A Bill to End High-Stakes for Testing? Please DON'T Wake Me if I'm Dreaming!

A little history…I participated in the infamous ‘public comments’ meeting in 2012 at the OSDE when comments were ‘sought’ about the bill that established school grades based on test scores. I didn’t mean to participate…there was a sign-in sheet and I signed it. Come to find out I signed up to speak.

Even though comments were sought by the Oklahoma State School Board, not one member was present. Superintendent Barresi was in the building, but in another ‘very important’ meeting.  Superintendent Barresi DID send her lawyer with a tape recorder. She promised to send a tape (does anyone have a tape player anymore??) to all Board members and they would (she promised) listen to the hours of comments.

I had written – and delivered – my comments in writing, and had a copy with me. I listened to legislators, superintendents, principals, personnel officers, parents, all speak – to a one against the bill for lots of complicated reasons.

I was against it for one reason, a reason no one else mentioned: the abuse of standardized tests and scores. I know – but most have given up the fight – we are abusing and misusing test scores any time we attach high stakes to the outcomes. A-F does that; so does the third grade flunk law, and the ACE law that requires high school students to pass all their classes, collect credits toward graduation AND pass End of Instruction exams as well.

I ended my remarks with an allusion to the mythological Cassandra, the Trojan princess who was cursed with the ability to see the future, and the double curse of having no one believe her. I told the group…and the tape recorder…I stood there as Cassandra, and that high stakes testing was destined to fail.

I have written about the testing meltdowns from last year, when school districts were blamed for the problems of testing corporations.

I have read everything I can get my hands on about standardized testing…some of the best books are The Myths of Standardized Tests by Harris, Making the Grades by Farley, and Reign of Error by my hero Diane Ravitch.

Imagine my glee when I read about a new bill being introduced. Dare I believe things may be changing?

HB2734, introduced by Democrat Representative Curtis McDaniel, would, if passed, remove the high stakes to tests in our state. Under his proposal, the third grade reading test and the End of Instruction exams will still be administered, and results would be reported within 2 weeks (that actually isn’t new, but somehow it’s been neatly ignored by policy makers for years). EOIs will still be administered online, and students will receive their raw score immediately. But no third grader will be retained based on this score, and no high school senior will be denied his or her diploma because of EOI scores. This is huge – parents and teachers must support this bill and help the author get it passed.

The biggest change is striking down all punitive results of test scores. Rep. McDaniel’s bill puts testing back in its proper place – one piece of information at educators’ hands. One assessment that will yield information that may or may not be useful when planning instruction.

This bill, like many, has been called by its author, District 1 Republican representative for LeFlore and McCurtain counties, an emergency. Unlike other bills which seem so frivolous with this label, I heartily agree…getting rid of high stakes testing is an emergency in our children’s lives. As a member of the Common Education Committee, Rep. McDaniel has seen recent movements to define children and their potential based on one test, one day in April (or March or May), and I assume he’s had enough.

If you care about children in Oklahoma, contact Representative McDaniel – Curtis.mcdaniel@okhouse.gov, and thank him for his courageous leadership. I’m sure the OSDE will not look at his bill with the same excitement I do…I’m sure there will be attempts to quiet him, to shut the bill down.

This is NOT the direction predatory reformers want this narrative to go. So, it’s up to us. Write to Rep. McDaniel. Offer your stories of testing woes, stressed children. Offer your support and help bringing this bill through the Education Committee and onto the floor of the House.

Zero to One Hundred -- Tolerance in the Extreme Won't Work

Zero tolerance used to be the rage in schools – no leeway, no ‘yes but.’ The same punishment for a known druggie who brings marijuana to school as the honor student who brings cough medicine. Zero tolerance never works. It traps innocent kids, it forces unintended consequences, and it does not give educators tools to educate. We are forced into knee-jerk reactions without being able to make judgment calls.

Just as zero tolerance is a bad idea, so is Sally Kern’s ‘Common Sense’ bill, that seems to be a ‘One Hundred Tolerance,’ an unlimited tolerance of kids pretending to have weapons at school. It is just as foolish as earlier attempts to legislate the nuanced relationship between teachers and students. More unintended consequences will follow…and they could be much more serious than someone bringing cold pills to school.

