Seeing Red.....Tape

I have found that cutting through the red tape of a bureaucracy can be a more difficult task than formulating a project, or completing it. The implementation phase can be the most difficult. Rather than blathering on, fuming from frustration, I refer you to an excerpt from a recent research paper I wrote about High Stakes Testing that talks about some of the research difficulties I faced.



In designing the research methodology for this investigation, it seemed that a two pronged approach would produce the most accurate results. This investigation was initially designed to look at the effects of high stakes testing through the evaluation of prevailing educational literature as well as being driven by data gathered through surveying current educators (teachers of all levels including collegiate teachers in the field of education, administrators, etc.) as to how they viewed the effects, if any, of high stakes standardized testing. However, what was learned from attempting such an approach was how highly volatile and politicized the subject was. There are strict procedures set in place to ensure the validity of such an investigation, and due to the importance of the subject at hand, it is with good cause. Quintessentially, our literature review led us to develop certain questions which, when asked to such educators, would provide an accurate, realistic, and somewhat less biased portrait of the situation.

Too many cooks spoil the pot

It has been a while since I have written a blog for the sake of blogging. It has been really hectic at my school, as the superintendant recently came for a visit. Additionally, I had three separate, yet simultaneous observations today, two of them were unannounced. It has come to my attention in no unclear terms that the compartmentalization endemic to large school districts (which are often urban school districts) such as the one I serve, not only eat away at the budgets we all clamor for a piece of, but they detract from the ability of the teachers to do their jobs. For example, in our school, as is the district’s policy: modules (like connected math) are used to SUPPLEMENT the curriculum. We are explicitly instructed not to stick only to the modules. However, when the math department came in to observe a colleague’s math class, they told her that she could only post student work that came from the connected math module. It seems to me that the more people you have doing the same job, the less it actually gets done. One hand reaches left while the other stretches right all while the legs are walking backwards. I am reminded of a quote from “clerks the animated series”: “If it wasn’t for the customers, this job would be great.” I would love it if I could just wake up tomorrow, walk in to work and teach my students. HAHAHA! I must be dreaming already.

Amazing Things Happen as You Go

Amazing Things Happen as You Go

I HATE clichés. Love puns, but I hate clichés.
So believe me when I tell you that it pains me when I can only describe “Spectacular Things Happen Along the Way: Lessons From an Urban Classroom” as a story whose overarching message is that “its not the destination, but the journey that matters.”
In addition to the book, I looked at the class’ website (www.projectcitizen405.com) a video documentary posted online made by the students as part of the project, and a very interesting review of the book online at Arizona State University’s “Educational Review.” (Appelbaum, http://edrev.asu.edu/reviews/rev712.htm)
Though it is sad that a new school was not built, I always hope for better educational circumstances for all children, in a perverse way, that was the book’s strongest point to me. As an instructor affiliated with a national teachers corps, the case of the “white hero riding in on his/her high horse to rescue the poor minorities” is a cliché (and a misconception) that embodies why I hate clichés.
That said this was not one of those stories. There was no miracle, there was no hero, the teacher had no magic bullet, and he was not one himself. In fact, the story was not even about a teacher who “challenged the curriculum” as the book’s rear cover describes, but rather it is the story of a teacher who did his job in taking the curriculum and making it work to enrich the education and lives of his students.
This book was also particularly inspirational for me as a new teacher, who is (as described by veteran teachers) “transitioned into the ‘disillusionment phase” of my teaching career. To see what a second year teacher can accomplish is no small motivating factor for me.
Schultz shows us that even through our failures, we can achieve so much. As I go to post this, I look at the quote above the computers in my classroom
“Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars!” –Les Brown

Annotated Bibliography

Jones, M. Gail, Brett D. Jones, and Tracy Y. Hargrove. The Unintended Consequences of High-Stakes Testing. (Lanham, MD) Rowman & Littlefield, 2003
http://www.amazon.com/Unintended-Consequences-High-Stakes-Testing/dp/0742526275/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1225990646&sr=8-1

