Violence against teachers

This column finally addresses a very real educational issue, violence against teachers.

"Every year I encounter more teachers, veteran and new, fearing for their safety. What's more, recent research suggests that their concerns have merit. ... Another, more recent survey of over 2,000 teachers in Quebec's French system found 85 per cent had experienced some form of physical or psychological violence, including threats and intimidation, at the hands of their students."

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2010/06/11/f-vp-smol.html#ixzz0qwKa9Hpb"

If you think this is only in the big city schools you are wrong. Personally I have been physically threatened and sworn at on numerous occasions. A hostile working environment is one of the reasons I chose to leave the profession.

In the past year at a school in this division a teacher had their home vandalized and spray painted with racial slurs. The RCMP did get involved but the kids were back in the same school after a brief suspension.

Another incident that I was told about involved teens breaking into a teachers home and helping themselves to their food, snacks and then trashing the place before they left including defecating. The students involved were suspended for a few days and when they returned the teachers who had their home violated were taken aside and told that they had better be "nice" to the returning students.

In another incident, that happened many years ago in this division, a teacher was physically assaulted resulting in injuries that if it were committed by an adult would resulted in jail time. Guess what, the kid was suspended briefly and returned to the same school. The teacher said that she would have quit except that she had children who depended upon her for support.

I could site numerous other incidences that have occurred right here in our community.

Imagine your workplace. Imagine that someone you work with goes to your home and spray paints racial comments on your home. Imagine that person simply gets three days off work and returns and you have to work with them. Would it not result in a hostile workplace?

How do you think your child feels sitting next to these students in a classroom? Do you think that your child will feel comfortable saying "no" to this problem student when "asked" to share his lunch money? Do you think your child will report the incident to the office knowing that when the troublemaker assaulted the home of a teacher, very little was done?

We as a society must sit down and find a better solution then simply returning serious problem students to the classroom.

Inclusive Education is not an excuse to cut funds

I can't help but wonder when I see articles like this one.

http://www.edmontonjournal.com/health/School+moves+away+from+coding+kids/3125771/story.html

Integration in Education is not a new concept, locally it has been happening in St. Paul schools for over 10 years. I believe students with disabilities should be fully integrated into the classroom and I support the model which has been successful in many colleges and Universities in Alberta. Post secondary institutions have done an excellent job at integrating students with developmental disabilities, and some public schools have also been successful implementing the model.

The idea is that the integration of the student should be as invisible as possible. The handicapped child should not be given special texts or special assignments. Their presents should be almost invisible to the teacher who grades the assignments the same way for all students. Yes, it works! Students with Downs Syndrome can take the same University courses as their peers, give presentations and participate in discussions. I have seen it happen.

The modifications are done by support workers, not academic staff. There is a group of support workers, separate from the University. They work for a private organization and answer to the student, so all decisions are student focused. They are responsible for making any modifications to materials or arranging any special supports necessary. For example if a student with Downs Syndrome needs class materials read to them, then these workers are there to that or arrange for technology such as text reading software on computers. The student may require a little extra background to participate in discussions, they will do arrange for extra tutorials or supports. The student then takes part in regular classroom discussions. (note: this is different from differentiated instruction in which the lesson content is modified for students). One university professor explained, "I should never even know if you have used some sort of technology or support service." The responsibility does not fall on the instructor to modify lessons or content.

The idea is to give the individual with developmental disabilities the same experience as regular students as much as possible.

The public system has latched on to this as a cost savings system. They integrate students but provide no support services. The teaching assistants work for the school and are often busy with other duties such as photocopying class assignments or assisting teachers with discipline problems in the classroom.

Teachers are asked to provide individualized lessons or modified content with "differentiated instruction". The teacher becomes overwhelmed with the excessive workload and unrealistic expectations. This is the opposite of inclusion.

Effective support services are the critical component that makes the system works. I sincerely hope that this recent announcement is not a way to reduce funding for support workers.

Informal Education

Informal education opportunities are just as important to children as classroom learning. Summer is an excellent time for informal learning as it is simply spending time with your child and talking to them about what you are doing.

• Go for a walk outside with your child and tell them what you know about nature. It does not need to be profound, simple little bits of information can have a big impact. If you find and interesting flower or plant ask the child to find out what it is by checking on the Internet. Take pictures of local plants animals and insects and make a slide show on the computer.
• Watch TV with your kid and talk about the shows that interest them. Personally I think TV has a bad reputation, it's actually a great educational tool if used correctly. Even silly kids shows can be a way to start a conversation and anything that gets parents and kids talking is a good thing.
• Reading of course is a great activity to share with your kid. Read to them even if they are older and they will respond.

The important thing is to keep children engaged in activities and join with them.

To give or not to give

As the end of the year approaches, many students like to purchase a small gift for their teacher. These are almost always elementary students but sometimes high school students. They are almost never Jr. High teachers.

