Teacher World

 A controversial ethnic studies program being taught in a Tucson school district has been ruled illegal by an administrative law judge. What made this class so controversial?

The class under attack, taught at Tucson High Magnet School by Curtis Acosta, is primarily attended by Mexican-Americans. New York Times reporter, Marc Lacey, reported almost a year ago that the classroom walls are covered with protest signs, including one that read “United Together in La Lucha!” – the struggle. And students do study literature, including The Tempest, but some of the other texts being employed include The Pedagogy of the Oppressed and Occupied America, which Tom Horne, Arizona’s superintendent of public instruction at the time, said were being used to teach Latino youths that they were being mistreated.

Due to his concern that students in this class were being taught to become activists, Horne wrote a law directly aimed at challenging the school’s ethnic studies program, a law which was passed by the Legislature in the spring and signed into law in May, 2010, by Governor Jan Brewer, in the midst of protests throughout the state over its crackdown on immigration.

This law which went into effect on January 1, 2011, warned Arizona school districts that they could lose 10 percent of their state educational funding if their ethnic-studies programs were not found to be in compliance with new state standards. It banned programs which promote the overthrow of the United States government, including programs that suggest that parts of the Southwest that were once part of Mexico should be returned to that country. Finally, it prohibited any promotion of resentment toward a race, and it outlawed any programs that are primarily for one race or that advocate ethnic solidarity instead of individuality.

On his last day as Arizona’s top education official, Horne declared that Tucson’s Mexican-American program violated all four provisions of the new law. Although the law gave the district 60 days to comply, Horne called for the dissolution of the program, saying that the district’s other ethnic-studies programs could continue since they had not received complaints.

“It’s propagandizing and brainwashing that’s going on there,” Horne said. “In the end, I made a decision based on the totality of the information and facts gathered during my investigation—a decision that I felt was best for all students in the Tucson Unified School District,” he stated. Horne left office at the end of 2010.

The Tucson Unified School District fought back, filing an appeal against Tom Horne’s decision to shut down the program, but John Huppenthal, Horne’s successor supported Horne’s ruling.

During the appeal process, district officials stated that an audit commissioned by Huppenthal had praised the program, finding that there was “no observable evidence” that the classes were in violation of state law. A witness for the school system further maintained that teaching students “historical facts of oppression and racism” was less likely to promote “racial resentment” than ignoring that history.

This past Tuesday, Judge Lewis Kowal ruled that the program’s curriculum was teaching Latino culture and history “in a biased, political, and emotionally charged manner,” thus supporting Horne’s findings that it was in violation of the 2010 law. Huppentahal said that the judge’s ruling shows “that it was the right decision.”

Kowal’s ruling said that the program violated state law by having one or more classes designed primarily for one ethnic group, thus promoting racial resentment and advocating ethnic solidarity instead of treating students as individuals. He further explained that the law allows for the objective instruction regarding the oppression of people that may result in racial resentment or ethnic solidarity.

“However, teaching oppression objectively is quite different than actively presenting material in a biased, political and emotionally charged manner, which is what occurred in (Mexican-American Studies) classes,” Kowal wrote. He explained that this kind of instruction promotes activism against white people.

Under the law, Arizona can withhold 10 percent of its educational funding from the Tucson Unified School District, which amounts to roughly $15 million a year, until the district changes the course’s curriculum. Tucson Superintendent John Pedicone’s written statement in response to the judge’s ruling stated that the school board’s lawyers were reviewing the ruling which would be discussed at their January 3 school board meeting.

In the absence of personal knowledge regarding what is being taught in this classroom, it is impossible to know whether this was a case of a teacher using his teaching position as a sounding board for his own ethnic beliefs or whether this is paranoia or worse; censorship. It sounds odd to me that this law would be written specifically to outlaw this class. A little suspicious, don’t you think?

Either way, the story doesn’t sit well, and I’d love personal feedback from anyone with firsthand knowledge of what is being taught in Curtis Acosta’s classroom. If you have more information on this heated topic, we would love to hear from you.

Teacher-World's Blog ethnic studies program, John Huppenthal, Judge Lewis Kowal, Tom Horne, Tucson High Magnet School

US News recently published an article containing tips for first-generation college students and their parents. Written by Teresa Heinz Housel, the daughter of a factory worker and a stay-at-home mother, it offers encouragement, insights, and practical tips for those who are pursuing higher education for the first time in their family’s history.

Housel has a personal perspective on this subject since she was the first member of her family to go to college. A graduate of Ohio’s Oberlin College in 1990, she became an associate professor of communication at Hope College in Holland, Michigan. She is also the coeditor of Faculty and First-Generation College Students: Bridging the Classroom Gap Together.

Housel recalls her decision to pursue higher education, saying, “I knew that I wanted more than what was around me–I read about people’s lives and I knew there was a lot more out there. I was really fortunate that I had mentors locally who really reached out to me and encouraged me to go to college.”

