Graduation Speech

Seniors, where has the time gone?  The past four years have gone by so fast.  It seems like just the other day you students were freshman coming into the high school on the first day of school.  Most of you looked very nervous, but excited to take on the future obstacles that were ahead.  Can you remember the first day of classes when just about half of you got lost walking around the building?  You look back now and wonder, how did that ever happen? 

The class of 2009 has been a very special class.  You young adults have accomplished so much.  Your class broke the record of raising the most money for charities, over $15,000 in four years.  When it comes to school testing, you men and women really stepped up to the challenge, raising the school test school average every year, and almost doubling it your senior year.  I'm so proud of that.  Athletically, we destroyed the competition.  The football team won the last two  Group IV State Championships, both held at Giants Stadium.  Our girls softball team won the counties and place in the top 10 in the state for the first time in school history.  Our quiz bowl team took home first place in the league championship.  What a great class this was.

In leaving, just remember the great times you've had here.  Remember the new friends you made and great experiences you've had.  Cherish it.  High school will be the best times of your lives.  We will all miss you and the legacy you left behind will be tough to follow, but certainly not forgotten.  I wish all of you luck and happiness in your future endeavors.  Good luck, and don't let anyone stop you from succeeding in the real world, you are all ready!  Now everyone put your hands together and let's give them the applause they deserve.  Lets here it for the senior class of 2009!! 

Week 14 Part IV: Schmoker Quotes

Quote:

“You can walk into any school system large and small, and ask to see samples of work that’s proficient from 5 different 4^th grade classrooms.  You’ll get five radically different qualities of work.”

 In m school system, it wasn’t until this past month that we made a curriculum for health class.  In the past, the teacher will just pick whatever topics they think is suitable for the student.  We would have to pick the subjects from the textbook, but we were able to pick whatever we wanted.  Everything was all over the place.  Finally, we got a new phys. ed supervisor and she stepped in and made a set curriculum.

 If I was the supervisor, and the curriculum was all over the place in the given subject, then it would be my job to fix it.  It is not fair to the students to not be on the same page and it’s luck of the draw to what they are learning.  The first change I would do is deciding what to make the curriculum.  I’d put together a curriculum team and meet with them as weekly for however long it takes to create the proper curriculum.  Next, I would go from school to school all over the district and explain the new curriculum.  After meeting with the schools, I would then take their feedback and see if I can make any last second changes to the curriculum.  Finally, each school will take a role in creating the criteria for the units, mid-term, and final exam.  The lesson plans can be made by the individual teacher, this will allow the teacher to be creative in their own way.  After the curriculum is installed, I’ll do “pop-ins,” (even though I know I will be hated by the teachers for it) and make sure everyone is up to par.  

 

Quote:  Chap. 1 “The Buffer” pg 13

“The buffer prevents communities and school boards from knowing what or how well teachers teach, and from knowing how well (or if at all) leaders supervise instruction.  In turn, building principals know very little about what teachers teach, or how well they teach.”

I love this quote because my district defines it.   The district is so big that so many teachers are able to hide behind the buffer and never get critiqued correctly.  This happened to me for instance.  My first three years teaching, I did not get observed once by my supervisor, and these were my tenured years.  He had no idea how I taught and how good I was.  I could have taught my students the same thing everyday and he would have never known it.  I was teaching phys ed in two different elementary schools and only got observed by one building principal.  She always gave me great evaluations just based on class control and involvement.  She wasn’t of a phys ed background so she didn’t know if I was teaching the correct curriculum or not.

If I was the supervisor, I would try not to let teachers go behind the buffer.  I think laziness and scared of telling the truth causes teachers to teacher with a buffer.  If a teacher is new then I think constructive criticism is the best way thing for their practice.  I would tell them what they need to improve on and then give suggestions.  I would observe them and then also call or send emails to see how they are doing.  With the tenured teachers, I would also try and do the same even though I know they will not like to be criticized.  Every teacher always need to get better, the ones who think they don’t need to change are the ones who need the most changing. 

 

Quote:  Chap. 6  pg. 64 “the miraculous power of writing”

“Writing allows writers to “contemplate thought… until it becomes the best thinking of what they are capable.”

As a supervisor, I would definitely add writing into the curriculum.  This is where the students can really share what they know, and most importantly, want to know about what they read.  They shouldn’t just have to summarize though in their writings, they should have to argue whether they agree or disagree with the information.  This will open up the students mind and really make them think about things. 

To make sure the teacher is following this part of the curriculum, I would ask them to keep a teacher portfolio, a student portfolio, and would want to see students’ work hung up all around the classroom.  The students love seeing their work rewarded and it will be an extra motivator for them to good on the writing assignment. 

 

 Quote:  Ch 9  pg 137 “Teaching Evaluation: nowhere to go but up”

“Teaching, despite its decisive and enduring impact on student learning, isn’t meaningfully monitored or evaluated (Tucker & Stronge, 2005; Marshall, 2005).”

 Administrators need to take a better role in evaluating.  So many teachers in my district become tenured because they fall under the radar when principals or supervisors do not do their correct job.  Then these teachers receive tenure and the district is stuck with them.  Also, it is very clear in my district, once your tenured, you are not going to get a bad observation.  Just like Schmoker says, administrators are scared of criticizing tenured teachers and making them change their teaching styles.

