The Fix That Started years Ago

Before there was a de Blasio and a Farina there were politicians like Bush and Obama and billionaires like Gates making school graduation rates a priority.  No one stopped to think about why all of a sudden schools had such tremendous growth in the number of graduates.

My former AP wanted everyone to set passing goals for their classes.  Since I usually ended up with the most at risk students my stats were usually lower than many others.  It did not bother the Principal since he understood the challenges I faced and respected the number I got through and how I was able to work with them but it bothered the hell out of my AP, a guy who only saw life in black and white.  I refused to give him a number.  When he pushed, I said my goal is 100% passing.  He told me that was unrealistic and wanted a number around 80%.  I finally told him I could not be comfortable with a goal of 20% failing.  Of course he mumbled something and I left with no goal set.

Other teachers were not as gutsy and he did get them to set goals.  If they did not meet these goals he badgered them and berated them in public (not by name but everyone knew who the senior teacher was  who taught geometry period 8).  Teachers were forced to stretch grades and give credit for names on papers.  No one would believe some of the regents answers that were given points.

Phony diplomas are not a new thing and they need to stop.  Maybe the Post's story will finally help to bring an end to this horrific problem.

Something To Think About

Lifted from a friend's Facebook page:--Thanks Michelle
IF ONLY THOSE WHO SEEM TO BE SO MAD AT OBAMA WOULD READ THIS AND REFLECT A MOMENT, THEY MIGHT SAY: 

Hmmmmmmmmmm... YOU MIGHT BE RIGHT!!.........

SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT!!!!
...
Now, since Obama's regime, all of a sudden, folks have gotten mad, and want to take America Back...BACK TO WHAT/WHERE is my question?

After The 8 Years Of The Bush/Cheney Disaster, Now You Get Mad?

You didn't get mad when the Supreme Court stopped a legal recount and appointed a President.

You didn't get mad when Cheney allowed Energy company officials to dictate Energy policy and push us to invade Iraq.

You didn't get mad when we illegally invaded a country that posed no threat to us.

You didn't get mad when we spent over 800 billion (and counting) on said illegal war.

You didn't get mad when Bush borrowed more money from foreign sources than the previous 42 Presidents combined.

You didn't get mad when over 10 billion dollars in cash just disappeared in Iraq.

You didn't get mad when Bush embraced trade and outsourcing policies that shipped 6 million American jobs out of the country.

You didn't get mad when they didn't catch Bin Laden.

You didn't get mad when Bush rang up 10 trillion dollars in combined budget and current account deficits.

You didn't get mad when you saw the horrible conditions at Walter Reed.

You didn't get mad when we let a major US city, New Orleans, drown.

You didn't get mad when we gave people who had more money than they could spend, the 1%, over a trillion dollars in tax breaks.

You didn't get mad with the worst 8 years of job creations in several decades.

You didn't get mad when over 200,000 US Citizens lost their lives because they had no health insurance.

You didn't get mad when lack of oversight and regulations from the Bush Administration caused US Citizens to lose 12 trillion dollars in investments, retirement, and home values.

You finally got mad when a black man was elected President and decided that people in America deserved the right to see a doctor if they are sick. Yes, illegal wars, lies, corruption, torture, job losses by the millions, stealing your tax dollars to make the rich richer, and the worst economic disaster since 1929 are all okay with you, but helping fellow Americans who are sick... Oh, Hell No!

And one of my own--Bush's NCLB--the beginning of the end of education as we know it.
Obama might not be a bargain, but look at the alternatives.

Stop Focusing On Stupidity



I'm not an Obama fan, but these headlines are ridiculous:

Sasha Obama Wears a Malia Hand-Me-Down for Easter

The economy is bad.  The Obama family is setting a good example by passing down a dress that was probably only worn once or twice.

Or this one,

Donald Trump: Barack Obama was a bad student

Maybe he was a bad student, but that has nothing to do with what he is doing today.  Trump should run on his merits if he has any, which he probably does not have.

And The Big Companies Get Richer All The Time



I heard the tutoring companies are getting $4800 per kid for Title I programs!!!!  I really hope this is not true.  Please, someone, anyone, write and tell me I heard wrong.

For that kind of money each kid could be provided with a private teacher in their own homes.

What a crock of crap!!!

Hey Obama, if this is true, your Race To The Top stuff really stinks!!

Even The Kids Notice

Quite a few of my students were at the big science fair at the Museum Of Natural History.  They met Obama and were impressed with his speech and the attention he gave many of the exhibitors. 