• Book focusing on the “unintended consequences of high-stakes testing as expressed by students, parents, educators and researchers. The authors take a “school based” approach to the research. Rather than looking at the history of testing and making assumptions based on the context of the environment in which they are examining the subject, they enter the classroom and ask the people affected by the issue to tell their stories. The authors are very upfront with their educational philosophy and there seems to be no hidden agenda. What I like about this book is its apparent transparency. They acknowledge that they can’t completely separate intended from unintended consequences. I also like the focus on the impact on curriculum and the effect on how teachers are changing their teaching. I also like how they have a section on the effect of teachers preparing students for tests (this has a personal ring to me as I will be forced to deviate from the curriculum to do a unit on NJASK-prep this year). While I am not sure if there is enough focus on urban centers and Newark at all, I believe that this book touches on many, if not all of the facets of the issue I wish to address in my paper and in this way will be a valued, if not my primary source. The down side is that it is a secondary source with some primary quotes, but more primary source material will be necessary. Again, the authors make it a point to say that they are not attempting to make a judgment call about high-stakes testing, but rather pointing out the unintended consequences. I think this is the strong point of the book (as a source) since it agrees with my POV on HS testing.

Madaus, George F. “The Distortion of Teaching and Testing: High-Stakes Testing and Instruction.” Peabody Journal of Education. 65.3 (1988) pp. 29-46
Accessed via JSTOR @ http://www.jstor.org/stable/1492818

• Article from the late 80’s in which the author analyzes the relationship between HS-Testing and “…how teachers teach and students learn.” He makes the argument that the presence of the test itself is an influencing factor on the above quoted aspects of education. Additionally he argues that this affect negates the value of the test itself as an accurate tool. The article also provides a brief history of the emergence of HST from the 60’s to the 80’s. On the down side, the author has obviously made conclusions, and based on that the evidence might be twisted to fit those conclusions. Also the article is dated; though this might also be its most attractive selling point for a valid source. Pre-NCLB and “W” it avoids the political motives that might be associated with a modern article on educational policy.

McCaffrey, Daniel F., Laura S. Hamilton, Brian M. Steecher, Stephen P. Klein, Delia Bugliari, Abby Robyn. “Interactions among Instructional Practices: Curriculum and Student Achievement: The Case of Standards-Based High School Mathematics.” Journal for Research in Mathematics Education. 32.5 (2001) pp. 493-517
Accessed via JSTOR @ http://www.jstor.org/stable/749803

• Paper researching the “effects of curriculum on the relationship between instructional practices and student outcomes.” This paper turned out not to be exactly what I was looking for. It mainly focuses on the relationship between how we teach and how that affects student achievement. They used surveys to get data on what instructional practices were being used and they used a standardized test to gauge student achievement. Also it focused on the subject of mathematics, and the professional development reforms being recommended within the field. While the article doesn’t speak directly to my question, it does have the potential to provide a strong supporting argument on one of the links in the chain. If HS-Testing affects instructional practices and curriculum, and this article shows a correlation between those and student achievement, than one can make the argument that there is a correlation between testing and achievement.

Shepard, Lorrie A.; Katherine Cutts Dougherty. Effects of High-Stakes Testing on Instruction. Chicago: Speech/Paper Given at “Annual Meetings of the American Educational Research Association” 1991. ERIC Document Reproduction Service ED337468
Accessible via Eric @ http://eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/contentdelivery/servlet/ERICServlet?accno=ED337468
or the Author’s web page @
http://www.colorado.edu/education/faculty/lorrieshepard/PDF/Effects%20of%20High-Stakes%20Testing.pdf

• Paper presented regarding the influence of HS-Testing on instruction. The study was a highly detailed study. Conclusions were data-driven and the author admirably admits to her own preconceptions pre-study and her change in perspective. The value of this source is that it is as close to a scientific (or statistically appropriate) study. Though I don’t know how much I will use it, I find the author verbose and confusing, I do see the value in having a statistical component to my paper.

