Obama's Report Card on Education Policy: D+

During President Obama's State of the Union address, "An America Built to Last," I waited to hear when he would tackle education.

He began by mentioning the progress of CCSS, the Common Core State Standards:

For less than one percent of what our Nation spends on education each year, we've convinced nearly every State in the country to raise their standards for teaching and learning - the first time that's happened in a generation.

I have teacher friends who varying opinions about CCSS. The rigor for math and English across the nation will increase with them, and writing will now be encouraged across the curriculum. These are worthy goals, but I am fearful that the true goal of CCSS is a national test, which will be used to grade and punish states around the nation. The truth is that we already have a reliable national test called NAEP, but millions of dollars are being used to develop tests on the CCSS.

President Obama quickly shifted to talking about the monetary impact a single teacher can make on a student's life:

We know a good teacher can increase the lifetime income of a classroom by over $250,000. A great teacher can offer an escape from poverty to the child who dreams beyond his circumstance.

Until America addresses its poverty problem, we will continue to have problems in education. "Reformers" like Arne Duncan and Michelle Rhee will say that poverty should not be a contributing factor to the progress a student makes in education, but that's false. America has one of the highest rates of poverty in a developed nation. One great teacher in tenth grade is not going to save a student from a lifetime of problems associated with poverty. And the research that claims good teachers can make their students become richer is not credible in the least. And by not credible, I mean not peer reviewed.

I am forming a headache as I type this, so I will try to be briefer from here on out. Obama goes on to say that teachers do impact the lives of their students, which is nice, but then he says:

Teachers matter. So instead of bashing them, or defending the status quo, let's offer schools a deal. Give them the resources to keep good teachers on the job, and reward the best ones. In return, grant schools flexibility: To teach with creativity and passion; to stop teaching to the test; and to replace teachers who just aren't helping kids learn.

Bashing? Teachers get bashed for bad test scores, which are part of the No Child Left Behind / Race to the Top agenda. Obama's policy encourages teachers to be evaluated based on their students' test scores. This practice is bad, wrong, foul, foolish, etc. So when Obama says he wants to reward the "best ones," how will they be determined to be some of the best? By the test scores of their students. Principals also play a role in evaluating teachers, but as long as these testing mandates drive instruction and many teachers will not "stop teaching to the test." A school where teachers can "teach with creativity and passion" would not be burdened with all the guidelines and policies of Race to the Top.

Obama has a classic case of wanting to have his cake and eat it too. He can't tell teachers that he wants to give them flexibility and creativity while still enacting a program that punishes schools for low test results when many of those schools are dealing with students who come from impoverished backgrounds. The testing mania needs to stop before any more damage is done.

In other words, Mr. President, don't cry about spilled milk when you were the one who pushed the milk to the edge of the table.

And Then CBS News...

In reading a CBS News article about a 15-year-old boy who brought a gun to school and was then shot by police, I was distracted by the following paragraph:

"He said he last saw his son around 6:30 a.m. Wednesday, when the boy said goodbye before leaving to catch the bus to school. And he said nothing seemed amiss the night before when he, his wife and their son went out for nachos then went home and watched a movie."

That second sentence which starts with And was very clunky to me. I'm all for starting a sentence with a coordinating conjunction when the time is right. This just wasn't one of those times. I had to read it twice before it made sense. Here's my revision, which eliminates the conjunction, changes a phrase, and adds a comma:

He said nothing seemed amiss the previous night when he, his wife, and their son went out for nachos, then went home and watched a movie.

Do you like my sentence better?

My Reading Life in 2011

This is the year I read my first Stephen King. It was his first book published, Carrie (1974). I had seen the movie in high school, but I got to experience the story from so many angles in the book. Why did I wait until I was 28 to read a Stephen King? I don't have a good answer.

This is the year I finished Suzanne Collins' trilogy with Mockingjay (2011). My students were divided about the final book, and I was worried I would fall into the Disappointed camp. My fears were confirmed when I closed the book with anger and frustration.

This is the year The Book Whisperer (2009) changed my teaching life. Donalyn Miller's advice on how to turn my students into readers was insightful and practical. I brought my reading life to the forefront of the classroom, and I started all my classes with silent reading. In the spring 2011 semester, I read 7 books. I read BW over the summer. In this fall 2011 semester, I have read 28 books. What a difference!

This is the year I bought into the hype of The Help (2009) and was whisked away to a world I hardly knew about. The book was slow-going at times, but I loved the conversation it sparked between my mom and me. I discovered her family had a maid when she was young.

This is the year I listened to The Year We Left Home (2011) on audio. I was mesmerized by the storytelling, by the characters, by the command that Jean Thompson exercised over her language. I did not want it to end, but it had a perfect ending.

This is the year I devoured Kathryn Erskine's Mockingbird (2010). I ran out of church after the service, so I could hurry home and finish this children's book on the journey of Caitlin, a girl with Asperger's who is coming to terms with the loss of her brother. To top things off, I read this book aloud to my creative writing students, and then we Skyped with Kathy! She was gracious, funny, and smart. Our Skype session was my favorite part of this fall semester.

