supteach?

The Teacherpeneur - Part Teacher / Part Everything Else

2012-01-29T10:10:00.000-08:00

What if Arne Duncan taught in the morning?

Nothing will ever take away my respect for a teacher, especially a great teacher. But, it's undeniable that something is missing when one's leaves the classroom.

--

At the start of the school year, the administrative team collected all the math teachers into one room. We could tell they hoped to set a tone towards "progress in math." A valid goal, since CST math scores took a slide and grade distributions in math classes are appalling. I was actually excited. Finally, admin's eyes are open and they're committed to providing support.

But, as the weeks have turned into months have turned into an entire first semester - we've yet to see the type of support we hoped for.

--

I wonder how different it'd be if all our 5 administrators taught 2 periods a day before tackling their administrative duties. Would they feel the sense of urgency we feel as teachers? Would it be easier for them to find answers to the question "What's going on? Why are so many students failing?" if they had to strategize how to raise a failing student's performance in a classroom they're currently teaching?

I wonder how much more receptive our teachers would be when they share strategies "that work" if they had proof of it working in their OWN classrooms. My principal has said time-and-time again that he's a "hell of a damn good teacher" and wants to "coach." Well, the only we we'd all know how great of a teacher your are is if you taught.

--

This is not an attack on my administrative team. They're doing a fabulous job given the circumstances and are progressively improving. However, it is a challenge to the structure of our education "ladder." Why must our ed-policy writers, administrators, curriculum writers, and coaches leave the classroom to fulfill their duties. At the very core, it is great teachers that we need. Do we need to take great teachers away from the classroom?

--

I first heard of the term teacherpeneur through my colleague Dave Orphal and I am completely intrigued by the idea. If I am to take on a new role (like District Math Coach), I'd only do so if I'm allowed 2 to 3 periods a day where I am still a teacher.

He makes a great point: are we asking too much from our new teachers and not enough from our veterans? If so, how can that change?

The Many Reasons Why Good Teachers Leave the Classroom

2012-01-21T12:31:00.001-08:00

A teacher friend invited me to Disneyland after my third year of teaching. His co-worker had won tickets off the radio and they had a few extra to spare. Good times.

It just so happened that all the teacher friends on this Disneyland trips were on their way out. I was the only one returning for another go round. And, during dinner that night, a non-teacher friend of my teacher friend directed this question to me:

"So, he's going back for his PhD in education, she's going to back to school to study to become an administrator… Ian, what do YOU plan on doing next?"

Obviously, it rubbed me the wrong way. The tone sounded as if entering the teaching profession is only a temporary thing or as if it is merely a stepping stone to something "bigger." Or as if a response of "Well, I just want to stay a teacher" would be inadequate.

--

I don't like when good teachers leave the classroom. But, it's not uncommon. For those who I've seen leave since they've started, here's what I've witnessed:

1. Teaching is a burnout profession. What's required is far too great to keep sustainable year-in and year-out. Hellish students, hellish co-workers, hellish administrators, hellish parents become far too much to juggle for far too little pay.

2. Job opportunities that are more lucrative to someone holding multiple degrees are offered. It's too irresistible not to take.

3. Good teachers are promoted to a higher position (as an administrator, a director, or a teacher on special assignment).

4. Good teachers feel their talents are not being put to work since, at the very core, their responsibilities remain the same since their first day on the job when they were 23. They don't feel respected and want something more.

5. Good teachers go back to school and seek out larger opportunities in education.

6. Some good teachers become famous and go on lecture tours (Yes, I'm looking at you, Dan Meyer).

--

I'm currently being recruited to become a math coach for my district. The pros are obvious - The ability to stay involved in education and the classroom without experiencing the exhaustion & stress from the daily teaching grind.

But, the con, is far too large to overcome the pros - it would take me out of the classroom.

--

I will not leave the classroom to become a coach. Nor will I leave the classroom to become an administrator.The only way I'd ever consider such a position is if I become (as Dave Orphal calls it) a teacher-peneur.

We'll discuss, but I say let's save it for the next post...

@igarrovillas on twitter

2012-01-08T18:57:00.000-08:00

Hi all,

I know I'm in-and-out of the edublogosphere in terms of posts. But I'm always reading and learning and growing from you and your blogs. I'm also doing it on the edutweetosphere. I've decided to make an attempted to participate. So, if you'd like, follow and interact with me here:

@igarrovillas

Hope to see you there!

i want a math classroom full of life.

2012-01-08T18:55:00.000-08:00

In this 5th year, the classroom that excites me the most are the ones where genuine student interaction is commonplace. It's a classroom where students share their thinking with other students, so they can debate, teach, learn, and problem solve collaboratively. This is a stark contrast from how I felt in those opening years when a quiet classroom of note-taking, "I do's / we do's / you do's," and well-behaved kids is what brought me home with a smile. Nowadays, I want a classroom that's full of life.

At the end of the day, math is math. The kids who enter my classroom on day one either love it and are great at it or are not and hate it. The former group typically maintains their abilities. The latter group may or may not change their perspective, despite all my efforts.

However, I know in 10 years, the vast majority of my students will care less about whether or not a triangle is obtuse, acute, or right given the lengths of three sides. I know it from experience. In fact, I myself only know this information because it's in my students' curriculum. So, at the very core, what valuable takeaways do students gain by being in my classroom for a school year? (It's a good question...)

These collaborative interactions in the classroom are skills that are applicable in the real world. The problem solving skills they apply, especially in an interactive setting, are skills they can use for life. When these types of interactions are structured well in my classroom, where students of all skill-levels are comfortable to participate and interact with math, my teacher self is smiling.

math teacher's response to @kanyewest

2012-01-05T22:52:00.000-08:00

Updated: 1/8/12

I've struggled more and more so with the question: "what's the point?" I read articles upon articles about curriculum reform and I listen to strategists and TED speakers debate about what we should teach our kids. I know times are a'changing rapidly, but at the end of the day I'm still a teacher in a math classroom bounded by the years-old NCLB system that's facing imminent change. Tonight, I still must complete my lesson plans for tomorrow, because it's still required that the students in my geometry class learn the pythagorean converse. This way, they can determine whether or not a triangle is obtuse, acute or right when given the side lengths of a triangle.

Kanye went on a 80+ tweet spree (Why he didn't just blog? I don't know). In four consecu-tweets, a tired idea:

Yes, Kanye, as a math teacher I see your point and I can agree with you. But something still rubs me the wrong way about people who propose bold statements about education, without ever geting their feet wet. All I'm hearing is name-dropping and sexy words and ideas. "Real life," "new forms of curriculum", "kids should be able to start taking majors." It's the same ol' script. Nothing new. Kanye, teach my class for even just a week. Be Mr. West. Get the experience. Manage a classroom full of 30 mini-Kanye's who may have no regard for what you've got to say. Then, maybe you'll have a better idea of what it'll take to lay out what you mean by "real life." Then, you can show me your "new form of curriculum." Then, I'll welcome your tweets with open arms.

(Of course, he IS Kanye and probably wouldn't have too tough a time connecting w/ my Oaklanders.)

the 65 hour work week

2011-11-07T22:25:00.000-08:00

The summer before my senior year of college, I interned for breakthrough collaborative. The program places college students as teachers to low-income middle school students. The experience is a post in itself for another time. For the moment, I wanted to point out one story:

My master teacher at the time whose name was Ned. After our initial meeting, the interns stuck around for the remainder of the day while master teachers typically made their exit within the hour. Their role was minimal; ours was intensive. My master teacher, though, did not take that cue.

He was fixing up a classroom when I saw him, giving attention to every small detail of the class. He hung up fishes by string, each with a various math symbol with an accompanying definition. He paid special consideration to even their color and their placement in the room. Meticulous. I was impressed.

"Geez, you work hard. You're the last master teacher here!"

"It's part of the job," he said.

--

On a typical day, I step onto campus at 7:30am and do not leave til 5:30pm (10 hours). I work for an extra two while at home. On Sundays, I spend a good chunk of time grading and planning for the week (5 hours). In total:

12 hour day x 5 weekdays = 60 hours
5 hour day x 1 Sunday = 5 hours

A 65 hour work week -_-

--

I do appreciate the summers where zero work is a realistic option. 65 hours is a lot though. I question it's sustainability, and I wonder about the shortcuts veterans've discovered to lessen the workload.

It is up-and-down. I do put in less work some weekends and less work some weeknights. (I know for damn sure my Friday nights are free of teaching thoughts!) Some months are better than others (Sept/Oct/Nov are intense!). And, some years are better than other's too (last year my count was likely in the low 50's range). Maybe it's common knowledge that the workload of a teacher is atypical from other professions, but, until this past weekend, I've never quantified the hours I put into the job. Thus, this post.

--

[Just another vent for another night.]

165+ one-on-one interactions daily

2011-10-31T22:11:00.000-07:00

Previous roommateships would have me awake and out the door by 7am, home by 6pm, grading and lesson planning until I'm burning the midnight oil while fellow roommate could easily sleep in til' 7:30 or 8, arrive home and relax with a beer, tv, video games and/or girlfriend. Damn you, roommate. Not fair.

Current roommate teaches at a middle school. It's convenient and it works. At this current moment, it is 9:58pm. I left campus around 6:30pm and still have a mini-mountain of quizzes to grade, but it feels ok since roomie is still at work too. I hear him disgruntled on his desk as I type.

We like to argue about who has to work harder. So, this year, as one of the few teachers at my high school who's taken on three preps (typical is two), I feel I've got the inside track on that title - "dude, I got it way tougher than you do. Believe me."

The predictable response: "I been teaching FIVE separate subjects, homie! 7th grade."

"Well, I grade 165 different assignments by 165 students on the daily. 165 quizzes during the weekends."

"30 • 5 subjects each is still 150. I'm down 15, I agree. But, still pretty much the same."

"Ok, ok, but I've got 165 personalities to manage. 165 parents and families to keep track of. 165 one-on-one conversations at the door to catch up on days and nights and lives and check-ins to see whether or not they're having a good day or not. 165 potential phone calls I could possibly make tonight to see if I can get a failing student back on track. 165 interactions daily is exhausting, my sweet sweet roomie."

".... Ok, you got me there."

I guess I'm just venting. My parent log this school year has got me listed at interacting with 5 families on a nightly basis (through in-person conferences, phone calls, or e-mails). All extra interactions added to my day, but it still feels like I could do so, so much more.

pencil policy - first two years vs second two years

2011-10-30T20:37:00.000-07:00

My first two years - "Nothing should ever prevent a student from learning in my class. If they need a pencil, I will provide it. No questions asked. I won't hassle them or nothin'. You're in this class to learn, and learning you will do. Being pencil-less shouldn't prevent you from doing so"

My next two years - "Part of high school is learning the habits and skills to succeed in college and in life. If we take this stance, students MUST learn to have their materials on a day-to-day basis. Students must come to class prepared and if they realize I am not a pencil giver early, they'll meet my expectations and bring their pencils. Plus, I'm tired of giving out pencils."

--

I'd love to give pencils that say "I forgot to bring a pencil to math class and all I got was this stupid pencil." The irony.

--

I don't know where I stand anymore. What's your opinion? What's your policy for students who come to class without a pencil? And, if you ARE a pencil giver, do you have a specific procedure? (Are pencils in a cup where students can grab one? Do you charge a quarter? Do you take collateral? Etc Etc)

To give, or not to give (a pencil); that is the question.

--

Also, do you let them use pens? Goodness, the bag of worms we can open with that one...

school spirit

2011-10-27T23:39:00.000-07:00

During my first three years, I had a hard policy against dress-up days. How I dress is connected to how the students respect me. Therefore, I must always dress professionally and never silly.

Twin day? Nah. Nerd day? I can't give up my dignity with silly tape on silly glasses. Gender bender? Hell no. St. Patrick's day? Ok, maybe I'll put on my green button up.

Last year, I thought back at my own high school years, and remembered why I loved it. The community, the culture, the friendships. Many of the most valuable lessons and experiences were not things inside the classroom. They were beyond.

I was voted "Most Spirited" of my high school class. Why have I not adopted spirit for my new home?

And so now, I go all out. Twin up with as many teachers as possible. Nerd out complete with retainer to give my talk a genuine nerd feel. Gender bender? Put that make-up on me.

If teachers are willing to dress silly to show pride in their school, a student is more likely to feel comfortable doing so too. In the end, the kids see a new dimension of your personality. They see a teacher with the versatility to switch from all-business to... all-business with some play! In the end, what you get is one of the funnest workweeks of the school year.

Tomorrow, at the culmination of this spirited week, look for the man with the red kicks, red face and red hair. All red everything.

count me in for year five

2011-10-24T21:59:00.000-07:00

Hello world,

Here's another apology note to the edublogosphere. I'm still around, and I'm still learning from you. I'm still thankful for you. This year, I teach a new prep (advanced algebra), and it seems the best way I know how to plan for a new class is to listen to the ideas of my community. You, my friends, are my community. Without you, I'd be half the teacher I am today.

--

During a teacher happy hour the other week, a face I seldom see at teacher gatherings showed herself. We conversed. She's in her late 20's, originally of the TFA variety. And still here. So, I asked, are you a "life-er?" "A what?" "A life-er, you know, are you in this gig for the long haul... maybe for life?"

She looked at me, smiled, and said "good question, but I did say coming in that I'd commit 10 years to this high school, I'm in 7 deep now, and there's no way I'd be leaving when I'm this close."

--

And then I consider - what if all new teachers who've arrived on this campus stuck around for as long as she did. What if programs like TFA that wear "close the achievement gap" on their sleeve put down a more stringent regulation on their contracts and asked for TEN, rather than TWO.

What if the teachers our freshmen see today are guaranteed to high five them as they walk across the graduation stage?

--

I'm not raggin' on my teacher friend's who've taken a departure from this game; you know I love you. And, you know we'll always connect at a different level because of our time in the classroom.

But, for myself, I'm now on this new edge where I'm wondering how my contributions to my students, my high school, my colleagues, my community grow with each year of experience.

And now, I look over that other edge...

Count Me in For Year Ten?

6th Grade Wows and Wonders in East Oakland

2011-09-01T17:20:00.000-07:00

I love teaching science to middle school because middle school kids still love science. There is still very little science-phobia in middle school, especially with 6th graders. They feed their natural curiosity by asking never-ending, out-of-the box questions and by touching, feeling, smelling, and even tasting everything. During lab demonstrations, I have students record a "Wow, Wonder, and Aha!". A "wow" is an observation of a phenomena, a "wonder" is a question about the phenomena, and an "aha!" is a "this reminds me of..." statement (in other words, a possible connection between the phenomena we witness and something we've experienced before as an attempt to understand the phenomena).

The kids are delightfully enthralled by why one yellow liquid (water and dye) and another yellow liquid (oil) react differently with a blue liquid (water and dye). They marvel at the surface tension properties of water (they were amazed at the fact that more than 30 drops of water is able to sit atop a leveled dime).

Curiosity is science, no?

I'm still feeling the waters in terms of how to teach science to 6th graders. I decided to start the course off by opening with a unit called "What is Science?" I wanted to introduce the topic of observations and wonder statements as the basis of science.

Their homework assignment during the first week was to look around their home and their neighborhood and record "data" about things that they see, hear, feel, taste, and smell. They were to then write a "wonder statement" to go with each observation. I admit, I had no idea what I was getting myself into -- I did not know that their questions would be so far-reaching.

Here are some of their data and queries:

-"I smelled my dogs poop. Why does her poop smell like that?"

-"I felt the Ipad? Why is it so hard?"

-"I hear my mom yell. What causes her to yell."

-"I tasted tacos from my mom's kitchen. What were the ingredients in the tacos?"