They told me Bloomberg is short and noticed him not shaking any hands.  They also noticed Cathie Black's short speech and her quick dart to the exit.  The kids said she had her bag over her shoulder and her feet in the direction of the door while the microphone was still in her hand.

Once again our education mayor and the chancellor are showing their respect and concern for the children of NYC.

Thanks Obama, For Nothing!

Many of the better colleges require their students to come from high school with four years of math. Not an unreasonable request, right? Well, in the quest to save money, the majority of kids at Packemin are not getting that option. Courses like Discrete Math, pre-calculus for seniors and non-AP calculus are no longer in the budget. The courses the local junior college offers on our campus are not available to them either as they have been filled with juniors needing an extra class. The kids are upset and so are their parents.

A young woman came to me with her mom today, begging for admission to my college class. Since the class is capped at 25 (college rules) and there are 25 attending, I had to stay firm and say no! She didn't want to hear that and kept repeating her need for a fourth year of math. She also gave me quite a story as to how we could let her take her class, but that is a story for another time on the other blog.

All I've got to say now is thanks Obama, thanks for your RTTT money, money to use to collect data and to evaluate teachers. Money not to be used to actually help our students reach the top, money to be used for credit recovery and test prep, things that help our stats, but not our students. How can you say everyone should go to college when money you have given to the schools is not being used to help kids get into college? How can you be such a hypocrite? How would you feel if this girl was your child?

Obama Aims To Energize Unions Before Midterm Elections

Funny, he applauds the firing of all the teachers in Rhode Island, he promotes non unionized charter schools and blames the teachers' union for many of the problems that ail education today and now he wants our support? The teachers union doesn't count, I guess.

(Newsday only gives article access to subscribers so I will post the entire article here.)

Obama aims to energize unions before midterm elections
August 4, 2010 by BEN FELLER. The Associated Press /

WASHINGTON - Rallying a pivotal part of his base, President Barack Obama pleaded with labor leaders yesterday to energize their members about the upcoming election, depicting a choice between those who fight for the middle class and those who are "not lifting a finger to help."

Obama's political speech to the AFL-CIO's governing executive council underscored the stakes of the November midterm elections, in which his Democratic Party is trying to hang onto its majorities in the House and Senate. Democratic loss of control in either chamber, or even a major erosion of seats, could deeply hamper Obama's agenda.

The president tailored his message to the interests of the union leaders, citing such priorities as fair pay, enforcement of trade laws, tax breaks for the middle class and safe working environments.


And he took a shot at the two-term Republican administration of his predecessor, George W. Bush, saying that for eight years the government held "a profound animosity towards the notion of unions."

Speaking of Republicans and repeating the White House's key talking point of the campaign, Obama said: "They want to go backwards; we want to move America forward. And that's what the choice is going to be in this upcoming election. And all your members need to understand it."

Obama also described the plight of the unemployed in personal, labor-friendly terms.

"That pain goes beyond just the financial pain. It goes to who they are as a person," Obama said. "It hits them in their gut. Having a conversation with your spouse and saying, you know, 'maybe we can't afford this house anymore, maybe we're going to have to give up on being able to save for our kid's college education.' That goes directly to people's identities, to their cores."

Millions of people remain out of work in a deep, enduring recession. The toll has soured the nation's mood and Obama's public approval along with it.

Republicans, out of power in the legislative and executive branches, are eager to seize on the same voter sentiment for change that helped propel Obama to office.

The president, however, is casting the prospect of Republican leadership as a return to failure. And he is devoting larger chunks of his time to do so.

Wednesday he reprised his tale of Republicans who drove the economy into a ditch and warned them that voters won't allow them to do it again.

As for his own efforts on the economy, Obama said: "I'm here to tell you, we are not giving up, and we are not giving in."

Thank You Mr. President

The top kids in my geometry class, a recent immigrant from South America, wants to double up in math next year. He has the brains and the ability and the desire to take pre-calculus before he graduates. He can't do it, and would you like to know why?

THE CLASSES ARE FILLED. THERE IS NO MONEY TO CREATE ADDITIONAL ONES!

So much for this Race To The Top. Our top students are being left at the bottom.

Worthless

Obama said that that a high school diploma is not enough anymore. He's right. The diploma has been so watered down that it is not even worth the paper it is printed on.

Instead of pushing everyone into a college program they are not ready for, give real high school courses that prepare the youth of today to be responsible adults of tomorrow.

