Recommended Reading

This report by The Center for Comprehensive school Reform and Improvement was recommended reading by one of my professors at GWU.

I guess, in general, what I find most interesting about this article is their focus on the structure of the school instead of any kind of curricular or content-based reforms. While it acknowledges that curriculum is a part of school reform, it is the structure in which that curriculum is presented that decides the success or failure of a particular school.

I find this idea to be true. WEDJ works well as a performing arts school and I believe that its emphasis in the arts is something that makes it affective for the students that we serve. But, it is the leadership structure that makes it a productive environment to work in. As a charter school, much of bureaucracy I had to deal with in the past, in traditional public school environments, no longer works against me. Rather, I find myself able to be more actively involved in it. Performing arts school or not, WEDJ, due to the competency of its leadership and its ability to be flexible, would be a successful school.

The performing arts is our edge, though. Since it is a part of our vision, our students see and set a goal for themselves in addition to the teachers being rallied together to achieve that goal as well. The performing arts is our motivator and, if I do say so myself, it is a very affective one.

Belated Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!

May we give thanks for everything we have and everything that we are trying to do.

Classroom management at the collegiate level?

Many of the strategies suggested in this article mirror strategies that as primary and secondary school teachers we take for granted as essentials for teaching. It is understood that if these are not strategies you are using, you are not teaching.

This further legitimizes my theory that being a professor is not the same thing as being a teacher. To be a teacher, the strategies being suggested are basic qualifications. Some professors are teachers, but it is not seen as a requirement to be one. The expectation is vastly different.

I applaud those professors who rise above mediocrity of the rest and make strides to engage their students. I hope that if I ever end up teaching on the collegiate level (have to get that PhD in my back pocket first!) then I will be just that kind of professor.

Advice to all teachers...

Don't ever expect that you'll be able to get it done tomorrow. Do it today.

Obviously, as teachers, our time is limited. We all have to find ways to squeeze in everything into the short time we do have student contact. But, I do know that, occasionally, especially when working on larger projects, we, as everyone in every profession does, tend to put things off until the last minute. If something becomes challenging, sometimes we say, "Eh," and push it off and push it off. This is a dangerous way to function.

The mark of a good teacher is being able to say, "Ok, this isn't working. Let's try it this way," and then instantaneously trying another route. It takes time to be able to do that, but when you can it really helps.

Also, in regards to sick leave, only use it when you need it. Every day that you push back your students progress is a day you'll regret later on.

I say this because of the position I find myself in. I'm lucky. I planned ahead. I got more done than was expected of me earlier. Now, due to my medical condition, I've been rendered with limited mobility. In addition I had to take a few days off just days before the opening of a show. Had I not been preparing all along, these few days would have meant disaster for the performance. In addition, now that I have some limited mobility (hopefully only a temporary issue) I am not able to function in the same way I was before. So, the kinds of things I could do before I got done.

The scary thing about all of this is that I had no idea this was going to happen. I ended up in the ER two Thursdays ago at 2 AM and I'm just thankful that I had the foresight to do what I did for this performance beforehand.

Always be two or three steps ahead of yourself, teachers. Do whatever you can to make that happen. You'll thank yourself in the end.

Trust me. I'm thanking myself right now.

Something else that I feel strongly about...

This was an interesting report I found on CNN.com today. It basically says that if we set up the infrastructure for it, building more sidewalks and just generally more pedestrian friendly area, it might help to slow the obesity epidemic in this country.

I couldn't agree more. Connecticut is a prime example of a place where the infrastructure for walking is very poor. You need to own a car in Connecticut in order to live and work there. If you are in a place in Connecticut that is lucky enough to have sidewalks, they don't often lead anywhere, sometimes stop for no apparent reason, and aren't close enough to shops and services which are usually surrounded by large parking lots. In addition, public transportation is all but non-existent in Connecticut.

When I moved to Fairfax County I actually had a similar problem. Walking to the metro just wasn't a plausible idea because the sidewalks were spotty and there weren't enough cross walks to safely cross the busy "highway" that I lived off of to get to the metro. So I used to drive to the metro, park there, and then take the metro in.

Now I live in Old Town Alexandria, and it's wonderful. I actually enjoy walking and, as weak an excuse as this might be for not exercising as much as I should, I consider it a part of my own health regiment to do so. I think that if more people had access to public transportation and adequate infrastructure for walking, we would see a lot more people walking to work. It's actually an enjoyable experience and I feel privileged to be able to do that every day.

It's good for the body and it's good for the environment.

Congratulations!

Since it is now public information, I want to publicly congratulate my wife, Kelly Campbell-Morin, for being promoted to Staff Analyst for the Exploited Child Unit at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The decision to promote her will not be one her superiors will regret.

Speaking of NCMEC if you're looking for a good organization to donate to (besides WEDJ of course!) they were one of the few very successful organizations that helped to unite families during Hurricane Katrina and a trustworthy organization to support.

The Development of Standardized Testing

Our arts partnership director pointed out this article in the Washington Post that talks about the development of standardized testing in our society.

The moral of this article? Faster isn't always better.

