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November 2006
Skin Color: Will It Always Matter?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Yesterday, while the Get Schooled crowd debated what’s an acceptable blog topic, I started working on a story about a major education issue ready to hit the U.S. Supreme Court.
Next week, the justices will hear arguments in two cases that question whether school systems may assign students to campuses on the basis of race.
Hard to believe that more than 50 years after Brown v. Board of Education, communities — including some here in metro Atlanta — still are grappling with integration and segregation.
What I want to know is: Will we ever see a day when the idea of a “white school,” a “black school,” or a “Latino school” becomes a foreign concept or is “separate, but equal” the kind of society Americans really want?
How Much Reality, How Much Hollywood?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Maybe you’ll think this post is more suited to Channel Serf, but watching “Veronica Mars” last night got me wondering about what really goes on in schools.
If you’re not familiar with the show, just ask one of your students or friendly neighborhood teenagers. They’ll probably tell you it’s one of the hottest on TV — at least among the school-age crowd. (Full disclosure: I know the creator, who taught at a Texas high school before he hit The Big Time.)
Last night’s episode — as is typical of this teen mystery drama — was fraught with scariness: rowdy frat boys driving around town in the buff; militant feminists attacking the university president; a serial campus rapist on the loose; and let’s not forget the fervent “Take Back the Night” sponsor who handed out special drink coasters so coeds could detect drugs in their beverages.
I had to wonder: How much of this reflects reality, and how much of what does go on in schools do we never even hear about?
New Kid On The Block
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I have to admit I feel a little bit like the new kid that’s just moved into the neighborhood. Everybody already knows everybody else and my mom’s forcing me to go out to make some friends.
But Patti (the founder of the Get Schooled blog, for those not in-the-know) has assured me that y’all have created a nice community here. So I’m hoping you’ll take it easy on me — at least, until I get my blogger bearings.
Some background: I grew up near Baltimore, hon, where I spent my so-called formative years at a private Catholic grade school and a rural public high school. I earned my bachelor’s degree from a small liberal arts college called St. Mary’s College of Maryland and my master’s at the University of Maryland. (Yes, sports fans, I’m a Terp.)
I spent three and a half years covering K-12 education for the San Antonio Express-News in Texas before heading east to work for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Since I moved here, I’ve covered the Gwinnett, Fayette, Coweta, Clayton and Henry school systems as well as education news in the Legislature.
All told, I’ve been learning and writing about education for the better part of a decade. But, as all you teachers know, there’s always more to learn. So now I’m looking forward to learning from you.
Got a burning idea for a blog topic? Send me an e-mail or just post away.
UPDATE: Want to know more? Check out my blogging philosophy and learn what Get Schooled is all about.
So Long, Farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, Goodnight
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Since I started Get Schooled in early 2005, reading the comments has been my favorite part of the day. I love hearing from the teachers and parents who are in classrooms day in and day out. I love seeing how a dozen different people can view a simple thing like a male teacher hugging a child a dozen different ways.
The best education stories don’t come out of Washington or the Georgia Department of Education. They come from the people who see for themselves when education happens and when it doesn’t. No matter how many schools I visit, I can never get that first-hand view. Get Schooled opened up a forum for discussing the stickiest education issues such as parents who don’t trust teachers, teachers at their wits end with parents, parents who expect too much and teachers who expect too little.
Discipline, word walls, English papers, discipline, teachers with poor grammar, delusional parents, discipline, drop outs, vocational programs, discipline, test scores, No Child, penmanship, taxes, technology… Did I mention discipline?
Before Get Schooled, I might have named discipline somewhere in a top ten list of problems in our schools. Now I would put it Number One.
You know where this is going … it’s time for me to move on. I’m on adoption leave caring for my daughter (Ohmygosh she is so beautiful and sweet! You know you want to see pictures! Go here!)
Oh, wipe your tears! Get Schooled could use a fresh voice anyway.
I’m happy to announce AJC education reporter Bridget Gutierrez holds the keys to the Get Schooled kingdom. She can tell you more about herself, but trust me you’re in capable hands.
