At the risk of this turning into a rant, I feel compelled to talk about the craft of writing and the slippery slope that today’s school children – at least in my community – find themselves careening down (rather than scaling successfully).
In my community, the prevailing wisdom (and I use that phrase very loosely) seems to be that spell-check is the great solution to all that ails the beleaguered education system, a system that apparently doesn’t have the time, will, leadership, or vision to put basic communication skills high enough on the list of “basics” that our children need to learn in elementary school.
For my son, an incoming seventh grader, his last spelling drilling took place in 3rd or 4th grade – around the same time he had his last instruction in cursive writing – though that’s a subject for a separate rant, er, I mean, blog entry. Anyhow, since then, there has been sporadic spelling work, though it’s usually wrapped into vocabulary homework for social studies, meaning that the meaning of the word is more important than the spelling thereof. In 4th grade, there was a little of this and that for spelling, grammar, and handwriting, but certainly how words were spelled was not a priority. And in 5th grade, where written homework increased both in quantity and required quality of expression, the fact that spelling mistakes occurred just wasn’t that big of a deal. My son’s teacher – a wise but career-end-stage teacher – said, quite frankly and on more than one occasion, that since kids mostly use computers to do their homework, spell-check will take care of most of their spelling mistakes. There was simple no acknowledgment that whether the child could actually spell correctly without spell-check was or should be a point of concern.
So far, I’ve only dealt with spelling…grammar is yet another sad story. Other than a glancing blow past the concept of outlining (yes, the classic subject-predicate-dangling-modifiers graphic scheme of olde), there was absolutely no attention paid during class time to whether kids used necessary nouns and verbs, proper punctuation, correct capitalization, sensible sentence structure, or anything else. The language arts/social studies teacher seemed more concerned with covering the requisite course material than making sure the kids could communicate their knowledge.
And – in one of those mixed-up bits of edu-think these days – the teacher followed a strand of prevailing thought about “reaching all learners” by requiring the students to do posters and drawings and storyboards for some of their assignments – and grading the students on the quality of their projects. What the heck ever happened to putting words on paper to demonstrate one’s knowledge? Or giving a speech in front of the class? And what consideration or accommodation is given to kids who are crummy artists, or can’t translate fact-based content into sketches and pretty colors? No knock to the kids who actually can draw better than write…but for the kids who find drawing a struggle, or an unsatisfying way to communicate, they become double losers – penalized in their learning process and their grades by having to draw a picture rather then put into words what they learned about, say, the trading/commercial practices of ancient Africa. And note, this doesn’t even begin to approach the question of why the kids aren’t learning to express themselves via 21st-century tools such as websites, blogs, wikis, Nings, PowerPoint, podcasts, and video as opposed to antique approaches like drawing with freakin’ colored pencils! (Check out Vicki Davis' Cool Cat Teacher blog and some of my other ed-blog links for a glimpse at the possibilities.)
Where does all this lead? In the near term, it presents a class of seventh graders who are entering a new school term woefully unprepared to perform at the level or writing quality that their teachers will expect – thus dragging down the learning process. It means our kids are being taught using old-school methods when the world is moving to Web 2.0 and beyond. And in the longer term it points to kids who are going to struggle in high school if they somehow don’t learn writing and spelling and note-taking skills ASAP. (Did you hear the rumor about the Brookline high schoolers who can’t read the blackboard when the teachers write in cursive?)
As a parent, it leave me angry for my son, livid as a taxpayer, frustrated as an editor who spends his days covering 21st-century education gains, and disheartened as someone who simply cares about our nation’s role and standing in the future. Do I think it’s all a lost cause for my kid? No. My son is a smart boy who will pull it together in his own time. But, man oh man, I don’t like what it says about my local school district and it’s ed policies.
June 25, 2008
June 18, 2008
Great expectations
It’s a wonderful thing when a piece of architecture does the job its builders intended. And I don’t mean just keeping the rain off our heads.
I am in Washington, D.C. today – home to a lot of spectacular architecture – to attend an event at the Library of Congress. It’s a “hall rental,” if you will – the building is just the stage. But, oh, how well it works in that regard. The Great Hall is designed to celebrate and elevate the written word, noble ideas, and the men and women responsible for them through the centuries. It is a breathtaking space, for its scale and craft as well as for the message.
