My New Blog!

My blog has now moved to www.drrickblog.com.

Make sure to keep visiting for different education topics and news throughout the week, and comment with your own thoughts or topic suggestions.

I'll see you over there!

-Dr. Rick

Four-Day School Week continued...

If you’re in one of these school districts that are trying to balance their budgets at the expense of learning, here are a few things you can do at least to make sure the kids don’t see this as a vacation from learning but just a change in venue. Home can be a classroom, too, after all.

1. Stay involved. Make sure the decision-makers in your community have exhausted all other options, have been creative in their thinking, before they make draconian decisions like this.

2. Read. With your kids, read for information (newspapers, magazines, online news) about sports, current events, entertainment, subjects of interest that may not be covered in school. Read to perform a task (directions on how to make something, put something together, cook something). Or best yet, read for the pure joy of reading. Read aloud, you to them, they to you. Talk about your favorite parts. Imagine a sequel.

3. Do math. Find ways to do math at home. Have the kids help you figure out shopping on a budget, mileage during errands, ways to organize household chores. Let them see that math is part of your life every day.

4. Write. Have the kids keep diaries or journals about their days, their interests, their imaginations. Write stories. Write notes to grandparents. Write letters to favorite athletes, entertainment personalities, or government officials. (See which ones write back.) Write to the local school board with ideas about saving money other than cutting back on school days.

5. Research. Use the extra day to do some fun (but secretly educational) research about a topic you’re interested in. Family genealogy, the history of your town, the life of a favorite historic figure. Go to the library or a free museum. You’ll be surprised how quickly the right topic will grow into a mini-obsession.

6. Keep routines. A four-day school week does not mean an automatic three-day weekend or that learning can be put on hold for a day. Keep to those healthy study/homework/test prep/mealtime/playtime/bedtime routines. Kids need routines to build positive attitudes and values. A three-day break from school routine can be too much for some kids.

7. Be positive. Encourage the kids to use the extra day to stay on schedule with long-range assignments, projects, reports, and studying for upcoming tests. Get work done early to have more time as a family.

8. Expand. Just because the school system cuts time from learning doesn’t mean you have to. Consider supplemental educational services like tutors, coaches, or other experts who can help your child keep up or get ahead.

Is your school district considering cutting back on services in the name of “fuel savings”? I’d love to hear your experiences, your ideas, and opinions. Share them with us!

Four-Day School Week

Fuel prices strike again! According to an article in Time Magazine the other week, the students of Caldwell Parish, Louisiana, will be going to school for four days a week instead of five this school year. The decision to cut a day from the kids’ schedule comes from a necessity to save money on diesel fuel, which runs the school buses.

Other school systems are cutting back on bus routes, field trips, and extracurricular activities that require transporting students from one place to another. Some administrators say this will save a lot of money. “Penny wise and pound foolish” comes to mind.

Other administrators say it’s actually good for kids and teachers. Oh? I haven’t seen any studies, but I’m skeptical. The research I’ve seen over the years seems to say that the more kids are in school, the better they do. Common sense.

Here we go again! Haven’t we learned?

I hate to start sentences with “I remember when,” but I remember when we went through this before, during the original oil crises of the 1970s. The school system where I was teaching instituted an “Energy Break” during the month of February. We closed schools to save money on heating hundreds of buildings and thousands of school buses. Everyone was interested in saving fuel. Advertisements for cars touted gas mileage, just as breathlessly as they do now. (Look at car ads from the ‘70s and see how little has changed.) Some people saved energy by jetting to Florida to swim and to Colorado to ski. Energy Week extended years after the crisis, even as we became complacent. What gas crisis?

It was nice to have the week off during the winter doldrums, but I still wonder how much educational benefit it had. Schooling is supposed to be all about the kids, remember?

Count me in the camp of those who believe our kids go to school too few days already. Is cutting a day off the school week really the most creative solution we can come up with? Contrast our school laws – 180 days in most states – with other major countries’ and guess who almost always comes up last?

Up next, I’ll cover tips to make sure kids don’t see a 4 day school week as vacation from learning…

Election Time continued...

Just imagine.

Imagine a presidential campaign where candidates inspire us to value learning rather than joking about their own poor academic records in an adolescent bid to be seen as someone voters “would like to have a beer with.”

Imagine a presidential campaign where candidates exhort us to read more, learn more, and excel in intellectual pursuits. Why do presidents usually leave topics like that to First Ladies? First Ladies bring prestige and awareness, sure, but the president brings power.

Imagine a presidential campaign where candidates address how education helps us to become better people, not just helps us get better jobs. Where they cheer on success in school, encourage a culture of learning, work to enhance the status of teachers so the best and brightest choose the profession and then find it fulfilling enough to stay in it.

Imagine a president who sets the education bar high, who makes literate comments that motivate us to reach for our library cards, who displays his intellectual curiosity, who challenges our brains and elevates our hearts, who understands the role model he is, who recognizes that we’re hungry for inspiration and eager to be proud of ourselves again.

Imagine the impact he could have on parents who know they are the most important factor in their children’s school success and who, because of his words, will find new and creative roles to play in schools, despite the challenges of 21st century parenting.

Imagine the impact on the mass media and popular culture that today put such high stock on violence, “reality,” and stupidity.

Candidates, you’ve asked us to hope, to work for change. It’s my heartfelt hope that you start this conversation, that you give us the opportunity and the vocabulary to address an issue that many see as less pressing than the economy, the war in Iraq, or the price of oil but that any thinking person knows in his heart is just as relevant and crucial to the survival of our nation – maybe even more so in the long run.

Election Time

A presidential election is the perfect time for the country to think and talk about the issues that mean the most to us. We want to hear our candidates discuss these issues. We want to know their thoughts. Polls show we're most concerned about the faltering economy. Then comes the price of oil. Next is the war in Iraq. But poll after poll for many years now, tell us that education is also way up there on our minds. So why have we heard so little about education?

Well, there are the topics I’ve just mentioned. The economy, clearly, has many people spooked. Our houses are worth less, our wages are languishing, food prices are skyrocketing, and record-breaking gas prices are affecting every segment of our lives.

Then, there’s the reality that a president really has very little to say about day-to-day education in our country. Education is a local concern, nowhere mentioned in our Constitution, despite our Founders’ high esteem for learning. It’s local, not national.

Talking about schools, teaching, and learning can wait. But can it?

Even if there are other more pressing, immediate concerns on our minds, even if education is a more appropriate – or at least practical – topic for state or local elections, that doesn’t mean Senators McCain or Obama don’t have a responsibility to discuss education.

There’s plenty they could discuss. Our colleges and universities may be world-renowned for their excellence - people from all over the globe are itching to come here to study. But the K-12 schools for our own children? Not so much. We’re mediocre at best, according to many studies.

There are growing numbers of people, especially in our urban cores, who’ve abandoned public schools for private ones that, it could be argued, do not reflect the population and contribute to a de facto segregation between the haves and the have-nots.

Parental involvement, by all research and common sense, needs strengthening in many schools.

School safety. Gangs in schools. Teachers’ preparation, status, and competence. Assessment. Arts. Health and physical education. Sciences. Modern languages. The list is seemingly endless.

The president may play a relatively small role in our country’s schools, but the presidency comes with a bully pulpit that enables him to focus our attention on important, immediate, even noble endeavors. Think of our best presidents and how they marshaled the power of their office to unite us in grand and inspiring ways, even in times more precarious than ours.

Next up, I’ll talk about the ideal influence of a presidential candidate’s role in education…

Month by Month Planning for a Successful Year continued...

October

Review progress toward goals. Need help, students? If you do, get it early. If your study buddy can’t help you, ask for help from your teacher, someone who’s smarter than you are in the subject, or a tutor. Just get help. Don’t put it off.

Parents, monitor those long-range assignments, and make sure your student is working on them. Put up a big calendar where everyone can see it. Mark the due dates. X-off each day in a countdown to the Science Fair project or the English book report, or the social studies term paper on Tutankhamen.

Interim reports come out around this time. Students, review your progress with your parents. Parents, despite what your kids tell you, report card grades are rarely a surprise for them. They shouldn’t be a surprise to you either. Review grades regularly. You don’t need to make this an “Inquisition,” just show that you’re interested and that your interest will be continuous - all year.

November

Prepare for exams. Semester’s coming to an end. Students, are you ready for finals? Long-range projects completed? Parents, have a “backpack pop quiz.” Check out what’s in there. You may be surprised. Homework assignments never turned in? Last week’s tuna sandwich? Unsigned permission slip for tomorrow’s field trip to the museum?

