Strike One!

Aaahhh, back to school sales, haircuts, and teacher strikes. They all beckon the start of school. It's common news fodder each year as teacher contracts are hammered out, eventually there is a school district that "has to" go on strike. This year it sounds like teachers in Bellevue, WA are in favor of such a motion by 94 percent. From local news reports the two major issues for teachers are compensation and district-mandated use of Web-based curriculum.

Everyone tends to agree that we can never really compensate our teachers adequately for a job we hope they are doing to the very best of their ability. It is always gut wrenching when you ask your child how their day at school was and they quickly answer you with any of the following; we watched some movie, we had a substitute and colored pictures, or we just played heads-up seven-up. What?! You sent your child into an institution of higher learning and they're walking out of the equivalent of the local grocery store childcare.

I remember the same things happening in the classroom when I was a kid though. The year we went to other 6th grade teacher's classroom for math and he had no management skills. Students spent the entire time throwing spit-wads on the class ceiling and this was with him in the room! There were the numerous times where the class would engage the high-school Spanish teacher into a 40 minute diatribe on his 67 Mustang laughing all the while at the holes in the armpits of his sweater. Or the well-known and over-used trick of students everywhere when seats were switched because there was a new substitute that day. It often times wasn't until after lunch that someone fessed up to the deception and things finally got straightened out but during that time everyone was distracted and giggled so much that it prevented any real learning from taking place.

At it's very best, regardless of how much you are paid, teaching can be the greatest job in the world or at its' very worst it can be horrible for everyone involved. So, in the end, compensation becomes a moot point to some degree since everyone is pretty upfront about not going into teaching for the money. As a teacher one has to rely on themselves to make the job worthwhile. I personally believe that either you are or you are not cut out to be a teacher, regardless of the training you receive in college.

It's interesting to look into the statistics of "education dollars". Only $.57 of every education dollar sees the classroom. Much the rest goes to administration and capital costs. There are tons of startling facts about the way money is spent in education (and it's not necessarily spent for the benefit of the kids...) but one glaring example of this is that in Ohio top union leaders had pay raises that increased 9-1 in comparison to teacher salaries.

In the meantime teacher's are compensated fairly well overall in comparison to let's say, law-enforcement (my husband is in this line of work). It's interesting to note that law-enforcement officers often have to work without a contract and can only hope to get compensated for the difference in pay from that time period - they are not allowed to strike. Isn't the education of our children just as important? Let's just hope that the teachers and administration involved in considering this strike will realize that it is the kids who suffer. If grown-ups could only learn to get along then maybe we could teach our children.

The Year in Review

Well, the boys have completed their school year, we've been on vacation once, and we are preparing to go for five days to Wenatchee. The boys have completed one golf camp and have two more that they are looking forward to. They are playing golf pretty much everyday. We have an upcoming "book signing" for the youngest one and his book club that all published their stories. We've just been contacted by a new homeschooling family in the area who would like to get together. Our problem, like everyone else, is there doesn't seem to be enough hours in the day. I've put off weeding the front flower bed, painting the house, and finishing staining the back fence but I do have time to write this post. I have put off cleaning out my closet or under my bed but I did find time to complete the boys' yearbook. It's all about priorities and as I look back over the year I can see that even when it felt like we were busy, rushed, or bored, we had our priorities in the correct order. At the top of that list was family. As long as we keep that were it belongs everything else just seems to fall into place.

Kiss of Death

"Hmmm, what would you recommend?" Easy question. It's just your opinion but you know the old adage, everyone's got one. Don't answer it! It's a set-up! Fine, go ahead, everyone does but guaranteed, it's the kiss of death. If you want someone to choose the one you want then recommend the opposite.

When I was in high-school I worked at the local theater. I loved that job! As I moved up the ranks from lowly concession worker to the pinnacle of success as the "Head Cashier" I also took on the responsibility of recommending and giving my opinion to the average movie goer.

Mistake #1: Thinking that they value my opinion.
Mistake #2: Thinking that they would like the same type of movie that I enjoyed.
Mistake #3: Taking it personally when they invariably chose the "other" movie.

