Could It Be That Parents Make Public Education A Success?

Are Florida's school districts too big to succeed?

Thanks to the Gradebook, the above is a link to a "discussion" about breaking up the size of the school districts as another means to create "success". This apparent assumption that the public school system isn't doing well goes against what I was told as a parent for many years. I was led to believe that the local education education knew what they were doing and how to do it.

I am keenly aware that many of those who work in the public education system blame the "raw material" of students for the lack of success of the public education system along with poor parenting. If one follows the discussions of merit pay and school grades, these two variables are singled out as the culprit for lack of "success".

The below comment once again refers to "success" being based on parents. If this is so true, why is there so much money spent on "merit pay" and "school grades"?

"I agree that making smaller districts will create more inequality of funding. Think of Pinellas- we'll have the great white north district and then the diverse south district. It will lead to more problems, not a solution for the problems. The solution lies in parenting. Large or small, the best students have the best parents.

Posted by: Jack | September 25, 2008 at 11:20 PM"

Over $1.2 Million Taken Away From Regular Ed Kids

I am sure we have all heard how unfair it is that school sytems have to take money away from real students and give it to those students that are in the portables in the back of the school site.

Oh, excuse me. I forgot that now in today's progressive environment, "they" have their own wing. The science kids have their section. The math kids have their section. The music kids have their section. And the disabled kids have their section.

That law that says no one is to be "discriminated" against because of their disability just seems to be ignored. Can you imagine what would happen if there was a designated ethnic section that was built by design from the ground up? It starts right in the drawing of the plan.

Here we have an example of a school board and their attorneys taking money away from regular ed kids in a grand style.

Where is the outrage?

Motel Special Ed: $816,000 District Legal Fees + $475,000 Ruling - $$$ Not in the classroom

Stephen Gorham Exceeds Expectations for School Board - EsKay

Stephen Gorham Exceeds Expectations for School Board - EsKay

Hillsborough County Has "Formalities" and "Nonissues"

Hillsborough County students to soon get a short day each month - St. Petersburg Times

I am beginning to see that is is the parent's fault.

And I can see why it is the teacher's fault that they don't like their working conditions.

From the above link, as always, there is at least one sentence that says it all.

Today, there are two comments:

"Teachers also have to approve the changes, but that's considered a formality."

"Parents were not consulted about the additional planning time. Lyons said that's because the union felt it was a "nonissue" for most people."

It seems like I have heard that when the School Board "votes" on an agenda item, it is supposed to be a "matter of formality".

It seems like the only time the District recognizes that the parents have an issue is after the fact.

There Is Communication In No News

In today's Tribune, we find this:
Communication Still Problem For Hillsborough Schools

Read more commentary here:
Lee Drury De Cesare's Casting-Room Couch: The "Poor Communication" Racket
and here:
TheWall: DON'T CALL US WE'LL CALL YOU


Are teachers and parents like the lead singer in this song by Lonestar?

For auditory learners, watch here:

YouTube - Lonestar - No News



For reader learners, read here:

"She said "It's just a woman thing" and pulled out of the drive
I said not to worry I'm an understanding guy.
I've heard that when you love someone, you gotta let em go.
She hollered "When I find myself you'll be the first to know."
Ooh No news
I learned to do the laundry, feed the cat, and clean the house.
I promised to be patient while she worked her problems out.
When she packed her bags, her destination wasn't clear;
But I sensed that her intentions were honest and sincere.
Ooh No news
She could telephone, tell a friend, tell a lie about where she's been.
Send a pigeon, send a fax; Write it on a post-it pad.
Send a signal up in smoke, tap it out in Morse Code.
I'd prefer a bad excuse to no news
Her mama's been a little vague as to her whereabouts.
Her sister says "I'm certain your romance is headed south."
I don't have a single doubt that she's still in love;
My level of anxiety is just a product of
Ooh No news
She could telephone, tell a friend, tell a lie about where she's been.
Send a pigeon, send a fax; Write it on a post-it pad.
Send a signal up in smoke, tap it out in Morse Code.
I'd prefer a bad excuse
She missed her bus, missed her plane; surely this can be explained.
Lost her car at the mall; got locked in a bathroom stall.
Playing guitar with The Band; on the road with Pearl Jam.
Buried with The Grateful Dead; came back as a Parrot Head.
Got derailed, got de-iced; offered as a sacrifice.
FBI, CIA; if they've seen her they ain't saying.
No news
Still no news!" Lonestar - No News

Wimauma Is Kicking Butt

Wimauma was my 1-8 grade school.

