The grass is always greener

This summer I took an awesome trip to South Korea and Japan. I think it's true that one of the best parts of a trip is coming home. I felt a deeper understanding of what it is to be American. Let the patriotic music swell. This week, I came back to my classroom with a renewed sense of purpose and an appreciation for the importance of public schooling. These hallowed halls are where we lovingly brainwash our youth with our stories, our hopes, and values.

Many Americans look to countries like South Korea and Japan, throw up their hands in despair, and wail, "How are they doing so well? What are we doing wroooong?" Funny thing is, Asians are looking right back at us. We admire their discipline and high scores. They yearn for our creativity and innovation.

The Two Faces of Hagwons

I think one of the most poignant examples of our differences is South Korea's hagwons. Hagwons are for-profit academies, or cram schools, that students attend after their full day of public school. Think after school tutoring programs on steroids. In 2010, 74% of South Koreans participated in some sort of extra schooling, lengthening their school day from 8am to 10pm. There is immense societal pressure to perform well on college placement exams. In actuality, these exams turn out to be more like life-placement exams. Many point to this stress for the reason why South Korea and Japan boast the highest teen suicide rate. Things have gotten so out of hand that there is now a law that hagwons must shut down by 10pm. In fact, there are Seoul officers that raid non-compliant hagwons based on tips from neighborhood informants. See this article in TIME for more info Teacher, leave those kids alone 

A couple years ago, my good friend and college roommate got a job in South Korea teaching English. This summer, I stayed with her and had the privilege of seeing a hagwon for myself. The six elementary students I observed in my friend's classroom were having a grand ol' time learning and laughing in their English class. Would it be better if they had dinner with their families? More time to play soccer? Sure, but the fact is that the pressure to do well is very real, and hagwons offer that edge that students need to succeed in their country. But are they really learning the information? Or are they simply cramming facts to be forgotten after testing? The number of hours that Koreans are spending on education is not the reason why they outperform Americans.

Why are they outperforming us?

Let's encourage our friends and family to think twice before they disparage our country's education system for a lack of achievement on international standardized tests. The fact of the matter is, Americans have never done well on these tests since we first began participating in 1964. That year, we came in 11th place, out of 12 nations in math, yet went on to have the largest economy in the world. We continue to place in the lower quartile, but this does not reflect our achievement as a nation. When you compare our highest achieving students to similar students in other countries we compare very well. The reason we continue to place so low is that we have the highest child poverty rate of any advanced nation in the world. America comes in at a 25% child poverty rate.  Twenty-five percent! What brings our scores down is that we have to average in such large numbers of students who live in poverty, compared to Korea's 8%. If you are interested in finding out more, Diane Ravitch always says it better than anyone My View: Rhee is wrong and misinformed

If we really want to raise our scores, we must tackle child poverty. Not a popular political move. It's easier to blame the teachers.

*Fun Facts
1. It is perfectly acceptable to take naps at school. Last year, my friend was told by the school secretary she'd have to come back in a couple of hours as the assistant principal was sleeping.  
 2. Corporal punishment is still alive and well and I was surprised to learn my friend uses this. She doesn't abuse her students, but she does assign squats as punishment. They'll probably thank her later for their amazing quads.

The end of my 2nd year

I haven't had much time to really reflect on this, my second year of teaching.  I started training for summer school yesterday.  I want to take the time to remember some things.

This was a challenging year.  4 preps: world geography, math research, language arts, and reading.  In a lot of ways it felt like my first year of teaching because I had taken a year off between my first and second year.  Also, I had to adjust coming from a small alternative school, where there was much less bureaucracy.

I found that my intensive classes made me a better teacher than my honors classes.  They could tell when I was unprepared, and would take that opportunity.  I had to be on my game.

Beginning graduate school was a definite plus.  It meant I had no time to stop and breathe in life.  I didn't get to see my friends and family as much as I would have liked, but it helped shape me.  It gave me a bigger picture of education, a solid anchor.  An inquiring mind.  What are we teaching?  Why are we teaching this?  Who are we teaching what to whom?  Who decides?

I am so thankful for all of the teachers who showed me how to do things- and how not to do things.  I had a wonderful mentor teacher.  How wonderful to be next door to a master teacher.  To step inside her classroom and observe was like stepping up to the table to a delicious meal, when I was very hungry.

Teaching is a spiritual battle. 

I wish I had had more fun with my students.  I was so focused on getting them to "do the work", I missed a lot of opportunities for joy and play. 

I remember (one of) my SAL's at the beginning of the year reminding teachers to "stick to the curriculum".  He described it as, "You're moving into a house, the first thing you need to do is check the plumbing.  You shouldn't be painting the walls."  And I remember thinking, "Painting the walls is important."

