Mar 25, 2008
Posted | 16 comments
Google Analytics, Feedburner and a few other programs give me solid data about traffic on this site. Some pieces tank, some get consistent attention - and it’s anything but an exact science.
One of the posts that has truly surprised me was a brief bit on teachers dressing professionally [re-posted below]. I wrote it in March of last year after spending a day in a public high school and it’s as true - if not truer - today as it was a year ago.
But I did leave something out of the original post.
The day that I wrote it, three separate students asked me if I was rich. It happened frequently at this small-city school.
What made me look so wealthy? A white shirt, a tie, slacks - all clean and pressed properly - and polished shoes. That’s it. Nothing fancy.
The most basic standards of professional dress were so far above and beyond what passed for normal teacher attire in this school that many of the students assumed I was wealthy. I felt bad for the district when I realized that.
Jeffrey S. Solochek of the St. Petersburg Times has followed up on a 2006 blowup about whether teachers in Pasco County, Florida should be subject to a dress code:
A committee of teachers and administrators convened by superintendent Heather Fiorentino, who identified the issue as a problem, completed its review of teacher dress Thursday by deciding that there really is no problem.
The group agreed that attire matters, even suggesting that it deserves a prominent mention in new teacher training. But it deemed the district’s current policy, which says the staff should dress in a manner that “will add dignity to the educational profession,” as quite sufficient.
The committee suggested that the rare cases involving inappropriate attire can be addressed by the principal.
General George Patton said that you must, “Always do everything you ask of those you command.” Maintaining a professional appearance and demeanor in a school is an important part of education. If a teacher doesn’t demonstrate the utmost pride in their appearance and respect for themselves, no one should expect the students to follow suit.
That means a teacher must:
- Dress neatly, wearing professional attire that shows students that you care about your appearance and are proud of it.
- Wear clean, ironed clothing. Dirty, wrinkled clothes are the most prevalent (and needless) problem I see in schools. If you don’t like ironing, buy a bottle of wrinkle releaser. It’s $3 and works in 30 seconds.
- Have a variety of outfits - don’t wear the same thing every day. You need not have an extensive wardrobe, just some standard tops/bottoms and a basic knowledge of how they can go together. If you don’t know how to do this, ask your sister, mom, or stylish co-worker. They’ll be glad to help. [If you're a male teacher, make use of ties to mix up your appearance.]
- Conceal any obnoxious additions to your body, e.g. tattoos and piercings. This is not as obvious to many as it ought to be.
- Wear clothes that fit. Clothes that are too tight, loose or revealing are distracting and reflect poorly on you.
- Avoid “business casual” attire when possible. It looks lazy. It’s the equivalent of getting a grade of C. You know, just enough to get by without taking too much heat for it.
- Keep current. You don’t need to read GQ or Elle every month to look good. If your clothes are out of style, stop wearing them to school. Students don’t take you seriously if you wear badly outdated clothes.
If you want respect, you’d better look and act as though you deserve it. A well-dressed teacher suggests (actually, it’s more like “screams”) that there is an important purpose for his/her presence in the class. To most adults, clothes reflect a person’s seriousness of purpose - and they’re right. Kids think in more simplified terms; they’re even more likely to equate a well-dressed teacher with seriousness.
There is no excuse - none - for being a teacher and not dressing well. It is a necessary part of the job with which you are charged (and which you have chosen). Your personal preferences and comforts mean far less than the students’ rights to encounter positive examples of adult behavior. Think you can’t afford to dress well? Saturday I spent $95 at Macy’s and got a suede jacket, a tweed suit coat, a microfiber windbreaker, two pairs of dress slacks and two chic ties.
The Education Wonks sum it up well when they say, “Maybe it would be a good idea if those who wanted to be treated as “professionals” dressed professionally.”
If you don’t want to take it from me, take it from the high school girl who last week called me “divalicious.“
Mar 20, 2008
Posted | 5 comments
[Note: To print this piece, I suggest viewing it on the Chicago Sun-Times site and printing from there.]