-"I smell garbage in my neighbor's lawn. Why does it smell like this?"

-"I feel sleepy in the morning. This makes me wonder why im sleepy."

-"I here happieness. How did I get here."

-"When did my enviorment become bad."

-"I smell smoke. How can I smell smoke but not see fire?"

-"I taste rice pudding with toasted bread. Why is rice white? Why is the bread brown? What ingridients does it have in it?"

-"I smell oil. Why do I smell oil."

-"I hear dogs barking and sometimes sounds like guns. I wonder what make those gun noises."

-"I hear the train when they go by. How is the train so loud when it goes by."

-"I can see the colesium outside. Why are the lights so bright."

-"I feel danger. When did my neighborhood become bad."

Compliments and Middle School Teachers

2011-06-09T23:15:00.000-07:00

I had an evaluation meeting with my supervisor and colleague about my performance as a student teacher. One of the things said about me during the meeting was, "she has such a middle school personality."

Hopefully they meant "middle school teacher" personality and not "middle school" personality.

At any rate, that comment had me floating on Cloud 9 all day. My colleague did not say it in a particularly praising (or otherwise) manner, but I will take it as a compliment. I interpret it to mean that my ever-evolving teaching personality contains a bit of patience, strictness, wackiness, and a love for middle school students' quirkiness. Perhaps this is my interpretation of the statement because I know that I want to teach middle school students and this is is the personality type that I'm aiming for in order to teach middle school. I haven't yet had enough long streaks of teaching on my own for me to have enough of a meta-understanding of how I interact with my students or how they perceive me...

Also, this may or may not be what my colleague meant when he made that observation, but I'm willing to live with the ambiguity.

The Cogs and the Difference-Makers

2011-06-02T10:22:00.000-07:00

Casual Conversations about Teaching.

Him: "Wow, you want to teach in New York and D.C? Those are some tough areas. You know that those districts and cities are so big that you probably aren't actually going to make a difference, right? I mean... you know that, right?"

Me: "Umm... yeah, but... it's not about that..."

That was the best that I could come up with in the moment. I quickly tried to mask my flustered lack of response by spitting out my work-in-progress philosophy of teaching to my non-teacher friend:

"It's just that... I love teaching. I don't know how else to say this without it sounding weird, but I love teaching these kids. If I had to go back and teach at (*******) again [a "picture perfect", White suburban, upperclass high school where their biggest problems were kids cheating to get high grades and substance abuse due to pressures at home to get good grades... albeit, all big problems that need to be addressed, just not my cup o' joe], I'd quit teaching and find something else to do because it was not fulfilling for me.

These kids... they make it so I can show up to work nervous, anxious, and recovering from a bad night or a bad week of teaching and completely turn my week around. Behavior and antics aside... I love my students."

So Why Teach?

How many adults can say that they love the people that they work for? I don't mean the people who sign your paycheck or the people who hold your employee contract in their hands -- I mean the 25 - 120 people you see from the time you "punch in" to the time you "punch out" every weekday. I mean the people for whom you refrain from hitting your snooze button one more time each morning. I'm talking about the people who give you hell and yet count on you to be there every day. I'm talking about...

OK, OK... This is starting to sound like another stereotypical sound bite. Self-righteous proclamations by young, privileged, green teachers in urban schools are a dime a dozen nowadays, so I'll stop there.

What I wish I had told him is I don't teach to change the world, a city, a school district, or even an individual. Who am I to single-handedly climb onto soapboxes and rally the crowds with romantic notions of "change" until they start thinking like me? No, no. I cringe at the thought. This is not why I teach, nor is it why I like to teach in urban communities.

I teach because I love having dozens upon dozens of interactions in one day, sometimes even in the span of one hour. I teach because I like feeling my problem-solving brain cells buzz with each new snag or new form of an old snag. I teach because I like the "ah-hah!" reactions of students after making a new science discovery. I teach because I love watching students interact with each other and lift each other up when their friends need a boost.

The Difference-Makers.

Yes, I am merely another cog in a runaway machine, but so are politicians, administrators, standardized test-writers, good teachers, bad teachers, hardworking parents, academically-prepared students, students with learning disabilities, students of Color, White students, janitors, counselors, drop-in tutors, and college admissions officers. They all are never going to stop doing what they do despite mass confusion about best strategies towards meeting ill-defined and oftentimes conflicting end-goals so why should I? Are they making a difference? If they are not, then why do they do what they do? If they are, then what makes them so different from me that I shouldn't try to, as well?

And if I don't "make a difference" (whatever that even means anymore), screw it. I'll teach anyway. I don't have the mental capacity to foresee what my kids', the nation's, or my future holds. Hell, that's another reason to teach -- because we don't know what the future holds, because the future is not set in stone, and because we can contribute towards shaping it.

But no matter. At my immortal-minded, naïve, inexperienced age, I'm not thinking long term. I can only focus on doing my best each day, enjoying doing my best, and giving my students enough encouragement to stay in school and continue their education for themselves just a little bit longer. When my days no longer are fulfilling, I'll quit. 'Til then, I'll teach.

- - -

Besides being inspired by that conversation to write this post, I was also inspired by the passion in the form of professionalism by a local teacher and fellow alumnus of Mills College. Please read about and/or watch the video about her research through teaching when (if) you find a free moment in your chaotic end-of-the-year teaching lives.

- - -

Help Wanted: How Do I Create Learning Opportunities for Students Who Need it the Most?

2011-04-27T22:31:00.001-07:00

One problem I've been struggling with lately is that I noticed that my students can be divided up into the following student categories:

= = =

Student Type 1: I understand the material and I just got a [91-100%] on the test. I am ignoring you as you talk about ways to get help on the material.

Student Type 2: Agh!!!! I don't get it!!!!! HELP ME! I'M FAILING...AT LIFE! (*Student Type 2 comes in for extra tutoring before school, during lunch, during advisory, and after school; student also proceeds to take advantage of every extra credit opportunity and test corrections; meanwhile, their grade creeps up from a C+, B-, or B+)

Student Type 3: I got an F on this test. I am too far gone to do raise my grade. Also, before school/lunch/after school is my time, not yours.

= = =

Short of advising that I teach my students the material in such a way that they understand it the first time around (I'm working on it!), what can I do for my students who are unmotivated to put in the extra extra work that it takes to catch up and keep up with the material?

Many of these students who struggle from the beginning are already trying to cover more ground due to information gaps (e.g., some students learn how to balance chemical equations in middle school, others do not, yet all are allowed to enroll in high school chemistry). The longer that we press on in chemistry, the further they fall behind; the further they fall behind, the less motivated they are to take advantage of remedial/extra support. This, of course, leads to sinking grades which then leads to less motivation, and... yeah. You see where I'm going with this.

So how can I offer support to the students who need it most in such a way that they do not feel embarrassed to ask for help? How do we show these students that it's not hopeless and that we have not given up on them? How do I, every now and then, close my doors to the students who do come in for tutoring to get the C+ to B- grade boost so that I can give the students who are struggling the most a few moments of undivided attention?

I've tried a couple of things: I suggest to all students that they ask each other for help and that I am not the only resource in the classroom for learning science; I've tried having less drop-in tutoring and more invite-only tutoring sessions. I cannot tell if the former is working; as far as the latter, I end up getting a lot of no-shows.

I know that my question is nothing novel -- does anyone have any suggestions for me?

The Morning of the CST

2011-04-27T09:33:00.000-07:00

We had an advisory period before today's math CST. The team decided to provide the kids with last minute review and tips. Each teacher would provide slides for their subject's test. Given that I won't be able to see the entire group today, to show face before they go on their big dance:

He gives tips too:

But really, I got the idea from their english teacher. So, I pay tribute:

And to lighten the mood, a guest appearance by the man I spent spring break with:

How to Employ Student Potential

2011-03-29T22:04:00.001-07:00

A student asks "Ey G, can I erase the whiteboard?" In past years, I'd be reluctant. After all, the whiteboard is sacred teacher space. This year, though, I've allowed myself to trust: "Sure, go ahead."

It started with the little things. Writing down the learning target and the homework assignment, collecting homework, passing out handouts, erasing the whiteboard, and picking up the phone. The more and more I let go, the more and more I realized: students LOVE to do the teaching duties I HATE.

So, we create a structure where their volunteership becomes official. G's employees - classroom jobs for the willing. I'm surprised to see hands shoot up in the air after I describe the duties of our "HW Returner." Wow, they're really into this. I may have struck gold in my 4th year of teaching.

Fast forward from September to February. My Assistant Principal invites me to his room and requests that I join a team flying to Oregon in a (dun, dun, dun!) all-expenses paid, work trip! (My eyes sparkle - "Me?" I ask "You want me?") I'm privileged to join 4 other teachers, 3 admin, and a few district heads to an SLC conference in McMinville. I revel in the opportunity to step back from the daily grind of teaching to pick brains and collectively brainstorm the future of our high school.

I'm SMH'ing myself at my neglect to my edublogosphere. I should share more of my revelations, experiences, and observations this epic 4th year. (Note: If I stay in teaching for life, I may look back at this year as the one that did it for me.) My experiences in McMinville are some that must be shared. Amongst these things -

There, I witnessed an employment of student potential at even grander levels. I thought it was great that my students volunteered to do measly classroom tasks. Well, in McMinville, I witnessed:

A cooking class that catered for any school function requiring a meal (I'm talking restaurant quality)
A student-run kinkos where teachers could drop off templates to be copied and picked up at a later time or date.
A store with merchandise all designed and sold by students, where business is managed, budgeted and ran by students.
A snack bar with a similar setup.
An in-house bank with students as tellers.
A day care center ran by students.
A school garden beautifying campus, maintained by students.
Performing arts courses where students are called upon to perform and provide entertainment.

Student enterprises left and right! While administrators may wince at the idea of budgeting off money to hire personell to run any of the above, McMinville found a way to do it for free.

The 'free-ness' is not what's important though. What I love is that they've found a way to tap into their student potential.

Students are allowed a space for their talents and creativity to thrive in a real world context. Rather than digging their noses into textbooks every hour of every day, these students are given an opportunity to bring relevance to their learning experience - mirroring what they may see in a future job.

Don't believe me? See here:

Ladies and gentlemen, that is of 5-star restaurant quality.

Here's Orphal making a withdrawal from students on-campus.

Got a younger brother or sister you need to take care of, why not bring them to the in-school day-care!

Fast forward from February to April and we are in the midst of programming what we plan to implement for next year. The latest of these employing a similar philosophy of 'classroom student jobs' and 'McMinville's student enterprises.' If we're looking to change the culture of our school, why not let the students make it happen. I like it. Stay tuned.

Good Day Sunshine

2011-03-24T19:52:00.000-07:00

OK, so there is no sunshine to speak of in Berkeley, but today was a good day!

I’m glad for it, too, because yesterday was such a bad day. I was “putting out fires” for most of the period and ineffectively chastising students.

I started off yesterday’s period with a Do Now that asked students to identify reactants and products, to identify a reaction as a combustion reaction, and to predict whether the reaction requires heat or gives off heat. We then did a pre-lab as a class.

Students were bored, antsy, confused, and apathetic. As a result, they acted out. And as a result to that result, I reacted. Heck, I probably reacted because I was bored and confused.

At the end of the day, two tips that I’ve received previously from veteran teachers came to mind:

1. Science is hands-on – it’s fun! There’s no point in disciplining a class all day long if there is no science being learned or done. Once you bring out the activity materials, students will be so excited and consumed in the activity that they will not have any reason to act out.

2. Engage in the practice of “need-to-know”; that is, only give students science jargon when there is a need to know it. Meanings for new words do not stick unless appropriate context is associated with the word. For students to understand its meaning, the word needs to be meaningful to the learner. Do not “tell” students filament and stigma, rather, give them a flower to analyze and have them describe and identify its parts. Only when a student asks, “what’s this skinny part?” do you as the teacher give them the new word.

I failed in both of these arenas yesterday. I made my students sit in their desks with nothing but a pencil and paper in front of them for the entire period. Their only opportunity for engagement and interaction was when I asked students to interact with me in “teacher ask, student answer” fashion.

I knew that I needed to scrap almost everything about yesterday (except for the Do Now! I’m never getting rid of that!). I observed my colleague, Natalia, at her student teaching placement yesterday after leaving my placement and learned a lot of tricks of trade. I was very excited to implement these strategies today. Her strategies included:

Make it so students have no excuse not to do their work. Need paper? Here ya go. Need a pencil? I’ve got plenty. Oh, you want to use pen? I’ve got that, too. Forgot your book at home? Take mine. Can’t see the board? Try on my glasses.
If a student is off-task, rather than badgering the student with: “get to work”, “stop talking”, “turn around in your desk”, approach the students instead with: “how are you doing on your work? Do you know what you’re supposed to be doing now?” Try to identify the reason for the students' behavior rather than simply addressing the behavior.
Congratulate students often; do not let small successes go overlooked. When a student who is habitually tardy finally arrives on time, thank the student… etc. etc.

Anyway, all that to preface why today went relatively well. For my students’ Do Now, I had them finish the procedure section of their lab report. I figure, a Do Now does not have to be a problem to solve – it can be a silent task, too. Students entered the classroom slightly confused at the change of procedure at first, but I restated and clarified the directions over and over again and wrote the directions on the board until finally, everyone knew what to do.

Two of my students, D and T, are a tricky duo. They used to act out when they were separated, so I sat them together. That worked for awhile… and then it stopped working. I tried reminding them about how I am trusting them to monitor themselves and each other, to no avail. Finally, today I pulled them outside at the beginning of class. I tried asking them if they really are mature enough to sit together, but neither boy would make eye contact with me or answer my questions. I said “fine, I’m going to step inside for a moment and leave you two to decide with each other if you need to be separated or if you can sit together without disrupting the class.” I entered the classroom and attended to the rest of the class. Before I could return outside to check on the boys, they entered the classroom calmly and returned to their seats together. They were fine for the rest of the day. I made sure to praise them both, on separate occasions, for staying on task.

Students worked with chemicals today, exploring endothermic and exothermic reactions in Ziploc bags. Since they were only working with bicarb, phenol red, and calcium chloride, I could more or less leave them to conjuring up every combination they could imagine in various amounts. They had a lot of fun and acted very orderly because we had just reviewed safety procedures when in lab (handle chemicals carefully, do not walk around the classroom holding chemicals, take turns, etc.). They got curious and asked permission to add other things in their reactions to see what would happen (i.e., a lock of hair). I made sure to have them predict outcomes before running reactions and made sure that they notices certain physical changes lest they get too distracted by other physical changes (for example, “touch the baggie! Don’t be afraid! Remember, we are experimenting with endothermic and exothermic reactions today, what should you be paying attention to?” when they became too afraid that the expanding baggie was going to explode in their hands as it filled with gas).

We were all so involved in the chemical reactions that I did not have time to hand out their exit tickets. Instead, their exit ticket was to clean up their lab stations. The classroom has never been so clean!

I even assigned homework today and was met by reactions of “oh, that’s it? We only have to do this section, that’s it?”.

I love my kids!

"Letter to a Young Teacher"

2011-03-17T22:02:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a bad teaching day on oh-so-many levels. I'm talking kids out of their seats, chasing each other, cussing each other out... Never again. Never, never again will I let things get to that level. Well, if I can help it, anyway.

My head is still above water, though, and I am trying to congratulate myself for at least that.

This blog post, written by one of my teachers and mentors, is helping me hang on to my vision despite thoughtless (and painful) side comments from others ("Still sure you want to go into teaching?"). In a letter to a disheartened young teacher, he says, in a nutshell:

We go back to work again and again for [these] goals... The joy of working with kids. The commitment to organizing and social justice. The pay is bad but, really, not that bad. One can have a decent, if modest, living doing this. And we may be scorned by idiots but we are revered by parents, communities, and students. (--Rick Ayers)

I need to keep reminding myself that I can only do my best, and at that, my best is pretty good. Next year, my best will be even better, and so on. The important thing is that I need to keep showing up for the fight so that I'll have shortcomings to learn from and successes to celebrate.