Back in the day.

I was there from 1959 to 1967.

Dick Blanton was the first principal to spank me. And the only one. I was throwing carrots in the cafeteria. My dad witnessed the spanking. Mr. Blanton was a nice man.

There was Ms. Vaughn, Ms. Brandon, Ms. Johnson, Mr. Laybold and I don't remember the others at this time.

Mr. Laybold had a daughter. I went to her birthday party and played pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey. Ms. Laybold was a counselor who helped me get into "Upward Bound", a pre-college program for poor kids. I think Richard Pride was the Director in the late '60's.

I went on to East Bay High school. Mr. Lep(p)s was our chemistry teacher and at some point he started a chess club. Somehow, I picked up the game of chess fairly quick. The fact that I checked out books from the Ruskin library and learned about the 3 stages of the game was never known by others. I was lucky enough to be undefeated as the 1st chair player. I almost lost to a real pretty girl at Robinson because I lost control of my intellect. I had set up a sacrifice of a chess piece so that if she captured it I would then be in a position to fork her (a "fork" is a legitimate position in chess where one piece attacks two opponents at the same time, for those of you who are "thinking dirty"). Trying to be the cocky valiant, when she went to take the sacrifice, I told her what I was going to do. She chose another move. My downfall was that soon after I made a bonehead (?) decision and lost my queen, my control of the board and was basically in a compromised position. As chess tournaments are timed and one can win by points, my recourse was to capture her unprotected men and run out the clock. Needless to say, I never mated her. She was the only one that I didn't mate. Oh, the lamentation of metaphors.

Glad to see Wimauma has a chess club.

Two schools move to continue chess champions' momentum - St. Petersburg Times

East Bay Is Getting Trounced

Hillsborough School Employees Strike Deal For 2% Raise

Read the public comments. East Bay gets alot of bad press. Plant gets the good.

Ouch. East Bay is my alma mater. I was the Indian back in 70-71. Somewhere on one of my posts I brag about all of the accomplishments I was lucky to get at East Bay. I had a very positive attitude towards HCPS until it treated me with years of disrespect.

I know that the defense of the following public comment is that it is an isolated incident.
I know that the defense of the following public comment is that the parent is a malcontent and uses a broad-brush attack.

I do wonder how this parent could write this account that sounds like others I have heard.

Earlier in the comments, this same parent did say there were two good teachers of their child. Could the parent have been wrong about their perception?

And the parent did use the word "retaliation".

Posted by ( Petey90 ) on September 13, 2008 at 2:06 p.m. ( Suggest removal )

gloria9231 and cshultz110..here is where you are WRONG. It wasn't just a few teachers. It was for the three years she attended there. And yes we went to the administration and even went to the school board. So thank you very much for assuming what kind of parent and complainer I am. YOU are just trying to cover for the lousy and lazy teachers out there.

We came from a private school where teachers and parents are VERY involved in the school. In public school, when a parent tries to be involved, the teacher wants NOTHING like that because then their laziness comes to the forefront. Teachers at East Bay curse the students (sure the students probably cursed them, but is that proper either?) some don't teach in class because they teach at HCC and they are too busy preparing their college lesson to worry about their high school students.

All of these things were addressed and you know what happened? Retaliation!! Soon, the "involved" parents learned to keep to themselves or their kids were retaliated against and suffered. Teachers made comments in front of the class like "oh, are your parents going to complain again?" or "don't tell your parents". And what kind of male teacher is supposed to ask female students what kind of panties they are wearing? Why was a teacher smoking pot at a graduation party with students? Hmmm...and I am the complainer? Yeah, right!