Months ago, the Cooperstown Central School Board of Education authorized the creation of an Athletic Hall of Fame to celebrate the high school careers of its most accomplished athletes. Led by Athletic Director Michael Cring, the Hall of Fame committee begins by considering nominees - players, coaches, and personnel - from before 1970. Up to five inductees will be chosen from that era.
About six years ago I attended an academic conference on the state of the social sciences. A professor there with whom I talked remarked that Cooperstown, “… likely gets more mentions [in a day] per capita than any town or city in the world.” He was probably right. But even in a place like Cooperstown - with the National Baseball Hall of Fame, the New York State Historical Association, The Farmers’ Museum, the Fenimore Art Museum, etc. within a stone’s throw - our historical memory atrophies.
There are few alive who can recall the decades-old exploits of others with any sort of precision. If it didn’t have intense personal or national significance, we tend to forget it slowly.
Imagine playing a game of ‘telephone’ - a difficult enough game as it is - where those in your circle are constantly replaced by people with a different message. After a few rounds, our message would be almost wholly lost to a degree even greater than what makes the game so much fun for children. That’s the current state of much local history, partly due to rapidly-changing demographics and partly due to rapidly-changing priorities.
Cooperstown High School once was separate from Hartwick High. SUNY Oneonta professor Alexander Thomas detailed their consolidation in his book In Gotham’s Shadow, a study of the effect of economic changes on three towns in Upstate New York:
By the middle of the 1950s, the New York State Board of Regents was actively encouraging the consolidation of school districts in both urban and rural areas. As in other forms of upscaling, school consolidation ultimately would benefit larger communities over small.
In September 1956, the senior class of Hartwick High School started the year unaware that they would be the institution’s last graduates. Members of Hartwick’s school board contemplated a consolidation with Cooperstown throughout the winter and spring of 1957…
… On April 17, 1957, the Cooperstown Freeman’s Journal reported that the two school boards agreed to send Hartwick High School students to Cooperstown High School and begin discussions of consolidation. In less than four months, a decision that would dramatically alter both communities had been discussed and decided. [original text from Google Books]
Thomas cites a column from Oneonta’s Daily Star that mentions the effect this would have on area sports:
In a column … describing a Hartwick man who could “name the heroes, goats, records, pitches, and situations over the past few years with the quickness of an IBM machine,” the rhetorical question was raised as to what the man would do in the absence of Hartwick High School:
“Next year? Jim hasn’t looked that far ahead, but we’ll put a bob on the line that he’ll know the facts and figures on the Cooperstown Redskins forwards and backwards . . . Thus, educational progress has ended a sports era.”
“Jim” refers to Jim Hamilton, a tireless, unparalleled sports fan who - as that column attests - knew it all about area sports.
Hamilton, who is now deceased, took too much of that knowledge with him. I talked recently with a long-time staff member at Cooperstown who said, “I have no idea when Hartwick merged with Cooperstown.” It would be folly to think that many in the community could recall the accomplishments of Hartwick High’s outstanding athletes. Fifty-plus years is just too long.
On March 15th, the due date for nominations, I submitted to the committee a brief description of Francis “Bugs” Schweitzer’s athletic career at Hartwick High. Those who lived in the Town of Hartwick - about 6 miles from Cooperstown - remember Schweitzer as the finest, most accomplished athlete that the school ever produced.
My father grew up in Hartwick and attended the school until the forced migration to CCS in 1957. I asked him who stood out in his memory of Hartwick athletics. He didn’t hesitate for a second: “Bugs Schweitzer.”
I spent a few days researching Fran’s career for the purpose of nominating him for the Hall. That’s when I came across a neat photo [in which he doesn't appear] and a wonderful bit that gave some context to Hartwick sports. The Chicago Sun Times picked up the post via syndication; I continued researching.
