Letter To The Editor

If only the media knew what we knew, about what really goes on in schools and how certain schools manage to keep their top ratings.  True, these schools are better than most but they are still far, very far from how they portray themselves.

School Suspensions-Another Case of Playing With The Stats

Today's Daily News had an article where Chancellor Farina is bragging about the decline in suspensions in NYC schools.

I wish the newspapers would really care about what is going on in the schools and go to the people that know, the teachers, students and deans.  They should stop relying on these statistics that hide half or more than half of what actually happens.  School administrators are more interested in keeping their A ratings and making sure they are attracting the most students than they are in being truthful.  When I taught I saw way too much being unreported.

When people ask me about my former school, I hesitate, not wanting to tell all that I really know because it is better than most schools around.  Still, it is not nearly as good as it is portrayed and while it is pretty safe, no one will ever hear of incidents swept under the carpet that keep the safety rating so high.

New Principal-Same Crap Administrator

The new Principal came up through the ranks.  He understood what went into making a good teacher and he really wanted to be an effective administrator.  I so wanted to believe him and then he told me about his school.

The first thing the Principal told me was that 87% of his staff was rated either effective or highly effective.  And, although he knew how these ratings were arrived at,, he didn't seem to care.  He talked about the 62% graduation rate at his school and gave me the impression he would do whatever was necessary to raise this statistic.

I felt discouraged after my meeting with this Principal.  He worked his way up in the system but he was still a Leadership Academy graduate.  Stats were all that mattered

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.

You Would Think

You would think a Principal with a strong education background, one with years of experience both teaching and in supervision, would care about keeping the quality of education up.  You would think that a man or woman like this would want people under them who were quality teachers and who recognize quality teachers.  You would think a Principal like this would not empower an assistant who had no clue when it comes to the subject that assistant is in charge of.  You would think the Principal would stop the assistant from pushing experienced, valued teachers out the door while rewarding and commending newbies.

You would think all this if you have not been around NYC schools lately, but those who have been there know that the Principal cares about statistics and nothing else.  Empowering an assistant who knows nothing does not matter as long as that assistant is willing to do anything and everything to keep the statistics up.

What Farina Needs To Do

Instead of raising the graduation rates of NYC high schoolers, Farina and De Blasio should improve education.  What good is a 70% graduation rate if the majority of the graduates can barely read, write and do arithmetic?  What does a 70% graduation rate mean when the majority of college freshman must take remedial classes and many do not make it through?

If Farina and De Blasio are really serious about improving education in the city, the graduation rate will fall and only those who have earned the diploma and are ready to go on to college or careers will be getting them.  They will do away with phony online courses, boot camps and administrators who brow beat their teachers into giving answers during exams.

I predict this won't happen over night (or at all.)  This country is too hung up on numbers and no one will stop to look at what the lower statistic means in terms of a real education.

Saving Sylvia



Sometime in the '60s, when open heart surgery was a fairly new procedure, Sylvia, a woman in her 30's had a successful bypass and went on to lead a wonderful life as a wife and a mother.  Twenty five years later, Sylvia once again needed heart surgery.  This time the doctors did not think her prognosis was good and hospital after hospital refused to admit her.  They did not want her death to ruin their statistics.  Fortunately, one hospital had no such concerns and accepted her as a patient.  Her family worried about the quality of care but at that point, they had no choice and admitted her for the procedure.  Fifteen years later Sylvia danced at her grandson's bar mitzvah and twenty-five years later held her daughter's hand as her son-in-law was buried.  Sylvia passed away at the ripe old age of 96.  Her heart finally gave out.

Sylvia's family thanked G-d every day that a hospital cared more about saving lives than looking good on paper.  Her family now realized the reason the hospital had a non glowing record was because they tried to save everyone.

Schools need to think like the hospital that saved Sylvia.  Think of all the kids that might be saved if everyone stops worrying about statistics.  The new school year is about to start and I can already picture the rush to cleanse classes of anyone who might not succeed, a judgement made in two weeks time.