That tonight’s event is a confluence of commerce and high ideals is notable, perhaps, but in the end, the high ideals win out. Cable in the Classroom, the education foundation of the NCTA, is hosting its annual Cable’s Leaders in Learning Awards in the Great Hall to celebrate the innovative work of a dozen educators from around the U.S. Lots of ed-speak will be spoken, and a fair bit of cable business will be done too, among the invited guests – educators and education proponents, and lots of “industry” types, which in D.C. means cable owners and operators and the senators, congressmen, committee staffers, and aides who matter to them. Celebrating the good work of teachers is a “win” for educrats, and celebrating cable’s role in supporting and promoting those teachers is a “win win” for cable, especially in “today’s competitive climate” (i.e., not everyone likes cable – just ask FCC chair Kevin Martin … better yet, don’t).
Staged in the Library of Congress, this evening’s event will send a potent message: education ranks right up there among our nation’s highest aspirations. It is not a bad thing that there’s a business angle to the proceedings, don’t get me wrong, because without the support of the cable industry's system operators and programming networks, the teachers who are the stars of the event tonight might not be able to shine, or shine as brightly. It’s just good to remind oneself, while being overwhelmed by the awesomeness of tonight’s event and setting, that in order to achieve lofty goals – whether educational or architectural – somebody’s got to foot the bill. Cable deserves credit for understanding that and making the most of it.
I am in Washington, D.C. today – home to a lot of spectacular architecture – to attend an event at the Library of Congress. It’s a “hall rental,” if you will – the building is just the stage. But, oh, how well it works in that regard. The Great Hall is designed to celebrate and elevate the written word, noble ideas, and the men and women responsible for them through the centuries. It is a breathtaking space, for its scale and craft as well as for the message.
That tonight’s event is a confluence of commerce and high ideals is notable, perhaps, but in the end, the high ideals win out. Cable in the Classroom, the education foundation of the NCTA, is hosting its annual Cable’s Leaders in Learning Awards in the Great Hall to celebrate the innovative work of a dozen educators from around the U.S. Lots of ed-speak will be spoken, and a fair bit of cable business will be done too, among the invited guests – educators and education proponents, and lots of “industry” types, which in D.C. means cable owners and operators and the senators, congressmen, committee staffers, and aides who matter to them. Celebrating the good work of teachers is a “win” for educrats, and celebrating cable’s role in supporting and promoting those teachers is a “win win” for cable, especially in “today’s competitive climate” (i.e., not everyone likes cable – just ask FCC chair Kevin Martin … better yet, don’t).
Staged in the Library of Congress, this evening’s event will send a potent message: education ranks right up there among our nation’s highest aspirations. It is not a bad thing that there’s a business angle to the proceedings, don’t get me wrong, because without the support of the cable industry's system operators and programming networks, the teachers who are the stars of the event tonight might not be able to shine, or shine as brightly. It’s just good to remind oneself, while being overwhelmed by the awesomeness of tonight’s event and setting, that in order to achieve lofty goals – whether educational or architectural – somebody’s got to foot the bill. Cable deserves credit for understanding that and making the most of it.
June 13, 2008
On a different note
I just came across David Byrne’s YouTube video "Playing the Building," in which he wired the metal fixtures, pipes, tubes, and pillars of an abandoned building to solenoid valves and various motors via an old organ. Pressing the keys on the organ activate individual switches and make the valves bang into the metal and create cool , echo-y sounds.
He regales his guest in the sense of wonder of it all, and touts the fact that everyone is equally good – or bad – at “playing” this instrument. A clever egalitarian construct, I suppose, but it ain’t music.
Makes me want to hear something by Harry Partch. He knew how to make pipes and tubes really sing!
He regales his guest in the sense of wonder of it all, and touts the fact that everyone is equally good – or bad – at “playing” this instrument. A clever egalitarian construct, I suppose, but it ain’t music.
Makes me want to hear something by Harry Partch. He knew how to make pipes and tubes really sing!
