Teacher World

So much to do and so little time to do it! I’m sure that is what interim Superintendent Erroll Davis Jr. is feeling right now, along with all of the teachers and administrators, some returning and many just beginning in Atlanta Public Schools.

With school starting on August 8, there is so much yet to be done that the task must seem a little insurmountable, yet Atlanta Public Schools are valiantly working to get this school year off to a good start, in spite of the black cloud that hovers over the district in the wake of their system-wide cheating scandal.

First order of business was to deal with the approximately 137 educators who were implicated in the scandal and who didn’t retire or take Davis’ offer to resign rather than face termination. On Thursday, it was announced that notices were being sent out to these individuals stating that they have officially been placed on paid administrative leave until the district has time to go through each employee’s case. These educators have the option to ask for a hearing if they choose, and if they are found innocent of any wrongdoing at that hearing, they can return to work.

Davis, who has said from the beginning that these employees will not work with children in APS ever again, announced his plans to begin termination proceedings as quickly as possible. With so much to accomplish before the school year begins, this may take a little while.

Meanwhile, recently-hired Atlanta teachers spent all day Thursday in orientation meetings conducted at Maynard Jackson High School in southeast Atlanta. With the scandalous cloud of cheating still looming and the sheer numbers of newly-hired teachers and administrators, you would think the atmosphere would be virtually pulsing with tension and stress.  

But APS spokesman Keith Bromery reported, “I talked to the people over there, and they say morale is very high. Teachers are very excited.” 

And was the cheating scandal addressed at orientation? “I wouldn’t call it a pep talk,” Bromery said.  “It’s more like informing them as to where things stand right now and to tell them that hopefully our achievement is going to continue as we’ve experienced over the past 10 to 20 years in the district.”

With the first day of school just around the corner, there is still so much to be done at APS. First and foremost, there are still positions to be filled with precious little time in which to fill them, which can lead to hiring educators who are not highly qualified in the race to get teachers in classrooms. Davis expressed his concern to CBS Atlanta News of his fears that trying to fill these positions too quickly might lead to under qualified teachers slipping through the cracks. With the added pressure to undo the damage done to students over the last decade, this could be hugely problematic.

Tonya Jenkins, a parent of a fourth-grader, expressed her concerns regarding the race to fill these positions to CBS reporter  Rebekka Schramm, saying, “They’re doing it so fast, it just makes me wonder if they’re gonna prescreen, do a good prescreening of the teachers that’s coming in.”

Davis is also concerned about the caliber of administrators and principals they hire this year for the same reasons, therefore, principals will be appointed on an interim basis, which means that they have a year to prove that they are right for the job.

So the search continues for teachers and principals to fill the numerous holes left by those who will not be returning. “My biggest challenge right now is finding intellectual capital on the academic side,” Davis said. “The entire leadership structure in our academic shop has been decimated.”

Wow! The task is overwhelming and the odds aren’t stacked in Atlanta schools’ favor. But there is a desire here to prove that those who remain at APS, those who had nothing to do with the dark cloud that hovers over these schools, will do whatever they can to remove the cloud and let the sun shine on these schools once again.

A daunting task? Absolutely, and it’s not for the timid or irresolute. So I hope that those who remain and these who are newly hired are up for the challenge. They will definitely be under the microscope by their superiors, their students’ parents, and their students as they go about their business. My advice to them would be to try to ignore it all and just do your job everyday to the best of your ability, remembering that you are there to serve those children who have been placed in your care.

Tonya Jenkins is one of the many who will be watching. “I just hope that they do the right thing by the teachers that were not guilty, and they do the right thing by the children. It’s all about the kids.” 

I couldn’t have said it better myself! It is all about the kids, and I, for one, am rooting for Atlanta Public Schools. Best of luck in this brand new school year!

state achievement tests, Teacher-World's Blog administrative leave, Atlanta Public Schools, cheating on state tests, Erroll Davis Jr.

The results of a study conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were published on June 6 in the CDC’s journal, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. What it says about gay, lesbian, and bisexual teens is rather alarming and tends to support the need for schools to communicate more openly and honestly with students regarding LGBT issues and bullying.

The study used national Youth Risk Behavior Survey data from 2001-2009, and found that rates of smoking, drinking or other drug use, risky sexual behaviors, suicidal behaviors and violence were higher among gay or bisexual teens as compared to straight students. These surveys were conducted in the following areas: Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont and Wisconsin and in six large urban school districts: Boston, Chicago, Milwaukee, New York City, San Diego and San Francisco.

The study, “Sexual Identity, Sex of Sexual Contacts, and Health Risk Behaviors Among Students in Grades 9–12 in Selected Sites—Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance, United States, 2001–2009″ highlighted findings across 76 health risks in these categories:

* Behaviors that contribute to unintentional injuries
* Behaviors that contribute to violence
* Behaviors related to attempted suicide
* Tobacco use
* Alcohol use
* Other drug use
* Sexual behaviors
* Dietary behaviors
* Physical activity and sedentary behaviors
* Weight management

Where sexual identity was assessed, gay or lesbian students had higher frequency rates for 49% to 90% of all of the health risks measured, and higher rates for these health risk categories: behaviors that contribute to violence, behaviors related to attempted suicide, tobacco use, alcohol use, other drug use, sexual behaviors, and weight management.