In an effort to offer first-generation students the same encouragement she was fortunate enough to receive, she offers the following tips and advice:

First, she notes that first-generation students enter “an academic, cultural environment that often has a lot of unspoken rules and sets of cultural mores,” and while it is assumed that they have either experienced or have knowledge of this environment, that may not be true due to their first-generation background. Housel isolates the following challenges these students face in particular: “developing study skills, how to ask questions in class, and how and where to ask for help if they need it.”

So, where can these students go to get the help they need? First, she recommends that they find out if the college or university has a program to assist first-generation students. Programs like these acknowledge that these students don’t just want financial assistance, “but often they need social, academic, and financial support together.”

So what kind of program is most supportive to first-generation students? Housel gives the following example from her own institution: “At Hope College, usually once a year, an etiquette class is offered where students go to a mock formal dinner. They talk about how to use certain utensils, what appropriate topics of conversation with potential employers are, what to wear–and those are really important because if a student is first-generation, they might not have parents who had professional jobs. The student might go out into the job or internship market where they’re in a situation like that, so a workshop like that really helps a student manage really unfamiliar situations.”

Housel recommends that first-generation students take advantage of available on-campus resources, which will vary from school to school. Some of these would include the multicultural education office, the student life office, the office of student support services, or counseling services. Additionally, she recommends that these students take advantage of their school’s career services center to learn how to network to find a job. She points out that they may be unfamiliar with how to network for careers or education since they have may not have witnessed it occurring in their own family.

Housel recalls that one of the issues she faced at Oberlin College was that she did not have a lot of spending money available to her, which is often the case of first-generation students. This makes it difficult for these students who are unaware of the various hidden expenses that are part of college life. She recalls, “I might have had friends that wanted to go out for a meal, and that was a real challenge to deal with situations like that. I had to use survival skills to manage money really well.” Knowing ahead of time that these situations will occur might make it easier to deal with them when they do.

Housel recommends that first-generation students should read available information about the institution they are considering if they are unsure whether a college is the right fit for them. (Advice appropriate for any potential college student, I might add.) She also recommends talking to both alumni of the school and professors who work there. Housel admits, “I never would have thought about this as a first-generation student, but I would encourage them to get in touch with professors with any questions that they have.”

What is Housel’s advice regarding how parents of first-generation students can support their kids? Since these parents do not have college experience and often don’t know what questions to ask or how they can support their child, she recommends that the best support they can offer is emotional support.

“They might not understand everything the student is going through or be able to help in very tangible ways, like to be able to help the student choose classes or give feedback about what to get involved in on campus, but they can still be an emotional support, and the students know that their parents are proud of them and are behind what they’re doing. That’s very valuable,” Housel says.

Housel’s last piece of advice for first-generation students is to rely on their survival skills; skills that a lot of people who have grown up in more affluent homes probably don’t possess. She says that those skills that enabled them to get accepted into their college will be beneficial throughout their college experience. Housel said, “It took me a long time to realize that [we] should be proud of those survival skills, because there are a lot of people that don’t have them.”

Higher education, Teacher-World's Blog first-generation college students, Teresa Heinz Housel, US News

My heart has been touched today as I read the story and watched the videos about the life of Ben Breedlove, a teenager from Austin, Texas. In sharing this story with you, I hope your hearts will be as deeply touched as mine has by this brave, young man.

Ben Breedlove has struggled with a serious heart condition called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy all of his life. This condition causes one part of the heart to become thicker than the other parts which makes it difficult for the heart to pump blood normally. Because of his condition, he has had to be more cautious than other boys; he has not been able to play sports or participate in activities that are too physical.

In spite of his limitations, Ben has had a very full life. Technically creative, he has produced two YouTube channels, “BreedloveTV” and “OurAdvice4You,” which offer relationship advice for teens and on which he would talk about his own life and interview other teens. Both were popular sites which received a lot of feedback. But recently, the sites have been deluged with tributes to Ben, who died of a heart attack on Christmas night.

A tragedy, without a doubt, but Ben’s story is not over. Ben left his family and friends and the whole world one last gift, a Christmas gift, as it were. Without anyone’s knowledge, other than his sister who he had confided in, Ben made two videos about his near-death experiences. These touching videos are poignantly simple; Ben uses note cards to tell about his disease and the three brushes with death that had left him peacefully calm about what lay ahead for him.

He told about his first brush with death when he was 4 years old. Ben remembered being wheeled on a stretcher down a hospital hallway with his mother following alongside. He wrote, “There was this big bright light above me … I couldn’t make out what it was because it was so bright. I told my mom, ‘Look at the bright light’ and pointed up. She said she didn’t see anything. There were no lights on in this hall. I couldn’t take my eyes off it. And I couldn’t help but smile. I had no worries at all, like nothing else in the world mattered. I cannot even begin to describe the peace, how peaceful it was. I will NEVER forget that feeling or that day.”

On May 3, 2009, Ben had surgery to insert a pacemaker. Then this past summer, Ben went in for a tonsillectomy and went into cardiac arrest, the second time he had “cheated death.”

