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Good Kopp, Bad Kopp

Gary Rubinstein — Fri, 24 May 2013 04:17:49 +0100

Two months ago I wrote about Wendy Kopp stepping down and two new co-CEOs of TFA taking her place. As the weeks have passed, I've been able to get more of sense of who these CEOs are and what their views are. Matt Kramer and Elisa Villanueva-Beard have been carefully chosen to be the faces of TFA. I am beginning to see how they each might embody one of Wendy's two public personas: There's Wendy the extreme corporate reformer who pals around with Joel Klein and who refers to TFA critics as 'haters' in commencement addresses. Then there's Wendy the moderate corporate reformer who writes editorials about how teacher evaluations should not be publicly released and who wrote a thoughtful response to my open letter to her. Though I still don't know a lot about either of them, it seems like Matt is the extreme reformer (Bad Kopp) and Elisa is the moderate reformer (Good Kopp). Matt and Elisa have embarked on their TFA Listens tour. Based on what they are tweeting about, they are listening, but only hearing what they want to. And what they want to hear is that schools are plagued by non-TFA teachers who abuse students with their soft bigotry of low expectations: Of the two, the one who I can relate to more is definitely Elisa. She has taught, unlike Matt, as a 1998 TFA corps member so she understands the realities of what goes on in schools. She recently spoke at her alma Mater DePauw University and made a very humble speech. In general she seems to be trying to welcome different ideas, though she doesn't always succeed at this. I'm having trouble understanding how Matt is qualified to be a co-CEO of TFA. I just don't see what he 'brings to the table.' Though I did appreciate that he responded to one of my twitter messages to him, I've found some of the things he's written to be a bit unusual. I know I'm not his media adviser, but if I were I'd advise him to stay clear of tweets like this: Someone must have brought up that ed reform is dominated by white males and Matt deflects the question by implying that the only other option is for them to 'abdicate responsibility.' I don't know. I suppose that someone can easily go through anyone's Tweets and find the least thought out one and pounce on it. Still, you've got to admit that this one is kind of strange. Whether you're a 'Good Kopp' or a 'Bad Kopp,' you're going to be enthusiastic of the TFA celebrities. In this change of leadership, all the reform superstars have retained their status, with the very conspicuous absence of public school enemy number one Michelle Rhee. It seems like TFA is trying to distance themselves from her, at least publicly. They didn't even publicize her recent autobiography. However they are still eager to promote Rhee's disciples. Rhee's ex-husband Kevin Huffman is the current commissioner of education in Tennessee. Tim Daly took over as head of The New Teacher Project after Rhee left to become chancelor of D.C.. Chris Barbic founded YES prep and now works for Huffman. Jason Kamras was one of Rhee's top deputies in D.C. and continues to do his damage there. And no matter what brand of 'Kopp' you are, a KIPP shout out is always in order. I'll continue to monitor the #TFAlisten tour and also continue to wait for them to come to New York. I've decided that as long as I'm permitted to go to a #TFAlisten event in NYC I'll attend even if I don't receive a hand-delivered invitation signed by both Elisa and Matt.

"Solve your own problems."

meghanelizabethdewey — Thu, 23 May 2013 19:41:11 +0100

Today, my classroom was exceptional. I spoke for a grand total of 3 mintues in each class. I had no new assignments. I gave no new lessons. I made no copies. I did nothing. Instead, my kids did the work. They sat down, held individual conferences about grades, and got to work on their final exams & projects. They found markers and chart paper and competed about who had created the nicest posters ("c'mon, man, you can at least put a border around that sheet of paper"). They asked questions, they answered questions, and they showcased what they had learned. I nearly teared up. At the end of the day, the measure of success as a teacher isn't the show that we put on each day -- the quirky hooks, the engaging lessons, or the performances that lessons can become. The end goal of teaching is to empower my students to do what they did today -- to sit down, work hard, and solve their own problems.

