"We need to stay the course. The mission is doable, and we don't need to back off that right now." It's not the latest blurb on Iraq or even an attack on the critics of Al Gore's crusade to end global warming. It's not even about finding out who is the father of Anna Nicole's baby. The latest "stay the course" rhetoric is from U.S. Deputy Education Secretary Raymond Simon in "'No Child' Target Is Called Out of Reach: Goal of 100% Proficiency Debated as Congress Weighs Renewal," an article from the March 14 issue of the Washington Post. The mission he's talking about is 100% of students nationwide scoring proficient or advanced on mandatory tests by the year 2012.

You'd think someone in charge of the nation's education system would know a little bit about statistics and probability, but according to Robert L. Linn, co-director of the National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards and Student Testing at UCLA, Mr. Simon's mission is impossible. "There is a zero percent chance that we will ever reach a 100 percent target," Linn said. "But because the title of the law is so rhetorically brilliant, politicians are afraid to change this completely unrealistic standard. They don't want to be accused of leaving some children behind."

Brilliant! Teachers from coast to coast have been arguing Mr. Linn's point for years, but we've been accused of trying to lower standards, giving up on kids, and avoiding our professional responsibility.

No Child Left Behind has not been entirely bad, and there are aspects that should probably be salvaged. It has spurred plenty of conversation and brought everyone's attention to school improvement measures. It has made us reconsider why we teach what we teach, and in some cases it has been a good tool for such evaluation. Besides the fact that it tries to shift responsibility for education from the states and local communities to the federal government and peddles unfunded mandates like crazy, the crucial fault lies with the law's preposterous notion that 100% of any group of students can score proficient or advanced on a single test.

President Bush, Secretary Spellings and Deputy Secretary Simon, listen to the experts. As Southeast Missourians like to say, "ain't gonna happen."

From a Roman prison, Paul wrote in his letter to the church at Philippi, "I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am." We usually read that verse and say, "aw, that's nice," and then move on through the rest of the letter. How often do we stop and think about what Paul was saying then - and what God has for us to learn from it today? "I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am."

Since I got my driver's license in 1995, I have owned six different vehicles. I've worked at four part-time jobs over the last ten years (switching between two of them a couple different times), and I have looked or applied for a different job each year since I started teaching. If my wife would let me, I'd try to find a different house every other year. For some reason, I'm never content - always wanting something new . . . something different . . . something better.

Over the last seven months, my blog has been an ever-evolving creation. Not happy with the original template I chose (mostly because it was a two-column design and I wanted three), I set out to find a custom template from the Internet. When I finally found one I liked, I started tweaking it to add new features and create just the right look for me. When I ran into limitations with the template's structure, I went searching for codes I could use to bypass certain features that couldn't be turned off or modified.

The biggest challenge I've run into so far has been getting rid of the generic header with title and subhead and replacing it with my own graphic. Today, I finally accomplished it! It was a VERY easy fix - I just had to change the fixed value to 'true' and then I was able to remove it on the page elements screen and add the picture. (I also had to figure out how wide to make the pic - just a little trial and error.) Now I can change the picture whenever the notion strikes - until I get exactly what I'm looking for.

Yesterday, I discovered Shelfari - a free online book community where you can set up groups and share lots of information about the books you own, maintain a top-ten list, current reading list, wishlist, and more . . . I really haven't explored that much about it. What I like about it is that you can share your list on your blog - and it uses the actual picture of the book cover. What I haven't figured out is how to share two different lists on the same blog. I want to share my bookshelf AND the books I'm currently reading . . . but I'm still working on that one. Until I figure that out, you can click on the link above the bookshelf to go to my personal Shelfari page.

Where will I go from here? Who knows! Every day I think of new features I could add and design changes that could improve the look and function. As long as the blog stays active, it will continue to change.

Change . . . you either love it or you hate it. You either long for it or you resist it. Paul said that he learned to be content. Contentment does not come naturally. I'm at a point in my life where I'm not very content at all. When I think about the size of my house or certain aspects about my job, it's really easy for me to start complaining and long for something better. Will I ever be content with what I have? No. I'll always want something bigger, newer, better. I have to remember the great things I already have - a wonderful wife, a beautiful daughter, countless friends, the love of God . . . and I have to learn to be content.

On Friday, I had the privelege of presiding over the Southeast Region MSTA Spring Teachers Meeting. The marathon of meetings began at 9:00 am with the executive committee, followed by the 10:00 Assembly of Delegates and 11:30 Honorees Luncheon - complete with a visit from the Governor!

Here is my President's Report . . . .

