Teachers Occupy Wall Street

Teachers and the “Occupy Wall Street” Movement

The thought occurred to me the other day while I was watching the national news on network television that there might be teachers participating in the demonstrations. The more I thought about it, the more it made sense. Teachers are among the 99% that the protestors are talking about. You never hear the words “millionaire” and “educator” in the same sentence. Teachers are one of the groups that have been targeted and vilified by the governors and legislators as taking too big a drink from the public trough. In states like Wisconsin, Ohio, and New Jersey, teachers and other public employees are losing their collective bargaining rights, their tenure rights, and their pension benefits. During this current recession, teachers have lost a great deal. Many have lost their jobs due to budget cuts. The “steady dime vs. a seldom dollar” axiom no longer applies to the teaching profession.

Whether the Wall Street movement takes wings remained to be seen but this has the essence of a growing demand for social change rather that political overthrow of the government, which makes this unlike the “Arab Spring” in the Middle East. It will be interesting to see how this movement reacts to changes in weather as winter begins across the country.( It snowed in New York City on Saturday, Oct.28th !)

Apparently the message of occupy Wall Street is resonating beyond Zuccotti Park. The New York City teachers union has agreed to store some of the Occupy Wall Street protesters' gear. The union began taking in excess storage items from protesters, stashing them at a vacant first floor storefront at its   Broadway building, a space that protesters have dubbed the "Occupy Wall Street Coat Check” . Several union officials have met with protestors and have offered their support.

The California Federation of Teachers and a coalition of allies want to place a measure on the November 2012 ballot to hike taxes to people with annual incomes of more than $1 million.
At this point it is difficult to determine if the unions are just jumping on the bandwagon to gain media exposure or if they are sincere in their efforts to be an integral part of the movement.
Teachers are agents of social change. That is evident in those educators who go the extra mile (or further) on behalf of their students. At the very least, trying to educate the population of America so that young people can have a productive and rewarding future is a daunting task but should be at the forefront of any effort for equity in the workplace.

Toward a National Curriculum

Cultural Literacy.

Presented by Jeffrey A. Margolis

Is there a specific body of knowledge that every American needs to know? Who should decide what we need to know and how do we determine what is to be included in that body of knowledge?

Dr. E. D. Hirsch, Jr., former professor of Humanities and English at the University of Virginia decided to address that issue.   His book, Cultural Literacy – What Every American Needs to Know, when published in 1987 became at once both a best seller and a controversial flashpoint. It evolved from a concern with the decline in literacy in America.  Hirsch maintained that “to be culturally literate is to possess the basic information needed to thrive in the modern world.” (Hirsch, p.xiii). His thesis, while well meaning, angered multiple groups of educators. There were those who challenged Hirsch with righteous indignation. Who is Hirsch to decide what Americans should know?  His book provided a “list” of about 5000 items including historic events, names of famous scholars and politicians, opera and music, religion, and so on. So the argument went on as to what should be included on this list. A subsequent publication of Hirsch’s Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, gave brief descriptions and illustrations of the items he included on his now famous list.

The other group of offended scholars and intellectuals included those who saw this as exposing class differences in American education.  Minority and disadvantaged students were not exposed to the same experiences as their middle and upper middle class counterparts.  They had not been to museums, concerts or the opera. They had not read the same books (like Shakespeare’s plays), magazines or even vacationed in the same places. Many had not been to a live sporting event.

Those familiar with public education in the United States know that with the exception of the Advanced Placement program in high schools and the International Baccalaureate Program (IBP), there is no standardized national curriculum. What this means in a mobile society is that students who move from one state to another may either be ahead or behind their peers, depending in what state they end up in. Thus if Hirsch’s theory would be adopted there would be a common universal fund of knowledge that all American students would be required tp know.

It should be pointed out that there is a movement under consideration that would standardize knowledge in specific subject areas (like math).-(Common Core State Mathematics Standards)

In 1986 Hirsch established the Core Knowledge Foundation ( www.coreknowledge.org)  in an effort to develop a uniform curriculum for elementary school students. The foundation subsequently published a series of books about what each grade level student should know.  The series  goes from Kindergarten through grade 8.

Where do you stand on this issue? Should there be a uniform national curriculum? What should its contents be? Who should devise it? We want to hear from you.

It’s Still About the Math!

 

 The great realization came in 1957 with the Soviet launching of the Sputnik satellite.  The beginnings of the “Space Race” exposed just how far behind American students were in science and math.  In an effort to deal with the blow to America’s esteem, the US government has attempted to improve the level of math skills in American School students. The National Defense Education Act (NDEA), The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) and to some extent No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top all had improvement of math skills in their plans. For sure that some of the suggestions and innovative programs worked in some of the schools, but throughout the country there was no uniform quantum leap in students’ ability to deal with numbers.

In 1991, Professor E.D. Hirsch, Jr. (of Cultural Literacy fame), founded the Core Knowledge Foundation. Kirsch and his colleagues tried to quantify the bodies of knowledge in the school subject areas by grade level that every student should know. In his book, “What your 2^nd Grader need to Know” Hirsch devotes about 60 pages to math skills encompassing time, measurement, geometry  and money as well as addition, subtraction and multiplication.

The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (www.nctm.org) has long taken a leadership role in math skills improvement nationwide. Their vision is to “is to inspire, energize, motivate, and stimulate creativity.”

