Welcome to Owl's House of Blogs and Thought Emporium. I am glad you have dropped by and hope you will enjoy your time here. As you can see I have been using this blog site for a while now and have had some interesting moments. Mostly I use this blog as a means to supplement what I am doing in my courses. While that is in essence still true we are beginning to see the cyberwriting on the wall that on-line education is here to stay, so let's all dig in and make it all it can be. The fact is this is part of the face of the new classroom. However, human beings remain the soul of education regardless of how it is delivered.
You can comment on this if you want, but the main purpose of this blog is to say thank you for dropping by, and to offer the hope that you will find something worthwhile to read, and to say in Owl's House of Blogs and Thought Emporium. Most of all I hope that you encounter something that makes you think, or rethink.
Here are a few simple house rules:
Everything you have to say is worthwhile. If it is important to you, then I feel confident that it will be worthwhile to others, and even if a particular thought is not it may prompt thoughts in others that will enhance the conversation. This is a basic aspect of brainstorming.
We will pay more attention to your ideas and thinking than your grammar, but your grammar should reflect a level of quality worthy of your standing in the academic community.
Here in Owl's House we strictly adhere to a brainstorming format. Ironically enough this means that while using the brainstorming format there is nothing that we will strictly adhere to except: You do not slander/liable others; You do not threaten others; You do no harm to anyone intently; You remain open to new ideas; You need to demonstrate tact and sensitivity to others; and you need to participate.
You can choose to disagree with anyone, especially me, but when doing so I expect you to disagree agreeably.
Even though I said that everything you have to say is worthwhile this should not be interpreted as meaning that everything you have to say is brilliant. I don't care what anybody says, there are such things as stupid ideas and questions. If you don't believe me I can share some of the ideas I have had, statements I have made, and questions I have asked. I promise you several of them were stupid. Somehow I do not feel I am rowing this particular boat alone.
So, let me offer to be more politically correct by saying say that perhaps it is true that there are no true stupid questions. Stupid is a very negative word and should not be used to describe any human behavior. Yet it is possible to conceive that there are such things such as intellectually challenged inquiries (ICIs) and intellectually challenged activities (ICAs). These are the ideas and actions that seem to spontaneously swell up from sections of the brain that are evidently void of grey matter. And to be even more true to our business let's just call it by its letters, such as ICIs. You know, like ABCs, SOLs, GREs, SATs, MATs, SBATs, SITs,RESAs, ASUs,UNCs.
So while you are here please speak openly, honestly, and free yourself from the fear that those reading your words are sitting in judgment of you. Of course they are going to be judging you by forming ideas about you and your ideas as they read your words. Do we not all do this? Maybe a better word would be assessing, rather than judging. Judging can have several meanings. Perhaps we should try to accept that the fact that others are continuously judging us much the same way we are judging them.
So, accept the idea the possibility that over the course of your career there will be multiple times when people will think of you in various ways, and some of these ways are not pleasant to consider, such as people thinking you are stupid. You know the kicker here? Some of the unpleasant things they say, and write, will be true. This is not a judgment call, just a reminder of the two sides of the coin theory. And remember, nobody promises you it will always be fair.
Besides ICIs and ICSs often make us laugh and think of things we may not have thought about if we had not heard that particular question or statement. What can be better than that? If you post an idea that others think is stupid (ICed) you are to be congratulated. You may be making other people think, and maybe even laugh. And let's be honest and face the fact that often times these people are not laughing with you, they are clearly laughing at you. As Randy Newman said, you have to roll with the punches.
Remember that as a human being you have the capacity to learn from, and even enjoy these moments. Clowns and comedians have known forever that it is good to be laughed at, and the public has known forever that school administrators are clowns and comedians. But don't get me wrong, not everyone feels as positive about school administrators as I do.
Remember that age old adage: There is no lemon so sour as the one that refuses to laugh at its own juice. OK, I made it up, but it is my blog so I can. Develop a self-effacing sense of humor, this will serve you well as a school administrator. As Weird Al Yankovich said so eloquently: Dare to be stupid. Always seek refuge in the fact that some blogger out there trudging through the Bogs of Bloggerdom may benefit from your intellectually challenged moments (ICMs).
