Double Standards

From today's AM New York

Just Call Me Chicken

I know the kids got their AP scores. I've heard from quite a few of them--mostly 5's and a few 4's. But, those kids share readily. I'm starting to obsess over the others. The school probably has the results but I don't have the courage to ask after my wonderful geometry results. I guess I will have to wait until September.

Expectations Will Not...

Expectations will not compensate for years of educational neglect.

Expectations will not compensate for years of parental neglect.

Expectations will not make a non reader read.

Expectations will not make a child succeed in algebra when they can't add.

Expectations will not help the child whose parents are going through an ugly divorce and fight all night.

Expectations will not help the child who has been thrown out of his/her home.

Expectations will not raise the IQ of an individual with a below average IQ.

Expectations will not make the child study.

Expectations will not help the child that does not know how to study.

Expectations are not enough. I can raise my expectations as high as the sky and there will still be too many that will not and cannot succeed.

Get Real--It Might Actually Acomplish Something

If you are not passing more than 65% of your students in a class, then you are not designing your expectations to meet their abilities. You are setting your students up for failure, which in turn limits your success as a professional.

I've done quite a bit of thinking since I read this quote in Thursday's Daily News, made by the Principal of Central Park East High School. Although I have never been, nor ever will be a fan of administrators, this comment really hit home and I made me see the situation from the principal's point of view.

Quite a few of my Math B students are not performing on level. I have tried tailoring the curriculum to their abilities, but for some, it is just not possible. The work is just too hard for them. If their math and reading levels equals that of a fifth grader (or even lower), the work they should be learning should be that of a fifth or sixth grader. They should not be expected to learn algebra and geometry. They should not be expected to read Shakespeare. And they certainly should have no expectations of being able to pass chemistry. In spite of all this, we are expected to teach these subjects to all our students. It doesn't really matter what they learn or if they learn as long as they are passing. Schools show "improvement". Report card grades go up. Principals and APs get to keep their jobs and get performance bonuses. My own AP is being forced to lower his standards this term (more about this another time). He is a new father and needs his job. Principal Suit, who I really dislike, also wants to hold onto his job. If these guys don't show results, they are worried that they will be out the door. What they are doing is not ethical. Perhaps they should rebel and do the right thing. I suppose they just want to hold on to their jobs.

Before anyone jumps on me for writing this, I want to say that these kids are not capable of learning this stuff now. They might be able to master these subjects some time in the future. They are just not ready to do so now. If a fifth grader had the ability to learn these subjects, these subjects would have been part of the fifth grade curriculum, not the high school curriculum. The principals today are given the impossible job of getting all children to succeed even though these children don't have the tools and skills needed to succeed. Maybe if the principals were just allowed to do their jobs without this pressure, they could run effective schools and get the kids to succeed. Raising a fifth grade level up to an eighth grade one is a monumental achievement. This is what should be encouraged in the schools.

It is time to start having realistic expectations for schools and maybe then principals can stop saying such dumb things and stop putting them in print.

Success Story 3

Some of the teachers in my school have a very elitist attitude. If Einstein had been in their class and failed to hand in a homework assignment or only got a 75 on a regents exam, they would have written him off as a loser. If Bill Gates did not make it through AP calculus, they would have been sure he was doomed to a life of sweeping floors at Burger King.

High school is not always an indicator of success in later life. One kid I know who really excelled in high school dropped out of college and is now delivering pizza to make his rent money. This is sad and a problem but, not one I think I can do much about. Another, a girl who was not much of a student in high school is now in medical school. Her teachers in high school never thought she would be more than a house wife and a greeter in Walmart. I hope none of these teachers ever need her expertise to help them.

I know that one of the most important things I do is try to build self confidence in my students. I don't judge. If a kid tells me he wants to be an engineer, but is failing math A, I just stress all he needs to accomplish before he can follow his dream. As a high school teacher, it is not my job to discourage and to put ceilings on what my students can accomplish. I realize that some might never be able to reach the stars they are shooting for but some might just need to grow a little taller to reach the top.

Dark, Bottomless Hole

Women need to take care of themselves. Janice works like a dog. She is a retired tier one teacher who collects a good pension yet works full time in a private school where her pay is not so great and the kids in her classes have many special needs. The school caters to the wealthy and the parents are quite demanding. She must show up for after school functions. Janice is a morning person, yet this job requires her to work into the early evening. After teaching, Janice tutors privately, going from house to house.

So, why does Janice work so hard? No one else in her family strains themselves. Her spouse works at a low paying job, part time, because it fulfills him (he had a better paying job but it was making him ill). Her children go to expensive colleges and use their money for vacations and Prada bags.

It wouldn't be so bad if Janice spent some of her money on herself. She recently wanted to buy a pretty glass sculpture but didn't buy it because hubby didn't like it (he decided he didn't like it before he saw it.) She did break down and buy herself a pair of pajamas that she fell in love with, but lied to hubby about the price.

It wouldn't be so bad if hubby was thrifty. Hubby likes to drink. Not that he is a big drinker, but he doesn't think twice about buying an expensive beverage when he is out. Hubby also likes to gamble. Now, he is a controlled gambler (stops when he reaches his limit), but he loses more than he wins. Hubby is also getting ready to take a trip to Las Vegas while Janice cannot get the money together to visit her elderly father in another state.

Janice is a friend of mine. I know that all of this is true. No matter how hard I try, I can't get Janice to do things for herself. She needs to start taking care of Janice because no one else is going to do it for her. Women, stand up for yourselves and don't fall into the dark, bottomless hole that Janice is in.

Expectations

I decided a long time ago not to expect anything from anybody. If you don't expect anything, and you don't get anything, you cannot get hurt. Unfortunately, the heart doesn't always listen to the brain and the heart expects things that the brain does not want.

When I came back to work, I didn't expect much from anyone. I did think that people who passed me in the hall might say a nice word or two of condolence. Most did. The AP of security walked by me on two or three occasions, looked at me and then kept going. Not even an "I am sorry for your loss." The AP of guidance, who I thought I got along with said on a few occasions "Hi, how's it going?" just like she has done a hundred times before, just proving my point that she doesn't really care about how things are going for me. And when I go to temple to say Kaddish, people look at me as if I am an intruder in their space even though I have been a temple member for over 20 years. Not one word of greeting or condolence yet they must know that a death is what is drawing me there. When someone has a death in their family, word goes out with a recorded message to everyone in the congregation. There was no phone call when my mom died. Some might say it was an oversight. I say it was typical of the way I have been treated there for years.

My biggest expectation hurt came from people who I thought were close friends. They would not make the trip to the Bronx to sit Shiva with me. I'm sure my friends were afraid something would happen to their precious car. They wanted to come sit with me Wednesday night, in my house, because it is easier and safer to park. I told them I didn't want company then. I'm finished sitting.

I don't want to fight with these friends, but I don't want to see them now either. I don't want to say words I will be sorry for. I just had a big fight with my beautiful, terrific daughter because everything sets me off now. She and my son are the most important parts of my life. If I said hurtful things to her, who knows what I would say to someone else. I've really got to go back to my expectation of no expectations. That is the only way to survive.