimination.
How does this relate to my issue that homosexuality is not a lifestyle choice? Stay with me.
Gays are unable to "marry." Bullies feast on kids that are gay or even slightly resembling the mannerisms of someone who is gay. "Gay" is a common insult. Many times you read horrid stories of kids or even adults getting beaten because of their homosexuality.
Christians marry. It is called a wedding.
You never hear someone verbally assault another by calling them a "christian!"
Bullies will beat on anyone. I recall hearing "Jesus boy" numerous times when people found out I transferred from a Catholic school to a public high school, but that was never difficult to shake off. It never persisted like some of the abuse I witnessed others deal with that were mistakenly perceived as gay or, in some cases, accurately.
Most of the ridicule I am speaking of is the the type that permeates through our normal conversations or opinions though. For instance, the common use of "faggot" or "that is so gay" even when not directed to someone who is gay.
When I compare the two, I would say it is MUCH harder being homosexual than Christian. It is inconvenient being openly Christian when you hear people's snobby attitude towards your theology. Whereas it is straight up painful to be gay.
Your religion is ultimately your choice. You may be born into it, but you can choose to leave Christianity.
I did.
But I can't stop being straight. I can't make myself not attracted to women. I'm sorry. It is how the equipment works.
The same goes for being gay. You can fight it all you want. I know some who have. They fought it for decades. They tried very hard to force themselves to be straight and conform. The truth will ultimately win. It shall set you free I guess.
Again, why would anyone choose to deal with this ridicule and internal struggle? Why would you choose to be an outcast? Why would you choose to live a "lifestyle," as some call it, in which your rights are limited unless this is a trait in which you have no choice?
There is nothing "cool" or attractive about it, contrary to the belief of those ignorant people who think gays feel like there is.
Assuming being Christian is so difficult, being gay is much more difficult. So why would one want to work so hard to live this "lifestyle" if this wasn't who they were naturally?
Too many people get caught up in the extreme, wild depiction of gays that the mainstream media loves to parade in front of us and don't realize that the vast majority are common, everyday people.
This creates an idea that gay marriages are going to be flamboyantly dressed men with dildos and other provocative items all over the place screaming in high pitched lisps flaunting themselves in every one's face. While I support these people's rights to join in union as well, this is not what gay marriage is about.
Not to me.
It IS a civil right. These people DO have a right to share the privileges others do in union. We are not talking about marrying animals or children who are unable to conceptualize this yet developmentally. This is two consenting adults.
They deserve the CIVIL RIGHT to join in union legally. Period. Point blank.
Get over it.
I bet in less than a decade most people won't even think about it and wonder why we made such a big deal about it in the first place.
I read a comment today that expressed one's anger that "idiots" like me are zombies as a result of this "entertainment age" and confuse gay marriage as a civil right when it is really a lifestyle choice, not a right.
I took exception to this and replied directly. This post is not an attempt to run away and hide expressing my disgust amongst a safe, agreeable audience. I opened myself up for the inevitable backlash by publicly addressing his opinion with my counter.
I get easily irritated by the tired, worn out and short sighted opinions of people like this that seem to think gays and lesbians choose to be gay like one chooses to follow sports or a particular genre of music or career field.
I realize I am not gay. Therefore, my opinion is just that. Those who oppose my view can then question the validity of what I write. But I know, love and associate with enough people who are homosexual to have an educated point of view on this topic.
In addition, I have a line of logic that I believe is strong enough to support my stance regardless of my knowledge or lack thereof in terms of one's motivation or cause of being homosexual.
Let me start with this for an attempt at a point of comparison. I hear a good bit about how it is hard to be Christian these days. From what I understand, it is because it seems as though the majority of our generation questions Christianity. It is very trendy for people my age (although not as trendy as tattoos) to claim they are "spiritual" and not "religious." Religion is poo-pooed on. Christianity seems to be the biggest target.
I agree. That is difficult. It gets old to constantly defend your belief system and something you hold dear. Constantly having to defend your religious theology can feel as though you are being persecuted.
But nobody is dying on a cross here. It is not illegal to worship. Nobody in government is threatening to take your rights. Despite people trying to keep religion out of government decisions, it is not the same as taking your right to worship.
It is separation, not elimination.