On December 6, Ben suffered what he described as the third time he “cheated death.” He had passed out in a hallway at his school, and when he came to, he remembered being surrounded by EMS medics who used shock pads to revive him. When he came to again, his heart had stopped beating, but he could hear them saying, “He’s not breathing, his heart has stopped, and he has no pulse.” He admits that at this point he told himself, “This is it. I’m dying.”

He then shares a very vivid “dream or vision” that followed. In it, he said he found himself in a silent, white room with no walls that seemed to go on and on, and he felt “that same peaceful feeling I had when I was 4.”

Ben’s note cards tell the story about what he experienced, as his face registers his emotions, from thoughtful to smiling. He explained that he was in a nice suit, and his favorite rapper, Kid Cudi, was there in a suit as well, and he recalls looking in a big mirror and thinking, “Damn, we look good.” He said, “I then looked at myself in the mirror, I was proud of MYSELF, of my entire life, everything I have done. It was the BEST feeling.”

It was at this point, that Ben recalls Kid Cudi leading him to a glass table and hearing these lyrics from one of his songs: “When will the fantasy end, when will the heaven begin?” And he heard Kid Cudi tell him, “Go now.”

“I didn’t want to leave that place,” Breedlove wrote. “I wish I NEVER woke up.”

On December 18, Ben posted his two-part video titled “This is my story.” He died a week later. As of today, Part 1 of Ben’s story has received 1,222,857 hits, and Part 2 has received 842,288.

When Kid Cudi heard about Ben’s death and his video, he blogged, “I am so sad about Ben Breedlove. I watched the video he left for the world to see, and him seeing me in detail, in his vision really warmed my heart. I broke down…This has really touched my heart in a way I can’t describe; this is why I do what I do. Why I write my life, and why I love you all so much. Life is really f—ed up sometimes, but I know Ben is at Peace, and I hope he gets a chance to sit and talk with my Dad. We love you Ben. Forever. Thank you for loving me. To Ben’s family, you raised a real hero, he’s definitely mine. You have my love.”

Pam Kohler, a close friend of the Breedlove family, said, “It was obvious to all of us that knew him that he knew what he was doing when he made that video. There are times that [the family is] overwhelmed by the pain and the loss of Ben, but then it’s replaced with knowing that he was at peace with what was going to happen.”

“Because of the experiences he’d had, he was ready and he was prepared. He really wanted to know that peace again. He was facing more hospital stays and he was tired of it,” Kohler said. “He wanted [his family] to know that he wasn’t scared and was looking forward to returning to that place.”

What a priceless gift this brave, young man gave to his grieving family and friends! In spite of the sadness you feel when you watch his videos you can’t help but feel joy. Ben’s message fills us all with peace and hope, leaving us with little doubt that he knew death was close, but he wanted us all to know that he was not at all afraid to face it.

Ben’s last two cards end like a sweet, poignant prayer, “Do you believe in angels or God?”

“I do.”

Bless you, Ben. I believe!

Teacher-World's Blog Ben Breedlove, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, YouTube

Recently, the teachers in our district were asked to give suggestions regarding ways that our district could cut costs since our most recent school levy went down in flames again and money is increasingly tight. Since we have made drastic staff cuts already and are about as bare-boned there as we can get, administrators and our school board are looking for creative alternatives to cutting costs, and who better to ask than teachers.

One suggestion that most of us sent in was to reduce the work week to four days which saves one day’s worth of operating costs for a district. So imagine my interest when I read that a recent Washington Post survey showed that a growing number of school districts are doing exactly what we have recommended.

While the numbers of schools that are trying this approach to cut expenses is not huge, it has more than doubled from an estimated 120 districts in 2009 to 292 currently. (This is out of an estimated 15,000 public school districts.)

This approach to reducing costs allows districts to save money on transportation and administrative costs, which include janitorial work, electricity, heat, busing, school lunches, etc. In order to shorten the week, the four days that school is in session would have to be extended.

One of the concerns to this method is that it can be a logistical problem for working parents who would have to find child care for their younger students on the day that school is not in session. A survey conducted in September among Florida business owners found that 65 percent of entrepreneurs in the state were against a 4-day week. On top of their concerns over the nightmare parents might experience in seeking day care for their students, they worried about the potential risk of leaving older students home alone unsupervised. They also expressed trepidation that the move to a 4-day week might severely impact the lowest-paid employees of school districts: food service personnel and bus drivers.

U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan has expressed his displeasure with the growing trend saying that it would eliminate after school programs and would “hurt children” academically.

In a report in 2009, researchers at the University of Southern Maine found that there was “either no impact or a positive impact on academic performance” when schools moved to a 4-day week. However, according to Kathy Christie, chief of staff of the non-profit Education Commission of the States, which provides information to policymakers to help them make decisions regarding education, more research is needed in order to determine whether this trend is worthwhile or not. Last year, Christie told CNN, “There really is no strong research on how it affects student achievements.”

