5-minute Advanced Placement class video

Check out this 5-minute video clip that was featured in the NYTimes Op Ed video library on January 25. "Op Ed: Advanced Pressure." I think every student who takes or considers taking an AP class should see this. I think every parent of every student who takes an AP class should see this. And, I think every AP teacher should see this, too.

My favorite quote in the video clip is from Dr. Deborah Stipek, Dean of the School of Education at Stanford:

“One of the original purposes of AP classes was to give students a jump start on taking college classes, and I think there was some belief that there were some students who were really ready to take college level courses. Unfortunately, it has turned into a kind of gate keeper to many universities. So now it’s not going deeper, really challenging yourself, it’s how many AP classes can I rack up so that I have more AP classes than the people I’m competing with? High school now has become preparation for the college application; not even for college, just the college application. And it creates a mentality that is expressed very well by my daughter who after her AP French test, said, ‘I never have to speak French again.’”

Add to that the insanity of GPA inflation. Imagine a world where the highest possible GPA was 4.0. Well, actually, I lived in that world when I went to college (20+ years ago) and getting into state universities was not nearly as difficult as it is now. Back then, only the brightest students took AP courses in high school and usually because they excelled in those subjects and had a real desire to learn more about them, not because their counselors, parents or friends suggested they take them to add weight to their GPA for college applications.

If you liked this video clip, check out the entire movie “Race to Nowhere.” The DVD will include extras like this clip. And, please feel free to pass along this video link to anyone.

Do you have any comments on AP classes, grade point inflation or college admissions?

The Tipping Point

I just read “The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference” by Malcolm Gladwell. In it he talks about how epidemics start. He theorizes: “in order to create one contagious movement, you often have to create many small movements first.” In fact, “small, close knit groups have the power to magnify the epidemic potential of a message or idea.”

So, I think of real education reform and I agree that has already begun with many small movements. Take a look at my sidebar “Recommended Blogs and Websites” for a list of people and organizations that are rethinking traditional education. Each one of those sources has links in it to more sources of reform.

Gladwell also suggests that “if anyone wants to start an epidemic… he or she has to somehow employ Connectors, Mavens, and Salesmen…to find some person or some means to translate the message of the Innovators into something the rest of us can understand.”

When I hear this I think of a few poignant films that are currently in production that expose flaws in our current education system. “Race to Nowhere,” “Flunked the Movie,” and “Waiting for Superman” are three examples of documentaries that examine our failing education system and begin to address reform.

In addition to films, how can we get the message out to the masses about education reform? According to Gladwell, we need to do this through Connectors, Mavens and Salesmen.

Connectors: “Sprinkled among every walk of life, in other words, are a handful of people with a truly extraordinary knack of making friends and acquaintances. They are Connectors… The point about Connectors is that by having a foot in so many different worlds, they have the effect of bringing them all together.”

Mavens: “A Maven is someone who wants to solve other people’s problems, generally by solving his own...a Maven is someone who solves his own problems—his own emotional needs—by solving other people’s problems.”

Salesmen: “What separates a great salesman from an average one is the number and quality of answers they have to the objections commonly raised by potential clients.”

“[In] a social epidemic, Mavens are data banks. They provide the message. Connectors are social glue: they spread it. [And there are also] Salesmen—with the skills to persuade us when we are unconvinced of what we are hearing, and they are as critical to the tipping of word of mouth epidemics as the other two groups.”

“Connectors, Mavens, and Salesmen are a little different. They are distinguished not by worldly status and achievement, but by the particular standing they have among their friends. People look up to them not out of envy, but out of love, which is why these kinds of personalities have the power to break through the rising tide of isolation and immunity.”

I like that -- ordinary people with extraordinary talents. This is who will ultimately steer the tipping point in educational reform.

Tales of a 4th Grade Homework Assignment

I received this from a parent of a 4^th grader the other day. This was the homework assignment one night for her child:

“Math 8-7 We never actually did work pages in class, so a review of the

lesson is probably going to be necessary before the quiz is taken. We did a

lot of hands on activities instead.

Reading literature book chapters 15-19 - book chat with buddy tomorrow

Writing - final copy of persuasive speech so practice of speech can happen

in front of the mirror to know what bullet points should go on 5 x 8 card

for Thursday/Friday presentation of snowman.”