How does this relate to my issue that homosexuality is not a lifestyle choice? Stay with me.
Gays are unable to "marry." Bullies feast on kids that are gay or even slightly resembling the mannerisms of someone who is gay. "Gay" is a common insult. Many times you read horrid stories of kids or even adults getting beaten because of their homosexuality.
Christians marry. It is called a wedding.
You never hear someone verbally assault another by calling them a "christian!"
Bullies will beat on anyone. I recall hearing "Jesus boy" numerous times when people found out I transferred from a Catholic school to a public high school, but that was never difficult to shake off. It never persisted like some of the abuse I witnessed others deal with that were mistakenly perceived as gay or, in some cases, accurately.
Most of the ridicule I am speaking of is the the type that permeates through our normal conversations or opinions though. For instance, the common use of "faggot" or "that is so gay" even when not directed to someone who is gay.
When I compare the two, I would say it is MUCH harder being homosexual than Christian. It is inconvenient being openly Christian when you hear people's snobby attitude towards your theology. Whereas it is straight up painful to be gay.
Your religion is ultimately your choice. You may be born into it, but you can choose to leave Christianity.
I did.
But I can't stop being straight. I can't make myself not attracted to women. I'm sorry. It is how the equipment works.
The same goes for being gay. You can fight it all you want. I know some who have. They fought it for decades. They tried very hard to force themselves to be straight and conform. The truth will ultimately win. It shall set you free I guess.
Again, why would anyone choose to deal with this ridicule and internal struggle? Why would you choose to be an outcast? Why would you choose to live a "lifestyle," as some call it, in which your rights are limited unless this is a trait in which you have no choice?
There is nothing "cool" or attractive about it, contrary to the belief of those ignorant people who think gays feel like there is.
Assuming being Christian is so difficult, being gay is much more difficult. So why would one want to work so hard to live this "lifestyle" if this wasn't who they were naturally?
Too many people get caught up in the extreme, wild depiction of gays that the mainstream media loves to parade in front of us and don't realize that the vast majority are common, everyday people.
This creates an idea that gay marriages are going to be flamboyantly dressed men with dildos and other provocative items all over the place screaming in high pitched lisps flaunting themselves in every one's face. While I support these people's rights to join in union as well, this is not what gay marriage is about.
Not to me.
It IS a civil right. These people DO have a right to share the privileges others do in union. We are not talking about marrying animals or children who are unable to conceptualize this yet developmentally. This is two consenting adults.
They deserve the CIVIL RIGHT to join in union legally. Period. Point blank.
Get over it.
I bet in less than a decade most people won't even think about it and wonder why we made such a big deal about it in the first place.
Friday, June 17, 2011
Merit Pay Is A Fraud!
Here in Ohio there is a good bit of political chatter regarding teacher pay and how it is playing a significant role in the economic problems of the state.
John Kasich, the governor, along with others believe that the current system of paying teachers based on tenure is out of date and also contributing to the overall "failure" of our public schools.
There are valid points being made from this camp. Many times their concerns or ideas are logical.
How is a teacher motivated to improve themselves or work hard if they are ensured to get a raise every year or three years or whatever the steps dictate within their district's salary schedule? If their pay was based on performance, they would work more and work harder to earn more pay.
Money rules after all.
There are a number of failing schools and plenty of statistics to show our students are not performing as well as those in other countries. This does not bode well for the future.
Naturally, the blame then should fall on the people responsible for our students' education: the teachers. Teachers are the front line.
But there are good teachers out there. We all hear the stories and have had experiences with the good ones. So these teachers deserve to be paid well. It is the bad teachers that should be paid less or leave teaching all together. It is necessary to improve the public schools where it counts.
Therefore, merit pay has been introduced where teachers are not paid on experience but on some scale that is determined by their quality.
Sounds great. Sounds fair. Sounds logical.
If this was business.
The question is: how is merit determined?
The answer up to now has been: state standardized test scores.
Instead of whining and complaining and ranting on and on about how education is not business and cannot be measured the same way, I will provide an example to demonstrate my point that merit pay based on test scores is unreliable and invalid. Ultimately, it is unfair.
I have been teaching for 13 years. When I started the test scores were absolutely awful with 10%-20% of our grade levels passing.