My original post about Representative Kern’s bill had a light tone – I really couldn’t take a pastry law very seriously. It just seemed so silly…a law about biting Pop Tarts into shapes?

 In response to ONE incident a half-a-continent away in Maryland, Sally Kern also inserted language that will prohibit any bullying of kids who wear clothes supporting the Second Amendment. I’m not sure whose common sense is driving this move, but I’ve spent 39 years in schools, and I’ve never seen a problem that she seems bent on correcting. No child has ever been suspended for ‘brandishing a pastry,’ or for wearing appropriate clothing extolling the Constitution…I HAVE seen some inappropriate clothing, and we all have no problem distinguishing what is and is not against common decency.  I know of several students who were in possession of weapons at school. No one’s been suspended for making weapon sounds, or playing ‘army’ on the playground.

The incident in Maryland was weeks after Newtown. I hope the little boy who’s the center of this story knew nothing about the shooting. I hope his parents shielded him from the news. But his teachers were understandably on edge, and it sounds like everyone responded badly. Nothing I’ve heard would lead me to support the school’s actions…even though I understand their fears. As educators, they were charged with making the best decision for that child, and helping him make good decisions. They failed all around.

The conversations we’ve been having about my original post have deepened my understanding, and have brought new concerns to the front. It seems like common sense is much more complicated than Sally Kern and I first imagined. I have permission to share my friends’ words while keeping their names private.

One friend is worried about special education students who have been unfairly targeted by teachers and administrators, sending students home who barely understand the reasons they’re being punished. I hope these are isolated instances, like the Maryland case. If this is happening, parents must advocate for their children, and pursue schools’ actions with district-level administrators. This is not my experience, but I must honor and respect others’ experiences. And we must protect our most vulnerable students from this kind of action.

Other friends have taught in high poverty schools, where students see gang activity. My friends’ responses to their students playing ‘gun’ with pencils or their fingers are just what I would hope an educator’s response would be – redirection, explanation of what’s ok and not ok at school. There are sometimes classroom consequences. If these strategies fail, administrators may be brought in.

One friend related a story about a four-year-old student bringing a pellet gun to school…her question: “Let’s see, is a pellet gun a ‘toy’ gun? Good question. Representative Kern? Zero or one hundred?

Another friend who has taught elementary special education said she knows making play-gun sounds and actions is often attention-seeking behavior, or ways to let off steam – she also sees anger issues. She knows better communication and partnerships with parents will go a long way toward a positive, common sense outcome for all. She also suggests more funding for mental health issues in children and families would be a common sense solution to many problems.

Several of us have expressed concern about students at the secondary level who are bigger than the elementary student whose unfortunate experience started this discussion. What does a teacher do if a fully-grown, angry student points a finger at the teacher or others in class and pulls an imaginary trigger? Don’t think that could happen? I’m going to quote a friend:

“I have been on the receiving end of a student using ‘handgun’ motions and noises toward me while I was teaching. The action was intended to be threatening, and I truly felt intimidated and targeted…I felt the student’s action was a liability since we are now so quick to intervene in potential school shooting plots…Be it a pastry or drawing, no one should ever be on the receiving end of targeted gun practice. And trust me, I can lighten up and take a joke, but it was one of the worst teaching scenarios I have ever encountered…This law does not consider the teachers…I would be at a loss and would still have felt threatened if this was law now. People often forget that teachers are…on the receiving end of bullying as well with teenagers who are often unable to make reasonable choices and think through consequences.”

What strikes me about this educator's words, is the last statement. She’s still thinking like a teacher, finding a way to help students, even ones who threaten him, her classroom, and other students. She's looking for ways to do the right thing for all her students, even as she's being intimidated.

If this bill becomes law, what will happen in these situations? Will One Hundred tolerance, total tolerance, give a bully the right to destroy the climate of the class, defy the teacher, threaten him and other students? I see nothing in this ‘common-sense’ bill that would give educators any power to assess consequences and keep their classrooms safe.

Again from my friend: “I’m sure if Kern was speaking in a large crowd and someone made gun motions and noises toward her, she would feel the way I did – threatened…this is not a responsible bill. It is bullying…I think the law should be replaced with a law that protects teachers from bullying. This is an issue I have dealt with more and more…it seems to be a silent epidemic.”

