Dr. Wendy Ghiora – Posting #84 – February 27, 2011
Please take your seats ladies and gentlemen. We are about to embark on a four-part journey, beginning with the “I” for “Inspire,” in the acronym “I C A N.”
The theatre was totally quiet. All eyes were focused on Brandon. I noticed he was wearing a child-like striped T-shirt. I waited, not knowing what, if anything was about to take place. Brandon was getting into “the zone” of becoming his character. Suddenly, he looked directly out at the audience and said,
"I think lunchtime is about the worst time of day for me, always having to sit here alone."
I think some of the students squirmed because they thought those were Brandon’s words. Actually, this is the first line of Charlie Brown’s famous monologue about the love of his life, The Little Red-Haired Girl. The quality of the voice, the tone, the emotion, the poise were simply amazing. I looked around and saw most of my students’ jaws hit their knees. When Brandon delivered the last line,
"Whew! She's not looking at me! I wonder why she never looks at me? Oh well, another lunch hour over with...only 2,863 to go,"
there was a pause, and then the entire class stood up to give Brandon a well-deserved standing ovation. He was all smiles and glowing from head to toe. After dabbing my eyes and discretely shoving the Kleenex back in my pocket, I walked over to the stage as the boys lifted Brandon and wheelchair down.
“Brandon,” I said, “You are quite the actor. That was amazing!” He smiled and said, “Thank you.” The boys all lined up to give Brandon high fives.
Brandon had joined my drama class about a month earlier. He wasn’t a regular student at the high school. He was confined to a wheelchair and had partial control of his upper body movements. He was also a patient at the “Behavioral Clinic” across the freeway from our school. (I never quite figured this one out, as he never demonstrated any behavioral problems in my class). He had expressed the desire to be in a drama class and the counselor that wheeled him into my classroom asked if this would be possible. He had already checked with the principal who said the decision would be mine. I got down and met Brandon’s gaze at eye level. I introduced myself as did he. Then I asked,
“Brandon, do you want to be in this drama class?” His face broke into one big smile and replied,
“Yes, I love acting and would really like it a lot!”
So, of course, I couldn’t say no.
Within the next few days, students began working on their first major assignment, which was to present a monolog. I didn’t notice Brandon working on anything in particular, but he assured me he would be ready with the assignment on time. On the first day the presentations began, Brandon was absent. When he showed up the second day, I really didn’t know what, if anything to expect. After the first couple of students completed their monologue performances, Brandon raised his hand and volunteered to take the stage. As you can imagine, his performance had quite an impact on the entire class.
One side effect of Brandon’s performance was, from that moment on, I didn’t get any excuses as to why some students couldn’t do the assignment. All of us learned different lessons from Brandon. For me it was admiration for the great capacity and willpower each human being is endowed with. I was humbled by this student’s determination and bravery, and most of all, his talent.
Sometimes we complain about our lot in life or our job; complaining doesn’t really accomplish anything. If we look at each day as an opportunity to create something new, or something good; or to help others produce something they can be proud of, sometimes we are lucky enough to receive a gift like Brandon.
Something inspired Brandon to get up and perform. I’d like to think I had something to do with that. Each one of us has the ability to care for and to help others. For some of us, such as teachers, coaches and leaders, we also hope to be the one that can inspire others.
The dictionary defines Inspire as: To stimulate to action; to motivate.
I always like to delve even more deeply and find out the original derivation of a word. Inspire is from Latin meaning: To breathe life into. When I read this, I smiled. It was the perfect description. How often has a teacher, a coach or any leader looked at his personnel and wondered, “What can I do to really breathe some life into this group?”
The “I” in I C A N is for “inspire.” There are so many ways students can be inspired, and they can be grouped into two categories: by modeling and by love. A teacher’s enthusiasm for the subject is contagious. Setting high expectations is enthusiasm’s complement. I have found the most common and perhaps the most profound way to inspire is when teachers just instinctively model their own sense of purpose and enthusiasm for their work, caring for their students and the delightful habit of always going beyond what is expected of them.