Wideen, Marvin F., Thomas O’Shea, Ivy Pye, and George Ivany. “High-Stakes Testing and the Teaching of Science.” Canadian Journal of Education/ Revue canadienne de l’éducation. 22.4 (1997) pp. 428-444
Accessed via JSTOR @ http://www.jstor.org/stable/1585793

• Report on a pilot case study in two school districts as well as interviews with students, teachers, and administrators. Found “decrease in the variety of instructional approaches from grade 8 to grade 12” (page 428) Reached two conclusions, both negative effects. Teachers pushed away from utilizing strategies that encouraged “active student learning” (p. 428) and a negative, minimizing, effect on the language (“discourse”[p. 428]) in the classroom. They start out putting the study in context, almost justifying the results. It has merit (focuses on science). Plus- diversity of perspectives looked at. Major drawback- it is a study of the Canadian educational system. There are limitations as to the extrapolations I can make. I can still make the argument that the fundamental concepts are still there. However, the study did look at a large metropolitan area school district, so there are implications of possible alignment with urban education.

Culture (Shock) Collage

OK, Ill just jump right in:

Well, not really. First I must apologize if anything doesn't make sense, I have a terrible stomach virus, and can't think straight.

Question: How does viewing and discussing the culture collages effect my teaching style/career?

Answer: Pun definitely intended, there are a mosaic of ways that the experience will affect me. (Get it....mosaic=collage?...No?)

Anyway, there are two main categories in which I would consider the experience having a significant impact: The ways that affect my view on culturally relevant issues (both with myself and my students) and those that affect my teaching style pedagogically.

TO address the first point: there was obvious light shone on the fact that we all have diverse backgrounds that affect our culture and therefore who we become. These differences cannot be ignored in the classroom or they will lead to misunderstandings, misconceptions, and just a general lack of fulfilling potential on both the students' and teachers' behalf.

ON the other hand, even with some of the collages (and people) who were sooo different, there were some (and occasionally many) commonalities. This is a very important lesson to take away from the experience/experiment. Regardless of how different we may be, there is always something to find in common between two people, even if it is just that we are both human animals.


On a completely different side is the affect the exercise had on my teaching style. Given the same assignment with the same instructions, each and every person took the project in a different direction. How interesting that was to me. It reinforced the concept that we are all different learners and the same question, note, word, sentence, instruction, etc. means different things to us all.

SO: Giving assignments with general instructions has given my students the opportunity to exercise their creativity and take ownership of their assignments. On the other hand, when assignments call for a specific format, the students need to be "walked through" the assignment/directions step by painful step to ensure that everyone completes it in the appropriate way. NOT THAT THIS SHOULD BE THE CASE EVERY TIME!!!!! However, students need to know how to follow explicit directions.

All in all, I think the experience was practically beneficial, educational, and enlightening. I am better for experiencing it.
___________________________________________________________________


On another note, I experienced my first professional encounter with racism yesterday. Not from a student, not from a family member, but from another "professional" colleague. I have quit jobs before because of anti-semitism, but this was the first time I was not only called a racist (not in those explicit words, but the sentiment was clear) but was outwardly stereotyped because of my race. I want to keep this post positive, so I won't belabor the issue, but it was certainly a "gut-punch" and a reality check.

Class dismissed
--The Prof.

Unequal Childhoods (Lareau, UCAL Press 2003) Social Science is STILL Science

The NJRCL basically redefines what poverty means and describes the need to make resources available to empovershed families. The report makes a point to mention that the current Federal standard for determining the poverty level and access to supportive resources has the following flaws:
1) Standards are based the cost of food
2) Assumes a two parent family with a stay at home wife
3) Doesn’t distinguish between employed families and unemployed families
4) The poverty line is consistent across all geographic locations
(NJ Real Cost of Living Index (NJRCL) from the Legal Services of New Jersey (LSNJ))

The author talks about many of the same resources and institutions that some of the families from “Unequal Childhoods” (Lareau, 2003) interface with on daily basis to survive. Changing the definition for how families, and which families, qualify for such programs would have a direct impact on said families. Redefining this definition could give families like the Brindles or the McAllisters more access to essential programs that would allow them to better provide for their families. Possibly this could give parents more time with their children allowing them to take a more direct role in their child’s education. This could have a profound impact on both those families that utilize the programs, and the families that don’t but whose taxes would be affected by a redefinition of poverty.