If you asked many different parents and teachers their opinions of these assignments, I bet you would get many different responses ranging from – “this seems reasonable” to “this seems ridiculous.”

When I look at homework assignments two things come to mind. How long will it take my child to complete the homework, and is this homework really helping him learn or get excited about the things he is learning at school?

The first issue (time limits and quantity of homework) can be discussed with teachers. Even though many teachers will say that each child is different, and what takes one child 30 minutes to complete may take another child 3 hours, this doesn't have to be the end of the discussion.

As a parent, if you find yourself in a conference, phone call or email with a teacher discussing a situation where your child spends too much time on homework, be prepared for the above answer and have your response ready.

My suggestion is that you mention all of the other things your child could be spending his time on instead of homework – chores, cooking, play, reading for fun, walking the dog, sleep, sports, music, art, downtime, etc. – that are as important to your family as homework (or more important!).

Also arm yourself with the knowledge of your district’s homework policy and mention the time guideline to your child’s teacher if your child is regularly spending more time on homework than the policy suggests. Chances are the time limit issue can be somewhat resolved if the teacher is willing to work out an arrangement with you.

But, the bigger question here is – is this homework helping my child learn and/or get excited about what he/she is learning at school? So, this becomes as issue of quality of homework and teaching. And, unfortunately, there’s no easy way to talk to teachers about this. But, that doesn't mean you can't try.

In the above homework example it looks as if the teacher wants the parents to teach the math lesson to the child even though he says it’s a “review” yet he admits that they never actually did the pages in class. He also says they did a lot of “hands on” activities in class. This sounds like he is asking the parents to do the boring work at home with the kids because they only have time for the interesting activities in class.

What would you do in this situation? I would ask my 4th grade child what he did in math class that day and see if he retained anything from the activities. If he remembered the lesson, then he’s done and ready for the quiz, if not, I’d send the teacher an email politely saying that he didn’t remember the math lesson and would he/she mind re-teaching it? I would also politely ask the teacher if he/she routinely expects the parents to teach what he/she doesn’t have time to cover in class. If the answer is “yes,” then I’d send an email to the principal with my concerns.

In addition to this math work, the 4^th grade child also had 5 chapters of reading due (in a book that was teacher selected), writing a final copy of a persuasive speech and practicing it, and working on a presentation for another day. It sounds like it will take most 4th graders more than the National PTA endorsed limit of 40 minutes for 4th graders to complete. And where is the time alloted for reading for pleasure?

The parent of this child told me that her other child, who is a senior in high school, regularly has less homework than her 4^th grader!

So what else can you do as a parent when you see your child doing homework for too long, or doing homework that is uninspired or busywork? Arm yourself with the latest research on homework. There are many homework books and articles listed on my sidebar that are full of relevant information on homework for parents and teachers. Here's a quick link from The Case Against Homework: http://stophomework.com/fact.pdf And here's an article from Alfie Kohn's website: Rethinking Homework. Or, send your teacher a link to my blog. Or, ask your teacher if they've seen the documentary Race to Nowhere.

Share these books and facts with others and keep talking with other parents. Once you’ve exhausted yourself talking with other parents, start having conversations with the teachers about your concerns. Even a polite email can do the trick. Or, a telephone conversation or conference is even better than email. Or, buy one of the homework books listed on this blog and give them to your child's teacher as a gift. It may spark a debate at school and get teachers to re-think accepted homework practices.

Ask other parents in your child's classes how they feel. If more than a couple of you feel the same about a homework assignment or teaching practice, have each of you email the teacher. One email about a particular homework issue can be ignored, but five emails from five different families about the same issue make an impact.

Sometimes, unfortunately, teachers become defensive when you approach them with homework concerns. When this happens, don't give up. It is okay to respectfully disagree and use that experience as a learning lesson to better prepare yourself for your next discussion with an educator.

Is Race to the Top a Race to Nowhere?

No Child Left Behind sounded like a good idea when it was first introduced. Yet, in its implementation, it seemed to do more harm than good with its unintended consequences and didn’t help President Bush’s reputation any. Now, I’m concerned that Race to the Top is just NCLB with a new name.