I think this goes for books as well. There are "those books". The ones that we connect to on some deep and personal level. We wonder how that author knew that we had felt that same emotion at some point and how in the world were they able to express it so simply when it was so complex. I enjoy seeking out and "discovering" my next most favoritist book but I would be less likely to put that same book on my favorite list if it was told to me by someone else first, that it was an excellent book. I think it all comes down to ownership. I am not able to own something to the same degree if someone "gives" it to me. I want to seek it out, find it, and then take it or leave it. It's my choice and I own it!

"It's choice - not chance - that determines your destiny." -- Jean Nidetch”

Death March

It's human nature. If someone tells you to walk, it's forced. If you decide to walk, it's lovely. This is a broad generalization but think about it. If someone had told Forest to "Run", would he have? Yet, within himself he was able to do the unthinkable because he was searching to fill a need, a want, a desire. This might be why everyone loves Forest. We can all relate to him on some level and perhaps, wish we were a little more like him.

Consider the 10,000+ men who died while walking the Death March of Bataan in the Philippines during WWII. They didn't die from walking but rather the conditions in which they were forced to walk. The distance was a measley 60 miles but it's all about location, location, location. The tropical heat, lack of food and water, physical abuse, and disease made this such a deadly stroll.The difference between being forced and the ability to choose.

These examples may be two extremes and you could easily argue that one has nothing to do with the other but I ask you to think about the power of choice.Every day in classrooms across America children are either being given a choice or they are being forced. Forced to read a book that they have no interest in...the horror! Or, hopefully, given the choice in what book they'll read next, ah, the joy! Teachers can be the dictator or the liberator. Which will you be?

My Hero!

Did you hear the one about the teacher who took a stand and refused to subject his students to the WASL? He is my hero!! Consider the quote,"A hero is no braver than an ordinary man, but he is braver five minutes longer."-- Ralph Waldo Emerson. Now read the following article, imagine Mr. Chew's thought processes...the first year he gave the WASL, the second year, the seventh year, and then finally, the eighth year.It was in those "five minutes" that he made a choice. This is an example of the power of one person who takes a stand for what they believe in. When I read this article, I just beamed. I'm now imagining all of the teachers who feel the same way that Mr. Chew does and, perhaps, will finally be emboldened to act! Momentum is a powerful tool.

P.S. As of 2006 the cost of creating and administering the WASL has been estimated at over 150 million dollars!!

Apr, 22, 2008
SEATTLE TEACHER REFUSES TO GIVE THE WASL, GETS SUSPENDED

By DONNA GORDON BLANKINSHIP
AP State
SEATTLE -- A Seattle middle school science teacher has been suspended for two weeks without pay for refusing to administer the Washington Assessment of Student Learning in his classroom.

Union officials and education leaders say Carl Chew of Nathan Eckstein Middle School might be the first teacher in Washington state to be suspended for refusing to give his students the high-stakes test.

"Every year, I said to myself this is the last time I'm going to do this," said Chew, 60, who has been teaching for about eight years and said he has seen kids struggle through the test with few positive results to show for the time and effort expended over two weeks each spring.

He made a decision to stand up for his beliefs as he was walking down the hall to pick up this year's test booklets.

Chew said the process was all quite cordial: He wrote a short e-mail to his fellow teachers and school administrators, they set up meetings to hear his story and try to talk him into changing his mind, his principal wrote a letter outlining his insubordination and sent the case on to the school district and the district superintendent wrote back to say he was being suspended.

"Our expectation is that teachers will administer any and all state-required tests," said Seattle Public Schools spokesman David Tucker, who could not comment on Chew's punishment because the district does not talk about personnel issues.

Washington state requires its public schools to administer the WASL to students each spring. Beginning with this year's high school graduation class, students must pass the reading and writing portions in order to graduate.

Chew went to school on the first day of WASL testing, knowing in advance he would be asked to leave. Now Chew is at home, talking to reporters, responding to supportive e-mails from around the state, and hoping for better weather so he can do some gardening.

"I had no idea what to expect at all," said Chew, who estimates he will lose about $1,000 in pay for missing nine days of work.

School officials asked him what he wanted to have happen. Chew said he wanted to be back in the classroom with his students. That, apparently, wasn't an option.

"I see this very much as a win for all of us. I'm happy that the school district didn't send me packing," he said.

He said he has welcomed e-mails of support from parents and educators from around the state, but has turned down their offers of money. He asked them to make a donation instead to an organization searching for a better alternative for assessing the state's education system.