Past Midnight Meanderings

2011-03-08T00:29:00.000-08:00

I was on campus until 5 today. I got home and graded for 3 hours. I made phone calls home to about 20 parents. It's a lil' past midnight now and I am not fully prepared for tomorrow's lesson(s) - (2 things to prep for - geometry & algebra). I've got some friends who request an update on my teaching life and half-expect a "yeah, it's easy now." When they don't get it, the follow-up question is usually "but, didn't you plan for everything last year? Can't you just re-use it.. and stuff?"

There's nothing quite like the first year, but the work load does not stop there. Yes, each year you get better & each year you get a better handle, but this will always be the job that never ends. One parent tonight said to me, "well, I thank you for your work. I don't think people give y'all teachers enough credit. I mean, you guys should be the ones w/ the salaries that these ball players get." "Thank you. Thank you. But, you know, I definitely don't do it for the money."

There's a lot on the teaching mind I'm bound to get on paper, but for now -

Did you know, each year...

1 in 57 doctors lose their license.

1 in 93 lawyers theirs.

but, for teachers, 1 in 2,500 lose their credential.

As an educator in public education thirsting for what next steps we can take towards positive reform of our schools, how do you think I digest this fact? Just food for thought that'll (hopefully) drive my next post...

Old School Tricks/New School Application

2011-03-05T14:57:00.000-08:00

Even though, I've studied self-fulfilling prophecies before, sometimes it takes a certain context to facilitate new ideas. I just started reading Outliers. You know you are a science dork, by the way when you get more engaged by the footnotes then the text. Here is a footnote that really struck me:

The way canadians select hockey players is a beautiful example of what the sociologist Robert Merton famously called a “self-fulfilling prophecy”-a situation where a “false definition in, the beginning...evokes a behavior which makes the original false conception come true.” Canadians start with a false definition of who the best nine- and ten-year-old hockey players are. They’re just picking the oldest every year. But the way they treat those all-stars ends up making their original false judgement look correct. As Merton, puts it: “This spacious validity of the self-fulfilling prohecy perpetuates a reign of error. For the prophet will cite the actual course of events as proof that he was right from the very beginning.”

At first, I thought of my experiences with Nelly this week as I read through this passage. Our relationship has changed in the past 3 weeks due to a series of events that have allowed her to make her own physical and mental space in the learning environment: a class job and the removal of a distracting buddy from class.

Her behavioral changes facilitated a rise in my expectations, my increase in patience with her cultivated a more intellectual relationship that has brought out a more intellectual engagement in class and in turn a greater understanding of biological concepts.

These connections between the Nelly incident and the self-fulfilling prophecy give me hope that I can create a self-filling prophecy for any student if I doctor the circumstances well enough.

Self-fulfilling prophecies in education are often discussed as a negative phenomenon often applied to lowered expectations of minority students and the criminalization or vilification of minority students especially African-American males.

It is time to use this cousin of reverse psychology, let’s call it front-loading psychology, in our favor as educators. In reverse psychology a person tricks the subject into doing what he or she wants by manipulating the subject into thinking that the idea was originally his or hers. The trickster does this by presenting oppositional viewpoints to incite rebellious desires in the subject driving this person to conceive his or her “original” idea.

Front-loading psychology would use the “self-fulfilling prophecy” as an advantage: trick the subject into believing they were chosen for their potential, when they are in fact participating in an open enrollment program that they selected. Educators could convince their students that they have been selected to participate in an “elite” small learning community or academic program. We could treat the students as though they had earned their way into a reward for their merit. Maybe students would react to school and teachers differently with this change in mindset. Maybe it will generate greater feelings of ambition, duty, and belonging.

This may seem like a simple concept and idea, I wonder how hard it would be to convince students of this though, since our program is open enrollment (as it should be in order to provide students of all backgrounds the equal access to high quality public education).

You may be thinking “Of course, I have high expectations of my students, that’s just good teaching.” First, I challenge you to consider who you punish during class the most and why and who is not succeeding in your class. Second, I am talking about a systematic and widely implemented application of this phenomenon to an entire school of approximately 2,000 students. Now, I just have to figure out how to do it.....

3-3-11

2011-03-03T08:43:00.001-08:00

Each time that I post my mini-goal for the day, I am usually able to finish my day in a hopeful mood. So let's go.

Today, I will do a better job of setting my students up for success in their Exit Slip.

-and-

Today, I will encourage conversations about analyzing data.

= = =

I'm surprised that I escaped yesterday w/out anyone's hair catching on fire. For real. We're launching match rockets in class and students were having trouble staying clear of the runway and landing pad. Students were bouncing off the walls because they had just gotten out of an assembly, it was a minimum day, and there were big, bad high school students roaming the classroom visiting their old teacher. My kids just HAD to prove to the older kids how big and bad they could be, too. Did I mention I only had 15 minutes to teach something meaningful and catch it on video for my PACT?

Crossing my fingers, hoping that PACT graders find my students' behavior as endearing and my teaching as relentless.

Budget Cuts as Personal

2011-03-02T15:17:00.000-08:00

I watch the news. I see the protests. I've participated. I have the discussions and read the articles. In the past two years, I've had new hires become friends... and then watched them become latest teacher whose enthusiasm for a blossoming career in the profession is transformed into anger towards a pink slip. Their stints at this school are reduced to but a year.

However, never have I felt the brunt of budget cuts on education like I have this year. Our principal held a meeting three weeks ago where he shared "we MUST cut 1,000,000 dollars from our budget." There's no typos here. 6 zeros. One MILLION.

This year, I've had the privileged to be more involved in the behind-the-scenes work of the school. I feel like a contributor towards it's future. We put in time. We have spirited discussions. Recently, I was part of a team of 8 to visit a school in Oregon whose models towards teaching fascinated us. We want something similar. But then we're hit with news like this.

The morale's been high, especially with the promise of continued positive restructuring in our school. But the morale is clouded when a dollar amount equivalent to 25 personnel positions is on the chopping block.

I love this job. And this 4th year has brought me to unprecedented levels of passion towards my craft, my school, and, especially, my students. I walk around w/ bags under my eyes like I have in past years, but there's a new willingness to do the work. There's a smile. There's investment.

It's disheartening to think this sort of passion (that's beyond just me and shared by my colleagues) is a passion not supported by higher ups in government. The folks that play the numbers game and say education must take a cut. These cuts run deep. My principal shared, "I've been in this profession doing what I do for a long time, but I've never seen it this bad." We are expected to do more and more with less and less. We lost two math teachers last year. How many will we lose this year? What if I'm on the chopping block?

During advisory today, we had a class meeting driven by this sort of discussion. I love to hear my students opinions and I love to hear them engaged in impassioned debate. The issues brought up mirror the ones I just heard in our faculty-wide budget meeting. The students know what's up.

Three of them have taken the role of mini-activists, leading students to participate in this March 2nd day of action. More power to them. Fist in the air.

Zoom In: Do Now

2011-02-14T19:23:00.000-08:00

I borrowed a page out of Mr. G's book -- literally, more or less -- and made Do Now sheets for the students that they could hold on to for the week.

Until recently, I collected half sheets of Do Nows from students. I found, though, that students were getting confused about where they jotted down some of their notes or ideas because I did not give the Do Now half sheets back (shame on me). I hope that this way, with the Mon-Tues-Weds-Thurs-Fri Do Now sheet, they'll be able to track what we've covered over the past week.

Another way that I tried to improve our Do Now time is that I initialed students' sheets if they had finished/attempted the question. Even though I walked around and checked for progress before, the fact that I was now marking their papers motivated students to show me that they attempted it. I have a hunch that the students whose Do Nows were blank prior to today were attempting the problem in their head, but if they were not confident in their answer, they would not put anything down. Since I am giving credit for work shown, I get to now see students' thinking and reasoning regardless of correct answers.

Students have plenty of time to get from one class to another; as they enter our classroom, there is usually a minute or two of settling down before the bell rings. At first, I wanted for students to enter the room quietly and calmly. I'm starting to let go of that fantasy, though. The kids always file into the classroom excited about something: Valentine's day, a game that was on the night before, a project that we are doing in science, the fact that their dog just had puppies... the list goes on. They crazy. My friend gave me a nice analogy today:

"Sometimes, when I'm at home and watching TV, I put the TV on mute so that I can do something for a moment. When I'm done with whatever it was I was doing, I un-mute the TV. To my surprise, the volume is incredibly loud and blaring at me! I did not notice how loud the TV actually was until I compared it to complete silence. When students are walking into the classroom, they might be coming from a fun activity, or from the lunch room, or from the loud, crowded hallways, and they do not realize how much of that loud energy they are bringing with them into the classroom. I think that when students are in the classroom, it's important to bring the noise level down to complete silence for at least a moment; that way, students will have a frame of reference for their own volume."

I'm learning to allow students to shake off their crazies until the bell rings. Once the bell rings, I told them that that is a signal for us to be in our seats and working quietly and independently on the Do Now. It sometimes takes a moment, but I'm learning to be OK with that because the kids are 8th graders: they're silly and they're very emotional. My main focus in terms of volume now is to give kids a frame of reference of where our volume needs to start in our classroom before we can start adding volume throughout the period.

Convert Keynote to Powerpoint

2011-02-08T16:44:00.001-08:00

Hello edublogosphere,

My colleagues and I have recently taken our collaboration to a new level through dropbox. We are ecstatic and encourage all teachers to give it a looksee if you haven't already.

Quick question, though - does anyone out there know how to mass convert keynote slides to powerpoint format? I already know you can convert individual slide sets into .ppt through keynote, but I'd like to convert MANY (I'm talking hundreds) and converting each set one-by-one sounds like a tedious task.

Can anyone help a brotha out!? I just wanted to give it a try! I know this type of question request has been successful before. You guys rock!

~Mr. G

2-7-11

2011-02-07T21:30:00.000-08:00

I know that "they" say not to talk over people when teaching/giving instructions, but I think I'm going to leave room for on-task chit chat. At any rate, I'm done with sucking all the fun out of 8th grade by being a police officer at the front of the room instead of a teacher.

Student today asked if I was wearing contacts. That confused me for a second because I do not own contacts. Then I realized that I forgot my teacher disguise (a pair of über weak glasses) at home. These kids don't miss a thing.

My Do Now question for the day involved the students writing down a question that they might want to pursue for their science fair project. As I walked around, I saw that students had some really exciting and creative ideas. When I asked for a share-out, though, everyone was shy/uninterested in participating. So much for that. I need to find a way to make share-outs actually important and useful. I need for them to share out so they can hear each others' ideas and so their classmates and I can give public feedback.

The [Winter] Phase of Teaching

2011-01-31T22:42:00.000-08:00

We're at the peak of winter. The end of a semester. But, the sun decides to show it's face on this occasion. Rays glimmer through the trees and onto the tennis court. "40-15!!" I yell moments before tossing a tennis ball into the crisp air. "Wuuuubiiing" "Game!... what is it now? 2-3?"

It's teacher buy back day. Our campus sans students becomes one giant playground during our hour-long lunchtime break. Your forget how cool your co-workers are and how fun it'd be to chill during the daily grind of teaching. As a good teacher friend in the Bronx once put it: "Eat, teach, breathe, sleep... repeat." You also forget how beautiful the campus can be. Someone sweeps leaves off the court. I like the sound. Redwood trees stand like giants overlooking our impromptu tennis match. The air smells fresh.

After it was game over, another teacher friend and I decide to change gears and shoot hoops right across the way. "Let's play P.I.G." "But, we gotta get back to the meeting. We got like 3 minutes." "Alright, howbout I.T." ".... Fine."

While at school sans students, springtime teacher talk begins to infiltrate our conversations. I'm talking the type that goes like "so, you planning on coming back next year?" "you looking around for something new?" "did you know you could make 10 grand more per year if you taught at ____ district!? Oakland, man, I'm tellin' you... Oakland. [SMH]"

Monday. Start of a new semester. Excited to see my students. Happy to see my students. But am brought back down to reality when frustration meets me. "y = -3x + 2"... simple enough, start w/ the y-intercept. Down 3, over 1. "y = 5"... oh no, now you doin' too much Mr. G.

You forget the level of patience required to teach. You forget the subconscious mantras you must repeat: "They're only 15. They're only 15. You can't expect them to act 25." You forget the never-ending bell-to-bell flurry that is one period of teaching, juggling a multitude of tasks while meeting the needs of each student and maintaining composure in front of your soul-hungry audience. They're ready to throw tomatoes at you at any second.

And you remember the friends you came into teaching with. You remember how they've laid down the ultimatums: "This is it. This is my last year. I mean, 4 years is more than good. You can't blame me." For a second, you wonder how much greener the grass feels on the other side. It must feel so soft on your feet to run barefoot.

Then, you feel pressured to do better. To teach better. To plan better. You're challenged for not putting in enough effort and you question everything about your teaching self. The CST's are looming, your students grades can be higher, and you're wondering quite frantically what more can you do. Have you put in your all, Mr. G? Have YOU?? Really!?

Copy room afterschool and you can't help but participate in a venting session with another young, like-minded teacher. It's a tough time of year, we conclude. A tough time of year. Fittingly, in the copy room is posted this sign:

[Edit, graph should not be titled 'first year' of teaching for this happens annually]

Though, you must accept that this sort of winter to springtime thoughtfest is part of a teacher's natural cycle. Start at August. End at June. Teachers have the liberty to rethink and readjust paths each summer. That's a good thing! Coming back for another go round makes it that much more meaningful.

As for me, I'm 95% sure I'll be back on this campus overlooked by giant redwoods. No doubt though that I've stepped into a disillusionment phase and am looking forward to getting past.

-_-

Tiger Moms

2011-01-29T09:16:00.000-08:00

Amy Chua, love her or hate her. Regardless, I still think "Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior" is a great little read. (She's pretty funny too. Ruthless, but funny.)

Pushing aside all those moments where my jaw-dropped, my eyebrows furrowed, and I mouthed "WHAT?!" in shock during my first read of this essay, this resonated with me:

"Western parents worry a lot about their children's self-esteem. But as a parent, one of the worst things you can do for your child's self-esteem is to let them give up. On the flip side, there's nothing better for building confidence than learning you can do something you thought you couldn't."

I agree.

...for the most part. Two days ago I experienced a little taste of Tiger Mom action. A parent greets me as she arrives to pick up her son from the classroom. She asks if her son gave me the pancake fundraiser form. I say no. She calls her son over. "Why didn't you turn in the form?" He replies "I don't know... I forgot." Uh oh... I knew what was coming. Run, Maddoxx, run!

She looks at him, pissed, and says "This is EXACTLY what I was talking about." She then goes on to tell me how he has been driving her crazy at home. How she reviews all his work and can't believe when he gets -1 on his papers instead of 100%. She then tells me that every time he gets a problem wrong, he has to write "I will double check my work" FIFTY times. She says she does not understand why he keeps missing problems. She takes away his toys, does not let him watch TV, and makes him stay up late redoing his work. She then says, "I even thought about having him stay with my parents for a while because I can't stand him right now."

Poor kid is standing right there throughout this whole verbal bashing. I get that she expects him to do well because she knows he is capable of it. But as I stood there and listened to her talk, I couldn't help but think, "minus one ain't that bad!"

Amy Chua would probably look down at me for promoting "mediocrity."

I would probably look down at her for acting like a b*tch. (Must be that Western side of me!)