My sister teachers Jr. High in the city and is a good teacher, actively involved in taking her kids to the Lego Robotics competition, which her kids won this year. Her husband teaches grade 5 in Sherwood Park and is also a good teacher, involved with the kids. However at the end of the year, he is showered with gifts and she is lucky to get even one. This is something that makes her sulk every year, even though she knows its coming.

It is not the money. Teachers are well paid for their jobs and do not expect parents to pay for gifts. Like all presents, it is the tokens from the heart that mean the most. The hand written note from the parent saying thanks, with a hand drawn picture. These are the treasures that the teacher will tuck away and bring out on a bad day to brighten their mood.

A small flower or plant they can put in their yard is also a nice gift. A jar of home made jelly or preserves are always appreciated as teachers rarely have time to make their own.

A small token of thanks can make a teacher feel good in a profession in which it is easy to feel unappreciated but stick with the kis (keep it simple) principle. And please don't forget the Jr. High teachers :).

Free post secondary education is worth investment

Investing in education is one of the most sensible things a government can do. It reduces crime, increases employment and encourages creative business ideas. There is strong correlation between years of education for females and reduced pregnancy rates, and in a world where the population growth rampant that is no small benefit.

Ireland, Germany, Denmark, Spain, Sweden and Cuba all offer free post secondary education to their citizens. Why do we want to burden new graduates with huge debts? The cost of college and university in this country is placing education out of the reach of many. Do we want money to determine who gets an education? That keeps the rich in power, possibly limiting someone with less money.

Although education is not a class equalizer, I believe that "equal access" to education is a fundamental value that benefits all society and therefore worth considering the next time we enter the polling station.

In this article liberal leader Michael Ignatieff voices support for the idea.

He believes that post-secondary education should be open to all students who have the grades to get in.

"We know that the key to future success, the key to a life of opportunity, is post-secondary education," he said. "You get the grades, you get to go."

He acknowledged that universal access to post-secondary education would be expensive, but said it is the right way to build the country.

Read more: http://www.edmontonjournal.com/business/Alberta+oilsands+need+cleaned+Ignatieff/3053915/story.html#ixzz0oawLBXtq

To write or not to write

In a recent press teleconference the provincial government was busy patting themselves on the back saying that they were correct and that the written portion of the diploma exams was not necessary for high school science and math courses. They said there were a few media articles at first but that the stats prove they were absolutely correct ... lol no surprise there. Alberta Education has become the master of manipulating statistics to say what they want and everybody knows it!

Every single high school teacher I have spoken to have said that the written portion of the exam was valuable and important. Personally, having taught high school Biology I can tell you that the written portion is very valuable. In fact I think they should have gone the other way and expanded the tests to include a practical experimental exam as well as a written and multiple choice.

Now the government has gone back on its intention to include written response exams in grade 3,6 and 9. One can't help but wonder what their reasoning was to add the written portion in the first place? Were they completely out to lunch then? Or are they completely out to lunch now?

"In a time of fiscal restraint, it is not appropriate to take millions of dollars away from schools to mark a written response which can be ably assessed by teachers in the classroom," MacDonald added.

Read more: http://www.edmontonjournal.com/news/Alberta+drops+plans+written+portion+achievement+tests/3007146/story.html#ixzz0nYlnXNcc

According to that logic, why not eliminate the standardized exams all together and just have teacher scored grades. I could support that. At least it would be more honest and kids would be evaluated on a variety of skills not just multiple choice test taking skills.

The value of standardized exams is highly questionable but if we are going to insist that it must be done lets do it right. I feel sorry for students having 50% of their grade based on one multiple choice test.

What frustrates me is that nobody seems to care! There have been a few teachers in our school division with the courage to speak up at first but where are the rest of the voices. The school board said they wrote a letter at the time.

Where are the letters? Where are the protests? Where are the petitions? Where are the parents complaints? Why are the colleges and universities not demanding accountability? If I were a school board member interested in taking a stand for education, this is one I would embrace because it is what is in the best interest of our students. I would visit schools and talk to teachers and collect names on petitions. I would take a stand. It matters! Eduction matters!

Can we not offer a division standardized written exam?

Is it enough?

I attended the press conference on this event by phone but it has been already been summarized in other articles so there is no need to re-write it all for you again. It doesn't involve any kids from our area, of course, because our kids are honest! :) We are not like those city types.

http://www.edmontonjournal.com/news/Sound+students+caught+cheating+math+diploma+exam/2971368/story.html

All that really happened to the students is that they got a zero on the exam and can't rewrite for one year. In the press conference, it was stated that this was a more sever punishment for these students then if they had been caught with a cheat sheet (or the modern electronic equivalent).

The cheaters wrote the test in January and because this form of cheating is so serious they will not be permitted to re-write for one full year until January 2011. It was stated in the press conference that if it was a less serious situation, then they would probably be aloud to re-write in June. That really doesn't seem all that serious of a punishment to me.

If the penalty for taking a cheat sheet into the exam is that you get a zero and you can re-write next term ... it might be worth a try. If I were a student who probably wouldn't pass anyway and the worst thing that will happen is that I have to re-write the test. Hummm.... kinda tempting.

Just a thought.