This brings us to one of those moments of truth that will be offered from time to time. What is even more exciting is that this moment of truth is offered free of any additional charge. Once you become a school administrator some of the people that tell you that you are great and all your ideas are golden intellectual nuggets may be guilty of not being fully honest with you. They may be telling you that you are great for their benefit, not yours. These are the hapless "suckups" that we all love so much, and oftentimes are also called Yes People, Hangers-On, Brownnosers, and Manipulators. Know any? Ever been one yourself? Heck, sometimes I am even my own yes person.
On the other hand, the people that tell us when we are acting idiotic (not to be confused with actually being an idiot) can prove to be more valuable to your career than the lovable brownnosers. However, you may need to work on obtaining the skills necessary to listen objectively when they speak. Learn to take both ends of the flattery/criticism continuum in moderation. If you can master this you will be glad you did. If you think I am wrong then don’t just think it, blog it.
Learn to be tactful, it is a skill that can be practiced here. When you think I am stupid (ICed), let's see if you can tell me that without making me want to jump off the Tallahatchie Bridge just like Billy Joe McAllister did all those years ago. You may want to Google Ms. Gentry and/or Ode to BillyJoe to find out just what happened on June 3, another sleepy, dusty delta day.
So, there are the rules. Mostly common sense, but once people obtain your level of education common sense can no longer be assumed. Once you get a doctorate it is no longer even expected.
The bottom line is this....while you are thinking and writing try to have some fun. Life is way too short to avoid thinking or having fun. You will eventually reach the age of thinking of having fun. And while it may not win me any friends or influence any people let me offer the thought that at times education can be too serious, while at other times it is not serious enough. As a school administrator will you/do you have the ability to know the difference? Maybe the academic community needs to develop a rubric to help you know the difference. Regardless, it seems from my perspective that our society, with educators as the willing partner, have done all they can to avoid letting fun enroll in most of our schools.
Don't read too much into this, I am “thinkin’ bout thinkin’” here. However, don't read to little into this either. If you don't have clear ideas regarding your profession at this point maybe you took a wrong turn at the career intersection of your life.
Let me leave you with one of the lesser known sayings from Mr. Spock: "May you blog long and ponder." Perhaps the greater question here is, for the youngsters in the crowd (as Ed Sullivan used to say before he introduced the boys from Liverpool), who in the heck is Mr. Spook. Some of you may be mistaking him for that baby doctor back in the 1960s who said if was spank our kids they turn into Klingons (I have no idea as to how to spell this, but it is pronounced "cling ons"). And while we are at it who in the heck is Ed Sullivan and the boys from Liverpool?
And always remember....the blog is your oyster.
Sincerely,
Al Proffit
You can comment on this if you want, but the main purpose of this blog is to say thank you for dropping by, and to offer the hope that you will find something worthwhile to read, and to say in Owl's House of Blogs and Thought Emporium. Most of all I hope that you encounter something that makes you think, or rethink.
Here are a few simple house rules:
Everything you have to say is worthwhile. If it is important to you, then I feel confident that it will be worthwhile to others, and even if a particular thought is not it may prompt thoughts in others that will enhance the conversation. This is a basic aspect of brainstorming.
We will pay more attention to your ideas and thinking than your grammar, but your grammar should reflect a level of quality worthy of your standing in the academic community.
Here in Owl's House we strictly adhere to a brainstorming format. Ironically enough this means that while using the brainstorming format there is nothing that we will strictly adhere to except: You do not slander/liable others; You do not threaten others; You do no harm to anyone intently; You remain open to new ideas; You need to demonstrate tact and sensitivity to others; and you need to participate.
You can choose to disagree with anyone, especially me, but when doing so I expect you to disagree agreeably.
Even though I said that everything you have to say is worthwhile this should not be interpreted as meaning that everything you have to say is brilliant. I don't care what anybody says, there are such things as stupid ideas and questions. If you don't believe me I can share some of the ideas I have had, statements I have made, and questions I have asked. I promise you several of them were stupid. Somehow I do not feel I am rowing this particular boat alone.
So, let me offer to be more politically correct by saying say that perhaps it is true that there are no true stupid questions. Stupid is a very negative word and should not be used to describe any human behavior. Yet it is possible to conceive that there are such things such as intellectually challenged inquiries (ICIs) and intellectually challenged activities (ICAs). These are the ideas and actions that seem to spontaneously swell up from sections of the brain that are evidently void of grey matter. And to be even more true to our business let's just call it by its letters, such as ICIs. You know, like ABCs, SOLs, GREs, SATs, MATs, SBATs, SITs,RESAs, ASUs,UNCs.
