teachers

Teachers and the Morals Clause

Eduflack Parents, teachers

Down in Texas, it seems some parents have their knickers in a twist over the latest revelation regarding a Spanish teacher at a Dallas-area magnet school.  The teacher in question is Cristy Nicole Deweese.  Seems she has always wanted to be a Spanish teacher, and she is now living the dream.  And now a local mom is leading a crusade to have her removed from the classroom immediately.

Her sin?  When she was 18 years old and in college, Deweese posed for Playboy magazine.  In fact, she was “Coed of the Month” in the February 2011 edition of the mag.  Now her old photos are being circulated and the moral crusaders have kicked in.  Huffington Post has a good recap of the issue here.
Eduflack appreciates that teachers are held to a higher standard than most, particularly in the public eye.  And as a former school board chairman, I appreciate the morals language that is in most educators’ contracts, allowing the school and the school district to look out for the best interests of the community and the students.
But what, exactly, is Deweese’s fireable sin?  As a legal adult (18 years old) she legally posed for a magazine that is legal (for most) to purchase.  She broke no laws, committed no seeable offense.  And even if we might have a personal objection to a choice she made at the start of her adulthood, it was done years before she ever became a teacher.  
I presume that Deweese attended a college of education in Texas, passed her courses, and earned her degree.  She took all the requisite steps to secure a teaching license.  She even managed to impress veteran educators by securing a teaching job in a local magnet school.  She did everything that one asks of those entering the profession.
In all of the articles written on the subject, no one seems to reflect on what sort of teacher she was.  And since the school hasn’t taken action, I’m going to assume she is a pretty good newbie teacher, good enough that no one is acting too rashly.
I get that some folks, particularly down in the Lone Star State, may have problems with Playboy and the magazine’s industry in general.  But that’s hardly a reason to trash this woman’s career before it even starts.  Sure, there are pictures out there.  But at the end of the day, they aren’t much different than the pictures one sees of coeds on Facebook or Instagram or Flickr.  The world is changing, and folks just share too much of those images to begin with.
What’s next?  The new president of Cinnabon was a Hooter’s waitress to put herself through college.  Should we now boycott our cinnamon buns because she once wore tight orange shorts and a low-cut top when she was slinging wings?  I’m guessing there are photos of that too.
With so much we need to worry about to ensure that our kids are getting the public educations that they both deserve and we all should feel obligated to provide, can’t we start focusing on what is really important?  Can’t we focus on her skills and abilities as a teacher?  Are we really saying that the (legal) things we did or said or captured when we were 18 are now grounds from keeping us from our chosen professions and personal paths once we become more responsible adults?
Let Cristy Nicole teach.  Who knows?  If all this means just a few more boys pick up Spanish language skills, we might be thanking her for it later.
  

Where Are the Parents in Education Nation?

Eduflack CCSS, Media, Parents, school boards, Students, teachers

With day one of the 2013 Education Nation Summit in the books, and day two offering up a terrific array of speakers, one has to be impressed.  Throughout yesterday’s program, participants heard from many of the nation’s leading education voices — superintendents, national organization heads, entrepreneurs, innovators, and all-around visionaries.

