NCLB, AYP, NASCAR: It's All Greek To Me

School is underway for most of the area surrounding where I live.  It has been hot, humid and down right draining for teachers, students and race fans in general.

Wait a minute.  Did I say race fans?  Isn't this a education based blog?  Yes, but after the information that was published on WDBJ-TV7 from Roanoke this week, AYP, NCLB and NASCAR all sound alike.  The problem?  It's all "Greek" to me.

For starters, how can a school division do well according to Virginia standards and yet can't make Adequate Yearly Progress based upon No Child Left Behind?  It sounds a lot like NASCAR Chase to the Sprint Cup Championship.  Win a few races and you're in the mix for the Chase championship, but there's a catch.  You have to be consistent.  NASCAR still hasn't figured out that the more you win races, the more consistent you are, you deserve a championship.  Virginia has established benchmarks that exceed other states and took the lead on several education issues but recently was left at the altar; jilted by the President's new education plan.  In essence, Virginia, the shining gemstone in the education crown was cast off by the United States Government in favor of states with lesser requirements for their students and teachers (Tennessee being one of the states) and left at the altar in the "Race to Success" competition for education in America.

I think the current administration in Washington has modeled their education plan after NASCAR's Chase for the Sprint Cup Challenge.  No solid rules, no meaningful challenges and simply thrown down the gauntlet like NASCAR did early in the season with the now famous phrase, "Have at it boys." 

And so begins the Chase to the Education Excellence Cup.  There are no multi-million dollar sponsorships, no multi-year television deals and coverage.  Virginia, like every other state in the United States has been played like a cheap fiddle.  Smile, wave for the fans and have at it. 

Which brings me back to AYP and NCLB.  If the system didn't accomplish what it was supposed to, then why are we still using it?  No one in Washington seems to have the answer.  No one in Daytona Beach seems to even care.  Consistency means nothing.  Win the big race or pass the examination.  Do that and you are destined for big fame, big fortune. 

For short, education is not a competition.  It's not a NASCAR race and it's not about how many hoops you jump through to make sure you get the money from Washington, through to the states and down to the local level.  It's about preparing the students of now for the future.

Where did we lose sight of this?

Rewriting History

On Saturday, I had a chance to drive about thirty minutes from Wise to Jenkins, KY.  It wasn't just a sight seeing trip but a chance to see the events of "Thunder On The Mountain", a Civil War re-enactment that takes place in August each year.  I attended last year's event and was asked by someone to take pictures for a project this year at Jenkins.

This time around, I had the privilege of speaking to several of the re-enactors, some who play General Robert E. Lee, General Stonewall Jackson and General John Hunt Morgan.  On several occasions, I was referred to as Mr. Brady or Matthew Brady for my taking photos of the events of the day.  One discussion with the gentleman playing General Morgan touched upon something that I had never thought of until today.

We were talking of the Civil War and how history has never fully told the story of why there was a Civil War.  We've been made to believe that it was all due to the issue of slavery when in reality, there was much more to it than just slavery.  It was families who were split along slavery lines as well as lifestyle and independence.  Many in the South did not want the beliefs of the North forced upon them.  Education has failed to tell the real story behind the Civil War.  We're told of the big battles of Gettysburg, Bull Run and others but how many people really know about the other smaller battles? 

Educators have a great opportunity to become a student once again and research these events and write and illustrate their importance to history.  One of the first things that are brought up by administrators is does it apply to the Standards of Learning?  Yes.  But let's get one thing straight.  Teaching strictly to the SOL's is recipe for failure.  Teachers should use the SOL's as a guide, a road map to help them bring in other examples and illustrations to drive home the importance of a particular subject.  I've also learned that students in Northern Virginia could care less about Southwestern Virginia and Southwestern Virginia students could care less about eastern shore Virginia.  And the state wants all students across the Commonwealth on the same page?  Sorry, this educational utopian society hasn't developed and has in my opinion, been dead on arrival since the inception of the Standards of Learning.  Educators need to begin the quest of rewriting history, getting past the rigid, strict guidelines of "You will teach this..." and open themselves up and their students to a whole new world.

What will our legacy be as educators?  It seems that all education is doing is producing a newer model of programmable student every year.  How will historians write our chapter in the history books?  Will the story be told of teachers who wanted to prepare students for the next level in their lives or how they taught to the tests?

At Least Someone Gets It

The new Apple iPad has been out for a while but at least someone is innovative enough to take a chance and purchase the first generation product and use it in the classroom as it should be used; a multipurpose education tool.  I love technology in the classroom.  It's a chance to let kids get hands on experience, while learning about technology and also utilizing a tool that they live with everyday.

