Are We Raising a Nation of Quitters?

Today’s students are actively engaged in multitasking. They may have more homework that I past generations. There is also the pressure from both parents and peers to be a part of organized activities. It may be spots, dramatics, music or even debating, but today’s students are actively engaged in a wide range of time consuming activities.

What if a student suddenly comes to you and out of the blue proclaims that they want to quit baseball or marching band? Do we let them off the hook? The quick answer is no, at least not at first. It is the essential to investigate the WHY of their actions. Parents may be quick to resurrect the commitment and perseverance sermons but ultimately you need to investigate why children are reluctant to return to the activity. It might be prudent to talk to the coach, band director, or activity adviser to ascertain if there was any specific incident that led to the student wanting to quit. Some students only want to play for winners and give up when things don’t work out so well.  Allowing a student to walk away in this scenario sends the wrong message.  Not all things in life will go as planned. Parents, teachers, and coaches will not always be there to bail students out. Student must learn to work through their problems and not walk away from them.

This issue of commitments and perseverance is a great topic for classroom discussions and essay writing. You are encouraged to bring this topic up with your students. There are also other resources for you to refer to. They include:

Benjamin Bloom: Developing Talent in Young People
Carol Dweck: Mindset: The New Psychology of Success
Geoff Colvin: Talent Is Overrated: What Really Separate World-Class Performers From Everybody Else
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Kevin Rathunde, and Samuel Whalen: Talented Teenagers: The Roots of Success and Failure
Harold Stevenson: The Learning Gap: Why Our Schools Are Failing and What We Can Learn From Japanese and Chinese Education

We do not have to resign ourselves to raising a nation of quitters.

C.2013 J. Margolis

The Death of History Education

The teaching of history education in America’s public schools is an endangered species.  There is quite a bit of finger pointing to go around. One of the culprits is the high stakes testing programs that require teachers to spend a great deal of the preparing students for the tests, primarily in language arts and mathematics. That leaves history on the short end of the stick. Noted American historian David McCullough lamented the growth of historical illiteracy among school students and even college students. McCullough noted that students today do not know basic facts about American history. His assessment strongly corroborates the research that former Univ. of VA professor Hirsch discovered and wrote about in his book Cultural Literacy.

One of the oft cited complaints is that history is boring as students have been required to memorize a litany of dates and places with little or no understanding of their context within the framework of the American experience. According to McCullough as many as 80% of US colleges no longer require history courses. In the bigger picture, He agrees with a number of university officials that teachers should be required to obtain an academic degree in the subject they are going to teach rather than a degree in education. In other words content area trumps pedagogy in his view. He also believes that the traditional “lead weight” textbooks have become obsolete.

Students need to be taught history in more engaging ways. They need to realize that there is the history of art, of music, and of literature. Educators need to heed this caveat.  If we do not teach about America’s history through its unique place on the world stage, we are depriving our children of the legacy and heritage that is needed if we are to continue that concept, that idea known as America.

Visiting Presidential Libraries

One of the goals on my ‘to do’ list is to visit all of the Presidential Libraries. At the present time there are thirteen of them spread out across the United States. The newest library, completed this past spring is that of George W. Bush (Bush 43) is located on the campus of Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas.

All of the libraries are administered by NARA, the National Archives and Records Administration. When a President leaves office, he usually donates his papers and artifacts to the government. The president selects a city- usually in the state he is from -to house the library and museum. The archives are displayed for the public to view and for researchers to work with. Three of the museums are in Texas, Bush 41, Lyndon Johnson and Bush 43. There are two libraries in California, Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan. The other libraries are spread out across the country.

While the federal act that established presidential libraries started with Herbert Hoover, the first library was established in Hyde Park,, New York, home of Franklin D. Roosevelt. (www.fdrlibrary.marist.edu)

While most schools are far away from libraries, they all have web sites with information that can be used in the classrooms. Resources for teachers can be found at http://www.archives.gov/education/

Here is a list of the thirteen official Presidential Libraries and their locations;

1)      Franklin D. Roosevelt- Hyde Park, New York

2)      John F. Kennedy- Boston, Mass.