It occurred to me that I’d even come across Schweitzer’s famed athleticism in fiction. I pulled out a copy of BC Stevens’ Warriors of a Morning Calm and thumbed through the pages. Stevens’ Korean War memoir has ample chapter-space devoted to Hartland High, the fictionalized version of the real HHS from which he graduated [Class of 1952]. Stevens’ main character played 6-man football with Frank Miller:
“Frank was Hartland High’s six foot two inch quarterback, running back, outside linebacker, basketball center - you name it, Frank could do it.”
It hit me that Frank Miller is Fran Schweitzer.
I pored over 1950′s HHS yearbooks and chased up a few clippings, including a feature article about Fran that appeared in the Binghamton Sunday Press on March 6, 1953. There was plenty to make the case that this prolific athlete - who held Section IV’s career scoring record in basketball, who averaged over 25 points per game years before the 3pt shot, who pitched a no-hitter for HHS, who led the 1952 HHS football team to an unbeaten, untied 18-0 record in Tri-Valley competition, who was elected to the Section IV Hall of Fame in 1975 - deserved a place in the inaugural class of inductees to our district’s Athletic Hall of Fame.
Things got busy - as they often do - and I tabled the nomination.
Fran “Bugs” Schweitzer, born on July 4, 1934, died on February 4, 2008. I never met or spoke to him; he died without knowing that he was to be nominated for the Hall - or that those in future generations would recognize and remember the outstanding athleticism that made him a legend of a school long forgotten.
“Talk ye of all his wondrous works,” Fran’s senior quote, is taken from Chronicles 16:9. It’s preceded by Chronicles 16:8 which advises that we, “call upon his name, make known his deeds among the people.”
I’ve pasted below my talk of Fran’s wondrous works - my calling upon his name, making known his deeds. One can only hope that the committee will listen.
Nominee: Francis Thomas Schweitzer [“Bugsâ€]
Nomination Category: Athlete
Athlete’s Graduation year: Hartwick High School, 1953
“The Hartwick School in this Otsego crossroads contains 26 boys and no gym. Of the eligible males, 23 play varsity or J.V. basketball in the low white wooden hall next to the feed mill.†- Binghamton Sunday Press, March 6, 1953 feature on Francis Schweitzer
Schweitzer attended HHS after arriving from Rahway, NJ in the 7th grade [1947]. He began his legendary athletic career immediately, leading Hartwick’s small rosters to victories that began Hartwick’s pre-consolidation dominance in football, basketball and baseball.
Schweitzer gained statewide fame for his athletic exploits; he excelled in baseball, football, basketball and volleyball. In basketball, he led to HHS to several Tri-Valley title games and playoff appearances, including averaging over 25 points per game in a season before the 3pt line. He held the Section IV scoring record for 24 years and in 1975 was elected to the Section IV Athletic Council Hall of Fame.
Francis also played for the Cooperstown Indians baseball team while in high school.
His physical ability was so recognizable – and so obvious - that he inspired the character Frank Miller in BC Stevens’ “Warriors of a Morning Calm.†From the book:
“Frank was Hartland High’s six foot two inch quarterback, running back, outside linebacker, basketball center – you name it, Frank could do it.â€
After a stellar high school athletic career, Schweitzer attended nearby Hartwick College on an athletic scholarship. He entered the Navy in 1956 and, after being discharged, completed his degree at SUNY Oneonta. He extended his community service into teaching, working for the Lindenhurst School District for over 30 years.
Francis, who harbored a love for our area’s athletics for over 50 years, died on Feb 4, 2008.
His HHS resume at a glance:
• Baseball: 1, 2, 3, Captain 3; League All-Star 1, 2, 3, Section All-Star 3
• Football: 1, 2, 3, 4
• Basketball: 1, 2, 3, 4; Captain 3, 4
• Volleyball: 1, 2, 3, 4; Captain 2, 3, 4
• HHS Athletic Association 1, 2, 3, 4
It is with the utmost sincerity that I commend Francis Schweitzer’s athletic career for examination by the Cooperstown Central School Athletic Hall of Fame. Schweitzer exemplified commitment, performance and scholarship during his playing days and after his graduation. His career in the Cooperstown Central School system teems with merit worthy of recognition as a legend in the annals of Cooperstown athletics.