If Kern’s ‘common sense’ bill becomes law, common sense will be thrown out the window. Educator judgments will be useless. Classroom climate will be destroyed. Students with serious mental health or anger issues, students wanting revenge for a bad grade, will be given license to bully at will.

So, whom do I trust with decisions about student behavior? The trained, experienced educators or the legislator who escaped teaching? Teachers who know their students and understand their needs, or the legislator who decided she wasn’t a teacher?

Hands down, my friends have my trust and respect.

Sweetheart of a Dance

  

 I just spent the day with Teen Volunteers from Norman North, and alumns who are now at OU or OSU or Rose State University...students who understand how important it is to give back...to pay rent on all the gifts we've received and often take for granted. I've worked for over 30 years with young people volunteering at Special Olympics. We attend Area and State games. We also host our own semi-formal dance, the Sweetheart Dance, with Special Olympics athletes as guests of honor. This tradition means so much to me and to my volunteers.

Today, 37 high school students gave up a considerable chunk of their Saturday to volunteer. I am in awe of their work. 

This piece was written in 2003, about one of our Sweetheart Dances...The students named here are now adults, with all the responsibilities of adulthood.. But for me, they'll always be teenagers, creating a magic experience for others. We have our date for this year's dance, and I hope to invite some of these 'kids' back.

“This feels so good it hurts.” 

What was this father of a teen-aged mentally-disabled son talking about? Something most of us take for granted for our children. His son was attending a semi-formal dance. There he was, dancing with beautiful girls, all dolled up in slinky, sparkling gowns. He was laughing, having the time of his life. He was posing for candid photos, gulping soft drinks quickly to cut his thirst so he could return to the crowded dance floor. Pretty typical sights for those of us who have attended our share of high school dances, right? Not to this laughing son, or his father who stood next to me with his arms wrapped around his chest.

 Recently, Norman North High School Special Olympics parents and Teen Volunteers joined forces to host the third annual Sweetheart Dance, held in the hearts-bedecked Commons on a cool Saturday night. Unlike other school dances, the invitation list was quite exclusive: Special Olympics athletes from our two high schools and four middle schools, and Teen Volunteers who had worked with these athletes at Special Olympics events.

This father watched in awe as his son, so handsome in his three-piece suit and dress shirt, laughed and flirted. He watched his son participate in his first school dance—and this young man was 18 years old. Never before had father and son felt welcome; Homecomings, Proms had passed them by.  Nearly 140 young people danced the entire evening, never sitting down, never leaving the dance floor. I watched with pride as my volunteers, once again, proved to me why they are precious beyond words.

One athlete bounced over to a sponsor and smiled, “I must be so pretty tonight, because all these boys keep asking me to dance.” Of course she was pretty! Of course she should be asked to dance. Here, she was. Here, this dance was in her honor. She and the other athletes were treated by their peers with friendship and respect, not stared at with curiosity and disdain.

Michael, one of my Teen Volunteers, and a parent compiled an invitation list of every Special Olympics athlete in our district, and all the volunteers. Mike designed the invitations, many of which were saved and brought to the dance. I suspect some parents brought them in suspicion, fearing the invitation was a mistake, or worse, a hoax. Mike arranged for the DJ, and learned more about business dealings and school finances than he ever wanted to know! His mother donated money to cover half of the cost of the DJ. Parent donations placed in a paper cup at the door that night covered the other half.

For weeks before the dance, my room became the headquarters for decorations and meetings. ShaLyn accidentally spilled red paint on my carpet, Laneesha was on scissors patrol. Mike held meetings to talk to the volunteers about how to dress: fancy dress clothes or Sunday best; how to act: natural and friendly; what was expected: dance every dance with the athletes, talk, visit, mingle. No wallflowers allowed—volunteers or athletes. He also made sure volunteers brought cookies for refreshments.

On the night of the dance, he and Chase and Preston arrived over an hour early—they beat me there--to transform our Commons into a Valentine delight. Jessica’s mom came to help—she wanted in on the fun. Boys wore their dress shirts and ties, Nathan came in his good sweater. Girls all came in jeans and sweatshirts, carrying their dresses and killer strappy sandals. With minutes to go before our guests arrived, Katie and Arian led them as they ducked into the restrooms and put on their gowns and shoes, retouched their makeup. And we were ready!