 As supervisor, while observing, you got to go in with the state of mind that you are not their friend and should not be afraid to give a bad observation.  It’s only fair to the students to do this.  Tenured or not, teachers need to know what they are doing wrong and where they can improve.  If they are doing a good job, state that, but also make sure that will every observation you state something they can work on.  Although, by doing that, make sure you remember it so next time you observe them, they are improving in that area.   

 

     

Assessment For Learning in Upper Elementary Grades

As a physical education teacher, I find assessing students to be how well they interact in the gymnasium.  I'm teach middle school and we have written tests for the students, but that is not where most of their grade comes from.  We grade them highly on participation and knowledge of the sport or activity we are teaching them.  For example, when we teach them the sport of football, it's OK if they are not great at the skills of throwing or catching a football.  We are mostly concerned with how well they know what is going on and if they are participating correctly and fairly.  The written test we give them at the end is about the rules and situations in the sport, but they've been playing the sport for the whole unit, so the test really isn't that hard for them.  We feel this way, students are not afraid of the test and do not fear getting a bad grade in class.  I talk to most of the students before the test and they all feel really confident because they've been practicing it for a few weeks already.  

As a health teacher, I assess my students on different situations I give them.   I give tests and quizzes, but I always tell them, that the best way to learn something is to know it, not memorize it.  So therefore, journals and open discussions in class is the real way they earn their grade. 

I really enjoyed reading Stiggins article and it opened up my eyes about why so many students fear their tests and grades.  I love it how he mentioned how students can be molded into the correct way of achieving success and building confidence, but then goes on to talk about the opposite effect.  So many articles just talk about how to achieve the positive and does not talk about what could happen if they don't.  "As learners ascend to the upper elementary grades, if they experience an accumulation of unsuccessful experiences, they can begin to infer that they are incapable of learning." (Stiggins)  I think a lot of students go through this because of all the pressure is on them to pass a test, or make the honor roll.  A child will put so much pressure on themselves, that it is almost impossible for them to succeed in their own mind.  We as teachers need to pick them up when they get knocked down, just like Stiggins states.  They look to us as role models and we should show them that failing can be built on.  

Stiggins gives great assessment strategies, but my favorite one was that helps the student know where they are now and where we want them to be when we succeed.  "Provide learners with continuous access to descriptive feedback that helps them understand how to do better the next time (and then, of course, make sure there is a next time).  So many times, we will tell a student how they did what they need to do for next time to get better and succeed, and then like Stiggins infers, we do not give them that opportunity.  I know I am guilty of that myself sometimes too.  When we pick a student up and help them with their problems, we need to give them a chance to improve and not just tell them how to do it, they have to do it themselves.  This will help them believe it.  Students need to believe they can do it.  

This article by Stiggins was a great and well researched article.  He gives great points and explain why they happen and how to fix them.  He goes into detail where he needs to and answers all the questions that the reader might ask.  Stiggins did his homework when writing this article.  This is a great read for any new educator, administrator, or even parent.  

Stiggins, Rick. (February 2009)  "Assessment for Learning in Upper Elementary Grades."  Phi Delta Kappan, Vol. 90, No. 06.  pp 419-421 

MIssed class

Can anyone let me know what happened in class on tuesdya 3/10? the next assignment? Notes? thank you

NCLB Video

Did you know reaction

After I watched this video, I watched over again, and then another time, and then I showed my fiance. I was blown away by this video. If it is all really true, then we are in for crazy times ahead. I cannot believe how much further advanced China and India are than us. I mean the top IQ in China and India is more than the entire population in North America? China will be the number 1 speaking country in world? Why are we so far behind? Do they just work that much harder in the classrooms than we do? Or is that they're total population is just that much bigger than ours?
As the video went on, I was really intrigued about the computers that will be around in the future. I think its amazing that there will be a supercomputer that exceeds the capabilities of the human brain by 2023. Today's first graders will find it tough to find a job when they graduate college of computers really will do this. After reading about the supercomputer, I immediately thought of the move that came out last year, "Eagle Eye." In case you didn't see it, it was about a supercomputer that figured out a way to control America. If it didn't get what it wanted, it killed and destroyed. It got out of control and the only way to stop it was to destroy it. I'm not saying the supercomputers will be able to do that, but I do not see positivity coming out of the supercomputers. It will take people's jobs and ruin creativity. Pretty soon, we're not going to need teachers. A computer will just teach the class.
As we move into the future, we need to be prepared the youth for the technological era. Everything seems to be with computers. It doesn't seem like a problem now, but If China and India are that more advanced than we are, maybe we need to strengthen that too. Also, we need to stop texting so much. I text often, but after reading that the number of text messages send everyday exceed the population on the planet, I'm going to call more. Text messaging hinders communication. I notice that in the middle school I teach at, a lot of children have bad grammar, I bet the texting and forms of communication they use does not help that.
The skills students need to survive in the future are creativity and knowledge. With all the new technology, white-collar jobs will become blue-collar jobs. Computers will dominate. Students need to be creative and knowledgeable just to compete with jobs. I think there will be less jobs for us in the future, especially with other countries able to do our cheaper and better.
As for a teacher to be an excellent teacher without using technology, yes it is possible. That teacher must be creative, just to compete with all the technology out there. Growing up, I had a handful of excellent teachers without using technology. It is definitely easier to be an excellent teacher using technology, but that does not mean it is the only way to be excellent. Technology is a great tool for teachers, but it is not the best tool.