The British Are Coming!

Paul Schmaul from London is poking around our school for a couple of days as part of the school's Quality Review. Why is some British schmuck evaluating an inner city public school? I suppose it has something to do with the new way schools are being assessed. Rather than looking at performance indicators to determine the success of a school, there is a new fancy mathematical formula (modelled after the British system) that looks at other indicators including progress, curriculum, standards, parental/community support, and I forgot the last one. AYP (adequate yearly progress) at our school earned us an A on the school report card while other high performing schools actually failed because they are not making "progress". There is a lot of controversy surrounding the new grading system. Despite some flaws, I think that it holds school communities accountable for most of the factors that influence a student's opportunity to learn and get a good education regardless of what neighborhood school they attend.  Whether or not a quality review is able to measure those factors is another issue all together.

The new model stresses learning over teaching. What are the kids doing? Are students needs being met? Are students supported at home? Too often, educators are defensive about their teaching methods rather than reflecting on the progress of students. Focusing on how we can helps kids become more successful, using data to inform instruction and creating a classroom environment were students feel respected and nurtured are steps in the right direction.

Today, Pauly Pete grilled a group of teachers including myself at a luncheon with questions like, "What are the goals of your classroom? What are the best things about the school? How do you differentiate instruction? How is student behavior dealt with at the school?" Everyone gave politically correct answers to help bolster up the school. I played along and spoke up when I could make an honest & positive contribution. After the meeting, I called bullshit on one teacher who called in-house detention the "SAVE room" as if being put in isolation and treated like a herded animal is some form of rehabilitation for troubled students.

Well, tomorrow the Brit will be observing my students. I planned a tiered activity based on ability. Students get to chose different projects and presentations that correlate with their "readiness" on the topic (water cycle), interest and literacy skills. Hopefully all goes well, and students will be able to present at the end of the class to show their understanding of the water cycle and concepts related to the movement of water in and around the earth The list of options includes sixteen activites in total (four at each level). Some examples are plays/skits, posters, drawings/pictures, storyboards, meteorology broadcast, tv commercial, and flash cards.

3/20/08

Every once in a while, all the right elements come together and the moment is nothing short of magical. In the midst of all that could go right, Mr. Paul walked into my science classroom. He had to step over kids who were sprawled out on the floor with construction paper and squeeze around the kids staging a water cycle drama presentation. Students were really focused and engaged in their chosen projects as he circled around the room and asked students questions. My ears were open and I glanced over when I could without being too obvious. He approached the students by joking with them about his accent and then said, "I'm here to see what kind of school this is and want to know what you are doing." Brittany showed the handout that listed the choices for the water cycle project. She was working on a poster with two other students. He then moved on to Siara & Maribel who were working on a presentation to explain the importance of precipitation and its role in the water cycle. The girls were referring to their notes and a book. He asked content based questions (that I couldn't really hear), but I moved a little closer and heard Maribel telling him the affects of low precipitation on food crops and available drinking water. He was nodding his head yes and showed enthusiasm on his face. He spoke to Elissa who was planning a powerpoint presentation to explain the water cycle. At this point, I had to consult with Dennis regarding the skit he was planning and Mohibur to make sure he understood water safety and purification. I caught another glimpse of the Brit as he looked around the room wide-eyed with a smile on his face. I was SO PROUD OF THE KIDS. Not only did they know the content, but they were able to communicate what was going to the visitor, work together with little guidance from the teacher (me), and stay on task. In the end, everyone came up with really content-rich, creative projects. It was one of my proudest moments as a teacher.

Yuk, Omar & Kevin presented a TV Broadcast from Channel MS88 alerting the public that all the oceans had dried up and the earth was no longer the blue planet. It was so awesome! They planned three segments 1) A meteoroligist explained what had gone wrong due to increased temperatures & increased evaporation rates. 2) A farmer was interviewed who shared the problems with his crops due to lack of water. 3) A scientist shared recent research on finding new water sources and ways to counteract the problem.

I can't wait for the other presentations on Monday! Samantha called the project "brilliant." She's almost right. The kids are brilliant. I just gave them the opportunity to prove it.

Gossip Girls & Basketball: TGIF!

"Oh mY GOD! Look, it's Serena & Blair from Gossip Girls. That is my favorite show!!"

I took a group of students to the NY Academy of Medicine yesterday to do medical library research for their science projects and we saw an episode of The Gossip Girls being filmed. The Upper East Side at 103rd St was completely lined with Harrad's trucks all the way to the edge of Central Park. My students completely flipped out, but the girls were a bit disappointed that they didn't get to see Nate and his dreamy blue eyes.

I have to admit, I'm completely out of the loop when it comes to what is cool these days. I'm teaching sex education in health class right now and we are discussing all the changes that happen during adolescence. I mentioned laws regarding the age of consent for sexual activity and how being at parties with alcohol and older teenagers or college age students is a recipe for disaster. One student said, "That's what happened on Degrassi."

Is it just me or are the teen shows these days really edgy? I remember watching Nickelodeon and Saved by the Bell at their age. Green slime was about as graphic as it got. Well, at least the new teen shows are more realistic than the lame lifetime television specials I saw as a kid.

After school, we all let off some steam at the teacher vs. student basketball game! It was a double win for the teachers!Female teachers won against the girls team by 4 points, and the male teachers beat the boys team in the final minutes.

Teachers rule and students drool!