Over 60 athletes and 60 volunteers spent the next three hours dancing. Stephanie, a recent grad, returned bringing her new boyfriend with her. Everyone was there to have a good time. Nick arrived late because he had spent the day at a Speech and Debate contest and had just gotten home. He quickly made up for lost time, diving into the middle of the fun, his dark curls bobbing up and down. 

Unlike many school dances, where parents are eager to disappear, and are expected to disappear, many parents and teachers sat at tables around the dance floor. We visited, watched, occasionally danced. It seemed important to us all to be there, to watch and participate. Our school custodian, Kenny, stood to the side, leaning on his broom, smiling. He comes every year and refuses to report his hours  to be paid for his hours—he comes to have fun, waits for the last of us to leave, then locks up the school. We looked on as a group of teenagers thoroughly enjoyed themselves together.

I tell my volunteers all Special Olympics athletes are like us—they want to be loved, they want to have friends, they want the opportunity to make a good life. That evening, my kids showed me they got the message—loud and clear. So many of them came up to me to tell me they had never had that much fun at a dance, no matter the elaborate preparations and expensive trips to the salon, no matter the fancy dinners or the stretch limos. This dance, with its cardboard painted hearts dangling from fishing line, with its cookies and soda pop refreshments, meant more to them than any other dance. Here they could have fun, not worrying about what impression they make, whether anyone was watching. Even the DJs, unfriendly and business-like at the beginning of the evening, repeatedly told Mike how much they enjoyed themselves, how they sensed the climate of friendship and respect. They begged to be invited back next year. 

Julie, in her beautiful black dress with crinoline petticoats, her hair flowing nearly to her knees, said, “I can’t dance very well, but here it’s about having fun, not having to look cool. I can be myself here. I love this dance.” She was one of several—Mike, Preston, Chase, and Nick included, I had to shoo out the door thirty minutes after the dance was over—they wanted to stay longer!

So, to echo that daddy’s words, it felt so good it hurt. 

"Pastry Emergency" Declared in OK.

In just a few months, students will be free to nibble their Pop-Tarts into gun shapes and point away. Sally Kern has once again found a meaningless issue to make her own. Is she concerned about the appalling level of child poverty in our state? Is she concerned about the number of kids on free-and-reduced lunch in our state? These are kids whose only hot meals may be breakfasts and lunches at school. Is she concerned about the shameful statistic where Oklahoma leads the nation in cuts to public education?  Is she concerned about the unfunded and underfunded mandates she and her colleagues have piled on us?

Apparently not. To her, the pressing issue in Oklahoma education is the right for students to bring toy guns to school, to draw and possess drawings of guns and weaponry, and to chew their pastries into any shape they want.

If I didn’t know her and her own love of weapons, I would be more surprised. As my sainted grandmother used to say, ‘Consider the source.’ Sally Kern, twice, brought a weapon to the State Capitol, and was reminded only when she set off the metal detector. “Oops, I forgot” was her explanation.

I guess her concerns were raised by a bizzare case in Maryland where a boy was suspended for the shape of his Pop Tart. Maryland lawmakers now have a very similar bill to Kern’s “Common Sense Zero Tolerance Act. The Lost Ogle has his own spin on this issue.

Here are the highlights of her bill. It’s really interesting reading…

“No…teacher…shall punish, humiliate, intimidate, be condescending to or bully a student…for
1.       Brandishing a pastry…the remnant [of which] resembles a weapon
2.       Possession of a toy weapon
3.       Using a finger or hand to simulate a weapon
4.       Vocalizing imaginary firearms or munitions
5.       Wearing articles of clothing…that support or advance Second Amendment rights or organizations
6.       Using a pencil or pen, or other writing utensil to simulate a weapon”

And, she’s calling this an emergency: “It being immediately necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health, and safety, an emergency is hereby declared to exist.” A pastry emergency? A pencil emergency? A ‘go boom’ emergency?

Representative Kern, let me offer some real emergencies. These are the issues that deserve your attention, even as you’ve ignored them for years:

Child poverty in Oklahoma is 24% -- children come to school hungry, tired, homeless. They come to school sick with chronic illnesses. They come to school not ready to learn, to be held accountable for all the high stakes tests you and your buddies impose, including your own ‘third grade flunk’ law.

