Stuck in the Middle

Stuck in an elevator with 11 social studies teachers and being the obvious fat guy isn't fun. It was a million degrees. One of the passengers was "elevator expert guy". Every five minutes he would explain that we could just use our credit card to hit a release switch. One man was real upset with the doorman (William Gomes) who refused to call the FDNY. Apparently doorman are not allowed to call anyone... Its not in their job description. After several calls to NYPD, and FDNY we were saved. Sadia and Woolsey (the last ones on the elevator I might add), not me thank god, were insanely hot. Sadia at one point was pressing her face against the doors hoping for some cool air. The insanity of the heat was only trumped by the insanity of 11 people frantically calling 911 and not knowing the address.

I made it out alive. The first breathe of fresh air was overly welcoming upon the door s opening. The reaction of the FDNY (guys who go into burning buildings for a living kinda says it all...) ," Wow, its hot in there."

Support for Doug Avella Builds

To all those in favor of critical thought, You have most likely heard about the situation in the Bronx at IS 318. On May 13 six classes of 8th graders staged a boycott in protest to being forced to take another standardized test, one of over two dozen this year. They boycotted one of the practice tests. An 8th grade social studies teacher, Douglas Avella, was falsely accused of instigating the students to boycott, and he is already in the rubber room and likely to lose his job entirely.

READ THE ENTIRE BLOGPOST on "EDUCATION NOTES ONLINE"

iCOPE --- Student/Parent Union???

Former QHST hotshot Joanna Vogel shares:

"I know the changes that need to be made in my school to make it better but the power to make these changes is out of my hands." More than three-quarters answered yes.

Read the article

SUMMER SCHOOL 2008

Growing Pains

Feeling comfortable is not the pathway for growth. I’m not implying we as teachers should be uncomfortable but we should grow. Being uncomfortable sucks. Growth hurts.

I remember when I was six years old; I used to get these night time leg cramps. Even now as I write this post they send shivers down my spine. I would lie in bed, unable to sleep, stare and the bottom of the bunk bed above me, and inevitably scream out for my parents to help me. When I told my dad about the pain he responded that it was all part of growing up. According to him (and at seven this made perfect sense) at night my legs were growing. These were in his words “growing pains.”

Growing as a school community, expanding our network of educators, through people leaving to teach in other places and administrators moving on hurts. However in the end it is growth.

Ok I must admit the leg thing didn’t all work out in the end exactly as dad had said. I was in so much pain I figured I should be about seven foot tall. I’m only 5’7”. I guess I’m sharing this because my dad’s acknowledgement of the “growing pains” helped me finally get some sleep.

Moving on, growing, separating from comfortable situations and risking growth is never simple.

Effectiveness

"Testing is the only real way to measure student progress and teacher effectiveness"

This afternoon, I inadvertently brought up a discussion about measuring teacher effectiveness with colleagues. I'd intended on posting my reaction to the discussion here, but I'd like to open it up more to others first- as not to lead the discussion.

so, as the end of the school year comes to a close:

What does it mean to be effective?

Ruminations at Year’s End (or Proctoring Regents Exams: The Devil’s Work)

Lori writes:

One thing that I learned from being in other people’s classrooms is that many of us don’t distribute letters, like the one about cell phone policies during Regents week, to our advisees. I found stacks of them (why are we given so many copies?) in several rooms I was in. All of that information belongs on a website that parents could check; the kids leave them on the tables when we actually do give them out.

When I proctored in Lieber’s room, however, I found some more pleasant surprises. There was good material from both his SLC cohort group and his English class. I was able to swipe a few good templates. A good use of PD Day in June might be a share fest where people present some of their good stuff. We all say we’re not up for it this time of year, but many of us are already dreaming about the clean slate, fresh start, and new ideas by the time Brooklyn Queens Day comes around. I’m thinking about workshops like I’ve been to at NCTE’s annual conventions. Or even just something they do called the Idea Exchange where people photocopy lessons, units, ideas, etc. and you can walk around tables and pick up what looks interesting. If not, maybe the TI kids could do the conference that they used to do on a weekend, and present workshops for us along with reflections of their experiences. Thinking ahead.

As for proctoring, teachers need to chill with talking about colleagues behind their backs. Proctors can read, and most of us have told kids write in ink a hundred times only to see them write in pencil. And we’ve begged them to fill in every answer, but a kid that failed math all year and says he doesn’t have a clue what to do is not going to answer every question. Get over it. In general, teachers need to be nicer to one another. Especially to newer teachers and student teachers. We need to use our experience to guide not intimidate.

And remind kids to bring sweatshirts.

Book talk for July?

Ok well we have tried online summer book talks in the past with some partial success. So here is my plan for this summer. On July 21st we will start posting chapter by chapter talk around the following book:





Results Now: How We Can Achieve Unprecedented Improvements in Teaching And Learning (Paperback)by Michael J. Schmoker (Author)

BUY BOOK FOR 12 BUCKS HERE!!!!

