Sexism alive and well at my work

We all have self images of ourselves.  We are bigger, stronger, more courageous than the lesser of those around us.  However, what happens when you get a reality check.

In a meeting, a presenter was giving a lesson on stereotypes in masculinity and femininity.  I had seen this lesson before.  Stereotypical images of men and women in advertising would be shown, and they we would have to comment on it.  The images would most likely show the worst stereotypes….

4 images into the presentation, the images became sexualized and depicted photo-shopped images of scantily clad clothes selling makeup or purses or something of the like.  Then, from behind me one of my colleagues said loudly: “Finally, some decent images to look at during PD”

Stunned, I said nothing.  I thought of saying: “Inappropriate and unwelcome.”  But I didn’t.  Why not?  Here was part of my calculus.

My relationship with that particular colleague has always been strained.  If I don’t have positive stuff to say to him, I don’t say anything.  He is also in a precarious situation in his life (by his own admission.  He is undergoing a variety of hardships).  The presenter was trying to race through a 2 hour presentation in 30 minutes, and dropping an accusation would have derailed the presentation.  Also, this particular person, tends to get angry and yell, and it was  long week and I didn’t need that at week’s end.    By the time I ran through all these thoughts, the 5 seconds for that picture had passed and we were on to other images, and I felt like the moment had passed.

I told the boss at the end that he should talk to my coworker to complete my cowardly act.

In the end, that’s what it was.  I was cowardly.  I did not have the strength of will to stand up and do the right thing.  If that comment was about certain ethnicity would  I have stood up?  If it was a cultural differences, would I have stood up?  Would I have stood up if I was in a position of power?  I like to think that I would have stood up if a student had said it.

I thought about this all afternoon.  I lost sleep about this.  The next morning I sent a note of apology to the instructor.

Lock Down – part 2

Two different people called the police from a classroom phone and stated that there was someone waving a gun around in their classroom at my school.  Upon listening the dispatch, the administrator was pretty sure he recognized the voices, and was also fairly certain that the call was a prank.  The end result of the police action also showed that calls were untrue.  However, due the nature of the threat, the heightened sense of fear around school shooters, and the proximity of our school to a child care center, the police moved prior to affording the principle the ability to listen to the dispatch.

This lockdown was unlike others.   There were teachers who we not happy with administrative stewardship in a time of crisis.  Two students now face criminal and school district consequences for there roll.  A teacher, in from whose room the students called, is also facing an uncertain future.   And, there are students whose opinion of law enforcement was reinforced by this display of force.

Most students intellectually understood the danger of the situation and the need to stay in their room.  However, many students still let their feeling inform their interpretation of the events rather than their intellectual self.    Some students still blame police rather than individuals who made the call.

Many students have brushed off the events as early as the day after with an “Meh….”  How many of these students draw connections with actions and consequents – long term or short term? What will happen to a veteran teacher, who cares about their students?  Do the students who love them, even make a connection?

A question that arose in a discussion with another teacher is about how to “take the lockdown seriously.”   A particular teacher had their students on the floor in the corner for the 90 minute lockdown.   This was how they took it serious.  I tried to keep my students calm by keeping their focus on their work.  They were engaged with learning activities instead of huddled, on the floor in one place.  I was unsuccessful in keeping them from their phones; however many of them were using their phones for the projects they were working on.  While I do not regret having them clustered under our red dot for 90 minutes, I have two big regrets.  Firstly, I did not ensure they were off their phones and attentive to me or the sounds around.   While using their electronics kept nearly all of the same calm and passive, it did keep them from hearing what was happening outside and could have been a problem if the nature of the danger was different.  Second, I did not prepare students for police entry.  I should have informed them about how the police may enter the room.  Not to make sudden movements, and stay in one spot.   A quick hands up and “Don’t shoot” may look different to an officer primed for engagement.   I feel like I did when my daughter was nearly hit by a car, but wasn’t – bizarre mix of thankfulness and anger.   It could have ended very differently, I’m thankful it did not.

As part of the restorative process, I think it is important for the officers and students to meet again in different circumstances.  Both parties ned to see each other in a different light.  Both parties need to ask each other questions like: “How did you feel when you entered our room?”  “What did you feel like when you saw us?”  “What were you thinking during the lockdown?” “Were you afraid?” “How do you feel now about what had happened?”