Bisexual students had higher frequency rates for 49% to 90% of the health risks measured, with higher rates for these health risk categories: behaviors that contribute to unintentional injuries, behaviors that contribute to violence, behaviors related to attempted suicide, tobacco use, alcohol use, other drug use, sexual behaviors, and weight management

Howell Wechsler, director of CDC’s Division of Adolescent and School Health (DASH), said in an agency news release, “This report should be a wake-up call for families, schools, and communities that we need to do a much better job of supporting these young people. Any effort to promote adolescent health and safety must take into account the additional stressors these youth experience because of their sexual orientation, such as stigma, discrimination and victimization. We are very concerned that these students face such dramatic disparities for so many different health risks.”

Laura Kann, chief of the Surveillance and Evaluation Research Branch at DASH, added in the news release, “For youth to thrive in their schools and communities, they need to feel socially, emotionally and physically safe and supported. Schools and communities should take concrete steps to promote healthy environments for all students, such as prohibiting violence and bullying, creating safe spaces where young people can receive support from caring adults, and improving health education and health services to meet the needs of lesbian, gay and bisexual youth.”

While national, state, and local Youth Risk Behavior Surveys (YRBS) are conducted every two years, this is the first time the federal government conducted a study of this extent over such a wide area of states, large urban school districts, and risk behaviors. States that are interested in gathering this kind of information may add questions to the survey which measure sexual identity as well as the sex of sexual contacts.

What this study suggests, and Wechsler and Kann are legitimately advocating for, is the need for schools to take a much more open approach when dealing with matters of real or perceived sexual orientation. The days of ignoring these issues in our schools are clearly a thing of the past, due to the very risk factors described in this study.

The bottom line is that all students, be they gifted, learning disabled, overweight, underweight, gay, lesbian, straight, white, black, Hispanic, Asian, etc., have the unalienable right to be safe in the schools they attend. And that is only going to happen if school districts and the educators employed by these districts openly deal with issues of alienation and bullying which can be so emotionally and physically destructive to our students.

Bullying, Teacher-World's Blog, teen suicide bisexual, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, gays, lesbians, risk factors

Charles Purdy, senior editor for Monster.com, reported recently on the worst-paying college degrees for the current year, and what he found was rather enlightening. Most significantly, the facts reveal that many people care more about having a career in a helping profession than they do about how much money they will make in that profession. Here’s what his study revealed.

First, many studies have been done regarding career satisfaction which reveal that a lot of  people are more concerned about a good work-life balance and feeling that they are making a difference in the career they have chosen than they care about salary. In fact, salary placed surprisingly low on a list of the things that make workers happy.
 
The list of lowest paying college degrees seems to be a reflection of these studies, as most of the lowest-paying degrees for 2011 are helping professions. 

Studies also show, however, that people who have many of these degrees often eventually increase their earning power by taking graduate courses to earn masters degrees or doctorate degrees. Also, it used to be that workers were more loyal to their careers and didn’t move around much from one career to another. But it is far more common today that people will switch careers at least once in their lifetime.

That being said, let’s take a look at the lowest-paying degrees for 2011:

1. Child and Family Studies

This degree is often a preparatory step towards other studies such as family counseling or teaching, and it can also better prepare people for parenthood. Regardless of the reason people go for this degree, it is the lowest paying for both starting and mid-career salaries, with a starting salary of around $29,600 and a mid-career salary of only $40,500.

2. Elementary Education

I can attest to the fact that teaching in an elementary school can be a very rewarding career emotionally but not financially. (I was surprised to see that they separate elementary from secondary education, as I was under the assumption that all districts, like ours, paid the same salary to both, If there is a difference in other districts, I can’t help but wonder why.) But the good news is that, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics or the BLS, job opportunities are projected to grow by 14% in this decade (probably as more baby boomers retire). The average starting pay for elementary education is $32,400, and the average mid-career salary is $44,000.

3. Social Work

This is a vital profession which provides support and guidance to people when they are going through tough times. Again, there is good news from the BLS which expects favorable opportunities in this field, especially for those social workers who work in rural areas or who work with the elderly. The median starting salary for social work is $32,200, and the median mid-career salary is $44,300.

4. Culinary Arts

This is a great degree for people who care more about becoming a chef or who wish to open their own restaurant than they care about a big salary. This career has an average beginning salary of $29,900 and an average mid-career salary of $46,800.

5. Special Education

This can be a very rewarding profession which requires at least a bachelor’s degree. In some states, a master’s degree is also required. Due to several factors, one of those being reported shortages of qualified teachers, the BLS foresees great future job opportunities in this field. (Again, I was surprised to see this broken down separately from elementary education and to see that their average pay is higher. This does not reflect our district where teachers all start out at the same salary.) The starting pay is around $34,300, and the mid-career salary is around $47,800 for special education teachers.

6. Recreation and Leisure Studies

I confess that I didn’t know such a degree existed, but I have learned that this study includes leisure and recreation and play-related experiences which include social issues, human behavior, and public policy. And what do most of these graduates do with this degree? Apparently they go back to school for further education that allows them to join careers such as recreational therapy. They earn around $34,500 in their first year, and by mid-career, they can earn around $49,100.

7. Religious Studies or Theology

Obviously, people who pursue this degree have a “higher calling” and are not in it for the money. And that is probably a good thing, as their average starting salary is $32,300 and average mid-career salary is $50,600.

8. Athletic Training

People with this degree are trained to prevent, diagnose, treat and rehabilitate both injuries and sport-related illnesses. Additionally, they prevent and treat persistent musculoskeletal injuries resulting from sports, occupational, or physical activities. They also are trained to give immediate care for severe injuries. I was surprised to learn that these workers don’t earn more than they do since they obviously have a tremendous amount of medical knowledge. With a starting salary of around $34,600 and a mid-career salary of only $50,200, they seem distinctly underpaid.

