Reading All a-Twitter

This week my Reading for Pleasure students have read (no writing -- a fundraiser for our all-school project let students buy days of reading bell-to-bell with no Reading Logs) and talked to each other. They've teased,  recommended books, asked questions of each other.

The have also interacted online with authors of the books they're reading. They've gotten a glimpse of the social power of reading, something they did not believe when they entered my class in August.

So many teens believe reading is a nerdy, solitary activity of people who have no lives and can't interact with others. They don't understand a reader's very real need to talk to someone about a book she love. We can and do talk to each other in each class, but I've always searched for a better way for all of my students to talk to each other about books.

I'm still new to twitter and I know I don't understand all the power of this site, but I've begun using it for my own purposes.

I tell my students my mission in life is to prove to the world how brilliant they are. But I need their help.

I created a twitter hashtag for us to talk to each other about books: #northr4p. I encourage cellphone use during class IF kids will tweet about their books. I retweet each entry, thus proving to the world, at least the world that follows me on twitter, that my kids are brilliant. Students tweet quotes from the books, their progress and responses, and they tweet pictures...of the room, of their books, of them reading their books. They share pictures of their favorite lines in books.

I follow several authors on twitter and will copy the authors on the conversations we have about their books. Ellen Hopkins had a long conversations with Shaylee and me about our favorite characters...it was a rich back-and-forth discussion with a hero. Shaylee told me she tried to explain to her mother how very special it was to talk to Hopkins by asking her how SHE would feel if she could talk to Nora Roberts! Mom got it.

Daniel and I tweeted back and forth in class as he finished MockingJay by Suzanne Collins. We talked about how we felt about the ending, and if it was appropriate. We were in the same room, but having a great conversation. Ryan, who happened to be next door replied to both of us that HE wanted to join the conversation too! Now, my students DO have permission to tweet in class...I doubt if Ryan's teacher knew he was attending one class, talking about another.

Cheryl Rainfield can be counted on to respond with pleasure and honesty to my students. Logan was touched that Rainfield was excited that she'd finished her book.

Recently I attended National Council of Teachers of English and brought home 65 pounds of books. Among the treasures was an Advanced Reading Copy of a book that won't be published until April: Barry Lyga's Game, chilling sequel to his book, I Hunt Killers. Several of us had read the first book and gobbled the second. As we shared, in class, and on twitter, more students became interested in the series and put themselves on the waiting list for Killers. Alas, I only had one copy. JT saw it, with Kylie's name on it and begged to read it during class. He dutifully returned it, and is waiting his turn.

There started a funny running exchange on twitter between one student in first hour, another in fifth, their teacher, and the author. JT exclaimed to the world that I took the book away from him...I replied, copying Kylie and Lyga, telling her to read fast and him to write fast...that we needed the third book. Lyga replied to us all coyly, pretending there won't be a third.

When I got a copy in the mail Friday, I took a picture and showed JT he'll have his own copy Monday. Kylie has challenged him to a race.

Hopkins and I talked last night about text complexity in her books, and our frustration with Accelerated Reader programs that reduce literature to numbers.

Twitter has added an element to my classes that was totally unexpected. Kids talk to each other, to me, and to the authors of their books. Some authors respond; many don't. But we still reach out. The immediacy shows students reading is totally social...that we DO talk about our books, and now that exchange can include the authors who are so generous with their time.

This semester will be over in a few weeks...a new group will come into my class. I absolutely KNOW we will continue talking on #northr4p, now not just across class periods, but across semesters. I know it because former student, now out of school, are tweeting their books to us. This will be my reading community, even after I retire.

National Board, Still Under Attack in OK?

I recently attended a workshop hosted by Education Leadership Oklahoma, the steward in our state for all things National Board. The authors of Teaching 2030 attended, shared their courageous vision of what the profession could look like in the future, and helped us brainstorm our own barriers to that vision, and some steps we could take here.

In attendance were National Board Certified Teachers -- not many of us, since attendance at meetings is such a problem around the state. Schools don't have money to pay for subs, and those that do, don't have subs. Also attending were representatives from Oklahoma State Department of Education, officials from our State Regents office and professors from several university education departments around the state.