Don't tell ME what goes on there. I lived it. After 10 years of paying for private school, I know the difference of what you pay for and what you get in AWFUL public school when you transfer.

Raises shouldn't be handed out across the board. They should be performance based and certainly shouldn't be given to teachers who get the same constant complaints from parents.

Nothing like a bus for a fast-news Sunday

I don't like to make several posts in one day because someone who checks in may not realize there is new material past the first new post they see. Assuming they care.

This will be my third post of today. I just couldn't miss a teachable moment when I see it.

Again from "The Gradebook", we have this link:
Fewer buses demand more cooperation - St. Petersburg Times

This comment stands out:

"What's troubling is that officials were caught off guard by how the changes would affect so many families. That shows weak planning and communication from the start."

I can't help but wonder if the HCPS administration is as surprised about this fact as a student who has been given inflated grades and then meets the real world.

Hillsborough County School District Has Implemented Best Practices and Is Eligible For State Seal

HCPS: Trans. Dept. - Annual Report

$200 Merit Award Increase

Last year the merit pay award was $2,100. This year it is $2,300.

Teacher bonuses announced - St. Petersburg Times

I post this because there is someone named "John" who challenged Goader to "actually find out what happened" (see john, 10:50pm in the link below).

Goader did not have the priveledge of knowing about the significant increase in the merit pay award to the HCPS teachers this year when he posted his thoughts about how hard the negotiations were:

Contract Negotiations: CTA Squeezing Till It Hurt - EsKay

As a member of the public, I would love to know what "actually happens" within our local public education system. How come we don't?

Some commentary about merit pay here:PRO on HCPS: The Science Of Education

The Science Of Education

I wonder how much money is spent on exploring about how much money is spent on our public education.

I would imagine that more money would be spent on sea turtles and snail darters if they (sea turtles and snail darters) could organize political action committees, unions and a variety of looking-glass observers. Not that the money would go to the betterment of the sea turtles or snail darters, but to the cottage industry built around them.

From todays "The Gradebook", we have this link:Teachers' income doesn't reflect results - St. Petersburg Times

My understanding of the article is that "merit pay" has a low correlation to "tenure".

As I have gained some insight from the local blogs that purport that teacher performance is greatly dependent on the "raw material" or "learning readiness" of the students along with the level of familial support of the student regarding "school readiness", this comment must rankle a few feathers or erect a few hackles:

"Knowing that teachers are the single most important determinant of the learning that is going to take place in a year for that child, people have started conducting studies to see, 'What is the relationship between the experience and the degrees held and the student outcomes?' " says Matthew Springer, director of the National Center on Performance Incentives at Vanderbilt University."

According to the article, a 25 year teacher with a master's degree makes $61,000/yr while a 5 year teacher with no advanced degree makes $40,000. So, another kick-in-the-lesson-plan is that this five year teacher can earn a %5.25 award if the stars and the moon align correctly, whereas the same stars and moon alignment for the 25 year teacher would only gain a %3.44 award. Let me know if my math is wrong.

The article states that the teachers who received merit bonuses last year averaged 14 years in the classroom. I wonder what the mean and the mode was of the set of teachers. If you have a 1000 neophytes and five old timers, chances are the newbies are going to have an advantage based on just numbers. But if all 5 gray hairs received the merit pay, that would be a significant point to be made.

Another quantitative/qualitative exercise that would be interesting to see the results of is the correlation between the teaching setting of the new teachers compared to the teaching setting of the old ones. I may be out on a limb without citing resources, but it is my understanding that tenured teachers migrate to well supported schools and the incoming teachers are thrown into the lion pit. I know that there are monetary carrots used to urge the "good" teachers to go to the rough areas. What I am not sure of is what criteria is used to designate a "good" teacher. Would an old teacher who has never received a merit award be sought after as much or more than a 6 yr. teacher who has received a merit pay award for 2 or more years? How much could I get paid to study this?

