250 Take 3 - The Other Side of the Equation

Introduction: This is similar to take two, but I felt it necessary to slightly change my argument after reading the following article from the Washington Post: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/10/07/AR2010100705078.html

"The Other Side of the Equation"
[A growing number of major news agencies and school leaders are highlighting the importance of helping ineffective teachers transition into new careers, however, there has been an inadequate discussion of the other side of the equation; creating and molding excellent teachers. First of all, there needs to be increased recognition of the importance of great public school teachers and improve their prestige, pay and diversify the opportunities for promotion. Outside of the three "P"s, there needs to be a change in teacher education. A degree in teaching should be synonymous with the most arduous of majors. Increasing the rigors of these programs will help separate the wheat, those truly dedicated and interest in changing the lives of their students, from the chafe, those entering the profession for seemingly steady employment prospects and government-employee benefits. Furthermore, distinguishing the merit of a degree in education will promote the prestige of teaching and discourage the adage that "those who can't do, teach." Finally, there needs to be an overhaul for the continued development of teachers; no longer can staff meetings be considered "professional development." Administrators must make adequate, meaningful, and deliberate time for real development, both within teachers' daily schedules and during separate professional development days. Additionally, oversight and following through to ensure these sessions are effectively achieving the desired end of continued improvement is needed. Overall, improving teacher quality must be as central as the elimination of under-performers because otherwise public education will lack the necessary effective, long-term change.]

Word Count: 245

All the caveats given for the other two drafts apply to this one as well.

In other news, this past week I worked with one of the sixth grade teachers at the school, Cristina, to develop an anti-bullying program to be implemented by the older students educating the younger students about bullying, why it happens, its harmful effects, and how to change it to create a more positive school culture. Today we "trained" the older students in what their responsibilities would be for this campaign and to be honest, I was concerned with how this would "stick" with them. First of all, due to the difference in dismissal schedule, we needed to break the training into two sections: the 7th and 8th grade student leaders were led by Cristina and I had the 9th and 10th graders. I don't know many of the 10th graders and so I wasn't sure if a lack of a personal connection would inhibit our time together, but I was blown away in such a positive way by their response. I am intrigued as to how successful the program will end up being, but I am hopeful! I hope all are doing well!

My goal for tomorrow: 250 Take 4 - "Frat Boy" - get excited lol

Gracious Indonesia

According to the marquee, flights were supposed to leave from gate A2 every thirty minutes. Consequently, there were a lot of people around the gate waiting for their flight to take off. However, it seemed there were delays (typical airlines...some things change, yet some stay quite the same) and about five minutes before the scheduled boarding time for the flight to Solo, there was an announcement causing about half the people at the gate to clear out for A5. While I have gotten to the point where I can usually follow Bhasa, or at least understand the key information, the announcement was too fast and over a PA system, thus I wasn't sure if my flight or another was changed. Apparently my bewilderment was apparent to a guy near me who, as it turns out, works for Halliburton (or in his words, Dick Cheney's company...) He was there with his wife and two children and was gracious enough to synthesize all the subsequent announcements, talked with me about life, and made sure I got on the right flight. This experience has highlighted one of the best aspects of my time in Indonesia; the friendliness, hospitality, and genuine concern for fellow man by its people. The Indonesian way of life and way of being is something I will forever keep with me. Off to bed because the conference starts early tomorrow.

Frank Sinatra = Bro

We're currently wrapping up midterm season at Mentari, throughout midterms, both grades have been working on projects. The past few days I've decided to play music during their work periods and came to the conclusion that Frank Sinatra is a total bro. His music provides appropriate background noise for a classroom setting because tunes like "New York, New York" allow you to smile and hum along while you work without being totally distracted. Furthermore, Frank is just so classy and definitely would've been a Kappa Sig at William and Mary :) - you can just hear it through the music lol. Also, today we (and by that I mean for the different classes, I needed to have a little variety in music for my sanity, so "we" many not necessarily be accurate lol) listened to a variety of a capella music and while it wasn't Buffers, it was pretty solid :). Tomorrow I'm going to a Math/Science professional development opportunity out in Solo. The actual conference will be taking place Saturday morning and afternoon, but rather than have a ridiculously early flight, the school is flying us out tomorrow afternoon. I hope everyone is doing well, I miss you all!

250 Take 2 - Improving Educators

[The George Bernard Shaw quote of "he who can, does; he who cannot, teaches" is a disastrous and far-reaching sentiment that, over time, has come to define public opinion of the teaching profession. However, if one does not have an in-depth understanding of the material, then one cannot teach the material justly to every student. Everybody approaches problems in different ways, and thus to teach with lasting understanding, one must not only comprehend a single way to solve a problem, but have mastery of multiple methods. These great demands are neither properly recognized by society, nor appropriately taught in teacher training courses. Learning to think like a classroom full of diverse-minded students, that is to constantly use multiple methodologies to problem solve, is difficult because of the high demands on educators' mental agility and ability to think on their feet. Consequently, undergraduate teacher training should be revered with the rigor equivalent to those in engineering programs or their peers who are pre-med. Education School needs to be an arduous rite of passage that distinguishes its graduates for the immensity of their calling. As a nation, we are at risk of losing our future generations and the full potential of our children without necessary changes in both public sentiment and teacher training. Education is too serious to be at the center of such a quip, we need to edit Shaw's words to meet the demands of our time: "only those who can do, can teach."]