Over 50% of our students in Oklahoma qualify for either free or reduced lunches. They need the support of the state to eat. Many schools provide backpacks full of food for kids to take home on the weekend, between school lunch on Friday and school breakfast on Monday. Snow days for many of our kids means inadequate nutrition until schools are opened again.

Oklahoma has the dubious distinction of leading the nation in recent cuts to education. “We’re number one!” More students every year, less money to educate them. School funding is a disgrace in this state.

Mandates have NOT been cut. More and more unfunded and under-funded mandates crowd the school day, making more and more demands on students and their teachers. Past cuts have never been recovered...since 2008, schools have had $200,000 less funding, while at the same time, serving more and more students. This has resulted in state-wide classroom crowding. Another issue that should be addressed.

Current laws desperately need revision: A-F has been found wanting more than once. We are carefully, and expensively, measuring poverty in our schools. Nothing else. The Third Grade Flunk Law -- Reading Sufficiency -- comes with choking layers of requirements for schools, and precious little support from the state. ACE requirements, which deny high school diplomas to students comes to us severely underfunded. Schools must remediate students with insufficient funding from the state. Both these important programs are funded to a whopping $76 per student...no school district can begin to be successful with that insulting amount, and the State Legislature knows it.

We have some real crises in public education, including the lack of support from the Superintendent of Public Instruction, whose budget request includes a paltry increase for public schools, and a whopping 300% increase requested for charter school initiatives. She routinely demonizes educators and calls us names. Remember, Representative Kern, we go into the classroom every day and look into the faces of our students, the hungry, the sick, the homeless. We see the effects of your capricious laws.

Representative Kern, IF you really care about the ‘public peace, health, and safety of the children of Oklahoma, stop posturing for NRA, and start protecting our children. Provide resources for their schools, fund every mandate, support their parents as they work two or more jobs, just to make ends meet. Ask the governor to work on medical insurance for all our poor.

Truly make children your priority…stop trying to grab headlines.  

We promise not to humiliate any students for the way they eat their pop tarts.

My Top-Ten Books of the Year...with an Addendum

People who don't read, especially teenagers, think readers are solitary, pale, secretive, anti-social nerds.  They look down on us readers, thinking we're too pathetic to find friends, to have a social life. They believe that's why we read...because we can't live in the real world. My job for years in my class, Reading for Pleasure, was to bust that stereotype. Readers are incredibly social....we love to talk about our books, we love to hear others talk about their books. You can have a dynamic conversation with a stranger by just asking about the book she's reading. I recommend that to my shy students as a great conversation starter.

When readers find a a book we like (or hate), we feel impelled to talk to someone about our books.We find readers who find new books for us, and enjoy talking about books we have in common. I walk every day with a friend, and many of our conversations are about our books. Every summer we choose a classic we haven't read yet and discuss during our early-morning walks.

One of my reading buddies is Nancy Flanagan. Nancy and I have only met face-to-face twice. Once when she visited Oklahoma as a trainer of trainers for National Board, and once at a National Board conference. That has not hindered our deep friendship online. Nancy nudged me into twitter, and encouraged me to blog.

We've had a friendly competition for a couple of years to see who can read the most. We both knew, with my job, I'd read a ton, and I did. This year the field is more level...retirement has meant, ironically, less reading for me. More work in the yard, more work in the house...less reading.

But we both challenged ourselves to read 150 books in 2013...we'd check in occasionally, and keep track of each other's progress on Goodreads, a great site to organize your reading. My students call in 'Facebook for book nerds." She recently wrote a great piece listing her Top Ten...and I see we only share one on our two lists...so I know I have more reading to do next year.

I LOVE the analysis that Goodreads will do for you -- how many books, how many pages, genre analysis...but my stats are off, somehow. I read 146 books, including finishing two on New Year's Eve...but my analysis only shows 132...oh well...Of the books Goodreads lists, I rated 34 with the highest rating, "5". SO, I worked to winnow that down to ten..

I was astonished to see that half of my 'top ten' are nonfiction. I am the fiction reader in my family...teased unmercifully I know what my husband (and David Coleman) doesn't: often fiction is much truer than nonfiction.

Because I cannot choose only ten favorites (how do you choose your favorite child??), I have an addendum.