The first finding of the poverty report “living in poverty” maintains that employment is necessary for economic self sufficiency, but it doesn’t ensure it. This puts a face on the harsh reality that poor families have to deal with. Not only does employment not guarantee economic self-sufficiency,(and these poor families are typically in low income jobs), many of these families are also facing unemployment or are in single adult families, thus increasing the chance that the families will not be economically self sufficient. The second finding only compounds this issue: single mothers, (it was usually the case that the mother was the primary caregiver) are more likely to suffer from income inadequacy, but those with children (the subjects of the book) are also more likely. Suffice it to say, these families probably suffer from income inadequacy. They cannot afford the simple cost of the necessities of life.

Education is directly connected to income adequacy, at least according to the study in the report. More specifically, the more access you have to higher levels of education, the less likely you are to suffer from income inadequacy. In reality, this creates a self-perpetuating cycle where those without enough money don’t have access to higher education. Therefore, their families are less likely to have access to higher levels of education and so on and so forth.


The second article on poverty, “GROWTH OF POVERTY” basically criticizes the system with which government deals with the growing poverty epidemic in this country, It calls for a shift in the way we deal with poverty, curing the problem instead of simply treating it with programs like welfare.

I feel that this information is incredibly useful to me as a new urban teacher. Understanding the problems that some families are facing allows me to approach certain situations in a different, more effective manner. For instance, initially, I did not believe that students had absolutely no access to a computer, and held them to a real high level. I didn’t take into account that they really had no free time, and didn’t have the access to resources I assumed they must simply by living in proximity to them.
In terms of what I need to learn, I need to become better at working the system (as a member of the middle class) on my students’ behalf, or at least: how can I work around these issues so they don’t stifle the children’s ability to get a quality education.
Though I hate the cliché, this was a real eye opener in terms of modifying my frame of reference. It is one thing to hear about the achievement gap, it is one thing to hear about socio-economic disparities, it is one thing to hear about the different ways in which poor, working, and middle-class families raise their children indoctrinated through an educational institution or even the current presidential election campaigns. To see actual examples of children and families detailed, broken down, evaluated on the same characteristics by the same observer and to juxtapose them so, makes the issue all the more real. Even as I entered the classroom today, I started to approach issues with regards to lack of access in a very different light.
Enough of my fill in the blank answers for now, later I will update this entry with how I personally felt reading about the socioeconomic gap and the differences in child rearing styles eg: concerted cultivation.

Hasta--
--The Prof.

Frames of Reference

Urban Schools and Me

Frames of Reference

As an undergraduate, I only took one class on anthropology. The teacher loved to talk, and I frankly didn’t understand much of what he said (or find it interesting, hence the one Anthropology class.) One thing did stand out: the concept of the frame of reference as a descriptor of how our previous experiences and prior “knowledge” skew how we see things and contribute to our expectations of others, other situations and therefore shape our actions. Gee applies this same concept to what he terms “discourses” or literacies specific to one group (with their own vocabulary, accepted processes/customs). We belong to multiple “discourses” all of which add up to our total being.[1]

There is no way that any two people, their personal experiences being unique, can ever see the same situation in the same way. Even if every descriptive factor (age, sex, religion, country of origin, country of residence, etc.) was the same between two people, they would never see something in the same exact way. Ironically, this in turn changed my own personal frame of reference and any paper I wrote since them, I looked at critically to see if my personal beliefs clouded my objectiveness, thereby negating the real truth of my writing. As such, I understand that all of my beliefs (those based on assumptions and those based on personal experience) are not 100% true, and many are just flat out wrong. I know, that these beliefs and assumptions shape the way I affect my classroom, my classroom affects me, and the teacher I am as well as the teacher I am to become.