In lieu of thorough research, proponents of a 4-day week claim that student attendance would be higher if parents had one day a week to schedule doctor’s appointments and other errands that can only be accomplished during the week. This makes a lot of sense; students leave school all of the time for doctor, dental, and orthodontist appointments. And quite often, parents take their child out in the morning for an appointment and never bring them back all day.

Yet, while some districts are talking about reducing the school week, some districts who are struggling academically are considering adding a day to their week. Baltimore schools are considering adding Saturday school, and the superintendent of Memphis City Schools actually submitted a proposal earlier this year which would require students in elementary school up to fifth grade to attend school six days a week.

Our district has had to be creative in the past in order to be fiscally responsible. During the energy crisis in 1976-1977, I am told that the schools in our district went on split sessions, with elementary students attending school in the morning and older students attending in the afternoon in the same building. This allowed them to shut down one building for the winter, thus reducing fuel costs. By all accounts, students seemed to do just fine.

If a 4-day week can get school districts through this lean time, so be it. Teachers will rise to the occasion and make it work until our economy picks up again, and we can go back to normal. Drastic times call for creative measures. And this is an alternative that could work in these drastic times.

Changes in Teaching, Funding Education, low-performing schools, Teacher-World's Blog 4-day school, budget cuts, Washington Post survey

Today, I will end my blogging about inspirational young people with a story about an 18-year old from Raleigh, North Carolina who is making a difference in the lives of so many people in her home state through an organization she created called “Teens 2 Teens.”

Eighteen-year old Krissi Fajgenbaum, a recent graduate from Raleigh’s Ravenscroft High School, says her life was changed after watching Diane Sawyer’s documentary two years ago which revealed the despair and daily struggles of families in Appalachia. The powerful documentary affected many people as it portrayed the plight of many of these poor families who go without the very basic necessities of life, such as food, clothing, and shelter.

Krissi said, “At first, when I watched it, I was just so sad to see that happening to people, and I was completely shocked. I was absolutely devastated after seeing that. I couldn’t believe there was so much poverty within five hours of where I live in Raleigh.”

Krissi’s reaction to this documentary did not stop there; she spent time researching the region’s poorest areas and even contacted the governor’s office. Through her research, she discovered that Robbinsville High School, in the far western part of the state, is the poorest school in North Carolina.

Krissi then met with Robbinsville High School’s guidance counselor. She was told that many of the students who attend this school in Graham County can’t afford to play sports, go on class trips, or engage in so many of the experiences that most teenagers take for granted.

Then Krissi got busy, creating a program called “Teens 2 Teens.” Reaching out to her high school friends, she asked them to donate items for these young people who lived in the poorest area of their state. The response was tremendous, and her house literally filled up with gently-used clothing.

All of the donated clothing was taken by Krissi and her mother by truck 350 miles to a storage area that had been transformed by students at the school into a “boutique” which was aptly named Krissi’s Kloset.

Krissi explained that many of the students she met with on her visit to Robbinsville said that they had no clothing to wear when they go for college and job interviews. So she designed her boutique “to be a fun experience” for the teens who would pick out clothing there, taking care to make it feel like a true shopping excursion.

“The kids there are smart and they want to be successful, and I think this is just something we can give them to help them be even more successful. Students come in, and they’re so excited,” Krissi said. “Some of them have never been in a store; they don’t know what size they wear.”

She went on to say, “People are so appreciative. It started out as a small idea, something I could do. The main thing I’m proud of is that I carried it out and it got so big.”

And so it was that the first “boutique” was not enough for Krissi. Through a partnership with Communities in Schools of North Carolina, in July of 2010, she opened a second Krissi’s Kloset in Bryson City, which is located in North Carolina’s Appalachian region. Each boutique is stocked with more than 30,000 items which have been donated by friends, neighbors, and strangers.

Krissi’s mother, Sylvia said, “Krissi has always been a child who has thought of others before herself.”

And Michael, her father said, “I’m just so proud of her to actually find something to do and actually follow through with it to make it happen.”

Not only have Krissi’s efforts helped so many young people; it has also earned her attention from the media. She was named an AmeriCAN on ABC’s “Good Morning America” and “Person of the Week” on ABC-11. She was even featured in the June edition of People Magazine.

A well-rounded person, Krissi devotes at least 10 hours a week to her cause, maintains her grade point average, and participates in field hockey, swimming, and track. “It was hard to watch her work so hard over the last two years,” Sylvia said, and even with all of her other responsibilities, “she always took the most difficult classes she could take.”

Krissi’s website lists the other Teens 2 Teens chapters which other inspired youth following in Krissi’s footsteps have set up in their area of the country, and she encourages other youth to take on the challenge, as well.

Sylvia is hopeful that the organization will continue to grow and that more young people will answer the call to get involved. “What’s good about it is that she’s leading by example,” Sylvia said. “Other teenagers are interested in helping teenagers who are less fortunate because they see her doing it.”

Krissi received the Robertson Scholarship, and is currently a freshman biomedical engineering major at UNC Chapel Hill, but she is still the driving force behind Teens 2 Teens.