9. Public Health

This is a degree that offers a myriad of possibilities all of which improve the lives of others. There are higher-paying careers available in this field, but they would require advanced degrees. Without those advanced degrees, the median starting salary for a public health career is $35,500 and the median mid-career salary is $51,700.

10. Art

This degree prepares students for various degrees in visual arts, but it is tough to find commercial success in this field, hence the term “starving artist.” Very often, artists aren’t truly “discovered” until they are deceased, and by then, it’s a little late to reap the financial rewards. Of all of these degrees however, it is the highest paying, although still meager. The average starting salary for a career in art is $35,300 and the average mid-career salary is $52,400.

So, there you have it; the lowest paying degrees nationally. Bear in mind, these are national averages so people may earn more or less than this where you reside.

The most interesting and encouraging news that I take away from this study is that so many people are willing to overlook the money in order to make a difference in the world around them.

But there is an equally disturbing aspect of this study. With so many students coming out of college with astronomical college loans, how can we expect them to survive on such meager salaries? We may see students shying away from these degrees, not because they want to but because they can’t afford not to. That’s troubling because all of these professions are so very crucial.

Higher education, Teacher-World's Blog Charles Purdy, low-paying careers, mid-career salary, starting salary

I confess that sometimes I just don’t understand people and the choices they make. Take the recent news out of Atlanta Public Schools, for example.

Let me remind you that Erroll B. Davis Jr., Atlanta’s interim school superintendent, gave educators who were accused by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation of cheating on state tests till Wednesday, July 20, to resign voluntarily from their jobs rather than face termination.

Keith Bromery, spokesman for APS, explained, “All the superintendent wanted to do was give people the opportunity to resign or retire without having some sort of termination notice on their record.”

Now, this seems remarkably fair and even gracious of Davis, who knew that termination notices would include detailed information regarding each educator’s alleged involvement and participation in the cheating scandal. So, wouldn’t you expect that the majority of these heretofore unwise educators would wise up enough to see that they were being offered a more graceful departure, and quietly resign?

One would think, but the sad news is that by July 20, only seven of the 178 educators who were implicated in the most widespread cheating scandal ever took Davis up on his offer and resigned. Only seven? How could that be? It’s almost ludicrous, isn’t it? This leaves me wondering if the other 171 are just crazy!

They may be, but more than that, I feel they are or have been misguided. Misguided by a teacher advocacy group, the Georgia Association of Educators, who has advised these educators not to resign, claiming that the school system is taking action before all of the evidence has been revealed. 

As a result, the 171 remaining principals and teachers will be facing termination proceedings. Bromery stated that these educators are entitled to ask for hearings to dispute their firings.

At this time, there is no set time frame for these proceedings, and Bromery said, “It’s going to take a while.”

In the meantime, prosecutors from three Atlanta-area counties are trying to determine whether they will file criminal charges against those involved.

I understand that we have a natural inclination to protect ourselves from bad things like being fired or being prosecuted for committing a crime. So, I kind of understand why these educators were talked into waiting it out and seeing what happens after all of the dust settles from this investigation.

But, I cannot forget that these are teachers and principals who entered their professions to teach and serve children. And they blew it! Their actions harmed students and falsified their academic progress, costing many children the extra services they needed, thus putting them further behind. They lied, they cheated, and they caused damage to the students they were supposed to serve.

Isn’t it time to do the right thing? Isn’t it time to teach these students of Atlanta Public Schools a new lesson, one of humility and honesty? Isn’t it time to take the blame for what was done, to admit that it was wrong, and apologize for your dishonest actions? You are educators, after all, and your job is to teach kids the responsible way, the right way. What are you waiting for?

You, who are among the 171 who chose not to resign, the world is watching you. Remember those whose lives you touched before your fears overshadowed your good sense. Remember what motivated you to be an educator and the values and morals you have taught so many children throughout your career. You face the toughest lesson you will ever have to teach, but teach it, you must. Do precisely what you have probably asked countless students to do; own up to your mistakes and learn from them.

Be motivated by what you know is right, not by what advocates would tell you is right. A watching world will judge teachers and principals everywhere, not just in Atlanta, by what you do next. I implore you to do what you know is right now, and in the process, you will teach your former students a lesson they need to hear from you, a lesson you have probably taught them many times in the past, although somehow along the way, you forgot it yourself: honesty is always the best policy.

state achievement tests, Teacher-World's Blog Atlanta Public Schools, cheating on state tests, Erroll B. Davis Jr., Georgia Bureau of Investigations, Keith Bromery

A recent report conducted by the Council of State Governments Justice Center and Texas A&M University’s Public Policy Research Institute has some pretty surprising things to say about harsh discipline in schools, whether that discipline is a reflection of the students in a school or those in charge of the school, and whether harsh discipline is effective.

The report was based on a study conducted statewide on almost a million Texas children, and the results were published on July 19. This first of its kind study, analyzed 6.6 million records examining every seventh-grader in Texas from 2000 to 2002, keeping track of them for the next six or more years. It matched juvenile justice records with education data to provide a broad picture.

One of the first disturbing facts the study revealed was that, of those students who were studied, almost 60% had been disciplined sometime from seventh grade and up in one of the following ways: through in-school and/or out-of-school suspension, expulsion, or forced participation in disciplinary alternative programs or juvenile justice alternative programs.

Now, 60% baffles me! We suspend or expel upon rare occasions in our district, and this is equally true in the districts around us. Bear in mind, this was a statewide study, so its high suspension/expulsion rate may or may not reflect your state’s rate.

