5 years ago
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Today is the last day of the 2006-07 school year. In just over three hours, the final bell will ring and the busses will come to take the students home for the last time this year. The staff will meet at a local church camp for the annual retirement dinner, and at 3:00 PM, we'll all go our separate ways for the summer.
Summer . . . . Often cited as one of the best reasons to be a teacher, the two and a half months of "vacation" are usually loaded with tasks and projects, and by the time August rolls around, we'll be ready to get back in the groove just so we can relax.
Relax . . . . For the past few months, I've been building my summer calendar, trying to allow plenty of time for family and relaxation, but also trying to cram in seven more hours of classes and leave time to finish up my internship. I'm passing on summer school because we only had ten students enroll for our yearbook program. Instead, I will use a few of those days to help out for career ladder hours and try to finish some of my internship projects.
Projects . . . . Almost a year ago, I started an addition on our house, creating a spare bedroom and an office. The entire project should have taken about a month, but with some unscheduled life events, I often had to put it on the back burner. So now, eleven months later, I still have carpet and trim to finish. That's one of the things at the top of my to-do list for this summer . . . and it had better get checked off.
Off . . . . That's what people think about teachers when they hear that summer is approaching. Most people think that teachers have three months (but it's really just two and a half) off with nothing to do . . . free vacation . . . and we're getting paid for it. Actually, our salaries are divided over twelve months for convenience, and for most teachers, summer is anything but vacation. Professional development, summer school, college courses, and curriculum meetings are ongoing and take up much of that time. And on August 13, we'll all look back and wonder where the time went.
Summer . . . . Often cited as one of the best reasons to be a teacher, the two and a half months of "vacation" are usually loaded with tasks and projects, and by the time August rolls around, we'll be ready to get back in the groove just so we can relax.
Relax . . . . For the past few months, I've been building my summer calendar, trying to allow plenty of time for family and relaxation, but also trying to cram in seven more hours of classes and leave time to finish up my internship. I'm passing on summer school because we only had ten students enroll for our yearbook program. Instead, I will use a few of those days to help out for career ladder hours and try to finish some of my internship projects.
Projects . . . . Almost a year ago, I started an addition on our house, creating a spare bedroom and an office. The entire project should have taken about a month, but with some unscheduled life events, I often had to put it on the back burner. So now, eleven months later, I still have carpet and trim to finish. That's one of the things at the top of my to-do list for this summer . . . and it had better get checked off.
Off . . . . That's what people think about teachers when they hear that summer is approaching. Most people think that teachers have three months (but it's really just two and a half) off with nothing to do . . . free vacation . . . and we're getting paid for it. Actually, our salaries are divided over twelve months for convenience, and for most teachers, summer is anything but vacation. Professional development, summer school, college courses, and curriculum meetings are ongoing and take up much of that time. And on August 13, we'll all look back and wonder where the time went.
Thursday, May 17, 2007
I don’t know why I am so drawn to controversial people. I try to avoid being personally involved in controversy at any cost, but for some reason, I admire those who tend to run their mouths a little too much and get things stirred up more than they should. One such person on my top-ten list is Rev. Jerry Falwell.
Shortly after the story broke in 1999 that Rev. Falwell accused Tinky Winky of being gay, I had the opportunity to hear him speak at Bailey Smith’s Real Evangelism Conference at Arnold FBC. He talked about ten signs that would point to the end of the world. I know . . . very encouraging message, right? I wrote them all down and carried them in my Bible for the next few years, and I think the list is even still tucked away in that Bible, on a shelf somewhere.
A man of vision and passion, Rev. Falwell always had an opinion about everything. (Maybe that’s why I admired him so much. I tend to have an opinion about everything, too . . . I just try to keep it to myself.) The founder of Thomas Road Baptist Church and Liberty University, he worked hard to champion the causes for which he lived. I don’t agree with his staunch opposition to public schools, but I do understand the reasons and passion behind his stance. I also appreciate the work he has done in the political arena. Some have credited him with the election of Ronald Reagan, George Bush, and George W. Bush.
