Teacher recruitment and retention

I am concerned about teacher recruitment and retention because a large percentage of educators are nearing retirement.  Over the years I have seen what I have perceived as very bright and promising teachers leave the profession with in five years.  The reasons are varied on why they leave a career that can be very rewarding.  A number of new teachers leave because of more lucrative salaries and benefits.  Others leave because of the sometimes overwhelming discipline problems and lack of parental support.  Then their are others that were not a part of a supportive teacher induction program which included on site mentors.  New teachers need to be nurtured and supported through those crucial years of entering the profession.  More incentives should be given to teacher that go beyond the call of duty for their students and school community.  The practice of giving new teachers the most difficult students and classes should be discouraged because we are losing too many great teachers that fail this proverbial test by fire.

Blogs

I guess my blog will be about blogs. I have heard a lot about them and messed with them a little. I am interested to see what all the hype is about. I can see some of the potential benefits of blogs in the education world. I think it is a neat way for students to express themselves and participate, especially those that might not do so in a traditional classroom. However, some adult blogs can seem a little overbearing – like they are venting or, for lack of a better word, blabbing.

Is discipline being handled correctly in our schools

When leadership is discussed discipline never seems to be brought up. What is effective? What isn’t? What are some common issues schools are having with discipline? This might become an important, but overlooked aspect of school leadership.

Awakening Genius

As an educator, what is your most inspirational idea?  For me, it is the book Awakening Genius, by Thomas Armstrong.  It is a short book, 70 pages, first published in 1998 by ASCD.  I highly recommend it.  The book is organized into three parts – Every Student is a Genius, The Genius Shuts Down, and How to Awaken Genius in the Classroom.  Armstrong defines genius as “giving birth to one’s joy”.  I believe Oprah has said it is following one’s passion in life.  Armstrong further defines genius as the guiding force that inspires one at crucial   moments in one’s life.  He also provides his definintion for the twelve qualities of genius: curiosity, playfulness, imagination, wonder, wisdom, inventiveness, vitality, sensitivity, flexibility, humor and joy. 

The book is a must read for anyone who has kids or teaches.  As educators we want to help kids develop their potential, and Armstrong gives ways to support students in finding their inner genius.  He states in his conclusion, “Right now in your classroom you may have a student who had the potential to someday develop a vaccine for AIDS, or to create a plan to combat world starvation, … If you embrace the notion that genius is just for the elite few, you might let this student slip by unrecognized, and theat gift might be lost to the world.”  As administrators, we have the added responsiblity of our staff.  To protect and nurture their genius, make sure teachers  do the same for their students, allowing everyone to reach their potential. 

Let’s Set an Example

I can only wonder if the women at my neighbor’s weekend party house think about our future as humans on planet earth.  I sat on my porch Friday afternoon and watched six women drive oversized SUV’s to their summer house alone!  They are from out of town, but come on.  Not one of them lived close enough to carpool?  I find that hard to believe. I really enjoyed watching them try to park their all-terrain vehicles into the normal sized driveway. 

As I drove to work this morning I passed a few bags of bottles ready for disposal at the end of their driveway. Do they feel bad throwing away all those bottles and cans when a recycling center is only a few miles away?  I don’t know.  I do know that getting them, or at the very least their kids, to care about our future is our job as educators.

Teaching our youth how to make environmentally sound decisions is vital.  They must be exposed to the dangers that lie ahead if as a society, we do not change our ways.  They need the exposure daily through school wide programs, and classroom projects that highlight green living.  There are countless ways to integrate “eco options” into daily classroom procedures and lessons. 

I am not proposing rewriting an entire science curriculum to focus solely on the environment, but Earth Day activities and novelty units are not going to do the job anymore. 

Changing our wasteful ways as a society will take a while, but it can be done.  A classroom, school, or school district could be an excellent place to start.  Having an “eco friendly” school can be something an entire community can brag about. 

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Learn and Earn Early College High Schools

Early college high schools are popping up all over the state of
North Carolina thanks to funding provided by Governor Easley and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Presently, there are 35 early colleges in the state of North Carolina and by the year 2012 Governor Easley would like to have an early college high school in every county in the state of North Carolina. 

Early college high schools are small schools designed so that students can simultaneously earn a high school diploma and an Associate’s degree or up to two years of college credit toward a Bachelor’s degree. Early college high schools have the potential to improve high school graduation rates and better prepare students for high-skill careers by engaging all students in a rigorous, college preparatory curriculum and compressing the number of years to a college degree. 

Early college high schools are necessary because a postsecondary education is almost essential for financial and personal freedom in today’s economy. A four-year college graduate earns two-thirds more than a high school graduate does. An Associate’s degree translates into earnings significantly higher than those earned by an individual with a high school diploma alone. 

The Early College High School Initiative focuses on young people for whom the transition into postsecondary education is now problematic. Its priority is to serve first-generation college goers, English language learners, and students of color, all of whom are statistically underrepresented in higher education.

