Three Must Follow Blogs?

Awhile back I included a list of my favorite blogs, websites, and authors. Since then I have discovered three more that I must share. Perhaps this will be something that I will do now on a more regular basis, but since I just wrote that, probably not. We’ll see. I am not the only blogger who writes not just to be read, and because I want to share, but because I can’t help it. I am like a pitcher of water: if I don’t pour some of the liquid out, I am going to overflow. As it is I gush.

Adventures in Super Teaching by TeachEnEspanol is a relatively new blog worth visiting regularly. I have to admit that I feel a kindred spirit with this bilingual resource teacher from Chicago. Every other post I read feels like I could have written it myself even though I have never taught EL, or worked anywhere other than Southern California. Still, it’s so comforting to share another teacher’s thoughts and relate to their experiences, observations, and conclusions. Check out this blog, follow it, and leave MANY comments. The author will appreciate even the shortest contribution. You can read her complete story here.

John Spencer writes in a variety of blogs and often. He is a BIG thinker who is ready and willing to share his ideas with any and all willing participants. Each day of the week he has a different theme, and everyday he explores the theme deeply. John is also on Twitter and sends out regular daily updates. You can also join his Ning social network. John reminds me of another John who was in another desert pointing a different generation towards their futures. John has a clear vision of the use of technology in education that we all need.

I am very impressed with the post college (mid to late 20’s) generation of teachers and thinkers popping up on the Internet. Perhaps most impressive to me are the Three Old Farts who are not old, and I hope, not farts. Chris Allison, Josh Lake, and Nate Evans are three graduates from Texas A.M. who have started a public discussion on the web. And guess what? You can join in. Their topics range from education reform to marketing each contributing independently but commenting as a trio. I love this format so I have started my own conversation on another blog.

There is so much valuable content on the web today. I am overwhelmed. No matter your niche, there seems to be a group or groups ready to invite you into their fray. Teacher resources via blogs, Twitter, and teacher-specific web sites have really blossomed. It’s important that we all contribute to the discussions through our comments wherever we spend time reading and learning. Unfortunately, I cannot keep up with everything that is written about teaching and teachers, but having looked around a bit, I can confidently recommend that you follow these three web sites and check back with them regularly.

No Apologies!

At the risk of over-reacting I have to share my irritation with Kaplan’s advertising and what it claims about educators and education. The second half of this video is right on the money, education needs to change, and it will. I will write later about my vision for more student-focused learning and how I think public education can and will step up to the task. I won’t fault the marketing department at Kaplan for their shot at the current state of education, it’s broken. However, I will not, nor should any teacher, ever apologize to any student for “failing” them.

Teaching is one of if not the hardest jobs one can choose. I don’t know a single teacher who does not pour their hearts and souls into their work. Sure, some are more effective, and some others are more dynamic, but no one who stays in teaching past the first few years is there for the “great pay,” or, “summers off.” Working with students to develop their skills and abilities takes immense patience, careful and accurate lesson planning, a compassionate and caring heart, an above all, a willingness to reach down and help up those in need regardless of circumstances.

Do teachers fail their students from time to time? Of course. But the proposition that today’s educators have “failed” to educate this generation is simply offensive to me. I suppose that it is easier to blame educators for the problems today’s young people are having in the world. After all, today’s students spend on-average 6 to 7 of their 24 hours at school mostly participating in instruction. The balance of time, upwards to 8 or 9 hours daily are spent, with friends, at home, completing homework, or with family. Unfortunately, school is falling lower and lower on their priority lists.

Perhaps this advertisement for a commercial educational institution is aimed more squarely at the colleges and universities, and not so focused on K-12 public education. Perhaps I am too sensitive. If you read my posts here then you know my heart. I just hate it when educators are blamed for the failings of their students. Ideally every child taught by every teacher would excel in every subject ever taught. But this is not what happens. Thankfully, the American public education systems has been part of the backbone of the success of our country and will continue to grow and thrive.

I’m sure that I have now ruined my opportunity to ever become a Kaplan instructor. Well, that’s ok. I will continue to implement my own educational reforms from within my own classroom with my own students every day that I stand in front of them and teach. And to be clear, I will never, ever, apologize for not bringing my best to the classroom and not teaching every student I am assigned to the best of my ability. I will draw out their talents, and educate each individual to confidently venture out into the world and be wildly successful.

Less is More?

My previous post generated a lot of traffic and comments. It’s good that many are concerned about a fellow colleague teacher blogger, and even more are outraged at any attempt to censor our collective freedom of speech rights. Clearly there needs to be some rules concerning the confidentiality of teachers, students, administrators, and schools, but most of the blogs and edu-sites I frequent are already very careful about what is written and how individuals are represented. So I say we teacher bloggers keep writing about teaching because it’s not only good for the soul, it also makes us better educators.