In alphabetical order:

Call Me Zelda, Erika Robuck -- Narrated by a nurse who cared for Zelda Fitzgerald during one of her many breakdowns. A very fair characterization of both Fitzgeralds who were toxic for each other. My mom, as a huge Zelda fan (but not a fan of Scott), would have loved this book!

Children of the Core, Kris Nielsen -- "Why are we telling the state governments that, even tho we can't pay our teachers, buy classroom supplies, pay for field trips, invest in technology, fund scholarships, or fix our school buildings, it's okay to pay Pearson, TFA, ACT and College Board millions of dollars to prepare our kids for narrow, standardized tests?" Why, indeed. And who can read the title without thinking of Children of the Corn? A warning?

Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Book Store, Robin Sloan -- How can you NOT love a book whose cover glows in the dark? The book explores books and reading and technology and friendships. There's a bit of Dan Brown in some of the chases, and lots of pop culture. Read for a new book club I've joined. Hoping desperately I don't kill this one by insisting on talking...about the book!

Quiet, Susan Cain -- I used to tell my students that I was once an introvert, but I forced myself to change...Wrong! Reading Cain's book taught me I'm still an introvert; I'll just put myself out there for issues and ideas I care deeply about. I'm a pretend extrovert who can be dynamic, if I have the opportunity to recover my energy at home, quietly. Have shared this book with others...such an important book.

Reaching and Teaching Students in Poverty, Paul Gorski -- What a difference a preposition makes. NOT 'children OF poverty,' the way we've been conditioned to say. 'Children IN poverty!' Gorski takes the conversation into a new, more respectful direction. He has armed me with new facts and figures to discuss poverty, but more importantly, a new framework (I use this deliberately) to begin adjusting the ways schools -- and society -- work with families and their children.

Reign of Error, Diane Ravitch -- We have waited for this book, and it was worth the wait. This is a fierce defense of public schools, and a handbook for its supporters. I took nine pages of notes to use when talking to politicians who are getting their erroneous facts from ALEC or Bill Gates or Arne Duncan. Ravitch's writing is superb, and she used one of my favorite archaic words: "bugbear'!

The Righteous Mind, Jonathan Haidt -- Oops...I only gave it a "4". But it informs so many of my conversations and my observations about politics, and the deep divide we see now. Haidt takes us through an analysis of the political value systems of all of us...far left to far right. He explores the gulfs in our value systems, and the spots we can agree. I found myself frustrated with his round-about delivery...but the information is something we all need to consider.

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, Anne Bronte -- My walking buddy and I went on a Bronte Binge this summer and read five or six books by the sisters. This one was the surprise. Anne, as the youngest child, had a fierceness in her that was different than Charlotte or Emily. This story, for its time, must have been shocking: a woman runs away from her abusive husband, takes his son and heir, and establishes a new identity...Helen was a woman far ahead of her times. So was Anne, the only Bronte NOT buried in the family plot in Haworth. Knowing she was dying, she traveled to Scarborough, a beloved spot, and was buried there. It makes me sad she's not with her sisters and brother.

The Testament of Mary, Colm Toibin -- This Mary, Mother of God, is NOT the one we're used to. This old woman, beset by her Son's disciples to 'tell her story,' is angry and bitter. She doesn't play along...she won't tell the story the way the disciples want her to. She refuses to say her Son's name aloud. She blames his pig-headed friends for the troubles He endures. This voice is a revelation. I listened to this book, Meryl Streep performed it, and I am sure I'm influenced by her delivery. This is a mom who has lost a child and she has lost her way.

S, J.J. Abrams (concept), Doug Dorst (author) -- This book is a work of art...the box, the library markings. The smell of an old book. The mysterious author of Ship of Theseus, the devoted translator. The readers...the conversation they have about the book, Theseus. the little treasures left between the pages: photos, napkins, postcards. I could read this book ten times and probably miss something. It's a book within a book; a story within a story. It took my breath away.

And then, because I'm a cheater, my next five, also in alphabetical order:

Book Love, Penny Kittle

Ceremony, Leslie Silko

Leverage, Joshua Cohen

Norwegian Woods, Hakuri Murakami

Reading in the Wild, Donalyn Miller

My books tell me I searched for answers this year...why do we act the way we do, how can we change, how can we become better, more caring? Books continue to bring me wonder.