On Tuesday, conservatives lost a dear friend and strong ally. Through all of the turmoil and controversy, Jerry Falwell was a faithful follower who carried out his mission on earth in the way he believed God wanted him to. I may never be on all the cable news shows for ticking off as many people as he did. I may never establish a church, university, or grassroots political organization. I do hope that when my life ends, someone will be able to look at what I have done and say that I fulfilled God’s purpose in my lifetime.
If you could jump ahead about thirty years and see where you’d be in life, would you want to? If you were suddenly thrown into the future and saw the results that your actions had on other people’s lives, what would change in your life?
Last weekend, we returned to the Pine Hill drive-in for our first movie of the 2007 season: “Meet the Robinsons.” As many of you know, I jumped on the whole “boycott Disney” bandwagon a decade ago, and I’ve been very reluctant to jump off. Disney has made some very anti-family moves over the past ten years, and I have a sour taste in my mouth for them. I often have to remember that most companies in today’s society are just like Disney, and in order to appropriately justify my stance against Disney, I’d have to boycott most companies with which I do business on a regular basis. So . . . I saw the movie.
In “Meet the Robinsons,” an orphaned boy travels through time to try to stop an evil villain (the worst evil villain you’ve ever seen, and I don’t mean worst as in a bad guy . . . this guy couldn’t steal an unlocked car with the keys in the ignition because he’d foul up the whole plot before he ever opened the door) from crushing his dream. It’s a very elaborate story with some funny moments (“I have a big head and little arms, and I'm just not sure how well this plan was thought through. Master?”)
Spoiler warning: If you haven’t seen the movie yet, stop reading, watch the movie, and then come back. If you have seen it, or you don’t want to see it, keep reading.
In the end, we find out that Lewis grows up to be Cornelius, the patriarch of the Robinson family. His inventions have changed the world, and without his dedication to his personal motto, “Keep moving forward,” many of the inventions of the future world would have never been made. We also find out that the villain was Lewis’s roommate in the orphanage, and some of Lewis’s actions in his childhood were the reasons Goob grew up to be so evil.
At the end of the movie, a Walt Disney quote appears. “Around here, however, we don’t look backwards for very long. We keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things - because we're curious. And curiosity keeps leading us down new paths. We're always exploring and experimenting.” At that point, it’s obvious that the creators want the audience to reflect on Cornelius’s motto and realize that Walt’s dream is still alive today.
In life, we have two options. We can either keep moving forward, or we can stop and start pointing fingers. We can choose to be a Lewis or a Goob. Both boys were orphans; they had the same experiences and the same setbacks in life. Lewis chose to keep moving forward, not getting bogged down with the disappointments in life and never giving up when failure reared its ugly head. Goob chose to wallow in self pity and point accusing fingers at others around him, blaming his lack of achievement on anyone but himself and harboring resentment for those who were successful.
In the search for a new job, it’s often easy to give up after trying so hard. I’m getting to the point where I don’t know if I can take one more rejection. I keep remembering that God has a plan, and that I must look back for only a few seconds, taking note of learning experiences; then I must keep moving forward as new doors open and new paths come my way. What about you? Are you looking back, or are you moving forward?
Last weekend, we returned to the Pine Hill drive-in for our first movie of the 2007 season: “Meet the Robinsons.” As many of you know, I jumped on the whole “boycott Disney” bandwagon a decade ago, and I’ve been very reluctant to jump off. Disney has made some very anti-family moves over the past ten years, and I have a sour taste in my mouth for them. I often have to remember that most companies in today’s society are just like Disney, and in order to appropriately justify my stance against Disney, I’d have to boycott most companies with which I do business on a regular basis. So . . . I saw the movie.
In “Meet the Robinsons,” an orphaned boy travels through time to try to stop an evil villain (the worst evil villain you’ve ever seen, and I don’t mean worst as in a bad guy . . . this guy couldn’t steal an unlocked car with the keys in the ignition because he’d foul up the whole plot before he ever opened the door) from crushing his dream. It’s a very elaborate story with some funny moments (“I have a big head and little arms, and I'm just not sure how well this plan was thought through. Master?”)
