Affects on Teaching vlog

The government doesn't always get it right.  Often it takes the addition of a law or act to get things operation where and how they should be.  

This week I took a look at 3 policies that affect they way schools, teachers and students function.  I also took a small look at a Korean look, which has great similarities to the American policies I examined. 

Take a look.

*excuse my dorkiness, my made up words, and my overall awkwardness.  It took a Xanax to get through this assignment.

I had reached out to another one of my father's former students. She wasn't able to get back to me before I finished my video, but her words are truly moving and such a great insight to what life was like for her, so I want to share them with you here.

This is from D'Andra Simone:

For six years, I made the daily commute from the west side of Akron to the east end neighborhood of Ellet.

As an African American student being sent into a world that was overwhelmingly without educators that looked like me, there were moments when I questioned the intent of the integration initiative, as it often felt like we truly being sent into a different world. Daily, I would literally watch one side of my street make the walk to schools that were no more than 5 blocks from our homes, while I would take a bus across town to get my education. 

During middle school, I saw the affect of being a bused outsider as creating an environment in which I was constantly having to "prove" that I was smart. I had to request to be placed in honors courses and I was questioned about how I'd prepared for testing, as my scores were significantly higher than the majority of my peers. I can recall a spelling bee tryout in which I was the only student of color candidate - and I won and represented the school at the regional level. Upon arriving at the auditorium for the competition, one of the organizers saw me and she went on and on and gushed with approval because more schools were participating; when I told her my name and school, she was visibly shocked and embarrassed. I would have many such moments throughout the next six years, and there were times when I became frustrated and challenged my parents about "making" me attend school in an environment where I was not always understood or sometimes, welcomed. 

Three years into my education in the Ellet cluster and immediately following my freshmen year in high school, the school district made the decision to allow families to choose between sending their children to their neighborhood middle/high schools or continuing to bus them to other institutions. 

This was my chance to leave behind all of the questions, perceptions, and cultural disagreements as I could now return to the high school within my own neighborhood. The great majority of my peers' families did elect to return to their true home schools clusters, and from my west side community, less than 25% remained at Ellet. I chose to return to the east end, even though my parents had agreed to let me go to my neighborhood high school. I recall being asked by a teacher why I'd make the daily trek to Ellet, when I could have easily walked 4 blocks to "my" High school (Buchtel), and replying that Ellet was my high school. I'd become involved in numerous academic and social activities, sports and organizations at Ellet, so much in fact that I was now electing to arrive to school 40 minutes earlier in order to get ahead of my busy day. 

I was also fortunate in that 7 of my 9 closest peers had also remained in the Ellet cluster, which made the optional, yet important journey from one side of town to the other more fulfilling and sensible. In many ways, we got to experience two very different worlds, and both helped shape our reality and understanding of life. At Ellet I learned what it meant to be different and sometimes targeted, while also fully asserting that I too, belonged and would remain as a member of the community that didn't always understand all of its members. 

As a result of being bused, I also learned what it meant to have amazing teachers that fully pushed and urged you to reach your academic potential, and in my case, not one looked like me. My greatest learning moments came from teachers that acknowledged that my world was different from theirs, while also holding me to the highest academic standards and expectations. 

I overwhelmingly felt accepted, but there were also many moments where racism clearly shone through, both overtly and covertly. From being asked to produce my class schedule when I headed into an honors class on the first day of school, or "jokingly" being told that I was expected to be really good in basketball, or being asked by a classmate why my hair "looked like that" the moments of having to explain why I wouldn't accept being placed in a box were many. Many instances have become classic jokes and punch lines in my life today, and ultimately, have helped me understand implicit bias at a level that many of my peers had not experienced at such a young age. 

Being bused into Ellet also helped me to understand what peer pressure SHOULD look like. To this day, the seven young women and I that had talked through the choice of staying at Ellet continue in our friendships. We rode the 7:05 bus into a different world daily, and we learned so much about each other in the process. When we began to prepare for college, the team helped each other. We informed each other about scholarships, we led student organizations together, we were on the same sports teams, and by all accounts, we grew up together. We held each other accountable academically, and ensured that there was a system of support in place throughout our high school years. 