Focus on the here and now
Last night’s Celtics-Lakers game was an incredible roller coaster ride, and a great lesson in focus and determination. From two minutes into the game and through the entire horrific first half it seemed as if we were watching the utter collapse of the Celtics. Nothing was working right – not their shots, not their defense, and certainly not the refereeing. The Lakers, meanwhile, looked locked and loaded. Their efficient ball handling and smooth floor moves seemed to have the Celtics’ heads spinning.
How Paul Pierce and crew managed to refocus, re-dedicate themselves to the game at hand, and find their purpose was an absolutely amazing thing to witness. That they actually won in the end – a 30-point reversal of fortune in 15 minutes of play – was icing on the cake to their astonishing turnaround effort.
Post-game, Paul Pierce said his advice to teammates was “don’t look at the score; just go out and compete.” And coach Doc Rivers said he and the team don’t think in terms of “how many more to win” but rather concentrate all their energy on winning the next one. That’s focus – and really good advice for many situations in life. Don’t sweat the peripheral stuff; deal with the immediate. Doesn’t mean you can’t have a larger game plan – just keep it in perspective.
Speaking of perspective, it seems Kobe Bryant has his own way of dealing with things, however less admirable. When asked at the post-game press conference what he and his team would do need to do to recover from the surprising loss, he basically said, “get roaring drunk and then go back to work.” Charming.
How Paul Pierce and crew managed to refocus, re-dedicate themselves to the game at hand, and find their purpose was an absolutely amazing thing to witness. That they actually won in the end – a 30-point reversal of fortune in 15 minutes of play – was icing on the cake to their astonishing turnaround effort.
Post-game, Paul Pierce said his advice to teammates was “don’t look at the score; just go out and compete.” And coach Doc Rivers said he and the team don’t think in terms of “how many more to win” but rather concentrate all their energy on winning the next one. That’s focus – and really good advice for many situations in life. Don’t sweat the peripheral stuff; deal with the immediate. Doesn’t mean you can’t have a larger game plan – just keep it in perspective.
Speaking of perspective, it seems Kobe Bryant has his own way of dealing with things, however less admirable. When asked at the post-game press conference what he and his team would do need to do to recover from the surprising loss, he basically said, “get roaring drunk and then go back to work.” Charming.
June 10, 2008
iTunes, my tunes
A question from a friend (“What are you listening to these days?”) got me thinking. For a guy who has 1,000+ albums stashed in the attic and half as many CDs on the active music shelf (after a major purge last year), I realize that I'm not exploring music as much as I once did. Oh, there are plenty of reasons, lame and legit: I am counting my pennies toward retirement (that’s a joke, but probably shouldn’t be); I don’t have as much free time to listen anymore; I don’t browse at music stores like I once did; rummaging through music pages at Amazon is a pain. Besides, after watching pretty nearly pop music trend cycle through and then recycle, I find it hard to be surprised anymore.
There are other reasons as well. First with CDs and now with iTunes, the tactile joy of holding and examining an album cover and liner is gone. Some designers have figured out how to make interesting CD covers and booklets, but mostly they've just taken the old album-cover concept and shrunk it by 75%. And if you shop on iTunes, the notion of a cover and liner notes is pretty much a nonstarter.
Then there’s that fact that using my iPod has broken with my old obsessive habit of listening to one album for days or weeks on end until I'd fully absorbed it. Shuffle mode is fine for casual background listening, but it runs completely counter to deep exploration – you lose track of everything in your library once you pass 20 gigs of storage. Same holds for playlists – unless your musical tastes are exceedingly eclectic (and mine are fairly diverse) – after 15 or 20 lists you start repeating songs and the lists turn to clutter.
On the upside, I do appreciate that at both Amazon and iTunes I can stockpile musicians and discs that interests me. These lengthy lists are a great way to quickly stash a reminder. Now, if only I can win the lottery so I can buy or download everything I’ve squirreled away...
All that said, I do what I can to keep my listening varied. Here is what’s in my car at the moment, in no particular order:
There are other reasons as well. First with CDs and now with iTunes, the tactile joy of holding and examining an album cover and liner is gone. Some designers have figured out how to make interesting CD covers and booklets, but mostly they've just taken the old album-cover concept and shrunk it by 75%. And if you shop on iTunes, the notion of a cover and liner notes is pretty much a nonstarter.
