My kid can walk on water!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"Oh didn’t you know, my kid can walk on water!" "Tommy would never say the f-word; I don’t even know where he would hear such a thing?" "Hi Mr. Carr, this is Mrs. Anderson, I was wondering why Jen doesn’t have a grade from last week, and I know she did her project because I did it for her." "I think when Johnny was throwing clay in the room; he was just trying to express his feelings." If you are like me, you are so glad its summer right now and you are so happy you don’t have to talk to a parent that feels their child can do no wrong. During this last school year I really had a tough group of over protective parents that seemed to live their life through their kids; my big question is what am I going to do with them?

One of my worst experiences with a student happened this year. During one of my classes a student of mine would always ask an inappropriate question. The first 20 times it was just silly, but by the 30 time it became very irritating. Now I know this student was probably looking for a way to get some attention and was just going about it wrong, but it had pushed me over the line. Finally one day during class I just told her that we were all going to ignore her every time she made an unsuitable comment. Well this obviously made her mad, and she felt that she should give me the silent treatment. Well to my disbelief, one of my best students in class told her that she didn’t have to listen to me when I asked her to sit down. I was absolutely floored. I kept my composure and asked them both to stay after class. Well I started off with the student that had been making unsuitable comments all year and told her if she didn’t change her ways during class that she would do her artwork in inschool suspension for the rest of the day. The other student, who was a better kid, I asked her who she thought she was making comments like that in front of the whole class. I then told her it was unacceptable for her not to be finished with her artwork, and that she had some growing up to do if this is how she was going to treat her elders. Well I thought that was the end of that whole situation. Boy was I wrong. That night I got a call from my principal asking me about the whole situation; luckily I had another teacher around when I was talking to both of them. Apparently the parent was absolutely appalled that I would be so cruel to her daughter. Well I agreed to the sit down, and by sit down it was really like walking into a gangster movie. I started off by giving my story to the mother and basically saying that this will not be tolerated in my classroom. I thought she would see my side and move on. Well she disagreed and basically called me every name in the book. She said that, “I’m nothing more then a big bully, who gets a laugh out of picking on her kids.” This was my worst experience ever with a student and parent. What could I have done?

In a recent article that I read called, “Dealing with overbearing parents,” it said that overbearing parents mean well, but sometimes parents can add an unbelievable amount of stress to the learning process. The article labeled these parents as, “helicopter parents.” A helicopter parent is one who hovers over their child. They analyze and worry about everything that their child does, and schools struggle to accommodate them. This is totally what we are dealing with. One of the ways to handle parents like this is to

-Allow the parent to air all issues in a parent-teacher conference after school.
-Try to figure out the all of the parent's concerns before assigning work.
-Make sure major assignments come with project sheets with detailed instructions.
-Talk to the principal for support. The principal can try to make the parent feel comfortable and try to reassure the parent about the safety of the school and the quality of education the child will be receiving.
-For field trips, allow the parent to organize them. This will keep overbearing parents busy in a productive way.
-Send home weekly grade sheets and write quick notes in the student’s agenda book.
-Deal directly with the student about problems before calling the parents.

Boy this seems like a lot of work. I know it’s important for us to keep in good relations with parents, but parents have got to realize that we have more then just their child to teach. Their child might also make some mistakes, and they will have to face the consequences for their actions. In another article I read called, “Parental Involvement, how much is too much,” it talked about how colleges have reported that parents have been completing applications and essays for students, parents choosing colleges and majors for their kids, parents faxing daily updates to the college, and parents threatening lawsuits for various reasons.

I think we are living in a crazy world right now. I think we need to stop looking to our youth as the problem, and start looking to the environment they were raised in. Are we raising a generation of pansies? How are they going to continue on and fight the problems of tomorrow, if their parents can’t do it for them? Parents need to step back, and allow their child to fix their problems on their own!

Where has Jimmy Hoffa gone???

Alright, I got to say something. I’ve been constantly venting to the other half of the Maximum Overdrive connection that is Mike Crouse, about recent negotiations between the school board and our union reps. The negotiations are about the upcoming salaries for teachers in the 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 years. The negotiations have been settled already with a 5% increase this year and another 5% increase next year. This looks pretty good and beggars can’t be choosers, so I guess I will go along with it for now, but this is my take on it.

