Why Schools Fail....Part 2

Is it possible that America is doing something wrong when it comes to education? In my opinion, yes. We begin pressuring our children to read and write, to sit still and listen, and to compete with their peers way too early. We take away the precious years of play and childhood, thinking that if our kids aren't reading by the time they leave kindergarten, there's a huge problem. When I researched boys and learning for my thesis a few years back, I was not surprised that boys over girls are held back more frequently, and one of the reasons is that they are just "not ready" to go on yet. I also learned that in Europe many parents practice a concept called "red-shirting" which is holding their sons out of formal schooling until age 6 or 7. Crazy? Nope. In my opinion, it's smart. Though given the tentative go-ahead for kindergarten, I had Matthew do two years of pre-school and not start kindergarten until he was 6. (Isaiah will start at 5, but since he has an April birthday, it will be truly a late 5 or almost 5 1/2 for him.) What came of that? According to his pre-school teacher, a lot more leadership, self-confidence, and cognitive development (otherwise known as the brain is ready for the next step). We are taking the fun out of school...and YES, learning is supposed to be fun! Sweden does not start formal schooling until age 7, but has an innovative pre-school program focusing not on letters and numbers, but life skills, teamwork and curiosity. Watch the video: Early Years in Sweden.  Some of these are ideas I am trying to implement at home with just Isaiah and I, and Matthew when he is home on Fridays. 

We take away crucial programs, like art, music, library and physical education. This is not doing our kids any favors, whether it looks better on the bottom line or not. There has been oodles of proof that without these programs, kids do not have proper energy outlets, and thus learning is hindered. I was thrilled to learn that Matt's new school has PE everyday and music every other day. They have some Spanish learning, and also a school cooperative garden. They have slightly longer days (not a fan), but a 4 day school week, which means (at least for now) that Matt will get more family time with me and his brother each week, something I think is healthy all the way around. My fears about sending him to a public school have been waylaid for now. 

Last summer, during a teacher training session, our administrators enlightened us about the Finland educational system. This system, which was once a mess, has become a leader in education. They have shorter school days, kids stay with the same teacher for a few years (a practice I highly support!), and they have tons of cooperative and hands-on learning. Wish I could teach there!! Guess what? They also have excellent test scores, so they are indeed doing something right. The video, which I have included below was such a tease-wish schools HERE looked like that. You'd have far less teacher turnover, that's for sure. :)

Do I think American schools need a radical make-over? YES, I do. Shorter days, more creativity, excited teachers...oh, and we need to completely ditch the old assembly line format of education that was adopted in the early 1900's-ish. I for one, would love to see a return to more apprenticeship type learning and community programs. Some schools are doing this right, or at least aspects of it. But we need a complete educational overhaul. There is part of me that wishes I knew where/how to make the changes, because I DO care and am on fire for how much better our schools could be...because then I maybe would've had a different calling. What do you think?

What the US could learn from Finland article: Educational Reform
Amazing/Inspiring and Envy-Inducing, School the Finland Way video: Finland Schools.

Why Schools Fail...Part 1

I have been doing a lot of thinking lately about the educational system. While I would like to tell you that I left education 100% because I wanted to become a nurse, the reality is that the percentage is more like 60%, still a majority, but nothing to write home about. Most people guess that you leave teaching because of the kids. I tell a college classmate that I used to teach middle and high school, and they automatically give me a look and a nod-it's as if to say, "oh, yeah-I get it. I'd be here too if I'd had to deal with teenagers." I cannot reiterate this point enough-most teachers do not leave education because of their students, and I certainly did not. If it had just been me and my "kids", it probably would've been enough to stay. The students, the teenagers in my case, were loved with every bit of my being, just like that of a parent and a child. A few of the boys even called me their second mom, because I would nag and get onto them just like their mother! They knew though that it only meant I cared. I taught a lot of good kids, in third grade and then in middle and high school. There is no such thing as a bad kid, and if there was ever a child I encountered that I thought fit the bill, I felt way different when I understood why they were acting out. No, teachers leave because of policy, politics, funding and administration-weave those undeniably and irrevocably together, and you have yourself one hot mess (and not in the good Kesha way!). 