Have any questions for teachers you’ve been putting off asking? Do it now.

December

Students, get your assignments done before the holidays. There’s nothing worse than having schoolwork hanging over your head during a holiday. If it’s unavoidable, have a plan about getting it done with the least amount of hassle. Don’t put it off to the last day.

Parents and students, spend as much time as you can together. Talk about non-school stuff, family history, family members you haven’t seen in a while. Take pictures; send them to friends and family with short notes. Build memories. Everyone read the same book and then spend some time talking about it.

Now that you have a plan for the first half of the school year, I’ll cover January, February and March in a few weeks...

Month by Month Planning for a Successful Year

We lead busy lives, and since we don’t seem to have much success in simplifying or slowing down, the next best thing is to organize ourselves. It’s a good skill to teach our kids. Kids listen to what we say and watch what we do (yes, they do), so we’d better be good role models. If we want them to do better in school, we’d better let them see us reading, writing occasionally, doing actual math in our lives. And organizing.

One of the most frequently asked questions from parents is how to plan for a successful school year. Every autumn is a New Year for school kids, a time for New Year’s resolutions. Here are suggestions for things parents and students can do to get the upper hand on a new school year before it takes on a life of its own.

It’s a calendar of monthly actions that you and the children can take. It’s simple, but it’ll give you some ideas of how you can plan ahead, establish routines, ask the right questions, and set the right goals for a successful year.

August

Parents, start setting the healthy and helpful routines that your child will need to navigate the new school year. These include times for mornings (breakfast), after school (homework), evenings (family and fun) and bedtime. These routines become rhythms, necessary for children, adults, and families.

Talk about what you did over the summer as a family, as individuals. What did you enjoy? What did you learn? Movies? Books? Travels? New experiences? Special accomplishments? What was the most fun? Was something difficult? You get the idea. Talk to your kids. Listen.

Students, set some new school year’s resolutions. Make them challenging and realistic. An improved grade in social studies? Remembering to turn in homework assignments? Keeping an organized notebook? Studying for tests earlier than the night before? Learning to play the tuba? Getting the lead in the school play? Making the soccer team? What’s important to you?

Get a “study buddy.” Each kid should have someone outside the family who can be helpful at homework time or any other time of school “crisis.” A study buddy is someone from your class you can call or IM each evening (time limit required) to make sure you have all the assignments for tomorrow, understand them, and ask questions. When test time comes along, it’s okay for groups of study buddies to get together to study and help each other out. Actual studying is required. Parents have veto privileges over study buddies.

Did you sign up for the right classes to meet your goals? Did you get all the classes you signed up for? Don’t wait for the first day of school to find out. Visit the school first.

Are you new to the neighborhood? Need a tour of the school? With your parents, arrange one now, before school starts. Many schools do this automatically for all students, especially first timers, but you’ll want to make sure you’re ready to begin with confidence about where your locker is and first period class is held.

Seniors, how’d you do on your ACTs or SATs? Not happy with the scores? Start thinking now of getting help and then taking the test again. See your guidance counselor or check out www.collegeboard.com, www.act.org, www.educate.com, or other well-respected websites for test dates and prep opportunities.

And finally, check to make sure you’ve got all the school supplies you’ll need. Each school has its own requirements grade by grade – planners, crayons, highlighters, notebooks – so check with the school.

September

Parents, reinforce those routines. Students, you’ve already set the routines at home, now make sure you have school routines, too. Set them by yourself and with your study buddy. Share your goals with your study buddy. Help your buddy achieve hers; she’ll help you achieve yours. Parents, take every opportunity to communicate with teachers. Go to Back to School Night, take advantage of teachers’ web pages on the school web site, know when special projects will be due so you can bug your kids to get them done, inform teachers of your kids’ special needs and goals. Teachers like to hear from you, especially when you’re being constructive and helpful.

Set rewards and consequences. Parents, let your kids know – in words and actions – that you support their goals and efforts. Show them that there will be some kind of reward for advancing toward and meeting those goals. Rewards don’t need to be monetary, but they can be. Depends on how you feel about this. I don’t see anything wrong with reasonable money incentives, by the way. And don’t call it “bribery.” Bribery is money paid to make someone do something he shouldn’t do! Getting good grades should be encouraged. Read the books of Dr. Ruth Peters for some down-to-earth, common sense guidance. Go to www.ruthpeters.com for more.

Next, I’ll run through planning for October, November and December…

Teaching Math To Your Children continued...

5. Have your own quizzes. In a fun way, quiz your child about math facts. Give small rewards, like an extra few minutes before bedtime or some alone time with you. Have her quiz you.

6. Use a calculator after your child has mastered basic math facts. We know kids’ attitudes about and interest in math increase when they can use calculators. But they need to know basic math facts first.

7. Use math to explain and illustrate. Make charts and graphs with your child to represent family information like allowances, homework times, favorite vacation spots, favorite meals and desserts, favorite music, favorite sports.

8. Be enthusiastic about math yourself. If you’re phobic about math, stop blaming your fourth grade teacher. At least, in front of your fourth grader. Get over it. Be a good role model for math by showing him how you use math daily. You use it more than you realize.

Parents, teachers, we’d love to hear your techniques to encourage math skills with your children. Please share some with us.

Teaching Math To Your Children

Many adults find it difficult to be encouraging and enthusiastic about math. While we would never admit to our children that we dislike reading, we find no such reluctance when talking about math. If you’ve ever passed the bill in a restaurant to someone else to figure out the tip, saying with a laugh, “I’ve never been good at math,” you’re giving your child permission never to be good at math, too.

Here are a few tips to encourage math in your child. They may even help you. The trick is to see math as enjoyable, a way to solve puzzles and problems. As with most problems, there may be more than one way to arrive at an answer. The best way is the one that’s simplest, easiest. Sort of like directions to a destination. You can take a long, convoluted route, or you can take a shorter, more direct one.

1. Show your child math in everyday life. Show him how to count with coins and bills. Point out how you use math in the grocery store, the bank, the pharmacy, the toy store.

2. Show math in the house. Point out how you use math when you cook, when you make repairs around the house, when you figure out what time to set the alarm. Ask him to help you. Have him explain his reasoning. Explaining math helps mastering math.

3. Show math in the car. Have your child help with figuring out distances on small trips, figuring out what time you should leave to make an appointment. If it’s not too painful, have her figure out what it’ll cost to fill up at the pump.

4. Have fun with math. Use playing cards to practice adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing. With your child, make your own math flash cards and worksheets to help her master the basic math facts that need to be automatic. Remember, practice makes perfect. When she’s mastered a skill, go on to the next one. From time to time, go back and review.

I’ll cover more tips for teaching your children math later this week...

Back to School Time! Continued...

5. Help organize. Another of my favorite tips. Organization is as important as preparation and routines. Organize those homework areas, notebooks, planners, backpacks. Show how you organize for your tasks, projects, jobs. Have a special place at the end of the day for the backpack to be – filled with the next day’s assignments – so it’ll be ready to go in the mad rush of the morning. Insist on it. It’ll save headaches.

6. Encourage a “study buddy.” There’s strength in numbers, so encourage your child to seek out a friend he can study with, someone with similar goals and interests. They should talk, email, or IM each afternoon or evening to make sure they understand homework. Come test time, they can study together and with other study buddies to challenge each other, quiz each other, and keep each other on track.

7. Review each school day. Every day, review the day with your child. Ask him what he’s learning, reading, writing about. How’s he coming on that assignment due next week? What happened today that’s funny? Show him you’re interested and that you’re going to be talking about this every day. Expect conversation, not just one word answers. Be patient. It’ll work eventually.

8. Communicate with teachers. Teachers like to hear from parents. We want to know what your goals are, what your children’s interests, strengths, and needs are. We want your children to succeed as much as you do.

9. Get help early. If you suspect your child is struggling, get help early. The earlier the better. More teachers than get credit for it arrive at school early or stay late to help struggling students. Use an honor society student to help. Get a tutor. The important thing is to act early. Little problems are easier to solve than big ones.

10. Be positive. I know, it’s the same as the first tip. Everything begins and ends with being positive.

If you’ve learned some tips of your own, have some wisdom to share, or want to tell an inspirational story or two, share them with us. We learn together, right?

Back to School Time!

