Making Sense of School Accountability

Accountability has been a major topic of conversation among Wisconsin's public school community for years. Conservatives promote a simplistic three step approach to public school improvement; demand improvement, endlessly test for signs of excellence and punish schools for the perceived lack of results. Truth be told, I don't think anyone involved in public education would have any problem with being held accountable if certain conditions were met. The following conditions are certainly not all inclusive but they are a good start.

• All students would come to school ready to learn every day. Truancy, student mobility, hunger, neglect, violence and poverty are all issues that affect student learning. Students are not raw materials! A strong social structure with an adequate safety net would be required in order to meet this requirement.
• Each child has a qualified teacher who is compensated fairly. Increasing the qualifications needed to become a teacher or support personnel without a corresponding increase in pay discourages good people from entering or staying in the field.
• School and class sizes are appropriate as defined by educational research. All educational research supports limits on the school and class size. As funding evaporates due to the cost of living, these limits are being exceeded by most school districts. (Yeah, I know conservatives point to the amount of money going to education as ever increasing. Bought gasoline lately?)
• Staff has an adequate training and evaluation program which promotes continuous improvement. The life long learning that educators promote must be emulated by those same professionals. Education research over the past twenty-five years has become information rich. Adequate time needs to be set aside for educators to find and implement the best education practices known.
• All buildings and classrooms are adequate and comfortable so as to be conducive to learning. If one was to determine the value a society places upon the various parts of our culture by its buildings, what would our society seem to value? Banks? Churches?Malls? Resorts? Schools? My school resembles a 1930's paint factory.
• Staff culture is collaborative and collegial in nature. Educators, who legally function in the place of the parent, need to work in an atmosphere that is non competitive. The role of the parent is difficult, imagine being responsible for 150 students per day in an isolated classroom. Educators need to work together in order to provide for the various needs of students. To do otherwise, is to not have a chance at success. Merit pay schemes reduce the possibility that a collaborative one may exist.
• The community and private sector are held accountable for assuring that financial support is adequate. The businesses and the community benefit greatly from a great school system. There is a shared responsibility of all community members, as well as business to adequately fund the education system.
• Every school receiving public funds is held accountable is exactly the same way. Presently private schools do not have to follow the same rules as public and are able to choose the method of evaluation. All public schools, if the ESEA (NCLB) is not changed, will be judged failing by the mid 2010's because the goals are impossible to fufill.

To hold educators accountable for the results in the classroom without at least minimum requirements as outlined above is similar to going to war without a plan, the needed equipment, the manpower to win that war, or a post war plan. Oh, that's right. We've already done that, haven't we?

Blogger Troubles

I've been working on getting on the Blogger site to guest post at Folkbum for the past hour without success. I'll be guesting with four others for the next couple of weeks. I also had difficulty getting to my site. Oh well, I guess I'm not supposed to work on this today. I will be away from the computer Friday through Sunday so posting will be light or non existent. Stay cool this weekend! I may have a post later or....

Looking for Waste (and News) in all the Wrong Places

Reading the paper from the back pages to the front has been quite a revelation to me the past couple of days. Two days ago the ABA article about filing suit against the Bush administration concerning the constitutionality of signing statements was on the last page of the first section in the Wisconsin State Journal.
Today, an article, in the WSJ reported that $12 billion in Federal funds meant for small businesses went to corporate giants. (Find the article here. WSJ not found electronically but can be found on C8 in the paper.) The corporate giants mentioned should not come as a great surprise. As stated in the article, Microsoft raked in $1.5 million, Rolls-Royce $2.2 million, Wal-Mart $14,232 and Exxon Mobil $63,855. Obviously these are not companies that need federal help.
Although Wal-Mart's amount here is not particularly large, couple this with the widely reported Wal-Mart employee usage of the BadgerCare low income health insurance program here, here, or here.
It seems that corporate welfare continues unabated. If we are serious about cutting the fat from government, I have a suggestion on where to start.

Liberal Media Strikes Again!

One can always count on the Gmtoday to provide that little extra incentive to blog. The lead:

WASHINGTON - Russ Feingold, one of the most liberal members of the Senate, is trying a conservative approach to getting more people insured: giving states the flexibility to craft their own plans.

Now I will grant you that the good Senator from Wisconsin is not particularly known as a conservative but who is it that is branding him exactly as the most liberal members of the Senate? The word maverick, independent, progressive and usually correct come to my mind. The word liberal has been branded negatively by the Republicans for years. The only time I hear the word inevitably is when a conservative is using the word as a slur. Usually the word can be substituted for "sic him" when talking to the rabid ones.
The writer of this article scores double points when he attempts to claim Feingold's idea as conservative in the same sentence. Apparently the Senator has, according to the writer, had some type of conservative epithany. When was the last time you saw Washington look for advice from anyone much less use the States as laboratories? Our Republican run government has been nothing if not top down authoritarian and in most ways is close to dictatorial in nature.