Spoiler warning: If you haven’t seen the movie yet, stop reading, watch the movie, and then come back. If you have seen it, or you don’t want to see it, keep reading.
In the end, we find out that Lewis grows up to be Cornelius, the patriarch of the Robinson family. His inventions have changed the world, and without his dedication to his personal motto, “Keep moving forward,” many of the inventions of the future world would have never been made. We also find out that the villain was Lewis’s roommate in the orphanage, and some of Lewis’s actions in his childhood were the reasons Goob grew up to be so evil.
At the end of the movie, a Walt Disney quote appears. “Around here, however, we don’t look backwards for very long. We keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things - because we're curious. And curiosity keeps leading us down new paths. We're always exploring and experimenting.” At that point, it’s obvious that the creators want the audience to reflect on Cornelius’s motto and realize that Walt’s dream is still alive today.
In life, we have two options. We can either keep moving forward, or we can stop and start pointing fingers. We can choose to be a Lewis or a Goob. Both boys were orphans; they had the same experiences and the same setbacks in life. Lewis chose to keep moving forward, not getting bogged down with the disappointments in life and never giving up when failure reared its ugly head. Goob chose to wallow in self pity and point accusing fingers at others around him, blaming his lack of achievement on anyone but himself and harboring resentment for those who were successful.
In the search for a new job, it’s often easy to give up after trying so hard. I’m getting to the point where I don’t know if I can take one more rejection. I keep remembering that God has a plan, and that I must look back for only a few seconds, taking note of learning experiences; then I must keep moving forward as new doors open and new paths come my way. What about you? Are you looking back, or are you moving forward?
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
One of the latest trends in commercials deals with identity. You've seen the Hertz commercials where a shifty crony from a cut rate car rental company goes under cover to find out what Hertz offers that makes them the best. Then there are the Mac commercials where the guy portraying a PC is a slightly-overweight, unattractive, nerdy middle-age man who is constantly plagued with malfunctions and a host of other problems, and the guy portraying a Mac is a young, smart, attractive, 20-something who, in a few words, has everything, does everything, and is everything. Perhaps the most popular of all are the Citibank commercials about identity theft, where a voice-over tells how they used an unsuspecting victim's credit card to finance a shopping spree that is obviously unrelated to the victim's way of life.
In each of these examples, identity plays a huge role in the scene, the interest of the audience, and the ultimate message of the commercial. Today's society places a large emphasis on identity and its protection and conveyance.
I have a sneaky suspicion that there is an identity crisis among folks in the education community. Aside from the fact that we claim to be a profession but have never been treated as professionals, we often find that our identity within the school structure is often confused, contributing to conflict, unrealized expectations, and a constant weathering away of morale. While this crisis is prevalent among teachers and classified staff, it begins at the leadership level, where it perhaps inflicts the most damage on the overall climate.
Everyone in K-12 public education begins as a teacher. From there, some become building principals. Some principals become assistant superintendents, superintendents, or fill other central office staff positions. All administrators have, at one time in their career, spent time in a classroom. But it's amazing to me how many of them forgot that part of their identity once they moved from the classroom to the office.
The most effective administrators that I have ever worked with and for remember what it was like in the trenches. They remember how taxing the life of a teacher can be. They remember to make decisions that are in the best interest of students, not parents or board members or community leaders. They remember that test scores mean nothing and that children mean everything.
On the other hand, those who left the role of teacher behind when they accepted an administration position have adopted the philosophy that they are a supervisor of employees who need constant direction. They approach their job with what McGregor called the Theory X type of motivation. They are the micro managers whose mission is to always be a thorn in the side of the teachers, prodding them along to a specified goal. They perform to please their supervisor, the local school board, parents, and the community. They forget the real reason of education and focus on data more than students.
I've often said that when I sit down behind a principal's desk for the first time, I will not be taking off my "teacher" hat and putting on my "principal" hat. I will never say, "I was a teacher; now I'm an administrator." I am a teacher; I have been a teacher; I will always be a teacher. In my new role, I will happen to be the lead teacher in the building - the one who makes the executive decisions and is responsible for the overall operation of the building. By no means will I be the best teacher in the building. I will be a resource for my fellow teachers. I will help them improve; I will help them share ideas; I will help them make a difference in students' lives. I will not simply be a supervisor, making sure employees show up on time and crank out a quality product.