Over the following decade, our scores increased. But they did not increase at the pace the federal government required according to No Child Left Behind. So our school was labeled as a poor school like most urban schools.
This past year I have taught at a different school with a better history of test score performance. Here 70%-80% of our students are passing the test.
My personal numbers have consistently been comparable to the school in general where I teach. So at my old school, my numbers were low. Now, my numbers are much higher.
I am the same teacher. I have taught much the same way at the new school as I have at the old school.
Obviously, you never teach the same way year to year exactly. There are always adjustments from one year to the next as you try to improve your weaknesses and teach to your strengths. Every class presents different challenges and needs and reacts in different ways. Therefore, you never teach the same way. Even within a school year you will find yourself changing how you do things.
Despite these adjustments, I am the same teacher. I am more comfortable teaching math than reading. I have more success using cooperative learning groups. I have good one one relationships with many of my students. I can relate to my students well. I use these things to my advantage every year.
But my test scores are drastically different from one school to another.
So merit pay would be determined less by what I do and how I do it and more by the location in which I teach.
There are teachers teaching in low performing schools that are just as good and working just as hard (usually harder) as teachers in high performing schools.
This is just the beginning of this argument. We also need to examine how this reality will not attract good teachers but push them away. If improving our public schools is truly our goal, than merit pay can not be part of it if test scores are the tool we use to measure this merit.
Teachers are critical components of education. I do not argue this one bit. We need to do our part to perform better. Ineffective teachers need to leave the profession or improve.
But we are not effectively attacking the public school problem by keeping the focus solely on teachers when the real reasons run much deeper and outside the walls of the schools themselves.
Merit pay is only valid if there are enough factors determining the merit because there are so many factors determining the effectiveness of a school.
John Kasich, the governor, along with others believe that the current system of paying teachers based on tenure is out of date and also contributing to the overall "failure" of our public schools.
There are valid points being made from this camp. Many times their concerns or ideas are logical.
How is a teacher motivated to improve themselves or work hard if they are ensured to get a raise every year or three years or whatever the steps dictate within their district's salary schedule? If their pay was based on performance, they would work more and work harder to earn more pay.
Money rules after all.
There are a number of failing schools and plenty of statistics to show our students are not performing as well as those in other countries. This does not bode well for the future.
Naturally, the blame then should fall on the people responsible for our students' education: the teachers. Teachers are the front line.
But there are good teachers out there. We all hear the stories and have had experiences with the good ones. So these teachers deserve to be paid well. It is the bad teachers that should be paid less or leave teaching all together. It is necessary to improve the public schools where it counts.
Therefore, merit pay has been introduced where teachers are not paid on experience but on some scale that is determined by their quality.
Sounds great. Sounds fair. Sounds logical.
If this was business.
The question is: how is merit determined?
The answer up to now has been: state standardized test scores.
Instead of whining and complaining and ranting on and on about how education is not business and cannot be measured the same way, I will provide an example to demonstrate my point that merit pay based on test scores is unreliable and invalid. Ultimately, it is unfair.
I have been teaching for 13 years. When I started the test scores were absolutely awful with 10%-20% of our grade levels passing.
Over the following decade, our scores increased. But they did not increase at the pace the federal government required according to No Child Left Behind. So our school was labeled as a poor school like most urban schools.
This past year I have taught at a different school with a better history of test score performance. Here 70%-80% of our students are passing the test.
My personal numbers have consistently been comparable to the school in general where I teach. So at my old school, my numbers were low. Now, my numbers are much higher.
I am the same teacher. I have taught much the same way at the new school as I have at the old school.
Obviously, you never teach the same way year to year exactly. There are always adjustments from one year to the next as you try to improve your weaknesses and teach to your strengths. Every class presents different challenges and needs and reacts in different ways. Therefore, you never teach the same way. Even within a school year you will find yourself changing how you do things.
Despite these adjustments, I am the same teacher. I am more comfortable teaching math than reading. I have more success using cooperative learning groups. I have good one one relationships with many of my students. I can relate to my students well. I use these things to my advantage every year.
But my test scores are drastically different from one school to another.
So merit pay would be determined less by what I do and how I do it and more by the location in which I teach.
