So I guess the NRA says the answer to stop school shootings is more guns, joining the smattering of elected officials who recently have promoted the idea of arming teachers and principals. This approach is wrong.
If a place like Ft. Hood, TX which has some of our planet's most deadly weapons carried by some of our planet's most deadly professional soldiers, can be reduced to carnage by a single armed assassin, then what makes The NRA think that arming a nation of just-right-book loving, denim jumper wearing, wooden apple bead necklace creating, white board marker toting school teachers (and the rest of us) will be effective?
You want to arm me? Good. Then arm me with a school psychologist at my school who has time to do more than test and sit in meetings about testing.
Arm me with enough counselors so we can build skills to prevent violence, have meaningful discussions with students about their future and not merely frantically adjust student schedules like a Jenga game.
Arm me with social workers who can thoughtfully attend to a student's and her family's needs so I. Can. Teach.
Arm me with enough school nurses so that they are accessible to every child and can work as a team with me rather than operate their offices as de facto urgent care centers.
Arm me with more days on the calendar for teaching and learning and fewer days for standardized testing.
Arm me with class sizes that allow my colleagues and me to know both our students and their families well.
Arm my colleagues and me with the time it takes to improve together and the time it takes to give great feedback to students about their work and progress.
Until you arm me to the hilt with what it will take to meet the needs of an increasingly vulnerable student population, I respectfully request you keep your opinions on schools and our safety to yourself NRA. Knock it off.
Showing posts with label teachers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label teachers. Show all posts
Friday, December 21, 2012
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Angry Birds, Happy People
"Finland is a place where you have angry birds and happy people..."
-Pasi Sahlberg,Director General of the Centre for International Mobility and Cooperation at the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture.
I must give someone else in the delegation credit for noticing the deep consensus in Finland around happiness, keeping it simple and acting with intention and meaning. As I've been reflecting on her observation, I realize that much of what I admired about what I saw so far has fit into one of those categories.
Yesterday was our day to spend time in primary or comprehensive schools. I had the chance to spend the day in a neighborhood school that was also a magnet for students with diagnosed special needs before our afternoon with out-of-schooltime groups and a parent advocacy organization in the afternoon.
In the special needs/neighborhood school we visited, the headmaster summed up their consensus as to what made Finnish schools so good:
->High educational standards for all teachers (no shortcuts for some)
->Equal quality of schools
->Systems to support students not to drop out
->Municipalities and schools can consider local conditions when organizing education
->No private schools so children can learn to be will different kinds of people
->The idea of learning, not teaching. i.e. teachers have a great deal of autonomy and are expected to use several different methods of teaching and the focus is on giving students the tools they can use their whole life.
In another school, National Board of Professional Teaching Standards' President and CEO Ron Thorpe reported back that the principal answered "Because they have big freedom" when asked why people in Finland become teachers.
Ron said that the principal went on to describe the school by saying, "This school is a rose garden and these children are our roses."
This last point, in particular, was reinforced in the afternoon by the parent advocate who said one of the biggest concerns parents have is over-testing. "Finland has been very wise in not adopting all this testing. I'm proud of my child's teacher--now that's test enough."
He explained that the most important job of teachers and parents is to work together and, despite describing some concerns that I have seen first-hand in middle schools I've taught in, too--parents not being as involved as in elementary school, wanting better attendance at parent/teacher conferences--he stated, [we have to] "do the sort of community-building where we have trust or we [Finland] won't get the kind of results we've been getting."
Across all the representative groups: sports leagues, out-of-school-time organizations, parent and youth groups happiness and well-being was the common goal of all.
****
Today we spent the day in post-secondary institutions and talking to business leaders. One business leader in particular summed up his impression of Finnish educational success with:
Equality is opportunity
We trust our teachers
Less is more.
He went on to tell a story of how the headmaster of his child's school had the chance to tell Howard Gardner, of Harvard University that "We want to make good citizens," when asked what the purpose of Finnish public education was.
He also took some pride in pointing out in clear, clipped English that Finland takes care of its children, so "we've had 'no child left behind' for 150 years." With comprehensive, universal access to high quality health care, preschool, and a lifetime of free education, indeed.
Pasi went on to joke that in other places they have happy birds and angry people. Will we be able to learn these Finnish lessons, or will we be the angry people in Pasi's joke?
-Pasi Sahlberg,Director General of the Centre for International Mobility and Cooperation at the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture.
I must give someone else in the delegation credit for noticing the deep consensus in Finland around happiness, keeping it simple and acting with intention and meaning. As I've been reflecting on her observation, I realize that much of what I admired about what I saw so far has fit into one of those categories.
