Here’s the latest readers’ poll on Edutopia.com. “Should schools grant maternity leave to pregnant students?” I have two thoughts about this. My first thought is my answer the to question. I voted yes. I have two simple reasons why I said yes. They have to do with punishment and deterrent. The idea that allowing teens time off from school is making things too easy on them, and that they need to “experience the consequences of their actions” is ridiculous. Study after study shows that newborn babies need loving care from their parents. Denying this opportunity doesn’t punish the mother, it punishes the child. The baby already has a big strike against it, let’s not make it any harder on the baby than we have to. Otherwise, we’ll probably just be dealing with the exact same situation in about 15 years (or a worse situation). The second reason I voted yes is also very simple, one of the main tenants of punishment is deterrent. I find it hard to believe that two teens in the heat of the moment and with racing hormones will stop to consider whether they will be allowed maternity leave before “going all the way.”
The real issue here, in my opinion, is not whether schools should offer maternity leave, at least in Michigan that is not the issue. The reason for that is simple; the Michigan legislature has already determined that schools will offer leave to students – for any length of time and for any reason. You see, the Michigan government does not believe attendance should factor into a student’s grade. As such, our district has recently removed all attendance policies from the district. Not surprisingly, absences are way up. It doesn’t take an Ed D degree to realize that it is awfully hard to pass a class when you aren’t in class enough to learn any of the material…
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Friday, March 27, 2009
The sound of silence
I recently read this mini-article on a Spokane, WA (public?) high school that is testing and exploring the legality of a cell phone blocker in the school. The school tested a blocker for 3 days, turning it off during the passing time between classes. The reason I found this article is that I am one of the school improvement chairs at my school, and recently several teachers and committees have suggested that a similar device be employed in our building (all rooms in our school have dedicated landlines).
In my very limited web research on cell phone blockers, I have found that jamming devices (devices that actually interfere with the radio signals of the phones) are illegal, but blocking devices use a slightly different technology and are considered a “grey area” in the law. The previous article concerning the Spokane school stated that the school district is investigating whether the cell phone blocker that the high school tested is legal.
Let me share a little background. In our building (and district wide, I think), cell phones are not allowed in school during school hours. They can be used before and after school. During school hours, including during passing time and lunch, phones are not allowed and if they are seen or heard by a staff member, they can be confiscated without warning. According to the policy, on the first offense, the student may pick up the phone after school in the attendance/discipline office. On the second offense, a parent must come into school to retrieve the phone. On the third offense, the student will be suspended.
The problem is enforcement. The students know that our administrators will not enforce the policy, so while they complain when their phone is taken away, they know there is no real consequence. Teachers also have come to learn that administrators will not enforce the rules; so slowly but surely, most teachers have stopped taking phones except in the most extreme cases. Consequently, phones are out of control in our building. Most of our 1600 students use their phones regularly in school. While most of the use is innocent, often the use is disturbing to class and disrespectful to teachers. Some students have found ways to cheat on tests, and the latest craze seems to be “sexting” in which kids are sending sexual texts and nude photos of themselves to each other.
I don't want it to sound like I am overly critical of our administrators, nor of the teachers who have chosen to not enforce the policy. With all the cutbacks in our district (like other districts) all of our staff members are stretched very thin. On any given day, there are probably more serious concerns in our building than cell phones.
Technology is also against teachers in this battle. Newer phones can use the school’s wireless network, and therefore still have limited use even if a cell blocker were put into place. Mosquito ringtones allow students to receive calls and texts without teachers hearing the phone ring or vibrate, and students find all kinds of ways to send and receive texts without taking their phones out of their pockets and purses.
I don’t know whether cell phone blockers are legal or ethical. I don’t even know if they will be effective with the wireless network available. What I do know is that our school, like many others, needs to find a way to maintain a learning environment in light of the proliferation of cell phones.
In my very limited web research on cell phone blockers, I have found that jamming devices (devices that actually interfere with the radio signals of the phones) are illegal, but blocking devices use a slightly different technology and are considered a “grey area” in the law. The previous article concerning the Spokane school stated that the school district is investigating whether the cell phone blocker that the high school tested is legal.
