The Sad Truth - by Walter Williams

I was reading this morning as I am wont to do, and I read this article by Walter Williams.  Mr. Williams very eloquently says what few dare so, but almost all of us know.

It’s grossly dishonest for the education establishment and politicians to boast about unprecedented graduation rates when the high school diplomas, for the most part, do not represent academic achievement. At best, they certify attendance.

Schools have improved in many ways since my time in school.  My high school offered no AP classes or dual enrollment programs.  We have improved opportunities for advanced students, but the fact is that our educational system is failing to educate most student.  Destination Graduation for Every Child can be a great mantra, if it means educating and graduating every child.  However, all too often, we are graduating students who are not educated.  This is true across America.

Timeless readings on education

Over the years, I have read a number of books about education that I think are enlightening.  One of my favorites are CS Lewis's The Abolition of Man.

Lewis, however, is not to be the subject of this web log post.

The author I want to discuss here is John Gould Fletcher.  He was one of the Tennessee Agrarians, a group of writers, poets, and historians with ties to Vanderbilt University in the 1920s and 30s.  In 1930, the group published a book of essays called I'll Take My Stand: The South and the Agrarian Tradition.  

One of the essays in the book was by Fletcher, and his essay focused on education.  I don't want to discuss the whole essay, but here is an excerpt.

"For our knowledge of history teaches us this much: that the object of public education in the American Colonies and the later states...was to produce good men.  The system may have been imperfect in detail, but its aim was correct.  Today the object of American education is to turn out graduates - whether good, bad, or indifferent we neither know nor care.  Formerly, quantity had to give place to quality; today it is the reverse.  Formerly we followed Goethe's maxim, to the effect that everything that frees man's soul, but does not give him command over himself, is evil.  Today we are out to withdraw the command of men over themselves, and to free, for no purpose, their souls."

While this was written in the 1920s, I still think it a cutting critique of modern education.

Winding up, winding down

Alice Cooper's "School's Out" Album is pictured above.  If you are really in the mood, you can click it and watch the video to his end of the year anthem.

Anyhow, the best time of year to be a teacher is at the end of the year...

              and at the beginning.

The end of the year is a happy time for teachers, but it can be a frustrating time as well.  I was listening to some students talk between classes a few weeks ago.  The students were talking about things that they probably shouldn't and I wondered to myself, "Have I taught these kids anything?"  Sometimes, I get the feeling that the students didn't learn the content of the class that I teach but also that they didn't learn morals, manners, or common courtesy.  I worry about the students going out into the world with half an education and no moral clarity.  I really do.  I like my students, and I want the best for them.  Sometimes though I wonder if they want the best for themselves.

Not long after overhearing the conversation between students that frustrated me, I attended honors night for our students at the College and Career Academy(CCA).  I always thought of these as nights for students and parents.  I never really thought of honors night as a night for teachers.  I always enjoy myself while I'm there, but it always feels like another after school obligation.  But this year, I came to a realization.  Honors night is also for teachers.

You see, when I was at honors night, I looked around at all the students and recognized so many of them (my current and former students) as good students and good people.  I watched them walk across stage and take their awards, and I spent time talking to students and families after the awards.  It made me realize that yes, my job does make a difference.  Yes these students have learned a lot, and some even have an idea what they want to do with their lives.

It was more than that though.  Some of our CCA students gave speeches.  The speeches were short - some seemed prepared and some were impromptu.  Each student though talked about what he or she loved about the CCA.  I knew that some of the ones speaking were not the best academic students.  I knew that some of them had no idea what they were going to do after graduation, even though they might have talked like they did.  However, I could tell, they'll figure it out.

I didn't really know what I wanted to do after high school.  Sometimes, I still don't know what I want to do, but I'm figuring it out.  And most of my students, even some that I question, they'll figure it out.  Some will make bad choices and end up bad places, but even some of those might remember some of the things that I taught them and find their way to good place.  They'll figure it out.

An old student, a new beginning

I ran into one of my former students from Pepperell a week or two ago.  He was never a good student.  I liked him, but I could tell he was heading from trouble from his freshman year.  He was into drinking, drugs, and parties.  From outside, one can easily see that the drug lifestlye leads nowhere good, but from inside it is hard to see.  He was a smart kid, but a terrible student.  I don't even know if he graduated, but if he did, I never thought he'd amount to much.

Well, he told me that he had just gotten out of jail.  The very day I ran into him was his first day out.  He told me that he was living the sober life and avoiding his old bad influences.  We talked for a bit, and I gave him my contact information.   Things still aren't going great for him.  He has put himself in a bad situation.  Not much education, a criminal record, past drug addiction, bad family relationships, and more.  But he is keeping in contact.  He is still sober.  He is still trying.  He is still figuring it out.  He may slide back into old ways, but maybe not.  He can figure it out.  Even though he isn't where I (or he) would want him to be, he's moving toward a better place.  He is making a new beginning.

and beginnings are even better than endings.