So while you are here please speak openly, honestly, and free yourself from the fear that those reading your words are sitting in judgment of you. Of course they are going to be judging you by forming ideas about you and your ideas as they read your words. Do we not all do this? Maybe a better word would be assessing, rather than judging. Judging can have several meanings. Perhaps we should try to accept that the fact that others are continuously judging us much the same way we are judging them.
So, accept the idea the possibility that over the course of your career there will be multiple times when people will think of you in various ways, and some of these ways are not pleasant to consider, such as people thinking you are stupid. You know the kicker here? Some of the unpleasant things they say, and write, will be true. This is not a judgment call, just a reminder of the two sides of the coin theory. And remember, nobody promises you it will always be fair.
Besides ICIs and ICSs often make us laugh and think of things we may not have thought about if we had not heard that particular question or statement. What can be better than that? If you post an idea that others think is stupid (ICed) you are to be congratulated. You may be making other people think, and maybe even laugh. And let's be honest and face the fact that often times these people are not laughing with you, they are clearly laughing at you. As Randy Newman said, you have to roll with the punches.
Remember that as a human being you have the capacity to learn from, and even enjoy these moments. Clowns and comedians have known forever that it is good to be laughed at, and the public has known forever that school administrators are clowns and comedians. But don't get me wrong, not everyone feels as positive about school administrators as I do.
Remember that age old adage: There is no lemon so sour as the one that refuses to laugh at its own juice. OK, I made it up, but it is my blog so I can. Develop a self-effacing sense of humor, this will serve you well as a school administrator. As Weird Al Yankovich said so eloquently: Dare to be stupid. Always seek refuge in the fact that some blogger out there trudging through the Bogs of Bloggerdom may benefit from your intellectually challenged moments (ICMs).
This brings us to one of those moments of truth that will be offered from time to time. What is even more exciting is that this moment of truth is offered free of any additional charge. Once you become a school administrator some of the people that tell you that you are great and all your ideas are golden intellectual nuggets may be guilty of not being fully honest with you. They may be telling you that you are great for their benefit, not yours. These are the hapless "suckups" that we all love so much, and oftentimes are also called Yes People, Hangers-On, Brownnosers, and Manipulators. Know any? Ever been one yourself? Heck, sometimes I am even my own yes person.
On the other hand, the people that tell us when we are acting idiotic (not to be confused with actually being an idiot) can prove to be more valuable to your career than the lovable brownnosers. However, you may need to work on obtaining the skills necessary to listen objectively when they speak. Learn to take both ends of the flattery/criticism continuum in moderation. If you can master this you will be glad you did. If you think I am wrong then don’t just think it, blog it.
Learn to be tactful, it is a skill that can be practiced here. When you think I am stupid (ICed), let's see if you can tell me that without making me want to jump off the Tallahatchie Bridge just like Billy Joe McAllister did all those years ago. You may want to Google Ms. Gentry and/or Ode to BillyJoe to find out just what happened on June 3, another sleepy, dusty delta day.
So, there are the rules. Mostly common sense, but once people obtain your level of education common sense can no longer be assumed. Once you get a doctorate it is no longer even expected.
The bottom line is this....while you are thinking and writing try to have some fun. Life is way too short to avoid thinking or having fun. You will eventually reach the age of thinking of having fun. And while it may not win me any friends or influence any people let me offer the thought that at times education can be too serious, while at other times it is not serious enough. As a school administrator will you/do you have the ability to know the difference? Maybe the academic community needs to develop a rubric to help you know the difference. Regardless, it seems from my perspective that our society, with educators as the willing partner, have done all they can to avoid letting fun enroll in most of our schools.
Don't read too much into this, I am “thinkin’ bout thinkin’” here. However, don't read to little into this either. If you don't have clear ideas regarding your profession at this point maybe you took a wrong turn at the career intersection of your life.
Let me leave you with one of the lesser known sayings from Mr. Spock: "May you blog long and ponder." Perhaps the greater question here is, for the youngsters in the crowd (as Ed Sullivan used to say before he introduced the boys from Liverpool), who in the heck is Mr. Spook. Some of you may be mistaking him for that baby doctor back in the 1960s who said if was spank our kids they turn into Klingons (I have no idea as to how to spell this, but it is pronounced "cling ons"). And while we are at it who in the heck is Ed Sullivan and the boys from Liverpool?