Barnett Berry, Jennifer Barnett, and Cindi Rigsbee were enthusiastic and inspiring as they shares the four emergent realities of teaching in 2030: teaching and learning will move beyond the four walls of existing classrooms, there will be seamless connections in and out of cyberspace where teachers and learners meet, pathways into the profession will be differentiated, as well as career pathways, and teachers will invent new ways to lead from the inside of the profession. I'm paraphrasing, because as dynamic as their presentations were, they aren't the story that emerged from my day.

I came with a friend, another NBCT, and all of us NBCTs had ribbons on our name tags -- it's important to my story to know we were easily identifiable.. My friend and I  sat at a table with three other women; one knew my name from a mutual friend in Oklahoma Writing Project. We visited for a moment and then settled in to the presentations. I realized half-way through the morning that all three were from the OSDE. Given the history of this administration's dealings with NBCTs, with ELO, and with our entire program, I was wary...but determined to play nice.

The woman closest to us leaned over during the morning to tell us that her son had had two NBCTs as teachers and they both were "horrible" teachers. After a  moment of stunned silence, my friend and I both asked for evidence (we are, after all, NBCTs, and know how to provide evidence in our profession). She told us one teacher didn't let her son go to the bathroom when he asked, and the same teacher (the other?) was angry that he knew his multiplication facts before he got to her classroom.

Neither my friend nor I pointed out that this evidence does not necessarily lead to the pronouncement of  a 'horrible'  teacher. We probed for more information -- another trait of teachers. What had she done to solve this concern? Had she gone to the principal? Oh, yes. Her righteous indignation by now was clear. She was deeply into the anger she felt.

I asked if the principal had taken any steps...I pointed out to her that if the teachers were truly horrible, the principal has tools at his disposal to get rid of this teacher. In fact, our Superintendent of Public Education is very proud of her new law that strips even tenured teachers of some of our due-process protections. Didn't point that out. I did say that if a principal does not take steps to protect young people from horrible teachers, he is not doing his job.

At that point she bizarrely changed the subject. She proclaimed that soon the 'great equalizer' would be in place in our schools and problems like this wouldn't happen. Her great equalizer? Common Core! By now my friend sat, prudently silent. I could have kept my mouth shut too, but, "We'll see." popped out before I could help it.

I turned my attention to the speakers, but the woman did lean over and tell my friend one of the strengths of Common Core will be the fact that there will be no special education modified tests available for teachers to hide behind.

There is more, but what I learned was in the confidential small group setting later in the day. Suffice it to say, the Oklahoma State Department of Education is no friend or supporter of teachers -- National Board or not. and the representatives feel free to say that -- to teachers.

This whole experience had me reflecting -- another skill in the toolbox of NBCTs. I see two lessons. One, is the deep suspicion, deep distrust, our OSDE has for teachers, and for our NBCT program. I knew that, given the two years of playing with our program, but this is different. This official felt the license to tell two NBCTs that she doesn't believe in our program, that she thinks it hides 'horrible' teachers. She felt completely comfortable talking to us that way. Her message was loud and clear: "teachers are horrible; NBCT teachers are horrible." And this woman works with teachers! How can you truly advocate and support a group of professionals when this is your attitude?

And that led me to my other epiphany. Every teacher understands that perception, to parents and to students, is reality. We've all been trapped in a situation where what a student thought we said or did isn't exactly what we did or said. We've also been victim to the fibs kids will tell parents (or altered perception with them as hero or victim) to avoid an uncomfortable situation at home. We've all seen parents believe every word from their child, and attack us without all the facts. That's part of the job. I get that.

But as educators, as public employees, we must teach every day, aware of how our words and actions could be interpreted. We need to hold ourselves to the highest standard of behavior. If we tell a child he can't go to the bathroom, we need to explain why, and tell when would be a better time. We have to take that time to explain, to respect (yes, even that kid who asks every five minutes, and that kid we know is just bored and wants to wander, and that kid who wants to go create a scene in the bathroom...and that kid...and that kid).

We must be better communicators with parents. We' must anticipate their concerns, their frustrations. We must present ourselves as partners, allies. We must think about how our words can be used against us by angry people. If we accidentally step into a problem, we must use our people skills, those soft skills that benefit us in the classroom, to find common ground with students and parents.