In the City

To understand how I feel about urban schools, I must first explain some beliefs that I have about urban centers themselves. I must first start out by saying that I was born and spent a good part of my young life living in an urban center and harbor no ill will towards them, rather I feel a sort of kinship with them.

I believe that the fundamental nature of the role of urban centers has not changed. The Senior Fellows at the Annenberg Institute hit the nail right on the head when they stated that “Cities are civilizing forces…Cities bring together vital aspects of social, cultural, aesthetic, political, and economic activity.”[2] From the time of ancient Greece, when the first major “cities” developed, this has been the role of urban centers. Along with this constant role comes a constant set of problems; with a wealth of opportunity comes a wealth of people seeking that opportunity. Therefore, while on one hand urban centers are beacons of human achievement, they are also home to some of the poorest populations in the country, rivaled (if not surpassed) only by those in very rural areas. This is supported by Hodgkinson’s data as he leads into his paper on demographics.[3]

The urban center is a unique entity. Manhattan and Buffalo, though across the state of NY, they have much in common because of their status as urban centers. As a unique entity, urban centers are subject to stereotypes much the same as many racial/ethnic/economic groups. I believe that the stereotypes and prejudices against urban centers as well as the socio-economic groups, which reside therein, are a major cause of the problems that urban centers face.
Finally, with respect to the urban centers themselves, I agree with Hodgkinson’s affirmation about the highly transient populations that dwell within these urban centers.[4] That is, both from preconceptions about urban centers and my experiences working and living within them, I believe that the populations, more specifically the lower economic rungs, are prone to moving around based on the ability to capitalize on opportunity (e.g. available jobs, changing custody of children to place them in better schools because of their location, etc.)

School Days

I begin this section by addressing the question of how my beliefs are shaped/ where they come from. As previously stated, I believe that our frame of reference is an end result of our collective previous experience leading up to the moment of thought/action. But what does “previous experience” mean? Many factors contributed to my belief system; how I was raised by my parents (their thoughts/belief systems, what they taught me, what they provided for me, etc)exposure to information through the world media outlet, assumptions based on no/not enough evidence to make an educated guess, my higher education (going to a more liberal university for a degree in history I’m sure leaves one with a much different perspective than someone who went to a more ‘conservative’ school or even someone who has studied abroad.) Finally, and probably most significantly, are the actual experiences I have lived through.

Most of my disillusionment with the educational system in urban centers comes from my personal experience living on an urban center and going to school within such a system. Living in an urban center in NY, I did not have the most inspiring of teachers. I went from an enthusiastic reader and student who did 6th grade math in kindergarten to a 1st grader that they wanted to put in self contained classes. When my parents saw what a negative impact the schools were having on me, they decided to move to an area where I could receive a better education. Day 1 at the suburban school, my parents received a call suggesting I be skipped ahead a grade. (If I wasn’t so short, they might’ve said yes.)

That said, I believe that it is easier to receive a good education outside of an urban center; harder, but not impossible to receive one within an urban center. This is excluding charter and magnet schools, I believe that there are some truly outstanding urban schools out there, but to find one and receive a great education from one are two separate and difficult tasks. I believe that the prejudice against poor and ethnic populations, lack of proper funding and resources (which I feel is the primary cause of burnt out teachers), an institutionalized educational process with players unwilling to change[5], and national education policy which favors already successful schools all play a role in causing this problem sometimes identified as the education or achievement gap.

Finally, I believe that this fact is a reversible one through hard work, dedication and public policy designed with the children in mind, and aimed at figuring out why there is such an achievement gap and how to erase it, not policy that directs practice through the carrot and stick.

Between You and Me

I don’t know if one can measure to what extent that their personal belief system affects their interactions with the people they work with and the people they interact with on a daily basis. The easy answer is that they affect such interactions both subtly and intimately. Every conversation you have, every impression you make or is made on you is predicated on your expectations going into a given situation. These are inexorably linked to your belief system, a.k.a. frame of reference.