Word Count: 243

Similarly to Take 1, this is equally rough, but I'm just throwing spaghetti on the wall until an idea sticks and merits a full editorial process. Let me know what you think (and thanks for the thoughts on Take 1, reading oratory is a little more difficult)

Also, I'm very intrigued in the Michigan/Michigan State game. I'm surprised that both of these teams are still undefeated, so this should be an interesting litmus test (or a continued coming out party for Denard Robinson) Additionally, given the quality of the Michigan spread offense and the incompetence of the Greg Robinson-led (yes, the same Greg Robinson who led Syracuse to a 10-37 record over 4 years...) Michigan defense, the shoot-out should be fun to watch!

When Respect is Due

Dad, I now have greater expectations for your landscaping ;) This was from the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Amazing, ornate, and beautiful things all around! Respect! :) (yes, Dave, that was for you :) lol)

Now for a College Football Rant: (for those disinterested, this is your cue :) lol)

I don't know if it's a hold-over from Michigan being my second-choice for undergraduate, but I've never really been a fan of Ohio State sports. My dislike of OSU sports is probably also due to my pension for supporting the David's against Goliath's (where OSU has been a Goliath throughout the Jim Tressel era), but Ohio State deserves respect for continually putting themselves in a position to be in the national conversation in football. Yes, there is a lot to a program beyond scheduling, but it's definitely a factor (just ask Boise State fans). Over the past nine years, Ohio State has had 35 non-conference games. Of these, 29 of them have been played at home. In a given year there are about four non-conference games and of these four games, Ohio State schedules one game against another national power in a home-and-home series (recently USC, Texas, and Miami), but the other three are played in the Horseshoe against patsies (ie the football powers of Ohio, Youngstown State, or Marshall).

Consequently, going into Big Ten play each year, they have created a setting in which they are pretty much guaranteed 3 wins, and if they get lucky (or every other year when it's a home game), they go into conference play undefeated. Part of the reason Ohio State can get away with this is due to a consistent strength of schedule in Big Ten games, but also because the one game against the national power creates enough positive press to forget about the other games. Furthermore, Ohio States' proximity to so many MAC schools (Ohio, Bowling Green, Akron, Toledo, Eastern Michigan, Ball State, Miami of Ohio, and Kent State) provide a plethora of patsies for them to pay $250,000 a game to come into the Horseshoe (which has a capacity of 102,329, so you do the math whether or not they make out ahead thanks to that game lol) and get beat each year. These MAC schools, because they play in FBS and not the FCS, create significantly more legitimacy to their schedule instead of UMass, New Hampshire, or Colgate who offer about as stiff competition.

Either way, Ohio State has created a system that maximizes profitability, winning percentage, and national recognition. Florida State has the national recognition part down (as three of their non-conference games were against perennial powers Florida, Oklahoma, and Brigham Young - I include BYU here because they think they're national enough to go independent. I think they're drastically over-estimating themselves, but that's a completely different matter...) Needless to say, major conference ADs should take a page from OSU's playbook if they want to help their program continue to be profitable and gain national prominence so despite disliking the Buckeyes, I have to give them my respect. (Them and Brian Cashman, that dude is also a genius.)

250 Take 1 - 6th Grade Pep Talk

[Sixth grade is a time of transition and finding oneself. Inspired guidance and motivation can help students achieve both of these goals while smiling so this is how we start the year:

"Welcome to the first day of your new job! You graduated from fifth grade, but this is the Big Leagues; you have to move between classes, the material is more in-depth, eighth graders loom in the hallways, and you have one hundred new sixth grade friends. Middle School isn't easy, but we will all be successful here because "you work hard to get good, and then you work harder to get better." All of you, each and every one of you, are good, but we need to work harder to get better. We will be pressed for time and will have to work efficiently each day, but that's because we are working harder to get better. We will have this attitude every day in class because we are what we repeatedly do, and we are people with a purpose: working harder to get better. We are making excellence a habit; it is not something we can turn on or off at will. We play in the game like we practice because superstars don't form overnight so our practice is going to be excellent. Mistakes will happen, but we are at ease with mistakes because it is through mistakes and correcting them that we learn and don't forget. So welcome to the first day of your new job; let's become great together!"]

-Word Count: 253

Some of the phrasing isn't exactly how I want it yet, but further editing will wait for one of these to come out on top. Picture of the day: Ab's kids really liked how this picture shows the presence of lichen in Angkor.

Under the Weather

The frequency of posts has not kept up with the initial pace because upon returning from Vietnam and Cambodia, I got quite sick. Fortunately, two weekends of rest and relaxation have me approaching 100% again, but unfortunately, I haven't had the time to properly devote to my law school applications. Consequently, the next few posts will be aimed at fleshing out a 250 word essay, the theme of which I can't finalize and so I'm going to write up multiple and post them just so we can start to get a feel for the whole process. Today's 250 theme will be an analysis of a Paul Krugman article, but others will include SNAPing, a charter school quote about "one hundred, one percent reasons for success," and a classroom welcoming. Any other suggested themes are welcome. Below is a picture Ab really liked when going through my album of Angkor pictures.