More highlights.

veroskk — Wed, 22 May 2013 21:17:41 +0100

I am continuing to enjoy the responses from my students' final exam essay (see this page if you have no idea what I am talking about: http://vskk.teachforus.org/2013/05/13/life-lessons-in-science-class/ ) So I thought I would share a few more with you...maybe I went a little (okay... A LOT) overboard, though, so skip through them as you like : ) Hope you enjoy them as much I did. She says she learned nothing and then changes her mind halfway through: "To be honest I really didn't learn nothing [sic] in Physical Science. I say that because I knew how to do it the first time I went over it but when I had to do it again I forgot. I did learn the Newton's Laws [and] a little about circuits. . . . Life lesson wise I learned about college. I learned to go research what I want to be in life. You also taught us to plan our future while we [are] in high school. I learn [sic] to set goals so I can put my mind to what I really want to do. I learn [sic] not to give up and keep trying. Ms K, its not your fault that I really didn't learn anything/. It was just that it was hard to me. What you did always teach me was not to give up. I did learn a few things, I just forgot it. I want to thank you for keep pushing me to keep trying and don't give up." I just love this in general: "The main thing I learned this year is how to make a homemade oven. I think its very convenient. A hobo can use this idea to cook some food or warm up a sandwich. I was thinking of giving these to hobos so they can not be starving. That would be a good idea. [It] could be my way of giving back to the community, that way I can get my blessings. Well, I hope I pass the test and I hope you can read this." If nothing else, I hope I taught my students how to study: ". . . Really, I learned a lot like pay attention when instructed because in college the teacher is going to say rules once. Another [thing] I learned is to focus, when there is a complicated question you do not know the answer to you stay focus [sic] and try to remember. Study is another thing I learned because if I would have studied and did my work the first my grades would be looking amazing." Awesome essay about the importance of energy in our lives: "The most important thing I learned in Physical Science was the way we consume energy. I learned about different types of energy I didn't know about. The energy we consume and use can convert into another type of energy. Kinetic Energy is the energy that moves with force. There are types of potential energy. Gravitational Potential Energy [and] Elastic Potential Energy . . . These energy can be useful to the world and other around. I can take this information and go a long way with it. Anything is possible. I can build my own generator with electrical energy and convert into kinetic energy." This young lady was convinced she hated science, but I think I changed her mind : D "First off you know I didn't like science. But when I first get here I thought I was going to flunk your class because I didn't understand science. But throughout this year you have taught me so much. You not only explained whatever I needed to understand but you gave me that one on one time. . . . You taught me more than all this, but I guess these [are] the subjects I remember. But thank you for all you have taught me. All the cool things you showed me and for being a very unique person. I might not remember everything you taught me, but some things I do." A little somethin' somethin' about classroom expectations: "The most important thing I learned in Physical Science was being more respectful. I was already respectful but Ms K taught me how to be even more respectful. I thought in High School that you could get up whenever you wanted but it doesn't work like that. She said to raise your hand first before you do anything. She also told me not to talk when others are talking because that's not showing respect. . . . She told me that if I asked questions instead of just sitting there that I would learn more. I'm suppose[d] to pay attention at all times no matter what the distraction is. I'm even supposed to blow my friends off if they are trying to get my attention." More solar oven success: "The most important fun thing I learned in Physical Science is how to be creative. Making the solar oven was a great experiment for me. . . . After seeing what the solar oven can really do when the sun is actually out, it gave me a shock. It was really amazing, surprising, and fun. . . . So, Ms K I want to thank you for coming up with this wonderful idea. You was [sic] the most fun and enjoyable teacher of all. -Thanks for helping me with my career choices." And again: "I think the most important things I learned in Physical Science is solar ovens, force, and gravity. It was great making solar ovens. It help me warm food up when I be on trips [sic]. It also help me learn how to make my own. If I'm at home and the oven breaks I can make a solar oven." I think this is very thoughtful...: "I learned the things that you may think [are] small [are] the most important. I learned that the decisions I make are sometimes good and sometimes they are not." From a young lady whose attendance left something to be desired: "The most important thing I have learned this year in Physical Science is life lessons. I learned that you should always come to school everyday because if you don't you'll have bad grades and they will cause you to