Burned by Your Firewall!

How many times have educators been burned by their school’s firewall or web site filter? The number is probably too staggering to figure. But, it is a lot! Web site filters are put in place in schools that receive federal funds to buy computers. According to the Children’s Internet Protection Act of 2000, filters must be in place or schools become ineligible to receive that money. I stressed educators in the first sentence because the web site filter is more of a hindrance for teachers than for students. “More often, filters hamstring teachers’ efforts to develop lessons that effectively prepare students for 21st-century challenges.” (Washington Post, July 11, 1009)
Filters are much less of a problem for students. Many students are so technology savvy that they know the way to get around these filters. There is even a group of students on Facebook called “How to access Facebook from school” that sends out strategies to it’s members so that they can freely go anywhere on the computers at school. Every time one of the school IT people or state-wide filter techs come up with a patch to fix how students are accessing the web the students will find another strategy around the patch.
I believe that we are better off teaching students about online safety than relying on a filter to do the job for us. Many courses, such as I-Safe, have wonderful programming that is started in the elementary schools to teach students about not releasing their personal information, what to do about online bullying, avoiding “phishing”, and being polite online. In the Middle and High Schools, this education can be continued in all the courses that have some online component or requirement.
Supervision is another key strategy discussed in the Washington Post article. If teachers spend more time walking about the computer lab or library while their students are online, students will have less opportunity to get off-task. Placing computers in highly visible places in the classrooms and library will also be helpful. The use of computer management software is also recommended. I currently use a program called Vision that allows me to see all the computer screens in the Library and the Computer Lab from my computer in my office. I can open chats with the students to redirect them if they are not on an appropriate site, freeze their computers so that they cannot continue what they are working on, or take over their computer in a demonstration mode and show them how to do something.
It is time to get rid of the filters that hamper education. Let’s continue to educate our students about online safety and manners instead of trying to prevent them from accessing the world wide web.

Yes! Contracts!

I am very excited! The Mandan Education Association and the Mandan School Board have come to an agreement on contracts for next year. The School Board and MEA have yet to ratify the agreement, but this is according to an article in today’s Bismarck Tribune. Many of you may wonder what the big deal is. The big deal is that we will have a contract prior to school starting in the Fall and we will not end up going to impasse. The big deal is that no one – not the teachers or the board members – have ended up feeling slighted. The big deal is there was no resorting to hurt feelings, name calling, accusations of hidden money, or arguing across the table. The biggest deal is that teachers will go back to school this Fall with very positive attitudes towards our employer and towards education. In some years past, teachers have felt under-appreciated by the school board. The attitude at the start of school has sometimes been hurt or anger on the teacher’s part, feeling like they are only going to work the hours they are paid for and whatever gets done, okay. If it doesn’t get done, well, the students will wait. (Yeh, I know, not a real professional attitude!)

The biggest deal is that if teachers feel they are being paid what they are worth and that they are appreciated, they are more willing to look at making changes. Maybe these changes have to do with a more constructivist approach to learning. Some teachers may wish to explore more inquiry directed learning. Teachers might be feeling so good that they want to revamp their lessons to include more critical thinking skills or revise their questioning strategies.

Students can only benefit from these great attitudes and happy feelings from their instructors. Students will pick up right away on the positive attitudes of their classroom teachers, and positive attitudes are usually catchy. Maybe students will feel more positive about the work they are doing. Students’ attitudes may be affected for the better as well. They may be more excited about coming to school, more excited about the material they are studying, and willing to work harder as a result.

Settled contracts going into a school year is a definite win-win for everyone. The going gets tough soon enough as we settle into winter (especially if we have a winter like the last one). With everyone willing to give a little more, our educational success should be a given.

A Test Is a Test Is a Test – Not!