Not Worth The Effort



I'm sitting on the airport floor (I-pad is charging), gazing out at the rain and thinking about Ms. Eyre's post, the one on the effort it takes to get students to show up, work and pass. I know that feeling as I put in over 30 years doing the exact same thing. I'm sitting on the other side of the fence now, teaching the students that somehow managed to pull through at the last minute. Seeing the results of this intense push from the college side makes me regret having done it.  Stats didn't matter way back then and we all thought we were doing what was best for the student and maybe because seeing kids pass boosted our self esteem. Teachers have to get them to pass now. The future be damned.

I can't even recall how many times my former AP threw statistics in our faces and berated teachers for being as little as 2  per cent below a colleague. I know Ms. Eyre and the teachers today have no choice. They have to get these kids to pass or they will be on an unemployment line. I feel sad reading her post, knowing how hard she is working and achieving a goal that is worthless and possibly harmful to the students she is doing her darnedest to help succeed.

Teachers like Ms. Eyre are forced to spend time pushing kids who don't deserve to credit get credit.  This time and effort could be put to a much better use.  Too bad   the system doesn't allow this to happen.

Help or Detriment?

Last Sunday's Times had an article by professor at Columbia Teacher's college discussing how remediation in college sometimes does more harm than good.  She discusses how students, even students who have done well in high school, are placed in remedial classes because of entrance exams and often never go any further with their education.

I'm not close to this woman's level and I haven't done the research, but I have seen the same thing happen time and time again on the high school level.  Many students arrived at Packemin with good grades from their middle schools.  These students must take a placement test before enrollment and many are placed back in classes they have already passed.  In addition, ninth grade teachers also give their classes a placement test and several weeks into the term kids are once again moved around.  In the twenty plus years I taught there, I saw kids who could have succeeded fail.  I saw kids angered because of their course placement just give up and go with the flow. 

I always wondered what would have been so bad if these kids had been given the chance to succeed.  Many would have gotten the extra help they needed and rose to the top.  I clearly remember Michael, a bright ninth grader whose record, grades and parent showed he should be moved up a year.  The placement test showed otherwise and the AP would not permit him to be in the correct class.  Michael, a boy who started out wanting to be an engineer, a boy who clearly had the ability, never made it to pre-calculus in high school.  I don't know what he is doing now, but when I last saw him, a career in mathematics was not in his plans.  Nory, on the other hand, a young lady in the same situation was "smuggled" into a higher level class with the help of her counselor and a fellow math teacher.  Nory ended up in AP calculus and is currently a student at Sophie Davis School of Medicine.  Luis, another bright and extremely immature young man wanted to see how many letter patterns he could make with the choices on his entrance exam and of course scored poorly.  Lucky for him, his talent was spotted early and several teachers inspired him to succeed.  He just graduated college with a degree in computer engineering, soemthing his placement test would have prevented.

I'm not saying kids don't need remediation.  Many do.  But, there is more to the student than just an entrance exam.  Maybe they need a chance to jump in.  If they fail, so what?  There is always a time to repeat.  And, if we weren't so hung up on statistics, they would get this chance.  I used to think money was the issue.  Schools didn't want to spend the money to let kids repeat.  Schools waste more money trying to get kids to pass remediation than they would if they just let them take what they need and what their records show they can do.

Throw Away Kids



There is a group of kids that go by the unofficial name "throw aways."  These kids are kids that have managed to pass a regents or two but have had trouble passing the last one in the sequence.  The AP in charge of the department is worried about statistics so he decided to drop them from this class into a lower level one, a class that has no regents requirement.  He is giving them their third year of math but not the class they need to avoid taking remedial classes in college.

The "throw aways" don't have text books.  The AP has decided that these kids are not worth the cost of the texts.  (The department actually had these books several years ago but, in his infinite wisdom, he lent them to another school and cannot get them back.)  Parents are starting to complain.  They don't want their kids to be tossed aside.  They want a real education for them and they know their children need books to succeed in math.  While the books are available cheaply on Amazon, the parents don't feel they should have to pay for books in a public high school.

The AP is angry that noise has been made over these books.  He, of course, blames the teacher and has found another person he is pushing to retire.

Time and time again this administrator has shown his true colors.  Time and time again he gets away with these unconscionable acts. 