fail. . . . When you miss days you have to make sure that you get your work that you miss. You also have to make sure you're paying attention in class." Respect, Responsibility, and Accountability (you'll remember this if you are an avid blog-follower of mine: "The Most Important Thing that I learn[ed] in Physical Science is Responsibility, Respect, and Accountability. With Responsibility you've to stand up for what you believe in and [for] Respect you must give it in order to receive and that respect goes a long way in life. Ms K I have learned a great deal of stuff from Physical Science such as matter, mass, energy-the different types . . . you filled my mind with knowledge of how things word around us and the way that life works inside and out. But I think the transverse and the longitudinal waves are my favorite . . . Ms K to be honest with you this is the class that I really learn the most from. You've always found a way to make learning in a fun way and that we still get something out of it and I appreciate you for doing your job as my teacher Ms K. And the life lesson that I've learn[ed] from this classroom is to never give up on your Dream." A young lady taking responsibility: "I learned a little something in Physical Science. But it's a lot of things I don't know. Mainly because I don't pay attention. . . . I don't think Physical Science is easy, but if you keep your head up its not hard either. . . . I learned that Physical Science is a part of life." Young lady with the highest average in Physical Science: "The most important thing I learned in Physical Science was EVERYTHING! All I learned was important because it can help me later on in life. Physical Science is a very neat subject. I love it. Everything we did in Physical Science was fun. I really loved the experiments the most. . . . Physical Science is Awesome or it just might be that I love science, I don't really know but I hope to in the future come upon this subject [again]." From a young man who has faced a lot of hardship this year: "I learned science isn't always hard. When you [are] having problems don't be scared to ask your teacher. . . . Ask your teacher questions. . . . I learned all teachers aren't mean. And if you talk to your teachers and they see that you care AND [are] trying they will help you. Thanks." One of the top things I tried to stress with my students: "Physical Science has something to do with every part of our lives." And another: "I come to find out that Physical Science is stuff that deals with everyday life and how thigns work." The joys of an organized notebook (this girl keeps one of the neatest notebooks of all my students): ". . . I also learned about being responsible. Before I came to Physical Science I was very unorganized. I learned how to keep all my work in my folder. Plus, I learned how to color coordinate different items in my folder. . . . Thank you for all the things you taught me and I am very happy you didn't give up on me." Another notebook shout-out: "I liked the way you had us to get a notebook [sic] to keep all of our notes in so we could keep up with them. That really helped me a lot because when you gave us study guides all we had to do is refer back to our notebooks and all the information we needed was right there in it." Trying to change the reality that Mississippi has the lowest ACT scores in the country: "The most important things I learned in Physical Science is how to take an ACT [test]. It showed me how it will look and how long I will have to complete it." This is from an essay that was excellent, but he definitely ended on a silly note, quoting something I wrote on my board after the rat incident and an ant infestation...: " . . . Also I learned that Ms K likes to keep the critters out. No eating or drinking in class. I am leaving Lanier with my PAWS. Positive Attitudes Working Successfully." Ohhhh, deadlines: ". . . This year I've also learned that deadlines are extremely important and the real world won't accept excuses. Oh yea! I also met this cool teacher named Ms K, and yes she's the best science teacher ever!! : )" From a young man who always felt this class was important: "I learned that when you make a goal be sure that you put your mind to it. Physical Science is something that I need in college. I want to be able to fix on cars and I will need Science to do so. . . . I learned how to let people know how I'm feeling when I walk in a clsasroom. . . . I learned for myself that Ms K is the greatest Physical Science teacher I know. Ms K wants nothing but the best for her students. I learned from Ms K that my home was made like a parallel circuit. I learned that you can use the things outdoors to help you do what you have to do." He told me he couldn't write three paragraphs, but that he really put his heart into it: "The most important thing I've learned this year is that learning is fun. I really enjoyed taking your class. You have made learning fun from making raps/songs to working in groups. Making class experiments was my favorite. Everyday we learned something new. My favorite project was the wavelength description using the slinky. You made all of us feel loved and I hope to see you next year." This one made me a little sad: ". . . I think fin this class from me just being quiet and very observant that I've lost track of time and knowledge. The class I'm in the people are very disobedient ignorant, and very rude to each other and the teacher. I can say I could've