This title is borrowed from an article about achievement testing from Educational Leadership. The author states that all achievement tests are not the same. Many times when achievement tests are used as the basis for research studies the name of the test is not even mentioned. Given that achievement tests differ from each other, it is like basing research results on the comparison between apples and oranges.
So why do I bring up achievement tests this week? Because of the impact that achievement test, i.e. high-stakes tests, have on the process of education today and on educators. Achievement tests are used in virtually every state in the nation. While there are advantages to achievement tests (Orlich, p. 341) I still feel that the tests are being used inappropriately. It seems to me that the achievement tests being used today are constructed on the most basic level of Bloom’s Taxonomy. Many of these tests use primarily multiple-choice items; and while this is “... generally considered the most useful objective test item...” I believe that it stays in the knowledge outcomes and not the higher-level learning outcomes.
The other thing that bothers me about achievement tests is the correlation made between the outcome of the test and the quality of the education that the students are receiving in school. Either the teacher is doing a good job or not doing a good job. “... standardized achievement tests should not be used to evaluate the quality of education. That's not what they are supposed to do.” (The Problem With Standardized Achievement Tests) Teachers that take the time to teach their students how to be critical thinkers may end up being penalized because that is not what achievement tests measure. While we read in our text that Inquiry Learning motivates students to excel, tests with such high-stakes accountability can have the opposite effect.
Another problem point with standardized achievement tests is what these tests say to students with a low socio-economic-status (SES). When these students see their scores do they believe they are dumb? I hope not. I recently received a newsletter from the middle school that my daughter will attend next year as a seventh-grader. The whole newsletter was fulfilling the requirement that the school had to inform parents that this middle school did not make AYP for the year. When I looked closely at the results, it was the students in the low SES, as well as in the ethnicity category that scored so low, it brought down the results for the whole school. The principal informed us (parents) that we had a right to transfer our child to a school that did meet AYP, however, none of the middle schools in our town did so that is not an option. I wouldn’t even consider it. I still consider the education of my children at this school to be exceptional, low scores or not. I don’t believe that this is a measure of the quality of the educational that students receive at this school. However, less informed parents may be inclined to believe this. What a shame!
In conclusion, I hate to see what standardized achievement tests are doing to education. Teachers should be spending more time using the Inquiry model, discovery learning, and encouraging/teaching critical thinking skills. Teachers should not be spending valuable class time “teaching to the test”.

Cooperative Learning Boosts Math Achievement

I really liked the section of our text this week that discussed cooperative learning and decided to expand on that for my blog post this week. I found an article published out of Baltimore on June 24th called Cooperative Learning Methods Top List of Effective Approaches for Secondary Mathematics, Finds Johns Hopkins Review.
The Johns Hopkins Center has been conducting a massive project to find evidence of the types of programs and teaching practices that have been proven to improve student achievement. They then provide this unbiased information to educators so they can adopt the “... programs and practices most likely to make a difference with their students”. Their research suggests that “Cooperative learning methods have been found to be most effective in raising the math scores of middle and high school students...” Classroom organization is also mentioned as a means to “... maximize student engagement and motivation, rather than expecting that choosing one or another textbook by itself will move students forward.”
This week’s text clearly lists the benefits for students and teachers of cooperative learning. So I question why more teachers do not utilize this strategy. Maybe the time factor that it takes to master this method (Orlig suggests about one year or longer) is too daunting for teachers. Perhaps teachers feel that students will not make the academic gains they should using cooperative learning or that low-achieving students will not benefit from such close interaction with higher-achieving students. Another possible reason could also be that teachers feel that the level peer support and trust does not exist.
The benefits of cooperative learning are clearly visible through this study. Educators can see the full reports on the Best Evidence Encyclopedia web site for themselves. As the full effects of No Child Left Behind are felt in schools and administrators clamor for teachers to find ways to increase student achievement, I believe the method of cooperative learning must be more fully implemented in our classrooms.

Middle Schoolers Shape the Destiny of the Nation

This week I have chosen to blog about a recent article that I found in the May 2009 issue of Middle School Journal. The article is written by Ken Kay who is president of the Partnership for 21st Century Skills. The title of the article, Middle Schools Preparing Young People for 21st Century Life and Work, talks about how middle schools in America are being left behind. In No Child Left Behind, elementary schools are given a clear mission of “getting students ready to learn” and high schools are given the mission to get students ready for college or careers. Not much is said about the mission of middle schools. Some middle schools have chosen to continue with the elementary school mission by “Support[ing] students in adjusting to the physical, social, emotional, and intellectual transitions...” that are so common during the middle school years. Other schools have chosen to “Give students a taste or a hefty dose of the academic coursework they will encounter in high school...” Neither of these approaches is working. Kay contends that we need to give middle school students an approach based on 21st century skills. He says, “This will turn the tide on stagnant or negative growth in student achievement, stave off boredom and frustration, and prepare students to succeed in higher-level courses in high school.” (p. 43) Kay believes that middle school students are ready to tackle the challenge of innovation in learning and that only the educational system is holding the students back. By the end of the eighth grade students should be able to learn by doing, talking, working in teams, and problem solving. This would increase our retention of students into high school and reduce drop-out rates as well. By learning in this manner, we are taking into account the multiple intelligences theory from our text and adding the technology and global awareness that appeal to students. Kay says, “They [students] want and need engaging work that stimulates their curiosity, involves them in decision making, provides some autonomy and choice in learning, improves self-regulation, and allows opportunities for creative expression.” This phrase reminds me of a lot of the concepts presented in Reality Therapy. (Orlich, p. 191) Students are taking more responsibility for their education and solving problems. Teachers would interact completely differently with students in this approach, with much more student-teacher involvement in the classroom. We need to stress to students at the middle-level that they can be confident in their abilities and that their motivation to achieve will be rewarded in their future. This talented group of students that we release into the world will “shape the destiny of our nation”.

