In Honor of National Teachers' Day and Mother's Day

May 8th is National Teachers' Day and May 13th is Mother's Day. We would like to honor our teachers and moms by sharing this story, re-printed with permission from Robin Shope Jansen, teacher, author, mother and contributing writer for Chicken Soup for the Teacher's Soul:

Ode to My Mother

A New Take on Robert Frost

I love the poem by Robert Frost, two roads diverged in a yellow wood. I took the one less traveled by and that has made all the difference. It reflects my life.

When I was a senior, my high school counselor advised me not to go to college. She said with a C/B average my grades were proof enough that I was not college material. My mother didn’t agree with that assessment and gave me two choices; be a waitress or go to college. I already had enough of waiting tables at a pancake house so I ignored my high school counselor and filled out college applications.

My mother took me to see the college counselor to plan my courses at the Wisconsin State University Eau Claire. I will never forget. During the interview I was asked what career I had chosen. Of course I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life...I only knew what I didn’t want to do. When I opened my mouth to say these words my mother piped up and answered for me, “She wants to be a teacher.”

‘Interesting,’ I thought at the time as I nodded my head. And since the only class I had done well in was English, I suddenly had my major. And since I enjoyed Drama Club, I now had my minor. I was all set as I checked into my dorm room with an electric typewriter in one hand and my record player in the other.

Shakespeare held no interest for me and I was within a semester of graduating when everything changed for me. During my practicum, I was placed in a middle school special education classroom. I loved working with those students. We made clocks from paper plates to learn how to tell time, we told stories and then wrote them down, and the students learned about good nutrition by planning well balanced meals. Ah ha! Now I knew what I really wanted to be…a special education teacher. When I told my mother about this, she told me to continue with my laid out plans and wrap things up. I couldn’t do that when my heart was going in a different direction so I left school a semester short of graduating, much to my mother’s horror.

Back home again, in my old pink bedroom, I started working at a resort as a receptionist. For two years I did this thankless job, knowing my dream of teaching was slipping further and further away. I had to do something myself in order to change my destiny.

I stopped buying myself clothes, I rarely went anywhere with my friends and socked away nearly every dime I made until there was enough money to return to college. The first trip to college was on my mother’s money; going back I paid my own way. Now I enrolled at UW Whitewater. This time around I paid closer attention in class and took great pride in learning.

A year later I graduated with a double major in English and Special Education, with a minor in theater. Time hadn’t been wasted after all. I was able to use all my credits and apply them toward my goal. Since that time I have earned four teaching certificates and have taught every grade from kindergarten through high school. My career has spanned nearly twenty-five years. Presently I am the Special Education Coordinator at a state facility for at risk teens that have been expelled from their school or court ordered to be there. I also have three fictional books published because of my love of literature. My life is filled with meaning.

Way back in high school my school counselor predicted a constricted future for me based on past grades. Her vision was narrow. She never took the time to see what possibilities lay within me. I was blessed to have a mother who saw great things and pushed me in the right direction. Along the way I was able to catch my own vision. Two roads diverged, my mother’s insight and my determination, and that has made all the difference.

Robin's bio, in her own words:

It all started in the fifth grade when my composition teacher didn't read my essay outloud to the class. Ten years old at the time, I thought this stunk like the kid who sat behind me, but I took it along with a pinch of determination. Since then I have devoted my life to writing; and more than just grocery lists. Each week I am adding to my online narrative which is a compilation of different people I have known during my life journey. Every event you read is true. It may, or may not, have happened personally to me. But it happened to someone I know. The chapters are pieces of actual experiences. Each week I stare at the computer screen typing honest words that will reach across the miles to your computer screen in hopes you will come back to read more. I love to write. I hate rejection. This narrative is coming to life inside my brain, tapping me on the shoulder, asking to be told. Not only do I want it to entertain you but I am hoping it connects with you in some way. It changes me. Hand in hand, you are walking with me through my tale and for that I bless you and thank you with my whole heart (I think we are walking together on a beach)... and here is to you, Ms. Eckert.

Nowadays, no longer in 5th grade, I teach high school English.  I live within shouting distance of Dallas, Texas, although I grew up shuffling between Chicago and the shores of Lake Delavan in Wisconsin. I have two darling adult children and two even more precious grandsons. My mean rescue cat allows my cocker spaniel and me to live with her.

my sites:

http://write2robinshope.blogspot.com/ (about my writing and I tell little stories)

http://datingoversixtyproject.blogspot.com/ (about dating as a single lady after 60)

Befriend me on Facebook

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The Homework Dilemma: Part 2

Contributed by Harvey Craft

(See Part 1, posted 3-28-12)

My Opinion for What it’s Worth

Before continuing I am obliged to make it clear that I do not believe in the abolition of all homework. I believe that if it is well-conceived some homework can be useful. I believe in the abolition of bad homework assigned for the wrong reasons.