Year Round School

My ninth graders have already tried going to school year round. They did so well in middle school they were rewarded with a summer's education. You would never know this from their total lack of ability when it comes to solving simple equations or even pushing a button to get the correct answer on a calculator.

When will people wake up and realize that not everyone is academic? These kids are good kids, nice kids but kids that are totally uninterested in school. Most would rather sit and socialize than admit to being unable to comprehend what is going on. Some try but are so lost even the most powerful GPS would not bring them back. Of course there are a handful that are actually learning but these kids would learn so much better if the others were not around.

Obama is so wrong when he says everyone should go to college. Some people are just not academic. They're just not students. If society would only accept this and embrace their strengths, think of how much better off we would all be.

Dear President Obama,

Dear President Obama,

So, you want kids to spend more time in school? You want an end to summer vacations and longer days? You want American schools to catch up to their European and Asian counterparts? Do you have any clue as to what is wrong with public schools in America?

Your plans, while well meaning, will do no more good than sticking a thumb in a leaky dam would do to stop a leak. If you really want to fix schools, start by asking teachers what really needs to be done. Contrary to popular opinion, not all teachers are overpaid under worked civil servants, retired on the job. Most of us love kids and love what we are doing. I personally would be financially better off being retired and there are many like me around.

First let me begin by talking about overcrowding in the public schools. There is a school in my neighborhood that was built to hold 1800 but now has almost 5000 kids attending daily. Our first class begins at 7:15 and ends almost at 7:00 PM. Some have lunch at 9:00 AM. There are teachers and kids who never see each other. It is impossible to ever confer with teachers teaching the same subject. Teachers who want to meet with students and offer them extra help sit on dirty floors in hallways.Your own children are getting a wonderful education in a fancy private school and you think public schools will be able to emulate this situation by making the time in school longer. Well, think again.

Second, class size in a public schools are too big. If you really care about quality education, you can begin by mandating smaller class sizes. Individualized learning is impossible in the schools now. Extending the school day and keeping class size so large will do nothing to improve education. Time spent in an educational environment might be longer but no education will take place.

Third, you've got to give up this idea that testing means anything. The tests being administered today have been so dumbed down that passing means almost nothing. So much time is being spent on test preparation that real learning is sitting on a back burner. More important, teachers are more worried about statistics than anything else. When possible, they are actually dumping kids from bright classes and putting them into lower level classes so their statistics will be good. This is happening before merit pay and before teacher tenure is being based on test scores.

Fourth, admit,though politically incorrect, that not everyone is capable of learning everything. Not everyone is college material or even interested in attending college. People have different things to contribute to society and can do so without that piece of paper. In fact forcing education on those that do not want it turns them off to school and life in general.

If you really want to improve education in America, make some real improvements in education. Your band aids are to going to solve the problem.

More Important Than Stats

Too bad everyone is so hung up on stats. I'm old fashioned and this e-mail means more to me than the grade. I wish people like Obama and Bloomberg would realize that as well.

Hi Mrs. POd!
This is J :)
I hope you are enjoying your summer with your family !
Hmm, I just got your email about R sending her AP score to you.
well, I only got a 2 :( But, I'm still really glad. At least, I will still be ahead in calculus when I learn in college this year.
You've taught me calculus as if it was the easiest thing in the world.
You were really awesome and you were the best teacher out of all my four years of high school.
There aren't a lot of teachers who really cared and encouraged their students as much as you did. :)
I'll really visit you one day :)
Until then, take care!
- J.

I thanked her for her letter, told her that I am glad she is not stressing about the grade and that the grade did not matter to me at all.

I'm sure, come September, or sooner, Mr. AP will have some comments about these grades as well. I'll just have to learn to live with them.

I Finally See The Light

It's official. I am the worst teacher in the department. I just received this e-mail from Mr. AP and he confirmed it. Our regents results were on it and he made sure to let me know where my classes came in.

Dear POd,

How are you? How is your summer so far? I finally figured out the stats and I would like to share it with you.

The last five teachers on the list had MG22R and MG22D class, mostly. [even one regular or honor class would have improved stats. All mine were R classes.] We know the kind of students you all had. I would like to thank you for working with each and everyone of them.

In September, we will work on how to get more of them to pass the Regents exam and more of them to pass with a grade of 85 or higher. We have to begin by making sure that one can hear a pin drop when you teach.

Regards to your family and enjoy the rest of the summer.

