An interesting experiment is taking place in the U.K.: They call it the Nanny Intervention, appropriately, since an actual trained woman is sent to dysfunctional families or to parents incapable of educating their children properly. The goal is not to separate families as happens with the foster system, often with traumatic consequences. The lady, a mother herself, is charged with helping raise the kids while educating parents at the same time. I have seen my ample share of incompetent parents, from the very young ones (kids having kids), to the careless and totally inept. Depending on the situation, the nanny will stay for days, weeks, or even months. Of course, this is government intervention at its worst but it has the merit of leaving children with their original creators whenever possible.
Round Peg In a Square Hole?
1 DecWhy do so many older minds waste so many young minds?
Have you ever asked yourself why we continue, after hundreds of years, to use the same classroom format in our public and often in our private education? The same drab four walls, the same omniscient and omnipotent (irony intended) teacher, the same one or two black or white boards, the same boring posters about the benefits of studying and obtaining a high school diploma, the same instruments of torture we call desks, into which no self-respecting linebacker would fit, the same droning lectures that would beat any sleeping pill without the nasty side effects, the same uninspiring school books or (already prepared) hand outs, the same boring benchmarks and testing reviews, all this for very mediocre results.
The Dark Side of Teaching
18 NovIn some inner city schools, many teachers fear for their life, aware that some of their high school students belong to violent gangs (is there any other kind?) They therefore do their best not to make waves, i.e. not to upset their mean looking and tattooed pupils. Entrance to the schools is blocked by cops and metal detectors, but even then, the bad guys manage to sneak some weapons into the classroom. Of course, education and learning suffer greatly, but even then some students manage to graduate while many others drop out to explore illicit gains. That is one dark side in education; the other one can be called politics and mismanagement, which is the one I plan to discuss in this space.
very young gang members
Are They Ready?
26 Sep
Employers also have noted that many recent high school graduates do not possess the basic reading, writing, and mathematics skills they need to function on the job; and providing remedial training to address this problem costs employers millions of dollars each year (The American Diploma Project [ADP], 2004).
The eternal question is: Is a high school diploma a guarantee that the student is ready to either hit college or perform a job with a minimum amount of skills? The answer, of course, is no; from my own experience and according to national studies, more than half the high school graduates need remedial classes in English and Math. The above quote is from 2004, but the problem continues nowadays and the causes are not found so much among students but rather among educational authorities.
Never Assume
1 Sep
‘A happy union with wife and children is like the music of lutes and harps! When there is concord among brethren, the harmony is delightful and enduring. (Confucius)
I will never forget the day I scolded a student in front of his class for not paying attention first, and then for not answering with courtesy. I learned later that the teen, a very smart kid, lived with foster parents because his natural ones had abused him so much that the court had assigned other adults to care for him. He hadn’t known what love and care were until he reached his new home at the age of 11. And there I was treating him like a spoiled brat. The next day I took him aside and apologized for losing my temper, although in truth the whole classroom was a tsunami of bad behavior. Of course, that was no excuse for singling him out without knowing his past. That boy was such a noble character that, in spite of his severe emotional trauma, he actually apologized to me. I later talked to the foster parents who graciously accepted my regrets: “It’s happened before”, they added, “and we understand that a teacher cannot be aware of every single detail in the life of his students.”
They are wrong; no matter how much work we have as teachers, we must make a special effort to know the circumstances of every student in our classroom because we have access to their academic and personal history. We can never assume that every kid is able, stable, and willing to learn. I had a loving mother, though not a father, and that gave me a rock solid foundation of self-esteem. What the heck do I know about being sent to one foster home after another? That boy had been profoundly hurt emotionally and to add insult to injury, had to be separated from his siblings because no foster family could accept all five of them.
Keep The Discussion Alive
28 Aug
Geoffrey Chaucer School (Photo credit: stevecadman)
After reading with great pleasure the various comments posted on the subject of a new teaching system, I felt like keeping the fires going.
Let’s continue this train of thought, changing the usual classroom format, and imagine a series of learning stations manned by educators who, instead of lecturing, would answer questions, counsel, orient, and guide the young people’s progress.
Upending Education
22 AugPractice no sloth, so that the duty and good work, which it is necessary for thee to do, may not remain undone (Zoroaster)
There is a revolutionary teacher on YouTube called Salman Khan; I just ran across his educational (free) videos which teach everything from basic fractions to advanced biology. But his major contribution is a revolutionary concept that has upset teachers all across the nation. More in a moment. He is talking, and some famous billionaires are listening. Khan has a collection of advanced degrees from prestigious universities such as MIT and Harvard, so we know that he is smart, very smart, very, very smart. He was born in New Orleans, but he personifies our urgent need to allow ambitious and motivated immigrants to enter this great country. Salman’s father was from Bangladesh, one of the poorest countries in the world, and his mother was born in India. Khan, 35, got tired of making money (!) as an analyst in a hedge fund and decided that posting free classes on YouTube was much more rewarding. Continue reading
Abusive Parents
27 MayTime for one more post before the scalpel does its work:)
“A youth, when at home, should be filial, and,
abroad, respectful to his elders. He should be earnest and truthful.
