Special Kids Special Education

Why are kids dropping out of school?

2012-01-16T14:04:00.000-08:00

Two big newspaper stories were very intriguing of late. One discussed the number of students who had been suspended and how that was keeping children from learning. One follower of the obvious is more school of thought suggested that students who missed school were not there to learn! Brilliant commentary. Most of the comments were about whether or not students should be suspended at all and if they were for what offenses. The question of zero tolerance for misbehavior was reviewed. Some people noted that children who were frequently suspended were more likely to drop out of school. Seems kids that are suspended a lot not only miss learning opportunities but they also lose a connection with the school. Makes you wonder how much research that took to figure out and who paid the bill for it.

While it is interesting to speculate on whether or not suspension helps with discipline, it is a whole other issue to consider WHY kids do the behaviors that cause them to be suspended in the first place. The vast majority of children who are suspended are also not successful in academic subjects. Children usually being people of relatively good mental health would rather be bad than dumb. Why? The answer is simple kids who misbehave in school are often seen as brave by their contemporaries who would not do such things. Kids who do poorly in academics are thought of as being dumb by their peers. So the average kid would rather be thought of as brave and tough as opposed to being dumb. Also when you misbehave you draw the fire away from the teacher noticing that you are not doing the academic work because she is too busy trying to reestablish the class order.

Another issue that is getting a lot of ink right now is the issue of bullying. So far this year 25% of the kids who are bullied are kids with special needs. They are vulnerable and make a handy target. They often lack the skills to fight back either verbally or physically. And many children with disabilities have characteristics that are atypical, they look different, talk different or just don't catch on to stuff. The other surprising statistic is that 28% of the bullies are themselves disabled. They bully the kids they perceive as being the next notch down in the pecking order. Kids bully other kids because grown ups don't intervene strongly enough, parents don't stress character development and because the bully gets to be on a higher rung of the ladder than the person being bullied.

I suggest that the root cause of both problems is the same thing. No Child Left Behind has left every child behind when it comes to individual programing. In order to ensure the highest test scores possible so that your school/class is not a failing school the so called "soft" courses are being cut left and right. Those art, phys ed, music and other so-called non-academic courses have been scrapped to make way for more instruction in reading and math. And to make sure that kids are exposed (and believe me it is exposure and not instruction) to all the content that will be tested, school systems have instituted pacing guides so every day teachers need to be on specific pages in the curriculum guide. Ready or not, the teacher turns the page every day. Smart kids have to slow down and wait, slower kids have to race to try to keep up and frequently they don't. So kids who needed that extended instruction to catch on, or perhaps an alternative method of instruction, have now turned into the dumb kids who can't keep up or can't learn the lesson.

It doesn't take very long to go from that spot to misbehaving and/or bullying. Both behaviors serve a similar purpose for the perpetrator. If I am bad enough people might not notice I can't do the school work. Or if I bully someone else it makes me feel that I may not be good at school work but at least I am "bigger" than the kid I am bullying.

We would all be a great deal better off if we just taught kids they way they learn best and not worry if the calendar says we should be on page 156 if a child is back at page 98.

2012-01-08T13:25:00.001-08:00

Teachers Please stand for something

2011-10-24T08:03:00.000-07:00

Well here we go again! Now No Child Left Behind is going to be modified and amended-we think. For years we have known the law was mightily flawed. But we got the law because the teachers and their unions were asleep at the switch. If the change comes to be, it will be known as ESEA as amended, so we will go back to the original Elementary and Secondary School Act.
Why is the law being amended now? Because the 2013-14 school year is coming and that is the year all of God's children were supposed to be on grade level in reading and math. Any person with a grain of common sense knew that wouldn't happen but it sure made for great press. As the time approaches the various governors are realizing that they will be saddled with many failing schools that have not made adequate yearly progress. And they will be giving their electoral rivals a great issue to run on. So the way to fix that is to remove the requirement for adequate yearly progress (AYP). Finally a bi-partisian issue we can all live with. Of course this is all for politics and has nothing to do with good education.

Where are those all powerful teachers unions now that they have a chance for a second bite at the apple? Probably out worrying about some health and welfare issue. They, too, are not interested in quality education.