So how do we determine the value of homework as a teaching tool?  A simple question will suffice. “How do I know it works?” That straightforward query allows us to screen new and old instructional methods. If no answer is forthcoming then professional responsibility requires that we find one.

Disagreement on Homework is Common

Teachers don’t need to be researchers. They don’t have to commit to spending hours each week involved in reading journals and searching the Internet. What is needed is healthy skepticism about teaching methods that prods them to ask the question above.

Regrettably, many teachers believe that more homework is the answer to improving learning and pile it on. Some of these teachers have observed that students who do homework make better grades than those who don’t, but drawing a conclusion from that observation is not justified.

There is also the personal factor that is exemplified by teachers feeling that students have disobeyed by not completing an assignment. Kids are supposed to do as they are told, so not doing homework gets personal. The result is often a zero which makes some teachers feel better but does little to improve learning. Finally, there is a prevailing belief that many students will not complete homework unless it is graded. That is because we have taught many students that grades are more important that knowledge. This is the result of overemphasizing grades to the exclusion of learning.

These problems are entrenched, and I won’t attempt to try to solve them here. Part of the problem is the overuse of rewards and awards doled out for grades. In the U.S. we have come to believe in the power of the reward. Albert Einstein was no dummy. He said, “If people are good only because they fear punishment, and hope for reward, then we are a sorry lot indeed.” I agree with Albert.

Real Problems with Homework?

Likely the most common error teachers make regarding homework is grading it.   Homework is a formative assessment. Formative assessments are those non-graded activities that students do while they learn something new.  If we believe — as experts generally do — you don’t test what you haven’t taught, then we use homework for diagnosis and practice.

“If I don’t grade it they won’t do it!” Well, perhaps not, but if teachers spent more time convincing students that homework has value as a learning tool by making sure that homework addresses standards and therefore will appear on test and quizzes, then the real value of homework will be more clearly established, and the homework is graded when the test is graded.

OK, are you sitting down? Many students can and do copy homework. That single fact renders homework as invalid for grading. Related to copying is the fact that some parents help and some don’t.  And as long as I’m talking about parents — please remain seated — some parents just aren’t very good at parenting. Some frankly don’t care whether or not Junior does his work. Knowing this, why punish Junior?

Aside from mom and dad, other factors can make home an unsuitable place for homework. Love and concern may be present, but the home can be collapsing under the weight of dad’s recent arrest, Uncle Bubba’s visits while under the influence, mom’s job loss, etc. Dysfunctional homes are all too common.

Thankfully, most homes function well, but homework is often boring. I know it’s true; some of my brightest students told me early on that homework was boring. How dare they! I never promised them a rose garden! Time for zeros! The problem is that negative grades don’t motivate students who aren’t motivated by grades, and they are the ones that are most likely to not do homework. That’s why so many students accumulate strings of zeros. It doesn’t matter! If teachers are interested in motivation, try — really try — to give interesting homework.

Homework should never be assigned as punishment. When my son was in high school he brought home an F for algebra on his first interim. He had an A average on tests and quizzes. His teacher told me that she thought a failing grading was proper punishment and would motivate him to work harder. Duh!

My son’s aversion to homework was born out of his need for down-time. How selfish! Don’t ruin weekends and holidays with homework. Students need and deserve time with friends and family. If you mess up parents’ time they won’t like you either. Remember that other teachers are assigning homework. One of my granddaughters is in the fourth grade. Two weeks ago she called my wife — a former math teacher — for help with a math problem. My wife asked me for help! After missing a new episode of House, we finished, and my granddaughter went to bed with social studies homework not yet done!

In using homework, apply compassion, be empathetic, and don’t let it get personal. A caring, kind, and congenial teacher will affect grades positively more than all the homework ever assigned. There are times when homework is needed, but have specific occasions for assigning it.

Of course you may choose to agree or disagree with the above. You can do all of that homework checking and recording homework grades and calling parents, etc.

But, “How do you know it works?”

Oh, The Things Teachers Do!

     
Oh, the things teachers do! There is work to be done!
There are tests to be graded. There are walk-throughs –NOT fun!


There is paperwork, schmaperwork. I must confess…how can we function with all of this stress?! Assessments, do-your-best-ments, parent meetings and such. Why are we expected to handle so MUCH?!


How can we teach our students to rhyme, when classroom management takes so much time?
Increasing demands are brought on by new rules. More work leaves less time for the teaching in schools.

