Interesting Research

I received this article from the MEA Leaders email. Please read on:
New report urges policymakers to address poverty in order to increase student learning
Contact: Teri Battaglieri – (517) 203-2940;
EAST LANSING, Mich., (March 9, 2009) – A new report argues that out-of-school factors related to poverty are the major cause of the achievement gap that exists between poor and minority students and the rest of the student population. This is in direct contrast to current federal education policies that are based on the belief that public schools should shoulder the blame for lack of achievement on the part of impoverished students.
“Schools are told to fix problems that largely lie outside their zone of influence,” says David Berliner, Regents Professor of Education at Arizona State University and author of the report Poverty and Potential: Out-of-School Factors and School Success, which was released today by the Great Lakes Center for Education Research and Practice.
Berliner’s report comes as debate continues over the renewal of the No Child Left Behind Act, which imposes stiff accountability measures on schools in return for federal aid. NCLB requires public schools to demonstrate “adequate yearly progress” toward the eventual elimination of gaps in achievement among all demographic groups of students and imposes a variety of sanctions if they fall short.
Berliner says that NCLB’s accountability system is “fatally flawed” because it holds schools accountable for student achievement without regard for the out-of-school factors that affect it.
“This report provides exactly the type of information that should guide education policy,” says Teri Battaglieri, Director of the Great Lakes Center for Education Research and Practice. “It clearly explains why poverty must be directly addressed by those interested in closing the achievement gap, and it makes the case for spending our resources on strategies that will significantly impact student learning.”
Berliner’s report reviews six out-of-school factors that have been clearly linked to lower achievement among poor and minority-group students: birth weight and non-genetic parental influences; medical care; food insecurity; environmental pollution; family breakdown and stress; and neighborhood norms and conditions. In addition, he notes a seventh factor: extended learning opportunities in the form of summer programs, after-school programs, and preschool programs. Access to these resources by poor and minority students could help mitigate the effects of the other six factors.
Because of the extraordinary influence of the six factors identified in the report, Berliner cautions that “increased spending on schools, as beneficial as that might be, will probably come up short in closing the gaps.” Instead, he calls for an approach to school improvement that would demand “a reasonable level of societal accountability for children’s physical and mental health and safety.”
“At that point,” he concludes, “maybe we can sensibly and productively demand that schools be accountable for comparable levels of academic achievement for all America’s children.”
Find David Berliner’s report, Poverty and Potential: Out-of-School Factors and School Success, on the Web at: https://webmail.wlcsd.org/owa/redir.aspx?C=9c74a211ac61454ea04538739b0233d5&URL=http%3a%2f%2fwww.greatlakescenter.org%2f.
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The news today said that the economy had fallen to levels as low as in 1981. I asked my husband, "Do you remember as many people being out of jobs in 1981 as now?" He hadn't.

However, as I sat here thinking a little harder (1981 was a LONG time ago and I'm not getting younger!), the principal at my job in Whitmore Lake at that time, came to me one October day and told me the Board of Education had voted to lay me and several other teachers off in 10 days due to emergency financial conditions. The teachers there had been working without a contract for over a year, and money to small districts was even less than before (schools were supported merely by their millage votes back in those days....no Proposal A). I was so sad and I cried on the way home from school. I was a special ed teacher in those days and I had done my student teaching at the Children's Psychiatric Hospital at the University of Michigan, so I saw that they had an opening. In 2 weeks I was working there. I was geeked. A pay raise and it was a great place to work.

That same year, after getting the new job, my old black Mustang was getting old, so I went out to buy my OWN first brand new car. The cheapest interest rate I could get was 14%....YIKES. I bought a little Ford EXP (a sportsy version of the Ford Escort) and I was thrilled.

Three years later my husband and I bought our first house. We got an adjustable mortgage at 9%....YIKES.....and that was cheap. The first house we had TRIED to buy, and eventually let the deal fall through, was an adjustable 11% loan. We decided that was too much. Of course, a fixed rate mortgage was much higher at that point. THANK goodness the overall cost of houses and cars was much lower then. We later refinanced the house for a cheaper fixed rate.

My point being.......things were kind of bad back then, but they got better. Hopefully, things get better now as well.

WHOA.....computer techs!

Tonight we had SOMETHING on our computer that continued to say we had all these awful viruses and Trojans programs. It wouldn't let you go onto websites, email, or anything. And the only way to get out of it appeared to be to pay them BUCKS! I messed with the control panel to see if I couldn't remove it, but it wasn't on the control panel. I decided I needed help.

I called Symantec because I have Norton as my virus protector, and they said they could help me if I couldn't find this virus. They knew exactly what it was. So, I paid them a fee and they gave me numbers to enter and they had control of my computer on a remote basis. Pretty scary in a way! On the otherhand, what a gift. The tech found the virus with a few different clicks. He seemed to be searching a couple different places, and then he got rid of it. He made it look way too easy.