I only have control over the words I say (and write) and the things I do. I cannot control this woman's animosity toward my profession. But I can make sure what I say and what I do in my classroom, and with my parents, and in my community communicates my commitment to my students and their education. I can own my words and actions -- and make sure they make me proud.

I'm closing with the words of my very smart FB friend, Michale. Another skill teachers have is to cut through the noise and focus on what's important: "...then I get to go back to what matters every day and sit on the floor with little people who trust me to teach them...and that is awesome."  

Common Core Headaches

I realize I'm retiring from teaching at the end of this year. I know I'll never have to overhaul my lessons to reflect Common Core State Standards. I absolutely get that this is one thing I could happily ignore -- forget -- leave alone. It will never affect me or the way I teach or the way I interact with my students. And yet, like that old dog who can or can't be taught new tricks, I keep worrying CCSS like a bone. I read books, I read articles. I listen, I attend meetings. I keep trying to wrap my mind around exactly what these Standards are, how they'll change what happens in classrooms, and how they'll make my kids better prepared for 'college and career.'

I've read several books that either inflame me or comfort me. One Size Fits Few by Susan Ohanian fed my passion as she can do -- she is fierce in her objections to Standards that are to be applied to all students with no exceptions. Reading her book left me with mixed feelings, but I was grateful to have this point of view.

Supporting Students in a Time of Common Core by Sarah Brown Wessling has a completely different take on the future of my profession. She is an English teacher and writes directly to other English teachers. Her stance is positive...she knows, as all teachers know, we can do this if we need to.She answers some of my deeply suspicious questions...but they're her interpretation of the CCSS. I am hoping to meet her next week at the National Council of Teachers of English.

On to Text Complexity: Raising Rigor in Reading by Douglas Fisher, Nancy Frey, and Diane Lapp. Text complexity is one of my huge issues with CCSS -- who chooses, how do I force all students to read above their reading level, how do I individualize? The text complexity measure we were first told about was Lexiles, which only measures sentence lengths, so Of Mice and Men and The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants are seen as equally complex. Really? Then there's the issue of how we are to teach (even though everyone connected to CCSS, to SMARTER Balance, and PARCC, promises the Standards will not dictate teaching methods). The authors of CCSS have declared New Criticism as the only way to teach pieces of literature. At its most radical, New Criticism will not allow historical background, information about the author or the times. It will not allow any personal connection to the piece under study. David Coleman, the self-proclaimed author of CCSS, himself not an educator, shows us a model lesson under CCSS -- a study of 'Letter from Birmingham Jail' with no mention of the reason the author is in jail, what's going on in Birmingham that led to his arrest...nothing. Just jump right into the text and study it sentence by sentence. Does Mr. Coleman really believe we can lead students through this important piece with no context? Fisher and Frey and Lapp talked me off the ledge in some ways, encouraging the reader to believe our professional judgement is still worth something.

I truly seem to be torturing myself. I'll be sitting at home when all this falls onto teachers. All this reading led me to Pathways to the Common Core: Accelerating Achievement by Lucy Calkins, Mary Ehenworth, and Christopher Lehman.  Of all the books I've read, this one is the most exhaustively researched. They included a history of the Standards, an investigation of the authors, and most importantly for teachers, a close, professional reading of the Standards, vertically and horizontally. They have been able to make connections that I believe many of us would miss. Their suggestions are positive and possible. They interpret the Standards and give professional educators the tools to start the work.They debunk another concern English teachers have had about the Standards: longer works -- novels and nonfiction books WILL be an important part of the work of CCSS.

All this reading left me with a particular stance when I read Oklahoma State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Janet Barresi's weekly newsletter entitled "Demystifying the Common Core." Wasn't that what I was trying to do? Learn? Read? Make connections? Define terms? Draw conclusions? Analyze?

The OSDOE recently hosted David Coleman and Superintendent Barresi was discussing the visit. Calkins and her coauthors describe Coleman and one of two people who "have emerged referring to themselves as 'the' authors in their own documents. If that is the case, why was their identity kept secret while states considered the standards" (5)? Calkins shows a connection between Coleman and ACT that predates the writing of the Standards and his current position as President of College Board. He seems to be the driving force behind the New Criticism stance.