For more information about the Early College High School Initiative visit the website at http://www.earlycolleges.org. 

What Really Happen to Student Achievement Levels?

Students across the United States have begun a new school year.  This is a new beginning; a new grade level, new teachers, new classmates, and new experiences.  How soon will the newness fade and the challenges of “passing the tests” begin to set in.  Year after year students and teachers are faced with the daunting task of raising student achievement levels and hard as they try, the growth of  the end of the year test scores is usually equal to or less than the previous school year.  Yes, there are schools that continually and consistently show growth.  What are they doing that the other schools are not?  The former is usually the exception.

There have been several books written about students “falling through the cracks”.  What is interesting to me is that the “cracks” and ”gaps” are expanding.  When interest began in this area of study, reading and math were the focus.  Now we are faced with lagging scores in science and technology as well. In a country whose claim to fame is that we are the most advanced and developed country in the world, why does education seem to fall short?  

Fifty or so years ago, it was a parent’s dream for their child to go to college even if they could not afford to send them.  Most of these were parents whose educational level was elementary at best, encouraged their children to learn all they could at school.  What seemed to happen was that life got easier and education, though important, descended down the ladder of priorities.

Schools of the Future

Having been in education in some capacity, as both a teacher and curriculum supervisor, for the past nineteen years I get concerned when I hear that our schools are not meeting the needs of children.  Having two newborns, I wonder what has to be done to institute such change so that we do meet all learner’s needs.  With technology and the available uses for such, will our schools become virtual in the future?  As I begin saving for college for two babies, I cannot help but wonder what colleges will be like in 18 years.   I have seen so much change since I began teaching that many years ago.  Computers were unavailable at the schools that I worked in during the late 1980s.  They were available, but the schools did not have the resources to purchase them.  I remember seeing the first digital camera in my school in 1996. I remember the date so well because we used it to document for our accreditation.  I also remember when we purchased our first infocus machine a couple of years later.  I think that it was $3000.00.  Now, schools have a plethora of resources.  Why are we still not meeting all learner’s needs?  Where is the root of this problem, and more importantly, can we fix what we report to be “broken”.  As I save for my children’s future, I am wondering what that future might hold.  Is it realistic to think that schools and universities will disappear and virtual learning replace them.  Will tales of “when I was in college” be a grandmother’s tale of how things once were? 

Science Education

Science education should begin in kinder-garden and continue through middle school to prepare students for high school science and possible college. While many K-8 teachers feel intimidated about the content and stressed about the time available within the day to even to begin to address the science content, it imperative to do so. There is no excuse to leave science out of classroom instruction now that many states have developed a standard course of study for science in the elementary level. As a science teacher, I find science education as equally important as other subjects. Hopefuuly other people feels the same way as I do.

Avid Program

I was asked to become an AVID teacher this year and move to an AVID team.  I had no idea what AVID was or what it meant to be on the AVID site team.   In my edublog I will describe what I learned about AVID and how it has changed my teaching style.  

AVID:  this acronym stands for ADVANCEMENT VIA INDIVIDUAL DETERMINATION

The program is for students who are served less and are usually classified in the “middle.”  We seem to have programs for the “gifted” students or for the inclusion students, but this program is designed to benefit the students between both of those levels.  The students are pushed to succeed in the curriculum, prepare more for college (with this there is the hope that this will increase students to enroll into four year colleges), and most importantly the program teaches the students to become responsible leaders. 

Purpose:  “The purpose of the AVID program is to restructure the teaching methods of an entire school and to open access to the curricula that will ensure four-year college eligibility to almost all students.”  (This quote is directly from the AVID summer institute 2007 Participate Materials book). 

The students learn how to become better prepared for everyday learning.  They carry one binder with them to all classes throughout the day.  The binder is set up to accommodate every class.  The front of the binder has a pencil pack (pack that holds all materials needed during class; pencils, pens etc.), it is then split with dividers for each class.  The students keep all materials for the class behind the divider of the class. 

Students in the AVID program use a methodology called WICR.  WICR stands for writing, inquiry, collaborative learning groups and reading to learn.  They also use Cornell Notes in their classroom for note taking strategies.  Each student has an AVID elective class (tutorial) in which they have tutors to come in and help with their learning processes.  They take field trips to colleges and universities, they are involved in fundraising activities, and they have speakers come to talk with the students about the AVID program.  The students sign a contract in which they know all their duties as an AVID student.  If for some reason they are not turning in homework, showing a bad attitude, not keeping their binder organized, then they will be asked to leave the program.

The AVID teacher uses the WICR strategies in their classroom as well as Cornell notes.  I enjoy teaching the students using Cornell notes; it helps them to organize their thoughts better than just simply taking notes from the lesson.  It is nice to have the students know they are a part of a program, and if they don’t stand up to the standards they will be asked to leave the program. 

This program is working out wonderful for the majority of my AVID students.  I am hoping it will continue this way all year!