There are teachers teaching in low performing schools that are just as good and working just as hard (usually harder) as teachers in high performing schools.
This is just the beginning of this argument. We also need to examine how this reality will not attract good teachers but push them away. If improving our public schools is truly our goal, than merit pay can not be part of it if test scores are the tool we use to measure this merit.
Teachers are critical components of education. I do not argue this one bit. We need to do our part to perform better. Ineffective teachers need to leave the profession or improve.
But we are not effectively attacking the public school problem by keeping the focus solely on teachers when the real reasons run much deeper and outside the walls of the schools themselves.
Merit pay is only valid if there are enough factors determining the merit because there are so many factors determining the effectiveness of a school.
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Stories from Room 5
Teaching provides me with a wealth of experiences I could blog about. Unfortunately, I have not taken advantage of it. Every class I have ever taught has had its share of stories and funny, heart warming, thought provoking, scary or sad moments.
This year in particular has been a ton of fun. I look back now and regret missing the opportunity to share the lessons I learned and situations I lived through.
But I have two anecdotes that popped in my head that I think you would find interesting.
First, we had a student this year who introduced the class to the term, "salty." I have heard it before and in somewhat different contexts or uses, but these guys were apparently hearing it for the first time and it quickly became a room five catch phrase.
At its first inception, it was used in an effort to taunt. Seeing this I figured I had three choices as to how I would go about handling it. No way was I going to allow mean spirited taunting in my room. I especially wasn't going to allow this to creep in and disintegrate the positive vibe I had established and we all worked so hard to maintain.
Option one was to address it to the whole class and use it as a teachable moment regarding taunting and bullying and handling oneself with class and humility.
Option two was to pull the student aside and address the issue with him privately warning him and setting the coming discipline should he decide to continue the behavior and then go from there.
Option three, a bit more unconventional but appropriate in my mind due to the relationship I had with the class and knowing their personalities, was to turn it around on our good friend who introduced this term to us and make it a joke.
I chose option three. Instead of empowering him with a tool to anger other students, create attention towards himself and give him control of the word, I used it back at him. I knew he would roll with it because I knew him. Despite his questionable behavior outside the classroom, he kept himself out of trouble in the classroom and he had a great sense of humor and could take a joke with you. So I knew he would handle better than other, more sensitive students.
As I expected, he loved it and soon he and I would go back and forth with this term. I would purposely challenge him within our lessons and when he was correct, I got "saltied" myself.
I can take a joke too.
Meanwhile, rather than daydream or cause trouble, he was more motivated to pay attention in class and be ready to "get me."
Win: Mr. Huey.
So the class then joined in. At first I was worried this would take a life of its own, but other than a moment here or there, the class as a whole did not become consumed with it and its humor separate from the lessons.
Now that the whole class would use it and was able to handle it, the taunting aspect was diminished. The power of the word was neutered. And I did have that discussion about how we were not going to use it to taunt or make each other feel bad. We were only going to use it playfully. I led by example dishing it and taking it.
*****************
The beauty of this class was that they presented great challenges for me. They were using what we were learning and taking it to the next level.
When we covered fractions, decimals and percents in math, they were amazed at how I could take almost any fraction with numerators and denominators under 100 and find its percent equivalent in my head to the hundredths place. They would do it on paper and try to beat me. We did this earlier in the year with large multiplication problems.
Anytime they beat me, (they on paper, me in my head) I was showered with "SALTY!" I smiled and played along. I beat them and showered them right back and they loved it.
In reading, I could hear them in groups proving answers by finding support in the text or looking various reference books to prove their accuracy.
It opened the door to debates regarding some hot topic issues allowing me to introduce how many times problems or disagreements don't have black and white answers that we can "salty" someone with. Many times, we have to deal with gray areas. And many times we don't have an answer but only a guess....just a better supported guess than another. So you have to do your homework to have the best support.
************
This leads me to another cute story.
One of these moments of challenge they were so sure they were correct that they said I had to give them each a Jolly Rancher when they proved me wrong. I, in turn, said they all had to get me a 3 Musketeer bar when I proved them wrong.
No way was I going to hold them to that but I played along for the fun of the moment. I would have paid up though if I was wrong. Jolly Ranchers are the prize of choice of the class as a reward. I had a whole bag of them available at moments notice.