Taking Care

2011-01-25T21:39:00.000-08:00

This semester (and forevermore), I promise to take care of my whole self, not just my teacher self.

This way, my students will have a more put-together teacher standing in front of them each day.

Finally, Effective Afterschool Sessions

2011-01-25T21:24:00.000-08:00

One key piece still missing at my school is a space designated for peer-to-peer tutoring and peer-to-peer collaboration. Each time my math team comes together to brainstorm 'math intervention', it seems we are chasing an elusive white rabbit. I tell 'em "I say we set a time and a space where we get kids comfortable to visit and work collaboratively."

I've had a few attempts, but the most effective thus far is what I've seen these past three weeks. Tuesdays and Thursdays til 4:30 afterschool in Mr. G's room. Find yourself some tutoring.

In past years, I've felt aversive to tutoring. After all, it's unpaid, extra work with students who [some may claim] should've 'got it' if they had put more effort during class time. Don't get me wrong, I understand the effectiveness of one-on-one student to teacher time as much as the next teach. I just haven't found a way to make it a regular habit for myself nor my kids. Aside from this, the past 3 years of what some may claim "the teacher hazing process" would always leave me pretty exhausted and in need of non-school thoughts and nap time by the end of the school day.

But now, things are on the up. Now, we've got both. Each Tuesday and Thursday, I readjust the seats to accomodate group seating by 3:05 and students fill the space. What normally provides house to 54-minute algebra and geometry periods becomes a relaxed afterschool atmosphere where students are welcome to give and receive math help. You should hear the conversations in this place! Students are at the white board doing multi-step problems. Students are seated in groups of 3 or 4 focused on specific concepts and teaching each other. Not just current students, but ex-students as well. Not just students of Algebra & Geometry (the subjects I teach), but Algebra II'ers as well. This is what I call a community of learners:

What am I doing during this time? I'm sitting at the desks with them. And I help where I can. I advise students on how to become stronger students. Of course I can't conduct a 1 on 15 tutoring session, but I can pair students up where I see fit, and I act as the last resort "ugh, I really really don't get this... let's ask Mr. G" answer giver.

Lastly, these relaxed spaces for math help act as a relaxed space for fun, cool interaction. In today's session, for example, we had another one of those age-old dialogues concerning my youth:

S1: Mr. G, how old are you anyway? You must be like, either 25 or in your early 30's.

Me: Hah, those are two very different ages.

S2: So, you started teaching right outta college right? When you were 22!? What did the kids think about you then?

Me: They thought I was either 25 or in my early 30's.

S1 & S2: LOL.

S2: Here, tell me what year you were born. I'll do the math.

Me: 1968.

S2: Aright, what year is it? 2011... (3 minutes later)... No, you lyin'!

Chaos and Confessions

2011-01-20T15:50:00.000-08:00

Chaos. Never before today have I been more thankful for the invention of the word 'chaos'. I'm in such bewilderment over the happenings of class that the only comfort that I can find in the day is in the fact that I have a word to describe said happenings.

OK, so I'm exaggerating a bit. By the end of class, no one was hurt, no one was in tears (including me), and I think I even succeeded in acknowledging and touching base with every student in the class.

Just to update everyone on my current situation, I am currently a pre-service science teacher. Last semester, I worked with 9th-12th grade chemistry students. To call what I did last semester "teaching" would be a bit of a stretch. For the past two weeks and for the next five months I have been and will be teaching (for real teaching) 8th grade physical science.

I have the best situation that I can ask for, really. The kids are generally motivated -- albeit, to different degrees -- they are curious, and they generally do their work (they even turn it in!). My cooperating teacher has given me free rein to plan as I wish, discipline as I see fit, grade as I deem fair, and so on. The classroom is interesting. The kids are sweet. My CT is patient with me. Everything's great.

Today, the problem was me. I had absolutely no control over the class. It hurts me to confess that I had no control today, particularly here in the open and to an audience of experienced teachers, but it is the truth. Kids were walking around, yelling across the class, using extremely offensive language (or at least, as offensive as you can get as an 8th grader still exploring your creativity with newfound derogatory words), climbing on tables....

Now, I'm sure that you read this, your eyes are picking up speed and skimming across my complaints because it's nothing you haven't heard before and nothing you haven't seen before. By that same token, I thought I too had seen this all before and that I knew what to do to bring everyone back together. I thought I had a full bag of tricks: I specifically called out people who were acting out. I rang the little bell/noise maker. I said that we would not begin until I had everyone's attention. I allowed for a little bit of give because, after all, they are only middle school kids and not high school kids. I waited and waited and waited. Lesson-wise, I thought I put together a string of activities/assignments that were engaging enough to keep the class at a busy level of calm.

The only thing that saved me today was the bell at the end of the period.

Despite the fact that it was my lack of management that caused learning to come to a stand-still, I still need to keep my focus on the students. I'm still learning how to be a real teacher, but I want to keep my learning student-centered -- not teacher-centered. Yes, that's right -- I just ranted for some six or seven paragraphs about what I did wrong today, yet my closing paragraph is about my students. It matters less what I say to keep the class calm, it matters less that I envision my class to be a room full of silent, smiling, learning kids, and it matters more that my students are safe, are learning, are curious, are applying their knowledge, and are thinking like scientists.

What does this mean?

It means that when I reflect on my day, I need to think about what works for my students and what it takes to get these specific students to learn science and to control themselves in the classroom. I can take notes and carefully study every teacher in the world, but none of this matters if I don't know my own students. They are my informants. In a way, I am experimenting with various methods of teaching and managing a classroom, and they are my data. When lessons fail or succeed, I need to look to them for hints as to what to change or repeat next time.

I'm exhausted, but I'm not defeated. Tomorrow is a new day.

= = =

P.S. My second confession is that I did not threaten the class with punishments for misbehaving. My third confession is that I do not know what the school policy is for misbehaving. My goal tomorrow is to become very familiar with this policy and make sure that my students are familiar with the policy.

As Seen on Postsecret

2011-01-16T18:47:00.001-08:00

Came across this secret in this week's collection on Postsecret.

Wouldn't it be interesting to have a Postsecret: Teacher Edition?

-AA

Teacher Man

2011-01-14T14:54:00.001-08:00

I've got these ideas and stories thirsting to get out of my system and onto this blog, but I'm on that "I'm feeling too self-conscious about my writing ability that my ass subconsciously refuses to sit and my fingers refuse to type" part of my blog cycle.

But fuck that.

I was sick last Wednesday. I slept from 6pm Tuesday to 1pm Wednesday. With maybe 2 hours of consciousness inbetween to eat, drink medicine, and create sub plans. The sub I requested went by the name of "Sheppard." Whatevs I thought.

He e-mailed me later that night, sharing that it was only his 2nd day on the job as a sub. He shared his history as an EE major with 4 years worth of calculus experience. He wanted input on his performance as a substitute for the day and he shared what went on w/ my students while I was out. Nice, I thought. A sub who cares about his work.

I knew Thursday would be a "lemme get through this" kinda day cus I was still sick. But my students are awesome and it was great to be back. I asked about the sub. The kids all shared that they liked him. I looked forward to relaying the message.

Just now, a bearded man (white beard) walks through my classroom door, lookin' like a nerdy version of Santa Claus. But a cool nerd, though. Smily when he talks. Made me feel happy right when I shook his hand. It's Sheppard.

What I thought would be a quick 5 minute check-in of his sub day becomes a more than half hour conversation of teaching, histories of our lives, and why we're now here. He's a man of 62. Previously a software developer who made bank, so he stepped outta work for 10 years cus "let's just say, he had enough money to do so" (his words, not mine). He looked around for a new software developer position when he felt antsy, but said it didn't feel right. He only half-liked his previous two jobs. He shared that the only interaction he got was w/ his computer and with "nerds" (his words, not mine). He wants something that's got a mission, that's got direction, that's got impact and purpose. He's got the bug to be in the classroom. He wants to be a teacher. He wants to be a teacher for kids like the kids we've got here in Oakland. So, after reading a few books on teaching and on subbing. He's here as a sub....

I'm a man of 25. Yet, this man 37 years older who's got the beard of a wise man is here now asking me about my passions for teaching, my methods, and picking my brain to see how he can better himself in the classroom. We talk about schools and kids and classroom management plans and etc. I applaud him for his desire to step in and teach. I share that I firmly believe a teacher is the one factor that can make the most immediate impact to students... to get them interested in school again... to get them interested in the content your teaching. I say, if there's a place that needs great teachers it's Oakland. He knows it. We're on the same page.

Happy New Year!

2011-01-05T22:54:00.000-08:00

We've been stagnant on the edublog front. I've got posts in mind and hope to get around to them soon. But I would like to say I've got the best team of teachers and the dopest students on the planet. Teaching will always be teaching. The workload hasn't changed, but Mr. G is having a dandy good school year. Just wanted to share.

Silly Bands

2010-12-06T23:07:00.001-08:00

I had no idea those lil' bands around their wrists flattened out to collectible, unique shapes! A student gifted the one above to me during first period. For the remainder of the day:

"Silly bands? Waaaack.... [5 seconds later]... which one you got!?"

"I got some silly bands? Wanna see them!?" (Student proceeds to remove 3 from wrist and lays each on top of the worksheet he should've been working on).

"That's the pink hello kitty isn't it!? I got the red one. Wanna trade? Pleaaase. Pleaaaase."

"Hoooldup, you ain't got the lightning bolt though. Lemme show you."

It didn't matter how teenage girl, how hood, how gangsta, or how "I'm too cool for school" the student, the silly band movement is alive and well at this school.

Am I Doing Enough?!

2010-12-05T08:26:00.001-08:00

I can't believe its already December. Thinking about how quickly the days are going by scares me. I start asking myself... Are we on pace? Am I teaching them everything they should have learned at this point in the year? Am I doing enough?

I have a problem with that last one though. When I first asked myself that question it came out so naturally. And now I am a little disappointed that it did. It should never be "Am I doing enough?" It should be "Am I doing everything I can?"

I know I could be doing more.

Classroom Conversations #1

2010-11-30T20:05:00.000-08:00

Me: My tooth is really bothering me.

S1: Really? What's wrong?

Me: My wisdom tooth is growing in.

S2: Wow. How old are you?

Me: 17.

S1: LOL.

Me: Have you ever seen "Catch Me If You Can" ?

S1: Yeah, yeah! W/ Leonardo DiCaprio?

Me: Remember the scene where he pretends to be the teacher for weeks when he's really just a student?

Holiday Season

2010-11-18T23:36:00.000-08:00

::Kanye's 'Blame Game' playing only barely audibly enough to maintain the focus::

Student, loudly: "Mr. G, when are we going to start listening to Christmas music during the opener?"

something i love.

2010-10-29T00:37:00.001-07:00

Regardless of what has happened the day before, I walk into my classroom the next morning feeling blessed and fortunate that I get to do this. Yeah there is a never-ending to do list, a gazillion things to think about and paperwork galore, but I can honestly say that every single day I have FUN. Our job is fun!

I think that is pretty freakin' cool.

For The Cool In You

2010-10-24T19:52:00.000-07:00

One admittance I'm hesitant to share is the decline of my cool factor. I'm not sure what it is, but I feel my teacher coolness has steadily declined these past three years. I come up with the following rationalization:

Year One - I came in after a teacher had left, so already it was a given that I was appreciated. In addition, many students were Juniors and Seniors and our humor stayed at the same level. They were accustomed to 'the other' math teachers who're typically older and old school. Mr. G was refreshing.
Year Two - My first batch I taught from start to finish, and the establishing coolness wasn't as easy without the assist. The coolness was there, don't take me wrong. I'm the coolest teacher out there. But, just... not THAT cool.
Year Three - My first full load of freshmen, where humor is somewhere completely different. Some even consider freshmen a completely different race from human being. The defenses are high when you're in your first year of high school. The adjustment was a difficult one. Again, still cool... but not THAT cool.

One goal I have for the year is to regain the cool. I have a new full load of freshmen, and I know the cool is somewhere in me. And while there is no objective measure nor "value-added system" to what 'teacher coolness' is necessarily, I feel things are so far so good. I attribute this change partially to the fact that I'm one year conditioned to freshmen personality and energy, but added to this I share:

For starters, I maintain the randomisity I share with class on a daily basis, one completely non-math fact to buy their attention. I've added music to open class. I make sure I do not go a day without standing at the door and to preserve those one-on-one interactions with each and every student.

More importantly, I've allowed myself to be more open and vulnerable. Rather than keeping my life completely mysterious, I answer the personal questions (to an extent, of course). Rather than responding with a sarcastic "Mister" when they ask my first name, I tell it to them straight. Rather than keeping my 'teacher' facebook restricted to Mr. G alumni, I'm letting them add me if they find me (which is a fun post all in itself).

But, most importantly, I let them direct my life in ways I haven't allowed before. In the past, I wanted a wall to separate my teacher self and my non-teacher self but what I've realized is the two can co-exist and intermingle quite beautifully without some great divide. When a kid asks me to do something that may require extra work an effort that might not even contribute to his or her math success, I say 'hell, let's do it.'

So, when A.X. recommends that I read a Manga book that she absolutely LOVES, I read it (my very first Manga book, by the way - 'Death Note' if you're curious). When the kids say they want to see me decked out for 80's day, I show up in chucks, knee highs, members only, aviators, and a headband. When B.L. asks if I could bring him a tennis ball b/c he lost his, I provide. When a N.P. finds out I'm an avid fan of chess and challenges me to a match, we schedule a weekly morning meeting and play. When an advisory class is hungry for some dodge ball, we set up a game and do it. (Readily evading the dodgeballs flying at my face). And when J.S. challenges me to a one-mile race afterschool on the track in front of HELLA PEOPLE, I race him. (And WIN... yes, I am simultaneously brushing my shoulders off as I type this parenthetical).

Anyway, the result of these added components to my teacher life is the most fun I've ever had in the classroom. Why not let my students drive what goes on in my life the way I drives theirs and the way the classroom drives us?

PS. It's spirit week this week and I'm excited.

So Much Hate (part 2)

2010-10-21T16:02:00.000-07:00

He tells his parents he is getting bullied. I have yet to see anyone threaten or intentionally harm him. If anything, he is the one who does things that scare the other kids. I don't want to sound like I'm being one-sided, but everything I am saying is coming from what I have seen from him... EVERYDAY. But at the same time, I don't think he is simply telling blatant lies. He really does BELIEVE that people are out to get him. And that is what sucks. Big time.

I have a conference set up with his parents and the principal on Monday.

I am worried for this kid.

So Much Hate

2010-10-20T23:50:00.000-07:00

I have a boy who thinks everyone hates him. A boy who thinks his parents hate him, I hate him, and his classmates hate him. A boy who will yell and burst into tears of frustration if anyone tries to point out the fact that he is not following directions.

He is EXPLOSIVE. The class walks on egg shells around him.

And here is my dilemma. Why should we have to do that? I have analyzed this situation many times hoping to find an explanation for his behavior. How convenient would that be if I could link his behavior to turmoil at home... but that is not the case. Here is what I know: His parents don't hate him, I don't hate him, and his classmates don't hate him. There is something within this kid that is raging, and I don't know why.

But there are 27 other kids in the class. Kids who are going through their own battles. And they are still genuinely trying to help him. I am trying to help him. But he doesn't see it as help. He sees it as an attack. And he attacks back.

I will keep trying to help you. I promise I won't give up on you. But I will not sweep 27 kids under the rug, for you.

Week 8 Reflections - Teaching as Evolution & Inspiration

2010-10-20T15:35:00.000-07:00

Teaching is inspiring me.

I came into teaching after college as one of those "I'll teach in an urban area for two years, then migrate elsewhere." Yet, it is now year four and while I've seen many of my OTF cohort move onto new fields, I'm still here and I see myself staying put.