Looking back at her accomplishments, Krissi said, “It’s taken a lot of time and hard work but it’s been completely worth it.”

Krissi’s website makes the following statement: “All teenagers have the same wants and needs no matter who they are or where they come from. Teens want to feel good about themselves. They want to feel self confident and they want to fit in. By offering teens in need gently used clothing, they can feel good about themselves at school and feel more confident and comfortable when they go on class trips and college visits.”

And it is this basic desire to provide those who are less fortunate with a sense of confidence and self-assurance that has taken Krissi on this amazing journey. My hope is that some of you who read about Krissi will want to help her continue to do the good work she has started. Maybe you can help fill her “Klosets” or maybe you would like to open a new chapter in your neck of the woods.

Join in and make a difference in the lives of these young people, just like Krissi has.

Teacher-World's Blog Appalachia, Krissi Fajgenbaum, Krissi's Kloset, Robbinsville High School, Teens 2 Teens

I like to take some time over the Christmas holiday to recognize young people who have shown exceptional character, and today’s story about Jacob Rainey is the perfect story to lead this series.

Jacob Rainey, from Charlottesville, Virginia, was one of the top quarterback prospects for the state until a freak accident destroyed his football dreams. In a scrimmage between Rainey’s Woodberry Forest team and Mercersburg High on September 3, Jacob suffered a broken knee cap after being cleanly tackled by an opponent. He was taken to Fair Oaks Hospital, where further complications were discovered.

Jacob was transferred to Fairfax Inova Hospital, and it was here that doctors determined that the injury he had suffered had severed the main artery in his leg, requiring emergency vascular surgery. Jacob had developed a rare condition called compartment syndrome. This condition cut off the blood flow to part of his leg which led to the death of muscle tissue and nerves. It was this condition that left amputation of part of his leg the only option.

Jacob recalled, “The doctors told me a couple times that I wasn’t going to get amputated, so I was feeling pretty good until Friday. I don’t remember a lot, but I just remember them telling me it was going to get amputated and I was just like, `All right, well, that sucks.”‘

The hospital released a statement on September 10, saying, “Damage to the affected area was extensive, and doctors amputated the lower portion of Jacob’s leg.”

The whole team was devastated when they heard the news, and Coach Clint Alexander said, “Our players love Jacob very much and were very upset when it happened and were very worried about him after he was taken to the hospital. Our team is very close, one of the benefits of a boarding school football program. They get so much time together on dorm that the depth of the relationships they form is quite amazing. This has certainly helped our players understand how important it is to care about each other and attempt to overcome adversity together.”

In an effort to support and memorialize their missing leader, the team agreed to pass around Jacob’s jersey number each week, giving his best friend, Nate Ripper, the honor in the first week.

Now here is the most incredible part of this story: In spite of a live-changing tragedy, Jacob Rainey refuses to spend time thinking about what he has lost. Instead, he is the one inspiring his school and community to move on.

Jacob told the Associated Press, “I don’t know why me. I’ve never really asked myself that question. I think that would just make me feel sorry for myself, and that’s the last thing I want to do.

“I feel like if I was in their shoes, I’d feel awkward about it and stuff, like talking about it, so I kind of joke about it. I mean, it is what it is. I can’t change anything. There’s no point [complaining] about it, so I think it makes everyone more comfortable about it if I just joke about it like it’s alright. That’s how it’s always been.”

Jacob’s courage and unfailing optimism have touched the lives of many, both in and outside his community. Tim Tebow and Clay Matthews were so moved by this young man’s story that they asked Jacob to spend some time with them.

Jacob, who is 6-foot-3, 215 pounds, had a style that was often compared to Tebow, who said of him, “What an amazing kid and what an amazing outlook that he has. I’m so proud to have the opportunity to spend time with him and his family. We’re very excited about that.”

Jacob Rainey teaches us all a lesson concerning how to deal with adversity and shattered dreams. His courage and powerful personality will take him so much farther than his football prowess might have taken him. What he lost was tragic and so unfair, but it would have been a temporary gift. Bodies get old or injured, and a football career is fleeting; ask any pro-football player.

But courage, tenacity, willpower, positive leadership skills, an inspirational personality…these are the priceless gems that usually come with age and life’s experiences. These are the gifts that Jacob Rainey will never lose. These are the precious things that make Jacob a star no matter where his journey takes him.

God bless you, Jacob. You have touched my heart, and I am certain that you will continue to touch the hearts of others on your amazing journey.

Teacher-World's Blog amputation, Clay Matthews, Jacob Rainey, Tim Tebow

One of the most shocking stories I have read in a very long time comes to us out of Poughkeepsie, New York, where, on December 15, a teacher attacked a co-teacher in the hallway in front of students, teachers, and other staff members.

From what I have been able to discover, the two teachers involved, Ronette Ricketts and Cynthia Glozier, both English teachers at Poughkeepsie High School, have not exactly gotten along in the past. On this particular morning, Ricketts reportedly showed up at the district office asking for a personnel action sheet because, according to District Superintendent Laval Wilson, “Somehow she was under the impression that she was being terminated.” Wilson said he didn’t know why she thought she was losing her job, and I confess that I don’t know what, if anything, this visit may have had to do with what happened later that morning. (Makes you wonder if she had planned the attack ahead of time, and knew she would be terminated as a result…Just makes you wonder.)