Thanks to all those who took the time to read Get Schooled, post comments and send me suggestions for topics. I’ve learned so much. You’ve helped me be a better education reporter, and you’ve helped me get ready to be my child’s first teacher.
Feel free to e-mail me at pattighezzi@hotmail.com if you need to reach me personally.
Best,
Patti
Get Schooled Takes Another Day Off
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I’m guessing folks are too busy recovering from Thanksgiving or preparing for Christmas (Yes, Christmas, that holiday a lot of people celebrate in December…) and other (equally important) holidays to talk about education.
Peace, all! Have a safe weekend.
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Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I am thankful for such a thoughtful, intelligent and vocal bunch of teachers, parents and regular folk who take the time to contribute to Get Schooled!
Drowning in English Papers
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Is my colleague’s sister the only high school English teacher overwhelmed by grading writing assignments? She said she is frustrated because she can’t thoroughly read and assess the papers her students write, because so many writing assignments are required and she has so darn many kids.
English teachers, ‘fess up, do you really read every paper? Will you be reading papers over the Thanksgiving break?
Dear Santa…
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A friend who teaches middle school social studies just wishes she could get some maps from her school system. She has given up on the order she placed through her school system ever being filled and is asking her parents to buy them as her Christmas gifts. She says her district delivers on staff development, teacher mentoring and other human resources … but they fall short on supplying the stuff she needs, such as maps.
Teachers, are you able to get the various supplies you need to do your job? Is there a lot of red tape involved?
Unproductive Parent-Teacher Conference
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Folks, I’m off this week, so I’ve pre-programmed some topics for your enjoyment…
A parent writes:
“I was wondering if it was standard practice for Middle Schools to hold group Parent/Teacher conferences. I know that students are being taught by multiple teachers and that it would be hard for a teacher to schedule a conference with every parent. However, last night was my first conference since my daughter started middle school and I had NO idea it would be a team environment, with all parents.
The meeting was the most unproductive parent/teacher conference I have ever attended. My daughter ‘s school uses a team teaching method where there are 4 teachers in a group (Math, Language Arts, Science and Social Studies). The students in the group are taught by all 4 teachers, unless they are in a special program such as the Gifted program. Which is great for people who don’t have teachers to meet with outside of this group, but there were several of us at the conference who fit into the special program category and did not get much out of the meeting. It was too impersonal and “No” individual attention was given to any child.
How fair is it to me/my child to Not have the opportunity to speak with my child’s teacher during a time frame set aside for parents to meet with teachers? I know that I can schedule a time to see my child’s teacher any day of the week. But, why hold a group parent/teacher conference for something that should be tailored for me and my child.
It was truly a waste of my time and most of the parents ran off as soon as it was over. Now, I will have to schedule individual sessions with each of my daughters teachers, just to truly find out how “My child” is coping with the change from elementary school to middle school. Her grades are great, but her emotional adjustment to the classes and other students is of concerned at this time. How can we find out this type of information in a group environment?”
When the Pictures Stop Telling the Story
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
After all these years of writing about reading and how kids learn to do it, I find out there’s more to know. I was talking to Thomas Glass, a professor at University of Memphis, about superintendent pay, and we got to talking about reading and why impressive test scores in early grades often start dropping around fourth grade.
“The curriculum changes,” he said. Texts no longer have pictures that describe exactly what is going on in the story. When the story says, “Jane ran up a hill,” an early reader would show a picture of Jane running uphill. But as kids get older, the texts offer fewer picture clues.
Scores decline.
This is a new one for me.
Are there any elementary school teachers or parents out there who can speak to this?
National Curriculum
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I have put off posting about a national curriculum, feeling like it will never happen so why talk about it. But while reporting this story about Atlanta’s poor performance on the NAEP science exam, I decided I couldn’t avoid it.
Yes, Atlanta students basically bombed the test. But, Atlanta school officials as well as NAEP officials say Georgia’s curriculum has kids learning key science concepts like cells and plant life at different times.