Fence mending is important.  Seeing each other as something other than our role is also important.

Gray Lines

School violence since 1992

image002

The map above shows school gun violence since 1992.  It seems that violence in schools is on the rise as the graph shows. (Data from the graph is from Wikipedia and is only through 2014).  This makes the business of learning and teaching more scary for teachers and students.  

There is a pervasive culture of spoken violence against women, men, homosexuals, immigrants, and groups of various ethnic and social allegiances.   There is actual violence represented by battery and physical altercations and shootings.  And there is spoken violence captured in internet bullying, in the hallways, the class, in the music and the mouths of some of our youngest children.    In some cultural circles phrases like: “I’m going to kill you.” or “I’m gonna slap that B*tch.” occur with such regularity, that many people recognize them as fooling around, or “that’s how we talk.”  Violent speak has become the new normal.

Thus there is a confluence of people with a culture of speaking violence that is reinforced in homes, with music, and with their friends that is colliding with an environment that that is becoming increasing paranoid and intolerant about physical violence, or threats thereof, in the schools.

It’s never OK to threaten a teacher.  Yet young people who grow up in a culture of violent speech will get angry and issue and hear idle threats regularly.  These becomes especially complicated when these idle threats go unchecked and yield a favorable result.  Young people see this in and out of schools thereby refueling the normative and benefits of this behavior.

A hypothetical case.

On the last day of class, a student is short points.  The last assignment is to do a dance based on something the class has been studying.  The student objects strongly and and decides to take a principled stance against the curriculum and being made to dance for a diploma.  The situation escalates.  After more people get involved the student collects them self and makes a reasonable request to review the points.  The teacher commits to doing it later, but not at that moment.  The student looses control and becomes extremely angry.  After a vitriolic flood of profane insults the students gives a veiled threat to the teacher’s children.  The teacher files a complaint.  District policy dictates a mandatory suspension.  Because of this the student misses graduation.

There were no clean hands of those involved.  Of course, in hindsight a 101 things should have been done differently.  But they were not.

Where was reconciliation.  Where was restorative justice?

Is a strong discipline approach for students who speak violence  the answer?

How can we restructure young people’s understanding of the unacceptability of violence when they are so steeped in a cultural forces beyond the school day?

What does it take?

I’ve been away doing the business of teaching.  I’m back.

At our school graduates can finish early if they meet all the requirements.  Their name is announced ceremoniously over the loudspeaker.  There are cheers, jeers, and yells…and sometimes silence from the different classrooms.   The other day I was in a room with another teacher and a student who had just finished.  His name was called over the loudspeaker.  He smiled, laughed, then started to sob and cry and laugh all at the same time.  So thunderstruck with emotion he didn’t even care who saw him.  I watched him as he poked out texts to he important people, his hoodie pulled far over his head.    This was a win!  He wasn’t  going to college.  He didn’t even have a job lined up.   So how was this a win? Let me tell you.  This student had been out of school for almost a year.  He was homeless off and on for 2 years.  He battled personal tragedy, learning challenges, and zero support for going and completing school outside of the school walls.  For the last 4 months of school, he had to take 3 buses to get to campus from his shelter.  In any other environment he would have been forgotten and tallied in the “drop out” column.  However, here because of the dedication of a remarkable group of educators, he graduated.  He will forever be able to hold his head high and state: “I completed High School!”

This year I kept track of what I heard.   Below is a list of some stand out quotations involving my students.  There is a story behind each one of these quotes.  As you read through, think two thoughts simultaneously:

What does it take to instruct, advise, counsel, and support students?

What does it take to succeed given the challenges faced by students represented by these quotes?