If you follow his link and read Diane Ravitch's profile, that makes perfect sense. He sees himself as a classicist...one who thrives on the ideas in texts. He makes the 'classic blunder' (sorry...couldn't resist the pop culture allusion!) many non-educators make of assuming the way HE learns is the perfect way for EVERYONE to learn. Teachers know different. We know, and could have told him, had we been included in the writing of CCSS, that there is no one right way for everyone to learn. Tying teachers' hands with New Criticism will make learning less robust and motivating, not more. I'll bet he loved writing arguments also...and we're now saddled with that as well. Is this really the way to write NATIONAL Standards? From one person's learning strengths?

Coleman is also a part of the PARCC (Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, the consortium that Oklahoma has joined) interpretation of the CCSS, so it's not a surprise he was welcomed to OKC with open arms.

I take deep issue with several of Superintendent Barresi's assertions in her newsletter. She describes CCSS as "a remarkable work of collaboration between Republican and Democratic (sic) governors and education officials." I guess I don't take issue with that statement...it's true. What's missing from that list of author are professional educators. We'll be called upon to interpret and implement CCSS, but we've had no hand in writing them.

She quotes Coleman: "My proposal is that Common Core Standards were created in a moment of crisis." A manufactured one, to be sure.

The statement that made my blood pressure spike, though, was Superintendent Barresi's assertion: "The standards are based on overwhelming evidence that they are effective in truly preparing students for college and career." Not according to Calkins. She quotes a very similar claim from the PARCC draft, and goes on to say, "And yet of the few footnoted studies it cites as the 'significant body of research,' nearly all took place in college or high school; one involved adolescents, one was a paper discussing the debate over the pros and cons of constructivist teaching and another, 'The Role of Deliberate Practice in the Acquisition of Expert Performance'...was a discussion of developing expertise in all fields including physical fitness, which, it turns out, never mentioned close reading at all...None drew from the larger body of research on children's literacy development, a surprising point as half of the assessments PARCC is designing are aimed at elementary school students" (49). So much for that overwhelming evidence. It wouldn't even stand up to the requirements of CCSS. But say it's overwhelming often enough and someone's bound to believe it.

Both Coleman and Barresi believe CCSS will somehow lighten teachers' load, and "give teachers more time to teach and students more time to practice." Not according to Calkins who is very honest about the demands of the Standards, and the still-to-be-known assessment piece. Now fourth graders will be required to compose a minimum of one typed page at a sitting, and fifth graders, two pages. This volume says a lot about the authors' assumptions that elementary students have been taught keyboarding in a very crowded curriculum, and that they have universal access to computers on which to write. The naivete of this assumption is something that could have been explored if professional educators were included in the discussion.

I don't need help demystifying the Common Core! I need professional development. I need answers. I need time to work with colleagues and create our own exemplars. I need time to investigate how CCSS will play out for students.

In a rich Facebook conversation about  CCSS, someone used the analogy of building the plane while it's in the air. I see it differently. Someone else, with little knowledge of teaching or learning, of children's literacy, of child development, 'built' the CCSS. Teachers now must take this mess and repair it, in the air, on the fly. We must interpret, analyze, implement...and we'll be evaluated based on assessments yet-to-be-written. We'll keep our jobs or be fired based on our ability to interpret and implement something we had no hand in writing.

I have one more Common Core book on my stack. I wish I had the self discipline to ignore it and pick up a chick-lit book instead. Probably won't be able to resist. 

Changin' Minds About Reading...one day at a time

I recently read the Pew Report about reading habits of young people and chuckled at the stats: 83% of adolescents and young people surveyed had read a book last year. We as a nation should be pleased that young adults are reading and using libraries. As an English teacher, a reading specialist and a library media specialist, I have a vested interest in encouraging students to read.

My first response to the report was, 'How sad. Only one?' In my Reading for Pleasure class I have my students keep track of their reading -- books and pages, and I would consider it a personal defeat, a Waterloo, if any of my students ONLY read one book during my class, and it's only 18 weeks long. In fact, I just had students report their reading as part of their midterm self-reflections. I wanted them to feel personal pride at their accomplishments, and the Pew report gave me a baseline number for them all to compare themselves to.