Giving up the joys of summer and returning to school can create mixed feelings in kids. Sadness at ending the extra freedoms that summer brings. Anticipation at seeing friends again. Eagerness to set a new beginning. Anxiety at reaching new goals. Maybe some fear, especially if they’re going to a new school. And finally, challenges that come with change. Going back to school, after all, is all about change. A new year. New teachers. New friends mixed with the old. New routines. You remember, you were their age once.

Kids need our help now more than any other time of the school year.

Here are some tips to keep in mind as your children count the days before school opens for the fall. They are counting, you know, even if they don’t admit it.

1. Be positive. Show you care by having a positive attitude about the new school year. Talk about your school days, the happy memories (keep the bad ones to yourself, even if they’re now funny), the things you learned, the interests you developed, the friends you made, the teachers you remember fondly, the activities you participated in. You don’t want to make a lecture (or worse, a sermon) about it, so keep the conversation informal. Kids pick up on our moods, so keep it light. You want your child to have good attitudes about school, including her friends, teachers, extracurricular activities, goals for the year. This is yet another opportunity to show you care and are positive about the possibilities of the new year.

2. Set goals. With your child, set realistic goals for what you each want to accomplish this year. Goals should require a bit of a stretch to create a feeling of accomplishment. These goals can range from improved grades to making new friends, from trying out new after-school activities to making the soccer team. Encourage, support, and most important, listen.

3. Help prepare. If you’ve read any of my blogs, you know how much stock I put in preparation. When we’re prepared, we feel so much more confident than when we’re just winging it. So, give your child the confidence she needs by helping her prepare for this new adventure. If she’s going to a new school, visit it. Learn where the classrooms are, the bathrooms, the lockers, the cafeteria, and any other places where she’s heading. Get all the materials she’ll need for class. Review the school calendar with her and mark your own kitchen calendar – displayed where everyone can see it – with important dates like report cards, due-dates for projects, PTA meeting, and the like.

4. Help establish healthy routines. I’m also big on routines, especially for kids. They make youngsters feel secure and confident. Reset summer routines for fall ones. Cut way back on TV. Set meal times, study times, homework times, play times, quiet times, bedtimes, wake-up times. Show that you have routines, too, and stick to them. You’re a role model, remember.

Later this week, I’ll continue with more tips on preparing for back-to-school with your children…

NCLB versus Arts continued...

The study out of Boston also identified “habits of mind” that the arts teach. “Habits of mind” is a phrase we educators like, knowing the importance of sound and healthy habits for sound and healthy bodies, lives, and, yes, minds. These habits include such qualities as

- Persistence: helpful to keep on going in the face of adversity;
- Expression: crucial in communicating one’s thoughts and values;
- Innovation: especially significant in today’s challenging and challenged world;
- Self-evaluation: a talent arguably in sad deficit for those of us who insist on repeating the same mistakes; and
- Observation: the ability to see beyond our prejudices and preconceptions.

These are powerful skills that go beyond the important mastery of subject matter. Of course students need to know tested reading and math skills. They need to know them with “automaticity,” another teacher-word, meaning without thinking. Ask a kid what nine-times-nine is, and she should say “eighty-one,” without thinking. Automaticity in action. But isn’t there more to education than that? Aren’t we interested in widening and deepening students’ thinking, in giving them plenty of occasions to persevere, innovate, and succeed?

Especially our brighter students, who it can be argued, are often left behind or, at the least, left to fend for themselves – as teachers concentrate on less-able, needier students.

We all know youngsters who have difficulties in the classroom but who bloom when they’re involved in one or more of the arts: creative writing, playing a musical instrument, singing, acting, painting, drawing, sculpting, dancing, photographing, performing, or any other of the myriad arts. These kids show talents we never knew they had. They become disciplined, focused, passionate.

Want relevance? You could make comparisons to athletes who find the same outlets in their sports and teams. What’s an orchestra’s or a play’s cast if not a team? What’s a conductor or director if not a coach? How’s the discipline needed for arduous scrimmage different from that needed for arduous rehearsal? What athlete doesn’t know the importance of persistence, self-evaluation, and observation?

Want more relevance? You could make similar comparisons to the workplace, where people work in teams to solve problems, where they call on their discipline, perseverance, and creativity to produce results, where they’re called on daily to innovate and improve.

Instead of defensively pleading that education decision-makers please find remnants of time and finances for the arts in our schools, we should be arguing forcefully that the skills and thinking required in the arts should be a part of all curricula. That would take No Child Left Behind to another, more human level, beyond mounds of often contradictory data to students’ hopes, dreams, and lives.

Know of a student who was “saved” by the arts? Were you one? Or are the arts just one more intrusion into the “real” subjects students should be learning? I’d love to hear your ideas.

NCLB versus Arts

With increasing emphasis on standardized testing in American schools and with a growing competition for education dollars in schools’ budgets, is there still a compelling reason to insist on including the arts in students’ curricula?

You bet there is.

There are the often-cited compelling reasons. There’s plenty of evidence to show that students who are involved in the arts perform better than students who aren’t. There are studies that show the arts’ positive influence on the achievement of high-poverty rural and urban students. Some educators, politicians and even poll respondents claim that the arts will help students on standardized tests.

Really? Is there a cause-and-effect relationship? No one seems to know. But there’s an interesting study from Boston, funded by the J. Paul Getty Trust, that says the arts are relevant and important for another reason: they address certain thinking skills and habits not otherwise taught in schools’ curricula.

As reported in The Boston Globe, this study identifies those arts-emphasized skills as reflection, self-criticism, and the willingness to experiment and learn from mistakes. It’s rare that the standardized test assesses these skills, skills that are necessary in higher education, on the job, in Real Life.

Later this week, I’ll touch further on the relevance of art and the “habits of mind” it teaches.

Choosing the Right School continued...

Here are five guidelines to keep in mind for choosing a school:

1. Know what’s important to you. Do you want a school that has before- and after-school care to serve your family’s busy schedule? One with plenty of services for an elementary pupil with some special needs? One that has lots of opportunities for your rambunctious middle schooler whose interests are changing faster than her hormones? One that has a stellar debate squad, football team, or school newspaper for your teenager with unique talents and dreams?

2. Visit the school. No matter what kind of school it is, it’s good to see it, get a feel for the place, try it on, take it for a test drive. Don’t just drop in, though. Schools are busy places, so make an appointment to meet with an administrator, guidance counselor, student leader, or some representative of the school who can give you a tour and answer questions. First impressions are important. When you get there, you should be treated like a potential valuable customer, met with a friendly smile and made to feel welcome. Be generous if things are a bit hectic – schools are full of daily crises large and small – and be forgiving if someone doesn’t get to you instantly.)

3. Notice the surroundings. Does it appear that the adults are in charge? It should be quiet, but not eerily so. Sometimes learning can be active and enthusiastic kids can be noisy. What’s on the walls in the public hallways? There should be student artwork from kids of all ages and talents; awards for everything from reading contests to chorus performances; a “Wall of Fame” of distinguished alumni, parents, community supporters. All of these should be recent. Nothing worse than dust-covered artwork of students long since graduated.

4. Watch for active learning. Is learning going on? This, after all, is the very reason why the school exists in the first place. Are teachers in charge in the classrooms, with focused students busily working alone or in groups? Is the library well stocked with recent books and technology? Is there a librarian? What about non-state-tested-but-vitally-important-subjects? Music? Art? Physical education and health? Civics? Extracurriculars? Field trips? Opportunities for tutoring? What about teacher credentials? What’s the teacher turn-over rate? For high schools, what’s the graduation rate? The percentage of students going on to post-secondary schooling? Finally, what are the school’s test scores? I say “finally,” because you should ask those more important questions first.

5. Learn about the school’s values. Look at the behavior in the cafeteria at lunchtime and you can learn a lot about a school’s personality. Is there evidence of important behaviors like respect and responsibility? Elsewhere, do you see an enthusiasm for teaching and learning? Are the adults motivating the students to do their best? Are the adults acknowledging effort and achievement? Is there an active PTA? Are there parent volunteers helping out in classrooms and offices? Do the kids and the adults feel safe? Talk to other parents, to students, to alumni, to neighbors of the school. They’ll tell you what you want to know.

If you haven’t been in a school for a while, you’ll be amazed at how much things have changed. Have an open mind for the new experiences, sights and activities you’ll see. But also, watch for those timeless universals that shouldn’t change: adults who enjoy being with and nurturing youngsters, kids who see the potential in what they’re learning, and everyone working together in a place that’s safe and highly motivating. It shouldn’t sound like some dream place. It should be real.