Also, this article speaks to the idea of a "J curve" instead of a "bell" curve. All students can achieve, given the right skills and enough time.

Another Mention

As pointed out to me by Mark Lerner earlier today, our students were once again mentioned and even pictured in the Washington Post in relation to our Kellie Williams Program at the high school.

A few of our students are quoted and, as usual, I'm both impressed and filled with pride by their maturity and insight that makes them so able to interact with the media.

In other news, this is simply an article that does not need to exist. One of the major problems in our urban districts is the onslaught of lowered expectations not just by teachers, but also by communities at large. Reports such as this only underline the mind frame that, "Urban kids just can't do it." I can tell you, from experience that, yes, in fact they can do it given the right context.

I found one particular sentence to be especially interesting:

Taking this into account, the results showed minorities in the city schools often performed similarly to students with the same backgrounds in the national sample.

So, what they're saying is that, nation wide, minorities are not doing as well on these tests. This sentence borders on problematic and even racist unless looked at in the right way.

The problem is that our system of education in the United States is so eurocentric that very little attempt is made to accommodate that interests and values of cultures we do not see as the "main stream." This is something that, as an educator, I strive very hard to eradicate. Being in the minority at the school I work at gives me the unique challenge of stretching my understanding of culture and bridging the gap between was is critical thinking and core knowledge and what is just plain facts about "old, dead white guys." I do many multicultural activities with my students, focusing on cultures from all over the world (yes, even European). But, I structure it in a way that is understandable for the student population that I work with. The same could be true with any racial make up of students. But, the challenge is to recognize our differences, not ignore them, and to use the recognition of each others uniqueness as a bridge to true understanding.

That's why even though we may serve an "urban" population, our students still achieve high.

A Birthday Wish

I just wanted to say happy birthday to my adopted father, Andre Morin.

Despite our many differences, without Andy having been a major force in my life, I would not be where I am today. I do owe quite a bit to his kindness and humility. He gave up a lot to be with and help my family and for that I am grateful.

Like I said, we've had our differences, but, when push comes to shove, he has done a lot of good in my life.

Happy birthday Andy!

The Pledge

A student group from a community college voted to drop the pledge of allegiance from their regular meetings.

I've always said, all we need to do is take out two simple little words and this whole controversy could be avoided. It's all rather silly if you think about it. By definition, we are a nation for all people. Not all people believe in "God" especially when it is used in a context with a capital "G." So, yes, they feel that pledging themselves to "God" is against their constitutional rights. That makes sense.

It would just solve everything if the pledge went how it originally went which was like this:

I pledge allegiance to my Flag and (to*) the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

In the 1950's, "under God" was added to denote the United States as a Christian nation and thus different from the "Godless Communists." But, really people. It's almost 2007. Have we still not come to grips with the fact that if somebody believes differently it's not necessarily wrong?

I guess it's just the Unitarian in me then.

Unfortunate Medical Condition

Unfortunately, I will be missing the Province 27 Alumni Retreat for Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia due to a very strange and potentially serious medical condition that I was diagnosed with early yesterday morning.

I should be OK, but I need to take care of myself and be careful about my activities, eating habits and sleeping habits for the next few days. I'm on three medications that do seem to be helping so my hope is that, by Monday, I'll be ready to go into work again and that this won't affect my ability to direct the PreK and Kindergarten show which is happening on November 22nd.

NCLB Reauthorization

Edspresso agrees with me, to an extent, about NCLB. A different direction may need to taken, but the overall goals of NCLB are positive.

Will Voting for Democrats Hurt Educational Progress?

This is an assertion being made on Joanne Jacobs blog.

I think this is a gross overstatement. The idea that democrats are "against" NCLB isn't really acurate. NCLB is simply an extension of the Elementary and Secondary School Act of 1965. ESSA called for higher standards in education, but did nothing to enforce those standards.

NCLB gave teeth to ESSA. It called for school assessments that linked to goals and deadlines. It also included language that allowed for the expansion of school choice which is a very good thing. In theory, this is a very good law.

In practice it has some problems. The problems don't really have to do with the inherent goals or intentions of the law, but, rather, the way it is implemented. The assessments used to evaluate schools are inadequate and the system by which schools are "punished" by the law are wishy washy, to say the least. These are some serious problems, but that isn't to say that NCLB or school reform should be abandoned all together.

Even teachers unions like the NEA are not calling for the complete abandonment of the law. What they are calling for are amendments to the law so that it can be a more effective law in the way that it was meant to be.

So, I respectfully disagree with Ms. Jacobs in that I do not believe that voting for Democrats will put a stop to educational progress. It might, however, shed another light on what might need to be done to make NCLB a more effective law.

DC Music Educators Association

I went to the 57th Annual DCMEA Fall Conference today. It was very interesting and it was nice to go to a place to share some ideas. I hope, someday, maybe even I can present at a conference like that.

One thing that was different about it from CMEA was that, instead of an entire state, DCMEA is specific to the one city. So, the vast majority of conversation did revolve around DCPS. All the same, I got some neat ideas and met some good people.

I'm considering attending the Eastern Regional Conference in March which, ironically, is taking place in Hartford, Connecticut.