The Stories Politicians Need to Hear

I went to a conference this week put on by the State of Tennessee about how to implement Common Core practices in English/Language Arts in my 1st grade classroom. It was a very interesting conference... I had great presenters who kept us engaged and were knowledgable about teaching. I got to meet a few neat teachers from other schools in the area and swap ideas on field trips and reading practices and behavior management ideas. There were aspects that I was less than thrilled with (like the opening videos which felt a lot like propaganda from George Orwell's Animal Farm), but in general it was interesting and worth my time. 

The really telling part, though, happened at lunch one day. There were about 7 of us, many from different schools and systems in the area, with different population groups and skills. We came from a range of experiences, but we sat around and swapped horror stories. This particular day the horror stories all involved children using the bathroom on themselves. Now, we were all either Kindergarten, First, or Second grade teachers and so this all was relatable to those of us listening... it's a sad fact that for a lot of us we deal with unpleasant bathroom issues at some point in the year. And often these stories are so ridiculous (after the fact) that we were close to tears we were laughing so hard.  

After one of these outlandish stories involving a child using the bathroom on himself and a custodian sniffing it out, and our fits of laughter and embarrassment had died down, there was a silence.... broken by a teacher saying "...Aren't these the stories Politicians should know?" .... ..... 

The sad fact is, for a lot of elementary school teachers helping kids understand how and when to use the bathroom is a part of the job. This could be for several reasons, including that the parents have somehow let their child down in the area of toilet instructions or that there is some bigger issues going on like abuse. Regardless of why, elementary school teachers have to address it, while still helping the other students in their class and worrying about if they're learning (much less about their own evaluations and TVAAS scores). 

Now, not every teacher in every school every year has to deal with this. But every teacher has some ridiculous story they can tell about an issue they had to handle that parents should have dealt with earlier that caused a huge disruption in their class. And politicians (and the general public) need to know these stories. For every few teachers is a day at school just about presenting material to kids who are ready to receive it. Most of the day is about managing these other fires that we have to put out... hurt feelings, sick kids, sleep deprivation, lice, anger issues, abuse issues, and a general feeling of loneliness. 

Politicians, don't get me wrong. I went into teaching to serve. I am at a Title I school filled with needy kids because they need me and I want to give them as much help as I can. But please don't trick yourself into thinking that it's just about academics. Please don't think that if you tie my pay to my performance that I'll be able to do anything different in the classroom. Maslow said the basic needs have to be met first-- safety, shelter, food... and clean clothes that aren't soiled. Some days that's all teachers can do is meet those basic needs. And those are the stories you need to hear. 

The trouble with TVAAS

Recently the state has released to teachers and administrators the infamous TVAAS scores. TVAAS (Tennessee Value-Added Assessment System) is supposed to be an "objective and more precise way to measure student progress and the value schools and systems add to students' educational experiences". You can read more about TVAAS here, but let me shed some light on my perspective on TVAAS.

First of all, let me break down the TVAAS mission statement as it were. An "objective and more precise way to measure student progress and the value schools and systems add to students' educational experiences".... yeah, sure, ok. Because test scores like SAT-10, TCAP, and EoCs can measure all of that. Plain and simple there is no "objective" way to measure the value that teachers add to students' educational experiences. Can you graph when students become interested in learning? Can data show you which teachers make kids love to come to school? Can a test show the teachers who work their tails off for kids who come in 100% unprepared? To me, those are things that we should value. Those are the things that teachers add to students' educational experiences. Those are the things that test scores can't show us.

But, enough of that. I want to show you my overall composite paper from the TVAAS system. So, I'm any given teacher across the state of Tennessee who tried to log on and see my TVAAS scores. Let me tell you-- they don't make it easy. I consider myself quite computer literate and it took me a looong time to find what I was looking for and then to try and understand it. Anyway,  when I finally find my overall score sheet, here's what it looks like (minus the blacked out parts):

As you can see in tiny letters at the bottom, teachers are determined by their student's growth on test scores if they are a Level 1-5, with 5 being the best. The top part of the form is specific to me, while the bottom part shows state-wide information. But wait-- let's take a closer look at the bottom part, shall we?

Upon further inspection, the breakdown of the state distribution of teachers looks like this:
Level 5: 11,291
Level 4: 3,553
Level 3: 8,028
Level 2: 3,054
Level 1: 5,497

So what the state is saying is that out of 31,423 teachers in the state of Tennessee, roughly 17% are a Level 1, 10% are a Level 2, 25% are a Level 3, 11% are a Level 4 and a whopping 36% are a Level 5. The state's data shows that over a third of Tennessee teachers are those "whose students are making more progress that the state growth standard/ state average".