Choosing the Right School

Few decisions are as important as choosing an elementary, middle, or high school for your children. Realtors tell me that people buy homes depending on the school district serving those homes. Yet when I ask folks why they chose a certain school, they often have very little idea other than what they hear from friends or from their realtors.

“We just chose the best school,” they say.

Oh.

Choosing a school is like choosing a car, only without anyone saying, “What do I have to do to get you in a fourth grade class?” What’s right for one family is entirely wrong for another. You can choose the “best” car, say a $200,000 hand-finished Bentley, and despite its elegance and finesse, it’s probably going to be impractical, worthless for your needs. Looks good to the neighbors, but not much use to your kids. Same with schools. You can choose the most expensive private school in your city, and despite its proud history and achievements, it may be the wrong fit for your child.

Plus, there are so many choices! Public, private, parochial, charter, independent, even online and home school consortiums (many parents pitching in, each sharing particular talents) are available. Come to think of it, it can be even more perplexing than choosing a car!

So, what to do?

Later this week, I’ll cover the key principles to consider before choosing a school…

Surviving the SATs/ACTs continued...

For Parents:

There’s plenty you can do to help your kids do well on these tests. The first thing to remember is that if you’re stressed, they will be, too. Calm down.

1. Start early. I just told your kids to start early. I’ll tell you the same thing, except your role starts way earlier than theirs. Yours starts as soon as kids start school. Help them develop those study habits, test habits and “habits of mind” that will stay with them throughout school and into Real Life. Give them reliable and steady homework routines. Be good role models, letting them see you reading and doing math in your real-life adult lives. Show them you value learning.

2. Reward and penalize. Set goals with your teens, then reward them when they reach those goals. Set rules about what happens when they don’t reach the goals. Make sure they understand the rules. The best penalty is temporarily to take away something that your teen really, really enjoys like the cell phone or music for an evening. Dr. Ruth Peters, child psychologist and education consultant to NBC’s Today Show, advocates taking away electricity – anything that plugs in or runs on batteries! The best reward is just the opposite: extra time with the phone or music, or better still, alone time with you, doing something fun and memorable.

3. Communicate with the folks at school. Get to know your teen’s teachers and guidance counselors, coaches and adult leaders. Ask their perspectives about how your child is doing in school, on teams, in clubs. Share your concerns, hear their praise and suggestions.

4. Know the test dates. Help your teen prepare for the SAT or ACT by encouraging him (insisting on it) to study early and regularly. Don’t fall for the “I’ll-start-tomorrow-nobody-else-has-even-started-yet” con job. For everyone to see, set up a calendar that shows the test date and the time left to prepare.

5. Get help early. If your teen asks for help, if his teachers recommend it, get it early enough for it to make a difference. Get a tutor, enroll in a test prep program, get help from a National Honor Society student, or get a recent successful test-taker to help.

Finally, students and parents, remember that these assessments are merely one criterion out of many that schools use to determine their acceptance lists. If any school tells you it makes its decisions solely on the test, find another school. They’ll also be interested in your extracurricular activities – are you on sports teams, write for the school paper, take pictures for the yearbook, help with the school play, play in the school band, sing with the choir? Do you spend some community service time with your church, temple, mosque? Are you a member of community groups? Do you help out at home?

In other words, don’t put all your efforts into one event, the SAT or ACT. Do your best all year, trust yourself, be active in lots of things you enjoy, and move on. If you’ve paid attention to these suggestions, you should be in pretty good shape. Good luck!

Surviving the SATs/ACTs

Have a college-bound teenager in the house? If so, this is the time of year to start thinking about the SAT/ACT ritual. Most colleges and universities require one or the other (or either) as a part of their admissions process. The tests are nothing to stress over – if everyone’s done his or her part.

Here are some things to think over before the tests.

For students:

Times have changed since your parents have gone to school, and just about everything else has changed, too. But here’s something that hasn’t changed: The best way to do well in school is to go to class every day, take good notes, study to do well on tests, and, if you need it, get help early and not wait until it’s too late.

The old fable about the grasshopper and the ant still holds up. The grasshopper, ignoring the future, doesn’t survive the winter. The ant, on the other hand, works to prepare for the hard times ahead and lives to tell about it.

Neither of these tests compares to a cold, dark winter, of course, but if you want to eliminate a lot of needless stress, keep yourself on a disciplined routine of study, balanced with fun, friends, extracurriculars, and you’ll do well.

1. Have a “study buddy.” A study buddy is someone you like and admire whom you can rely on daily to keep you on schedule. It’s a reciprocal relationship; you help her, she’ll help you. If you’re a “word” person, good in English but not so confident in math, find a study buddy who’s a “numbers” person who could use your help with English. Everyone wins. Make sure you understand homework assignments, projects, and responsibilities for special events. Know what’s required of you. Know when it’s due. Iron out dicey skills that you’re not confident about. Talk, email, IM, or phone each evening (ten minutes tops) and go over what’s due tomorrow. Ask questions about anything you don’t understand. Then, get to work.

2. Know the difference between the SAT and the ACT. Generally, the SAT is an assessment of your reasoning skills, how logically you think. The ACT is more content specific, following a typical high school curriculum. It used to be that colleges and universities required one or the other. Not anymore. Most schools will accept one or the other. So, choose the one that’s better for you.

3. Prepare. You can do this on your own if you’re very brave. Or you can prepare with your study buddy or even a group of study buddies. That’s what I recommend. There’s strength in numbers, after all. Share your strengths with the others. Make it a team effort. Encourage and support each other. A third way to prepare is to enroll in a test-prep class. Again, you can do this alone or with your friends.

4. Practice. The advantage of test-prep classes is that you’ll take actual SATs or ACTs in your preparations. This is excellent practice. Practice is what athletes, performers, and student drivers do to build their self-assurance. Practice, as they say, makes perfect, and it certainly builds confidence. When you take the actual test, you’ll be familiar with the format, you’ll have reviewed skills, and you’ll know practical strategies – like when you should guess at answers, how to budget your time, or how to eliminate those pesky “sort-of-right” multiple choice answers in favor the “exactly-right” ones.

5. Start early. Don’t wait until a few weeks before the test. Or worse, days, even hours. Don’t laugh, I’ve seen it happen. Lots of your classmates will do this. They’re dumb. You can’t prepare for these tests by cramming. Just as with any long-term project, do a little bit at a time, master skills and content slowly so they’ll stay with you. If you need help, you’ll have started early enough to get it.

Up next, I’ll review tips for parents on the rest of my SAT/ACT survival guide…

Middle Schoolers Continued...

Someone once told me that the human brain grows faster in preadolescence – middle school – than at any other time, except for infancy. These kids’ brains are synapsing all over the place, forming new and avid interests quickly. That’s why they’re deeply interested in Harry Potter one week and guitar playing the next. Their minds are changing as fast as their bodies are. They’re actually supposed to be like that!

So if we know all this – that preadolescence is an ugly duckling time, that lots of kids like learning in middle school, that their brains are soaking up everything at a pace much faster than our poor adult brains can manage, that they do well when they’re challenged by kids with similar interests and abilities, that they require services appropriate to their needs – why don’t we do what we should for these kids?

Why don’t we spend the time and money on classes, teachers, materials, experiences, books, services and technology for them? Why don’t we train teachers in the best strategies and latest, most practical research in how to teach them? Why don’t we make these kids – without the embarrassment of fanfare and spotlights – the kind of role models we want other kids to emulate? Why don’t we work to spread the “potential of smart” to all kids?

Why don’t we hear politicians advocating for these kids with the same fervor they use for catching each other in “misstatements” that get played and replayed with annoying and rage-inducing repetition? Are you listening, Senators Clinton, Obama, and McCain?

Some educators say – I’ve heard them – that these kids will take care of themselves, that there are more pressing, at least more visible, problems to tackle. I’m not convinced. Neither are these kids.

Middle Schoolers Continued...

Middle schoolers may do their homework while mom or dad is supervising, but they won’t turn it in the next day. Check your kid’s backpack periodically. You’ll be amazed at what’s in there. They may read the assignments, do the projects, even learn the material, but dang if they’ll participate in class or let others know they’ve learned the material, let alone enjoyed it.