At the negotiating table it was emailed to us that the Union came with a 13% possible pay raise. The 13% pay raise was then counter offered by the school board with 3%. Come on 3%, this is just ludicrous. Somehow it got decided that pay raise would be 5%. That’s some stellar negotiating. Now after doing some quick math this is what I came up with. I make about $37,000 a year. 5% of $37,000 is only $1750. Okay, I know, that’s still almost $2000, why am I being so greedy? This is where it gets tricky, you take out 25% for healthcare, retirement, and taxes and you end up with $1312.50. still and that doesn’t sound bad, an extra $100 to each month, hello China Star!!! Oh wait I forgot, I still have to pay those dues for being in the Union; it’s between $300-$400 for a year. Now I’m down to $75 more a month. Why did we have negotiations at all?

Unions can be a great thing, but where has the teachers union gone in North Dakota? It really just seems more and more like a scam to me then a way to help teachers out. They continue to donate money to political parties that promise the world if elected, and when they do get elected are the first to add more hoops to jump through for educators. My biggest question to our union is, “where does the money go.” Someone somewhere is out having the time of their lives, while we are trying to find ways to make more money. Yes that’s right, teachers sometimes have to work during the summer. One of my colleagues was just appalled when I brought this conversation up. She told me that they will help you if a lawsuit is every brought before you, or if are wronged by the school, they are the first to help. I thought this was hilarious. If a lawsuit is ever brought before you, chances are you probably did it, and if the school is doing you wrong, I’m sure they can’t be of any help.

I know I have been pretty harsh on Union representatives, and there is probably more to the story then what I’m seeing, but I have considered not be apart of the Union next year because of the recent events. In North Dakota teachers are not allowed to strike, which means no matter what we do, the school board and government officials will always have the last say. Its not right, and I wish their was a good answer for the problem.

Is everyone high ???

In the recent USA today article I read,” Budget omits grants for school drug programs,” talked about how President Obama’s first budget proposes to end state grants for school drug programs that he and Vice President Biden fought for as senators. Am I the only one who thinks this is a really bad idea? How can we as educators not be worried about the loss of funding for drug programs? I really must be out of the loop if I don’t understand this?
After reading this article I had to look up some facts and this is what I came up with: In the recent poll taken by the Bureau of Justice statistics, it asked these questions and got these results:
The Monitoring the Future Study asked high school seniors, "On how many occasions, if any, have you used drugs or alcohol during the last 12 months or month?"
Reported drug and alcohol use by high school seniors,

Used within the last:

Drugs
12 months* 30 days
Alcohol
66.4% 44.4%

Marijuana
31.7 18.8

Other opiates
9.2 3.8

Stimulants
7.5 3.7

Sedatives
6.2 2.7

Tranquilizers
6.2 2.6

Cocaine
5.2 2.0

Hallucinogens
5.1 1.7

Inhalants
3.7 1.2

Steroids
1.4 1.0

Heroin
0.9 0.4

These facts are unbelievable. Alcohol and Marijuana are at all time highs. How can we afford to make our youth miss out on the facts of drugs and alcohol, and what it can do to them? The article went into depth and discussed how the funding of $472 million wasn’t enough to help the 37 million children that the funding was suppose to “make a difference for.” The bottom line is we need more money on drug prevention, and less money on automotive bail outs. Right now, a Chrysler Mini Van is much more important then your son or daughters’ health and well being.
The article then went on to discuss how In Wisconsin, 22 small school districts have pooled their money since 1989. They have created an anti-drug website and course for rural schools, trained 1,274 educators in prevention strategies and presented 814 programs for parents. These people have taken the initiative, and ran with it. They are making do, with what they’ve got. If these little schools have found a way to make it work with the money they have, why can’t all the schools? Why can’t the U.S. government find a way to budget their money, and put it towards something really important, like drug prevention.
Growing up I was lucky enough to have surrounded myself with good people who didn’t do drugs. I was fortunate enough to have a great health class that discussed the importance of drug prevention. There are millions of kids out their, that aren’t me! Some kids come from really tough home lives, and are looking for a way to escape their problems. By not putting forth a good drug avoidance program, what will happen to these children? Will they turn out ok; will they make it through without drugs messing up their lives? I hope so. You can just add this to the list of many things we need to get back to basics on. If Mr. T says drugs are bad, then we all should listen up!!!

