an interesting number

In many circles, class size is considered as fundamental to education as the three R’s, with numbers watched so carefully that even a tiny increase can provoke outrage among parents, teachers and political leaders. Alarms went off in New York and California last week, as officials on both coasts warned that yawning budget gaps could soon mean more children in each classroom.

But while state legislatures for decades have passed laws — and provided millions of dollars — to cap the size of classes, some academic researchers and education leaders say that small reductions in the number of students in a room often have little effect on their performance.
At recent legislative hearings on whether to renew mayoral control of the New York City schools, lawmakers and parents alike have asked, again and again, why Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Chancellor Joel I. Klein have not done more to reduce class size. On Tuesday, the Education Department issued a report that found the average number of children per class increased in nearly every grade this school year.

“If you’re going to spend an extra dollar, personally, I would always rather spend it on the people that deliver the service,” Mr. Bloomberg said when asked about the report on Thursday, calling class size “an interesting number.”

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an interesting number

In many circles, class size is considered as fundamental to education as the three R’s, with numbers watched so carefully that even a tiny increase can provoke outrage among parents, teachers and political leaders. Alarms went off in New York and California last week, as officials on both coasts warned that yawning budget gaps could soon mean more children in each classroom.

But while state legislatures for decades have passed laws — and provided millions of dollars — to cap the size of classes, some academic researchers and education leaders say that small reductions in the number of students in a room often have little effect on their performance.
At recent legislative hearings on whether to renew mayoral control of the New York City schools, lawmakers and parents alike have asked, again and again, why Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Chancellor Joel I. Klein have not done more to reduce class size. On Tuesday, the Education Department issued a report that found the average number of children per class increased in nearly every grade this school year.

“If you’re going to spend an extra dollar, personally, I would always rather spend it on the people that deliver the service,” Mr. Bloomberg said when asked about the report on Thursday, calling class size “an interesting number.”

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The problem of grade level team meetings.

When I taught in MS202 in Ozone Park, I taught in isolation. When I had a “difficult class” I hid it from my colleagues. I wasn’t about to admit I was having trouble. I never asked for help, and I never shared anything that was happening in my class with anyone other than the students in front of me. I was a good teacher at least I thought.

I mocked teachers who spoke about school on their lunch break. I felt that administration was the enemy. Basically I closed my door, did what I thought was right, then went home.

I was never asked by colleagues or administration about why students were successful in one class and not another. What did I care if Johnny couldn’t read that was the English teacher’s job? What did I care if Debra had artistic talents beyond her peers? Wasn’t that the Art teacher’s job? And Math….lol I thought it was a waste of time.

I worried only about my class, I was only concerned with my teaching history. Not my students. I was worried about my “teaching”. After all, it was the only thing I could control.

Then I came to QHST. I really had to start thinking about much more. I was asked to participate in CFGs. I was nervous of being exposed as a fraud. That peers were just going to laugh at me. What the hell do I know? What the hell do they know? Why would they care about what happens in my history class? I was standing in front of math teachers, a music teacher and veteran English teacher explaining how I teach. I immediately thought this was crazy, against my union contract, and not what I went to school for. The uncomfortable feeling prompted my to call a teacher from my previous school and explain, “ugh…the meeting I had today was a waste of time.” (That was easier than sharing how uncomfortable I was)

Now we have these “Grade Level Team Meetings.” I am put on the spot, asked to talk about students (something I cannot control) share successes, and failures. I’m no longer teaching in isolation. I know who the artists are in my class, I know who is better at math, and who loves to write or read. It is too much. Too much to think about. I’m held way too accountable by my peers. Where’s my union, this job is too tough!

I want to go back to the isolation, to worrying only about history not the lives of students. I’m not paid enough to really deal with weekly parent calls, electronic grade books, holistic differentiated instruction, and educational philosophy.

Leave that to the professionals, I’m a teacher.

(wait a minute did I just type that?)

SoHo’s new Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Annex worth the trip for teachers, students.

Queens HS of Teaching teachers (from left) Maryann Sadera, Lori Mayo, Ann Marie Paparella and Walter Brown check out the Bob Dylan exhibit.

You might not be able to take your students to see The Clash live these days, but New York now has the next best thing: a feature exhibit on the renowned English punk band at SoHo’s new Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Annex.

Featuring the original handwritten lyrics to “London Calling” and lead singer Joe Strummer’s Telecaster guitar, the aptly titled “Revolution Rock” tells the story of the band’s rise and demise, and of the many feathers its politicized lyrics and rebellious attitude ruffled along the way.
While The Clash may only appeal to a particular taste, the annex, which opened to the public on Dec. 2, has something for everybody, including lesson plans for teachers and plenty of educational fun for students.

