Happy Birthday Big Daddy O!!!

Happy Birthday Big Daddy O!!


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President B.O.

Adam,

Glad to see you get so much enjoyment out of the election process. Congrats to you and the other millions of americans who did vote for him. Only four more years until Sarah Palin is President!!

Go Mavericks tomorrow night against Boonton!!!

Thoughts from our Evan

hot lunh yz the best day ov my lif.

tric-or-tretin yz the best day ov my lif.

Update on the Mavericks

Unfortunately, the Mavericks lost on Sunday (0-1) but what a game!! There was some amazing defense played out by Adam, Johnathan, Harrison, Gordon, Randy and I think Michael. I'm still trying to get all of the names straight. I took some photos of the game --- I think I need a new camera (see Christmas list) and Mark took a little video footage. These guys are stopping the ball, now we need to get it into the goal.

This is Adam sending the ball to the other side --- again, and again, and again! The team is starting to gel. I wonder what's going to happen over the winter break -- can they keep it together and come out strong in April?

Historical Voting Today

Well, Mom went to the voting booth today and voted for the 1st African American presidential nomination while Evan went to vote for 'dog' versus 'cat'. I hear that the dog won. Personally I prefer cats but you can't help but believe the dog would make a better president. They are so friendly and loyal. They do a great job of fetching things and follow orders so much better than our feline friends.

Hopefully, we'll have an idea how our country has voted latter tonight.

Somethings that crossed my mind today.. By Evan

I learned a new song today at music. It was about a gray cat and two mouses.

I was a Power Ranger for Halloween. It was the best day of my life and I loved getting five pounds of candy. And that was the best day of my life.

I'm going to visit my cousins for Christmas.

Thanks for the invite !!

Hi all -

First time blogger but so glad someone has asked me to join and participate. Well where should I start???

Feeling mighty full after over eating a plenty at Tiff's. Also feeling pretty frugal because I was able to convince my wife to order from the sunset menu and get me a free salad. Man what a filling apple crsip mountain of whip cream thing we shared.

Our little Mavericks played quite well today and should be very proud of their efforts. Our family team was on hand to root on number 8 in another well played game of defense.

This is Big Daddy O signing off singing off for now but keep the blog a blogging!!

My Halloween

For Halloween I was Hannah Montana! At first I was in Montville then I went to West Caldwell. I got 5 pounds of candy! I do not know how. My sister got more than me! I think she got the most. At my school we do a Halloween parade. That's when we walk around part of the school and the parents get to see our costumes.

Soccer Sunday (Montville Mavericks vs Madison)

Today is a big game day. I have a game at 2:45pm at home against Madison. We lost to them last time but we have been playing much better. We are going to win this time!! Its a great day the sun is shining and the temperature is 60 degrees.

My Final Thoughts

Reflecting back on the last four weeks, my first reaction is that the whole thing was a whirl-wind. It has been a wee bit since I was in a summer course and I've forgotten about the intense pace. Well, it took me about two weeks to adjust to that! Okay, so now I'm settled in and its over. What have a learned.... I honestly just thought this was an elective to "get" through. I had no intentions of working in an urban environment so what could I possibly learn from this experience? After I got over the initial panic of being "forced" to go to visit urban schools, I enjoyed the course. I was able to learn something about the art of teaching from teachers, administrators and the students. Each shared something about the passion that is needed to be successful. This is information that I take away and will use anywhere that I teach. I was also surprisingly interested in the urban schools --- I wondered to myself what if I worked there? I don't know if I will but its a thought that hasn't gone away yet.

For me the biggest challenge was getting reacquainted with writing and researching. I have my own personal beliefs about blogs and wasn't that thrilled that I had to write in one --- regularly no less. Its not that I'm not afraid of technology, I worked in the IT department of a large financial firm but I am concerned as a parent how kids are becoming so 'informal' with their communication skills. So, I wasn't comfortable using something that I'd rather not see my own children using. I was also out of touch with the sources for journals and articles. Interestingly enough, I found information that I can use in the future regardless of where I work and I know where to go to get more.