As I reported the final-ish (as final as you can ever have when dealing with 155 high school students) numbers...I ended up with numbers from 146 of them. 146 students read 860.9524 books -- in NINE WEEKS! They read 264,585 pages! As I did the big reveal in all of the classes, I asked for drumrolls and students happily complied. If anyone's interested, that's an average of 5.8969342...and a bunch more numbers behind the decimal.

Now, it always surprised people when I tell them not all of my students love reading...at first. I have a survey question I ask at the beginning of the semester and again on the final exam about how they feel about reading...choices range from LOVE IT to HATE IT. I usually compile the information and file it for myself, but this year I tried something different. I gave all my students sticky notes and asked them to write JUST their class period, not their name...and to place it on the white board at the back of my room under the description that best fits the way they feel about reading. I didn't watch them so they could be completely honest. Kids end up in my class for many reasons -- including a forced placement by parents or counselors or special education teachers. I hope my openness to their honesty helps them know I'm happy they're in class and will work with them at whatever their current attitude is.

We watched our chart take form for a couple of days and then I asked the students to observe and write what they see. Many kids identified the five outliers who HATE reading as well as the two who hate it, and noticed they all came from my first and second hour classes. They noticed that the biggest category was 'OK if I choose.' I noticed it looks like a lopsided bell curve, with most answers in those middle categories. I asked then to tell me what this chart says about my job and their jobs. Students saw my job for the semester to be moving everyone forward (to the west from the orientation of my room)...No one expected attitudes to change much, but, students identified my job and theirs for the semester: work together, be positive role models. Share books, have a great attitude. I was proud of how many students took ownership of the task before us -- help everyone leave class in January with a positive attitude about reading. As the grown-up in the room, I knew a positive attitude would also reflect heightened confidence, stronger reading skills, and more reading stamina. That's my secret, though...I tell my students I'm working strictly on their attitudes about reading.

So, last week was the end of the first nine weeks -- midterm. I have a midterm reflection I ask students to complete...I want them to review their goals for the semester, examine their writing about books, and think about their attitude and if it's changing. So, I took off all the stickies and had students recreate our chart about reading attitudes. Again, I didn't look...but in my first hour, one of my students told me he was one of the HATE IT's from the first week, but is slowly (!) changing his mind...he asked could he create a new description: "Mraw" to be placed between HATE IT and hate it...a real victory! He's found a couple of books he likes but isn't willing to fall into books yet.

Next week, I'll have students examine this chart and tell me what stands out to them...I see that movement to the west I need...I see more students now like reading, without the qualifier of 'if I choose.' They've had nine weeks to choose, to abandon, to sample. They've had nine weeks of recommendations from me and from classmates. They've started their 'books to read next' lists. They've been surrounded by books and by people who are reading. They've written reflections of their books and had authentic conversations with me and others about their books.

The distribution is no longer a bell, with more stickies placed in those positive attitude columns. Even my students who entered my classroom in August with surly attitudes about reading have found success and along the way have found confidence. Success and confidence are contagious -- you catch them in Reading for Pleasure.

Now, I need those three outliers to move one more 'category' for the final exam! 

A year-and-a-half ago, I listened to Dr. Barresi's first State School Board meeting. She obviously came into the meeting determined to antagonize members of the Board, and she did. This is the first commentary I wrote about education 'reform' in our state. The images here are still the dominate ones, even though the entire Board has now been replaced by appointees by the Governor. All the posturing and manufactured outrage after that meeting in 2011 set the tone for the bullying behavior of our OSDE and our Superintendent of Public Schools who's trying to privatize the schools. I offer it as the first look at what we've been suffering ever since.

The cartoon and editorial in the Sunday Oklahoman depicts the Oklahoma School Board as a bunch of misbehaving youngsters and Superintendent Barresi as the harried teacher trying to keep order. The details sympathized with Dr. Barresi's attempts to keep her unruly class in order.

I listened to the meeting online, and I have another perspective.

Much has been made of Senator Rozell’s inappropriate remark. 

But, as any teacher or parent will tell you, the person who swings the roundhouse, as he did here,  is not the one who started the altercation, just the one who got caught. So, who was throwing sand and poking sticks? Who started the fight?