What I do know is that somewhere around 10 a.m. Glozier, who was described by her students as a very calm teacher who has been at the school for years,  approached Ricketts in the hall and asked her why she had not attended an English Department staff meeting that had taken place earlier that morning.

According to detectives, Ricketts told Glazier that she was busy with parent-teacher conferences, “and then one thing led to another.”

Forty-year-old Ricketts proceeded to pull a Phillips screwdriver from her pocket and began stabbing Glozier multiple times. Almost immediately, teachers, students, and staff intervened.

One of these was Justin Richardson, a senior linebacker who said, “I saw Ms. Ricketts just hammering her in the side of head,” Richardson told PIX 11 TV. “I saw a lot of blood. It was shocking. I just jammed her really hard to get the screwdriver [to] fly out of her hand. If I didn’t step in she would have killed her.”

Whether that was Ricketts’ plan or not, is hard to say, but she managed to stab Glozier 16 times in the face, neck, back, and upper torso before losing her weapon.

As soon as Ricketts had been “removed” from Glozier, police and medics were called in. Glozier was taken to Saint Francis Hospital, and the school was locked down until investigators could determine that it was secure about an hour and 15 minutes later. No students were hurt in the incident, although many were traumatized by what they had witnessed.

Sophomore, Courtney Wright, said she heard and saw the two teachers fighting in the middle of the hallway near the main staircase. “They started hitting each other,” she said. “It was actually quite frightening. It didn’t help that students were yelling and screaming.”

But after watching closed-circuit television footage of the incident which only lasted about a minute, Wilson said, “It was one teacher attacking the other teacher, it wasn’t two teachers fighting. It wasn’t two teachers mutually getting into a confrontation. There may have been some words passed – but it was one teacher attacking the other.”

Wilson told reporters that an assistant principal had spoken to Glozier, who was treated and listed in stable condition at St. Francis Hospital. He said that she had asked the assistant principal to relay a message. “She wanted the kids to know she is a strong person and is recovering,” said Wilson. “We wish her a good recovery.”

Counselors, psychologists, and social workers were available throughout the rest of the day to help students, faculty, and staff who were traumatized by the attack, and about 20 percent of the school’s students went home after the incident.

Ricketts was arraigned before City Court Judge Frank M. Mora on felony assault charges. Detective Horton reported that she was charged with first-degree attempted assault and second-degree assault, which are both felonies, and also fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon, which is a misdemeanor. Ricketts was placed in jail on $50,000 bail or $100,000 bond.

Her new attorney, Gary Greenwald, who replaced attorney Jonna Spilbor who represented Ricketts at her arraignment on December 16, described Ricketts as a “much-loved” teacher and the product of a “nice, middle-class Jamaican family.” He went on to say, “Generally speaking, there’s no issue regarding what occurred, but there’s a substantial issue about my client’s mental state” when it happened.

Ricketts’ hearing has been postponed to January, and she awaits her trial from home after posting bail this past weekend.

Cynthia Glozier was discharged from the hospital on Tuesday and is now recovering at home.

School violence, Teacher-World's Blog Cynthia Glozier, New York, Poughkeepsie High School, Rionette Ricketts

I had to write about an article published yesterday by Jason Koebler in USA News Education which encourages both teachers and parents to keep students busy over their winter break in scholarly pursuits. The article had some great ideas that I would like to share with you. While the article concentrated on high school students, it could certainly be adapted to fit the needs of younger students as well.

You’ve all seen it: that after-Christmas-my-friends-are-with-their-families-there’s-nothing-good-on-TV-there’s-nothing-to-do doldrums. And you’ve had to put up with the whining that accompanies the boredom. But there is a practical suggestion to combat the boredom.

Research pertaining to summer vacations has shown that students lose up to two months of math and reading knowledge over summer break. Yvette Jackson, CEO of the National Urban Alliance, a nonprofit whose focus is on improving student engagement in low-income schools, says that even though winter break is much shorter, teachers should give their students a fun project to work on during the break that will help keep them interested in what is being studied at school.

For example, Jackson says if a class is studying the Constitution, rather than the teacher giving the students a list of comprehension questions to be answered by the time they return to school, have them actually dive into the Constitution to discover how the document impacts their own lives.

She explained, “Allow students to explore what ideas are connected to the Constitution: freedom, liberty, allowing them to do things they enjoy; all of those are straight out of the Constitution.”

Jackson acknowledges that some students will not be happy about doing school work over the break, even if it is a “fun project,” but she explains that the more open-ended the assignments are the more useful they will be to kids. “When students are engaged in studying one of their areas of interest, they’re apt to do involved, deep reading and work in an independent fashion.”

