Archive for March, 2011

News Is a Window on the Teaching World

Tuesday, March 29th, 2011

What do you know about Egypt? And we’re not talking about the stereotypes. Everybody is a familiar with the pyramids and sphinx. Most people remember the ‘80s song “Walk Like An Egyptian.” But ask someone to tell you what Egypt is really like and you’re liable to get an explanation that lumps the country in with the rest of the Middle East. But the Middle East isn’t a homogenous mass. It is a region made up of many different cultures and countries. Fortunately, with countries in the region playing a more prominent part in the news, now is a perfect time for teachers to expand their students’ horizons.

A recent Education Week article highlighted the ways that some teachers — including one in Falls Church – are using the situation in Egypt as a jumping off point to expand student understanding of what the country is really like.

Oftentimes, the news focuses on foreign countries only when it involves a war the United States is participating in, or when the United States is in some way directly connected to the events. With Egypt, teachers and students have a chance to see a country transforming itself and pushing for many of the same democratic principles that power our nation. Studying news reports of what’s happening and the steps that led to this point can start a discussion about the value of democracy and a free and responsive leadership.

Also, by studying the situation in Egypt, teachers can use the country as a stepping stone to a conversation about how democracy formed in the United States. The opportunities to use this poignant moment in Egypt’s history are nearly endless when it comes to engaging student interest.

Revolution is not limited to Egypt. Other countries like Tunisia are also rising against the status quo, and each new incident provides an additional teaching focus for teachers. The news is a good way to make history and current events come alive for students.

Additional material can be found in the economic crisis sweeping places like Greece and Spain. Given that the United States is experiencing a similar economic situation, the ability to educate through comparison and contrast is unique.

Whatever the country or situation, the world news provides the means by which teachers can open their students’ eyes to the rest of the world. This way they can have a vision that does not rely on stereotype and misinformation, but is solidly based on fact.

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Suicide Spurs Review

Sunday, March 27th, 2011

It seems there’s a never-ending spate of incidents to worry about when it comes to our public schools. The latest happened in Fairfax County. That is where 15-year-old Nick Stuban committed suicide after being suspended from W.T. Woodson High School.

According to this Washington Post article, some, like Nick’s dad Steve, think reform is necessary in light of what happened with Nick.  They think the school system’s “discipline system is too punitive, with harsh hearings, long suspensions and destabilizing school transfers.”

This article tells the story of Caroline Hemenway. She has wanted changes to the school system’s policies for years. Her son was a sophomore at a Fairfax County high school when he was busted with pot. He was out of school for the fourth quarter of the year, and he was then expelled and transferred to another high school. He is now an honor student in college, but Hemenway thinks the way the school system handled her son was reactionary and wrong.

Fortunately, Fairfax County is listening to parents’ concerns. The school board is beginning a review of the disciplinary policies. See the article on the latest update from Superintendent, Jack D. Dale. It is unfortunate, however, that it took a suicide to get the school board to take action. Apparently, six school board members tried to get a review of disciplinary procedures last fall. They were rebuffed.

To look at a comprehensive critique of the situation, go here.

Whatever the view, whatever the circumstance, it cannot hurt a school to periodically look over all of its procedures — disciplinary and otherwise. A school’s primary focus is education. When student misbehavior gets in the way of that, appropriate action must be taken. But what if the discipline itself stands in the way of education?

In Fairfax County, we have a school board that is serious about looking into whether a new direction is necessary. As the Washington Post editorial said, school system policies cannot be blamed for the suicide of Stuban. However, if ever there were a time to re-evaluate them, this is it.

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Reality TV: Joy or Junk?

Friday, March 25th, 2011

The essay question on the March SAT has left some students feeling confused and irritated. It asked them to write an argument about reality television and its possible beneficial or negative impacts on viewers.

Controversy ensued regarding the fairness of the question. If students aren’t that familiar with reality television, are they at a disadvantage on this essay question?

Some say no. They point out that the underlying point of the essay is to choose a side of an argument and display the ability to formulate a strong written response. They also argue that it contains all the information a student would need to accurately answer it, and that actually being a reality TV watcher is immaterial. Judge for yourself. Here is the prompt:

“Reality television programs, which feature real people engaged in real activities rather than professional actors performing scripted scenes, are increasingly popular. These shows depict ordinary people competing in everything from singing and dancing to losing weight, or just living their everyday lives. Most people believe that the reality these shows portray is authentic, but they are being misled. How authentic can these shows be when producers design challenges for the participants and then editors alter filmed scenes?

“Do people benefit from forms of entertainment that show so-called reality, or are such forms of entertainment harmful?”