Only an hour ago, I was in a staff meeting. The principal presented recognition to our freshmen house and shared the new resources we're receiving because of the work we've done. I heard of schools across the nation looking to replicate a form of our model to better serve their student populations. The principal tells us we are the drivers of this school, we are the leaders in the culture change. I see it happening before my eyes.

In my first two years, staff meetings were not nearly the same. There was no direction nor purpose to what we did. There was virtually no positivity and way too much gritching (grief + bitching). A sliding door of principals and assistant principals led teachers to create their own solutions. What we see now is a blend of those teacher-driven projects with an administrative team whose finally got vision. It's refreshing and validating.

As I said in previous posts, there's something special in the air. I realize the benefit of teaching in an environment already well-established and conducive to student learning and teacher sanity, but undergoing and contributing to the process of the creation itself is something inspiring. My high school is still an ongoing project, but it's on the rise. I can sign off as witness to it's evolution and as a piece of it's legacy.

I realize the rainbows and butterflies and cliches I've presented in this post, but whatever - I've allowed this blog to be my go to spot for teaching thoughts and this is what I've got now. Holla.

Post-Quiz Noise Stopper & Mind Occupier

2010-10-01T15:30:00.000-07:00

You give a rigorous quiz. To begin, everyone is working diligently. But people work at their own pace. Soon, the quick test-takers will finish, raise their hands and submit their finished product. You walk over. Collect. Then, a few more. Then, more. Suddenly, more than half the class is finished w/ nothing to do. The rest are still working hard and are normally the type who NEED the extra silent time to finish. Some finished students are getting impatient. Human nature pushes them to start actin' a fool.

How do I stop it? A post-quiz riddle. Hand in the quiz, I hand you a mind twister. Kids read, then proceed to sit dumbfounded (and silent). They've got something to chew on while the rest of the kids test-take. Periods later in the day, a few students STILL have their mini sheets trying to decipher the answer. I pass them to other teachers I catch in the copy room and we've got a topic to discuss for the rest of the day.

Answers aren't revealed til next week, on the next post-quiz riddle:The buy-in is zero in-class time but the pay out is immense and hella fun.

Week 5 Timeline

2010-09-30T15:31:00.000-07:00

I'm considering updating supteach with posts similar to those I did on my first teacher blog. The reflections are therapeutic, as is the feedback. They keep me centered and remind me of why I'm here, especially on weeks when I'm dragging my heels.

So, here goes:

Weeks 1 through 4 were honeymoonish. I still smell "special" in the air now that I'm in week 5. The students have entered their "let's see what I can get away with" phase and this is manifested so clearly in other classes. Nightmare stories are being exchanged about how student A did so-and-so to student B. Or how student C said this and that when all I was trying to do was teach!

Students A, B, and C through even Z have thus far been fine in my classes. I'm happy. But, we're walking through a new zone of the school year where math deficiencies become relevant. I start to see students who, in their first year of high school, still have difficulty following the order of operations. I have students who still use fingers to add.

I gave my first progress reports today. No doubt, I had several kids angry and wondering what they could do to raise their grades. It's no longer about school, learning, and getting to know each other. Grades have come in the picture. When that happens, the ball game changes. After explaining to them how to read my progress reports, I had to show them a happy video. Perfect timing, I'd say. I needed to make sure all kids were still capable of smiling.

Anyway, I'm beginning to feel the monotony that is learning math "the traditional way." Teach something, practice something, review something, quiz. I mix in the fun stuff on a daily basis, sure. But I must begin contemplating more groupwork, more projects, and more real-world application so that this algebra and geometry is not so abstract. Any ideas, teacher friends? HELP ME!

Also, back-to-school night happened last night. It's become an experience that's transformed form something queasy to something enjoyable. I called all my advisees' parents during the day. I'm proud to say I spoke to several in Spanish... which reminds me of a story I must share at a later time. I love meeting parents. I love meeting siblings. I love shaking their hands and I love learning of my students' home lives.

There's so many stories to be told. Week 5. Marking period 6 coming to a close next week. Onward we go.

Make It Meaningful

2010-09-28T10:25:00.000-07:00

I'm in my fifth year of running an outreach program at at California Community College and something that still continues to get me is when I let Student Ambassadors know they're hired. Their passion and excitement to work to help fellow and potential students truly inspires me to make their experience meaningful. We're not going to be young forever. Folks like my Student Ambassadors are the future of education.

Staff Morale.

2010-09-24T15:18:00.000-07:00

Needless to say, things at school can get, well, er, rough. After a particularly bad end to week three, I took a day off to catch up. The resulting grading day finally gave me a chance to read my World History Assignment #1: The History of Your Life in a Paragraph. Here is the email that I wrote to the staff.

good people,

just felt compelled to report:

one of the first assignments in world history was to attempt to write your entire life story in a paragraph, as a challenge to understand how telling the history of the world can be at times be a silly and impossible task.

reading and responding to the paragraphs now (finally) has opened up my eyes, once again, to the incredible stories that our youth have to tell, stories that can only come from their voices in this specific time and place. It is both fortunate and intimidating that our task is to guide these young folks to the portals of their own minds and hearts.

so as school gets tougher, and we sweat and struggle and curse in between what can feel like breathless days, remember that it is OUR students who write something like this:

"Born from a small town in Mexico, and immigrating to the United States--California, to be exact--was not easy. Adapting to the laws, languages, and people was not a piece of cake. I'm the middle child of 3 girls, the daughter to a very strong woman, and a man that I would rather not speak of. There is a fatherly figure in my life though, like say they in Spanish, "mas padre el que cria, que el que hace." That means a father is not who makes the baby, but rather who takes care and supports it. I would describe my life in three words: Determined, Hurtful, and Love. Determined because I strive to break barriers that statistics have put me in. Hurtful because I've had many people taken away form me, and also people walk away. Lastly love: why love? Love is what keeps me going. The love my family and friends provide me with is enough to make the hurtful go weak the determination grow stronger."

Keep it with you.

peace&love always

As teachers, WE GOTTA LOVE AND SUPPORT AND INSPIRE EACH OTHER. It's the only thing that'll keep us alive.

Make Them "Your Students"

2010-09-21T18:44:00.001-07:00

This year, my students became my students quicker than past years. I read this post from Kate, follow up by reading the comments, and notice trends from colleagues and other teacher friends. It's not an uncommon thing - to start, the kids on our roll sheets are not yet really our kids.

By the end of week one, though, I already felt connections with virtually all of 'em. Three things did it for me. Here's number one:

Make them write you a letter.

As a math teacher, I rarely see my students' personalities on paper. All I see are numbers and more numbers. This year, my first homework assignment was as follows:

I tell 'em:

"I want you to write me a letter. In this letter, you can say whatever you want. You can tell me a story, you can tell me about yourself, you can say 'whattup dawg' like I'm an old friend. You can tell me: Mr. G, I'll be honest with you I hate math and I hate homework - so don't expect much from me... At the very least, I want you to answer the five questions listed on the prompt. I want at least a page. Other that, tell me whatever. It's your chance to tell me whatever you feel you need to tell me as we begin this school year."

Reading the letters over dinner one night, I was thrown aback at what my students were willing to share once given the space. I learned their interests, their hobbies, their likes, their dislikes. I learned of empowering and disempowering experiences they've had in school and in life. I learned about families and friends. Mentors and role models. In one case, a student shared something deeply personal - to the point where I shed a tear. (Serious.) In another case, a quiet student had me literally on the floor laughing. Homegirl was comedy. All this after the third day of school!

I believe students should be provided the opportunity to critique / to give feedback / to express their feelings. In past years, this would manifest as:

But I've noticed, the numerical averages of those a through j questions are meaningless. Who cares if every student circled "5" for question "j." In past years, when looking through surveys, my eyes automatically floated to the words completing the questions below...

This year, I'mma get rid of all that. Why not allow their feedback to be all words? This year, when I want feedback, I'll just have them write me a letter.

Lastly, I'd like to acknowledge that my methods are likely methods already used in classrooms around the world. But I believe my hesitance to share my methods and what goes on in my classroom has been fueled by that awareness. In order to blog and to share, I must let go of that self-consciousness and simply write. So here I am; onward I hope to go. Thanks for staying w/ me.

Year 4 of I Hate Grading

2010-09-19T19:47:00.000-07:00

My previous post makes my teaching life look like rainbows and butterflies. (Double rainbows, at that). Let me clear that up. In 3 years of teaching I've realized the following:

1. Teaching is a marathon. And this marathon usually starts off nice and easy. What I have now could easily be the honeymoon period prefacing some glorious shipwreck. I take the good of these first three weeks with a grain of salt.

2. I, personally, have started off every school year feeling good about the job. I realize (more now than ever) that my personal challenge is to sustain the enthusiasm for what I do. Previously, I said I wanted the year to be more "about the kids," but I realize this is impossible if I don't take care of myself first. I am 3 weeks deep but there are 33 still before me. Pace yourself, Mr. G.

4 years in, I feel I've become a more efficient and effective planner, speaker, presenter, builder of class communities, at matching their wit with better wit, trainer of procedures, designer of curriculum, manager of behavior, etc, etc. One thing that seems to NEVER improve, though, is how quickly I grade. This tedious task has been a constant battle. Granted, I am much improved from my first year where Sundays of 6 straight hours of grading quizzes were not uncommon. Since then, though, I haven't much improved at efficiency since year 2 or so.

I realize one option is to outsource the work to TA's or to the students themselves, but grading quizzes is my number one tool in examining student work, noticing common trends and misconceptions, and gauging each students' current performance. Anyone have any tips on how to fix this dilemma? I [still] hate grading.

The 4th Year Primer

2010-09-18T19:07:00.000-07:00

I'm 3 weeks deep into the school year, my fourth year teaching. Happily, I come to you, blog, with the news: my fourth year teaching has thus far been THE BEST year teaching. I understand a teacher takes at least a small step forward in growth each year, especially in those first few, but there's something a lil' special in the air. It may be early, but I feel it.

On paper:

(1) Everything I teach now is something I've taught before.

Each of my past three years included the learning curve of delivering a new prep. 1st year it was geometry, 2nd year it was algebra, and last year it was strategic algebra. This year, no new prep. If worst comes to worst, I can always go back to 'what I did last year' - a comforting fallback but simultaneously a trap I must avoid.

(2) A better start and end routine.

I'm committing myself to be on campus an hour before class begins (7am) and staying 2 hours after (5pm) on a daily basis. Those added hours before and after class are becoming golden for my sanity and my need to build a line between home life and school life.

(3) It's all about the kids.

I experienced varying levels of 'surviving' during my first three years of teaching. New parameters that'd affect my need to find ways to stay sane. As a fourth year, I no longer feel I'm merely surviving on a day-to-day basis. I now feel a renewed commitment to the students I work with. I want the shift the focus from me and keep the focus on them. Everything I do is towards becoming the best possible teacher for them.

(4) So much Mr. G alumni.

Catching an ex-student in the halls is like seeing an old friend. They are no longer your students, so your interactions go beyond what they once were. But, in some ways they will always be your students. The freshmen I taught my first year are now seniors. What a thought. No walk down the hall is done without some sort of "whattup Mr. G!" And no morning, lunch break, nor after-school session is enjoyed without an ex-student paying a visit.

(5) Year two of Why I've Become A Believer of Our Oakland School

The after-year results of our year one experiment are astonishing. Rises in test scores across the board. Higher retention. And, as a teacher, incredibly strong connections with a community of students. In our second year now, we tighten screws and strengthen everything else that worked last year. I'm still a believer.

(6) A new administrative team.

Our current principal is our 5th in my 4 years, but (again) there's something special about the team we now have in place. Last year, our school hired on a stellar leader as a one year deal as we sought to secure somebody committed for the long haul. We got our person now, and already you can see and feel the changes. I feel school spirit. Weird.

More later on everything. But for now, keep doing your thing out there my teacher friends. Your work never goes unnoticed.

My new pal!

2010-08-26T21:29:00.000-07:00

Wow! After 4 years of teaching and 3.5 principals (one was an interim principal for a few months; he's the half), I finally have an experienced principal who's going to be here for awhile. Not only is he going to be here for awhile, he has a great vision. I am so excited for this year and to see how it turns out.

He has committed and demanded double digit gains on our test scores each year for the next six years. And as I looked around the room, everyone looked inspired. I have never seen my faculty so unified. I hope we can mantain the enthusiasm throughout the school year!

Only in California

2010-08-12T16:12:00.001-07:00

PRESS RELEASE August 12, 2010

Community College Transfer Degree Bill Unanimously Approved by

Assembly Appropriations Committee

The student-centered initiative designed to streamline the transfer process can be implemented by the community colleges in record time and available to students by fall 2011

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – As community college students prepare to head back to school for the fall semester, the California State Assembly Committee on Appropriations today in a unanimous vote approved the Student Transfer Achievement Reform Act, Senate Bill 1440. If the initiative passes the Legislature and is signed into law, community college students seeking to transfer to a California State University will have a streamlined process by fall 2011 that will save them time and money while generating resources for the two systems of higher education to serve more students.

The important bill, authored by Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Pacoima), is strongly supported by the California Community Colleges Chancellor Jack Scott and California State University Chancellor Charles Reed.

“Students attending our colleges often express concerns about the complex and confusing transfer process,” said Chancellor Scott. “This transfer initiative will put an end to the confusion and serve as a student passport to the California State University system.”

Currently, each of the 112 locally governed community colleges sets its own requirements for graduation and each CSU campus determines its own prerequisites for accepting community college transfer students. The requirements and prerequisites vary by campus and can also change each year. Senate Bill 1440 charges the two systems with establishing a set process that guarantees community college transfer students with a 2.0 GPA admission to a CSU campus at junior status while also granting them an associate degree.

California students and taxpayers will benefit from transfer reform. Many transfer students take up to a full year of classes beyond the semester units required for a bachelor’s degree. These extra units cost the public millions of dollars. By standardizing the transfer process, students can take fewer classes at the community colleges and CSU thus increasing efficiency in both systems.

During the hearing the California Department of Finance estimated the transfer efficiencies will generate approximately $75 million annually in cost savings for the California Community Colleges and $85 million for the CSU. The funds would be used to provide access to roughly 40,000 additional community college students and nearly 14,000 CSU students each year.

To date the bill has not seen opposition in the Legislature. It was approved by the California State Senate on June 1 in a 35-0 vote and by the Assembly Higher Education Committee on June 22 in a 9-0 vote. Next the bill will head to the Assembly and Senate floors where it will be heard before August 31 and is expected to go to the governor’s desk to sign into law in September.

The California Community Colleges is the largest system of higher education in the nation composed of 72 districts and 112 colleges serving 2.9 million students per year. Community colleges supply workforce training, a basic skills education and prepare students for transfer to four-year institutions. The Chancellor’s Office provides leadership, advocacy and support under the direction of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges.

¡viva el verano!

2010-08-03T17:27:00.000-07:00

A few days ago, I had to make a budget for ordering curriculum materials. I had to think about my curriculum for an hour just to remember what I had planned and figure out where I’d left off. Now most people would be annoyed that they had to get this work done. But it really warmed my heart to realize that I hadn’t thought about school long enough to forget my plans.

4 Weeks til the First Day

2010-08-02T18:25:00.001-07:00

boob tube: source of sedation or inspiration

2010-07-18T17:16:00.000-07:00

One of the big questions I think our administrators (district and state) are missing is

"how do we utilize and network the talents of our faculty and staff to develop professionally and to develop communities?"