Mar 17, 2008
Posted | 37 comments
I’m not an anti-union guy; I can even tell you how “Union Maid” is based on “Red Wing,” give alternate lyrics for each and play it on the banjo. I don’t sing very well, though.
I’ve mentioned in the past some bits that appeared on Edwize, the UFT’s blog. There’s subtle contempt for all the non-educators: parents, businesspeople, researchers, etc.
If you’re not [or haven't been] in the trenches, you generally don’t count.
It’s an argument that I don’t find compelling, but there are good ways to make it and important points to be discussed. That’s why I wanted to parse the comments of today’s Edwize diarist, a first-year 2nd grade teacher in NYC.
Here’s one of our trench-lieutenants giving us an excellent glimpse into flawed teacher education, poor administration/mentoring, and a bizarrely-inexperienced attitude about it all.
Surviving Parent Teacher Conferences
“My first round of Parent Teacher Conferences in November went fairly smoothly. The parents were kind and supportive, and as a first year teacher, I was secretly surprised by how confident they were in me and my judgement [sic].”
They went smoothly - that is good. We should aim for parent/teacher conferences that go smoothly [even if they sometimes don't]. Saying parents were kind and supportive *might* be condescending… I can’t tell yet.
But you were shocked that parents, most of whom are good people, want the best for their children and have faith in their school system, gave you the benefit of the doubt. That’s a little disturbing.
I am not confident in your ability to spell “judgment.” [Fine, fine, the teacher may be British.]
“Sure, I had been a little more critical this time around, but I felt I could back up all the number grades I had given with work samples, and all the behavior comments with specific examples. Shows how little I know.”
You *feel* that you have evidence? That’s the neat thing about evidence: it’s there or it’s not. Feelings really don’t factor in, especially when you’re trying to bolster the meaning of data.
What you’ve shown here is how little you know. But you’re a first year teacher, so the situation isn’t as dire as it might be.
“This round of Parent Teacher Conferences felt kind of like being in combat. I had many parents who were disappointed and wanted answers.”
Woah! The nerve of those nosy buggers!
“The conferences I had ranged from the bizarre to the tragic. I had one mother who pulled out her ipod phone and asked if I would mind being on speaker phone with her husband since he couldn’t get out of work. I didn’t feel I could say no.”
Oh, that’s weird. Downright freaky.
First, it’s an iPhone, not an ipod phone. Second, why on earth would you say no? It’s just a conference call. You should be thrilled that they’re making efforts to get both parents in on the discussion.
Is it really that awkward?
I hate to break it to you, newbie… but this is New York State. Any of those parents could’ve recorded your conversation and you’d have never known. That’s legal. Maybe it happened, maybe it didn’t, but you’re freaking out about a phone in plain view that allows you to speak to both parents at the same time.
“My attempts to explain what was happening with their son were interrupted by him saying “I can’t hear you, please speak INTO the phone.—
Oh, that’s terrible! Does your health insurance cover therapy for PTSD? I hope so.
“Then there was the mother who refused to get her daughter evaluated, despite years of pleading from teachers and the administration. During the course of our 40 minute meeting, she pulled out a copy of what she said was a writing sample she had just pulled out of her daughter’s backpack, with much of it erased and written over. The handwriting didn’t remotely resemble her daughters. When I told her that the handwriting didn’t look like her daughters, she told me I didn’t know what I was talking about. She flatly refused to even consider an evaluation for her daughter who has already been held over and who struggles in all subject areas.”
That is incredibly frustrating - I feel bad for the kid, the parent and the teacher[s]. I’m sorry that any of you have to deal with situations like this. I have no idea why the parent would go to such lengths to *avoid* help for her child, but I’m sure it’s a complex situation. I am with you on this one.