I tell Barrett that if money were no object, I'd start my own charter or private school. It would be a high school only to start with, and would focus on meeting kids where they are at to encourage learning. I would have vocational connections and programs galore, preparing kids for the real world, and honing in on what they are good at, not forcing them to all learn the same way. I would have intensive college and career advising, and classes would cater to the biological gender differences in the way that boys vs. girls learn (the topic of my well-received Master's thesis). Yes, if money were no object and I didn't have a family to devote time to (and wasn't 60% more interested in healthcare), I could be a true crusader for education. The problem is though, that I'd have to start from the ground up. I could romanticize the idea of running a school as an administrator, but their hands are usually quite tied when it comes to some things too. No, I'd have to begin my own school, Academy West (as it is named in my head), recruit the best teachers, and make my plan for education work. And believe you me, if I thought that it was doable, I would. I would be competition for my 2 former employers, and throw out what they did wrong and combine the things they did right.

It is my belief that if you were a school, and you could hire good teachers (the kind that care about making learning interesting), and then turn a subject matter fully and completely over to them...yeah-you'd have some good teaching going on. I mean, tell them the standards, we know how to align that stuff, and give them some funds to choose their own curriculum to use for the next few years (it should be updated at least every five in my opinion), and you would be on your way to accomplishing everything you set out to do: teachers that are excited to teach and students that are excited to learn (and the unspoken goal: excellent test scores!).  This is very rash, I know-actually putting teaching in the hands of the teachers. Mistake #1 that even the "best" schools make, is letting other people choose the materials teachers use, and then forcing the teachers to use them. Let me put it to you like this. Let's say that you make a world-class apple pie (just go with me here). You sometimes change up your recipe, and each time your pie is downright delicious. Now, I'm going to tell you that I am going to buy the ingredients for you, and the pie plate and roller. I am going to supply you with everything you need (oh, you can thank me later), but you should know that I bought you the cheapest ingredients I could find, slightly used even (but there should maybe still be enough), and I want you to use this recipe I found over here that takes some of the special spices out because there just isn't time, and I want you to make your world-class apple pies. I expect you to make them, and for them to be every bit as delicious as they always have been. If you are grinning while you read, it is likely because you realize the absurdity of my analogy. The apple pies were only world-class because the baker had baking them down to an art. Do you follow? This is what happens in education. Teachers are given limited (sometimes no) supplies and told to teach the specific things (learning objectives) that they need to, without any of the resources to make great teaching happen. Sure, you have had great teachers, or your kids have...and in the utmost unpolitically correct fashion I will say that yes, I was one of the good ones. 

Do you know how they did it? Well, I can tell you that 40 hours a week does not make good lesson plans, not when those 40 hours are full of instruction time and various other duties as assigned (and there are always other duties). I can tell you that a measly few hundred a year (if I was lucky) to run an entire department full of 5 teachers and at least 8 different courses was not even close to being enough to do hands-on science, the way that science is correctly taught. I can also tell you that I had no qualms claiming the $500/year teacher tax write-off for supplies every year I taught, because in all reality I spent between $50-150 each month on my classroom. That's an average of $100 each month, including summers (when I usually spent even more to restock stuff), and I can tell you that it is not even close to being an overstatement that I spent at least $1,200 per year, each year on materials to help make my teaching come alive. I am not talking fancy curriculum here (though I drooled over the catalogs), I am talking simple things, like the ingredients for multiple science experiments, art supplies to make learning connections, and basic necessities, like dry-erase markers (You have to hoard those, because the schools give you some, but come about March, their supply is all gone!). Good teachers are only good because they pour their hearts, energy, time and money into being good...often leaving not much for their families that they come home too. 