It’s not difficult to argue that we live in a time when intelligence and learning are not especially valued. No such movie as Smart and Smarter, is there? Some of our top politicians, looking for preadolescent votes presumably, actually brag about their mediocre grades in school or “lost youth,” as if that’s a badge of honor.

Put these students with the secret motivations together, these “gifted” kids who like to learn, and watch what happens. Magic. They feed off each other, challenge each other, stretch each other. They don’t have to spend energy putting on an act of eye-rolling ennui.

And if they’re with a teacher who knows how to handle their inquisitiveness, who isn’t intimidated by students who may be quicker than she is, the magic becomes a miracle. And don’t think the other kids won’t notice. It’s not too much to hope that it eventually becomes acceptable, if not actually “cool,” to be in the smart group. If we know anything about adolescents, it’s that they want to “belong.”

Tomorrow, I’ll wrap up my thoughts on middle schoolers…

Middle Schoolers

A middle school principal once described a typical early adolescent for me. “A middle schooler is a kid who runs wherever he’s going, and when he gets there, he hits someone,” he said. We were standing in the chaotic halls during a change of classes and I was wishing I could soak up a mere fraction of the energy that surrounded me.

It takes a special person to teach preadolescents, someone who can see the potential in awkward, fidgety, unattractive kids (oh, face it, they are!), sort of like the person who can walk into a “fixer upper” house and see it as the sleek and elegant place it will become.

Middle school is the time of potential. A place of ugly ducklings. They’ll become magnificent swans soon enough, in their own ways, but right now it sure helps to see the potential.

It’s a particularly tough place for many kids. Especially the ones who genuinely enjoy learning new things. Maybe they’re one of the rare “gifted,” those kids for whom knowledge, skills, themes, and concepts come quickly and with humbling precocity. Or maybe they’re one of those cooperative, inquisitive, delightful, and eager-to-please students who genuinely enjoy learning.

In elementary school, most kids are enthusiastic about learning. Everything is new for them, and their wide eyes and enthusiasm perk up the place. About grade four, especially for boys, they begin to see other things that interest them way more than what they learn in school. Reading decreases, so do grades.

By middle school, maybe age eleven or so, it’s “cool” to look uninterested in school. For those kids who still enjoy the school experience, even those rare “gifted” kids, it’s a tough time. Soon they become gifted at hiding their giftedness or at least their uncool interest.

Next up, I’ll explore the middle school mindset further…

Values continued...

The school system where I taught, Baltimore County, Maryland, tackled the issue of values in the 1980s and, after a lengthy and debated process that included diverse populations, recognized a common core of basic human values in a pluralistic society. These included things like compassion, courtesy, freedom of thought and action, honesty, human worth and dignity, integrity, justice, knowledge, reasoned argument, respect for others’ rights, responsibility, self-respect, tolerance, and truth. No sermons about religion or “morals” – these values were simply behaviors that our community mostly agreed on. Teachers and students knew it was okay to discuss these values in the context of their lessons; parents knew their opinions were welcome, too.

The issue is still relevant. One of my favorite educational organizations, the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (www.ascd.org), has information about character education, including resources for teachers and parents.

So I’d be interested in knowing what “role models” kids today are emulating? (I had promised myself not to use that phrase, but, alas there it is.) Do any of them come from literature? Video games? Celebrities? Characters from television dramas, comedies, or (shudder) reality shows? Actual acquaintances, friends, family, teachers, clergy, coaches, neighbors? Politics, do I dare ask?

I’d also be interested in just what values kids are learning and accepting? What do they admire, what principles guide their behaviors?

I recognize, unlike Holden Caulfield in The Catcher in the Rye, that the world changes, that people change, but I also like to think that there are some things that are so universal, so essential, that they remain with us. They may look different in their outward appearances, but their fundamental worth remains strong. Family comes to mind. Friendships, too.

What do you think?

Values continued...

A bloviator on the radio the other day said that schools shouldn’t even try to “teach values” to children. That’s the parents’ job, he said.

True enough. I might add it’s the job of other “institutions,” as well, say, the occasional visit to church, synagogue, or mosque; participation in kid organizations; neighborhood experiences, and so on. Parents direct all these things, but some parents do a better job of it than others.

Parents play a dominant role, but school is right up there, whether we like it or not. As a high school English teacher, I wouldn’t know how to teach literature without recognizing characters’ values. This may be somewhat of a simplification, but how can you teach Macbeth without acknowledging horrible ambition; Hamlet without paralyzing indecision; Romeo and Juliet without witless rivalry? How can you teach The Catcher in the Rye without admitting an aversion to change and fear of growing up; To Kill a Mockingbird without a condemnation of unremitting prejudice; Lord of the Flies without wondering how thin the veneer of “civility”; Huckelberry Finn without seeing hypocrisy however humorously depicted? What about biographies and autobiographies – what better way to learn about the values of famous historical figures than from their life stories?

If I had been a history teacher, how would I have taught the Civil War – or any war for that matter – without a debate, about the conflict of values? How to learn about the founding of our own country? How to discuss current events?

It seems to me when you put kids and adults together, there are going to be values taught and learned - sometimes in both directions. Kids watch adults all the time and they’re learning from what we say and what we do. Yes, we teach values in school – we can’t help it.

While you consider those ideas, I’ll finish up with my final thoughts later this week…

Values

A quick note: I know that typically my posts are longer than some have time to read in one sitting. So, I’ve decided to try a new format to spread my thoughts on certain topics into a few posts each week, starting with today’s topic of Values.

Where do we learn our values? Do books count any more? As an old English teacher I was interested in whether students formed deep personal relationships with the characters in the novels, plays, narrative poems, and short stories they read.

I know this sounds terribly old fashioned today – students emulating literary characters, but it came to mind as I’ve seen untold numbers of young people reading the Harry Potter books. Standing in line at a Paris museum, I counted Harry in three different languages. In church I saw Harry hidden in the hymnal. I’ve seen Harry in the company of young readers in restaurants, at the market and even at the movies. Parents have told me that their youngest children want to learn to read so they can read Harry like their older brothers and sisters.

So, do kids get some of their values from school – from books they read to the people they meet? After all, they spend much of their lives at school. They read about lots of different characters, both fictional and real. And, of course, they’re surrounded by their friends, many of whom are characters in their own rights.

Next, I’ll touch a little more on the sources of values for kids.

My Favorite Toys

I see lists everywhere of educators’ favorite toys and games for children, as if we know exactly what’s good for all children. I’ll let you in on a secret: we don’t. Parents know better than we do.

But we educators can help you make some better decisions about the money you spend on toys and games. After all, there are lots of toys and games out there. Many of them are very expensive, and marketers do their best to convince kids to convince their parents to buy, buy, buy.

Here’s the thing though - kids’ interests change quickly. I’m of the opinion that you don’t have to spend loads of money on something they’re going to outgrow or lose their interest in by next Thursday.

Electronic games? They’re fine especially games like Wii that get kids up and moving. But they can also be expensive. Give in to your kids’ interests, not just to what’s hot and new. Do your homework.

So here’s a list, not necessarily of specific titles and manufacturers (although I’ve included a few), but of categories of games and toys that deserve your consideration. Some are new - many are timeless classics that have been delighting children for years.

Toys and games that build creativity. Look for toys and games that encourage children to think creatively, to solve fun problems in multiple ways. This will help with school subjects like math, which, after all, is problem solving. Building toys and games are excellent (simple building blocks and Legos are as popular now as they always have been), as are science kits and engineering sets. Other favorites include Duplo for younger kids and Kinex for older kids. Don’t forget old favorites from Crayola and Playdoh, Check out www.discovery.com. A young friend loved the Nintendo game “Animal Crossing.” He enjoyed showing me the environments he created and peopled. A fourth grader now, he’s moved on to Mario Kart and Sims, but the involvement stays the same.

Toys and games that encourage learning new things. Look for toys and games that can build vocabulary or math skills in fun ways that don’t look like vocabulary or math (Taboo, Blurt, Monopoly, Chutes and Ladders). Or that build knowledge in other areas, like science, the environment, horseback riding, sports, history, geography, whatever your child shows an interest in. Remember, interests change quickly, so don’t go spending a fortune at the first sign of interest. Buy a simple deck of cards to teach math, for instance (War, Old Maid, Go Fish). Develop the interest, then spend the money, not the other way around.