I'm not a statistics person... but I know enough to understand that you can make the stats say almost anything you want. So it's puzzling to me that 36% of teachers have students that are making more progress than the average. What ever happened to the bell curve? If we tried to make a bell curve out of this data it would look like this:

 Like I said, I'm not master of statistics, but it seems unreasonable to me to say that most teachers were a Level 5 based off of their scores for the past 3 years. If that many teachers were doing that great of a job, wouldn't we find ourselves in a much better spot in education? And, how can this trend continue over the next 3, 5, 10, 15 years? How can so many kids show so much growth every year that their teachers continue to be Level 5s?

This gives too little credit to the work teachers are doing. I know I was ranked too high, and I know that others in my building were ranked too low... all depending on what kids happened to get into their classroom and how those kids happened to perform on one state issued test. The bottom line for me is that you CANNOT objectively measure how effective I am. Last year, there was a girl in my class who will never be at the top of her class, and even if I didn't teach her one academic thing, I'd like to think I taught her that reading was fun, that people (including me) loved her, and that life was good. There's no objective test that can show that sort of human growth.

... P.S. A few days later the State sent out another email that effectively said "Oops, we may have miscalculated your score and let you see them prematurely... you may in fact have a very different score if you only teacher one subject...". Way to go to State.

Partnerships in Education

That Zen that I wrote about a few weeks ago, where I was relaxed, refreshed, and ready to get back at it?... Yeah, that's gone. The slow, sneaking panic related to school is starting to work its way back into my life. But, that's not what I want to write about. I want to write about this idea that school needs to be a partnership.

I was working on my welcome letter today and in it I wrote "This is a partnership, and so I know that it takes all of us—student, teacher, and families—to make learning happen." I cannot stress this idea enough. And the truth is that it actually takes a lot more than teacher-student-family to make learning happen... but we'll get there.

Teachers get put into a frustrating place a lot of times-- we are asked to spend 8 hours a day with kids and teach them. Make them smart, help them grow. But we're helpless when those 8 hours are up. I can't control the outside factors that so greatly change the hours that happen inside our building. I can't make sure that the kids are read to every night, or work on their math facts for 10 minutes, or are in bed at a reasonable hour, with a bath and a full belly. And I can't make sure that they know they are loved and safe at night. But those things make such a difference in the classroom the next day. When these things don't happen, learning doesn't happen (at least as easily) and everyone suffers.

What if every year started with a contractual agreement between students, their teacher(s), and their family? I would need to happen every year, like an IEP meeting, but for every student. Students might agree to try their best and ask for help. Teachers may agree to the same, but also add to look at that student individually. The family (led by a parent or guardian) might agree to get students to bed on time or work on homework. There could be certain, specific goals put into place that everyone agrees to up-front for the year. It would all be documented, signed, and then all parties would get a copy. And if someone wasn't holding up their end of the deal, another meeting could be had to re-adjust expectations or consequences.

Another frustrating part is that it's not just up to this triangle of partners-- family/student/teacher. There's a whole larger community involved. Principals, guidance counselors, pastors, neighbors, friends, bosses, city counsel workers, and Governors. And you. YOU are involved, whether you know it or not. So please, speak up for students and teachers. Educate yourself on what's going on in Education. And think about your role in this partnership.

Great educational ideas from a newspaper columnist

Over the weekend, I read an article in the Chattanooga Times Free Press by David Cook. Cook has been on a roll recently, writing about education in Tennessee.  This particular article is great (and you can read the whole thing here). I'd like to take a minute to write about why I think Cook is so on point in this particular article.

Cook writes " You really want to get Tennessee out of the 6-feet-under grave it has buried itself in?
(Hint: Common Core ain't gonna do it.)
• Reduce classroom sizes. Make some single sex.
• Pay teachers a $60,000 base salary.
• Refuse to allow any for-profit company to be involved in setting educational policy in Tennessee.
• Turn the State Board of Education into an elected body, not one appointed by the governor.
• Put the classroom back in the hands of autonomous teachers who know what they're doing.
• Liberate students from the educational prison that is over-testing.
• Do not ever believe the fiction that students learn best through testing or teachers should be paid based on the grades of their students."

Allow me to expand...

First: Common Core ain't gonna do it. Duh. Just because we suddenly implement the same standards as 44 other states doesn't mean we're helping our kids out at all. Remember that idea about differentiated instruction? It says that you can't do the same thing for all your kids because they all have different needs... ring any bells? My students in a rural, Title I school in Tennessee are not going to need the same things as kids in an urban school in the middle of Boston, or in an affluent, suburban school in Colorado, or even another rural, Title I school in Tennessee. So lets all stop pretending that by adopting a "common" set of standards that we'll suddenly all be on the same playing feild.

