A Balancing Act

Sometimes, you find yourself stuck between two worlds…and it’s beautiful. Like seeing Cirque du Soleil. Sometimes, you find yourself in just the right place at the right time. I had one of those experiences recently. It just hit home this weekend when I traveled north.

When the weather gets hot in Texas, it’s always a nice break to travel to Minnesota to see family.  I attended a wedding. I got to experience both rain and cooler temperatures.  It was a nice break.

As the weekend was winding down, I stopped by my brother’s house. Our talk shifted to the upcoming graduation ceremony for my niece. She will be wearing several medals when she walks. One they really wanted me to see was the choir medal.

My niece is a special needs child. She has flourished in the Minnesota public education system. She has two parents that act effectively as her advocates. That is necessary in any case, but it became crucial when it came to the choir. Her older sister was musically and intellectually gifted. She experienced the spoils of singing in the top choir. The biggest reward was singing at the end of the year in the high school’s “Moment in Time” concert. The concert was presented by the top two choirs each year. Both were open to juniors and seniors. Both were open-audition choirs.

After three years, my niece was in the 9^th grade Treble Choir as a senior. That presents two major issues. First, there is an obvious stigma being the only senior in a 9^th grade choir. Second, it meant that my niece would never get to sing at that one, special concert. My brother’s frustration (and my sister-in-law’s frustration) was that she would not be placed in the second-tier choir, even as a senior who stuck with the program for over three years. The choir directors had no intention of putting my niece in a “select” choir. It was amazing the lengths they were willing to go to ensure the “safety” of that second choir.

Over the next four months, I received phone calls soliciting my advice. I’m in a unique position. I was a music teacher for seven years and a music professor for four. I also knew a lot about federal education law because of my position at TSTA. I drafted letters and recorded testimonies. I consulted. At times, it seemed I counseled. At one point, she was pulled out of a class with no notice for an audition. Her parents were beside themselves. I got to play the good-news guy. I knew we had won the battle. You’d never do that to a special needs kid unless she was going to make it in.

She did. With the understanding that she would not be participating during the “contest” part of the school year. Fine. Whatever.

Then the contest part of the calendar passed, and she still had not been reinstated. Phone calls. Pressure. Principal and assistant principal are gone. Choir directors say it’s too late to bring her back in at this point. New battle. Practically a war. Eventually, we won that one, as well. Never sure how my niece will look back on all of this, but the end result was pretty special. They really wanted me to see that particular medal. That was me (in part). I helped make that happen. They started to talk about that concert, and they trailed off mid-sentence…

You get misty-eyed when you are the parent of a graduating senior. I didn’t see the concert, but I can tell that night will now be forever history in our family. Those two parents would have traded tickets to Springsteen, U2, Lady Gaga, Kanye, and the 1987 Twins World Series victory in Game 7 to see their daughter in that one high school concert. It was a big battle and a bigger victory.

The frustration is still there. When he regained his composure, he told me, “I’m still going to write it out.” The question, he rightly noted, is how schools should mesh the requirements and intents of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act with the intentions and advantages that come from a pure, open-audition choir.

The question is easy to ask. It’s miserable to answer. This particular situation illustrates it so perfectly. Both of my nieces deserved this incredible concert experience. The music education community needs to find ways to make these opportunities--the real opportunities--available to everyone. And do this while keeping those qualities that make such experiences so special.

That takes a balancing act similar to Cirque du Soleil. I’m glad that the acrobats who were in play were able to keep everything balanced.

A dad should be able to feel misty-eyed.

Brown, brown, BROWN...

If  a picture is worth 1000 words, this is going to be a very long post. On Friday, my daughter's school had diversity night.  I've seen other such events in the past, and most of them are pretty contrived. However, this particular evening was one I won't forget. Some of the pictures come from the school's website. The other pictures were taken on my phone, so the quality isn't as high as I would like. My apologies for that.



This is the school's Step Team, which opened the festival in the cafeteria.



Here, two boys from Ghana are eating papusas from Honduras.



Israel was across the hall from Lebanon and down the hall from Bulgaria. Across from Israel is a woman showing a child where her country is on a globe.  Another hall had Pakistan right next to Afghanistan. Although there are no Afghani students in the school, there are children of soldiers. One soldier brought food, pictures and artifacts from Afghanistan. He spoke highly of the Afghan people, and his experiences during his tour were surprisingly positive. He was a fine ambassador for the army to young people.

The end of the night brought a world fashion show, followed by these children from Ballet Folklorico. They were followed by a group from Asia, who were getting ready outside:



That's the great thing about America. Maybe the greatest thing. I'm always proud and excited to see the U.S. Olympic team at the opening ceremonies. Not because of the enormous number of medals we have won over the years, but because of the color brown.

Nobody is really black or white or red or yellow. We're all a different shade of the color brown. When, say, Ireland marches through, it's all the same brown. Same with Kenya. Same with Japan.

