Starting a new project...

I will be starting a new blog. :) I'll have the link to it posted once I figure out exactly where I want to go with it. Thanks!

Lecturing is not teaching

We teach as we were taught - unless you are focused on changing the cycle of poor academic practices. 

Vouchers and standards assessments

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Republicans in the Florida House on Wednesday firmly rejected a proposal to require students who attend private schools with state-sponsored vouchers to take the same high-stakes tests given to students in public schools.

It's a vote that the GOP-controlled Legislature has taken before in the years since vouchers were first authorized. But it was still a key moment since state Senate Republicans say they won't expand one of the state's current voucher programs without additional testing requirements. (http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2014/04/10/690715flxgrvoucherprogram_ap.html)

Think about what is being said here...

The way I see it, if "a school voucher is a certificate of funding issued by the government (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/School_voucher)" then individuals receiving those funds should be held to the same accountability standards as all public school institutions. 

The logic is simple: public money funds public education - public education is held to specific accountability standards - standards are assessed to measure the growth of students receiving public money. 

Vouchers are public money - students who receive public money must then be assessed according to state generated accountability standards. 

If students receiving vouchers are not assessed according to the state standards then there are only two options I see:

1) Eliminate vouchers for students unless they agree to take state standard assessments.

or

2) Eliminate standrads assessments for all students receiving public money for public education.

Hypothesis on grading

We have all seen students who are constantly not passing a class because they are not turning in their assignments; but they get C's or D's on the tests - summative tests of knowledge. The way I see it - if I give a knowledge test and a student passes that test, then the student is grasping some of the knowledge, which means that student should be passing the class. To have a kid fail because they're absent minded, because they are distracted, because they are frustrated, because they are anxious, because they are in a state of mind that is causing them to procrastinate is unethical and ineffective. And when these kids fail over and over, they eventually give up; it is a common human procedure to avoid stress. 

So if that is the case then a schools grading procedure should not be to give a student a 0 for missed formative assessments; but instead not giving any points at all - I hypothesize that this simple process would benefit the students development as a student. And so a student's grade is based on only their test scores not there assignments and tests scores. If they do all of their work, they get credit for the work and if they fail a test their work will provide a buffer to prevent them from failing the class but if they do none of their work and pass the test then they should pass the class.

So, I hope to be able to begin a system of unofficial observational note taking practices to see if my hypothesis is accurate enough to stem further investigation. (I will also do some research to make sure it hasn't already been done) 

A few weeks ago I had a slight epiphany

My epiphany was prefaced with some slight research regarding PTSD (I am working on an observational hypothesis relating to how participation in WWII affected the parenting styles of returning solders and their spouses/families). This process led me to a generalized understanding of the signs and symptoms of PTSD. 

It did not take me long to connect the characteristics of PTSD to certain teacher behaviors and outlooks. 

This connection between PTSD and the public school teacher was initiated by one of the manifestations involved in PTSD -  the phenomenon of triggers. A trigger is an occurrence that takes place outside or within the mind of the individual that, once experienced, the trigger "brings up" an emotional and/or physical response in relation to the previously experienced stress. 

The concept: 

When the NCLB act (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_Child_Left_Behind_Act) was enacted in 2001 a sudden wave of potential anxiety and stress began its menacing journey to envelop the minds and hearts of educational professionals. The law's requirements for accountability, testing and school improvement was truly the aspect that brought with it the most apprehension and doubt. If testing results were not adequate for meeting the needs of annual yearly progress the teachers of those students were reprimanded (in some form or another) and placed into professional environmental situations that were stressful. 

As a side note - I feel that sometimes, when I use the word stress, we tend to brush it aside. It is a word like awesome, hilarious, love, or God. Its used so often and in varying context that it loses its true meaning. 

When I use the word stress I am referring to the far-reaching consequences on one's physical and mental health. In short...Stress = Disease = Cell Death = Stress = Disease = Cell Death = Stress = Disease = Cell Death....This is a very serious issue and we need to focus on the realities of interactions with prolonged and unpredictable stress inducing situations. 

And so our NATIONS public school teachers have been experiencing seasonal stress inducing experiences that affect the daily operations and interactions of teachers and their cummunity. 

Wellp....

It appears that all things being cyclical I end up back to where I began.

My mind has been searching for opportunities to share itself - 2 years ago I stopped - I ended up getting a new gig at a new school with new responsibilities and I soon became buried in thought and practice.

As with most new experiences it took me about three years to get a hold of specifics of this new situation and it turns our that the interconnections of the internet/universe brought me back to my blog.

And so I will begin again from where I now am.

Thanks for riding the brain waves with me.