A number of school districts throughout the country have turned to the International Baccalaureate Program (IBP) because of its rigorous academic program in critical subjects- including math. The middle school math curriculum tackles the following  areas:

·  algebra

·  geometry and trigonometry

·  statistics and probability

·  discrete mathematics

For more information about the IBP you can access their website at www.ibp.org./

Clearly it’s time to bring in the heavy hitters, especially with younger students to show them that math can be fun and important.  So the Sesame Street characters, The Count, Elmo, Big Bird, and company have been recruited as math teachers for our youngest students. The program is called” Math is Everywhere (http://www.sesamestreet.org/cms_services/services?action=download&fileName=For%20Teachers:%20Math%20is%20Everywhere&uid=c9c23d0c-8cee-4958-a865-68ea5fb7224a) and provides tips galore to teachers and parents to make learning math fun right along with their Sesame Street pals.

It has been almost 55 years since Sputnik and while the US eventually did win the space race- if that’s what you call getting to the moon first -but it is still behind many of its European and Asian counterparts in math supremacy.

In Jun, 2010 the government released the Common Core State Mathematics Standards (CCSMS) which is to be phased into school across the United States in 2014. This will be closest thing that America school will to a national curriculum and should become a driving force in refocusing school mathematics textbooks. For a complete look at the standards, all 94 pages, access the following web site. http://corestandards.org/assets/CCSSI_Math%20Standards.pdf

As we continue to lose jobs overseas and we continue to find our high school graduates woefully unprepared to face  the workforce and adult life,  and as we continue to see the dropout rate increase- we must  come to the urgent realization that in many aspects ‘It’s all about the math.”

Oct. 14,2011

Teaching About Christopher Columbus

Christopher Columbus

When I was in elementary school, what I remember most about Columbus Day was the poem: “Columbus sailed the ocean blue in fourteen hundred ninety two.” 

We made cut outs of the Columbus’ three ships- the Nina, Pinta, and the Santa Maria. Our social studies textbooks had a few drawings of Columbus landing on the island of Hispaniola and that was the extent of our learning. The best part was the fact that we had a day off from school. We also heard about a great parade in New York City. (FYI- President Franklin Roosevelt Declared in 1937 that Columbus Day should be observed on October. 12^th.)

But what is Columbus’ legacy? What should we really know about him and his voyage that began on August 3,1494? According to the Dictionary of Cultural Literacy Columbus was “an Italian explorer responsible for the European discovery of America in 1492. He had sailed across the Atlantic Ocean from Spain under the patronage of the king and queen, Ferdinand and Isabella, hoping to find a westward route to India.” ( Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, E.D. Hirsch.c.1993 p.198). There are those who wish to focus on the dark side of Columbus pointing to the way the indigenous inhabitants he encountered were treated or the diseases that the men brought with them from Europe. How you wish to treat the subject may very well depend on what grade level you are teaching and how much investigation you and your students wish to make.

Today classroom teachers can find a myriad of materials to make the teaching of Christopher Columbus but interesting and fun. There are games, puzzles, worksheets.

The History Channel Web site www.history.com has a variety of clips about Columbus, his voyage and his motivations for the trip.

The site Apples 4 The teacher (http://www.apples4theteacher.com/holidays/columbus-day/) offers a number of games and activities primarily for elementary students. Here you will find a reading  list of  books about Columbus as well as poems, a skit, as well as a fact sheet.

ABC Teach also has a web site (http://abcteach.com/directory/seasonalholidays/columbus_day/) that will provide additional resources and printable teaching materials for use in the classroom.

Finally Teacher Vision (http://www.teachervision.fen.com/columbus-day/teacher-resources/6607.html) has lesson plans and suggestions  to help make Columbus Day a meaningful experience for your students.

Happy Columbus Day

Image courtesy of Library of Congress

Combating the Dropout Epidemic

Why do students drop out of school?  Are our school so boring that they are intolerable?  Would students rather hang out at the mall texting each other? Is the current job market that fantastic that students drop out to find lucrative jobs? Are the military services begging students to quit school and recruit? (The armed services require a minimum of a high school diploma to enlist.) Are schools so dangerous that it is safer to be elsewhere?

According to the American Youth Policy Forum, students who drop out school place a great burden upon themselves as well as the greater community. The form’s research asserts that:

·         Students who drop out have  reduced earning power as they progress  through their working lives

·         59% of those who have been incarcerated in federal institutions  are  drop outs

·         Students who drop out  end up  paying less in taxes

·         Dropouts  are more likely to rely on public assistance

Over the years, there have been a number of programs that were developed to encourage students to stay in school. A number if philanthropic organizations offer scholarships to minority students who graduate from high school and go on to college. Several school districts have even experimented with paying (read bribing) students to go to school on a regular basis.

The National Dropout Prevention Centers ( www.dropoutprevention.org) offer a list of suggestions/ recommendations for educators and parents. They include:

·         Getting parents involved  in their children’s education at an early age

·         Provide a safe learning environment

·         Literacy programs

·         Mentoring and tutoring

·         After school programs

·         Alternative education programs

·         Vocational and technical education

·         Early intervention programs

·         Professional development programs for  educators

(Note: the National Dropout Prevention Center national conference will be held in Chicago, IL from October 9-12. Go to the web site for more details.)

Another organization that is working to stop the dropout epidemic in the US is America’s Promise Alliance (www.americaspromise.org). Founded in 1997 By General Colin Powell, the mission of the organization is built upon “Five Promises” that aim to create an awareness of the dropout problem and to advocate for organizations to in both the corporate and faith based sectors.

One last link that you may find useful is www.betterhighschools.org. This site is run by the National High School Center at the American Institute for Research. Here you will find a number of links with much more information about the drop out crisis in the United States.

We need to make education important. It is even more critical given the current economic situation that we prepare students to obtain the skills to lead productive lives and continue the democratic process. The goals are that much more difficult when legislators slash education budgets and programs and continue to attack the teaching profession. W are all in this together.  We need to make staying in school a priority.

As always your comments and input are welcome. Please let us know if your school has developed a dropout prevention initiatives that  you would like to share.