Teaching probably has more randomity than any other profession. This is what keeps the job exciting and interesting. In fact, one never knows what the source of the “inspiration” might be. In the case of Brandon, I merely set the stage. It was he that inspired his fellow classmates. His gift to our class was more powerful than any book or lecture I could have offered.
A teacher who is attempting to teach without inspiring the pupil with a desire to learn is hammering on cold iron. Horace Mann
This story is taken from the book, Unleashing The Student’s “I Can,” now available at Amazon.com
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Saturday, February 19, 2011
WHY MORE NON-FICTION?
Dr. Wendy Ghiora – Posting #83 – February 19, 2011
“Educators say non-fiction is more difficult than fiction for students to comprehend. It requires more factual knowledge, beyond fiction’s simple truths of love, hate, passion and remorse. So we have a pathetic cycle. Students don’t know enough about the real world because they don’t read non-fiction and they can’t read non-fiction because they don’t know enough about the real world, “claims Jay Mathews, a writer for the Washington Post.
I say, it’s all in the presentation. Start presenting non-fiction at an early age, use materials you know will catch their interest, and you just might hook a student and have him or her begging for more. Since 80-90% of what we read and write is non-fiction, I would affirm reading more non-fiction is an important piece of today’s education.
Reading interesting non-fiction articles during Read Aloud time, will give kids experience in listening for information, which is the purpose of this genre. Teachers consider it a challenge to find lessons including non-fiction. Adding non-fiction to reading lessons, marks a shift after years in which they put most or all of their energy into getting students excited about storytelling and reading fiction.
Children deserve more exposure to non-fiction, as most of their adult world will consist of this type of reading and writing. Kids deserve to be exposed to a variety of nonfiction books - texts in different formats, about different topics, and written by different authors. Read aloud is a perfect time for students to fall in love with nonfiction. Some of the non-fiction topics I have found that spark an interest with children include:
Animals, Heroes, Amazing & Weird True Stories (on practically any topic), Biographies/Autobiographies, Sports, Music Legends and Dinosaurs. One of the best sources I have found for interesting non-fiction articles is Kids National Geographic (online). Imagine asking your students, “Have you heard about the tattooed mummy found buried with the gigantic war clubs of a warrior? And to everyone’s surprise, it turned out to be the body of a woman in her early 20’s?”
When you think about it, from the minute you wake up in the morning, browse through the morning newspaper, follow the road signs to work, listen to the local news and weather report on your radio, grab the mail from your inbox, it is predominantly a non-fiction world. Let’s make it interesting, fun and compelling for our kids to learn and use all things non-fiction.
Oh, just in case you had a little spark of interest in finding out more about the tattooed mummy, here’s the link: http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/stories/history/tattooed-mummy/
“Educators say non-fiction is more difficult than fiction for students to comprehend. It requires more factual knowledge, beyond fiction’s simple truths of love, hate, passion and remorse. So we have a pathetic cycle. Students don’t know enough about the real world because they don’t read non-fiction and they can’t read non-fiction because they don’t know enough about the real world, “claims Jay Mathews, a writer for the Washington Post.
I say, it’s all in the presentation. Start presenting non-fiction at an early age, use materials you know will catch their interest, and you just might hook a student and have him or her begging for more. Since 80-90% of what we read and write is non-fiction, I would affirm reading more non-fiction is an important piece of today’s education.
Reading interesting non-fiction articles during Read Aloud time, will give kids experience in listening for information, which is the purpose of this genre. Teachers consider it a challenge to find lessons including non-fiction. Adding non-fiction to reading lessons, marks a shift after years in which they put most or all of their energy into getting students excited about storytelling and reading fiction.