Yesterday was our day to spend time in primary or comprehensive schools. I had the chance to spend the day in a neighborhood school that was also a magnet for students with diagnosed special needs before our afternoon with out-of-schooltime groups and a parent advocacy organization in the afternoon.
In the special needs/neighborhood school we visited, the headmaster summed up their consensus as to what made Finnish schools so good:
->High educational standards for all teachers (no shortcuts for some)
->Equal quality of schools
->Systems to support students not to drop out
->Municipalities and schools can consider local conditions when organizing education
->No private schools so children can learn to be will different kinds of people
->The idea of learning, not teaching. i.e. teachers have a great deal of autonomy and are expected to use several different methods of teaching and the focus is on giving students the tools they can use their whole life.
In another school, National Board of Professional Teaching Standards' President and CEO Ron Thorpe reported back that the principal answered "Because they have big freedom" when asked why people in Finland become teachers.
Ron said that the principal went on to describe the school by saying, "This school is a rose garden and these children are our roses."
This last point, in particular, was reinforced in the afternoon by the parent advocate who said one of the biggest concerns parents have is over-testing. "Finland has been very wise in not adopting all this testing. I'm proud of my child's teacher--now that's test enough."
He explained that the most important job of teachers and parents is to work together and, despite describing some concerns that I have seen first-hand in middle schools I've taught in, too--parents not being as involved as in elementary school, wanting better attendance at parent/teacher conferences--he stated, [we have to] "do the sort of community-building where we have trust or we [Finland] won't get the kind of results we've been getting."
Across all the representative groups: sports leagues, out-of-school-time organizations, parent and youth groups happiness and well-being was the common goal of all.
****
Today we spent the day in post-secondary institutions and talking to business leaders. One business leader in particular summed up his impression of Finnish educational success with:
Equality is opportunity
We trust our teachers
Less is more.
He went on to tell a story of how the headmaster of his child's school had the chance to tell Howard Gardner, of Harvard University that "We want to make good citizens," when asked what the purpose of Finnish public education was.
He also took some pride in pointing out in clear, clipped English that Finland takes care of its children, so "we've had 'no child left behind' for 150 years." With comprehensive, universal access to high quality health care, preschool, and a lifetime of free education, indeed.
Pasi went on to joke that in other places they have happy birds and angry people. Will we be able to learn these Finnish lessons, or will we be the angry people in Pasi's joke?
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Save Our Schools--Why I'm Marching
A few months ago when I decided to support the Save Our Schools March and Call to Action I had a long list of where I thought “education reform” had gone off the tracks. But it wasn’t what angered me or scared me that sparked my interest. It was finding a national community of people who matched the indomitable hope and determination that exists within me and the members of my union that we can do better together despite setbacks, insults, attacks and deliberate mischaracterizations.
Recently, I decided not just to support the Save Our Schools March and Call to Action; I decided to be there to march as well.
I’m marching for the teachers who joined me for the last 3 years in having the temerity to develop our own alternative licensure program for St. Paul: CareerTeacher--a better alternative to diversify our teaching force and meet the needs of all students.
I’m marching for the 4 years of work we’ve spent intentionally developing a full-spectrum, career-long, continuous-growth model teacher support and evaluation system based on peer assistance and review. I’m marching for an administration who believes in doing this work with us and not to us.
I’m marching with and on behalf of the St. Paul teachers who wanted a better, more direct relationship with parents and instituted a thoughtful parent home visit program.
I’m marching for the teachers who pitched the idea of a local union-delivered professional conference and then worked their tails off to deliver it six years in a row. And I’m marching for the 300+ teachers who have given up personal time that annual Saturday each spring to attend because they value learning from each other.
I’m marching for the veteran teachers who took monstrous amounts of their own free time to support me as I earned my National Board Certification. While Marlene Dietrich said something like “It’s the friends you can call at 2 in the morning that count” I know it’s the expert 20+ year veteran teachers you can email with questions in the middle of the night, who answer you back, who count for me.
I’m marching for the parents and teachers who want to set up site-governed schools.
I’m marching for the parents, community members and groups who have opened their doors and their ideas to our local union.
I’m marching for the success of the St. Paul Promise Neighborhood initiative, where a city, school district, community and union have come together to solve problems and meet the needs of people rather than point fingers.
I’m marching for every child who deserves a well-prepared and effective teacher, which is every child, by the way. Including my own. I march for my two children who, like their fellow public school peers, have one shot a great K-12 learning experience.
