STAAR (Pre-Test)

It's 6:40 am on the first day of the second round of STAAR testing.  For me, this round is personal as my 8th graders will be taking the Science test tomorrow.  After five years away from the testing milieu, I now realize again the stress that is placed on teachers and students.  For me, most of that stress is from within because I know that the results of my students affects the school, the students, and ultimately me.  The knowledge that the results of my students could mean the difference between acceptable and low-performing is a huge load to carry.  I have a feeling that I am not the only teacher having these same emotions today. 

Fortunately, the real stress is now transferred fully to the students.  I have done everything that I can and it is in their hands.  Now, I just have to trust that they will be able to recall what they learned this year and, more importantly, be able to apply it on paper. 

Quite honestly, I am tired of the testing culture that has been created. Much of the real fun of teaching has been diminished in the race for the testing crown.  While I believe that accountability is necessary, I also realize that we are dealing with individuals who possess different strengths and weaknesses.  Many simply do not do well on standardized tests for a variety of reasons.  These same children, however, shine in other areas and as educators, we need to be providing opportunities for this to occur.  A much better system, in my opinion, would be a measure of overall growth on an individual basis.  Start the year with a benchmark and then see how far the students progress.  Measure overall skills at  the beginning, middle, and end of the year and use this as an indicator of whether real learning has occurred.  Until we take the time to look at each child as an individual, we will not be able to overcome this testing nightmare that we have created.  That is my opinion anyway.

Is being a teacher really getting harder?

A few weeks back, a veteran teacher commented that she felt that teaching was becoming harder every year.  I hate to say it, but I have to agree.  Still, the question that needs to be answered is "Why?"  What is it that is making teaching seem more difficult year after year even though the skill sets of veteran teachers (at least mine and the teacher in question) are increasing.  Is it the students?  I don't think so.  Kids are kids.  Yes, they do seem harder to engage than when I first started 17 years ago, but they are still kids and they  have a natural bent for learning.  At the same time, I have seen an overall increase in general disrespect, but that is simply a reflection of society in general.  Plus, with training that can be overcome.  Could it be the general apathy that students seem to demonstrate?  Maybe, but again, that can be overcome with differentiated lessons geared toward the students.  Ok, then what about the parents?  As many educators would agree, sometimes parents are harder to deal with than others, especially those who have a grudge against schools in general.  Fortunately, those parents are rare and most are willing to work with us as long as we stay in contact with them and treat their students fairly.  Well, then maybe administration is to blame?  As an aspiring principal, I have to say that I never realized all of the balls that administrators are required to juggle.  The pressure for results is huge (as it should be), and this pressure is definitely filtered down to the faculty.  But, again, I have rarely met an administrator who was not willing to work with those who were putting out their best effort and possess the skills to be effective.  So, what about the new standards and testing?  Could they be to blame?  I won't lie and say that this is not a factor.  We are definitely teaching more content at a higher cognitive level with much more critical thinking involved. I teach content at 7th and 8th grade that I didn't really understand until I was in college.  Testing has also created a level of stress that was heretofore unknown.  I have to agree with the pundits who are calling for a reduction in high stakes testing in lieu of other performance and growth indicators. 

So, is teaching really getting harder?  Yes, I think it is.  But, in many cases, it is getting harder because we understand that new strategies and methods must be employed to reach kids and help them succeed.  This is not an easy task.  In other cases, we are having to act as parents to some kids due to broken families.  This is not anything that we can readily change, but it does increase the work load.  At the same time, if it means that a student succeeds where they might not have before, it is worth it.  Stakes are definitely getting higher.  As a nation, we got lax in our education system and now we are paying the price for it.  I don't think high stakes testing is necessarily the answer, but there must be a fundamental change in how we teach and assess.  Finally, as Bob Dylan sang, "The times they are a changin'."  Therefore, so must our education system as well as our classroom methods.  Again, this is not an easy task as it may require a change in the way we as teachers  think.  The days of "sage on the stage" are fundamentally over.  We are entering the era of the "guide on the side" where instead of the teacher delivering content from the front of the room, they are instead coaching kids on how to use knowledge and skills effectively, especially as it related to their own experiences.  For me, this has not been as difficult a change as I thought it might be.  As a Science teacher, it may not be as hard because I have been facilitating learning for quite some time through labs and other interactive lessons.  But, it still takes continuous reflection and changes in methods to be effective. 

Teaching has definitely become difficult. I agree with that wholeheartedly.  But, as the difficulty increases, the reward increases as well.  The great teacher who is called to this profession will rise to the occasion, make necessary changes and adjustments, and, no matter the difficulty, keep their focus on the kids.  They are the reason we do what we do.

Reflections on AP Workshop 2

In my last post, I started reflecting on the recent TASSP Assistant Principal's Workshop.  This is a continuation of that post.

As I mentioned last time, one of my major goals is to improve in the area of instructional leadership.  Sean Cain and John Crain's workshops provided the impetus to get that improvement started.  I was also able to learn how to use systems to help manage a school system.  BJ Paris (www.bjparis.com) gave some great ideas about developing staff development using Google Docs, responding to bullying incidents, school and community communication, and incident command.  Her five step processes for each were invaluable and easily adapted to a new school setting. 