But I don't make bets with students. I motivate them.
Well at the end of the year, one of my two girls in the whole class shows up in the morning with a grocery bag. With a big smile she says, "For you Mr. Huey."
When I opened it, there was a bag of mini 3 Musketeers bars and a homemade card decorated in markers wishing me a "Happy Summer." Inside was a nice note about how much she enjoyed this year and how appreciative she was of my teaching.
What makes this the most meaningful is how the school year began for her. She started the year fresh from her home country learning English on the fly with a family doing the same. She was the ONLY girl in the class until late September. She was one of the younger students in the class.
It was an overwhelming start in an overwhelming situation for her and she would come home crying every night. But she showed up every morning, worked hard and never complained.
The progress she demonstrated was phenomenal. She did an amazing job and adjusted better than I think I ever would have. I would have wanted to quit countless times had I been in her shoes. Maybe she wanted to as well, but quit was something she did not do.
Seeing that letter and reading that she enjoyed the year was a very, very cool thing to see. I get to teach her again next year and I am eager to see how much more she grows now that she can start the year without having to make that same major adjustment as she did this year.
It is one of those things that makes teaching a wonderful profession despite the pay and amid all the political firestorms and negative banter about us.
You can't put that in a one word adjective to describe teaching. It goes deeper.
It is one of the many "stories from room 5" that I was able to enjoy this year.
This year in particular has been a ton of fun. I look back now and regret missing the opportunity to share the lessons I learned and situations I lived through.
But I have two anecdotes that popped in my head that I think you would find interesting.
First, we had a student this year who introduced the class to the term, "salty." I have heard it before and in somewhat different contexts or uses, but these guys were apparently hearing it for the first time and it quickly became a room five catch phrase.
At its first inception, it was used in an effort to taunt. Seeing this I figured I had three choices as to how I would go about handling it. No way was I going to allow mean spirited taunting in my room. I especially wasn't going to allow this to creep in and disintegrate the positive vibe I had established and we all worked so hard to maintain.
Option one was to address it to the whole class and use it as a teachable moment regarding taunting and bullying and handling oneself with class and humility.
Option two was to pull the student aside and address the issue with him privately warning him and setting the coming discipline should he decide to continue the behavior and then go from there.
Option three, a bit more unconventional but appropriate in my mind due to the relationship I had with the class and knowing their personalities, was to turn it around on our good friend who introduced this term to us and make it a joke.
I chose option three. Instead of empowering him with a tool to anger other students, create attention towards himself and give him control of the word, I used it back at him. I knew he would roll with it because I knew him. Despite his questionable behavior outside the classroom, he kept himself out of trouble in the classroom and he had a great sense of humor and could take a joke with you. So I knew he would handle better than other, more sensitive students.
As I expected, he loved it and soon he and I would go back and forth with this term. I would purposely challenge him within our lessons and when he was correct, I got "saltied" myself.
I can take a joke too.
Meanwhile, rather than daydream or cause trouble, he was more motivated to pay attention in class and be ready to "get me."
Win: Mr. Huey.
So the class then joined in. At first I was worried this would take a life of its own, but other than a moment here or there, the class as a whole did not become consumed with it and its humor separate from the lessons.
Now that the whole class would use it and was able to handle it, the taunting aspect was diminished. The power of the word was neutered. And I did have that discussion about how we were not going to use it to taunt or make each other feel bad. We were only going to use it playfully. I led by example dishing it and taking it.
*****************
The beauty of this class was that they presented great challenges for me. They were using what we were learning and taking it to the next level.
When we covered fractions, decimals and percents in math, they were amazed at how I could take almost any fraction with numerators and denominators under 100 and find its percent equivalent in my head to the hundredths place. They would do it on paper and try to beat me. We did this earlier in the year with large multiplication problems.
Anytime they beat me, (they on paper, me in my head) I was showered with "SALTY!" I smiled and played along. I beat them and showered them right back and they loved it.
In reading, I could hear them in groups proving answers by finding support in the text or looking various reference books to prove their accuracy.
It opened the door to debates regarding some hot topic issues allowing me to introduce how many times problems or disagreements don't have black and white answers that we can "salty" someone with. Many times, we have to deal with gray areas. And many times we don't have an answer but only a guess....just a better supported guess than another. So you have to do your homework to have the best support.