Children deserve more exposure to non-fiction, as most of their adult world will consist of this type of reading and writing. Kids deserve to be exposed to a variety of nonfiction books - texts in different formats, about different topics, and written by different authors. Read aloud is a perfect time for students to fall in love with nonfiction. Some of the non-fiction topics I have found that spark an interest with children include:
Animals, Heroes, Amazing & Weird True Stories (on practically any topic), Biographies/Autobiographies, Sports, Music Legends and Dinosaurs. One of the best sources I have found for interesting non-fiction articles is Kids National Geographic (online). Imagine asking your students, “Have you heard about the tattooed mummy found buried with the gigantic war clubs of a warrior? And to everyone’s surprise, it turned out to be the body of a woman in her early 20’s?”
When you think about it, from the minute you wake up in the morning, browse through the morning newspaper, follow the road signs to work, listen to the local news and weather report on your radio, grab the mail from your inbox, it is predominantly a non-fiction world. Let’s make it interesting, fun and compelling for our kids to learn and use all things non-fiction.
Oh, just in case you had a little spark of interest in finding out more about the tattooed mummy, here’s the link: http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/stories/history/tattooed-mummy/
Sunday, February 13, 2011
The Father of American Education
Dr. Wendy Ghiora – Posting #83 – February 12, 2011
As Americans, we are so fortunate to have a free education. According to UNESCO (United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization), even in today’s highly technological world, one billion, (approximately 26 percent) of the world's adult population is illiterate. Women make up two-thirds of all non-literates. Most of us take this privilege for granted. Let’s take a moment to recognize the man responsible for our good fortune.
Mann’s Beginnings
Horace Mann is known as The Father of American Education. Horace was born in Franklin, Massachusetts, May 4, 1796. As a boy, he lived in poverty and hardship on the family farm. His schooling was limited to about three months of instruction during each year, due to his duties helping family on the farm.
Mann studied hard in his spare time and after receiving some private tutoring, qualified for the sophomore class at Brown. When he graduated, he studied law and was admitted to the Bar in 1823.
Early Careers
Horace Mann had a brilliant career, first as a State Representative and then as a Senator, in the Massachusetts Legislature. In 1837 he accepted the position of First Secretary of the State Board of Education in Massachusetts. His humanitarian impulses led him to abandon a highly promising career in politics in favor of education. He took office at a time when glaring weaknesses existed in public education in Massachusetts. Here are some of Mann’s achievements during his twelve years as First Secretary of the Massachusetts Board of Education:
Achievements for Education
a. Campaigned for Education. Realizing the need for public support and public awareness of the educational problems of poor teaching, substandard materials, inferior school committees and pupil absences, Mann campaigned throughout the State. This campaign was eminently successful. The schools were improved everywhere in the State.
b. Established Schools For Teacher Training. The first Normal School for Teachers was established in Lexington, Massachusetts, in 1839 through the efforts of Mann.
c. Established School District Libraries. Horace Mann improved education by successfully advocating for the establishment of free libraries.
d. Won Financial Backing for Public Education. Mann knew the importance of money in making educational progress. Through his efforts, the wages of teachers were more than doubled, supervision of teaching improved with compensated school committees, fifty new secondary schools were built, State aid to education doubled, and textbooks and educational equipment improved.
e. Horace Mann edited the "Common School Journal" and wrote twelve Annual Reports which became famous.
Famous “Annual Reports:”
Due to Mann’s tireless efforts to improve our free educational system, many of his ideas spread and were implemented across this great nation. Here are some of his most important Annual Reports:
(1) Fifth Annual Report (1841). Mann argued successfully that economic wealth would increase through an educated public. It was therefore in the self-interest of business to pay the taxation for public education.
(2) Seventh Annual Report (1843). Horace Mann inspected and appraised favorably the Prussian school system. This report led to widespread improvement .of education through the educational theories of Pestalozzi, Herbart and eventually Froebel.
(3) Tenth Annual Report (1846). Mann asserted that education was a natural right for every child. It is a necessary responsibility of the State to insure that education was provided for every child. This report led to the adoption of the first State law requiring compulsory attendance in school in 1852.