In fact, in an interview of CNN education contributor, Steve Perry by Ali Velshi from American Morning, Velshi asked if this percentage was in line with national numbers. Perry responded, “No, and what’s important though is that when schools suspend at such a high rate, it’s a very clear example that the adults don’t have control of the building. What they tend to do is they tend to lean on the justice system, whether it be through security officers in the school or police officers in the school, to take care of what should be happening in the classroom.”

On the other hand, Perry did state that suspensions are a necessary part of school policy, which he admitted to using himself when a student’s behavior warranted it.

The study further showed that kids who were suspended or expelled had a greater risk of being retained, dropping out, or ending up in the juvenile justice system. Additionally, 23% of those who had been suspended at least once eventually did have contact with the juvenile justice system, while only 2% of those who had never been suspended were involved in the juvenile justice system.

This data seemed to support what has been called the “school-to-prison pipeline.” Russell Skiba, an Indiana University professor who has studied discipline issues for 15 years, said this study has helped to document that pipeline. In fact, according to Skiba, “The more you’re involved in discipline at the school level, the greater you risk involvement at the criminal justice level.”

Interestingly, the research could not cite specific reasons for differences between schools in Texas in regards to their use of discipline; for example, were some schools better at classroom management, more tolerant of students who misbehaved, or were they using alternative approaches to discipline. Eighty variables, such as attendance, race, economics, and teacher salary and experience, were analyzed, however, “The research showed that while some high-poverty schools suspended students at unexpectedly high rates, others with strikingly similar characteristics did not. The same discipline gap was clear for prosperous, suburban schools and small, rural schools; some were harsh, and others with nearly identical qualities were not.”

“It’s a really important finding,” said Skiba. “It says it’s not totally about what kids and communities bring but it’s a choice that schools make.”

The study broke down the ethnicity of male students who were suspended during the years of this study and found that 83% of those suspended were African American, 74% were Hispanic, and 59% were White. And the numbers are lower in every category for female students.

Perry agreed that he sees these statistics in schools everywhere, and said, “In many cases, we are too quick to criminalize the behavior of boys as opposed to the behavior of girls, and especially when those boys are boys of color.”

Perry also cited differences in the way students from middle class families and those from lower class families have been taught in their homes to conform to authority as a factor in these statistics. Additionally he stated that middle class parents are more likely to come in and advocate on behalf of their children as opposed to lower class parents, therefore reducing the number of suspensions of middle class students.

Matt Cregor of the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund said, “The numbers are heartbreaking. What we’re seeing in Texas is no different than what we are seeing nationally. We’re not going to close the so-called achievement gap or end this graduation or dropout crisis until we take a hard look at the numbers like these and the practices and policies that created them.”

And chairman of the state Senate’s Criminal Justice Committee, Senator John Whitmore (D) said that this report validated his fear that school discipline needs fixing. While advocating safety, he nonetheless feels that too many kids are being suspended for what he refers to as “typical teenage lapses.”

“It’s just become the easiest thing to do,” Whitmore said. “It’s easier than working with kids.”

Michael D. Thompson, co-author of the report said, “With so many kids being disciplined repeatedly, one has to ask whether this is working the way everyone wants it to.”

I must confess that there have been times when teachers in my building, me included, have grumbled over what we perceive to be a too lenient approach in disciplining students in our classrooms. This report has me wondering whether we should be looking at more effective consequences which would be less detrimental to those students’ academic progress.

It is a fact that some students with behavioral issues have already served multiple suspensions by the time they reach fifth grade, and rather than the suspension resulting in a change in behavior, usually the vicious cycle continues throughout their academic career.

I have known some of these who tried alternative schools, and some who eventually dropped out. Are we doing everything we can for these students?

While our statistics of suspension and expulsion are nowhere near those expressed in this study of Texas schools, it is sobering nonetheless and worthy of serious reflection.

Teacher-World's Blog CNN, juvenile justice system, school discipline, Steve Perry, suspensions, Texas schools

As promised, here is my second blog regarding the lawsuits filed against Minnesota’s Anoka-Hennepin School District due to their “pervasive anti-gay harassment,” according to the two advocacy groups who filed the suit, and the debate surrounding this district’s neutrality policy when it comes to LGBT students. (I would suggest that you read yesterday’s blog in order to better understand the major issues in this case.)

The Anoka-Hennepin School District has seen seven teen suicides in less than two years, which has some in the community questioning the district’s neutrality policy which basically says that teachers are not to express opinions regarding their students’ sexual orientation, but instead are to remain neutral on this subject. According to this policy, any discussions of this nature are to be left to parents to deal with at home.

So the debate rages over the ability of teachers to effectively deal with bullying of gay or lesbian students, or those who are perceived to be gay or lesbians if they have been basically “muzzled” by this policy. Adding to the debate, is the Safe Schools Improvement Act, which is legislation making its way through Congress. Its goal is to deal with the bullying of LGBT or perceived gay or lesbian students. It states the following reasons for needing to pass this act:

“Bullying and harassment of students who are, or are perceived to be, lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT) is widespread.  While current federal law provides important support to promote school safety, it does not comprehensively and expressly focus on issues of bullying or harassment, and in no way addresses the unique challenges faced by LGBT youth.  Studies have shown that bullying and harassment of LGBT youth in schools contributes to high rates of absenteeism, dropout, adverse health consequences and academic underachievement.  When left unchecked, such bullying and harassment can lead to, and has led to, dangerous situations for young people.”

This act, which would require the instituting of stricter codes of conduct regarding this kind of harassment, has both sides of this issue pretty stirred up.