“Then there were the parents who demanded to know how I came up with a two (below grade level standard) for their daughter in spelling.”
This is a reasonable thing, despite your tendentious language. Demanded! Those rapscallions… those parents and their sense of entitlement…
Parents deserve simple, clear answers to questions like this. They’re asking about methodology and evidence - it isn’t hard to satisfy their inquiries. If your conclusion is genuine - and if you know the difference between your [redacted] and your elbow - it’s an easy question that you should want to field.
“The mother wanted to know why I hadn’t given progress reports until now, and the father said it felt like the grades I gave had come out of nowhere and were a complete surprise to them. It was only later that I realized I should have said that the whole point of report card was to give them a progress report.”
That you think report cards that come out every 10 weeks are an effective way to communicate students’ needs to parents worries me.
A lot. A lot a lot.^2
“I was very surprised by how many parents seemed upset about minor behavior comments. I wrote lengthy comments about each student, many of them glowing. The behavior comments I wrote were extremely tame, often nowhere close to describing what their child has been doing in class. But I learned that parents react strongly to even slight criticism of their son or daughter.”
Congrats on writing lengthy comments - too many teachers don’t take advantage of opportunities to communicate. I don’t know why you’re surprised, though… plenty of parents feel responsible for the behavior of their young children. I’d argue that all the good ones feel it. Do you really need to be a parent to see this?
“During the course of the day, I also began to really doubt my own management skills. As a first year teacher, I of course have struggled with management so I realized that it was very likely me and my own management skills that have been the problem.”
You probably should doubt your management skills - few first-year teachers [those few being the stuff of legend] have a handle on not only classroom management/planning, but also managing relationships with parents. Doubting skills breeds realization [in theory] and then you can take necessary steps - going to a mentor or even reading - to get better.
I wouldn’t blame yourself, though. If you went to ed school, they had 4 years with you [assuming you're waiting on that MA] and failed to teach you about the most seminal professional relationship that you’ll have as a teacher: teacher and parent.
If you pursued alternative certification, you didn’t have 4 years of training, but for whatever reason - likely time constraints and opportunity cost - they didn’t cover it properly.
You should not have entered the job unprepared. The training to which you were subjected failed to equip teachers with all the basic skills they needed to teach effectively.
But even if your training wasn’t adequate, your administration should step in. If your supervisors aren’t helping [or can't help] find someone who can. You are at a public school in Brooklyn, not an 18th century one-room schoolhouse in the isolated wilderness of Kan-tuck-ee.
You are also an adult who is capable of seeking out resources to solve problems, so maybe you should blame yourself a teeny bit.
“One funny conference with a dad turned into a half-hour conversation about the fate of Gov. Spitzer with only a short mention of his daughter’s progress. I have a feeling his wife may not let him go to conferences alone next time.”
This is your fault. It is your responsibility to keep the conversation on task. You’re the teacher - lead the conference.
I’m not suggesting that you shouldn’t have some candid [read: "normal human being"] conversations - it’ll lighten the mood and open up parents - but you chose to have a fun, easy conversation instead of talking about the student. That’s bad and I don’t find it all that funny.
“Overall the PTC’s this time around were a huge learning experience.”
You bet!
“I am not sure how or if I will change my approach next year.”
Oh, you’d better. [And yes, the bold/emphasis is mine.]
Especially if you’re going to remain teaching in New York State where I’m paying .00000000000000000001% of your salary and benefits. [Oh, and also if you're sincerely interested in becoming a good teacher and/or having the slightest bit of self-respect.]
Please “change [your] approach” for the sake of the students and their families. You’re writing on the Edwize blog, for the love of God - something tells me there are competent educators in the UFT Rolodex. Go talk to a good one who can help you develop your relationship with parents.
Then go talk to some parents and people in the private sector. Then try out the strategies. Then evaluate them, rinse and repeat.