This may seem a bit silly, but my inspiration was an episode of "Deadliest Warrior." They had pitted the GSG9 against the SWAT team. One of the differences between these groups that resonated with me was related to specialization. The GSG9 had a minimum bar of performance their soldiers were required to learn and then they could specialize. The SWAT team members were equally trained and if one member had been killed, then any teammate could take that person's place. Now this seems a bit of an exaggeration compared to our experiences as teachers, but I find this to be a pretty big question. Should a school systematically train different teachers and staff in different specializations? Specializations could be in the topics of technology or literacy or mentoring teachers. Or should the schools train teachers equally to be prepared for the untimely exit of teachers?

I like the idea of specialization better. There is so much to master and learn about in this profession. Seems that we should share the intellectual workload. But the SWAT team did win that episode.

An Update from Mr. G

2010-06-30T17:42:00.000-07:00

Greetings teacher bloggostwittersphere. I realize I've been MIA for months, but I'd like to come outright and say: I'm not dead, I'm alive, and I'm still a teacher.

This upcoming fall, I will be entering my 4th year at my Oakland public high school. I am 2 weeks into summer, a summer I intentionally left free of responsibilities. During the latter months of the school year, opportunities surfaced left and right to work or to teach. I feel this is commonplace for any math teacher at a struggling district like Oakland, but I denied each and every opportunity. I needed time to relax.

Let me recap the previous seasons of my teacher life:

Spring 07: Last semester of college
Summer 07: OTF Summer Institute
Fall 07 to Spring 08: First Year of Teaching
Summer 08: Algebra Academy Summer School
Fall 08 to Spring 09: Second Year of Teaching
Summer 09: Volunteering Abroad
Fall 09 to Spring 10: Third Year of Teaching

Since entering the teaching game, I've yet to allow myself proper time to digress. And I've felt the effects. You see it here yourself. No blog posts for months. In the classroom, I fell into the third year trap. Re-using stuff from last year over and over, b/c my teacher self slowly gave way more and more to my mid-20's self that starved to leave 'adult life.'

I disliked my newfound attitude. I hated it, in fact. I looked at the older folks of my department who seem so jaded to the job and, more importantly, to the children and wondered if maybe decades or so ago they came into the job looking so fresh and enthusiastic like me. I wondered if maybe one day I'd suffer the same fate and look just like them.

So I knew I needed this time. To regather myself and regain my teaching legs.

And, I'm happy to report, I'm getting them back. I'm dusting off the "education" folder of my google reader and am finding gems like this post (on homework) by @samjshah. I also see my own thoughts and passions on the teacher bloggotwittersphere put into words by the same author. And have those same thoughts and passions re-validated by a follow-up homework post by @i_speak_math.

Now, all I want is to throw myself back in. 4th year this fall, I no longer have the "well, I'm new to this" excuse I've had these past 3. It's time for the next step in my teach[r]evolution. Readers of this blog, thanks for sticking with us. I hope we can find ways to contribute to this community the same you've contributed to ours.

A teacher's prayer

2010-05-03T15:21:00.000-07:00

Dear Lord,

Please guide me to be an instrument of your love and peace. Help me to understand the fact that my students are just children, and they still have a lot to learn. Help me to teach them which is the better choice to make when they're faced with right or wrong decisions.

I don't want to be the one to cause them to fear or hate themselves or others. I want to be the one who inspires them to love one another as you love us, and to forgive as you forgive us.

This work is difficult, and I think the reason you chose me to do this work is because you know that it's something that I would eventually be able to handle. I hope that I'm learning how to be a better teacher. Please grant me the strength to practice patience and kindness when it comes to my students and helping them to be not only better learners but also better people.

You are my stronghold. Through your Word I find joy in hope, patience in suffering, and perseverance in faith. Rather than seeking to understand, help me to seek how to be best understood. May all my life, my words and my actions be a testament of your perfection and your unconditional love.

Also, please watch over my students. When I can't be there for them, or when they're being tempted by evil, please send your Holy Spirit to guide and protect them.

Amen.

P.S. I just confiscated a notebook from one of my students who was "taking notes" while he was supposed to be reading. After his 3rd warning for not reading, I took his notebook away. On the cover it says, "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding." Proverbs 3:5. Oh, the irony.

Too many hormones in 7th grade

2010-05-02T18:30:00.001-07:00

Just when I felt like I had finally waded through the muck of teaching 7th grade (i.e., the attitudes, the nonchalance, the laziness, lack of discipline, lack of accountability, lack of honesty), here I am, stuck in the mud again.

I keep hearing over and over again, "7th grade is the worst grade to teach." Is it really true? Is it just this particular group of students? Is it me?

I know this is a pivotal time in their lives (though, what time in our lives isn't pivotal). It's a time when they're just coming into their own and learning to find out where they fit. This is the time when they begin to decide for themselves what they value as "right" and "wrong." So where is my place in this? I'm supposed to be teaching English Language Arts, but I find myself teaching them more about respect, how to make good choices, how to have courage and be accountable.

It's taking a lot of patience, patience that I've had to build up because I didn't have much of it to begin with. It's also taking a lot of energy that I should be using to teach content and ELA skills. Teaching 7th grade is so emotional. I wish I didn't take things so personally, but it's my personality to take things personally. I wonder if I'd feel differently about my role as a teacher if I were teaching another grade or if I were more...detached.

Three Little Words

2010-05-01T13:21:00.000-07:00

Next time you feel the urge to say I heart you, why not put it more simply - "solve for i"

What Comes With Community

2010-04-28T08:57:00.000-07:00

In October, I wrote a post highlighting structural changes for our freshmen class. In sum, we want to bring the pros of a small school to our large school setup. I teach at the largest high school in Oakland; students falling between the cracks has become an all too familiar story.

With the new setup, I know all of my student's teachers and speak with them on a daily basis. We monitor our students' progress and strategize how to catch those falling behind. I know more about my students and have met more of their parents than I've ever before. We are personalizing education and bending to our students needs.

And we've created a community of freshmen.

But, as with every community, there are pros and cons. Specifically, 2 things:

1. They've caught on to all my antics.

All my teacher habits. "I understand." The sarcasm. The management strategies. Students can talk about us the same way we talk about them. Once one student catches a trend, it seems every student's figured it out. Now it seems they use "I understand" on me more than I on them. "E, I need you to come inside right now." "I understand, Mr. G." Ha, ha... funny.

2. They're all friends (or enemies...) with each other.

I guess becoming friends is ok. But now that we're approaching the final 6 weeks, every sort of classroom culture developed in other classrooms has seeped into mine. Positives and negatives. The discoveries in lack of admin support they've made in their english class is the same sort of stuff they can push in mine. And vice versa. It's become harder to quiet em' down and keep em' focused. And their freshmen.

Ok, maaybe on a path to becoming a bitter old teacher. Try 30 weeks straight of 5 periods worth of teaching freshmen, and you tell me if your patience wears a lil' thin. These mini-communities we've got here is a great thing. I consider the option of jumping ship to another school in a new place but am hesitant it won't provide the same type of setup we've got here. It ain't perfect, but it's in the right direction - in a place and a city that needs direction.

6 weeks til freedom. 6 weeks.

Test Time

2010-04-27T08:56:00.000-07:00

Context: Classroom full of freshmen hunched over at their desks. On the surface they are calm, but their minds are hard at work. California standards test for mathematics, here we are.

Student 1: "Achooo!" (Loud sneeze)

Other Students: ::look up, distracted briefly::

Student 2: "Uh uh. Nope. Hell nah."

Me: "Uh, you're supposed to say 'bless you'"

Student 2: "Nope."

Me: "Bless you student 1."

Other Students: ::smile::

Sharpen Your Saw

2010-04-14T09:51:00.001-07:00

I meet a man in the forest. His eyes weary, his shirt sweaty, his entire energy communicated exhaustion. I ask him, "What're you doing sir?" He answers, "I'm sawing these trees."

I observe a dull saw and a tired tired human spirit so I ask him, "Well, why don't you take a break to sharpen that saw?"

"There's no time," he says, "there's no time. I gotta saw them into logs."

--

I've been caught in a routine that's kept my head above water. I'm hanging on til the end, but I've lost the strength that was my momentum months ago. Nothings changed, but my saws become dull. It's time to take a step back.

--

Don't count down the days; make the days count.

Once again, procrastinating

2010-04-03T13:18:00.001-07:00

My assignment: Take a current policy issue and examine it through the lens of EE Schattschneider or James Madison. What is the conflict? Who is the audience? Who are the protagonists? Predict/advise the outcome.

I chose to look at NCLB - bad choice because since I'm interested, I'm gonna get dragged into tangents such as policy debates, letters to the editor, angry blog posts, etc. I rehashed this Google Reader share from my buddy on Bill Maher and John Legend's take. My thoughts follow.

Just got in a good viewing of this since I've been reading herra stuff on the subject. Funny how the final line is "In the battle to reform schools, whose side are you on—Maher's or Legend's?"

This ending line is indicative of how people have been framing the issue - that it's one-dimensional, that there is a black and white, that there is a silver bullet. Nah uh.

I appreciate some things that Maher says, but he is a pundit with a myopic, white male, middle class view of the situation. The Ledge acknowledges the good points and nuances with some situational information. In the end though, he's not a teacher. He's a singer, albeit a good one who does an amazing throwback to the days of Motown. Damn, I love tangents like Mr. G. Anyhow, the views aren't at odds.

In short - it's a much more complicated issue and requires buy-in across disciplines and institutions outside of Education. Also, it requires a paradigm shift to make education a true value - no more lip service.

In shorter - we're f*cked.

Ok, time to get back to my homework.

A Purposed Endeavor

2010-03-17T15:41:00.000-07:00

I remember the very first day I sat in a room full of teachers. I was with my fellow first year OTF mates, and we were sitting through speech after speech while enjoying fine refreshments in one of Oakland's historic buildings downtown. It was a proper send off to our summer "now it's time to teach you how to teach in 6 weeks" boot camp.

In one speech: "I enjoy being a teacher because my life's become simple. Each day I know what I want from my kids. Each year I know what I'd like us to accomplish. And in this profession, I know my ultimate goal."

--

I'm fresh off a meeting w/ my entire staff - a room full of teachers. We come together to discuss the progress of our school and a plan for it's future. The entire 100 was sectioned off into 5 groups and I was put in charge of one. And though the agenda was dropped on me so late, I did my best to encourage fruitful discussion between those teachers in my group. Push-back from the veteran's is expected by now when I'm put into these types of situations, but fruitful discussion was still had.

--

I share the same sentiment: I feel purpose in this profession. And when I feel purpose, things become simple. The powers that drives great teaching are multi-faceted and the lives that drive my students are even more so - complexities upon complexities. But I do know my ultimate goal and this is a goal I am invested in.

I want my students to succeed. All of them. I want this school to improve. I want this district to improve. I want all these kids to get the education they deserve. All that mumbo jumbo about closing the achievement gap is mumbo jumbo I dedicate myself to.

--

Thus, what I felt so strongly only a month or so ago feels difficult to do. Jumping ship to another district. Uprooting myself to a new place because, really, I'm too young to be here too long.

A part of me wants to stay and see this purpose through. Teaching, you've got a hold on me.

Happy Hour

2010-03-12T17:17:00.000-08:00

Once upon a time ago, I was told in a faculty meeting that, I couldn't just recommend to my students to come to tutoring; I had to make them. But what about when 50% of your students need tutoring. Here I am at 5 p.m. on a Friday afternoon finishing up my prep because three of my students needed tutoring. And one of them, who was on a self-sabotaging wild streak the first semester really needed the help. I just didn't have the heart to turn her away. She is finally starting to turn around academically and behaviorally. How could I squash her efforts by refusing to help, when I "made" her do the all the conferences and "made" her share accountability for her education.

This tutoring thing really has my wheels spinning. The most qualified person to tutor is the classroom teacher that knows how his/her assignments should be completed to affect learning. The least likely person to tutor after school is the worn out classroom teacher that doesn't want to stay after school to accommodate all their students after they spent so much time prepping the lesson in the first place.

I know my tutoring efforts have really helped several of my students develop into more organized self-directed learners. This is why I keep doing it. I just wish there were 10 more hours in the day, so I could get enough sleep, get my prep done, and still have a life.

No More Cuts

2010-03-06T02:47:00.000-08:00

March Today

2010-03-04T11:36:00.001-08:00

Let's march for education today. There's no need to explain why this is so important--we all understand. Please don't flake. Enough is enough! I'll be at Civic Center in San Francisco at 5:00 pm.

Mr. G, please don't censor this post.

I'm a pro at crastinating

2010-02-28T16:08:00.000-08:00

I've decided to make a website for my program Capstone project. Really had to fight the temptation to use Angelfire or Geocities (how sad!). Yep, AsianAvenue all the way.

We Can't Sit Still

2010-02-04T17:46:00.000-08:00

6th period...

Student A: ::Shakes body with ruler in hand as if he's having a seizure::

Student B: ::Tapping ruler on desk::

Student C: ::Whistling::

Student D: ::Grabs student B's pencil to play keep away::

Student B: ::Stops taping ruler to retrieve pencil::

Me, thinking to self: "I can't believe I have to live through 5 periods worth of freshmen doin' this type of thing every day." So I voice: "Man, you freshmen got so much energy. I can't match it everyday."

Student C: "Yeah, it's like we in kindergarten."

Me: "Yeah, I agree.... cept, the thing about kindergarteners... at least they're cute."

Student D, directing comment to Student C: "OoooooOooo, Mr. G just called you UGLY!"

In response, Student C: "Yeah, you too."

Faculty Meeting Pet Peeves

2010-02-01T17:55:00.000-08:00

3 come to mind at the moment:

1. Old school veterans who absolutely have to preface anything they say w/ "You know, I've been teaching for 15, 20, 25+ years, and... [insert comment here]"
-You're a wily vet and I respect that. But do you really have to say it every time?
-[Or maybe I'm just jealous cus my 2.5 pales in comparison to theirs.]

2. Presenters w/ text-heavy or animation-heavy powerpoint slides.
-Today's professional development crew presented slide after slide that looked a lil' something like:

-Quick message for you: Just b/c you're using powerpoint does not make your presentation more effective and professional. Your audience is silenced not b/c we are enthused over your amazing new methods but rather b/c we are bored to death.
-I heart this comedian for speaking some truth.

3. The phrase "research-based."
-Not only that, said powerpoint users appended the word "research-based" to virtually every sentence. "And, you know, all of this is research-based!" Congratulations on whatever research article you read, but we educators don't get automatic edu-turned-ons just cus you're droppin' that word.

... Sorry, but had to get that out...

Students Helping Students

2010-01-29T09:33:00.000-08:00

I haven't had a chance to blog much because of school starting, but now that I have some time, I'd like to share a cool story. Last week, the weather in the Bay Area was horrendous. In San Mateo we had high wind advisories and hail. Needless to say, it was pretty damn wet and cold.

I was working in the administration building which houses many of our student services programs such as admissions, counseling, and transfer. In the late morning, I noticed a woman in a wheel chair being helped into the building by a young man--both were pretty wet from the storm. As they passed me, she said: "This gentleman walked me all the way over here from the bus stop (about 350 yards away from the building)." That was really neat to see. Our security office does have a golf cart to drive students with disabilities but the young man who helped the woman in the wheel chair realized that by the time they got there she would have been late for her appointment. He wheeled her to the elevator and upstairs for her counseling appointment--on time. Good people are awesome.

She shoots. She scores.

2010-01-29T04:57:00.000-08:00

First game of trashketball happened with 2 out of 3 of my classes this past Tuesday. One class is a pain in the behind, so we did the test review for that class in true test mode (aka, quiet individual work time). Hey, if they're gonna be punk students, I'm gonna be a punk teacher back!

This ain't just any school in the Bronx.

