Reflective Change
Posted by Maria Nomikos, 5/27/04 at 7:18:38 PM.
AS THE CURTAIN FALLS
JULY 1 ,2004
As I think back on the process, I cannot but wonder, how did we get to the stage we are at. It seemed overwhelming in the beginning, when what lied ahead seemed foreign to me. On a personal note, I learned a lot!! As a district, Dedicated to Discovery has pulled itself together. We had our moments of disagreement. However, there was a tremendous collaboration among all team members. Together we have created a document that could very well be used by an actual district. I feel many districts are not equipped with engines of change.
My team engine of change is titled Meaningful Evaluation; we will be working on differentiated assessment in the schools; thoughts float as to what we are to do. The work needed to be done seems a bit overwhelming. I hope we get to accomplish all we set out to do....
I have had many stressful moments filled with self-doubt, and inadequacy. Yet I have emerged as a better educator. Now I can really understand those students when they struggle in my class. The laptop is no longer a stranger. Technology is indeed a wonderful thing once it becomes a friend!!!
Until we meet again!!!!!!
THE DISCIPLINE PROBLEM IN OUR SCHOOLS
June 27, 2004
Many of our schools are faced with students with discipline problems. A discipline problem is "a behavior that disrupts the learning of the rest of the class or the role responsibilities of the teacher." Why do students misbehave? There is no simple answer to this question.
Today's student population is faced with more challenges than any previous generation has. Child abuse, drugs, guns, poverty, single parent households, and a lack of family structure affect many of our youth. Video games, MTV, and the Internet are all vying for our children's attention. So what are we to do?
More courses in classroom management should be offered to educators. Teachers need to use differentiated classroom behavioral techniques, since studies have shown that traditional punishment methods are no longer working. The KIPP (Knowledge Is Power Program) public charter and contract schools advocates using rewards for positive behavior, and denial of privileges for negative behavior in students.
I purport we create a forum where parents, students, teachers, psychologists, social workers, and members of the community come together to brainstorm ideas, gather data, and implement changes, in an effort to address this issue. We are all accountable for our children's actions. Let us take ownership and work together to help our students.
not the senses I have but what I do with them is my kingdom
- Helen Keller
ACHIEVING THE EDUCATIONAL VISION
June 26, 2004
A successful learning community is one where teachers, parents, students, and stakeholders place great value on the attainment of education. It is one where time and monetary funds are allocated for the continuous professional development of the teachers.
How can we create meaningful professional development? Perhaps we can begin by asking teachers what educational issues are important to them. When issues that are relevant to teachers are addressed, teachers feel validated and empowered. Thus, they take ownership and are likely to implement changes.
Districts need to allocate time within the school day for teachers to dialog with each other after attending workshops; therefore, facilitating the dissemination of the learned procecees, and fostering collegiality among the faculty. Professional development does not occur in a vacuum. It is an ongoing process, one that requires monitoring and evaluation, and when properly planned can yield a positive outcome. It is our task as leaders to provide professional training that is well planned, focused and structured; one that will generate authentic and lifelong learning for all its participants.
CURRICULUM WITHOUT BORDERS
June 23, 2004
Dear Colleagues:
We are gathered here today to set in motion the redesigning of our district's curriculum. Please do not be afraid. Your invaluable teaching expertise is the necessary catalyst to start the engine of change.
Schools are not longer isolated buildings; they are all integral parts of the community. It is crucial that our district's curriculum become a seamless artifact that can serve the learning needs of our ethnically diverse, and ever-changing student population. As you meet with your colleagues to work on your individual curriculum you will establish and work on the following guideliness:
General goals: We need to establish a core of experiences to which all children will be exposed to; a set of common experiences at every grade level. For example in physical science labs dealing with electricity; thematic units, etc. You, the educator, together with your fellow teachers will determine which experiences should be used, and most importantly, how you are going to fascilitate the knowledge in general.
Objectives: Your draft will show what the learner will be able to do with the acquired experience/knowledge.
Text/Materials: That are used more than 65% will become requirements.
EVALUATION: Tests, differentiated assessments, projects, portfolios, but not exclusive to, will become criteria for mastery.
This curriculum will become a document, which a novice, or new to the district teacher can view and utilize.