Listen to the meeting and you’ll see Superintendent Barresi was not an innocent victim of the mean old Board.

Some of the sand thrown by Superintendent Barresi:

·         Not replying to Board member Gilpin’s requests for information about the proposed members of the Superintendent’s staff, people who worked on Superintendent Barresi’s campaign but have no education training or experience.
·         Appointing people to senior positions in the SDE who have neither training nor experience in education. Superintendent Barresi’s answer was they ‘had worked with educators.’
·         Allowing her campaign aides to work in senior positions at the SDE before the Board approved their hiring
·         Paying these campaign aides with funds from a private Foundation
·         Appointing a woman to the position of Legislative Liaison who will be absent from the job during the most important weeks of the Session
·         Introducing her ‘staff’ and sharing the happy news about new babies before any staff was approved.
·         Increasing the salaries for her campaign aides from the previous staff positions from $75,000 to $96,000.

So, imagine yourself on the playground with another child who threw sand in your face, who poked you with a stick, but only when no one was watching. Then imagine you’re the one who got blamed for the entire altercation. Did you do the wrong thing? Absolutely. Should you say ‘sorry’? Absolutely. 

But what about the sand-thrower? Should she say ‘sorry’ too? Absolutely.  

Happens every day on playgrounds.  Teachers know to look for the child with sandy fingers , dropping a sharp stick.

Bullying in the Schools...Bullying OF the Schools

We hear so much about bullying in schools, and we're admonished to identify it, call it out, and stop it. In my classroom I try...in the halls I try. I will confront teens who are much taller than I and tell them their behavior is bullying. I explain to my girls that eye-rolling is a form of bullying. I work to make my classroom a bully-free zone. But, what can I do when the biggest bully in my professional life is the elected State Superintendent of Public Instruction? What can I do when I'm the victim, along with other educators, of a woman who believes she has a mandate to intimidate, threaten and abuse public school educators?

Any history of Dr. Janet Barresi's treatment will accidentally leave some episodes out, so I'm going to rely only on my hazy memory. Like many victims of bullying, incidents seem to blend together into a toxic environment where I'm simply waiting for the next metaphorical blow. Wayne Green's reporting for the Tulsa World will fill in the gaps.

It started at Dr. Barresi's first State School Board meeting where she came in ready to pick a fight. That's what bullies do, isn't it? She engineered the situation so members of the Board confronted her refusal to provide the Board with information about her appointees. I listened to the entire meeting -- the yelling, the snide comments on both sides. It was hard to believe that professionals would carry on this way. When Dr. Barresi didn't get what she wanted with the Board, she managed to manipulate the situation to make herself look like a victim (bullies are good at being able to appear the victim when confronted), and got herself a hand-picked Board, one that was to rubber-stamp any of her decisions. She got her appointees, even though they didn't meet the qualifications of the office. But she got what she wanted.

Since then, she's strong-armed the Legislature and the Governor's office to carry out her vision of reform. We now have a law that will flunk third-graders who don't pass the reading proficiency test, despite research that shows this is not in the child's interest. We have a law that has tried to erode due-process for teachers. We have a new teacher evaluation system that is partially based on student test scores. We passed a law that will assign each school in the state a letter grade, A-F. She got everything she wanted. Bullies are good at doing that.

They're also skilled at ignoring their victims' attempts at assertiveness. I attended and spoke at the Public Comments meeting, for the A-F grading, along with district superintendents, principals, central office leaders, legislators, PTA officers. We were there at the meeting. The only member of the OSDE staff attending was the lawyer to pushed 'play' on the tape recorder. Bullies marginalize their victims with their disdain.

Our state waiver from the requirements of NCLB includes a provision that if any of these laws is repealed, our entire waiver is null and void. So, we're trapped, as victims often are, under the weight of her vision.