As you should know by now, the “Best of…” season is upon us. This blog was overlooked, again. In my previous post I pointed out a few of my personal favorites. I believe that lists like mine (and yours) are the only ones that really matter. Not in a wholly narcissistic way, but the Internet is a big place full of great stuff and it’s just not realistic to try and narrow the choices down to a “top ten” list. It’s as absurd as Dave’s nightly contributions. But then, maybe I only feel that way because I was left out.

Speaking of being left out, I am just now getting started on Twitter. Do you tweet? You should. My twitter id is KevinBibo. For those of you who have not yet got started, here and here are two good articles I found via Alfred’s Computer Science blog. Twitter allows you to communicate to individual or whole groups of people in short bursts. It can be used as a giant announcement board, or as a way to just keep those concerned posted about what you are doing, what you’ve discovered, or what you want to share.

I write a bi-monthly column over at The Apple you can read here. Since I now have two exclusive venues to pour my thoughts into I have decided to change the tone and format of Cal Teacher Blog just a little. Anyone who has read anything that I have ever written knows that I can be somewhat, what’s the word, verbose? Ok, fine, I like to talk. Can you imagine what my students have to endure? Believe it or not I had to take the written English PRAXIS (CSET) test four times before I passed. Can you figure out why?

So I'm taking my cues from all of the above. From now on I promise to write fewer words. Perhaps an abridged blog post will go down easier? To quote one of my all-time favorite films by Milos Forman of Peter Shaffer’s script from 1984:

Emperor Joseph II: My dear young man, don't take it too hard. Your work is ingenious. It's quality work. And there are simply too many notes, that's all. Just cut a few and it will be perfect.
Mozart: Which few did you have in mind, Majesty?

And again:

Emperor Joseph II: Well, there it is.

Band of Bloggers?

One of our brethren has been released from his teaching position due in part to the reflective teacher writing that he posts anonymously on his teacher blog. Instead of being reprimanded, or even censured, he’s been fired. It seems so odd to me that anyone would look at this so important part of the teacher process as being anything other than a healthy and sometimes cathartic avenue towards working out our issues with education leading to the ultimate goal of being better and more effective teachers. To me, teacher bloggers, and anyone else who writes about improving teaching, are out on the cutting edge of education because we are actively seeking to grow in our craft personally, and to raise up our entire profession.

I’ve written before about how important I feel it is for teachers to spend significant amounts of time in reflection, and even blogging. For me this blog has two significant purposes. First, it gives me an opportunity to empty my pitcher of thoughts (so that it can be filled up again). I can’t help but think about teaching often, and sometimes it feels like I lose lots of interesting ideas if I don’t write them down somewhere, why not a blog? Second, here I get to work out my issues with teaching and re-convince myself that I do love to teach and that I am a teacher. All teachers know about teacher fatigue and desensitization, writing here helps me stay focused and hopefully fresh.

There are many all-star educators sharing out on the web. I have links to many of them here on this site. While I regularly check in with this group of writers, I am really anti-social because I rarely leave comments. It’s not that I don’t appreciate their thoughts and ideas, I do. But with 6 periods at school and 5 children under 16 at home, I just don’t have time. If you are not a regular reader of these über-talented teachers, then checked them out.

Authors:
Julia G. Tompson
Joannie Jacobs*

Bloggers:
Cal Teacher Guy
Computer Science Teacher*
Cool Cat*
The Guru’s Handbook
Matt Harmless
Right on the Left Coast vs. Frustrated Teacher*

Noobs:
Adventures in Teaching
Newbie-A teacher’s voice
Penny Candy

Websites:
The Apple
Teacher Lingo
Teacher Vision

*Nominated for a Blog/Web Award in 2008!

Add to this list in the comments area below.

The Internet is full of opportunities for teachers to connect with each other, to share best practices, and to commiserate when needed. Writing about and reflecting on teaching is an important function of being a healthy teacher. Clearly those of us who share our thoughts and experiences need to be sensitive to and protect those we may write about. It’s important for us to band together and protect this very important communication opportunity so that we may continue to enjoy each others on-line company.

Thoreau's Lessons?

These are my two favorite passages from Henry David Thoreau's Walden: Or Life in the Woods published in 1854.

"We must learn to reawaken and keep ourselves awake, not by mechanical aids, but by an infinite expectation of the dawn, which does not forsake us in our soundest sleep. I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestionable ability of man to elevate his life by a conscious endeavor. It is something to be able to paint a particular picture, or to carve a statue, and so to make a few objects beautiful; but it is far more glorious to carve and paint the very atmosphere and medium through which we look, which morally we can do. To affect the quality of the day, that is the highest of arts. Every man is tasked to make his life, even in its details, worthy of the contemplation of his most elevated and critical hour. If we refused, or rather used up, such paltry information as we get, the oracles would distinctly inform us how this might be done.