Alonzon Mourning Dunks On Janet Reno!!!!!!!!!

In the recent article I read in USA Today, “Alonzo Mourning beats Janet Reno as school name,” it discussed what I thought was the biggest joke I’ve ever heard. I really thought this was some kind of mistake or forward someone had sent out, but it is true. A new North Miami high school will be named after former NBA basketball star Alonzo Mourning, and not the first female U.S. Attorney General, Janet Reno.

Where has this country gone? One could sit their and ask themselves this for a year, and still not get a good answer. We have become society that praises athletics more then academic achievement. We are a country that just voted in our first black president, have never had a women serve a term, and we are naming schools after famous athletes. Unbelievable! When I see this, it makes me wonder what is next in store for us, are we going to rename George Washington University maybe Allen Iverson University, or maybe we can even rename all of our Hospitals after famous baseball players like Barry Bonds, Jose Canseco, and Mark McGwire. They all were helped out immensely by pharmaceuticals.

Janet Reno had her ups and downs as Attorney General; one of the downs was when she angered a large Cuban-American population for returning 6 year old Elian Gonzalez to his father in Cuba. I didn’t really care for her politics either, but the fact still remains, she was our first ever women Attorney General. Her reward for crashing down a huge barrier is a simple, oh yeah, she was that lady that Will Ferrell made fun of on Saturday Night Live. Wow, you almost have to take a step back and just go what!!

Now don’t get me wrong, Alonzo Mourning was a great basketball player, and his charitable work he has done in the communities he has lived in is huge, but that is his job. As much as we don’t want to say, “Pro athletes are role models,” they are. Their job is one that will have young kids looking up to them, so if they have to donate a couple thousand dollars out of their million dollar contracts, it should be considered the norm. How is that more deserving of a schools name, then being the first women Attorney General. That’s like saying because Bill Gates donates a lot of money we should give him a holiday rather then Martin Luther King J.R. It’s absolutely Ludicrous.

I think we need to get back to the basics in our country. Celebrate the person who is the true role model. The one who knocks down barriers and helps our country move forward, not the one that takes far more then they give. We as educators should be furious that a school board would even consider voting for this. Schools should be named after teachers and leaders of our country. It’s not right that someone who just played a game could be remembered far longer then a person that helped break down a huge wall. It shows you the type of people that are making decisions in this world.

Does anyone know what a clairnet sounds like?

OK first of I think its not that hard to figure out what a clarinet sounds like. Come on people have a little culture in your life. In the recent USA today article I just read called, "Picture is unclear on art instruction in the classroom," discussed the lack of testing and defined instruction in the world of music and art.

The article discussed how the US government gathered a group of 8Th graders, put in a CD, and asked them if they could define the instrument playing. First off, I could see how it would be very hard for any 8Th grader to tell the difference between a drum and a piano playing, if music isn't in their life. With the reduction of time allowed for the arts because of the emphasis put forth on Math, Reading, and science, its a miracle that any student knows what music is, or what paint is used for.

The bottom line with the testing and constant questioning of educators teaching their subjects, is that it is a farce. How can any teacher do a good job teaching their subject, if their time is constantly getting reduced to less and less. The USA today article talked about how many of these music students only have music two, maybe three times a week. How are students supposed to learn an adequate amount let alone remember what they have learned when you space it out, with a day in between each session. Its a sad thing to see art, music, and phys ed take a back seat to the big three.

If you are to look in any culutre that is successfull, you will find they have a rich past in the arts. We always look to Japan as being the role model for our students in education. No culture is as rich in the arts as Japan is. While looking around for examples I came across this website, that had a great article on Hanga. Hanga is the Japanese word for prints. Many of our greatest artists have learned how to make prints from the Japanese. The Japanese find a happy medium between the arts and core classes, allowing for them to use both sides of their brains.