We were fortunate to take many of the same honors courses, which gave us a support structure there as well, as well as access to many wonderful faculty members. Today, all right of us are college graduates, and in fact, 5 of the eight hold advanced degrees. Ellet taught us how to integrate without losing our sense of identity, to always strive for academic excellence while challenging the process, and to NEVER let anyone treat you as an outsider. We learned how to accept both support and challenges and what it means to get up every day with a sense of purpose and direction. 

Without question, we were bused in as children and we left as scholars. And while I am certain that we would have gotten many of the same exposures had we elected to attend our neighborhood schools, I don't know that my own worldview would have been as expansive.

Had it not been for my advanced placement English teacher giving me an 'f' on a paper that he told me was very soundly written, and would have been an 'a' under normal circumstance, I don't know that I would have learned to write and read through such a critical lens. He taught me how to challenge myself and the process of learning. Had it not been for his wisdom and desire to show me that I should always do more if I wanted to be more, I imagine that my journey to earning my doctorate degree would have not been as smooth and directed. Had he not allowed my peers and I to use the extra 40 minutes before class to ask the tough questions as well as enable us to feel comfortable in sharing our narratives, I don't know that I'd feel as comfortable doing so in settings where I still remain the minority. Quite frankly, my life was changed due to the desire of a teacher to see us excel and that made the journey across town all the more rewarding and impactful. 

To many, busing and integration may have represented being snatched from your home and forced to function in an unknown world, but for me and many of my peers, it provided the opportunity to tell my own story, learn and grow in a setting that looked vastly different than any I'd ever known, while also enhancing my worldview. It was the integration of not only school, it was an integration of life.

Influences in Policies

Educational policies are made by a handful of administrators, educators, parents, government officials, organizations, companies... money... The power of influence within the education sphere is wide reaching.  However, most of it is done for good.

One such policy that seeks to do good is the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). 

The U.S. Department of Education (ED) website (2015) explains that ESEA was originally passed in 1965 by President Lyndon B. Johnson.  The bill provided funding for primary and secondary education and seeks to ensure that: 
          - all children have an equal access to education
          - to set high standards of education
          - to require accountability from those involved in the education of our 
             youth. 

The bill is meant to provide every child with fair and equal opportunities to receive a top quality education and to reduce the achievement gap amongst students.  Money from the bill is required to be used for:  
          - professional development for instructors
          - promote parent involvement
          - acquiring materials that support educational programs within the school. 

It is still one of the most far-reaching federal legislations every passed by Congress to affect education. 

The Act has been reauthorized every five years.  It has most recently been redesigned and adjusted by President George W. Bush's administration and renamed, to what people more commonly know of it as, No Child Left Behind (NCLB). NCLB "put in place measures that exposed achievement gaps among traditionally underserved students and their peers, and started an important national dialogue on educational improvement" (ED, 2015).  

Reforms are needed.
Time has come for more changes and improvements to be made.    

As reported by the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) "the current system is based on high-stakes testing... [that] is untenable, creating a toxic environment that's robbing our students and teachers" (2015).

The Obama administration is looking at ways to make more opportunities available to an even greater range of students.  According the ED, in 2012 Obama's administration started offering "flexibility to states regarding specific requirements of NCLB in exchange for rigorous and comprehensive state-developed plans to close achievement gaps, increase equity, improve the quality of instruction, and increase outcomes for all students" (2015).

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) shared the U.S. Department of Education's report, A Blueprint For Reform: The Reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, on their portal site, Planipolis, which details the governments breakdown of how to design and improve ESEA with 5 key priorities (2010):
          1. college and career ready students
               - raise standards
               - better assessments
               - a complete education
          2. great teachers and leaders in every school
               - effective teachers and principals
               - best teacher and leaders where needed most
               - strengthen teacher and leader preparation and recruitment
          3. equity and opportunity for all students
               - rigorous and fair accountability for all levels
               - meet the needs of diverse learners
               - greater equity
          4. raise the bar and reward excellence
               - foster a race to the Top
               - support effective school choice
               - promote a culture of college readiness and success
          5. promote innovation and continuous success
               - foster innovation and accelerating success
               - support, recognize and reward local innovation
               - support student success

Organization across American (and beyond) are calling for changes and offering suggestions on how and what they believe needs done.