Ancient Game/New Teaching Tool

There has been a lot of talk recently in the library professional journals about gaming in the Library. Public libraries, especially, are encouraged to start gaming clubs as a draw to get teens and young adults to come to the library and take advantage of their programming. When these journals refer to gaming they are, of course, referring to something electronic. In this post I am referring to the ancient game of Chess (although I suppose there are electronic versions somewhere). A recent article in USA Today (Tuesday, June 2, 2009, p. 7D) called Chess makes a move in U.S. schools reminded me of this gaming effort. In this case, bribes to take part in the program are unnecessary. There has been a wonderful response to scholastic chess and it is making a great impact on students. A representative for America’s Foundation for Chess says, “... she has seen a “huge increase” in the number of schools and students interested in chess.” Teachers say the biggest impact they see is in student performance in mathematics. The foundation has developed a program that teaches 2nd and 3rd grade teachers how to use chess as “...a learning tool...”. The program is titled First Move. “The aim: to teach critical thinking skills that help students succeed academically and socially...One of the basics of the chessboard is that it uses a coordinate system (which is) the basis of algebra.” Teaching students how to think logically in a fun way has some great benefits. Students don’t need to be super-athletic, really good looking, or even young or old. “Chess is an equalizer...” that will appeal to a broad spectrum of students.
Logical thought is also needed to be an accomplished Rubik’s Cube puzzle solver. Two years ago we had a young teacher start a Rubik’s Cube club at school. This was a great club for students that did not have the above listed qualities. It was “the Nerdy” club and they were proud of it. Every student was given a Rubik’s Cube as part of their membership and they met morning before school. The enthusiasm was high as it takes a lot to get teenagers out of bed early to go to an activity at school. The speed with which these kids could solve the puzzle by mid-year was phenomenal. Teachers even allowed students to work on their cubes during study hall as long as they were not bothering anyone else. Participants didn’t think of this as a “logical thinking” activity. It was pure fun! Unfortunately, the teacher moved after the end of this year and I don’t know if we have anyone on staff to take up the effort. I applaud the schools that are helping students to learn in a disguised way. If you would like to try to solve the Rubik’s Cube there is an official website that will help.

I’d like to talk about social capital and how it affects our students. The text (Orlich) stressed the importance of social capital in schools. Social capital encompasses all the human interactions that take place within the school community. I believe that this concept really enhances the education of children. It teaches them proper social behavior and provides students with support and encouragement. But sometimes what occurs in schools isn’t enough. I recently read an article in the Fargo Forum titled “Students learn to mind their manners” (May 31, 2009). The article is available at: http://www.inforum.com/event/article/id/242359/ With the addition of teaching etiquette to students, Fargo and West Fargo teachers are addressing an issue rarely talked about anymore. I remember learning about etiquette from my mother and then from a Girl Scout leader. We learned how to properly set a table and table manners. The Fargo teachers are taking it step further in introducing phone etiquette, politeness, the concept of opening doors for others and in-person social skills. With many students spending so much of their time interacting with video games and MTV where there is a “...MTV- inspired, anything goes culture” it is no wonder that students no longer practice or even know what proper etiquette involves.

The Fargo teachers at first complained about the addition to their workload in teaching the new unit in addition to the character programs they were already running. However, the efforts have proved worthwhile. One student commented that she felt more appreciated because her classmates were now in the habit of opening doors for each other. With the increase in texting that students do, a lot of verbal skills have also been lost. This program also addresses how to make small talk, definitely a lost art.

How does this tie into social capital? If “the school is an especially critical source of social capital ... provid[ing] the physical and social framework for teachers, students, and parents/caregivers to work toward a common good...” I believe we need to address this skill in school. Manners address all kinds of unwritten rules for children that many have not learned at home for various reasons. Perhaps their parents were never taught proper etiquette. I recently purchased a book on etiquette for the Library and students read it like it is Greek. They are so surprised about how they should act in different situations. The book has been a great eye-opener for them.

I say, “Good for You, Fargo teachers” for addressing a new need that will make our students better people.

For more tips on etiquette please consult this site: http://www.mannersinternational.com/etiquette_tips.asp