Anderson Cooper of CNN interviewed Candi Cushman, who represents the conservative group Focus on the Family. This conservative Christian group feels that gay activists are using this bullying issue to push their own agenda in the schools.

Cooper asked her how she would suggest stopping the bullying of gays, lesbians, or kids who are perceived to be one of these if you can’t mention the words gay or lesbian. Her answer was that you should address the issue of the bullying itself rather than the reason for the bullying. When Cooper tried to pin Cushman down as to whether she would be okay with teachers identifying other forms of bullying, such as bullying of students because of their race for example, Cushman again glossed over the point he was trying to make by again focusing on gay rights activists using this legislation to promote their lifestyle and the need to only address the bully’s behavior rather than his reason for the behavior.

Dr. Eliza Byard, the executive director for GLSEN, the Gay Lesbian and Straight Education Network, which supports the Safe School Improvement Act, rebutted a neutral approach to dealing with bullying of gay and lesbian students saying, “The fact is, and the data bears out, if you don’t mention the specific problem, teachers don’t act and students don’t have a better experience. Our bill would cover all students, but indicates specifically that you must also include attention to these characteristics. And when you do, our data shows rates of harassment and victimization of LGBT, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students goes down. If you don’t mention that, there’s no effect.”

Rosalind Wiseman, writer of Queen Bees and Wannabes, told Cooper, “This is not just about the gay kids in school; this is about everybody because bullying does not exist without homophobia.”

She explained that kids are trying to prove that they belong, and if they speak out against something they feel is wrong, it is not uncommon for other students to call them gay, which paralyzes them from speaking out against future cruelty.  “And so it’s not just about the gay kids being safe, which I believe a hundred percent they have the right to be. It’s also about everybody in the school feeling that they have the right to speak out,” Rosalind continued.

Wiseman said, “So we can have policies that are about ideal reality or we can have policies that are about concrete reality and reflect what children are experiencing. And that’s when we become relevant to young people.”

“If you take out that language of naming the behavior, it becomes so amorphous that there is nothing to talk about, there’s no place to talk, there’s no place for that kid to define what is happening to him, and they also feel like they’re so ashamed that this is, you know, they can’t talk about it, these words are not allowed to be talked about. And so then they lose the whole process and the whole ability to have the conversation. They become silent.”

Liza summarized by saying, “The Safe Schools Improvement Act is about behavior not beliefs…Bullying is a dynamic in a classroom. Bullies need our help, victims need our help, and bystanders need our help. They need adults to act to take care of the culture of that classroom and build a culture of respect.”

Okay, here comes my opinion. First, as a fifth-grade teacher, I hear the words gay and fag bandied about all of the time. To pretend our kids aren’t saying these words and calling each other these names is utterly ridiculous. And I have had many students over the years, who already at fifth-grade are clearly questioning their sexuality or being bullied for perceived gay or lesbian tendencies. Again, to believe otherwise, as Rosalind said, is not the reality we see in schools today.

Our kids grow up being afraid of saying or doing something that will label them different in any way, just as much as they worry about looking different because they know that opens the door for bullying and teasing. Homophobia is alive in our schools and our neighborhoods. If we can’t use the words to describe the behavior, we send a clear message that, while the bullying is bad, so is the behavior that brought on the bullying.

We need to face reality and stop being so afraid of it. We have always had LGBT kids in our schools. We can’t ignore them away or bully them away, and we shouldn’t. They are as beautiful as any other student in our classrooms and deserving of our respect and protection.

It is my job, just as it is every teacher’s job, to treat these children as I would any other and to name behavior that does not treat students with respect for what it is, refusing to allow it in my classroom. I don’t care if you’re overweight, very tall, very short, wear glasses, have a big nose, big feet, gay, lesbian, or whatever. No one deserves to be bullied, and it is my job, because I am a teacher, to do everything I can to create a safe, healthy environment for every student in my classroom.

I refuse to be neutral about that. And I bet a lot of  Anoka-Hennepin teachers feel the same way.

Bullying, Teacher-World's Blog, teen suicide Anoka-Hennepin School District, Bullying, Candi Cushman, Focus on the Family, GLSEN, LGBT teens, Rosalind Wiseman, Safe Schools Improvement Act, teen suicide

I am aware that I will probably stir things up a little bit with the following blog, but I feel that it is a timely issue that schools everywhere are dealing with, and it simply can’t be ignored.

You may have been following the news out of Minnesota’s largest school district, the Anoka-Hennepin district, which is under federal investigation by the Department of Justice and the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights due to a complaint regarding “allegations of harassment and discrimination in the Anoka-Hennepin School District based on sex, including peer-on-peer harassment based on not conforming to gender stereotypes.”

Additionally, the Southern Poverty Law Center and the National Center for Lesbian Rights filed a federal lawsuit last Thursday due to “pervasive anti-gay harassment” in this district’s schools.

What has lead to all of this? Well, in less than two years this district has seen seven students commit suicide. Four of these students were gay, perceived to be gay, or questioning their sexuality, and at least two of them were bullied because of their sexuality, according to parents and friends.

This school district adopted a sexual orientation curriculum policy in 2009, which has been dubbed the neutrality policy, which states that staff members are to “remain neutral on matters regarding sexual orientation” and that “such matters are best addressed within individual family homes, churches or community organizations.” In other words, this curriculum policy effectively bars teachers from taking a position on homosexuality or even addressing the issue with their students.

Jeri Schultz, a teacher in the system, told CNN, “There’s so much we can do and say to help create a more accepting and affirming and welcoming environment that would eliminate some of that bullying in the first place.”