************
This leads me to another cute story.
One of these moments of challenge they were so sure they were correct that they said I had to give them each a Jolly Rancher when they proved me wrong. I, in turn, said they all had to get me a 3 Musketeer bar when I proved them wrong.
No way was I going to hold them to that but I played along for the fun of the moment. I would have paid up though if I was wrong. Jolly Ranchers are the prize of choice of the class as a reward. I had a whole bag of them available at moments notice.
But I don't make bets with students. I motivate them.
Well at the end of the year, one of my two girls in the whole class shows up in the morning with a grocery bag. With a big smile she says, "For you Mr. Huey."
When I opened it, there was a bag of mini 3 Musketeers bars and a homemade card decorated in markers wishing me a "Happy Summer." Inside was a nice note about how much she enjoyed this year and how appreciative she was of my teaching.
What makes this the most meaningful is how the school year began for her. She started the year fresh from her home country learning English on the fly with a family doing the same. She was the ONLY girl in the class until late September. She was one of the younger students in the class.
It was an overwhelming start in an overwhelming situation for her and she would come home crying every night. But she showed up every morning, worked hard and never complained.
The progress she demonstrated was phenomenal. She did an amazing job and adjusted better than I think I ever would have. I would have wanted to quit countless times had I been in her shoes. Maybe she wanted to as well, but quit was something she did not do.
Seeing that letter and reading that she enjoyed the year was a very, very cool thing to see. I get to teach her again next year and I am eager to see how much more she grows now that she can start the year without having to make that same major adjustment as she did this year.
It is one of those things that makes teaching a wonderful profession despite the pay and amid all the political firestorms and negative banter about us.
You can't put that in a one word adjective to describe teaching. It goes deeper.
It is one of the many "stories from room 5" that I was able to enjoy this year.
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Year One: Rebirth
An over dramatic title it may be, but the truth still exists.
My first year at my new school is coming to a close. It was time for a change in my career as I found myself burning out and losing my passion and enjoyment in teaching. Education is a profession that runs on teachers' passion in my opinion. It cannot be successful if we are coming in with our heads down and little motivation.
Since the pay is not comparable to many other professions that most, if not all, of us are capable of handling, our paychecks are not our motivation and reason we entered this profession. The vacation time and its freedom it grants us to be with our families is a motivator but many times this time is consumed with classes or second jobs nullifying that luxury as well.
But one thing we have that many other professions do not is a job that keeps us out, away from our desk, a job that is never the same from day to day, a job that is challenging both mentally and emotionally and a job that provides plenty of opportunities to laugh and have fun.
I was losing sight of this as my job wasn't providing moments of laughter or fun and wasn't challenging anything but my patience and ability to control my frustration and anger. I was surrounded by these kids who deserved more than what they were receiving around them because the loud minority was ruining everything and I was powerless to stop it.
Or I was incapable of stopping it.
I spent over a decade trying to reach people who wanted nothing to do with me. I gave my heart and time and energy to my job and felt like I was worse off for it.
Of course, that can be debated. There is a certain amount of strength one gains through trials and tribulations. Hard work and well intended effort can't solely lead to a bad result.
There were countless positive experiences and people I can cite to prove that I was actually becoming a better person through the stress and emotion or mental fatigue.
But it was time for me to move on. And I did.
It wasn't about finding some place "easier." I needed some place different. I needed to challenge myself in other areas. I needed to relieve the stress.
Now that I am about to complete this first year in what I hope to be many at my new school, I am looking back and doing some comparing and contrasting like I require my students to do regularly. I am also looking forward.
If this year has done one thing for me, it has reignited my passion for teaching and renewed a motivation to improve my craft as a teacher.
I have been able to do many things that I haven't done before. Instead of focusing on how I can get more students to pay attention and complete their work or to stop bullying other students, I have been able to focus on how I am presenting concepts in a way that they are understanding thoroughly.
Instead of figuring out how to get them to try to read something, I am figuring out how I can get them to think about what they read in a more critical way and then take it to the next level of creating something of their own from their reading.