Update: here is a resource Rookie teachers matched with poorer schools - St. Petersburg Times

"Public Education is a Goal- Not a System" - someone said

Today's "The Gradebook" has so much "parallel universe" indications it makes my head spin.


First up to bat is this:
Divided Pinellas board chooses Carvalho

followed by this:
Dramatic turn in Pinellas superintendent search: Carvalho offered Miami job

Pinellas County Schools are not to be outdone by the HCPS. Having just recently watch their Superintendent walk out on them for big corporate money, now they are waiting at the alter while their new "cherished and honored" is comtemplating another suitor.


And then there are these posts:

Former teacher union leader to head voucher group

What the world might tell us about vouchers


Sounds like real corporate negotiations of the likes of A Quiet Departure for Eisner at Disney - New York Times" and : A Case Study In Corporate Welfare about the Archer Daniels Midland Corporation." (Read this book if you want to see how corruption works in the world market: (THE INFORMANT--Kurt Eichenwald")

I can't figure out if the education in Education is what drives the business of Education or if the business of Education is what drives the Business of Education, but it all drives me nuts.

As always, there is one sentence that grabs my attention. It is made by an "anon"

"Public Education is a Goal - Not a System"

What a concept.



Here is the complete context:

Dear 4:34pm,

National defense and public education, though both goals in the public interest, are not exactly the same. Obviously with defense it is better to have one military force that is actually operated by the government. However, would you say that only government run manufacturing plants should be able to make tanks or airplanes for the military? Or should whoever is best at making those things supply it to the military?

Public education is a goal, not a "system". It could very well be that there could be some providers of education that--like those makers of tanks and planes--could do a better job for some kids at less costs than a government run school.

Just something to think about.

Posted by: | September 10, 2008 at 05:03 PM

An Atta-boy and an Anagram For Otto

In the Tribune today, we find:

Did District Belly-Flop Off SpringBoard?

and there is this:

Tampa Tribune 09/08/2008, Page M02
Column Is A Springboard Revealing Depth Of Teachers’ Dissatisfaction
FROM THE BLOG


Funny how this works: You ask a simple question, and you don’t get a simple answer.
The question I asked last week was about the new $30 million math and English teaching program known as SpringBoard now in effect in Hillsborough County middle and high schools. I had heard a few complaints from just a few teachers, and so I asked whether anybody else had any thoughts.
The response was sort of like that stampede you get when the school bell rings. There are problems out there. Most of the teachers responding didn’t want their names used.
Some even said they had been warned not to say anything negative.
In fact, the program managers are so uptight they sent out a memorandum to teachers: “Since Steve Otto is only hearing from the anti-SpringBoard folks, it would be nice if he also heard some of the positive aspects of the program. If you have any teachers who have positive comments to share and are so inclined, please ask them to send in their positive thoughts. We would like him to be inundated with the other side. Maybe things kids are saying about their English classes this year.”
The memo was from a SpringBoard program coordinator, who naturally ended with an incomplete sentence. So far, I have been inundated with one positive letter. It’s a little long, but I’ll share it in a moment. It’s from a Plant High English teacher, certainly one of the strongest programs in the county.
Dogg Tired … And Retaliation Worries
Most mail has been more like this: “The premise of SpringBoard requires you to accept this generation’s inability to be successful in the culture that expects a certain entry level of understanding. I guess we have given up on a common culture. Diversity reigns. “I want my kids to understand Shakespeare, not Snoop Dogg. I want my kids exposed to the greats, not the celebs. I want my kids to be comfortable with the upper end of society and the experience it provides.
They’ll be able to rap, note camera angles, watch pop culture movies and understand street slang on their own. I will encourage and help them with the hard stuff. It will be done in and at a private school. There is now a two-tier educational system.”
This one came not from a teacher, but from someone not sweating losing his or her job.
“The article you wrote on SpringBoard has touched a sensitive nerve.
My fiancé is a Hillsborough County high school teacher. I have had her tell me of the new curriculum, and I am nauseated. As soon as your article was published she showed me e-mails from the district asking for teachers to write to you. I am writing to you because she is afraid to write because of possible retaliation.
“She tells me other teachers feel the same way. Thanks again, Stanley M. Thomas, M.D.”
1-Man Glee Club For Pedagogical Trends
The lone letter for the defense of SpringBoard comes from Derek Thomas, the Plant instructor.
“I am extremely disappointed by the one-sided coverage you gave the SpringBoard program in your article.
“…Let me clarify a few things.
SpringBoard does not, nor was it intended to ‘replace the old math and language arts programs’ in place in our middle and high school programs. It is designed to provide a foundation for teachers to utilize in their classroom.
“…Personally I use SpringBoard activities about 50 [to] 60 percent of the time. I have the flexibility to pick and choose the activities that I think best prepare my students for the more demanding language arts classes in their remaining high school years, college and beyond.
“The activities in SpringBoard are fantastic, and any language arts teacher who follows pedagogical trends and student interests would be hard-pressed to argue against its effectiveness. Yes, SpringBoard uses music and film. Today my students studied the lyrics, rhyme, and meter of a rap song to learn about voice, incident and persona. Guess what?
They were engaged, reflective and willing to discuss both their opinions and mine.
“Finally Mr. Otto, I’d like to address the unnamed English teacher who has spent over 25 years developing a solid curriculum with ‘results.’ I raise the question, ‘Isn’t it part of our job as teachers to continue to modify our curriculum to meet the needs of our students?’ Shouldn’t we embrace new strategies and mechanisms that might help our students become better prepared for college?”