It has been a privilege to serve as your Southeast Region MSTA President this year. As I traveled around the region and met with many of you, I found that our region has some of the best teachers and leaders in the state, eager to work together for the benefit of the students they serve. Whether you braved a blizzard to lobby at the Capitol, drove across the state to the Convention in Kansas City, or attended a region-sponsored event here in Southeast Missouri, your support for our Association has been tremendous!

Our 150th year as an Association has been a huge success! Local leaders brought professional development opportunities and member services to their CTAs throughout the year. In November, we adopted new governing documents that prepare our Association for business in the 21st century. With your help, we made it through another legislative session without the Betty Thompson Scholarship bill passing, although it came closer to becoming a reality than ever before.

As we begin to think about next year, consider some of the challenges that we face. It seems as though there’s never black and white when it comes to public education. Because we've never faced these challenges before, there's no clear path for us to take in tackling them.

Differentiated salaries: We need to start a dialogue about this topic so everyone knows what’s at stake. Kent brought it up in the spring School & Community and at LeaderU, Too! MSTA must provide direction to assure that salaries are never tied to test scores, and that teachers create the guidelines for any program that is implemented.

Accountability from the state board: The state board is a political machine. It's hard to get those in control to change its structure. MSTA has a dream to add three practicing educators and impose term limits. It’s time we accomplish that dream.

Collective bargaining: From time to time, groups try to force collective bargaining on teachers. Other education associations have been eager to see legislation passed and some have even resorted to lawsuits. We must be vigilant of attacks on our right to choose the organization to which we belong, and we must continue to protect students against teacher strikes.

Earlier this month, I had the privilege of speaking to 200 high school students at the regional FTA meeting. Many of these individuals have dreams of being teachers some day. Their generation is excited about making a difference in the world, and I can’t think of a better way to accomplish that dream than by becoming a teacher. I’d like for you to do something that I asked those students to do – close your eyes for a moment and picture a board-room table. Around this table, I want you to place the seven most important people in your life - the people who have made the greatest impact on who you are – the people you admire most. Look at their faces. Now open your eyes. How many of you had at least one teacher seated at your table? How many of you are here today because one of those teachers made an impact on your life, and you wanted to follow in their footsteps?

As we look back on the accomplishments of this year and forward on the challenges that lie ahead, let’s not forget why we exist. “Children First” is more than a slogan or book title. It’s the philosophy of our organization, and it’s the philosophy of thousands of MSTA members across Southeast Missouri who step into a classroom every day to make a difference in the life of a child. Thank you for accepting the call to be a world changer – to be a teacher.

Here are some pictures . . . .

2006-07 Executive Committee with MSTA President Valerie Moats
2007-08 Executive Committee with MSTA President Valerie Moats
The President & First Lady
The President & The Governor
Missouri Governor Matt Blunt
Receiving Past President's Plaque

Is it just me or does it seem like the First Amendment only applies to anyone with a liberal agenda? It seems like any right-leaning American has lost the freedom to express his or her views on a topic without someone screaming bigotry. Just when it looked like the hope of fair and balanced free speech was gone, the Supreme Court stepped up earlier this month to make a bold statement against viewpoint-based censorship. Score one of the red team!

According to firstamendmentcenter.org, in 2004, Poway High School student Tyler Chase was suspended for wearing a t-shirt to school with the messages "I will not accept what God has condemned," and "Homosexuality is shameful. Romans 1:27." The analysis of the case states that "He wore the shirt on the school district's 'Day of Silence,' meant to encourage tolerance of gays. Students were allowed to wear t-shirts conveying pro-gay messages. School officials, claiming that Harper's 'negative' message could be disruptive, suspended him after he refused to take off the shirt."

The pride of all liberal activists, the Ninth Circuit Court ruled against Harper, saying the school had a right to suspend him for not changing his shirt. Judge Reinhardt said, "Those who administer our public educational institutions need not tolerate verbal assaults that may destroy the self-esteem of our most vulnerable teenagers and interfere with their educational development. Because a school sponsors a 'Day of Religious Tolerance,' it need not permit its students to wear t-shirts reading, 'Jews are Christ-Killers' or 'All Muslims Are Evil Doers.'"

Judge Alex Kozinski, in his dissent, said that the school district had offered no evidence that the shirt was or could be disruptive (the test set forth in Tinker v. Des Moines). He said the dialogue resulting from the shirt's message would be educational - especially on a day dedicated to tolerance.

The Supreme Court did not place the case on its docket, but instead vacated the decision of the 9th Circuit, sending it back to them to declare the case moot. Justice Stephen Breyer dissented.

