This I believe...Meme

I feel bad and good.  Bad that I did not see that I had been tagged by Jon Becker several weeks ago to participate, good that I did find it.  And how did I find it?  Ego searching, based on the digital footprint post by Will a few days ago.  I taught a class yesterday at our local ETTC, and demonstrated why they need to control the digital footprint as much as possible.

Anyway, thanks Jon.

Based on the instructions from Cathy

Write out your view of education using the “This I believe…” format.

I know this is an NPR segment, but I will choose the Blue Collar Comedy Tour format.

I now begin.

I believe...Education too often gets in the way of learning (Mark Twain).  I simply hate it when a something in class strikes a deep chord with students, but because of the need to "stay on pace" and "cover the standards" we leave what could have changed the life of a young person.

I believe...Standardized testing is a political ploy for politicians to develop a platform on which to get (re)elected more than it is a tool for schools to determine what they can do to help children.  This was true even before NCLB, and will continue to get proliferate in years to come.

I believe...publicly elected officials should be required to send their children to public schools.

I believe..."Gifted" kids are no smarter than "General Ed" kids.  Too many I have known have had opportunities because of parental success, got lucky coloring the correct circle on a test, or had the local influence to bend the rules to get into segregated classes labeled "gifted."  This comes from a father with children who were classified in both categories.

I believe...Standards are meant for teachers, not the students.  Further, standards have been developed because politicians do not believe teachers have the intelligence to determine what is best for the students in their classroom. Even further, teachers do not realize this is what has happened to them (which may make the politicians correct)...much like the scene in Lean On Me, when Morgan Freeman's character throws money on the table and says, "Here, pay your bills" when the teacher's union caved in and voted to let the state curriculum become their standard or else they wouldn't get a raise.

I believe...Recess is important for children in order to learn.  And not just elementary-aged kids. I could use it too.

I believe...Too many teacher have stolen the dreams of kids, by saying that most dreams are unachievable.  "Remember, it's always important to have something to fall back on" is the single most dream-stealing statement that can be made to a child.

I believe...Fixing the problems above will only happen in isolation.  It's too late to turn back.

I believe...Children are NOT our future...they are our TODAY. 

I believe...Education and schools have the money, just not the creativity to use it wisely in order to make a difference.

I believe...Sir Ken Robinson should be appointed the Secretary of Education in the United States.

I believe...Teachers who are "in trouble" with administration are probably the most effective with students.  Barring the obvious illegal activities too many teachers commit with students.

I believe...Most of what I say falls on deaf ears.

Who to TAG?  Since so much time has elapsed, these folks may have already participated.

Darren Kuropatwa
Clay Burrell
Stephen Rahn
Liz Kolb
EducatorBlog

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Google Sites - Intro To How Schools Could Use This Tool

Thanks to fellow GA blogger Stephen Rahn for this post. Just passing it along.

Wish I could have our school people see it, but it's blocked :-)

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Yeah, Testing Will Change Things

Rick Scheibner sent a tweet today about a former student being killed. Stephen Rahn followed with his experience of a former student being killed. I had a former student (19 years old) who killed a former student who would be a senior this year. Gangs were mentioned though we appear to be trying to cover up the gang relatedness. Brian Crosby has mentioned the turmoil his school has faced with break-ins. And how many more of us could add to the sadness with other experiences? Too many to count.

Our other students live in this climate, even when we as adults are able to turn it off for a period of time and recall that "time heals all wounds." I recently read a study that implied our kids (kids of previous generations too) expend energy, and require "noise" in their lives as a coping mechanism. It is in the quiet times, when kids have time to reflect, that their minds tend to wander into their world of personal concerns.

If this is true, when it comes time for high-stakes tests, our kids are required to sit in silence, and their minds begin to wander, what do they really think about? The next question, or the fears they face in their world that most of us will never understand? How do we test that?

Testing
Sharpen pencil
Who will we leave behind?
Darkened circles; multiple guess
Assess

Image Credit: No More Tests

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Why We Twitter

Will writes about his "concern" of Twitterialization.  Twitter is a "strange yet somehow important little tool," says Will.  Agreed.  I also understand Will's concern about the depth of conversation and thought.  Perhaps Twitter is not about the depth of conversation of the professional opportunities.  It is, ironically, much deeper than that.

Twitter
Tell the story
In a hundred forty
Characters (or less if you're good)
Useless?

I created a Twitter account last Spring.  Played for a day or two.  I didn't get it.  I read about how Twitter was the topic of the NECC edubloggers cafe.  I tried, I really did, to get into the power of Twitter.  Again, I didn't get it. 

There is a chicken/egg debate in the use of Twitter.  Do you have to have a network before Twitter exposes its power or is the power of Twitter that you can build your network?  Hmmm.  The ones who  discussed how great Twitter is had their network of followers through other means.  Twitter seemed to make it easier for them to keep in touch.  As it has evolved, it is a place to highlight new tools, backchannel conferences, share seed ideas, and other things.

In late November, I decided to hop back on the Twitter brigade, and tweeted so.  Within a day I received a direct message from Sylvia Martinez wondering if I was giving it another try.  I responded and said yes.  I jumped into the Twitter pages of a few educators, followed them, and a few followed back.  I dropped a few tweets, and people responded.  Cool.  In a way, better than a comment on a blog post...why?  It is more immediate.

So I have come to this temporary conclusion:  Please indulge the analogy, and at the end I'll clarify.  Babies cry to get attention.  The quicker the attention, the more appeased the child, but the more frequently the child cries.  Response to the cry makes the baby feel loved.  Twitter operates the same way.  We cry out into the wilderness, when someone @replies we feel accepted, loved if you will.  The more people respond, the more we cry.  CLARIFICATION - I am not saying those of us who tweet are babies.  I am saying Twitter gives us a feeling of belonging, of being accepted, of being loved.

A few weekends ago, during the Packer/Giants game, I sent out a tweet saying something like "No one wants to win this game."  Stephen Rahn and Sylvia Martinez responded.  As I sat in my living room alone, my sons were out with their girlfriends and my wife does not usually watch sports, I felt I was watching the game with friends.  I have never met Stephen or Sylvia, yet we had an immediate conversation after nearly every play near the end of the 4th quarter and overtime.  It was fun.  It was great.  Thanks for playing along.

I get Twitter now.  It connects us, plain and simple.  Whether it is what you are eating, what you're linking, what you're doing...it really doesn't matter.  It's like real f2f life; sometimes we discuss important issues, and other times we discuss the movies we saw over the weekend.  Web 1.0 did not allow this kind of connection.  Web 2.0 does.  Twitter does it instantly.  Get it?  When you tweet and someone tweets back, your existence is validated...you are loved.  Be sure to love someone back.

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