And One More:
“Please don’t use my name, as I may need to get another teaching job to supplement my retirement. I am a National Board-certified teacher. I taught in Florida for 23 years. …After four days of training in July, I retired three years earlier than I intended to. “Why? Because the seventh-grade curriculum teaches no content. It is ‘choices,’ and seventh-graders don’t need more opportunities to sit around discussing which fast food place is better or which sneakers are better or what foods in a clip from ‘Hook’ were being tossed around in a food fight. They need to learn literature and grammar and how to read more thoroughly and express themselves correctly in writing.
“When I asked questions in the training concerning how to implement this program in my school and how it fit into differential instruction and how it would impact what I knew to be effective with my students, I was called out into the hall and chastised by my middle school supervisor and told there was no option over what I would be teaching. SpringBoard was the curriculum and deal with it.”
Keyword, Otto Graphs, to read and comment on Steve Otto’s blog.

OTTO GRAPHS

WITH STEVE OTTO

Powered by TECNAVIA
©2008 Media General Inc. All Rights Reserved 09/08/2008

*********************

What does this have to do with an anagram, you ask?

Otto and Toto.


Both of them are pulling the sacred curtain that hides the "great Oz". For me, the system is the "Oz". While there are indeed people who run the system, they have created something bigger than themselves for different reasons. "The system" must now deal with "this creation" instead of education.

"The system", and it's creators, must now deal with a paranoid work environment.

And the word "retaliation" is nothing new. Read the "first Whitehead Case" and read the history of Doug Erwin. It's all there.

SPARC 2008 -Free Money to Readers

Read previous post.


Putting my money where my belief is.

Please e-mail me at stand4idea@aol.com about the conference and I might pay your conference fee.

Please provide name, school district, title, place of work and contact information.

Reason I ask?

In 1997, STAND was paid $x00 by the HCPS for several of the HCPS ESE-related-personnel to attend our first conference at the USF campus.

My best recollection is very few, if more than one who I remember, attended.

Free money for STAND. Continued arrogance with ignorance for HCPS.

The main speaker was AMY ROWLEY

I will assume that no readers of mine know who she is.

SPARC 2008 is Coming

Hello Friends!