While this is not a statewide policy, at least eight other states, including Alabama, Arizona, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, and Utah, have limits on classroom instruction regarding homosexuality.

Those within the community who support this neutrality policy state that it is constitutional and is also consistent with the Minnesota Human Rights Act, which protects rights based on sexual orientation. But they feel that there is nothing in this law that should be understood to “authorize or permit the promotion of homosexuality or bisexuality in education institutions.”

Meanwhile, Anoka-Hennepin’s Superintendent Dennis Carlson publicly denied any connection between bullying and the suicides, saying in a voicemail to the staff, “Based on all of the information we’ve been able to gather, none of the suicides were connected to bullying or harassment.” And he defended the district’s neutrality policy to CNN saying, “It’s a diverse community, and what I try to do as superintendent is walk down the middle of the road.”

But some would question if the issue of students’ sexual orientation or their perceived orientation and students’ homophobia is something teachers can remain neutral on while, at the same time, creating a safe environment for all students.

Educator, bullying expert, and author of Queen Bees and Wannabes, Rosalind Wiseman said, “The problem with neutrality is that it doesn’t look neutral to the target or the bully. It looks like you are siding with the bully. And so, if you can’t name, on top of that, the behavior that’s happening because you have to take a neutral stand, then what it looks like to the child and to everybody around is that that homosexuality or that gossiping is so ashaming and so, you know you can’t talk about it, that the child will never come forward. So if the teachers are muzzled or there is a perception that the teachers are muzzled, then our children are never going to come forward.”

Rosalind also spoke on behalf of teachers when she said, “There is the belief that somehow if we give the teachers the opportunity to reach out to students and say, ‘You are okay, at base whoever you are,’ that that will then go from that to jumping into gay marriage. And that really, to me, is about why don’t we have faith in the people in that community to do right by their kids?”

Meanwhile, when Candi Cushman, education analyst for CitizenLink the policy arm for Focus on the Family and a staunch supporter of this neutrality policy, was asked by CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta if she objected to telling kids that there is nothing wrong with being gay in order to foster an atmosphere of safety in the classroom, she sidestepped the question with more talk about the right of parents to decide how or when these issues would be addressed. Which tells me that she would definitely object to teachers sending this message to gay or lesbian students.

Okay, I gave you a little taste of both sides of this hot debate out of Minnesota. But since it is such a controversial subject, I am going to end this blog here, and follow up tomorrow with more on this debate, including my own opinion (and believe me I have a strong one on this topic).

But first, we would love to hear your opinions on this school district’s neutrality policy. Do you agree that all conversation regarding children’s sexual orientation should take place at home, or are you in favor of teachers being given the freedom to address these issues as they occur, openly and honestly, in a classroom in order to foster a greater sense of acceptance?

Tell us how you feel!

Bullying, Teacher-World's Blog, teen suicide Anoka-Hennepin School District, Bullying, Candi Cushman, Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights, Department of Justice, Rosalind Wiseman, sexual orientation, teen suicide

The We Are Ohio group delivered more than 1.3 million signatures to Secretary of State Jon Husted, way more than the 231,000 required, in order to get Senate Bill 5 on the ballot in November. This suspends SB5 from taking effect until these votes are counted after November’s elections.

Senate Bill 5 was signed in late March by Ohio Gov. John Kasich. This controversial law restricts collective bargaining rights for over 350,000 teachers, police officers, and other public workers and bans employee strikes. Under this law, unions may still negotiate wages, but they can’t bargain on health care, sick leave, or pension benefits.

When approval of SB5 by the Republican-controlled state Legislature was announced shouts and jeers from protestors resonated in each chamber. But Ohio’s protests, which attracted about 8,500 protestors, paled in comparison to Wisconsin’s, which attracted upwards of 70,000 protestors, possibly due to Madison’s proximity to the University of Wisconsin and its labor heritage.

Ten thousand volunteers along with some paid workers passed around petitions to get this SB5 referendum on the ballot, which labor groups and many others claim is an unfair attack on workers. Meanwhile, Gov. Kasich and his GOP colleagues claim that SB5 will help city officials, school superintendents, and others to control costs at a time when all cities are feeling the budget crunch.

Now comes the real battle, with each side trying to raise enough money to finance the fight that lies ahead. Kasich is visibly supporting the law, and has directed others who support it to a website established by a group of individuals who are promoting SB5.

I visited the website, Building a Better Ohio, and read the usual arguments that were voiced throughout the push to pass this bill at the beginning of this year. But I found a statement on this website that concerned me greatly, and reaffirms all of my fears regarding this law.

The statement reads: “The new law eliminates a common collective bargaining demand known as “last hired, first fired,” in which newer teachers are cut first in the event of layoffs. Because newer teachers are often paid less, districts are forced to lay off a higher number of teachers to fill a budget deficit. This strategy is not conducive to keeping more teachers in classroom.”

(I want you to know that this was copied and pasted directly from the website, so the typo “in classroom” was their mistake, not mine. Maybe they needed a teacher to proofread their statements before posting them. Ha! Sorry, I couldn’t resist!)

All kidding aside, let me start out by saying, I do not support retaining teachers strictly because of seniority. I know that there are teachers of all ages and all levels of experience who range in ability from excellent to poor. I have always said that administrators and our teacher unions do us a disservice by keeping bad teachers strictly because they have more seniority than other teachers. This policy makes us all look bad.  So I am not adverse to an excellent teacher with less seniority being retained over a poor teacher with more seniority.

