Improving Teaching Through a Grassroots Reformation: 
Disclaimer: This blog appearrantly struck a chord in me because its a behemoth of ideas all piled together  (feel free to comment on my logic or content- thanks)

An area that I feel compelled to work towards change, as a high school teacher, is the way that our school system deals with English Language Learners (ELLs). To give some concrete understanding to this issue let me reference how my district's has failed in their attempt to reach these students:

1. Lack of a system to address the need - Throw them all at the new inexperienced teachers- I received on my 1st year of teaching, 4 periods of students who, despite progressing through grades k-8, had failed just about every class and still remained functionally illiterate. The only advice I received was to: a. not assign homework (they won't do it) b.  kick out the misbehaving students quickly c. teach them academic vocabulary, with no emphasis on how or what, or mention of the fact that they could barely even read - - Needless to say my first year was rather trying. In fact, throughout the past couple years I've been teaching  these students the majority of teachers teaching this population have given up and moved on to "regular" classes, and, sadly, about half have given up on teaching altogether. At the same time the district and other teachers bemoan falling test scores and a high drop out rate.  
2. Lack of leadership- Though I am often frustrated with my colleagues, I believe the problem does not entirely lie in their hands. No one knows how to deal with these students. Though I do believe that the responsibility should fall on those who are getting paid to figure it out, the district or site level leadership. Our English learner contact person has offered real concrete help in the form of worksheets and get to know you activities (which more often then not came straight out of a book or off the internet- like I can't fucking google shit) For help on my campus I have to seek it out on my own. I have to meet with credible teachers during lunch or pass notes during the useless training sessions. 
   
3. Lack of respect- Teachers who have stepped up to the plate with at desire to make a change (teachers who have been recognized by experts in their fields and have published articles in peer reviewed journals) are often brushed aside by those in power because their ideas may take too much initiative or time to implement. 

Sure, this is just my personal experience, but I hear it echoed by teachers all over the county. I haven't quite worked out the solution, but I know that teachers must  have a larger role in the leadership of any system that will succeed, and I cringe at systems that  place technocratic superintendents in power and allow them to mandate the direction that their districts are heading. In most cases these top down mandates include heavy scrutiny on test scores as a means to gauge the quality of education that students receive. Though these are the most easily  quantifiable measures of teacher performance they do not do a good job of truly grasping how well our students really comprehend material. A student's limited vocabulary or unfamiliarity with certain cultural interactions may make them unable to understand a reading passage or the questions being asked. Also, these types of high stakes tests are one of the worst ways of testing English language learners, impoverished, and special education students due to the fact that they have different methods of organizing information (they often do not arrange things in hierarchical logical patterns- like this blog post for example). A perfect example of this is the fact that the only students who do not pass high school exit exams are ELLs and Sp Ed students. Don't get me wrong, it is undoubtedly the purpose of the school system to introduce students to this type of formalized, logical way of thinking. It's just that I don't see that tests are helping do that, they instead show students that our education system values arbitrariness. The biggest flaw of standardized testing is in the message it sends to our kids. If we value critical inquiry and in depth reading & writing  then why give students tests that have them filling in bubbles. The most formal piece of most students k-12 educations often just become guesswork (a striking percent of students score less than 25% -that means they didn't even guess well), that has little bearing on their lives at all. No wonder students don't buy into the education system, they see no value in it. I believe our efforts to educate must include efforts to help students see the relevance of their education and its implication in the world they live in - Perhaps a school where students confront real life problems and atttempt to make a difference, like the school  Adam Doster suggests in his article "The Conscious Classroom." These kind of ideas could confront the youth culture's uninterest in the education system (a huge factor in student failure that is rarely talked about)

 Another thing that worries me about the education reform movements is the frequency that  finger is pointed at teachers who are substandard and need to be removed them from their positions. Of course these these crappy teachers exist. We all had them in high school and there are many  on my campus that are way overdue for retirement, but these crochety x-mas sweater wearing curmudgeons are only part of the problem. Rarely is there discussion about how to procure money needed to fund programs like NCLB, or create students that are critical thinkers v. those that can take tests. Even if there is discussion of failing teachers there is little discussion seeking to find the reason that teachers do get burnt out: they can no longer see hope in their jobs. The students are less interested, and there are more of them. Their jobs are more focused on stagnating in meetings (which more often then not do little to inform or educate teachers), and there is little chance to make their teaching better (unless teachers are motivated to do it themselves on their own time). So many trudge back to their dilapidated caves armed with a red pen and coffee mug (or if you were my HS math teacher- a flask of tequila) and await retirement.

That said, there are many teachers who, given the chance to have their voices heard and the responsibility to make their ideas reality, might actually make change. Like the most effective and healthy revolutions, the  change in education structure begins at the grassroots level, not at the top. Instead of being marketed by ACSD or any other education publisher, ideas need to come from teachers that are using them in the classroom. Take for example the National Writing Project a teacher lead professional devolpment group that is revolutionizing the way teachers approach academic writing in their classrooms.

There is a lot of experience and knowledge in our schools waiting for an outlet.  But this power can't be fully tapped until it can find an outlet in the school system itself. A reformation or revolution of the education system can't really take shape until those at the top acknowledge where the power lies.

I have a Rockstar friend

Tim you are so freakin brutal!


Thanks for the fun at the show.
By the way, the kid Tim reaches down to high five is Brad Sonnenburg my housemate. Brad subsequently almost smashes his face on the concrete and gets roughed up by security guards, definietly the highlight of the show.