Toys and games that encourage movement. Kids need plenty of exercise. Consider investing in simple athletic equipment that allows kids to experiment with various sports to see which ones they like and may have some talent with. Show them how to use it. Share your knowledge and talents - or even more fun, your lack of it – and get out in the yard and kick the soccer ball, throw the football, jump the rope. Use chalk for hopscotch. Blow bubbles and chase them around the yard.

Toys and games that encourage new interests. Childhood is a time for experimentation with the new and exciting. Consider toys and games that cultivate interests in the arts, science, or special interests and talents that your family values. Photography? Classical music? The military? Politics? Portrait painting? Raising show dogs? Designing video games? Growing the largest pumpkin at the county fair? The list is infinite. Just remember, it’s your kid’s interest not yours.

Toys and games that stimulate interest in other cultures and parts of the world. We Americans are known for our lack of knowledge about the world. As the world shrinks, it’s increasingly important for our kids to know as much as possible about the world’s places, cultures, and peoples. Consider toys and games that provoke such interests. Check out the gift shops at local museums for cool toys and games. I like the Smithsonian (www.si.edu). Learning a new language or even sparking exciting and fulfilling travel in the future could be a result. More and more colleges are requiring semesters abroad – get a head start.

Check out community calendars in your neighborhood. Is there a Korean Fair? Little Italy? Greektown? Visit them. Try the food.

No question, the most important characteristic of the best toys and games is the ability for kids and parents to play together from time to time. Inexpensive board games do this every bit as well as expensive computer games. Kids want to be with you. Each wants to feel as if he’s your favorite - that he doesn’t have to share you with brothers and sisters for just a little while. They just want you. Look for toys and games that can do that, even ones that aren’t hot and heavily marketed. You won’t go wrong.

Lists

Everyone has a list. Everywhere you look there are folks ready to share with you their five most important investing tips, their eight best recipes, their six ways to improve your tennis game, their twelve steps to recovery.

We like lists.

I am an unabashed “lifelong learner” complete with the occasional tweed coat when the weather cooperates. After nearly forty years in the education profession – teacher, administrator, curriculum developer – I’ve picked up a few pointers myself. Seems to me if you can’t pass on to the next generation what you’ve learned over the years in ten simple pointers, you’re either not focused or you’ve spread yourself too thin, which, come to think of it, may be the same thing. Multitasking is way overrated.

So here’s what I’ve learned.

1. Read as much as you can. Seems simple, doesn’t it? But reading, so I hear, is becoming a lost art, like conversation, writing, and using your indoor voice when you’re, well, indoors. Read just about anything, although it’s always a good idea to challenge and stretch yourself every once in a while. Books, magazines, and, newspapers are good, especially if you want depth and analysis. Parents, let your children see you reading. Let them see that reading is something everyone does, not just students. Show them that when you need or want information, you read to get it. Show that when you want to perform a task for which you’re unprepared, you read to prepare yourself. (Putting together that new bicycle is a good example.) And best of all, show them that you read for the pure pleasure of reading. If our bodies become what we eat, our minds become what we read. Keep a balanced and sensible reading diet.

2. Organize yourself. Our lives are complicated and insanely, scurryingly busy. We can control some of that busy-ness by organizing ourselves. My students used to complain that they’d spent “two hours” doing a relatively simple homework assignment. When I’d ask them to tell me about it, they’d invariably, often without embarrassment, describe an hour’s search for their books, pens, highlighters, or the scrap of paper on which they’d sort of written the vague outline of the assignment. Simple planners, “study buddies,” and especially a regular routine for homework would work wonders. Being “spontaneous,” is cool and romantic, but change your morning routine by just a few minutes, and see how it affects your whole day. So much for coolness and romance.

3. Be patient and humble. This doesn’t mean put off until tomorrow or adopt a surrendering meekness. Instead, it means you recognize that good results may mean taking your time and learning the details, as almost all non-miraculous achievements do.

4. Be persistent and assertive. No, this isn’t in direct contrast to #3. It’s entirely possible to be persistent and assertive without sacrificing the benefits of patience and humility. (Rosa Parks comes to mind.) If you believe in something, work for it with steadfastness. Persistent doesn’t mean pig-headedness; assertive doesn’t mean aggression. Civility counts, and the Golden Rule still applies.

5. Be ready to compromise occasionally. The world is full of people who take inexplicable pride in “never giving up.” The landscape of politics, business, and everyday life is littered with people who “fight to the death” with little to show for it except funerals for their ideas. Sometimes we even make heroes of these poor folks. (Die Hard movies are one example. Entertaining, you bet, but you try living like that!) The truth is that real life requires give-and-take. Just ask your spouse.

6. Share, and conversely, don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it. Independence is a good thing, of course, but so is interdependence. Everyone needs a little help now and then. (Remember your algebra class in high school?) It’s all well and good to “try, try again,” but sometimes we need to ask for help. I’ll admit I’m a slow learner on this one but every time I’ve asked for help from people who have more experience, training, or talent in a particular area, I’ve received it happily and generously. People don’t mind, even welcome, helping others. The secret is to ask for help early, before you’ve dug yourself into too big of a hole. And when people ask you for help, give it graciously.

7. Communicate clearly and fairly. This is a hard one for some people. It’s easier to yell than to talk. That’s why the world, and the media, are filled with yelling gasbags. But, the simple truth is that the more we talk and listen to each other the fewer obstacles we encounter on our way to getting what we want. In school, teachers aren’t mind readers. We need students to tell us where they’re having difficulties. Parents who communicate with teachers about their children’s needs and strengths are doing everyone a favor – teacher, parent, and especially student.

8. Pay attention. Hear what others are saying. Watch what they do. In schools, students give clues to their needs all the time, and it takes a special teacher to heed those clues. The same is true in life. Be alert to what people are saying in words and action. Atticus Finch was right when he told Scout to walk around in other people’s shoes before judging.

9. Balance. “Life’s a Balancing Act” reads a beloved chotchke a good friend gave me years ago. It hangs in a prominent place in my office for everyone, including me, to see daily. Count the number of times a day you’re faced with an either-or decision; you’ll be amazed at how often it occurs. The simple fact is most of life’s decisions are a balance of two or more ideas. In education, for example, we spent years fighting the Whole Language vs. Phonics circus, when in fact there’s benefit to each side’s argument. Anyone with any common sense can see that. But the battle raged on, and kids got caught in the middle, as they do in all adult battles.

10. Be grateful - every day. Create a regular time in your life to reflect on the good things that happen to you. Make it a regular routine. If you’re paying attention, you’ll see right away that gratitude probably doesn’t get the attention it should. This makes for great discussion and writing in schools, but it’s a habit that goes far beyond the classroom walls for both kids and adults. You decide for yourself who gets the gratitude.

What are your lessons learned over the years? Share them with me and with others.

- Dr. Rick

Steve and the Cigarette

When I was a brand new teacher – couldn’t have been in the classroom more than a month or so – I learned a valuable lesson about violence and how to avoid it. We faculty were trying mightily (and vainly) to curtail student smoking on our high school campus. It was 1970, and smoking was okay for faculty in the lounges. Illogical, but that’s another story. Students could not smoke anywhere on campus, we decreed.

My classroom faced the front of the building, where the school buses lined up each day several minutes before the dismissal bell rang. The buses became the de facto dismissal bell. As soon as the buses roared up, the students packed up.

I noticed Steve at the back of the class, ready to leave. His books, if they had ever been opened, were now closed. He had a cigarette tucked behind his right ear. This is where I lost all common sense.

I was new at this teaching thing and I wanted to prove myself. I was a teacher, and I must enforce school rules. Before I could think, I said, “Steve, give me the cigarette.” I held out my hand, palm up.

Ever have one of those moments when as you’re saying something, you want to reach out, grab the words, and shove them back in your mouth before anyone hears them? This was one such moment.

Suddenly, for the first and only time that year, I had the full and undivided attention of the entire class of tenth graders - mostly boys. I had stupidly and in an instant set up a confrontation between teacher and student. A clueless new teacher had just given a foolish ultimatum to a teenager intent on saving face in front of his buddies.

It was a public school, and we weren’t allowed to pray, at least not formally and aloud, but I broke that rule quicker that it would have taken for Steve to light up his Marlboro. “Lord,” I said, “get me out of this situation, and I promise if I ever do anything so dumb again I won’t come looking to you to bail me out. But, just this once, help me out here, huh?”

There I stood, with my hand out. There Steve stood, staring at me. There they were, the other students, eyes wide with a burning interest that grammar lesons and Great Expectations could only dream of igniting.