People who make decisions about curriculum are often not even educators. Board members that work at local factories and businesses decide which spelling program the school should use. Then they decide if it is cost-effective. They decide that if new math books are needed this year, the 15 year-old health books will have to wait. All the while never asking the teachers. Because heaven forbid that the people actually using the material day in and day out should get to help select it, vote on it, have some sort of a say. No, the teachers are usually sent to a boring training to learn the new curriculum they are told they have to teach, and the powers that be think the teachers should be grateful-after-all they finally got something new. Teachers are resourceful creatures. Take them to a school budget meeting, and they will tell you the things that can be skimped on, and the things that are a waste of money, and the things that absolutely should be of higher quality. I could rant about poor curriculum all day, but this is enough for now. Mistake #1 that the educational system makes: taking teaching decisions away from the teachers. 

Someday is Today

It's a Monday. That means I should be at work or at school...somewhere. My body and mind are programmed that Mondays are days we get stuff done. This is the first Monday in awhile that I have not had to drive to OSU and sit through lecture, pour over body systems committing them to memory, or even get ready for work!  Today I have spent home with Isaiah. We have read books, worked on shapes and letters, played outside, and even had a delicious lunch of grilled cheese and chicken noodle soup. We organized all his dresser drawers, and made a bag of too-small stuff for Good Will. I would like to say that it has been nice, and I hope that it will be in the future, but this dang cold I have is lingering. Stuffed, painful sinuses, leading to huge headaches, watery eyes, constant sneezing and a runny nose. I feel lovely. I think I only managed to snap at Zay once, when he decided to pour marbles all over the living room floor, which our puppy eyed greedily. I was hoping to make it through these days being the mom extraordinaire. What I really want today is to lay in bed, close my eyes, and have someone else take care of me. I am not usually a big baby when I get sick, but this cold has me in its grasp, and I am ready to to waive my white flag and signal a surrender. "Come get me," I want to say, "if it will make me feel better faster." It feels unfair to be sick when it is so incredibly lovely outside. I LOVE the fall (my favorite season), and I love the fact that it misted all morning and is now sunny with a brisk breeze. It's like a promise that winter is around the corner. I know, most Oregonians curse the rain and cold, but I love those times of year, probably more than the mild summers. I managed to begin re-organizing my stuff in the bedroom. It has been on my to-do list. Barrett put up two shoe hangers in my little shoe/scarf/sweater closet (the one under the stairs), and hung me a shelf next to the mirror above the dresser that I get ready at everyday. I went through my nail polish and make-up, and re-organized that stuff, making me a nice, tidy girly area. There is more on my list, like going through my drawers and closet that are each laden with clothes (hey, I'm a collector), and going through Matthew's stuff as well, but I feel somewhat accomplished for how I have felt. Thank God that my dad wants his little buddy to play with and is having Isaiah stay the night with them tonight after Matt's soccer practice, which means that tomorrow I can finally take it easy. If you have children, you will understand this sentiment, and that there was no point even trying while watching a four-year old. :)

I had an epiphany today in the shower (this is when I get my best thoughts!). My realization was that we try so hard to live good lives. We (as in most everyone) talk about the things we want to do, the goals we have, the places we'd like to see, and then we always tack on a killer word at the end of our dreams...someday. It goes like this. "I'd like to learn to cook better, someday." "I'd like to go to Rome, someday." "I'll have a better job, someday."  Someday has become a hope and dream annihilator. Because we tack it on, we inevitably prolong the somedays in our lives until there just isn't enough time. Someday will run out eventually. I am turning 31 in January. By most standards, I am still young, and (most days) healthy. Why in the world would I save the dreams I have for another time in my life? It also dawned on me that maybe the secret to living the life I've always wanted, a life full on spontaneity and adventure, of variety and fun-is planning for my dreams. Does this take the fun out? I think not. It goes like this. I want to cook more for my family, and have a meal plan for an entire month so that I don't have to think about what to make...so I started making one for next month and am almost done. I have to have a  ton of variety, so I made a general plan first: Mexican food on Mondays, crock-pot meals on Thursdays, and so on. 