I shared this case with my School Law class during the "topics of the day" section last night. It seemed as though the general consensus of the class was that they shared my sentiments that we have gone too far as a nation in worrying about offending someone or hurting their feelings - to the point that people no longer have a right to present opposing viewpoints. The shirt was not slanderous (as were the shirts in the hypothetical comparison made by Reinhardt.)

We have, for now, a victory for conservative free speech . . . for fair and balanced debate . . . for a while. At some point, this issue will come up again and the liberal 9th Circuit will be ready to limit speech of anyone with an opinion not supported by their ideology.

So Reinhardt was concerned that vulnerable teenagers' self-esteem would be damaged . . . is it possible that the pro-gay shirts were offensive to conservatives like Harper?

At Meadow Heights, our pastor has a prayer that he prays on a regular basis, and he encourages us to all pray the same thing: "God, yes! Amen." It's a simple prayer of surrender to God, trusting in Him to show His will in His time. Inherent in this prayer is an attitude of complete trust in God, giving up control of the situation and trusting Him to lead the way. It was introduced during the "Next" series when Bryan challenged us to take the next steps in our lives as related to the five biblical purposes of the church. Since then, he's often reminded us to pray it in various situations in life.

My wife has never been an avid fan of my cooking. I make a chicken and potatoes dish that she loves, but that's about all. For a few years, she has been very reluctant to let me fire up the grill. I have, on occasion, hosted barbeques and received compliments on my grilling ability, but she is still concerned that I will overcook the food (she likes it blood).

Monday afternoon, we started walking. We drove to town and parked in the armory parking lot. We walked up West College to Marshall; Marshall to West Marvin; West Marvin to South Wood. Then we turned around and took West Marvin back to South Main; South Main to West College; West College back to the armory. Our forty-five minute walk was very refreshing and we decided we would commit to doing it every afternoon (if possible).

Monday, as we were coming down West College on the home stretch, we smelled someone grilling. It was a wonderful smell - as though spring were making its debut. Since we already had ham and beans in the crock pot at home, we decided we wouldn't change the meal plan but we would lay out some pork steaks to grill on Tuesday.

After our walk on Tuesday, we decided to drive the route we had been walking to see just how far we were actually going. My wife thought we may have walked 1.3 miles; I told her it was probably more like 1.5. Don't trust us to judge distances! When we pulled back into the armory parking lot, we had gone exactly 2.3 miles. Wow . . . were we impressed - but not nearly as impressed as Jessica was with my grilled pork steaks! And she made some awesome smashed potatoes to go with them!

Yesterday was our third day to walk and my second day to grill. After school, I went to Wal-Mart to pick up some pictures, and while I was there I bought a bag of Sweet Tart jelly beans. On the way home, I stopped at Sonic to pick up our daily Route 44 lemon slushes. By the time Jessica and Ella were home, I had my candy and slush in hand and I was ready to walk!

Halfway through our walk, Jessica flipped out because I was eating candy, so she grabbed the whole bag and dumped it in someone's flowerbed. I was so angry - she wasted $1.66 worth of candy! Her argument was that as long as I was eating it, I was wasting my time walking. My argument was that if I ate it while I was walking, it wouldn't be as harmful as eating it while sitting. It made perfect sense to me! Anyway, since she had wasted my candy, she decided to run by Wal-Mart to replace it.

In our Life Plan, we identified trips to Wal-Mart as an area of weakness, so we addressed it in our financial covenant. We decided that, besides our monthly shopping trip, we would limit additional trips to emergency situations only. I broke the rule first by going after school and spending over $20 on pictures, a frame, and candy. Then she broke the rule second (and worse) when she went back after walking. You see, the second part of our Wal-Mart weakness is that we spend more when we're together; I usually spend less by myself because I only get what I went for. So instead of letting me go in to get the candy (or instead of her going in by herself, since I smelled like sweat and didn't want to be seen in public), she made us all go in.

Our mission: replace the candy and get hamburger buns. However, as we continued to aimlessly wander the aisles of the store, we found more and more things we could buy. It didn't help that I was hungry and thinking about what I could grill. I started with shrimp. On Tuesday, I had had the ribs and shrimp combo at Logan's Roadhouse, and I decided that I wanted to try grilling shrimp. We got a bag of large shrimp, an onion, a pepper, and grape tomatoes. We also got lettuce, tomatoes and cheese for our hamburgers and for Life Group. Candy and hamburger buns could have been carried out in one hand, but the items we ended up with took two bags. Mission accomplished, and then some!

Jessica made a butter, cavenders and garlic salt glaze for the shrimp; I also put it on the burgers. With half a lemon squeezed over the skewers, the meal was complete! Between the two of us, we had over forty shrimp, two burgers, and the leftover potatoes from pork night. It was amazing! And I definitely scored some points with the wife!

