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.

Comment to Lindsay Lorson on EWEG

I think you have great ideas to help better the middle school. I agree with most of the ways you choose to spend the money. Things I might have a disagreement on are maybe the professional development workshops once a month. I'm not sure if there is going to be enough money to hold a workshop once a month. Also, it might be tough having teachers agree to having workshops monthly. Otherwise, I really don't have any other disagreements with your plan. I think it sounds like an efficient and safe way to help the students.

Week 5: Part 2 Budget

Title I:

• Put together a team that helps students for test readiness.
• Pay teachers a stipend to keep them after school working with the students to get ready for test.
• Create better benchmarks.
• Hire a test specialist teacher

Title II:

• Bring in speakers for professional development to help teachers deal with economically disadvantaged students.
• Have mandatory math workshops for teachers.
• Create as much professional development necessary for teachers with money left. They can always get better.

Title III:

• Purchase more materials for the bilingual products. Use new technology to help with the program.
• Hire a part-time teacher if possible to help with struggling bilingual students.
• After-school bilingual programs.

Title IV:

• Hire a motivational speaker about drug abuse and have seminar for students.
• After school drug abuse programs.

Title V:

• Purchase new technology for students. Give them as much as you can to help them out in the classroom. Smart Boards are a great start.

Pink Assignment

As we head into the conceptual age, like Pink says, we need to change our way of thinking. During the past few eras, we used our left side of the brain more, for our blue-collar jobs. Then we started to use more of the right side as we had more and more white-collar jobs. Now, we need to use them both equally. We're going into an era where we need to think outside of the box. We're losing jobs to overseas and computers that do it cheaper and faster. We should not think more r-directed though. That is not the answer. We need each side of the brain just as much as we need the other. This picture illustrates a passage from Pink's book about how we need each side of the brain equally. The passage is:

"Human beings somehow seem naturally inclined to see life in contrasting pairs. East versus West. Mars versus Venus. Logic versus emotions. Left versus right...... In the end yin always needs yang.

This is especially true when it comes to our brains. The two sides work in concert-two sections of an orchestra that sounds awful if one side packs up its instrument and goes home."

E.D. Hirsch

After reading about your ideas and philosophies for education, I would have to say I disagree with your overall view. There are some concepts that I just can’t agree that it will make the children better and more prepared for real life. I agree with some of your ideas. For example, I do think children should master the simpler elements of content before they can move on to the more complex ones. How could they learn more about something if they can’t understand what it is really about? The rest of your concepts though, I have an issue with.
On classroom issues, you feel students should learn by memorization and rote memory, and that constant testing is the way to make the students learn. I’m very anti-memorization tactics. I feel students do not obtain the information if they just memorize it and not comprehend the information. I side with the progressive educators on this one. Also, I do feel over-testing is an issue we have to look at as a concern for the students.
I do not understand how you feel that a child’s race and economic background does not account for problems for many schools in the inner city. I don’t feel that a unified core curriculum will help out with this problem. The difference in backgrounds of each child makes for diversity. Therefore, a curriculum has to be able to adapt to each child and school district. When you say, “the children of the poor… should learn the value of hard work” do you mean that only poor children should learn that value, or all children. Either way, it sounds like you are blaming the poor children for being poor. Yes, they should work hard, but they must be educated the same way, as you would teach a wealthier child.
I think you have a lot of knowledge and you have done your research to back up your statements, but I do not agree with you. I think we need to teach the youth of America the concept of “How to” and not just use memorization tactics. The words the students should all know aren’t all necessary for everyday life. They need to know how to problem solve and use all their sources of technology to guide their education. You seem to be a little too much “old-school” and should get up to date. Education is always changing, and show should the teaching philosophies.

The Sabertooth Curriculum

1. Yes, students should be taught what is needed for everyday life. We need to prepare them for what is ahead. Education is always changing. We are discovering new things all the time, and we never know what the world is going to bring. The "Saber-tooth curriculum" shows proof of that. The tribe in the story thought they had everything figured out and life was going to be paradise, and then they were thrown a curve ball, and life became miserable all over again. If they did not adapt to new ways of thinking and problem solving, they would have not survived. The radicals knew they had to change the education of the children. The students needed to be taught the new skills. The only reason New-Fist started the schools was to teach children useful information, not useless information. I bet, if New Fist was still around during this changing of time, he would have told the old wise men that their intentions were good, but the education of the children needed to adapt to everyday life.

2. Yes, students be taught about life today. They are our future and it is our job to prepare them for that. By doing this, we should teach them about the past and lead them into what is ahead. They should learn new ways to think and problem solve. Their are going to be many more and new problems that we will face in life, and they are going to be the ones who will become responsible for solving them.

3. I think curriculum should teach the students both skills and content knowledge, but mostly content knowledge. The skills still are important, but as Pink says in his book "A Whole New Mind," we are entering an age that involves more thinking than ever. Our world is changing and the students need to be able to adapt to it. A curriculum that focuses more on teaching the information about what it is and how it is, will better lead our students into the future.