The buses outside the window idled. The clock ticked.

Neither of us moved. This couldn’t have been more than a few seconds, but it was an eternity in my mind. I’m not positive, but I’m pretty sure my knees were shaking.

Then my prayer was answered. By Steve.

Slowly, deliberately, coolly, he took the cigarette from behind his ear, reached toward me, and with a Steve McQueen sneer (look him up, youngsters), crumpled it in my palm. He saved face, I got the cigarette. The tension broke.

I was so grateful, I wanted to hug him.

Steve understood on some level – surely not intellectually, this being Steve, but somewhere deeper, more powerful, more elemental – that old law of physics and Johnny Mercer (look him up, too), about an irresistible force meeting an immoveable object. Something’s gotta give. He was smarter than me that day. I’ll always be grateful for the lesson he taught me: you can avoid lots of unnecessary unpleasantness by not backing an adversary into a corner.

I think of this incident because of all the news lately about violence in schools. In Baltimore, where I live, a high school art teacher was beaten by a girl in her class whom she had just asked to take a seat. While some in the class loudly egged the beater on, the whole shameful incident was captured on video by another student who was presumably too busy pretending to be a cheap version of Quentin Tarantino than a modern version of the Good Samaritan.

We now learn about “cyber aggression,” a new form of violence made easier by the millions of teens who have cell phones with cameras and computers with Internet access. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention studied this new phenomenon and says that there’s been a huge increase in the numbers of teen victims of it. Apparently, it’s a mark of some kind of twisted honor to “star” in a video that shows you humiliating an “enemy.” Girls and boys alike are drawn to it.

It’s a disgusting social phenomenon, humiliating, physically dangerous, and demeaning. There are no winners, only losers. Losers get beat up; losers do the beating. Much can be said about the “coarsening of our culture,” and that’s probably correct in a time when we’ve put the word “rage” behind just about any activity now. Road rage, mall rage, sports rage, family rage, now school rage.

“Steve and the Cigarette” is nothing in comparison with this heinous incident, but I shudder to think of what could have happened if my near-dismissal-time students had had cell phones, if they had urged Steve to physical action and if my illegal prayer in the school hadn’t worked.

- Dr. Rick

My Favorite Teachers

Stop people on the street – anyone, at random – and ask them to tell you about their favorite teacher. I guarantee, you’ll hear some amazing stories. Everyone has a favorite teacher. If they’re lucky, they’ve had a few who’ve made lasting impressions on them.

I guess I’m one of those lucky ones. I don’t think it’s the forgiving mist of memories, either, but I remember several of my elementary school teachers, nuns mostly (and not the scary type, although there were one or two of them), who stand up to kind reflection. I was an “army brat,” so my family moved with an accustomed frequency, and I was exposed to lots of different schools and teachers. I remember a few high school teachers who impressed upon me some academic rigor and respect, even motivation, for learning. And in college, there were many who not only taught me well but eventually became trusted mentors and then beloved friends. (Dr. Carr, Dr. Roderick, this is for you.)

I was even lucky in my working life. Several of my colleagues in the schools and offices where I worked taught me and nurtured my career as they too, became old friends. I watched Bob Bishop, a veteran teacher who taught across the hall from me during my earliest days of teaching, and I’d emulate what he did. Sometimes it worked for me, sometimes it didn’t.

I learned from Dick Price, my first boss, English department chair, who taught me the importance of humor in the classroom and its power in defusing unpleasant situations as well as motivating learning. Link humor with a startling depth of knowledge about your subject, and you could get kids to want to learn just about anything.

I learned from superintendents for whom I worked. Dr. Robert Y. Dubel was a master of communications. Dr. Stuart Berger was a model for holding onto deeply-held beliefs. Dr. Anthony Marchione was adept at gaining consensus from widely diverging groups.

Making the transition from the public to the private sector, I was eager to learn from the best around me. I’m still learning and I’m grateful for the chance to work with folks like Doug Becker and Peter Cohen.

I have stories about each one, but here’s just one. Mr. Bob Bishop (he was room 212 and I 213) had an overcrowded homeroom class and had to sit a student at his desk for the fifteen minute attendance-taking and announcements period.

One day, in boredom, the boy at Bob’s desk rummaged secretly through the drawers. In the back he found an inkpad and a stamp that read “bull - - - - t,” a gag-gift Bob had received and prudently put in the back of his desk, long ago forgotten. Before Bob could stop him, the boy had inked up the stamp and decorated his notebook.

The next day the boy came to class with a note from his father.

“Well, there goes my career,” Bob thought as he opened the envelope. “It was nice while it lasted.”

“Dear Mr. Bishop,” the dad wrote. “I couldn’t help but notice the decorations on my son’s notebook. He tells me he used a stamp that belongs to you. The next time he misbehaves in school, please apply that stamp to his forehead.”

Calamity averted. Sighs of relief exhaled. Smiles all around.

Who are your favorite teachers? If you haven’t told them, do so. Then share your stories here. Sad stories, funny stories, inspiring stories, ironic stories. We want to hear them.

Are you a teacher? Send me the stories that have made you laugh – or cry – over the years. Share these stories, and we’ll see why our favorite teachers stay with us forever. I’d be willing to bet that we remember them at least as much – maybe more – for their off-lesson lessons as well as for their planned-lesson lessons!

- Dr. Rick

Single Sex Education

There’s lots of talk – once again – about the value of single-sex education. Do boys and girls benefit from being in classes with only other boys or girls? Some research indicates yes; some says no. This is typical of most education research. Reports clash with astonishing regularity and confusion. Oprah clearly thinks yes; her school in Africa is for girls. Many highly successful single-sex parochial and private schools think so, too. On the other hand, many once single-sex schools – especially colleges – have gone coed. What’s the right answer?

For what it’s worth, here’s what I think. It’s up to us adults to recognize what’s best for our kids, knowing that what’s right for one child is not the same as for another. Any parent with more than one child knows that. For some students, single-sex classes make good sense. Many children do, indeed, succeed with more ease when they’re free of the distractions of the opposite sex. Other students, however, blossom when in the company of the opposite sex.

I say if it’s right for a child, if it’s what she needs, it’s good to have the single-sex option. The wider the range of school options, the better. It’s what we expect when we go shopping for clothes and cars; why would we want any less from our schools?

Beware of anyone who tells you that there’s one way to teach all students, one method, one curriculum, and one research study that proves it. Show that person the door.

If there’s anything we educators have learned in the past few years (thank you, brain researchers, thank you Howard Gardner, thank you Mel Levine), it’s that all children are capable of learning, but they learn in different ways and at different rates. A superintendent friend says, “All kids can learn, but not in the same way and not on the same day.”

That’s why schools look so different today from when we adults went to school. That’s why teachers’ jobs are so much more difficult now, trying to reach every child, teaching in the way each child learns best. That’s why there are so many school options for families, single-sex schools being just one.

There are also home schools, magnet schools, and charter schools. Online schools, summer schools, and boarding schools. Schools-within-schools, international schools, and foreign-language schools. KIPP schools, schools with uniforms, and for-profit schools. K-8 schools from my long-ago youth are making a comeback. Freshman-only divisions in high schools seem helpful for many students.

And, oh yes, single-sex schools. The diversity is remarkable. The more we learn about the many ways children learn, the more we can expect different configurations of schools, classrooms, and learning environments. We should embrace these new configurations not run from them.

That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t have high expectations from them. What should we expect from these schools, from the people who run them, and the students who go to them? We should expect that the adults who propose them have done their homework, know what kinds of learners will benefit from their schools, and can articulate what they hope to accomplish and how they hope to do so.

We should expect that teachers are chosen not because of seniority or some other artificial criterion but because of their talents, because they understand and approve of the philosophy of the school, because they’ve shown they can adjust their instruction and curriculum to fit the school’s mission, and because they can meet the needs of the students and families they serve.

We should expect students – and their families – to take seriously these new ways to learn. Parents should communicate regularly with teachers, know when assignments are due, when tests are given, and give their children the support they need. Every day. Students should learn quickly that the adults in their lives will be watching them, supporting them, rewarding them, and, when necessary, dishing out consequences.

Education and learning are too important and too diverse to fit into a one-size-fits-all box. How and what we taught in the past may have worked for our needs then, and may still work for many students today, but, for others, times and needs have changed. Single-sex schools (or even a single-sex class or two within an otherwise traditional school) may be the answer for some kids. So might some of those other options I mentioned. Just don’t expect one option to work for all learners.