Already this year I've started two: Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne, and The Tempest by Shakespeare. I know! I'm an English teacher...why hadn't I already read them? Don't judge.

I wonder what I'll learn this year.

Friday Blessing...Here's the 'Why'

“Take care of yourself. Take care of each other. Buckle up. Hug a dad or a mother. Tell someone you love them.” I know it’s not grammatical. It should end, “Tell someone you love him or her.” Blech. Not gonna happen. “Tell someone you love them” completed our classroom charm.

I seldom forgot in the hectic days, but occasionally I did. Most often, students reminded me to yell at them. They waited, they joined me. It became a sacred tradition.

My motives were simple—I wanted to remind every one of my students, even the ones who were hard to love, that they were precious to the world. They had important relationships in this world. They had responsibilities to friends and family, and to themselves. I wanted the last words they heard from me to be a reminder of how easy it is to be positive, to reach out and make a difference. 

I wanted to create a classroom with mutual trust and respect were paramount. That trust and respect had to start with me...from the first day, from the first Friday. And continue every day, every Friday. Forever.

Sometimes I was the mom who received the hugs, and I accepted them gratefully. Sometimes I was the one who heard, "I love you." I would tell students they'd need to tell someone else too! It was a festive way to end the week -- we all were smiling as we said goodbye. 

I wanted to challenge them to be their best selves all weekend, and to come back to me on Monday, ready to learn. I want to remind them that someone cares about them, believes in them. Trusts them.

Take care of yourself – make good decisions, stay safe.

Take care of each other – look out for friends and family and strangers, reach out to others. Be kind.

Buckle up – please, please, please

Hug a dad or a mother – make a connection with a parent who’s doing the best he can to raise up a kid. Acknowledge her efforts.

Tell someone you love them – acknowledge the power of those words in another's life

Now, I ‘yell’ virtually on Facebook and Twitter. I post every Friday morning and then sit back and wait. It’s a class reunion for me as I watch to see who likes the post, or responds, or shares or retweets. I get to see former students from years past…over twenty years worth of students, all coming by to say, “Hi. I remember. I’m still living up to that charm.” I know the relationships we've forged through our Friday blessing has continued to grow, even after they have left my class, after they've made careers, built families of their own.

Over the years, former students have taken the blessing with them into their lives. Some print their own version on a bulletin board in their dorm room…Others designed original art: a poster or even a meme. One friend paraphrases the blessing to fit her own life and shares it every week with her friends and family. It makes me proud to see others adopt the words into their own lives. I love when they tag me on their own creations. I'm proud they continue to see value in the relationship we've created.

This year, Erin Raiber, a former student is beginning her own journey as a teacher and asked if she could copy my blessing to yell at her students. I love that idea! Those words are still ringing in classrooms…kids are still sitting impatiently to hear the words wash over them. These new students are recognizing their teacher cares enough to send them home for the weekend blessed and protected by love. Relationships are continuing to be strengthened with the words and the meaning behind them. Erin will carry these words into classrooms I'll never see, blessing students I'll never know. 

Now, when you see my posts on Friday, you'll know the rest of the story. These words have power…if not to protect, at least to remind you someone cares, wants the best for you, and holds high expectations of your behavior. The words are the manifestation of the connections we've forged and continue to build every week. 

Take care of yourself. 

Take care of each other.

Buckle up

Hug a dad 

...or a mother

Tell someone you love them!

Miss Erin Raiber, I am so proud of you, and so excited to share my blessing with you. I hope your teaching career is as fulfilling as mine was, even with the sad times. I think my blessing was really about giving me hope and reminding me what really matters in the classroom. 

"But...But...But..."

Superintendent Barresi certainly enjoys benefits from being the incumbent in a large group of candidates currently running for her position. She has friends on the editorial board at Daily Oklahoman who regularly supports her positions against all comers.

She can also submit opinion pieces and be assured of considerable inches in the prime-time Sunday edition.

She took advantage of those benefits this week and published an opinion piece designed to head off criticism of her beloved A-F school grades that dramatically illustrate that schools of children in poverty do not fare well…that her beloved A-F really carefully measures the economic status of the parents whose kids attend school. Even the headline, “Poverty not an excuse…” attacks the educators by implication.