  • “My dad died over the weekend.”
  • “My mom is sick in the hospital and we don’t know what’s wrong with her.”
  • “Sorry missed school, but I woke up and there was no one at home to take care of my little sister, so I took care of her yesterday.”
  • “I couldn’t come to school yesterday because my mother didn’t give me money for the bus.”
  • “Please look out for ______ she is fighting with her mom over custody of her baby.”
  • “Please write a letter for ___________. They have a court date next week.”
  • “I don’t care about anyone, everyone in this room  can die as far as I’m concerned.”
  • “F**k you for bringing in food that I have to wash!”
  • “We are in lock down, there are reports of gunfire nearby.”
  • “We are in lock down, there is someone with a gun nearby.”
  • “Is this the person who assaulted your student?”
  • “F**k you all, I’m gonna torch this place!”
  • “This is the first time I understand this stuff.”
  • “I’ll put the F**king phone away when I’m F**king ready  A******.”
  • “Why do I have to turn off my music?”
  • “I’m the first one from my family to graduate from high school.”
  • “I don’t care about this, I don’t want to graduate, I just want to get high and drink.”
  • “I got locked out of my house last night because I got home to late, I spent the night in the park.”
  • “Can I keep my clothes in your room for a few days, I don’t have a place to put them.”
  • “_______has been reported as a runaway.”
  • “My brother got shot yesterday.”
  • “Help me write my resume.”
  • “I have a job interview tomorrow, what will they ask?”
  • “Can I use you as a reference?”
  • “If I don’t graduate because of 1 English credit, I’m going to sock _______in the face.”
  • “I’m a US citizen, you can’t deny me food.”
  • “I know where you live.”
  • “I can’t see the board, my glasses broke.”
  • “My family can’t afford glasses right now; maybe I’ll get them for Christmas.”
  • “I need community service hours for court. How many can I get from you.”
  • “I’ve never done this much work in a class before.”
  • “If I see him, I’m going to kill him.”
  • “F**k all those B***h A** G** N******.”
  • “I’ll hit those B****** whenever I want.”
  • “Thank you for believing in me when no one else did.”
  • “My step dad was killed in an accident over the weekend.”
  • “I’ve been sleeping at my mom’s because my dad scares me when he gets angry.”
  • “I have to take care of my grandma in the hospital because my parents work, I won’t be in school for the next few days.”
  • “I broke it in a fight.”
  • “Look I’m taking my stitches out with my teeth.”
  • “We screened 136 students, 9 will require urgent follow-up dental care.”
  • “We got kicked out of our place over the weekend; the shelter we are at is 2 buses away now.”
  • “My dad is in the hospital with cancer.”
  • “I’m leaving my foster family, how can I graduate now.”
  • “I quit! I give up! This is too F***** hard.”
  • “How can my own Dad to that to me!?”
  • “I just F*** the pain away.”
  • “It’s Tuesday, I don’t do any work on Tuesdays.”
  • “Some one hacked my account and posted all the pictures, and my baby’s father is using those pictures against me in a custody hearing.”
  • “I don’t hit females…even if she’s calling me a white N*****.”
  • “We had to 5150 _____ last week.”
  • “I’m not thinking clearly, they changed my medication again.”
  • “I didn’t take my Aderol today so look out!”
  • “Don’t go to Kaiser they F*** you up, my friend was in there for cancer and she died.”
  • “I’ve been doing drugs, they mess up my thinking, I want to stop.”
  • “When I drink I get really depressed.”
  • “I’m tired of being inside all day, I’m going out.”
  • “Why do you keep giving them chances?”
  • “My partner was shot in the head over a girl…over a girl….what the f***!”
  • “Screw counselors, their just here so they can get paid, they don’t care about me.”
  • “You are different, you know how to talk to people. F*** them, they kiss it”
  • “Thank you.”

If you have answers, I’d love to hear them.  I’m still trying to figure it all out.

Multi-Tasking

My students swear they can do it.   Many managers ask if their employees can do it, but the fact of the matter is, It can’t be done.  Check out this article The Myth of Multi-Tasking by Christine Rosen. She finds an amalgamation of new research that shows that multi-tasking reduces performance, quality, and drops IQ (in an interesting study). I’m sold, however I would like to the authors of these studies why it seems that some people work better with background music on.

Problem Solvers

According to Polya:

“The difference between experienced and inexperienced problem solvers is that inexperienced problem solvers don’t know hwat to do when they don’t know what to do.”