Senator Isakson, a Republican from Georgia, wants to add an amendment that would remove more students with disabilities from the assessment process. That may turn out not to be an issue if all the states are allowed to do what they want and pick and chose as to who will be included in the assessment. Some special education interests are upset. They think this change could take us back to the time when students in special education were barely challenged academically because there was no expectation for academic success. That would be terrible. By the same token, it is equally terrible for children with limited academic abilities to be repeated failures by expecting them to achieve that which they are unable to do. We might be able to find a middle ground if we had professional rather than political leadership on the issue. But we do not.

I continue to dispair that of all the professional groups, mine is the only one that has chosen to be more like a blue collar union and less like a professional group. Then we jump and shout when we are not treated as professionals.

Looks like my miracle of all children being on grade level by 2014 isn't going to happen because the requirement will be gone by then. Yet another miracle that didn't come to pass.

Let's solve the unemployment problem

2011-08-18T16:00:00.000-07:00

The news is telling us that unemployment is running around 9%. Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, is also making noises about waiving the requirement that all children will be proficient in reading and math by 2014 or their schools will be labeled failing. Of course, the notion that all students would be proficient by 2014 was complete nonsense to begin with. Now the political reality of so many failing schools is causing governors of both parties to run for the hills. A real non-partisian fear of failure.

Let's get real. Whether or not students can pass all those tests has little or nothing to do with whether or not they can earn a living as adults. Every one who has ever studied learning knows that there are multiple intelligences and that all people are good at different things. So how does the high unemployment rate have anything to do with testing?

We think if test scores go up, more people will be able to get jobs. Here is the hard truth. A significant minority of those unemployed don't have the skills to earn a living in this economy. So what are out choices. Well a very extreme choice would be to just kill off those folks who can't make an honest living in competitive employment. Of course that is repugnant, but it would lower unemployment. A second choice is to accept the existence of a lower, criminal class that will prey on those who have assets that the criminals want. After all, humans must eat, have shelter, buy clothes. If they do not work for the money to buy these things than the money must be given to them or they must steal it. That brings up the 3rd choice. The government (read American taxpayers) will declare some people unemployable for lack of salable skills and pay them a minimum wage for just living and staying out of trouble. Of course, that is the essence of Communism, from each according to their his/her ability to pay, to each according to his/her need. The 3rd choice would never fly either with the majority of our population.

Then what are we to do since all of these choices seen objectionable for a variety of reasons. How about educating people to earn a living! Everyone does not need to go to college. It is not even desirable. Let's bring back those old fashioned vocational schools and teach kids to fix things that are always breaking or to sell stuff or work in the "take care of the old folk" industry. All of these baby boomers are going to want and need caretakers. These are real jobs that need doing. I heard a man complain because he had a doctorate in ancient history and couldn't get a job. Well if he knew how to fix computer problems he would probably be working. Let's teach kids basic job skills, please and thank you would be a great start.

I don't believe we improve education by more tests and more measuring tools that measure what does not, in the long run, count for anything. Perhaps if our Secretary of Education knew a thing or two about learning he might know that too.

Stunning news!

2011-06-17T11:58:00.000-07:00

A blue ribbon committee of the National Academies National Research Council undertook a decade long study. The committee wanted to see if the test-based incentive system really improved learning. Just shocking results!! The testing system has had little to now impact on student learning and in some cases RAN COUNTER to the intended purpose. Anyone who has ever been in a classroom would know that tests do not measure much learning and they are not an incentive for learning. Perhaps for some students they are an incentive for memorization but memorization has never been equal to learning.
In Baltimore recently, a new union contract tied pay to merit for teachers. I am all for tying pay to merit rather than just living and breathing and staying another year on the job. The problem I have with the contract is that merit is defined as test scores.
First of all test scores do not measure learning. Now that a special committee has agreed, maybe someone will hear that. Test scores make us feel comfortable because they give us a number and we all like numbers but they do not measure learning.
Secondly, if a teacher's salary is tied to test scores everyone will want to teach the kids who are good test takers. This isn't necessarily even the smartest kids, just the ones who test well. Who will be left to teach the most challenged learners, the ones who need good teaching most.
Thirdly, if salaries are going to be all about test scores, who will be left to teach the poor test takers and the kids who need to learn how to think. Where will teachers go if they want to teach in an exciting project based manner.

The big question is, how many kids and teachers be hurt before we realize how wrong headed this approach is?