Spotlights were placed on new initiatives designed to spark new thinking.  There was even a constant reminder of an ongoing student competition, seeking to signal the best of the best in young education innovation.
Today promises tales from the celebrity sector of education, as names such as Tony Bennett (the I Left My Heart in San Francisco singer, not the I Left My Post in Florida state supe) and Goldie Hawn slated to address the audience.
In watching the 1 percent of the education community, if you will, though, Eduflack was left with a lingering question.  Where were the parents?  Where were the voices of those caregivers left to decide which school provides the greatest opportunity for their kids?  Where were the mothers worried about school safety or the fathers concerned about their son dropping out without employment opportunities?  Where were the parents in the academical village?
As a lead up to the two-day summit, NBC now offers two town halls to address some of these stakeholder issues.  Education Nation first offered up a summit with students, which is always an eye-opening and interesting development.  It also provided a town hall for teachers, letting educators discuss many of struggles and concerns they are facing each day in the classroom.
One can argue that these two voices also needed to be front and center during the two-summit itself.  No, I’m not talking the celebrity teacher who is trying to make a name for himself with his latest crusade.  Nor am I talking about the student who is on the cusp of curing cancer before being named homecoming queen and student body president.  I’m talking about those very real voices who can speak to the struggles and the victories that we see in classrooms across the nation.
Those are the voices that should be in there at the New York Public Library.  As those in the know are discussing the impacts and intents of Common Core State Standards, we should also be hearing from parents concerned with the amount of testing their children receive and whether any of those assessments measure if their child is ready for the rigors of college or not.
As the leaders in the field are discussing blended learning, its merits, and how it presents itself, we should also be hearing from parents who wonder how they provide it to their child when they don’t have internet access at home or can’t afford the latest tablet that everyone is gushing about.
Yes, Education Nation plays a valuable role in these ongoing discussions that drive our community.  It is important for the movers and shakers to get together and hear these discussions and understand many of the policy and instructional issues facing our schools.
But it is just as important for voices from the rest of the nation to be heard.  It isn’t enough to say that parents and local school boards and other such actors can watch Education Nation on the Internet.  We need engagement, not just information.  We need a give and take of ideas, not just the consumption of data.
Eduflack doesn’t mean to pick on Education Nation. The same could be said about virtually any education conference or summit these days.  At least Education Nation makes the effort at convening students and educators beforehand as part of the kick-off town halls.
In reality, Education Nation is made up of millions of parents and caregivers and volunteers and educators and other stakeholders who are unable to get into the room.  How do we ensure that their voice is heard during the process?  It is a challenge NBC and its partners are up to, and it is a puzzle that the entire education community should be committed to solving.

Demonstrating True Educational Leadership

Eduflack accountability, Students, teachers

We have all heard the stories.  A school run by the popularity of its sports programs.  Athletes who ruled the school.  Student-athletes provided all sorts of special exceptions.  Thanks to both 1980s movies and very real activities, the entire tale has become almost cliche.

So much so that we have all just accepted it as the norm.  Student-athletes hold a special position in many public schools.  In many ways, they rule the school.
That is why it is so refreshing to see the actions recently taken by Matt Labrum, the head football coach of Union High School in Roosevelt, Utah.  Football can be big business in Utah (it is no Florida, Texas, or Ohio, but you can guess the Friday night lights are just as bright).  Labrum is an educator.  An as such, he was concerned when he heard that many on his team were skipping class.  And he was downright bothered when told that his players were engaged in cyberbullying of other classmates.
So the football coach drew his own red line.  Following a recent game, Coach Labrum suspended his entire high school football team.  All student-athletes were relieved of their position.  All were told to turn in their equipment and jerseys.  The football team was shut down, as a result of behaviors not befitting student leaders.
As Cameron Smith of Yahoo Sports reports, it is having quite an impact:

“We looked at it as a chance to say, ‘Hey, we need to focus on some other things that are more important than winning a football game,'” Labrum told the Deseret News. “We got an emotional response from the boys. I think it really meant something to them, which was nice to see that it does mean something. There was none of them that fought us on it.”

The early results, as documented in this terrific feature from the Deseret News, has been remarkable. Players showed up at school the following day — a Saturday — at 7 a.m. and were told how they could re-earn a spot on the team. Teenagers have been cleaning up area streets as part of new team-mandated community service work. They are attending character classes during hours when they previously would have been practicing.

Just as importantly, the team’s natural leaders are starting to realize that they need to be more vocal and step in to help those teammates who go astray. A key part of Labrum’s decision to suspend the entire team was borne of his frustration that the players who did live up to his expectations were not rising up taking control of the locker room. Now, that is changing. Only two of the team’s seven original captains were re-elected during the team meeting the day after the Judge Memorial loss.

Such actions are never easy.  It isn’t every coach that is willing to cancel his season or take such a step.  And it certainly isn’t every student-athlete who can respond to such an action in a meaningful, positive way.  But the action and reaction in Roosevelt is one that gives us hope.  We have leaders and learners who are able to do the right thing.  And we have students who are willing to admit their shortcomings, take responsibility without blaming others, and change their behaviors for the better.
In an era where we only seem to hear about bad behaviors, both in our public schools and in sports, Coach Labrum and Union High help us find some nugget of good.  Well done, Coach!

Phonetically Supporting Young Readers

Eduflack Parents, reading, teachers

Typically, Eduflack looks at education issues through a policy or a reform or a communications lens.  But I’m also fortunate enough to be parent.  A parent of a first and a second grader.