"I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practise resignation, unless it was quite necessary. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms, and, if it proved to be mean, why then to get the whole and genuine meanness of it, and publish its meanness to the world; or if it were sublime, to know it by experience, and be able to give a true account of it in my next excursion. For most men, it appears to me, are in a strange uncertainty about it, whether it is of the devil or of God, and have somewhat hastily concluded that it is the chief end of man here to "glorify God and enjoy him forever."

"Still we live meanly, like ants; though the fable tells us that we were long ago changed into men; like pygmies we fight with cranes; it is error upon error, and clout upon clout, and our best virtue has for its occasion a superfluous and evitable wretchedness. Our life is frittered away by detail. An honest man has hardly need to count more than his ten fingers, or in extreme cases he may add his ten toes, and lump the rest. Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity! I say, let your affairs be as two or three, and not a hundred or a thousand; instead of a million count half a dozen, and keep your accounts on your thumb-nail. In the midst of this chopping sea of civilized life, such are the clouds and storms and quicksands and thousand-and-one items to be allowed for, that a man has to live, if he would not founder and go to the bottom and not make his port at all, by dead reckoning, and he must be a great calculator indeed who succeeds. Simplify, simplify."

and

"I left the woods for as good a reason as I went there. Perhaps it seemed to me that I had several more lives to live, and could not spare any more time for that one. It is remarkable how easily and insensibly we fall into a particular route, and make a beaten track for ourselves. I had not lived there a week before my feet wore a path from my door to the pond-side; and though it is five or six years since I trod it, it is still quite distinct. It is true, I fear, that others may have fallen into it, and so helped to keep it open. The surface of the earth is soft and impressible by the feet of men; and so with the paths which the mind travels. How worn and dusty, then, must be the highways of the world, how deep the ruts of tradition and conformity! I did not wish to take a cabin passage, but rather to go before the mast and on the deck of the world, for there I could best see the moonlight amid the mountains. I do not wish to go below now.

"I learned this, at least, by my experiment: that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours. He will put some things behind, will pass an invisible boundary; new, universal, and more liberal laws will begin to establish themselves around and within him; or the old laws be expanded, and interpreted in his favor in a more liberal sense, and he will live with the license of a higher order of beings. In proportion as he simplifies his life, the laws of the universe will appear less complex, and solitude will not be solitude, nor poverty poverty, nor weakness weakness. If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them."

Manual Forward?

Every year I update the manual I write for the multimedia courses I teach in high school. I started writing my own curriculum because I couldn’t find any one textbook or resource that I liked. Instead, I scoured the web in search of the best projects, tutorials, and guides I could find, and wrote the ones I couldn’t find myself. I started with the production manual available online from NYU’s Tisch film school. What I ended up with is an excellent and thorough resource for any computer multimedia teacher to use in their classroom.

It’s important to note that the course I teach are NOT computer courses, they are UC approved Art and communication courses that use computers. I make the distinction because the focus of the manual is not the nuts and bolts of computer hardware and software, but rather it is focused on teaching high school students to improve their communication skills and take advantage of 21st. century communication technology. Sure, they can already use MySpace, program their iPods, and post their own movies on uTube, but this curriculum gives students a direction, background information, and teaches them the production process.

The assignments are all written to the Visual Performing Arts, Career Technical Education, and National Education Technology Standards. Most of the assignments are tried and tested, broken down into easily understandable steps. However this year I have added many new assignments to go with the new software, and I’m not quite sure how they will turn out. Therefore I am evoking the “beta” label (borrowing from computer geekdom). Since I use Macintosh computers, the manual is written specifically for those machines, and now for OS 10.4. But all of the assignments and steps could be adjusted for whatever software and hardware you have available.

Throughout the manual I give credit and web links to all the work I did not write myself. I have never published the manual as a professional work, nor have I ever charged anyone to use it, and many have. From other schools right here in California all the way to Israel, I have freely shared this resource with anyone interested. If you’d like to download it you can do so here. There is also a series of presentations and lecture notes, all free. If you have any questions, feel free to send me an email at calteacherblogger@mac.com.

Every year I write a foreword to the manual. It’s the very last thing I do after I proof read and spell check. What follows now and for the rest of this blog entry is the foreword to this years manual update. It gives a general picture of what I experienced while preparing for this years update.

What a rush! This year’s manual update was completed in just four weeks, a new record. There are two reasons why the schedule was pushed up this year: first, school started two and half weeks earlier this year; second for the first time in seven years Room 1 has new computers. Unfortunately, the news about the new computers came exactly one month before school started, so I was unable to prepare much during the school year like I usually do.