When it comes to basketball, I'm more of a Joe than a Pro. "Lagos, get on the court. You are the most athletic person here." No, not really. I planned to warm the bench. Really. Dribbling the ball while running and getting the ball in the hoop have always frustrated me, but somehow I managed to make four rebound shots and had three steals. "Mrs. L is really aggressive." "Good defense, Mrs. L " I chuckled. If they only knew... about the time I won the free throw contest in the third grade by shooting granny shots.

Small miracles happen all the time :) And trying your best is more important than winning.

AMNH Hall of Human Origins Student Video

Tinkerbell Strategy for Math

Don’t worry, kids. Just do your best. No pressure at all. Get a good night’s sleep. Eat a healthy breakfast. Believe in yourself with all your heart then you will get a very high score. That’s right, the Tinkerbell “I think I can” strategy is listed in the test prep tips right after “sit next to the smartest kid in the class and copy his or her paper.” Luckily, dictionaries are allowed during tomorrow’s state math exam. I’m just waiting for a student to ask how to write “2” in English. Scrap paper and calculators are not allowed. Bring your thinking caps and a number two pencil. Wait, wait. Don’t tell me. You forgot your pencil. And you forgot how to convert decimals to percents. Not a good day for memory lapse. I’d hate to see you become another statistic.


I doubt you will forget what I’m getting ready to tell you: An inferior test score on your 7th grade math exam sets into motion a sequence of events that will lead you into a less-than desirable high school, a less-than prestigious university, a work world where this early achievement gap translates into less wealth, the same unfair disadvantages for your underachieving mate and more of the same for your less-than privileged offspring. A high score could change your luck. It's a numbers game.

Lately, there has been a lot of “talk” at my school about why “best teaching practices” are not translating into “high student test scores.” We are a “model school” for math and reading, yet most of our students are not meeting the standards. At a recent teacher leader meeting, I gained a little insight into one glaring problem:

THE FORMULA. Schools under pressure to raise student achievement have to make trade-offs and decisions about which students they will invest time and energy.

Standardized tests are scored as follows: level 1(far below standards), level 2 (approaching standards), level 3(meeting standards) and level 4 (above standards). However, a student whose standardized test score moves from 1 to 2, or low 2 to high 2 does NOT help the school’s report card as much as raising a high 2 to 3, or 3 to 4. In the end, the level 1 and 2 kids are not “recruited” or “encouraged” to attend tutoring services and after-school programs like the higher level 2 and 3 students. It does not "pay" to help the kids who need the most support.

And here you have it, just like the middle-class is disappearing in the good ol’ US of A so are all the average students. The push is on to transform Susie-does-pretty-darn-good into Susan-does-super-duper-great. All the while, Rogelio-can’t-read and Mohammed-fails-math stand on the corner outside the school waiting for Susan to get out of her after-school enrichment program.

Maybe I should write a sequel to "Dumb and Dumber" called "Smarter and Smartest" where the characters outdo each other and themselves. This reminds me of Judith Warner's op-ed piece, "Glass Slippers, Old Hat," in Saturday's NY Times about a new trend in the "assortive mating" social science phenomenon that shows "alpha males are... marrying equally high-octane women." Such super-charged couples will likely pop out hybrid overachievers, either that or greater numbers of children with autism and bi-polar disorder, according to hypotheses from researchers at the University of Cambridge.

Character Building?

Challenges don't build character; they reveal it.

Pretty insightful for a television commercial.

Promiscuous Girl

I once knew a man who sat on the toilet reading the dictionary. He picked out words & made a point of expanding his vocabulary. Some of the stuff he said (spoken with a fake accent) was annoying, ridiculous and often incorrectly used. Today, a female immigrant student with a real British accent reminded me of him. No exaggeration, she knocks off a novel per day & also spends extra time reading non-fiction so her word bank is quite extensive. Imagine how a little p-word mix up can turn plain simple English into a near cat fight.


Girl #1 (the reader): You are a very promiscuous girl.

Girl #2 looks confused because she doesn't know the meaning of the word.

Girl #3 (eavesdropping): Do you know what that means?

Girl #1: Promising.

Girl #3: No, it's sexual like in that song. "Wherever you are, I'm alone. It's you that I want. Promiscuous girl, you're teasing me. You know what I want and you got what I need."

Girl #2 (being talked about): Whoa!

Obviously upset, her head drops & she walks away from the other girls.

Girl #2: Mrs. L, what does promiscuous mean? Girl#1 called me that word.

Me: I think she means very precocious. Don't worry, it's a compliment. She's trying to tell you that you're really smart for your age.

Now a group of girls are in the background singing the promiscuous song & laughing about Girl #3 who is at this point completely devastated.

Bad Climate in U.S. Science Classrooms

Why did the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) turn down 50,000 FREE copies of the movie An Inconvenient Truth, a film endorsed by climate scientists worldwide, to be used as an educational tool in the classroom?


I'm incredibly irked!! I guess NSTA thinks our kids are better off reading outdated books & using education materials from Exxon Mobil. Think I'll write the movie makers and ask them to donate every copy to NYC public schools.

Climate change is a hot topic & very relevant to our students. Most have seen The Day After Tomorrow and come into the classroom with all kinds of misconceptions and inaccurate information. So when given the chance to expose students to an understandable, concise, accurate compilation of climate research through a medium they like (watching a movie in school), the response is "No thank you."

Read about it in the Washington Post or @ http://www.thedemocraticdaily.com/

How Inconvenient- Science a la Joe Camel, by Laurie David