Ashes to ashes

Dust to dust

Happy 1st Birthday, MyPlate.gov!

Teachers are never alone in their struggles of fighting the currents of mandates, while hanging on to that which we feel is good and right.  I found an unlikely connection in our cafeteria worker, the beloved Miss E.  She uses her own recipes and brings in her own equipment from home that the school doesn't provide.  She was sorely missed this year when her husband died and, later on, during a bout of surgery.  She's a dear, but I don't agree with her values on nutrition v. taste.  Her food ain't gourmet, but it is cooked with care.

The cafeteria at my school, though run by many hard working employees, is contributing to the obesity epidemic.  Really, this is a district-state-national issue.  On the occasion I do go to the student line, I am always disappointed.  You walk up, and all you can see is a glowing pizza on display.  You have to be tall and interested in looking behind the pizza to see any other choices.  Chips and cookies are staples for my students.  I implore them to choose vegetables and fruits. 

Here I am, hyped up on Jamie Oliver's "Food Revolution".  So I cornered our cafeteria manger.

Me: What sort of response is our district taking to some of the new USDA pushes this year?
Manager: The new laws mean more whole wheat. So we're using whole wheat pastas, whole wheat flours for baked goods, whole wheat buns with our sandwiches.
Me: Nice.
Manager:  More fruits and vegetables. 
Me: Are we were always going to use plastic and paper disposable trays?  Will we ever go back to the days of real dishes and silverware?  Think of the environmental impact!  Can I ever send students to dishes detention? 
Manager: No.

Miss E is being told to use all of these whole wheat pastas and flours.  She is told to "follow the recipe!"  She doesn't feel appreciated by her manager.  She wants to add buckets of cheese to the broccoli.  She fears that we otherwise "won't like it.  It taste too bland."  I try and assure her that we like bland.  She jokes that when she doesn't come back next year, all the teachers are going to lose a lot of weight.  I'm pretty sure she's right.

Triumphs

After such a challenging week, I must count the triumphs.

• positive evaluation from my peer
• The same student who told me "F*** you, b*****" has been wonderful.  I wrote him a positive referral.  Today, he came into class, proud as a peacock, with his new orange backpack.  He's really trying.
• Had a formal debate on the impact of technology and communication.  They totally rose to the occasion, addressing each other by their last names, using stems like "I appreciate your opinion..."
• Talent Show auditions.  Middle school talent show.  Need I say more?
• My mentor teacher brought me a beautiful basket full of plants that she rooted just for me.
• I have this group called the Listeners.  We're doing oral history projects on black history.  Two students did their interviews with family members this week.  One of my students and his mother never heard how his grandma had to use segregated bathrooms, water fountains.  How she had to wait at the meat counter to get served after all the white folk.  Saw KKK rally signs.  Then we learned about racial profiling when a student's uncle told us about his neighborhood welcome.  Hopefully they are learning that everyone has a story.  You just have to ask.
• Teacher on my team and I are learning the viola from a couple of our students.  We make terrible students.

Things they don't teach you in college

When you hang a poster in the hall, put tape around the entire perimeter.  Someone will try to pull it down.

How to break up a fight. 

How to survive bureaucracy.

How to let things wash off your back like a duck.

How to prepare healthy, nutritious meals that are easy to fix and only take 10 minutes to eat.

How to talk to parents.

Change

I spend all this energy reflecting about what motivates teachers.  I am unwavering in stating that shaming teachers does not work.  Offering to give them money does not work.  Bringing in some external accountability like a high stakes test does not work.  These are temporary measures that I don't believe bring lasting change.  To stick and carrots, I say nay.

And yet-
I am doing the same thing with my students.  Why would I think that my students should be so different? I coax them, I shame them.  I threaten them with calls home, I applaud them with a trip to the treasure chest.  It works though.  Temporarily.  Is that all I care about?  A quick fix?  No.  Neither, I think, is that what the policy makers want either.  But they're only in office for a few years.  And I only have my students for 50 minutes.  How then can we possibly bring about real change?  Real and permanent good.

I think we have to start by believing that it's possible.  Knowing that it will be hard.  Then doing it anyway.

Pep Talk

Something I love about my mentor teacher is that she knows just how to hand over a good pick-me-up.  I did, in fact, directly request one at lunch today after revealing that yesterday a student told me, "F** you, B**!"

Action plan:

• kill him with kindness
• get him a backpack
• know that it's not personal
• know that you're not alone.  congratulations, you have been initiated.

Kid Hater?

I thought I was a positive person.  I don't want to be a Kid Hater from "New Girl"



I know I'm supposed to separate the person from the situation, but I am having immense difficulty.

And a pox upon you, standardized testing.