"Adolescents entering the adult world in the 21st century will read and write more than at any other time in human history. They will need advanced levels of literacy to perform their jobs, run their households, act as citizens, and conduct their personal lives." – Richard Vacca (Quoted by Mike Schmoker in Results Now)

"Imagine. . .all students, regardless of socioeconomic circumstance, having spent most of their class time in English, social studies, and other courses closely and carefully reading, rereading, discussing, and writing about the ideas in various texts. Imagine every student graduating from high school having analyzed and imitated excellent examples of adult writing and having written countless close literary analyses, essays, grant proposals, business plans, and position papers on multiple political, scientific, and cultural controversies-after carefully reading and discussing two or more conflicting documents on innumerable engaging issues." – Mike Schmoker, Results Now (ASCD 2006)

N. Pugh Writes:


Leadership and literacy are my two passions. Over the years I have read much about both. While I have always felt that they are intimately connected, I have never previously read anything that endorses this. A short while ago I was handed Mike Schmoker's Results Now to read in preparation for my new position. To my delight, I find that this inspiring book puts literacy right at the heart of leadership (three of its ten chapters are devoted to literacy education). This will be Empowerment's focus for work next year and I fully expect to be calling upon a number of people at QHST to support this work.

In Results Now, Mike Schmoker challenges the reader to imagine a specific scenario (see above) then deflates the reader by showing the research. Research clearly shows that best practice, or Schmoker’s imagined practice, is not in place in most schools. QHST is not most schools. Much of his imagined practice is either in evidence in many classrooms here or is on the school’s radar for development.

NEGATIVE REVIEW CLICK HERE

Does QHST need SLC meetings?

At the heart of the philosophy of QHST are several key concepts. Structured SLC meetings, Critical Friends Groups (to those who are new to QHST we used to have these), Inclusive Mixed Ability Classrooms, Advisory/DEAR, three small learning communities, and supporting distributive leadership throughout the building are pillars in our school.



We just voted to continue having SLC meetings. We are staying the course.



But there is concern among some of the professionals in the building. Those voices need to be heard. Attempts at these conversation electronically have proved fruitful in the past.




"Maybe we need to have a conversation about why those 13 people wanted to do away with SLC meetings. " -Lori



"Good idea. I am curious as well and it may lead to changes in what is happening in SLC's that may not be considered beneficial." -Dierdre



Why are 13 fellow union members unhappy with our current structure? What are we doing to support these teachers? How might administration address this potentially philosophy changing vote in the future? How might QHST benefit from not having SLC meetings? How do SLC meetings change our practice as teachers?

YOUNG BULLIES TERRORIZE BROOKLYN HS STUDENTS

The following article appeared in the NYPOST. Last night I was involve in a disscussion with teachers from the high school and teachers from other schools about this issue. The question that was possed was, "How are students, teachers, administartors, department officials, police and parents held accountable when something like this happens?"

By YOAV GONEN, Education Reporter

'Kids are talking about bringing weapons to protect them - selves.' - Parent Kenneth Martinez


May 27, 2008 -- There are plenty of reasons high-school students skip class, but fear of younger kids isn't usually one of them.

Yet that's what teens at Foundations Academy in Brooklyn said is behind the school's shocking 27.7 percent attendance rate on Friday, May 16 - when 195 of 270 students failed to show up.

Students said they've been living in fear for weeks after battles with middle-schoolers who share their Bedford-Stuyvesant building began spilling onto the streets and getting out of control.

"I'm concerned about my safety because they were threatening people with guns," said Christine Squires, a 17-year-old 11th-grader.

Her classmates described being jumped by hoards of friends and relatives of the younger kids both before and after school. Some claim they were threatened with knives or guns.

Parents of the teens - who assumed their days of taking their kids to and from school were long gone - said they've found themselves chaperoning their children because of the violence.

"Kids are talking about bringing weapons to protect themselves," said Kenneth Martinez, who kept his 11th-grade daughter out of school twice in the past 10 days - and who now accompanies her daily to the Tompkins Avenue school.

"I can't leave worrying that, God forbid, something's gonna happen to my child," he said.

Both Gary Beidleman, principal of Foundations Academy, and Kourtney Cole, principal of the Urban Environment middle school, declined to comment.

But parents credit Beidleman for doing his best to keep the kids safe - including procuring a yellow bus to take the high-schoolers to the nearest subway station after school.

Teens said the trouble started weeks ago, when seven Foundations Academy students were selling cupcakes for an AIDS walk in a lunchroom filled with Urban Environment students.

They said the younger kids began shouting anti-gay slurs, hurling food and, ultimately, throwing fists.

In the weeks that followed, friends and relatives of the middle-school kids were apparently recruited on the premise that the smaller, younger kids needed protection - even though several parents at Urban Environment acknowledged their school had been the aggressor.

"This is an ongoing problem with the junior high school," said the mother of a sixth-grader there. "There's no proper supervision."

Department of Education officials did not respond to requests for comment, and cops said they had no record of incidents with guns at the schools.

But with just weeks left in the school year and Regents exams coming up, the high-school students said they don't want to be forced to miss any more days.

"All I can do is hope," said one junior.