Her big opening sounds promising:

“Does poverty have a significant impact on a child’s academic performance? Of course.

Are such problems a considerable obstacle for a student to overcome? Absolutely.

Is poverty, then, good enough of a reason to hold these children to low expectations that essentially relegate them to a lesser education?

No way!”

Look at the two first statements. She seems to agree with critics. But, it's that insincere smile to get close enough to shove her shiv between our ribs with the next two sentences. Nicely played. Surprises no one. We knew it was coming and have made plans to deflect the blade

She’s implying that educators regularly and systematically have low expectations for our students.

What ‘relegates’ poor kids to a ‘lesser education?’ She wants us to believe it’s the educators who work in the schools. Could it be the highest percentage of cuts to education in the country? Could it be bigger classrooms, fewer counselors, fewer librarians? What about less money to replace aging computer labs? What about no money for school libraries to buy new titles? How are educators responsible for any of these real outcomes?

Our policy makers in Oklahoma have turned their backs on our children, at the same time blaming the woes of the schools on the dedicated professionals who do the work. Our policy makers spend valuable resources on a testing climate that helps no one but the testing corporations, and has been proven to be detrimental to real intellectual growth in our kids.

Our policy makers have tricked the public into voting for measures that will severely damage schools in the future. Corporate tax cuts and credits also cut available funds to schools. The picture will get bleaker very quickly.

Three statements in Superintendent Barresi’s editorial raised my English-teacher ire…

“It would be folly to deny the effects of poverty, but that should not, and cannot, allow for its acceptance. Poverty is a factor, not an excuse.”

And

“Schools alone can’t break the cycle of poverty, but providing a solid education for children in poverty can be a huge step toward giving them a pathway to a different future.”

And, only because I know she doesn’t mean a word of this statement, I’m adding it:

“It will take a tremendous effort, but Oklahoma educators are more than up to the task.”

One description of the conjunction 'but' is adversative...what a wonderful word. What a true word in this case. That ‘but’ takes away everything in the clause it follows – its purpose is to slap us with the fact she’s right, and we’re wrong… with that one little word, she implies we DO accept poverty…we DO use it as an excuse. We DON’T support breaking the cycle of poverty.

Think of how we use the word ‘but’ – “He’s such a nice boy, but dumb…She’s so sweet, but ugly.” It negates everything…it contrasts, it sets up the real truth in the statement, after a positive beginning. It’s the snark that says, “You didn’t really believe me before, did you?”

So, two statements that are serious slaps at educators, and we’re supposed to believe her last “but” statement at face value, “but Oklahoma educators are more than up to the task?” Ironically, we are, but she doesn’t believe it. This is her pretense to play nice, to show her total support of Oklahoma educators. Educators she hopes will vote for her, right after she gently withdraws the blade between our ribs and pats the bleeding wound. If educators DO vote for her, they deserve this continued abuse. Unfortunately, the rest of us suffer too.

And then there’s: “This is a matter of civil rights.” Many conservative pundits use that phrase, trying to co-opt the civil rights struggle for their own purpose. They want to provide vouchers and charter schools as ways to address inequity.

How about funding schools? Hiring and retaining dedicated career teachers? Assuring library books and working technology in every school?

Yes, equity in education IS a civil rights issue. Here are some ugly facts missing from this fluff-piece: 21,000 children in Oklahoma are homeless.  Also, In Oklahoma, 24% of our children come to us from poor families. According to a very recent study, 85% of variability in school performance is attributable to economic well being of students’ families. Oklahoma schools did not fare any better. The Center for Public Education has combined 19 research studies on class size, and has concluded lowering class size leads to higher achievement, especially in early grades, with an experienced teacher.

No matter how great, teachers cannot combat these realities in the classroom. We need politicians brave enough to do the right thing. If our policy makers were serious about tackling poverty in our schools as the new civil rights issue, let them start here, not on the friendly pages of the DOK

“It would be folly to deny the effects of poverty,” but politicians will continue to ignore and deny in their quest to blame educators.

“It will take a tremendous effort,” but educators will stand alone in this battle.

“Schools alone can’t break the cycle of poverty,” but educators will be charged to do just that, and blamed when we cannot.