The new computers are first generation Intel iMacs. We almost didn’t get Macintosh computers. The district has a Windows/Dell only policy that the Principal and I had to fight to get what I knew would be best for the students of Room 1. After two summer meetings that included presentations from Adobe and Apple, the district decided to grant my request, and we have new Macs. It’s a logical choice: Macintosh computers are widely used in the multimedia and entertainment industry and Apple now offers a certification program that we’d like to start offering the students of RHS.

This is the seventh version of the Multimedia Manual, but I am dubbing it version 8 beta. The beta status also comes as a result of the shorter writing time. I’m not sure that everything here in version seven is going to work! There are many new assignments, and many major changes. One major change is the exit of Adobe Photoshop and the entry of The Gimp. The change was made because Adobe does not write Photoshop Elements for the Intel Macs, and second because The Gimp is FREE! The Gimp is an open source application written with UNIX so it can be adjusted and molded to work with whatever environment one is comfortable with. So I was able to change all of the keyboard shortcuts and setup the palette layout to match Photoshop LE. The Gimp will also run on Windows and Linux so it’s a good choice for students who may not have a Macintosh computer at home.

The other very cool new additions to the manual include the opportunity to now use GarageBand and iDVD. GarageBand allows students to create their own music using a variety of loops. Now just about anyone can compose his or her own jingles, movie scores, and original compositions. GarageBand also allows students to create their own Podcasts, so I have added postcasting as a new focus. In addition, students may now create their own DVDs. Instead of only being able to distribute their work via a website (which is still included in the course work) students can now also create DVDs to take home and play on their televisions, or on their home computers.

This year will see a continued commitment to creating DVD documentaries for Redlands High School by the Digital Dogz. Last year we sold close to 150 Graduation DVDs making it even more successful than the Football DVD, and raising a significant amount of income for the Digital Dogz that we plan on putting to good use. The Friday Show will also return as a weekly positive reflection of life on campus.

New equipment, new software, and a new approach to teaching and learning multimedia; I’m looking forward to a very exciting and groundbreaking new year.

Post 51?

After a long summer off I now return to one new school year, two new teaching opportunities, and the 51st blog post. What do I write about now? Do I reflect on my fantastic summer? Do I try to articulate the pre-first day angst I feel every year? Do I complain about the wasted back-to-school in-service time I spent sitting in a chair and trying to stay attentive to our administrators as the ushered in the year? I don’t think so.

Two very significant educational career developments (three if you count my new 20” iMac that I’m writing on at the moment) occurred over the summer. First, I was hired to teach in the teacher credential program at our local university. During the interview process I had to make a presentation. It bombed. I then sat down for a one-on-one interview. I brought a few selected blog entries and a host of other materials with me. Something convinced the Dean that I was an appropriate choice to work with new teachers, and a few days later I received an email that asked me to teach a course called Teaching and Learning in Secondary Schools. This is a dream come true for me. I’ve known for some time that I wanted to work with young teachers to help guide their path into the classroom. It’s why I started writing this blog. This October I get my chance.

In August I audited the course while another instructor was teaching it. The instructor was a former colleague of mine from the high school I currently teach in. She has done a wonderful and gracious job helping me prepare. Even better, she’ll be teaching a different group of students during the same time period I will be teaching this fall. What luck! I’ve reviewed the texts and I am currently putting my lesson plans together. It’s fun to go back to the basics and mix in my experience and observations. I hope that the students are encouraged by my teaching, and go on to great success in their own educational careers.

The other development is a new high school course I will be teaching. Well, its not a new course, and I’m not new to it; but it’s been 10 years since I last taught Drama. In addition to my regular multimedia courses, and this year I will teach a section of Theatre Arts CP. I’m looking forward to going back to my roots and sharing with a whole new generation of students. Walking into the theatre last week for the first time in a very long time was amazing. Just the smell made me melancholy.

I suppose that my blog entries this year will be colored by these two new challenges. I intend to include blogging as one of the requirements for students in the college course. You may see links to their work from this site in the future. I’m looking forward to a great and challenging school year!

Go the Distance!

One thing I've always wanted to do was to give the charge to the class at graduation. If I was asked to speak, I think this is what I'd say.

Congratulations to the class of 2006! You've successfully survived 12 long years of education. For some of you, this has been a wonderfully happy time of discovery and growth. For others, this has been a challenging time of adversity and change. For all of you sitting here tonight, I hope your school experience has been a worthwhile introduction into the great unknown we adults like to call, "life." On behalf of my fellow educators, let me say thank you for the opportunities to be your teachers, administrators, coaches, confidants, motivators, disciplinarians, and most importantly, friends.

We’ve all seen the famous Kevin Costner film of the W.P. Kinsella story where the voice from above tells the corn farmer to “go the distance.” Understandably the corn farmer is perplexed. He is forced to make some decisions. First, he has to define what the “distance” is. Next, he needs to take a first step in a direction that will lead him towards the “distance.” Finally, he has to commit to “go” this “distance” no matter how difficult or frustrating the journey may become.

