Journal #7 Newark Public Schools donation

This past week it was announced on 'Oprah' that Mark Zuckerberg, the creator of Facebook has donated $100 million to the failing Newark public school system. The system itself has been turned over to Newark mayor, Cory Booker by NJ Governor Chris Christie. Evidently Zuckerberg and Booker met at a conference and discussed educational reforms. I caught a educational commentator on TV raising some questions that all this brought up in my head as well, particularly how, if other donations haven't helped, is throwing money at this system really the solution at this point?

Studies of other school systems around the world, abet more homogeneous and smaller ones, have shown that wonderful educations can be had for the same average we spend here in the U.S.. Research seems to show that money is not neccessarily the quick fix to the problem, neither are mass firings, which had also occurred in the Newark system. Seems that large scale firings do little more than lower school morale and weed out the small percentage of truly poor teachers. Donations of such large amounts seem to be purely for show and while appreciated, I myself am anxious to hear the voices of students these donations have actually helped.

While one can hope to hear success stories coming out of Newark in future years the reality is that positive effects of this donation may not been seen for years. Hopefully it will be used for some immediate concerns like decrepit facilities, up to date classroom technology, and replenishing of books and supplies. The intangible benefits are those which won't be measured by rigorous testing; community involvement, graduation numbers, improved school morale, and pride in teaching and I'm not sure any amount of money can truly change these things.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/23/education/23newark.html?_r=1

Reading Reflection; The "J"

The interesting thing about this article is that it clarifies an activity many writers do naturally. But not all students are natural writers and I particularly enjoyed Kirby's techniques for helping those students to whom writing does not easily to get started.

I think the main thing that writing in a journal does for a student is to begin to make the practice of writing easier, more fluid, and less of a chore. I'm sure for many English teachers the problem is not just teaching the classics or writing essays but how to get students to find any level of enjoyment in these tasks. It would stand to reason then, that if students enjoyed these things that they may retain them as well!

The wonderful side benefit of teaching journaling, in my opinion, is that many students today simply do not have anyone to tell their thoughts to. As they point out in the article, of course you have to set boundaries, no teacher want to hear about their students drinking or doing drugs! But today in our busy world with two working parents kids don't often have someone around to tell their thoughts to, much less someone who has the time or inclination to listen. Journals powerful benefit, aside from the gain in writing skill, is being the place where a student can be themselves and present their thoughts and opinions without judgement, a place where they can open up and create a confidant on paper, one who will always be there and never turn away.

I really enjoyed this article as a way to break down the steps to successful journaling. It was really presented in a way that made it easy, clear, and fun for teachers of almost any subject to implement.

Can Exercise make us Smarter?

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/09/15/phys-ed-can-exercise-make-kids-smarter/?emc=eta1

According to this recent article in the NY Times, there are recent studies showing that its not the exercise that makes us smarter but the physical connections that enable us to think and intellectualize that are made stronger by physical activity.

There is no doubt that physical and outdoor activity of any level are a positive influence on a growing child. Recess happens in schools the world over, even in third world countries where the academics are limited, the importance of children getting out and burning off energy is never discounted. So the article itself doesn't seem to be claiming that this activity makes kids actually smarter, merely that it is a significant part of creating a healthy mind. The studies prove without a shadow of a doubt that physical effort strengthens the body and makes the mind sharper.

How schools manage to make due without any specific space or format for free outdoor play is unbelievable. At my older child's first school there was no recess. At first it became obvious that being in an urban area, this parochial school simply did not have the space.They had a full gym but this was only available certain times of the day and certain days of the week. But as time went on, as a parent, it became obvious that the funding and organization had never been put in place to put the playground in the best place; the rooftop. It took over 2 years to just get the organization, the permits, the paperwork in place to finally get it built, even with a parent contractor! The public school my children go to now is also experiencing a recess-free period. Supposedly there is a beautiful new, state of the art school yard with ball field, track and tree going in now. However, as a parent, the decision to start construction in the few weeks before school started is highly questionable! The children are forced, in beautiful fall weather, to alternate between watching movies in the auditorium, and playing in the small fenced in 'garden' area in the front of the building! I am shocked that children are expected to appreciate the sacrifice they're making when all they really want to do is run and jump and play.