Last week was Back to School night at the kiddos’ school.  One of the most refreshing documents I’ve seen in quite a while came from my daughter’s first grade teacher (a “boy teacher,” she keeps reminding me).  In preparing parents for how they can support their children’s path to reading, he offered the following letter:
“Der Parints,
Az ur child brings hom riting 4 the frst tim, doo not b srprizd at the spelling. The inglish langwij iz a confuzing langwiz 2 lrn. Insisting that stoodents uz ‘correct’ spelling nhibits thair dzir and abilite 2 rit. We aftn uz ‘phonetic’ speling in r wrk.
Az parints, u can hlp ur child bi praising awl thair riting. Let ur child red thair riting 2 u. Displa thair riting around ur hows. No that az ur child bcums fumilyr with the inglish langwij throo reding and riting, he or she wil mak the tranzishun to ‘correct’ speling.
Thank u 4 ur suport,”
Kudos to my daughter’s teacher and all of the other educators out there who help in this way.  While such a letter may confuse some parents, it is just the sort of focus we all need to remember the reading and writing process, to support a phonics-based instructional approach, and to ensure our children become strong readers and writers.
 

Eduflack Yack – Vallas and Licensure

Eduflack Connecticut, school boards, teachers, Yack
As we head into August, Eduflack is launching a new feature — a new Podcast called “Eduflack Yack.”  A couple of times a week, I’ll opine on the education issues of the day.  Sometimes it’ll be on a topic written about on the site; sometimes it will just be a topic that deserving a little rant. But every time we will try go against the grain and take a different look at the issue.
Give it a listen.

AFT: Parents Resist Reforms

Eduflack accountability, AFT, Parents, teachers

Parents oppose closing low-performing schools, reject the notion of moving resources from traditional public schools to charters, and are resistant to extending the school day, according to a new survey to be released by the American Federation of Teachers today, and previewed by Lyndsey Layton in today’s Washington Post.

According to Layton, the results of a poll of more than 1,000 parents will be a featured part of AFT President Randi Weingarten’s address today at the national AFT TEACH Conference.  Among the highlights:
  • 61% oppose closing low-performing schools and reassigning students to a different school
  • More than 75% oppose reducing compensation for teachers or cutting resources for the classroom while increasing spending on charter schools
  • 58% did not approve of officials lengthening the school day (while a third thought it was a good idea)
  • 56% oppose giving tax dollars to families to pay for private school tuition (better known as vouchers), while 41% approve
  • A majority say too much learning in the classroom has been sacrificed in order to accommodate state tests
Layton also offers this nugget, to be part of Weingarten’s prepared remarks today:
Decades of top-down edicts, mass school closures, privatization and test fixation with sanctions, instead of support, haven’t moved the needle — not in the right direction, at least … You’ve heard their refrain, competition, closings, choice.  Underlying that is a belief that disruption is good and stability is bad.
It sounds like Weingarten is bringing her A game this week and looking to rally the troops as they prepare for Common Core implementation, NCLB waivers, ESEA reauthorization, and the next generation of reforms.  
We’ll look for other key ideas when the full text of the speech is publicly available.  In the meantime, I’m sure many of those closers and privatizers and test fixaters are sharpening their tongues …

Stereotyping the Teaching Profession

Eduflack teachers

As chairman of a local school board, I was amazed when a constituent was alarmed that our teachers were getting full-time benefits, but were only working “nine months a year.”  Anyone who thinks teaching isn’t a full time job has clearly never lived with an educator.

Yet we do like to promote those stereotypes, don’t we?  Ol’ Eduflack was a little taken aback today by a post on his Facebook feed.  On FB, I follow a number of education-based groups to monitor their social media activities.  I do the same on Twitter.
But on FB today, there was a post from ABCTE, or the American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence.  For those in the know, ABCTE is one of the leaders in alternative certification efforts, having spent more than a decade now helping states build alternative streams of teacher candidates.  It was a darling of the George W. Bush Administration, which provided it significant dollars to get off the ground and partner with states across the nation.
At any rate, today’s ABCTE post was about the “rewards” of teaching.  With no citation, ABCTE notes, through feedback from its alumni network, it was able to narrow down the top five rewards for being a public school teacher in the United States.  They are:
  1. Make a difference
  2. Job satisfaction
  3. Salaries and benefits
  4. Schedule
  5. Summers off
Really?  After all we know and all we have seen over the last decade, particularly in recent years as teachers have been under attack from all corners, these are the top rewards for being a teacher?  As benefits have been reduced and salaries have been frozen in so many communities, that’s number 3?  As so many teachers are reported to be frustrated by all of the hours being put in on evenings and weekends and holidays that no one sees, schedule is number four? And as far too many educators seek summer jobs just so they can pay their bills in a profession where salary still doesn’t match impact or importance, summers off is number five?
While this may be the view of ABCTE alums, it doesn’t seem to align with the story we’ve been hearing from the media in recent years.  The tale of teachers resigning because of significant job dissatisfaction, of reductions in force and rollbacks of benefits, of lack of control of one’s schedule, both in the classroom and outside of the school day.
Then again, maybe all those educators are off at the beach, enjoying their summers and looking longingly at their pension statements and their expected paycheck bumps for the coming school year.