Like the corn farmer, you are being commanded to “go the distance.” Now it’s your turn to make some decisions. What will your personal “distance” be, and in what direction will you go? Will you take the first step? And will you follow through and “go” all the way to your destination?

Tomorrow, (or the maybe the next day), when you wake up after having graduated high school you’ll step out into a brand new opportunity to live your life and exercise your most recent, and most important achievement so far in your life: high school graduation. What does it mean to be a high school graduate? Well, it means that, to this point, you’ve gone the distance!

(pause)

But the distance doesn’t stop with the end of high school. In fact, it’s only the beginning. From this night on and for the rest of your life each one of you will define your “distance” in your own unique and personal way. For some, the “distance” will be attending and graduating college. For others, the “distance” will include going to work and exploring a career. At some point your “distance” might include marriage, and parenting a child, or many children.

The best survival tool I know is holding on to a good attitude. It all comes down to attitude. In your life you can’t change most of the things that affect you. You can’t change your parents. You can’t change where you grow up. You can’t change your grades (not now anyway). What you can change is your attitude. Attitude is one of the few things you can control in life.

Of course, some of you have learned the value of a positive attitude. We all know that nobody likes the high school bell schedule and how it controls us hour-to-hour, day-to-day. It’s frustrating at best. As a student, you can either fight against the bell schedule, and consistently show up late for class, or follow the bell schedule and avoid the terrors of detention, or the dangers of ditching. You don’t have to like the bell schedule, but if you keep a positive attitude about the benefits of six consistent periods of study a day, you’ll have a better high school experience… maybe.

By the way, I don’t know if you know this or not, but you will never again have to follow the high school bell schedule.

(pause)

Unless of course you end up like one of the many alumni that return to here to become teachers.

Some of these people will tell you, “its not the destination but the journey that’s important.” I’d like to suggest that both are vitally important to your life. You may be afraid to take a first step out into the world. That’s totally normal. Here’s a tip: it’s always easier to take a step after you’ve chosen a direction. Life is full of choices, including making no choice at all. If you want to be successful, if you want to “go the distance,” you must make the choice to do so. The next choice must be a direction.

Does that direction matter? Not really. It could be college, or military service, or going to work. But you must make a decision, and take a step in the direction that will take you the distance to your goal. Along the way you may change course, many, many times, and that’s OK. I tell my students, you must first make up your mind before you can change your mind. No matter what you decide, you’ll need a way of surviving the path you take to reach your distance.

In order for the corn farmer to “go the distance” when the voice spoke to him he needed first to take a first step. That’s a scary proposal! Take a step to move forward without any idea of which direction to go. Sound familiar? Don’t worry, stepping forward into the unknown is a common experience we all share. Look at the people on this stage. Each and every one of them has been where you are now. Some of them even sat where you are sitting at their own graduation. Of course, that was back when dinosaurs ruled the Earth.

(pause)

But each and every one of these people took a first step into the unknown so that they too could “go the distance,” a distance that has brought them to where they are today: right back here at graduation.

Where did these scholars get the courage to take a first step? The answer is as unique as each individual. For me, it was my faith that gave me courage to continue. My belief that life was about more than just a bell schedule, or a diploma, or about doing what I thought my parents wanted me to do. I now take comfort in knowing that I am part of something bigger than myself, and that no matter how badly I may slip up, that there is Grace to save me. You too will find the courage to take the steps necessary to go your distance.

You may be asking, “How far is the distance I will travel?” And, “When will I arrive?” I don’t have those answers for you. No one does. The corn farmer thought he had realized his “dream” when the ball players magically appeared to play baseball on his field in the middle of his corn farm. But that wasn’t the end. There was still a distance to travel. Ultimately the corn farmer would join a youthful representation of his father in a game of catch. That’s where the movie ended, but the story, and the corn farmer’s journey, continued on.

The corn farmer stumbled upon his life’s purpose while he traveled his journey to “go the distance.” You too were created for a purpose. Tonight you fulfill part of that purpose by graduating high school. Some of you have already realized the purpose for your life, others are still searching, wondering, dreaming about what your may one day achieve.

Recently on television Taylor Hicks was voted the 2006 American Idol. What I appreciate most about Taylor Hicks is the reckless abandon that he brings to singing and performance. No one (especially Simon Cowell) would have guessed that a gray-haired white Ray Charles fan would be the next idol, but every time Taylor performed on stage he did so with such genuine joy and enthusiasm that he became contagious. Taylor has realized his life’s purpose and is celebrating his victory. I want to encourage you tonight to continue to seek out and ultimately realize your life’s purpose, and celebrate your own victory just like Taylor Hicks.