I read in The Martinsville Bulletin this morning about the Henry County Public Schools (my first teaching job!) doing something that I have been hoping school systems would do.  Get rid of the traditional textbook and go digital.  At least Henry County Public Schools get it. 

From the Martinsville Bulletin:
The county was " approved for a a Beyond Books Pilot Award of $20,720 from the state Department of Education for 40 iPad computers and 40 cases, and $5,360 to buy 10 iPad computers and cases to complete two classroom sets.  Henry County was one of four school divisions selected by the state selected to participate in Beyond Books, an online textbook pilot project." 

"Fourth-graders at Sanville and Rich Acres elementary schools will use iPad computers this fall to access their social studies textbook online, have access to the Internet and other Intranet activities selected by teachers, according to Janet Copenhaver, director of technology.

The county approved $47,900 to buy 50 iPads from Apple Inc. to replace social studies textbooks for ninth-grade world history classes. Classes will be arranged so that each student will have access to the iPads, according to Copenhaver.
 
With the use of iPads in the classroom, the sky is the limit.  In fact, iPads could revolutionize teaching in general.  The development of teacher designed e-textbooks, that can be edited almost immediately, wikis that the students can use for the classroom, all of these things in one package at a student's fingertips.  Now the wait is on to see if Steve Jobs and Apple will modify future iPads for multitasking.  If they solve that problem along with some of the wi-fi bugs, the iPad will truly revolutionize education in the classroom.
 
Way to go Henry County! 

The Introduction of the SOL's and Standardized Tests

Have you ever stopped to wonder what really took place years ago when then Governor George Allen of Virginia proposed Standards of Learning?  Did you ever wonder about that first conversation between Educational Testing Service and the Virginia Department of Education may have sounded like?  Well here is a re-creation, thanks to Patrick Stewart and Star Trek: The Next Generation.  Sorry, I have to admit, I like Trek but more and more for the commentary it presents.  This clip is from the episode, aptly named in this case, "The Best of Both Worlds".  Stewart represents the teacher in this, humanity, who wants standards for learning but not have them forced upon everyone, while the mysterious voice of the Borg has strong resemblance to Big Brother.

The Current State of Education

My wife concluded her third chemo treatment on Monday and now has three more sessions to go and a round of radiation.  Even after all of this and a year of herceptin infusions, will she have beaten cancer?  I pray that she does.

OK.  So where are you going with this?  Some of you have read the title of this latest blog post and now are scratching your head.  No.  I am going in a certain direction here.  Follow with me.

I am still reminded daily of when Kim's doctor broke the news to us in his office.  You have cancer.  His next response was to the point.  Surgery.  Next week.  Not next month.  Not three months from now.  Next week.  I have to say, Kim's doctor was a man of action. 

In her first visit to the cancer center at Norton.  We were introduced to a doctor who put it all on the table.  Expectations.  Goals.  Hope.   When I left the meeting room, I felt like I had partner right beside me.  A brother in arms who was just as determined to see my wife whip this terrible disease. 

So what bearing does this have on education?  Plenty. 

Instead of talking heads in Washington, Richmond or points in between, we need people who don't talk a plan of action but sets the wheels in motion to get something done.  Instead of drones who carry out the the orders of the talking heads, we need brothers in arms, comrades who will step up to the plate for students, teachers, staff and administration who are in this fight for education success together.

I have heard over and over that teamwork wins games.  I used to preach it to my volleyball teams when I was coaching.  You have to work together.  You have to have a game plan to make a statement.  Even if you lose, you want your opponent to come away saying, we're going to have to do better next time if we are going to beat them.

If we can rally strangers together, who have never met before to unite and join forces to fight one of the most terrible diseases known to man, why can't we do the same in education?  It's like being a movie star, when you are in a hit movie, you have done all that the studio and the press have asked of you, you are a star.  You are patted on the back and told how good you are but make a mistake or fall short on your next project and you are a has been.  You are typecast as a a good teacher but not quite good enough.  So, I guess those teachers who don't get that two point pickup on the SOL tests from the previous year are education's version of Lindsay Lohan. 

Sitting in the cancer center on Monday, I read an article that Hollywood was up in arms over the lackluster summer box office returns for 2010 and the disappointing movies that had come out.  Many felt it was the end of the world.  Billions of dollars lost.

The same can be said of education.  Billions of dollars lost on a broken system that needs fixing fast.  Our government can financially help General Motors and Chrysler, corrupt financial institutions with a plan of "reinvestment" but can't get it together or even see the big picture to help education.

It's a sad state of affairs.