But, that being said, this statement seems to suggest that if SB5 was in place, districts would then by free to cut teachers with higher seniority in order to save the district more money and more jobs. This is a policy that scares the heck out of me, as I am a veteran teacher.

I believe that SB5, if it is not voted done in November, will lead to the practice by many districts of starting at the top when making cuts, not necessarily because those teachers are bad, but because it is a bigger cost reduction for the district allowing them to make as few cuts as possible. In the process, they may be getting rid of excellent, experienced teachers in order to keep newer teachers who certainly are not as experienced and may or may not be as good.

Now that isn’t fair, and it is the main reason I will vote down SB5 in November. And I am grateful to all of those volunteers out there who worked so hard collecting signatures, and for all of those who signed petitions saying this law needs to be repealed. 

Because Senate Bill 5 must go!

teacher layoffs, Teacher's Unions, Teacher-World's Blog collective bargaining, Gov. John Kasich, Senate Bill 5, teacher seniority, unions, We Are Ohio

In an atmosphere where schools are being told to leave no child behind, some interesting policies are coming to light which I would sure welcome input on. Have you heard of “no-fail” policies? Here goes…

A recent news report out of the Dickson county schools caught my eye and made me want to do some further digging, only to find that this district is not alone in a new approach which prohibits teachers from failing students who are truly failing. Here’s how it works in Dickson county schools.

According to this county’s school director, Johnny Chandler, “Our principals have come up with a procedure that they call the power of I, which, instead of giving them a zero, they give them an incomplete.”

Now, I confess to some problems in comprehending Chandler’s explanation about “the power of I”, because, when you strip away all the fancy jargon, what this policy is actually about is allowing students who receive any grade below 75% on a test to retake it until they get an “A.”

What is Chandler’s rationale? “I want them to master the material that we taught them,” he told Channel Four News.

According to Chandler, this policy is working. He told reporter Caroline Moses that all of their students can fail a test on their first attempt, but retake the test in order to receive a “C” or even an “A” as their final grade because teachers have been told to only count the highest grade their students earn. And what is his proof that it’s working? Fewer students failed this past school year than ever before.

Okay, but does this mean the kids are making real progress towards comprehending the work they are being tested on or just getting better, after several attempts, at passing the test?

Because, here’s the crazy thing, are you ready? Moses asked Chandler, “If they are taking the same test over and over again though, are they mastering the material or memorizing the test?”

Chandler was quick to defend the fairness of the policy, saying, “They’re not taking the same test. I’m sure they’re giving different,” said Chandler.

Yet, according to a teacher, who asked to remain anonymous, teachers almost always administer the exact same test over and over until the students pass it. “I know some teachers have had to give the same test six or seven times,” said the teacher.

Okay, let’s get real! Is this really mastery of a concept or mastery of a test? This “power of I” policy is ludicrous and simply a ploy to make this school system appear to be better servicing its students when it is really doing them a disservice. Is this a lesson you should be teaching children; you can fail over and over but when you finally get it right, you get the same reward as the children who worked hard and did it well the first time? Is that a concept that approximates real life in any way?

The teacher who wished to remain anonymous hit the nail on the head when she said, “We are not doing our students justice by passing them when they do not deserve it.”

I agree, what about you?

Here’s another crazy example of no-fail policies. A Fox News Story from April 27, 2009, told about growing numbers of middle schools and high schools where, instead of students receiving failing grades on their report cards for poor performance, they receive an “H” which means “held.” And what does the magic “H” mean? It’s as though that grading period doesn’t count if they are able to do better in the next grading period.

So, if I was a student who was looking to do the least amount of work necessary and still succeed, I would periodically take a quarter or semester off knowing that I won’t fail, I’ll just get a redo the next time, and that’s when I have to work hard. Awesome! Because, again this is a policy that mimics real life, right?

Here’s an interesting little tidbit about how the “H” grading system worked in Grand Rapids, Michigan. According to a case study done there, only 16% of the first semester “H” grades became passing grades the following semester. Hmmmm

Here’s another great policy to help students out. It’s called ZAP, which means “Zeros Aren’t Permitted.” This lovely, little policy means that if a student doesn’t complete an assignment on time, they don’t receive a zero. Oh no, they can turn it in later and still get a grade on it, just like those students who were conscientious enough to complete the assignment on time! Another totally fair policy which teaches such great work ethics which will come in so handy in a future job, don’t you think?

But my digging turned up the following gem that snapped me out of my annoyance over school districts’ stupidity. Memphis City Schools adopted a last-minute change in grading policy called the “Not Meeting Standards” policy. Much like the “H” policy, it gives failing students the next quarter to make up missing work and still pass. Okay, this part didn’t make me happy, but the teachers’ response did. Because in this district, teachers are speaking out about the wrong message this policy sends to students.

At a board meeting this past November, Memphis Education Association President Keith Williams spoke up on behalf of teachers, many of whom were also present, saying, “The term ‘not meeting standards’ does not measure anything. Our students do not need yet another crutch to escape reality. What teachers encourage are responsibility, accountability and students’ best effort.”

His comments were met with applause from other teachers who came to voice their unhappiness over this change in policy which they felt lowered standards and student accountability.

Tom Emens, a teacher at Cordova Elementary School said, “Parents are concerned their children are working more toward mediocrity rather than exceeding standards and getting ready for the work force.”

You can probably surmise from my sarcasm how I feel about these grading policies and the laziness and poor work ethics they help promote. But I want to know how other teachers and parents feel about them, as well.

