Perspectives

Last Tuesday I had such a good time. For my birthday a good friend of mine got me tickets to see RENT. This is the third time that I have seen the show on stage. Generally when I get tickets for any Broadway show, I get orchestra seats as early as the tickets go on sale so that I can get the ones closest to the front as possible. I've seen many shows from as close as the second row (although, I wouldn't recommend the second row). Sitting close allows me to see the actors expressions and catch nuances that you can't see from farther back. When I saw RENT last week, I sat on the front row of the mezzanine section. I couldn't believe how much I had missed by always getting close seats! There was some good choreography that I had missed before, and with this particular touring group it was better to be farther away so as to not see how much chemistry they lacked. (I saw this particular group perform RENT just last October, and it really seemed a lot better this time.)

I'm home for Spring Break this week visiting my family. Last night my mom and I were talking about education and I was telling her that this year I don't have many worries about the state test that my students have to take since the score they have to receive on it is comparably lower than what I require in my classroom. She remarked that standards are just being lowered and lowered even more. I had to argue this. My students must take three years of math in high school at an Algebra 1 level or higher. When my mom was in school, she only needed one math credit. How is this a lowering of standards? What is the media and government feeding citizens to get them to believe that standards are being lowered? Starting next year all of my students are going to have to pass an Algebra test at the end of the year just to qualify for a high school diploma. How many Americans can say that they have done this? Maybe my perspective as a high school teacher, one who works with the average-joe student, is different than that of one from the outside looking into the world of public education. America, be assured that not all teachers are lowering standards. America's students are capable of learning and they do learn.

People, including myself, are so self-focused and closed-minded. It's easy to view life through your own eyes; maturity helps you to look at life from a different perspective. We only have one life to live. Living with understanding of other people's thoughts, opinions, and actions will give each of us more satisfaction. When you know someone struggling with their health, it makes you appreciate each breath you take and every mundane task you perform as a true gift from God.

NCLB for graduate school

I know it has been quite some time since my last post. The seeming monotony of my life does not warrant too many new posts, though.

I am taking only one graduate class this semester and by May I should have finished 24 hours of my program in school administration. I have had two classes that I felt were worthy of my time and another one in which the books were good even though the class was a joke. A joke. . . yes, that is the word that I'd have to use to describe my program. I've remained optimistic up to this semester, but. . . I've had it! Let me explain how ridiculous things have gotten in grad school.

First, I have had three classes with this one particular professor. He is an older guy who knows his three lectures that he gives each semester and who recycles his midterms and finals from class to class. This means that I have taken (and aced) a similar test SIX different times! My question is why is this guy not creating tests for each of his classes? How is taking this same test teaching me anything new? It's not, which is why I didn't take another class with him this semester.

Then there was the class where I went and looked at all of these dome gyms, listened to an architect talk about dome gyms, and besides showing up to class I did nothing else for this class. No midterm. No final exam. No research paper. No summary of anything.

This semester I am taking a class called Advanced Educational Measurements. I thought this one might be a little challenging, but by week 2 of the class I knew otherwise. Let me summarize what I've done in this class: I have read aloud a PowerPoint slide after having the professor pull a stick with my name on it out of a cup and I have made a "graphic organizer" of a portion of a chapter out of the text book (with a group of classmates) and then presented the material to the rest of the class. The book has been talking about validity and reliability of tests and assessments and proper construction of such instruments. So, tonight I thought I'd work on my take-home midterm. To be honest, I don't think I have EVER had a take home test before. This test, in this class about proper test construction and procedures, is the absolute worst test I have ever taken. Some are multiple choice questions, however their construction is all different. Some are a, b, c, d. Some are i, ii, iii, iv. Some are just blanks where I am supposed to put checkmarks. The questions are poorly worded, and I don't even always know what I am being asked. Don't even getting me going about how this test is formatted!!!

Many public educators cringe at the acronym NCLB--the infamous No Child Left Behind law. Personally, I don't. Do I see 100% success in my classroom? No. But I know someone is watching to make sure my kids are learning Algebra. I'm sorry, but I'm a realist and I know that the majority of my kids will never apply Algebra to their everyday lives. Yet, I still must make sure that they LEARN it well enough to pass a challenging state test. It's called accountability; it's a good thing. It pushes me to do my best as a teacher. My question is why do public universities not have such accountability? Supposedly my program is accredited, but I'm tempted to go to the accreditors myself and tell them about this ridiculous program. Grade school is more challenging!