Common Core Math, Common Sense Approach

Eduflack 21CS, Achievement gap, Arne Duncan, assessment, CCSS, Math, teachers

Earlier this week, EdSec Arne Duncan issued one of his strongest defenses of Common Core State Standards to date, taking CCSS haters to task for spreading misinformation and and offering “imaginary” criticisms of the non-federal standards issued in by the Federal government through Race to the Top and other new programs.

His defense is laudable.  Duncan is a firm believer in common academic standards for all students.  A fifth grader in Connecticut should be learning at the same pace as a fifth grader in Chicago or in Tuscaloosa or in Denver.  And like it or not, a state or a locality can still protect their academic autonomy even with CCSS as the guide.
But with so many folks focused on CCSS’ black helicopters and its role in leading an international takeover of our public schools where every child will be speaking French and using the metric system, and with critics on the other side of the ideological spectrum fearing CCSS assessments and believing that testing our kids in any way, shape, or form will destroy our children from the soul outward (despite decades of children who took California Achievement Tests, Iowa tests, Stanfords, SATs, ACTs, drivers tests, IQ tests, and Pepsi taste tests without too much damage), not much public discussion is being directed at HOW we actually go about teaching to the CCSS and ensuring that are kids are hitting the math and reading benchmarks we expect to see.
Last week, the State of Louisiana waded into this discussion, issuing guidance on what resources were best for teachers in teaching to the Common Core.  Interestingly, Louisiana’s Office of the State Superintendent did not recommend any specific math textbooks, finding that “none were sufficiently aligned to the Common Core State Standards.”
But it did recommend a new P-12 math curriculum created by a not-for-profit organization, praising it for its rigor and and alignment to CCSS.
The curriculum of note was developed by a national not-for-profit called Common Core (interestingly, the group was created years before the CCSS were ever adopted and is in no way affiliated with the CCSSI, though both share some words in their names).  Common Core “creates curriculum tools and promotes programs, policies, and initiatives at the local, state, and federal levels.”
Some might recall the K-12 ELA curriculum maps Common Core released in 2010 as part of its Curriculum Mapping Project.  To date, those ELA maps have been viewed more than 6 million times, with 20,000 educators from across the country formally joining the Mapping Project to ensure a “well-developed, content-rich curriculum.”
The math curriculum boosted by Louisiana is Common Core’s latest effort.  It was developed in partnership with the New York State Department of Education and is currently available on the Common Core website and through NYSED’s website.  The Common Core math curriculum will be available in print through Jossey-Bass at the end of the summer.
Why is this so important?  For one, Common Core’s efforts (in both ELA and math) are a direct response to the question of how do we teach to the CCSS.  They are real approaches to meaningful curricula that align to the standards, go beyond the basics, and really promote student learning and intellectual development.
Equally important, this is a curricular approach developed by educators for educators.  It wasn’t done “to” teachers, it was done by teachers, created with classroom needs and instructional improvement as a central driver. 
Clearly, we are still at the beginning of the CCSS implementation journey.  But Common Core’s efforts, starting with the ELA maps and rolling into this new P-12 math curriculum, is moving us beyond the CCSS rhetoric and vitriol toward some meaningful discussion and action in how to improve teaching and learning and how to ensure all students are meeting expectations.
(Full disclosure: Eduflack has worked with Common Core for years, including helping roll out the ELA Curriculum Maps.)

Evaluating Teacher Prep Programs, NCTQ Style

Eduflack AFT, Arne Duncan, higher ed, Teacher Education, teachers

At the stroke of midnight last evening, the National Council on Teacher Quality released its Teacher Prep Review 2013 Report.  The long-anticipated report provides a deep look at how more than 1,100 colleges and universities prepare prospective teachers and where our deficiencies may be in teacher preparation for the elementary, middle, and secondary grades.