Your have the unique and magnificent opportunity to become part of the creation of a draft that will empower students. Let's make it a masterpiece for future generations of learners.
ETHICS AND OUR CHILDREN
June 19, 2004
Responsibility as described in Webster's dictionary is "the quality or state of being responsible: as moral, legal, or mental accountability; reliability, trustworthiness." As a society are we striving for these qualities?
Images of corruption on Wall Street are all too vivid in our minds: Enron, World.Com, and Martha Stewart are just a few of the latest scandals to surface; greed being the common denominator. CEOS, whose sole motives were to increase their personal wealth at the expense of innocent investors. Is the attainment of wealth and power the driving force in our world? Are we living in an amoral society? It certainly seems that way.
Plagiarism is rampant among our students. At the University of Virginia after a 20-month investigation, 48 students left the campus, some voluntarily others by force, after admitting to cheating. Is the pressure to succeed blinding our populace?
Perhaps now more than ever, it is necessary to instill in our children ethical values. Courses in ethics must be offered throughout our schools. Students need to know the philosophical or ethical positions of the great thinkers of our time. National heroes such as: George Washington, and Abraham Lincoln are examples of life's lead in an exemplary manner, and which our students should emulate.
Our schools are the laboratories where students can thrive, while developing a sense of accountability. It is our obligation as educators to guide our students towards a path of citizenship. As the great anthropologist Margaret Mead once said:
" Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."
Catch me if you can.
June 13, 2004
Can you spare me 15 minutes? I asked our building principal as he moved hurridly early Friday morning. He stopped, looked at me puzzled, responded yes and proceeded to move on. Through out the day I tried unsuccessfully several times to grab his attention. Unexpected crises: a suspected bomb threat, disciplinary actions, a water spill in the cafeteria and the list goes on, all were vying for his attention. Finally in between lunch bites, he sat with me and we began our dialogue. What follows is a recap of our conversation.
M: How can we embed professional development into the daily lives of teachers?
P: This is difficult. Professional development is contractural and it must be agreed upon by the teacher's union. Because we are dealing with the teacher's prep time, the last request for more professional development was grieved by the union.
M: How can we increase the student involvement in the curriculum process?
P: Only if practical, and if we are dealing with core content courses. Currently we have in our school the Senior Quad and Forensic Science, both requested by students. Kids have a saying. However, we must keep in mind the stability of our course curriculum. Watch out for fads.
M: How can we change current assessment practices to better evaluate student learning?
P: I do not feel the need to change our current assessment practices. It is important to be in alignment with the real world. SAT, HESPA are all part of the national assessment. Our students must be able to compete in the outside world. However, these assessments should not be the only aspect by which we go by.
M: How can we make our disciplinary policies more inclusive?
P: This is also difficult. The saying of a few should not affect the student population at large. If students misbehave in a classroom, they must be removed; they do not have the right to affect the educational process of other students. We must prepare students for the real world, the school plays a vital role in the students aquisition of social skills.
M: Students are not making connections across the curriculum. How can we restructure the curriculum to prevent disciplinary isolation?
P: Currently we are aligning the curriculum of Social Studies and English in order to have an interdisciplinary approach. Having special days to celebrate together as a school such as our: "We are all Americans Days" helps.
M: How can we foster a more collegial atmosphere in schools?
P: This is difficult at the high school, it is easier at the elementary and middle school level. Perhaps having a common departmental prep time. Our new faculty room promotes collegiality.
M: How can we change assessment to benefit all students?
P: Having multiple types of assessment such as projects, student's portfolios, in addition to regular tests.
The bell rang for the next class period. I was left with some unanswered questions and the crude reality of the Time Factor in the life of a building principal. To be continued..........
Are our students measuring up?
June 13, 2004
The buzz of the "No Child Left Behind " resonates in the hallways of our schools. Under this act, states have the flexibility of creating their own set of standards in the core content areas of reading, math and science, for grades 3-8th and high school. These state standards must be in alignment with national standards. Assessments must be created which will measure our students proficiencies in such areas. Districts will publish their test results. Will our students measure up?