Chew said his wife makes enough money working as a medical doctor and researcher at the University of Washington to keep the bill collectors away.

Neither the Washington State School Directors Association nor the state teachers union could recall any previous cases of teachers refusing to administer the WASL.

"I know a lot of teachers have objections," said Mary Lindquist, president of the Washington Education Association. "Every day I get e-mails from our members all over the state who express their deep concern over what this test is doing to their students in the classroom."

Chew said he thinks there's got to be a better way to help students reach their potential.

"All we have to do is have faith in these kids and work as hard as we can with these kids and their families and they're going to do fine," he said.

I'm sorry?

It usually starts out with someone asking with sympathy and concern showing on their face, "How are the boys doing (with homeschooling)?" I need to explain that the implication is, how are the boys doing with not having any social interaction, being held hostage by two needy and controlling parents, and not actually having any challenging academics provided to them?

My question to them is, "How is your child doing having to function within the dysfunction of the classroom, not getting to interact with their siblings and parents other than at a rushed dinnertime so they can get started on homework, not having the freedom to decide when to do school work and when to have fun, and not being able to work ahead in their favorite subjects at school because that would screw up the teacher's lesson plans for the year?"

I find that when they ask, they really are wanting to hear all of the gory details of our failings at trying to educate our children at home and how we plan to enroll them into a regular classroom setting as soon as possible.

They don't want to hear that our 8th grader, who, when tested in math, tested low and was placed in a 7th grade level math book and that he just finished his 7th grade math with an 89% average and has begun his 8th grade math with the intention of finishing by the end of the school year. They don't want to hear about his week long road trip with his dad and grandpa to see his Uncle Randy, our plans for week long vacations in February and then again in May.

They don't want to hear about us taking the day to go down to Olympia to let our legislatures know about how much we enjoy and value our homeschooling experience. They don't want to hear about how some days we all sleep in until 10:30 because we were just "tired". They don't want to hear about the workshops that the boys will attend at the University of Washington in March.

They don't want to hear about our older son participation in the Missoula Children's Theater production of Robin Hood and how it does not impact his ability to "do school". They don't want to hear that both boys are playing and enjoying basketball. They don't want to hear that the boys are not required to take the WASL because of their "part-time" status through Washington Virtual Academy. They don't want to hear about the boys' participation in a computer animation class at the local community college. They don't want to hear about our younger son's participation in a writers group which then inspired him to begin another writer's group with his other friends. Did I mention that they are going to each publish books and invite friends and family members to a book signing?

They certainly don't want to hear about Tim doing his schoolwork on a Sunday so he can go snowboarding on a Monday with his Uncle Johnny up at Mt. Baker, repeatedly, and not have to worry about "making" his work up. They don't want to hear about the songs they've learned and composed on the guitar with their dad and uncle.

After all that, I'm fairly certain that they don't want to hear us say that we actually like homeschooling. That it provides our family freedom, flexibility, and fun. As a mother and a former teacher I know that the education that my children were receiving at a private school was compromised at times by what was going on in the classroom, the teacher's mindset, and the pressures we felt with our different schedules that we faced as a family. There were times when teachers told us that although they were sorry, there was not any flexibility on due dates for various assignments, they were unable to review materials in class just because your child had not mastered it, or that they could not prevent your child's grades from being negatively impacted by unexpected absences (vacations, roadtrips, and educational outings) at various times of the year. They were sorry but if they made exceptions for one then they'd have to make exceptions for everyone...we had little control...it was not our classroom...now it is...and we love it! What can I say, I'm sorry?

Keep An Eye Out For Scott Lynch

Today at the library a patron asked me if we had the second book written by Scott Lynch. I looked and told her that no we didn't but asked her to describe the first book, which she read in Arizona and she absolutely loved it.

It's title was "The Lies of Locke Lamora" - Book I of the Gentleman Bastard Sequence.

"Why, I can smile, and murder whiles I smile,And cry 'Content' to that which grieves my heart,And wet my cheeks with artificial tears,And frame my face to all occasions."
--William Shakespeare, Richard II, iii, ii.

The second book is "Red Seas Under Red Skies" - Book II of the Gentleman Bastard Sequence.