Based on what I thought I knew about urban schools, only fueled by my summer at a teaching “training institute”, I expected to find a school full of burnt out teachers, locked into the system who didn’t care anymore. To combat this, my strategy for my initial interactions was one of mixed trepidation and skepticism, thinking I already knew a better way because I had a mission and my mission was true. To say that I was quickly humbled would be an understatement, but did I inadvertently burn down some bridges in the process? Only time will show the outcome but it is a further effect of my ever-changing frame of reference.

Similarly, my classroom was to be a “safe-haven,” a “last refuge” for my students to learn before they were kicked out of middle school in to the harsh cold waters of high school. I knew, not thought, that my students would be more than grateful for a teacher who pushed them hard, expected more out of them and truly believed in them and their potential for success through hard work. Boy did I miss the ball with 14 year olds. (Not about their potential, but with their gratitude to be challenged with hard work and be held to such high standards. [Though some have risen to the challenge.]) How many students did I “lose” when I pushed so hard, so fast? Again time will tell, but I know that my personal beliefs and opinions drove my actions.

As I am faced with thoughtful, caring and dedicated teachers/staff and a student body constantly posing new challenges, my frame of reference continues to shift and my interactions with students (it turns out I am more of a disciplinarian than I thought I was) and teachers (I don’t know if it is fortunate or not that I have seemingly already found my niche within the school) continues to change as my perceptions of the people around me change as well through my daily experiences which add to my collective experience and around and around.

The Future

I am a goal driven person. I find that much like a maze, it is easier to start at the end and work backwards. Again, my summer spent “learning to teach” has strengthened my faith in “backwards planning.” Because of this, my frame of reference will significantly impact and shape the type of professional I will become. Through my assumptions, I will form my expectations about what my goals need to be. Based on that it will influence my course of action, my decisions, and what I anticipate my professional career will be like. Aside from the disillusionment one feels when expectations and reality aren’t in line (I am dealing with this now) actions have consequences; and as stated throughout my self-investigation, these consequences will impact my professional “alliances” (it’s not just the students who are cliquey in schools) and my experiences in the classroom, both of which are in my mind the primary factors in shaping/determining the type of professional I will become.

Exit Ticket

It is slightly different for me to write this paper as I have been in the classroom for almost a month now. This has given me in one way an edge in that I can see how my perspective effects how I develop as a professional and how my perspectives change/ have changed. On the other hand this is, in a way, harder for me to write since my perspective has changed since I began.
The issue is that I can’t tell just how much my perspective has changed, how much my frame has shifted. How many new “discourses” do I have? (My Spanish has definitely improved, and I am learning slang.) How many “discourses” have I pulled away from? All of the possible outcomes addressed above are still up in the air, how will they turn out? The process of change/development, my metamorphosis has been so fluid so organic, that I honestly cannot remember just where I started compared to where I am now.

There is no question for me that my frame of reference is an important factor in shaping who I am. Not just professionally, but in every aspect of my life. I am the accumulation of my experiences, and each experience is shaped by how I approach it (which is based on my previous experiences.) It is the hidden, yet inescapable, loop that we are all caught in. The biggest question is just how much will it affect who I am and who I become as a teacher?




[1] Gee, James Paul. “Reading as situated language: A sociocognative perspective”. The Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy. May, 2001. pp. 714-725
[2] Annenberg Institute for Social Reform, “The Promise of Urban Schools” Brown University (Providence, RI) ©2000 p.1
[3] Hodgkinson, Harold. DEMOGRAPHICS: What teachers should know. “Educational Leadership” ©December 2000/January 2001. pp. 6-8
[4] ibid
[5] Haberman, Martin. “The Pedagogy of Poverty Versus Good Teaching” Given as a lecture at the “Curriculum and Instruction Leadership Symposium” (Pacific Grove, CA) ©2005