I've been passionate about teaching lately because I've found a way to revitalize less exciting parts of the English class. With help of several other English teachers I've worked to create a them based course of study including modern films and news stories. The goal of the whole thing was to engage students so that they care and put more effort into their work. Success has been mixed. Sure I gripe a lot, (there have been times I've wanted to drop kick kids in my classes over the goal posts of our CIF winning football team's stadium), but I have had some breakthroughs where students were able to learn a new things about themselves or their world. But the question remains: is this what I really want to spend my time on? I pour 10- 15 hours a week into crafting awesome lessons and pouring over students papers, and usually spend another 30-35 hours discovering the futility of that work as my lesson plans fall apart, and students toss corrected work straight into the trash.

So before I slit my wrists, or elicit a lot of sympathy comments from those few who read this blog, I do have a positive, albeit profoundly obvious reflection that I've gained from this failed teaching effort: I should do something else.

I've always had a predisposition towards the aiding the neglected, but I wasn't sure if it was just a romantic notion of doing the happy- helppy thing, or if it was a true "calling." However, as I sit reflecting over the day, the week, the year, I realize that I'm always drawn to the neglected. The most fulfilling and challenging part of teaching is working with lower level learners, or helping first time high school grads find their way into the right college. Giving a leg up to the kids who the rest of society has put down is incredibly fulfilling, when it happens. That said, it is such a small part of my teaching, why not move on and find somewhere (if only just for a short time) that I can make a difference. Why not live abroad? Why not study the failures of the education system in the poor parts of Mexico or South America and help kids learn before they even get here? Why not investigate the sources of the problems causing such apathy in students, and attempt to reverse them? At the very least I'll appreciate teaching more, or, hopefully, I'll find something I love even more.

So then, it remains a question of when, where, and how to get started. Something I plan on focusing on this year, wish me luck!!

Congo - Seeking $ and Power Through Exploitation and Intimidation (Part 1)

Another African country is in the news!!!

WTF?

Can't they get their sh*t together over there. Those Africans are always killing each other, how do these crazy people gain power?

Oh yeah, I forgot that we (rich Europeans and Americans) are the reason that Africa is so F***ed up. Case and point, the current continually disintegrating situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo. a country whose problems began with one such crazy leader, the greedy and ambitious King Leopold II of Belgium. Leopold Exploited the DRC's resources for his own gain. In order to ensure total access to the resources he severely mistreated the Congolese, forcing people to work in the rubber plantations and mutilating them when they would not do so. An estimated 10 million people died during the reign of Leopold II. With his example, and the most desired cache of natural resources in Africa to fight over, how can we be surprised that today the area is in tumult?

Today's resource of choice however is no longer rubber, we've discovered more practical and cost efficient ways of producing our car tires. Instead the focus has been on the minerals. The coveted minerals of the day are gold, copper, cobalt, uranium, zinc, and tin; many metals that make our daily lives possible (like this mac I'm typing on right now). And because of the draw of these minerals and unrelated problems in other areas of Africa it seems that several psychotic militiamen have descended on the Congo. Enslaving a new crop of natives to harvest minerals, and displacing millions who live near future mines, leaving them without food and water, or a way of making any money to survive. Some of these refugees have been able receive help from NGOs but many have simply been cut off by the constantly moving warring armies and militias. From the constant fighting and forced removal and general abuse of the soldiers it is estimated that 5.8 million people have died. (more people in any armed conflict since WWII)

But perhaps the most gruesome tragedy is the method in which these militias (which includes just about all the fighting groups including the Congolese government) get villagers to do what they want them to, which I will address in my next post.

Prop 8 protests at Saddleback (on Colbert Report)

Voting for the "Other"- Embracing the 2nd Commandment at the Polls

In the past few weeks there have been a lot of angry statements flying around about the propositions on tomorrow's ballot. Many churches have also found their way into the argument (so much for separation of church and state). Without going onto all of the vitriol I just wanted to add one thing that I can't stop thinking about: This isn't what Jesus had in mind. Throughout the Bible we see Jesus standing up for those who are oppressed, on the margins of society, and he called us to do the same with our vote. Jesus made the choice to live and die for others he didn't know. We should at least consider them as we step into the polls tomorrow.

There are 2 major propositions on the ballot tomorrow that we need our particular attention.


Prop 8 - eliminates same sex marriage

Jesus lunched with lepers, partied with prostitutes, talked with tax collectors. He accepted them where they were and spoke with them about their lives. He never publicly chastised them or called them unclean, as many of his religious counterparts would have. If you remember the story of the people who were going to stone the adulterer he actually stopped a mob who was going to punish an obviously guilty woman. He knew that he was going to be an outcast soon and he did all he could to protect outcasts who he came in contact with.

It seems a lot of churches have stood up in favor this proposition (and against gay marriage), and I don't believe that was what Jesus intended. Jesus built relationships, he befriended people on the fringes. He did not stand up for abstract principles like "the sanctity of marriage," he stood up for those who no one else would. I can't see any group that is more looked down upon by the church, and our society, than homosexual men and women. So regardless of what your particular views are about same-sex marriage I encourage you to think whether or not a law is the best idea. Instead step out of your comfortable shoes, and view life from the perspective of another person.


Prop 4 - A child getting an abortion must notify parents 48 hours ahead of time

In a recent conversation with a friend she told me that she would be mortified if her daughter had an abortion without telling her, and upon thinking about any future Gonzales babies, I suppose I would feel the same. But I am not the only one who laws effect. I had the privilege to grow up in a loving household where pregnancy, though tough news, would have been handled with care and support by my parents. Many people don't have that luxury. Working at a high school campus I hear and read about an awful lot of kids who are not loved by their parents. If we are to truly love others we must try to understand those who are in the most difficult positions, and give voice to the voiceless.