Let me share a little background. In our building (and district wide, I think), cell phones are not allowed in school during school hours. They can be used before and after school. During school hours, including during passing time and lunch, phones are not allowed and if they are seen or heard by a staff member, they can be confiscated without warning. According to the policy, on the first offense, the student may pick up the phone after school in the attendance/discipline office. On the second offense, a parent must come into school to retrieve the phone. On the third offense, the student will be suspended.
The problem is enforcement. The students know that our administrators will not enforce the policy, so while they complain when their phone is taken away, they know there is no real consequence. Teachers also have come to learn that administrators will not enforce the rules; so slowly but surely, most teachers have stopped taking phones except in the most extreme cases. Consequently, phones are out of control in our building. Most of our 1600 students use their phones regularly in school. While most of the use is innocent, often the use is disturbing to class and disrespectful to teachers. Some students have found ways to cheat on tests, and the latest craze seems to be “sexting” in which kids are sending sexual texts and nude photos of themselves to each other.
I don't want it to sound like I am overly critical of our administrators, nor of the teachers who have chosen to not enforce the policy. With all the cutbacks in our district (like other districts) all of our staff members are stretched very thin. On any given day, there are probably more serious concerns in our building than cell phones.
Technology is also against teachers in this battle. Newer phones can use the school’s wireless network, and therefore still have limited use even if a cell blocker were put into place. Mosquito ringtones allow students to receive calls and texts without teachers hearing the phone ring or vibrate, and students find all kinds of ways to send and receive texts without taking their phones out of their pockets and purses.
I don’t know whether cell phone blockers are legal or ethical. I don’t even know if they will be effective with the wireless network available. What I do know is that our school, like many others, needs to find a way to maintain a learning environment in light of the proliferation of cell phones.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Leadership
I recently had to read an article on the implementation of technology in the classroom by Yong Zhao (et. al.). It was a good article, and I gained some insights which I might blog about in the future, but the point of today’s blog entry is a single quote in the article from one of the participants in the study. I’m not sure it matters, but the person who said this is identified by the authors as a male teacher in a “multimedia” classroom in a high school. The teacher is also identified as a military veteran.
"In the military, the bosses said this is what we want done. You’re gonna do it. Now how you’re gonna do it, that’s up to you… you do it the way you think it needs to be done. It maybe will not be the way I chose to do it. But that’s part of being a leader is saying I’m gonna let you do the job, taking a risk. But I think that’s a big problem we have in education is leadership isn’t leadership. It’s administration. And there’s a big difference between leadership and administration. I’m tired of being administered. I’d like to be led for a change."
Just as a bonus, I’ll throw in a quote that I’ve often heard from a gentleman at my church. I don’t know if the quote is original to him, or not, but he says, “Leadership is inspiring others to want to follow.”
Now, I’m not going to sit here and badmouth my school’s leadership for two simple reasons, one is they really aren’t all that bad, and the second is I like my job. But I would like to comment on leadership in general. I for one have felt just like the man in the study when it comes to our nation's politics. I think that one of the things we’ve seen in this country in the past 6 – 9 months is a desire to be truly led. I think we saw that in the presidential election. People said "things are screwed up, and we are going to vote for the party that says, 'we will lead you through the hard work of fixing things,' instead of the party that says, 'everything is going to be fine, just trust us to take care of it.'" I think we saw something similar when Pres. Bush was elected because (in part) he challenged some of the things that had become status quo under Pres. Clinton.
"In the military, the bosses said this is what we want done. You’re gonna do it. Now how you’re gonna do it, that’s up to you… you do it the way you think it needs to be done. It maybe will not be the way I chose to do it. But that’s part of being a leader is saying I’m gonna let you do the job, taking a risk. But I think that’s a big problem we have in education is leadership isn’t leadership. It’s administration. And there’s a big difference between leadership and administration. I’m tired of being administered. I’d like to be led for a change."
Just as a bonus, I’ll throw in a quote that I’ve often heard from a gentleman at my church. I don’t know if the quote is original to him, or not, but he says, “Leadership is inspiring others to want to follow.”