Week 2 Part II

After watching the video of the laws and standards for curriculum, I find very few shackles in them. I find benefits in just about all of them. The core curriculum standards are what students should know and be able to do. There are a lot of them and if we do follow them as teachers, it will only help the students. We also adapt the standards to students who have an IEP, LEP, and are G&T. It adapts to every student, which I think is great. The topics that should be covered I agree with that they should be covered. The requirement for high school students I do not have a problem with because it opens up students to all the subjects. If they choose to go to college, they now have a better understanding of what they want to further pursue. It's good that their are accountability levels to make sure we are doing the right thing. I think it's great that there is extra funding and extra scrutiny for Abbott school districts. I see nothing wrong with giving them more money when they are much poorer than some other school districts. This will help them keep up with the wealthier school systems. The PIP and 100 hours for students are good because they keep the teacher on track of becoming a better teacher.
The only shackles that I see with these laws and codes are installing them. I think the idea and purpose for them are great, but it's maintaining them that are tough. I worked in an Abbott school before I went to Clifton, and the extra scrutiny didn't really seem to help. Also, I felt the extra funding was not used correctly. I remember that the high school football team three brand new jerseys for their team, which they really didn't need. Some of that money could have been used to fix the 80-year-old school that I was teaching in and falling apart. I'm not saying all Abbott schools are like the one I was in, but I'm sure there are some like it.

At my school, we just got a brand new vice principal, and he was assigned to the Phys Ed. department. He's been a real stickler with all the core curriculum standards in out lesson plans. At first, this annoyed us, but then we realized, he's right and he's our boss, so we have to do it. Plus, it's better for the student to make sure you're teaching them the right thing. What I disagree with the state is the NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND ACT. Our school isn't doing too good with the state testing. We failed two years in a row. Now, the state is all over us. I don't feel a school should be judged on if students pass a test or not. It's makes father Sarducci right when he says that education just comes down to memorization. If all the state cares about is a test, then we should really just be teaching them the test. The students need more than that.

I think there should be national and state standards. Every state is different, and every state had a different kind of population. I think the national standards should be general and cover the main topics every student needs to learn, and the state standards can get more specific. But, I am not opposed to standards.

Week 2 Part IV

When I was in high school, I never would have thought I would be a Phys Ed teacher. I never thought of what I wanted to do in life because I was so focused on sports. All I cared about was getting in shape for football and trying to get into a good school. I was only an average student so I knew that football will help me with that goal, and it did. I got accepted into TCNJ because they wanted me to play for them. My grades weren't good enough for there, but Coach Hamilton was able to get me in as a special admit. So now I am there and my main focus is football, and not what I wanted to major in. So I started out my freshman year as undecided. I took a bunch of general education courses and they all bored me to death. I realized that sports are what I know and what I enjoy. So that made up my mind that I wanted to become a Phys Ed major, but training not teaching.

My sophomore year roles around and I hurt my back real bad from football. The doctor tells me that if I still wanted to play I would have to get back surgery, which he strongly advised against because I was only 20 years old. He said the best thing for my back is to stop with contact sports. The wear and tear through the years of football destroyed my back. This crushed me. So I told my coach the situation and he totally understood. He knew I had to what was best for my health. Coach demanded me that I stayed in football though, and he got me a local coaching job for the Allentown High School football team as the running back coach. This was the job that got me into education. I realized that I absolutely loved coaching and teaching because of the relationship I developed with the players. I was only able to coach there for one year, but that was enough for me to realize this is what I wanted to do.
Since I became a teacher, I have no regrets. I really enjoy the unique and different relationships that get developed with my students and players. Every year, I get new students and players and I get to form new ones. I'm not going to lie, some students or players I am happy to see go because you can't connect with all of them, you will go crazy trying to. The ones that I did connect with, I will definitely miss but look forward to developing ones similar with new students.

I believe that every teacher's philosophy is different from everyone else. A lot are similar, but not exact. A philosophy is what you believe is most important to make your strategy work. As you can probably tell with me, being able to relate and get across to the students is the most important to me. I never let another teacher make my decision about a student. What I mean by that is, when another teacher goes to me, "Oh you have that kid? Good luck!" I give every student a chance. We don't know what goes on at home with some of the kids, so I would never write a kid off before I make my own personal evaluation on him or her.

About Me...

My name is Rob Bertolini (I was the guy who came late to the first class). I am 26 years old and currently live in Little Ferry. In May, I got engaged and I am getting married in July. I teach health and Phys ed at Christopher Columbus Middle School in Clifton, and I also coach varsity football there. This is my fourth year in Clifton. GO MUSTANGS!! I love sports. I watch ESPN constantly. I love the Giants, Yankees, Notre Dame football, and Duke Basketball. When I'm not watching ESPN, I watch Seinfeld, King of Queens, The Family Guy, and The Office. I know I should watch the news but it bores me to death.

I grew up in Bergenfield and went to high school at Bergen Catholic. After high school, I continued my education at The College of New Jersey where I played college football and majored in Health and Exercise Science. I chose to get into education because a lot of my family is in the field. My uncle is the principal of Leonia High School and he inspried me to get my masters in administration. My career goals are to be an athletic director and then a high school prinicpal. I know I have a long road ahead but I hope this course will help me out.