Foremost, I believe that urban teachers need to have a belief that the students can learn. It doesn't matter where the student starts on the assessment scale, all students can move forward. Secondly, teachers need to engage students in the education process. A student that is actively participating in the education (group discuss, projects, questions directed by students, etc) is one that is deeply learning not just surface learning. Thirdly, teachers need to understand that all students are unique - unique learning types, unique family backgrounds, unique strengths and unique areas for growth. If we understand that, then we can make adjustments to our teaching in order to reach all students. To be honest, I'm not certain that this is any different then the skills to be successful anywhere. I think that having an awareness of our preconceptions and misconceptions of urban schools will really be the guiding force in this process. If we can leave that baggage at the door, then we can teach -- nothing more, nothing less.

So, where am I on this journey? Not sure yet..... I'm in a cross between thinking teaching would be great and wow, I have a long way to go - how will I ever survive? I have pocketed a wealth of information that I will take with me. Articles that will help me as a math teacher and some examples and insights on how to do it right.

I certainly enjoyed the school excursions. I agree with Christine that it wasn't a true representation of the urban school system as a whole but I also understand that showing where the school system has gotten it 'right' gives us the bigger picture. Its almost like the high standard for us to set our sights. I want my students to enjoy my teaching as much as those students enjoyed/adored their teachers. I want to be as creative, energetic, caring and straight-forward as those teachers. I also took quite a bit away from the article discussions. Knowing that I would be responsible to participate in group discussion, made me read it (with attention to the content) and then want to share my thoughts. It was interesting to hear what other students got out of the same article.

In general, the course was organized fine with the exception that I would have wanted to know about the school excursion prior to sign-up for the course. Personally, it would have been easier for me to attend during a regular school session. The timing of the excursion was fine, we had a chance to start reflecting on our assumptions prior (with the help of the articles and the culture project) to seeing the opportunities and success stories that already exist. The blogging experience (as much as I wanted to revolt) turned out to be useful. It gave me a parking space for thoughts that came up in reference to articles and such that we discussed together or on our own. The website was a collective way to share what we learned as individuals and show us teaching opportunities along the way.

With the exception of the Halpin article, I thought all of the articles were a good representation of where many people have inaccurate assumptions about urban schools. I had trouble understanding the Halpin article, in and of itself and as it pertained to urban education. My favorite was the Bullman article -- it really shows how pervasive our assumptions can be and how they perpetuate the misconceptions.

My last thought, again with the blogging... as a teaching tool two things came to mind. One, if a teacher comments on your blog and not others are you showing favoritism, that you find their work more interesting, or possibly that they need more help. I'm from a family of 'fairness'. When I see that my teacher comments on some but not all I'm not sure what message that is supposed to be sending me. Of course, I'm an adult so I don't really worry about it. I know that I give me work the best that I can and that's that. I'm not sure that's the same view from younger students. Secondly, as a teacher if I use this tool and choose to comment I think I would drive myself nuts trying to find just the right words to say so that I don't give anyone the impression that I am grading the blog 'online'. It would not be fair to the student to indicate that they should have done/said something different in a comment that anyone can see.

I would have liked to discuss more articles on the subject matter rather than work on the website during class time. I found the time spent working on the website during class wasn't as fulfilling or insightful as the fieldwork and articles.

Study Skills

In the course of my former career (residential and corporate organizer of junk, paper and time), I came across several books on "organizing the student", student time management and study skills. I'd like to share some of the observations that I've made after reading these books, because in the end a student (urban, suburban, rural) that can keep track of the papers, assignments and after-school activities is a student that will have an easier time focusing on their education.



I first started reading "The Organized Student" by Donna Goldberg (Simon & Schuster, 2005) and found some really straight forward tips on organizing backpacks, lockers, and all the papers that go to and from school. Now, if you are not a naturally organized person this is all going to seem like nonsense. However, in middle school and high school you will be teaching many different courses to many different students. Unfortunately, not all kids can keep track of the homework that needs to be done for each individual course. As a teacher, there is much we can do to help steer a disorganized student to success. Before you decide that the student isn't putting much effort into the class, maybe we should take a look at the backpack and locker for clues. Time management and organizational skills are something that every person needs to succeed but lets face it --- some of us need to be taught and others just get it. This book focuses on the paper as it travels from the teacher, to the backpack, to the locker, hopefully home to be worked on, and then back to school again. It also covers some tips on scheduling time for projects, studying for tests, daily homework and let's not forget to schedule in the fun time.

Next, I went into the study skills (I have 4 children, so reading this stuff was completely worth the effort). What I found most interesting from all the books that time management is a key to successful studying. The student needs to make the time to study. I know for some kids this will never be a reality --- I recall a story of a boy from U High School that went to school, to work and then to bed. No time for homework in this student's life. This is not something we can change. For those that have the time, then we make sure they know how to set aside the right amount of time to study.