The National Education Association (NEA) wants the new ESEA to "focus on opportunity for all, ensure more time for students to learn, and empower educators to lead" (2015).  They created this video to help spread their message:

Similarly, AFT has identified a list of priorities they feel need to be met in order to make improvements:

The Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) (2015) has also provided a list of recommendation to Congress, that they would like to see achieved in order to improve ESEA:

Chris Minnich, Executive Director of CCSSO, said that they "urge Congress to consider to create a long-term, stable federal policy that will give states additional flexibility and encourage innovation, while at the same time holding us accountable for results" (2015). 

Likewise, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) (2015) stated in a report from 2011 that they would like ESEA to:

American standard in education are falling behind those of other nations.  It is time for a change to be made that will move our students back up to the forefront to become tomorrow's leaders.

Interesting facts I learned while researching ESEA:

1. In January of this year, the ED and the Department of Justice (DOJ) sent informational documents to states, districts and schools reminding them that measures must be taken to ensure English learner (EL) students are provided with equal and fair access to education.  
1.  EL students make up 9% of all public school students and are enrolled in nearly 3/4 public schools 
2. EL students were given equal education protection under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Equal Educational Opportunities Act of 1974 (EEOA). (NEA, 2015)
2. America is greatly falling behind in early childhood education.  
1. The National Center for Education Statistics found that in 2010, "fewer than 3 in every ten 4-year-olds are enrolled in a high quality preschool program."  
2. America ranks 25th in the world for early learning enrollment. Mexico, France and Singapore offer greater opportunities for preschool education than does America (ED, 2013). 
3. AFT reported on their president's blog, that on April 7 of this year, Sen. Alexander (R-TN) and Sen. Murray (D-WA) had worked together to draft a bipartisan bill reauthorizing ESEA.
1. Their proposed bill, the Alexander-Murray bill, goes back to the original intent of the law - to level the playing field for at-risk kids, it reduces the importance of tests = allowing the target to now be (properly) refocused on teaching and learning (AFT, 2015).
2. Republicans and Dems working together! #comingtogether #greatergood 
4.  Outside of the United States, girls (more so than boys) suffer from inequality in education.  UNICEF is working with various governements throughout the world to reduce "gender disparities through interventions at national, local and community levels aimed at empowering girls."  Along with the United Nations Girls' Education Initiative (UNGEI), UNICEF is fighting for girls' rights and helping countries get gender equality in educaiton (UNICEF, 2014)
5. Global Partnership for Education, like UNICEF, is working for education equality for girls.  They reported in that in 2015 that 31 million girls around the world were not enrolled in schools and that women are almost two thirds of the world's 781 million illiterate! (GPE, 2015)

*reference citation in the comments section below

Info-Learning

A large portion of the animated information we see on the Internet is knowledge transmitted through infographics.

After doing a bit of reading (100some+ pages with highlight and rereading and head sratching and more rereading) and using a rather handy website I was able to produce my first ever infographic on the ITL (Innovative Teaching and Learning) practice of education

Creative Education

As part of an assignment the other candidates in my cohort and myself had to watch a few TED Talks on education.

I found these two particularly enjoyable.  

Take a look.

Sir Ken Robinson ~ Education Kills Creativity

Benjamin Zander ~ One Buttocks Playing

Teaching - is it a profession

I find this an interesting question - solely for the reason that I never in my life considered teaching to not be a profession. 

As I mentioned in our VC on Sunday, both of my parents were teachers.  My mother taught middle school before becoming an administrator and my father taught high school English.  Our entire circle of family friends was comprised of my parents' teaching coworkers.  Additionally, I come from a Midwest suburban town where the majority of the adults in my community that were known to me were all educators.  It was the most dominate profession I was aware of growing up. 