And always remember....the blog is your oyster.
Sincerely,
Al Proffit
39 comments:
OK I'm in! Here is something to chew on. Schools of choice, how can a choice between a bright new school and run down school in a "not so great area" possibably be a good thing........for that run down school? Arts magnet or not, the active parent will almost always choose the new school even if it means a longer bus ride. Then the run down school is left with the students who have very little parental support and usually come from poverty. Don't get me wrong these are great kid, many are low achievers and we do a great job moving level 1's and 2's up. problem is we don't have many 3's and even fewer 4's in the population and our kids don't have top preforming high level 4 student to look at. They don't see true work ethic and dedication to education. They don't get to see that great project where extra effort was made ... just because it was the right thing to do. Our kids don't do that, they do just enough. I think it is because they don't see students who make that extra effort. What do you think?
That same adage holds true for the controversial NCLB school of choice option as well. Which kids is it that the federal gov. thinks will choose to leave a school in improvement. It isn't the kids from the subgroup that caused the school to enter into improvement, it's the upper level students whose parents see this as an opportunity to get their kids into a "better" school. They are the ones that choose the option to leave. When it's your upper level students that leave you, look what happens to the demographics of your school. Your chances of getting out of improvement decrease even more. And I agree with Shannon, your higher achieving kids serve as role models for success and leaders within your school. When that entity is missing who will the students choose to follow then? I think we all know the answer to that! (EdS)
Finally, got in. In a recent education week article I happened across an article a week ago that spurred this thought process. It seems the field of education has some extremely uneducated people. The author stated in the article that jobs were being lost to China due to the poorly educated workforce in the United States. Well, everyone is an expert on schools I guess, since most US citizens went to school. Yet, its simple to understand the basic economics for me. Plain and simple, greed is why jobs are leaving. We as Americans demand high wages and low prices. Hence, China has become or is becoming a world super power by taking most of the American manufacturing jobs due to low manufacturing cost. These low cost come at a price: child labor, prison labor, forced slavery by the Chinese government. We have awaken a sleeping giant. It has absolutely nothing to do with education or the lack thereof. Remember just years back when our politicians sold us on the idea that textiles and some other low skill jobs required little education to do. So, did China take these jobs because they have better educated workers. My final thoughts are, if you are going to criticize the education system, then you need to provide real solutions.
I'm reminded of the educator in New York City who started a private school in the middle of the projects. She has been on many TV shows, I saw her many years ago on 60 minutes. She taught inner city kids with absentee parents, who were poor, and had very little going for them. She took them as they came to her. She didn't worry about their educational or cultural background. She took them from where they were and taught them to read, write, explore the world, and feel good about doing a good job. She is the type of educator I want to be. If I teach the child as much as I can about living and learning and loving, I'll will have done my part. No legislation can make a teacher teach better. They are guidelines for us to follow. We are being held accountable to NCLB, AYP, and the ABCs, but if we teach the way we should, our kids will learn to enjoy learning about a great big wonderful world. I hope to help in their discoveries.
I guess this is what I am supposed to respond to, so I guess I'll start off topic. I'm not so sure about this agree to disagree thing. Doesn't that seem like it is saying lets be the same but be different? I definitely think that everyone is individual and has their own thoughts, ideas, processes, characteristics, etc. But what if we really did 'agree to disagree' on everything? I think that would go against your idea of the 'stupid idea' concept. It seems that if everyone 'agreed to disagree' we would never laugh at anyone, or oursleves, having stupid ideas. Therefore, this would negate the entire argument by itself! Let's try to expound upon that just a little...If if say something, and another person thinks it is 'stupid', that is apparently ok. However, if I didn't take some type of offense to their mockery, then I would never be able to form a rebuttal except with complete use of knowledge (emotionless). This leads me to my next point...emotions typically cause us to think more, because they are formed from our own experiences and knowledge that we have gathered as individuals from our experiences. If I think someone's pain is also hurtful to me, I will be more sympathetic to their needs. However, if I am willing to disagree and block their feelings from my reaction, I would be more inclined to help them less and just go about my merry way.
I by no means want to be the trouble starter, but I typically think outside the box more than I should. I'm one of those people who wonders what the lights do when they go out for the night, or why driveways and parkways are not-so-aptly named, or if 'french fries' are just called 'fries' in Paris. I promise I will have something more valuable to contribute after I watch 'Stupid in America'.