learned a lot and probably remember [it] if my classmates weren't being so rude and disruptive. I can say I've done well with tests. . . . My teacher has taught [me] discipline and given me opportunities outside and in the classroom." A different young lady from the same disruptive class: "The most important things I've learned in this class is PAWS. Positive Attitudes Working Successfully. . . . I like the fact that you would write to us in our journals. That shows in many ways you care about our thoughts. . . . You always had a positive attitude with us even when the students would have a nasty one. . . . My favorite day was when you showed us a clip of a young woman pumping her gas and once she entered car and got back out . . . it caught fire. I went to the gas station with my father and he did the same thing. He wouldn't listen to me one bit. Once again Ms K, I thank you so much for all your help and I'd like you to know it would take me far in LIFE!" Sharing with others what you learned? Awesome: "Physical Science has helped me understand things about life. . . . I enjoyed all the videos we watched. Especially the one about the gas station. I never knew you could start a fire by getting in and out of your car to pump gas. I wish we could've watched more. I had went home a couple of times and shared with my family some of the things I never knew like Newton's Laws, different energies. . . . I enjoyed Physical Science. I'm kinda mad that I had to miss class the last couple of weeks just to get prepared for the US State Test. I know I missed out on a lot and my grade went down and I be failing the tests I know that'll usually get an 80 or higher on. But I wont' forget all the great things I've learned." ALL the way back to MATTER! (I'm so impressed): "First one of the things I learned in Physical Science was MATTER!!! Matter is something that takes up space. It may be shocking but we are matter. For example, when you're sitting in your desk or anywhere you're taking up space. Second I learned about something that's dealing with why dark colors attract heat quicker than light colors. . . . Finally the last MOST important thing I learned was circuits. There are two MAIN circuits and they are parallel and series circuits. Parallel you have more wiring and a series is just one loop. If I were to build a house I would use parallel because it has more loops." A brief professional Friday shout-out!: "The most important thing I learned this year in Physical Science [is] about Responsibility and being Respectful. Also I learned about other people's jobs, when we had professional Friday, and sometimes on Thursday. I can also say that you really tried hard to help us understand the objectives that we go through as a class. . . . But this past year has been a blast for me and I hope for you, too. The most important thing I also learned was about my career, and I know more about criminal justice than I ever did and Thank You!" Well at least someone learned the importance of homework: "I learned a lot of different things in Physical Science. Not only was it different things in science I would have never found interesting before this class, it was life lessons that made me think and aim more for my goals in life. The first thing I learned was 'practice makes perfect.' even though homework was not my favorite thing, it taught me to put my knowledge to the test out side of school. When [there was] something I didn't understand like isotopes, I got plenty of worksheets and I grew to love them. Finally, my life lesson was that it is more things in this world I will enjoy other than photography. I saw that I am interested in the law and actually want to pursue a career in it." Physical Science is real life: "This class help me realize how to call out things when I see it[sic]. For example, if someone happen to push another person and that person bust their head, then I can say, 'The force that was input on that person cause them to hit their head as hard as they did.' Physical Science was a learning experience but also fun at the same time. . . . . I enjoyed [making the solar ovens] because now I can still cook me something to eat if my mama throw me out the house [sic]. This class also help me more with math. Since then I [have] been scoring advanced. Physical Science [is] reasonable and a great class to learn about our everyday life." From one of my favorite essays of all. This young lady wrote almost two pages describing what she learned about solar ovens in great detail, explaining how the ACT helped her, and what she learned from her research project. Here is a short excerpt from the end: "Finally, but not least, I've learned a lot about my career path. Even though I didn't finish doing my research paper, it taught me a lot that I didn't know. I've learned how much money they make. I also learned what major to take and what colleges have it. My goal and dream is to become a neonatologist. I love working with babies. Having you as my teacher was the best thing ever. You made sure that you kept [us informed of our grades] and did your best to try to help us pull up our grades. I couldn't ask for a better teacher like you. I'm going to miss being in class and seeing your face. : )" ". . . Last, Ms K taught me how to be patient. She also taught me how to be very alert and pay attention more. In ending this, I would also like to thank Ms K. It's been a pleasure to be in this classroom." My dear, the pleasure has been mine.