So while school winding down is definitely a happy time for teachers and students, and while I look forward to summer break immensely, I'm already starting to think about next year.  I'll have a new group of students to teach, a new group of students to lead, new methods to try, and a new year to try.  Yes, beginnings are even better than endings.  Without beginnings, there would be no endings, and most jobs don't get new beginnings every year.  I'm glad I work in one that does.

Working toward greatness

Working toward greatness

I'm a teacher.  I want to do my job well, and I usually do.  However, for a teacher to do his best job, he has to always be looking for ways to improve.

To improve, one has to challenge himself

The teaching world is changing.  Today's teacher has far more resources available to him than he did five years ago, but all to often, teachers fall into a rut.  They do the same thing this year as they did the year before and the year before.  

Don't get me wrong, the teaching methods that I used five years ago still work.  They still help students learn.  I can achieve my goal with techniques that I have used before.  However to be the best teacher I can be, I need to take advantage of new resources.  New resources are only an advantage if a teacher takes time to use them.

A new opportunity

Recently, I got a set of Chromebooks for my science classroom.  I got these in the middle of the year.  I'm in a rhythm at this point; I've been teaching all year with the methods I've used in years past.  I'm tempted to keep doing that til the end of the year.  It seems so much easier to introduce technology and new methods at the beginning of a year.  Next year, I'll have time to teach the kids how to use the technology from the beginning of the year, to teach them what I want them to do with the Chromebook and how I want them to give feedback.  But if I do that, it will be an opportunity wasted.

I have to challenge myself to use my new resources now.  That doesn't mean that I abandon my old methods, but what good is new technology if it isn't used?  

Today, was a weird day at school.  We have had thunderstorms and tornado warnings in the area all day.  Many students did not come to school.  So, when I showed up for my first period, I had half a class.  The class was supposed to take a test today, but I wasn't going to give the test to half a class today and have to do the same next class.  I had to think on my feet to give the students something productive to do.  Today was an opportunity.

I have used my Chromebooks in class before, and I'm working to use them more.  But they are still new to me and the students.  Today gave me the opportunity to adapt on the fly.  After seeing that I had half a class this morning, I quickly made an assignment for my students on Google Classroom.  It was an educational assignment but a fun assignment.  It was a virtual field trip to the San Diego Zoo. 

Now, I say I made it.  Well, I gave the assignment for the kids, but I got the assignment form a fellow teacher.  The new technology gave me an easy way to use the hard work of my fellow teacher.  She had made a wonderful webquest assignment for the students.  All I had to do was assign it to the students, give them their Chromebooks, supervise them, and ask them questions to get them and keep them interested in the assignment.  Getting the students interested was extra important today with half the class missing and motivation low.  I had to change my excitement for the assignment with my students.

Share the excitement

It is important for teachers to share their excitement for their subject with the students.  Excitement is contagious.  It's also important for teachers to share their excitement with each other.  As part of my exciting 'tornado warning' day, I got to go visit my old school to supervise some of my students there.  While I was there, I saw one of my old colleagues, Jeremiah Veillon - math teacher.  Now, Mr. Veillon is a math teacher and I'm a science teacher.  Our subjects overlap in some ways, and we worked across the hall from each other for years.  I know he is in the process of completing his doctorate degree, so I asked him how it was going.

This is a seemingly normal question to ask someone in school, but he got really excited, and his excitement showed.  He started telling me about how he was changing his math class to be much more like a science class, teaching math concepts by application.  He was talking about assignments that he was preparing for his students as part of his doctorate work.  He wants to have his students investigate things.  He wants them to measure which type of insulated cup works best.  They will bring their own cups and be vested in the experiment.  They will take data using Chromebooks and Vernier probes.  They'll use the computer to graph their data and see that the graph flattens out approaching a limit.  He can use this to teach the idea of an asymptote.  The students can also see that the slope of the graph changes over time, and he can more easily explain to them that the slope is a rate of change.  He can explain it more easily because they can see it!

Now, unless you are a math or science teacher, the discussion I had with Mr. Veillon may not be meaningful.  What is meaningful though is that he was excited.  He was enthusiastic about teaching and about teaching better, and his enthusiasm made me excited about teaching.  Just as I shared my excitement for animals with my students, he shared his excitement of teaching methods with me!

Winter time blues

Winter time blues

It is easy to get the winter time blues, especially as a teacher.  The days are short, the nights are long, and everything seems dreary.  Students are back from Christmas break.  The new has worn off the school year, and spring break seems forever away.  Despite having a semester left, seniors are already turning off their brains, wishing for school to be done and acting like it is.

Some are already making plans for next year, and high school just doesn't seem important anymore.

It is during these dark days that teachers, staff, and yes, even students, need a little encouragement.  I want to relay two stories of such encouragement - partly for myself and partly for you, my faithful reader (Craig probably).

Story 1 

A couple of weeks ago, a few of my former students came to see me.  They are now seniors, but I taught them as freshmen.  They had apparently been cleaning out a notebook that one of them had freshman year and wanted to know (jokingly) if they could hand in some work for a late grade.  I told them no, but started a conversation with them.  