Just when I think that I can’t carry on. I am finished -- exhausted – caput – I am DONE!”
I see a new light in the eyes of a child, and I know that my job is important – worthwhile.

Teaching is reaching them, prodding them on. Another child "gets it" – I’m still not quite done!
You see, teaching does not come from a store…maybe teaching means a little bit more.

          Contributed by Sue Price

The Homework Dilemma: Part 1

Contributed by Harvey Craft -- Retired educator, consultant, freelance writer, and blogger

My Opinion for What it’s Worth

Teachers give homework — it’s part of what they do. I gave it when I was a teacher back when the earth was still cooling.  Eventually I gave very little homework — mostly to encourage studying before tests, but sometimes not even then. Homework didn’t seem to work in the best interest of my students, and I thought I was using it incorrectly — based on what I now know, I was.

I stopped grading homework long ago. After all, it results in lots of zeroes and my students didn’t need those. Really, if an assessment is consistently producing zeroes, shouldn’t teachers wonder about its usefulness? In those days we didn’t talk about formative and summative assessments. Assigned work was about grades.

I know it is popular to assume that students are being irresponsible when homework is not done, but teachers are supposed to be able to find what works. We are not supposed to call the student irresponsible, stupid, bad, lazy, etc. and move on — we find a way, not a way out. Sometimes we fail and the student fails, but we must commit ourselves to get better and adopt better methods rather than apply the “same old, same old” and expect students to adapt to us. Teachers are the experts — or should be — where teaching methods are concerned.  

I never saw any real evidence that it made students more responsible, although some teachers continue to claim it is so. Research on homework is inconclusive. There certainly are no landmark studies that show unequivocally that homework is essential to teaching and learning, although there is some pretty good evidence that it is of little or no value for elementary students. There seems to be some benefit for high school students from homework, but it’s limited.

Let me be clear— I didn’t just ride into town on a turnip truck. I know the language of research. I understand correlation, meta-analysis, z-scores. I have read the works of Harris Cooper, Robert Marzano, Thomas Guskey, and many others. I have a well-founded professional opinion on homework and I have a personal one.

What do the Polls Say about Homework?

Although parents often hold opinions on education that don’t necessarily reflect best practice, their opinions must be respected simply because schools educate their children. Regrettably, a clear understanding of what parents think about homework is hard to ascertain. My experience as a teacher and administrator has convinced me that parents generally support, or at least accept, various instructional methods — especially those applied in the schools their children attend.

Surveys and polls produce a bewildering variation in results. A mumsnet.com survey from October 2008 had a reasonable sample of 1,036 respondents to the question “Are you happy with the amount of homework your child is required to complete?” Fifty-six percent responded, “Yes it's just about right,” while 27% said, “No they get too much.”

Mumsnet is a site for parents, and surveys offered by websites are generally not conducted with scientific controls for validity, but provide information of interest to a specific group at a specific time.

On the other hand, smartgirl.org,  a website that attracts a wide age-range of young females conducted a survey concerning  a number of school issues. The poll is over a decade old, but of the 484 respondents, 274 — about 57% — responded that they had too much homework. Interestingly, about 27% admitted to cheating on homework at least “sometimes.”

A November 18, 2011, Timeforkids poll was in close agreement with Smartgirls, with 57% claiming too much homework. Again, there are no controls on this poll to assure accuracy.

Harrisinteractive displays the results from a poll from March 2008 that seems to have some scientific controls, although an exact description of the polling process is not described. The results show that 60% of the parents and 81% of the teachers agreed that the amount of homework given was “about right.” There is also close agreement on the “importance of doing homework.” Fifty-six percent of parents said doing homework is “very important,” compared with 50% of teachers.

Polls don’t give us much information about homework. They lack validity and depth. The most important issues about homework concern how educators apply what they know — or should know — about teaching and learning.

That will be the topic for Part Two.

 

Harvey Craft  is a retired educator. He continues to research, consult, and write about education, and maintains an education blog — “Dissenting Opinions,” at  http://teachingdoneright.blogspot.com/.

Here's what Harvey has to say:  "The blog title reveals its purpose is to identify and remove or improve bad educational practices. I invite controversy and lively discourse.

I spent 31 years in education as a science teacher and administrator in schools and at the district office level. I returned to teaching for the last five years of my career and became NBPTS certified in Adolescent Science. I wanted to return to the classroom where I felt I could make the most positive contributions. 

I continue to research, write, and consult. I write freelance on a number of topics, but mainly education. I have over 125 education articles published on the Internet and in educational journals. I also read daily on some aspect of education.