Liberal media indeed!

Winston and Tolerance

Of the thousands of students who have passed through my classroom, Winston is the most memorable. As the years pass and the faces become curiously confused in my mind, Winston's name and face remain vivid.
Winston bounced into class that first day with a big grin as he stuck out his hand to introduce himself. Almost a foot shorter than his seventh grade classmates and anxious to get started, he asked, "Where do I sit?"
Winston took his seat and proved to be a very attentive listener. In fact, he seemed to enjoy the class like no other student had before or since. He loved the corny jokes and soaked up the information presented orally as a sponge absorbs water. He was truly a delightful student to have around despite the learning disabilities that made reading and writing monumental tasks for him. Winston truly was looking forward to middle school as being the greatest experience in his life. Nothing prepared me for what was to follow.
Within a few weeks, Winston seemed to linger around the classroom in order to talk with me and the rest of his teachers. He would then scurry off to his next class in order not to be late. He often time would run as fast as he could to the next class. Soon I noticed the first of many uncharacteristic bursts of anger toward his peers in the hallway and at lunch. Fights were followed by crying and an inconsolable spirit. This went on for weeks and weeks while staff did everything they could to stop the symptoms. What all of the adults in the school were missing was the harassment, taunting, rejection and bullying that Winston was enduring from his classmates.
Peers had targeted Winston because he was indeed "different" from them. The harassment was perpetrated by the few leaders in the class and allowed to continue by the silence of the rest. I have never seen a group as amoral as these students were. To make matters even worse, Winston's family was also targeted by many adults in the community when they were out and about. The behavior exhibited by the adults was often interpreted by their children as the green light to continue Winston's torture. It was, what I view, as my first look at true evil.
The school year ended with the sad realization that this evil had won the day. Despite all of our efforts to intervene, the harassment continued. We all felt as though we had failed Winston and his family. Indeed, we did. The light that glistened in Winston's eyes on the first day of school was all but extinguished by the last.
I'd like to rationalize this experience by saying we did all we could and move on but there is more to the story. Four years after leaving my class, Winston died of a brain tumor. I can't help but feel that Winston's illness is somehow connected to being rejected by his "society". I can't help but feel somehow responsible.
So why blog about Winston today? Having experienced this evil horror, I am somehow more sensitive to those people society feels are different for one reason or another. Listening to hate radio, hearing of the prejudices and lack of tolerance of others makes me very aware that those who would like to divide others into the worthy and the worthless are the same evil that seemed to follow Winston around during his short tortured life. We must stand up and fight for those who the haves of society have deemed as not worthy. The Discrimination Amendment to the Wisconsin Constitution and talk of the "Law of the Jungle" are but two of the manifestations of the evil that man heaps upon those he perceives as different. If you look many more examples will be found. We are all responsible if we stand by passively. Evil counts on it.

American Family Assn. Attacks GLBT Students

Regardless of how one may feel about the right for gay people to get married and Marriage Amendments, this type of amendment would, for the first time, write discrimination into the Wisconsin Constitution. The forces behind this amendment are without a doubt proponents of discrimination who will not give up ever! I have been around long enough to know that one cannot reason with religious zealots and I have no interest in doing so. I am very concerned, though, when a group that is called the American Family Association sends out this action alert that attacks gay/lesbian/bi/trans students, the National Education Association and this country's teachers.
I did not attend the NEA RA this year so I am strictly speaking as an experienced teacher who has seen just about everything in 30 years service. The AFA position on homosexuality in schools seems to be to completely ignore its existence. To insist that teachers and support staff not attempt to understand what approximately 10% of our students are going though would be tantamount to malpractice. Students are in classrooms every day working though what for them is a very confusing time sexually. GLBT populations have a very high rate of suicide, and are the targets of extremely cruel bullying. Are teachers supposed to ignore this type of behavior? One would only have to witness one such act of bullying in order to realize the immorality of the bullies. Sadly, there are those in the so called American Family Association that are be functioning as adult bullies. The AFA's position is immoral regarding these children. Thankfully, the National Education Association is being the adult on this issue.
The NEA, I am certain, is a proponent of all families that are an emotionally stable and healthy place for children to grow up. Teachers and support personnel welcome any family who wishes to become involved in their son or daughter's education. I have seen many marriages between "one man and one woman" that unfortunately have not been positive places for kids. Sexual, physical and emotional abuse is much more common than the AFA and their postcard image of families would like to admit. Unfortunately, many children who grow up abused eventually become the abuser. Failing to acknowledge and intervene in student problems in today's schools is a serious mistake and would continue the cycle. Schools are much more than reading, writing and arithmetic. A moral family orientated society would make sure that every student received a great public education.
Lastly, the AFA stated that the NEA refused to back a resolution concerning sexual contact between students and staff. In mentioning this, they seem to suggest that teachers and staff support sex with students. This insinuation truly proves that the AFA is absolutely NUTS! Thank goodness there are LAWS that prohibit sex with minors! Anyone crossing this line deserves the fullest prosecution of the law. It is ridiculous to insist that the NEA weigh in on something as illegal and immoral as this? Is it necessary that we continue to reinvent the wheel concerning everything in the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Pledge of Allegiance. Come to think of it doesn't the Pledge conclude with "with liberty and justice for ALL". One would hope that all students have the same rights. I wish this was all just a bad dream!