Barrett and I talk about activities we want to do, but then end up relaxing at home a lot of the time. While we need that, we also need to schedule the things we would like to learn, do and explore together. Today I looked into cooking classes, ballroom dance lessons, and short hikes. Barrett bought trap yesterday, so that we can begin trap-shooting together (you know, the clay pigeon thingys?). My point is-there is usually nothing stopping us. We'd have spent that money on other things anyhow. Now, it is true that I can't book a trip to Rome tomorrow. That would be too expensive. But I can plan the trip to Disneyland we agreed to take next Summer. I can actually even plan the trip to Europe (that I am hoping will be after I complete an RN program, you know a nice gift to self!). It's fun, and it's been proven that planning a vacation  actually de-stresses us. The only thing I can't do is buy the trip yet. I guess what I'm saying, you have likely heard before. "Grab life by the horns," says Dodge. But I am reminding you, that maybe with proper planning, you can achieve the life you imagined you would have. I know I can't do it all today, but this month I plan to hike with my husband and maybe our kids. It is even on the calendar. I find that I am less likely to argue about doing something when the details are already set, and something as simple as putting it into my iPhone reminds me that 2 days from now I am going somewhere. I plan to set up some sort of a class to take together, cooking or dance, and to let my guy teach me how to shoot at things in the air (after-all as I told him-it's only fun when you get to destroy things). This winter Barrett has agreed to go ice-skating with me if I try snow-skiing with him.:) Life is too short to not have a ball while we are here! I want to look back with no regrets, no wishes I'd tried something different. Whatever your goals are, I hope that you will do the same. 

For a place to get started, view my post on the Bucket List: http://cadaversandcoffee.blogspot.com/2012/08/deciding-what-mattersand-bucket-list.html

Life is Change-Grasshopper.

Today was an odd day. It could've been awful. The quasi cold that I caught a few days ago is lingering, just enough that I feel run down and annoyed, but not present enough that I feel justified to hide in bed all day ( you know those kind?). Barrett thought he'd signed up to work a Sunday, but it turned out he had the date wrong and it was a Saturday instead- meaning that he missed the boys' first soccer games. It also meant that I had to go visit with my ex-husband, his new wife and baby daughter, and my ex-mother-in-law, all without my partner by my side. Like I said, today had the recipe to be awful.

The first soccer game started, and yes, there were a few awkward moments. Do I chat with Greg's mom? Do I hold his new baby? Do I avoid?:) just being honest here. Divorce is icky- no sugar-coating that. I would be lying through my teeth if I said there were never moments of bitterness, disappointment or plain secretly gasp to myself and let the curse words fly (in my head of course) moments of anger. Like the fact that my ex took three months off work with his new wife and baby, the fact that he now works day shift, and the fact that he has a little girl (named a name I'd picked out for Isaiah had he been a girl no less!). But... All I have to do is look around. It's true that (while I am not promoting it) blended families are the new normal- so I am not alone in my situation. My boys had their mom, dad, stepmom, and three grandparents cheering them on today, plus a stepsister and their new baby half sister. Not only was our cheering section loud and proud, but we were all together, and once the temporary awkwardness wore off, all happy and well... Family. I sat and chatted with Greg, then his mom, then Heidi. I held their new baby, talked to Greg's stepdaughter, and of course with my parents. I sent Barrett text updates and photos of the games. When Matthew got hurt, his mom and dad ran to help, and worked together to cheer him up. When Heidi and I missed a goal because we were chatting-Greg joked about neither "wife" paying attention, and we all laughed.