Next: Reduce Classroom Sizes. Make some Single Sex. As my mom says, it's all about relationships. I count myself as lucky- last year I had 18 students in my room. I was able to have a personal relationship with each and every one. I knew who was having a hard time at home, and who was playing baseball last night and how that would affect our day. I knew the families, I knew the kids. And the kids knew me. First graders want a relationship with their teacher, unlike some older kids. This is a HUGE benefit in the classroom, one that many teachers-- especially those that are departmentalized-- don't have as easily as me. But it's hugely important so that you can be effective as a teacher. If I had a classroom of 25  six and seven year olds (the maximum allowed in Tennessee), not only would it be a bigger management issue, but the relationships are going to suffer.
                       Relationships is at the heart of the single sex issue too. While boys and girls being together in first grade is not nearly the distraction it becomes by 5th grade, it does make an impact. Having the option for some kids to go to a single sex classroom, where koodies and kisses and boyfriends and girlfriends are not an issue would no doubt help some kids. Not that every student needs to be isolated from the other gender for their entire school career, but it's not even an option in public schools. It's certainly an idea to consider.

Next:  Pay teachers a $60,000 base salary. This is not about me wanting more money. Sure, I'd like more (who wouldn't?), but it's about saying you value what we do. In 2012, the median pay for US teachers was $53,400, and the median pay for teachers in Tennessee was $45,500 (Check out careeronestop.org for more specifics from the Department of Labor). So this crazy idea that we'd get payed more than the national average would do a few things. First, it would tell those of us who are working our rear ends off to help local kids that the State and it's constituents value the work that we do. Second, it would encourage people to come into education and stay here. Nearly half of all teachers leave the field after 5 years, and high-need schools (which are usually those who have low test scores) suffer the most. You can read a great report by the National Commission on Teaching & America's future here, but by increasing pay you could keep teachers with experience which in turn helps students. And thirdly, by increasing the base salary to more than the national median you could attract some stellar educators to Tennessee. Tennessee has consistently been ranked as one of the last states on education. We have a bad rap. And no one is going to come teach in a state with a bad rap without a little incentive. 

Next: Refuse to allow any for-profit company to be involved in setting educational policy in Tennessee.  Praise the Lord, yes. Let me paint a picture for you. There's a company who makes or has a large hand in the making of the standardized tests taken in Tennessee, including End-of-Course exams (EOCs), the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) exam, and Stanford Achievement Test (SAT-10). This is basically every big test students take between Kindergarten and 12th grade, and it not only determines student's grades but teacher's evaluation scores too. So now that you know that one company makes all these tests, let me also tell you that the same company also makes a math and reading series, as well as test prep materials. Good test taking strategies tell you that you should use the materials that support the test. So naturally most of the school districts in Tennessee have adopted math and reading series by this same company. This gives them a basic monopoly on the educational textbook realm, and pads their pretty little pockets nicely. Now, I'd also just like to say that this same company works closely with our Governor as a part of the PARCC committee, which our Governor is on the board for, and so it just all ties together so nicely, now doesn't it? Can we say conflict of interest, kids?  

Next: Turn the State Board of Education into an elected body, not one appointed by the governor. I want to assume that Governor Haslam has his heart in the right place. But this idea just makes sense. Now, if I'm Governor I'm going to try to help our state out, but I'm also going to try and help my friends out at the same time. And I'm also going to try to put people into leadership roles that will also back me up and support the same ideas as me. So I can't blame any Governor who gets to appoint a whole board for doing any of those things. However, when that happens then there is no accountability. Who cares if the initiatives we make are unpopular? We were appointed and can't lose our job until the Governor loses his! Elected bodies have more at stake and can better reflect the constituents desires... will it be a perfect Board of Education if it's elected? No, of course not, but it would do a much better job representing the people.

Next: Put the classroom back in the hands of autonomous teachers who know what they're doing. Let me assure you that I went to school to do this job, and I have the training I need for it. I go to tons of workshops, read books (by choice!) about becoming a better teacher and refining my work. I work really hard at getting better at this. So when you shove a curriculum that is bought through a textbook company (see 2 paragraphs above) it hurts a little bit. I don't tell you how to run your beauty shop, accounting business, or doctor's office. I trust that you have the combination of schooling and on the job training you need to be successful. And I trust that you will know when you need help in something. Please have to good faith that I'll do the same! Educators say it all the time-- just because you went through school yourself as a student doesn't mean you know about teaching. We get everything mandated to us- curriculum, pacing, blocks of time to be spent on this and that... trust us. Trust that we have the tools and resources we need and that we can do this.

Next: Liberate students from the educational prison that is over-testing. I am ashamed at how much time I spent testing 6 and 7 year olds last year. Yes, we had weekly spelling tests and reading tests that took 10 minutes each by the end of the year. But we also had 4 days in the spring and 4 days in the fall of standardized tests, where students filled in bubbles, sat at separated desks spread out all over the room and with blockers up. They, my six and seven year-old friends, tested all morning for 4 days straight. On top of this, we took Discovery Education tests three times in the year, and math tests, and a slew of other tests and in the name of data. While data can be a good piece to the educational puzzle, it doesn't teach kids anything but to hate tests and school. We waste so much valuable time testing our kids when we could be teaching them to love learning. All this testing is not helping anyone.

