Time on Task: Innovation and an Argument Against Seat Time

 Monday, October 26, 2009

 

Do you believe that students learn more or even better, because they sit in front of their teacher for “X” amount of hours each day? Our first impression of that thought would provoke the answer “no.” Most people would believe that a single teacher or even the amount of time on task is not the ultimate answer to learning. Given today's educational environment and the virtual technology world we live in, it is inconceivable that there is only one answer.

Today, our school curriculum along with many school districts is based on the Carnegie unit system, a unit of academic credit used in college admissions decisions. The unit was introduced by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching in 1914 to provide colleges with a standard measure of students’ course work in high schools. A Carnegie unit represents the equivalent of one academic year of study in a subject in a class meeting four or five times a week for 40 to 60 minutes per meeting, a minimum of 120 hours of total class time.

That's pretty simple math, do the time, make the grade and graduate. The only problem is, we know that the students who are graduating are often less prepared today then we want them to be. So then the argument is to change our current practices and create an environment where teaching is allowed to be instructionally innovative and learning is measured not by the amount of seat time, but by what the child is thinking, what's in their heads, their ability to express themselves freely, and exponentially. This is not a new paradigm in the philosophy of education, no. this is an age old battle of the wits. On one hand, we can sit idly by and let mediocrity permeate our minds and those of our students or we can get out from behind the desks, get our students up from their seats and get out there and be somebody. Take charge and learn, teach, and grow.

In 1993, Ernest L. Boyer, President of the Carnegie Foundation stated, “I’m convinced the time has come once and for all to bury the old Carnegie unity. Further, since the foundation I now head created this academic measurement a century ago, I feel authorized this morning to officially declare the Carnegie unit obsolete."

Indeed the Carnegie unit has become obsolete. The National Education Commission on Time and Learning reported in their document “Prisoners of Time” (1994), that “The six-hour, 180-day school year should be relegated to museums, an exhibit from our education past. Both learners and teachers need more time-not to do more of the same, but to use all time in new, different, and better ways. The key to liberating learning lies in unlocking time.”

It is this approach to learning, to designing the educational environment and the educational day, that will provide our students the keys to the doors to which they will open and walk into a world ready to take it on. Our schools are indeed institutions of learning that provide children with not only the tools to develop their skills, but a place they are connected to, a place where they feel safe, a place where unconditional acceptance of who they are and of their individual potential for learning and growth are celebrated. Today we can't be expected to sit idle and accept the practices of the past. This is also evident in President Obama's current desire to lengthen the school day. His plan is not a concrete solution to student achievement by any means, but what it does signal to most people is that there is a grave concern about our 'attitude' towards education. I have always believed schools should not be about wrote learning practices. I am a firm believer that the Carnegie unit is nothing more than an idea that seemed to work a hundred years ago and has long since been inapplicable to schools today. I am also in agreement that schools should stay open longer, that beyond the core academic subjects there is a plethora of opportunity for students to learn. That programs for members of the community to teach in extended day programs without traditional credentials are needed, that schools should be open into the night for students to participate in virtual classrooms, reinforcement, and alternative education, that new methods for demonstrating student competency or earning credit should include end-of-course exams, culminating projects, and alternative assessments aimed at content knowledge and not only the required seat time.

It has long been said that 'learning never stops', so then, why do we close school each day in the afternoon? All across America schools and school systems are creating new rules of the road, year round schools where students are able to graduate at a self pace approach, schools where students take classes never before available to them because now they have the time and the choice, students who are receiving college level instruction at high school. These are all results of forward-thinking educators who are embracing change and driving that educational train of innovation into the future. For me, I'm going to climb aboard, what I want to know is, are you coming?

When the Bully is the Teacher or an Administrator

 Wednesday, January 04, 2012

The entire nation is aware of bullying and its effects on students. There are a host of national campaigns and programs to address this topic head on staying active on the anti-bullying front with proposed legislation and the creation of policy for the protection of cyber-bullying among other forms now being introduced at both the state and school district levels. Most notably being introduced by students themselves, which is rather ironic in as much as adults are supposed to be protecting them.

But what happens when the bully is the teacher or administrator? Where is the policy language to speak to that? Where do students go when the very people we tell them to go to when they are being bullied are actually the ones who are doing the bullying? This conduct happens in schools districts across America and in many cases the student chooses to simply change schools when it gets out of hand. Unfortunately, many students do not have the luxury of choosing schools. Recent research shows that there is likely at least one bully teacher or administrator in every school. For staffing patterns that are at or above 100 employees that number increases. What that equates to at the high school level is that the single bully teacher has an estimated 120 students under their charge in a given day that may be subject to their bullying on a daily basis and this can be seriously devastating for the student and even affecting their family.