Maybe because I am the parent of boys I never underestimate the power of play. When my kids were younger I used to equate outdoor play with tossing the tennis ball for a puppy, they could never get enough and in fact, seemed to crave it like nourishment. Hopefully, this article will only go to prove what the parent of young children learn at the onset of the toddling years, that a strong body can help a strong mind grow.

Journal #4 First Day Jitters

Well, its official now, both my kids are away at school, the oldest in first grade and the youngest in Pre-K. I can't lie and say its been an easy road to getting them through daycare, nursery school and both into a top tier public elementary school. But now that they're both there I feel my work as a parent has just begun.

We live in Cobble Hill in Brooklyn, a now upper class neighborhood next door to Brooklyn Heights and running along the water. We've lived in a three block radius for close to twenty years moving from a large pre-war to a garret with low ceilings, before finally settling in a beautiful two bedroom in a new building along the outskirts of the neighborhood. Our neighborhood has gone from largely Italian and Hispanic to mostly upper-middle class Manhattanites.

I struggled for years to give my two boys a pre-school education and activity level that was on par with other local kids. Despite the fact that living on one income severely limited our activity level I managed to find ways to give my kids the best available in our price point. My oldest went to a local parochial school for pre-school that was hidden away in Brooklyn Heights. Though it was a Greek Orthodox school the school was reasonably priced and had wonderful facilities. My youngest was lucky enough get a spot at a highly regarded city daycare across from the housing projects on nearby Hoyt street. The city daycare was beautiful, clean, had college educated teachers, freshly cooked meals, and rooftop playgrounds. Leaving it behind for public pre-K more than tripled my after school care costs for my youngest but placed him in the same school as his older brother and thus shortened my pick-up and drop off time.

Now that we're in a public school I feel my job has just begun. In a class of 26 first graders I fear my oldest will get lost in the cracks in such a large class. I also worry his boyish behaviour will make classroom management difficult for his young, inexperienced teacher and lead to discipline issues. My youngest will adjust fine, but he is entering a class where he knows no other kids. To go from going to school with kids from the projects with a highly diverse classroom to a class full of kids who've gone to private pre-schools and have nannies is a difference I hope he doesn't notice as much as I do. Indeed, I wonder if he even does notice the difference or if its just another group of friends.

Hopefully, things will go fine, new friends will be made, and they will adjust. For me its another question altogether; will they make friends? will they have a positive learning experience? will they enjoy being students? will their teachers connect with them?Most of these questions are things that we probably will not know the answers to until the end of the school year.

Journal #3 'Waiting for Superman'

In this week's New York magazine there is an article about the release of a new movie about the school system called 'Waiting for Superman'. The film is directed by the same director as the acclaimed 'An Inconvenient Truth', Davis Guggenheim. He had previously directed a film about first year teachers, 'The First Year', which followed young teachers as they struggled through their first year teaching in the L.A. Unified school districts toughest schools.

New York claims that the film ostracizes the two most influential parties in the school system, the AFT and the reformers. Though Guggenheim claims he made the film to show how kids are the real losers in the entire situation, the article says that the film only polarizes the two sides. The film shows the competitive nature bought about in the race to win a coveted spot via lottery in a charter school. Often seen as the last hope for poor inner city minorities, charter schools are seen as the best way out of a bad environment and the only way to a better life through education. Whether this is actually true or not, the film doesn't go into, rather, it portrays the system that forces parents to go to such lengths to get the education each child deserves.

