THANKSGIVING

Its Thanksgiving

What am I thankful for?

1. My boys Wally is healthy happy and 7 , Victor is happy hungry and 5
2. Garbage cans . The garbage is literally pilling up in the third floor common area. But a garbage can there would solve the problem.
3. The train. It has become a symbol of what the school used to do right … Unfortunately the once “Montessori “common area has become a staging area for cutting students . Teachers and administration find it easier to turn a blind eye rather than confront student who are not in their community.
4. The PIS. We need one.. It empowers teachers with information.
5. Three small communities. Lets get the small back… Each community should take control of their common area, and students without classes should only be allowed to be in their assigned common area.
6. Freshmen Team. We are still trying to shape our instruction, we constantly remind ourselves of our mission from the concept paper. And we value our team members.
7. Faye. I don’t understand how the 307 suite ran without her.
8. International Trip. I can’t wait
9. Our Schedule. I am so happy that I get to be on the early schedule next year.
10. Copy Machines. Sometimes I forget that I worked for 3 years in a school with no copy machines or working computers.

MIXED GRADE ADVISORIES

While searching for our next advisory project I came across the following article written by a student from another High School.


MADDY KIEFER ‘08

Most seniors remember the mixed grade advisories that were disbanded in September 2005. Upon our promotion to the upper school in 2004, we were put in advisories with upperclassmen, which, although daunting at first, was eventually an experience that many of us appreciated. Older students provided us with all sorts of advice for surviving high school, from choosing class to prioritizing our responsibilities. Mixed grade advisories gave us the chance to hear first-hand about the stress of junior year, the complicated college process that followed, and the ultimate decision of choosing which college to attend before we had to experience it ourselves. They weren’t trying to scare us, but, rather, to prepare us. When questioned about what it was like when multiple grades were represented in his advisory, Peter Gow, the Director of College Counseling, who has been working at Beaver for over twenty years, recalls, “I remember some great examples of good advice and important lore being passed down in those meetings from older students to younger ones.” He does believe, however, that “same-grade groups can be great ways for advisors to work together on issues related to grade-level concerns.”

A year later, however, few were happy to hear that new advisories were separated by grade. Toph Tucker, a senior who was in a mixed-grade advisory until last year, says, “I know that the administration worries that older students will intimidate freshmen or some such thing, but having some representation from higher grades was one of the best things about my advisory.” Toph and I, who were both in Mr. Whitten’s advisory for three years, had such an amazing time in our mixed-grade advisory that we were furious that the incoming freshman didn’t get this opportunity. Instead, they were essentially being cut off. We knew that keeping all of the freshmen apart from upperclassmen was a mistake. The freshmen, however, considered themselves lucky. The idea of having to spend half an hour with the “big kids” every week wasn’t appealing, so there were no objections from them. When asked his opinion on being in an all freshmen advisory, Willy Tucker, Toph’s younger brother, states that he was “pretty happy” about being separated from the older students. As a reply to this comment, Toph remarks, “He just doesn’t know what he’s missing.”



[ENTIRE BLOG]

WHICH THIRD?

THIS COMMENT WAS LEFT IN RESPONSE TO THE LAST POST.


As a teacher who is attempting literature circles, I have many thoughts going through my mind. While the literature circles are reaching the lower level kids (sometimes!), my higher level kids are not getting a deeper analysis and understanding of the text (which is why I am compensating for that by torturing myself, by creating higher level thinking questions for EVERY GROUP. OY!) There is so much theory, and yet the practice is such a different story....it's exhausting. My lower level students are most often also the students who are the least motivated. Therefore, I spend so much time working with them, and yet many of them are still not even reading the text that is ON their level.

The higher level students are having ON TASK conversations, but are not pushing their thinking. While I do sit in groups and push their thinking, you can only really do this with one or two groups per class and the rest are just doing "plot summaries".

I'm beginning to think that we need to be really careful with which books we choose for literature circles. Books are not just about "plot" which is really all they have been looking for. While we've discussed themes, and characterization, the deeper analysis still always only comes from me. The books I chose are so deep, and need to be analyzed, therefore I feel frustrated with the lack of analysis my kids are missing without my guidance.

There is also so much being gained (self-directed learning, holding each other accountable...).There is so much to teach in a book that is also being lost in literature circles (analysis, the bigger picture, guidance, class conversation). I think literature circles are like anything else, too much of anything is not good either. Especially in an English class, where our job is entirely skills based, we need to offer students a variety of skills, projects, options, etc.

Everything we do is (unfortunately) aways geared towards one level or another. Literature circles (at least in my class) are better for the middle and lower level learners. Therefore, 1/3 of my class (the higher level) is still relatively bored, which was the same as before when I was teaching the whole class novel and the lower 1/3 was bored. They have on task conversations, and the literature is differentiated, but their brains are capable of so much more, and I don't know how to get them all there in every class. What to do?

Differentiated instruction vs. tracking

Mayo Writes:

A conversation at lunch in 318 on Friday got me thinking. I need to clarify a few things in my mind, and perhaps others could help me in my thinking. Usually tracking is something that keeps kids locked in place for their entire academic experience. Those of us that went to school in NYC remember there was the top class, the bottom class, the middle class—and I, for one, know I had the same kids in my class from 1st grade to 5th grade. Same in tracked high schools—you’re in honors, AP, or regents track. There isn’t much movement among the tracks.