Follow this link and you will find a blog post arguing that the controversy is overblown. In it, Laurence Bunin, senior vice president for operations and the general manager of the SAT Program at the College Board, is quoted giving the following example:

“If presented with a topic about balancing the risk of climbing a mountain with the reward of reaching the summit, for example, a good writer could compose a strong essay without ever having reached the summit of Mount Everest.”

Fair enough. But let us raise a couple points:

How are students supposed to support their essay answer with legitimate literary, historical, or personal concrete examples if they know nothing about reality TV? A risk/reward analysis of mountain climbing requires considerably less knowledge than a pro/con debate over reality television after all. Reality television isn’t a “thing” to consider. It’s a diverse group of programs, some of which may have more merit than others.

It’s also fair to consider whether we have reached a new low when a supporting example on a college entrance exam could be a drunken episode of “Jersey Shore” or a superficial episode of “The Bachelor.”

Not every student taking the March SAT had to answer the reality TV question. But whatever the prompt, the essay answer is high stakes. It accounts for 33 percent of a student’s score on the writing portion, which makes up 800 out of the 2,400 points one can get on the SAT. Students will learn March 31 how they fared.

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State of the Union

Friday, March 4th, 2011

President Obama’s recent State of the Union address featured education as a prominent topic. Obama, like many presidents before him, recognizes the importance of a strongly educated workforce. But will his ideas lead to higher quality education?

In his speech, he touted the competitive nature of his educational plan for our nation. His program involves “rewarding success” rather than “failure.” As part of that, incentives for higher performing schools and teachers are now filtering throughout the country’s schools.

Obama also noted that the goal of school reform under his administration is to inspire “students to excel in math and science.” As has been noted before, our nation’s students are particularly lagging when it comes to these subjects; and, in a world where we rely on technology more than ever, that could be detrimental.

The president wants to expand his national competition between schools to all 50 states. The strategy here models itself somewhat on a free market concept of education. That is to say that if schools are free to compete for better resources based on their performance, they will be more likely to excel. This is in contrast to the notion that resources should be focused primarily on schools that are underperforming in order to help them improve.

The State of the Union speech talks about improving K-12 education, but the president also pointed out that a high school diploma isn’t what it used to be. For a student to really thrive as an adult, a higher education is necessary. Towards that end, Obama talked about reforms aimed at the college system. He mentions getting rid of subsidies given to banks that make student loans, and instead using that money as tax credits for students trying to go to college. He also recommended we reform the system to allow one million students to pay back only 10 percent of their income on student loans. And after 20 years, he says, loans should be forgiven; ten years if a student goes into public service out of college.

Obama says that nobody should go broke going to college. Indeed, starting off one’s career thousands of dollars in debt isn’t the surest path to success.

To read some of the text of President Obama’s State of the Union speech, go here.

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Lean Times in Prince William County

Wednesday, March 2nd, 2011

Superintendent Steven L. Walts’ proposed budget for Prince William County schools combines no layoffs with pay freezes to make a frugal yet satisfying budget.

The total proposed budget is $864 million. That’s $36 million more than was spent last year. The extra bucks will enable the district to add more classrooms as planned.

As for the rest of the budget, first, the good news: Walts’ budget preserves the jobs of all school employees. For those employees living on the cusp of despair in this harsh economy, that will be a relief. This will be the first time since 2007 that nobody was axed. In fact, the school district is planning to hire 175 more teachers.

Other programs that survived in this proposed budget include English as a Second Language and free and reduced-price lunch programs. One out of every three students qualifies for the free and reduced-price lunch, so the program’s preservation is a must.

On the other hand, for the fourth year in a row no school employees will be getting pay raises. No doubt this will frustrate a great number of people, but given the preservation of jobs, it seems a fair trade off. Plus, next spring, employees will get a one percent bonus. But that will not be a recurring reward.

The pay freezes are one cost of preserving positions and programs. Here are a few others: Prince William County has the lowest per-pupil spending rate in the Washington area — $9,577 per student. That is half what Arlington and Alexandria spend. Also, while there will be no reduction in health benefits for employees, rates will increase.

In times of financial strife, Prince William County is doing what it must with the resources it has available. No district in this nation is escaping the effects of our economy. And though American finances are improving, they are by no means where they need to be.

As is always the case in situations like these, parent and teacher options are few. In order to operate the county’s school system effectively, one of two things has to happen. Either the school district makes do with less money or citizens pay out more in taxes. That is a tough line to straddle, and for every person willing to spend more for good schools, there will be another who will stand opposed to the idea.

Until the economy returns to its full flourish, these decisions will continue to be faced. And whatever the choice, the schools have to be creative if they are to keep high-quality education available for Prince William County’s children.

To read more about the proposed budget, go here.

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