3)      Jimmy Carter- Atlanta, Georgia

4)      William J. Clinton- Little Rock, Ark

5)      Harry Truman- Independence , Mo

6)      Dwight D. Eisenhower- Abilene, KS

7)      Lyndon Johnson- Austin, TX

8)      George H.W. Bush- College Station, TX

9)      George W. Bush- Dallas, TX

10)   Richard Nixon- Yorba Linda, CA

11)   Ronald Regan- Simi Valley, CA

12)   Herbert Hoover- Iowa

13)   Gerald Ford- Michigan

Notes – One of the newest and most interactive museums is the Lincoln Library and Museum in Springfield, Ill. This library and museum is the most student friendly of all that have visited. If your school happens to be in the area, this would make a great field trip. One last note- A new George Washington Presidential Library has just opened at the Washington home in Mt. Vernon, VA.

C.2013 J. Margolis

Back to School Reading for Teachers

Every new school years brings with it new challenges and responsibilities. Teachers need to harness their creativity and create opportunities for their students to be successful. At the beginning of each new school year, some school districts bring in motivational speakers to help energize the staff and create enthusiasm for the year.  Other districts show inspirational films to explore all of the possibilities that lie ahead and lay out off of the possibilities. In the event that your school does not provide any of these opportunities, there are any number of books, several recently published, to demonstrate the challenge and hope for success, even in the worst of academic environments.

“Confessions of as Bad Teacher: The Shocking Truth from the Front Lines of American Public Education” by John Owens. The author, a former publishing executive, tries his hand a teaching in a high school in the South Bronx. Readers can follow his path and insights as to what might be need for school reform.

For a more global view, take a look at” The Smartest Kids in the World and How They got That Way" by Amanda Ripley. The author takes a look at the education process in other countries and why the US is falling behind.

Some of my perennial favorites are a little older but their messages are just as valid.

“Teacher Man, A Memoir,” by Frank McCort , McCort, an award winning author and 30 year veteran teacher shares his experiences- his successes and failures- teaching in New York City.

Finally, New York Times writer Abby Goodnough, follows a first year elementary teacher around in "Ms. Moffett’s First Year." This is a sobering tale of public school realities.

In between  preparing lesson plans and tending to your own personal and family needs, take some time to grab a book. Have a great school year!

As always, please feel free to add to the dialogue and recommend a book of your choice to share.

C.2013.J. Margolis

The Flipped Classroom

In yet another effort to engage students in the classroom and to integrate technology into the teaching/learning process, a number of classroom teachers have turned to a technique known as “the flipped classroom.” In this scenario, students complete their “homework” in the classroom under the mentorship of their teacher and explore their class assignments at home. Teachers employ YouTube to post lessons s well as iPod lectures. While the flipped classroom technique has not caught on with a majority of the teaching population, the concepts do raise the issue of the use of technology on the classroom. Have we as educators resorted to using as much tech as possible just to use tech? Is it yet the latest ploy to get students interested in education?  The program fails to consider those students who cannot afford to purchase the latest high tech devices. This is just another case of the latest educational fad and school districts throughout the country, desperate to improve student performance, are more than willing to jump on the latest bandwagon without a thorough review of the empirical research.

For more information you may wish to read some of the following:

“The Flipped Classroom” by Bill Tucker (http://educationnext.org/files/ednext_20121_BTucker.pdf)

http://www.ourstringsrock.com/uploads/1/6/1/8/16180852/flip_class_basics.pdf

Five Best Practices for the Flipped Classroom” by Andrew Miller (http://ticharter33.org/library/TIarticle36.pdf)

As always your feedback is welcome. Best wishes for a successful 2013-1014 school year.

C.2013 J. Margolis