The Dumping Continues

Based on one exam, kids are being moved from class to class.  One little exam is determining the high school career of a child.  One little exam is being used to move a child from a two term algebra class to a four term one, a class which will hold him back and possibly stop him from taking trigonometry and will definitely prevent him from ever taking calculus.  One little exam is shaping the future of a student.

One exam, an exam given to students after just two or three weeks in high school might be destroying their future and no one cares.  No one will go out on a limb and say enough is enough.  Statistics are all that matter and dropping kids back will keep these numbers high.

We do inquiries, look at data and make suggestions but nothing changes.  Nothing ever changes.

Sacrificial Lamb



Joannie's teacher saw from day one how smart Joannie was and knew the girl belonged in an honor class.  The class transfer could easily have been arranged, but Joannie's teacher decided to stay mum on her ability.  You see, the teacher knew he would be judged by his passing statistics and by the number of kids who scored over 90 on the upcoming regents.  The teacher knew there were weak students in the class and Joannie's presence was needed to keep those numbers up.  Besides, moving Joannie up would mean a seat would be opened for a lower performing student who would lower those numbers.

Joannie suffered because the teacher's supervisor cared only about numbers.  The teacher knew from experience that the members of his department were constantly being measured against one another and while he wanted to do what was best for Joannie, he had to do what was best for him.  He had seen the wrath of the supervisor and it was something he wanted to avoid. 

Until things change, until statistics stop meaning so much and until supervisors like the one above cease to exist, kids like Joannie will continue to be sacrificed daily.  And the sad thing is, no one seems to care.

An Almost True Story About Who Gets To Teach The Honor Classes



Mr. Jones was promised honor classes.  He taught these classes last year and had good results.  When he received his program in September, it was void of these classes.  He went to his supervisor to find out what happened, why the promise was not kept.  The supervisor said, "Mr. Jones, I know you had 100% passing last year but, Mrs. Smith got the classes because we did a study and determined that she used fewer squares of toilet tissue over  the year than you did.  Using less meant she helped keep us within our budget and she had more time to devote to her students.  Mr. Jones, we will be watching and measuring.  Statistics are all that matter.  If you can get your usage down, I will consider giving you a honor class in the future."

Better Than The Beach



I just finished calling several of the parents of my algebra kids to tell them to get busy on their credit recovery.  I don't believe in this nonsense but since it is being done, I want my kids to use to.  One parent thanked me for calling but then went on to tell me how she has heard her son, talking to friends, about how he wants to go to summer school and how he plans on failing a few subjects to make this possible.  They all think summer school is going to be fun.  They expect to go on trips and to hang out with their friends.  His mom can't convince him otherwise, and she is tough.  He has no cell phone, only one pair of sneakers and basically gets only the necessities of life until his grades improve.

Here is a parent we can't blame.  I refuse to take responsibility for his failure.  This time the system is at fault.  We are so worried about statistics we've created a carefree summer environment that kids want to attend.  The whole thing sucks! I'm glad I am going to be gone before my paycheck and livelihood depends on kids with attitudes like this.

Taking The Easy Way Out



As I looked at my algebra class last week, I thought, are any of these kids capable of passing geometry?  Do any of them want to even try the class? What are their future goals?  Will they need more math to achieve them? As I looked at them, I said to myself, "Do I have the right to play G-d with them?  Do I have the right to say they can't go ahead and try?  Will programming them for an easier class in the fall term be detrimental to all their career goals"

As we begin the fifth marking period of the year, we are constantly reminded that our grades will be used to determine the placement of students for September.  Giving one person that much power over another's  fate doesn't seem fair or right.  Some of these people have little experience but even the ones with years behind them (me included) have been proven wrong.

A young teacher in my department commented that she hoped the only kids who would be allowed to take geometry/trigonometry next year would be the ones who were given approval by their current teacher.  Another was overheard telling a parent that her daughter should drop geometry/trigonometry because the girl had no shot of passing.  Isn't it possible the these kids could pass with different teachers or on the second time around?  This whole emphasis on statistics and no child being left behind is killing the future education of many.

It is true that many of the students don't belong in higher math classes and don't even want to be there, but this isn't true for all.  I've seen students no one ( mostly one person) says will ever pass (we alsways had to find a back door to the more advanced class) go on to ace AP calculus and successfully major in math or engineering in college.  I've had kids  I never thought could do it, and time and time again I am proven wrong.