I feel compelled to interject the following experiences I have had when I have endeavored to have my students do some type of project or skill sharpening over a break. First, I have been alarmed by the number of negative responses I have received from parents who feel that their child’s vacation should be free from any academic pursuits. Some letters have been quite angry.

Additionally, even though students knew that they were working for a reward and that it would not affect their grade, very few of them legitimately completed the assignment which was sent home. The other shocker was that many parents signed off on the project, which meant that they were verifying that their child had truly completed the activity, even though I discovered later that their child had not done the work at all!

For these reasons, I very rarely send assignments of any nature home over winter or spring break. It simply isn’t worth it. But that is why I love the second part of this article.

Jackson suggests that if teens come home without an assignment, it would be a good time for parents to take charge and take advantage of the extra free time to go to local places which might be of interest to their child. Her recommendations include museums, zoos, and factories. I would also add bakeries, newspaper facilities, auto repair shops, historical societies, cemeteries, your local college, etc. Be creative and pick a place that reflects your child’s interests.

For best results, she recommends connecting the visit with what your child is learning in school. “Talk with your child about places you can go that will allow them to reflect on what they’re learning,” she says. “This allows a lot of great conversations about their interests, and [helps them learn] what opportunities can be had in college and beyond.”

What do you do if money is tight or your working schedule makes it difficult to physically go to local places? Jackson recommends using the computer to go on electronic field trips. Good resources for virtual field trips include the National Park Foundation, Ball State University, and the Smithsonian Institution. All of these sites offer virtual field trips which provide students with a close-up view of many popular destinations all over the United States and the world.

However your family “travels,” be it physically or virtually, Jackson says to be sure to talk about the trip while your child is experiencing it. “The experience means nothing for a child unless there’s something that goes along with it that can help the child analyze what they’ve been looking at,” Jackson says. “If you’re going to a museum, it’s a great chance to talk about what it all means.”

Another admirable suggestion is to use the break, especially a Christmas break, as an opportunity to teach your child the importance and the joy of giving back to their community through some type of community service, which for some schools is a requirement for graduation anyway.

Jackson recommends food pantries and soup kitchens for volunteer work, and if those already have a full work force, the United Way and VolunteerMatch have broad databases of places which are looking for holiday help.

A recent United Way holiday publication notes, “The holidays are a time of year when we come together as a community. We make the extra effort to look for the things that bring us together and unite us.”

I hope that this information has given you some practical solutions for the winter break doldrums. We’d love to hear from those of you who engage in some extracurricular activities with your child this holiday season.

Teacher-World's Blog field trips, National Urban Alliance, United Way, USA News, winter break, Yvette Jackson

I recently blogged regarding the announcement that half of the nation’s public schools failed to meet No Child Left Behind progress goals, which has added incentive for U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan and others to give waivers to states allowing them to change the standards for “adequate yearly progress” in schools. One such state which plans to apply for a waiver happens to be my own home state of Ohio.

Ohio public schools did better than the nation, with 60 percent meeting federal goals during the last school year, but half of its districts failed to meet these goals.

Under current NCLB policy, all public school students are to be proficient in math and reading by 2014. To guarantee that this occurs, the federal government required states to set “adequate yearly progress” goals. Each year or every few years, these goals must be raised. Due to this practice, most states now require approximately 90 percent or more of their students to pass the state tests.

Since Ohio and Kentucky recently adopted demanding math and reading curricula and are also developing new, college-preparatory tests for students, Duncan has argued that this high bar penalizes states like these.

How bad is the problem in Ohio? Well, in the Cincinnati area, 45 percent of its public schools failed federal annual academic progress goals. The largest district, Cincinnati Public, had 67 percent of its schools fail, and the second largest, Lakota, had 9 out of 20 of its schools fail. Winton Woods had all six schools fail.

So what is the common problem within these schools? Steve Denny, the executive director of accountability for Winton Woods, says it is the schools’ diversity; he says that the more diverse the school is, the harder it is to meet federal requirements. Which makes a lot of sense.

Here’s how it works: for a school to meet federal standards, each demographic student group, or subgroup, must pass the tests. Subgroups are based on several factors including ethnicity, poverty, disability, and limited-English-speaking level of students. Schools that don’t have many of these students have few federal progress goals to meet. But, according to Denny, it only takes a few students in a subgroup to fail for the school and district to fail as well.

Janet Walsh, the district spokesperson for Cincinnati Public, explained that in the 39 schools in the district which failed to meet federal goals, learning disabilities were a factor. She went on to explain that about 5 percent of the students in the district are unable to take the regular state tests due to severe disabilities. Yet, Ohio only allows these schools to give alternative tests to one percent of its students. This means that the other four percent fail the tests.

Jeanine Molock, director of accountability at the Ohio Department of Education said, “Ohio is in a better position than most states. Our story wasn’t as dramatic as most states were reporting.” She explained that part of the reason for this is the fact that Ohio allows its schools to meet federal standards four different ways, which exceeds the chances which other states have.