In other news...

meghanelizabethdewey — Wed, 22 May 2013 19:26:24 +0100

Reading through my blog, I have also come to a wonderful realization: that this blog doesn't contain all of the important turning points in my life from this semester. That there are chapters & plotlines that exist outside of the confines of this screen -- ups and downs alike. Why is this such a wonderful realization? Because it means that I have a life outside of school. That Meg has had time to breathe again, beyond her role as Ms. Barnett. I AM A PERSON.

Why I Came to School Today

meghanelizabethdewey — Wed, 22 May 2013 19:12:46 +0100

Today has been far from perfect. The last few weeks have been far from perfect. Some mornings, it can be tough to remember why we're all still coming in each day, especially now that testing is over. But there are a few moments -- moments when I know that what I'm doing counts -- that I want to remember: -- TB4 playing Geometry Vocab Hangman on Tuesday. It was the day after the tornado, and everyone was a little bit dazed (with a majority of our student body on a field trip or otherwise out). So, we played a game -- and my students lit up. -- TB 5 completing our "analyze your own statistics" activity. We've been reviewing fractions & decimals through the lens of stats (and a "civic engagement" mindset at school -- what information do you want to know about your school? What questions do you want to ask fellow students?). As the bell rung today, no one moved. No one stood up. They were all engaged in finishing their work. To compare that moment to the beginning of the year, when they couldn't leave my room fast enough...it's night & day. -- TB7, where I am currently sitting, as my students are all silent & on task & churning out work. One student, MG, is writing her own math problems & solving them on the board -- creating new challenges. Today, I came to school for JF, a senior who needs to make up assignments & seat time to meet his independent study requirements. A student who has worked hard and is close to reaching his goal -- and needs me to simply show up to help him be there. I came for a single student, but I remembered how I can be here for them all. And really, all of this is icing in the cake. Today, I'm asking myself to be grateful for coming to school at all -- to a building with water & electricity & safe students. That we have to use each opportunity to learn. We're lucky to be here at all. Thinking of Moore, thinking of my students, thinking of finishing the year strong. This work is incredibly tough for too many reasons to count, but here we are.