Once you’ve realized your life’s purpose you may think that you have arrived at your destination. But much like tonight, or the corn farmer playing catch with his Dad, it will simply be another lesson on your journey as you continue to “go the distance.” The collection of lessons you will learn on your journey will be like discovering gold nuggets that you will invest in your future. You won’t always know how you’ll use these lessons, but as you continue to “go the distance,” be prepared to use them all.

I can tell you with complete certainty that every moment of my life, every lesson that I have learned, every experience that I have had has prepared me for this moment, right here, right now.

But this moment does not belong to me; it belongs to you, the class of 2006. Make no mistake about it, all the experiences in your life have prepared you for what you will do here tonight in this place. Regardless of how you started out, tonight you prove that you can indeed “go the distance.” Well done Class of 2006.

Does blogging matter?

Maybe. Does connecting with other teachers matter? Absolutely, and that’s one reason why blogging is important. There are many teacher blogs in the blogosphere right now: Ms. Frizzle, Cool Cat Teacher blog, The Education Wonks, Hip Teacher, Right on the Left Coast, Computer Science Teacher, and Tom’s 2 cents to name a few. Check out my blogroll for many others. And there is room for many, many more. Blogging not only connects us, it gives us an opportunity to vent a little, or a lot. If you are a regular reader of this blog then you know that sometimes I just rant, and it feels great. Teachers are human beings but we are expected to be superhuman and that’s just crazy. I believe that what we do makes us super-heroes, but not superhuman. So taking some time weekly, or even daily to let it all out is good for the soul and will make you a better teacher.

I’ve been writing regularly now for a few months. I am nutty about checking my traffic and comments. Sometimes I get discouraged that more people don’t read my entries (maybe that’s a good thing) but then I usually receive a very complimentary comment, or find out that some good has come from the time I have spent sharing, or someone has received encouragement to continue on. I don’t know if you can tell this, but most of my motivation for writing is to keep me teaching in the classroom. Like you, I think of quitting all the time. Not that I don’t love teaching, or working with kids, but the temptation is always there to hang it up and pursue a profession that pays a little more, offers a little more prestige, or isn’t quite so draining of my energy. By writing I reassure myself that what I am doing is worthwhile, and that my time spent not only make a difference, but also actually changes and improves other people’s lives.

We teachers are like that. I believe that most of us are driven by a desire to improve the world we live in one student at a time. Sure, some of us teach for the great vacation time, or so-called early dismissals, but I don’t think that anyone can survive in teaching without believing that somehow all the personal sacrifice is not vanity. Maybe it is sometimes, but somebody has to take on the responsibility of educating the young, why not me? I’ve thought about a career in heavy machine operation. Seriously. I own an old Ford tractor and I absolutely love tooling around the property on it. I was surprised to find out that holding a master’s degree and operating heavy machinery is not that uncommon. Apparently other former teachers have found relief behind the wheel of a skip-loader or behind the controls of a bulldozer. Who knew? But at the end of a hard day of ditch digging or road leveling I don’t think I’d drive home with the same sense of satisfaction and the comfort of knowing that I did more in that day then simply perform an assigned task.

Back to blogging. You should start your own blog. Hugh Hewitt wrote a great book called Blog last year that is worth a read. When I first got the crazy notion to start writing a blog I sent him an email with the first few entries asking if he thought my idea to write would find an audience. He did, and it has. According to my stat counter, teachers from all over the world are reading and sharing these articles, or short essays, or blog entries, (I don’t know what to call them really). They’re long, I know, but at about 1000 words each they’re at a length that is comfortable for me to communicate what I’m thinking about. You’re blog entries need not be so verbose. Starting a blog is super easy. I use blogger.com, but there are many others, and most services and sites are free. I’m always suspecting of those who want to charge, but if you feel more comfortable with a fee site, go for it. If you do start blogging shoot me an email and I’ll list you on my blog roll.

You should blog and share your teaching experience with other teachers including what you know works for you in and your kids in your classroom. You might think that “everybody does that,” or, “it’s so obvious,” but that’s only true for you. Most of us can’t go into our colleagues’ classrooms and observing them teaching. We don’t have time to take notes, share successes, collaborate, or just plain chat during our regular workday. I teach six periods (by choice) so I don’t even get a conference period to work with my cohorts. Some schools are doing a great job with banking time and block schedules giving teachers more time to join forces. But mostly we are still a consortium of individuals who spend our days grinding away in our own little worlds with limited adult contact. Teachers need to get out more, or at least out on the Internet more. That’s where blogging becomes a very effective tool for replacing the collaborative time we lose while we’re actually working.

Blogging won’t solve the world’s educational problems, but it will make those of us who take the time to take advantage of the technology better teachers, and that’s better for the world or education. If you don’t feel like you’re ready to start your own blog, then at least become an active commenter on the blogs you read now. Some of my best ideas for writing have come from either the comments left on this blog, or emails that I have received from regular readers. Although it sometimes feels like we are alone in our endeavor to teach the young, like we will never have a decent adult conversation at work again, and that our non-teacher spouses will never understand why we are so exhausted every night, take heart. We have blogs and blogging to join us as a global community of educators to share resources, to voice our concerns, or to just share amusing experiences. Like that time I…

Please post your comments below.