I feel that the educational system is in such a place that any publicity is good publicity. Educators are hoping that this can do for education what 'Inconvenient Truth' did for climate change, but bring it into a realm which is more relative to viewers. Whereas global warming is scary and distant nothing could be warmer and closer to most people's hearts than kids. Guggenheim even admits that his liberal private schooling of his own children was part of the reason he felt it important to do this movie. His own yuppie guilt which so many of us posses only helped to portray how very unbalanced the system is. Hopefully the combination of sympathetic subject matter and adorable needy kids will help in getting the film's larger point across. I can only hope it does for the sake of our future careers and the kid's we all hope touch in our futures as teachers.

Journal #2 Plumbers and Reading

In our last class discussion I lamented about the decline of the blue collar worker due to the demands of higher education among all working people. Specifically, I used the example of my uncle and father-in-law who were plumbers themselves. However, upon further reflection I realize I really only told the class half of the story.

My uncle, Tom, followed my grandfather into the plumbing business. My grandfather owned his own business and my grandmother was the secretary/bookkeeper. Just as my husband had done with his father, my uncle spent summers and holidays working for his dad as an assistant. My husband often said he could not turn his father down, he paid him well and was a fair boss compared to other teen jobs.

Here is where the stories cease to merge..my uncle went on to become a plumber himself, though never opening his own business. My husband never got his journeyman's license and went to college for engineering. This is where the importance of reading and writing does indeed enter into the career of a plumber (aside from whatever professional testing may occur). My uncle was applying for a job at a major pharmaceutical company outside Chicago, this job would have been a staff position for the company working in their facilities and offering what I can only guess would be good benefits and the other perks that go along with major corporate employment in the early 80's. He interviewed, but to actually be offered this job he had to pass a basic reading and math test. Needless to say he did not pass and was not offered this job. Feeling embarrassed and humiliated, he never spoke about it again. This man in his 40's could not pass a rudimentary reading test and missed out on the benefits that were still offered by corporate culture in the 80's. Today he has retired early on disability.

My father in law owned his business and worked at it diligently until he burned out on it in the late 70's. Most of his bookkeeping was done off the books and cash often passed under the table with no paperwork attached. This was common in this field in his day. But I'll never forget one Christmas when I was dating my husband and we went to visit him on his organic farm (turns out he had always wanted to be a farmer anyway!), we decided to play Scrabble in lieu of television. My father-in-law, as it became painfully obvious, could not spell! It took him many many minutes to Scrabble out three letter words. He didn't really read the paper or novels and I wonder now if it was because of lack of skill.

I can now honestly say after reflecting on our class discussion and my comments that its clear how in my family, the skill of reading (or lack thereof) has truly changed the course of people I know. It makes me sad to think of the benefits my uncle could have retired with, or the novels my father in law will never read because of this void in their education. I'm just grateful they were able to make by with the skill levels they possessed.

Why do I want to become a teacher?

The reasons I want to become a teacher aren't invested in one answer alone, but in many; some rooted in my past, some my present, and some in the person I want to be. When I was in elementary school I would spend my extra time helping out in the kindergarten classroom earning myself the 'Most Likely to Become a Teacher' award upon primary school graduation. Even my family always thought I would become a teacher and in fact, many of them are!

But as we grow older sometimes we see the life we thought we wanted in our 20's change into a pressurized, stressful, all-consuming, and not so great career in our 40's. I loved my original career as a costume designer for television and film. It was fast-paced, glamourous, and exciting, but once I started a family all that changed to equal long hours, relatively low pay, and superficial characters. It no longer fit the life I had come to live.

Being a teacher was a dream I decided to return to after my second child was born. I could no longer work and afford the childcare we needed and wished to have more time to see them grow. I have also changed, I'm one of the most patient people I know, I've learned the true value of money and how to stretch it, and I've realized I truly enjoy sharing with children and helping others. These are not things I might have said about myself at 20. So in conclusion I can honestly say that I want to become a teacher not just to share with kids all I know, but to spend time learning from them too.