Anyway, they looooved it! I can't believe I pulled this off in an English Language Arts classroom. So for all you non-math teachers, have valiant faith that this game will surely have students furiously thinking and working in order to beat your amazing score, no matter what class you teach.

However, I found that you actually have to be decent if you want to play class vs. teacher. In addition, more often than not, you may be accused of cheating if you're wearing high heels while playing this game. I had to take my heels off and switch into my flats, and then they accused me of cheating because I was wearing flats (?!).

Fortunately, with my 9-in-a-row 3-pointers, I have now been dubbed "Ms. Kobe" by my students. Seriously. It was unwarranted, but I secretly love it.

I also discovered that a few of my students who were born and raised in NYC are actually big fans of the Lakers. I asked them if they were band-wagoners (a term we learned during our persuasive writing unit), loving the team only after their 2008-2009 championship. Jose said, "No! I've loved them my whole life!" Makes me shed a tear of happiness and pride.

Geometry Mock Exam, Question #26

2010-01-25T23:04:00.000-08:00

Math + Sports = RAAAAAAD

2010-01-20T12:38:00.001-08:00

First, props where props are due: Dan Meyer, the creator (for all intents and purposes) of Math Basketball, a versatile masterpiece applicable for all teacher needs, whether it be formative and summative, or if you are just feelin' lazy and need to kill some time without resorting to a worksheet.

It is the teacher's dream: lively competition and ACTUAL practice, good and real, working in concert to make something as dreary as the properties of special quadrilaterals seem like an on-the-edge-of-your-seat NBA thriller... yes, dramatic, I know.

But if there is anything at which the Youth of America excel, it's getting bored of even the most riveting of academic games.

So to feed the insatiable beast: Welcome to Math Football, Math Soccer, and today's newly minted gem, Math Tennis.

Understand that I am not that creative:

Step 1: Use Math Basketball rules... I like to play teacher vs. class.

Step 2: Replace shooting points with juggles on a soccer ball, football through a hula hoop, or rallies against the wall.

Step 3: Be prepared to get a pretty solid proportion of math practice to youthful energy and enthusiasm.

I will be the first to admit that you can and will lose some time to off-task endeavors... accusing the teacher of cheating (most common), maybe even a tennis ball inappropriately directed towards you.

However, I ask you, in those times, to pay attention to the quality of work and dedication during those two minutes of focus, as well as the palpable joy that grows from building a loving and fun community during those moments of chaos.

Sure beats a worksheet.

Teacher Wit

2010-01-19T16:49:00.000-08:00

When the mood's right, I sometimes talk to myself. Students are on point behaviorally but the mood needs some lightening up. We go through an example. Students try it. Then I dialogue w/ myself: "Geez, Mr. G. This stuff seems so easy cus you explain things SO clearly." "Aw, thanks. I appreciate that." Kids roll their eyes.

Anyway, I decided to include a weather update during our daily dose of randimosity today. Immediately, negative responses were abound similar to the type we hear at the news of an upcoming test, almost as if I controlled the weather. So, to counter:

"Hey, Mr. G. You're such a great teacher for giving us weather updates IN class!"
"Thanks class. I'm just trying to look out."

Stay dry, California!

I Love My Job

2010-01-19T08:09:00.000-08:00

It's that time of the year--the start of the spring semester. As an outreach coordinator, I work all year long. The first couple weeks of each semester (fall, spring, summer) usually mean 12 hour work days. A friend asked me this morning, "Don't you get tired of it?" HELL NO!

Today the power is out on campus which is why I'm blogging. I knew there was an 80% chance that classes would be canceled because my co-worker, who lives in campus housing, called around 5:45 am and told me that there was no power in his building. He even took the time to drive the perimeter to check on the college (there was no power in most buildings either). Despite this, our small community relations staff, from our director to our student assistants, were working from 6:00 am on to communicate with each other and provide our students, faculty, and staff with updates. As I made my way up to campus today at 6:30 am, the police department and public safety were there to inform students who did not get the emergency e-mail or text about the closure. A couple of our students who work in outreach were also out and about trying to help fellow students out--talk about dedication. As their supervisor, I had to send them home (if you saw the weather conditions, you would too).

As of early Tuesday morning, it looks like the first day of class will be postponed until tomorrow. Until then, I'll work from home. I can't wait to be back bright and early, rain or shine--surrounded by individuals who are passionate about serving students. I love my job.

This keeps me going :)

2010-01-15T18:33:00.000-08:00

Financial Literacy

2010-01-15T11:26:00.001-08:00

I think that kids who come from low socioeconomic backgrounds are the ones who need the most exposure to new technologies and entrepreneurial skills so that they have an equal opportunity in competing with those from more affluent backgrounds in the future.

Although my school does not offer computer or technology classes (this REALLY saddens me), I've been working with an amazing friend and curriculum writer to bring financial literacy within the four walls of my English Language Arts classroom. Let me tell you. I knew my kids were bright, creative, motivated, and passionate. BUT MAN. I've now got to the gumption to say, "My kids are brighter, more creative, more motivated, more passionate, smarter, and will be more successful than yours." Hmph, take that prep school punks.

Allow me to bring you some very cute anecdotes from this week:

N: "Ms. S, what happens if I get hurt before I'm 65? Do I get my Medicare money?"
me: "No."
N: "Aww that's MESSED UP! I'm going to college so I can get a job that covers my health insurance."

Z: "I like gross pay."

E: "That was fun! I'd rather be an employer, even if I have to hand out paychecks and make sure all the bills are paid on time. I'd rather call the shots."

J: "It's important to know the components of your paycheck so you know where all your money is going. What if they did a miscalculation?! They'd be stealing all your hard-earned money!"

L: "Net pay is the money you get to keep after all the deductions are made. So if you originally had $2800, then your net pay would be about $2000, because you have to pay federal income tax, social security, state tax and medicare."

Now tell me, could you give me all that at the age of 11? Highly. Doubt. It.

When people work together, we can make Martin Luther King, Jr.'s dream fly even further than he ever could have imagined. People who came from the projects, with parents working 2 or 3 jobs, English barely spoken at home, and no hot water until 3 in the morning, working alongside or even above people who came from 6-figure household incomes, private schools, and fancy zip codes. That's my dream. It feels good to make it come true a little.

Have a happy weekend in memory of our dear hero, Martin Luther King, Jr. and his dreams :)

What Keeps YOU Going?

2010-01-06T16:20:00.000-08:00

I know my practice is evolutionary. I know my lessons undergo a gradual development process. Unlike my first year, where I blindly moved forward with the planning process, I now have years to look back on. Time to teach slope? I got an activity for that AND I can anticipate where my students will have trouble. Let's make things better this time around.

The trouble now is committing myself to that process of evolution. I admit, there are days where I don't think about teaching AT ALL the moment I step off campus until I step back on. All that's required is opening up those digital files I toiled over in years past and, BAM, a lesson plan is in my hands.

It's a beautiful thing, I know. But, it's a trap. The last thing I want is to become a robot teacher who rehashes the same ol' plan year after year. I want evolution.

It happens, it does. (The x & y-intercept lesson I taught last year pales in comparison to the one I did this time around.) But, not all the time. The process is fueled by motivation, and it's difficult to maintain that motivation when you tend to your non-teacher self's non-teacher needs. Why spend any time at all on my planning when I don't need to? Why better myself when I don't need to?

How do I stay motivated?

Thus, I wonder what other teachers do to keep up their process of evolution, hop on supteach, and blog about. What do y'all do? How do you stay motivated?

The First Day After a Break

2010-01-04T15:37:00.001-08:00

I tell 'em...

I understand this is the first day after a long break, and on the first day after a long break, we gotta re-adjust. We're not used to sitting in class for 6 hours a day listening to teachers, doing work, studying. We're not used to waking up early. We forget how to enter class the right way or how to just raise your hand. But as your teacher, it's my duty to remind you what we need to do. You know what I expect. So be patient with the process. We'll get back in the routine before you know it.

I tell 'em...

I also understand we can forget a lot over 2 weeks time. But, re-learning something is always easier than learning it the first time around. So, you might look at this problem and be angry with yourself b/c you know you know how to do it, but you forgot the steps. It'll come back. Trust me. But you gotta put in the effort, you gotta put in the work, and you can't get frustrated. So be patient with the process. It'll all come back before you know it.

But really...

More than anything, I say these things for myself.

Welcome back, Teachers.

My Dream

2009-12-24T13:50:00.001-08:00

I guess I just had my first nightmare about teaching.

But who can blame me? I went with my family to my dad's office Christmas party--complete with Christmas carols, the presents game where you draw a number, pick a present, and steal gifts from each other, and "graduating college, eh? What do you plan on doing with your life?" interrogation questions.

My life? I don't know. But I plan on teaching in the near future. The following are actual quotes:

-"Oh! ...Wow. That's... a noble endeavor."
-"Teach high school? ...but why?"
-"Teach for America! I had friends that tried Teach for America! ..They had a hard time.... Yeah.. a really a hard time... uhh... good luck."

And, a quote which I overheard from halfway across the room. They were talking about the woman who sent a death threat to Michelle Obama:

-"She looks completely harmless--like a high school teacher or something... someone that no one would ever take seriously!"

= = =

In my nightmare, I dreamt that the kids tore the classroom apart, tore me apart, and then tore each other apart. Then I dreamt that I time traveled (I'm currently reading The Time Traveler's Wife), visited the me of 2009 and told myself not to ever become a teacher. And then I dreamt that I went on to teach English in Japan to a group of robotic, uniformed schoolchildren.

= ==

I know that I really want to do this. I need to keep telling myself that because it seems that teachers and non-teachers alike are quick to share words of caution. In particular, non-teachers wonder why a soon-to-be college graduate would choose teaching as their first profession, let alone a last-resort profession.

= = =

I really want to do this.

Gotta love them kids

2009-12-18T08:50:00.000-08:00

After being verbally harassed by the creator to post, I've decided to share my best conversation I've had with my kids this year. Mind you, not a single adult that I meet believes that I'm out of high school, let alone teach them yet in spite of my boyish looks, all my students believe I have a wife and several kids (neither which are true...yet).

Student A: Do you want to have kids?
Me: Uh...
Student B: No, Mr. Kwok don't have kids. He sees us and dont wanna have kids no more.

Student B later on: The only reason why I'd want to have kids is so I can whoop them.

Needless to say, I could not stop laughing. Made me also rethink if I do want to have kids and whether I'd whoop them...

"He's at least 30, yo"

2009-12-17T23:23:00.000-08:00

Marcus's hand shot up a little bit too quickly and at too odd a time for his question to be about today's lesson. I was expecting "When do we get out of here?" or "Can I go to the bathroom?" Instead, he paused for a moment and smirked. "How old are you?"

I'm the world's worst liar, and I'm 22 years old. You can read my facial expressions like a book, so I had a lot of fear in that moment that my whole house of cards was going to come tumbling down in front of me. I wasn't having a particularly strong sales moment, so I cracked up for a second and continued teaching without answering. Of course, that invested every other student in the class in the answer to this question.

"42!" (I don't think that one was serious.) "34!" "25!"

"Nah, he's at least 30, yo."

Clearly I wasn't getting out of this without an answer. My internal random number generator landed on 27. "27 - now Marcus, remind me how to test if a relation on a graph is a function," I said.

They totally bought it. The grumblings I heard afterward were that I was lying and lowballing my age.

Lessons:

1) Continue wearing a tie. Backwards hats cut your age by 15%, and ties apparently inflate it by 30%.

2) Kids are pretty gullible. I'm on the lookout for strategies to positively exploit this more.

The Glorious Perks of the Job

2009-12-17T17:26:00.000-08:00

Fellow Teachers,

We are all too familiar with the gripes we hold for this job. Overworked, under-appreciated & underpaid. Sleepless nights and days that feel like 5 periods worth of torture. Sometimes you're in the mood to be on stage, but sometimes you're not. One thing about this job: if you're not feeling it one day, those wondrous kids will be sure to make sure you feel worse. I've driven many days looking outside the window, longing to switch spots with the man walking to his comfortable, cushy, & safe office desk.

The perks that make this job unique are limited and sometimes downright invisible. But the one that's most obvious is this: BREAKS.

An opportunity to relax, refresh, and rejuvenate. Thanksgivings, Winters, Springs, & GLORIOUS Summers. In one year, we work 180 school days. This means we get 185 of 'em off. And, THAT means we have a unique opportunity to find a sort of balance in our lives that could elude peers in other professions.

It's upon us, fellow teachers. It is here. Enjoy.

Happy holidays,

Mr. G

Review Games - Math Basketball Turned Trashketball

2009-12-15T17:06:00.000-08:00

Since subscribing to giants of the math edubloggosphere, my review tactics have grown tenfold. We've gone from review worksheets pre-quiz to whiteboard reviews & speed dating and the like.

Well, here's another to throw at you. My kid's LOVE math basketball as much as me, but I believe I've just met it's prettier older sister.

Trashketball brought to you by Dan Greene over at Exponential Curve. Enjoy.

pride & joy

2009-12-14T19:40:00.001-08:00

I am so proud and happy for one of my students that I must share her story.

A is a senior in my Regents Chemistry class. She has an infectious smile and is wholeheartedly devoted to her education. Needless to say I really enjoy her presence in my class and I pretty much love her to pieces.

For the past couple weeks A, like all seniors in high school, stressed about turning in her college applications on time, searched tirelessly for scholarships, and juggled her everyday coursework.

Today all of A's hard work paid off. Today A was awarded a Posse scholarship, which means this amazing young woman earned four years of full tuition to Wheaton College! A's smile was shining the entire day; she spread joy everywhere she went.

My heart is so full right now because I have faith that A will take this award and use it to its full potential. A will take this opportunity to make her mark in higher education and I cannot wait to see what she is capable of.

I have high hopes for the future; you should, too!

Edublog Awards - Show Us Some Love

2009-12-14T17:47:00.001-08:00

First, we rejoiced in the props respected bloggers hooked us up with (here and here), and then we decided to take a peek at the edublog awards site. And then, we underwent a collective "Wait, WHAT!? We're actually on the ballot!?" Thus, here we are unabashedly soliciting your votes!

JK, all good if y'all don't vote. But, imagine how happy the day you'd make for this group of teachers if we somehow were actually awarded this thing (picture confetti and champagne).

So, if you're a true fan of this blog, vote vote VOTE here.

Showtime

2009-12-14T10:34:00.000-08:00

I enjoy singing, but nothing gets me shakin' in my boots more than a room full of expectant audience members.

This is a list of reminders that I use when I am overcome with stage fright. Perhaps it can dually serve as a list of suggestions for nervous teachers.

Have good posture. Give your diaphragm the space that it needs.
Relax your shoulders and fingers.
Don't lock your knees.
Project your voice. Aim for the back of the room.
Listen.
Keep your eyes expressive.
Breathe.

In over my head?

2009-12-13T19:08:00.000-08:00

The Principal Selection Committee
I have avoided this committee for 3 years now. It comes up every year and I keep finding better things to do with my time. But this time I inadvertently agreed to join the committee while I wasn’t listening very carefully to my colleague’s question. An absent-minded yes turned into a serious commitment. I had a brief moment of panic when I realized what I’d done. While I let the dread momentarily wash over me, I felt the numbness start. After a drawn out moment of emotional hypothermia, I snapped out of it.

I have a chance to make a lasting impact on my community; so long as the principal stays longer than a year. My school actually has worse principal retention than teacher retention. I pray that the applicant pool is competitive. I hope to find this process rejuvenating instead of exhausting. Missing out on summer vacation and the past three tumultuous years (in the administration) really set me up for a jaded semester. It’s that time of year though, where I find rejuvenation in the comfort of my family and a little bit of time off. Maybe this is just the pick me up I need. Or maybe it will be another reminder of my dissatisfaction of with the bureaucracy of my school district. Either way, I’ll try to keep a cheery disposition and hopefully some good will come out of this.