(4) Twelfth Annual Report (1848). He presented a rationale for the support of public education through taxation. Society improves as a result of an educated p public. He argued for non-sectarian schools, so the taxpayer would not be in the position of supporting any established religion with which he might disagree in conscience.
(5.) LAST YEARS. Horace Mann resigned in 1848 to take a seat vacated in the United States Congress. In 1853 he assumed the Presidency of Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio. He became President to implement his educational ideas in higher education. This college was coeducational and non-sectarian. The labor of raising funds for Antioch College weakened his health. He died August 2, 1859.
Final Remarks
Horace Mann had the insight to understand the importance of providing free public education for all Americans. He persevered and was a fierce champion in this effort. I for one am so glad he did!
Education is the transmission of civilization.
Will Durant
As Americans, we are so fortunate to have a free education. According to UNESCO (United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization), even in today’s highly technological world, one billion, (approximately 26 percent) of the world's adult population is illiterate. Women make up two-thirds of all non-literates. Most of us take this privilege for granted. Let’s take a moment to recognize the man responsible for our good fortune.
Mann’s Beginnings
Horace Mann is known as The Father of American Education. Horace was born in Franklin, Massachusetts, May 4, 1796. As a boy, he lived in poverty and hardship on the family farm. His schooling was limited to about three months of instruction during each year, due to his duties helping family on the farm.
Mann studied hard in his spare time and after receiving some private tutoring, qualified for the sophomore class at Brown. When he graduated, he studied law and was admitted to the Bar in 1823.
Early Careers
Horace Mann had a brilliant career, first as a State Representative and then as a Senator, in the Massachusetts Legislature. In 1837 he accepted the position of First Secretary of the State Board of Education in Massachusetts. His humanitarian impulses led him to abandon a highly promising career in politics in favor of education. He took office at a time when glaring weaknesses existed in public education in Massachusetts. Here are some of Mann’s achievements during his twelve years as First Secretary of the Massachusetts Board of Education:
Achievements for Education
a. Campaigned for Education. Realizing the need for public support and public awareness of the educational problems of poor teaching, substandard materials, inferior school committees and pupil absences, Mann campaigned throughout the State. This campaign was eminently successful. The schools were improved everywhere in the State.
b. Established Schools For Teacher Training. The first Normal School for Teachers was established in Lexington, Massachusetts, in 1839 through the efforts of Mann.
c. Established School District Libraries. Horace Mann improved education by successfully advocating for the establishment of free libraries.
d. Won Financial Backing for Public Education. Mann knew the importance of money in making educational progress. Through his efforts, the wages of teachers were more than doubled, supervision of teaching improved with compensated school committees, fifty new secondary schools were built, State aid to education doubled, and textbooks and educational equipment improved.
e. Horace Mann edited the "Common School Journal" and wrote twelve Annual Reports which became famous.
Famous “Annual Reports:”
Due to Mann’s tireless efforts to improve our free educational system, many of his ideas spread and were implemented across this great nation. Here are some of his most important Annual Reports:
(1) Fifth Annual Report (1841). Mann argued successfully that economic wealth would increase through an educated public. It was therefore in the self-interest of business to pay the taxation for public education.
(2) Seventh Annual Report (1843). Horace Mann inspected and appraised favorably the Prussian school system. This report led to widespread improvement .of education through the educational theories of Pestalozzi, Herbart and eventually Froebel.
(3) Tenth Annual Report (1846). Mann asserted that education was a natural right for every child. It is a necessary responsibility of the State to insure that education was provided for every child. This report led to the adoption of the first State law requiring compulsory attendance in school in 1852.
(4) Twelfth Annual Report (1848). He presented a rationale for the support of public education through taxation. Society improves as a result of an educated p public. He argued for non-sectarian schools, so the taxpayer would not be in the position of supporting any established religion with which he might disagree in conscience.
(5.) LAST YEARS. Horace Mann resigned in 1848 to take a seat vacated in the United States Congress. In 1853 he assumed the Presidency of Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio. He became President to implement his educational ideas in higher education. This college was coeducational and non-sectarian. The labor of raising funds for Antioch College weakened his health. He died August 2, 1859.