"All your better deeds
Shall be in water writ..."
--Beaumont and Fletcher, Philaster, v, iii

There are interesting comments posted on Grumpy Old Bookman. here's the link: http://grumpyoldbookman.blogspot.com/2006/03/scott-lynch-lies-of-locke-lamora.html
I'm excited about it...how about you?

An Amazing Life

In saying goodbye to a wonderful person I am amazed at the things she was able to accomplish, even in death. She was always a rather unassuming person who was quietly smiling in the background not wanting to interrupt or contradict someone simply to express her opinion. Unless, of course, they were talking about one of her children. Then watch out! She would quickly jump to their defense and protect them to the end. Isn't that what we would hope to find in a mother?

Yet, I found this in a mother-in-law. A woman who's kindness and gentle spirit was always so constant that if you weren't careful you would easily not notice it and trample it underfoot. Yet it remains and so does she, in our hearts. Looking back over all of the acts of graciousness that Kathy extended to me I am overwhelmed.

Even as her family gathered together to comfort one another she was there. She was the one who gathered her children to the feet of their father reading the Bible in search of the verse she last read. She was the one who brought together a father and son, as he showed him how to tie a tie for the very first time. She was the one who reconciled estranged relatives at a time of sorrow. All of this she did in death. Now you might be able to imagine all of the good she did in her life.

In Memory of Kathy L. Dills
April 6, 1944 - October 6, 2007

"Our death is not an end if we can live on in our children and the younger generation. For they are us; our bodies are only wilted leaves on the tree of life."

Albert Einstein

MacHomer: Shakespeare 2007

I realize that initially this sounds like what it sounds like...Shakespeare with a side of fries and a large Coke. Shakespeare for the masses. I guess it kind of is but it was a great way to introduce some of Shakespeare's works to my 9 and 13-year-old boys. Let me begin at the beginning and explain how we ended up at an event called MacHomer.

Towards the end of summer I "assigned" my oldest son the story, Othello, available through Scholastic and retold by Julius Lester. Tim came back and said that it was slow and he couldn't get into the story. Now, I am all for abandoning a book and I encourage my boys to give a book a chance but if they find that if they have a choice in the matter and they are not drawn in by a story, then there is absolutely nothing wrong with setting it aside.

This did not mean that I gave up on it so I decided that we would use the book as a bedtime story. It was interesting how that worked out. Tim has gotten to the age where he will opt out of a bedtime story and read on his own while I read to my younger son, however, we had the opposite situation occur. Nathan eventually, I think by chapter five, had decided to go read on his own while Tim and I continued with this book as a read aloud. It was a wonderful experience that Tim and I shared as we read this story dealing with the major themes at the heart of Othello; passion, doom, and racism.


If you ask either Tim or I about our favorite part in the story, we would probably recall different scenes where deceit and revelation were at the heart of it. But if you asked us our favorite 'funniest' part we would both definitely giggle and have the same scene and lines come to mind. I won't go into detail here but it was a selection where Desdemona is describing her desire for Othello. Oh my! It was so much fun to go in each night to read another chapter of Othello, Shakespeare of all things, to my teenage son. He would literally beg me to read just one more chapter each night. We finished the book and we both absolutely loved it.

Did I mention that I am not a big Shakespeare fan? I am now. If you find a way around the language and get to the heart of his stories they are fantastically twisted. Unfortunately my experience with Shakespeare was a 9th grade lit class where we were shown the 1968 film, Romeo and Juliet. Please, it was so corny and contrived that I knew I would never bother to read one of his books. Did I also mention that on many occasions I am proven wrong? This was one of them. Thank goodness. My only other Shakespearean encounter was with Hamlet starring Mel Gibson and Glenn Close; "If it were not so, you are my mother!" (A line I constantly quote...I don't know why...it just sounds so over the top).

Okay, moving on. After Othello I then went to the library and promptly found various classic Shakespeare "revisited" picture books by Bruce Colville and illustrated by various artists. They were all beautifully done and I found that this time it was Nathan who was more interested than Tim. We went through these books at bedtime until we had a fairly good introduction to well known Shakespearean plays.