Schools of Choice has proven to be the new way to legally segregate schools. I have worked in a school of the original senario. It was a newer school built in a suburb that was paired with an older school in the inner city. Our district spent approximately $10 million to renovate the older school and the same amount to build the newer school. The older school was upfitted with the newest in technology. The opening year the demographics were as follows:
New school 85% White 15% Minority 30% Free/Reduced Lunch
Older school 85% Minority 15%White 80% Free/Reduced Lunch
Each school had a theoretical capacity of 800 students. Within 3 years of implementing the plan the new school had approximately 1200 students and the older school 400 students. To further the resegration if your child attended one of the schools and there was less that 5% of their race attending the school, then they could transfer no questions asked.
The affects of this new plan were as follows:
New school 75% White 25% Minority 40% Free/Reduced lunch
Older School 98% Minority 2%White 95% Free/Reduced lunch
Is there any doubt that the older school now has its 4 principal and has been reconstituted for AYP terms. Has the 'new' older school's results changed. No, they are still struggling with test standards and enrollment. The newer school was recognized as a school of progress this year with approximately 82% of its students proficient.
Schools of Choice the new legal way to resegregate schools.
This week I had the joy of attending the NC Graduation Project Conference in Durham, NC. What I discovered is that the state is giving us another unfunded madate with no real explanation as to how it is going to make our students more competitive with the rest of the world. They also, didn't speak of how this may increase dropouts in our state. It was a very misguided conference where the presenters gave different views concerning what the graduation project should look like.....interesting very interesting. Would love to hear your views.
No one group or NCDPI has given the guidelines of the project. At our school we have been striving towards the project beginning with freshman. Freshman begin their project with various set goals and as they move up in their high school years the various goals increase. So in the end the student has a well finished project and product. Presently it is just concerning present seniors that have to complete a product, research paper, and presentation. It consists of a lot of components already. Very tedious and sometimes overwhelming for some students. Senior or Graduation Projects could alter the number of students that do graduate from high school. Any other opinions out there.
I truly believe that the educational system is reverting back to the days of segregation. I can remember when I was younger being bused several miles away to a school in a neighboring city so that the school would have ethnic diversity. I'm sure it costs the school system money, but the schools were ethnically diverse. Now a days, more children go to their neighborhood schools and depending on that neighborhood, it could be a good or low performing school. As a parent, I have to very particular where I live because of the school in the neighborhood. What do you think?
While I teach at our community's middle school, my wife teaches junior and senior english at the high school. This high school was one of the first in the state to do the senior/graduation project. They've done the project for several years now. While it does seem to be very cumbersome to start up from scatch, it does have the potential to be a very special thing. You need a strong (english) teacher to run the program. I'm not sure how a school goes about obtaining the state's expected standards and setup, but there are schools out there, without naming specific examples here, that have well-established programs and would be glad to share with a rep from your school the setup they use. The process is extensive as you already know. There are deadlines throughout the semester in their english class that the kids must meet or they receive a zero on that portion. And if they receive a zero, they very well could fail the project, fail english, and have to repeat it. I will say though, at a school that works hard to ensure that kids do not just fail and drop out, the chances of this happening are slim to none. They do note cards, a research paper, prepare a presentation, and complete a product. You know this already. What I want to tell you is that I have found this project to be very special in my four years as a presentation judge. These kids prepare themselves for public speaking. They put together homemade videos, powerpoints, etc. They write very good research papers. They learn about something new that they were curious about, sometimes a career that they can better decide to go into or avoid with their newfound knowledge. And lastly, they create products that are out of this world. Refurbished cars. Movie scenes from "The Matrix" done with Legos. I have been amazed. Anyway, your frustrations are substantiated based on what you've said about not being provided enough information about setting it up at your school. Please give the project a chance; reach out to some of the schools around the state that have enjoyed success while being "test pilots" for the state. I think you'll be so glad that you did when you see the final product on that evening.
I agree with you Brian. I do see some good work as well. I have been amazed at some of their projects. I just might question it starting to early in their freshman year. I think starting to early come be overwhelming. Maybe beginning their junior year. Just some thoughts.