Now, I’m not going to sit here and badmouth my school’s leadership for two simple reasons, one is they really aren’t all that bad, and the second is I like my job. But I would like to comment on leadership in general. I for one have felt just like the man in the study when it comes to our nation's politics. I think that one of the things we’ve seen in this country in the past 6 – 9 months is a desire to be truly led. I think we saw that in the presidential election. People said "things are screwed up, and we are going to vote for the party that says, 'we will lead you through the hard work of fixing things,' instead of the party that says, 'everything is going to be fine, just trust us to take care of it.'" I think we saw something similar when Pres. Bush was elected because (in part) he challenged some of the things that had become status quo under Pres. Clinton.
Even many who disagree with Pres. Obama have acknowledged that he is at least taking a proactive approach to a variety of issues, and on many he is straying from his base (e.g. charter schools, merit pay, etc). I am interested to see what happens as we continue to move past the “honeymoon” period and into his presidency. I hope that Washington will begin to shift towards leadership and cooperation, and away from rhetoric and obstruction.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
What was, What is, and What could be...
I feel compelled to share a little more about my favorite online comic - XKCD. Initially, upon opening today’s comic, I was a little disappointed. You see the last comic had great potential as a “mini-series” – “The Modern Adventures of Don Quixote” and I was disappointed that Munroe had not taken that route. Oh well, he has been known to write a series of cartoons and then break the series up with n unrelated comics, but that is what could be…
I think Munroe’s best series, however, was his uninterrupted series on the new Secretary of the Internet cabinet post. A great comic with excellent references to Ron Paul, TRON, and ball pits, but that is what was…
As for what is, today’s comic did make me lol, because I so remember having that exact dream while I was an undergrad (not the Power Ranger dream). Thankfully, I have not had it since, so fear not Younglings; there is still hope of a restful slumber.
I think Munroe’s best series, however, was his uninterrupted series on the new Secretary of the Internet cabinet post. A great comic with excellent references to Ron Paul, TRON, and ball pits, but that is what was…
As for what is, today’s comic did make me lol, because I so remember having that exact dream while I was an undergrad (not the Power Ranger dream). Thankfully, I have not had it since, so fear not Younglings; there is still hope of a restful slumber.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Now is the time
Well the time has finally come. I have labored in a variety of classes to learn about modern technology that is available to teachers, most recently in EDU 653 where we are learning about wikis (and other technologies).
Some of the wiki-related requirements of EDU 653 were to create a personal wiki and submit work on the class wiki. To help learn about wikis, we had to watch this video by Lee LeFever. (To bad we didn't get to watch this video by Lee LeFever, it has more practical uses for real life.)
While I am far from a wiki expert at this point, the things we’ve done in class and the clever video we watched have inspired me to implement wiki technology in my life. As such, my partner and I for another class are currently writing a research paper on a wiki. She lives about 2 hours away from me, so the wiki makes it easy to share things with each other, without having to drive and meet. I also created a wiki for my family so that we can plan a family reunion / vacation for the summer of ’10.
I guess it remains to be seen if wikis are really the powerful tool that my professor implies them to be, but so far I’m having fun and I guess that’s what counts.
Some of the wiki-related requirements of EDU 653 were to create a personal wiki and submit work on the class wiki. To help learn about wikis, we had to watch this video by Lee LeFever. (To bad we didn't get to watch this video by Lee LeFever, it has more practical uses for real life.)
While I am far from a wiki expert at this point, the things we’ve done in class and the clever video we watched have inspired me to implement wiki technology in my life. As such, my partner and I for another class are currently writing a research paper on a wiki. She lives about 2 hours away from me, so the wiki makes it easy to share things with each other, without having to drive and meet. I also created a wiki for my family so that we can plan a family reunion / vacation for the summer of ’10.
I guess it remains to be seen if wikis are really the powerful tool that my professor implies them to be, but so far I’m having fun and I guess that’s what counts.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
It's not your parents' dirty dancing...