To an extent I can see the points that Alan Newland provides in his article “Is Teaching a Profession? Discuss” for why some people might not consider teaching to be a true profession and even go as far as to group it with the local car mechanic and salon hair dresser.  However, I don’t think those reasons have merit or true backing for precisely the reasons that Newland goes on to later state. 

Teaching is a true profession for (1) the training that is required of them and (2) the importance of their job in the shaping and development of our children. 

Teachers are not only expected but required to go through a rigorous and thorough training process. They must meet and pass various tests that affirm they are well trained and versed in a wide range of teaching techniques, methods, skills, tools and assessments. They have to receive a formal qualification that stipulates they have achieved passing marks and are now deemed proficient to lead their own classrooms. Furthermore, in America teachers are required to seek out additional training throughout the extension of their teaching careers.  It is a lifelong profession that constantly needs and seeks improvement and development.  

Teaching is also a profession due to the role and significance it has in the shaping of our children.  Teachers are role models, they are protectors (as we have seen too often in acts of school violence), they are mentors, and tutors, coaches, and advisors.  They are trusted and honored individuals who not only teach our children the basic skills to advance in life but also as humans.  

This doesn't mean I believe that all teachers are upstanding and worthy of the praise I am writing here.  There are some bad teachers out there, but more often than not, I believe you will find true professionals who are passionate about teaching and care about their students.

I also can understand the hierarchy that is placed on teachers as they go up in level. However, I think this belief that higher education professionals are more important than primary instructors isn't as true as some would think.  Like Salman Kahn pointed out in his TED Talk "Let's use video to reinvent education", first a child must become a master at a skill before they can move on to the next level.  Children will never be the master of the basic skills without their elementary education, so therefore one could argue that the teacher who taught them to do simple addition and hold their pencil correctly is just as important as the professor that will one day teach them how cells divide and multiple.

(I want to teach elementary so I might be a bit defensive there.)

Teaching is a profession.  It is a career, a calling, a trade, a job, a walk of life.  It is a profession that is essential to our society. 

Getting Started

I come from a long line of teachers and while I very much enjoyed the classroom atmosphere, I wasn’t sure if teaching was for me or even if it was something I’d be good at. I spent my college years and the years that followed exploring the world and developing personal interests that always kept me on the cusp of education but never took me directly into a teaching position. In fact, nearly all of my post-college work experience had me working with children or facilitating knowledge.

I found through my work experience that I am very efficient at managerial work and could complete tasks, paperwork, and reports with ease and speed.  I also found that I thrive in front of a large body of people (this was quite surprising!) and am able to draw in their attention and get them to participate and feel contacted.  A skill set that is very useful in teaching.  Throughout my life I’ve always been complimented on my ability to work with children and many friends and colleagues saw me pursuing a position where this skill set would shine. The thought of becoming an elementary school teacher was wildly entertaining but I was a bit standoffish as I’d never taken any education courses in college. Upon the suggestion of a friend (who was supposed to come with me, but left me to take on kimchi all alone) I moved to South Korea were I would be able to gain elementary education experience without having to be a certified educator. This would allow me the opportunity to see if teaching was in fact right for me.

For the past four years I have been teaching elementary English to grades 1-6 in Busan, South Korea. Over this time I have realized that for the first time in a long time, I am truly passionate about what I am doing and could not see myself doing anything else. My passion for my job really shines within my classroom. A loud voice, animated personality, and a wealth of stories help to keep the students engaged throughout my lessons. My extensive travels around the world have taught me the valuable skill of patience which, of course, is one of the most important traits needed when working with children.

While I have gained a lot of valuable experience teaching in Korea there is still much for me to learn and certifications that need acquired in order to become a real, licensed teacher - capable of working in schools back home.  

So I set out on the Internet, reading over endless online certification course that would see my licensed, but also leave me broke.  Or worse yet take several years to complete and still leave me broke.  None of these were options that I wanted.

Then by some turn of the Internet I found Teach-Now.  A short bit of leg-work and a few weeks later I was starting my virtual classes online and beginning the course to certification!