1. "Super Study Skills" (Rozakis, Scholastic, 2002) is a good guide for middle school and high school. It focuses on reading skills (get the most out of what you read) and test taking skills.
2. "Study Power; Study Skills to Improve Your Learning & Your Grades" (Luckie & Smethurst, Brookline Books, 1998) is a good guide for high school and college students. It is written by professors at Harvard who use these study techniques with their students. The book focuses on improving reading and listening skills, managing your time, your memory, preparing yourself for tests and projects.
3. "Super Memory Super Student; How to Raise Your Grades in 30 Days" (Lorayne, Little Brown and Company, 1990) is a good guide for high school and college students. It is a guide to use your memory to is its fullest.

If we start with the premise that any student can learn then we must provide them with the tools to do so: a good teacher and the skills to process all that they hear, see and do.

Quality of Teachers is Improving

I read an article called "Teachers Achieving 'Highly Qualified' Status on the Rise" on Education Week that indicates the quality of teachers is improving --- I'm happy to see that something good is coming out of NCLB. Of course, let's not get too excited because the lions share of the increase is in the richer neighborhoods.

Its great that the NCLB committee recognizes that quality teachers = quality learning for all students. The question that I have is how do we continue to get the quality teachers into the poorer neighborhoods? Certainly urban teaching programs at the universities must be helping but I'm not so sure about the 'Teach For America' program. Yes, it gets the bodies into the schools but its still not quality, just quantity. One step forward, two steps back.

As I read the article, I was waiting for the ray of sunshine --- the promise of new teachers willing to work in the poorest of schools and to bring quality education with them. Well, we'll have to take baby steps I guess. From the article, it appears that the success is coming since schools are taking a serious look at their staff and accurately reporting on their qualifications. I'm hoping they are also looking for opportunities to get their teachers up to standards and to entice new teachers in. Partnerships with between universities, urban elementary and urban high schools certainly could help with the source for new teachers and for suggestions on how to improve the schools infrastructure.

Well, I guess for now we'll have to be happy with the baby steps and hope our urban center can get a new superintendent to help with policies to make quality education a reality not just a dream.

Another great visit in Newark --- Is Suburbia doing it right or the other way around?

Today I had the pleasure of visiting another magnet high school in an urban center nearby. On the drive home I started to wonder who has the high school program wrong - urban or suburban. I tried to imagine, what if I went to a magnet school (my choice would have been a science/math magnet school since I love math and science) how might my education have proceeded differently if I was exposed to my favorite topics surrounded by students who were all motivated to succeed? I'm not saying that I didn't go to a good high school. It was a Catholic high school and I did very well, but was I challenged to excel or step out of my comfort zone? Hardly. As a teacher I don't just want the students to do okay but to really stretch their imaginations and challenge themselves. This doesn't directly equate to pouring on the homework but if you see that a student is capable of doing more and ask them to do it. This seems to be what is happening at these magnet schools.

On several occasions, I heard either students or faculty mention that they get to know students and where their interests lie. As the student progresses in their studies the teachers guide them on the path to success. Possibly by making suggestions for courses, one teacher uses the student's current skill set to begin the learning process and then expands on other skills (like writing) during the course of the year. The students start in the safe educational foundation doing the "thing" they love and the expand on it with basic courses for college preparation and challenging courses by trying something they don't think they are so good at.

I didn't meet with my guidance counselor about college until my senior year --- way too late as I can see now. These students mentioned that they don't want to be treated as 'children' -- they want someone to respect their interests (which these schools/faculty/teachers do) and to help them find the path to doing something with those interests. In the halls, I heard more than one person (the visitors) mention that its too soon to know what you want to do for a career path but I disagree. Everyone has interests --- follow them where they lead. Maybe to your career path, maybe to other doors that you wish to open. The interesting thing that I noticed was that several of the students did not plan to continue their college education in their high school major but that major was still a very large part of their life. How exciting that they have the confidence to stretch their wings to continue their education on another path. They must have received that well rounded education that they all spoke about plus the added dose of character building.

The things I've seen repeated at this successful schools: character building, small schools, and faculty that get to know the students and expect success from the students. We probably can't control the size of the school that we'll work in but I can sure follow the other suggestions.