Then there’s that fact that using my iPod has broken with my old obsessive habit of listening to one album for days or weeks on end until I'd fully absorbed it. Shuffle mode is fine for casual background listening, but it runs completely counter to deep exploration – you lose track of everything in your library once you pass 20 gigs of storage. Same holds for playlists – unless your musical tastes are exceedingly eclectic (and mine are fairly diverse) – after 15 or 20 lists you start repeating songs and the lists turn to clutter.
On the upside, I do appreciate that at both Amazon and iTunes I can stockpile musicians and discs that interests me. These lengthy lists are a great way to quickly stash a reminder. Now, if only I can win the lottery so I can buy or download everything I’ve squirreled away...
All that said, I do what I can to keep my listening varied. Here is what’s in my car at the moment, in no particular order:
- Alejandro Escovedo’s “A Man Under the Influence” (until I get his new CD)
- Vince Gill – the rollicking disc from his great 4-CD set
- Aimee Mann’s "Whatever" (until I get her new CD)
- Albita (waiting for a new CD)
- Tinariwen (“Water for Life” is simply amazing)
- Paul Simon’s “Surprise” (I especially like the Eno bits)
- Jimmy Buffett (hey, it must be 5 o’clock somewhere)
- Pavarotti's last CD
- Muse (my son’s choice, but they’re actually OK)
- Bass Notables (my own compilation with Jack Bruce, Animal Logic, Steve Swallow/Carla Bley, and others)
June 9, 2008
Girls, Boys - What's the difference?
A new posting by Glenn Sacks takes the AAUW to task for its latest research report, “Where the Girls Are: The Facts About Gender Equity in Education." Not enough solid research; not enough proof in their pudding, says Sacks, who pokes holes in the report’s data as nothing more than a thin layer of gloss on the argument that boys and girls are actually equals in school – or, worse, that a) boys so-called gains are made at girls’ expense and b) that, if there is a crisis, it is limited to minority and low-income children.
Considering the obvious facts that children within narrow age ranges or individual grades cover a wide developmental and intellectual spectrum, not to mention that all kids simply are not created equally, such definitive, attention-getting reports as this new one do a disservice to efforts to “teach to the child” that should be the goal of today’s education system.
As I listened recently to a friend explain why she is pulling her 7th grader from our public school system in favor of a private school where the entire faculty is trained in an individualized-teaching philosophy, I cringed at what this says about our best-in-town school. In a world that has increasing demands for multifaceted individuals who can think creatively and resourcefully, who understand collaboration and cultural difference, who have facile minds, is it even remotely good enough to “teach to the middle” or not to recognize the differences among individual students and put education resources in place for each student – boy or girl – to find his or her own way to succeed?
As the product of an all-boys high school (who absolutely hated it at the time), I am today envious of schools that separate boys from girls at middle school or high school. It’s not just the removal of the distraction of the opposite sex that matters (though that helps too). It’s the recognition that boys and girls do learn differently – at different rates, in different ways, at different times – and by separating them you have a slightly better shot at teaching each child. It seems so simple. Yet, hurdles keep being put in the path. Apparently, thanks to the AAUW, now we have another one.
Considering the obvious facts that children within narrow age ranges or individual grades cover a wide developmental and intellectual spectrum, not to mention that all kids simply are not created equally, such definitive, attention-getting reports as this new one do a disservice to efforts to “teach to the child” that should be the goal of today’s education system.
As I listened recently to a friend explain why she is pulling her 7th grader from our public school system in favor of a private school where the entire faculty is trained in an individualized-teaching philosophy, I cringed at what this says about our best-in-town school. In a world that has increasing demands for multifaceted individuals who can think creatively and resourcefully, who understand collaboration and cultural difference, who have facile minds, is it even remotely good enough to “teach to the middle” or not to recognize the differences among individual students and put education resources in place for each student – boy or girl – to find his or her own way to succeed?
As the product of an all-boys high school (who absolutely hated it at the time), I am today envious of schools that separate boys from girls at middle school or high school. It’s not just the removal of the distraction of the opposite sex that matters (though that helps too). It’s the recognition that boys and girls do learn differently – at different rates, in different ways, at different times – and by separating them you have a slightly better shot at teaching each child. It seems so simple. Yet, hurdles keep being put in the path. Apparently, thanks to the AAUW, now we have another one.