I'm not saying the arts is what makes Japan's students #1 in the world, but it definatley doesnt hurt them. Until the US government extends class times for the arts, I don't think they will have a legitimate argument when it comes to testing students knowledge in the arts.

Are we ever going to see the stimulus?

I just finished reading the June 9, 2009 Education Week article: Dual Aims in Stimulus rise tension. This article discussed the different ways that we are possibly going to spend the aid of $100 billion in stimulus money. This is obviously a very sensative subject, with so many great answers, but which one is the right one?

I for one think there are two options for the use of the money that will get the nod from our leaders. The first option I believe is to use the money for school buildings. With the ongoing technology boom that we live in, it really seems like the only option. The money can be spent on tools such as smart boards, overhead projectors, and other technology based tools. The school option could also lead to some possible revamping of schools that are in dire need of a over haul. Our school is one that would definitely benefit from the money if it was spent that way. As with a lot of bigger schools, portables have become the name of the game. Though portables serve a quick fix, it would be nice to see the money spent on adding on to schools that maybe can’t afford it at this time.

The other option which will come to a shock to most everyone who decided to read my blog is, spending the money on teacher aids. Yeah I know I didn’t say adding it to our salary. There is a pretty good reason. I feel that teacher aids are the best kept secrets in schools across the United States. It stinks that a lot of schools are loosing the funding for aids to come into the classroom. As a teacher it is a great tool to have in your classroom. Teacher aids allow you to carry on with conversation or your lesson you maybe working on, but at the same time they help make sure that all of your students are being helped and understand what you are discussing.

As for the increase in payment, yeah I would love to make some more dough, but the bottom line is it will be a lot of talk that will lead nothing. We all would like to see higher wages for the work that we do, but the money they have in store would not be anywhere near the money they would need to increase our wages significantly.

In the USA today article “Teachers paid an average salary of $46,752, survey finds” said that even if teachers were to receive a 2.1% race it still wouldn’t keep up with inflation. What’s crazy about this article is that it is from 2005. Imagine what the rate is today. I think our dreams of big money in the teaching industry are really never going to come true, but if we have a chance at making our jobs easier and allowing our students to become the best that they can be, that all we can ever ask for.

It’s quite the pickle we have got ourselves into, and trying to find an answer seems like an uphill battle.

Powerschool or Parentschool

In the latest article I read labeled, “Web Site Lets Parents Track Data on Students” which was in the May 28, 2009 issue of the New York Times, it discussed how all schools will have an interactive student portfolio with everything from test scores, grades, and attendance rates. We currently use this at our school, its called Power School.

Aris is the name of the program that IBM came up with for the city of New York to implement in their classrooms. As with most computer products their have been some down sides to using the program that is suppose to be a power tool for parents. One of the biggest problems is the fact that sometimes the server goes down, or the program just isn’t working. This sounds very similar to the problems my school currently has with the Power School program.

Aris is said to be a revolutionary program that will find kids deficiency much sooner then tracking them in a regular grade book. Because the program is all online parents have no problem tracking their student’s attendance records. This makes for a great tool to check up on their kids and make sure they are getting to class on time, and not spending too much time just hanging out in the hallways.

After reading this article I just can’t help myself but express my frustrations with our version of the Aris software and the direction it has taken parent/teacher communication. I feel that being able to check your kids score anytime, is something that is taking away from making a child accountable. Students don’t have to worry about what is due, or when it’s due, their parents are now the ones who are accountable. It takes away the responsibility factor for a student to learn. I feel that having a interactive student portfolio is another headache for all teachers out their.

I had a student whose mom must have worked on a computer all day, because I received about 3 calls and 6 emails a week, discussing her sons grade and attendance for art class. ART CLASS!!! Could you imagine if it was a class like history, math, or science? Her son wasn’t taking any responsibility for turning in his projects on time, and seemed to just wait for his mom to call. I really think this has hurt him, as he ended up doing poorly in many of his other classes.

My ending thought on this whole idea of a voyeur life that we are all starting to become accustom to, is a dangerous thing for our youth. If we don’t need responsibility or the sense of being accountable, how can we move forward?