War

Great article about pacifism at DailyKos here. There are many, many great quotes by people warning of the horrors of war. The one that confirms what I have always believed, is the one from George Orwell...."War against a foreign country only happens when the moneyed classes think they are going to profit from it." The now almost forgotten war in Iraq and the all but forgotten war in Afghanistan is hopefully not morphing into something bigger as a result of US sanctioned actions by Israel. I tend to think that the some of the "moneyed" interests will begin rethinking the power that they have given the present administration. I sure hope this is just not wishful thinking. ....Stolen from something I've read today and paraphrased....if the Middle East is the Holy Land, I'd hate to see Hell.

Skype Rocks!!

Son #1 and his wife live about 1100 miles away from Wisconsin. Naturally we all miss them. This week marked a real milestone as we both started using computer communication program, Skype, and a mounted camera. We both ended up giggling as we looked at each other on the monitor. I hadn't even thought of how important it is to actually see someone to whom you feel so close. Very very cool and FREE! My sister told us of this a while back but it wasn't until recently that we really started using it. Wow. I'm canceling my landline! The Jetson's future is now! (Oldsters will understand that!)

Yippee I'm Young Again!

According to this article bloggers are young internet users!! If they only knew! Heh, Heh

Education Bigotry

I ignored the comments and requests from the parents of my students for many years. It would always seem that it was part of our job to teach the minority children, the learning disabled child, the physically handicapped, the gifted child and even the bigots child. So I ignored the comments from parents requesting that their child not sit next to or even be in a class with "those" children. We even had to endure the response of our colleagues at times who did not want that child in his or her class. The fact is that each child has a right to a substantially free public education. The last twenty-six years since the Nation At Risk report have been in my humble opinion an attempt to roll back of the rights that every US child has to an education. I honestly believe that public education had done too good of a job being the equalizer for Americans. Education is truly the key to the American dream and the great equalizer. Of course, those who are lucky enough to be born into a well-to-do family do not want the competing or to be equal to the black, Hispanic, or fill in the blank kid. Those parents want to maintain every advantage for their child. Add to this the fact that even though rich kids probably go to private school, their rich parents are also paying taxes to educate the underprivileged who were competing for spots in that prestigious college with "those who have been chosen". So what to do when these public school kids are in direct competition with the "good" kids.... destroy the possibility of a great public education. Create doubt among the masses regarding the quality of the beloved and successful public school system(Nation At Risk). Make public school accountable for results while limiting or cutting budgets. Giving private schools federal monies with no strings or accountability attached (NCLB). These policies reports and laws attempt to conceal the real reason by stating that they are trying to "help" the disadvantaged. BS the promoters of these changes in public education are bigots plain and simple. They are hurting little kids. The NYT article linked to the title explains the latest attempt by Republicans to keep their kids away from "those" kids using voucher schemes. Please read the entire article.

Bush Economy

The story linked to this title may give some explanation why people do not have the sense that the economy is going gangbusters. Did I mention that job growth is at its lowest point in 40 years? Did I mention that working people have not had a raise in 5 years? I just don't think people are getting the message that the jobs that have been created pay $9000 less than the jobs lost. Hmmm... Where do people get the truth? It seems I have more questions than answers.

Gas Prices and Inflation

With gas prices over $3.00 per gallon I couldn't help but be reminded of the late 1970's when gas prices greatly influenced all prices, hence inflation. Not being an economist, I thought that I'd Google the topic as surely someone smarter than I would have considered this subject. Sure enough there were two news articles expressing concern in CANADA, nada in the US. It would seem to me with the number of trucks on the road transporting goods of all types that the cost of these products would be going up proportionate to the rising cost of fuel greatly decreasing the buying power of the dollar. How can it be any other way? Why is there nothing being reported on this?