Dr. Deborah Serani, a psychologist and practicing psychoanalyst, states in her research, “Teachers who are bullies have the same characteristics of other bullies. They are sadistic and petty, gaining self-esteem through the humiliation of others. In the school environment, a teacher-bully will shame a child in front of classmates, often using their position of authority in abusive ways. The teacher-bully may make an example of a child, sending him out of the room or to the corner. Maybe an extra assignment or denying your child recess becomes the vehicle for bullying.” This type of conduct serves the teacher well as they mask their bullying under the guise that they are disciplining the student or otherwise using alternative instructional methods-a host of fabricated excuses to cover up what is really happening when the bullying teacher or administrator is involved.

As a former principal I know full well the effects of teachers bullying their students. I have had to address it on more than one occasion as I am witness to the ill effects on the students. Their lack of desire to come to school out of fear of the teacher, they're withdrawn and silent when they used to be vibrant and full of life. They cower when the teacher walks by or approaches, their head down and an obvious subservient demeanor is manifested simply by being in the presence of the administrator or teacher doing the bullying. How are we to expect children to learn in that environment? How can they even be motivated to learn? And what's worse is that many may choose to bully others as a result of being bullied by their teacher. Indeed a sad reality, as the vast majority of teachers are dedicated and committed to being there for the student and helping them overcome many of the challenges they face in the classroom. But for the few who are not, the few who are the “bullies,” the negative impact of their behavior is often far greater and lasting in the student's mind.

In my early years as a teacher, I remember several teachers who would fit the description of bullying students. Even physically pushing them around and saying things like “what are you going to do about it; I'm the teacher, who is going to believe you?” I complained several times to the administration about these individuals and for the most part the principal swiftly addressed it. Where I felt it needed more, I personally went to the teacher and added my two cents for lack of a better phrase. I recall one teacher who had the habit of head butting his students under the guise that he was hard of hearing and couldn't see that well, so when they got close he would bend down and say “what” and crack his big 'ol forehead square into the student and then back off and say “oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean that, I didn't see you, etc.” He finally did it to the wrong student who was about his own size and the student cold-cocked him square in the nose, of course followed with, “oh, I'm sorry. I didn't see you there.”

I continue to get stories from students who are likely being bullied by their teachers and or administrators. With one administrator reportedly having a habit of pushing his fat belly into students as he approaches them in a scolding manner, which really is nothing more than outright intimidation and bullying. Another story is about the administrator who is constantly using race as a means to belittle the student whenever they are present. In each case I contact the principal directly to share the concern and to voice my desire for them to take clear and decisive action to protect both the student and the school system. In most cases there should be documented intervention such as counseling and education along with follow up to ensure that retaliation against the student is not occurring. Continued complaints should warrant Board of Education intervention.

Dr. Alan McEvoy, Ph.D. from Wittenberg University writes in his paper Teachers Who Bully Students: Patterns and Policy Implications that “teachers who bully, feel their abusive conduct is justified and will claim provocation by their targets. They often will disguise their behavior as 'motivation' or as an appropriate part of the instruction. They also disguise abuse as an appropriate disciplinary response to unacceptable behavior by the target. The target, however, is subjected to deliberate humiliation that can never serve a legitimate educational purpose.”

Bullying by teachers raises the specter of school liability. For example, the Supreme Court’s ruling in Davis v. Monroe County Board of Education 526 U.S. 629 (1999) provided language and a set of principles that should give educational institutions pause. The Davis Court defined those factors it found compelling to expand school liability from staff-to-student sexual harassment (where the school is liable for the conduct of its employee) to student-to-student sexual harassment (where arguably the conduct occurred without the school's complicity.) The court ruled that schools receiving federal funds, at all levels of education, may be held financially responsible where officials are “deliberately indifferent” to harassing behaviors that are “severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive.” If the Supreme Court found those principles an adequate basis to expand school liability in one arena, why wouldn't they apply equally to a decision to expand school liability in another arena (i.e., to liability for teacher/student bullying)? The Davis Court established four criteria in considering liability: 1) school officials had actual knowledge of severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive conduct; 2) school officials were deliberately indifferent to such conduct; 3) the school had control over the harasser and the context where the harassment occurred (such as the classroom); and 4) the school's response, or lack of response, was unreasonable given such knowledge. The court ruling also suggests that schools should have in place policies and procedures to address abusive conduct. Failure to have in place a means to redress a legitimate grievance related to behavior that creates a hostile environment for learning enhances a school's liability. In effect, if a discriminatory hostile environment exists in the classroom, and school officials have been given appropriate notice but fail to act, then the school risks both compensatory and punitive damages.' A full copy of Dr. Alan McEvoy, Ph.D research can be found at:

http://www.stopbullyingnow.com/teachers%20who%20bully%20students%20McEvoy.pdf

It's time that schools take a hard look at what is happening on campuses and in the classrooms and collect the information needed to take action to protect students from bullying by not only their peers but their teachers and administrators. I would ask that the BOE with the help of a professional external organization create a student survey regarding this issue so that they may get to the bottom of what's really happening in our schools and create an action plan to address the findings. I am sure the findings will be shocking. Our children are our only hope to the kind of future the world will see. Let's not blind them with abuse from those who are supposed to show them the light.

 

Our Educational Community, Faith, and Risk.

Tuesday, July 08, 2008

I cannot help but feel all the arguments in the world about money, taxes, politics, the environment, are insignificant to the reality that we as human beings have a greater servant purpose, a greater moral calling to our race, to pass on what we know to all those we encounter, good, bad, disruptive or not, that we educate them, treat them dignity in our words, with compassion in our eyes and with unconditional love in our hearts. One day perhaps we will no longer see the textbooks on the desks, the erasers on the board, money will not be an overriding factor in education, it will be left to us, the educators, the parents, we the people, to educate all the children, lest we become nothing more than artifacts of educational existence. Profound as spoken words may be it is my wish that everyone in our community know that truly your faith in the education of the child is what will bring light and promise to the seemingly dark days ahead. New paradigms in education will arise and will be embraced by the faithful.

Indeed as our community is gifted with the character and virtues of all those who would want for the child to be free from harm and embraced with no other feeling than safety and security, it is our duty as the human race to give of ourselves all that shall encompass the raising of a child. Have we as mankind succumbed to the apathy of societies ills that we look past our children, even those whose behavior sends a different message, the disruptive child, the failing child…a thorn perhaps, what of others that speak of the child as an orchid that needs special attention and care for it to blossom before its death, are they not one and the same.

Do we as an educational community feel that there is often too much to risk when we are challenged by the hierarchy of a system, it’s management or boards. We must understand that in the current educational environment, things will continue to change and new ideas and energy will be brought forth for our children. We cannot look to the past and ask “why,” but more so, to look to the future and ask “why not.” It is my hope that our educational community will not look to the past for its answers but to embrace the future and take the risks needed to move forward into the light of success.

In today’s school systems leadership there often lies an underlying culture of caution. It manifests itself into what many leaders would call their “duty to deny.” A pre-determined component of their scope of work, a belief that somehow by making decisions without first denying the initial requests, they are taking too great a “risk.” Thus, risking progress itself and ultimately, the potential for learning and growth at any level whether district or government.

There are inherent risks with every job we perform, every task we undertake. Whether it is the risk of an investment in a new reading program, the risk of an action in a pending lawsuit, or just simply a bad decision. The American educational system on the whole is seemingly locked into a liability mode of operation. Many school leaders and professionals are concerned with whether they will be sued or even terminated at the next turn. More attention is paid to the negative aspects of the job and its risks than a focus on teaching and learning by school leaders.

During my first year as an administrator, I remember writing down what type of administrator I wanted to be, a self-reflection into my experiences with school leaders and their styles and even myself as a teacher leader. I read that paper today, some six years later, and I see that indeed I have tried to become what I envisioned. A leader who is cautious, but fair, and genuinely someone who is a risk taker. I knew then as I do now, that this type of approach, this “risk” taking, might very well find me on the chopping block of school leaders who have perhaps taken too great of a risk. This is where the “duty to deny” appears. As school leaders, nobody wants to fail, and certainly not wind up on the chopping block. We see the “duty to deny” at the district level in schools and in local government also. District leaders often do not want to assume the risk that comes with the termination of a school leader, and hence they lower their risk by transferring or allowing the school leader to resign, which perhaps does nothing more than move them over into another category of “risk.”