He should overflow in love to all, and cultivate the friendship of the
good. When he has time and opportunity, after the performance of these
things, he should employ them in polite studies.”
A Wonderful Discovery
9 May
Deutsch: Lage von XY (siehe Dateiname) in den Vereinigten Staaten. English: Location of state of XY (see filename) in the United States (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Just finished another round of testing, this time with the new state assessment for the state of Texas dreamed up by idle bureaucrats; the last one was perfectly O.K. It gave me however a chance to talk to freshmen from all walks of life once they finished testing. It’s amazing how much information and interest a teacher can elicit in a couple of days in open and frank exchanges. As usual, we had 3 hours with nothing to do – nothing allowed of course, except talking, till the gods of education decided to let us go to class for the last period.
jcsprenger
The best in education and society
- The Tower Of Babel May 22, 2013The Tower of Babel does exist amongst us; it’s called public schools We have various levels of English-speaking students in high school, from the recent arrival who doesn’t speak a word to those who have lived in the U.S. for 2-3 years or the youngsters who never bothered to learn the language well even though […]jcsprenger
- Democratic Education May 18, 2013Rousseau wrote in his book Emile that all children are perfectly designed organisms, ready to learn from their surroundings so as to grow into virtuous adults, but due to the malign influence of corrupt society, they often fail to do so (Wikipedia, Philosophy of Education) Jean-Jacques Rousseau, the famous philosopher born in Geneva, Switzerland (as […]jcsprenger
- My Future, Which One? May 14, 2013The next Einstein may well be an illegal immigrant already living amongst us I was just discussing with a fellow teacher our most important role in helping teens become independent as adults; I told him that I had met an ex-student, a special education one, working in a supermarket packing goods for customers. It was […]jcsprenger
- My Top Five Websites On Self-Improvement May 12, 2013Top Five Websites “We are all close neighbors in today’s shrinking world” http://mecwrites25.wordpress.com/ A good friend who presents delightful insights and photos from her travels http://dougsboomerrants.wordpress.com/ He has helped me reflect on several aspects of education through his very accurate comments http://mscassidysclass.edublogs.org/ We can al […]jcsprenger
- Courage Under Fire May 9, 2013“If you are afraid of the heat, don’t go to the kitchen“ It takes guts to become a teacher, not just knowledge and how to communicate effectively. Few people realize that facing 25 or more kids or teens is indeed a terrifying experience. I have seen novel teachers use the revolving door, that is, they […]jcsprenger
- Ruining a Kid’s Life? May 6, 2013“Everybody is entitled to make a stupid mistake from time to time” Schools overall are overreacting to innocent pranks and/or innocuous objects brought to the classroom; the kid who had a ‘pistol’ made of cardboard was expelled: he was only 9 years old. The zero-tolerance policies are hurting students beyond reason, as happened to […]jcsprenger
- I Was Nominated For The Liebster Award May 5, 2013My Duties Are: 1. Thank the Liebster Blog presenter who nominated you and link back to their blog. http://middleagedcoed.wordpress.com/2013/04/27/i-won-the-liebster-award/ My sincere thanks to Sharon, the middleagedcoed in question, for nominating my humble effort for the Liebster (from the German LOVER) award. 2. Post 11 facts about yourself, answer the […]jcsprenger
- The Paper Trail May 2, 2013For the students, by the students, to the students Only two concepts should motivate teachers to act: 1) It benefits the student 2) It causes no harm to the student; everything else is secondary, especially the immense accumulation of paperwork. One teacher who trained to become a principal confessed in a moment of frankness that […]jcsprenger
- I’m Rich, I Quit April 28, 2013Title: I’m Rich, I Quit “Being a teacher is a vocation, not a job” (The author) As an informal experiment, I asked 10 teachers in my school to answer the following question: “If you won the lottery biggest prize, what would you do?” Only 2 instructors answered that they would continue to teach for at […]jcsprenger
- Let’s Hire Robots Instead of Human Teachers April 20, 2013“A superior teacher is born, not made” (The author) 1. “The push for high test scores undermines the very essence of teachers’ creativity and their ability to be responsive to the particular needs of their students, varying as they do from student to student, year to year, and classroom to classroom,” Milner writes. “Their ability […]jcsprenger
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