I'm marching for my dad and his peers who worked to improve the teaching profession I inherited from them with the understanding that I would not rest on their legacy but I would continue their work to improve teaching and learning as well.
The timing of the March could not be better for me to march for the State of Minnesota. We just finished a difficult and, in some cases, damaging shutdown by coming to some difficult and, in some cases, damaging conclusions.
However, I will march on Saturday with the stubborn, dogged determination of someone determined to work in community to make an opportunity out of every last policy-laden sentence of our new K-12 bill and maybe even the higher education one, too.
I will march for a statewide teacher support and evaluation framework that intentionally supports a teacher’s natural instinct to get stronger, not a system designed to play ‘gotcha.’
I will march with determination to reject someone’s intent to end integration aid and turn it into a vibrant, committed statewide conversation about ending racism and improving equity instead.
I will march to prove collective bargaining is the most powerful tool we have to reach our common goal as a state to meet the needs of every child.
I will march to do whatever I can to include parents in our work and in the conversations we’re going to have.
I will march for a principal support and evaluation program that most values support of good teaching and learning.
I will march for the work it will take to come together to prepare to deliver every child to post-secondary learning and assure that learning is affordable, accessible and excellent.
So, while my list of education reform gone off the tracks is long, my list of everything that suggests our best days in public education are ahead of us is longer, and more motivating. We can do this work together and so I invite you to join me where ever you can along this march.
Recently, I decided not just to support the Save Our Schools March and Call to Action; I decided to be there to march as well.
I’m marching for the teachers who joined me for the last 3 years in having the temerity to develop our own alternative licensure program for St. Paul: CareerTeacher--a better alternative to diversify our teaching force and meet the needs of all students.
I’m marching for the 4 years of work we’ve spent intentionally developing a full-spectrum, career-long, continuous-growth model teacher support and evaluation system based on peer assistance and review. I’m marching for an administration who believes in doing this work with us and not to us.
I’m marching with and on behalf of the St. Paul teachers who wanted a better, more direct relationship with parents and instituted a thoughtful parent home visit program.
I’m marching for the teachers who pitched the idea of a local union-delivered professional conference and then worked their tails off to deliver it six years in a row. And I’m marching for the 300+ teachers who have given up personal time that annual Saturday each spring to attend because they value learning from each other.
I’m marching for the veteran teachers who took monstrous amounts of their own free time to support me as I earned my National Board Certification. While Marlene Dietrich said something like “It’s the friends you can call at 2 in the morning that count” I know it’s the expert 20+ year veteran teachers you can email with questions in the middle of the night, who answer you back, who count for me.
I’m marching for the parents and teachers who want to set up site-governed schools.
I’m marching for the parents, community members and groups who have opened their doors and their ideas to our local union.
I’m marching for the success of the St. Paul Promise Neighborhood initiative, where a city, school district, community and union have come together to solve problems and meet the needs of people rather than point fingers.
I’m marching for every child who deserves a well-prepared and effective teacher, which is every child, by the way. Including my own. I march for my two children who, like their fellow public school peers, have one shot a great K-12 learning experience.
I'm marching for my dad and his peers who worked to improve the teaching profession I inherited from them with the understanding that I would not rest on their legacy but I would continue their work to improve teaching and learning as well.
The timing of the March could not be better for me to march for the State of Minnesota. We just finished a difficult and, in some cases, damaging shutdown by coming to some difficult and, in some cases, damaging conclusions.
However, I will march on Saturday with the stubborn, dogged determination of someone determined to work in community to make an opportunity out of every last policy-laden sentence of our new K-12 bill and maybe even the higher education one, too.
I will march for a statewide teacher support and evaluation framework that intentionally supports a teacher’s natural instinct to get stronger, not a system designed to play ‘gotcha.’
I will march with determination to reject someone’s intent to end integration aid and turn it into a vibrant, committed statewide conversation about ending racism and improving equity instead.
I will march to prove collective bargaining is the most powerful tool we have to reach our common goal as a state to meet the needs of every child.
I will march to do whatever I can to include parents in our work and in the conversations we’re going to have.
I will march for a principal support and evaluation program that most values support of good teaching and learning.
I will march for the work it will take to come together to prepare to deliver every child to post-secondary learning and assure that learning is affordable, accessible and excellent.
So, while my list of education reform gone off the tracks is long, my list of everything that suggests our best days in public education are ahead of us is longer, and more motivating. We can do this work together and so I invite you to join me where ever you can along this march.
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