In addition to the media coverage the report has received, it has also resulted in quite a number of interesting comments on the findings and the ratings that NCTQ provided these institutions of higher education.
Fortunately, NCTQ assembled some of the more interesting nuggets of endorsement for the Teacher Prep Review, including:
“Teachers deserve better support and better training than teachers’ colleges today provide, and school districts should be able to make well-informed hiring choices.” EdSec Arne Duncan in today’s Wall Street Journal.
“I think NCTQ points is that we are probably underequipping teachers going into classrooms.  We did not fare as well on this review.  We need to do a better job of communicating both with our students and NCTQ where our content can be found.  in some cases, we have some work to do.” Southern Methodist University Ed School Dean David Chard in today’s Associated Press piece.
“You just have to have a pulse and you can get into some of these education schools.  If policymakers took this report seriously, they’d be shutting down hundreds of programs.” Fordham Institute’s Michael Petrilli, also in the AP.
“Teacher preparation needs to be reformed from top to bottom.” Houston ISD Superintendent Terry Grier, in today’s Reuters piece.
“A key part of raising the education profession is related to who we attract the best candidates into teacher preparation programs in the first place.  We look to Singapore and Korea, and 100 percent of their teachers come from the top third of their college graduates.  The equivalent figure in the U.S. is 23 percent. ” Delaware Gov. Jack Markell in Huffington Post.
“It’s widely agreed upon that there’s a problem [with teacher training].  The report points out that California has an acute set of problems.” LAUSD Superintendent John Deasy in the Los Angeles Times.
But one statement that didn’t make the NCTQ highlight reel is that released earlier today by American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten.  In coming to the defense of teacher prep programs, Weingarten noted (on the AFT platform):
“Best-of and worst-of lists always garner attention, so we understand why NCTQ would use that device.  While its ‘do not enter’ consumer alerts will make the intended splash, it’s hard to see how it will help strengthen teacher preparation programs or elevate the teaching profession.  We need a systemic approach to improving teacher preparation programs and ensuring that every teacher is ready to teach …
While we agree with NCTQ on the need to improve teacher preparation, it would be more productive to focus on developing a consistent, systemic approach to lifting the teaching profession instead of resorting to attention-grabbing consumer alerts based on incomplete standards.”
Game on!
And for those interested in who gained top honors in the NCTQ ratings, four programs (“all secondary”) earned four stars — Furman University (SC), Lipscomb University (TN), Ohio State University (OH), and Vanderbilt University (TN).  Top honors seem to go to The Ohio State University, which also got 3 1/2 stars for its elementary school prep.

The Power of Teachers Unions

Eduflack AFT, NEA, Presidential campaign, teachers

With just about a week to go before the 2012 presidential elections, all eyes are turned (at least once Sandy passes into the history books) into Get Out the Vote efforts and how successful folks are in getting folks to the polls.

In past presidentials, we have seen the power of the teachers’ unions — the American Federation of Teachers and the National Education Association — in getting their candidates elected.  When dear ol’ Eduflack was in electoral politics, there were few organizations as important to the win than the teachers’ unions.
Today, the Thomas B. Fordham Institute and Education Reform Now released a new study that scores states based on the strength of their respective teachers unions.  
According to Fordham, the top 10 teachers’ union states are, in order: Hawaii, Oregon, Montana, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, California, New Jersey, Illinois, New York, and Washington.  For those counting, just one, Pennsylvania, stands a swing state for next week’s balloting.
In Tier Two, we see two swing states, Ohio (12) and Wisconsin (18).  Then we see states like Nevada (25), New Hampshire (30), Colorado (35), Missouri (38), Virginia (47), and Florida (50) rounding out the list.
The full report, How Strong Are U.S. Teacher Unions?, can be found here.
Over at my Yes Conn, We Can blog, I take a closer look at Connecticut and its number 17, Tier Two ranking.  There, I wrote:
All told, Fordham paints an interesting picture of the power of Connecticut’s teachers unions and their impact on policy.  When we see those states ranked ahead of Connecticut, we see that AFT and CEA enjoy a strong reputation without fully demonstrating the muscle to back it.  Through a strong membership base and state law that fully embraces collective bargaining, the unions are able to enjoy a power that their involvement in politics or perceived influence warrant.

Regardless of the rankings, Connecticut’s teachers’ unions will continue to enjoy their reputation for being a major power in Connecticut politics.  And it is a reputation well deserved.  But if this year has taught us anything it is that one voice alone should not and must not dominate the discussion on how to fix our schools.
Happy reading!