He outlined

First principle: Understand the problem

This seems so obvious that it is often not even mentioned, yet students are often stymied in their efforts to solve problems simply because they don’t understand it fully, or even in part. Pólya taught teachers to ask students questions such as:

  • Do you understand all the words used in stating the problem?
  • What are you asked to find or show?
  • Can you restate the problem in your own words?
  • Can you think of a picture or a diagram that might help you understand the problem?
  • Is there enough information to enable you to find a solution?
  • Do you need to ask a question to get the answer?

Second principle: Devise a plan

Pólya mentions (1957) that there are many reasonable ways to solve problems. The skill at choosing an appropriate strategy is best learned by solving many problems. You will find choosing a strategy increasingly easy. A partial list of strategies is included:

  • Guess and check
  • Make an orderly list
  • Eliminate possibilities
  • Use symmetry
  • Consider special cases
  • Use direct reasoning
  • Solve an equation

Also suggested:

  • Look for a pattern
  • Draw a picture
  • Solve a simpler problem
  • Use a model
  • Work backward
  • Use a formula
  • Be creative
  • Use your head/noggen

Third principle: Carry out the plan

This step is usually easier than devising the plan. In general (1957), all you need is care and patience, given that you have the necessary skills. Persist with the plan that you have chosen. If it continues not to work discard it and choose another. Don’t be misled, this is how mathematics is done, even by professionals.

Fourth principle: Review/extend

Pólya mentions (1957) that much can be gained by taking the time to reflect and look back at what you have done, what worked and what didn’t. Doing this will enable you to predict what strategy to use to solve future problems, if these relate to the original problem.

There are 10 key strategies:
-Working backwards
-Finding a pattern
-Adopting a different point of view
-Solving a simpler, analogous problem
-Considering extreme cases
-Making a drawing
-Intelligent guessing and testing
-Accounting for all possibilities
-Organizing data
-Logical reasoning

Here is a link with some good examples:

problem_solving

the-art-of-problem-solving-vienna-2-06

Problems to use these 10 techniques.

What is wrong with education?

Much ado about the state of education in the state of California.

Daily complaints:
Too crowed, not enough funding, charter schools, home schools, over-under legislated, lousy teachers, teacher unions, irrelevant curriculum, no vocational schools, teaching to the test, over testing, lack of parental participation…..the list goes on and on…and on.

Now that I am in the thick of it, I have some comments:
1) The method by which teachers are recruited and then educated is terrible. I have been disappointed with the administration and quality of what I am being taught and am asked to do to “prove” I am “worthy” of becoming a high school teacher. To be clear: we have some very nice, well-meaning, intelligent, and even competent instructors and administrators, but altogether, the system isn’t working well…if at all. I invite comment on this issue from some of my fellow teachers. My gripe list is 40 items long….feel free to send me a note and I add your complaint to mine and then submit it.

2) There is a lack of vocational programs in the schools. Somewhere along the way, decision makers got into their heads that everyone is college bound and therefore we only ought focus on sending students to college. Sure, college is the best way for people to improve their lot. It is however misguided and wrong to take away meaningful opportunities from young people and foist it on the community college system.

3) There is a lot of standardized testing. Why not roll the CaHSEE into STAR testing.
a: We would get better results from the STAR if students knew their graduation would depend on it.
b: We could eliminate days lost due to CaHSEE testing
c: We could eliminate duplicate bureaucracies and expenses saving the state millions a year.

I am very fortunate to teach where I do. I feel as if I make a difference everyday. I have great co-workers, administrators, and students. But I got lucky, others are struggling, and some have already left…

Common Knowledge

In teaching begining geometry I must aid students in understanding some rudimentary concepts of logic.  For example showing valid and invalid arguments, inductive and deductive reasoning, as well as how to disprove an argument.

If it rains, then I get wet
It rains,
———
I get wet

If it is a bird, then it flies
My pet is a bird
————-
My pet flies

If I don’t pay my bill, I get a fine
I don’t get a fine
————-
I paid my bill

These are just some example. However, I noticed that common knowledge impairs their ability to determine whether or not they can disprove an argument or statement. For example, some of my students did not know that all birds don’t fly. Some thought sharks are not fish and whales are fish. Only one knew that a bat is a mammal. Coupled with weak vocabulary skills, this lack of common knowledge makes formulating simple syllogisms difficult and frustrates them.