The New York City extension of Cleveland’s original Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, the 25,000 square foot space at 76 Mercer St. is brimming with rock and roll memorabilia, from Chuck Berry’s leopard print vest and Elvis’ notated Bible to John Lennon’s glasses, Grandmaster Flash’s turntables, and Madonna’s white pointy bustier from the 1990 Blonde Ambition tour.
Teachers considering a trip to the annex should take a look at the host of pre- and post-visit lesson plans available online at www.rockhall.com, says Dr. Lauren Onkey, vice president of education and public programs at the flagship facility in Cleveland.

These run the gamut from “‘Shake, Rattle, and Roll:’ The Building Blocks of Music,” which teaches students in grades K-4 about the basic elements of music, to “Keep on Pushing: Popular Music and the Civil Rights Movement,” a multisession social studies curriculum for high school students. English teachers will appreciate “Woody Guthrie and The Grapes of Wrath,” and science teachers should check out “The Cigar Box Guitar,” which teaches middle and high school students about the physics of sound.

Onkey and Jason Hanley, the Cleveland museum’s director of education, were in town last month to promote the annex and discuss educational programming with 770 teachers who turned the space into a veritable “School of Rock” at a teachers-only event on Jan. 21.
“We’re teaching the history of the music, but we’re also teaching a language arts lesson to help students analyze lyrics,” said Onkey, a former English professor, between packed presentations in the annex’s VIP room.

“Here at the annex, you’ve got Bruce Springsteen’s ’57 Chevy and copies of his handwritten lyrics to ‘Thunder Road.’ Before you come in you could talk to students about the imagery in that song and think about how they might imagine the car in relationship to the lyrics,” she suggested.

Hanley, a musicologist, recommends teachers also explore the Cleveland facility’s distance learning program, which uses impressive live video conferencing technology to beam museum educational staff from Ohio directly into your classroom.

“We’re hoping teachers will come here with their students, tour through the annex, and then take a distance learning interactive video conferencing class with us,” he said.

There is also an on-site curator and an education coordinator who can help orient student groups visiting the annex, added Hall of Fame executive producer James Sanna.

Judging from the reaction of teachers like Gary Moore, they will soon have plenty of school-age visitors to keep them busy.

“It’s important for kids to know where the music that they love comes from,” Moore said. “This museum will help them learn that history.”

Blacks Less Likely to Take A.P. Exam

More than 15 percent of the three million students who graduated from public high schools last year passed at least one Advanced Placement exam, the College Board said Wednesday, but African-American students were still far less likely to have passed, or to even have taken, an A.P. exam than white, Hispanic or Asian students.

In its fifth annual report on its A.P. program, the College Board said the program was growing steadily. More than 460,000 students, or 15.2 percent, passed an A.P. exam last year, compared with 14.1 percent in 2007 and 12.2 percent five years ago.

But the program is not spreading evenly across the nation. In Mississippi and Louisiana, fewer than 4 percent of high school graduates passed an A.P. exam last year, and in 17 other states, fewer than 10 percent passed one.

At the other end of the spectrum, in Maryland and New York, the states with the most active Advanced Placement programs, more than 23 percent of high school graduates passed an exam. And California, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Virginia also had at least one in five graduates pass an A.P. exam last year.

The A.P. program offers high school students the chance to do college-level work in dozens of subjects and, if they pass the exams, to receive college credit at many universities. The exams are marked on a scale of one to five, with a three needed to pass.

But as in most aspects of American education, troubling ethnic gaps remain. African-Americans are seriously underrepresented in the A.P. program, and no state has yet closed that gap, said Gaston Caperton, the president of the College Board.

While 14 percent of last year’s high school graduates were black, they made up only 8 percent of those taking A.P. exams — and only 4 percent of those with passing scores. White students, at 63 percent of graduates, and Hispanics, at 15 percent, were nearly proportionately represented in the A.P. population. Asian students were overrepresented, making up 5 percent of graduates, but 10 percent of those taking A.P. exams.

Low-income students made up 17 percent of those who took A.P. exams last year, up from 16.2 percent in 2007, the report said.

This year, given the recession, Mr. Caperton stressed the economic benefits of the program.
“In these times of economic distress, as family budgets are squeezed and financial aid resources are spread thin, rigorous courses like A.P. that prepare students for the demands of college and foster an increased likelihood of on-time graduation can be a very valuable resource for families,” he said.

With a minority graduating from college in four years, A.P. credits can cut college costs by bolstering on-time graduation. For an out-of-state student at a public four-year university, the extra cost of taking six years to complete an undergraduate degree averages more than $58,000, the College Board said, while even five years for an in-state student costs an extra $18,000.

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