Final Remarks
Horace Mann had the insight to understand the importance of providing free public education for all Americans. He persevered and was a fierce champion in this effort. I for one am so glad he did!
Education is the transmission of civilization.
Will Durant
Saturday, February 5, 2011
PARENTS ALLOWING KIDS TO SKIP SCHOOL NOW A CRIME IN CALIFORNIA
Dr. Wendy Ghiora – Posting #82 – February 5, 2011
Is it okay to let kids miss school? When students miss school, they miss lectures, notes, class discussions, assignments, quizzes, and tests. It doesn't matter how conscientious students are about making up their work, they can never make up all of what they miss, even when they're absent for only a day or two. It’s hard enough to catch up after a legitimate absence, such as illness, let alone an illegitimate reason.
I have worked in schools where parents sometimes take their kids out of school for two to three weeks for a family vacation. Excuse me, but did they ever think of using the eight weeks they have off during the summer for this purpose? Then, when the children can’t catch up and receive low or even failing grades, the parents complain that it’s the school’s fault. There are also parents, believe it or not, that condone their children missing one or two days of school every single week!
Parents who allow their children to miss school when they aren't ill, not only hurt their children's education, they also send a message school isn't really that important. If your child doesn't want to go to school, or if you're seeing a pattern of excuses to miss school, talk to your child or to your child's teacher or school counselor and handle whatever the problem is.
Recently, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed SB 1317, a new statewide anti-truancy bill that officials hope will curb chronic absenteeism in elementary and middle school students. The new law will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2011, and allow state officials to prosecute parents when their kids don’t show up to school.
The initiative was pushed by California attorney general hopeful Kamala Harris, Harris has smartly tied crime rates with dropout rates; the correlation between kids’ educational achievement and the rate of their criminal convictions is direct. And yet the solutions are alarmingly punitive.
Parents whose kids miss any more than 10 percent of their classes can be charged with a misdemeanor and slammed with a $2,000 fine or a yearlong jail sentence if, after being offered state support and counseling, their kids still fail to improve their attendance. Before SB 1317, parents could be prosecuted under a child endangerment statute. Now kids’ absenteeism has become a crime all its own. The state labels a student as truant if they have more than three unexcused absences in one school year on their record.
On the lighter side, if you think that today's students aren't learning all they should, check out some of the writing by their moms and dads. The following are actual excuse notes received by teachers:
(I left all grammar and spelling in the original format and boy was my Spellcheck going nuts!)
Dear School:
"Please eckuse John being absent on Jan. 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, and also 33. "
"Please excuse Mary for being absent," wrote a parent. "She was sick
and I had her shot."
"Please excuse Gloria from Jim today. She is administrating."
"Carlos was absent yesterday because he was playing football. He was
hurt in the growing part. "
"Chris will not be in school cus he has an acre in his side. "
"Please excuse Ray Friday from school. He has very loose vowels."
"Please excuse Tom for being absent yesterday. He had diarrhea and his
boots leak."
"Please excuse Harriet for missing school yesterday. We forget to
get the Sunday paper off the porch. and when we found it Monday,
we thought it was Sunday."
"Please excuse my son's tardiness. I forgot to wake him up and I did not
find him till I started making the beds. "
"Sally won't be in school a week from Friday. We have to attend a
funeral."
"My daughter was absent yesterday because she was tired. She spent the
weekend with the Marine's."
"Gloria was absent yesterday as she was having a gangover."
"Maryann was absent December 11-16, because she had a fever, sore throat,
headache, and upset stomach. Her sister was also sick, fever and sore
throat, her brother had a low grade fever and ached all over. I wasn't
the berst either, sore throat and fever. There must be the flu going
around school, her father even got hot last night. "
Isn’t it absurd to have to go so far as possibly arresting parents to get a point across? What are these parents thinking? Children need good role models to say, “I know it’s a beautiful sunny day, but you can’t go to the beach; today is a school day.” Children must go to school the same way parents must go to work. By allowing children to decide when they will or will not go to school, you are setting them up for failure in the real world. This is what life is about, making the responsible decisions and choosing the right path.