Edutopia is conducting a new poll on student dancing at high school dances (click here to participate in the poll). Of course, it has no scientific value of any type, but I always find the subject of student dancing to be humorous, so I thought I would explain why…
As mentioned in the Edutopia poll, adults have found the dancing of teens to push the limits of good taste since dance was invented. I guess I'm no different. My first year as a teacher I was “invited” to chaperone the Homecoming Dance, and my wife and I naively accepted. We were “dance floor monitors” which is like the chaperone equivalent to the Marine, fresh from boot camp, sitting in the front of the landing craft at Normandy. I’ll spare you all the glorious details, but I did commit to myself that I would never chaperone a dance again.
And that statement is the beginning of the problem. Our school could not get chaperones. Teachers and parents alike refused to do it because it was just too unsettling to watch the activities on the dance floor. Well, after enough complaints and one canceled dance (due to too few chaperones) the administration instituted the following policy:
“Dancing shall be performed in such a way that the dancers will be face to face and vertical.”
And here you see the humor… “Face to face and vertical!” The school’s administration actually had to go around to classes and explain this new policy to students, who of course, would ask for demonstrations and counter-examples.
So that’s the dance policy at our school, and if you really want to get down with the “horizontal bop,” then you’ll have to find another dance floor on which to perform it.
As mentioned in the Edutopia poll, adults have found the dancing of teens to push the limits of good taste since dance was invented. I guess I'm no different. My first year as a teacher I was “invited” to chaperone the Homecoming Dance, and my wife and I naively accepted. We were “dance floor monitors” which is like the chaperone equivalent to the Marine, fresh from boot camp, sitting in the front of the landing craft at Normandy. I’ll spare you all the glorious details, but I did commit to myself that I would never chaperone a dance again.
And that statement is the beginning of the problem. Our school could not get chaperones. Teachers and parents alike refused to do it because it was just too unsettling to watch the activities on the dance floor. Well, after enough complaints and one canceled dance (due to too few chaperones) the administration instituted the following policy:
“Dancing shall be performed in such a way that the dancers will be face to face and vertical.”
And here you see the humor… “Face to face and vertical!” The school’s administration actually had to go around to classes and explain this new policy to students, who of course, would ask for demonstrations and counter-examples.
So that’s the dance policy at our school, and if you really want to get down with the “horizontal bop,” then you’ll have to find another dance floor on which to perform it.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Politics, as usual?
Well, I feel like the well of inspiration for my blog entries is already beginning to dry up, and it’s only been about 2.5 weeks… So, as a remedy, I began looking for news and op-ed sites for blog fodder. I didn’t quite find one that hit a nerve as a likely source of regular ideas, but I did find this site: The Political Compass
I think it’s a neat site. It, like many other sites, provides a quiz so you can see where your political views fall on a continuum, but unlike most of the others I’ve seen, it doesn’t limit you to a Left vs. Right ranking. Sure, it does have a left/Right ranking, but it also has an Authoritarian vs. Libertarian ranking.
I thought this was kinda unique. It still clumps the Left/Right ranking based on both fiscal and social criteria (I’d like to see a quiz that separates these), but it also has a reflection on your view of government and its role in the daily lives of citizens. At this point in my life, I think that the role of government has had a bigger influence in the way I vote than my actual views on specific social and fiscal programs/issues.
The site has a Facebook app, so you can take the quiz on Facebook and share your results with all your friends, which I may do soon. In the meantime, enjoy the quiz and be sure to vote!
I think it’s a neat site. It, like many other sites, provides a quiz so you can see where your political views fall on a continuum, but unlike most of the others I’ve seen, it doesn’t limit you to a Left vs. Right ranking. Sure, it does have a left/Right ranking, but it also has an Authoritarian vs. Libertarian ranking.
I thought this was kinda unique. It still clumps the Left/Right ranking based on both fiscal and social criteria (I’d like to see a quiz that separates these), but it also has a reflection on your view of government and its role in the daily lives of citizens. At this point in my life, I think that the role of government has had a bigger influence in the way I vote than my actual views on specific social and fiscal programs/issues.
The site has a Facebook app, so you can take the quiz on Facebook and share your results with all your friends, which I may do soon. In the meantime, enjoy the quiz and be sure to vote!
Saturday, March 7, 2009
What's the point?