Dept. Of Ed: Public Schools as Good or Better than Private

On Friday afternoon the Department of Education quietly released a report that showed that Public Schools perform as well or better than Private Schools. The NYT was one of the few papers to pick this up. (See Article linked to title) While this comes as no great surprise to public school employees, it apparently was a shock to those federal government agencies who withheld the results of this study for six months. Also long forgotten is the Scandia Report, linked below, that debunks the many myths that have been used to cause people to doubt the excellent education system in the US.
One wonders if the results would have shown private schools besting public that the fanfare or lack thereof would have been the same. I imagine that there would have been a major press conference with many conservative dignitaries calling for an increase and acceleration in public funding of private schools. Oh well boys, wait a few more years under the NCLB Act and every public school will reach the failed school level based on artificial anti public school criteria. Maybe then the rhetoric will seem to fit the facts.

Scandia Report

John Dean Interview

Listening to Wisconsin Public Radio is always interesting but the interview linked to this article's title (You'll have to locate it in the archives, July 14th) with John Dean was particularly thought provoking. His new book, Conservatives without Conscience promises to be great reading. I ordered my copy today!
Dean, a key player in the Nixon administration, offered a really critical review of what is currently going on in US politics today. Things that stood out.....On a good note the US is not currently a fascist state; on a bad note the next two elections will tell which way the US will go.....Conservatives mostly like to follow strong leaders. They like simplicity in ideas, do not read or research much and are extremely loyal even when evidence is to the contrary. These are not particularly curious people. Authoritarian leaders rise to great heights with conservatives......Liberals are not followers. They are more highly educated and more likely to ask questions.
These insights from a former Republican got me to thinking.....Is it any wonder Republicans walk lockstep as they go about dismantling the rights long established by our Constitution or that they value decisiveness over reasoned contemplation? Is it any wonder that the Democrats can't get their act together when they do not follow well?
I agree with John Dean the next two elections will be very telling. I'd like to escape somewhere but it's a small world with many problems. Zot looks better and better.

End Times and A Vengeful God

http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-me-endtimes22jun22,1,7619771.story?track=crosspromo&coll=la-headlines-frontpage&ctrack=1&cset=true
The "religious groups" depicted in this story really make me wonder about people and their warped interpretation of God. The idea of hastening the End Times and a God that is vengeful is complete insanity to me. I was brought up Catholic and decided a long time ago that the idea of God was one of love. I have seen this love in the eyes of my once infant children and cannot imagine God in any other way. What I can imagine is an Evil Being (Devil) that absolutely would have ideas that would destroy civilization. I'm certain that noone who believes in a vengeful One would ever agree with me but I really wonder what goes through their mind. Actually, I really don't want to know!

Prez 2008

I find it rather irritating to read on other blogs about all the speculation regarding who will or won't be running for president in 2008. Hillary, Condi, John McClain, Feingold, Edwards, Clark or Warner. I really don't enjoy reading this stuff or thinking about it for the next two years so I'm coming out early with my hope that Al Gore will run again. Yep, I know that VP Gore has said that he "has no plans to run". Al, change those plans as your country needs you NOW! There that feels better! Feels like I just made more room on the hard drive for other stuff. Frees up my time in order to take PP for a walk where we can holler and make nasty gestures at loud vehicles.

Particular Pup (PP) and me!

I've been told that I need to get more exercise and loose weight in order to get my blood pressure down. One thing I do religiously is walk for at least 30 minutes per day. Particular Pup (PP) will not do her business on our lawn so I usually have her drag me around. I like this part of our walk including the dance of joy when PP finally chooses a spot to poop. The thing that really raises my blood pressure though is all of the noise that we encounter during these trips. Tonight for example we encountered seams using their air brakes, LOUD middle school girls, numerous muffler-defective cars and motorcycles but worst of all is the loud, loud rap music with the window rattling base emanating from the kid's cars in our neighborhood. PP and I agree that this noise is very irritating. In fact PP has learned a number of words young pups should not hear on our numerous trips. I realized that my walks were not relaxing when I was about to whip the finger to some 8o something lady as she was driving past. I really hope my walks help me get into better shape but have my doubts about them helping my blood pressure. I genuinely am more stressed after our walk than I am before. Is the world louder than it used to be or am I just getting older and more "sensitive"? Strangely writing of my irritation seems to make me feel better.

Dad was a Hall of Fame caliber grumbler! He was often at his very best (and funniest) at breakfast after viewing the morning attacks by the media. Naturally, my sister assumed that Grumbleberries being served for breakfast was the only reasonable supposition. Although he only had an 8th Grade education, Dad was interested and had an opinion on everything. He was a strong supporter of Unions and the Democratic party and as a result blamed everything on Republicans and big business. I've been told that I am much like him and readily admit to sounding more like him every day. I started this blog in order to give my wife a break from my continuous tirades over the politics and news reports. Heaven knows she doesn't need it. I also want to honor the memory of my dad, who passed away in 2000. He was indeed a character and one of the most amusing people that I have ever known. Not too much grumbling to do right now but I'm sure that I'll get warmed up soon!