The Tornado

daltongoodier — Wed, 22 May 2013 15:06:07 +0100

I was I my classroom, waiting for a parent to show up when the administrators came over the loudspeakers. “Everyone in the portables needs to evacuate into the main building.” We’d heard rumors of storms and had been told by our principal to come to school prepared for some rough weather but so far we hadn’t yet experienced anything. As I stepped outside of my classroom, the rain was just beginning to fall on the portables. I lingered for a few moments because I didn’t have a class and was afforded the luxury of helping other teachers evacuate instead of being directly responsible for my own brood. As the last students scurried into the building, small bits of hail started to fall and thus began my experience with what many have been calling the worst tornado in recorded history. All every sense of the word, we were lucky. All of the southside schools spent much of the afternoon on lockdown but none of us received any real damage. In fact, it was impossible for us to know just how bad things were on the outside. Internet and cell services were spotty at best and so I had no idea that such devastation was occurring in Moore, a scant couple of miles away. This was my first ever tornado experience and all it looked like to me was a bad rainstorm with hail mixed in. Parts of the school’s parking lot and walkways flooded but that was the extent of it. The craziest part was the fact that the school was in lockdown until 45 minutes after school would normally dismiss. As we went in to lockdown, an inordinate number of parents started showing up looking for their kids. If you’ve ever seen RMS, you know that the building is designed to survive the worst. It might not be aesthetically pleasing, but I couldn’t believe that parents wanted to take their kids out of this fortress of a school back to the wooden one- and two-bedroom houses that so many of my students come from. In the end we had most of the families come in and take shelter in the gym until things passed over. After we wouldn’t let her take her son home, one mother declined our offer, saying that she’d left her two other kids at home and had to get back. As she walked away, I could only shake my head. All in all, the kids were great throughout the entire experience. No one had a meltdown and I haven’t heard of a single instance of disciplinary problems. The students hunkered down in their safety locations and were able to ride out the storm in good spirits, which made everything so, so much easier. For us, the storm ended as quickly as it started. We went from hail and pouring rain to sunshine and a settled mugginess within the span of maybe two minutes. It took us a while after to dismiss, but at that moment we knew we’d gotten through. Busses ran late and today we have no running water (you read that right- for our whole school!) but all things considered, everything’s been nothing short of perfect. It wasn’t until I finally followed the last student out at 5 that I realized how bad things were. Once I got far enough north, I regained cell reception and was slammed with about 30 texts from friends and family all over the country asking if I was okay. Twitter was dominated by the news. So many of my fellow Corps Members took to Facebook, telling their loved ones that they were okay. Only when I started to see all these things did I realize just how bad things were. Things didn’t entirely sink in until I got home and watched the news with Uncle Pat and Gramps. My thoughts and prayers are with those in Moore. Four of my good friends live there but their house was spared. The outpouring of love and offers to help from all over the city and state have warmed my heart. My MTLD and the Executive Director of TFA Oklahoma both reached out to me personally to make sure I was okay, which meant a lot. It was quite an experience for me and my kids, but it doesn’t begin to compare what those in Moore are dealing with. For those looking for a way to help, you can text RED CROSS to 90999. Be safe everyone.

Rough day

Mr. K — Wed, 22 May 2013 01:03:56 +0100

I drafted a lengthy, pensive yet optimistic, I-can't-believe-it's-already-the-end-of-May kind of blog entry during my prep today... and then period 6-7 happened. It was, without a doubt, the most out-of-control 109 minutes I have experienced in my two years of teaching thus far. I had kids falling asleep, shouting at each other, refusing to sit in their assigned seats, throwing erasers across the room, stealing pencils, lying about stealing pencils, complaining about ClassDojo, and challenging me to breakdance / arm wrestle. At one point, VM even walked up to my computer—which has a touchscreen—and started moving stuff around in the SMART Notebook file. (Granted, this was during Trashball when it's much harder to monitor who's doing what, but still—in what universe is that okay?) I eventually called an administrator, who came and removed the most egregious offender from the classroom (JT... more on him in a future post). But that only brought the misbehavior down to a marginally tolerable level—and then only with literally nonstop behavior narration. In the last ten minutes of class, I made the executive decision to stop the lesson, which wasn't sticking anyway, and have a conversation about the mayhem we had all witnessed that class period. I won't pretend the outcome of that conversation was transformational, because it wasn't—not even close. It consisted of half the students complaining about how I'm always on their backs about doing work, and the other half complaining about how the first half always slows the class down. To be honest, I really just needed the break to regain some semblance of composure, and at least it succeeded in that regard. In retrospect, while I am extremely disappointed that my freshmen demonstrated such a lack of professionalism today (especially after we had made some progress last week), I don't think I could have handled the situation any better in the moment. I never lost my temper, I maintained a firm voice throughout, and in the end, half the class still defended my actions as a teacher. I also could not have planned the lesson much more effectively, given the time constraints of creating three lessons a day, and I certainly could not have expected this afternoon's broken AC or extreme humidity. More than anything, I comfort myself with the knowledge that my other classes are going strong and are well on their way to meeting their big goals. I guess it just stings that after two years of experience, I can still have such a terrible period of teaching or be so helpless amidst chaos. Must keep pressing on. "I can do all things through him who strengthens me."