So, my computer seems fixed, and I'm thinking that the world certainly has changed. In the old days I would have had to lug in the dang thing and gotten it back in two weeks if I was lucky. I talked to two technicians and they both had very thick accents. I believe they were Indian. I wonder if they were in India; usually I ask, but I didn't tonight. It makes me think of the economy in Michigan and jobs for the future generations. What will there be for them to do and where will it be? As a middle school teacher you want kids to be prepared, but is there more we should be doing? As I struggle to get them to read and write better, I hope they take their education seriously. I doubt there will be jobs that won't require good reading and writing skills.

What I'm hearing

I've been running around the district...in my car....delivering my final yellow card to teacher mailboxes. I've had a chance to meet many people along the way. What I am hearing is that teachers want to be heard, they want to hear, and they want to be treated fairly. I think that's exactly what all teachers need and want....employees need and want......human beings need and want. We want people to know what we are doing and to listen to us when we talk. People also want to get information as well. Getting out information to the membership so everyone gets the same message and all of the news is something people need and want. Thirdly, people want what's fair and to be treated fairly. I guess the question should be, who wouldn't want to be treated fairly? Who wouldn't want what is fair?

This will be an important job to get done if I am elected president, but it certainly is exactly what I want and need as an educator myself.

Back to School After Break

Back to school today after the winter break. The kids were happy to be back, and it was good to see them. REALLY! It's funny, I love to teach and be with kids. My first hour advanced English group is the only group I am teaching now because I've turned over my other hours to my student teacher. We just finished the poetry unit and we are beginning research! I am teaching them true research (in my opinion) and we are doing it with internet sources, but they have to keep note cards. I do this because I don't want them copying and pasting information into a document. I suppose we could keep electronic cards of some sort, but then they would be copying and pasting to those. I am really trying to have them get used to reading information, picking out the most important "stuff", and then summarizing it in their own words. Old fashioned? Maybe. Necessary? I still think so, but I would be willing to investigate other venues as long as they were summarizing and restating info in their own words.

We teachers, are always looking for new ways.

Animal Advocacy

So, today I'm going to break away from my discussion of education and pursue my other passion.....animal rights. Specifically, the "kill" policies of many groups who pretend to be animal right activists. I am specifically speaking of the Humane Society of the United States. I will NEVER, EVER EVER again give them one cent of my money.

The situation? A dog fighting/pit bull fighting breeder was arrested in Wilkes County, North Carolina in December. His arrest followed an investigation by the HSUS. The Wilkes County authorities took over 120 dogs into their care. Since the December date, 15 to 20 puppies were born to the already existing puppy population in the breeding group. The plight of these "rescued dogs" apparently was a very contradictory issue, and it eventually ended up in court. The judge ruled that ALL of the dogs were to be "Euthanized"......killed. The Humane Society of the United States recommended this as well because of their policy about fighting dogs. Within 24 hours all of these dogs were killed.

How any HUMAN could consent to kill over 130 dogs and puppies is beyond anything I can imagine. It is particularly disturbing when rescue groups with such elite reputations, such as Best Friends (a HUGE rescue group in Utah....they have the show "Dog Town" on the National Geographic Channel), had tried to contact the people in charge, to arrange for the dogs to be taken in by TRUE RESCUE GROUPS and earn their "pet certificates" (After the trial, the Wilkes County authorities claim they never heard from Best Friends. The judge got three calls in January alone, but never returned the calls!). I believe the Humane Society of United States does not fit the image they wish to portray when they encourage the killing of 135 dogs. They are nothing but a kill group. Puppies born after the seizure were also killed. How could they be deemed dangerous? I believe people will be judged by their humaneness toward other species. The state of North Carolina and HSUS has failed that test of humaneness.

If you would like to read more, here are several sights to go to:
http://www.nathanwinograd.com/

http://www.thenokillnation.com/?p=437

If you would like to sign an electronic petition:
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/hsus----wilkes-county-animal-control-senator-stan-bingham16-w-jones-street-room-2117-raleigh-nc

Here's the site for the head CEO of the HSUS.....very interesting....grrrrrrr. It makes you think he's a good guy:
http://www.hsus.org/about_us/board_and_staff/experts/experts/wayne_pacelle/

Reading the Contract Outloud Together

Today I spent some time at the MEA Uniserve Office reading the contract outloud together with Cyndi Austin, while Chriss was reading another part with Katie, the secretary. It's the way we were proofreading the contract to be sure everything was as it should be. Actually, it cracked me up a little....reading outloud together.......kind of teacherly, don't you think? It also was a good review of the contract language. There's so much of it, and it was interesting to go back through it. It's like anything you read, some parts "stick out" more than others depending on what you've been dealing with in life.

I was also very interested that I could read outloud and comprehend at the same time. Sometimes reading outloud together in class gets a bad rap, and I know reading silently is important, but my 7th graders love to hear me read outloud. Of course, I get a little dramatic sometimes, which they enjoy. I work to get kids to read with a bit more inflection and "feeling". My Advanced English kids have been reading their poetry outloud in class, and they rush through it so quickly and mumble so WELL, that I can't even understand what they're talking about. I'm going to have to look more into that.