Last night Jennifer and I went to see a movie while the kids were staying with their grandma. It was an alright movie (TAKEN), but that’s not the point of this post…
When we got home from the 7:30 show, we weren’t quite ready to head to bed, so we watched NUMB3RS on TV. A good show exploring the idea of AI in a way that only Numb3rs can, but that’s not the point of this post…
As with any TV show, there were a lot of commercials that we were forced to watch over the course of the hour-long program. One of the commercials was for the iPhone, and all its many apps. One of the apps was the Kindle. I immediately made some joke to Jennifer about reading War and Peace on the tiny screen of my iPhone, but my jovial nature is not the point of this post…
The point of this post is that Amazon has a Kindle app available for the iPhone! I guess as I watched the 30 second commercial last night, I didn’t give it a lot of thought, but then this article showed up on my RSS feed. It made me think, especially when I reached the last paragraph where the author quoted himself as stating that the iPhone just may become the “ultimate eBook reader”!
Ok, now I know they say, “don’t knock it till you try it,” but I just can’t imagine reading say, War and Peace on my iPhone. Isn’t the text like really small, or don’t you have to constantly turn the page (because there’s only like 5 words on the screen at a time). I don’t know, I think the iPhone is kinda cool, and I wouldn’t mind getting one to play with, but I can’t picture this. I suppose that if my textbook publisher would make an eBook edition available, I could finally stop yelling at my students to put away their phones…
When we got home from the 7:30 show, we weren’t quite ready to head to bed, so we watched NUMB3RS on TV. A good show exploring the idea of AI in a way that only Numb3rs can, but that’s not the point of this post…
As with any TV show, there were a lot of commercials that we were forced to watch over the course of the hour-long program. One of the commercials was for the iPhone, and all its many apps. One of the apps was the Kindle. I immediately made some joke to Jennifer about reading War and Peace on the tiny screen of my iPhone, but my jovial nature is not the point of this post…
The point of this post is that Amazon has a Kindle app available for the iPhone! I guess as I watched the 30 second commercial last night, I didn’t give it a lot of thought, but then this article showed up on my RSS feed. It made me think, especially when I reached the last paragraph where the author quoted himself as stating that the iPhone just may become the “ultimate eBook reader”!
Ok, now I know they say, “don’t knock it till you try it,” but I just can’t imagine reading say, War and Peace on my iPhone. Isn’t the text like really small, or don’t you have to constantly turn the page (because there’s only like 5 words on the screen at a time). I don’t know, I think the iPhone is kinda cool, and I wouldn’t mind getting one to play with, but I can’t picture this. I suppose that if my textbook publisher would make an eBook edition available, I could finally stop yelling at my students to put away their phones…
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
A Law by Any Other Name
I just read a mini-article on Edutopia asking the question, "Does 'No Child Left Behind' need a new name?"
First of all, how about the idea that the law was originally called the "Elementary and Secondary Education Act" and was signed by LBJ in '65. Bush just gave it a PC name in 2001 when he expanded the act to mandate testing (and other things).
So, now that we are talking about the same document, and have established that there is a precedent for changing its name (as established by Bush), then I suppose you can continue in the Bush tradition and change the name of the law if you want to.
However, “A [law] by any other name would smell just as…” I do not think that any document with the NCLB label will get a fair shake, especially from the NEA and other similar organizations. With that said, the real issue is the fact that this law is hated. Why? This is the question that needs to be answered, and based on the answer to this question reforms should be made… Starting with the name.
First of all, how about the idea that the law was originally called the "Elementary and Secondary Education Act" and was signed by LBJ in '65. Bush just gave it a PC name in 2001 when he expanded the act to mandate testing (and other things).
So, now that we are talking about the same document, and have established that there is a precedent for changing its name (as established by Bush), then I suppose you can continue in the Bush tradition and change the name of the law if you want to.
However, “A [law] by any other name would smell just as…” I do not think that any document with the NCLB label will get a fair shake, especially from the NEA and other similar organizations. With that said, the real issue is the fact that this law is hated. Why? This is the question that needs to be answered, and based on the answer to this question reforms should be made… Starting with the name.
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