Bullying other adults, professionals with whom you're supposed to collaborate is inexcusable, but our OSDE completely crossed the line when it chose to bully the very people we're all charged to protect: the students of our state.This summer for the first time graduating seniors were required to pass four End-of-Instruction exams in order to earn their high school diploma. Under pressure from the Legislature, the OSDE set up a process for students and their parents to challenge this process and appeal to the State School Board. We were horrified to learn that in order to do so, students and their parents were required to waive their rights to privacy under the federal FERPA law.  Every one of these students was already traumatized by the state's requirement they not only pass all their high school classes, but they also pass four of seven EOIs. Every one of these students was a story, a special circumstance, a tale of honest endeavors and broken dreams. Every student hoped to have a hearing in front of the State Board to plead his or her case. The price of that hearing? Loss of all privacy. All privacy. I wonder if the OSDE hoped students and their families would be intimidated into silence by being forced to waive their rights. They may have trusted the OSDE to handle their information with respect and sensitivity. Boy, they put their trust in the wrong bunch.

Ostensibly, signing the waiver was to allow the Board to examine school records and make their ruling. Instead of limiting the records to only the Board, the OSDE published private information on its website: name, address, even special education labels! Every year teachers are required to complete training on the privacy act so we never violate a student's rights. Our OSDE had no qualms at publicly embarrassing these students and their families.

But bullies don't worry about niceties. They barrel over people; they do not respect the weak, the hesitant. Instead they gravitate to them and seem to enjoy the power they have over others' lives. After a public outcry complaining of the students' treatment, the OSDE took down the names and identifying information, but only after the Board insisted. OSDE still asserts they did nothing wrong...typical bully behavior.

Bullies' victims become anxious, depressed, and educators in Oklahoma are feeling this. When the victims are our own students and we are powerless to protect them, we feel even more beaten down.  We keep wondering what's next? When's the next attack going to happen? Who will the next victim be?

We didn't have long to wait. The unveiling of the A-F school grades was to be a triumph for the OSDE. They'd railroaded objections, they'd ignored research, requests to slow down the process. They are charting a course unlike other states' grading systems, and they're determined to power through without input. They'd decided what would happen, and they made it clear they would have their way. Then district superintendents banded together. They spoke out. They held a news conference. They stood up to the bully. And, they got called names by the bully and her buddies. The Governor and the Superintendent sounded like mean girls as they called these dedicated professional educators names. The tone of their remarks was snotty at best.

So, Dr. Barresi's hand-picked, rubber-stamp Board stood up to her and voted unanimously to postpone the grand unveiling of the scores, going against the OSDE's wishes. In the kind of flash of anger we expect from bullies, the Superintendent lashed out at one of the Board members after the meeting, shaking her finger in the member's face and acting rudely. Bullies do not like to be confronted and they seldom respond with maturity. In fact, after weeks of threatening districts to silence about the grades, and after the Board voted to postpone the release of the scores, the OSDE contacted all the districts and told them they COULD release the scores, in direct conflict with the Board's vote. Bullies don't like being thwarted.

Two more years. That's how long we have to survive this bully. Two more years. But there's hope. The district superintendents, nearly 300 of them, stood up to her. Her own Board voted against her wishes.

There is hope our days of being victims may be over...Then maybe we can begin to heal.

Letter to OK House Education Committee Responding to Interim Study of National Board

I just sent this note to all the House members of the Education Committee. They are studying the feasibility of the National Board support program and stipend program in Oklahoma. Of course the meeting is during the school day, so I can't attend. 

I have found this year highly frustrating, since more students means less time to write and to communicate to my Legislators. I'm sure they're not heart-broken, but in my effort to grade and keep up with my students, the writing has had to stop. Unintended consequence of education reform, I guess....

Good evening. Thank you for letting me talk to you about National Board. I will not be able to attend the meeting tomorrow...it's our last day of classes before Fall Break, and I really need to be with my students.

I have not been able to share my concerns with you this year, since I have more students -- 155 per day, and more students means more grading, more contacts, more emails. II know timely feedback to students is one of the most important ways to impact student learning, and that means I work hard to get papers back the day after they're turned in.  That means no time for writing, for communicating with you, even for family...it's been a tough beginning of the year. I'm hoping to get the balance back soon. I don't want you to think my silence is disinterest or apathy. It's bone-numbing fatigue of 3+ hours of grading a night.

I know you're studying the feasibility of our ELO-NBPTS program in Oklahoma, and you're wanting evidence of the effectiveness of NBCTs in the classroom. Boy, do I have opinions. I was in the third class of NBC candidates, and have recently renewed my certification, even though I am retiring this year. There was no way I intended to retire as a former NBCT! This certification is the most important professional learning of my long career. Not only because of what I've learned, but also because of the many ways I can affect student learning, document that learning, and expect even more from my students.