My mission is not to make $50,000 a year, to get the next promotion, or to please a group of people. My purpose in life is to use my gifts and abilities to make the greatest possible impact on public education. If I am going to fulfill that mission, I must make a strong commitment to the identity of a teacher. It will never happen if I fall victim to the identity crisis that often comes with a new title. My title may change, but my identity must always remain, a teacher.
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
As we approach the end of the school year, there are plenty of controversial conversations springing up in Missouri education. I have a feeling we're in for a few major shifts in the coming years - either by choice or by force. I think we, as educators, can help facilitate those shifts on our own terms so that, even if they are forced upon us, we will have a say in the fallout resulting from them. I also think that, as these changes come about, we have the opportunity to make education the profession we've always longed for it to be.
One of the most controversial topics we're faced with is merit pay. If you mention that in a room full of teachers, be prepared for anything! You never know what kind of response you will get. I definitely understand both sides of the debate, but I truly believe that if we ever want to see what we do make the leap from a job to a profession, we MUST address this issue.
Probably the biggest hurdle we have to get over in this debate is the "we've never done it that way before" mentality. Because our pay scale has traditionally been based solely on seniority and education, those who have been in the profession a while can't imagine any other way working. It's also hard to trust a new system when the current one has "worked" so well for so long.
The second problem we have is with those who are afraid of being compared with others. When opponents say "no one wants to be a loser," they're right. But some people ARE losers. I'm not talking about the ones we walk up to with our fingers in the "L" sign on our forehead, but the ones who have settled into their 8-3 job, nine months a year, with laminated lesson plans. Just like we'll never get 100% of students to score in the top two categories on the MAP, we'll never get all teachers to cover the GLEs and put forth 100% effort. They settle for 75, 80, or 90%. And they're afraid that, when they're compared with other teachers, they won't make as much money. Although there aren't that many of those teachers out there, unfortunately, they're usually very loud and try to stifle those who want to change the status quo.
I'll admit - I'm not a 100% teacher. There are plenty of teachers out there who do a much better job. I try . . . but I fall short plenty of times. But I'm the yearbook adviser, media club sponsor, academic team coach, CTA president, region MSTA past president, and an MSTA board member. When you start talking about merit pay, where do all the extras come in? Do we continue career ladder? Do we restructure it as well? Does involvement in extracurricular activities play into the merit pay? Once we've overcome the "never done it before" mentality and stopped worrying about making comparisons, then we've got to look at how to structure a system to recognize everyone's contributions and efforts.
As I was getting ready for school last week, I was listening to the conversation on Fox & Friends on the Fox News Channel. Someone was talking about the differences between the generations, and how the latest generation is having a problem handling criticism on the job. They cry when they're talked to by their supervisors. Someone on the show said that it could have something to do with the fact that we teach kids that there are no winners or losers - in soccer, they play the game, but no team wins. Hmm . . . does that sound familiar? No winners or losers - let's just pay everyone the same, no matter how well or how poorly they do their job. What other "profession" pays its employees that way?
Merit pay unfair? Maybe . . . but life isn't always fair. Maybe we shouldn't be so concerned about it not being fair for a few and concentrate on how much MORE fair it would be for all those who do an excellent job (of course, NEVER based solely on test scores).
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
Recently, I've been directing people to my blog so they can learn a little more about who I am. At some point, I realized that 57 (now 58) posts might be a little overwhelming for a newcomer, and most new readers may only read what's on the first page, not wanting to dig throug the archives. While I think everything I have written has been important in some way (imagine that), there are a few posts that I'd include on my list of favorites. I started with a top five list, but it quickly expanded to a top ten list. So . . . if you've never visited my blog before, or if you've only read recent posts, check out some of my ten favorites! Enjoy!!!
Oh, Baby!
Life Together
Life Plan
Parent Connection
Things That Make You Go Hmmm...
Educational Equality
A Law By Any Other Name
This is Why We Teach
What's That Noise?
Home Improvement
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