First, there is the traditional way: if the required numbers of students pass their state tests, as in other states, Ohio schools can meet federal goals. However, if an Ohio school fails that, it can still pass if one of the following goals is met:

• its two-year average for passing grades meets the federal standard,
• or enough students are on a trajectory to pass tests within two years,
• or the percent of students failing declines by 10 percent from the prior year.

But, Molock said that, in spite of this flexibility, Ohio will seek a waiver from federal progress restrictions by February. Those of us who are Ohio teachers will be watching to see if our state gets a waiver, and if so, what exactly that waiver means for our schools.

low-performing schools, No Child Left Behind, state achievement tests, Teacher-World's Blog Arne Duncan, No Child Left Behind, Ohio, state achievement tests, state waivers

Teachers throughout our nation are paying the price for a minority of teachers who have misused social media with their students, and that price has been the imposition of stricter guidelines that ban private conversations between teachers and students on cell phones and online social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter. Not surprisingly, these guidelines are being met with resistance by many teachers who use this type of technology as teaching tools or to engage with their students.

Missouri’s new law, which imposed a ban on electronic communication between teachers and students, was declared unconstitutional by a judge after the state teachers union claimed it restricted teachers’ free speech. The law was revamped this fall, and the ban was dropped. However, school boards in the state were told to develop their own social media policies by March 1.

Missouri isn’t alone in trying to develop an appropriate policy. Even though school administrators acknowledge that most teachers use social media appropriately, school boards in California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas and Virginia have updated or are revising their social media policies this fall because they feel that there are increasingly compelling reasons to limit teacher-student contact.

Charol Shakeshaft, chairwoman of the Department of Educational Leadership at Virginia Commonwealth University, has studied teacher sexual misconduct for 15 years. Based on her studies, she said of electronic communication, “My concern is that it makes it very easy for teachers to form intimate and boundary-crossing relationships with students. I am all for using this technology. Some school districts have tried to ban it entirely. I am against that. But I think there’s a middle ground that would allow teachers to take advantage of the electronic technology and keep kids safe.”

 The superintendent of schools in Statesboro, Georgia, Lewis Holloway, instituted a new policy in the fall which prohibits private electronic communications. Why? He learned that a Bulloch County, Georgia teacher was arrested this past summer, charged with aggravated child molestation and statutory rape of her 14-year-old male student. And reports of the incident indicated that Facebook and text messages had helped her cultivate the relationship.

Holloway, who has been a school administrator for 38 years, said, “It can start out innocent and get more and more in depth quickly. Our students are vulnerable through new means, and we’ve got to find new ways to protect them.”

But it isn’t only sexual misconduct that concerns school administrators; they fear that teachers may reveal too much information on sites like Facebook about their private lives. In Muskegon, Michigan, a new policy was adopted last month which states that public school employees can face disciplinary charges if they post pictures of themselves using alcohol or drugs on their social media sites.

Jon Felske, superintendent of Muskegon’s public schools, explained, “We wanted to have a policy that encourages interaction between our students and parents and teachers. That is how children learn today and interact. But we want to do it with the caveat: keep work work — and keep private your personal life.”

Richard J. Condon, special commissioner of investigation for New York City schools pointed to a steady increase in the number of complaints reported involving inappropriate communications on just Facebook alone in the last few years. Only eight complaints were lodged from September 2008 through October 2009, compared to 85 complaints from October 2010 through September 2011.

Yet, educators worry that an effective way of engaging students who use social media to communicate will be removed if policies regarding the proper use of technology become too restrictive.

Jennifer Pust is the head of the English department at Santa Monica High School, where a strict no fraternization policy governs teachers’ online and offline relationships with their students. She said, “I think the reason why I use social media is the same reason everyone else uses it: it works. I am glad that it is not more restrictive. I understand we need to keep kids safe. I think that we would do more good keeping kids safe by teaching them how to use these tools and navigate this online world rather than locking it down and pretending that it is not in our realm.”

A teacher of English for 10 years at Grosse Point High School in Michigan, Nicholas Provenzano, expressed his frustration that “all of us using social media in a positive way with kids have to take 15 steps back whenever there is an incident.” But, he believes that the benefits outweigh the problems, and he communicates regularly with his students, mostly through Twitter, where he responds to their questions regarding his assignments. He admitted that on some occasions he has exchanged private messages with students regarding an assignment or school-related task.

He enumerated several advantages to using social media with his students. He is able to model best practices on social media use and has been able to engage some students through Twitter who do not raise their hand in class. Additionally, he said that using social media networks allowed him to collaborate on projects in other parts of the country.

Yet, in spite of the positive aspects of social media use in and out of the classroom by teachers, some teachers still favor a sharper barrier. For example, in Dayton, Ohio, the school board imposed a social media policy this fall which limits teachers to public exchanges only on school-run networks, and David A. Romick, president of their teachers union, welcomed the rules, saying, “I see it as protecting teachers. For a relationship to start with friending or texting seems to be heading down the wrong path professionally.”

Changes in Teaching, Teacher-World's Blog Charol Shakeshaft, Facebook, Lewis Holloway, social media policies, Twitter