And it’s not just simply about taking risks, it’s about taking risks of “major proportions,” the ones that great things come of, these are the things we want as leaders. We must in all gods-speed-proceed-to wit our dreams and create change by embracing what it is that challenges us, to reflect wholly on our comforts, our complacency, and act on the vision and not sedate our minds and temper our thoughts. If we are to truly reform the schools of today, if we are to truly create a profound and significant paradigm shift in the way in which we and others think about our profession then we must take the risks of epic proportions and never look back upon defeat as an option. We must prepare for the good fight and make it happen. Risk involves empowerment, encouragement, embodiment of your mind, your body, your spirit, your faith, your love, you must live it, and you must love what you do. As much as the man who climbs Mount Everest with only steel for legs, you may stand alone in risk, but like the man you have a thousand unheard voices supporting you, voices that are with you, you cannot fail in risk. Risk gives you reason to live, it rests inside each one of us. These risks of epic proportions are to be witnessed by all. With their eyes they can see the connection between your leadership and the risk that you take, in this, there is learning, exponential growth connected in the common ideal that as a leader it is the risk that you have taken that has made the change for the good. Just as we do not dare ourselves to be afraid of change, so it should be that we are not afraid of risk. To take a risk is to be willing to make mistakes, to play the devil’s advocate even when it is unpopular; taking the risk that challenges the problems even when there is no certainty in the solution, the risk that you will personally and professionally add to your growth and accomplishments is a risk we must consider undertaking.

Carol Dweck, Professor Department of Psychology, Stanford University in her article, “Self-theories: Their role in motivation, personality, and development.” (2000), explains; “Quantum leaps in learning, solving problems, inventing new products, and discovering new phenomena ‘require’ risk taking. Risk taking within the learning environment requires a willingness to think deeply about a subject or problem, share that thinking with others to hear their perspectives, listen to their critiques, and then build on those experiences toward a solution or solutions.” What Dweck and other writers like her describe is an approach that we must take regarding risk. A systematic way of tackling the problem of decision making. Whether that is during a WASC meeting in preparation for accreditation, or a simple school project. The greater the risk the greater amount of time we should spend listening and building on what the collective groups experiences may be.

Just as we who profess to be school leaders and the future school leaders of today, will take on the challenges of the new paradigms in education, we must take the risks of creating our own paradigm in the way we approach education. We must believe in our ability to share equally in the vision of the CNMI and move forward together with inspiration and commitment towards education. If we fail to act in this regard, we have all failed, and failed our children. I ask now only one question, what are you going to do about it?

“The strength of the United States is not the gold at Fort Knox or the weapons of mass destruction that we have, but the sum total of the education and the character of our people.”

— Former Sen. Claiborne Pell

 

 

Heroes in Education
Monday, July 28, 2008

Everyday, as the acting Commissioner of Education, I was faced with an incredible amount of responsibility and determination to make decisions that will affect the lives of many. But I'm not writing about me today, I'm not writing about the many teachers who deserve accolades. I am writing about those foot soldiers in the field of education. The people that for all God's care they are the safety net for the system, the glue that binds the fabric of our very existence. Without them standing there, behind the lines, facing the same tasks day in day out, all the while making barely enough money to make ends meet. They stand there in support of the leadership, from the classroom to the boardroom they are always there.

I must have read dozens of books over my career as an educator about school leaders and teachers who have gone above and beyond the call of duty. But there are few books ever written about the service to the system our support staff provide. On most days they will experience a constant barrage of requests for action, many of those requests coming across as aggravated and sometimes hostile complaints. Whilst I will be the first to admit that every section of the public school system, or even government for that matter, could indeed improve on the delivery of services, exactly the same could be said for many of our classrooms, schools, and government officials.

There is an unbelievable amount of work and commitment that takes place behind the scenes by support staff that no one ever seems to hear about or concern themselves with. From the midnight calls to the school campus to turn water off or fix a break in, to working every Saturday because that's the only time it can be done. These are the unseen acts of commitment, founded in the belief that what they are doing makes a difference not only in their life but in the lives of those they serve. In spite of their sacrifice to their children, their wives and husbands, that's the time we as school leaders and teachers often take for granted: our holidays, and seasonal breaks, our ability to have someone substitute for us. Our support staff do not often have the luxury of missing a day's work. For that may mean also missing a meal for their children, medicine for a cold, or even money for the child's lunch. I have never worked in a field where so many do so much for so little. I think the time is long overdue that we take a serious look at how we treat our support staff, how we compensate them, and how we recognize the service they provide to all of our children and our communities.

School leaders, teachers, students and parents need to take a look at how we as a system view the roles of our support staff and thank them for a job not only well done, but for their tireless integrity and commitment to the support of our teachers, our leadership, and our children. For truly, they are “heroes in education.”

comparative education

 
Comparative Education

The comparative education argument has been going on for decades. In every political campaign there is an ‘education candidate’, and at some point they have used comparative education data that shows that the US is well behind their counterparts in other countries in student achievement. In addition, and comparatively speaking, within our own country we have our own data from state to state, district to district, or even school to school which can often mirror those same differences we see in US school and their overseas counterparts. Either way we look at it, comparative data does show us that there are often significant disparities in educational systems.  This data does provide the backdrop for inquiry into how children learn, what effects demographics have on education, and display a clear picture that invokes people to want to change what we’re doing.  Personally, I believe that education is for everybody and that the quality and character of a teacher can, and will, often determine outcomes in the classroom even when there are no books to read, no paper to write on, and no desire to learn.