My NBC has allowed me to work with education professionals from SNU, from OU, where I've taught undergraduate and graduate classes as an adjunct. I've participated in a national committee through National Writing Project and have been asked to present at National Council of Teachers of English. I am visible as an NBCT, in the classroom. My NBC is my ticket to state and national leadership. This all comes back to student impact, because my leadership helps me learn new ways to reach out to my students.

Since my NBC, I have crafted an English elective, Reading for Pleasure, with student impact in mind. I invented the class to prove students can change their attitude about reading and their practices. Students leave my class more confident in their reading, and much more likely to enjoy it. They face college or the workplace much more able to communicate. 

Students see the direct connection between my class and their performance on standardized tests -- their EOIs, their AP tests, and the ACT. I have evidence of improved scores, more confidence when taking the tests if you'd like to read my research.

This year, in four weeks, my students have read 390 books. They have reflected on their attitudes about reading, they have set personal goals for their class. They have recorded their reflections about books. They have had conversations with other students, and they have produced multi-media presentations.

Students have, for the past two semesters, read nearly half-a-million pages each semester. They report they read faster and comprehend better. They see the cross-over to other high school classes, and improvement in their writing skills in all classes.

None of this would have happened without my NBC. I would never have seen my students as co-researchers in my class, I wouldn't have understood the incredible power of self assessment and self reflection, a backbone of NBC.

I would love to have you come and visit my class and see my students in action. My empowerment through my NBC has helped empower my students. They are amazing. In case you think every student in my class came to me loving reading, let me set the record straight. This class is for everyone...9-12. I have advanced, AP students sitting next to IEP students, sitting next to remedial readers, next to ELL students. Some students DO love to read, but many haven't finished reading a book for years. Students have often remarked that our class is one of the most democratic classes, and everyone here treats each other with respect and support.

This program reinvigorated my career. I have always scanned my faculty at Norman North and targeted the bright new teachers I want to go through the NBC process...I only lack two departments before I'll have an NBCT in every department at Norman North (can you tell I take this program personally!). Think of that. An NBCT in every department in a school of  2400 students. Look at our test scores. Look at our report card. We are highly effective. Part of that success is the high number of NBCT on staff, make no mistake.

I understand the concern about sustainability of the program. But, it seems to me for every new NBCT, even at the height of the program, at least one NBCT retired, as I will, or left the profession, or left the state. I would imagine the program was close to reaching that balance of one-in-one-out. When that happens, there won't be any additional expense for stipends.

Other suggestions: fund stipends for the 10 years of the original certification...then fund 10 years for a new NBCT. This would also sustain the program.

Continue the amazing ELO program with support and training. But expect new NBCTs to pay back the scholarship with their first stipend check. That will zero-out the scholarship costs.

Tie stipends to some kind of candidate support and/or district leadership. Documentation should not be difficult. Expect more from our NBCTs outside the classroom.

But, DO NOT expect NBCTs to 'create' higher test scores. Most of us do not teach in a tested area, and that was NEVER the intent of NBC -- or teaching, for that matter. Student impact, not student test scores, is our focus. 

WHEN student test scores do increase, it's a great side effect of effective teaching and reflective learning. It's not the direct result. We see 'student impact' in a much wider, systemic way. We're educating the whole child, and often the whole family. We're educating for much more than a narrow test score, one day in April. That should be the reason you want to invest in this program.

Most of us can go on forever about how our teaching has changed. We see the classroom differently. We can quickly diagnose confusion in learning and distracting behavior. We are able to effect changes and are willing to keep trying until we've changed behavior or gotten through to a student. We understand and use feedback to reteach and redirect. We step up and mentor other teachers, we share our expertise. We lead from the classroom. We change lives every day. You want us in the classroom, and for this work, the stipends are a deserving way to acknowledge our contributions.

Thank you for YOUR contributions to our state, and to our state's children. We truly are partners, working together. I hope I can be helpful. I would love to visit further...thank you for your time tonight...now, I'm going back to my grading! :)