I am not who I was at 18, nor 20 or even 25. I may not be blonde and thin, but I am more confident now than ever before. Where then I was driven, perfectionist and serious, now I feel wiser, more thoughtful, and calmer. I still have goals (I am truly considering going all the way as a nurse and being an Nurse Practioner, specializing in Women's Health), I also know that the thing about life is, that it changes. It has been almost two years since I got divorced and a little over a year since Barrett and I married. I am so incredibly happy and in love everyday. I love my life, and I may not be as young or slender anymore, but I feel truly beautiful- and the best part is that I don't need your affirmation, because it's how I feel that matters. My dad and I had a great conversation the other day about how life changes, about happiness, and forgiveness. And one of my favorite men in the entire world ended our chat with his wisdom, "Life is change, grasshopper." Yes, Dad, it most certainly is.

Happy Fall

Posts have been more sparse this past week and a half or so. My page-views are way down, and while I find it disappointing, it is not surprising. I have not been able to blog as much with my finals this week (today actually in less than 2 hours!), and last weekend we were off getting a puppy. We did not pick a girl, but a boy, and named him Max. I wish you a happy start to Fall. While it is the beginning of my 2 week summer (without classes!), I know for everyone else it is off to work like normal or back to school. I hope that you will keep reading, as I am sure my posts will pick up after today. :)  I also have some new projects I would like to start. For me the Fall is bringing: 1) homeschooling my little guy, 2)working with our new puppy (who I would like to make into a therapy dog to do hospital and nursing home visits when he is older), 3)teaching myself how to suture (Yep, how to stitch folks up! Something I personally want to know how to do...just in case it's ever needed), 4)taking two sociology classes, 5)cooking more, 6) exercising more, and 7) starting an entirely different blog on marital health and sexuality (it will be a bit risque, so it will be by invite only to get you to it at first.:)

Cheers. Hope you'll read me soon.

Sarah

Sometimes, you just need a break.

Often, life moves too fast. The household chores, daily tasks, being a parent and being a spouse can sometimes all take too much a toll on our well-being. Throw in not feeling well, and  an extra errand or a surprise emergency ("hey mom-did I tell you I need cupcakes for tomorrow?"), and you have a recipe for irritability, exhaustion and (hopefully temporary) a bit of depression. Things we normally wanted and often enjoy, like being married and being a parent-can actually be stressful too. Too many people are afraid to say that, afraid that admitting that of course life would be easier as a single, childless person. It doesn't mean that we don't want what we have, it just means that the reality is that even the biggest blessings can add up to stress sometimes. 

Let's take parenting for starters. Making meals, packing backpacks for school, policing the cleanliness of bedrooms and of the children themselves, and taxi-ing kids to their various activities (that we sign them up for so that they can be well-rounded), can be stressful. I love my Isaiah bug so much, but it is true that this week while he visits with his grandmother, and that Barrett and I have only Matthew, seems much slower paced, quieter, and well....easy. :) I miss him, I really do, but it is kind of peaceful. Matthew is, and has almost always been, my easy child. He is a people pleaser, over-achiever, typical first-born. This morning, however, in a rush of carelessness (that I wish happened less often), he grabbed for his lunch haphazardly, knocking over a raw egg onto the kitchen floor. Then he stood right in the way crying and apologizing as Barrett (now very irritated!) tried to clean it up. He was excited that mom got to take him to school this AM, and meet his new teacher, and I feigned my own excitement, patience and general "mommyness" all morning. Oh, I may have been excited to do these things yesterday, but today was a different story. 

I woke up with the cold that both my boys came home with:nose tingling, throat aching and head pounding (anything sinusy aggravates my migraines...of course). Instead of waking up and getting on the exercise bike, which is now the habit, I proceeded to hit snooze 3 times, and snuggle closer to Barrett, at one point letting him get up to take out the new puppy. I groused about the dishes in the kitchen that were all over the counters, because Barrett made cookies last night. I reminded him I wouldn't have time to do them, as I had to study, do a lab report, go to class, deal with the puppy, and ferry Matthew to soccer practice (feel free to throw in any other things I have to do today to add to my martyrdom), as well as snapping that he didn't have a right to be mad at Matthew-that it was an accident after all. 