Now it's confession time. I'm not a perfect mother. I know, I work very hard at convincing you otherwise but it simply is not true. My children have seen The Simpsons. At first it took place without my knowledge. Then I found myself being asked if they could watch it at home or worse yet, they would ask me to come watch a particular episode because it was so hilarious...they had already seen it. It's true; I was sucked into the world of yellow people with their random and timely cultural references. There were definitely episodes though where I would say, "...not appropriate" and the TV would go off but by the summer of 2007 we were all too familiar with the Simpsons. This knowledge was helpful and enhanced the experience of MacHomer. If you're not a Simpsons fan just think for a moment about the fact that that 'cartoon' has been in existence for over 20 years!!

Time for the final act. In the local newspaper I noticed an ad for something called, "MacHomer" showing at the McIntyre Hall. Well, well, well. High class meets low class. This could be a train wreck or brilliance. I put my money on the later, literally, tickets were $30 bucks a pop! I asked my husband if he would like to go and he happily opted out. So, I asked the boys if they were up for a "fieldtrip" to MacHomer. Nathan was all over it but Tim was a little more reluctant, the saving grace for him was that somehow the Simpsons were involved, "D'oh!!"

We went to it, we saw it, we loved it! Rick Miller is an incredibly talented actor who does over 50 character voices from the Simpsons and incorporates everyone into the play, Macbeth. He mixed it up with puppets, video, and acting. If you get the opportunity to see it I would highly recommend it. At the very end of the play he then launches into the Bohemian Rhapsody done with 25 of the most annoying singing voices of all time. You can check this out on You Tube. The singers he's done in the past are different than the ones he did recently. He must update and keep current. Of course, the boys loved MacHomer and the finale was just icing on the cake.

Teacher Talk...

Over the 4th of July my family and I went to a BBQ at a friend's house. At the party there were two other teachers. Soon, as we began to talk about schools, kids, and teaching, a couple of things happened.

First of all, as we discussed these various topics, I noticed that they inevitably began to break out in abbreviations specific to teaching. My husband just sat there with a blank look on his face with the occasional glance my directions to guage whether I knew what they were talking about. It doesn't seem to be good manners to do this in mixed company but teachers are no exception to this exclusive lingo and are just as guilty of using abbreviations and leaving innocent by-standers in the dust.

They mentioned EFL, ESL, ADHD, ADD, EBD, TOEFL, TESOL, and IDEA, which just stand for things that most people have heard of before but are not surrounded with on a daily basis that they have to resort to the use of abbreviations. Okay, that is just one thing about our conversation that I was going to mention, just an observation really. Teachers are not immune from bad habits. The other discussions that we had I feel more strongly about.

One lady there had just received her first teaching job for the coming fall and asked me what I was doing. I told her that I was going to home school my boys. She rolled her eyes and then proceeded to tell me all about how she could never do that. Her children would never listen to her and accept her in that role as teacher. I should mention at this point that every time one of her three children approached her she would immediately say, "Go away, this is the adult area." They would try to tell her something and she would dismiss them and repeat her mantra. However, every time she wanted a refill on her wine glass, she would quickly summon her oldest daughter and remind her to "fill'er up!" So, on that basis alone I would have to whole heartily agree with her about choosing not to home school her children. Although, I would beg to differ with her about her ability to teach her children. Whether she realizes it or not, good or bad, she is teaching her children.

This teacher then began discussing her new job and that it was working with special-ed preschoolers. She said she had shared with the principal at the school that she had mostly worked with intermediate grades in her student teaching experience. She explained a little bit of her "no-nonsense" approach to him and she said that he told her not to change a single thing in her teaching style. His thought was that these students will need to learn how to behave in a strict and highly structured classroom setting eventually and this was a great time to start that process. She continued on about the reading programs that she was going to use and how she spent an entire week coloring pictures for folder activities. My first thought was, "Oh, those poor kids." My heart was breaking for the possible (ineviteable) frustration that they and she would likely experience. Then I had to consider that it is her first year teaching and hope that she soon realizes that she needs to find out where her students are developmentally to ensure that her expectations are age and ability appropriate.

I left the party shaking my head thinking about how often times parents are unable to choose one teacher over the other and knowing that teachers are not all equal. Sometimes, (I'm guilty of this), we tell ourselves and our child that we just need to get through the school year, that we'll survive it together. The idea that a child would be handed over to someone who had their own agenda in mind without considering the child's needs first for their growth and learning was a sad thought and only reinforced my decision to home school my boys.