One thing I love about organization-blogs is that they can give us such rare perspectives on what those organizations do - and don’t do - well. Thanks, Edwize! jeu de poker en lignetexas holdem frtexas holdem francepoker 770 gratuitesholdem poker onlinejouer au poker argentjouer streap pokerjouez au poker gratuitement,poker gratuitement,le poker a télécharger gratuitementpoker texas gratuitesregles poker holdregle poker omaharegle pokerjeux gratuitstexas holdem jeu gratuitesapprendre texas holdemstrip poker en ligneworld championship pokerstrip poker gratuitesdes règles du pokerregle du poker texas holdemparty pokerpoker en ligne sans argentplay free seven card studjeux de pokerplay free 7 card studtriche poker onlineamerican pokerpoli poquerjuego al instante paginas webjuego de poker pcseven card studrevista pokerjuego streep pokerplay omaha poker onlineholdem poker reglaspoker torneos gratisjuego de poker para descargarpoker para jugarpoker instrucciones de juegoel poquerpoquer 7juego del poker en lineaplay 7 card studpai gow poker webplay poker omaha freejuego al instante portales internetjuegos de poker en españoljugadas pokertexas holdem rulespoker com
Mar 13, 2008
Posted | 34 comments
Graham Wegner is annoyed that the rest of the world doesn’t share the same opinion about the spelling of “Celsius.”
In truth, Mr. Wignar, there’s only one way to spell it: Celsius. It isn’t “celcius” today and it won’t be tomorrow. That’s because astronomer Anders Celsius was the first to create a temperature scale with 0 as the freezing point for water and 100 as the boiling point. We pay homage by invoking his name for that system. And, as I’m sure we’d all agree, names aren’t a matter of opinion.
The Fahrenheit system is also named after a guy. We capitalize both Fahrenheit [F] and Celsius [C] because they are names.
Gramm spits some snark toward the oppressive masses that make up Wikipedia:
“I pride myself on my spelling ability. So much that I can get indignant when confronted with the accusation that my lifelong memory of a word is actually incorrect. But who can argue when the Wikipedic wisdom of crowds defines the right spelling for me…”
Well, Grehim, I’m not accusing you, I’m just telling you that you’re 110% wrong and that there’s absolutely no basis for your objection. You could’ve read all the way to the third [!] sentence of the Wikipedia entry on “Celsius” and seen this:
“Celsius†is named after the Swedish astronomer Anders Celsius (1701 – 1744), who developed a similar temperature scale two years before his death.
But you didn’t. You made a cartoon and wrote a blog post instead.
Worghner wraps up with this:
“Luckily for me, perhaps I’m merely contributing to the evolution of the English language…”
Haha! Oh, Grimm, you charming little scamp. That quip is almost as predictable and banal as me spelling your name wrong 5 times in this blog post.
What bothers me most about the post isn’t Wegner’s attempt at the lighthearted/humorous - I’m sure most of his readers chuckled. It’s the 7 comments to his blog post that really concern me.
I’ll summarize them:
- Love the hat!
- Paragraph citing irrelevant research that has become a pop culture meme
- Your hat looks like a pith helmet
- I can’t spell accommodation***
- Wegner explains that he’s wearing a bucket hat
- Commenter mentions something about a surname
- Someone posts the full lyrics to “Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off”
The usual drivel - nothing remarkable here. Except for Comment #6, that surname bit, which suggests gently that:
“Well, since it’s a guy’s surname, perhaps we should try to get it right.”
Unfortunately for Commenter Karyn [whose blog is a good read, by the way], no one noticed or cared.
Oh, the Read-Write/Web 2.0 at its finest. It’s not what you publish, it’s just that you participate. Gold stars and hugs for all!
The rest - like the last names of seminal scientists or conceptual/historical links between our everyday term and a man 3 centuries gone - are just pesky details that, as Wegner foreshadows, probably will be lost over time. I just won’t call it “evolution.”
*** There’s a trick for spelling accommodate and its sisters. Say to yourself, “Accommodate is a large enough word to accommodate two Cs and two Ms.” You won’t spell it wrong again.