Code Rank Teacher Passing % % >= 85 Rank

MG33H 1 100.0 94.8 1.0
2 100.0 80.0 2.0

MG22C 96.7 34.4 1.0

MG22 92.9 33.3 2.0

MG22D 84.8 2.2 4.0

MG22R 76.0 6.0 3.0

1 100.0 57.1 1
2 98.3 48.7 2
3 96.7 34.4 3
4 91.4 25.0 6
5 90.8 31.6 5
6 88.2 32.4 4
7 85.7 20.0 9
8 80.1 24.1 7
9 79.6 23.9 8
10 69.3 8.0 10
11 60.6 1.5 11
12 60.0 0.0 12

Overall P % 82.4 31.3

Well, if Obama gets his way, I lose my tenure.

Too bad these result don't show seven or eight kids that were removed from other classes and put in mine because of conflicts with their teachers. Too bad they don't show the kids that should never have shown up to take the test, but did anyways. Too bad they don't show the kids that should have been dropped but were kept in the hopes of getting them through and the success many of them had.

So now that I officially suck as a teacher, it is understandable why I would be so against merit pay. So be it. I'll be gone before it is instituted in New York.

Not Worth The Gamble

When I think about pay for performance and then then I think about kids like Smiley, Nutjob and Rosie, to name a few, I get ready to explode. In fact, I was in bed, mulling over Obama's latest, tying stimulus money to student achievement and I decided I had to get out of bed and write or I would never be able to sleep.

These kids were difficult, trying kids. I succeeded with some and failed with others. But, I tried. Over the years, I've taken in the kids that other teachers did not want. This past term alone, I had four kids that another geometry teacher could not deal with. (Two passed and two failed.) Now Obama says my pay and my tenure should revolve around my success with kids like these. I have to think before I welcome them into my room. I need to toughen up, like the other teacher. I can't take a chance. I can't help as many as I did before because the reality is sinking in. I cannot sacrifice my career in the hopes of saving a few.

I am also thinking about the term I volunteered to teach seniors who had only passed one term of math since ninth grade. These kids were challenging, but I succeeded with most (27 out of 28.) I am not a gambler and with high stakes, I would not have taken the risk.

I don't condone bad teachers. In fact, I believe those that are incompetent should not be in the classroom but competence and quality cannot be judged by data.

There is a push right now to get some of the best teachers into the poorest schools. A law like this will do nothing to encourage anyone to transfer.

Teaching is tough. There is a reason so many people don't go in for this field and so many of the people that do, don't make it. People like Obama and Bloomberg have no idea as to what it is like to be a teacher (or a student) in a regular public school. They have no right to determine how public education should be judged.

No Survivors

The mayor and the chancellor claim class size should not matter and that a quality teacher is all that is needed. Boy, can I prove them wrong this year.

My geometry classes consist of 34 kids each. Out of the 34 kids, at least 28 of them have some sort of attention deficit and have trouble focusing. This is not a good combination. They feed off of each other and it doesn't matter how they are seated. I have kids that would make friends with the cobwebs if there was no one around to talk to.

Having these problems doesn't make these kids bad kids or dumb kids but it does make it hard to teach them and it is hard for them to learn. But, the majority of them do want to succeed, although you would never believe this if you walked into my classroom and saw the cell phones and i-pods that I am constantly yelling about and listened to the mouths that do not stop yakking away.

Since the AP exam is over and my college now class is over, I feel like I am on vacation and have been able to put all my effort into these two classes. I've been grabbing the kids wherever I find them and making them work, even if it is only for ten minutes at a time. In this one-to one or small group situation, they are learning and succeeding. I can get them to do more in this mini session than I can in class in 45 minutes. (I just marked their finals and almost all passed!)

The quality of my teaching is immensely better in the small group situation. That is the one thing that works. The Bloombergs, Kleins and Obamas of the world know this. Their own children attended or attend schools with small classes. The UFT knows this. They spend thousands of our hard earned dollars going on television talking about how they got smaller classes yet my classes and those of my colleagues are still packed to the gills. Charter schools know this and they do have smaller class sizes.

Years ago I had a big aquarium. I knew that number of fish that would survive based on the size of the tank. Too many and they would all die. NYC students are like the fish in the over stocked aquarium and they are dying by the minute.

No One Wanted To Believe This

This story mades me sick.

I just sent a letter to the newspaper and Obama expressing my thoughts.

Weingarten is really selling us out!