The U.S. arrives with a hundred different shades of brown. Celebrating under the flag. Happy to be representing the United States of America. It's not some sort of quiet pride. It's more like a pure joy. My belief is that the joy comes from the idea that we are bound together by ideas and ideals, not skin color and heritage.

I had the good fortune to see a great many of those shades of brown interacting with each other Friday night. Each interested in the others' stories (and food). Seeing each other as some see the cover of an interesting novel.

Truly a blessing to be here.

18 Years

Today is an academic holiday in childrens’ lives: Field Day.  It’s one of the things you lose once you pass through the elementary grades.  I still have one, and she’s getting wet today.  My son had a late band practice yesterday to prepare for their concert next week, and my oldest daughter has a banquet that seems to look more like a prom than a dinner.

As the academic year closes, you tend to look back on what really made a difference.  Students may or may not do this, but most teachers do.  It’s a kind of wistfulness that most people feel on New Year’s Eve or a landmark birthday.

I read a blog from a young woman graduating from college this weekend.  She had a professor that had thought things through.  He told them that the first 18 years of “work” for them was school.  School gave them structure, a series of assignments, people all around to help and a general idea of what the next day, week, month and year would look like.  This soon-to-be graduate is facing a big moment in her life.

When we talk about P-16 alignment in political terms, we forget that the hardest part of college is the loose structure.  You don’t go to detention for skipping class.  Your free time is your own.  That seems to be an area where most students flail a little…or a lot.  Now a young woman has little or no idea what will be coming next for her.  There really is no structure.

As we prepare students…and prepare teachers…for P-16 alignment, we would do well to look at the real causes of “academia adrift.”  I think the biggest cause is the weaker structure of each phase of the transition from P to 16 (or beyond).  Preschoolers have very rigid schedules; college students do not.  Adult work varies too widely to address structure.

Harder tests aren’t the answer. Treating young people with more respect, preparing them for adulthood as people would serve us better. Perhaps a good resolution for next year would be to “loosen up.”

 

Helping the Student Who Doesn't Ask: Bullying

PASADENA, Texas - Give me $600 cash or you will die. That's the threat prosecutors said a gang member used to intimidate a 15-year-old high school student.

The teenager and his family fear for their own personal safety so we’re not releasing the student’s name, but court records show he attends Sam Rayburn High School in Pasadena.

It was there where, investigators said, the teen requested help to stay alive.

 

One of the hottest topics in education is bullying. This week, President Obama gathered experts for a summit on bullying. He says he endured school-yard harassment because of his large ears and funny name and he wants today's students to know bullying is unacceptable.

Earlier this month, NEA launched its “Bully Free: It Starts with Me,” campaign, which asks caring adults on campuses across the country to pledge to step in and stand up to bullying.

You can find that kit here:

www.nea.org/bullyfree

The Department of Education has added a set of tools, as well:

http://stopbullying.gov

Understand this: There is no pro-bullying faction out there. But there are bullies. And research shows that just one adult, who listens to a bullied victim and takes the issue seriously, can prevent that victim from missing school, failing classes, or dropping out
The Department of Education states that a student may be showing signs of being bullied if s/he:

• Comes home with damaged or missing clothing or other belongings


• Reports losing items such as books, electronics, clothing, or jewelry


• Has unexplained injuries


• Complains frequently of headaches, stomachaches, or feeling sick


• Has trouble sleeping or has frequent bad dreams


• Has changes in eating habits


• Hurts themselves


• Are very hungry after school from not eating their lunch


• Runs away from home


• Loses interest in visiting or talking with friends


• Is afraid of going to school or other activities with peers


• Loses interest in school work or begins to do poorly in school


• Appears sad, moody, angry, anxious or depressed when they come home


• Talks about suicide


• Feels helpless


• Often feels like they are not good enough


• Blames themselves for their problems


• Suddenly has fewer friends


• Avoids certain places


• Acts differently than usual

Whatever you do, keep an eye out for bullying victims. There have always been bullies, as well as victims. However, we are finally coming together as an education community to lessen the impact bullies have in our schools.

Anything a teacher can do to stop it could be saving an education…or a life.

3...2...1...

...and the NFL collective bargaining agreement has expired.  March 4, 2011.  The current agreement has been in place since 1993, an 18-year run that was good for both players and owners.

The current Collective Bargaining Agreement has been extended on several occasions, most recently in March 2006. That extension, which could have continued through the 2012 season, gave both the NFL and the NFLPA an option to shorten the deal by one or two years. Owners decided to take the maximum cut in the agreement. The league has created a $900 million fund to help the owners during a lockout.

NFL owners make $9 billion a year from league revenue, and this was their biggest year.  That would conservatively put the revenues at $10 billion this year, over $312 million for the average team. “Smart money” says the NFL made more this year.  We don’t know that for sure. The owners refuse to release their financial statements. There is one exception, the Green Bay Packers are owned by the city, so their statement is available. By their accounts, everything is going well.

With a median salary of $818,265 and a team valued at $1,650,000,000, Dallas Cowboys’ owner Jerry Jones wants a pay cut from the players, as well as two more football games to increase revenue further.