How fair is it to give a kid a test that includes questions that are NOT multiple choice and that include concepts they have never studied???
NAEP is the only national measurement we have. So do we need a national curriculum? (Discuss, please, but no need to holler or call names… thanks)
The Myth of the After-Lunch Slump?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Atlanta Superintendent Beverly Hall dropped by yesterday to talk to the editorial board about the district’s weak showing on the NAEP science test. (She said, among other things, the state curriculum lines up poorly with the national test. Also, Atlanta excluded fewer students because of disabilities…)
Anyway… I got to attend the meeting, and we got to talking about science teaching - which she acknowledges needs to be a higher priority - and how teachers can fit it in to a school day already crammed with intense reading and math instruction.
I noted that schools I visit seem to teach the non-NCLB subjects - science and social studies - later in the day, after lunch when kids are tired.
Hall agreed that reading gobbles up much of the morning, but she disagreed with my observation that kids are tired and restless in the afternoon. Good teachers and good schools can keep the kids revved up until the bell rings, she said.
I am open to striking this perception from my list of things that hinder instruction. After all, the bell rings around 3, not at 6 or 7 p.m. And while I have visited a lot of schools over the years, I haven’t spent - in the grand scheme of things - a lot of time in the classroom.
So teachers … weigh in. And please don’t let your opinion about Dr. Hall and Atlanta Public Schools be an issue here. I just want to know: Is it possible to teach challenging material like science in the afternoon and have the kids absorb it?
Should Preschool Teachers Have College Degrees?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
There was a huge conference of early childhood education folk in town last week. The sponsoring organization was the National Association for the Education of Young Children, which accredits many Georgia daycares and is a loud and consistent advocacy voice in Washington.
I didn’t have time to drop by the conference, but NAEYC spokesman Alan Simpson came to me and we chatted briefly.
So many issues in this fascinating field.
Among them, should early childhood teachers have college degrees or is it okay for them to have certificates showing they completed appropriate training? If you want your child’s teacher to have a degree, what kind? Two year? Four year? Masters? And in what field? Child development? Elementary education?
And if you want your child’s teacher to have degrees, are you willing to pay more so they can have salaries comparable to those in elementary education? What about childcare centers in lower income areas where tuition could never be high enough to support such high salaries?
Parents, what kind of education experience do/did you want for your children prior to kindergarten? What qualities did you want in your child’s teacher?
Principal Threatens Latinos With Deportation
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Obviously we have to talk about this fascinating story about the Clayton County principal who threatened some Latino students with deportation.
It’s clear from the story that the principal regrets her remarks, and that she made them out of anger and frustration out of discipline. Still, some say the comments reveal her true feelings about Latino students, and they don’t think she should return to the position given the school’s 20 percent Latino population.
Should this principal be allowed to return? Should she be reassigned to a school without a significant Latino population? Should she be demoted to a position of less authority? Should she be fired?
Swept Under the Rug
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A parent wants to know:
“How many behavior incidents in our schools are swept under the rug by administrators?”
When there’s a fight in the hallway, and a kid ends up with a bloody nose…is this reported? When there’s a cafeteria brawl and no one is injured seriously enough to require medical treatment…is this reported?
Yes, school administrators are supposed to report these incidents, but the numbers are so wildly different school-to-school and so absurdly low at some schools that it’s obvious administrators are frequently looking the other way.
From those of you on the inside, what do you see getting swept under the rug? Major fights? Minor incidents? Verbal threats? Vandalism? When, if ever, do the police get called?
A Textbook and a Hammer
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Check out this short story about a Clayton County program where teenagers learn the construction trade.
What do y’all think?
It’s Cox
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Kathy Cox, a Peachtree City republican, was elected Tuesday to a second term as state Superintendent of Schools. Here’s Bridget Gutierrez’s story.
Not exactly a shocker, but it’s still a significant development in Georgia education. She will have time to fully implement the curriculum her administration created. She has close ties to Governor Sonny Perdue, and this could give her greater influence on overall education policy.
