The State of Public Education This Week: Oh no, not this whole thing again . . .

NBC Hosting Education Summit: Can we stop bashing education? (http://zhaolearning.com/2010/07/21/nbc-hosting-education-summit-can-we-stop-bashing-education/)

I was psyched to see this (albeit older) blog from professor and education guru, Yong Zhao. I had heard of Mr. Zhao before on an NPR piece about education and was instantly intrigued. The title of his book, Catching Up or Leading the Way: American Education in the Age of Globalization:, struck a chord with me because I have refused to give in to the whole "our public schools are failing" hype that crops up anytime elections come around, the economy is down, or other national news is just slow.

I was especially psyched because this week seems to have been "National Bash our Public Schools Week" and I have just about had enough. As Zhao says in his blog,

"if American education has been so bad for over half a century as some would make us believe, how come the U.S. remains the most innovative and competitive nation and its education system is being emulated by countries around the world, especially the ones some fear would out-compete the US such as China?"

With the recent release of "Waiting for Superman", and Oprah's commitment to bringing to the attention of the masses, the plight of the public school (in seemingly all urban areas because apparently all other kids go to private school???), it feels like I have been defending public education at every turn since last Monday.

Now, don't get me wrong, I love Oprah, I do. I don't know what it is but, I will actually be sad to not have her around next fall for those few 4:00s when I'm able to be home in front of the T.V. But her recent episodes, last Monday's and this past Friday's, have made me upset and have forced me to really question how in touch she, or the politicians, policy makers, administrators, and philanthropists she interviewed, really are with the reality of public education in America today.

I, like others who wrote in and actually were featured and seemingly dismissed on Friday's "Reactions to Monday's" show, was moved to write Oprah and her gang a pretty impassioned letter. I attached it below:

My name is Sarah Rubin and I am a middle school teacher in Maine. Like you, Oprah, a passion for education flows through my veins. However, today's show was very hard for me to watch. The system is not perfect. I fight to change the way we educate our children everyday. My classroom is dedicated to including EVERY child, leaving none behind, and assuring that every student who passes through my doors knows that I want them to succeed. I am acutely aware that not every teacher in this country does what I do and my life's work is to change that. Yes, there are schools and teachers in this country that fail kids. I agree with your guests on that 100%. Still, today's show was hard to watch. It was hard because I know that although schools are failing children all over this country, schools in Maine are not. I live in a state that does not have charter schools, has few private schools, and has only one magnet school. I live in a state that has had severe budget cuts, has a high percentage of kids living in poverty, and a lot of kids new to this country struggling to learn English. But more importantly, I live in a state where public education is WORKING for almost all of our children, where EVERY 7th and 8th grader has a laptop and EVERY teacher is Highly Qualified and certified to teach. Could we do better? Of course. Does every child graduate or go on to a four year college? No. But are our schools working? Yes they are. I am hopeful about public education today because I have seen it work in Maine with students from all backgrounds and with all types of obstacles in their paths. I just wish the rest of the country had had the opportunity to see what I see is happening in traditional public schools all over our state and around the country. The whole system is not broken and I pray that the American public and parents and community members in places where public education is succeeding understand that.

So, a couple of days after that tirade, and after finally relaxing a little bit about stupid Oprah's show, I was driving home and heard an interview with "Waiting for Superman" director Davis Guggenheim, that fired me all up again! It was followed by an interview with Steven Farr, Chief Knowledge Officer at Teach for America about what makes a great teacher. Again, I puked in my mouth a little (sorry to be graphic but, ugh . . .). I didn't write a letter this time because I just didn't have the time. But, if you follow this link, you'll see a few people who wrote in on my behalf ;) http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=130052503

So, although the media seems to have it out for us here in public education, it's good to know there are a lot of people out there in the public sector who realize that thousands of us, at thousands of schools, are doing a great job educating America's youth on the public's dime. And more relevant to us as middle school educators; the middle school movement is reforming and progressing public education in a way that is great for all kids and (I believe) will "save our schools".

Some reactions . . .

So we had a lot of reading to do for my middle level class this week and I took a lot of notes because, well, I was fired up! Below is a reaction to an excerpt from an Answers.com article. I loved the article as a whole in that it was a great history of the middle level movement. It made me think a lot about how the middle level movement is seen by many in my own school and by the public in general. It also made me reflect a lot about my own grades 6-8 experience.

Answers.com Middle School
"Research also indicated that students perceived their middle-grades teachers as more remote and impersonal than their elementary teachers, and that they were less certain that their middle-grades teachers cared about them or knew them well. Furthermore, student work completed in the first year of the middle grades was often less demanding than in the last year of elementary school, academic expectations in middle-grades schools were generally low, and students had few opportunities to learn important new concepts and apply them to real-world problems."