This is the year I read and re-read poems from Linda Pastan's Traveling Light (2011). Then through serendipitous events, I discovered she was speaking at a writers' conference in Tulsa. I bought a ticket immediately. Attending her session was a highlight of the year as well, as was getting a picture with her.

This is the year I discovered Carol Ann Duffy, one of my new favorite poets. Her collection Rapture (2005) is heartbreaking and wonderful. Everyone should read it. EVERYONE.

This is the year I stayed up past midnight to finish reading Patrick Ness's A Monster Calls (2011). I sobbed like a baby, and then I decided to read it aloud to my Pre-AP English II students. Three of my four hours were receptive. I still got choked up at the ending even when I knew what was coming.

This is the year I read Room by Emma Donoghue (2010). I was struck by the narrator, one of the most interesting creations I've read in a long time. This book knocked me over.

This is the year I re-read To Kill a Mockingbird (1963) for the nth time. I continue to find new insight and themes and motifs in this classic. I'm glad I get to teach it.

This is the year I finally read John Hersey's Hiroshima (1946/1985). I had resisted this novel, even though it was an option for my sophomores to read. I thought it would be too boring or too sad. I was partially right. The book is sad, but definitely not boring.

This is the year I read Kelly Gallagher's Write Like This (2011). I found lots of great ideas and resolved to become an even better teacher of writing.

What about you? What books did you read this year?

Mockingbird Tweets

One of the options on the TKaM exam I gave my sophomore students was to write tweets from the point of view of two of the characters from the novel. My students produced some hilarious and insightful tweets that proved their knowledge and analysis of the novel. Enjoy these samples.

To Kill a Mockingbird Tweets
From sophomore students at Deer Creek High School (Edmond, OK)

Atticus Finch @I_See_Gray:
· What defines a man these days? Character or color? #WeAllKnowThatANSWER
· My children are remarkable. S/O to @Scout_Finch for keeping the peace.
· @Ms.Dubose Jem will be happy to read to you #sorryabouttheplants
· I am always a little up and to the left. Still got the job done though. #GoodShotForAnOldMan

Dill Harris @DillPickle:
· Dared @jemmyboy to run up and touch the Radley house #hestoochicken
· @Scout_F I love you! We are going to get married don’t worry I’ll come back for you. #wordscantevenexpressit
· I sure did give @jemmyboy, @Scout_F and @Ol’_lawyer a good surprise today. Ran away and snuck in (: @thatshowIroll
· I can read. I can write and I’ve washed a camel! @BeatThat

Arthur Radley @scissor_recluse48:
· @PoutScouty235 You’re welcome about the blanket. #payitforward
· What’s up with the kids at the school thinking my tree’s fruit is poision? #Goonkids #eatup
· Someone give me the deets on the trial! I wanna know if the world is ready 4 me again
· Totes just shanked @OleBobbyE after he attack two kids #whatapunk

Scout Finch @JLScout:
· Bout to go to school for the first day #nervous :/
· Feelin kinda risky today. @Jem_Finch, Lil_Dill, and I are gonna go mess with Boo Radley. #ThugLife
· What’s up with old women these days?? Tryna make me act like a lady. #SMH
· @Farmerboy_Cunningham must LOVE ruining food. Who puts syrup on their veggies??!! #smh..

Scout Finch @Scout_finch:
· #thewayiseeit we’re all people, so why don’t we all get treated equally? #peoplethesedays
· #thatawkwardmoment when your neighbor is a recluse and you have never seen him before #comeoutcomeoutwhereveryouare
· @QueenAlexandria I hate being treated like I’m stupid! I don’t want to act like a lady! I want [to] wear overalls and run around outside everyday! #tomboyproblems
· #thatawkwardmoment when you get in trouble for using bad language when your cousin is really the one who started it all. #stupiduncle #stuckupcousinproblems

Jem Finch @JemFinch:
· Just got done reading to a half dead person for 2 hours #mindnumbing
· Calpurnia’s lemonade sure hits the spot after playing all day #rubbingmybelly
· It sure is cold out in the open all exposed #notwearingpantsandlikingit
· Shout out to my home dog Boo for savin my life. #livininthehood
· Dill my man if you touch my sister ill beat the truth out of you #mysistermarriedmybestfriend

Scout Finch @ShoutyScouty:
· #yourecreepy RT @BooRad-est: Sitting in my house watching little kids pass by #ComeAndPlay #IHaveCandy
· I’m refusing to go to school. Why you might ask? #ImSmarterThanEveryone
· RT @DillPickle So happy to be married #OneSummerStrong
· Having a drunken fool slice open your ‘ham’ costume #HappyHalloween
· If you don’t like my overalls, I don’t like you. #TomBoyProblems
· I eat mysterious gum off of trees #SoGross #YetSoGood
· RT @KittyCalpurrrnia: Taking these kids to church #ThrowDownTime #StayOutOfMyWay
· My brother is such a crank pank #PubertyProblems
· I’ll never act like a girl #outcast #AgainstAuthority