I believe there are solutions to our problems. I believe that new paradigms in education are on the horizon and that we can be a part of that. The discussion on a global curriculum is one, the establishment of a global governing body that monitors the basic core requirements and the mastery of meeting those requirements is certainly something I think we will see in the not too distant future. I think we can develop a global curriculum that speaks to what is needed for students to become lifelong learners and good citizens in a global community that can think critically. Perhaps an emergency post disaster plan with a global curriculum is a first step. Like all projects you need to first gather the data to not only drive further development, but to add validity to the future decision making process on the global front. I think if we can collectively develop a curriculum that would be implemented in post disaster environments that meets the core areas of a given country then we may have something to start with.  And I don’t think that it is a simple task. Developing something on a global scale would likely receive significant pushback from a host of critics. So I think just as many programs and practices are first tested out on a smaller scale we can start there. This is where I think emergency education plans can play a role in helping a global community accept a basic standardized curriculum for future large scale implementation once the supporting data can be mined. Consideration can also be for a regional curriculum, such as South East Asia, The Americas, The Middle East, Europe. When disaster strikes, the pre-positioning the team goes in with the regional curriculum and hits the ground running. The regional curriculum guides are developed in advance using the curriculum in a given region. Creating a diverse and rigorous curriculum that will meet the needs of all students in the region and cross all barriers to learning. Just as the helicopters transport medical supplies, food, and staff so too can they drop supplies for education and teachers.

Imagine for a moment a complete city wiped out from a Tsunami, the world responds, money, food, clothing, emergency shelter, medical supplies all being delivered via helicopters and by ship and cargo planes, we witness it all the time on TV and the internet. Now imagine that same scenario where it’s the teachers who rappel down from the helicopters, where the pallets parachuting from the C130 air cargo planes are full of books, technology, and student supplies and within hours learning is taking place. The impact that type of response to education on the villages and communities at large would far surpass the hope that is given just by having new clothes to wear or medical supplies. Nearly everyone in the world almost expects that the world responds with basic needs of food, clothing, shelter, just as they are written in Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs….but what of education? One of the highest order needs is ‘knowledge’ and yet it is a ‘basic’ understanding that we need to learn.

I remembered a post disaster environment once where a medical team arrived and soldiers set up area to disburse clothing and the people appeared generally happy, most made their way over to the tent to stand in long lines. The children would stick by their parent’s side and walk slowly to check it all out. But when all of a sudden a jeep with teachers arrived and they had two large pallets of books and paper there was pandemonium, the children darted from their parents and ran as fast as they could to the teachers, they were surrounded in minutes with dozens of children shouting and begging for books. Clearly, their most basic’ needs according to a chart were no longer of a concern. Even those with no shoes, tattered clothing, and even in need of medical attention were prioritizing their own needs. It was amazing to witness the power of education. It’s that kind of power that can be harnessed and shared on a global scale. We can have that kind of impact. We can continue education in an emergency.

Here I sit in your average urban school setting in Hayward, CA. A district who was just shy the year before of being taken over by the state and ranking at the bottom academically yet is one with a significant amount of cash in the coffers. A stark contrast to my previous post on the island of Saipan in the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas. After spending my career abroad in places like Thailand, Kuwait, Costa Rica, Guam, Tahiti, Wales UK and more, my return to America is a wake up call on a major scale. We have so much yet we do so little. I'm not quite sure I'm adapting all that well, I continue to seek out my global partners and often succumb to the fleeting moments where I hop on a plane and go to infinity and beyond but I am trying to finish my Doctoral...alas.

With that I envision my work leading to the creation of a plan where when disaster strikes I am there on the ground re-establishing the education front lines with critical support in cooperation with NGOs, military, local, and governmental resources so that the children of this global community will not lose hope and that their generation will not miss out. I have been there, I have seen once thriving educational environments be wiped out by disaster, I've seen the faces out my windows of hope fade and education not return for years and communities all but given up.....I am compelled to change that.

The absence of education

The profound reality of the absence of education in post disaster environments is a global issue that will have ramifications which reverberate through generations of families. We have the technology, we have the manpower, we must intervene.