I asked how their senior year was going and who their science teachers were.  Two of them are taking forensics (with different teachers).  I don't teach forensics, but I talk to my fellow teachers and know more or less what they are doing in class.  I knew that they had just done a lab on analyzing blood splatter.  I asked my former students what they were doing in class, and they told me that they were learning about just that, blood splatter.

"That class is so cool Mr. Ingram.  We love it."

Anyhow, these students told this to me, but I'm sure they'd never tell their teachers.  I relayed this story to each of their teachers because I know teachers need to hear good news once in awhile (especially in February.)

Story 2

Last week, I got an email from the central office praising some of the students in the county.  I feel free to share a bit about one of these students because it was part of a Floyd County School press release.  

"Ryan Lamb, a senior from Pepperell High School, won for Graphic Design in the junior/senior category."

Anyhow, I usually ignore these press releases and quickly hit the delete button, but for some reason, the day I got this message, I decided to send Ryan a more personal word of praise.  I sent him a short email.  He is a student at Pepperell, where I taught for the last six years, but this year I have moved to the College and Career Academy.   Anyhow, Ryan sent me a very thoughtful reply including an image he is working on now for the state competition.  I don't feel like I can share that here because it is his work and still a work in progress, but it was nice to see what he was doing.

He also sent me a word of praise saying that he missed seeing me around Pepperell and missed the enthusiasm that I showed.  Like I said, it is always nice to hear (or read) praise, but I especially needed to hear this in February when I don't feel so enthusiastic either.

Here are a couple of things that I thought about my exchange with Ryan.  

1. As teachers, we often get discouraged with students and don't expect enough from them.  
2. Students that are just average in one area can be great in others.
3. Students pay attention to their teacher's attitudes as much as (or more than) they pay attention to class content.
4. On the other extreme, teachers sometimes expect too much of students.  

Ryan sent me a very thoughtful reply, and my first thought was to notice a grammatical error in it.  It is weird that as a teacher we sometimes expect too much and sometimes too little of the students all at the same time.

Anyhow, "do not be weary in well doing."

Leaders at Their Best

Ingram’s response to “When Leaders Are At Their Best”

Leadership can be taught and learned.  Certain skills are needed by all good leaders.  They may be leading different people in different circumstances, but the principles of good leadership remain the same.  This is one of the main points of The Leadership Challenge.

The book then gives examples of leaders applying similar principles under different circumstances.  Two leaders discussed in the first chapter are Barby Siegel and Bobby Matinpour.

Barby Siegel leads a public relations firm.  She takes charge of the company in a crucial period.  The firm has successful, but has much room to grow.  To grow, she has to convince her staff to go after new clients and compete against larger firms.  She exhibits this fearlessness in her own actions, modeling the way.  She challenges the process by removing competition between different offices, enabling them to work together.  She only keeps one profit and loss record for the whole company as opposed to for each branch office.  The staff then feels and works like partners instead of competitors.  

Bobby Matinpour directs marketing at National semiconductor.  He takes over at a crucial period - after a layoff and reorganization.  He has to take away their fear and make them feel respected and wanted at the company.  He does this by meeting with them individually and listening to their concerns and dreams.  He encourages everyone on his marketing team to present his ideas without fear of reprisal.  He defers questions to the most qualified staff member.  He shows them that they are all leaders in the company and inspires them to view themselves this way.  By deferring to others he models the way, allows others to act, and encourages heart.  

Taking a growing company to a higher level of competition is not the same problem as restoring faith in a company after a layoff.  Siegel and Matinpour take different actions to lead their employees, but the principles of leadership exhibited in their actions are still the same.

Starting the FCS leadership academy

Yesterday, I began an adventure.  I started leadership training program through Floyd County Schools (FCS).

I've been a teacher for many years.  Along the way though, I've had many other jobs - before teaching, while teaching, and between teaching positions.  I've been a farm hand, a factory worker, a lab scientist, a reporter, a politician, and a tutor.  I look forward to new challenges and working with new people.  New adventures are right up my alley, but they can also be intimidating.

The first meeting of my FCS leadership academy cohort was friendly, cordial, and informative.  However, my first reaction was like this Dilbert Comic.  (Apologies to Craig if I'm posting unauthorized content, and apologies and kudos to Scott Adams for your funny comic.)

After the initial shock of being a student again and having assignments to complete, I actually enjoyed the meeting quite a lot.  I knew about half of the participants and leaders before the class began and knew many of them quite well.

Not naming names but some of the participants and instructors have shared the following experiences with me -

• college classmate
• high school classmate (saw his brother see his first snow)
• former student
• fellow actor in independent film
• sweater vest club member (not a real club)

 Knowing some people made the meeting more comfortable; the other people being nice made it even more so.

In our discussion of possible topics, I began to see how the different departments related to each other and how they work together as a whole.  As a classroom teacher, I rarely think about what goes on behind the scenes with decisions based on funding and facilities.  I look forward to learning more about how a school system works.

But for now, I better get to my assignments. Last night was my first meeting of the class and this blog begins my first assignment.  As we said in the 90s, nothing to it but to do it.