That's when marriage can become exhausting too. Do I stress all morning about getting on to my sweet husband? Is he down? Is he angry at me? I really do care, even though at times I really suck at showing it. Barrett has picked up SO much of the day-to-day tasks so that I can focus on these classes, that he really deserves some sort of trophy (like a nice one, not the fake crappy ones they give to little league teams) for being the best husband in the universe. 

I am reminded that I am blessed. While today I may not feel like doing anything I have to do, I know that I am loved by my husband, children and parents. I have blessings galore. I also know that it's acceptable to feel this way sometimes. Sometimes life drags us along, never slowing, never asking if we are ready for a breather...so we have to create those stops ourselves. I skipped exercise today. It won't kill me, and Barrett will have dinner waiting after I taxi to and from soccer practice. Tonight, whether I feel up to it or not, I will study for my finals on Friday-glad that the end is thisclose.  For now, I will heed the advice (and you should too), that Alexander's mom gives him in the story Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (GREAT book!). You see, Alexander has the worst day ever, and keeps telling his mom he should just move to Australia. She says, "Some days are like that. Even in Australia."

The End of a Season

Summer is drawing to a close- not that it feels like I had much of one anyway. I have practically lived at Oregon State University, taking the Anatomy & Physiology course sequence. Approaching my last few days of class here is actually somewhat bittersweet, as is the close of every summer in my opinion. This summer I became a student once again. I stayed up late learning bones and muscles, got to identify them on cadavers and got to dissect pig, cow and sheep organs. This summer I spent evenings out by the Calapooia River, watching stars in my husband's arms and rejoicing as my boys learned to swim (or float in Isaiah's case!). This summer I went to a baby shower for my ex husband and his wife, and waited intently to hear that mom and new baby sister to my boys were both healthy.

Starting college again was difficult. The first few days I thought I'd die of loneliness. I no longer had students to talk to all day, and I am a non traditional student, meaning though I by far not the oldest, I definitely do not blend with the early twenties population here. I have cried often at the difficulty and complexity of Anatomy expected of us to learn. I wish I could say I earned A's, but I have earned an A and on my way to two Bs as it averages out. I have been disappointed, proud and resigned all in the same day. I have joined the flock of nurse wanna-bees in hoping that my few imperfect grades will still let me in to an RN program. I have laughed with newfound friends here that I will actually miss when I go on to Lane in a few weeks. I have whined about a lab professor that took forever to grade things and spent little time actually teaching us, and giggled at a different professor whose jokes about sex and the reproductive system could only be considered ok because I was in a college level course learning about them! He would show us slides of skeletons "having a good time" In various positions to break up our two hour lecture sessions!:) I have learned that parking almost always sucks here, even during summer session, that the bathrooms in the microbiology hall are much nicer than the ones here in Cordley Hall, and that counting the times your new instructor says "umm" definitely does not ensure you understood the material in between all her utterances!:)

I have learned that sometimes you really will grasp the concept on the 5th, 6th or even 17th time that you pull out the confusing diagrams to stare at them! Just today, hours before an exam, I can finally say that I somewhat understand pressure dynamics in the lungs and glomerular filtration rates in the kidneys. I can say though that I excel at learning the clinical applications of things and the diseases that afflict a body system- hopefully a good sign for my future calling!

Not setting up a classroom this year has been bittersweet too. I will dearly miss my students. I will miss being part of their days and their adolescence. But that season has concluded, while I still email, text and Facebook with some- I know it isn't quite the same. The season at OSU is almost done. I look forward to the Fall, a season including two sociology courses and lots of family time. I look forward to helping in Matthew's classroom, homeschooling Isaiah, training our new puppy, Max, and taking a quasi breather before another season begins anew. What a beautiful life.