Today Vs 30 Years Ago

A commenter over at Gotham Schools wrote the following in conjunction with an article on mayoral control of our schools:

Anyone who disagrees [with mayoral control] wasn’t paying attention to the tragedy taking place in NYC schools during the 70 & 80s.

I don't claim to be an edu_scientist, like this guy does, but I was around in the 70's and 80's and saw first hand what went on in the schools.

There were plenty of kids in those days that could not read or write or do simple arithmetic and there are just as many of those kids around today. The big difference is that back then we didn't pretend they could pass algebra and chemistry and an English regents. We didn't give them tests with such low raw scores needed to pass that they all passed. What we did do was address the needs of the kids in with these deficits. There was plenty of federal money around to provide small classes in math and reading. I know, I taught groups of 15 kids and had a para in the room to help me. Not all the kids succeeded but there was a real individual plan for every child and every child got the help they needed. Most did not go on to college but when they graudated high school they had the skills they needed to succeed in the real world.

Holding the mayor or anyone else accountable for the shape of our schools only works if there are repurcussions for not being able to succeed. So far, I have seen none for this mayor.

Having Bloomberg in charge of our schools would be the equivalent of having me run his billion dollar company. We both know nothing about the areas we are supervising.

Buzz Words

Billy joined my geometry class this term. (He was in another class last semester.) Since it is important to me to know where my students are coming from, I asked him how he did the previous term. He answered fine, but, being the cynic I am, I checked his data (yes, I used that word.) I wasn't surprised to see that Billy had failed. All failing kids use the word "fine" when asked how they have done in the past.

Billy came to class a few times and then started missing too many classes. I happened to run into him on my way home on one of his missed days. He was talking to a former English teacher who really likes him and knows about his troubles in school. I asked Billy for his cell phone number and his mom's cell phone number and promised to use it whenever he wasn't in my class He supplied both rather easily and I hoped this meant his cutting days were over.

My hope was short lived. But, true to my word, I've been hitting the phone every day he is out before I leave. And, while he is still cutting, his cutting is down to at most one day in two weeks. I even got him to show up and take (and pass) an exam last week.

I was pleasantly surprised when Billy showed up Wednesday, before the vacation. I always try to differentiate so I made it a point to praise Billy for being in class almost on time (a goal for him to actually be on time is coming, once he masters getting to class daily), compliment him on passing the exam and asking him to try to do a little more work in class (another goal for him). Billy, while not a student, is very bright and articulate. He just looked at me and said:

"Mrs. POd, you know I am a cutter. Some days this is the only class I go to. I look at the clock and see I better get moving. You are the most persistent teacher I have ever had. "

I asked him about his mom's reaction when he cuts and he told me he doesn't worry much about it because he stays mostly with his dad.

My next goal (oh no, I used that word again) is to get his dad's phone number. After that, I've got to figure out a way to get Billy into all his classes.

Now I've got the buzz words in place. I set goals that I shared with my student. I raised my expectations. I differentiated. I checked data. I can write them down, hand them in and make myself look like an educational scientist at her best. But, they would all be lies. I'm not accomplishing all that much with Billy. In fact, I am probably accomplishing nothing with him. I have strong reservations about his ability to pass my class and even stronger ones about his ability to pass the other ones he's taking. I don't know how to help him and words alone won't do it.

The Educational Scientist Solves A Problem

Rosie's mom came to see me. She thanked me 100 times for getting Rosie back in class.

It wasn't me. I don't have the power to do all that much. It was the suggestion and the work of educational scientist that did it.

Without his input, she would still be walking the halls.

It took me over thirty years to learn that a principal can serve a real purpose in a school if that principal chooses to do so.

Suit's greatest accomplishment was trash cans in the hallways.

Too bad he never had an educational scientist to go for advice.

Message To An Educational Scientist

From a comment by an educational scientist regarding credit recovery:

I will tell you a personal story about a kid who may have described as not bright or whatever you want to call the kid. You see David never said much and was completely unengaged with school. When I met him he was close to 2 years behind grade level. He came from a poor family etc. I met David on a whim when he walked by my classroom and saw that I had a computer in pieces on a desk and was trying to figure out what was wrong. He asked me a couple of probing questions so I asked if he knew how to fix it and he said he could try. I left him there with what was basically trash and when I came back I had a working computer. You see David was a prodigy of sorts, with Credit Retrieval & recovery we got David out of school in 2 years and into college where he is studying computer science. I can go on & on about students who have succeeded at the highest levels of achievement based on tapping into something that caught their interest and using that as a hook to drive them to those high levels of achievement. David might have been written off by some people, but David just needed a reason to see why he needed to get a high school diploma and go to college. He was now motivated.

David sounds wonderful and what you did for him is wonderful as well.

A child as wonderful as David really does deserved a second chance, a real second chance, a second chance that would have involved a real education, not just a rush to collect necessary credits.

If we really want to help kids like David, we need to stop insisting that kids like him graduate high school in four years. Some of them need more time to grow up. Abel, a student in one of my classes is currently going to night school as well as day school. He is not studying or doing homework because he is too tired when he gets home. He will not graduate because he cannot physically do the work. And, if he does manage to somehow get seat time, he still will know next to nothing. June, another student is taking two English classes. Her reading is poor and she cannot read two books at once.

So, Mr. Educational Scientist, while I suspect your heart is in the right place, I believe your thought process is not. If we give the kids the opportunity to stay in high school an extra year, we will be doing kids like David a much great service. I look forward to reading your thoughts.

(Comments on the other parts of the response to follow at some later date.)