Share a comment, if you would, especially if you have experienced any no-fail policies in the schools where you teach or where your children go to school. We want to hear from you on this one.

Changes in Teaching, low-performing schools, Teacher-World's Blog Dickson county schools, Memphis City Schools, no-fail policies

I read this story from CNN about an amazing teacher who has been extremely successful and loves what she does, but has left the teaching profession nonetheless. Let me share her story, because it speaks to the issue of how our society undervalues teachers while at the same time, expecting more and more of them with every passing year.

Linda DeRegnaucourt teaches AP calculus at Palm Bay High School in Brevard County, Florida. She has been teaching for 13 years and has earned recognition over that time for the excellent work she has done. After her first year of teaching, she received an award for “Rookie Teacher of the Year,” then later “Teacher of the Year,” and has gotten 100% passage of the AP calculus exam for the past seven years. (Not an easy task!)

She loves teaching, and has a great rapport with her students. So, why won’t she be in her classroom in August? Quite simply, she can’t afford to be. After 13 years of teaching, Linda makes only $38,000 a year, which after taxes leaves her with about $2,400 a month. Her salary is less than it was in the past when teachers earned larger supplements for additional certifications; now a thing of the past.

Linda told CNN, “When you start taking out rent, utilities, car payments, there’s nothing left. It’s demoralizing to you. You wonder why you put all this energy in, and, yes, the kids appreciate you, and the kids love you for it, but, at the end of the day, I still have to pay my bills.”

Linda was divorced two years ago, so is now living on a single income. She owned rental properties to supplement her income, but due to the hit Florida’s real estate market has taken over the past few years, instead of adding to her income these properties have caused more financial strain for Linda. After five years without a raise, and no sign of teaching salaries increasing in the near future, she has made the difficult decision to leave the job she is so good at in order to go back to school to become a nurse, where she will earn, on average, about $62,000 a year.

“I hate to have to leave it,” DeRegnaucourt said. “I really thought I was going to be that teacher, 65 years old and retiring from the education field. That’s not going to happen.”

When Linda was asked by a CNN reporter how hard it was to make the decision to leave, she tearfully replied, “It’s heartbreaking!” At this point, she broke down and could not go on, and my heart broke for her as well.

Some of you are probably thinking, “Okay, so one teacher is leaving the profession, so what? You’re writing a whole blog about this one teacher?”

Well, actually, it’s not just one teacher and it’s becoming increasingly more challenging to keep good teachers in the classroom according to a 2010 report by McKinsey & Company called “Closing the Talent Gap.” Here are the statistics: In the U.S., the average starting teaching salaries are $39,000, and these salaries tend to rise with years of experience to $54,000 on average. According to this report, teachers’ salaries can’t compete with other careers causing an average teacher turnover rate of 14% every year, or 20% at “high-needs” high schools, and 46% of teachers leave within the first five years of teaching.

Additional information from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development from 2007 compared teacher salaries in the United States with teacher salaries from other countries, and its findings are eye opening. The U.S. ranks 20th out of 29 for starting salaries and 23rd out of 29 for teacher salaries after 15 years. Does it come as a big surprise that so many young teachers are bailing?

CNN interviewed Ninive Calegari, the founder of “The Teacher Salary Project,” who said, “When you look at high achieving countries, their turnover rates are 3% or lower. So they work very, very hard to not only attract teachers that they suspect are going to be successful, but they work incredibly hard to train them, and then they do whatever it takes to retain them. And we don’t do that.”

“Five years ago, ten years ago, kids would ask me, should they become teachers? I was like, ‘Oh, God, yes, I love what I do,’” Linda said. “Now, I tell my kids, ‘You’re really, really bright. Why don’t you think about going into (this or that?) They have the potential to be doctors, lawyers, nurses, CEOs and scientists. Why would I recommend to my kids, who I absolutely love, to struggle for years?”

When asked by CNN what Linda hoped her students would take away from their time in her classes, she said, “I want them to get a love not of mathematics, just knowledge, just learning. I want them to always remember how anything was possible.” Can we afford to lose teachers like this?

Can a teacher survive on a teacher’s salary when they are the sole supporter of a household, especially with kids? Unlikely. I have experienced divorce as well, and rather than get out of teaching, I have had to supplement my income ever since. I have always had at least one extra job to bring in the income that I cannot make in my chosen profession. For the past three years, I have carried two extra jobs on top of teaching and all of the extra work that teaching requires in the evenings and on weekends. It isn’t an easy life, and my husband would be the first to say that I am always working, leaving us very little time to spend together.

Am I the exception? No, most of the teachers I work with who have families have a second job outside of school or take on supplemental contracts through the school district in order to make ends meet.

Young people just starting out are probably less willing to have to work so hard to earn what just comes naturally in other professions. And so, they leave, and we lose potentially awesome teachers every year in the United States. Is it possible that if the United States put the same priority on keeping good teachers that other countries do, we might see the higher achievement levels that these countries do as well?

Maybe it’s not rocket science trying to figure out what’s wrong with our education system in the United States. Maybe a lot of it is just paying good teachers (and not just based on test scores but on daily excellent work) what they deserve, thus retaining those good teachers and building stronger schools.

At the end of the CNN interview, Linda regretfully said, “I’m not saying they may not find an amazing teacher to replace me, who also motivates the kids, who also inspires the kids, who also loves the kids. But, what if they don’t?”

And what if school systems everywhere that are losing good teachers every year don’t? What happens to our kids then?

Teacher-World's Blog "Closing the Talent Gap", "The Teacher Salary Project", CNN, Linda DeRegnaucourt, retaining teachers, teacher salary