At first I didn't really believe this statement, but then I thought back to my own junior high experience. Socially, junior high was OK for me. But academically, I have always struggled to remember learning much of anything during those two years. Those were also the years where I stopped really being an involved and motivated student. My reputation as a good student was all I needed to get good grades. My teachers were wonderful people but, never engaged me and never caught on to my slow spiral into laziness and apathy about school. Every time I am working with a traditionally high achieving student in my class, and I start to see signs of cutting corners or trying to get away with the bare minimum, I think about how I was allowed to get away with sooo much and how that really impacted me as a student well into my college years. These types of kids need just as much from us as our struggling learners and sometimes, these are the very kids that by not helping at this level, we are risking losing them as students forever.

This is just a small piece of what I thought about throughout this reading but, I really think it says a lot about the importance of those years in shaping the adult . . .

EML 585: The Beginning!!

And so it begins . . .

This is only my fourth time beginning a school year as a teacher. My first time, I felt like I was swimming through a pool of molasses, not getting anywhere, barely managing to keep my mouth above water to gasp for an occasional breath of air, drowning. I had a million ideas about what I wanted to do, where I stood philosophically, and how to run my classroom. But, I had no idea how to really implement what I wanted to do, or how to support my philosophies, or how my students would respond to my classroom management.

It got a little easier as I went along. Year two felt a bit less scary but, was still painful in the beginning as I had changed rooms, teams, and had gone from teaching two subjects at the 8th grade level, to teaching two different subjects at the 7th grade level. But, that's how it goes in today's middle school, right?

Well, this year is a little better. I am teaching the same subjects at the same grade level. I got to keep my same classroom, but this year, I lost my teaching partner. Again, standard in middle schools today, so I've heard (note: annoyed tone). It was nothing personal, just the way things needed to happen. And let me be clear, I have nothing but respect for my new teaching partner. But, it is a little scary and a little sad to start off the year without the partner that I had developed such a great professional and personal relationship with over the past few years. So, as I begin year four, I am definitely a little nervous about what lies ahead for the next nine months.

Unfortunately, professionally speaking, I think that I am starting off the year on a bit of a low note. Don't feel bad; it's nothing huge. It's just been a rough beginning. We have a drastically new schedule that shortens classes, lunch, and planning time while adding a literacy block and an advisory period (which I've helped to create and maintain). Staff morale is lowish, and (as I mentioned) I am in a new and unfamiliar team situation. I know those are all contributing variables, but I still can't help but think there is a lot more to it. I feel like I'm just hitting a bit of a wall.

My first three years were filled with big dreams and, although the going wasn't always smooth, I wasn't afraid to throw my ideas out there and see what happened. Since everything was still new, I felt like I was always being innovative and fresh. I worked to integrate the strict curriculum by incorporating student choice and student questions into projects and units. I attempted to make my classroom as democratic as I thought I could. I even organized and implemented a service learning project with my science classes that took up more time than was ever necessary but, was an amazing experience for most involved. None of it was ever "perfect" middle level curricula, but it, and I was a work in progress.

Now, I know that good teaching is always about being a work in progress and always reflecting on what I can improve. It's just that I feel like at this point, I should be a little more confident with where the year should go. Instead of confidence, I find myself with doubts and insecurities about the direction of my teaching and constantly wondering how I can do things differently. I want to be a great middle level educator. But I find myself stuck in the dualism of what I think is best for kids and the tight curriculum created and supported by those who think they know what's best for kids. More frustrating than that dichotomy are my uncertainties about how to implement and design solid middle level curriculum given those parameters and constraints. I know there are great educators out there doing exactly what I've learned about and wanted to do who fight even harder battles every day. So how do I become one of them?

So, that's the story of how I am beginning this school year. After re-reading, I realize I am beating myself up a bit so, enough! Onto my goals . . . :)

My goals for this year are pretty simple: I want to feel better about myself as a teacher and I want to feel better about the environment in which I teach. Maybe these aren't really "simple" goals, but they are clear. I think this class is a good start. I am excited to work with other people who are interested in middle level education, perhaps as more than just "another rehashed trend forced upon poor middle school teachers to make more work for everyone!". That's in "quotes" but, it's more of a compilation of quotes ;) Anyway, I am also looking forward to continuing work in my school on our leadership team and in creating and implementing our new advisory program. And of course, the easiest way to feel good about myself as an educator is to just enjoy my students. And you know what, they're already making my goals easier.