Overheard in Chipotle...

abcde — Wed, 22 May 2013 00:49:28 +0100

"You were a real nice teacher, Mr. K!" -T.R., former student, after chatting with me for the first time in 2 years. I'm working in DC for the summer, and I'm living in the same neighborhood as before. This, of course, means the inevitable--bumping into students on the street. I was standing in line at Chipotle this evening when I noticed T.R. We caught up. It's crazy to think that the last time I saw her was two years ago--and that she'd graduated from high school already. How time does fly...

Moore,Oklahoma Tornado

gdwest999 — Tue, 21 May 2013 04:51:33 +0100

Tomorrow morning, the headlines will be dominated by a huge tornado that destroyed 30 square miles of Moore, Oklahoma today. Moore is a community that is just south of Oklahoma City. The OKC metro area is huge. It extends from Edmond and Yukon in the north (possibly even Guthrie, to be honest) and goes all the way down to Norman. Moore is a densely populated area with many new homes and nice, upscale businesses. This is what was left in the trail of the tornado's 2 1/4 mile base: The twister destroyed an estimated 500 homes, a movie theater, several businesses, and most horribly, two elementary schools. So far several elementary school children were found drowned inside their school. There were several stories of devoted teachers who covered their cowering students with their own bodies to protect them from flying debris and saved their lives. One man recounted his team having to pull a car that was thrown through the wall of a school off a teacher who had three children underneath her. None of them survived. The devastation is unimaginable. It looks like a tsunami wiped the landscape clean. Blocks after block, nothing was left standing. Some of the meteorologists say this was the worst tornado ever witnessed. Debris from Moore is still falling in Branson, Missouri some 250 miles away. At our school, we received the notification to head to the designated shelters shortly before the storm came through. We were about 5 or 6 miles north of the area. Our school has lots of discipline problems and very few of the kids ever want to comply with the instructions during tornado or fire drills. They wanted to argue with us as we insisted they get into position. It was incredibly frustrating. Here we had school children dying just a few miles away and our kids only wanted to give us pushback and backtalk. I find this incredibly frustrating. My military experience taught me the need to be obedient to regulations. Sometimes you don't always know why you need to obey. There's not always time to ask questions and get answers before we comply. Immediate compliance could mean the difference between life and death. It frustrates me that, even in a real, life-threatening emergency, our students don't take anything seriously. I approached one girl who refused to get into the safety position next to the wall and I told her emphatically, "Look, this storm has just destroyed two elementary schools a few miles away! Get down on your knees!" Her answer was, "F**k them! I don't care!" That's so disturbing! It's one thing to struggle to deal with the achievement gap and problems like investment. We're so far away from that at my school, it's unreal. Our kids need to have lessons in human empathy first, not reading or math! Their lives are so messed up that we have to teach them how to be human first. How do you invest them in learning when they're really not even invested in life? I don't mean to sound cynical, but it's more important to teach them to care about other people. They laugh when someone hurts himself or herself. They rejoice in the misfortune of others. It's no wonder that many of them don't care about reading better or improving their future chances in life. Seeing this callousness and lack of empathy is troubling. The death toll is far from final at this point. I don't know if I'll be at school tomorrow. OKC wasn't hit by the storm, but it took me five hours to get home because of the roads that were closed. If it takes that long to get back, I would have to leave in about 15 minutes (it's almost midnight now) to arrive in time. I'm grateful that the storm didn't hit my home or neighborhood and I'm thankful that it didn't hit our school, also. I mourn for the loss of the children at the two elementary schools and the inevitable grief to be experienced by the parents. I don't worry that the kids I teach will be too traumatized by the incident. I worry that they'll be nonplussed by it. If you're a praying person, I invite the reader to invoke whatever deity you worship and ask for blessings for our neighbors in Moore, OK. While you're at it, send a few bucks to the Red Cross or other local charities. They'll need all the help they can get.