 Finally: Do not ever believe the fiction that students learn best through testing or teachers should be paid based on the grades of their students. Please. Think about that statement-- students learn best through testing. How can you learn through a test?! If I placed a Chinese culture and history test in front of you, would you learn much of anything about Chinese culture and history just by taking the test? Of course not! Furthermore, If we start paying teachers based on test scores and grades, teachers will move to the schools with higher scores. Those schools are going to be few and far between, and its going to move good teachers to affluent schools (because like it or not, those are the schools with the good test scores)-- leaving poor students with fewer excellent teachers. It's going to punish the teachers that stay in under performing schools. If we paid mechanics based off of how long the cars they worked on kept running, no one would fix a 1987 Chevy Monte Carlo. We have to understand that the teachers cannot single handedly fix all the detriments students walk into the classroom with. I wish I could-- I would be able to fix broken homes, poverty, malnourishment, language barriers, learning disabilities, teasing and taunting, peer pressure, and just plain 'ol bad days.

... all of that is a lot of ranting to say this: There are some seriously misguided initiatives happening in schools today. Please have faith in your teachers. We work hard at what we do and are capable of doing a lot, but we can't be expected to fix everything in one academic year.

Running on Empty

June 4^th. I’ve been on summer break for approximately one week and 2 days. And I totally understand now why teachers need breaks. The general public doesn’t understand it. How could they—what they know about school is what they experienced between the ages of 5 and 18 years old. Lets face it—our memories of those times are overwhelmed with the really good or the really bad experiences, maybe one a year until High School, and then the academic experiences fade away and are replaced with the social memories. This is totally appropriate with the way we develop, but not all that accurate of a picture of what teaching is.

            Teaching is exhausting. It is 100%, all-encompassing, all-consuming, nonstop, 50+ hours a week, 5 days a week for 10 months of your life. Yes, we get a week break here and there—but that’s just enough time to catch your breath. Rather like running a marathon spring break is the water station at mile 18. Having a multi-week break is not a “right” or about teachers working less hard than others. This break is a chance for us to refuel and remember why we do what we do. One week and 2 days ago I could not wait to get out of Dodge. I had just finished my first year of teacher a rag-tag group of first graders and I needed out before the walls closed in on me. I was over it—over kids, untied shoes, tears over insignificant issues, the lack of tears I saw at significant issues, the staff meetings, the tutoring, the parent contacts and lack of contacts, over lesson plans and new plans, and most definitely over testing, testing, testing. (I’m still over testing but that’s another rant...)

What I needed was a true respite. For the next one week and 2 days I did absolutely nothing for school. I sunned by the pool, went shopping, watched movies, made doctors appointments, cooked dinner, called friends, and visited with family. Not once did the subject of school cross my mind. I went on a purge of sorts, literally putting all my school stuff in the closet and walked away. And it was JUST what I needed.

Today, I woke up and checked my email and got the boost I needed. But before I explain the email, we need to rewind a bit. I started a project 4 months ago through DonorsChoose.org, a great website where individuals can donate any amount of money they want to a project they think will help students in classrooms across the U.S. ago on a whim of sorts. I had a boom box and headphones, but very few story books on tape/cd that the kids could follow along to. So I whipped up a project on DonorsChoose and thought, what the heck. I was trying to get $300 for books and cds for my classroom. 3 months, 3 weeks, and 4 days later (which would be yesterday) I got an email saying this was the last day my project was available to funded and I still needed $138. Oh well, I thought… it was a great idea but I had already hounded so many people for so many things that it just wasn’t going to happen. Sigh…. Chalk it up to the first year.

Back to today—Check my email… and my project has been fully funded! I got it! $300 worth of books and audiobooks for my classroom next year, and yesterday it wasn’t going to happen. Some stranger believed in the work I am doing and wants great things for my kids. This was the boost I needed. I was like a gun went off and I’m ready for the race again. I’ve spent nearly 2 hours looking at professional development books, writing down to-do lists for my projects this summer, checking out new ideas and books for the classroom. Suddenly, I’m back.

This is why teachers need breaks. We need time to walk completely away. For me, this year, it took one week and 2 days to remember why I’m doing this. I needed (and still need) time to re-energize me and to fuel up so I can give it all again to my kids in August. I plan to leave all of me with those kids again next year, but first I need time to become the best I can for them. I need time to read books because I want to, so I can tell them truly how great reading is. I need time to cook and lay by the pool so that when August comes I can do the work I need to with a joyful heart instead of cursing. Teaching is loving with your whole heart and giving it your all—and you can’t do that when you’re running on empty.