I say let’s try as many as we can. What’s more important than our kids?

- Dr. Rick

Your first time?

Remember the first time you read a whole book on your own, without help from a teacher or parent? The first time you immersed yourself in a chapter book, say, without pictures (or very few, anyway), and felt so proud of yourself you toted the book around with you as a sort of proclamation of your achievement.

One of the joys of my life is reading to elementary school children. They listen with mostly rapt attention, and their characteristic fidgeting is more a sign of excited engagement than boredom - the exact opposite of middle- or high schoolers.

I always bring some of my favorites, books that are guaranteed to grab children’s attention and provide a hammy reader (me) with plenty of opportunity to act out scary, funny, or suspenseful scenes.

I used to do the same in my high school classes. Yes, I read aloud to teens - they liked it. There’s no age limit on listening to someone read. Poe’s short story “The Cask of Amontillado” was a great one. So was “Contents of the Dead Man’s Pockets” by Jack Finney. And, of course, the gorier parts of Shakespeare and Lord of the Flies, among others, proving that adolescents are not genetically averse to literature if it’s “acted out” shamelessly and without regard to other teachers looking in to see what the commotion is all about.

Today when I visit elementary schools, I come armed with Chris Van Alsburg’s books, my favorite of which is Two Bad Ants. Plenty of episodes to raise and lower the voice, to spin around (the garbage disposal scene), to shoot across the room (the electrical outlet scene), to say “Cool!” (the mountain of sugar) and “Ewww!” (the mouth drinking coffee picture).

I also love the books of my friend Jerdine Nolen. I love her Tall Tale series, illustrated by the wonderful Kadir Nelson. Jerdine’s Big Jabe, Thunder Rose, and Hewitt Anderson’s Great Big Life tell implausible and highly entertaining stories with just a hint of kid-appropriate morals to them. Kids love them and they’re fun to act out.

I’ve been told more than once that these readings have inspired kids to read on their own. “My first book!” they say.

I don’t know if my first book is in print any longer. It was called Half Magic, about a group of kids who find a magic talisman (I think) that answers their wishes half way. Wish to go back in time two hundred years, go back one hundred. Wish for a thousand dollars and you get five hundred. My memories are vague, but the ingenious concept is clear. I only half remember. Chuckle, chuckle.

What’s your earliest book memory? Did you start early, or were you like so many of my high school students who didn’t seem to be the least embarrassed to admit they’ve never read a “whole book” until they tried one of my many, sometimes desperate, recommendations.

What got you going? Was it the book itself? A resourceful teacher? A determined parent? A helpful librarian? A trusted friend?

What books would you recommend to young readers today? To older students? If you’re coming up blank, the Association for Library Services to Children, a division of the American Library Association, has a wide range of recommendations for students of all ages. Click here to check out their lists.

For younger kids? The Sylvan-created Book Adventure allows children (grades K-8) to create personalized book lists from more than 7,000 recommended titles, take quizzes on the books they’ve read at school or at home, and earn prizes for comprehension of the books they’ve read.

- Dr. Rick

Uninformed and Incurious 25 Years Later

We’ve been hearing a lot lately about how dumb we Americans are. Still. Twenty-five years ago “A Nation at Risk” was published, a report that shook the education community by telling America that our students were woefully uninformed and incurious.

When the report came out, I was an English teacher at a well-respected suburban high school, known – then and now – for its academic and athletic achievements, the high percentage of students who went on to post-secondary education (a good proportion to first-tier colleges and universities), and its strength in maintaining the real estate values of the community. I was proud of my work, fond of my students, and not the least bit surprised by “A Nation at Risk.”

Why was I not surprised? Here’s but one example. I taught a unit called “The Bible as Literature,” which examined the literary forms in the Old Testament: narratives, poems, even dialogue like a play’s. I was surprised when I realized that what I assumed were universal references – what E.D. Hirsch calls “core knowledge” – were anything but universal.

“The patience of Job” met with blank stares.

The “Great Flood” got the same. Noah, anyone?

Rather than examine literature, we had to begin with the fundamentals, learning instead common references and where they come from.

Today, twenty-five years later, six – going on seven – presidential elections later, is it any better? Since then, education has scored high on national polls about what we’re interested in. Hirsch’s books about “What Your First, Second, Third, etc. Grader Should Know” are widely read. Deservedly so. We have had half a decade of No Child Left Behind. Are we any better off than we were in 1983?

Jay Leno’s “Jay Walking” segments on his show are as dispiritingly funny as they ever were. On the excellent PBS series Carrier, a young seaman, presumably technically-savvy and educated enough to serve aboard the USS Nimitz, the most advanced warship ever, froze, his eyes staring into the middle distance, when he was asked who the Secretary of Defense, his ultimate boss, was. You could see his mind racing, as if he were on a lucrative quiz show. His colleague looked away, afraid he’d be asked too.

The hapless sailor, on his way to do his country’s bidding, guessed with “Condoleezza Rice,” badly mangling the first name of the Secretary of State.

Now it’s presidential campaign season again, and we’ve heard precious little from the candidates about education. We haven’t heard much from voters, either. Why is that?

Here are a few topics I’d love to hear voters and the distinguished Senators discuss and propose solutions for.

1. No Child Left Behind: Good intentions, even “bipartisan,” but what next? In a rush for “accountability,” we’ve concentrated on reading and math, a good beginning, but to the exclusion of many other disciplines. Time for some common sense, I’d argue. Hire the best teachers, pay them well, give them high expectations with incentives and consequences, then let them follow community-supported guidelines on what students should be able to do and what they should know (The answer for that floundering sailor is Secretary of Defense Robert Gates).

2. Teacher Training: Controversial, but can anyone with any common sense still say that there’s only one way to become a teacher: through the traditional teacher-training and accreditation route? What about all those private and parochial schools that don’t have the same credentialing paths as public schools, and still manage to turn out students who seem capable of holding their own in society? There should be traditional and alternative routes to the classroom that are supported – with more than just lip service – by government, teacher training institutions and teacher unions.

3. The Media: The media should focus their “education” stories on examples of inspired teaching rather than the heavy doses of endless and repetitious political wrangling that are as far removed from the classroom as Pennsylvania Avenue is from Main Street. What passes for much education reporting is nothing more than tired political stories.

4. The Role of Teachers: Presidential candidates have started “national conversations” on religion and race, among other worthy topics. That’s good. I’d like to see the same attention given to the role of teachers in our society. Can’t we make teaching the respected, valued, and honored profession it once was? Can’t we make learning as attractive as say, video-gaming? Candidates, you have a bully pulpit. Please use it.

Yes, each of these topics has been written about and orated upon for ages. I’ve been in the business for nearly forty years, and except for the neat, focus-group-tested new names (No Child Left Behind, no doubt), too much has stayed the same. Too many kids don’t know what “the patience of Job” means or don’t know who the Secretary of Defense is, even if they’re serving – patiently, with plenty of afflictions – on one of his ships. Teacher training and credentialing look pretty much as they did a generation ago. The media follow education controversy before education substance. Politicians – and taxpayers – all extol the nobility of teachers, but the profession suffers from neglect: careers used to span decades; now, it’s not unusual when a new teacher leaves around year five. What a shame.

- Dr. Rick

Welcome to Dr. Rick’s Blog!

Hi there – My name is Richard E. Bavaria. I’m not afraid to admit that I’ve been around the education block a bit and have experienced many things in this fulfilling field and life in general. I’ve been a teacher, tutor, school system administrator and a public speaker. Some even call me an “expert” when it comes to education (but that makes me blush).

You’re not going to find one type of blog post here. I am going to write about all things education from my past, the present and the future. You can expect hot topics of the day, my travels, my memories in the school system, my hopes for education in the future, my experiences as a tutor and anything else that involves education. I am passionate about the field of education and I want teachers, students and parents alike to feel the same way. My ultimate goal is for students to receive exemplary educations. If in some way, my posts here influence that, then I’ve done my job.

Disclaimer (because I have to): This blog is for the good of education, for students, for teachers and for parents, so I welcome and encourage your comments. However, I expect the same respect in your comments that I present in my blog. Please, no profanities, no derogatory rants, no name calling.

I am excited about this new adventure. My life has been filled with so many experiences it’s hard to believe I’m about to embark on a completely new one. Please come back and visit soon (I have a lot to say!).

Best,
Dr. Rick