Our students have had to complete a Sr project for the past 7 or 8 years. we are the only HS in the county that has done Sr projects (soon to be called Graduation Projects at KMHS). When the state revealed that Grad Projects were one of the new exit standards were not very concerned about that aspect of the new standards. We knew that we would have a few things to adjust/tweak regarding how we did it, but we did not panic. I would echo Brian's comments about the benefits of completing such a comprehensive assignment as the Grad Project. Can imagine the value of entering college or the workforce and having the skill to research a topic, develop physical evidence (product) of the topic & research, and being able to communicate your findings & results to an unknown audience (presentation)? We also feel that it keeps our Srs working and can help eliminate "Senioritis". We always have a few students who try to run from the Grad Project (transfer to another school, dropout, etc.), but we work very hard to make it a learning and meaningful experience. Consequently we are able to prevent the negative outcomes that are possible with msot students. I can't say that we are 100% successful at that, but our success is based on the efforts or our coordinator (teacher) and the high level of communication between the school and parents. We started last year involving Freshmen via providing information only. This year we will involve Sophs and next year we will ask Jrs to start their paper (Jrs do a research paper in Eng III). I would be more than happy to share with anyone everything I can about how we do Grad Projects. We don't have all the answers, but we have ironed out a few kinks along the way. I can be reached via email at jefleisher@clevelandcountyschools.org. We would most definitely continue the Grad Porject even if it were not one the exit standards.
Living the life of being a School of Improvement for three years and our parents having the option to CHOOSE was rather interesting. WE only had 12 of 650 choose another school. I was rather surprised. What i find ironic is now that we are out of improvement (for one year- HA) we are a choice for the school that our parents could choose because they are now in improvement! Go figure- we pass them back and forth. We have 10 of their students this year.
On another note --- we are one of the "inner city" schools that is supposedly the result of desegregation. It is interesting that even with what we "think" is desegregation---how much has really been done? Based on where our students live - there are only 4-5 schools that have the bulk of our minority and poverty students.
I agree desegregation is a joke.
So, what about EC---don't we only bus them SO far even though there is another more appropriate setting across the county. Our funding drives it all! Not student needs...IDEA in theory??? How serious are we about REALLY meeting student needs.
WE are challenged as leaders to be innovative- yet within funding constraints. How is that for stupid thoughts!
PS.. Now that we are out of improvement, our district is a District of Improvement...even more stupid!?????
I agree that schools of choice is a hoax. A mere thing to be laughed at. I feel like sometimes we are puppets on a string being pulled in every direction. I know I am surrounded by "Yes" people who smile and nod and agree with everything I say at the time and then scurry off to the teacher's lounge or the neighborhood pool to criticize everything that I mentioned after adding their own twist on the subject. The higher up you go the smaller your circle of trust. Remember that for those of you who are heading into administrative roles. As for School of Choice, my school is one that choice kids can be rezoned to attend. We have kids that are bused in from across the county. Parents do not understand the AYP's and I doubt they will ever get it. The way the media spins it we look like a bunch of incompetents abusing taxpayer's money. What about the transient students, or the ones who can't speak any English? How about the kids that just miss placing into EC or the ones that get services revoked because they scored one point above the testing limit? I mean we serve kids from abused households, one parent, no parent, whacky parents you name it. We get it all. But because subgroups are advertised by the media is looking for hits. There goes the neighborhood. This is teaching, not hocus pocus. There is no rabbit to pull out of a hat. Pat yourselves on the back if you know you fight for kids to be all they can be.
Kazaam!
Shannon:
I do concur with this idea. While the school might be an arts magnet, or 'prep academy'or whatever, it is tough to see the light at the end of the tunnel when you're wearing sunglasses. If the students have no one to look up to, they feel like they are already at the top of the mountatin. There are hopefully some people on your staff that are able to help with this. As the educators, we have to serve as the role models to students who sometimes don't care about our profession, let alone our credentials. I don't have a good answer, except that perception is everything. It is nearly impossible to turn around a school like that but hopefully we are all getting on the same page with changing it for the better. yes, this is snapp by the way.
Guns in Schools:
Should teachers be armed?
That was the title of a FoxNews segment that I saw while waiting in the doctor's office today. There is a teacher in Oregon who, believe it or not, is SUING the school system to allow her to bring a weapon to school! I didn't get the whole story bc there weren't subtitles, but the headlines said that Oregon law allows concealed weapons in public buildings. Thank God this does not include schools! I don't know what the purpose was of her wanting to bring it,but I doubt it was for show and tell. Why on earth would this even be considered? The teacher does have a concealed weapon permit, but is taking legal action against the school system to allow her to bring it on campus.