The trouble with television?

I teach courses in multimedia. These courses include digital video productions that are seen on the closed circuit television system at the high school where I work. I also once worked for KNBC in Los Angeles. I enjoy watching television, probably an hour and sometimes two a night. So I generally support television as entertainment. However, as I sit here reflecting on the unacceptably poor quality of first semester projects that I have just completed grading, and after I have already commiserated with a close friend and fellow teacher, I am wondering what is at the root of the problems we teachers all face with our students. My answer: television.

Before I continue, I don’t plan on pigeonholing television as the actual root. The actual root is much deeper. But television serves up a great example of a delivery system that is poisoning our culture. Not all television is poisoning all of our culture. But most of the images children see daily on the small screen neither promote a healthy lifestyle nor the importance of education. Instead kids get images of moronic parents and teachers who are buffoons at best. Entertaining? Sure. Especially to adults who can watch objectively. But to kids? Kids who don’t have the mature filters of experience watch this programming for multiple hours a day pointing and laughing at the idiot adults and are then expected to come to school and treat their teachers with respect. Right. Then go home to their hard-working parents and are expected to appreciate all that their parents’ sacrifice for their children’s well being. Kids don’t get it. Unlike years ago when instead of plopping kids down in front of the tube they were given household chores, or taken on trips to the laundry, and sometimes even included in “bring your kid to work day.” Instead of learning the value and sacrifice and hard work, kids learn about what products are best for cleaning carpets.

I don’t fault television producers and programmers completely. Their jobs are to sell soap. In order to sell soap they must draw an audience to watch the soap commercials offered by the advertisers who actually pay the bills for television production. I support the capitalistic approach to economics so I support the idea of commercial television. Most television producers and programmers do their jobs very well. They sell soap for the advertisers. The advertisers are in the business of selling soap so the programs they pay for are designed to attract viewers who might potentially buy their soap (hence soap operas). Soap sellers are not concerned with content, moral, or character education (evidence soap operas). So television producers and programmers are not concerned with moral or character education in the programming they offer. This would be ok if it stayed in the realm of mid-afternoon-before-kids-get-home TV. But the same mentality is applied to the 24/7 kids programming on cable. Kids are a huge, I repeat HUGE market for advertisers. From breakfast cereal to video games, kids spend their parent’s money. Kids watch TV (some watch a lot of TV) so in the world of advertising they are fair game for using the TV to sell products. Like soap sales, breakfast cereal and video game companies are not selling content, moral, and character education. They are selling products. So the images seen in the programming they pay for reflect an effort to sell their products, not make better people. That’s our (the teachers) job.

What we see on TV is a symptom of a bigger cultural problem. The problem is what our culture values, or doesn’t value in general. The second part of my conversation with my colleague concerned the lack of stigma attached to failure. Some kids don’t care if they fail and there is no reason for them to care. Nothing happens. If they fail they move right along to the next course, to the next grade, and almost all the way out of high school. In California we may not like the CAHSEE, but at least now there is some sort of hard obstacle to overcome if a student wants a diploma. Failing kids today is a big no-no in schools all over the country. If a student doesn’t fail they’re not left behind. If we pass them, they will move on. But just because the students aren’t left behind doesn’t mean they have actually learned anything. I’ve taught long enough to see that the students I currently teach are the least prepared of any I have had before. I’m sure my predecessors who taught these same kids would agree with me. This is a problem that has been going on for a long time without being resolved. Now what do we do? How about less TV?

Since we can’t change the kids we have to teach, and we can’t change the standards, and no one can be left behind, then maybe we need to start taking a long hard look at the curriculum. Perhaps it is time that we narrow the scope of what we teach. Sometimes knowing a lot about a few things is better than knowing a little about many things. If a majority of the students cannot absorb all the content in the course scope and sequence, then instead of trying to keep an absurd schedule to teach them everything, maybe we should slow down the pace and not move on until they actually get it. There is no sense in leaving a kid to fail because of a testing schedule. Perhaps it’s time to change our definition of success. Not dumb it down, but adjust for our audience. Like a television producer, we need to know who it is we are trying to reach and then give them what they want, or in this case, need. Imagine what the classroom would be like if the students actually learned and retained what they were taught at each grade level? For teachers it’s not about selling soap, breakfast cereal or video games; our mission is to teach the appropriate content, moral, and character education that will improve the lives of the students in our classrooms. I think I saw that somewhere on TV.

Education Idol?

I do not have a beef against Simon Cowell or American Idol. In fact I am a fan and I find myself agreeing with the Simon Cowell more often that I disagree with his analysis of talent. I just got to thinking, what would the world be like if Simon Cowell was a schoolteacher?