Immoral Expectations

2011-03-27T05:56:00.000-07:00

Here we go again! Expect more, get more. Now we have the Common Core State Standards, that will soon be accompanied by better and tougher tests. That will surely improved education for all kids. Nothing could be more wrongheaded. Ever since the publication of "Why Johnny Can't Read" back in the 50's, our country has decided that higher standards would allow all Johns and Janes to read better.
What ever happened to better teacher? Or wonder of wonders, teaching our children the way they learn best.
Now one of our great missions is to make sure all children go to college. Why would we do that? Some children are not academically skilled even with the best teachers in the world. Are they stupid? NO, they just have different skills and those differing skills need to be nurtured and respected in the same way we nurture and respect academic skills. People with mechanical ability may not need college to fulfill their talents. The same may be true of children with artistic ability.
To insist that all children learn the same things and in the same way, is not just wrong headed, it is also immoral. It disrespects the other talents and marginalizes people's other abilities.
These attitudes also send a strong message that the only skills that count are the academic ones. When we tell people you are not good the way you are, you need to be someone else, we are losing the great opportunities to allow them to flourish as they are. When will we ever learn!

What is this thing called Rigor?

2011-01-26T21:34:00.000-08:00

The latest and greatest way to aggravate kids and teachers is this thing called rigor. But no one really knows what it is.

Rigor is supposed to be about higher standards. That does not mean just more quantity of work. Rigor should be about the level of cognitive processing that is expected of students. That is the quality of the work, not the quantity.

More assignments and more reading doesn't necessarily mean more rigor. It is what students are expected to do with that material that really counts and that often means covering less territory but in more depth. Harder should mean more intellectually challenging. Too often harder means something that has not been well taught or was taught to students before they were prepared to learn it.

What really counts is what we expect students to do with the learning that is presented to them. Do we expect them to think about the learning and interact cognitively with the experience? Or do we just expect them to cover lots of content and repeat what someone else has learned. The ability to memorize other people's learning is not rigorous content. Young children too can do rigorous learning if they are made to interact with the content so that they bring their own understanding of the content to the learning experience.

Are students asked to interact with the content in ways that cause them to bring their own personal experiences to what they are learning? Are students asked to compare and contrast the content to what they know? Are students asked to reflect on how this content has meaning in their own lives at this point in time? These experiences will be different for different children. They will be meaningful as well and will change the child because of the new learning. New learning will also allow the child to view his/her subsequent experiences through the prism of this new learning.

Our President has called us to STEM learning, science, technology, engineering and mathematics. These are indeed very important subjects and vital if our economy is going to continue to lead the world. Education, however, is about integrating new learning and new experiences in all subjects into our experiential fields. Education is about changing our view of the world and changing our view of our own experiences. Just increasing quantity will not do that. In fact, increasing quantity does not give us time to do the quality learning we need to do. We need to spend more time learning horizontally and less time covering time learning vertically so we cover more content.

Here we go again

2010-12-25T23:03:00.000-08:00

Always amazes me that people think they can make education better by just pronouncing that things will change. The latest notion is to evaluate teachers based on the test scores of the students. This approach ignores are the other major variables that go into achievement on the part of children. Sure teachers are important. Does anyone notice that kids from higher socio-economic areas do better on tests and in school. Does that mean they have better teachers? Possibly, but it also means they have parents who are involved in the child's education because the parents value education themselves. These kids have parents who spend time with children doing homework or who hire someone who will. These are parents who take children places and expose them to travel, theatre and good music. How can a teacher replace that?

Then there are the variables that are within the child him or herself. Children are human beings and carry some of the same traits as all human beings. Some are highly motivated to succeed, others not so much. Some children are just smarter than others! I know we are not supposed to notice that. We are supposed to think that all children can achieve at the same level at the same time. Anyone who believes this myth has clearly not spent much time with kids. Any parent with multiple children can tell you how different they are from one another.

Children's abilities vary just like adults. Some children are better in the STEM subjects of science, technology, engineering and math. Others are better in the arts of English, other languages or social studies. Naturally they will do better in their areas of preference. Then how are we going to measure teachers who teach subjects for which there are no standardized tests. There are objective observable behaviors that measure good teaching. But we are afraid of doing the hard work to use those.