I have been able to enjoy instilling and reinforcing a love for reading that I didn't even have in 4th and 5th grade myself. Something I am just now discovering in my 30s.
I am finally seeing the fruits of my labor before my own eyes. Before, I had to wait years before this came to fruition. I had to wait eight years at their high school graduations to be exact. I now have heard from two other old students who are graduating this year.
This year I had students are begging me NOT to do the extrinsic rewards that my old students lived for so they could use that time to continue working on their reports!
Students are begging to take my personal copy of "Lord of the Flies" home with them this summer to read because they heard how much I love that book and have come to trust my tastes after all the books I read aloud to them this year. They seem to think I am not aware of the fact they are in 5th grade and will not return next year to get it back to me. I may just go buy a couple copies and give it to them anyway.
I also have been able to share my love for math with these guys. They all claim math to be their favorite subject each day. Something I can relate to since it is my favorite subject to teach each day.
They have loved to be challenged with more and more difficult problems. I have done problems with them I never dreamed of doing with 4th and 5th graders. In fact, we have done problems I have had to relearn myself. In some cases they have figured it out before me.
How cool is it to tackle math with a group of 20 kids without knowing the answer yet yourself?
I didn't know until this year.
I could have looked it up, but it is more fun to model how one goes about figuring things out on their own. It was more genuine that way. It was cool to demonstrate that nobody is invincible and we don't expect them to be. Instead, we expect them to work hard at trying to be.
Who knows what this year has taught this awesome group of kids I have had. I do know that this year has a taught me a ton.
I have got to do a better job integrating science into math and vice versa as well as social studies into reading and vice versa. I need to improve my writing instruction, grammar in particular. And I should probably figure out how to keep my room from being so darn noisy.
But then again, noise equals knowledge in my room. Or so I hope.
My first year at my new school is coming to a close. It was time for a change in my career as I found myself burning out and losing my passion and enjoyment in teaching. Education is a profession that runs on teachers' passion in my opinion. It cannot be successful if we are coming in with our heads down and little motivation.
Since the pay is not comparable to many other professions that most, if not all, of us are capable of handling, our paychecks are not our motivation and reason we entered this profession. The vacation time and its freedom it grants us to be with our families is a motivator but many times this time is consumed with classes or second jobs nullifying that luxury as well.
But one thing we have that many other professions do not is a job that keeps us out, away from our desk, a job that is never the same from day to day, a job that is challenging both mentally and emotionally and a job that provides plenty of opportunities to laugh and have fun.
I was losing sight of this as my job wasn't providing moments of laughter or fun and wasn't challenging anything but my patience and ability to control my frustration and anger. I was surrounded by these kids who deserved more than what they were receiving around them because the loud minority was ruining everything and I was powerless to stop it.
Or I was incapable of stopping it.
I spent over a decade trying to reach people who wanted nothing to do with me. I gave my heart and time and energy to my job and felt like I was worse off for it.
Of course, that can be debated. There is a certain amount of strength one gains through trials and tribulations. Hard work and well intended effort can't solely lead to a bad result.
There were countless positive experiences and people I can cite to prove that I was actually becoming a better person through the stress and emotion or mental fatigue.
But it was time for me to move on. And I did.
It wasn't about finding some place "easier." I needed some place different. I needed to challenge myself in other areas. I needed to relieve the stress.
Now that I am about to complete this first year in what I hope to be many at my new school, I am looking back and doing some comparing and contrasting like I require my students to do regularly. I am also looking forward.
If this year has done one thing for me, it has reignited my passion for teaching and renewed a motivation to improve my craft as a teacher.
I have been able to do many things that I haven't done before. Instead of focusing on how I can get more students to pay attention and complete their work or to stop bullying other students, I have been able to focus on how I am presenting concepts in a way that they are understanding thoroughly.
Instead of figuring out how to get them to try to read something, I am figuring out how I can get them to think about what they read in a more critical way and then take it to the next level of creating something of their own from their reading.
I have been able to enjoy instilling and reinforcing a love for reading that I didn't even have in 4th and 5th grade myself. Something I am just now discovering in my 30s.
I am finally seeing the fruits of my labor before my own eyes. Before, I had to wait years before this came to fruition. I had to wait eight years at their high school graduations to be exact. I now have heard from two other old students who are graduating this year.