If Simon Cowell was a schoolteacher education would be a competition to discover THE one best and brightest student. All the other competing students would be "losers." Many would try out, only one would succeed. The one successor would then represent all of the others as the perfect example, or "Idol," of what all students should aspire to be. The Education Idol's success would be measured not by the depth of their character, or their wealth of knowledge, but by the wealth generated in their position on the "Billboard Chart of Popular Intelligence". They would tour the world showing off how clever and charming they had become, and entertaining the masses "Jeopardy" style along with the top ten runner-ups.

If Simon Cowell was a schoolteacher students would be assessed not with A's or B's but with brutally accurate observations, slicing sarcasm, a devastating wit, and of course, America's vote. Regardless of their classroom performance, America could vote the young scholars on to the next round (school year) if the contestants had built up a strong enough fan base. Quality and substance would be overruled by performance and personality. Our futures would lie not in the hands of the most qualified, but in the hands of those receiving the most votes (wait, isn't that how our government works right now???)

If Simon Cowell was a schoolteacher then teachers themselves would be idolized as gods of wisdom. They would be asked to appear in Coke commercials, and on talk shows like Oprah as authorities in their content areas. They would be offered millions of dollars to appear for an hour or two biweekly in front of their pupils and deliver 90-second critiques of their homework. Of course, those appearances would be televised for millions to watch and potentially purchase soap products from the advertising helping to keep the economy moving. Teachers would actually be considered useful economic contributors, can you imagine?

If Simon Cowell was a schoolteacher then the rewards of scholastic success would be fame and fortune along with heartache and loss of privacy. The Education Idol would receive instant fame, a speaking contract, and money beyond their wildest dreams. Expensive cars, new mansions, personal assistants, designer clothing, caviar and the rest would suddenly be thrust upon the winner. In return, their family, friends, and neighbors would be cast out, left behind, and replaced by the "Hollywood" crowd. The Idol's personal life including all of their successes and failures would become a matter of public record available for all to see and read about in the pages of the National Enquirer and Entertainment Tonight.

But Simon Cowell is not a schoolteacher.

Because Simon Cowell is not a schoolteacher education is not a competition. Students are not competing with each other for the top spot on the assignment, in the classroom, or in the school. They are competing with themselves to reach their individual potential. But education is not about comparisons, number 1's, or even coming out on top. Sure, there are outstanding students, valedictorians, and plenty of other excellent efforts that should be recognized. But honoring a "straight A" student does not mean that the other students are less important of unequally successful because they didn't reach a 4.0 GPA.

Because Simon Cowell is not a schoolteacher students are assessed with meaningful indicators that reflect progress and accomplishment without killing their spirits, hopes, and dreams. Even if a student receives a less-than-expect score on an assignment, that score is used as an opportunity to grow and improve, not as a dead-end message of worthlessness delivered through a mean spirited personal attack. Students are promoted to the next level after being properly prepared and evaluated, not because of their social status within the classroom (well that's not as true in education as it should be.) Results, not popularity, open the door to the next opportunity.

Because Simon Cowell is not a schoolteacher teachers themselves are not idolized by contemporary society, in fact they're rarely given appropriate respect. The people who hold the most control over the future of the planet are often treated with disregard and dismissed as "less-than" professionals. Instead of being lifted up and celebrated, teachers are often the targets of parental frustration (that should be aimed at their children, or the parents themselves), the political scapegoats for reformers desperately looking for some answer to student under-achievement, or the butt of jokes seen daily all over television and film. Could you imagine if teachers were given their proper respect and place in society? Images of champion teachers whose entire roster of students just passed the CAHSEE would replace professional athletes like Kobe selling shoes on billboards across America!

Because Simon Cowell is not a schoolteacher the rewards of scholastic success do not automatically include fame and fortune, although that does follow for some. Instead of stories of fallen idols being arrested for attempting to purchase heroin filling the news, stories of successful students who begin their educational career without the ability to read, write, or add, and with the help of teachers, in the end graduate with a high school diploma would be the "breaking news!" Student achievement is a reflection of not only the effort of teachers and students, but also the help of family, friends and neighbors who support the students along the way. No, a high school diploma is not as glamorous as winning a singing competition, but it's far more useful, and a much better indicator of future success.

The good news is Simon Cowell is not attempting to take over education and turn it into Education Idol. Neither should the teachers. Our job is to support and raise up all of our students in a supportive environment that can include competition, but success should not be solely based on being first. Assessment of students should be accurate and constructive without judgment and delivered without sarcasm. Teachers should be recognized and honored for their efforts that include painfully long hours invested into the success of other people's children. The rewards of scholastic success should be greater opportunities to prosper in life, not just a chance to become the next Education Idol.