When we all first started to work in this untracked school, we worked under the premise that mixed ability meant we grouped kids by putting one of the top level kids, one of the lower level kids, and two in the middle (or some such combination). And sometimes, for some work, that is a good way to group. And other times it is not. And we’ve all felt the frustration of trying to challenge the higher achievers while still meeting the needs of the struggling students, and trying not to forget the middle. Like everything else, there are arguments for and against tracking. I think the arguments against are stronger because mixed ability classrooms give us the flexibility to take advantage of what both tracked and untracked classes offer.

When we talked about classroom structures like Literature Circles, people started questioning whether that isn’t a form of tracking. The funny thing is that I feel like some of the people that are questioning that are people that might actually favor tracking. It’s like a whole language vs. phonics argument—it’s not an either or. Mixed ability classes allow us to vary the way we structure groups according to our goals. Virtually, it’s an easy way to accomplish differentiated instruction AND allow for movement. So the kid in Dana’s class that’s reading Roll of Thunder rather than To Kill a Mockingbird might progress to the more difficult book in the next round of reading. But let’s be honest…the kid that can’t read To Kill A Mockingbird isn’t getting anything out of that book so why put it in his hands other than to reinforce the idea that reading is not for him? How many of us have read Cliff Notes (those of us too old for Spark Notes), gotten by on a test by taking notes during class discussion based on what the teacher thought was important in the text, cheated?

As we are starting to assess our 9th graders, we are finding that even our strongest students are reading below grade level. And that affects their ability to succeed in other content areas. It’s a bit scary, but also a bit of a relief to admit that same old, same old isn’t going to work. Is it going to be easy? Hell no! The best line so far has been one from Mike Lieber when Jamie asked what he thought of literature circles. Mike, in his inimitable way, said “it sounds like an awful lot of work.” And it is. Like any good student-centered work—a lot of work ahead of time in setting up the structure, and then an easier type of facilitating groups, listening in, pushing them with deeper questions, taking notes, asking kids that are doing well to model what works.

I’m reading a book by Nancie Atwell called The Reading Zone. In it, Atwell talks about kids that were avid readers in middle school and how they lost their love of reading. Some of us have kids that this is true of, some of us may have been kids like this. Atwell asks high school teachers to re-consider how they teach English, to think about what will make a true difference in the intellectual lives of their students. I think putting books in their hands that they can comprehend is one way to help them become better readers and have a love for reading. I will never forget the first time I attended an Open School Night at my own child’s school. Parents were asked to complete an interest inventory. Do you know how many were stumped when they were asked to name their favorite book? Do you know how many relied on answers like Catcher in the Rye or The Great Gatsby because they hadn’t read a book since they were assigned the classics in high school? Isn’t our goal to have some of what we do carry over into their adult lives?

This is not to say that we will never do a whole class text. It’s just to say that if we want school to be more authentic we need to look at life. I’m in a book club with people that like the same type of books that I do. I don’t see the harm in providing that opportunity, that choice for our students. We can teach them what they “need” to know about literature through whatever they’re reading. It doesn’t need to be taken from the Uniform Lists, published in 1894, that teachers in NYC were already resisting in 1911 after they were persuaded that the differences in their diverse students should be valued over uniform requirements.

And this isn’t only about English. It just may be easier than it is in a content driven area. However, I think moving between groups of mixed abilities and groups of similar abilities can work to the advantage of the students in front of us.

In a Part of Queens With Crowded Schools, Opposition to a New One

In a Queens school district that is one of New York City’s most overcrowded, a plan to replace an old restaurant supply store with a gleaming $70 million high school for 1,100 students might seem irresistible.

Not so fast.

The proposal has instead become a flashpoint of contention over how public school enrollment should be determined, and if a compromise is not reached before a critical City Council vote that is expected later this month, it may be scuttled.

Residents of one neighborhood in the district, Maspeth, a blue-collar area with a small-town feel in western Queens, have long lamented the lack of a high school there, and they want to give local children a leg up in getting into the new school. But that aspiration runs counter to a central tenet of the Bloomberg administration’s education philosophy: that giving certain students an advantage threatens to further splinter the sprawling system by class, leaving families lacking savvy and resources to attend some of the worst schools.
“We always try to respond to residents, but not to go counter to our beliefs,” said Deputy Mayor Dennis M. Walcott, who oversees education and community development. “We don’t want students blocked out, which can lead to a have and have-not type of society. We want to build an inclusive society.”

Seven years after Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg took control of the city’s schools, the feud in Maspeth reveals the sometimes prickly neighborhood realities that education officials still face as they try to centralize admissions to give all 1.1 million students access to the best the system has to offer.

Already, the city has agreed to give preference in admissions to students living in three of the seven Queens districts. But it has refused requests from Maspeth community leaders, including City Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley, to give first choice to students now attending five specific schools.

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.”

Entire Article

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.”

Entire Article

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.

NYTIMES ARTICLE LINK