Carrie Jackson of Timberview Middle School in Keller ISD taught attendees the value of using social media.  Although I don't often use Twitter, I plan on beginning now.  Her weekly talks using Twitter and Storify were a great idea for communicating with parents and building community.  She also presented some ideas for how to start becoming more adept at social media including developing norms for school related media to maintain safety, scheduling time to blog and using walk-throughs as opporunities to record and the great things happening at the school, and bringing others along.  On this last point, her ideas included never ever mandating SM use, recognizing risk taking (even when it doesn't always work out), modeling expectations, pointing out the benefits, making it advantageous, and using SM in addition to the standard lines of communication. 

As a future administrator, I hope to be able to use what I learned at this workshop to positively affect schools and bring learning to new levels.  Honestly, the more I learn, the more I want to get started applying it to my practice. 

TASSP Assistant Principal's Workshop

Last weekend, I went to the Texas Association of Secondary School Principals AP Workshop.  This was the first time I have been to an administrators event and it felt like a good fit.  While I am still in the classroom, I took back a number of ideas that I can apply as my preparation for the move up continues.  In fact, it never hurts to gain as much practical experience as possible.

One of my professional development goals for this year is to become better at instructional leadership as well as what to do with teachers who are not positively serving kids. Several of the sessions helped me to work toward this goal.  First of all, I forked over the cash and went to John Crain's Documentation Training.  Crain's philosophy is that the instructional leader needs to help their teachers improve or, if they choose not to want this or are incapable of doing so, to help them "get gone."  As a leader, I know that this will not be an easy task. Fortunately, the session not only presented solid advice in how to work with teachers, but also provided the forms to help document when poor performance is leading towards non-renewal. 

Sean Cain's session "How to be an effective instructional leader in three easy steps" provided a simple (but not necessarily easy) plan for improvement.  The three steps are simply, Teach (which all administrators should have already done), Observe lots of classes and instructional methods, and Coach.  Cain also pointed out ways to schedule time for lots of classroom observations as well as side benefits of being out in the building, such as fewer office referrals.  While I can't necessarily use Crain's training right away, I can quickly put this session into practice by using my conference time to visit classes and observe teachers.  The good ones should be flattered and I believe that I will learn a lot more in the visits than any book could possibly teach. 

More reflections to come in the next couple of days.

PDAS Training

I spent this week at PDAS Training in Kilgore.  I am now a Certified evaluator.  Going in, I didn't think it would be too difficult to evaluate teachers on their performance.  Coming out, I realize that it is much more difficult than I first thought.  For one, I am dealing with people and lives.  That should never be taken lightly.  At the same time, I have to remember that every evaluation needs to be focused on helping the teacher improve as well as increasing student success.  Less than that is not acceptable. 

One area that I have to work on is wearing my heart on my sleeve.  It can no longer matter what anyone thinks about my performance as long as what I do is in the best interest of students.  As a school leader, student success must be first and foremost and no excuses can be accepted for letting a student fall through the cracks.  Every effort must be made to serve that student.  In hiring teachers, I must find those who have that same heart and are willing to do whatever it takes.  I certainly hope that I fall into that category myself. 

In viewing case studies of teachers, it was exciting to see some great teaching going on at different levels.  It was also disheartening to see some poor excuses for a lesson.  I hope the bad ones were acting.  As a school leader, I have to be able to recognize effective teaching and help those who are not meeting the standard.  This will take some work on my part, especially since I have not spent much time outside of science. 

Finally, Proficient is good teaching.  That is key, especially as I tend to be a person who wants others to look good.  Telling staff upfront what to expect will make that much easier in the long.

Overall, I have a long way to go to be a truly effective evaluator.  I will make some mistakes along the way, but at least I have now taken the first step. 

Web 2.0 Tools

Over the past several works I have been exploring Web 2.0 tools for a graduate course in Educational Leadership.  While I have used some of these tools before, I am just now realizing their potential in education and life in general, for that matter.  For instance, last week I spent over an hour remotely working on my father-in-law's computer using https://join.me/.  He is over 3 hours away, but with this tool I was able to not only view, but also take control of his computer screen allowing me to solve several problems he was having.  I was also able to create a 5 minute training session using http://www.screenr.com/.  For more examples of these tools, visit my Google site (also created during this course) at https://sites.google.com/site/breckquarles/. Or, for a more comprehensive list, visit the Livebinder (another web 2.0 tool) page Web Tools for Teachers by Type. 

These tools are being used by teachers more and more.  Just this morning, I walked into a summer school class and the teacher was using Edmodo to present lessons and track progress.  The tools named above are just a few of the myriad of free or low-cost web 2.0 applications available for educators.  Now, I would like to find out how others are using these tools to impact learning. 

Dream of my Dad

My father passed away a few months back of heart failure while battling lung cancer.  He entered the hospital and never left.  I was there when he died, holding his hand. I also spoke at his funeral, both of which  helped greatly in the grieving process.  The other night I had a dream that I was at a camp and when I went to turn in my luggage, there he was, helping people get settled in.  We talked for a while and he told me about the places he was going to be going next.  Then, I gave him a big hug, told him I loved him, and walked out to go to my cabin.  When I turned back, he was gone.

I woke up shortly after this at about 5:30 am and sat in the bathroom and cried uncontrollably for about 20 minutes.  I realized at that moment how much I miss him and that he is gone for good, at least from this earth.  I also realized that he is now where he wanted to be, with Jesus, and is no longer in pain.  That is a comfort, but its still hard and I guess it will be for some time.  I miss you,
Dad.