Vocabulary Test

2009-12-10T20:40:00.001-08:00

This post is a long time coming. A term that comes up a lot in my Diversity in Higher Ed class is "deficit thinking." Deficit-minded thinking attributes blame to those experiencing the problems. The term is often used in our class discussions in reference to differential treatment, whether by race, gender, class, religious/faith practice, etc. For the purposes of this blog, let's say an English learner student is having a hard time comprehending a lesson. This frame of mind would result in comments such as, "this kid isn't working hard enough," or "it's not a value for that student/family/racial group."

I feel that deficit thinking is best contrasted by equity minded thinking, which examines institutional or structural issues that could attribute to the shortfalls. Equity minded thinking might point to teacher bias, faulty curriculum or insufficient resources at the school for English learners.

With this in mind, I try not to use the term "achievement gap," opting for "opportunity gap" instead. Inequality of achievement looks past the structures that create inherent inequality in the first place: inequalities in wealth, differences in schools, parents educational attainment, social and cultural capital. These are social realities that make it difficult for underserved students to achieve at the same level as their better-resourced counterparts. I know people sometimes point to the instances where people have "pulled themselves up from their bootstraps" in order to dash the image of inequality. The truth remains though - you can't pull yourself up from the bootstraps without boots (wish I had a citation for that quote, it ain't mine). You just can't have equality of opportunity without equality of condition.

[Disclaimer: I'm going to sound really cynical here] I've joked (kind of) with friends about my plan to provide equity (crap...equality versus equity is a whole new post) of opportunities. Bear in mind, this is a plan that is not thought out and isn't really a plan. So here goes: hold back privileged students and provide little to no resources to them. For those who are still reading, my reasoning goes like this: we need to provide the same resources for all students but if we do so all students are only moving at the same pace. The thing is, the starting point wasn't the same. Inequalities would still exist, but I guess it's nice that they also won't grow. SCORE!

Or maybe not. The truth is that we (teachers, administrators, policymakers, parents, allies) need to find a way to provide resources to communities in need that are above and beyond what privileged students receive now. Students who are already good can keep their good schools but we need to have EXEMPLARY schools (you teachers like that huh? I know my English teachers used that word a lot, I think it means "good"). This needs to happen, and will probably happen before any critical mass even mentions something like what I proposed without breaking into laughter or calling me out to be a commie. I've come across amazing people who work at various levels of education. I'm encouraged to know that people have the goal of eliminating inequity.

In posting this though, I want to pose these questions - can we eliminate this gap by only focusing on one side of the gap? Do my ideas of social redistribution have merit? (Hell, even I'm not sure on this) Do they scare you? (They should) Do I use too many parenthetical statements? (Yes I do). What makes you confident that there will be change?

Feeling Green

2009-12-10T15:47:00.000-08:00

Everyone else in the 10th grade Algebra II class seemed to have finished the math problem. They listened patiently to S, who was called upon by the teacher.

I have a bag of 3 red apples, 1 green apple, a lime, 4 tomatoes, and an orange. What is the probability that if I pull out 3 fruits, 2 of them will be green?

Finally, the teacher walked through the problem with her.

T: "How many fruits are there total? How many fruits do you want? How many green fruits are there?'
S: "10...3....... 1."
T: "Is there only one green fruit?"
S: "Yes. An apple." *The class laughs*
T: "S, what color are limes?"
*"Green!" her neighbor whispers'*
S: "OHH..." She proceeds to get the question correct.

As it turned out, I got the question wrong myself. I can never remember if limes are yellow or green: in my family, our citrus consist of lemons, calamansi, and dalandan. Over-sized calamansi with green insides are called limónes.

English can be tricky sometimes -- even in a math class.

Question for Mac-Wielding Geometry Teachers

2009-12-10T09:31:00.000-08:00

I can do the British £, the retail ™, and even John Mayer's tiny ∞, but I can't seem to find this anywhere...

Anyone know how to easily access the congruency sign from the keyboard?

I'm tired of doing this:

when will that be an option?

2009-12-08T16:43:00.001-08:00

"Should I bring work home tonight?" asks E, my co-coach, before we pack up for volleyball practice. I shrug. E (who is in her fourth year of teaching) decides against a night of grading, I grab the volleyballs, and we head to the gym to meet our team of eager but inexperienced volleyballers.
______________________________________
Fellow teachers, faithful readers, and friends I am about to fold. Christmas is 17 days away, (yes, I have a countdown widget) which means only 11 more teaching days. I am tired. I want to go home. I am ready for a break.

When will bringing work home be an option for me? Because right now it is a given: a day at school is followed by a night of work.

I Am Not Superhuman

2009-12-07T02:13:00.001-08:00

It's been a good minute or so since my last "why I dislike teaching" post. A relaxing summer living a make-believe European life for 7 weeks did good for my teaching soul. Since August, positive vibes towards teaching can be likened to a snowball rolling down a snowy mountain. Grows and grows as it rolls and rolls. Except this snowball no longer has it's snowy mountain. It's withering now. Each day. And it's to a point where I must let loose.

I attended Asilomar this past Saturday. One day trip. 2 hours down, 2 hours back. I was sick too. But hype surrounding this math conference made it impossible to pass up. I don't regret it either. But attending Saturday made the weekend feel short, now it's Sunday night way past my teacher bedtime, and I'm still sick. Verdict says 'take a sick day.'

Someone tell me why it feels so difficult to throw in the towel now. During this conference, I was inspired by all the beautiful things being done in math classrooms. I am motivated to increase my students curiousity for math the same way I am inspired to improve my own practice. I hung out with teachers all day, exchanged war stories, and laughed at jokes only math teachers would understand. It was fun.

Throwing in the towel tomorrow means we lose a day (cus, really, I don't get much done w/ subs... ever), which means we fall behind on a curriculum already not as good as those teachers I heard present/interacted with this Saturday.

--

I want to be the superhuman teacher I know I can be, but I am not superhuman. And it's especially difficult to be superhuman when you combat against 100 mini-superhumans daily and have your own normal human life to develop.

--

Lastly, a photo, b/c the last I saw the sun hit the horizon was in Alicante, Spain. (And we need more pictures on this blog, anyway). Attending Asilomar was not all math and games, it was a lil bit of this too...

Pre-K and Kindergarten NOT compulsory in NYC? Preposterous!

2009-11-21T13:09:00.001-08:00

Currently the mandatory ages of attendance in an educational setting in New York State are from 6 to 16. There is an early education policy in NYS for 5 year olds but a parent may opt out for this age (I asked my students to raise their hands if they ever attended Pre-K or K, and surprise, surprise, more than half of each of my classes had not). As a result, NYS's children are already FAR behind those who do attend pre-k or k where they learn fundamental social, behavioral and academic skills essential to becoming a successfully functioning person.

Let me just paint a picture for you...
Imagine a child walking into first grade unaware of how to keep his/her hands to him/herself, or never having seen the alphabet, surrounded by children who learned to read at age 3 or write their name by age 4 and learned to use the bathroom themselves, or to respect their neighbor's pencils. Imagine what challenges this creates for the 1st grade teacher who is mandated to make sure each one of these same children is able to pronounce every combination of syllables and read and write before the 2nd grade. Imagine what challenges this creates for the 7th grade English teacher who, as a result, teaches children reading at a 2nd or 3rd grade level IN THE SAME ROOM as children reading at a high school level. Imagine what challenges this creates for a high school Chemistry teacher who teaches some students who still read at a 5th grade level and some who can read college-level chemistry text. In reality, while the low-level students hopefully are receiving a remedial education to correct years of an "achievement gap," the high-level students aren't challenged or given the opportunity to learn at the rate they are capable. The achievement gap begins in early education, and thus, continues through higher education.

Just take a look at this short and cute video made by a TFA pre-k teacher.

For years, NYS has been aware of this gaping problem in the system, however, the situation remains the same: children throughout the state are STILL not being given the opportunity to take advantage of the most sentient learning stages of their lives.

The Legislature was in Albany on November 16th, to address Governor Paterson's Deficit Reduction Plan. Because Paterson did not come up with a bill that they could act on, the meeting will reconvene THIS Monday, November 23. Legislators will be either accepting or rejecting the Governor’s across-the-board budget cuts. These proposed cuts will negatively impact early care and learning in New York State, particularly home visiting programs (which are crucial, especially to low-income low-socioeconomic households)! NYS "can't afford" pre-k or k, so hey, let's not make it mandatory! In fact, LET'S CUT THE BUDGET EVEN MORE. Ridiculous? I think so.

Please contact your representatives and voice your concerns. Click here for a message you can send to your legislators.

Some of you may remember, however, that Van and Shawn mentioned that personalized letters and phone calls are much more effective than sending a general message (Shawn: "We actually read your letters and take them seriously, especially if they're tied to your personal experience/story"). So I propose throwing letter-writing parties :) Tonight I'll be bringing some paper and pens to "Girls' Night Out" and hopefully effecting some change in the midst of having a good time with my friends.

Not sure where to send your letter or who to call? Easy peasy. Type your zip code here, and find the contact info for your Assembly person (if you live in NY). You can also find contact info for our Senators (if you live in NY) here.

For my penny, I would say education is the answer to just about any problem (poverty, racism, health issues, etc.). So please think about ways to make EARLY EDUCATION a prime concern for our legislators. And most importantly, please spread the word!

no homo.

2009-11-20T13:46:00.000-08:00

"Forreal, no homo, but I love all you," W says over the school intercom.

"What do you mean, 'no homo', W?" I ask, not over the school intercom.

I know exactly what he means, because yes, I too, listen to all those big corporate paint-by-numbers we call musicians, our national I'm-not-a-role-model role models. I ask him because I want to be Socratic and teacherly, and I want him to use his brain instead of the one that Lil' Wayne made for him.

We all know that teaching something as abstract as math is a hard sell on its own, but how about teaching why everyone who speaks for you on a national level is also a corporatized-as-fuck, spit-bullshit-not-truth, common-on-a-Coke-Ad suckface? That the language in use is that of perpetuation, power over powerless?

Let me be the first to say that I get bored when I listen to political or conscious rap... but more than that, in the system we've got, its much more insidious than boredom. Record contracts with Warner Bros, but fuck the system, right? It's reductive, I know, but the simple honesty behind it is unavoidable. And it makes for tired music, tired messages, and cheap lyricism.

W, become a rapper. Read Catcher in the Rye, as I see you doing right before me, and laugh to yourself about things that remind you of your own life. Read everything. Listen to everything. Do your own thing, and fuck up the whole game. We are waiting for you, young genius, to bring us so much more.

Message to Quitting Teachers

2009-11-19T17:53:00.000-08:00

I've been there before. It was the toughest decision I ever had to make. The knowledge that I was letting an entire village down - my students, my colleagues, my administration, friends & family, and anyone else who ever had a stake in shaping who I'd become - only compounded my depression.

-Teacher's who bent backwards for me since day one to ensure my success, my student's success, and, maybe most importantly, my sanity.

-Students so used to broken promises, starving for attention and structure. Young geniuses who sought direction. A few who called me their favorite teacher.

-Parents, friends, family who were proud of me, who knew of my struggles but supported me beyond measure, who respected what I got into, understood it'd be a struggle, but still believed in me nonetheless.

The hardest part about letting all that go is saying goodbye. Admitting to everyone and, even worse, yourself that something you wanted to get into for so long is something you cannot do.

Sometimes, you just gotta do what you gotta do. We all got our reasons. And I feel you on that. We are humans first. Teachers second.

But please do say goodbye. The text messages, emails, and phone calls aren't to further the guilt, but are out of genuine concern. And any sort of goodbye or closure you can provide for us is thrice as meaningful for them.

---

Again, keep swimming. Things look up on the other side of winter. Way up. And it's not that far away.

Entiendo

2009-11-18T01:29:00.000-08:00

For background & reference, check the post "Never Have an Argument with a Student Ever Again."

Earlier today, a dialogue:

S1: Can I just sit here for the day? Please Mr. G; I promise I'll be good. Please?

Me: I understand, but I need you in your seat.

... and, thus, we play the game I've grown to understand some kids just NEED sometimes, until he finally moves...

S1: But I don't want to sit here. I don't do well in the front.

Me: I understand, but this is your seat. And, like everyone else, I gotta have you in your seat.

S2: Haha. G, why you always saying "I understand" for?

Me: Yo entiendo.

S2: Huh? What's that mean?

Spanish speaking S3: "I understand."

Countdowns Always Help

2009-11-16T06:38:00.001-08:00

4 days.

Find a Way

2009-11-13T15:22:00.000-08:00

M is a student in my strategic/remedial double period Algebra class. Typically, M struggles with concepts but puts in effort.

Outside of academics, I'd say our relationship is pretty good. She has good humor and a great smile too.

M was out last week. I called her father to see what's up. Death in the family.

M returned this week. I tell her that her father and I spoke and that I want to work with her to get her grade back up to where it should be. She nods yes.

But M didn't show up Thursday afterschool like she said she would, and M starts showing a lil attitude in our conversations. Rather than trying, she folds quick. Rarely does she give off any sort of positive air. You can tell something's changed.

I approach her and say "I understand there are days and weeks where things aren't right. It happens to me too. But I'm still going to push you to understand, because I'm your teacher and I know you're capable." A nod, but still no smile.

During our quiz today, she stares blankly at the wall as others work diligently. I try to catch eye contact to re-direct her, but her stare is fixed.

I take a post-it note and write "M, are you ok? You don't seem ok. I want you to feel better. Feel better, ok? -Mr G"

I stick on her desk. It catches her attention. She picks it, curious.

She reads, looks up at me and smiles.

Public Education in California

2009-11-12T15:28:00.000-08:00

"California schools are attempting to educate the most diverse and challenging school population in the country and doing it with substantially fewer human resources than almost any other state. The state has the most students, a diverse group of students, more English learners than any other state, and substantial numbers of students from low-income backgrounds. It will also soon again face increasing enrollment. At the same time, the state has fewer school staff per pupil than all other states and spends less than the national average per pupil. " -- Comparing California (June 2008)

I need your help! ...OK, if that wasn't convincing enough for you: California needs your help!

California's public education was ranked at the beginning of this year as 49th in the nation in general public education (and even in specific education categories such as technology). Compare this to 2007, when California came in at no. 14 -- either Californians care less about education, or everyone else stepped up their game (for more disheartening news about the state of California, see here).

This may or may not be new information to you, but my close friend and I are hoping to spread this news to our community members and mobilize them to find solutions and take action. We share many experiences, ideas, and resources; we don't have all the answers, but we have the drive to seek them.

I invite you to consider the following course objective for a class that we plan to facilitate next semester:

1. What is the nature of the subject matter or content of the course?

The subjects of this course are California public education, California state government and education institutional policy, the many cultures of California, and how these three subjects work with and against each other. The explorations of this course are based on academic literature and shared experiences. The nature of this course is collaborative learning and hands-on experience/practice in the public school sector and democratic practices in city and/or state government.

2. What are the key learning outcomes?

To experience and build strong ties with the surrounding community and community-based education organizations by means of an understanding of the solidarity and equity discourses.
To recognize one's self agency; to become empowered and empower others in order to mobilize for equity in public education at the grassroots level.
To develop a better understanding of alternative systems, sites, and methods of education, as well as the multiplicity of experiences within public education.
To practice one's power in democratic processes by working towards improving education at a structural level.
To begin personal working definitions of an "equitable public education.

For more information, please read our course syllabus.

Feedback, ideas, resources, and general support is welcome and much needed!

Img Src: Cartoon Stock