I think my next grilling project will be ribs. We watched Emeril on Tuesday night. He showed an easy way to tenderize ribs and a glaze that looked awesome. I can't wait to try them. I think I'll grill some shrimp to go with them . . . maybe just half the bag this time!

My goal for this blog was never to post on a daily basis like many people do. When I realized that my posts were pages long, while most blog posts are only a paragraph, I decided that I should strive for a post a week. So I am just as surprised as my readers that this is my second post in as many days, but I ran across some information to support yesterday's post and I can't help sharing it.

I've mentioned before that I am carrying eighteen hours of graduate credit this semester to try to finish up my Master's program and get my administration certification by the end of the summer. One of my six classes is Methods of Research, a web-based course on quantitative and qualitative educational research facilitated (I hesitate to use the word "taught") by a member of the counseling department faculty. This is, by far, my least favorite class at SEMO, and I can't wait until it's over!

The title of my research paper is "The Principal’s Commitment to the School Climate and the Development of the Vision of Learning." If you click on the internship link on the right-hand side of my blog and go to project 6, you can read the updated version as I continue writing it. Chapter Two is due this Friday, and I am frantically working to complete the review of related literature. In doing so, I am skimming all of my references for useable information and copying and pasting the text into my paper. When I finish (hopefully tomorrow morning), I will go through all of the information to paraphrase, delete, quote, etc. to finish the chapter.

One of the resources that I reviewed earlier today is the Southern Regional Education Board's "Teachers in the Workplace: A Staff Development Approach That Benefits Faculty and Students." This is an interesting publication from the group that created High Schools That Work, the school improvement philosophy that our high school uses. While there is no information in the twenty-two page document that would be useful for my paper, I did stumble across a very interesting set of statistics to support my theory that the view that one has of public education depends on his or her role, and therefore more than one education system exists in the United States:

• A majority of the general public (60 percent) believe schools should place more emphasis on academic skills. Most teachers (66 percent) think schools already do so.
• A majority of the general public (52 percent) think students need to learn more mathematics, science and computer skills. Most teachers think students learn enough of these subjects.
• Almost half (47 percent) of the public and 63 percent of community leaders do not believe a high school diploma guarantees that a young person has learned the basics. Seven in 10 teachers think it does.

It's clear from these statistics that the public school system that the public sees is vastly different from the system that teachers see. And now we've reached our first hurdle in education reform: whose view is more accurate?

In previous posts, I've discussed my newfound obsession with many of Google's convenient applications, including Google Reader. I found that Reader was a very convenient way to read and share posts from other blogs, but last week I found a new use - reading rss feeds from news and other sites. I now receive instant updates from DESE, the US Department of Education, the MO House, the DN, the Southeast Missourian, and the Post-Dispatch. I'm amazed at the amount of information that is available in one location. I no longer have to surf through ten different websites to catch up on news - I open Reader, and all of my updates are on one page!

I've read the Southeast Missourian a few times over the last couple of decades, but I've never been a regular reader. Last month, when the Rod Jetton/Scott Lipke story was the talk of Southeast Missouri, I did read a few items in the Speak Out section. This section, devoted to providing a forum for readers to speak their minds, allows anyone to share opinions without being identified. When I was in high school, a local backroom newspaper publisher decided to try this approach to improve readership of his paper. The administrator of the local hospital was practically burned at the stake by the community, and the publication didn't survive long after that.

One of my personal philosophies is that if you are going to share your opinion, you should step up and take responsibility for it. I don't have much respect for anyone who remains anonymous because they are ashamed of being associated with their beliefs. It's a shame that our society produces people with such a lack of courage. I am willing to listen to anyone's opinion, and I believe you are entitled to your own opinion even if it conflicts with mine . . . as long as you can backup what you say, and as long as you are willing to stand behind it.

As I scan through my Google Reader items, I always stop and read the Southeast Missourian's Speak Out section. Saturday's Speak Out contained the following comment about inflating grades:

AN ITEM receiving lots of attention in the news is the fact that a study shows that grades are up but test scores are down. Somebody had the bright idea to do a study. It isn't needed. As a substitute teacher for various schools in the area with 10-plus years of experience, I can assure you that teachers give enough extra credit to float a barge. Many students are allowed to redo assignments or tests they do poorly on, and some teachers flat-out inflate grades. Why? To keep administrators and parents from complaining. I know some outraged teachers are going to call in and deny this vigorously, but remember what Shakespeare said, "The lady doth protest too much."

Any outraged teachers? Anyone? Where to start . . . .

Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards talks of "two Americas," a concept that receives praise from the liberal media and scoffs from the conservatives. While I tend to agree that there is one United States and the idea of pandering to those who believe otherwise is way overused by certain politicians, I do believe that there is more than one education system. Whether there are two, three or four, I don't know. I do believe that when the topic is addressed, reality emerges from the viewpoint of the participants.

What are these systems of public education? Teachers, parents, the community, legislators, DESE and the court system all have different views of the school system, its policies, and its practice. Each group sees education, and therefore judges its performance, from its own perspective. As with any topic in education, the views of these groups are often as different as snowflakes, and when they are all thrown out in a discussion, the ensuing blizzard can become very dangerous.

The validity of grades is something that educators have been dealing with for some time. It's a very complicated concept to address - mostly a product of tradition - and one that becomes more complicated as reform movements come and go and as the latest craze for school and teacher accountability moves through our society. To begin fully understanding the concept, we must peel back some of the layers of the issue and ask some fundamental questions: What is the purpose of grades? What are they intended to measure? What is the meaning of an A, B or C? Why do we assign the work? What is the public perception of grades? What is the teacher's perception of grades?

What is the purpose of grades? What are grades intended to measure? Grades are usually assigned for correct answers on homework and test papers. Students usually get points for each correct answer. Does this adequately measure the education the student is receiving? Does it assess a student's progress? If we are measuring knowledge, then shouldn't a student deserve a second chance, if his or her knowledge has increased, to prove what is known? The part that I have a problem with is allowing students with mountains of late assignments to turn in those assignments days, weeks, or even a month or two late.

Two students are in a social studies class. One student already knows the information (from reading outside of class, watching the news, etc.) and the other is learning it for the first time. The first student breezes through a worksheet and receives the 50 possible points; the other struggles to get 35 points. By the time the chapter test is given, the second student has retained the knowledge enough to earn all 100 points on the test, and the first student also earns the 100 points. The student who had the advantage now has a 100% in the class, while the student who did not have prior knowledge only has a 90%. Does this adequately reflect the learning that took place in the class? I am not arguing that all classes operate this way, or that the philosophy behind grading this way is flawed - I'm simply posing a question that should be considered. Is there a better way to assess the students' progress? Perhaps the second student lacks research skills and was unable to find information in his or her text as easily as the first. Is that adequate justification of the grade? Maybe it's time we started a discussion on the purpose of grades and what they should measure. Maybe the way we do it now is the right way; maybe there's a better way. Either way, reflection and evaluation would definitely benefit today's educators.

What does an "A" mean? The typical, accepted definition is that an "A" is for above-average work. It means that the student is performing above expectations and in the top percentile in the class. A "C" is supposed to be average. In writing curriculum, we often say that 75% is acceptable work. If students achieve 75%, then they have adequate understanding of the material and we can progress. I believe we have created a society in which parents believe "B" is average and their child is not average. Many parents that I have conferenced with are concerned about the letter on the report card and not what is being measured. They ask for extra credit for their child, or they expect missing assignments can be made up, and they show no concern for what their child may or may not be learning. By no means are all parents concerned about the grade alone. There are many parents who take active roles in their child's learning. They understand the many facets of learning, not just the letter on the report card. What can we do to change the notion that grades matter more than knowledge?

So now we have a substitute teacher who is an expert on grade inflation and has first-hand knowledge of the subject . . . how??? Yes, grades are up and test scores are down. But there is a lot more involved in this discussion than extra credit, redoing assignments, and "flat-out" inflating grades. Tests are necessary evils that the education community deals with. Real-life assessment would be a better measurement tool, but no one has come up with a way to implement that and convince the public that it is acceptable. Students are not held accountable for their effort on the MAP, so their best performance is not guaranteed. Most importantly, some students are not good test-takers. We make accommodations for students' individual educational needs and modify our teaching methods to reach all sorts of learning styles, yet the test is given in a prescribed format with no variation whatsoever.

To argue that teachers inflate grades "to keep administrators and parents form complaining" is absurd. When will we get over playing the blame game - pointing accusing fingers at educators - and work together to find meaningful answers to the problems that we face? It may be argued that I inflate the grades of my eighth grade English class, but I believe that my policy is fair for everyone. On every assignment (including tests), I set the maximum possible points at the highest score received. If the highest score on a 100-point test is only 85, then it becomes an 85-point test. I believe that is an adequate way of gauging all students' progress because it considers any shortfall in my teaching of the material or the ability of the students to learn it. I'm definitely open to suggestions, but until I find a better way to judge my students' progress, I will continue to use what I believe is the most fair and adequate way to assign grades.