Here is how wonderful the collective bargaining agreement was for everyone:

http://www.americanprogressaction.org/issues/2010/09/nfl_labor_agreement.html

Malcolm Gladwell’s story on the brutality of both dog fighting and the NFL can be found here:

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/10/19/091019fa_fact_gladwell

The average NFL player plays just 3.5 seasons and loses two to three years off his life expectancy for every season played.  Here we find the true price players pay to play. Owners must believe that price is not enough.

I believe I hear the Green Bay Packers joining the teachers, singing "On Wisconsin."

Who Should Be Funding Schools, Again?

A quote from Ron Paul, of all people:

“You always wonder why your kid comes home from school and they say, ‘Mom, we need to raise money for pencils and computers and pens and paper.’ You wonder…”

As the Legislature grapples with how they will “fund” schools for the next two years, I’m led to wonder about this very idea. It used to be that students raised money to go on band trips or tours of Europe with the French class. Then came athletics, of all things. Being approached by a football player for money was a surprise to me. My hometown has a popular football team, with full stands every night of the “Friday Night Lights” season. Why would such a popular program need more money than the huge amount they must be generating?

Now my own children come home excited about the latest fundraiser for their elementary school. If they sell enough magazines…or candy…or decorative items, they get some plastic toy or something that will get caught in our vacuum cleaner. Parents are put in a tough position, wondering how polite it is to ask friends and family to buy over-priced items to fund schools.

I read conservative policy paper after conservative policy paper. They see this situation as an “opportunity.” A new bill filed in the Texas House would create the Center for Financial Accountability and Productivity in Public Education. This will consist of a grand total of three people, who will have whatever funding is necessary, and they will report which schools (if any) are acting in a fiscally responsible manner. The bill states, “A board member may not be a member of the board of trustees or an employee of a school district.”

It also says, “The center shall represent business, finance, public policy, education, and other interests considered appropriate by the center.”

Really? Then why isn’t an actual teacher (or even a school board member) allowed on this committee? We really need business leaders to tell us how to run districts in a fiscally sound manner?

Here’s a commentary on why schools are not businesses:

 http://www.eschoolnews.com/2011/02/15/viewpoint-why-education-is-not-like-business/

Businesses use human capital to produce products and services. Schools use human capital to create…human capital. This comparison has never made sense. The further a state or district heads down the “schools as businesses” model, the worse-off they find themselves.

And you begin to wonder how much worse it can get. Right now, Texas is actually using child labor to fund its schools.

Where Is Their Accountability?

In recent years, major corporations (usually through foundations) toy with public education. They have “great ideas” that they shop to school boards looking to find new revenue to keep their schools afloat. The problem is that nobody seems to hold these foundations accountable. With enough money, you don’t have to actually face scrutiny.

Consider a recent conference held by the Texas High School Project. The THSP gets a fair amount of funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, as well as many philanthropic groups from around the state and the nation. On the first night, they held a moderated panel on funding effectiveness.

 The first panelist was Stephanie Sanford, a national representative of the Gates Foundation. Her presentation was based on the recent Gates Foundation's Measures of Effective Teaching..."study." She gave a short PowerPoint presentation of the survey’s findings. Like several of the slides, the numbers showed things that any reasonable person would dispute. She even began some of her points with phrases like, “You’d think the opposite would be true, but…”  In one example, she showed “proof” that after five years, teachers don’t get any better—or worse. Not at all. The line was completely flat for almost twenty years. Of course, that’s based on test scores, but it doesn’t matter. The idea that a teacher can go 19 years without learning anything is ludicrous.

 It’s deeper than that, though. The National Education Policy Center had Jesse Rothstein read that same document. He is former chief economist at the U.S. Department of Labor and a former senior economist for the Council of Economic Advisers. He found the Gates report to be based as ridiculous as I found Ms. Sanford’s comments. I’ve never seen such a condemnation of someone’s research. Here is the review’s subtitle:

'Measures of Effective Teaching' report is based on flawed research, unsupported data and predetermined conclusions, review shows

I’ve worked in academic research for over a decade, and I’ve never read or seen such a review. The MET report made the reviewer (and the Center) so disgusted that they called the actual motives of the study into question. Not data analysis. Not an important set of data that was ignored. Not shoddy workmanship.

“Predetermined conclusions.”

Here is one screaming example:

The MET report's data suggest that teachers whose students have low math scores rank among the best at teaching "deeper" concepts. Yet the MET report draws the conclusion that teachers whose students score highly on standardized math tests "tend to promote deeper conceptual understanding as well.”

 This review was never brought up after she presented, and I didn’t get to ask any question on it. The other two members of the panel were Representative Rob Eissler (the chair of the Texas House of Representatives Public Education Committee) and Jesús Chávez, the superintendent of Round Rock ISD. They engaged in a heated discussion, and most questions were directed at the two of them.

Nobody held Ms. Sanford accountable, and nobody holds the Gates Foundation accountable. With 50 million public school children’s education on the line, somebody should.