I took this portion of a letter from the CA Race to the Top website:

“On November 18, President Obama and U. S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan announced eligibility and selection criteria for states to compete for $4.35 billion in Race to the Top funding, the single largest pool of discretionary funding for education reform in U.S. history…We are proud to stand with President Obama, Secretary Duncan and Leaders throughout California in calling for reforms that will strengthen our education system and help ensure our students are prepared to succeed in school and beyond…That is why we are competing for the Race to the Top funds – so that we can put more money into our classrooms and give our students the chance to fulfill their dreams.” -Arnold Schwarzenegger

Sounds good, huh? But what IS Race to the Top?

RTTT includes 4 areas of reform:

1. refining current academic standards,

2. providing new support for teachers and principals to improve their effectiveness,

3. enhancing local data systems and coordinating them with California's, and

4. dramatically turning around the lowest-achieving schools.

Looking deeper into the RTTT website I tried to get more information on each of these four issues. This wasn’t easy because most of the information was about the funding and the requirements for applying for RTTT. And, I couldn’t find a definition for “LEA” so I’m assuming it is “Local Education Authority” but I may be wrong. Here’s what I did find on these four issues (after considerable searching):

1. “Are we going to revise California’s standards?

The standards that California currently has are generally recognized as world class high standards. The State of California, along with 47 other states, has agreed to participate in the consortia of states looking at a common core of standards. The legislature is currently considering having California adopt the common core with some additional standards to ensure California retains its rigor. If the Legislature calls for their adoption, we will pursue adoption and implementation over a reasonable timeframe.”

Well, this doesn’t sound very different from what we already have as far as state standards is concerned. And the language is very vague. I’m not convinced the standards will change, and if they do, how will they be better? So then I think, well, maybe the focus of RTTT will be on the teachers…

2. “Who is going to define an ‘effective teacher?’

Ultimately the LEA (Local Education Authority?) will create the definition of an effective teacher. The State will create the new growth model that measures student growth from one year to the next; this measure must be incorporated into the LEA’s definition of an effective teacher. However, LEAs may also include other measures as they develop their definition of an effective teacher.

Will there be a ‘pay-for–performance’ component to the State’s plan for great teachers and leaders?
 According to federal guidelines, participating LEAs must implement some form of compensation that is tied to the measured effectiveness of their teachers and leaders; the LEA will ultimately need to determine how to design their local system to meet this requirement.”

I’m not convinced that the State can accurately measure a student’s growth and the language is unclear about what the definition of an effective teacher is. It is also undecided at this point how the LEA will measure teacher effectiveness as it applies to compensation.

3. I couldn’t find anything in this website about how RTTT would enhance the local data systems and coordinate them with California’s current data systems.

4. “If the state is mandated to intervene in the bottom 5 percent of low-performing schools, what happens if an LEA that has these schools does not participate in Race to the Top?

The LEA would still be responsible for implementing one of the four federally-prescribed intervention strategies as part of our federal School Improvement Grant (SIG), but would not be responsible for the other areas of Race to the Top.”

None of the information I found on the website about the lowest achieving schools convinced me that RTTT would dramatically turn around these schools. In fact, it just sounds like more of the same type of federal funding currently in place for low achieving schools.

Much of the information about RTTT involved the funding. Here’s an example of a funding FAQ:

“How much could a participating LEA expect to receive if California wins Race to the Top?
 While we understand one of the main questions that LEAs may ask asks about the estimated amount of an LEA’s Race to the Top award, it is very difficult for us to provide an accurate assessment of the amounts for any individual LEA. We do know that if California wins this grant, the State could receive between $350 and $700 million. In addition, we know that at least 50 percent of this money must be distributed to participating LEAs based on the Title I formula. However, because we do not know the total size of the final grant, nor the number of LEAs and schools joining the effort, we cannot estimate an amount for participating LEAs. 


What will an LEA’s reporting requirements be for Race to the Top?
 While there is flexibility in how an LEA spends its Race to the Top funding, we want to be very clear that LEAs will be held accountable for documenting implementation and progress toward benchmarks. We have not yet developed the specific reporting requirements that will be asked of LEAs; when we have more information on this we will share this with you. The reporting required for Race to the Top will be supported by the funding LEAs receive.”

Race to the Top sounds like more time and money spent on paperwork than on engaging students in learning. I don’t always want to be a skeptic, so if there is anything positive about RTTT, please someone, share it with me.