To know what is right and not do it is the worst cowardice. ~Confucius
Is it okay to let kids miss school? When students miss school, they miss lectures, notes, class discussions, assignments, quizzes, and tests. It doesn't matter how conscientious students are about making up their work, they can never make up all of what they miss, even when they're absent for only a day or two. It’s hard enough to catch up after a legitimate absence, such as illness, let alone an illegitimate reason.
I have worked in schools where parents sometimes take their kids out of school for two to three weeks for a family vacation. Excuse me, but did they ever think of using the eight weeks they have off during the summer for this purpose? Then, when the children can’t catch up and receive low or even failing grades, the parents complain that it’s the school’s fault. There are also parents, believe it or not, that condone their children missing one or two days of school every single week!
Parents who allow their children to miss school when they aren't ill, not only hurt their children's education, they also send a message school isn't really that important. If your child doesn't want to go to school, or if you're seeing a pattern of excuses to miss school, talk to your child or to your child's teacher or school counselor and handle whatever the problem is.
Recently, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed SB 1317, a new statewide anti-truancy bill that officials hope will curb chronic absenteeism in elementary and middle school students. The new law will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2011, and allow state officials to prosecute parents when their kids don’t show up to school.
The initiative was pushed by California attorney general hopeful Kamala Harris, Harris has smartly tied crime rates with dropout rates; the correlation between kids’ educational achievement and the rate of their criminal convictions is direct. And yet the solutions are alarmingly punitive.
Parents whose kids miss any more than 10 percent of their classes can be charged with a misdemeanor and slammed with a $2,000 fine or a yearlong jail sentence if, after being offered state support and counseling, their kids still fail to improve their attendance. Before SB 1317, parents could be prosecuted under a child endangerment statute. Now kids’ absenteeism has become a crime all its own. The state labels a student as truant if they have more than three unexcused absences in one school year on their record.
On the lighter side, if you think that today's students aren't learning all they should, check out some of the writing by their moms and dads. The following are actual excuse notes received by teachers:
(I left all grammar and spelling in the original format and boy was my Spellcheck going nuts!)
Dear School:
"Please eckuse John being absent on Jan. 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, and also 33. "
"Please excuse Mary for being absent," wrote a parent. "She was sick
and I had her shot."
"Please excuse Gloria from Jim today. She is administrating."
"Carlos was absent yesterday because he was playing football. He was
hurt in the growing part. "
"Chris will not be in school cus he has an acre in his side. "
"Please excuse Ray Friday from school. He has very loose vowels."
"Please excuse Tom for being absent yesterday. He had diarrhea and his
boots leak."
"Please excuse Harriet for missing school yesterday. We forget to
get the Sunday paper off the porch. and when we found it Monday,
we thought it was Sunday."
"Please excuse my son's tardiness. I forgot to wake him up and I did not
find him till I started making the beds. "
"Sally won't be in school a week from Friday. We have to attend a
funeral."
"My daughter was absent yesterday because she was tired. She spent the
weekend with the Marine's."
"Gloria was absent yesterday as she was having a gangover."
"Maryann was absent December 11-16, because she had a fever, sore throat,
headache, and upset stomach. Her sister was also sick, fever and sore
throat, her brother had a low grade fever and ached all over. I wasn't
the berst either, sore throat and fever. There must be the flu going
around school, her father even got hot last night. "
Isn’t it absurd to have to go so far as possibly arresting parents to get a point across? What are these parents thinking? Children need good role models to say, “I know it’s a beautiful sunny day, but you can’t go to the beach; today is a school day.” Children must go to school the same way parents must go to work. By allowing children to decide when they will or will not go to school, you are setting them up for failure in the real world. This is what life is about, making the responsible decisions and choosing the right path.
To know what is right and not do it is the worst cowardice. ~Confucius
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