So let’s talk. How do you want your state school superintendent to spend the next four years?
“Violence is…
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
…any word, sign or action that hurts another person’s feelings, body or things.”
My polling precinct is an elementary school, and this sign was on the wall near my voting booth. I may not have gotten the language exactly right, but the gist is it’s a very broad definition. There were all kinds of other signs around the school pretty much begging students to be nice.
It reminded me of the character education craze of the late 1990s. The Legislature mandated schools teach kids how to be decent people, and schools responded with programs like “Word of the Week” and “Lifeskills.”
In 1999, I visited a Henry County elementary school, where a teacher was dutifully weaving the concept of patience into language arts and social studies lessons.
Are schools today knocking themselves out to teach character education? Does it do any good? Or has it quietly fallen by the wayside as a preventative way to address discipline problems?
Threats Against Staff Up 35 Percent Since ‘02
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Yowza, people. I was reading Kristina Torres’ story about redistricting, expanded choice and other changes coming to DeKalb schools when this sentence stopped me cold:
Percent increase since 2002 of verbal threats against staff, including teachers: 35 percent
Up that sharply in just three years? What’s up with that? Could this be a reporting issue, with more teachers reporting incidents? Or maybe the definition of a verbal threat was broadened or clarified? Obviously, this isn’t an issue specific to DeKalb. Teachers, how do you handle verbal threats? Do you take into account the student’s prior behavior and let some things slide, or do you report everything?
The Freshman Year Wake-Up Call
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
My cousin Lisa lives in Texas with her husband and two terrific daughters, one of whom is a freshman at NYU. Lisa sent my mom an e-mail recently, noting that her daughter is surprised how much more work she has to do in college than she had to in high school.
I’m hearing this a lot lately from my friends with kids in college.
My co-worker’s brainy son lost his HOPE Scholarship at Georgia Tech. My friend’s daughter is struggling at UNC Chapel Hill despite straight A’s in high school, which included two years at a private school and two years at a highly regarded North Fulton high school.
Parents, have you been in this position? Is it the freedom and lack of structure that makes college harder? Is it a lack of preparation in high school? Teachers, do you warn your students about what to expect in college?
The Teacher’s Pet
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
My friend’s 9-year-old son thinks he has become the teacher’s pet, and he’s not happy about it. She thinks it’s mostly his imagination and is not inclined to worry about it too much. Still, it got me to thinking about being a teacher and trying not to favor the unfailingly polite, charming, hard-working child.
Teachers, do you have to make an effort not to favor your favorite student? Parents, has your child felt like the teacher’s pet or felt like the student who wasn’t the teacher’s pet? Did you make an issue of it.
Band Director Wants Kids to Bedazzle
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A sorta metro-Atlanta teacher send this to me via e-mail the other day:
“Here is a subject I have given much thought, and I wonder what other teachers think about this issue…
I have been teaching (band) for almost 10 years. I have had some very good students over the years, but there is something missing in most of the kids I teach on a daily basis - the desire to ‘bedazzle.’
When I was a kid, I wanted all of my teachers and peers to think I was the wittiest, sharpest, and most talented kid around - and most of my friends were the same way. No one had to “show” or “teach” me all the fingerings on my trumpet…once I had the basics, I took off from there, developing a lightning fast chromatic scale (that I can’t even replicate today - I really need to practice my horn…). I had some great teachers along the way, but deep down I know that most of my ambition and drive came from within.
As I was helping a young clarinetist learn her chromatic scale, note by note, for an upcoming audition, I started wondering where students’ initiative to learn on their own has gone. I am glad to help this student, and I am pleased to see a spark in her to improve, but am I responsible for teaching her everything about playing the clarinet? At some point, the student must be responsible for learning the nuts and bolts of playing their instrument, just as they must learn the nuts and bolts of writing a paper, solving equations, etc.
Where has the desire to do well gone? Where has the desire to do well, because it is expected and you want to, gone? At what point do we hold students (and parents) responsible for their learning and education?”
Thoughts?
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