Calpurnia @number1nanny:
· Glad @jem_finch is okay, it’s been a long night for the Finch family #relieved
· Sad to deliver the news to Mrs. Robinson #prayforher #RIPtom
· Proud of @scoutfinch8 for serving the ladies toady! #goodwork #taughtyouwell
· @jem_finch @scoutfinch8 Where are you two?! #comehome
· Still can’t believe you did that… RT @scoutfinch8: Sorry for being rude today @waltercunningham! #didntknowanybetter
· Lonely without @jem_finch and @scoutfinch8 running around! #backtoschool

New Poem

The idea for this poem came to me while I was reading Billy Collins' newest collection. He mentioned his glasses at one point, and I thought about writing something about having LASIK eye surgery. The part about my mom is based on real life, but I had not thought of adding that to the poem until I was already composing it.

30/20

Now you have Superman vision,

the surgeon announced

after the surgery,

my eyes puffy and swollen

and covered with plastic discs

the size of lenses

I once wore in eighth grade

before converting to contacts,

the tiny parentheses

that made peripheral vision

possible. Now road signs,

movie screens, children’s faces

will always have razor sharp

focus, so why is it I think

of my mother on Christmas Eve

in the front seat of our car,

ooo-ing and ahhh-ing over bulbs

draped around trees and rooflines

as she removes her glasses,

sending the world from exactitude

to a messy swirl of light and color?

The Need for More Pages

I sent this letter to Joyce earlier tonight. I hope the state department makes changes by next school year.

April 26, 2011

Dear Joyce DeFehr:

Imagine that you are a sixteen-year-old girl. Your handwriting is large but legible. You are taking the ACE English II writing test, and you reach the third and final page of the test packet. You are not allowed to write any more, even though you want to write one more body paragraph before your conclusion. You erase two lines and rewrite your sentences in tiny, cramped letters, hoping to pack in a few final details. You skip the body paragraph you wanted to write, and squeeze in two sentences as a conclusion. You wish you could have written more, but the directions say you cannot write below the final line. You close your test booklet, knowing you could have done better.

My students—like all sophomores in the state of Oklahoma—took the ACE English II writing test last week. All year long, I have had my students write a variety of genres. They have written quick writes in their notebooks. They have analyzed models of writing by professionals and my former students. They have revised and edited their drafts in groups. They have even shared their writing in front of the whole class. I did my part to take my students through the writing process with all five state-mandated modes of writing. My sophomores felt confident going into the “EOI.” They soon discovered one component beyond their control: a page limit.

State testing is not the time to go green. As I’m sure you know, students are only given two-and-a-half pages on the ACE English II writing test, compared to the six-and-a-half pages on the ACE English III writing test. (The page inequality even reaches down to the fifth and eighth grades, which each receive four-and-a-half pages for their state-mandated writing tests.) This hardly seems fair. The essay accounts for 9% of a student’s score on the ACE English II test, compared to 14% on the ACE English III test. Still, the English II and the English III essays are scored with the same rubric, which awards 30% of the score for ideas and development. How can students be expected to fully develop their ideas when they are given a limited space? Students are given unlimited time to write their essays. Surely they could be given an extra page or two. If paper is too costly, then steps should be taken, so students can write their essays on computers.

Incredibly, 40% of every public Oklahoma high school’s Academic Performance Index score is determined by ACE English II test scores. Shouldn’t a test that determines a school’s progress and performance allow students to succeed regardless of the size of their handwriting?

The day after the writing test, I asked my ninety English students, “How many of you would have written more had you been given more space?” Sixty-five of them raised their hands.

Sincerely,

Jason Stephenson

Oklahoma Writing Project Teacher Consult

Deer Creek High School, Teacher of the Year, 2008-2009

Rambling Autobiography

I was born on Labor Day in 1982, the same year E.T. phoned home. My favorite cake is Italian cream, and my favorite pie is rhubarb. I played my mom’s dented cornet for eight years. In second grade, when my teacher Miss Rice read Charlotte’s Web aloud to my class, I knew I would read books for the rest of my life. I have never seen an illegal drug in person. My favorite Christmas gift was an expandable plastic tunnel. I have skied a black diamond run on accident and on purpose. My mom told me she had leukemia through a text message. On the last song of my high school prom, I danced with my crush, Beth. My favorite place on earth was the hay barn at my grandparents’ farm; a tornado destroyed it. I didn’t floss regularly until I was 28. In high school on Sundays, I wrote notes to my friends on the backs of offering envelopes while my dad preached. The smell of gasoline reminds me of lawn mowing. I once stole a butterscotch candy from a grocery store. After fifteen years since her death, I have begun to forget the sound of my Nannah’s laugh. The first video game I owned was Link’s Awakening for Gameboy. I believe the best sunsets in the world are here in Oklahoma. I don’t think I will ever move away from this state.

inspired by Linda Rief's rambling autobiography