June 7, 2008
Rocky start
My son and his sixth grade class had a get-to-know-you session the other day with his seventh grade social studies teacher. It's one of those rights of passage that helps set the tone for the next year.
As the teacher strolled through the room tossing out U.S. geography quiz questions, he stopped at one boy's desk and looked down.
"What's your name?"
"Boris," the boy said somewhat sheepishly at having been singled out.
"Boris, eh..." said the teacher. "So, is your girlfriend Natasha?"
"Um, huh??" said Boris, puzzled. (Heck, everybody knows Boris likes Emily.)
Around the room, perplexed faces stared at this strange teacher and his weird question. Then one kid giggled. He knew. And he knew he was the only one who knew about Rocky and Bullwinkle.
You never know what can get a student-teacher relationship off to a good start. If it's a sly reference to the squirrel and moose, that's fine with me.
As the teacher strolled through the room tossing out U.S. geography quiz questions, he stopped at one boy's desk and looked down.
"What's your name?"
"Boris," the boy said somewhat sheepishly at having been singled out.
"Boris, eh..." said the teacher. "So, is your girlfriend Natasha?"
"Um, huh??" said Boris, puzzled. (Heck, everybody knows Boris likes Emily.)
Around the room, perplexed faces stared at this strange teacher and his weird question. Then one kid giggled. He knew. And he knew he was the only one who knew about Rocky and Bullwinkle.
You never know what can get a student-teacher relationship off to a good start. If it's a sly reference to the squirrel and moose, that's fine with me.
June 6, 2008
Mean boys?
One of my side activities is as a parent rep on our school advisory council. During a meeting today about the school improvement plan for next year, the discussion turned to middle school socialization issues... namely bullying, inappropriate text messaging, teasing, and just what is the difference between some of these behaviors as a normal part of kids growing up and when it turns into a pattern of behavior that warrants attention by school officials or parents.
A big blind spot at our school is over girls versus boys. Perhaps this betrays a pattern of its own, developed over many years, during which women were in all positions of command -- principal, vice principal, guidance counselors, aides, most teachers... Somehow, concerns over "mean girls" got attention via lunch groups, visits from teen counselors, mentoring activities, and the like. Meanwhile, the boys were left to fight it out on the playground, or across the lunch table, or in the local parks. "Boys will be boys" has been the prevailing attitude, usually accompanied by a shrug.
Finally, there seems to be some creeping recognition of a need to look at both halves of the classroom. Parents are asking for a guide to middle school, both in terms of social issues and the shifts in curriculum and academic demands. Curiosity is being raised by the new principal's drafting of a bullying policy. And though they are still infrequent visitors, more parents of boys are showing up at PTO meetings to learn what they can from other parents and from school officials. It's a long way still from open recognition that boys need as much help -- just different help -- as girls in learning how to get along, figure out their pecking order, and help each other grow up. But it's a start.
Recommended reading:
The Minds of Boys: Saving Our Sons From Falling Behind in School and Life by Michael Gurian and Kathy Stevens
A big blind spot at our school is over girls versus boys. Perhaps this betrays a pattern of its own, developed over many years, during which women were in all positions of command -- principal, vice principal, guidance counselors, aides, most teachers... Somehow, concerns over "mean girls" got attention via lunch groups, visits from teen counselors, mentoring activities, and the like. Meanwhile, the boys were left to fight it out on the playground, or across the lunch table, or in the local parks. "Boys will be boys" has been the prevailing attitude, usually accompanied by a shrug.
Finally, there seems to be some creeping recognition of a need to look at both halves of the classroom. Parents are asking for a guide to middle school, both in terms of social issues and the shifts in curriculum and academic demands. Curiosity is being raised by the new principal's drafting of a bullying policy. And though they are still infrequent visitors, more parents of boys are showing up at PTO meetings to learn what they can from other parents and from school officials. It's a long way still from open recognition that boys need as much help -- just different help -- as girls in learning how to get along, figure out their pecking order, and help each other grow up. But it's a start.
Recommended reading:
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