I just read that she is afraid her ex-husband will attack her at work AS WELL AS a 'columbine-style attack'. Sure the 1st reason is only to help justify the 2nd. Domestic dispute or not, this puts the safety of everyone in the building in jeopardy. Sometimes, I even feel it is wrong for the SRO to carry a weapon, but then I figure "he's got a gun, i aint sayin anything."
Here is the kicker- only 38 states actually PROHIBIT carrying a gun on school grounds.
Disclaimer: I do not condone the use of FoxNews or any other news affiliate for that matter. Thank you. Here is a link to the story.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,300180,00.html
This is a test post
okay..new cohort member, just making a test post
Hey--In our class coming up this week--we will hear from a school superintendent---what is a hot question to ask?---I want to know how much of their job is just politics? Is their biggest job to make the BOE happy to keep their jobs? Do they have to be educators? Just thoughts.
HI everybody...In regards to your question Steve..I was wondering the same thing. It probably depends on where you are...but it appears to be a weird circle. Students have to please their teachers, teachers have to please the principal, principals have to please the super, the super has to please the parents, and lately it appears that the parents have to please the kids. I guess the kids are in charge.
I disagree with what Shannon said. We have a new beautiful school in our county and parents choose to keep their students in an older school because of the schools history. The new school has classrooms sitting empty because the parents want their child to go to "their" school. The county is going to have to redistrict to get the one school full and to alleviate the overcrowding of the other
Hi! I love writing and I love thinking! No wonder I'm a teacher as well. It must be our fate, I guess. So, I'll be following your blog, if you don't mind. Cheers
I want to add to Robert's comment concening the graduation project. We started this at my school last year, and for the most part it went pretty well. I can tell you that this project is not for every student. Now this semester the students are starting their research papers in the 11th grade rather than 12th grade.This project is very time consuming and requires a lot of work not just from students, but teachers, mentors, and community workers. I think the project is a wonderful idea for 12th graders who have plans to attend a 4 year college or university.
Hi Lisa, and welcome to our blog. You are very welcomed here. Given that I use this as a teaching tool having educators from throughout the world join our conversation is a wonderful opportunity to help us generate and share our ideas. Thank you for taking the time to visit and participate and I hope you become a regular reader and contributor to this work.
Al Proffit
(aka Owl Prophet, as odd as that is)
I'm in the Ashe County cohort and am just logging on - I've got some reading to do to catch up!
Indeed there is s ton of reading initially, but once you establish your own topics and conversations it becomes a ton easier and meaningful. Thanks for getting us started. OP
Good morning Dr. Proffit and other bloggers. I am in the Winston Salem cohort and can't wait to get started and learn all I can!
Hello Everyone:
Dr. Proffit:
I was able to access the syllabus and have gotten App state to forward my email to my regular school account.
I ran down the blog responses and see that we are hitting all the hot topics here.
For my two cents:
Teachers stay in a school when they have a meaningful relationship with people they work with. Parents will keep their students in a school where they feel that their children are safe, respected and nutured. At the end of the day, magnet schools will always be filled with parents looking for the "next best thing". I try not to worry when a couple of parents drift off to somewhere else. Let's be honest the parent exploring the charter school is usually the parent that has been burning up your phone line anyway wanting to discuss everything from the nutritional content of the school lunch to the amount of mulch under the slides in the playground.
WOW - What a mouthful!! I read a comment from "alonza"??? from September of 2007 which said it better than I've ever heard it said before. Charter schools "are the new legal way to resegregate schools". It couldn't be more true. Over Christmas, I had dinner with some of my husband's teaching friends in Memphis. It was so interesting hearing their discussions of segregation (some even moving their own children to private schools) in Memphis in the 60's when they started teaching and comparing that with my experience as a child in southern WV in the late 70's and 80's. In my county, segregation was not necessarily racial (although the attitudes did exist) but was prevalent nonetheless. WE faced much of what we see today -- Have's vs. Have nots. This seemingly nondescript statement sums up all of my distate for the charter school movement. Students should not have to go to a charter school to receive the education they deserve. My goal as an administrator is to provide the best possible education for all students - full of all the rigor, relevance, creativity, discipline and resources that our children deserve - no excuses and no rest until we can do it. The charter school movement just undermines that.
OK, I just took my Myers Briggs Assessment (thank God for snow days!!) I have changed over the decade or so that I took it last!