It is crucial now more than ever not to loose track of our district's mission: to create independent and discerning learners. National standards can act as guiding posts for academic achievement. However, they should not be the sole driving force in our curriculum. It is important for our students to be held to high standards, so they may be able to compete in our global economy; it is also vital to foster independent thinking. We cannot and must not fall prey to a standardized test driven curriculum.
We are members of a diverse and vibrant educational community. Our primary obligation to our students is to maintain a learning community where the desire for inquiry is forever ingrained; creativity is aplauded, and the creation of lifelong learners becomes the ultimate accomplishment.
PARENTS TURN OFF YOUR TV
June 6, 2004
Dear Parents:
Do you know that children and adolescents spend 22 to 28 hours per week viewing television? According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, by age 70 our kids would have spent the equivalent of 7 - 10 years of their lives watching TV. The statistics are staggering: over 1 million of 2- 11 year olds, and over 1 million of 12-17 year olds watch TV, comprising 20% of the total viewing audience. By age 18 the average youth would view 16,000 simulated and 200,000 actual acts of violence; 66% of children (10 -16 years old) say their peers are influenced by TV shows; 65% say that some TV shows encourage kids to disrespect parents. Kids spent more time watching television than in any other activity except sleep!
Our district has declared June 14 as our Turn OFF TV DAY! Our children deserve it. Throughout the week students will receive literature, activity sheets and suggestions on how to spend the day. We encourage you to join us, and declare a freeze on TV. We hope that this day will prove rewarding as your child and you discover new and exciting ways of bonding together without the harmful interference of some TV shows. Please e-mail me with your comments, and suggestions.
Your Superintendent
INTELLECTUAL FREEDOM
June 2, 2004
The famed philosopher and educator John Dewey said " that the most important freedom was that of intellectual freedom." Can we create a curriculum that can foster intellectual freedom?
Undoubtedly, the most important freedom a person could have is that of intellectual freedom. A rich and varied curriculum allows students to explore personal ideas as well as those of peers and teachers; creating in the process independent thinkers. We can no longer continue with our antiquated class settings. Teachers are not able to view students as individuals, with their own particular needs and experiences. On my last visit to the high school I observed students in a rigid environment, kept in rows, unable to move. Students need to have the freedom to feel, move, observe, and incorporate current experiences in the classroom. They must be given time to reflect on their learning. When teachers, and members of the learning community assist in creating a curriculum that builds upon student's experiences, we allow students to embark on a true quest for learning. This currriculum will have activities with a purpose, that will lead to the acquirement of an authentic education.
We need to create a learning environment where our students feel free to explore and learn; not a rigid and unyielding setting. However, we need to make sure that this curriculum is purposeful and does not lie outside of the realm of the students. For education to be effective it must yield to the needs of the learner, be flexible and accessible. However, we must not equate intellectual freedom with purposeless and indescriminate freedom. We must create a curriculum that allows the learner to build upon his current experiences, helps him to become a critical thinker, exults him to achieve his highest potential, and most importantly makes him a lifelong learner. Education must be focused and functional, and have a purpose.
Change takes time and can be scary. We cannot and should not remain stagnant with our current curriculum, for as experience shows us it is not working. The educational community must take the risk of creating a functional, workable and measurable education.
Warning!
Senioritis is here! It is that time of the year: the birds are chirping, the buzzing of the upcoming PROM echoes all around us, and graduation is approaching. As I strolled through the hallways of our beloved high school, I experienced a certain sadness as I peeked through the classrooms. What I see shocks me: some students sleep, others wonder hopelessly in some unknown galaxy. What went wrong? Student apathy is rampant; no longer a malady confined to a few, it has found a fertile host in our student population.
It is clear that our schools are no longer serving the needs of our students. Like a soldier called to arms, I am determined to eradicate the enemy, and for that I need your help. I would like to create a committe involving parents, members of our business community, educators, and student representatives in an effort to design a program involving student internships. These internships will be the alternatives to current, boring and ineffective courses. During the fall or spring Semester students would be able to participate in a program of their choice, as they work with participating members of our business community. Although it might seemed daunting the time for change has come.
Please come to our next board of Education meeting! Your input is desperately needed. Together we can build programs that can effectively address the needs of our student population. We cannot longer remain iddle as our students spend countless hours in antiquated programs. The world around us is rapidly changing. The information age propels us to offer our students varied and numerous opportunities to excel.
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