I exercise with long, fast bicycle rides, heavy duty gardening, and going to the gym. My most enjoyable hobby is photography. I am a nice guy, and I am passionate about education. I enjoy lively discourse."

Pants on the Ground

Contributed by Michael Kalnbach, Administrator at Glenn Middle School, San Angelo, TX

     Do we really understand who we teach?  We spend a lot of time and money determining what to teach, and when and how to teach it, but how much time do we spend studying who we teach?  Nearly every other profession focuses primarily on the people it serves.  The business world spends billions in market research to understand everything about its customers.  Medical professionals would not dare progress with treatment without knowing everything there was to know about the patient.  Tech companies like Google are founded on understanding every tendency and online habit of its constituents.  Yet, we in education often continue with the same methods and decision making we have used since the 1930s without the effort to truly understand those who enter our classrooms every day.

     Students today are profoundly different than previous generations.  9/11, the subsequent cultural changes, and the rapid advancement of technology affected this generation in ways sociologists still do not fully understand. Their ideas about education differ from the adults in their lives.  Their moral compass does not have absolutes.  They hold to different views of respect, authority and leadership.  They exhibit many well documented positive characteristics, but they simply are not the same as their predecessors.  If we are to reach them, we must truly understand them.

     My department ran a comprehensive study of our 656 high school freshmen to gain a better understanding of our students.  We asked a series of questions to which the students' responses would give us a clear picture of their ethical and moral boundaries, their feelings about education, leadership and authority, and their ideas about life after high school.  We then gave the same survey to our teachers which gave us the ability to cross reference the data.  The study showed extreme differences between the students and teachers.  One example is the response to a question regarding cheating.  The question read, "Is it okay to cheat?"  100% of the teachers chose the response, "It is always wrong to cheat."  Only 22% of the students chose that response.   47% of the students chose the response, "It is okay to cheat when you have been treated unfairly (not given enough time to complete assignments, not given enough time to study, etc.)"  Another 21% chose the response, "It is okay to cheat if you have no other option to get a passing grade on the assignment."  This is one simple example of the insight we gained about the students' attitudes about situational ethics.  The most revealing aspect of the study was the discrepancy between the teachers' and students' ethical standards.  100% of our teachers chose this response to another question:  “those in authority deserve respect simply because of the position they hold.”  Only 14% of our students chose that response.  Over 75% chose the response:  “those in authority must earn my respect before I will give it to them.”  These examples represent the numerous differences in the way adults and students understand the world and our culture.

    After full evaluation of the survey data, our teachers began to see the profound differences between them  and  their students.  We teach from a certain perspective based on our life experiences, particularly our experiences related to our education.  Our students are listening from an entirely different perspective generated from their own experiences which we have established are much different than any other generation.  Often what we say and do from our perspective is received in a much different way, and the results are much different than what we as teachers intended them to be.  We then get frustrated and do not understand why our students are not learning, and why they do not seem to care.

     I was captivated by a goofy performance of a middle aged man in the early stages of the American Idol competition.  He sang a song called, "Pants on the Ground."  He was lamenting over the fact that the young guys sag their pants below their waist line.  It was hilarious.  It struck a chord with many educators.  It is a battle fought in almost every school in America.  The issue however is a glaring example of the disconnect between adults and young people.  Will we continue to complain about the attitudes and actions of the students, and forge ahead with the same methods based on our perspectives without an understanding of why they do what they do?  Can we commit to study them, to learn from them, to spend quality time with them, to fully understand them so that we will be able to engage them in learning?  Will we learn what motivates them, what inspires them, and avoid what alienates them?  Can we stop complaining about the clothes they wear and the attitudes they have toward leadership and responsibility and figure out why they think and act the way they do?  The stakes are high.  If we cannot change, we run the risk of these students choosing to raise themselves.  If we can, we will earn the right to be heard, and we will be given the incredible opportunity to teach them.

Science Worksheets Don't Grow Dendrites

Warren Phillips, Middle School Science Teacher Extraordinaire!

Warren Phillips has been a science and service learning teacher in Massachusetts for 35+ years. Inducted into the National Teacher's Hall of Fame in 2010, his focus is on brain-based learning in association with his book, Science Worksheets Don't Grow Dendrites. The book provides 20 brain-proven strategies that teachers should use in their teaching and sample lessons for each strategy.

In 2005, in his quest to reinforce science concepts with young students, he composed and produced 3 (now wildly popular) cd's: Sing-A-Long Science, Sing-A-Long Science - the Sequel; and Sing-A-Long Science - the Second Sequel. His newest endeavor is "The Science Secret," a school musical (think "Science Glee") that  addresses 93% of the K-8 standards.