The bigger issue is that teachers have become blue collar workers who are afraid of any assessment. They want to get a raise every year for living and staying around. Teachers are no longer poorly paid. Someone should notice that. Teachers need to be willing to act like professionals and to earn their salaries based on how well they do their jobs. I do not think test scores measure that.

More Standards, more magical thinking

2010-07-03T09:10:00.000-07:00

Looks like we are going to have Core Standards with different testing to go with them. Somehow or other someone got the notion that if we make a standard and insist that every child reach it they will. Doesn't matter that the pronouncement makes no logical sense. Probably the same thing will happen with these standards as with others. Either we will discover ALL kids can't make the grade so we lower the standard or, at the very least, make the test that measures the standard easier. Then we can say, look all the children have reached the standard. Never mind that teachers are only teaching to that test standard to the exclusion of all the other important meaningful things that children need to learn. If we don't lower the measuring stick standard, the alternative will be for us to decry how awful public education is and its teachers because the children have not met the standard. Whichever party is out of power at the time will blame the other party for allowing public education to go to hell in a hand basket.
Why can't we realize that democracy or not, all humans are not created equally when it comes to academic prowess. We are not created equally when it comes to other abilities either but we seem to have an easier time accepting unequal athletic ability or unequal artistic ability.
I used to love the story The Emperor's New Clothes. Now I am waiting for someone to have the courage of the child in the story and say all this standard stuff is as unreal as the Emperor's New Clothes. We need a leader in education who will stand up and say, we need to teach children based on their needs not ours. Not everyone SHOULD go to college. Not everyone NEEDS higher order math achievement. There are multiple futures for our children and we should respect them enough to teach and prepare them for their individual skill set.

What makes a good teacher?

2010-04-23T10:42:00.000-07:00

One sometimes wonders if good teaching is anything like pornography. As the good Supreme Court Justice said many years ago, I can't define it but I know it when I see it. Most kids can tell you they know good teaching when they experience it and so can their parents.
How much does good teaching have to do with test scores-- not much. Sure good teachers often, but not always, have students with good standardized test scores. But it is also true that some of the finest teachers also have students with terrible test scores.
Good teaching is first of all caring. It is being knowledgeable of the content and knowing how to convey that content in as many ways as it takes until the student learns it. Good teaching is also taking time to notice that a child is upset and needs some listening. Good teaching is making the content meaningful to the child's world.

Most people know these things. And if they do why the huge emphasis on test scores. First of all test scores are measurable. Americans have a great fascination with things that can be measured. Even though we know full well that the most important things in our lives do not have a calculus. So we decide that if the test scores are good, good teaching must have happened and if they are not good, then good teaching didn't happen. That is an over simplification in the extreme. There are just too many other variable effecting good test scores besides good teaching.

Unions don't like it when test scores are used to measure good teaching. But they dislike using test scores for this purpose for all the wrong reasons. Fifty years ago teachers' associations were professional organizations that cared about the profession and the children being served. Today unions only care about protecting the health and welfare of the teachers they represent. They are not different from any blue collar union and that is all the greater loss for the profession and for the children. So unions don't like test scores because they want to protect their membership, even members who do not deserve to be in the profession.

It is most unfortunate that we educators do not have a professional association today because we are in desperate need of coming up with a model to evaluate good teaching and that model needs to be developed by educators who understand the process of education. It should not be done by politicians or union organizers.

have a great night of fun

2010-04-07T16:25:00.000-07:00

The Harbour School is sponsoring a great auction. Great dinner, open bar and the opportunity to win silent and live auction items.

April 17 at the Renaissance Hotel. Want to come? go to the Harbour School website. Come along and have a great time.

Our kids are being ripped off

2010-04-05T15:53:00.000-07:00

Our kids are being ripped off. First no IDEA sold us the story that our children with special needs would be better off in general education classes with teachers who had no idea how to teach them and really didn't want to teach them. Now No Child Left Behind is telling us that we can measure the progress our kids are making by giving them test after test.

Our children know they are not doing well on these tests. Plus much of the information on which they are being tested is totally irrelevant to their lives but no one seems to care. The Emperor has no clothes and we have all been sold a bill of goods to believe that students with disabilities will do well in adult life if they can pass these tests.

When will the professionals stand up and tell the truth.