My friend over at Math Tales From The Spring is going through some of these same issues now, trying to advise kids on the proper classes to take next term.  She and I disagree on this point, but maybe she is right.  Maybe we should just put them in the classes we know they can pass.  This will be easier on everyone in the long run.

DOE Statistics--Following The Business Mode

The Gap Is As Wide As Ever

If Klein and Bloomberg really looked at schools they would see the racial gap is as big, possibly bigger than it has ever been. They would not have had to rely on meaningless statistics. To say the gap is narrowing, they would need to look further than their meaningless statistics and look at advanced placement and honor classes. Those classrooms are still lacking students of color. Look at the students participating in Intel and other research competitions, point out the diversity and I will eat these words.

The headline and the article, Triumph Fades on Racial Gap in City Schools, is right on the money.

Telling Their Fortune

Report card time again and again we are supposed to be fortune tellers. We are supposed to look into the future and determine which kids will pass the regents and which ones will fail. It is only November and we are supposed to make a decision that will impact on the rest of their high school career.

Mr. AP wants great statistical results. He says that is how the school is rated and numbers are all that matter. Most of the teachers in my department are afraid to have failing grades and the wholesale dropping will begin soon. Kids from the two term algebra class will be put in four term classes. Geometry and trig kids will be put in business math and other non regents subjects. I hate doing this. The kids deserve a chance to improve. They deserve a chance at passing and if they fail, they should have the option of repeating the class. If they don't continue the course now they may be out of the loop that will lead them to an advanced regents diploma.

I don't know how my students will do in the end. I have some very weak kids that probably should be dropped but dropping them seems like I am giving up on them.

I'll probably end up having the worst statistics in the department again but, that's life. I don't have a crystal ball that will allow me to see June's results now. I only have my two eyes that see the students in front of me. I have to look at them and make a decision that is right for them.

I'm Lucky I Went To School Then

I was sitting with a colleague today and the topic of the NY Times came up. I told her of my aversion to the paper, not because of anything written in it today, but because of the experience I had with the paper as a sixth grader.

I vividly remember daily sessions with that huge paper sitting on my desk. I never learned how to fold it properly and although I was reading on grade level, that level was not good enough and I had trouble comprehending what I was reading. I still remember trying to copy the answers to our weekly newspaper quizzes from the little red head boy I sat next to.

After relating this story, my colleague looked at me and said, "what happened to differentiated learning?" We both laughed at that since differentiated learning was not in any one's vocabulary when we went to school. And then I said, "am I lucky it wasn't."

Differentiated learning would have meant that instead of the Times, I would have been given a Weekly Reader. I would not have accomplished as much as I did that year and when I went into junior high, I would have been behind. If statistics mattered then, like they do now, I then would have been delegated to a class of poor readers and behavior problems. I would have kept this pattern going until I entered high school, ill prepared for college preparatory classes. I am sure I would have made it through but I wouldn't have learned much. No one would have cared because I was not hurting the graduation statistic. I might have even attended a two -year college that I was not prepared for. I would have flunked out. Today, instead of teaching, I might have been walking behind elephants in the circus, holding giant garbage cans to catch their waste products. I wouldn't even have the skills to write this blog.

Don't get me wrong, there were problems with education then but I believe there are bigger problems now. I just returned from dinner with a few teacher buddies of mine. One, an English teacher, was bemoaning the kids today and how ill prepared they are to grasp what they should be able to grasp as seniors in honor English classes. She said the kids today are just not that bright. I corrected her. They are just as bright or even brighter. The problem is not them, it is the type of education that has been rammed down their throats for years. They have been schooled but not educated. She thought about this and agreed.

No teacher can effectively differentiate in a class of 34 and who has the right to shortchange kids by differentiating the curriculums. Kids will be left behind. How many do we have to do this to until someone wakes up and changes the program?

Educaton Vs. Statistics

Is the most important part of our jobs good stats?

Has it really come to that?

No one cares what we do as long as we get close to 100% passing? The stats are the only thing we will be judged by.

Should we get rid of the failing kids to increase our stats?

Gee, what is happening to education today?

Day 1 and I am already bitching!