They rate me as an ESTJ (I was an ISTJ last time). How sad, they called me a field marshall and I took it as a compliment! The write up I read said that the quote that sums up an ESTJ is "I'm sorry that you have to die to advance my goals." How nice it would be if everyone would fall in line with that concept!! It would be interesting to find out what the polar opposite would be, I guess an ISFP adn how to work with them better. So long.
The mind is definitely working after taking all of the mind test/assessments and reading the blog. As we all move along on the administrative ladder, how do we move others from cogs in the wheel to team members? What I mean by this is: The cogs in the wheel are just there doing what they are told but not excited about anything except complaining about doing what they are told. The team players are more than willing to do what is expected and looks for ways that they can help in other areas. It may be a better question to ask; How do we build our team?
Hello W-S ED.S cohort! I'm in and ready to get my blog on:)
Hello everyone. One of our assignments for this semester is to develop a statement of belief and a brief autobiography. Mine is now tied to the school website to enable parents and stakeholders to see as well. You can access it by following the link below:
http://www.alleghany.k12.nc.us/ses/barnes/default.htm
Afternoon All,
Marshall here from the Ashe County Cohort. Let's get bloggin!
Thinking about personal vision and mission beliefs. Do posters and plaques work? Do stakeholders really read the posted statements or do we need to verbally communicate, how often is too often to tell someone your vision.
Marshall after the first 2 months that AG was @ NW did you ever hear or see anything about vision or mission?
Personality Profile Posting:
My past life experiences strongly influence who I am today. I was raised in the foster care system of West Virginia from the age of 18 mos. until I aged out at 18. I was raised in a rural area where there was a great deal of bias against “welfare babies” which still exists today. Because of my family name (I came from a long line of scab miners and bootleggers), I knew people didn’t expect much from me. I grew up battling the demons of self-doubt and a need to prove myself. The more I proved myself, the more people began to take notice and opportunities began to present themselves. Because I was a first-generation high-school graduate as well as college student, there was little support at home for my endeavors. There were community members along the way who were willing to help me as much as I was willing to help myself. This translated into a self-determination, sense of independence and strong desire to battle the unfairness in life. My job requires that I advocate to those who are disabled, limited in the English Proficiency, struggling, homeless, or just in need of answers or support. College access and literacy are two of my academic priorities. I believe that these two elements are the key to independence and any 21st Century Skill that can be imagined. While it rears itself once in a while, I have conquered my need to please others and am developing a greater sense of confidence in myself and my abilities. I remain a very independent sort, not wanting to rely on others for anything I can do myself. These traits can be an asset and a flaw in the field of leadership. I know this about myself and work diligently to maintain a balance.
As I took these assessments and basically confirmed what I already knew about myself (no real shockers!), I continue to reinforce my belief in balance. While diligence, organization and goal focus are worthy attributes that make a leader successful, they can also undermine one’s efforts if they are so rigid that they don’t allow for the human element. Being a democratic leader can be valued as long as one can step to the plate and become authoritarian when it is needed and can delegate when it is appropriate. In my world, balance and trustworthiness are the most important traits.
My name is Robin Edwards and I am in the Catawba Cohort. I like to stay busy and enjoy learning so I go to school about every other year. First I recieved my bachelors degree in Bus Admin and Accounting from Gardner -Webb when they were a mere college, now a university. I then decided to teach and went back to school through App and got my permit to teach, (teaching license) and then decided if I was going to teach I may as well get paid for it so I decided to earn my masters degree in curriculum App also. A couple of semesters later I then decided to add on the MSA through APP. Now I am currently pursuing my Ed.S degree again through App, can't afford GWU. In addition to taking two grad classes a week I also work two jobs. During the day I teach middle students to type and introduce them to new technology and how to use it. I introduce them to technology HAHA !! By night I am a waitress, politically correct version, a server, in a family seafood restaurant. With a schedule like mine you would think I had a taunt little, tight in shape, muscular body wouldn't you? Well this is cybespace so think what you want.............
So where do we want education to head in the next 10 years? We will be the ones making the major education decisions for thousands of students. Will we fall into the same trap as previous education leaders have done? Will we maintain the status quo or we will take on parents, politicans, teachers and other educational leaders to make real changes that will benefit all students? So what changes will we make to help all students?
I am in. I do not see the blog you are requiring response to...
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