This year I had students are begging me NOT to do the extrinsic rewards that my old students lived for so they could use that time to continue working on their reports!
Students are begging to take my personal copy of "Lord of the Flies" home with them this summer to read because they heard how much I love that book and have come to trust my tastes after all the books I read aloud to them this year. They seem to think I am not aware of the fact they are in 5th grade and will not return next year to get it back to me. I may just go buy a couple copies and give it to them anyway.
I also have been able to share my love for math with these guys. They all claim math to be their favorite subject each day. Something I can relate to since it is my favorite subject to teach each day.
They have loved to be challenged with more and more difficult problems. I have done problems with them I never dreamed of doing with 4th and 5th graders. In fact, we have done problems I have had to relearn myself. In some cases they have figured it out before me.
How cool is it to tackle math with a group of 20 kids without knowing the answer yet yourself?
I didn't know until this year.
I could have looked it up, but it is more fun to model how one goes about figuring things out on their own. It was more genuine that way. It was cool to demonstrate that nobody is invincible and we don't expect them to be. Instead, we expect them to work hard at trying to be.
Who knows what this year has taught this awesome group of kids I have had. I do know that this year has a taught me a ton.
I have got to do a better job integrating science into math and vice versa as well as social studies into reading and vice versa. I need to improve my writing instruction, grammar in particular. And I should probably figure out how to keep my room from being so darn noisy.
But then again, noise equals knowledge in my room. Or so I hope.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Hidden Messages
I read a book called "The Celestine Prophecy" several years back and it mentioned the idea that there is meaning to be found in coincidences.
With that in mind, my car ride into work this morning with the iPod on shuffle played an eerie set of songs that had me thinking.
First, "Spirit in the Sky" by Norman Greenbaum which goes on about dying to going to heaven. This prompted thoughts of my questions regarding any kind of after life at all.
No big deal. I was in the mood.
Then came "Last Dance" by The Ravonettes. Bubbly little ditty. No idea there would be a connection.
Next, "The '59 Sound" by Gaslight Anthem. There's a line in there about a song playing when you die.
It was about here that I took notice.
Finally, "Sometime Around Midnight" by The Airborne Toxic Event.
Uh oh.
So does this mean I was going to die around midnight tonight?
Coincidence?
It would be laughable until I realized I was just thinking earlier in the car ride about how precarious life is and how I could die today. There is no sure bet that I'll live to 72.
The night before I was thinking how I am 36 and halfway there. So maybe I should be experiencing a midlife crisis since I am at the middle of my life.
But maybe I am at the end of my life? According to that song list I am. About two hours away as I write this.
Several weeks ago I was thinking what would happen if someone died a particular way and the next night "Bones" played an episode in which the victim died that exact way as unique as it was.
So I present this list to you to say....if coincidences have meaning, this may be my last blog post.
Unless, of course, the meaning is something different that I am totally misinterpreting.
With that in mind, my car ride into work this morning with the iPod on shuffle played an eerie set of songs that had me thinking.
First, "Spirit in the Sky" by Norman Greenbaum which goes on about dying to going to heaven. This prompted thoughts of my questions regarding any kind of after life at all.
No big deal. I was in the mood.
Then came "Last Dance" by The Ravonettes. Bubbly little ditty. No idea there would be a connection.
Next, "The '59 Sound" by Gaslight Anthem. There's a line in there about a song playing when you die.
It was about here that I took notice.
Finally, "Sometime Around Midnight" by The Airborne Toxic Event.
Uh oh.
So does this mean I was going to die around midnight tonight?
Coincidence?
It would be laughable until I realized I was just thinking earlier in the car ride about how precarious life is and how I could die today. There is no sure bet that I'll live to 72.
The night before I was thinking how I am 36 and halfway there. So maybe I should be experiencing a midlife crisis since I am at the middle of my life.
But maybe I am at the end of my life? According to that song list I am. About two hours away as I write this.
Several weeks ago I was thinking what would happen if someone died a particular way and the next night "Bones" played an episode in which the victim died that exact way as unique as it was.
So I present this list to you to say....if coincidences have meaning, this may be my last blog post.
Unless, of course, the meaning is something different that I am totally misinterpreting.
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