At KIPP, at least for 07102, zip code is destiny

Gary Rubinstein — Mon, 20 May 2013 10:51:52 +0100

One of the most annoying phrases uttered in ed reform is some version of 'poverty is not destiny.' Occasionally they mix it up a little with something like 'zip code is not destiny.' The implication is that there are some people out there who think that every person born into poverty or born in a particular city is doomed to become an uneducated adult. I don't know anyone who believes that. What many people do believe, though, is that students born into poverty or into a particular zip code that correlates with high poverty are less likely to, for example, graduate college than students born into the Beverly Hills 90210 zip code. I don't think that even the most vocal 'reformers' think that improving schools and teachers will be able to overcome all the out of school factors to completely equalize the college completion rates between two zip codes representing such different demographics. The 'reformers' just think that they think that schools are less limited in their influence to do this than the 'status quo' defenders. As the 'reformers' never really commit to numbers that they think are realistic or would define success, it really is an empty phrase to just say 'zip code is not destiny.' A few months ago, a Arkansas KIPP executive director even wrote an Op-Ed entitled 'For Students, zip code does not define destiny'. Newark, New Jersey, is an excellent example of a city where charter schools have flourished over the years. A TFA alum is even the chancellor of schools in Newark. KIPP schools are the gold standard of charter schools and have been in Newark for some time. According to their website they have five schools there serving around 1,800 students. Two schools are elementary, two are middle schools, and there is one high school. One of the middle schools, the RISE academy, if often hailed as a true 'miracle school' that defies the odds with its amazing test scores. One thing that KIPP does which I respect is publish an annual report summarizing the statistics of its over 125 schools. Though they leave out certain information which I think is relevant, they leave a lot in which paints a more accurate picture of their successes, which in some cases are quite limited. Looking at page 75 of the report, we see what sort of achievement in high school was accomplished by the students who graduated from the miracle two KIPP Newark middle schools. Their SAT score was 1250, which is extremely low, only 416 per section. When it comes to AP tests, only 31% took AP courses and only 2% passed at least one AP test. With their numbers this means that just one student in the entire school passed an AP test. If the amazing KIPP Newark middle schoolers are kids who peak in 8th grade, what good is that? But this only tells a small part of the story. I found two other sources for information about this school's performance. The first is on the KIPP Newark website where they report the unusual demographics of this school. At the bottom of this page we learn that this school has nearly 60% girls. There have been studies about how high attrition is for black boys at KIPP and this is further evidence about this. Combine this with some facts from their New Jersey school report card where we see that in addition to this unequal balance of boys and girls, there is, for some tests, an incredible 'gender gap.' For example, in 8th grade language arts, 71% of boys scored proficient or better compared to 89% of girls. Another thing I found on the state report card is that the Newark KIPP network does suffer from attrition. Notice how the recent graduation class of 55 students was 71 students three years earlier. Two years ago, when KIPP released their 2010 annual report, I wrote about how they admit their student retention rate was only 88%. When you lose 12% of your students a year, that amounts to losing about 40% of the students who begin a KIPP middle school in 5th grade by the time they are supposed to complete 8th grade. Two years later, that figure has not changed at all. While I do appreciate that they are willing to admit this statistic, it is amazing to me that education writers don't write about this more often. I know that the attrition isn't solely from students who have been 'counseled out' (unofficially expelled). Sometimes families have to move for reasons out of their control, but I'd think that if KIPP were so great many families would find a way to have their child continue there. KIPP has received a lot of money on the facade that they have the secret to getting amazing results from the 'same kids' with the 'same resources.' Their own reports and publicly available data from New Jersey clearly show that their success is extremely limited. Yet, they continue to expand and to be used by politicians as evidence that 'reformers' know what they are talking about. How long this will continue, I don't know, but I have to believe that it won't be for very long.