I bet your thinking this is just another conference……. WRONG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



This year’s SPARC 2008 is not the same old conference ….. we have many different presenters, and many, many different exhibitors this year! Have you seen the list on the site??



Two of our newest and most exciting exhibitors and conference sponsors are:



Momstampabay.com (yes…. They are affiliated with Channel 10 News and have an awesome website for learning, exchanging of ideas and networking!)



DisAbilityNewsRadio.com ( check it out! Monica has interviewed some great folks… she is from New York, and bringing information to Florida!)



Both of these organizations will be in attendance at SPARC…. Stop by their tables and say Hi, and introduce yourself!



Our main goal is to continue to bring the latest and greatest in news, research, and strategies when developing the agenda for SPARC. On the website we have posted links to some of our SPARC presenters….. from the home page click SPARC, then SPARC 2008. Check out some of the folks who will be there!



You only have 11 more days to register on line for SPARC 2008!!!! September 13, 2008 will be the last day of on-line registration

for $25.00.



After September 13th…… you must register at the door the day of for $35.00 per person. There will be no guarantee of a conference bag, shirt or lunch. Once we reach 500 they will be gone.



Have you invited your child’s teacher to attend? What about their therapists? They can earn component points, trade days, and CEU’s for attending… plus, learning lots of new things to use while with your child!!!!!



Saturday, September 20, 2008…… 8:00am – 4:30pm Fitzgerald Middle School, Largo, Fl.



Don’t forget the door prizes… Disney, Seaworld, Busch Gardens, autographed hockey jersey, $100 gas card for those out of Pinellas County…and of course…. The DELL Laptop computer!



As always, thank you for forwarding this e-mail to all of your contacts…. Family, friends, teachers, doctors!!!! Word of mouth is powerful so let’s start sharing!



Melissa & Kim

One More Bus Story - Pt. II

From my previous post - Anonymous said...

PLEASE, allow me to comment on this. As I read the paper this morning, I felt that Lamb sure did have a lot of nerve to make his comment. Why would ANYONE--teachers or parents bother to show up at a "special" meeting? Elia and the rest of her Board have been downright UNinterested--to put it nicely--in ANYTHING that parents or teachers have had to say at regular Board meetings ! Why should any of us really believe they want to hear from us, now ? It's way past too late to express concern for the welfare/opinions of constituents.

September 3, 2008 6:45 PM

***********

As usual, there is one sentence that begs for attention:

"Why should any of us really believe they want to hear from us, now ? "

I think it would be fair to say that it appears that April Griffin does want to hear from "us".

However, I fully agree with "anon" that most people who have any insight into the HCPS system would find it hard to "believe that they want to hear from us".

Having read "anon's' post, it jogged my memory. I previously asked "what value" do the "town meetings" have. It dawned on me that perhaps the only real value these meetings have is that a "check mark of accountability" can be marked to "demonstrate collaboration with the public".

In other words, another "paper compliance" as opposed to an "actual compliance".

One More Bus Story

Today in the Tampa Tribune, we read:
Elia Apologizes Again For Bus Schedule Confusion

Not much new here.

I wonder what the implications are of this quote:

"I'm really appalled at the lack of community attendance at this meeting," school board member Jack Lamb scolded before four parents got up to complain about bus problems and a lack of communication about Tuesday's meeting.

Does anyone know what value these meetings have for the parents?

No, really.

Does this mean that if the public doesn't show up for these meetings, then the public doesn't care about the local education system?

Does this mean that if the public doesn't show up for these meetings, then the public doesn't care what the local education system representatives have to say?

Does the public and the school administrators have the same expecations for these "town meetings"? Does anyone know if the public used to show up for these "town meetings" but have learned not to go?

Does the public see these "town meetings" as a method of placation? (same question as above, just worded differently).


Is there a war going on between the administration and the public?

Is there a strong collaborative relationship between the administration and the public?

Does the public see these "town meetings" as a method of placation, based on experience" (same question

Or does the administration and the public still go on, blaming each other, night after night, day after day?