Mr. Phillips is the founder of H.O.W.L. - Helping Others While Learning. It is a service learning course that allows outstanding students to work on projects that advance their learning and serve the community. For example, students develop Jeopardy-style power point presentations for teachers to teach specific units. As part of the H.O.W.L. program, the students produce a weekly news program and handle everything from running the lights and camera, to copy writing and on-camera reporting.  

He has won many awards including 6 major national awards:

Time / Chevrolet Teacher of the Year in 2002

Disney Middle School Teacher Of The Year in 2004

USA Today All-USA Teaching Team in 2006 

Presidential Volunteer Service Award in 2006

Earthwatch Fellowship (Elephant Research) to Africa in 2008

National Teacher's Hall of Fame in 2010

Outside his work as a classroom teacher, he advises the garden club and coordinates a 3-day outdoor educational field trip that is held annually for 700+ students. He is a contributing writer for the Prentice-Hall Science Explorer textbook series and NSTA's Exemplary Science in Grades 5-8. Recently, he was the keynote speaker at the 3-day national conference of the Blue Ribbon Schools of Excellence at Disney World. The convention features best practices in education. To find out more about Blue Ribbon Schools, visit: http://www.blueribbonschools.com/.

For updated information about Mr. Phillips, visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warren_G._Phillips.  For great resources for science teachers and service learning teachers, visit his website at:  http://www.wphillips.com/.

The Very Best Interventions for the Very Worst Behavior Problems

     by Ruth Herman Wells, M.S.

Ruth Herman Wells and Youth Change Workshops (http://www.youthchg.com) are your Problem Student Problem-Solver. Youth Change provides live, on-site, and online teacher training, plus books, ebooks, and posters, all designed to turnaround troubled and challenging students. Get free samples of Youth Change’s popular resources at (http://www.youthchg.com) or call 1-800-545-5736.

Here are some of my most popular, enduring, and effective classroom management interventions for students' bad behavior and attitude in school.

Me? Flunk English? That's Unpossible!

Just write this sentence on the board, then let the students discuss it: "WiLl YOu RealY NevER ned a diPlOmA?" You may also repeat this exercise with this sentence: "Me? Flunk English? That's unpossible!" (The second sentence is from the cartoon show, "The Simpsons".) Ask your students to create other sentences like the two shown above. Also, you can ask your students to imagine how signs might be read by someone who hasn't learned to read very well. For example, ask them to imagine signs at the airport you better be able to read. They will devise many funny but provocative scenarios. Now that students see more value in reading and school, discuss with them how serious misbehavior at school keeps them from learning the information that they now acknowledge they need. 

The Old Switcheroo Works Every Time

This is a very cagey intervention that reveals exactly who is the real problem. Make a list of problems that adults can have at work and in the community, such as "Mr. Frank is frequently late to work. Mr. Frank is angry at the boss for docking him pay for the time he's late, saying it is the boss's fault he loses money." Ask your students to determine who is accountable for the problem. Students will indicate that Mr. Frank is accountable. After the students determine adults are accountable in each scenario, present them with a second list of scenarios. This list should be exactly the same as the first list, but substitute youngsters for adults in each situation. Next, ask your group members to determine accountability. It may make for an interesting discussion, and provoke some new thinking. Few students will anticipate the old switcheroo. That's what gives this intervention so much power and impact. That's what makes this intervention work when more conventional strategies fail. 

Live Through This-- If You Can

Some students are very negative about school because they consider it to be a waste. Here is a fun intervention to show students that education may be essential. Have students write down the types of problems that an adult might have to deal with during one really bad day, then have them determine how many of these activities use skills learned in school. Your group will notice that education is needed to solve or manage all or most of the problems that happen to adults on really bad days. Include problems like the refrigerator is a bit warm, the car seems to slide for some reason on the wet road, and the bank says that your checking account is overdrawn. 

The Texting Surgeon and the Distractible Pilot

Ask students to list their "dream jobs". Write the responses in a column on the board. Make a second column and ask the students to list problem behaviors that young people sometimes do. Include answers like swear, become distracted, and not follow directions. Next, draw a line from a dream job to a problem behavior. Ask the students to discern what could happen if the worker used the problem behavior. So, for example, what could happen if an airplane pilot didn't follow the air traffic controller's instructions? Another example: What could happen if a surgeon became distracted? Assist students to realize that problem behaviors can cause significant, even deadly consequences in many jobs, especially many of the jobs they describe as desirable. Ask the group to discuss how behavior problems at school will become behavior problems at work unless students decide to improve their conduct now. For students who say "I will just behave better on the job," challenge them to demonstrate those skills now by using only acceptable behavior for the next three months.